Coelho Winery, Amity, Oregon

So a brief update, and more will of course follow. I had the opportunity to Attend the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) event held at Mezcal Restaurant last evening, which was a wonderful experience. I’ll have pictures posted this evening (the day job takes precedence) and a more thorough commentary. As for this moment, I’m realizing it’s a little frightening to see so many police and official vehicles roaming through the streets of Downtown Denver, and hearing phrases like “Free Speech Zone” thrown around without realizing how ridiculous that sounds.To illustrate what I mean, this image made it up on reddit.com this morning and it’s real; there really are police who are armed like this scattered throughout the downtown area.

More to come

-Manifold Man

So as I was taking a break and looking on Reddit at this particular story titled “Great Lesson for the Kids” (here) which in itself was entertaining. Naturally I wanted to see what the review was actually about. So of course following links on amazon you get their “Customer’s who viewed this item also viewed:” bar. I looked at it for a second and instantly thought, WTF? Who is looking for Playmobil sets and then suddenly decides to search for this?!

Amazon WTF

It’s a good feeling to see your name up in a sidebar.

I know I haven’t taken the time yet to write a review of Madison’s even though I’ve frequented the place about every other weekend for the last few months, but I want to address another aspect of going out that has nothing to do with location. The Bartenders. I have never had a negative experience with any member of the staff at Madison’s, even when I’m ordering a ridiculous combination of cocktails, shots, or martini’s. They have always met my request with prompt service, good attitude, and best of all: well made drinks. I happened to be out with some friends at this fine establishment before my Christmas trips and struck up a conversation with Chris the Bartender. In short, this guy is awesome. Now I’ve been to Vegas, New York, L.A., San Francisco, Denver, etc… and this guy can match or beat the best of them. My friend and I ordered a Hendricks and tonic, and a Kettle and Cranberry and were kept entertained while our drinks were being made with bottles and limes flying all over the place in such an artful manner you just want to go home and try it yourself (which I did, and promptly shattered an empty bottle all over my patio.) Now I have always harbored a desire to moonlight as a bartender, and Chris really is an inspiration for pursuing that dream. Here is someone who genuinely enjoys what he is doing. You can just tell in his demeanor and attitude that he’s not at work, he’s out with his friends having a good time just like we were. So if your in Madison’s on a weekend, look for the guy behind the bar casually enjoying himself and pouring his friends drinks with a bit of flair. And just to get an idea about the kind of guy Chris is, check out his blog:

Chris The Bartender

Tell him Manifold Man sent you.

Now this is what a hip, hole-in-the-wall place should be. When you come here, you really will be treated to a fantastic evening. Yours truly recently ventured to Nat spill with a group of friends who are in town to join in festivities of Halloween and experienced spectacular service, excellent food, and an amazing Espressotini. So to get this review started, I’ll run you through the real way to experience this restaurant. In my searching around I found some people who didn’t like the place and I think it was really due to what they were expecting. First, it’s not really a place to bring a first date or anything like that. The atmosphere is loud enough that you are simply distracted when trying to get to know someone. No, this is the type of place where you go to get a good base of good food before heading out on the town for the evening. The best thing to do is split one of their excellent entrée’s and an appetizer with someone and have a cocktail or two. I would really recommend the Three-cup Chicken dish, which is what appeared to be boneless chicken cooked in a sauce that had hints of teriyaki and very clean aftertaste I’d say owing to a dash of ginger or cayenne pepper. Served with rice and a cold mixed vegetable salad, you simply cannot be dissatisfied with your meal. In addition to this, we ordered the Fried Crispy Tofu appetizer. This is another dish that is very good yet my only complaint with it would be the lack of rice when served. It’s cooked in what seemed to be the same sauce as the Chicken, but the flavor was a much more intense and needs something to mellow out that the flavor. When I go back I think I’d say the best combination would be the Chicken with one of their brick baked pizza’s as a complement to the meal. My table ordered a few of these and while they are not all that big (think about a medium sized pizza) they looked fabulous. Next time I go I will defiantly be ordering one of those. But onto what was really makes the experience. The drink menu and the bar staff are possibly the best in Madison. Here it is in no way girly for a man to order a martini or a mojito. They are so well made and strong that both genders will be happy regardless of what they choose. They also have an extensive beer and wine list that surely has something for every taste, mood, or occasion. Like I mentioned earlier, I absolutely loved the espressotini. This isn’t the milky and sweet version that you find at so many other places; this is a genuine coffee based vodka. Served in an ice cold martini glass and garnished with roasted coffee beans it really is something that you owe it to yourself to order when you’re here. Or if you don’t enjoy coffee, I’d say order one of their mojitos. I was able to sample this as well, and this is not your ordinary mojito. Nat Spill manages to find the right balance of sweet, minty, and strength to make one to savor and feel the heat as it caresses your tongue.
I suppose I haven’t really mentioned how cool the atmosphere of the place really is, so let me start with how to find it. They do not have a phone and they do not have a sign anywhere that says ‘Nat Spill” (I’m actually guessing at the spelling, I always thought it was something like ‘Nochspeil’) The only thing you will see is a door, some interesting shutter like windows that are open during the summer, and a bouncer at the door. Put these together with candles on the posts that separate the booths/tables that are opposite from the bar, a red glow coming from the lights, and the amazing back room with tree stumps for chairs and you’ve got enough urban attitude and style to compete with any well known metropolis bar. So if you have definitely start.

Nat Spill
211 King St
Madison, Wi 53703

-Manifold Man

I love Hip Hop. The Energy of the music and a good beat that makes you lean your shoulders. It just gets me amped. That being said, the current state of popular Hip Hop is on par with the mental degradation of a meth Addict. Currently ‘Soulja Boy’ is on the top 100 list and given the steel drums in the background mixed with the bass hits makes a foundation for a decent song. But overused sounds clips of ‘Oohh!’ and the absolute worst lyrics I have ever heard in my entire life destroy any producer’s work on the sound. With lyrics like:

“Supersoak that Oohh
Supersoak that Oohh
All too fresh off in this bitch
Watch me shuffle watch me jig
Watch me crank that Soulja Boy
Then Superman that bitch”
Or the absolutely repetitive chorus of:
“Soulja Boy Up In This Oohh
Watch Me Crank It
Watch Me Roll
Watch Me Crank that Soulja Boy
Then Superman that Oohh
now watch me You…
Crank that Soulja Boy
now watch me You…
Crank that Soulja Boy”
Come on fella’s. Lets be a little more imaginative here. If your trying to be all bad ass, you’ve failed. You sound like you got shot in the head, although since you are a ‘Soldier Boy,’ it probably wouldn’t be too hard to imagine you’ve got a little brain damage. But I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Your producer did some good things with the base of your ‘Hit Song;’ Lets work on the lyrics. Keep the voice and the southern drawl, drop the superman and the supersoaking and write something that people can handle for longer than 20 seconds.

-Manifold Man

Muramoto is what you come up with when going to a Sushi restaurant is a fashion statement instead of for good cuisine. While it certainly is a fashionable and a swank environment that initially looks like it is a well kept secret, the service and aura that is exuded by those employed there ruins that feeling. The wait staff are pompous and treat their patrons like empty Tupperware containers – Hardly worth the space that they are taking up. My questions about the menu were met with the condescension as if I should be ashamed for not knowing how the Duck and Avocado sushi roll was served. When I queried if there was a Chef special – as most sushi restaurants have, even this particular one has during lunch – I was answered with a curt, and rather rude response of ‘We don’t do anything like that.’ Now perhaps I’ve become accustomed to the Americanized sushi restaurant where wait staff are friendly and are adapted to fielding questions about their menu, here if you are curious it is better to keep your mouth shut and avoid the weariness that your curiosity is met with.

For the price of the meal, I expected a lot more in the areas of flavor and texture from the rolls that we had ordered. Notably was the fact that the rice was overcooked, the result of which lead to a roll that did not stay together and the work normally done by mastication was able to be accomplished by your tongue. If the rolls were prepared with high quality ingredients it was difficult to tell due to poor preparation of the rice. To Muramoto’s credit, highlight of the meal was the Fried Calamari which was excellent. Lightly battered and fried until the rubbery texture of calamari was erased; then lightly coated with a sweet-Chili sauce over a bed of onions and slaw style cabbage. The flavor was wonderful and left a pleasant feeling of sweetness and heat as an aftertaste. Judging from this, if you do decide to dine at this restaurant I would suggest ordering more from their cooked entree’s as their sushi selection and preparation is akin to the take out boxes you would find at Whole Foods (which after this I would prefer).

So a less than marginal meal for 2 cost an outlandish $73 with tip (3 rolls, appetizer, and 2 glasses of sake) left me walking out of the restaurant feeling glad to get away from the condescension and terrible aura of the wait staff. I was very disappointed as I had heard that this was one of the better sushi restaurants in Madison, a fact I would entirely disagree with and would put Muramoto below Takara and Edo. The only reason someone would choose this restaurant over the latter two would be for fashion reasons. I was thoroughly disappointed with what I was expecting to be a high quality – high class establishment.

-Manifold Man

So here is my random thoughts for the day. I was listening to Diggnation while sitting at work the other day and I had the urge to see what things came to mind when I considered what I like. Such a general question, but in going through the list I think it says quite a bit about where my mind is and what I’m into. If you agree with some of the things I like, or think I should add something; feel free to post a comment. Try it yourself, it’s actually a lot of fun.

Things That Rock:
thebignoob.com
American Apparel
Nau clothing
Nalgene Bottles
Painting
Sitting in Coffee shops messing with your Macbook Pro
Hot/Cute Girls
Logical Hippies
Math
Las Vegas
Craps
Simple(tm) Shoes
Manifold Man
tshirt/jersey Bed Sheets
Leather Couches
Enormous LCD TV’s
U.S.E. (United States of Electronica)
The Neptunes
uncrate.com
Social Networking
Facebook
Digital Cameras
Racquetball
Off grid electricity
Camping
San Francisco
Patron Gold Tequila
Nintendo DS/Wii
Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Sweating during sex
Tatoo’s that mean something special to the person they are on
Nixon Watches
Blacked out European Cars
Spontaneous Actions
Le Parkour
lifehacker.com
Moleskine Notebooks
Thought Provoking books
Sennheiser Earbuds
xBox 360 Controllers
bitTorrent
Piercings in unseen locations
Korean Food
Cooking for other people
Outdoor Parties
Ping Pong
Kiteboarding
Bosca Portfolio’s
International Travel
Loft Apartments
2nd floor Kitchens
Sailboats
Involving Random people in Frivolous conversations
RVCA
Kimchi
Uniball Pens
Lamy Writing Insturments
Chrome Hearts
Independant Coffee Shops
Drinking Champagne in Bed
AudioBooks

Things that are sweet, but could rock harder:

Creative Music/video players
Sony ps3 and Psp
Apple iPhone
Office Pranks
3oh!3
University of Colorado Football
Rowing

Things that Suck:

Wisconsin (Not Completely, just not a fan)
Drinking to get Drunk
Hummers
Abercrombie/Hollister/AmericanEagle