patrick.net

There is a new vietnamese fusion restaurant on Castro street in Mountain View called Xanh. It is a pleasant surprise. The grapefruit salad is pretty good. Pricing is very reasonable too.

I went to Las Vegas once for a surprise party for a friend. I was shocked at the number of very fat people, and the number of smokers, but we did have a couple of very good meals in restaurants.

If I move there I will be the first person to go broke there without gambling. Food in LV (esp on the strip) is pretty good but is very expensive.

I’m sure there were tons of bad ones as well, but the ones we had dinner in were very good.

SFWoman, do you happen to remember which are the good ones?

The food is still cheap in Reno, as are the hotels. You can get a really nice room at the Circus-Circus Reno for $40 a night. And the buffet at the Silver Legacy is great!

Of course it's Reno, but if I had to pick which area has more depressing people, the Vegas Strip or downtown Reno, it would be a toss-up. And Reno is close to Tahoe, you can stay at the casinos in Reno and go skiing in Tahoe.

Randy-

Would you make an excepion for Perkins? I would, it's not bad.

Hey, I'm not prejudiced, I eat thier nachos and all, but those New Mexicans had better stay on their side of the border!

Sushi in MV: Robata Grill, in Shelter Bay

Chinese in Saulalito: Tommy's Wok, just off the main drag, near the highway.

Midwestern food for times when you're feeling you're just too close to your target weight and need some saturated fats, Buckeye Roadhouse, on the southbound onramp to 101 at Hwy 1. Actually not that bad, lots of good middle-american food but with a California twist. You just have to look past all those annoying Marinerati there.

Sushi in Redwood City/Belmont/San Carlos: Aya Sushi. Holly & El Camino (other side of County Road east of tracks). **Only good when Peter, the owner is working. Tell him Randy sent you and I'm sorry that we haven't been back in a long time**

Avoid Naomi Sushi in Menlo Park (on El Camino). Overpriced, and not all that great for the $.

One was an outpost of Aqua (I think) in the Bellagio, and the other was a New York outpost.

The good thing about LV is that many famous restaurants have outposts there.

Russian Vodka Room, 52nd & 8th, Midtown. Great for a few shots of good vodka and a bad attitude after a blown meeting with arrogant Wall Street IB types.

Midtown Sushi: Hakata Japanese Restaurant, 48th between 7th and 8th. Take out a HELOC first unless you want to wash dishes.

Chicago Italian:

Clark Street Bistro, 2600 N Clark (Lincoln Park/Lakeview area)

Scoozi, Huron St, Downtown/Gold Coast (?) area. A bit flashy, but nice atmosphere and incredible food.

Are people aware of their surroundings when they drive? Do people use their rear view mirror while they drive?
I get soo pissed when you are driving on a two lane highway and your fast approaching a car that has been dangling behind a big rig. Right when you get up to them, they put their blinkers on and move to the left lane to pass. And do they pass?.. no!! they drive with the big rig for like a mile, and finally pull in front of the rig and brake. Cant they see in their rear view mirror that someone is approaching them faster than they are going? Are they soo unaware of their surroundings? I freak out that I have to drive behind them and next to a big rig for another mile. Most people dont understand the dangers of driving next to a rig. I have seen it upfront once and that is more than enough. I will speed even if i am being watched by a cop just so that I am not in the vicinity of a rig.
Just wanted to vent...

Maybe it's becuase my dad drove a cab, but I have never for the life of me understood why truckers have a bad reputation. They are decent, hardworking people. I don't think they are reckless at all, on the contrary they are generally the most cautious drivers on the road.

Are people aware of their surroundings when they drive? Do people use their rear view mirror while they drive?

I do.

Most people dont understand the dangers of driving next to a rig.

My wife insists that we drive two lanes away from a big rig, if at all possible. I never pass a big rig on a curve.

I will speed even if i am being watched by a cop just so that I am not in the vicinity of a rig.

If I cannot pass I make sure that I am at least 5 seconds behind the truck.

I have seen it upfront once and that is more than enough.

Can you describe what happened, if you feel comfortable to?

Maybe it’s becuase my dad drove a cab, but I have never for the life of me understood why truckers have a bad reputation. They are decent, hardworking people. I don’t think they are reckless at all, on the contrary they are generally the most cautious drivers on the road.

I agree totally.

We passed her and she was yacking on her cell phone, totally oblivious to the fact that she was almost killed by a double tanker truck.

A tanker? She could have caused an explosion and killed many more people than just herself!

Depending on the roadway design, 45mph may not be too slow a merging speed, but she would have to yield to main road traffic.

Every time I see someone driving badly...they're on the cellphone. Weren't they going to pass a law about that?

For a great camping vacation...go where the Virgin Island locals go...
Cinnamon Bay on the Isle of St. John. They have tents set up in a coconut grove, gorgeous beach, sunset sails. You are in the middle of a tropical jungle and the sounds are AMAZING. The sweet jungle smells are AMAZING. This place is truly magical.

The Bay Area is one of the few places on the planet where you can find mind-boggling diversity of choice when you want to eat.

Las Vegas has mind-boggling diversity of food choices on just one street.

I am not into outdoor activities at all. My dream vacation would be an around-the-world cruise. :)

Or if you want to stay in S Cali go to Jalama just north of Santa Barbara.But it's first come, first serve. Camp on the beach.Great for kids.

Last year I travelled down the coast from Eureka with a surf-rat friend. We camped our way down the coast along Hwy.1. We were coming from a wedding and the trek by surf-rat-van was to teach my kid to surf...and of course to show him that some of the best things in life are free. This was such a great experience. I've lived in CA from birth and have never done it. Most of us don't travel by surf-rat-van, but I will tell you, there is a whole subculture of very cool, friendly,happy surfers that I would never have met, had we taken my benz. ;)

Perhaps when I am 65...

I believe this thread is to be a positve thread.
No need to pick on Astrid.
Read the thread...she already retracted any negativity perceived in that statement.

Peter P.
My husband is also happier in a 5 star hotel. You don't strike me as the 'camper type'. That's why I camp with friends and don't try to drag the unwilling along!

I HAVE to comment on this.
The tapeworm diet.
I howled when I read this.
My husband is a comedy writer.
I'll have to tell him about it.
Can you imagine the commercial?
'After she lost 150 lbs. a 3 mile long tapeworm was remove from her digestive tract.'
EEEEEEW :0

nomadtoons2 Says:

"...Well much can be said about my 2nd car- a a 1955 Mercury with what you can really call “bumpers” because they’re made out of 1/4″ thick steel... I’ve actually nailed a gaurd rail with this thing and it did no noticeable damage to the car..."

Hahaha!

Awesome!

In the global political situation that we find ourselves in ’simply live’ might be a better motto.

"Simply Live" sounds a bit too close to a strange little cult in Columbus OH that my wife's college roommate has been entrapped by for a decade and a half called Simply Living. OK, so I'm a bit biased (being a market fundamentalist and all), but these guys are way out there. They used to run a non-money collective exchange system called SimplyHOURS, where people used hours-worked (regardless of whether you were a doctor or a storyteller; all work = all other work) to barter for goods and services instead of using evil money. It didn't work (for obvious reasons of economic externalities), so they tried to set up a HOURS-USD fixed exchange to provide for access to needed external resources.

I tried to explain a bit to one guy about how allocation of resources works and the inevitable collapse of a fixed exchange system (especially such a weak one), but these guys just had it all worked out and I was just too invested in narrow-minded capitalist thought indoctrination. Anyway, it all collapsed after an economics-literate person who will remain nameless taught a couple of their teenagers how to trade their HOURS for USD, then arbitrage against HOURS until they broke the "central bank".

Randy,

it is just another voucher system. What you described sounds like what I read in a book written by Paul Krugman. He was talking about a Capitol Hill Babysitting Club that actually existed where joining members used hours of babysitting as a currency. Krugman used this example to illustrate liquidity trap, as all members tried to hoard babysitting hours, frantically looking for babysitting opportunities while nobody wanted to hire babysitters if possible, saving their hours for the rainy days. It was quite an interesting read.

I’ve never shopped at Whole Foods (way above my budget right now) but how does this sound for beef prices?

Really hard to say. Beef quality varies extremely widely. The prices on the order form seem to be very low (under $7/lb).

Brio - 61st and Lexington

In SF? I will try. :) Thanks!

La Strada in Palo Alto (University Ave) is actually pretty good. They use fresh organic pasta.

My husband is also happier in a 5 star hotel. You don’t strike me as the ‘camper type’. That’s why I camp with friends and don’t try to drag the unwilling along!

I am fine with 4 star. ;)

You are right, I am not the camper type. I will be worrying all night about bugs and bears.

There are some great places in the East Bay. Fernando's (Mexican food) in Pleasanton at Main and St Mary. Good food, family run. I like Main St. in the warm weather, everything is outside. Main St. - that's where I fell in love. You're yacking back and forth about whatever, then she shows you what she looks like with her hair pulled back, and the wine helps. Then it hits you like a strong warm current. And you know she feels the same because she's rubbing your finger tips with her thumb.

Unfortunately, many fun things are like that.

Fun is overrated.

I just don’t get why some idiots (not referring to you) park their arse in the fast lane - they don’t even realize what a traffic hazard they are.

I am sure speeding drivers are bigger hazards. People always overestimate their ability to control. Perhaps we also need stay-right/pass-left laws.

I would like to have 10 times more CHP officers on the road.

I read somewhere (maybe in a Malcolm Gladwell article) that the greatest danger in a steadily moving traffic pattern are people who are significantly faster or slower than the general flow of traffic. Faster people because they drive unsafely, slower people because they cause others to drive unsafely.

This is actually true. So I attempt to drive with the flow. But what if we can effectively penalize those who drive unsafely? :)

Davis Renter, “Tapa the World” in downtown Sacramento is great.

They have several types of Paella for dinner. But you need to call in and the minimum is two orders. I love paella.

I do not eat rabbits.

Astrid-

What kind of car? I went camping a lot while in the Boy Scouts and developed the ability to sleep under almost any conditions -- with a tent, without a tent, with five people in a two-person tent, etc.

But the one time I slept in a car, it almost killed me. A few years ago I gave it a try in the back seat of my car, which was then a Buick Century. I am only 5'4", so I was able to curl up on the back seat without too much trouble, but it was extremely uncomfortable. My neck, shoulders, and all sorts of other previously unknown muscles were stiff for about a week thereafter.

My Jeep allows you to expand the cargo area by lowering the back seat to a flat position. It is possible to lay flat back there, but sleeping looks very uncomfortable and I can't imagine two people in that space, things are awfully tight even for a short guy like me. How in the world does anyone sleep in a car?