buddakan

Buddakan has been one of our favorite restaurants for years. We've celebrated birthdays, anniversaries and dined with both sets of parents. More than six years ago, my wife and I took my parents here with the intention of telling them that we had eloped. It was a nerve-racking meal, but a delicious nonetheless. My dad inspected my wife's diamond ring like he was a DeBeer. A couple years ago, my in-laws from Japan entered Buddakan and chuckled at the giant golden Buddha that anchors the middle of the dining room. I'm sure if they made a Jesuskan restaurant and put a giant Jesus there - christians would throw a fit.

Last night wasn't a special occasion but the dining experience at Buddakan works well for an intimate dinner date as well. We started off with a calamari salad - a bountiful bowl of greens and deliciously crispy calamari splashed with a light vinegar-flavored dressing. My wasabi crusted filet mignon was perfect - tender and moist. The wasabi accent didn't overpower but accented the flavor of the meat. The sweet potato mash provide a nice textural and flavor contrast. My wife ordered my other favorite entree - the pan roasted duck breast. The thin slices of duck allow you to truly appreciate the tenderness. The taste was subtle yet flavorful and the spoon bread melts in your mouth.
I will warn you about the dessert. The Chocolate Pagoda is a monster! You will not be able to finish this towering ode to chocolate on your own. It had to be about a foot high thick with triple layer chocolate mocha chip ice cream, chocolate mousse and hazelnut praline. I surrendered with half of it standing. I didn't want to ruin a wonderful meal by overstuffing myself with chocolate. You know its time to step away when your spouse looks at you and says, "It doesn't look you're enjoying it anymore..."

Red interactive

Cool website for Red Interactive Agency. They allow visitors to create their own character and interact with other visitors. You can chat with other users and start fights. Punching and kicking features are cool. I've had random conversations and fights at the same time!

what's your excuse

Interesting book promotion.

make my logo bigger

Funny vid that all designers can relate to.

SMAPs

An oldie but a goodie from Bistro SMAP. Hilarious how Cage hides his face while eating.

Here's Will Smith on SMAPxSMAP for good measure:

randoms

mary j. blige | work that

talib kweli feat. jean grae | hot thing remix

justice feat. mos def & spank rock | D.A.N.C.E (benny blanco remix)

alicia keys | hurts so bad

9 most racist disney characters

1. Thursday from Mickey Mouse and the Boy Thursday Book (1948)
2. Uncle Remus from Song of the South
3. The Indians from Peter Pan
4. Sunflower the Centaur from Fantasia
5. The Siamese Twin Gang from Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers
6. King Louie from The Jungle Book
7. The Crows from Dumbo
8. Sebastian from The Little Mermaid
9. The Merchant from Aladdin

From Cracked. Details here.

hunt valley

We're spending Thanksgiving weekend in Maryland visiting the parents. I always feel a little nostalgic when driving around the roads that defined my childhood (mainly routes leading to church, malls or school). Black Friday brought us to Hunt Valley Shopping Center -which was built on top of the ruins of an indoor mall which helped define the 80's shopping experience for kids who grew up in the burbs north of Baltimore. This mall was a little before my time and was more of my older sister's mall (I spent more of my teenage years at the now dead Owings Mills mall). But I still have memories of the old Hunt Valley Mall. Deadmalls.com is a great site for remembering defunct malls across the country. These pics are so 80's! I'm pretty sure they had a Banana Republic when it was all safari with a jeep coming out of the window.

That mall is long gone. In its place is a successful outdoor mall anchored by Wegman's, Filene's, a huge Regal cineplex and a slew of chain restaurants. It follows the blueprint of current suburban development. Got a dead mall? Destroy it and throw a bunch of big box retailers and chain restaurants and people will come.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

animated type

Very cool flash-animated typography by Takashi Okada. You'll lose track of time staring at the screen.

matching album covers

More here.

beawon

With winter fast approaching, I find myself craving heavier foods. Korean BBQ is a perfect cold weather food, so we hit up Beawon in Cherry Hill. The restaurant is situated next to a huge Korean grocery. You gotta be on your toes at this type of supermarket. Old ladies will bark in Korean and push you out of the way for that bok choy. One day in the parking lot, a rich middle aged Korean lady rolled her grocery cart at me because she thought I was the Mexican cart collector.

The service isn't too friendly at Beawon either, but its not horrible enough to piss you off. Service is better if you're Korean (which makes up 90% of the dinner crowd) and their community is pretty large and tight in Cherry Hill. My wife could pass - they usually greet her in Korean and greet me in English (no luck for me, I guess).

Anyway, our primary purpose isn't to make friends with the waitstaff. We come to this joint to cook on our own table and stuff our faces. We order 2 plates of Kalbi and throw the succulent pieces of beef on the grill. I enjoy following the customary method of wrapping the beef (along with onions and sauce) in a large leaf of lettuce before stuffing it all in my mouth. The combination of flavors and textures are wonderful. And not only do we stuff ourselves, but we keep warm with the grill right in front of us. Such a satisfying meal on so many levels! Plus you drive home smelling the BBQ off your clothes.

unfortunately placed ads

Here's more.

sweet lucy's

Crossed the bridge into NE Philly for a Friday work-lunch at Sweet Lucy's. I wasn't sure what to expect as we pulled up into this industrial trailer park. I wondered if we were eating lunch or shipping mysterious cargo. Did we bring union credentials? I don't wanna be bullied out back. But alas, we see a small sign and smelled our way in.

While the location was a bit of an eyesore, the interior was suprisingly warm and inviting. Brick walls were adorned with old fashioned pub posters. High ceilings were criss-crossed with wood beams and thick industrial piping and tin tubs used as lighting shades. But the first thing you'll notice is the wood burning pit smoking out enough sweet smelling racks of meat to make your stomach swoon. I've heard that Lucy's is the best BBQ joint in Philly and it lived up to the billing. The menu is very affordable and offers value meals for chicken, beef brisket, ribs and pork. I tried the bbq pulled pork with mac n' cheese and collard greens. The pulled pork was generously slathered with bbq sauce and retained a juicy tenderness. The mac n' cheese was wonderfully creamy and was topped with that little crust of cheese on the surface that elevates it to near perfection. Collard greens were very good if not a little too salty. I finished it off with a light but very sweetly flavored cornbread.

The portions were big enough to satisfy the hungriest of vikings. Upon returning to work, I sought to pull a George Costanza-like nap under my desk. But then again someone would probably smell a trail of Sweet Lucy's and dime me out.

Photos courtesy of foodaphilia.