New Blog

Please check out my friend and co-worker John Bowers' blog. He's keeping a record of foods he's preparing at home and trust me, its always good stuff!

Plants and Animals Blog

K.I.S.S

Oh how I love this city more and more! The fact that I live in between Little Vietnam and Chinatown makes me smile just about every day. Friday night I had my first experience with Chinese Barbecue at Sun Wah on Argyle St. We ordered Roast Pork Hong Kong style, Barbecue Duck and Salt Baked Chicken. The pork was a thing of beauty! Nice sized chunks with a slight smoke flavor and a big hunk of crackling still attached. The Duck (as you can see from the picture) is nicely lacquered with a sweet glaze and the skin is crisped up a little before service. You can see the duck in its first stage at the right of the picture. They blow air into the cavity to give the skin an even cook and allow heat to circulate inside. The chicken was good, nothing special, but moist and perfect.

One thing you have to understand about my taste in food is its not about how popular a place is, or how hip it is to eat somewhere. Simple food that is prepared the same way it was hundreds of years ago is always gold in my book. While I appreciate and admire most new cooks and what they are doing there is nothing in me that wants to pay 300 bucks for a meal that includes a "Scallop Foam". Yeah, its fun and exciting but 300 bucks can by me a whole bunch of Tiger beers and bowls of Pho! Simplicity is the key! Sushi is a great example, fish on seasoned rice, period. Two food staples and there are so many layers of flavor when you pop a piece of Hamachi into your mouth. This is not to say I don't enjoy expensive food, I'm just more at ease at a mom and pop joint where the clients know the staff and the food is being prepared by grandpa in the back.

Little things make food a visceral experience. Memories, smells and emotions all tie together to make the most basic meal more then something to just fill your stomach. Take my basic little lunch pictured here. To me this was pure heaven! Salami and butter on a baguette (btw air/salt cured meat proves that humanity is not all that bad!), and a Sprechers Cola. Nothing special by any means, but frankly it didn't need to be. The attitude that all meals should be extraordinary is an unfortunate backlash of the Food Network craze right now. Just because you saw it on Top Chef doesn't mean they want you to try it! We need to drop this idea of "cooking as competition", sure it makes for mediocre TV but its breeding home cooks who can't boil water. So please put down the remote, pick up Mastering The Art Of French Cooking and stop telling me you don't have enough time to cook for your family! If you can pick up the phone and call for take out you have time to make a meal. Just remember to keep it simple.

Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention I haven't been on the bike for almost a week! So sue me, its cold out.

Slackers!

I don't really have anything constructive to say so I'm just going to post the only video The Slackers ever made. These guys are an amazingly talented band that made it through the whole 3rd wave ordeal back in the 90's and are still putting out amazing records. Vic Ruggiero is also doing solo gigs and has a great album out called "Alive at The Ladybug House" which sound like very early Dylan, good stuff.

Hot Pot!

Another week has passed and it's still very cold, although the snow has held off. We did our second group ride on Sunday with much fewer riders showing up which I can only attribute to the very cold temps. Zach took us on a different route down the Lake Front Path to Calumet Park. Good ride although sections of the road had some really nasty potholes that would have been a problem with a larger group. Once again Zach and Mike blew my legs off by constantly taking off the front. Don't worry Zach, MTB season roles around your going to be hurting! All in all it was a good ride and I needed a good beat down like that.

After the ride I took Leyla over to her Mom's and then dropped by Ben's so he could set the lower race on my SID WC fork with his fancy new race press. I then made my way out to Ukrainian Village to a my co-worker John Bower's place. Bowers has no formal culinary education and has never worked on the line but he is easily one of the most talented people I know for being self educated. John decided to "clean out the fridge" and do a Szechuan hot pot. Basically this is just a bubbling cauldron of red death in which you place random vegetables and meats till they are done. In the beginning it is not all that spicy but over time the broth reduces and becomes more concentrated! With the addition of Szechuan peppercorns (a mild anaesthetic) this becomes a face numbing/mouth burning experience. The beauty of the meal is that its not all wolfed down at once, you do it in stages with little breaks for beers and xbox games. Communal eating has always been my choice for meals. It allows for more human interaction instead of stuffing your face and mumbling in between bits. I guess that why we drive down to Chinatown so often where all the dishes are served family style.

On a side note our team kits should be in very soon!! I can't wait to get out off the mish-mosh of gear that I'm now wearing and get looking PRO again.

BTW, sorry for the crappy pics but I never have a camera with me so I use the iphone.

A Day Late...

I was all excited this morning to write a nice review of book I got for xmas. Thankfully I checked BKW and he beat me to it! Although I do have to admit he writes much better than me. All I can say is that you should pick up a copy of "Paris-Roubaix: A Journey Through Hell". The photos alone are worth the price.

Ok, now I'm going to have to just ramble on about nothing in particular!

We had our monthly team meeting on Sunday and had a great turnout along with getting some great business done. Being an "official" USAC team we have to hold some sort of event during the year. A road race is just waaaay to expensive and time consuming, we can't do a MTB race because the forest preserve will not allow it at Palos, and the track is strictly controlled by Northbrook! So our tentative plans are to do a cyclocross clinic at the beginning of the cross season. Thankfully we have multiple team members that work for the city in one form or another so they are going to take care of all the red tape to get a park. Our kits should be showing up very soon and I couldn't be more excited! The kit from my previous team is the biggest POS, I can literally see through the bibs like a piece of cheesecloth. Never again will I buy anything from Champ-Sys.

Otherwise the winter grim and salt has taken its tole on my Tarmac. The cranks are very tight and need to cleaned out. Granted I have been riding that rig through all kinds of gunk, you gotta expect these things to happen.

It's Here!

Well ladies and gents its official! Half Acre Cycling is now on the web with our temporary website. Once kits come in we will be putting up pics and bios so stay tuned.

http://halfacrecycling.org/

Death March on the NBT

Now I don't call this a "death march" because it was hard, but because we were dropping like flies with mechanical issues. What I'm referring to is our official team ride on Sunday morning! The weather was a balmy 50 deg. and the rain held off, although the roads were wet from all the fog and condensation. We had about 10 riders show up at Rapid Transit which we will be using as our departure point, and frankly we should have just stayed there with all the flats we had! All in all I believe we had 5 flats and a broken seat collar. Needless to say our pace wasn't the best, 16 miles in around 2 hours is pretty pathetic. We all ended up breaking up and heading home separately with me riding with Zach, Mike and Naz . We were able to keep the pace up nicely along Green Bay Rd. All in all the ride back was great although I got seriously dropped towards the end. My gear is sitting in a garbage bag waiting to be washed since I looked like a victim of Paris-Roubaix when I got home.


On another note I just picked up two of the best albums I've bought in a while, both by The Aggrolites (S/T and Reggae Hit LA). I've had friends tell me to check them out but I've been putting it off, and now I play these albums non-stop! They are so well put together and executed that they just don't get old. Check out the video for "Free Time" from Reggae Hit LA below.



BTW, thanks to Naz for the pics!

Long Time, No See

Yeah, yeah. I know its been a while since I've posted but I was on vacation and I have yet to mentally return! I figure I'll do a little post since Zach hassled me about it. I went down to FL for the holidays to see the family and some old friends. It was a good time but like all holidays everybody wants to see you and you only have so much time. Next time I head down I'm not going to announce it, might be a little more relaxing that way.

Nothing much new on the bike front. Got a killer Campy jacket for xmas that is very warm (finally). Otherwise I'm starting to buckle down and get ready for training to start. I've decided to try and go full out this season, with training and racing. I want rubbery legs every week after I race and I don't want to come off a training session saying "that wasn't so bad". I see guys throwing up and passing out after races, I don't think I ever put that much effort into them. Either that or they are just really out of shape! Hopefully spring will come early and we can start up our group rides to make it all a little more exciting.

That's pretty much all I got!! I'll get back in the swing and start posting again, I promise. Also check out this clip from a show on Nickelodeon called "Yo Gabba Gabba" (look for the Aquabats doll and Vespa in the room), according to Pablo its Hepcat doing the song and from what I hear they also had the Aquabats!

Square Peg, Round Hole

Just got this box from Ben for my trip. Notice how nervous the Tarmac looks in the first pic.
Well he fits, now to just make it past check in without paying fees!
Also, please notice the sexy French towel on the floor. Its a Twingo ad I stole from a friend years ago!

I'm Out!

Thought I'd post one last time before I head down to FL for vacation. I'm really excited to get out of the cold for a while and see some old friends. Not much to report around here. The Jamis is done and looking sexy with new brakes and fork all installed by yours truly! Now I just have to sit and wait for all this snow to melt. We also just put up our xmas tree yesterday, yeah, its a little late but I've been very busy.
In my travels to many markets and shops around the city I've been collecting different brands of sardines! I know its weird but I do like them and some of them have this great '50's look to them. So I've been buying them up with the intent of doing a little taste test. Sardines are one of those foods that hold a special mystic with me. I think its because I have very vivid memories of my Dad eating sardine sandwiches when we lived in Connecticut (also salamis but thats another post). The funny thing is I eat them in the same way. Either on some dark rye or some of that hard Scandinavian cracker bread with a little butter. Whether or not these memories are real or something I've pieced together doesn't hold much value for me. The fact that such a simple food can bring me comfort and enjoyment is whats important. I've never been one to put much stock in food trends and fine dinning. I enjoy food in its simplest forms, no pretentious menus, no mangled sauces or forced emulsions. I'm glad the industry is moving towards embracing locals produce and "comfort" foods. The fact that pork belly costs as much as a steak is amazing!
So the next time you eat something don't just wolf it down. Take the time to consider why you like something. Associating food with a moment in time or a certain sense is a huge part of the overall experience. I have my sardines that remind me of a lake in our back yard and my Dad sitting on the porch eating sandwiches in the summer. The fact is, that is what food is all about, enjoyment. Nothing more, nothing less.

PRO Morning (aka F' The Trainer)

Opening scene, 1am in our protagonists bedroom:
Me: You awake?
Leyla: Yes.
Me: I'm sick of winter I want to go for a ride!
Leyla: What, now!?
Me: Sure, why not.
Leyla: You can ride your trainer tomorrow morning.
Me: Blah!
Fade out with me passing out slipping into dreams of single track and new components.

Ok, I'll stop that now. I can't do a whole post like that (as cool as it would be), not that creative. As luck would have it I got a text from Zach this morning asking me to go ride!! The sun was out and the wind chill a mere 26 deg. We met up by the Fullerton Beach, the only area free of ice patches and bathed in sunlight. We ended up doing about 6 intervals into the wind, around a mile each. The dense winter air was brutal on my lungs but it felt sooooo nice to be outside again. After the intervals I rode back up north with Zach just to get some more miles in. Despite not being able to feel my feet it was a great ride. You really forget how much human interaction helps in training. It was great just to be able and talk about the upcoming season and cycling in general. I turned around somewhere north of Montrose and started my ride back with the wind. I don't think I have every been more content on a bike. My spin was super smooth, the bike was quiet and responsive, nobody on the path and a gorgeous icy/snowy cover on everything. I cranked back doing about 23-24mph only slowing down for a couple ice patches, I felt like a million bucks. I love this sport.

Close scene with our hero sitting at his computer still in kit listening to Hank III and fading off into a day dream of groomed trails and post race victory beers.

Looking at this picture you can't help but wipe the drool from your chin as you admire the new fork and headset. But you may ask yourself why I have the Jamis hooked up to a trainer?! Well....there is a very simple answer to that. You are looking at my sorry excuse for a workstand! That being said I'm doing a nice year end tear down of the brake system. All the cables are getting replaced and I switched out the old lever and canti's for some SD 7 levers and XTR brakes I had on the single speed. I'm not sure what condition the XTR's are in but I know they have better stopping power then the old SD 7 cantis.

Had a nice little chat with Ben about the upgrades I'm doing and he was able to steer me away from buying some very pricey components. A little lesson kids, expensive+light=me crying when it breaks. I still am going to do the drive train when this team discount kicks in (I bet you wish you knew what team I speak of, patience my child).

Had my last dinner party of the year on Saturday. It was a 55 person buffet out in Schaumberg for some clients I did a class for in the summer. Great people!! Very friendly and I never felt pressured throughout the entire event, granted my assistant John performed like a well oiled machine and was really on his game. As the year closes I'm feeling very good about how work is going. I'm not overwhelmed but I'm making some descent money (for once). Hopefully I'll keep building my client base and I can stop juggling two jobs, but thats not anytime soon.

Ok, back to what matters in life. You got it, bikes and stupid cold weather! This Sunday was the Illinois State Cyclocross champs out at Montrose Park. I went out on my own but met up with some teammates who were racing that day. After an all day assault of questions about how come I'm not racing cross, I've decided to try it out next year. I won't be able to do a huge schedule but I can at least do the ChiCross cup for fun. Back to Sunday...Ben went off first and, well, look at his blog if you want to know what happened. Everyone has a bad day, and after pulling out so many great finishes this just wasn't his day. Mike went off with the 3's and had a great race and grabbed a bronze in the state champ. Not to shabby for his second cat 3 race. Everyone else went off in the 4a and b race. Long story short the 4a race was one by the biggest sandbagger I've ever seen. The guy had almost a 3 min lead on second place!! I have no respect for that, hope he enjoys his title and promptly looses it next year. Granted he did get punched/pushed off his bike by the second place guy! Not sure why, but I guess karma bit him in the ass. All in all it was a fun day, and I have come to realize that my hands will never get warm no matter what gloves I wear.

Pic stolen from Julie!

Hincapie at Roubaix 2001

If it isn't obvious I already miss my morning rides!! Only 2 1/2 more months!!

Nifty!

Here is my first attempt at posting with my iPhone. As you can see
the trainer is out! What you can't see is the couple inches of snow
outside, hence the trainer. Kinda weird riding due to its rigidity
and the fact that the heater is now on, which leads to some sweaty
sessions (ergo the towel underneath).

Ok, got to get back to work. This week is insane, full schedule at one
job and a 55 person Xmas party to cater on Saturday! Hopefully next
week will be a little slower.

Thank God I Didn't Race

Been a while since I posted but there really hasn't been much to talk about. We had our first serious snow on Saturday and of course I had to drive out to the 'burbs to teach a class! It didn't help that when I finished the event the clients driveway was frozen solid!! I couldn't even walk to my car as I would slide down the hill every time. I was forced to literally crawl to my car so I wouldn't break my leg/arm. Driving was a whole other ordeal, the second I let off the brakes the car slid down the driveway into the streets and spun 90 deg.! Luckily this was a residential area and nobody was out driving. Thankfully once I hit major roads the salt trucks had already been out and there was no ice left (I think).

Today Zach and I followed up on our plans to go support the Killjoy gang at the Wisconsin State cyclocross champs. Needless to say it was cold. And I don't mean nice brisk cold, I'm talking 2" of snow on the ground and rain coming down cold! We arrived just as the cat 4's were winding down and cheered on some old teammates and friends (mostly Henry and Jeff Kao). Up next was the cat 3 race which would be Mike's first race in the 3's. He had a great start and was killing the field until James Lalonde decided it was time to leave everybody behind. I'm not really sure what that family eats but 3 brothers should not all be that good! But they are, and James killed the field taking first in the race and the series. Mike ended up pulling a very nice 3rd with payout. Impressive for his first upgraded race. After that there was allot of standing around inside the warm shelter until it was time for Ben to race. By that point we were almost soaked with rain and starting to get a little grumpy.
Thankfully we didn't have to hang out to long and the rain subsided (for a couple minutes). Ben went down and lined up with the cat 1/2's and of course the second they took off it started to rain again! The course at that point was getting muddy and very slippery but Ben held it together and pulled off a very impressive 4th place. Once again a Marco Lalonde swept the field with a 1.5 minute gap for the win! Ridiculous!

Needless to say Zach and I jumped in the car and blasted some heat for a toasty ride home. Thankfully I had time to get home, shower and eat before our top secret meeting (all will be revealed soon....). Good job to all the Killjoy crowd and thanks to Julie and Zach for keeping me company!