Those who have visited Santa Cruz, Calif. must have asked – at one point - a simple question about this coastal city: Exactly what type of place is this?
Years ago, IÂ earned my undergraduate degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz. But I’m still asking – in the most respectful sense.
In this city perched on the northern end of Monterey Bay, people are keenly aware of the environment, the arts, organic food, liberal-progressive causes and the taqueria, Tacos Moreno.
The Farm Cafe in Portland serves this tofu dish that looks nice and crunchy and fun to make.
Tofu pieces are pan fried with bread crumbs and thyme. A mushroom Marsala sauce sits in the middle of the pieces on top of garlic-and-rosemary mashed potatoes.
I haven’t made this dish but I like that The Farm Cafe uses fresh organic ingredients from the Portland area in making its food.
I thought I’d never say this, but I’m going to have to start watching more television.
The reason: Top Chef, the Bravo reality show, recently featured Chef Hector Santiago who reportedly - and it’s rare I use this word in connection with tofu – dished up a bean curd creation so impressive that Jet Tila of the Las Vegas Sun described it as “badass.”
It’s slide No. 10 here – and online reviewers so far have given it nearly five stars.
I have long been a fan of Family Style tofu – known in Mandarin as “jia chang doufu.”
During one of my China swings – I think when I studied there - I would frequent a down-home restaurant, spot the waitress and say: “jia chang doufu.”
I’d order the dish repeatedly: Tasty. Inexpensive. Filling.
When prepared just right, the dish offers the proper amount of meat with fried, tender soybean cake and enough hearty sauce to mix with the rice in your bowl.
So naturally, when I spotted a recipe from Fu Pei-Mei, I thought I’d give it a try.
In this day and age when people tote GPS units and Google has its Street View, there is one simple question regarding these four maps of China:
Why do I still carry them in – out of all places – my laptop computer bag?
I can get wireless Internet connection on my laptop and log on to mapping services from Google, Yahoo and MapQuest. And people are accustomed to the automated voices from GPS devices: “Turn left in 100 yards.”
The answers: Back in 1994, I pedaled my Bridgestone mountain bike on a solo trip for 1,200 miles in China. I didn’t have a cell phone. I couldn’t speak Mandarin.
These Nelles Verlag maps, a compass and dozens of strangers guided me to the right places. I also studied the sun hovering in the sky to make sure I pedaled in the right direction – south.
I’ve misplaced my compass. I want to safeguard these maps. There is another reason why I want these maps nearby.
Seattle author Doug Chin maintains that the transcontinental railroad was possibly the most important development in Washington state’s history.
He notes that Chinese laborers – about 15,000 of them – were the largest group to contribute to it.
Chin will talk about this chapter in the state’s history on Thursday, Sept. 3 at a Wing Luke Asian Museum reception. It will celebrate the second edition of Chin’s book, Seattle’s International District: The Making of a Pan-Asian American Community.
The release coincides with 100 years of history in Seattle’s Chinatown International District. The 5:30 p.m. event will be held at the museum at 719 S. King St.
In 1990, Ralph Lauren owned this 1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic. Photo source: Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
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There used to be a thought that when news broke, you’d go directly to a large media outlet, such as The New York Times, to get insight, images and updates.
The company invests heavily in journalism and does spectacular work on most days. But for more information these days, it’s just as easy, as we know, to go to other sources.
I say this because of the recent coverage by The New York Times of the Monterey County, Calif. classic car show, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. I’m glad the company covered it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have heard about it.
What surprised me was that the Times didn’t include an image gallery featuring the half century of classic cars that had won honors. The expensive cars have curves, bug-eye headlights and other design features worth seeing.
I returned to the scene of a story this weekend because Will Flannery’s vacuum cleaner creations at The Vac Shop in South Seattle are just simple, appealing and fun.
It’s like being at a toy store - but really, the main purpose is to buy machines to suck dirt from your carpet or to get your cleaner repaired.
Handles have become mouths. Wheels spin as eyes. Silver paint makes an airplane shine. A broom is a mustache. There is a certain robot quality to his creations.
If the words were spelled as Dragon and Curry, it would be a pleasant-sounding name for a law firm or high-end consulting shop.
Actually, the top image is the traditional Chinese character for dragon – or “long,” pronounced in the second tone (lower to higher) in Mandarin.
It’s on the side of the longtime Chinese restaurant, China Gate, where Bruce Lee liked going when he lived in Seattle. His wife told me that a few years ago during an interview in Seattle.
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