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Sunday, August 08, 2004 |
Good Gravy
I've had a hankering lately for fried chicken. I grew up loving the
stuff, and used to make a pretty great batch of it myself. It's the
kind of thing one doesn't want to eat a lot of these days, especially
when it's served (as it must be) with real gravy on the side, not to
mention potatoes and the other fixin's. For my birthday a couple weeks
ago, I considered going to Casa Orinda, but we didn't make it. Walker's Pie Shop, just a couple blocks away, also makes a great fried chicken. Another choice is the always fun Lois the Pie Queen. If it's wings you're after, then you can't be Wilma's Catfish Kitchen
(not to mention Wilma's catfish). I've even been tempted to make a
clandestine run to Popeye's. Lots of choices, and I was going back and
forth about which one to hit.
So the other day while riding BART, when I saw a review of the House of Chicken'n Waffles
down by Jack London Square, I was prepped. I've been salivating over it
for the past four days, so today I went over with Richard and we
gave it a try. I'd already done my 20 mile bike ride, so I felt a
little better about the calories and carbs.
The place was really good. As the review says, the restaurant has a lot
of pastel colors in its interior, which I didn't care about.. And it's
cash only, which is a bit funky. But the food was excellent. I had what
the express calls the "grand guignol," Lord B.J.'s -- a whole quarter
chicken, fried in pieces, and two big waffles. Two ramekins of maple
syrup came with it, and I got the chicken "smothered" which means
covered with a thick gravy. Richard had two pieces of chicken,
smothered, and grits.
The chicken was excellent, not overly battered, which I like, but with
a good crust, which I also like. If you order it smothered, they poor
the gravy over it, but I asked for the gravy on the side. That way I
could also taste the chicken with maple syrup on it. Think of it: fried
chicken covered in maple syrup. It's the stuff of my diabetic
counselor's nightmares, but man is it good (and I did ride those 20
miles). The gravy is a good thick suff, made the way it's supposed to
be (I always considered a thick gravy with plenty of cracklin's a
necessary part of fried chicken, and a part I always, always made.)
The waffles were good, too. I don't care much for grits, but Richard
liked them. We made the mistake of not getting one dish with some
sides, or just getting some sides: some greens. Next time. And I
probably will be going back. But maybe not until I cycle through some
of the other great fried chicken joints mentioned above. (And let me
know if there are any places I should be checking out!)
7:10:15 PM Permalink
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Perseids Will Peak on August 11
The annual Perseid meteor shower has already started, but it's going to peak on the night of August 11, with observers in dark locations seeing upwards of 60 meteors an hour. This year could be special, though, since the Earth is expected to pass through a brand new filament of material left over from Comet Swift-Tuttle when it flew past in 1862. This year's Perseids could turn into a full fledged meteor storm, but the only way to know for sure is to get out and watch. The best time will be after 11 pm, in the darkest skies you can find. [Universe Today]
4:00:22 PM Permalink
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How Long Can a Two-Class Recovery Be Sustained?
The Economist starts to worry about the consequences of the uneven distribution of the gains from America's business cycle recovery:
Economist.com: President George Bush... will no doubt try to shift attention away from the job numbers' failure to meet expectations, and towards the 1.5m jobs that have been created in 11 straight months of employment growth (as well as the latest unemployment figure: the rate fell in July, from 5.6% to 5.5%). However... a net 1.1m jobs have been lost since he took office, and there is no chance of reversing that loss before the election. Furthermore, the fall in [the] unemployment [rate] might have as much to do with the low participation rate as with job creation.
Another worry for the president is weaker spending. One of the abiding motifs of America’s recovery so far has been the “indefatigable consumer”. But the American consumer is now looking as tired as the cliché. According to figures released on Tuesday, consumer spending fell by 0.7% in June. The Federal Reserve’s recent anecdotal report on the American economy, the so-called “beige book”, paints a greying picture: Chicago is doing well, but New York, Cleveland, Richmond, Kansas City and San Francisco show evidence of a slowdown, albeit modest.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that the gains from America’s productivity-led recovery have been unevenly distributed. Corporate profits are strong, and business investment leapt by almost 9% in the spring. But pay has lagged behind, and the wages of production workers have stagnated. Of course, through its tax cuts, the White House has done its best to provide what employers will not—a substantial boost to take-home pay. But the effects of those tax cuts are beginning to fade, just as prices at American petrol pumps rise.
What consumers do not earn, or receive back from their government, they must borrow. Household debts grew by more than 10% in the first quarter, and now add up to more than 115% of disposable income. HSBC, a bank, says that the recovery is built on “marshlands of debt”. With interest rates now rising, this ready source of spending power may be about to dry up. Indeed, the beige book reports that borrowing by homebuyers declined in San Francisco and New York, two of the hottest property markets in the country.
According to Alan Greenspan, the chairman of the Fed, the American economy has trespassed on to a “soft patch”. All recoveries go through them from time to time, he says, and this one should prove short-lived. He may well be right. But if the soft patch turns out to be something a bit marshier, the recovery’s foundations may not be as secure as many had thought... [Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal (2004)]
12:07:25 PM Permalink
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Vote Kerry
Could the Bush administration have burned an active al Qaeda double agent? Could they possibly have done something so stupid and/or amorally calculating? I almost can’t believe it, but this Juan Cole post (and linked Reuters article) is devastatingly convincing. I keep thinking that my estimation of the administration’s competence and good will has reached rock bottom, when a new trapdoor opens and I fall into some yet ranker underground oubliette. [Crooked Timber]
11:42:51 AM Permalink
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© Copyright 2004 Steve Michel.
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