My friend Eliza gave me these awesome little containers. They are about an inch and a half high and super frickin’ adorable.

Their sole purpose is to allow you to bring a little bit of soy sauce with you wherever you go, just in case. They come with a little tiny eye-dropper so you can fill them up with soy sauce. So far they have never leaked and they always make me smile when I pull them out at lunchtime! Something about those vacant, beady eyes and perky ears- they are really endearing little pals to have around.

Eliza got these for a couple bucks at one of my very favorite stores in the world, Daiso Japan. Daiso is kind of like a super cool Japanese Dollar Store, except most things cost two dollars instead of one. Daiso has a crazy cross-section of stuff, from garden supplies to kids’ toys to dishes to cards (many in hilarious Engrish) to fake flowers to, er, individual soy sauce holders. With ten bucks in hand, you can have a GREAT time in there.

There are 3 stores in the Seattle area and 6 in the Bay Area- here’s a list of all U.S. locations.

I was out in Boston a while ago, and spent a couple hours in Concord, Mass, which is you know, where that whole “shot heard round the world” thing went down. Right in town there’s an old cemetery with some Revolutionary era gravestones. We spotted a couple of odd ones, like this one where they misspelled the guy’s name and had to fix their “typo”:

And this one, which due to the old-timey script, I first read as “Having laid down the f-word with honor…” but it’s sword. Not fword. Heh.

Yeah, I know. I’m immature. What can I say.

Even though caves kind of freak me out, I am itching to go to this Crater mineral bath in Utah.

Sold me. It’s part of an inn 20 minutes from Park City, and last night we were JUST SAYING we should go to Sundance next year… kismet? I think yes.

Visit the Homestead Resort site for more info.

Welcome to Stonefridge: a fridgehenge.

That’s it. It’s Stonehenge made of old refrigerators. According to this website (which also has a bunch more pictures) an artist created it outside of Santa Fe, NM, until some art-hating, fridge-loathing jerk COMPLAINED and made them take it down.

Who has time to complain about a fridgehenge? Do you really have nothing better to do?

Now I’m no expert on Texas. In fact, as a hippie liberal San Franciscan, it’s usually something I purposely don’t mess with (as advised by many a bumper sticker and t-shirt.) I’d just humbly like to share some of my favorite and most memorable food experiences from Austin.

Austin, Texas is a terrific town to spend a long weekend (or more) visiting. They’ve got so much to offer! Sights, sounds, history, bats, live music, art, you name it. On top of that, they have a wide variety of eateries and drinkeries (is that a word?) that are sure to please every palate. Heck, they’ve even got a wine country (sort of.) Simply put, I had a terrific time eating and drinking my way through Austin and I recommend you get your butt out there sometime.

Favorite overall: Uchi Being from San Francisco, you can understand we were all a little skeptical about going to a Japanese restaurant in Austin, but time and time again it surfaced in recommendations as the BEST restaurant in all of Austin. Turns out there’s good reason for that whole “assume = ass out of u and me” because, DAMN, that is a fine restaurant. The setting is lovely, the service is terrific, and the food is divine. It’s not pretentious, although it surely could be with the quality of food they’re producing. My favorite thing was little morsels of marbled beef that you cooked on lava-hot rocks at the table. The inventive sashimi was also a highlight. If Uchi were in my own city, I’m quite certain I’d frequent it with vigor. We ate there early so our drinks were happy-hour prices, but even so, when the bill came and it was only $25 a person for this incredibly thoughtful dining experience, it absolutely flippin’ boggled my mind.

For strong drinks and a good jukebox: Shangri-La The quintessentially perfect hipster dive bar. A couple video games, some mismatched furniture, strong pours on the gin, a devil-may-care design aesthetic, and a rockin’ jukebox. They have a large outside patio for balmy nights as well.

For BBQ: Sam’s BBQ Good LORD, how people in this town fight over the best BBQ. It’s completely overwhelming. I spent hours on Chowhound before the trip trying to figure out what was legitimate, what was overrated, and so forth, and all that happened was that I was even more confused. I went with Sam’s and I was happy with my choice. It’s not the most picturesque area but the brisket and sausages were excellent, and the place is a riot. Five people ate disgustingly well (including banana pudding, yessiree) for around $25.

Honorable Mention: House Park Bar-B-Que I didn’t eat here but anyone who comes up with the slogan “Need no teef to eat my beef” deserves kudos.

For something a little nicer: Parkside At first blush, Parkside seems a bit too clever and trendy, but quickly wins you over with inventive, delicious food. They have an excellent wine list, and it’s oh-so-easy to linger there over small plates until late.

For the infamous Frito Pie: Shady Grove Need I say more? It’s a bag of Fritos slit open with chili inside. You wouldn’t want to eat it every day but you shouldn’t die without trying it once. For what it’s worth, all of the other food at Shady Grove is top notch, and if you can snag a seat on the outdoor patio, you’ll be loath to give it up and move on.

For a pretty spot to sip on wine: Hotel San Jose The rooms at this adorable boutique hotel are a little too rich for my blood, but the common space has a well-designed indoor-outdoor flow that makes it a gem for a wine and cheese break after vintage shopping on South Congress.

For dessert on the run: Hey Cupcake truck Chase it down if you must, but everyone should experience a cupcake from a truck. There are actually multiples: a truck that drives around, and an airstream trailer parked on South Congress. I really wish I could remember which flavor I liked the best, but one gets confused when one eats them ALL.

For a throwback cocktail experience: Pêche And by throwback, I’m talkin’ like 1890s. Pêche is a gorgeous rambling bar in a room that looks straight out of the past, and the drink list is full of whimsical takes on old-fashioned cocktails. They’ve done a great job of making a comfortable, updated scene nestled within this funky space. The drinks are strong and served by knowledgeable

I spent a chilly Fall weekend in Chicago with friends and wanted to share some of my favorite photos. I hadn’t been there for almost 20 years so it was a treat to spend a few days there, albeit cold and windy days!

Bertrand Goldberg’s Marina City towers seen from the river.

The fun/frightening Carnival Foods signage was the only (literally) bright spot on this overcast and rainy walk near Oz Park.

We caught a man on Halsted Street working diligently on this Barack Obama mural (just a few days before the November 2008 election.)

The comics at Second City hilariously dressed up one of the stodgy old guys carved onto their theater building’s facade for Halloween with a cape and Darth Vader mask.

Am I anthropomorphizing too much, or does this Lincoln Park house look like a person to you too?

Caramelized butterscotch and apple bacon hanging from a wire contraption during a mind-boggling molecular gastronomy dinner at Alinea.

Wolfy’s!

I call this apartment building “the frowny robot building.”

Crowds approaching Anish Kapoor’s “Cloud Gate” sculpture (aka “the Bean”) in Millenium Park.

We were driving aimlessly through the suburbs and randomly came upon this half-scale model of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, built in 1934. The parklands that surely surrounded it at one time have been oddly subsumed by a YMCA and a Costco. (And yes, we took the obligatory “pushing it back upright” series of photos…)

The sign for Empire Liquors in Wicker Park sports real liquor bottles enclosed in mesh.

Loooooved this warning posted in the awesome Old Town Oil shop.

On a recent trip to Vieques, Puerto Rico, we ate at a fantastic little restaurant called El Quenepo. I loved their grilled caesar salad and thought that while the dish was fresh in my mind, I’d try making a version at home. Grilling the romaine hearts adds a fantastic layer of smoky complexity that compliments the strong flavors of the dressing.

Vieques is a notoriously, unabashedly casual place, and El Quenepo is probably the “fanciest” restaurant on the whole island. I say that in quotes because, well, nothing on Vieques could remotely be referred to as fancy- we’re talking about a restaurant with a hand-painted sign and no glass in the window frames. Still, it’s an utterly charming place with a laid-back island aesthetic and an adventurous, sophisticated fusion menu. The owners are a young couple from Virginia who encourage local farmers on Vieques to grow food for use in the restaurant, which is a real treat in the Caribbean, where most folks don’t emphasize the importance of eating locally. If you find yourself in Vieques, I highly encourage you to head to the Malecón in Esperanza and give El Quenepo a try.

A few notes about the recipe:

1. This would work better on a BBQ grill, but alas, I don’t have one, so I used a grill pan, which worked just fine.
2. For the bread for the croutons, you can really use anything. I used sliced sourdough that had gone a bit stale.
3. If you’re uncomfortable using a raw egg yolk, you can leave it out.
4. If you prefer your caesar with anchovies, you can add 3 to the dressing and/or you can place them on top of the salad when you plate it!

Grilled Caesar Salad

serves 2 as a main course; 4 as a side.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 slices bread
• garlic salt to taste
• 3/4 cup grated parmigiano or pecorino cheese
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1 raw egg yolk
• 1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tblsp slivered almonds
• salt and pepper
• 2 small heads of romaine
• extra olive oil for grilling and toasting

Method:

• Make the croutons: Cut bread into 1/2 inch cubes. Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a non-stick saute pan (at least a couple tablespoons). Add bread cubes and a healthy sprinkle of garlic salt to the oil. The bread will quickly soak up the oil. Add more as needed (don’t be afraid you’re adding too much because in this case there’s practically no such thing.) Taste and add more garlic salt as necessary. Cook bread cubes until toasty on all sides, flipping often. Remove to bowl and set aside.
• Make the dressing: Put cheese, lemon juice, garlic, yolk, oil, almonds, and salt and pepper in a food processor or blender. Blend until thick and creamy, scraping down sides in between. Set aside.
• Grill the romaine: Cut the romaine lengthwise, leaving the hard connector part on the bottom intact (you’ll remove it later.) Heat a grill or grill pan to very very hot. Brush the cut side of the romaine with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Press the cut side onto the grill or pan, checking every 5-10 seconds (it will cook very quickly.) You don’t want the lettuce to wilt too much, just to get the cut side smoky and grilled.
• Assembly: Place romaine on plate and sprinkle croutons around. Drizzle dressing over.