Food Porn - June 2012

My indulgence.

I write my restaurant experiences and opinions on Yelp! (Elite) Page.  Hee hee.  So my blog will be reserved for food pornography.

Son of a Gun - Lobster Roll

UMAMIcatessen - Umami Burger - Smushed Potatoes

UMAMIcatessen - P!gg - Pigg Style Fries

UMAMIcatessen -the Cure -  Pastrami, Rye, Mustard

UMAMIcatessen - "and A Donut - FG&J - Foie Gras Mousse, Forest Berry Jame, Peanut

Duck House - Peking Duck

Elephant Snack Corner - Bi Bim Naengmyeon .. Korean cold noodles that you can seriously choke on

Whipp'd LA -  World Famous Pineapple and Food Stompin Strawberry Dolewhip

The Park's Finest BBQ - Filipino Coconut Beef

Mexicali Taco & Co - Carne Asada Cachetada with Chipotle sauce

Ikea - Swedish Meatballs, Vegetarian Crepes, Cake

SummerTramp 2012

"The Anti-LA Pool Party."  The last Sunday of the month a bar parking lot is astro-turfed and adorned with pools, slides and DJs.  Tramps pour in.

900 free jello shots

Heineken Sponsored

Free Vitamin water and Monster

This event has exploded since the first event 3 years ago.  Lots of people are dressed to be seen.

We claimed a spot and stuck to it and enjoyed good people watching.  We're just normal sun soakers.  Fabulous photo booth.

The water slide is always fun.  It was a bit too slippery so we slipped right off of it.

Tommy found a duck to ride

They got creative with the porta potties.  Peep-a-boo said the power bottom.

As the party got crazy, we packed our bags.

We escorted ourselves out.  #shameless street strutting in a speedo.  But check out the back muscles on this pink short wonder.

Olympic Flame

It's been months since I've hosted a party and this passed/past Saturday was perfect for an Olympic theme!  We encouraged everyone to dress up and to my surprise most people participated.  Though I guess some folks cheated by just wearing gym clothes per my recommendation.

I got really creative with the decorations and I'm quite proud of myself for the innovation.  Though I was inspired by pinterest.  The party supply stores gave me nothing; it was the dollar stores that gave me the gold.

The Olympic rings hanging in the living room and in the photobooth are made from wreaths wrapped in streamers and hung from the ceiling with string.  I printed out flags and found medals as party favors.  I was also able to print out the official Olympic torch and added streamers to simulate fire.

I also turned the hallway into a faux swimming lane line by adding flags across the walls and blue lights along the floor.

The athletes that attended:

Marathon runners

Tennis Players

Boxers

Crazy Fans

Studly Wrestler

Gymnast

The IOC Chairman

Table Tennis

Soccer Player

Trampoline

Track People

Cyclist

Swimmers and Divers

"I was completely unprepared for the amount of bulges and camel toes I saw last night....thank you." commented one of the guests.  Yes,  Olympics or Gay Porn.

The party turned into a drink, chat and take hilarious photos sort of party ... wait I think that's the usual 321 formula.  Pretty good for planning this in one week.  One thing missing:  the Olympics playing on the TV.  We couldn't get our old TV Tube to work.  Almost.

Go for the GOLD!

Photo edits by my wrestler lover.

When You're Ready

Canon sd1000 sd750 100hs

Retail Therapy

I don't spend much on anything.  Maybe food, but I rarely go to places that are ranked higher than 2 dollar symbols on yelp unless it's through my work. I have a laptop and a point and shoot camera. And I probably buy a new shirt once a season.  I'm trying to think of the most expensive thing I own, but nothing comes to mind besides the two mentioned electronics... and maybe my iPhone 3G.  


I've gone through 3 Canon Point and Shoot Cameras since 2005.  Lost my first one in the bushes jumping parties in college.  The second one was dropped too many times.  The third one was actually Jimmy's.  During Bay to Breakers this year, the lens barrel jammed for no reason.  I could not fix it with compressed air so I invested in a new 100HS.  I really don't like the "Smart Auto" feature which determines the best presetting.  But it's more like a Dumb Auto since it thinks you want to be in macro and 1/3 of the pictures come out blurry.  Can there just be a normal auto please?  Anyway...


The other things that I own are sentimental trinkets or stuff that no one wants anymore like old clothes/furniture from friends and garage sales... So when I think of "retail therapy" I wonder what I could purchase that would make me feel better about my day/life.  I also think about how buying things would just clutter my room.

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#ratchet

Luxury

Jimmy's computer sits in a little cubby space in our room.  It's not mobile because the monitor hinge is cracked so the screen can't stay up without leaning on something.  The battery is dead and the power cord can only charge at a certain angle.  Forget about the DVD/CD drive.  He borrows my computer to burn music CDs because his car doesn't have an AUX port OR Tape player.

I hate that there was a time of about 2 years where new cars were built without the proper ports to play MP3 players.

Jimmy sits in his cave using a computer that he's had since college editing photos and applying for jobs until he goes insane from cabin fever.  The device is going to die despite how much he takes care of it. And I was waiting for the day he lost all of his data. For him, he can't just replace a computer...  that's a luxury that he does not have.

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grateful eyes

When You're Ready

When I came home from work last Monday I surprised Jimmy with a new HP laptop.  In a card I told him that I turned down an opportunity in New York.

The opportunity was an internal move within my company on a beer brand as a project manager.  But they couldn't meet my salary request nor did they offer relocation compensation.  I was relieved that my company made my decision easy by being so cheap.  To live in New York was never a life goal and even though Jimmy told me he would follow me, I knew that he couldn't.  And what I would be leaving behind wasn't worth it.

He told me he couldn't accept the laptop, but I told him that it's for his career.  So that he's motivated to apply, build his portfolio, be inspired so that he doesn't have to worry about keeping up with everyone.  It's a present to celebrate us and a reflection of both of our efforts to improve our lives, our careers and our relationship.

...and one day when we're BOTH ready, we can move to somewhere new and exciting.  But for now, Los Angeles is our home especially since we have keys to a pool. #LASunShine

Streamers

My work place does a good job at celebrating people's birthdays.  Your cube gets decorated with streamers, balloons and printed pictures of photos or things you like.  We love burning color toner.

Decorations more often than not stay up for a long time.  So folks wait until their birthday for others to decorate their cube for them.

A balloon octopus to match her octopus tattoo and a really good photoshop-ed mural of her as Martha Stewart.  Creepy.  Her floor was lined with black tarp to simulate the sea.

Folks get really creative with the streamers.  I guess this the person who did this was also an interior designer.  A very elegant approach.

The note on her desk read, "if you move any of these balloons, you are fired.  Please make sure to complete all your work."

For my assistant, we turned his cube into an app store and put in an extra desk.  "your cube mate is here!"  We tricked him all day.  We also convinced him that there was an Oprah sighting, only to turn around to say happy birthday.  He shouted, "NO!!!" like it was the worst news of his life.

The remains of my birthday - Batman themed madness.  It was pretty amazing.

My colorful view.


I also helped turn my other assistant's desk into a night club, complete with lights and VIP table.

Furry Animals

Bay to Breakers is my favorite.  It's an early morning street parade with costumes and outrageous street activities. There is so much interaction.  I love it.

In 2010 we wore booty shorts!
In 2011 we were gay military! MUAH!
In 2012 we were furry animals!!

It's tradition that we party the night before and stay hammered through the next day.  We found ourselves at Bench and Bar in Downtown Oakland where we mingled with the gay black community.  I felt like I was in Noah's Ark!  Before that, the boys treated me out to Homeroom for my birfday....yay!!  

Okay, time to prepare:

We are experts.  Hide the alcohol in a camel back and you are good for the day.  Perfectly concealed in your furry outfit.  In my bag was vodka soda with a splash of cran.  Szeto had whiskey... I think. R. E. A. D. Y. Ready!

This was the longest wait for the BART ever.  I was so excited to just get there.  We had missed the first train by 2 minutes!  Everyone off at Civic Center by 9AM and you're good to go!

It's impossible to see everything, but I felt this year was a little bit more tame with the ban of floats and visible alcohol.  Hide that shiz.  Those kids in orange hats were gatorades... I don't think they appreciated me yelling "TROLLS!" at them.

MC Hammer dance was definitely a highlight.  Every 20 minutes this group of people dressed in golden parachute would do the STOP Hammer Time routine.

I had extra confetti canons from Chinese New Years.  I found the perfect place to pop them at the Panhandle where everyone was dancing.  The crowd reaction was brilliant.

Next year: more canons!

Break time.  I was looking for my friend's house to grab a quick drink, but couldnt find it.

Break's over!  Dance party now!!!!!!  It's easy to just chat with strangers; especially when you are offering food.

Fierce and ferocious!

We crashed a house party and I told everyone to act like they belonged there.  Jimmy successfully stole some alcohol.  Joe failed at playing smooth.

This is what happens when you drink so early in the morning.

Okay bus!  Take us home!!!

Until next time San Francisco!