Pete "Namaste Y'all" L.'s Profile

The food was good--not necessarily hair-on-fire-zomg great, but very good. I had the muffaletta.

What I adore about this place? The people watching and artful banter of between customers, servers and chefs. There's something about hearing conversations and orders in the soft patois of the New Orleans accent that transforms this diner into an other worldly experience.

This place is really messed up. For one thing, it took forever to find the place because the link above is just to some generic website with completely skeezy looking women who need to pull their pants up.

The menu was clearly inspired by someone under the influence of benzodiazepines and cocaine. Creamed razor clam? Shaved roast beef served with an artichoke watermelon gratin? Fugu shaved ice?

And to top it off, the service was absolutely awful. Clearly, no happy ending.

Putting my gustatory fate in the hands of the chef, I opted for the Omakase option ($35). What unfolded was far more than I bargained for: over six courses that were a mix of small and medium size plates (roughly 13 total), the skill of the chefs and the quality of the ingredients combined to create a poetic dining experience. Complementary items in each course paired perfectly and the mugi-cha (roasted barley tea) provided a lightly astringent break between bites.

Service was excellent, with each course receiving a straightforward narrative that was mercifully devoid of cloying descriptions, and portion sizes should be enough to sate even those with generous appetites.

Especially notable:
Course #2: Pork belly, lightly salted and grilled to perfection. In a world awash in bad food that tastes robotic, this item was a potent defense of the power of natural flavors.

Course #3: Fresh silken tofu from Ota, topped with shredded bonito flake, green onion and freshly grated ginger, resting in a pool of soy sauce. Simple a confident, a clean break from the previous course.

Course #4: Hamachi, topped with shredded radish, wakame underneath, hints of wasabi and soy.

Course #5: Chicken kara-age and saba nanbanzuke.

Dessert course: peach and shiso leaf sorbet. I'm generally skeptical of Asian Fusion and thought this item might have jumped the shark, but was pleasantly surprised. The shiso provided a slightly medicinal--almost anisette--counterpoint to the peachy sweetness.

There aren't a lot of options in Cedarville, but if you're looking for a clean room for a good value, the JnR hotel is an excellent choice.

The gentleman who worked the front desk was extremely kind, even at 3 AM in the morning (my trip was delayed). He was even kind enough to delay my check-out time by an hour to allow me to get some additional sleep!

"Oh, so you purchased a YaeComWood from Ham Radio Outhouse?"

Joking aside, HRO is the premiere Portland metro area destination for all things ham radio. The customer service here is enthusiastic, patient and highly qualified. Experienced hams will enjoy their excellent inventory; newbies will appreciate folks who are generous with advice.

HRO is also a good alternative to Radio Shack for things like coax, DC power supplies, the always-useful Anderson PowerPoles ("sexless connectors"), antennas, and other RF-related things.

I am generally not a fan of chain restaurants, but I must say that the chili at Skyline is remarkable. There's something in the herbs and spices being used (fennel? chocolate?) that gives this chili a complex, dimensional flavor.

The habanero

Excellent performance art venue in Indianapolis, with laid-back decor and atmosphere.

The food is good, service fast and attentive and the KIMCHEE surprisingly good!

Superb place to catch a show (assuming you like the genre).

Easily the best designed hostel I've ever stayed in. The cleverly desinged "pods" are a rather pleasant middle ground between a private hotel room and a hostel bunk. Each pod has curtains that help block out light for sleeping in, as well as shelves, a power outlet and a reading light.

As mentioned by previous reviewers, yes, this hostel can be LOUD, but then again, I've never believed that hostels were a good choice for the fussy, overly fastidious or light sleepers. Free earplugs provided for those that need them.