Adventure at Boston Burger Company

Photo taken with instagram.

I had been hearing about the nearby Boston Burger Company for awhile and finally roped in a friend to try this place. Upon opening the menu, before even deciding on what burger to try, we quickly agreed that we had to try the fried rocky mountain oysters (aka bull testicles). Said friend is a fan of offal and other weird foods and was the perfect companion to try this exotic treat.

Photo taken with instragram.

So what did they taste like? Flavor-wise they had a regular beef taste. The novelty lies in the chewy/spongy texture, similar what you'd find with beef tongue. The "oysters" were  served with the traditional fried seafood condiments of cocktail and tartar sauce. I would definitely order them again.

I believe the fun of trying the rocky mountain oysters totally overshadowed what was a really tasty and filling burger! While the burger comes with delicious homemade chips, many Yelpers recommend the fries, which I will definitely try on a future visit...unless the oysters are still available on the menu.

Pedalboard update: January 2012

Before...

...and After!

• The Line 6 M9 replaced quite a few pedals when I picked it up a few months ago. I haven't had much time to play it recently since December flew by so quickly, but I'm still digging the simplification of my board. I have the M9 taking care of all modulation, delays, reverb and will continue to tweak my settings as I haven't played live with the new set up yet.
• Back in the summer, I added to my pedalboard the Mini Buffer from This1sMyne to my board. The blog Andy's Corner has a great entry titled "Buffers Explained" for those interest in the specifics of the magic black box.  The funny thing is it made a huge difference when I was running 8 or 9 pedals, but now with the M9 reducing my total number of pedals, I'll need to run some tests if I even still need it.
• This is dumb, but I do miss the splash of color that the TR-2 and the Signa Drive brought to the board.
• My volume pedal has made a slow migration from the left side of the board, now all the way to the right.

Icy treats

Back in November, we visited Snopo in the New World Mall Food Court in Flushing, NY. What you see above is the "Snow White" found under the header "Romantic Snowy". Looking at the rest of the menu, we quickly encounter the "Engrish" you would usually find at an Asian stationary store. Really, all that was missing from our dessert was a Hello Kitty drawn with syrup to complete this insane dessert. My wife said the look of the dish was like letting Buddy the Elf loose in the kitchen with the task of creating a cold dessert. While kettle corn and multi-colored cereal with shaved ice might be your thing, I just couldn't get over the resulting texture, which I can call "sticky" at best. Although this was not really what I was expecting, it was fun to try, but I would definitely order something else should we return on our next trip to NY.

Tuesday's Tunes: I Lift My Hands

This one's been on repeat a lot as of late, enjoy!

I Lift My Hands
By: Matt Maher , Louie Giglio , Chris Tomlin

Verse 1
Be still, there is a Healer
His love is deeper than the sea
His mercy is unfailing
His arms, a fortress for the weak

Pre-Chorus
Let faith arise, let faith arise

Chorus
I lift my hands to believe again
You are my refuge, You are my strength
As I pour out my heart, these things I remember
You are faithful, God, forever

Verse 2
Be still, there is a river
That flows from Calvary's Tree
A fountain for the thirsty
Your grace that washes over me

Pre-Chorus
Let faith arise, let faith arise

Bridge
Let faith arise, let faith arise
Open my eyes, open my eyes
Let faith arise, let faith arise
Open my eyes

Bye Buddy...

*Sigh* Another Christmas has come and gone...keep it real Mr. Narwhal.

The original clip from Elf for those out of the loop:

Photos: Christmas vacation to Hawaii

We had the lovely opportunity to spend a week in Hawaii visiting my wife's family for the last week of December and through New Year's Day! A few quick highlights:

• A lot of quality time with immediate and extended family (we had parties both New Year's Eve AND Day)
• Although the winter is the rainy season for the islands, we had a beautiful weather the whole week we were visiting.
• Got better with the family dog, Mia. I never grew up with pets, but I definitely learned what great companions they are and what fun a simple walk into town could be with her. Needless to say, Mia doesn't get out much and she really enjoyed the new scenery and people, but was pretty tired afterwards.
• Explored a new beach we never went to before, that was a super-popular spot for local surfers. We went in the late afternoon which made for some beautiful photos you'll see below. Reminded me that God sure is a talented artist.
• Checked "experience omakase at a nice Japanese restaurant" off my bucket list. Best nigiri sushi I've had, ever, and such a great culinary adventure to share with my wife.. Note to self: formalize the rest of my mental bucket list.
• I love izakaya restaurants...kinda gleamed this from our trip to Hawaii two years ago. But when we were catching up with an old college roommate this trip, I had ama-ebi nigiri for the first time, and to my delight, when you order this, you also get the head of the prawns deep fried so that you can just eat the whole thing like a big 'ol shrimp chip. DELICIOUS.

And now, here are a few snapshots:

Panda pastries

Katsu curry

Horse lamp at the restaurant Stage

The Mrs. with the family dog Mia

Pancakes with a delicious macadamia nut sauce at Boots and Kimo's

Dessert @ Snow Factory

Last night in Hawaii, down by the tourists in Waikiki

Last activity before flying? Why a hike up Diamond Head National Park w/ family friend Jeremy.

So sad to say "Goodbye" :( See you again soon Hawaii!

Tuesday's Tunes: Unending Love

Unending Love - Hillsong Live



Happy 2012 everyone! I've been playing this track from the "God is Able" album a lot recently, I hope you enjoy!