Something Random

Newtun

Storage is nice, especially if it doesn't rotate
Joined
Nov 21, 2002
Messages
482
Location
Virginia
Dios de Los Muertos: Days of the Dead. Nov 1-2.

To celebrate, I went out to a favorite Mexican restaurant for my favorite Mexican dish, carnitas. 😋

I told the guy "If you'll pardon my French, Feliz Dios de Los Muertos." He took my money.
 
Last edited:

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
Joined
Jan 17, 2002
Messages
22,240
Location
I am omnipresent
Halloween is stripper Christmas. The peak of cosplay season, plus we live along the beautiful coast of Lake Michigan for all the fall photo opportunities. I've been busy a lot this month. Ironically, Halloween itself was the only night in the past few weeks I didn't have anything scheduled. I can't say anything about Day of the Dead, but bless whomever decided that October means dressing up and wanting pictures taken in either leaves or abandoned buildings.

The National Park is currently buying up random homes that are surrounded by the Indiana Dunes, so there are a lot of hidden places along Route 12/20 that haven't been lived in or cleaned up at all but also haven't been torn down or touched in years. They're great for spooky-season needs. I always want to do more in abandoned industrial and commercial real estate but I never know how safe it will be. I've done photo shoots in the Gary Methodist Church and Horace Mann High School, both well-known for anyone involved in Urban Exploration. One of my FAVORITE shooting locations is actually an abandoned parking garage across the road from the commuter transit hub here. Anonymous concrete and hard shadows are amazingly versatile and moody.

I'm partial to tostadas, myself. We don't have much here for Asian food but we do have a variety of Latin options. It's all wonderful.
 

LunarMist

I can't believe I'm a Fixture
Joined
Feb 1, 2003
Messages
17,468
Location
USA
A lot of those foods are not very healthy. It helps to avoid the fried parts and use leaner cuts of proteins.
I know it is a stereotype that the midwest is obese and unhealthy. Is good, clean, Mexican food available where you live?
 

ddrueding

Fixture
Joined
Feb 4, 2002
Messages
19,723
Location
Horsens, Denmark
I miss the Mexican food in California, though I think the Chinese here is a bit better. I could do with my pizza being a little less middle-eastern (all the pizza shops in town are operated by refugees from the 80s). And a good curry place would be appreciated.
 

LunarMist

I can't believe I'm a Fixture
Joined
Feb 1, 2003
Messages
17,468
Location
USA
In the 80s and 90s I traveled often for "business" and would try to find known foods in various countries. Italian was usually the safest because they had recognizable food that was pretty good. In some East Asian regions they had NO CLUE how to make a pizza.
😂
🤣

French was good if you were at a fine restaurant, e.g., for a special meeting. I don't care too much for authentic Chinese food, but I like some American versions that vary all over the place.
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
Joined
Jan 17, 2002
Messages
22,240
Location
I am omnipresent
LM is talking about his time leading CIA wetwork Ops again.

I'm a big believer in getting novel cuisine when I can. Food is usually is usually a highlight of any trip to a major city. IMO, every culture on Earth has ain't kind of great food. You just have to go find it.
 

LunarMist

I can't believe I'm a Fixture
Joined
Feb 1, 2003
Messages
17,468
Location
USA
I'm talking about restaurants in various regions. Many cuisines are awesome, but many are nauseous. You must be like that Gordon Ramsey dude that eats and cooks weird stuff in remote countries. Now I avoid the major cities except for transit points.

I don't know why those faces like gargoyles are so huge.
 
Last edited:

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
Joined
Jan 17, 2002
Messages
22,240
Location
I am omnipresent
The limitations of food I can get locally are pretty frustrating. In the Gary area, we basically have Mexican, Pizza (locally, not even good pizza. Pequod's or Nancy's might only be an 75 minutes of Chicago driving away but that's still an undertaking) and GFS-grade Chinese buffets. There are of course steakhouses and Greek diners as well, but AFAIK we have one Vietnamese place, one Lebanese restaurant, one place that's Castilian-Spanish and a couple Indian restaurants and Sushi places within 20 miles of where I live. This is particularly frustrating because I know my neighbors are often West African, South American and Caribbean immigrants who have amazing cuisines of their own.

I can and do try to visit unique places when I can. I love Egyptian and Ethiopian food when I can get then and Korean food might be my all-time favorite. I've taken weekend trips to places like Denver and NOLA specifically just because I knew I'd get a couple great meals out of it.

Anthony Bourdain was the "try something everywhere and drink where the locals do" guy. Gordon Ramsey is the man who yells at chefs. They're both iconic chefs.

If I had the budget to take long trips to SE Asia I'd go in a heartbeat. My best friend and I have been trying to pull off a trip to Thailand, Cambodia and Laos for years now but the pandemic cancelled our original reservations and these days she has a white collar job and 10 entire vacation days to use over the course of a year. Maybe when I turn 50 we'll finally get away with it.
 

ddrueding

Fixture
Joined
Feb 4, 2002
Messages
19,723
Location
Horsens, Denmark
I do like eating the local cuisine when I travel. Danish traditional foods are called "Gammel Dansk mal", literally translated to "Old Danish food". The traditional foods are called "old" because they aren't eaten regularly by normal Danes. Both because they aren't healthy and are inconvenient.

The ones I can get on board with most are Smørrebrød, basically an open-faced sandwich, and Rødgrød med fløde: A dessert made from berries cooked into a pudding-like consistency and served with cream.

The most frustrating thing is their insistence on using utensils for everything. They'll take an otherwise amazing hamburger and douse it in sauce. I believe this is just to make sure I don't try to eat it like an American. Personal sized pizzas also are served unsliced but with a fork and knife.
 
Top