Comments (1)

By Neil, April 27, 2013 12:01 pm

A free weeks ago Kate and I went to Philly to visit Ash and Thelma and to eat at the small family-owned restaurant Khmer Kitchen Cambodian. Seeing our dear, dear friends was so fun and the food was more than delicious (yes, we are willing to drive to Philadelphia just for the PIG project, we’re hardcore people). I should end the post here with a few photos below but Kate will get mad unless I say a few things about Cambodia. So here it goes: Cambodian food may be one of the world’s oldest continual cuisines. It uses fresh ingredients, seasonal menus, and simple but really powerful flavors. During the Khmer Rouge  regime in the 70′s the traditional cooking styles almost disappeared and has only made a resurgence in more recent times.

The Khmer Kitchen is owned and operated by a family who came from Cambodia as refugees. They were great and went out of their way to tell us about Cambodia, the food, and the restaurant. I even got to chat with the matriarch of the family as she delighted in how well all of her children could cook. We said we had come up from DC to eat there, and they were thoroughly unimpressed. They said they get customers from all over the east coast, coming from as far as Massachusetts and all around the country. It was good enough that I totally believe it. Completely worth the trip.

The gang outside Khmer Kitchen in Philly.

Here is a video about the restaurant from the website Phily.com

In the background is a traditional salad, nyum sahdau, made from bitter flower leaves, cabbage, cucumbers, and herbs. In the foreground is sah-law ka-koe stew made from papaya, sweet pumpkin, Khmer eggplants, seasonal veggies, and traditional spices.

Thelma eating some unknown spice or vegetable.

A picture of the bitter flower that was included in one of the dishes. The chef told us this spice is a really common ingredient in Cambodian cuisine.

We forgot to write down the names of all the dishes and so I am trying to guess from a menu I found online. I don’t remember what this was called but it was amazing.

Me eating a Khmer eggplant.

I had to try the lemon grass marinated beef sticks and coconut milk and Curry infused chicken sticks. Both…amazing!

Once again it was a delight to try food from a new county with great friends. The food was amazing and I can’t wait to try some more soon… too bad there isn’t a place to eat Cambodian food in DC. If anyone is in the remote vicinity of Philadelphia I cannot more highly recommend this place. They were so friendly, helpful and nice. The flavors were rich and unique.

Nothing better than good friends + good food!

Comments (1)

By Neil, March 15, 2013 12:31 pm

Not sure if this is something to celebrate, but Kate and I just finished paying off our car and received the title in the mail on Wednesday. I would say it feels great to be out of debt but Kate owes something like $1 billion in student debt. Anyway, here’s to responsibility!

Comments (2)

By Neil, March 12, 2013 10:14 pm

When Kate and I started the PIG project we hoped it would be a great opportunity to experience the culinary delights from around the world. We never planned it would also be an occasion to end our life-long prejudices toward Chinese food. Until Hong Kong Palace my perception of Chinese food were entirely deep-fried and coated with a tasteless glaze as per my experience at small-town all-you-can-eat Chinese buffets in places like Rexburg, Idaho or Valley Springs, CA. Turns out there are 8 culinary traditions in China and for this PIG Project we tried Sichuan style.

Sichuan food is found south central part of China and is known for spicy meat dishes and lots of interesting vegetables.

Spread of dishes

Celery and wood ear mushrooms

The menu had lots of vegetarian options. The celery and wood ear mushrooms were Kate’s favorite. We also had some garlic spinach and bok choy, both which where also good.

Vegetarian pot stickers

For starters we had some vegetarian pot stickers and a green onion pancake. Both were delicious but I preferred the pot stickers.

Lots of tiny dried fish with peanuts

I don’t recall the name, but one of the dishes was a bowl of tinny fishes in a peanut sauce.

Breaded flounder fish

We also ordered another fish dish. The breaded flounder was very good although it was the least exotic of all the dishes.

Sesame balls

For dessert we had sesame balls which were rice gluten rolled in roasted sesame seeds. I can’t say this was my favorite and I let Kate finish mine.

Numbing peppers

This is where things get weird. Sichuan cooking uses a very strange spice that looks like a pepper corn that actually numbs your tongue and makes everything you eat afterward taste different. Apparently no one knows exactly how the numbing spice works or how it messes with your taste buds but it does. After eating some of the numbing spice my whole mouth felt as though I had been given a Novocain shot and when I drank water it tasted like crappy lemon aid. Crazy!

Dinner with friends

Again I want to thank everyone who came. Great food always tastes better when paired with great friends. See you at the next PIG Project!

Comments (1)

By Neil, March 2, 2013 12:32 am

Browsing the web for information on thrift-store art I came across these to resource gems.

1. Some brilliant human has a passion for collecting awkward and strange art from thrift store. She/he has a mighty collection with well over 100 pieces of art from thrift stores, junk sales, garage sales, and the like. She/he has uploaded images of all his/her paintings to their website Thriftstoreart.com.

2. Another collector of the cool Bill Davenport who is also an artist and also shares his collection online at www.billdavenport.com.

3. There is also a website dedicated to crop art: art . . . that is made . . . from crops!!!! Mind blowing! Anyway, the link is www.cropart.com.

4. A museum dedicated to those brave souls whose attempts at art were, lets say, failures: The Museum of Bad Art (MOBA). This museum is amazing. I highly encourage you to look at their collections and then read about the museum on wikipedia.org.
P.S. if you know of any related art links please share them in a comment.

Comments (3)

By Neil, January 25, 2013 1:45 pm

A few weeks ago we traveled to Silver Springs, MD to have some Cameroonian food at the Roger Miller Restaurant (yes Roger Miller really is its name). As the manager explained the restaurant gets its name from a famous Cameroonian soccer player (Roger Milla) and a singer that if Cameroonian I couldn’t find anything about him, but if American than it is this guy (Roger Miller). We had made a reservation for 10 and so were a little surprised when we arrived to a restaurant with seating capacity for about 5. The manager chased a few customers away and somehow managed to hobble enough seats together to accommodate our group. The food was turned out to be very good and everyone enjoyed themselves.

Continue reading 'Cameroonian restaurant in DC?'»

Comments (0)

By Neil, December 22, 2012 3:38 pm

Christmas letter 2012

Please feel free to download our Christmas letter for 2012. We weren’t quite organized enough to mail one out to everyone on our list (we need address updates).

Comments (2)

By Neil, November 13, 2012 9:42 pm

After a short hiatus (Kate went to Paris) we have the PIG  (Passionate International Gastronomers) Project back up and plowing through the B’s. Friday night we went to the Balkan Grill in Arlington, VA for a delicious Bosnian feast. The restaurant calls itself “Take Out” due to the absence of tables and chairs (there is a bar table that sits 4). We ordered food to go and eat at Jill’s house just a few minutes away.

Continue reading 'Return of the PIG Project: Balkan Grill'»

Comments (4)

By Neil, October 29, 2012 1:48 pm

NASA Satellite Image of Sandy

As of 11:25 Monday morning Sandy has brought rain and some wind to Vienna, Virgina.  No destruction or flooding…yet. The worst is yet to come and this is the soundtrack I will be listing to (in order of where the band is from).

Songs for Sandy:

Haiti:
Any suggestions?

Cuba:
“The Devils Dance,” by the Cuban Cowboys (the world’s greatest Cuban rock band in San Francisco, CA).

DMV area (DC, Maryland, Virginia)
“Friend to Friend in the End Time,” by Lungfish (Baltimore, MD).
“Let’s Be Animals,” by The Downtown Fiction  (my hometown Fairfax, VA).

Delaware
“One Love/People Get Ready,” by Bob Marley (lived in Newport, DE)

New Jersey
“Dancing in the Dark,” by Bruce Springsteen (Long Branch, NJ)
“Autumn Sweater,” by Yo La Tango (Hoboken, NJ)

New York City
“Yet Again,” by Grizzly Bear (Brooklyn, NY).
“Great Provider,” by Mariachi El Bronx (II) (Bronx, NY).
“The Rat,” by The Walkman (Harlem, NY)
“Sunshine and Clouds (And Everything Proud),” Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (New York, NY)
“The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance,” by Vampire Weekend (New York, NY)

Pennsylvania
“Saturday Night,” by Donora (Pittsburgh, PA).
“Get Through the Time,” by Toy Soldiers (Philadelphia, PA).

Canada
“Raining Patterns,” by CFCF (Montreal, Canada).
“Neighborhood #3 (Power Out),” by Arcade Fire (Montreal, Canada).
“7/4 (Shoreline),” by Broken Social Scene (Toronto, Canada).

Songs for Kate:

France:
“Countdown (Sick For the Big Sun),” by Phoenix (Versailles, France).
“Oui, Non, Encore,” by Louise Attaque (Paris, France)
“Don’t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas),” by Regina Spector (Moscow, Soviet Union)

England:
“London Calling,” by The Clash (London, England)
“At My Window Sad and Lonely,” by Billy Brag and Wilco (London, England and Chicago, Il)

Update 1: Kate is stuck in Europe until Friday. She is in London and is staying with an old college roommate.

Update 2: 5PM – The wind is getting stronger and it’s cold. I just got back from the grocery store (I am shocked it was still open) to get a few things including….

Survival snacks for Sandy

a homemade hurricane mix that includes pretzels, peanut-butter M&Ms, raisins, and peanuts and a bottle of sparkling apple pomegranate cider to celebrate survival.

Update 3: 6:11 pm. I  just heard a tree fall down!

Update 4: 7:21 pm. Heard another tree or big branch break.

Update 5: 8:17 pm. I am chatting with Kate. She made it to her friends house just fine and is doing well. It is still raining in Fairfax.

Update 6: 8:20 am. I survived the night. We may still see high winds and rain until early Wednesday morning, however, I think the worst is over. I still have power and so does my brother in Maryland. Kate is probably having fun in London.

Comments (1)

By Neil, October 28, 2012 2:43 pm

Getting out of NY before Sandy comes to town.

I am in NY as I type and hurricane Sandy is on her way. I was going to stay until Monday to meet Kate at the airport but have decided to go back down to DC instead. I was worried because all the China Town, Bolt, Peter Pan, and Vamoose buses were sold out. Lucky for me there was 1 seat left on the DCNY Deluxe bus. I well be leaving tonight at 7pm. I hope there isn’t too much evacuation traffic.

Update: I made it home. Traffic was fine and the DC metro was still open. Now I am hunkered down in my apartment waiting for the storm…and Kate.

Comments (5)

By Neil, October 20, 2012 10:31 pm

Probably Kate’s last days in the DMV.

This might be the last picture of Kate taken while she lived in Washington, D.C. Lets be honest, unless she gets mugged or an overdose of the mythical French rudeness, I don’t think Kate is coming home. France has better tasting food, universal healthcare, beautiful streets, art, poodles, candy traditions older than our country, wine, no advertisements for Mitt Romney or Barack Obama on Hulu, macaroons, and protests every 3 or 4 days.  Why come home? I just hope if she decides to stay she sends for me!

If not maybe the few nice things we have in D.C. will be enough to entice her back. Like nieces and nephews (picture of June below), Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, trees in fall colors, 2 Amy’s Pizza, Downton Abbey and the Walking Dead which they definitely don’t have in France, an endless supply of turquoise jewelry, Pie Gourmet, and free back massages…that’s a promise!

Kate!!! Please come home!!! Or I’m only going to write blog post with each sentence ending in exclamation marks!!!

Princess June in the Enchanted Forest.

Really, I just wanted to post this picture of June because she looks too dang cute.