Pad Thai & Pasties

So today was our last day in the U.P. Norman wanted to have a final pasty before leaving Michigan, so I consulted my Lonely Planet guidebook, and checked to see if there was any recommendations. Turns out Marquette not only had a good pasty place, but was home to the "best pad thai in the world". Since we were driving through the town, we thought it fitting to accept the challenge of enjoying both a pasty and pad thai for lunch. After driving along the south shore of Lake Superior, we cruised into Marquette, located the Jean Kay's Pasties & Subs on my iPhone, and pulled into the parking lot. Long story short, we both ordered steak pasty, consumed it (best crust of the three we've had), and then walked outside, wondering where the Thai joint was. We looked around, and realized the Rice Paddy was a block away. But since the JK Pasty lot was for customers only, we got in the car, drove a block down, parked, and strolled into the aforementioned restaurant.

Rupert, the traveling food critic.

Upon entering, we were greeted by a white guy cashier and the owner, Aoy (no idea how to actually pronounce her name). She's apparently quite popular with the college crowd (Marquette is home to Northern Michigan University) and winter Olympic skaters (they have a training facility in town). Anyway, when she sees me, she asks with twinkle in her eye "Are you a spy from the Hong Kong Buffet? No, your English is too good boyfriend." Nice way to be greeted, huh? Apparently she calls everybody girlfriend or boyfriend. Anyway, we order the pad thai, and although she's swamped with orders, she whips up a couple entrees in a couple minutes. Then, having learned that we came because of the "best pad thai in the world", she wants to watch us eat it... The final verdict? Norman, who lives in Ann Arbor, gave it a 8/10 (admitting that he hadn't had pad thai for over a year). And me? Perhaps it's because I lived in Thailand for a year, or maybe that Seattle has some great places too, I rated the food a 4/10. But factoring in Aoy, it bumps up the experience to a solid 7.

So that's was our dining experience for the day... We've got a couple things on our food radar still to eat (egg bakes, pies, and ice cream scoop for N, and the Cracker Barrel for me). Any suggestions on what else we can try? Anything specific to the regions?

Road Lessons

I've only been in Michigan for a week now, but I've already taken away some lessons that will serve me well after this trip is over. I imagine this will be a returning post over the next few weeks.

1. There's something instinctively manly about starting a fire with a fire starter (like flint & steel) and dry leaves.

2. Tahquamenon Falls' mosquitoes are as slow as they are persistent.

3. The iPhone makes a great portable music system, even if speakers aren't great.

4. Candy bar wrappers are not waterproof. We put a few candy bars in the cooler so they wouldn't melt, but the water from the ice soaked thru, thus leaving us with soggy, poo-like chocolate. (We still ate one anyway though.)

5. Hot, low pressure showers work. But they are completely unsatisfying.

6. The Upper Peninsula is dotted with waterfalls, of which we've taken pictures of nearly all of them. Well, it seems like we have anyway.

7. The UP food of choice is a meat and potato filled calzone-like item called the "pasty". Pronouced with a soft "a" sound, like "past-ee". Not to be confused with a paste-y. Completely different, right ladies?

8. Either I'm spoiled by my mattress at home, or my body's getting old (probably the latter). I can't sleep on a Thermarest through the night without tossing and turning.

9. If there was ever any doubt, I am a nerd. I'm camping in the middle of the the Michigan wilderness, and Facebooking and blogging whenever I find a signal.

10. Flip flops are my friend. Too bad I didn't bring them. Doh!

11. I think Rupert might have a bigger following than I do.

The Phenomenon known as Tahquamenon

This post was typed out on my iPhone a couple days ago, but since I didn't have connectivity, I'm posting it now. - SC

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The last couple of days, Norman and I have been in the Tahquamenon Falls (TF) vicinity. The area is pretty and reminds Norman of Canada. Our time here has been filled with taking photographs and and enduring the bugs. I'll touch on the latter first.

Before the trip started, N had mentioned the mosquitos in the UP (Upper Pennisula) were probably going to be problematic. We stocked up on repellant, and he purchased some "anti-bug" clothing. Supposedly it kills any insect that comes in contact with it. I have yet to see it work, but nonetheless I've taken to calling him the "harbinger of death" anyway. Honestly, I thought we might have gone a bit overboard. But the hype is for real. The mosquitoes up here in TF are relentless. If the US military could somehow unleash these bugs in the search for Bin Laden, he would voluntarily surrender himself. (He might claim that it was a cruel & unusual punishment though- Mother Nature's version of waterboarding.) So we apply the spray, and we are granted peace for of a couple hours. Once it wears out though, the all-you-can-suck buffet is open for business again. The only true relief we have is to escape to the sanctuary of our tent. So here I am, hunkered in our little two man shelter, typing away on my iPhone, with mesh being the only thing between me and the insatiable horde.

So why did we choose this insect ridden campsite? Because of the waterfalls. There are two sections - the upper Tahquamenon Falls is the better known bigger brother, but in my opinion the lower falls are more photogenic.

Our time so far has been a real learning experience for me. Although I've been shooting longer, Norm's much more of a technical photographer. He's the guy who knows how to use ALL the features on his DSLR. So it's been great to learn from him and apply those skills myself.

On this trip, we've also made it a point to experiment with various "optical resin" (kinda plastic-y) filters. Although a bit cumbersome, they've opened up a new way to capture images. The filters we have been using (thin square/rectangle shaped tiles called "neutral density" and "graduated") allow us to reduce the amount of light captured by the camera, therefore allowing more motion (blur), color, and definiton in our images. Using these filters, I can finally take pictures like there pros. Here's a few pics showcasing what I mean. Plus a little friend we met along the way.

It's been fun discovering the various ways to use the filters... I'm sure we'll utilize them even more over the rest of the trip. I'll post some more pics as I take them. Hopefully you enjoy them!

Spencer and Norman go to White Castle

Norm and I have never experienced White Castle, so it only made sense that we hit it at 2am. And we knew it was destiny when their website had free slider coupons. So now with bellies full, we head back home. Mission accomplished.

Away I Go.

I'm off to Michigan for my "Great Road Trip" with my cousin. Looking forward to seeing the rugged beauty of the Midewest, and to find evidence there is reason to visit these often neglected states. I'll try to post messages and pics from the road, so you can share in a bit of the experience. Until then...

"The best camera is the one that's with you." - Chase Jarvis

Photography has been on my mind quite a bit lately. Partly because my photography road trip with my cousin is coming up in a couple weeks. But probably mostly because I've been reading through photo blogs in my spare time.

The most recent blog I've come across is a photographer by the name of Chase Jarvis. I find both his work and his insights about the medium interesting and engaging. One of the things that he's been focused on over the past couple months has been using his iPhone to take photos. To quote, "The best camera is the one that's with you.". As a gear hound, it's a great reminder for me that photography is not about the equipment, but rather the person using it. And although the 3G camera isn't great, it's always with me, so I never have an excuse not to shoot.

A perfect example of this happened yesterday. After dinner, B proposed that we take a walk around my neighborhood... I was feeling lazy, but somehow managed to motivate myself to throw on some shoes and take the stroll anyway. The weather was pleasant, it was about an hour until sunset, and the overcast skies had started to burn away. My original intent was only to walk, but shortly after starting, I realized this was a perfect opportunity to put CJ's reminder to work.

One of the great things about walking is that we often start to notice the little things that are often missed when one drives by. For instance, the large cherry tree about a block from my house, with ripened Rainiers dotting the ground beside its trunk. Or the number of traffic circles that people had volunteered their time and money to beautify with various flora (Thanks to all of you!). It's these little things that provide ample subjects for my lil' iPhone. I've posted a few of the results from our walk below -- just a tiny glimpse of the good ol' neighborhood of Maple Leaf.

Four Food Filled Days...

It's been a busy past few days. My brother arrived a few days ago from Miami. He's spending the summer traveling cross country photo-documenting Push America's summer cycling and build teams. Since one of the teams kicks off from Seattle, he was here to capture the festivities.
As luck would have it my cousin from Australia also came into town, having decided to swing by Seattle for four days on his way home back to Sydney. Even Mother Nature cooperated by providing perfect 70 degree sunshine for the fellas' time here. I couldn't have scripted it any better if I wanted to.

During their stay, Calvin (the cousin) played tourist, and Jenkins (the brother) played guide/driver. I unfortunately still reported to work, but I know they were able to extensively explore Seattle. And at least I was able to get home each day at an early hour to join them for dinner... And what meals we had!

Here's a breakdown of the food during their time here: Sunday night: I made dinner -- stirfried pork loin w/ julienned carrots, sauteed garlic green beans, and rice. Quick, easy, healthy, tasty.

(photo courtesy of C.Chan)

Monday night: Taste of India on Roosevelt in the UDistrict. The former owner of Cedars' relative (brother or son maybe?) own this place. The food's just like Cedars (terrific), and their home-brewed, bottomless Chai is heaven. I'd come for the food alone, but their service matches the tastiness of the food.

Tuesday lunch: J & C were downtown, so they swung by and picked me up for lunch. We went to the renowned Salumi, and proceeded to get three of the messiest, satisfying pork sandies ever. Calvin chose the "Porkchetta", I selected the daily special of "pork cheeks" , and Jenkins went w/ the classic meatball sub. Since Salumi is such small establishment, we went around the corner to the downtown waterfall, and dug in. Succulence ensued.

(photo courtesy of C.Chan)

Tueday dinner: With a guest in town from as far away as Sydney, we decided to go to one of Seattle's premier restaurants, Canlis. It met our very high expectations easily. The service was second to none, and the food was cooked perfectly (For those keeping track- appetizers: pork belly, Kona ceviche, crab cake, and the Canlis salad. Entrees- lamb chops, wild king salmon, and two orders of duck breast. Dessert (shared)- A pear cake with thyme ice cream in a pear consumme).

Wednesday dinner: Since this was Calvin's last day in the US, we thought it would be fitting to end his time here with hamburger. But not just any burger would surfice -- so we headed to the Lunchbox Laboratory. Calvin was introduced to the Dork... I'll let the pictures below tell the rest of the story.

(photo courtesy of C.Chan)

So all in all, it has been a great few days. We were able to send an Aussie cousin home with a grand impression of Seattle, both of the area as well as the dining. Hopefully it was enough to warrant a quick return!

A New Pig In Town

My coworker and I headed out to lunch in the beautiful sunshine and stumbled up on this metallic swine of beauty...

Move over Rachel (the beloved mascot of the Pike Place Market)! There's a new pig in town, and he goes by "Maximus-Minimus". Max, as I will refer to him/it, is the newest taco-truck-type-vendor in the street food craze that's hitting Seattle. And that is a very cool thing indeed.

Today was their second day serving lunch on the corner of Second & Pike... So far, their menu is pretty small, but the line for food was not. Fortunately for us, we beat the noon rush, and were able to grab a pulled pork sandwich with Beechers cheese in about 5 minutes. The sandie was decent -- the meat was a bit dry, but the flavor was good, and the addition of cilantro added a nice twist.

All in all, it was a memorable lunch experience. I had read about the metal porker on various food blogs over the past month, so it was cool to actually see it in person. I look forward to seeing how things change and improve over the next few months for Max.

For more info on Maximus-Minimus, you can go to their website and/or check this out. For a couple more pics, see below for the business side of the swine, and what he serves up...