Cold Child on a Steep Hill

Our friend's son went up and down our driveway wearing his eskimo clothing. He did better than most fat adults. I found it humorous.
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Christmas Future in 1985!

I hope everybody is having a nice Christmas Eve. I found a picture of my "big" Christmas gift from 1985 and it brought back great memories of the slowest lamest robot ever. It sometimes does bring you drinks but my robot was a drunk and it would be found in a dumpster behind the Toys R Us making out with Strawberry Shortcake.
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Honey Pig - Go Right Now

This sconce outside the restaurant should become your homing beacon if you like pork and beef with a Korean BBQ twist.
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Honey Pig - Phase 3, Final Course

The last course is meant to fill you up more but to also take advantage of all the crispy bits of beef and pork to make a fried rice. After cutting the remaining meat, kimchi, rice, and greens, they are all placed towards the center of the lid to form a crispy bottom you scrape off the lid. It was an excellent meld of flavors.
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Honey Pig - Phase 2, Course 2

Their specialty is their special pork belly and it looks like sliced heaven. The pork takes a bit longer to cook but when it is done, it is crispy and delicious and can be put into the wraps. Honestly, it does not need anything.
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Honey Pig - Phase 2, Course 1

We ordered the recommended beef dish along with their other specialty coming for the second course. They start cooking sprouts and kimchi on the outer area of the lid and then put the meat towards the middle where the highest heat is. The idea is that everything on the lid along with the wraps of lettuce, rice wrappers, and radishes should be made at your leisure. The various dips and spices also allow for more creativity in your food prep.
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Honey Pig BBQ Area - Phase 1

I thought this was a lid covering up a container but when the waiter turned on the burner, I soon realized the cooking was done on top with the juices running into the small bowl to the side.
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Honey Pig

After an excursion to Bass Pro Shops, one needs a cultural refresher away from camouflage and bigotry. While driving home, we ran across this place that came highly recommended by our friend Wendy. I think this place will bring a smile to our faces.
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Goodbye to all Airports for 2008

This is my typical view from the floor of a gate when the seats are full of morons stretched out on the seats. Traveling in this stretch has been hard enough but has been weird at Christmas. I don't feel like I have had the proper preparation time to wrap presents, drink egg nog, and watch Charlie Brown specials. I will need to get it all in during the next 5 days.
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Vino Volo - Sacramento Airport

I support a place where you can sample wine along with food that is matched up with it. Even though I am a beer man, I enjoyed some reds and still felt OK about myself.
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Red Steer French Dip

The menu on a board had only 3 items - the French Dip, the open face French Dip, and roast beef (from the French Dip) with mashed potatoes. It is pretty much like saying "meat in bun, meat in half a bun, or meat with potato". The guy slices the roast beef fresh in front of you and you can choose if you want rare, medium, or well done. They are focused on what they know and I respect it.
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Red Steer Sandwich Shop

Even though I doubted we could beat the awesomeness of the Taco Bus, we had our last lunch at a place known for giant French Dip sandwiches. The old school sign and big line told me it was gonna be good.
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Taco Bus Taco

This is by far the best taco I have ever had. The meat is fresh and it had a lingering heat that stayed with you even after you swallowed it. You can tell that the tortillas were fresh too. We were thinking of going back tomorrow!
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Taco Bus Kitchen

The back of the bus is where it all happens. A single carne asada taco is just a $1.25! Quite a bargain for me! I guess bus rent is low.
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Taco Bus Menu

The board tells you everything you need. You aren't getting Taco Bell here.
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Taco Bus Interior

This is a taco heaven. The husband and wife were so proud to let me take pictures. I think it was due to my special Spanish language skills. I love eating at a makeshift counter overlooking a dirt parking lot.
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Turlock Taco Bus

We drove by this every day to the client and were dying to go here. You know when they convert an old school bus into a taco joint, it is gonna be good.
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Ono - Hawaiian BBQ Mix

When you go to a new place the hope is that you can have a little bit of everything. You can have it all in this styrofoam enclosure! It included BBQ Chicken, BBQ Beef, and Short Ribs and had a nice taste and texture that normally would not come out of a strip mall chain.
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Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Strip Mall Edition

This place is a chain but is better than its' stucco appearance leads you to believe. As usual during my picture taking, the Asian proprietor asked me if I was a journalist. I said - no - just the health inspector. ;)
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Beautiful Downtown Modesto

It looks better than it looks but this does not paint a nice picture. The cold clouds don't help either.
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Galletto Gnocchi

The nice thing about this "expensive" restaurant was the ability to order half sized entrees. This bowl of butternut squash gnocchi with fresh greens, tomatoes, and pecorino was just the right size. I will note that my wife mocked me for my selection of wine and called the Argentinian Malbec I chose "lighter fluid". The beer list was OK so I decided to try something different. I shall ignore the mockery and quote the wise Kim from the Real Housewives of Atlanta in saying "Let your haters be your motivators".
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Galleto and their Local Beets

I am a sucker for beets. These local ones with fresh goat cheese were very good and I tend to think were all grown or churned within a 15 mile radius.
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Galletto Restaurant - Modesto

Instead of the greater Turlock area and their substandard showers, I decided to stay in downtown Modesto. It had more options including this nice little Italian restaurant that the Amy Winehouse looking front desk lady said was really expensive - the highest price entree was 20 dollars. I guess it is all relative.
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California Girls

My last visit of the year finds me in Sacramento and I pulled up to my client's parking lot and was pulled to park next to this truck for some reason. I guess there are rednecks in the California valley.
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Taxi to the Airport

Aside from the varying prices for tourists versus locals are the state of the taxis. Here is mine with a broken window that smells like a combination of feet and cheese. Also nice is the lack of a meter and the need to negotiate before you go anywhere. While it is a flat fee from the hotel. I started with 40 and got him down to 30 with the help of my client who told him in Spanish "Look, do you think I am a moron? Stop being a idiot - I know it is no more than 30". He reluctantly agreed and I was on my way on the silent 30 minute ride to the airport. Oh, how I will miss my Dominican friends - but not to worry, I will be back.....
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El Conuco Dinner

This is called the Dominican Flag and consists of beef pieces that are tender with a light garlic sauce, rice and red (not black!) beans. It was very good but as is typical with all the food here, I was unable to finish it. Ugh - the portions.
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El Conuco Interior

They are going for the shabby chic shack look so popular in this part of the Caribbean.
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Last Dinner in Santo Domingo

Our client contact took us to El Conuco for what she thinks is the most authentic food in the city. It was in the middle of a neighborhood and looked good to us.
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Dominican Cash

Here is a picture of their currency that essentially equates to 35 pesos to one dollar. It is fun figuring out the tip with such a round number. The bill will be 700 pesos and I am having to take out an adding machine to figure it out.
The gentlemen on the currency are either some government or military here but it could also be the stars of the Dominican Soap Opera "Mi pasion del amor caliente". Either one is probably correct.
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Dominican Day 3

Here is a view of one of the 37 pedestrian bridges in Santo Domingo. I have lots of time to observe my surroundings sitting in the honking traffic. This is by far the worst I have ever seen in terms of congestion and crazy aggressiveness. To say I am done with it is an understatement. The dilapidated taxis, buildings, and shopping carts with coconuts make Santo Domingo my least favorite of the Caribbean. In my assessment keep in mind that I have seen a lot of places in the Caribbean via cruising. I think only Haiti fares worse and I long for the potholes and relative moderness of San Juan.
This message is not brought to you by the Dominican Tourism Council.
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Vesuvio Dinner

I ended up having an appetizer for dinner but did not expect this carpaccio to be as big or as good. This place is supposed to have the best Italian food in Santo Domingo and I suppose I agree seeing the relative comparison of this to the guy selling coconuts and sunglasses from a shopping cart.
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Vesuvio - Dinner

We were still full from the mofongo but figured we should eat something. This place was within walking distance but upon the advice of the front desk, we should not walk there because a guy was murdered a few days a go there. So we took a cab that was 100 pesos there and was 300 back. I have learned that a taxi from the hotel to downtown has a rate of $12 but a local taxi from downtown will take me back for only $3.
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Adrian Tropico

My first Dominican lunch was at a good place with typical food. The idea here is that you order mofongo - a mashed plantain concoction infused with chicharones (crispy pork skin pieces) - and then a series of meats. In this case, we had pork, beef, and chorizo. A truly healthy lunch!
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My First Dominican Dinner

This is something called Biscocho which is a big soup or beef, pork, and chicken with all sorts of veggies like yucca, pumpkin, and plantains. It went nicely with the standard side dish of white rice.
It was not as spicy as Cuban food but I am biased.
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Renaissance Jaragua Grounds

I am glad that they have some pretty gardens like this since I am trapped. They say the 87 degrees here is their nice Winter weather.
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My Dominican Room - After

I was happy to go away from the motor lodge to the main tower - even if it was a little more. I require weird things like cleanliness and internet and was somewhat a peace here.
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My Dominican Room - Before

I checked into my "Garden Room" and realized I had made a mistake when I had to leave the main tower, walk through a congested parking lot to this motor lodge looking building. There was a smell of mold in the dark hallway and when I walked into the room, I saw this. I immediately called the front desk and in my best Spanish I said "hell no I am not staying here". It had a rattan element of 1940's old Caribbean combined with the smell of past escorts. Not good.
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My Dominican Hotel

This place was described as gorgeous by the client and cab driver. It is probably the best looking place here but there is nowhere to go beyond the gates other than getting harassed by shoe shine boys. I guess I will be staying on the finely manicured grounds of the hotel like a Caribbean prisoner.
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Welcome to Santo Domingo

I flew in on the 8th but I unfortunately have no phone or Blackberry service. The airport in the Dominican Republic here looks like an airport in a refugee area. I landed and was unsure where the terminal was. So far this place makes San Juan look like a metropolis. I hope San Juan can forgive me for all the bad things I said.
This view is from the grounds of the hotel Jaragua that is on the ocean. It was a nice hotel in 1982 and it is now an average one. There is a story with the room in a separate entry.
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California State Capitol

I guess this is where Ahnold does his governing. It must be hard for him to live in this little dumpy city where the main tourist attraction is a yellow bridge and an old train.
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Ugly Yellow Bridge

I suppose because nearby San Francisco has the Golden Gate Bridge, they need one too. It is bizarre looking and I think the reason it is yellow is that I saw a homeless man urinating on it.
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Liquor Coupons

I guess California believes in thrifty alcoholics. I like that the economy has made adjustments for everybody.
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Interweb Connection

Surprisingly, the technology for the "computer pages" at the Turlock Holiday Inn Express leaves a bit to be desired. The connection would get loose and the term "high-speed" is relative at best. The last time I saw a wired connection was in Alabama where they were just told about the internet 2 years ago.
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Ghetto Air

The Holiday Inn Express also has a loud air conditioner to drown out the noise of what sounds like an oncoming train. I guess if it was good in the 70's, it is good now.
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Tepid Shower

I had to take a picture of this because it is about the only interesting thing in Turlock. This was my shower at the Holiday Inn Express. It was like showering under a leaky faucet and a nice hot shower would have been good to wake me up from the hourly train coming by my room. What's funny is that they make you sign a waver letting you know about the train noise.
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Coronary Dinner

After an average dinner at a chain called Elephant Joe's (no pictures necessary), I walked around one of the 37 malls I drove by in Modesto - the nearest decent sized city to Turlock. I noticed the level of obesity similar to Georgia but in a more "gangsta" way than the redneck way in Atlanta. I think the culinary sausage treat may be to blame. The line was huge for this monstrosity.
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Ad Hoc - Course 4

The final course was a "Pastry Ribbon". It was flaky layers of pastry with cream, pears, and berries. Very good ending to the meal. I have a feeling a certain spouse will be joining me on my final trip out here to experience the wine and food here in Yountville.
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Ad Hoc - Haunted Course 3

Forgive the picture of the glowing cheese. It was very dark but the artisan cheese is called Mona and it is from Wisconsin. It is a combo of cow's and goat's milk aged a year with a natural rind. It was served with local honey and fuji apples. Very good and would have been even better is I knew more about cheese.
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Ad Hoc - Course 2

The short rib with root vegetables from their nearby garden blew me away. They sous vide the short rib to keep it in tact. For those of you not familiar with this method, they cook the vacuum sealed meat to the desired temperature in a vat of water to the temperature they want the meat to be. For example, if you want the entire piece of beef tenderloin to be 51 degrees, you would normally have to put it in an oven that is 225 degrees but there is no way to guarantee the temperature you want. Using sous vide, the meat comes out perfectly.
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Ad Hoc - Course 1

The living lettuce with egg, pancetta, olives, and onion was lightly dressed and did not feel too alive to me. Very good balance of flavors.
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