Author Archive for Charles Lam
$5,000 and Completely Pho-getable
Top-grade Wagyu beef boiled in a foie gras broth, garnished with white alba truffles and hand-raised bean sprouts over a bed of blue lobster meat noodles. My greatest creation? A list of ingredients that barely fit together? A new dish at a slightly pretentious Asian fusion restaurant? Almost.
Ippo Sushi Delivers … Kind Of
Tired, sweaty and hungry, I slumped onto my couch after a late work shift. I was too lazy to cook for myself and hoped to run across something on the bike ride home. Since it was after 9 p.m., anything worthwhile in Irvine had already closed.
Getting a Taste for Better Beer
The pub was buzzing, half due to excitement and half due to drunkenness. At the front of the line were the regulars, people who had gotten the news first: the Anthill Pub was bringing in a cask of new beer.
Behind the Bar at the Anthill Pub
The room was just a tiny bit hostile. The low din of chaotic conversation mixed with incomprehensible music and filled the room. A line of several dozen students snaked around tables, their normally colored clothing painted rust by the crimson lights of the room. Impatient and uncomfortable, they glared at the front of the line. A small moment of silence, then an eruption: half the room cheering, half the room cursing.
If You Can’t Stand the Heat, Get Out of the Kitchen
Cooking your own food is something every adult should be able to do. Unluckily, we’re not going to be college students forever, and there are no commons in an office building. So, unless you’re looking forward to eating Del Taco forever, you should start learning how to cook now.
Yelle-ing For More
DISCO: The lyrics may be French, but you don’t need to be a Parisian to enjoy this electro-pop.
Trouble Ahead for Netflix
Things are starting to look worse and worse for Netflix. First, they’re fighting the battle for net going up against the likes of Comcast and Cox. Second, bandwidth-capped Internet has already begun to roll out in Canada, forcing Netflix to release a new Great-White-North-tier video quality setting that uses a third of the bandwidth but also greatly reduces the picture quality. And, just this past week, Showtime and Starz have announced that they will be limiting the availability of their TV series on Netflix’s streaming service.
Funyun Philosophy
Nowadays, I normally eat and write about “good” food, dishes I wouldn’t mind spending a few hours cooking or a week’s salary paying for. But there was once a simpler time when my parents would make dinner, when I didn’t know how to build a fond or julienne carrots or even use a knife correctly. A time when I didn’t know or care who Bobby Flay was.
Chipotle Reigns Supreme
I really like Mexican food. Well, I like the sort of fake Americanized Mexican food you can get without driving more than five minutes away from campus. But with so many choices available, it can be difficult to decide where to eat sometimes.
