Posts from — January 2008

Good lord, she hit the nail on the head again with a writeup about nachos. She even brings up the Piedras Negras history:

Nachos are reputed to have been invented in 1943 by a maitre d. named Ignacio Anaya who was working at the Victory Club in Piedras Negras, Mexico, which is just across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas. As the story goes, some ladies from Eagle Pass came into the restaurant one evening, ordered some drinks and wanted some snacks. The kitchen was already closed, so Anaya melted some Longhorn cheddar on some tortilla chips and garnished each chip with a jalapeno slice. He presented them to the ladies calling his improvised appetizer “Nacho’s Especiales” as Nacho is a nickname for Ignacio. And the name, without the “especiales,” stuck.

I’ve lived in CA too so long that I’ve gotten used to “Cali” nachos and only have real nachos when I go home to San Antonio. There’s something to be said about the zen-ness of the real ones, but then again, the sheer mess of goodness you get for $6 out here isn’t bad either.

Uggh. Another annoying story about a good business being fined/bothered after serving the community well:

ROCKLAND, Maine- A small downtown coffee roasting business finds itself in jeopardy for having offended the olfactory senses of some of its neighbors.



Patrick Reilley and his wife, Susanne Ward, co-owners of Rock City Coffee Roasters, the business credited by some with starting the revival of the city.s downtown economy 16 years ago, are facing heavy daily fines and possible closing if the couple cannot find a way to remedy a zoning violation by Feb. 15.

The people who filed the complaint moved away shortly afterward too.

I went to The Last Supper Club on Friday night with Marc and Jen, the Birthday Girl™. I forgot how good that place can be. I hadn’t been there in quite a while.

I think we also lucked out because we ate early and were lucky enough to get good parking in the Mission. But then again, it was pouring buckets, so maybe we were just rewarded for our moistness.

Here is their menu, but let me just say that Crispy Dumplings of Taglionlini Pasta stuffed with Mozzarella, Prosciutto and Green Peas over Arrabbiata Sauce may not be for everyone, but rewards those who try it. Marc and Jen, the Birthday Girl™’s dishes eached looked fab-o as well. That’s good craic.

I forgot to include Eastern Promises in my last DVD Roundup becasue it wasn’t in my Netflix rental history- Cory loaned me the HD-DVD combo version.

I really liked the movie and recommend it highly, but I’m a bit confused as how to describe it now. You can look it up yourself if you’d like. Why am I confused now? Well, let’s get the basic stuff out of the way first.

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Yet another annoying San Francisco anti-biz story in the Chronicle here. I can understand the thinking behind their rules, but pulling the permits after approving them and after all the paperwork has been signed is evil.

Martha Garland, the executive director of the North Beach Chamber of Commerce who blew the whistle on Kwon’s enterprise, says regardless of the timing, the law is the law.



As is so often the case in San Francisco, this comes down to politics. There are enough hazy rulings to make everyone think he is right. For his part, Kwon says his group was granted a building permit on Nov. 13. He says he can prove that there were only four Red Mango restaurants when he applied for the permit and that there were fewer than 11 when his group got its building permit. He also says the process was delayed by the city until the other Red Mango outlets opened.



“I don’t really believe that,” said Garland.



And, she was asked, if it is true?



“I’d still fight it,” she said.



But if Kwon’s version holds up, the logic of the banning his store does seem a little shaky. What if a permit is granted with just four outlets in the country and then someone in Durham, N.C., suddenly decided to open eight stores? Would that mean your permit would be pulled?


“I think that’s a valid argument,” said Tony Gantner of the North Beach Merchants Association.

Sounds like Martha Garland has too much power, and it sounds like SF continues to be a place that isn’t friendly towards business.

Just think of all the times this must be happening and we don’t hear about it because the business owners *weren’t* on Survivor.

HR makes quantum physics, vegas odds calculations, and fractals look easy. New bonus plan!

if company makes x% of target, or better where x is less than y% and/or there are no sunspots, and lindsay lohan stays dry then there’s the potential to make 7-18% depending on group goals, but only if the potential of goals is greater than but not equal to x+y over the % of your goal sheets column of “goals met” being greater than M (met) but not C (canceled)* and that percentage is lower than the individual share of the group funds (provided they haven’t been spent by the Finance Dept.)


*unless C was caused by course change by managerial-level or higher, but not e-staff

Uhhh, ok.

Wow, it’s been a while since I posted a DVD Roundup. I think that’s mostly due to a combination of my backlog of things to watch, holiday travel, and getting cable.

Most of the things I’ve seen though haven’t been worth mentioning. I keep looking at my rental history in Netflix and remember that I haven’t really liked anything recently. Or enough to warrant mentioning. edit: oddly enough, I started my last DVD Roundup the same way and I just now noticed that. Maybe I should get rid of cable.

But enough of the whining, here are some notes-

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A vid for your weekend enjoyment – hopefully I’ll have some movie reviews up next week.

I wanted to post this vid, but it didn’t work.

I’ve been slow to join the MythBusters bandwagon, but have finally been enjoying some episodes on the DVR. Mostly because I can check out that Kari chick that everyone on teh intarweb [sic] talks about.

But what I don’t understand is why they run ads for Sonic during the show. Yes, I usually skip over the commercials but right now they’re running an ad for their sweet sweet slushies. When I looked at the Sonic locator, the closest on is in Tracy, CA! That’s too far!

I’m just glad I’m not a pregnant woman, or I’d be doing late-night 2 hour drives for the sweet sweet slushies. Anyone up for a roadtrip? We could get tater tots too.

Side note- Kari looks like she has new tats, so she’s off any good list I would have.

I had some recommendations for you kids today. And some weird wine news as well.

First up- 2006 Thorn-Clark “Shotfire” Shiraz. it’s $13-15 in SF, but for some reason, my old “Texas Spread” rule isn’t working, instead of being ~$18 in TX, Specs has Shotfire for $22. I’m not sure what’s up with that. Anyway, keep an eye out for this giant fruity bottle of goodness. Also, my notes differ from K&L’s description on their site, but I’m learning.

For those of you who like the under $10/15 range, K&L just got in some Santa Ema “Reserve” from Chile. They have both a merlot, and a chardonnay both at $9.99.

The “Texas Spread”™ is in effect for these, they’re about $2+ a bottle on the sites in TX that I’ve checked so far.

Santa Ema is the unofficial wine of Brad and Jen Haugh and they recommend it with Nachas and Conger eel. Tranquilo!

Now for some news- check out this story (via Reason). Basically, Texan wine distributors are being asses again.