Football Sunday, or, Cooking Bison Brisket Birria Quesatacos For Degenerates

Mama M Sushi

If I were given the choice between having this place or Yang Chow relocate to Santa Fe... well, I would choose Yang Chow. 

But I would have to think about it. 

College Football Saturday

Well said, Kirk. I have nothing to add. 

I bought four packages in Montrose and now wish I'd bought more. 

I smoked salmon for my parents, served with tartar sauce from Fish King in Glendale. 

Five weeks into the season, USC finally had to play a good team. 

They lost. 

Cheese and crackers for my lunch. 

In 1919, UCLA lost to Manual Arts High School by the score of 74-0. 

This year's team might be worse. 

When I was a small child, UCLA won 3 Rose Bowls in 4 seasons. 

When I was a teenager, UCLA beat USC 8 times in a row.

When I was 20, UCLA was the #1 ranked team in the country.  (As I mentioned to a few of you at Murph's, that team was the reason I didn't want to go on that Italy trip where I would have met Tracie and Chris.)

Now they cannot even beat Northwestern.

Back to my California Adventures tomorrow. 

The Last Week of September

I have written, over the years, that July is my favorite month. October is second. 

But if you ask me to pick a specific time of year... well, I guess I would still pick the first week of July. Fuck, I love it so. 

But the last week of September at 7000 feet would be next. The days are warm; the nights are chilly. The skies are blue. The chamisa blooms. 

It briefly feels like spring, but the sun is noticeably lower in the sky and light is golden.  

I wasn't planning to have anything to drink for at least a week after my debaucherous California trip, but driving home from work, I was struck by how beautiful everything was.

I got a six-pack of Coors Light and sat outside, smoking a package of Taylor's meatballs and listening to music. 

In another week or two, the mountains above town will explode in color as the aspen leaves change and it will be more beautiful, but right here, at this moment, everything was perfect. 

Your Asian Foods Destination

God bless, you Ralph's. 

Kings Row

When this place first opened, about 15 years ago, it had a cool menu with things like duck sliders, a root beer-battered corn dog, and a pulled pork sandwich braised in Coke and OJ. I went several times, often sitting on the back patio with Bryce and Baby Lucy, who loved their french fries. 

Then I moved to New York City for a couple of years, and when I returned, found the place had changed, and not for the better. The menu wasn't as cool and it had turned into one of those joints where everything must be ordered at the bar, which is fine when it's not busy but absolutely miserable when it is. 

They had nice beers, but I quickly stopped going. 

I returned on my recent trip to meet up with an old high school friend whom I had not seen in many years. I liked the vibe of the place - it seemed cleaner and more low-key, and there were TVs everywhere tuned to college football. 

The menu is still kind of boring but the beer list is cool - I had several pints of kolsch from El Segundo Brewing - and it was an enjoyable place to watch football and chat for a couple of hours. 

Mama Lu's Dumpling House

"This is better than Yang Chow," Tracie said.

"Your taste buds are off," I said. "I bet you have Covid."*

*I didn't actually say that.