Pike Place Chowder (http://www.pikeplacechowder.com/)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Restaurants
Cuisine:	Other
Location:	1530 Post Alley, Seattle WA

I met up with my friend Manolet last January 4. He just moved to Bellevue, Washington last end November 2008 and has never been to downtown Seattle. So I decided to take him to the famous Pike Place Public Market as he's never been there. (Naks! Ako na tourist guide. hehe. It's only my 2nd time there. And my brother-in-law and sister actually dropped me off on their way to Costco. hehe.) We met where his bus tops at West Lake Center.

Anyway, walking 4 blocks in the cold winter, one starts thinking of hot soup to warm up. And when you're in bay area Seattle, the answer is simple Pike Place Chowder.

It's multi-awarded New England Clam Chowder made the place famous so of course I had to try it. Clam chowders I've tasted before tend to be watery and too fishy tasting and so I was not exactly a fan. But this was creamy and thick and yummy to perfection. The creamy soup covered the fishy taste of the clam but without losing it altogether. The 8oz cup size was actually quite filling. They have it available in other cups too and if you want it, it can also be served in a bread bowl. Manolet got the Scallop Seared Chowder instead.

Ordering at the counter, they have several chowders to choose from and if you can't decide, you can actually taste a spoonful to help you make your choice. Hmmm...maybe I'll try the other chowders next time I head out to Seattle.

Ivar's Salmon House (http://www.ivars.net)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Restaurants
Cuisine:	Seafood
Location:	401 NE Northlake Way Seattle WA

Day before I went back to Manila, my brother-in-law's Uncle Ted and Auntie Elsa were so sweet and kind to take me to Ivar’s Salmon House for dinner. They had hoped to bring me there for Sunday Brunch Buffet but unfortunately time did not permit.
Ivar's Salmon House is wonderfully located at the shore of Lake Union where guests can arrive via car or boat! It also has a wonderful view of Seattle’s skyline and you can also enjoy watching boats cruising the lake when you sit outside near the shore (when not too cold) or even inside (where we sat) by the shore-side windows.
The website describes the restaurant interior as a "wood cedar replica of a Northwest Indian Longhouse." To those like me that don't know what this means, the interior consisted of Indian wood carving, art and drawings, historical pictures of Indian tribes people, and pretty much everything you need to know about Salmon. It even has real long canoe-like boats hanging from the ceiling. I wish I brought my camera to take pictures. It almost felt like a museum but just the same it had cozy, homey feeling to it.
I ordered the Banana Squash Soup and of course, salmon, in the form of Alder Grilled Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon (pancetta wrapped, served over spinach salad with mushrooms, onions and slivered tomatoes). The soup a bit spicy and gingery. It was good but it's not going to be my favorite. And though I've been eating salmon pretty much every other day since I got to Seattle -- from grilled salmon to sinigang salmon---I really enjoyed the salmon dish I got. I'm told by the waitress that the salmon was topped with bacon strips and spices, wrapped in paper before it was grilled to perfection. It gave a twist to the salmon without losing the creaminess of the fish. The spinach salad allowed me to refresh my tongue in between bites of the salmon. Yes it was good though a bit pricey - $28 for the salmon!
Anyway, 3 stars for the food + 1 star for the great location and interiors. I hope next time I can try the famous Sunday Brunch.

Tempero do Brasil (http://www.temperodobrasil.net/)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Restaurants
Cuisine:	Other
Location:	5628 University Way NE, Seattle WA

Part of what I enjoy about traveling is trying out new cuisines.
Tonight, I met up with my old college friend Le, who's based in Seattle. He and his partner Mike brought me to this authentic Basilian restaurant along University Way. They've been there about 4 times and love how authentic the food tastes.
It's a quaint little restaurant much like a small house converted into a restaurant. It's quite a small structure compared to the other small buildings in the vicinity so one can easily miss it when you're driving by. But just the same the space is adequate and cozy with nice dark wood chairs and tables that give the place an intimate feel. (Picture here is from their website and not sure if it's due to the winter that the front porch-like area is currently covered with temporary walls so as to keep the place free from draft.)
Anyway, Le and I shared an order of Moqueca de Camarao (prawns simmered in coconut milk, onions and tomatoes, palm oil) as well as the House Special (stew of 3 types of meats with black beans and some greens on the side). Both served with rice. The prawns were perfectly creamy to my taste and the stew had such tender meats and sausages that easily complemented the black beans. Really mouth watering. I didn't know which was the last taste I wanted to leave in my mouth! Really yummy!
Only reason I rated it 4 stars is that I have yet to try the other dishes. And well, it's a bit pricey with appetizers at around $6 and the main course at $19 but just the same, I wouldn't mind going back once in a while. :-)

Thanks again to Le for treating me to such a wonderful, memorable meal.

ARTAPRE1

I had this class in college called ARTAPRE1 or in lay, Art Appreciation.  Our teacher was old but I think he successfully opened our eyes at seeing art for what it is, what it could possibly be and even the aesthetic of some artforms like that of the Filipino jeepney.  I remember my favorite era being the Impressionism.  I loved the brush strokes and play of colors and Van Gogh easily captivated my eye.  How I wished to try painting back then.  Having artists for friends and my sister, a Fine Arts graduate,  I was exposed to different artists.  To me, art was simple.  As long as it was something I was willing to look at and not mind having it on my wall, it was good art.

Yesterday, my sister and brother-in-law brought me to SAM or the Seattle Art Museum.  I haven't been to a museum in quite a while and it was a nice way to spend a Friday afternoon.  SAM has an interesting collection:  a mix of modern, contemporary and historical art.

This visit to the museum gave me a new perspective of what I liked about art.

I still don't care to surmise about the "questions or emotions" artworks should evoke the viewer.  It still sounds like over-thinking the artwork to me as with the caption next to Edward Hopper's Automat painting which says:  What is she doing all alone in this Automat?  Is she waiting for someone?  Is it just a stopover as she's heading to her real destination?  Or Andy Warhol's Double Elvis which had dramatic thoughts on the silver and the fading and duality of Elvis. 

Today I realized, I like art mostly for its relevance to the times.

In the case of Hopper, he was a keen observant of the times, short of being a voyeur.  He even admitted to shamelessly watching and even staring at people in their unguarded moments. And from this he observed a changing times:  when women started joining the workforce and leaving the home.  It used to be that women won't be found eating alone outside of the home.  She would most likely be accompanied by her consort.  Hence the Automat really depicted the changing times which had opened a gateway to a lifestyle as  we know it today:  women independently going out into the world and enjoying it even when they're alone.

I also like pieces of art that told rich stories like the European chinoiserie tapestries that tells the story of a vogage of a Prince and the different magnificent encounters he had along the way.  I also like art that are part of history like the Egyptian pieces and the Italian Room.  And well, one always has an appreciation for art that imitates life as with the French sculptures.
I haven't been to a museum in quite a while.  It's really surprising how enriching the experience can be.

Burn After Reading

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Comedy

I have to qualify: the movie actually gets 3 stars, the extra star is for Brad Pitt!
THE MOVIE: Find out how the CIA pays for a desperate woman's cosmetic surgery. Gave me a few laughs. I like how the story slowly unfolded where seemingly unrelated events are woven into a single plot.
CAST: Superb casting but Brad Pitt remains to be my favorite. As Mike and I always say, Brad Pitt is such a great actor. He readily surrenders himself to the characters he plays allowing the audience to easily forget the actor and immerse themselves with the story and the characters on screen. (Can you tell I'm fan??? ha-ha)

Eraserheads Reunion Concert

A week has passed but my head is still a-buzz with the recent Eraserheads reunion concert. 
The news of an Eraserheads reunion hit like an undetected earthquake that rocked every Eheads fan's world.  There were a lot of questions (was it true? was Ely really going to do this? when and where is it going to happen? where and how do we get tickets?) BUT there was no question in the fans' minds; they were going to attend what would probably be the greatest reunion concert in the history of Philippine music.
By now most of you have read about the sturm und drung (to borrow Tim Gunns' words in Project Runway which means storm and stress in German)
surrounding this much anticipated event in the OPM scene.  If not you can head over to Philmusic.com for the gritty details.

4 days before THE DAY
Approximately 8,000-10,000 tickets were sold from Aug 27, 6pm until probably just a few minutes before the concert started at 8.15pm on Aug 30, 2008. There were only two ticket prices on sale: P1300 for Patron section and P800 for the General Admission.  There were also SVIP and VIP tickets which were probably available to family, friends, and celebrities, members of the press and whoever else that had a connection somewhere to the organizers or to the band.  I’m also told that VIP tickets were given to those who signed up at Red Nation website when it was still being “promoted” as a free concert by Philip Morris.  Since Mike and I weren’t remotely affiliated to anyone, I got our tickets at around 6.45pm as soon as the tickets were sold.  In fact our control number was 79 and 80. Talk about being excited.

The final venue was the Fort Open ground (just behind NBC tent and across Bonifacio High Street).  Attendance was probably close to 15,000 (or 20,000 according to the final promoter, Radiohead) including SVIP and VIP invites never mind if it was a standing only concert, no seats provided at all.

The Fort and The Crowd
Mike and I were at the Fort around 3.30pm.  I wanted to make sure we didn't have trouble with parking.  Even my lucky parking streak can be shaky in situations like this. And anyway, the concert was the only thing on our To Do list that day.  We had an early dinner and by 5.30pm, we headed to the concert venue. 
There was already a good crowd of people when we got there. One could feel the excitement and anticipation in the air.  The mood was very festive.  People came in prepared with their plastic mats, plastic bags or used carton boxes to sit on the open ground.  A few also brought along umbrellas or jackets in case it rained. Pretty much every other person had a camera on hand from simple point and shoots to DSLRs to document their attendance and what can be considered a historic event. As expected several booths were selling food and drinks and of course, Eraserheads CDs.
The Patron section was still a good 300 ft from the stage.  The field had a relatively flat terrain and even with the elevated stage, I knew I would hardly see anything from my low point of view.  I relied mainly on the large screens at the back of the stage, on the sides of the stage, behind the tech booth (which was situated right smack across the stage) and on the large screen near the back of the Patron section to get a view of what was happening on stage.  (Marcus Adoro posted a layout in his Markus Highway multiply site)

The Concert
At around 8.05pm the screens flashed a ten-minute countdown before the concert started.  And thousands of fans altogether screamed their excitement.  The crowd even counted down the last 10 seconds of every minute that turned and brought the time closer to seeing Eraserheads once again on stage.  10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1… The huge background screen flashed old band pictures.  It was almost pandemonium then there was an explosion of music and the band started playing the intro to “Alapaap” as the band rose from beneath the stage, revealing each of them in their usual spot when they used to perform together.  There were fireworks literally and figuratively.  And just about everyone shouted, screamed and sang along as a sea of cameras and hand held phones were recording every possible moment of it.

It was just surreal. Ely, in the middle front, was wearing aviator shades and white long sleeved shirt. Buddy was on the left side, in plain t-shirt and jacket looking like his usual old self albeit gaining a little weight.  Marcus was just as I remembered him but with longer hair. Raimund, on elevated stage behind, sported a wig when he came out but later revealed his Joker green hair. I looked at their faces on screen as they played their respective instruments and sang their old songs.  At first I thought I saw discomfort of playing together after all it’s been 6 years since they shared a stage.  But maybe it was just the anxiety of performing in front of thousands of fans they never knew they had.  Later on, each would break a smile here and there.  Raimund would throw drums sticks at the crowd.  Yeah, they were having fun. 

There were awkward pauses in between songs.  Nobody really cared. Ely was never the type to talk in between songs but a few times he shouted to the crowd "ang daming tao ah" or "ok pa kayo dyan?" It was humid and hot.  No one was comfortable.  Everyone was sweating. But then again, nobody minded at all.

I just wished that the director kept at least the top of the main screen on the band members. It was hard enough for people at the back to see anything that was going on on-stage. The director kept playing with the background.  Sure for effects.  But really the fans went there to see Eraserheads NOT clouds when they were playing Alapaap or pictures from UP as backdrop for Sembreak.  There were several times that the screens we relied on at the back were just blank.  Not sure if it was just a technical glitch but I think it was more of negligence from the tech booth.

Just the same, everyone was really high over hearing old favorites.  Ang saya ng concert.

Sigawan, talunan, kantahan.  Kahit ako na walang makita enjoy pa rin.  But then I noticed but didn’t think much of it at the time:  parang di ko mabasa mukha ni Ely nung kumakanta sya, saka parang yung pagkanta ni Ely kahit kita mo na tinotodo niya parang hindi nya maitodo.  There were times, instead of really singing some of the words he’d just say it in rhythm with the music.  Well Ely was known for changing his lyrics sometimes in the same way when he changed the intro to “Toyang” that night “They tried to tell us we’re too old… Too old to go bold.”  So maybe he was trying something new to his singing.

After what I later found out was the 15^th song, I saw Ely on the screen, squatting with his head down on his guitar. I thought maybe he was just tired or overwhelmed.  Then the lights closed.  The screen flashed a 20 minute countdown.  After a little over an hour of reminiscing with the band, it was time for an intermission.

The Missing Ending
More than 20 minutes had passed, the concert hasn’t resumed.  And then I heard Buddy’s voice.  He introduced himself and the rest of the band. I turned to the screen flashing their faces.  He then introduced Lally, Ely’s sister to make the announcement: They thanked everyone for being there but Ely was too sick to continue, he’s being rushed to the hospital.  They’re apologizing but they had to cut the concert short.  Francis Lumen, Radiohead and MTV PH main man, asked for a minute’s silent prayer for Ely.  After which the crowd was asked to peacefully leave the grounds.
Everyone was stunned. I guess everyone had mixed feelings about it.  That was it? Bitin. Hindi tapos yung concert. Was it true? But Ely seemed fine. We hoped he was fine.

But as selfish creatures, we all had one nagging thought in our minds:  Sana may reunion ulit.


Post script: 
I read on Phimusic.com that after the crowd dispersed, the rest of the Eraserheads found their way to Saguijo which was supposed to be the post concert party venue of sorts.  They didn’t go all at the same time.  But they ended up playing songs that was supposed to be played in the 2^nd set in the guise of celebrating with the knowledge that Ely was going to be fine.  Tingin ko nabitin lang sila tumugtog. 

By now we all know that Ely underwent another angioplasty procedure due to a blocked artery.  He’s been released from the hospital and is now awaiting full recovery.

Below are the songs from the first set
1. Alapaap
2. Ligaya
3. Sembreak
4. Hey Jay
5. Harana
6. Fruitcake
7. Toyang
8. Kama Supra
9. Kailan
10. Huwag Kang Matakot
11. Kaliwete
12. With A Smile
13. Shake Yer Head
14. Huwag Mo Nang Itanong
15. Lightyears

Pictures here c/o Francine and her friend. You can also check out pictures posted on Flickr.com

A Dirty Job, Bloodsucking Fiends, You Suck

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Literature & Fiction
Author:	Christopher Moore

First of all, let me say up front: I'm a sucker for twisted fiction stories. So when officemate, Kristen, told me about a humorous book called "Lamb, The Gospel according to Biff," I was intrigued.

I wanted to borrow "Lamb" as airport read during my recent trip but Kristen, who loved the author so much, wanted me to read "A Dirty Job" first as this was the Moore's usual style and he was afraid I wouldn't read the other books after reading "Lamb."

So I brought "A Dirty Job" and left "Lamb" at home thinking I might not be able to read it and I didn't want to be carrying it around during my 3-wk vacation. It was an easy read. You can say I enjoyed Moore enough that after I finished the book, I bought the two other books on the condition that it was on sale. :P

Generally I like the way Moore weaves the unreal into the modern day world as he does in "A Dirty Job" where normal guy Charlie Asher discovers his new role as sort of Death's little helper; "Bloodsucking Fiends" where Jody wakes up one day a vampire, her journey as she discovers her powers and falls in love with her minion, aspiring writer Tommy from Indiana; and "You Suck" a sequel to "Bloodsucking Fiends." (Good thing, I read Bloodsucking Fiends first too.) I found it clever how he infuses characters and sometimes events from these different books in the same way that Buffy made a cameo in Angel (the series spin-off from Buffy the vampire slayer) or how he turns some characters into regulars (as in the case of the Emperor and Inspector Rivera) while changing the character leads.

I like that Moore's writing is light and easy to read. His plots are sometimes predictable but somewhat intriguing and with enough twists to make one stick to the end and leave you wanting to pick up another of his stories. Most of all, I like how Moore also surprises you with quips that will make you laugh-out-loud.