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[Image] You know the world is pretty rotten out there. People getting killed over cartoons, people getting flogged for not offering sufficient obeisance to other people's belief systems, people getting thrown in jail for blogging and insulting the poor prophet. Can't an all powerful god take care of his own business?

Kids killing their parents, parents killing their kids, sleeping with their kids, eating their next door neighbors, killing cops, cops killing people, frankly the whole fucking world is on its ear.

I am getting pretty sick of politics and religion. Seems like there is a wide swath of humanity that lacks a brain, funny bone or irony gene. Every religion is suspect, even the Buddhists are whacking poor muslims in Burma.

Of course you know who gets the grand prize, you only have to hear the words Paris and bombing to figure out that the Huguenots are at it again.


Certain writers peg the number of hard core terrorists in the world at a hair under 200,000. One and a half billion muslims in the world and if a liberally estimated one percent are ideological supporters of jihad and salaf/wahabism that means that there are only about 150 to 200 million bad guys we may need to deal with.

A muslim commenter this morning wrote that just because 19% of french muslims support the Islamic State doesn't mean that we can therefor extrapolate that they are also for killing innocent people. Well, excuse me, but yes, I think we can. I see a definite nexus. Ditto the 40% of British muslims that want to institute sharia law in their newfound home. Hey, you self righteous Euros invited the wolf in to the henhouse, you figure out to do with him.

[Image] Charlie Hedbo was said to go after Jews pretty mercilessly as well but you don't see a bunch of crazed hasids from Williamsburg ever committing jihad, do you? Anyway you can only listen to that religion of peace shit for so long before an honest person calls bullshit.

My brother Buzz asked me this morning if I was afraid of ever getting whacked for something I had written and I tried to explain that I pretty much steer clear of anything controversial these days. Can't talk about much of anything except food.

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 First thing I need to mention food wise is that we finally have a really good thai restaurant around these parts, Thai Thai. For a hundred years we had no thai restaurants and than a few months ago we got a place right next door, Golden something and now we have Thai Thai.

I went to Golden Kitchen after it opened and had the worst spring roll I have ever tasted, a limp and under stuffed roll that fell apart and lacked both taste and a binder of any kind. Than I had my gold standard, my universal thai test order, the roast duck pineapple curry that was decent there, but sparse and overpriced.

Next time I went back I had the phad thai which was cloyingly sweet and pretty inedible. I really want to like the place, they are practically next door. I hear that they have a new chef and that things are now better. I hope so. I need to give the place another look.

But it is really tough when you have a place as good as Thai Thai right down the street. Have been spending way too much time there.

I ate there with Brigitte today. You get a small bowl of soup of clear broth and vegetables on the house when you sit down at Thai Thai, very refreshing and tasty. We segued into the big appetizer plate, then she shifted to a papaya salad while I went for the green curry duck, no bell peppers.

I got hooked on their green curry last week, had it with the pork last time. It is exceptional. We went there one night with friends and tried every curry on the menu and they were all great, including the masoman, penang and red.

Finished with mango sticky rice today, a seriously generous portion. The Thai Thai people had a place in Ramona for ages and they are obviously old hands that know what they are doing. I am hooked on their duck fried rice. The only problem with the place is that a thai starved Fallbrook jams the small place, which once served a gloppy chinese buffet. They did a really nice job bringing it back.

Great soup too!

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Down the block from Thai Thai, Yama has a new owner, Yama. Hank and Suzie have ridden into the sunset after many years at the helm. Will miss Hank's custom beef yakisoba, which he always insisted on personally making for me.

The first thing you notice is the place has been really freshened up, a new coat of green paint and more. The staff has changed, Ono is out with a back injury, there might be a new partner from Temecula. Very nice and personable people. The food is different too, some very interesting rolls and entries, Yama asserting a new vision and even a new wide screen. I am mostly happy but still think they need to dial it in.

The sushi burrito I had the other day was a mockery of its former self, pretty tiny. And I think they may have changed fish purveyors. The taste is a little different and I am not sure if I am totally on board. Will keep coming back, like the people very much but it all starts with the fish.

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Faro Trupiano's new venture (the one with the numbers) is only a few days away from opening supposedly. He has worked his ass off and I wish him the best. Great guy. Hope they will allow old people like me in the door, I think it will be oriented to a slightly hipper and far younger crowd.

Faro has done a great job with his Espresso Lounge, the food at Trupianos is always surprisingly good, especially the eggplant dishes. I think he is crazy to be working this hard. Needs a new place like a hole in the head. Have my fingers crossed for him. Appreciate what he did to Primo, gave us shades, plastic flowers, great staff, really focused on the place like no owner ever has. Now a sizable number of people practically live there. Hey, at least I go home at night.

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Hear the Valley Fort is near history. It is too bad. He worked really hard, brought the place back from the grave but for a variety of reasons and with a curiously always crammed parking lot, it was a money pit.  He gave it a good go but honestly seemed to have no idea how to run a restaurant. Ruined a friend's 50th anniversary. Met several people that would never go back. Never figured out the bread, a deal killer for me. The ratio for me was that one out of three meals were decent. Bummer though, he gave it his all. But it was certainly amateur hour over there, at least when I showed up.

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Went to Oink and Moo with Les the other day. Love their chicken, she had the rib platter. All was good but I picked the wrong table. Leslie's back is hurting right now and we sat at the high table. I also screwed up this and that ordering. Food was good but the beef ribs were not what they once were. He has switched meat guys a couple times and nothing compares to the first company that he can no longer get his beef ribs from. This one was a little tough. Baby backs and spare were delicious.

They brought out some of their new kielbasa appetizer for us to try. I liked it, cooked slightly sweet but the sweet sauce that accompanied it was almost too much. Redundant. Would rather see them go to something with a bite. The owners work awfully hard to make sure that their food is good and that their diners are happy and I salute them both.

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[Image] I love Jack in the box tacos, as does my sister Barbara. The cheap ones, two for ninety nine cents. The guys at coffee said that at two in the morning they jam a big box with everything for some small paltry sum. Unofficially termed the "tweaker box." Got to remember that the next time I am out late.

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Speaking of out late, we were driving back from the airport near midnight and decided to check Convoy. Mapo Korean Barbeque is open at least until midnight and the food was dynamite. We cooked duck and bulgogi on our round grill and had delicious purple rice. Delicious kim chee and great side dishes.

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[Image] Excellent cara cara oranges at Albertson for ninety nine cents a pound. If you have never had one, you have to try one. Quite addictive.

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I went to Baltimore recently to see my mother. Haven't wanted to talk about the food. But a guy has to eat. My brother Buzz said that I had to try pit beef, the local favorite culinary staple. We went to a place in Catonsville called Kirkwood, lot of the places are shacks, thinly cut beef slices cooked in the fire, delicious.

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[Image] Nick here has cooked at Kirkwood for nine years. Of course the locals told me there was an even better one down the street.

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[Image] I also went to a place that my brother John knew of in Linthicum, an old warhorse of an establishment, G&M Crabcakes. Steak and crab cakes. An east coast style steak and seafood house, pretty fantastic.

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Although I must admit my wife's crab cakes are even better. Also had crab cakes at Obryckis at the airport on the way home. When you are in Baltimore you have to eat local, you know? Obryckis has been rated top ten airport food in the country and I can see why.
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Place was excellent, my waitress had the build of a Raven linebacker. But it delivered.
* Went to the Aztec game the other night with Kent and we stopped at D.Z. Akins. I had the corned beef and the server asked me what kind of bread and I knew it was going to be one of those nights. They are starting to cheat you on the amount of meat in the sandwich. At these prices they can afford to give you a freaking fresser.
* Fans of my photography might want to check out the back room at Fallbrook's Cafe des Artistes this month. Michael graciously invited me to put up some work.
* Fois gras is back and we are headed to Vincent's tonight with friends. All is good. That is all I've got. You see I'm on a diet. And sworn to secrecy on the New Years dinner.