yeah boooooyyyeee!

when you absolutely have to spend money…Vegas…

…but first we hit the Hoover Dam, which was amazing. kenny, katie and i took the $10 tour which was cool. it gives you the history and takes you deep into the dam itself. you can purchase a picture of youself in front of the dam. they’re currently building a route around the dam because of the fear of terrorism. it’s cool to see the beginnings of a bridge in the middle of being built just down the river from the dam.

stop #5 on the B.L.S.T. was vegas (baby, vegas). K, K, and i stayed at the Monte Carlo. here’s a little tip, there’s a free parking at the Monte Carlo casino resort, you can’t get that at some casino’s, and the Monte Carlo is pretty centrally located.

i thought i was in the silicone valley for a second because fake boobs are abundant. i guess when you make your money off of sex in this town, implants are how you get a raise, if you know what i’m saying, and i think you do.

i’m no really sure what else to say about this town. it’s like a big vacuum on you wallet. so, go off strip. luckily our friend Jen Vegas showed us around town. she’s so awesome they named the town after her. i’d give you her contact info, but she’s already got plenty of stalkers.

so here’s a little summary of Vegas:

amazing 9-course tasting dinner at L’Atelier and 3 drinks ……$205

drinks at the Beatles Revolution Lounge in the Mirage ………$183

some of the best thai food you’ll ever eat featuring northern thailand dishes at a cheap place called Lotus of Siam ……….PRICELESS

The Big Dirt

so if you weren’t aware, the B.L.S.T. was set up so that darreck would drive with me to austin, kenny and katie would meet us in austin, darreck would fly back to philly, and kenny and katie would share the second half of the drive with me.

this drive was thru the north western part of texas and new mexico. it was long…and boring…and did i mention that it was thru a lot of texas? i got a ticket. going 88 in an 80. $150 fine. ouch. the sheriff was nice though. he said, “thank you for your courtesy (insert texas twang).” i’ve been speaking with a texas twang for days…

stop #4 was Albuquerque, New Mexico. not much to say about “the big dirt.” if you’ve been to ABQ you know why they call it this. i’d been to the big dirt before. there are some good people here. if you want a good time in this town, all you need to do is contact jason wilson, aka jake dugas, aka night train lain. jason has an awesome house in downtown abq, three awsome dogs, and cuts babies for a living. i’d give you his number, but his phone would ring of the hook. we stayed at jason’s house, and our friend shaun was visiting abq from portland. there was a party. we got drunk.

some retartedly drunk guy who worked for the public tv/radio station in abq overheard us making pedophilia jokes and took us seriously. he wanted to have a serious conversation (while barely standing) about what we were referring to as “kid fucking.” we were advised to organize (if we felt strongly about kid-fucking) and let him record us for the station. I WANT TO TAKE A STAND AND LET YOU ALL KNOW THAT I AM VERY ANTI-KID-FUCKING!!!

whenever i’m in new mexico, there is only one kind of food i want, and that’s mexican. new mexican style food is amazing…and spicy. and there’s only one thing that i want when i’m here…SOPPAPILLAS!!! this amazing fry-bread comes about due to the mixture of mexican and native american culture. almost all mexican restaurants in NM serve this bread.

here are two restaurants that have good food:

El Patio is a small little restaurant located in the university area. it’s cheap and it’s good.

you can find my favorite soppapillas at El Pinto. it’s a little more expensive, has a more extensive menu, and has abq’s largest outdoor patio.El Patio.

Bear 1, Human 0…

CNN headline news just announced that 7.5 foot 700 pound Rocky, a hollywood acting bear (starring in such movies as Semi-Pro with Will Farrel), just attacked and killed his hollywood trainer by biting the trainer in the neck.

the news anchor asked Jack Hannah (animal expert/t.v. personality) if the death could be contributed to “human error.”

uh…yeah. here’s the human error…

it’s a bear.

The Only Cool Place In Texas…aka Austin

stop #3 on the B.L.S.T. takes us to awesome Austin, Texas. so far, austin has lived up to the hype. it feels good to be in a real city with good vibes. here are some places to check out…

darreck and i arrived late on a tuesday and got some good late-night eats at this 24hr place called Star Seeds Cafe. it’s got some decent “diner with a twist” options and veggie options. the service can be slow, but it’s always nice and it’s always open.

Whole Foods Market in austin is amazing. austin is the corporate head quarters of the largest natural food chain in the world. this means that the store itself is the largest in the company (80,000 sq. ft.), and has almost all the bells and whistles that wholefoods offers in it’s other stores (i.e. chocolate fountain, smoked meat venues, nut roasting station, taco bar, “beer alley”, etc.). darreck and i went here for breakfast. we couldn’t stop coming here, and spending a lot of time perusing.

Waterloo Records is located caddy-corner to the whole foods. it’s the largest/best independent music store in austin (comparable to AKA in philly, but nothing compares to Amoeba Records).

we went to El Chilito for lunch, which has good tacos. our friends in austin go here often. the fish taco (you have a dirty mind) is awesome. try the “puffy taco”. it’s filled with seasoned ground beef and potatoes. puffy tacos are a regional delicacy that’s made with fried tortillas. taco hell calls it a chalupa. if you do get a puffy taco, get it on a plate with rice and beans. if you get a single taco, it’ gets wrapped in foil which means it gets soggy. oh, and they got $1 beers. just don’t get the salsa. it’s no that good

later that night we went to Casino El Camino which is a dive bar on austin’s famous 6th street. it has decent bar food and is very reminiscent of Tattooed Mom’s on south street in philly (except with slightly better food). there is also outdoor seating in the back.

after that it was to on to Lovejoys, a cool dive bar/brew pub, which to me, sounds like an oxymoron. it has a crowd of hipster/bicyclists/bikers, and has a bartender that has face tatoos that look like chops. this is also one of the few places that i found in austin where you can smoke indoors. darreck and i liked this place a lot.

The next day, kenny, katie, and chris arrived to austin. then we got drunk.

Rio Rita was a cool little dive bar that our friend gillian took us to. it had some food stuff, looked like a converted house, and also specialized in coffee. when we got there, the place was almost completely dark (they were having some blown fuse issues), which was a little weird. luckily they eventually got the fuses fixed. they had a back yard patio, which was great.

it was off to Star Seeds Cafe again for some late night eats.

The next day was bbq time. Stubbs’s BBQ is located in downtown austin. if you weren’t aware, when in texas, try the beef brisket. this is apparently the bbq’d brisket center of the country. they don’t serve mac & cheese, but the serrano cheese spinach is amazingly awesome and more than makes up for it!!

then we got drunk….Jackalope is another dive bar on 6th street that has outdoor seating in the back. if you want a variety of cheap bomb’s (car, protestant, jaeger), this is your place

BAT TIME!!! the Congress Avenue Bats are the largest urban bat population. during the warm months starting in march, you can see the whole colony leave their home underneath the congress avenue bridge as they go out for the night to eat insects. apparently, the best time to see this bat awesomeness is in august when the bat babies fly out with their moms. there is a Bat Hot Line (512-416-5700 Extension 3636) that tells you at what time to arrive to see the bats. I don’t think that they’ve updated it for daylight savings, because the time it suggested was an hour too early, so beware. just find out what time sunset is, and arrive half an hour before that. the best place to see the bats is on the bridge. stand on the west side where the land meets the river.

Fuck Memphis

stop #2 on the B.L.S.T. was memphis, tennessee

FUCK MEMPHIS.

there is no reason to go there.

Graceland for $27…i don’t think so.

Sun Studio…eh.

Beale Street is like a really short homogenized south street in philly. It’s super touristy, and every restaurant carries the same food (i.e. bbq and fried catfish)

the downtown is going thru a 3 billion dollar revitalization, and you can tell. half the shops/restaurants are closed. there are contractor trucks parked everywhere. it feels somewhat post-apocalyptic.

if you are kidnapped and forced to spend time in memphis, here are some things that are somewhat entertaining (relatively speaking):

Memphis Red Birds -> Memphis’ minor league baseball team plays in one of the nicest minor league parks in the country. if you like baseball, and want to pay $5 to see a game, this is your place.

Quetzal -> coffee, smoothies, free internet, good food, and a location in San Francisco as well.

Rock and Soul Museum -> The Smithsonian Institute built a nice little museum about the birth of rock and roll, and it’s only $10.

Young Avenue Deli -> good food, 3 pool tables, over 100 different beers, sometimes live music, and young/kinda hip (relatively speaking) crowd.

but remember…MEMPHIS BLOWS

try visiting in two years…it might be cooler.

Maker’s Mark Distillery

the first stop of the Black Locust southern tour was to the birth place of one of And Dim Sum’s favorite liquors, the Maker’s Mark Distillery. the distillery is located in Loretto, Kentucky and is the best bourbon tour by reputation.

the central part of Kentucky is indeed “bourbon country.” you can’t go two feet without running into some type of local bourbon distillery. walk into a liquor store, and you’ll find a bourbon selection more impressive than you’re accustomed. if you don’t want to drink Maker’s Mark, darreck and i did a little research (for your sake) and recommend Four Roses small batch bourbon. This is a nice, mellow, and sweet boubon. it’s not too complex to be mixed, and is great as a sipping bourbon. unfortunately for most, you can only purchase it in Ken-tuck-y.

the tour itself was free, informative, and accompanied by a tasting at the end (as long as you’re of age). according to maker’s mark, they are the only distillery that allows you to put your hand in the fermenting mash, and taste it (video coming soon). you can also purchase your own small bottle and dip it in the over 400 degree wax yourself (with proper protective gear, and the assistance of a woman who looks like she’s been with the distillery since it started in 1958).

This Friday at the Khyber…

The return of M.Dot with Mandip and Gordon Bombay! Spin the Bottle.

kiss the bottle!

holleratcha boyeee!

spend some time with me (Ranger Rad) before i move to San Francisco…

i’m trying to have a little get together to celebrate my departure from the right coast.

if i’ve touched you in any way these past 9 years in philly, and not in a bad place (or maybe because), please join me for a little brunch + booze action.

WHO?
Cang Ta (Ranger Rad) and friends…and puppies/unicorns

WHAT?
Eat brunch, get full, drink booze, get drunk

WHEN?
Sunday April 6th @ 11a.m.

WHERE?
Royal Tavern
937 E Passyunk Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 389-6694

WHY?
because i’m moving 3,000 miles away on the 12th, and you want to bid me fond farewell.

I figure we all like brunch, the royal has veggie options, it doesn’t get as busy as those other places, those who would like to keep drinking with me after brunch can, and you all want to love me.

holler at your boy…while you still can.