That Ain't BBQ

Some things you have to do right.  BBQ is one of them.  I was talking Memorial Day with a buddy who said "my wife makes the best BBQ ribs ever!" That comment made me a bit suspicious.  I mean, it's not that women can't BBQ it's just that it's a rare wife who actually likes smelling like smoked sausage.  Imagine...

You:  "Mmmm, honey, you smell like a Hickory Farms Store..."
She:  "Oh baby, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me.  Let's go make out!"

Anyway, so I ask my buddy "what's her recipe"?  See, I can be nice and polite sometimes.

It's so simple, he says.  She cuts up the ribs into pieces (Oh NO!) and smothers them in sauce (STOP it!) and then tosses them in a crockpot for 12 hours (OMG!) until they are FALLING OFF THE BONE!  (KILL ME NOW).

No offense to my buddy's wife but that aint BBQ.  In fact, if you ever make ribs that are falling off the bone you automatically flunk the rib test.  Mr Lee from 8th grade would say "you fail, you flunk, you are NOTHING!"  No, ribs need to be cooked low and slow on a smoker until they are tender, but still have texture and still have a bone actually attached to the meat.

I got another buddy who "gets it" and made some ribs for his extended family on his trusty Masterbuilt Electric Smoker (good pick, see below) and asked his nephew what he thought.  "It tastes like bacon!" he exclaimed as he held the rib by the bone and the sauce dripped down his chin and you know, there ain't no better compliment that that. That's BBQ.

 

Happy Anniversay to Us

1981 on our wedding day

2010 on Valentines Day

Memorial Day

A big thank you to everyone in the military and their families from Local Wally.

On this Memorial Day, take the scenic drive to the tip of Point Loma and Cabrillo Monument.  Stop along the way at Fort Rosecrans Cemetery and pay your respects the the men and women who have served our country.

Top tips:

1. Point Loma Seafoods for some of the best seafood in town - bring cash!

2. Check the tide schedule and make sure you head to the tidepools at low tide.

3. Take a cool photo in the lighthouse by standing at the bottom of the spiral staircase and looking straight up.

4. Wear tennis shoes and take the hike around the point

See you next week,

Local Wally 

Things to Do in San Diego this Sunny Saturday

Get off the computer.  Turn off the TV.  Unplug the Wii.  It's Saturday, it's sunny, and it's Memorial Day weekend and you need to get outside!  Here are some of my favorite weekend activities!

 SAN DIEGO ZOO:  I know, it sounds so obvious but when was the last time you went to the zoo?  The new elephant exhibit is incredible, there's a baby panda, and you can now feed the giraffes for a small fee.  And look, that guy is about to lose his Rolex!  That's actually the ultra cool and ultra expensive Backstage Pass.  If you see people hanging around inside the rhino exhibit, hang around and you'll see them take turns feeding the rhino.  Pretty cool.

 

SWAMI'S BEACH, ENCINITAS, SELF REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP GARDENS:  I love Encinitas.  I guess that's why I live here.  Check out the goofy boat houses on 3rd Street, then head over to the gardens behind the temple.  You'll find it on the south edge of downtown.  The koi ponds are some of the best this side of Maui and the view, ahhh, what a view.  Look for dolphins - you'll see then in the surf.  If you have the time then check out my complete guide to the North County Experience.  Local or tourist, this is a great way to spend the day.

HIKE DEL MAR:  Torrey Pines State Park has some great short hikes, but my favorite new hike is one that takes you along the bluffs and next to the railroad tracks.  Get off the freeway at Carmel Valley Rd and to west, then turn north on Highway 101 and make a U turn at the top of the hill and park.  You can even bring your dog.  Hey Andy, want to go for a walk?

LA JOLLA:  So much to do, so much to see, don't let the thought of crowds stop you from jumping in a kayak to check out the 7 caves, or snorkel with the seals at the Cove.  Or just bring a camera and snap some pics, it's all good in La Jolla.  Afterwards head over to Alfonso's for some of the best carne asada tacos in town and a house margarita that's better than anyone else's premium.

DISC GOLF IN BALBOA PARK:  Want a cheap way to spend the day with some friends?  $4 gets you on the course with a rental Frisbee.  It plays like golf - same rules, same concept - but you toss a Frisbee into a basket, sometimes located over and around and beyond.  Loads of fun, wear tennis shoes and bring some beer in a backpack cooler.  OK, alcohol isn't legal but everyone seems to have a beer in their hand!

OK, so on the count of 3 let's turn off our computers.  1 - 2 - 3.................

The Beach Boys meet The Grateful Dead

The Beach Boys at the Oakland Coliseum, 1974


Concerts sure have changed since I was a kid.  At a recent Paul McCartney concert I stood up when he started playing 'Please Please Me'.  I mean, wouldn't you stand up during the encore when Paul pulled an old gem out like that? 

"SIT DOWN" shouted the guy behind me.  I looked around and yup, I was the only guy standing.  OK, seat belts back on, ear plugs back in, come on grandma, let's rock out.

But back in 1974 I saw The Beach Boys at the Oakland Coliseum with around 50,000 others as they jammed with The Grateful Dead.  Look at the picture - everyone was standing!  In fact, the only ones not standing were the ones stoned out on pot.  Pot?? At a concert?  Oh yeah, and how about that nude girl dancing over there?  I was only 16 and that was pretty fantastic.  The Beach Boys then were still a real band, not the oldies tour group they are today, and when they fired up Good Vibrations it was pretty awesome.  I took a ton of photos with my trusty Minolta SR-T101, but lost them through the years.  Luckily a few survived and here they are.

Recently I met Brian Wilson and even got to attend the live taping of That Lucky Old Sun. I'm even on the DVD, front row, during the Beach Boys set.  If you haven't heard Lucky Old Sun, get the mp3 download and put it on when you have people over to bbq this weekend.  It's Brian's best work since Pet Sounds. And later I snapped this shot when he came to visit San Diego.  That's pretty cool.  He even told my wife she was pretty....hmmmmm.

With Memorial Day weekend starting, it's time to dust off the old vinyl and put on some Pet Sounds.  Mono.  And if the sun isn't shining where you are, I'll save some for you for next visit because it's shining here, especially with The Beach Boys playing in the background.

What the Pho??

I really like Pho, you know, the Vietnamese noodle soup where you almost always put way too many peppers in it and way too much of that red chili sauce and then you take a bite and you realize you ruined your soup but you keep eating because, dammit, you paid for it and now you're sweating and the person next to you is asking "are you OK?" and to prove it you take another bite and now your head is really going to blow.

It's quite delicious.

But I hate ordering it. Any normal person wants to pronounce it "F'ooh" but the experts say it's pronounced "F'uh". Fooh, Fuh, these are the sort of things that make me feel insecure at a restaurant, like the following true story based on real daydreams.

Waiter: Would you like some wine?
Me: Yes, the 'meritage' sounds good - (pronouncing it 'mer-it-taaage')
Waiter: You fool, it's not 'mer-it-taage", it's 'mer-i-tige', like 'heritage'.
Me: Right, right. Would that go well with the 'brushetta?'
Waiter: It's 'bru-sketta', you idiot! Get out of here!

These are the things that keep me up at night. I know, I have quite a life.

Don't Call it a Moped!

I think a 5th grade kid just made fun of me. I'm scooting along on my Genuine Buddy scooter, a 125cc 4 stroke engine with tons of torque and a top speed of 65 mph. I stop at the light and a school bus - a big yellow school bus - pulls next to me and some fat kid opens the window and says "I like your moped".

Was he mocking me?

Did he really like it, or was he messing with me? I wanted to shout "hey you stupid punk kid, a moped is a bicycle with a tiny little engine, you pedal it to make it go faster, a scooter is like a real motorcycle, shut the hell up!" Instead, like a goofball, I waved to him. Did he just smirk at me? Whaaa?

The light turned green and I went WOT ("wide open throttle" for you non-biker types) and speed off like a Prius with a stuck accelerator. I showed him! This ain't no moped, this is a scooter, a "scoot" for short. Nerds ride mopeds, cool dudes ride scooters... right? Right?

Is there a lesson to this story? Yes - never ever call a scooter a "moped". That aint right.

Sometimes Weird Things Come in Weird Packages

Sometimes I eat weird stuff just to see the look in the eyes of the person I'm with. Chicken feet fall into that category - though I've since learned to love them, maybe not as much as I love KFC or Pollo Loco, but how fun to eat chicken feet in front of someone who is skirmish. My buddy Bill and I were driving past Ranch 99 - or is it 99 Ranch? It's the big Asian supermarket with lots of cool things inside. He was telling me about these rice balls wrapped in ti leaves and lo and behold, there they were at the deli counter (ahhh, the Jewish deli in New York this is not!) Well come on, let's do this.

I untied the string and opened it up, the rice sticking to the leaves like spackle on a wall. I cautiously peered inside to make sure it wasn't poison or mystery filling and found chunks of pork, mushrooms and some beans. One bite and I was sold, these damn things are pretty tasty and weird enough to freak out everyone back at the office eating their Subway crapwiches. I mean, it's not going to compete with a Double Double but there was something exotic, something very island-ly or vacation-y about it that makes me want to go right back there and get another.

Weekday Getaway to Beach Camping

Now that LOST is over it's back to reality. No more flasbacks, flash forwards, time travel shifts, smoke monsters. If that's a bit depressing, then do what I do and head out to the coast for a bit of escape. San Elijo campgrounds might not be "the island", but there's no "others" trying to kill you, either.

The dusty campgrounds are a bit like Grapes of Wrath but the surf below is pure Endless Summer. The best part of the campgrounds is Bull Taco, the concession stand that serves up oddball gourmet tacos. They just opened a new location in Oceanside and at their grand opening had, of all things, aligator tacos, pork belly tacos, even foie gras tacos. Being cheap I stuck with the pork and chicken tacos ($.50 during the grand opening) and they were pretty darn delicious.

Wasn't I talking about the campgrounds? Yes, it's a great getaway for locals. Even if you don't stay you should drop by and stroll the grounds, grab some tacos and watch the sunset. It almost makes you forget you have to go to work the next day. Speaking of which, I have to go to work right now so until next time....

The Trouble with Puppies

Since you're going to be hanging with me you should get to know Andy, my puppy. He's almost 4 months old and is a terrier mixed with every other dog possible. Pretty cute, and it's pretty amazing how many women want to talk to me these days.

"Pretty cute!" they say. "Why, thank you, I haven't been called cute since college days."

"How old" they ask? "I'm 52 but I work out - how about you?"

These jokes go over big around town. Well, maybe not, but I'll take any attention I can get these days, even if I am pimping out my puppy to get it.

As for Andy, he can sit, stay, and lie down. We are teaching him to spin 360. He has taught himself to bark at me when I discipline him, to run with my shoes like a bat out of Hell and to dive under the bed out of my reach, and thankfully to poop in the neighbors yard. That's it for Andy for now, but stay tuned to watch him grow.

Goodbye bikini girl

GOODBYE BIKINI GIRL, I HARDLY KNEW YOU...

When designing my new update for Local Wally I thought "sex sells". Pretty obvious, right, but Local Wally's Guide to San Diego has never been about sex so this was a new frontier for me. I stumbled upon the bikini girl image on Flickr after googling "La Jolla beach girl" or something like that. I found this pic (and so did a lot of other people, this photo was very popular!) and got the owners permission to use it. I put it on the homepage and was expecting great things!

Da-yamm, the feedback I got was that women thought it was offensive, men loved it, but the bottom line is that it just didn't turn on my readers as much as I thought it would. Sex didn't sell in this case. So it's goodbye to the girl who caused a minor Local Wally sensation and for a while was Wally's girl.