Serendipity ala Groupon brings Indian pizza home for dinner tonight

I was trying to decide what I wanted to do about dinner tonight when Groupon popped up telling me there was an offer nearby.  I pulled off of Cornell and up came an offer from Curry & Crust, an Indian restaurant with a twist...pizza(?!?) of all things.  I had seen the name driving past a few times but had never had a chance to stop before so I decided to give the offer a try. 

I got my large Butter Chicken Pizza to go and took it home. 

The pizza was topped with Home made sauce with  Onions, Green Peppers, Cheese,chicken  and topped with makhani sauce.  I have to say that first of all Butter Chicken is one of my favorite Indian dishes.  Putting it on top of pizza is a gimmick for sure, but one that works.  The flavor was smooth and creamy, with just enough curry and chili to balance the butter and make this a winner.  They got me there with the intrigue of pizza, but I'll be going back in to try a more traditional Indian meal with a variety of dishes after the flavor and quality of this pizza.

If you want a unique pizza experience or are just looking for great Indian food give Curry & Crust a try.

iPhone 7 plus Cases are taking over my life!

In less than a month I've already been sent eight cases to review for the iPhone 7 plus, and I can only guess how many more will come before the end of the year.  From clear TPU cases to leather and hard rubber durable portfolio cases they vary widely in material, level of protection, and price points but they will all provide some level of protection for your new phone. 

SaharaCase Protective Kit Bundle​

The SaharaCase bundle includes not only a clear TPU ​case but also comes with a tempered glass screen protector.  They even go so far as to provide a clip on guide that makes sure that the screen protector goes on straight and perfectly aligned.  While not the most durable material, the combination of the TPU and tempered glass on the screen makes for a pretty good solution for the $21.99 that Amazon is asking for the kit.  I actually received this before the phone launch and had it with me when I picked up my phone at the Apple Store and it impressed the sales staff at the store with how easy it made application of the screen protector.

​Encased iPhone 7 plus belt clip case

The iPhone 7 plus belt clip case from Encased is pretty impressive for the $11.80 that Amazon is charging.  The soft touch hard rubber case has a kickstand that pops out to prop your phone up on any solid surface, and the belt clip case is lined with micro fiber cloth to cushion and protect your screen when secured.  It wraps more than a quarter inch around the edge to ensure a good hold.  This is a good case for the money, I just don't like the length of the motion needed to slide the case in and out of the clip mechanism.

iPhone 7 Plus Wallet Card Case, ProCase

The iPhone 7 plus wallet card case from ProCase is as bare bones as a case can get.  Thin molded hard plastic with a slot to hold a single credit card or ID, this case offers the bare minimum of protection.  It will protect the metal of your phone but nothing else.  For $11.99 most buyers won't expect much more but compared to the belt clip case from encased this is almost over priced.

JACK SPADE Cell Phone Case for Apple iPhone 7 Plus - Fulton Tan / Navy

The Jack Spade color-block case is constructed of hard TPU wrapped in quality leather.  It adds a little bulk to the phone but is just thick enough that it sets out from the back far enough to protect the camera lens and sets off from the front to prevent the screen from hitting if it lands flat on the front.  It is decent quality leather and feels good in the hand.  I don't know if it feels worth the $39.99 price tag, but it is of a higher quality than the no-name brands. 

Fancy Fatboy Snack

Alright, Fatkids! My wife is a true "fatboy" at heart, and introduced me to a rad combo this weekend.  

Get you some Grand Margaux Brie cheese (Freddie's has a good selection) some "Effie's Oat Cakes" or "Lesley Stowe: Raincost Oat Crisps" and "Mike's Hot Honey"

Cake/Crisp, slice of Brie, drizzle of hot honey! Holy Crap! 

Pair with a big Red Blend or Whole cluster Pinot Noir?! Ohhhhh man! 

Get you some of that!!

Paradise in British Columbia

This summer, the family and I were fortunate enough to take a week long vacation to Hornby Island B.C. (Ohhhh Canadaaaa!) Hornby is a small gulf island between Vancouver Island and... well, Vancouver.  A picture will give more perspective.

Hornby island in the Strait of Georgia

From our starting point in Hillsboro, Or, it was a 7 hour drive to the border - 12 hours if you count awful traffic from Tacoma to well passed Seattle... While we are stuck in traffic, let's stop in the Emerald City and get some amazing food. It's Xiao Long Bao time! Fat Boys.. listen up!! Do you like amazing Asian soups? Do you like Dumplings? Of course you do! It's time for you to get to Din Tai Fung! There are two locations in the Seattle Metro, and 4 locations in Cali.

Din Tai Fung was founded in Taipei, Taiwan in 1958 as a cooking oil retail shop. In 1972, it transitioned into a full fledged restaurant specializing in soup dumplings and noodles, and now a 1 Michelin star, expanding dumpling empire.

Family style! So we tried almost everything

I highly recommend any of the Xiao Long Bao, and the shrimp and pork wontons.. The co-mingling of flavors in these dishes is other-worldly.. Fragrant, savory and the perfect amount of heat.. I'm still looking for an excuse to take the train up to Seattle just to eat there again. The University Village location comes complete with a beautiful outdoor commerce park... You'll have plenty of shopping time while you wait for a table at this establishment. WORTH IT!

After filling ourselves with MSG greatness - it was time to get back on the road. Since we weren't able to get a reservation on a mid day ferry from Vancouver, we decided to stay the night at the border and grab the 7:45am Ferry from Tsawassen (Pronounced Swasson). We stayed in Blaine, Wa which is just a cute little border town. You can see the border crosssing and Vancouver from the park across from our hotel..  

Looking at 2 different countries at sunset

Up dark an early to get across the border just in case there was a line... There was not! Needless to say we made it to our Ferry SUPER early.. This was my first time on a ship this big, or any ship in the ocean for that matter. My wife has been making this trip since she was little, so it was "old hat" for her.

My girls on the deck of "The Coastal Inspiration"  

Once we were done with this roughly 2 hour sailing, it was time for about another hour drive to Nanaimo. Here we would catch a much smaller cable ferry that would take us to Denman Island (about 10 minutes). Once we departed onto Denman island it was a short drive across the island to, you guessed it, one more ferry.. On this small cable ferry our final destination for the next several days can be seen.

Hornby Island is an absolute gem. Gorgeous scenery, interesting people and did I mention it's going to be between 75-80 degrees and sunny our whole stay? Yup! 

Angela's grandpa lives on the island with his girlfriend.. Yep, Girlfriend! John and Helen are THE BEST!! Since John lives with Helen down the road, he let's family come stay at his place... I was in love the minute I saw it. 

This is the back yard

This was the front yard! 

We drank, we ate very well, watched amazing sunsets every night... "Happy Hour" with John and Helen were definite highlights. 

We can't wait to go back and stay again.  

Grassy Point - Amazing sunsets to guzzle with the eyes

My daughter loving the beach at sunset

Angela and I having dinner at the Sea Breeze Dining hall. Great experience!! 

Nice day to hike Heliwell Provincial Park.. 

My most favorite pic of the trip. Waiting for our ferry on the way back home

It's Tuesday, so of course I found brunch on a downtown food truck in Columbus, OH

In the category of "it's a small world" we have today's lunch.I was out for a walk exploring downtown Columbus, Ohio and spotted a food truck in a parking lot down a side street.You know how I love food trucks, so I had to at least see what they had to offer.

Turns out the truck is owned and run by a Portland native who graduated from Western Culinary back in the last of the classes before it was sold to Le Cordon Blue.  He calls his truck "Broke Johnny's" and he just bought it a few weeks ago, but if he keeps serving breakfast like this he's going to have to change the name because he won't be broke for long.

I had a chance to try two items from his menu today his breakfast sandwich and what he tells me has become his signature dish, the Ham and Cheese waffle.

The breakfast sandwich from Broke Johnny's

​The breakfast sandwich is simple perfection. Thin sliced ham is thrown onto the flattop to heat up and get some caramelization. It's thrown onto toasted sourdough or marble rye, with a nice medium egg and American cheese. The beauty is in the quality of the ham and a perfectly cooked egg that is just a little runny making mayonnaise unnecessary.

Broke Johnny's Ham & Cheese Waffle  

The master stroke though was the Ham & Cheese Waffle.  A perfectly crisped waffle is spread with whipped butter then topped with cheese, chunks of fried ham, and then smothered in Johnny's bacon-bourbon sauce with big chunks of bacon.  The combination is truly amazing.  If I hadn't already had the breakfast sandwich he tells me that it's even better when you have a nice egg over the top of it (and what brunch isn't).

If you're in Columbus, track him down and give his brunch truck a try.   

A #Feast Grand Tasting in The Rain

It was a wet afternoon but that didn't stop hundreds of food lovers from around the country from converging on Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square once again for Bob Appetite's fifth annual FeastPDX Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting this weekend. 

This was out third year at the event, and the Second that Jimmie was able to join me.  Carrie ended up being out of town for work this weekend so it was just Jimmie, Angela, and me there this afternoon. 

The event was the usual blend of Pacific Northwest brewers, wineries, and food companies ranging from fruit growers to boutique sauce makers and creameries. 

After three consecutive years there were not a lot of surprises or even original ideas in presentation unfortunately for many of them.  There are only so many things to change in a crowded IPA marketplace to stand out, and not much Ponzi or Stoller can do to change the taste of 2014 and 2015 vintages of their Pinot Noir.  Similarly there's only so many things that you can do to highlight cheddar cheese on a cracker. 

There were however a few things that stood out this time around that you should be on the lookout for at local stores. 

Farmhouse Culture brought a line of Probiotic and Fermented foods that blow me away.  The Gut Shot probiotics had amazing flavor and were smooth as silk going down.  They will be available at Whole Foods and New Seasons stores in Oregon and Washington this week and at Whole Foods national stores soon. 

The folks at Stumptown were showing off coffee sodas along side their now legendary cold brew. 

The biggest new product surprise for us this year was actually a beverage that we were all suspicious of when we approached the booth.  When you think of Portland you think of a lot of things, but Portland Sangria is out to add something new to the conversation and we were amazed by this sangria in a can. 

A blend of Marionberry, red raspberry, and wine that could only be found in the Willamette Valley was a pleasant surprise and the two new flavors they had on tap to taste which they plan to release next year (lemon rosemary and blueberry basil) were even better.  I know it doesn't look like much, but you won't be sorry if you pick this up before the end of your day.

 The rest of the Grand Tasting was a lot of the same folks that we saw last year.  All of the major brewing company and winery folks were there.  It was a wet and wonderful afternoon. 

Milestone days

There are days that are important in life.  Days that matter.  Days that stick out in our past that we will never forget no matter what else we experience in the future.  Today didn't feel like one of those days when I woke up, but as I'm writing this I know that it is. 

Some of those important days in my past I had to endure rather than celebrate, like the first time I celebrated a birthday without my dad.  Some of them I didn't know were important milestones until weeks or months after they had passed like the day I met my amazing wife.  Rarely but thankfully some of them I have recognized as special as they were happening, and that meant I could capture them in detail and save a piece of that day forever.

As I sat with my wife and family watching my son enter the gym of his High School in his cap and gown this afternoon the importance of the day hit me full force.  I experienced something that connected me to what my parents felt 22 years ago when I made a similar journey into a similar gymnasium 60 miles from here.  I flashed back in that instant to the moment eleven years and fifty-one weeks ago when my son walked with my daughter out of their foster home to our car for their first overnight visit to our home.  I recalled all the visits to school principals, counsellors, IEP meetings, and case workers.  My son has come so far from the lonely broken little boy we adopted that some of those memories shocked me to think about. 

When we met with his first grade teacher we were told our son had severe learning issues and radical social interaction problems.  We were cautioned that he was more than 18 months behind his peers academically and he might never catch up in a traditional classroom environment.  Carrie and I agonized over what to do, but after a lot of prayer and counsel decided we would hold him back a year but not let them give up and move him into special education classes. 

There are many of those moments from my past I'm proud of, and many more I'm not.  There is nothing that gives me more pride than seeing what my boy was able to accomplish today.   It wasn't easy for him.  He had to work hard and find his own ways to make sense of the world around him.  He had to study harder than I did at his age because things didn't come as easily to him.  He never backed down.  Never quit trying.  Never let anyone tell him something was beyond his ability.  And today that little boy they said needed special education graduated with honors.  

So it's one of those days, and I couldn't be happier.

A tale of two very different cameras....

In August of last year a group of former Holga camera employees from Hong Kong decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign to launch a digital version of the beloved asian toy camera.  The original Holga debuted in 1982, and has since become a favorite of many artists due to the lack of complexity and flexibility.  Their goal was to get the $50,000 dollars needed to begin production, but demand was so great that they exceeded that goal in just 4 days.  Ultimately the project exceeded $300,000 and more than 2500 backers during the 60 days it was active on Kickstarter and they continue to get orders via Indiegogo here.

The camera is as low tech as a digital camera can get, owing very much to its roots as a toy camera.  With a manual shutter lever, exposure time is as flexible as possible and hard to gauge.  In addition, the only selections possible are a switch on the bottom to toggle between BW and Color modes, and the power dial on top allowing you to select between simulating 135 or 120 film.  You additionally have the option of attaching the flash or not via the hot shoe on top.  Everything else is done by feel and experience alone.  As you can see from the sample images below even with very little automatic control the camera provides decent quality and good dynamic range.

Picture of flowers taken with the Holga Digital

Picture of shelf with kickstarter rewards taken with Holga Digital and a flash

Lytro's Illium is by contrast one of the most advanced digital cameras ever made

The second camera I received is the Lytro Illum, an extremely advanced camera using what is called Light Field imaging to capture all of the available light in each pixel.  This not only provides superior dynamic range, but allows for what Lytro calls "living pictures" because by capturing all of the light in the lenses field of view you have the ability to change the depth of field and point of focus after acquiring the image data.  In addition, the technology allows the camera to export 3D images.  With manual focus, 8x optical zoom, and dynamic range equivalent to 80-3200ISO it is perhaps the most advanced still camera ever built with a single lens.

As you can see from the linked pictures below, you can share images that the viewer can choose a point of focus in on demand, a feature unique to Light Field technology.  At an MSRP of $1300 this is an amazingly expensive camera, but incredibly fun to use.  If it could shoot video as well it could be the perfect all around camera.  Fortunately, Lytro has moved on to trying to change cinematography and as result the camera can be found on Amazon for $387 dollars from some vendors.

Whiskey with Friends: Two very different whiskeys

When my buddy Keith asked if I wanted to get together to catch up on life this week I started thinking about what whiskey I was going to take with me.  When the forecast called for a dry warm spring evening (rare here in Oregon) I knew we would be sitting around the fire. 

I decided on two different whiskeys, one that I had tasted but never reviewed and a new and exciting single malt that says fire pit and barbecue the minute you taste it.  I.W. Harper is an old brand recently relaunched after being pulled from the shelves of U.S. stores in 1980 when Bourbon was losing popularity to scotch and other liquors to preserve it's brand identity in Japan.  Once the most famous bourbon in the world, by 1966 it was available in 110 countries and the best selling bourbon worldwide, becoming immortalized as the drink of 007 in Ian Fleming's 1963 novel "In Her Majesty's Secret Service".  35 years later I.W. Harper is back, and once again being distilled at the old Bernheim Distillery in Louisville, KY.  In contrast we have the Colkegan from Sante Fe Spirits in Sante Fe, NM.  Sante Fe Spirits has a unique process, and it's best to use the information from their website to describe it:

"Like its Scottish single malt cousins, Santa Fe Spirits’ Colkegan Single Malt Whiskey is made entirely from malted barley, carefully distilled, and aged and finished in various oak casks to enhance the complex flavors inherent to true single malt whiskey. But there are key differences that set this remarkable spirit apart from its Scottish relatives.

While peat-smoked malt has always been a key ingredient in many well known Scotch whiskies, Santa Fe Spirits’ Colkegan Single Malt Whiskey’s wonderfully complex flavor profile benefits from a very different type of smoked malt utilized by no other distillery in the world. The result is a smooth, mellow, mysteriously balanced hint of smoky complexity unique to Santa Fe Spirits.

Santa Fe Spirits’ Colkegan Single Malt Whiskey’s unique barrel aging process also separates it from its low-altitude relatives. Santa Fe Spirits is located 7,000 feet above sea level in the high desert and utilizes a climate-controlled barrel warehouse with temperatures ranging from freezing cold to swelteringly hot, and humidities ranging from bone dry to unbelievably damp. A strict regimen of climate changes yields a spirit with amazing complexity unrivaled by more temperate warehouses."

The I.W. Harper is a full bodied and complex whiskey.  The nose is sweet, with strong notes of caramel and honey.  It starts with that same sweetness on the front of the palate, followed quickly by a faint leather and wood flavor, finishing smoothly in sweet honey and green grass bordering on citrus.  A wonderful whiskey to sip any time, and a quick hit with everyone tasting this night.

The Colkegan is an interesting taste.  On the nose it is remarkably sweet.  Caramel and almost butterscotch tempt you to taste.  Once you do you are quickly surprised by the unique smoke that sets Sante Fe's process apart:  rather than smoking the malted barley with peat they use what is available in the desert southwest, mesquite.  The amazingly full flavored smokiness of the whiskey dominates, and quickly fades leaving a vague sweet honey aftertaste that you never fully taste on the palate.  This is the perfect whisky to sip in front of the fireplace or even better around the campfire on a summer night.

The folks at Caskers.com came through again, and I look forward to more time with friends sitting around and sipping great whiskey.

GeekFuel, Wet Shave Club, Nerd Block C2E2 Special, and LootCrate in pictures

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so these are worth a few days worth of writing I guess.  Some great stuff this month, and some things that will be going to the kids too.  Have a look, and make sure to subscribe to these great services if you like what you see. 

Kickstarted: SharkTooth 16-1 Survival wearable

Sometimes a kickstarter project comes along and just makes you say "How the hell do people think of these things?".  The SharkTooth was initially one of them for me, but now that I have it in hand it makes total sense.  A simple laser cut pendant at first glance, upon closer inspection it is easy to see how useful this tiny tool could be. Besides the ten wrenches cut into the center it is easy to see the saw blade on one edge and knife edge opposite.  Harder to see until you hold it is the shape of the point besides being able to sharpen into a spear or arrow point also has a diamond shape which makes it usable as a Phillips head screw driver. 

Designed by the minds at Archwing LLC. in Madison, WI as part of what they are calling their Tactical Apparel venture, it really is a marvelous design.  They will soon be available for order from this website. 

Time passes, life changes

Seventeen years ago today my life was a lot different than it is now, and what I thought my life would end up looking like bears no resemblance to current circumstances.  I was living in the house I grew up in down in Woodburn, OR back then.  I worked as a Tier 2 support representative for Dell computers and had just broken up with a long distance girl friend who lived in New Jersey.  The breakup had been rough enough on me that I was thinking leaving my job and becoming a monk at the Mt. Angel Abbey might be a good way for me to put my years of religious study to use. 

One year to the day later would find me waking up in a hotel room with my little brother the day before my wedding.  It was the kind of change only God could bring into reality.  I had met an amazing woman, my career had taken off and I was now managing technical support team I was part of the year before.  Carrie and I would be moving into the first home I would ever own instead of rent.  And still, on that day I had the audacity to think I knew what my future might hold.  Kids, career growth, I was thinking this was a sign it was all going to get better from here.  

Our Wedding party, March 4th 2000

Fast forward four years and life hasn't been what that 24 year old dreamed and planned for the day before his wedding.  We bought a new house to be closer to my job and I was later off a month later.  My dad went in for an angiogram and never made it out of the hospital after bypass surgery led to a fatal secondary infection.  The kids we had hoped would come right away doctors are telling us will never come.  The difference is now I'm not alone, I have an amazing wife, and we are resolved to follow the path God puts us on instead of worrying about what we don't have that we had anticipated and dreamed of. 

So 12 years ago today Carrie and I were in the hotel room she had booked for a romantic weekend to celebrate our 4th Anniversary.  Instead of celebrating we were pouring through hundreds of pages of case files, praying about whether a young brother and sister were supposed to be our kids.  One year to the day later, a process the State DFS worker told us takes 18-24 months was finished and a family court judge signed the papers changing their names and making them ours forever. 

Our family is official, with the Judge and DFS case worker

Fast forward 11 years and our lives have certainly changed and been stretched by these two amazing additions to our family.  That cute little boy, who came to us with reports from school that he had a hard time learning is about to graduate from High School with a better than 3.0 GPA.  His little sister, who we were warned had more severe learning issues and may always need occupational therapy starts her first job in 2 hours and will graduate next year.  Carrie is in LA today, but is flying all night to make it home so that we can celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary tomorrow.

Tonight, I get to take my son and daughter to dinner to celebrate another Adoption Day.

Take a break from your digital leash and be present with your date or family thanks to new Kickstarter project

How many times have you been at dinner with your partner or family and spent more time looking at the phone screen than the person across the table from you. 

Hiatus Box wants to serve as a playful yet functional reminder for us to take time to unplug and stay focused on life.  A timer and magnetic sidelocks built into the lid mean you can set a time limit to ensure uninterrupted time with those you love.  Rewards are fairly easy to earn.  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/856608334/the-hiatus-box-bringing-back-real-facetime