I was actually quite content to let this blog (and my dad’s) sit out there in the ether, at the very least as a way to capture points in time in our lives (since I’m terrible with taking pictures and organizing keepsakes). But some malicious spammers apparently had other plans.

I got an emergency post from my web host a few days ago. Spam was being sent from their servers, and it was traced back to my account, and what did I know about it. Answer: Nothing. But sure enough, it seemed to be stemming from an older version of this blog. Since it was outdated anyway, I just deleted it straight up.

Fast forward one day, and it turns out the same problem is happening from my dad’s blog. Deletion isn’t an option here, and so I decide it’s time to take a stand and upgrade the WordPress software for both of our blogs.

It’s been a while (longer in the case of my dad’s blog), so I don’t have the auto-upgrade capability handy for either one. And while it’s really not a terribly difficult process, it feels quite heavy – kinda like how you don’t want to go through that stack of mail, even though it’s only five letters… and before you know it, you’re a month behind on mail and now you really don’t want to deal with it.

But here we are on the other side, 99% successful. I’m late to the party, but I love the new WordPress console design, and I’m really looking forward to the auto-upgrade feature. Yet to be determined if the easier upgrade process means I’ll write more.

A while back, a friend posted a link to 100 things to try before you die in San Francisco. My mouth watered as I read over the list, but alas, it was all quite superficial since I didn’t have any familiarity with these restaurants.

I shared the article on Yelp Talk, and much to my surprise, the Seattle Yelp community started filling in a similar list for Seattle! Little did I realize at the time, however, that a similar list had been formed a few months prior. I’ve merged the two together, nixed duplicates, and added a few of my favorites to give a list similar to what they offered for San Francisco. Enticing photos included!

Now, on to the list, in no particular order…

1. Sunset Supper at Pike Place Market (every year on August 14!)
2. Pumpkin Cream Puff at Hiroki
3. Caviar Tasting at Seattle Caviar Company
4. A Scone with Jam at The Crumpet Shop
5. Midnight Cuban Sandwich at Paseo
   
   Photo taken by Eli E
    
6. Verde Burger at Red Mill Burgers
7. Coconut Cream Pie at Dahlia Lounge
8. Lavendar Goat Cheese Fondue at The Palace Kitchen
9. A Salami Sandwich at Salumi
10. Turkish Delight at Turkish Delight




11. Vanilla Cone at Peaks Frozen Custard
12. Fried Chicken and Rolls at Ezell’s Fried Chicken
13. XY Cabernet at Stevens Winery
14. Deluxe Burger, Fries, and Chocolate Shake at Dick’s
15. Clam Chowder at Ivar’s Fish Bar
    
    Photo taken by Christopher M
     
16. Macrina Fried Egg Sandwich at Macrina Bakery & Cafe
17. BBQ Pork from Kau Kau Barbeque
18. The Chicken at Bizzarro Italian Cafe
19. Lunar Orbiter at SkyCity at the Needle
20. Blueberry Oat Bar at Top Pot Doughnuts




21. Crawfish Etouffee at Alligator Soul
22. Maguro with Seared Foie Gras, Shiitake, and Red Wine Reduction at Nishino
23. The Black Rye at Three Girls Bakery
24. African Amber at Mac & Jack’s Brewery
25. Mini Doughnuts at Daily Dozen Doughnut Company
    
    Photo taken by Kim K
     
26. Twice Baked Almond Croissant at Bakery Nouveau
27. Lamb Gyro at Mr. Gyros
28. Braised Fish Pot at Tamarind Tree
29. El Diablo at Tango
30. Grilled Cheese and Tomato Cappuccino at Oliver’s Twist




31. Falafel at Hallava Falafel
32. Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcake at Trophy Cupcakes
33. Cream Cheese Dog at a local hot dog stand
34. Pho at Pho Cyclo Cafe
35. Apple Cinnamon Roll at Piroshky Piroshky
    
    Photo taken by Lisa A
     
36. The Darkness at Sparkman Cellars
37. The Greek Hobo at Voula’s Offshore Cafe
38. A sample of chocolates at Theo Chocolate after a factory tour
39. Lavender and Honey Ice Cream at Molly Moon’s Ice Cream
40. Mussels at Four Swallows




41. French Toast Vegan Doughnut at Mighty-O Doughnuts
42. New England Clam Chowder at Pike Place Chowder
43. Dulce de Leche Ice Cream at Mora Iced Creamery
44. Brisket Plate at Lock & Keel Tavern
45. Eggs Benedict at Glo’s
    
    Photo taken by Jessica Y
     
46. Pain au Chocolat at Le Panier
47. A Mojito at La Casa del Mojito
48. Spicy Beef Noodle Soup at Szechuan Noodle Bowl
49. Fuji Apple Crab Roll at Red Fin
50. Ham & Swiss Pastry at Cafe Besalu




51. Mini Don and Mini Katsudon at Tsukushinbo (Thursday lunch special)
52. Sesame Beef at Moonlight Cafe
53. The Number Three at Shorty’s
54. Beautiful Stephanie at Espresso Vivace
55. Mac & Cheese at Beecher’s Handmade Cheese
    
    Photo taken by Vegas M
     
56. Churrasco de Lomo at Buenos Aires Grill
57. Italian Grinder at Royal Grinders
58. Onion Tart at Txori
59. Shiro-Maki at Shiro’s
60. Seared Sea Scallops at How to Cook a Wolf




61. French Toast at Cafe Nola
62. Weekend Supper Club at Art of the Table
63. Pan Roasted Anderson Valley Lamb T-Bone at Stumbling Goat
64. Pere de Famille at Betz Winery
65. Texas Funeral Fudge Cake at Icon Grill
    
    Photo taken by Dessert Friday Girls
     
66. Crispy Kurobuta Pork Belly Confit at Restaurant Zoë
67. Rack of Wild Boar, Coffee Crusted at Preservation Kitchen
68. Tagliatelle al Burro di Tartufo at Osteria La Spiga
69. Steak Frites at Bis on Main
70. Pahd See Iew at Thaiku




71. Albondigas at La Carta de Oaxaca
72. Gâteau au Foie de Volaille at Le Pichet
73. Ravioli de Hummus y Trufa at Pomodoro Ristorante Italiano
74. A $10 Margarita at Ocho
75. Fresh Spring Rolls at Green Leaf
    
    Photo taken by A M
     
76. Brioche French Toast at 35th Street Bistro Restaurant
77. Seafood Risotto at Saltoro
78. Gnocchi alla Romana at The Pink Door
79. Baklava from Continental Restaurant & Pastry Shop
80. Gianduia Gelato at Bottega Italiano




81. Hushpuppies at Catfish Corner
82. Pan-Fried Cornmeal-Crusted Catfish Sandwich at Matt’s in the Market
83. Alder Grilled Alaskan Salmon Trio at Ivar’s Salmon House
84. Calamari at ART Lounge
85. Grand Marnier Souffle at Canlis
    
    Photo taken by Tingting H
     
86. Wild Boar Sloppy Joe at Quinn’s
87. Dark Chocolate Mocha at El Diablo Coffee Co
88. Hot Pot at Seven Stars Pepper Szechuan Restaurant
89. A Dessert with Avocado Ice Cream at Sutra
90. Bread Pudding at Boat Street Cafe




91. Garganelli with Rabbit Bolognese at Union
92. Menage-a-Thai at Root Table
93. Jolie Bouche Syrah at Efeste Wines
94. Chicken with Asparagus Risotto at Il Terrazzo Carmine
95. Omakase at Taka Sushi
96. Nutella & Banana Crepe at Saley
97. Island Soul in a Bowl at Island Soul
98. Sierra Chicken Sandwich at Michou Fresca
99. A Beef Mulita at Tacos El Asadero
100. Pumpkin Cookie at Cinnamon Works

So how many have you tried? I’m ashamed to admit – only 9 for me!! I’ve got some work to do.

Side note: Now that this is posted, I’ll work on a FB app to track it like they have in San Francisco. Stay tuned!

I’ve been itching to record and review my different experiences, and I guess bringing back my blog is a great place for that! Plus, I was inspired by a friend of a friend posting pictures of his cooking escapades on Facebook. Hopefully my pictures will look half as delicious… =X

On to the recipe!! It’s adapted from one of my old 20/20 packets, which in turn was adapted from Jane Brody’s Good Food Gourmet.

Ingredients

• 4 cups nonfat, low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 medium carrots, peeled & thinly sliced
• 2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
• 2 large cloves garlic, peeled & grated
  This is double the recipe amount
• 1 teaspoon grated gingerroot
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  This is 4x the recipe amount… I like spicy
• 2 fresh roma tomatoes
  The recipe called for plum tomatoes, but WF didn’t have ‘em
• 20oz cooked crab meat
  The recipe called for 8oz, I upped it for protein. Can also use chicken.
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 Tablespoon chopped mint leaves
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan, combine the broth, carrots, celery, garlic, gingerroot, paprika, and pepper flakes. Bring the ingredients to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and cook the mixture for 5 minutes or until the carrots are tender-crisp.
2. Quarter the tomatoes lengthwise, then cut the wedges in half crosswise. Add them to the soup along with the remaining ingredients. Simmer the soup for 3 minutes or until the mushrooms and tomatoes are heated through.
3. Taste Mods: At this point I tasted it, and added some more red pepper flakes and 2 more tablespoons of lemon juice. The additions made the broth perfect – moderately spicy with a bit of sour.

Pictures

Carrots chopped. Cheated with the celery. Got a pack pre-chopped from the WF salad bar.

My first time using fresh ginger root. It smelled so good!

After step 1. My kitchen starts to smell good!

The tomatoes and mushrooms are chopped and ready.

I heart fake crab. For real. I could eat it every day.

Ack!! Too much crab!! The pot is filled to the brim!

Makes 4 servings… which means 3 helpings of leftovers!

Review

Big Bunny Rating: Scrumptious! [4/5]

Even for someone who is as deficient at veggie chopping as I am, this recipe was pretty straight forward. It took about 45 minutes total (the recipe advertises 25 mins prep time).

As you probably noticed from the picture, the recipe was crab-heavy. It was definitely a chunky soup!! It tasted a bit fishy with all of that crab, but the “hot and sour” nature of the broth definitely shone through. Can’t wait for leftovers!

“No, no, no,” my cousin said. “A cast that big, you need a good story to go along with it. Something about defending a helpless person against a gang of hooligans, and you managed to beat them all up, but broke your wrist in the process.”

Along those lines, I’d like to tell you that there was a big, important reason that my blogs been throwing errors for the past two months. Something to do with upgrades at Site5, or new management, or aliens taking over the server. But sadly, my support ticket was answered within 10 minutes, stating that the permissions on a couple files were wrong, but now they were working correctly.

And once again… we’re back.

During recent downtime, I’ve been thinking about whether a blog was something I wanted to invest in. My love for writing has not gone away, but thankfully Yelp has been a good outlet. I’ve even used it to archive past vacations, if you want to quickly catch up to what I’ve been doing since I last blogged.

But in the end, Yelp isn’t enough. There’s more to writing than reviews!! So the blog is resurrected, and inspiration willing, so is the content.

My entryway and kitchen

The living room

The Space Needle from my balcony

Downtown from my balcony

Since Independence Day was yesterday, I got to see a fair few Fireworks from my balcony! I took a few videos and posted them to Flickr, but my favorite is this one:

If you know me, you know that I’m an Eddie Izzard fanatic. If you think you are too, then run through the abbreviated checklist below, and see if you’re ready to see him live.

1. You can answer, “Cake or death?” without a moment’s hesitation.
2. You administer the Heimlich maneuver with a frying pan (and you feel like a tank commander when you do so).
3. You order penne al’arrabiata at Italian restaurants to feel a bit like Darth Vader. But you’re disappointed when it doesn’t come with peas.
4. You can’t saw a plank of wood in half without thinking that you’re punching a baboon.
5. You’ve asked, “Do you have a flag?” at least 10 times in casual conversation.
6. You pronounce herbs with an audible “h,” because there’s a f*cking h in it.
7. You secretly laugh whenever you meet someone named Jeff, and wonder if his last name is Jefftyjeff.
8. You appreciate that Eddie took the time to close the window after throwing the cat out.
9. When the June 26 New York Times says, “On this day in history, Kennedy gave his ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ / ‘I am a Berliner’ speech,” you know what he really said.
10. You know the true role of rabbits and chocolate eggs in Easter.

These are just the first 10 that came to mind. What’s your favorite?

Omaha is often thought of as part of “flyover” country – a different world within the United States. When I was in high school, a girl who transferred in from the coast was afraid she’d be riding horses to school.

Well, that’s one rumor I want to put to rest today. People in Omaha (and the rest of Nebraska) have cars, just like everyone else. What’s more, unlike Boston, we don’t feel the need to explicitly prohibit horses on the freeway – it’s generally understood that they aren’t allowed.

That’s a real sign on the on-ramp to I-95 / Rte 128 in Newton, MA, just outside of Boston. I would think the horse indication wouldn’t be necessary, but what do I know. I guess the culture in Omaha is just too modern for me to understand Boston’s ways.

Even though it’s old news by now, some of the pictures are pretty cool. Even if you saw them on my iPod, I’ve added commentary and interesting facts, so you should take another look. You can browse my entire Flickr stream if you want; after the jump, I go through some of the highlights.

Day 1 Photos

Shipra and I on top of Barcelona Cathedral

La Merce: Highest Human Tower competition

Day 2 Photos

The Square at Park Guell, with Barcelona in the distance

“Pretty cool, right?”

Days 3 + 4 Photos

On the roof of Casa Mila, with Sagrada Familia in the distance

Day 5 Photos

Jon and I at lunch. I’m doing the Colbert point behind that ladle

Day 6 Photos

The long climb up to the hermitage at San Juan de Gaztelugatxe

Once you make it up, ring the bell three times and make a wish

Day 7 + Departure Photos

Shipra and I with Jon’s parents on our last day

A New Portfolio
However long I dreamed of this blog redesign before I actually acted on it, I’ve been dreaming of a portfolio redesign for much, much longer. Over the past couple years (and especially the past two weeks) I’ve gone down a number of different roads, yet none of them really seemed to express me in just the right way.

After a ton of iteration, I ended up with yet another primarily-grayscale design. Only it’s darker this time.

You can check it out at the same ol’ URL: zszaiss.com. I always welcome feedback!

A Diminishing National Average?
I’ve been trying to decide where the best place is to house a Savings account. Lately, we’ve been bombarded with ads from e*trade telling us that their rates are 8x the national average:

Aside from being hilarious, this ad was pretty effective. Ten days ago, I decided to jump on e*trade and check things out: And sure enough, the interest rate was 4%, among the highest I could find in my searching. It beat ING (my current bank) by 1%, so I started thinking of switching.

Well, today, I was ready to act on it, but when I returned to open a savings account, I found this:

Interesting. E*trade has gone from being 1% higher than ING to being only 0.1% higher.

Now, I know that the rates fluctuate; ING has fallen victim to this too. But this seems like a drastic reduction in a very short period of time; almost like e*trade might have debuted with a super high interest rate and then started lowering it once they got people signed up.

Any tips on the best place to hold a Savings account? ING has served me pretty well for over 3 years, but if there’s another unheard of bank out there with better rates, I’d love to learn.

Blog Upgrade Time
Wordpress 2.5 has been released, and as with all WordPress releases, I’m hesitant. Positive reviews like the one on Scott Berkun’s blog make me feel a little more reassured, but I can’t help but think back to the early days. I started with a WordPress install and a WordPress-approved theme. And yet, each time I went to upgrade, something inevitably went wrong. On the latest upgrade (right before I launched Zaissian Logic), it broke the theme all together.

So now, here I am, rolling my own theme. Do I really have more confidence in my abilities to make a theme than I do in one approved by WordPress? (… of course… I do…). It’s all enough to give me pause when I read an article on TechCrunch about Six Apart incenting WordPress users to switch. Movable Type does look interesting, but… at what point have I already invested enough energy making a WordPress theme that a switch wouldn’t be worth the cost?

Any advice for a good blog engine? Or is WordPress 2.5 the way to go?

As someone who has an outside-the-norm view on a few movies, I really enjoyed reading this interpretation of Fight Club. It’s almost seven years old, but it was new to me, and I thought it was great.

The idea is that the movie Fight Club is a continuation of the Calvin & Hobbes comic strips, some 15-20 years later. The author offers a lot of great comparisons, and overall it’s very enjoyable reading.

The one point that I got caught up on was an overlooked distinction between Hobbes and Tyler Durden: Whereas Tyler was purely imaginary (his actions were really “Jack’s” actions), Hobbes wasn’t 100% imaginary. He was a stuffed animal who came to life (in Calvin’s mind anyway):

Does this hurt the theory or add to it? The latter, I think. The notion that Calvin got made fun of in 7th grade would only be that much worse if he had a stuffed animal that came to life. So when the imaginary friend (Tyler Durden) comes back with a vengeance, avoiding a real manifestation for Tyler would make sense in Calvin’s / Jack’s troubled psyche.

Maybe it’s putting too much thought into Fight Club… but those are the types of movie theories I love! I hope you enjoy it.