The result was this: Snack Attack

I dunno how I went so long without mentioning it here but now you know. I've been meaning to update it so you can play without creating an account but I haven't been able to find the time amidst all the other projects I'm working on.

In other news...

After a couple months of commuting to work by bike, my casual riding has blossomed into a full blown obsession and I can say with some confidence that Werner is one of the best purchases I've ever made. As long as there's not any rain expected that day I now bike and, as a result, I've started to really lose patience with the subway system in the cases I do ride it. Standing still on a train just can't compete with weaving in and out of New York City traffic, even if the trains actually move faster.

I've found that despite the train's much higher top speed, in many cases I've found biking to be a faster way to get around, mainly because you can always take a much more direct route and there's not as much stop and go. My commute takes anywhere from half an hour to an hour by subway and is consistently about 45 minutes when I bike. Not too shabby. The winter here might be a little rough but I'm going to try to ride at least once a week. I'll be sure to keep everybody updated on how that goes...

John McCain clearly stole a page straight out of Admiral James Stockdale's playbook. Stockdale was Ross Perot's running mate in 1992 and appears to have been quite the character.

Despite what you might think of Nike, these two commercials that they released this past summer were just brilliant pieces of filmmaking. The montage they put together to celebrate the olympics is sure to put a knot in the stomach of any sports fan while Guy Ritchie's Nike soccer commercial made for the Euro Cup is by far the best thing he's ever done.

The version of Ritchie's commercial that I've embedded is the directors cut which I don't think was ever aired on TV. It's a little over three minutes long and worth watching even if you've seen the shorter versions.

(the ones I've tried are bolded)

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu or shaojiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

This past May, while I was in Austin attending South by Southwest, I managed to prove wrong the widely believed notion that anything tastes better fried. A fried avocado taco I had at an otherwise fine taco place was a disappointment and left me speechless.

Last night, an idea came to me, one that would test the theory that all food tastes better with Sriracha sauce. This might not be a belief that's as widespread as that of the magic of fried foods, but anybody who has experienced the sauce will accept it as fact.

The test subject was a McDonald's cheeseburger. Piled high with french fries and topped with a liberal dose of Sriracha, the burger tasted pretty damn good but wasn't the homerun I expected it to be. I'm on the fence about this one and have to say that the test proved to be inconclusive. Perhaps some other brave soul will try it as well and provide a second opinion?

This is Werner, he's a red fixed-gear Iro Mark V. He's named after Werner Herzog because I expect the bike and myself to go on many adventures together and if there's anybody I'd like to adventure with, it's Mr. Herzog.

So far we've mainly stuck to my neighborhood as we've gotten acquainted with one another. Not being able to coast was a little odd at first but I'm quickly getting used to it. Cruising down 5th avenue on a nearly silent bike is pretty awesome and being able to get to Sunset Park for lunch in less than 15 minutes is a beautiful thing. My food foraging expeditions into Brooklyn had largely been confined to areas near subway stations but that looks like it's going to change. I'd already known getting around on a bike was generally considered to be the fastest mode of transportation in the city but I'm only now realizing just how much faster it is than taking the subway.

Werner did suffer his first injury yesterday on my trip back home from Sunset Park. The roads around there aren't in the greatest shape and after hitting a small pothole my front tire suddenly went PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHAWWWWWWWWWWWWW~! Thirty blocks of walking later, I was at my local bike shop getting the tube replaced on my front tire. Note to self and others: Dixon's bike shop in Park Slope is one of the few bike shops I've been to where all the employees are not huge assholes.

Other thoughts, observations and opinions from the past couple months:

Modern sports stadiums are incredibly ugly. Faux-neoclassical columns do not lend a newly constructed building any sort of gravitas. Also, don't demand public funding for a stadium and then not offer any affordable seating. I'm looking at you Yankee Stadium. I'll let the Met's off the hook on this one because they're going to have a Shake Shack inside Citi Field and that makes just about anything okay.

San Francisco is a cool city but it's overrated. The public transportation there left a bit to be desired and it's a tough city to walk (probably why the bike scene there is so awesome). However, I did have some great food including a burrito in the mission and one of the best meals of my life at...

CHEZ PANISSE! Alice Waters, oh how I love you. Located in Berkeley, Chez Panisse is considered one of the best restaurants in the country (and the world) and it completely lived up to expectations. Lee and I ate at the cafe upstairs and were absolutely blown away by how fresh everything was. Sanddab, salmon, spaghetti, everything was perfectly and simply prepared, allowing the quality of the ingredients to do all the work. Lee's dessert was a fruit bowl consisting of one whole plum and a handful of berries. The plum was called "Harold's Miracle Plum," and it really lived up to its name. I assume Harold is a farmer friend of Waters'. I can only hope to have friends someday with gardens that yield such amazing fruit. Who would've ever thought an unadorned plum could be a revelatory experience? Fun Fact: Waters cooked the shoe that Herzog ate in Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe.

Another meal in SF was a huge letdown. In-N-Out burger was so horribly overrated that what I would normally consider to be a pretty good burger was disappointing and even annoying. So many people I know spend so much time gushing over how amazing the food is that I expected the sky to open up and start raining Skittles when I took my first bite. Needless to say, that didn't happen. The first two bites were pretty damn good though, I must admit. The bottom bun was nicely toasted resulting in a nice crunch. As the bun quickly grew soggy, the burger quickly became average. Better than an average fastfood joint but it certainly can't compete with Shake Shack. The animal style fries I had were pretty good but a bit much for one person to finish.

Portland has a LOT of hippies. I knew it was kinda known for that but I was still shocked by the sheer number of hippies on every block I walked through.

Le Pegion and Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland have opened my eyes to the magical combination that is maple and bacon. At Le Pegion, I had a dessert that consisted of cornbread topped with maple ice cream and bacon chunks. At Voodoo Doughnuts I enjoyed a maple bar with a piece of bacon on top. Genius.

I'm not going to lie, McDonald's cheeseburgers are teh hotness.

The Dark Knight was tons of fun but shockingly pretentious and clumsy in its attempts at being socially and politically relevant. Nolan appears to have a hard-on for Michael Mann and that's totally fine with me (because I do too) but his action sequences are nowhere near as well presented as those of Mann's. Ledger's performance is as good as everybody says but I found the Joker to ultimately be a pretty uninteresting character. A force of nature I couldn't take my eyes off, yes, but interesting? Not really. I hate to say this, but despite all the love Ledger is getting now, I'd be shocked if he's still as highly regarded a couple decades from now.

The X-Files movie was a pleasant surprise. Mulder and Scully ARE interesting and fun characters and seeing them again was great. The movie is just a big budget, glorified episode of the show but that's fine with me. The show was just a series of low budget short films. I've even admitted to many people that I enjoyed this movie more than the Dark Knight...

Why does all the coverage of U.S. Baseball keep calling them an "international superpower?" Everyone seems shocked by the lack of a dominating performance coming from team USA but they've done very little in international tournaments to warrant such surprise.

Cuban Wheat Shakes are the bomb diggity.

Ba Xuyen in Sunset Park makes the best Banh Mi I've had in New York. Saigon Bakery is pretty damn good but Ba Xuyen is out of this world good.

I recently went to Di Fara for the third time and can now say without a doubt that it's the real deal. Lee and I split a half green olive, half artichoke pie and ate for long periods in stunned silence as other customers watched us down the entire pizza.

Pineapple Express had some great moments but was overall a disappointment. David Gordon Green is capable of so much more and it's a bit frustrating to watch him waste his time working on something like this. That's not to say I wouldn't have done the same thing if I was him. James Franco does give a great performance but the movie ultimately felt like Harold and Kumar make an action movie, minus Harold and Kumar. One major thing the movie had going for it is a potential reference to No Retreat, No Surrender. I'm not convinced it was actually a reference but I also wouldn't be surprised if it was. I'd say there's about a 50/50 chance it was.

Scarpetta, a new Italian restaurant in the Meatpacking District, recently got a lot of much deserved press as the local food critics published their reviews. Lee took me there for my birthday and we had a great meal. While everything was good the highlight was the handmade spaghetti with an impossibly delicious tomato sauce. Who knew spaghatti could be that good?

I recently read the Watchmen for the second time and was better able to appreciate the brilliance of the book. Once you know the plot you get a chance to pay more attention to the meticulous craftsmanship that went into the construction of the book.

The trailer for the Watchmen is awesome but also very worrisome. The director of the 300? Really?

Lolita is a really really good book so far. Good but creepy.

Synchronized diving is one of the silliest sports in the Olympics. I find it so arbitrary considering that almost anything could be made into a synchronized sport. Synchronized shotput anybody? Nothing inherent to diving seems to indicate to me that it's more fit for synchronization than any other sport requiring precise physical actions.

The 2010 Winter Olympics are being held in Vancouver which is near Seattle. I'm so there.

Waking up at 5am to watch Olympic soccer is pretty rough. I'm a pretty emotionally stable guy but waking up at 5am and watching your team get eliminated on back to back heartbreaking games can be a bit much to handle when you're sleep deprived. Nevertheless, I didn't cry myself back to sleep. Seriously.

The Wire is an amazing television show but claims by others that it's "the most important television show of all time" are just silly. I mean, what does that even really mean?

I've watched the first episode of Mad Men and am impressed so far.

The idea that the Olympics are sacred and that politics shouldn't be a part of them are naive and misguided. If it's an issue involving the lives of millions of people, the time and the place for speaking out about it should be anywhere and anytime people are listening. The IOC needs to grow a pair.

The opening ceremonies by Zhang Yimou were pretty spectacular.

Metal Gear Solid 4 was tons of fun to play during the little actual gameplay that it contains. Most of the damn game felt like watching a really cheesy Japanese movie. I loved it but is a 90 minute cut scene at the end of a game really necessary?

Fixed-gear bikes are a popular hipster accessory and as a result, I've found myself being self conscious sometimes when I'm riding around. I probably look like the biggest poser ever but I figure any snob desperate enough to judge me is probably the real poser.

The Mariners are horrible and I don't expect that to change anytime soon.

The Red Bulls actually seem to be turning their season around. Perhaps I should look into booking tickets to this year's MLS Cup?

Going nuts in the U.S. Supporters section at the U.S. vs Argentina game at Giant's Stadium was one of the most fun experiences of my life. Hopefully, the U.S. vs Cuba game in D.C. this October will be just as fun.

Driving from Portland to San Francisco in one day while taking the scenic route down the Oregon Coast is a bad idea. However, if you must do it, be sure to stop by Voodoo Doughnuts in the morning and get at least a half dozen doughnuts to fuel you along the way.

Radiohead at All Points West was predictably spectacular but being surrounded by Kings of Leon fans so that you can save your spot gets old really really fast. It was worth it though (barely).

My brother got me an 8-inch Global chef's knife and it's super badass. I love it and have been looking for pretty much any excuse to cut something.

Bicycle helmets make my already big head look absolutely gigantic.

It's tempting to go riding without a helmet since I totally trust my own riding abilities but it's the abilities of other people using the road that I don't trust. With my cynical worldview in regards to the general intelligence of the average person, it shouldn't be surprising that I don't trust most people to safely operate big metal machines at high speeds.

The fact that female gymnasts perform their floor routines to music and supplement their acrobatics with dancerly flourishes is pretty regressive. Yes, I realize they're all 16 year old girls but still is that really necessary?

Some Barack Obama fanatics are so obnoxious that I almost don't want to vote for him just to spite them. They're lucky that John McCain is even more annoying than they are.

Welcome back to blogging Vadim. Hopefully this venture into the world of nerdom (as if it could get any worse considering the dumb sci-fi crap you're always reading) will last longer than your Myspace blog did.

I've got more stuff to add but this post is getting way too long and I should probably go to bed. More observations and opinions soon...

This map is still a work in progress. Lots of places in Manhattan and Park Slope that I like are missing but that's because they're generally already very well known or not that interesting compared to what can be found in Queens or more remote areas of Brooklyn.

I've probably been to about a quarter of the places on this map and the rest are places I'm planning on visiting.

Pizza and a Coca-Cola Slurpee on the floor, flash photography... this is what happens when Lee's not around...

EDIT: I would just like to clarify that my dinner was not actually that sad. In fact, it was quite delicious. However, I image it would've been sad to walk into my room and see me with my pizza on the floor, Slurpee in hand, in my messy room, watching TV while eating.

Should be arriving in the next month or so...

Yesterday I got back from a trip that included stops in Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco. Some of the photos I took on the trip (including those from Voodoo Doughnuts) are on Lee's camera but most of them can be found on my flickr.

I opened up Google Reader today to find that my top recommendations list is headed by the official "Magic the Gathering" blog.

Shocked and humiliated I scrambled for an excuse but I had none. I then tried to isolate the cause of this recommendation within the list of blogs I'm subscribed to. No luck. I'm subscribed to some videogame related blogs but that's about it in terms of that genre of geekery.

Yes, I did play Magic in elementary school but I was unaware of the fact that Google has started crawling our actual histories and not just our browsing history. Freaky stuff.

Full screenshot here.

Something about this guy's demeanor just rubs me the wrong way. He's even worse than Giuseppe Franco:

I celebrated this past Fourth of July weekend with a trip to Montreal, Quebec. It's a beautiful city and it was close enough that a day trip to Quebec City was also possible. Photos from the trip are in my Flickr.

Over three years of partially working for Food & Wine Magazine has turned me into somewhat of a foodie. Most recently, I gave into the massive hype surrounding Momofuku Ko, managed to get a reservation there, and spent a significant chunk of my stimulus check on a brilliant dinner. However, despite the hoity-toity origins of my young obsession with food, I've started going easy on my wallet and conscience (you can only spend so much on a meal before you start to feel guilty...).

New York is well known for its upscale restaurants but it's also known for the diversity of its people. With all those people come ethnic enclaves all around the city where you can find amazing food from every region of the world you can imagine. Most of these meals can be had for little over the price of the glass of orange juice I had for brunch in my neighborhood this morning.

Exploring regional cuisines has led me to visit areas of the city I would otherwise never have thought to explore. It's also taught me a lot about the various regions of different countries around the world, most notably those of Thailand and China. While it was always obvious that each country consists of many different cultures, just like the U.S., it really struck me yesterday.

Because it was a half day, some of my coworkers and I went out to Flushing, Queens to eat at a restaurant called A Fan Ti that we had read about online. One look at the menu will tell you that this place isn't your typical Chinese restaurant. It's almost all lamb and you can get just about any part of that lamb you want. Testicles, eyeballs, etc.

Unfortunately, when we got there, they no longer had the English menus. Everything was in Chinese so we stumbled through ordering via the limited Mandarin that the two Malaysians in our group spoke. What struck me was when we asked if they had any pork dishes they told us that they were a Muslim place and didn't sell pork.

Hearing this instantly made me feel really ignorant. I had never realized that there's a Muslim population in China and it left me feeling a little lost because suddenly there was a vast disconnect between what I thought I was going to be eating and what I was actually going to be eating. It's as if I were sitting in North Dakota enjoying Texas-style BBQ just thinking of it as "American food" while having no idea where Texas was or what it's like. Considering that China is such a huge country, it suddenly seemed like it was important to know the story behind what I was about to eat.

After the first shock, the hits just kept on coming, it turned out the employees and the owner were all actually Korean. I got the impression that they were ethnically Korean but from China. Many of the side dishes were very Korean but the main dishes definitely weren't and it's not the sort of neighborhood where a Korean guy with no cred can open a regional Chinese place and get away with it. After some reading on Chowhound, I learned that the food was Xinjiang to be more precise. Armed with the name of the region, I proceeded to spend the next hour or so reading about it, its food, and where else in Queens I need to go eat.

If you don't care about food, it can seem like people read into it too much when famous chefs like Anthony Bourdain go on about how food is so closely tied to a culture's personality and history, but it's true. What a culture eats is shaped by the environment they live in, their beliefs, taboos, history of interaction with other cultures, and everything else they've gone through since humans came into existence. There's a lot to learn from being open minded, eating everything, being curious about what you're eating, and being a dork like me and reading about it after the meal.

Here are photos of the rest of the meal at A Fan Ti:

Lamb Dumplings

Lamb Skewers. We ordered twelve more of these at the end of the meal.

Spicy Fish in broth. Very Sichuan-y, very delicious.

We felt like we should order vegetables of some sort...