Welcome to the one-post-per-year blog!  Apparently, I now only post on May 24th.

So what if one whole year went by?  Here’s the 2009 recap:

1. Went to San Diego thrice.  Said goodbye.
2. Went to Los Angeles thrice.  Saw Coco live.
3. Drove 4 hours to go camping and had our van break down.  Swam with a tree.
4. Visited Chicago for the first time.  Ate pizza.
5. Went to Las Vegas twice.  Spontaneous sandwich tip FTW.
6. Threw the 2nd annual Napa Wine Tour.  Almost died.
7. Learned to ride a motorcycle.
8. Went to Thailand.  Rode elephants.
9. Went to Vietnam.  Rode scooters.
10. Christmas in the Philippines.  Rode whale sharks.

That’s pretty much it.  You didn’t miss much.

On another note…got inspired by the HBO series “How to Make it in America”.  The intro is dope, so I decided to test my editing skills and see how close I could get to recreating it.  Here’s the original:

How To Make It In America Intro from Bert Stragier on Vimeo.

And here’s my version:

How to Make it in LA from Winston Dimaano on Vimeo.

Thanks, and see you next year!!

j/k.

My friend Monique has her annual Sushi & Sake Bombing birthday bash every April.  It’s a huge event and every year it gets bigger and bigger.  Not being one to miss out on a great party, I make the trip down to San Diego every year and stay with friends.

This weekend also happens to coincide with TWoG: The Weekend of Gluttony.  That means we eat WHATEVER tickles our fancy;  and in that spirit, we’ve begun the tradition of: “Ice-Cream-Social-Before-Monique’s-Birthday-Party”!!!

Here’s what you need:

From Ice Cream Social

Whipped cream, hot fudge, and bananas…all essentials

Your favorite flavors of ice cream, brownies, and excited giggles of anticipation

Crushed oreos and multi-colored sprinkles…monochromic sprinkles are a no-no!

Naked ice cream! Dress those bad boys up!

Damn, that is some sexy ice cream

Enjoy that ice cream like you’re six again and your parents have left you to your own devices.

Surprisingly, there’s no need to eat anything else until sake bombing starts haha.  Who’d have thought that ice cream would be a great pre-drinking meal.

lol, yes this blog is still alive. WTF! It’s a year old already! Well, Happy Fuckin’ Birthday PoppaWinst.com!!

I can’t promise there to be more updates, but I’m sure there will be. I’ve been lazy and/or overwhelmed with work and hobbies.

BTW….It’s Thanksgiving again. Check out last year’s menu, it’s pretty much the same lol. That’s how lazy I am…I can’t even link you to my own page that’s already been written a year ago. Damn I’m lazy.

Pictures. To. Come.

What’s Dragon C0N you say?? This is Dragon C0N:

It’s F’in crazy!

If you want to see it in better quality, go to this link and click on the little “Watch in High Quality” button below the video timer.

Would you eat at a place that looked like this:

I know Matt G. wouldn’t. He wouldn’t even walk down the alley it takes to get over to this place.

And seriously…is the name of this place really called “New Hong Kong Menu”??? ::shakes head:: oh those Hong Kongians. lol

Our team manager recommended it. He said it was good and it was a really good deal: the lunch specials were $5. I thought to myself….hmm…well, it’s in Chinatown, I guess cheap food is what you’re supposed to find in Chinatown. Little did I know that they really know how to stretch $5 in Chinatown.

When you order from the menu, you’re given a choice of about 6-8 items that you get over rice. Ok, I’ll go with the Beef curry over rice. Hopefully it’ll be enough.

After we ordered, we were all given a little bowl of soup. It was different. I’ve worked in a chinese restaurant and I’ve never had a soup like this. It was tasty, sort of a smoked pork flavor, with beans or something. You never know in chinatown. Who would’ve guessed we got served an amuse bouche course in a $5 Chinatown restaurant for lunch?

So next my curry came out. Nothing special. It was your typical beef curry, and the rice was a little dry.

But wait! Twenty seconds later, we get served this bowl of soup! ANOTHER BOWL OF SOUP!? This one had bok choy and wontons! WONTONS! Holy frogs legs in a blue canoe! The simple beef curry over rice just got a lot more interesting with its back-up support.

Our manager also ordered a dish of pork ribs for all of us to share. These were damn good. I don’t remember what they were called, but it was really, really good.

Ok this is when I really freaked out. WE GET DESSERT TOO?!?! ::faint:: What kind of Chinese restaurant is this?? Just giving away all this food for $5!!!! I’ve officially freaked out, I’m in shock. We got this lycee or something tapioca thingie, and it was the perfect dessert. It was light, refreshing, and cleansed the palate of the spicy and salty main entrees. We went back a few weeks ago, and they gave us a mango flavored one. It was yum!

I have to admit, I was really surprised by this lunch. We ended up paying slightly more than $5 since we ordered some extra plates and tipped as well, but it was still a great deal for what we got. If you’re ever wandering down Commercial Street in the City, hit up New Hong Kong Menu for lunch. It’s a good deal.

Well, back in May I felt like I wasn’t being kept busy enough, so I decided to go to The Crucible and check out their blacksmithing class.

It was really awesome. I had no idea what to expect from blacksmithing, except that there was going to be a lot of hot fires and lots of banging(that’s what she said).

The Crucible is really cool. It’s this huge warehouse, that’s segmented into different areas of speciality: blacksmithing, glassworking, mold-making, wood-working, etc. Everything that has to do with industrial arts and/or fire, you’ll find at the Crucible. They have welding classes and glass blowing. It’s really, really cool.

For our first class we got to make hooks. It’s a great project since it teaches you the basic techniques that you can use on a lot of other projects. Things like tapering, twisting, bending, punching, etc. Once you have a good handle on these basics, you’ll be using them a lot on other projects.

So that’s my anvil. Your standard blacksmith tools are, of course, the hammer, a pair of tongs to pull the metal from the furnace. The anvil of course as well, and a glove to wear on your tongs hand cuz i’m still a pansy, and the furnace is NO JOKE.

Speaking of the furnace, there it is. It’s gas powered, and it’s hot as hell. Having your arm close to the opening for more than 2-3 seconds and your hand starts to feel like it’s burning.

My anvil-neighbor grabbing her metal from the furnace.

Some of the knives we learned to make. Yes it’s rebar. Those things are pretty tough to work with. They’re dense, but kinda brittle too. It’s a nice little introduction to making knives. My plan is to take the “bladesmithing” class in the fall.

So if you’re at all interested in these kinds of art classes, check out the Crucible. It’s really fun, hands-on classes.

One of the best spots I’ve had a burger at in the City has been at Mo’s Grill in North Beach.

When you cook your burgers on one of these things, how can they NOT be good!?! Thank god for my professional training, otherwise, this was enough to make me drool.

Oh yah…that tasty, tasty center chuck.

Is that grass-fed, certified organic?? hmm…

So we got the impression that they had a really good salad on the menu. I’m sorry, let me clarify: A VERY good salad. lol

Mo’s grill makes all their burgers in house, and they serve all the typical burgers you’ll find anywhere else. Except they use really good, soft yet toasty buns. And they don’t skimp out on your toppings. They cook your burger exactly to how you want it, and they do it well.

Our burgers teasing us like an exotic dancer on a rotating grill of awesomeness.

I ordered the Alpine Burger – Imported Gruyere cheese and sauteed mushrooms, cooked to a perfect medium. I always order my steaks medium rare, but I order my burgers at a medium; I like the slight bite you get when it’s cooked a little longer, instead of the mushy softness when it’s rare/medium rare.

My god. It was really damn good. We also ordered the chili cheese fries….

But they weren’t nearly as good as the burger.

If you’re looking for a simple place, no frills, but a really damn good burger, go to Mo’s. NOW. You’re not going to get service that reminds you of home, but the prices are very reasonable, the ketchup bottles are always full, and they make sure you go home thinking: That was a really good burger.

One of my pet peeves lately is the haphazard labeling of restaurants as “fusion”, when in reality, there’s nothing fusion about a restaurant’s cuisine! A fusion restaurant would have either two or more different traditional cuisines ‘fused’ to create a new genre that is neither one or the other. Whereas, some restaurants take their cuisine more down a contemporary path. Contemporary would just mean taking old classics and giving them a fresh twist to please modern palates and trends.

The House restaurant in San Francisco(their pictures are way better than my camera phone ones!) does a great job of creating a unique fusion that’s full of energy and life in every dish. Everything we ordered had a jolt of flavor; prodding your taste buds with every bite. It’s a refreshing and excellent blend of mostly Japanese flavors with new American contemporary techniques.

We started our lunch of with a round of appetizers to share. Haha, we definitely decided to pig out. The steamed mussels with garlic infused shrimp broth was awesome. The broth definitely made this dish. It was flavorful and addictive, I wanted to just drink the whole bowl lol.

You can never go wrong with soft shell crab. Crispy outside, soft inside. I wasn’t sure if it was stuffed with something, but I vaguely remember it being a good contrast to the crispy texture. It was one of their specials, but if they still offer it, it’s definitely worth a try.

I wish this photo came out better! But it was the grilled calamari with tomato sauce. Another one of their specials for the day. The calamari was slightly overcooked, which made it a little tough. Calamari is one of those tricky ingredients where in order for it to stay tender, you have to either flash fry it really quick, or let it stew for a while. Anywhere in between and it’s usually a little tough to chew.

The fried tempura greenbeans were nothing exciting, however the presentation was nice, and the sauce served inside the ’structure’ was tasty.

We also ordered Sesame Soy glazed salmon, which was cooked perfectly! The glaze was sweet and salty as expected, and the salmon cooked slightly underdone in the center. Also, the Grilled Sea Bass with garlic ginger soy was tasty.

By far the most favorite dish was the Warm Wasabi house noodles with Grilled Pork. If you’re a fan of the flavor of wasabi, this is a MUST have dish! It is an interesting blend of warm wasabi flavor, with the sweetness of the grilled pork. We also ordered the Udon soup with grilled chicken and nori, which wasn’t anything extraordinary, but had a wonderful, clean broth that was great in it’s simplicity.

It was too bad by the time dessert came around, my mind was too preoccupied with the meal that I didn’t even think about taking anymore pictures lol. However, the nectarine and blackberry pie was sooo good. As well as the coconut creme brulee with passionfruit glaze. Both were awesome desserts.

I can’t wait to go back and try out their dinner menu! Being as good as it was, I wasn’t too shocked with the rating The House got on yelp – 4.5 out of 5. What did shock me was the number of reviews! I had never seen a restaurant have 590 reviews and STILL receive such a near perfect rating!! The numbers don’t lie, this place is well worth it. And the price is very affordable for the quality of food they are offering.

I came across this pretty cool page a few weeks ago that showed how someone figured out how to make a pretty sweet Watermelon cooler. So taking in on the super coolness of it, I wanted to do a little prototype of my own. I think it’s a really neat idea for a fun summer party!

So I definitely want to start off by thanking them for the great idea. Thanks guys!

OK! Here we go…

I used:
- one big watermelon
- knife
- spoon
- bowl
- power drill with 1/2″ inch drill bit
- ball valve faucet
- PVC-faucet adapter
- rum or vodka
- limes
- strainer

You’ll need a decent sized watermelon. I’m not sure how big this one was, since it was $5.99 each, not bad at all! You’ll definitely need a knife and spoon to scoop out the fruit.

Scooping out the watermelon guts was fun and yummy!!

All scooped out. You definitely want to make sure to clean up the inside of the watermelon; meaning scrape down the sides evenly, pull out any chunks because they’ll clog your faucet!

LOL maybe I should be looking at what I’m doing. Make sure to drill the hole barely big enough to screw in the faucet. You don’t want to jam it in, or make it too wide, otherwise you’ll have leaks. So, get it just big enough so it’s nice and snug.

Sweet, lookin’ good so far!

Don’t forget to feed the baby! Mmmm…sweet, sweet milk. Happy Father’s Day KT!

Now that the hard part is done, you’ll want to blend up the watermelon and strain it. You should have about 6-8 cups of watermelon juice once you’re done…maybe even more. Mix in about 2 cups of vodka or rum, and about squeeze about 4-5 limes in. I added a few tablespoons of sugar to mine. Of course, you can make it as strong as you like.

THE TEST! Pour that bad boy in, and pray that it doesn’t leak. If it does….there’s always the good ol’ pitcher lol.

Let’s see if it works!

Holy Crap!! It’s working!!!

The answer is YES, that is the most awesome shirt in the world. And my goodness, look at that watermelon flow!!!

I agree Cuzin, it IS awesome. lol

If you’re bored and wanna impress your friends at the next summer cook-out, take some time and make one of these handy-dandy little things. Thankfully, everything worked out for me on the first try, so that was lucky. But I can see how this little project could get super frustrating real fast too!

Just be patient, take your time, and don’t force anything. It’ll turn out! I can tell this is going to be a damn good summer.

Super Awesome Watermelon Cooler!

That title ain’t got nothin’ to do with nothin’, but I just felt like saying it because Short Circuit was a dope ass movie when I was little.

I match that randomness with another bit of randomness: I decided to build my own beer pong table.

Yes. Beer Pong.

No, I’m not in college anymore. But who cares? I still like beer. I still like games. Plus, there’s the added benefit of giving your drunk friends something to do, instead of just talking about the same old bullshit again. Oh yah, and you get to talk trash too, WHILE you drink beer. That’s awesome. =D

Sooo, I started where any DIYer would go to find some visuals for building something: YouTube. Oh yes…good ol’ YouTube. I searched “build beer pong table” and I got this video:

I don’t know who these guys are, but thanks for the instructions!! After watching the video a couple of times, it was pretty easy to recreate what they did.

My bare, naked table after having screwed on the folding table legs.

Make sure you sand it down! Get all that crud off the plywood, and any rough spots. My hands were nice and soft after that!

OOOOOH! Primerrrr!!!

I suck at geometry. I don’t know why. But that triangle isn’t so bad, right??

Primer’s all down! Ready to paint first coat!

Mmmm…Sweet Georgia Brown!! I picked it out myself.

Believe or not, that orange is called “Bird of Paradise” It makes me think of orange sherbert.

Annnnnnd 7.5 hours later, it’s done!!

Well…mostly done. I still have to put the lettering on and such, but we was done enough just in time for my Memorial Day BBQ.

More pics to follow!