January 2005 Archives

"The People Have Won" proclaims a blog posting from a young Iraqi in Baghdad. After all of the anguish and terror of the last year and the uncertainty of what might happen on Iraq's election day, the results are gratifying, no... the results are remarkable and inspiring, and the pictures of joyous Iraqis braving threats of death from the al-Zarqawi gang and going to the polls and voting make me proud of the courage of these people.

Al-Zarqawi issued a remarkable statement last week where he said: "We have declared a fierce war on this evil principle of democracy and those who follow this wrong ideology. Anyone who tries to help set up this system is part of it." He was right about the second part, and Praise be to Allah that the Iraqi people understood it, too.

Al-Zarqawi also said that "Democracy is [...] based on the right to choose your religion, and that is "against the rule of God." This is Tyranny of Religion, a yoke around the neck of humanity which was thrown off in the West four hundred years ago. It will be interesting to see what happens in Iraq, whether they use the power of the ballot to choose a theocracy as they did in Iran, or if they will chose a secular non-tyrannic government. I am betting that Iraq will choose the 21st century instead of the 14th century.

Forget Main Stream Media; read what the Iraqis have to say about January 30th direct from the street via these Iraqi Blogs...

Iraq The Model, The Mesopotamian, Hammorabi, Diary From Baghdad, Iraqi Humanity, Democracy In Iraq, Free Iraqi

I like to imagine that I am never influenced by the label on a wine bottle, unless it has the words "Chateau Margaux" or something similar on it. The truth lies elsewhere and during a recent visit to The Wine Club in San Francisco, on a mission to find something for Wine Blogging Wednesday #5 I saw a case of wine alluringly named The Chocolate Block.

While we should all be satisfied with wine that tastes like wine, for some reason, we aren't. There is a scene in Orwell's 1984 where Winston Smith gets to taste wine for the first time. He is expecting it to taste like raspberry syrup and to intoxicate him with the first sip. He is horribly disappointed in the actual experience. And, critics are constantly describing wines as tasting like cherries or maple syrup or steaks, or bacon (or, to be completely fair, even tar or a barnyard). We don't grade and evaluate wine like diamonds, it is much less scientific and much more subjective. Which is to say, the thought of a red wine that tasted like chocolate was all but irresistible, and I bought a bottle. The fact that it was made by a company named Boekenhoutskloof and was from South Africa was a definite bonus.

Located across from the Holiday Inn, and just down the street from Portsmouth Square, Louies is off the beaten path in a building that used to house a Japanese restaurant. A Louies experience takes a little getting used to. Althoughthe standard Cantonese restaurant fish tanks greet you, the space is broken up like a split-level ranch house, with a balcony and basement next to the center section on street level.

I have been meaning to try Acme Chophouse @ the ballpark for quite a while. I took advantage of the Dine About Town promotion to have a meal there last Friday evening. I ended up ordering ala' carte, as I'm not eating desserts these days and the DAT menu had dessert. I ordered the Filet Mignon and it was good, but not fantastic. I always feel slightly ripped off in these high-end steak houses. Anyway, the evening was salvaged by trying a glass of 1977 Warre's Vintage Port.

It had a DEEP and dark color like an essence of port. It was rich, concentrated and lucious on the palate, with nice tannins, but a bit hot on the finish. Really good stuff. The 1977 Taylor Fladgate is supposed to be better. Now I am wondering, How Can This Be? I have two bottles of the Taylor and now I am really curious to try one. Regardless, I found the 1977 Warre VP to be really impressive. At this writing, K & L Wines has about a case of this available for $90 / bottle.

Many years ago, I read a anecdote about a young boy trying to teach himself about self control. Cream and sugar were kitchen staples that were strictly off-limits. He would put them on the countertop and stare trying to believe that he didn't want them. After several days, he decided that mind had triumphed over matter and that he could do without. To reward himself for his feat, he had some cream sweetened with sugar.

I bought two bottles of 1990 Shafer Hillside Select when it was released. They cost me $29.99 each.

My handy Internet "Language Tool" translates this as "The Tavern of the Furnace." I suspect a better translation might be the Café with the Oven. If they cook it here, they do it in the oven. There is no stove, and because this tiny neighborhood place only has 28 seats, no stove means more tables; and, more tables means less wait, but you will probably have to waitn standing on the sidewalk for 20 to 40 minutes anyway.

"Hold on," you say. "How can this be a neighborhood place? It’s on COLUMBUS AVENUE!"

Traveling along dreary stretches of Mission neighborhood sidewalk, you suddenly come upon an oasis at 20th and South Van Ness where the sidewalks are spotless, there are sheltering trees, and a few outdoor tables proclaim that you are at a place of rest and refreshment. You have arrived at a clean well-lighted place with many small jars and many delicious things. Los Jarritos servers a wide variety of well-prepared Mexican dishes from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m seven days a week. Breakfasts include Huevos Rancheros and Huevos Machaca (eggs with spicy dried chopped beef). Lunch and dinner offerings include the obvious tacos and burritos as well as Pollo en Mole, Quesadillas, and Posole. There are special soups each day; and on weekends you will find burria (BBQ goat soup) and menudo (tripe soup). The staff is friendly and efficient, and prices are extremely reasonable. Recommended

From Decline and Fall, a blog by an American living in Iraq comes this story about music preferences in Iraq...

What do they listen to? Let's just say that there's very little sense of "cool" or "trendy" in their listening habits. One can't expect people who have spent their lives living under Saddam's thumb to have any real sense of hipster do's and don't's, but even those who have lived in America for a while and have come back here to work as linguists can almost be relied upon to be fans of Celine Dion. It's actually gotten to the point where as soon as a discussion of music begins, I say to the nearest Arab, "You like Celine Dion, don't you?" They always reply in the affirmative.
...
Then I decided to try an instrumental selection: one of J.S. Bach's Violin Concertos, played by Hilary Hahn. He had never heard anything like it before. For a moment I pondered the stark implications of a culture that had heard Yanni but not Mozart, Celine Dion but not Ella Fitgerald, Country but not Blues. "This is a much bigger clash of cultures than I had ever imagined," I heard myself say. But the look on his face as he struggled to turn the volume up on that exquisite music made it all better….

It's worth reading the whole thing. Scroll down a bit on the link to get to the relevant entry.

My political obsessions introduced me to the world of blogging. I love elections and am never so happy as when people are fighting over some office or other. The campign for the Office of the President of the United States is the biggest fight of all, and the most fun.

Last September, the CBS News program, 60 Minutes Wednesday, ran a now infamous segment on President Bush's sojourn in the Texas Air National Guard.

If you like really good carnitas and appreciate super fresh and delicious Agua Frescas and don't mind (or prefer) burritos minus the rice - this is your place. The ingredients are fresh and the resulting food is top notch. They have carne asada (beef), carnitas (pork), lengua (beef tongue), cebeza (head), pollo (chicken), and veggie. The Agua Frescas here are really good. There is so much fruit you can eat them with a spoon; phooey on you if you order a Coke. Recommended
2889 Mission Street @ 25th, San Francisco

Ikebana on perfect black lacquered table; sushi like butter. Grated wasabi, Formal Kaiseki Banquet; cherry blossom food. Bring money. Highly Recommended

If Rainbow Grocery had a restaurant it would be just like Kate's Kitchen, but without the breakfast meat. The staff looks the same; it has the murals and granola as well as fruit plates and interesting combinations like cornmeal buttermilk pancakes. Portions are large, and, on weekends, the line in front of the lower Haight location is a long one. Cash only. Recommended

Zaphod Beeblebrox used the title of this post to pick up Trillian in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, which was a lot of fun and full of some pretty wild things to think about. But, with an earth spaceship on Titan sending back pictures the real Galaxy seems just as exciting as the BBC's Galaxy. ESA/NASA have released some preliminary processed images, but they have also released all of the raw pictures which anyone can download. Which brings us to another wonder of the modern world: Adobe Photoshop. You can see the results of the Internet and "Open Source Image Processing" yourself by going to this site and looking at the great work all of these geeks in pajamas are putting out. You can see a lot more detail in these pictures than in those released so far by ESA. I look at this picture (click on it for a larger version), and wonder what the odds were of the probe coming down on "land" when it could just as easily have vanished into that "Methene Sea".

Lover's of wisecracks have an unprecedented opportunity here, but I suspect they'll have to act fast. A company in New York City (where else?) has a Groucho ventriloquism dummy on sale for $38. There are all kinds of things one could do with a Groucho Doll. For instance, you could make a doorbell out of it: a little door opens, and Groucho says: "I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception." Or, you can take him to a party and make sure that no one forgets that Groucho once said: "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." Or, it might make a great gift for your daughter, or perhaps your Mother in Law. The opportunities seem endless.

The fact that not a single incumbent in California lost a U.S. Congressional, State Assembly or State Senate seat last fall should give pause to any observer of state politics. Districts in California have been drawn with care to do one thing: protect incumbents. Schwarzenegger wants to change this and this will certainly cause a tremendous battle. It's a battle he can win, though. If every voter got a copy of the Congressional District map of California, it would be obvious how absurd the districts are. Here is a link to such a map (a PDF). Take a look at the following districts: 23, 18, 3, 7, 10, and 11. Those are obvious Gerrymanders.

If Ino Sushi were anywhere else it would be a "hole in the wall" kind of place, but since it is on the second floor of the Miyako building in the Japantown Center, it is a "hole in the mall!" It is a real Mom and Pop place with only six seats at the bar and three tables. The owner, Ino-san, is clearly a sushi master and presents his clients with only the freshest and most appetizing offerings. This is traditional sushi, you will find few (if any) trendy things here, but you will find a very nice ankimo (monkfish liver) nigiri sushi and an excellent well-priced sake list. It is not cheap, but the prices are reasonable for the quality. Recommended

UPDATE: Ino Sushi is in the Japan Center in Japantown next to Takara on the upper level of the Miyako Mall.
Ino Sushi
22 Peace Plz Ste 510
San Francisco, CA
(415) 922-3121

Here is an out-of-date but non-the-less useful map of the area.

Yes, it's hard to believe, but I had never seen The Godfather. I recently resubscribed to Netflix and went through the AFI Top 100 Films List and added films which I hadn't seen to my Netflix queue.

I didn't expect to like The Godfather. Too much hype. Too much a part of popular culture. But I liked it. In fact, it, even though it is basically a shoot-em-up gangster film, it is a very great movie, right up there with Lawrence of Arabia and Citizen Kane. I think it ranks with those other films, because it tells a similar epic story. It is not a slice of life: it is life. It is not a character study: it is your father and your mother and your aunt and uncle and the IRS man and the guy at work that has it in for you all blown up to 5000%. It is a movie that bears down on you from the big screen, even when you are watching it on the little screen.

I had heard, of course, about the horse head in the bed, but the death of Appolonia in the car bombing in Sicily was a shock. The growth of Michael from a goody two-shoes to a ruthless monster gangster is shocking and riveting.

In my experience, it is as close as a movie has ever come to portraying a novel on the screen. Though, if you can believe it, I've never seen Gone With The Wind either. But it is on the list.

For a long time, San Franciscos Afghani restaurant was owned "anonymously" by Mahmoud Karzai; now his brother, Hamid Karzai, is the head of Afghan government and this place isn't so invisible. Even when it was relatively unknown, Helmand made this somewhat seedy section of Broadway worth visiting. Afghani food is related to Moguli and Persian food, but is a bit less spicy than Indian, and a bit less exotic than Persian (no pomegranates, as far as I know). The lamb dishes here are fantastic and you will have your choice of interesting differently spiced yogurt sauces and great flat breads. The service is helpful and friendly. The prices are so reasonable you will think you are eating in a Persian bazaar, but the food is so good, you will be certain that the chef is descended from Alexander the Great's chef. Recommended.

Located on Folsom near 9th, India Garden has a surprisingly relaxing and pretty patio (no doubt the garden in the name), good decor and an extensive menu promisingly filled with classic Moguli (Northern Indian) dishes. All it lacks is good food. My meal here was severely mediocre. Perhaps this is proof of the old adage to avoid places with big menus. Not recommended.

Qupe, USA, California, Santa Barbara County, Santa Maria Valley (4/30/2004)
A really elegant and delightful bottle of wine. It has a dark purple-red color, not quite opaque. The nose shows ripe bing cherries, chocolate, oak, and brown sugar. On the palate, the wine is smooth like a cashmere sweater with a satisfying and interesting mid-palate. It has a medium body and a lingering finish of creamy cherries jubilee with soft and sweet tannins. It struck me as much more of a Northern Rhone wine than a CA Central Coast one. Some might complain about too much oak, or not being good for long-term aging, but in terms of drinking at the right time and being a pleasure to drink, this was a very enjoyable and I certainly wish I had more. (92 pts.)

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is on the verge of passing a city ordinance mandating how you must treat your dog. Some examples:

• provide water, changed daily, in a non-tipping bowl.
• suggested means of teathernig a dog with a "pulley-like system" and non-choke collar or "body harness at least 10 feet in length.".
• Food must be palatable and nutritious.
• If there is a dog house, it must be big enough for the canine to stand up and turn around in and with a raised floor and dry, clean bedding for when the "ambient temperature falls below that ... to which the dog is acclimated."

Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier was one of two dissenters saying "I was reading this, and I thought: Now we're treating dogs better than we treat the homeless." Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who sponsored the ordinance admitted that the law may come across as frivolous.

I find I can get endless free entertainment by broswing through the ordinances and resolutions on the SF Gov website. I am certain that there are a good many residents of San Francisco who are violating some ordinance or another every minute of every day.

San Franciso Chronicle article here.

Paradise Lost.

See more tsunami relief photos from the U.S. Navy here.

This is so... so... well, so EUROPEAN. A moment of silence, an inert moment, feely but not touchy. I guess it doesn't hurt anything, and if you haven't got any ships or planes or budget to actually DO anything useful, it makes it look like you care. Indeed, I believe they do care. And it is probably no worse than dropping 12 million origami paper birds from airplanes, don't you think?

(Europeans on the left, American on the right).

	From today's New York Times: Europe Honors Tsunami Victims Across Europe, people bowed their heads in silence today to observe a three-minute commemoration of those who perished in the tsunamis. (photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

This local chain of four temples to Hunan cuisine occupies digs varying from the seedy diner ambiance of the SoMa/Bryant location to the sleek and gargantuan lunch palace on Natoma at 2nd. These unpretentious restaurants often show up on lists of the 10-best Chinese places in the city, as well they should. The food is spicy, tasty, and a bracing change from the tamer Cantonese fare offered at so many other places. Make certain to try out the house specials, including Smoked Ham with String Beans and Diana's Meat Pie, Onion Cake, and Dumplings. Highly Recommended

An elegant and sleek upscale restaurant in SoMa that serves amazingly good American gourmet cuisine with the occasional Asian influence. There are two rooms, one with a gorgeous curving polished cherry wood bar and cafe-like booths, and a more refined dining room sporting an open kitchen. The food is good enough to make you drop your fork as your eyes widen in surprise and the corners of your mouth curl up in pleasure. There are deep, yet refined flavors, and the dishes are carefully created with contrasting textures. Although this is a very expensive place, there is a $30 chefs three-course tasting menu that is a bargain. A recent example featured "Potato leek soup with asparagus relish and pistachio drizzle", plus a "Grilled pork chop with sweet corn and fava bean succotash trumpet mushrooms and foie gras sauce." Recommended
Update: Hawthorne Lane closed early in 2007 and reopened as Two.

I don’t often get out to Upper Polk or thereabouts for dinner, but the good buzz about Pesce tapped me out of my equilibrium, and sent me careening out of orbit towards the upper Polk.

Pesce is a San Franciso version of a Venetian chichetteria, which is an Italian equivalenent of tapas -- small plates of seafood to sample and share with wine and friends.