This week, I had the pleasure of visiting New York for a happy and sad occasion, a celebration of the life of Dawn Hampton, an icon in the lindy hop community who passed away late last year. I always love being in New York, a place that still has my heart, despite being away for six years…
Category: Food and Drink
Maison Bleue: Yummy New Bistro and Creperie in Berkeley!
My brother-in-law Fadh and his partner have just opened Maison Bleue, a new French bistro / creperie in downtown Berkeley that I am super excited about. Located just a couple of blocks from the Downtown Berkeley BART station on Kittredge, Maison Bleue looks like a nice addition to the neighborhood. They specialize in both savory…
My 2016 in Pictures
It's been a strange year for a lot of people including myself, with a lot of drama and ups and downs. That said, I have a lot to be thankful for in 2016. Here's a pictorial recap of some of my favorite moments in the year. Dancing Dancing was a huge part of 2016, which…
Lessons from Cheating and Eating: Carbs Don’t Satisfy
My cheat days are primarily about staying healthy and enjoying the good stuff at the same time. But I'm also learning lots of neat stuff about my body. Yesterday, I was eating A LOT. A giant plate of ricotta-stuffed french toast with a half dozen slices of bacon. A pork bahn mi sandwich and an…
Health Update August 2016: Eating Well and Always Moving
Not many significant changes since my last major post about my health in March. Still doing the same stuff I was doing back then, including a low-sugar, low-carb, high protein and veggie diet, burning about 2,600 calories a day in activities, and cheating once a week. The stats above show that over the year, I've…
Taste Test: Lyckans Ost Rakor – Swedish Shrimp-flavored Cheese Spread!
Swedes love their cheese spreads, apparently. There are several varieties in the grocery that I saw when I was there last week. This one looked particularly weird, since it had a picture of some shrimp on it. Shrimp cheese spread? Sure, why not? Here's how my taste test of "Lyckans Ost Rakor" went. All…
Nana’s Rolls, Mom’s Spaghetti, Nairobian Langoustines: Your Wonderful Food Stories
For my birthday this year, I decided to request my friends to send me personal stories about food. I’m so impressed with the stories that people shared! Here are some of my favorites. Mom’s Noodles Credit: CC-licensed photo by Cameron Cassan Homemade spaghetti came up a couple of times in friend's stories. My friend Jim…
Which is more effective for weight loss: diet or exercise?
An interesting video from Vox summarizing scientific research on the efficacy of exercise versus diet with relation to weight loss. TLDR; several research studies conclude that a healthy diet is a better strategy for losing and keeping off weight. Exercise is good for your health overall, but is only a small portion of your overall…
Figs, Proscuitto and A Birthday Request to You
It was the summer of 1998. I was on a work trip to Rome, Italy with some colleagues at the human rights group I worked for a the time, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court. We were being treated to dinner by a local Italian human rights nonprofit. It was one of our first…
Happy Kouign Amman Day! Touring SF’s Best Kouign Amman
Today, June 20th, is "National Kouign Amman Day." (Just go with it.) Since it falls on a Monday, I gathered some friends to run around San Francisco yesterday to sample the various versions of this unique, very French pastry. For those that don't know, kouign amann is a round crusty cake, made with a yeast-raised dough containing layers of butter…