Spend A Day in Hutchinson, Kansas

Seriously. However, I mean just one day; I had the misfortune of spending 6 days there last week, and let me tell you that Kansas in February is not a tea party. Two days barely broke 20 with wind and a couple of days of ice. (I will note that the day before it turned freezing, it was almost 60.) No tornadoes, however.

That being said, should you find yourself in the Wichita area, Hutchinson, 45 minutes away, is well worth a visit for two things. First, the Cosmosphere. This museum about human space exploration is beyond outstanding. I was planning to spend about an hour and was there for 4. Starting with a detailed history of the Nazi missile program (with a V-1 and V-2 on display) and Wernher von Braun's morally ambiguous involvement with it, through test flights and the early attempts of the 1950s, into the space race of the 1960s and 1970s, the museum has more detail than even the Air and Space Museum on this subject. Plus it has some of the most amazing artifacts including Liberty Bell 7 (Gus Grissom's capsule that sank to the ocean floor and was finally recovered in 1999) and the Apollo 13 capsule ("Houston, we have a problem.") Moreover, the information provided regarding the Soviet program is top notch as well including a Vostok capsule. (It is the largest collection of Soviet artifacts outside of Moscow.) All this, plus an IMAX and a planetarium.

When I was leaving, I said to the woman at the ticket desk that I have a silly question, "Why is this place here?" I was given a brochure explaining that this is the most common question, and it was a combination of guile and luck on the part of the Hutchinson community.

Yet perhaps even more fascinating was the brand new (and still being built) Kansas Underground Salt Museum. This is a journey 650' underground into a working salt mine. You are driven around one part of the mine, and surrounded by walls, floors, and ceilings that are 97% salt. The salt mined here is used for roads and animal feed (not table salt), and it is just amazing to see up close. In addition, because of the ideal conditions (68 degrees with 40% humidity), the mine is used as a repository by a number of movie and television studios to store film. There is no salt mine that can be visited like this in the United States (and perhaps the Western Hemisphere), and it was a great way to spend a few hours.

One final warning about Hutchinson--restaurant and hotel selection is limited, and I had way too many meals at McDonald's, something I try to avoid at all costs.

Cambodian Food Update!

As it happens, the "Mekong River" is one of the cultures featured at this year's Smithsonian Folklife Festival (along with Northern Ireland and Virginia). So, if you want to try Cambodian food, you can do so until July 8th.

How Can I Put This?

There's an article in Salon today asking whether Cambodian food will ever catch on in America. Having recently spent 10 days there, I think I can safely say not anytime soon.

It's not that the food was really bad, but that it just wasn't particularly distinctive. Befitting its location, it was sort of mix between Thai and Vietnamese food. We ate a lot of fried noodles and other kinds of stir fries. The only two meals that stand out were (1) something that our guide was eating on Chinese new year in Anlong Veng that involved dipping cooked beef and raw vegetables into a fermented fish paste that tasted sort of like blue cheese, and (2) something called lok lak (basically stir fried beef with tomatoes in a lemon grass flavored sauce) in a cafe in Phnom Penh. Another meal that stood out: the dish of stir fried chicken necks that I was served for lunch one day. I would tell you how it tasted, but I couldn't really figure out how to eat it. (Holt was with me, so maybe she'll correct me if I'm forgetting something.)

Probably, this was largely our fault. Our guide book made a point of saying that Cambodians will eat anything, and I suspect that most restaurants have figured out that a lot of things won't appeal to Western palates. See fermented fish paste and chicken necks; we also saw a street vendor selling roasted crickets. But I don't think that would be any different here in the U.S. than it was in Cambodia. That being said, maybe I'll try the recipe in the article.

This stands in stark contrast to Vietnam, where the food was spectacularly good, and a real highlight of the trip.

I note that Tyler Cowen's Ethnic Dining Guide, the bible for ethnic restaurants in the DC area, does not even list Cambodian food as a category. Of course, this could just reflect the relative lack of Cambodian immigrants in this area.

Not Really Buried With A Donkey

This weekend, Mrs. Bartender, Isaac, Jr., and I celebrated Mother's Day by visiting the City of Brotherly (Motherly?) Love. As it is just over 2 hours from DC and conveniently located between Isaac, Jr., and his paternal grandparents, it has been a frequent meeting point for get togethers. This latest overnight visit was chock full of fun:

1. We started to Longwood Gardens in the Brandywine Valley, about 45 minutes south of Philly. Most of the Brandywine Valley is in Delaware but the Gardens are just over the state line in PA. They were created by Pierre DuPont, the former chairman of GM and, shockingly, DuPont. (He died in 1954, so this is not the same Pierre DuPont that ran for President in 1988; come on, you remember that campaign.) Mrs. Bartender and I were there last December, and she (understandably) wanted to go back when things were in bloom. The gardens, albeit not my cup of tea, are quite beautiful and among the most expansive in the US. Needless to say, Mrs. Bartender loved it and so did Isaac, Jr, particularly playing in the fountains.

2. For dinner, we went to Alma de Cuba, one of Stephen Starr's restaurants. Starr runs a number of Philadelphia's best restaurants (Budakon, Striped Bass, Morimoto, etc.), and we have thoroughly enjoyed our visits to several of them. We had a great meal, and the wait staff was terrific with Isaac, Jr. (who spent most of the night flirting with a woman at the table next to us). Mrs. Bartender commented about why DC couldn't get more restaurants like Starr's--hip, very good food and drinks, and each with an ethnic flair that neither becomes too showy or completely loses it roots. Don't get me wrong, DC has some top notch restaurants, but none with the same type of verve as Starr's. (I'm sure someone will try to prove me wrong.)

3. The next day, we went to see the latest Tutankhamen exhibition at the Franklin Institute. Both Mrs. Bartender and I went to see the famous show that was in the US between 1976 and 1979. I was 8 when I saw it in New York; Mrs. Bartender, 6 in New Orleans. I then saw it at its most impressive a few years later in Cairo. If I had been to the Egyptian Museum more recently than 1983, I would not have bothered to see only a small selection of what they have there, but considering how long ago it was, I was enthused to go.

The exhibit in Philly reminded me of why so many of us find Ancient Egypt so fascinating. The show has received some criticism--a number of the rooms have non-Tut artifacts and the famous mask that toured in the 1970s is not part of the show but the only one that struck home is the outrageously high ticket price--$32.5o on weekends. Even at that price, the work, which is over 3400 years old, is truly amazing from a chair that remains in near perfect condition to perhaps the show's highlight, a coffinette for Tut's liver. (The Egyptians removed and buried several of the internal organs but interestingly not the heart and brain which were discarded.) Yes, I've heard the story before--the boy king, restores the old religious order which his possible father had abolished, dies at 19 but how, the mummification process, and the discovery of the tomb by Howard Carter in 1922. But when you see the material that was found you understand why Tut, a somewhat minor Pharaoh, has fascinated the world for more than 80 years. (I note that when one is in Egypt, the more important Pharaohs, such as Cheops (the builder of the Great Pyramid, and Ramses II are understandably seen as much more important.)

4. Finally, we had lunch at the White Dog Cafe, another Philadelphia institution. Fine food with a focus on small farmers and local products. Just a great meal and a terrific weekend.

A belated happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.

Happy Anniversary!

It has been 50 years since Arthur Frommer's first travel book, Europe on Five Dollars a Day, was published. In recent years, I have found his guides and website to be a wonderful resource during my many travels, a number of which I have recounted on this blog. Frommer and I share much in common, specifically, a love of travel and degrees from the Yale Law School of Bartending. Now, if only I could get paid for all of my traveling!

In Bloom

I figure there is no way a blog written by four DCers (and one former District resident) can fail to mention the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

For those unaware, every year thousands of people travel to Washington to attend the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The Festival is a celebration of the 3000+ cherry blossom trees given to DC by Japan in 1912. Although these trees are scattered around the city and some suburbs, most are at the Tidal Basin. They are in full bloom for about two weeks, this year beginning on March 31 (that's Saturday).

Last year Isaac told me that the cherry blossoms were best seen at dawn, so Gobo, Gobo's sister and I went to the Tidal Basin at about 7 a.m. (I was not happy about this). And Isaac was right, in part because going at dawn meant the crowd was minimal. Would I travel thousands of miles to see the trees (as some apparently do)? No. But driving five minutes wasn't so bad. And I got some really nice photos (included in this post).

In addition to actually viewing the trees, there are events that occur throughout the two-week period, including a parade and tons of cherry-related food specials at top DC restaurants (including an all-you-can-eat sushi extravaganza for only $35, which you must e-mail me about if you want more information, because I can't post about it on a public blog, for fear of the lines becoming even longer than they already are (and yes, I do attend, even though I am a vegetarian and thus don't eat fish--I stick to the veggie sushi)). So if you're interested, you have two weeks to head out to the Tidal Basin for a view!

You Have To Love The South

Last weekend, Isaac, Jr. and I visited the Great State of South Carolina. It is a beautiful state, and Mrs. Bartender and I had visited Charleston five years ago which we loved. Well, Jr. and I went to the State House in Columbia. While the city doesn't hold a candle to Charleston, the State House is quite beautiful, and yet it has a number of touches that are just bizarre.

Most famous is the Confederate Monument. These are seen throughout the South, but the one here has the Battle Flag of the Confederacy, the flag that used to fly over the State House and led to a boycott. (In response to the controversy, there is a memorial to African-Americans also on the State House grounds.)

There are also statues of a number of "great" South Carolinians. The legendary John C. Calhoun is given a place of prominence inside the State House. Calhoun was the father of states' rights, Vice President under both Quincy Adams, and Jackson, and a fierce defender of slavery. And yet while many of his views were abhorrent, he was a fascinating and brilliant figure from the first half of the 19th century.

On the grounds of the building are numerous other figures. Former Senator, Governor, Justice, and "Assistant President" Jimmy Byrnes is understandably represented but so too is "Pitchfork" Ben Tillman, one of the most virulent racists ever to serve in the US Senate. There have certainly been many racists to serve in high office but few whose abhorrent racial views were so central to their political views as Tillman. I tried to explain this all to Isaac, Jr., but I'm not sure he fully comprehended it as he is only 10 months old.

Most interesting, however, was the statue of the one and only Strom Thurmond. Now Thurmond had his own tawdry racial history (although it pales in comparison to Tillman's), but his statue had one fascinating feature. Inscribed on the statue's base were numerous aspects of his biography including that he was a father with a list of his children. But where it originally had stated that he had four children, the four has been erased from the stone and five written in its place with the name of his mixed race daughter, Essie Mae, added to the list of children. Perhaps this more than anything symbolizes the paradox that is the South.

A Week in the Warmth

As Red Fraggle pointed out, I was on vacation last week, avoiding some of the very low temperatures of the northeast while in the sun of the Dominican Republic. A few things to point out:

1. I will not burden you with details of my stay at the resort. While I'm sure you want to hear about Isaac, Jr.'s first swimming adventure (he loved it) or my three rounds of golf, I won't burden you with the details. I will point out that Chelsea Clinton and George H.W. Bush were both staying at the resort we were at although, you will be shocked to learn, they were not there together. (Alas, I saw neither although Bush was spotted playing a lot of golf.)

2. Mrs. Barteneder and I decided to spend our final two days on the island in the city of Santo Domingo. While most tourists who come to the D.R. stay at their resort, I am quite glad that we added some culture to our trip. Santo Domingo is the oldest European settled city in the Western Hemisphere which meant that we saw a lot of firsts--the oldest university, the oldest street, the oldest cathedral, etc. Our hotel--a Sofitel--was fantastic. It was in a restored 16th century building but our room was uber-modern and it was extremely reasonably priced. We had a guide show us around the city, and I had arranged for a tour of the Presidential Palace. It is amusing to be in the Cabinet Room with just Mrs. Bartender and a tour guide even if it is the Dominican Cabinet Room. Santo Domingo is not Havana (even though it often plays Havana in the movies including in the greatest film of them all, Godfather II), and two days is enough to see the city (and it could be done in 1 day). We were glad to have done it.

3. Finally, we had access to American television while in the D.R., and all I can say is that the spectacles that are (were) Anna Nicole and Britney are truly pathetic. As for the former, she seems to have gotten her final wish--to truly be the center of a media storm. The "hearing" last week was a farce and made numerous absurd court hearings that I have been involved with look like justice at the highest of levels. And to listen to the bloviators (yes, Nancy Grace, I mean you) opine on this stupidity makes one wish they (either the viewer or the bloviators, you pick) were on meth.

As for Britney, not much can be said other than who ever thought that KFed would appear to the stable one? As Bill Simmons stated, she has entered the Tyson zone, where you could hear anything about her ("Britney was arrested for murder," "Britney had a sex change," "Britney is pregnant with Mike Tyson's or OJ Simpson's baby"), and you would believe it. Sad but predictable.

Pale Face

One strange thing about being in Asia is the prevalance skin lightening products. In India, I saw a ton of ads for them and it just seemed odd to see someone explicitly equating light skin with attractiveness.

And today, I was browsing the duty free section of the Bangkok airport and saw that Clinique has a line of skin whitening, er "brightening," products too. I've never seen those at Sephora.

A Very Special Day

Guess what today is?  The first birthday of this here blog. Yay!  Happy blogiversary!

Holt and I are in Thailand. There is not much to report on the pop culture front. In Phuket, we were able to catch a couple of old episodes of The Amazing Race. It was the season with Rob and Amber, and I rekindled my love for the brothers Brian and Greg, just in time to see them eliminated. We also learned that apparently Asia got to see the episodes of "Kidnapped" that were never shown in America, which doesn't seem fair.

Manchester United is mysteriously popular here. They announced while we were boarding our flight from Phuket to Bangkok today that Thai Air Asia is the official airline of Man U. And Holt saw a door for sale with the Man U logo carved in it.  What's up with that Thailand?

I'm now in my extremely awesome hotel room in Bangkok (it has a hammock and sand), watching a bizarre looking sport called Kabaddi, which looks sort of like Red Rover.

Banned in Kerala

Apparently the production and sale of Coke and Pepsi is banned in Kerala. Something about high levels of pesticides. This is hard to square with the fact that I was served a Coke in my last hotel, and that I just saw it for sale (although distressingly lukewarm) in my walk through downtown Kumily. But still, it's tough to come by.

Diet Sprite is but a dream.

Greetings from India

Sorry for the lack of posting lately, but I'm in India. Before I left (on Tuesday), I had all sorts of ideas for posts about (1) Gilbert Arenas (general awesomeness of); (2) Seasons 3 and 4 of the Wire (ditto); and (3) excellent meals I ate recently at El Chalan and Colvin Run Tavern; among other topics. But last minute errands took up all of my time, so you'll just have to use your imaginations.

Pop culture wise, I'm not sure that my time in India will provide much fodder for blogging, because I don't understand cricket. In yesterday's Hindu Times, there was an editorial about India's recent match with South Africa. Apparently, India was ahead after the first three days, but on the fourth day, conservative play led to their downfall. This editorial did not make me want to learn more about cricket.

Here's what I can tell you: on the flight from Dulles to Zurich, I watched The Last King of Scotland, which I highly recommend. Forest Whitaker has justly received a lot of praise for his portrayal of Idi Amin, but I also though that James McAvoy, who played the main character was quite good. I had seen him before in an ill-conceived updating of MacBeth on BBC America.

So, now I'm in Kerala, staying in a very nice hotel on the backwaters. And guess who previously stayed in my room? Paul McCartney and Heather Mills! I will try to post photographic proof if I can find a computer with a USB port. (I think I might have buried the lede on this one.)

Havana Nights (and Days)

No, this is not a post on the wonders of the sequel/remake to Dirty Dancing that came out a few years ago that neither I nor most other humans saw. Instead, today's post is about the past week Mrs. Bartender and I spent in the fascinating city that is Havana.

First, a note. Our trip to Cuba was legal with the blessing of our Treasury Department. Second, I am not going to use this post to discuss the wisdom of the travel ban/embargo on Cuba other than to say that I thought it stupid, ineffective, and a valuable propaganda tool to Castro (i.e., blame Cuba's economic woes on the US) before I went and I still think so now. (Note, despite this opinion, I am no fan of Fidel and hope that his exit from the scene (which will happen sooner rather than later) will enable relations between the two nations to improve.)

Instead, I want to focus on what a special place Havana is. First off, the city is simply beautiful. The setting, on the Gulf of Mexico with a fantastic natural harbor lends itself to fantastic natural beauty and the architecture simply reinforces that. Habana Vieja (Old Havana for those not to savvy at Spanish) is a UNESCO world heritage site and essentially a 17th and 18th century city containing one architectural treasure after the next, and restoration efforts since 1994 have done some amazing work. We stayed in a hotel that has been recently restored which was spectacular. (Sure, you didn't have every amenity you would in most big cities, but it was a great old building in a perfect location.) Nonetheless, much of Habana Vieja is still rundown (as is most of the rest of the city) and many of the restored buildings remain dilapidated inside. Yet there is simply nowhere like this that I have been (although I would imagine that a few of the spectacular South American cities are comparable).

In addition, there is the Malecon, the road that goes along the gulf with waves frequently crashing into it. The buildings along the Malecon are, for the most part, in terrible condition, but there are some spectacular ones including the Hotel Nacional (former home of Lucky Luciano) and the American Embassy which is involved in a propaganda war with Cuban authorities. Add to this the numerous 1950s automobiles and the city is truly a time machine.

We went to a baseball game (we had seats right behind home plate for $3) and afterwards the manager, a player, and a retired star (German Mesa) were mingling with fans on the street outside the stadium. We saw the Buena Vista Social Club and chatted with the members after the show. We were in the 1950s.

And for New Years Eve, we were at the Tropicana, a night club that even Castro would not close. So the dinner was pretty bad, the red wine not drinkable, and dancers' choreography quite weak, but it was an experience I will always remember. I'm sure that some day Cirque de Soleil will run the whole thing, but to ring in 2007 there was a unique experience .

When Cuba is finally opened to Americans, it will change, hopefully mostly for the better but something will be lost. A city that can be flown to in essentially the same amount of time as Miami, that offers architecture and a landscape that few cities can match, that has better weather than Florida (every day we were there was around 80 and sunny), and offers the excitement of a different culture (or, more accurately, cultures) will insure that the Americans "invade" once again. Plus the Cuban cigars and great cocktails--your bartender certainly had a few mojitos and Cuba Libres. I only hope that even when Habana Vieja has numerous Starbucks and McDonalds, the buildings these places are in get the restoration they deserve.

So if you get a chance to visit Cuba before it opens up, go. If not, hope that we can all go soon enough. Ideally, the Cuban and the American people will greatly benefit from the opening.

What American Accent Do You Have?

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Well, there might be some truth to this, seeing as how I was born in Wisconsin and both of my parents are from Minnesota. But I don't call soda "pop."

Statistic

Percentage of people who, when told that you are planning a trip to Cambodia, say some variant of "Are you going to come home with a Cambodian baby?" -- 38.6.

Okay, I totally made that up. But seriously. A lot.

Death of a Giant

R.W. "Johnny" Apple passed away today at the age of 71. He was one of my heroes. Not only was he the NY Times bureau chief in cities around the world (including DC) and the possessor of top notch political insight, but he was also a lover of food, drink, culture, and travel. His collection of travel recommendations of 40 major US and Canadian cities is an invaluable tool for knowing what not to miss in one's travels. The Times article reporting his death is here. He cannot be replaced.

Terror in the Skies

I recommend this article in today's NYT, written by a Times columnist who happened to be on the private jet that survived a midair collision over the Amazon. Harrowing!