Stop the Twerking Phase, Please
It’s for your own safety. Twerking leads to unintended self immolation.
Forget the Fear, It’s About the Trail
As in sports, you need to have a short memory. Win or lose, forget about it and move on to the next challenge. So I lost out on getting an Air Jordan Fear pack shoe, but that’s so this morning. I’ve already forgotten about the fear and moved on to a next potential win with Nike’s just released Terra trail running line.
While I like the description of the Zoom Terra Kiger, I don’t think they’re right for me. The Zoom Terra Wildhorse seems like a safer (and cheaper) bet. Both are also available from Zappos so returning them is easy.
Oh but wait… what’s this Free Hyperfeel Trail? Those heel laces are simply sick.
The Hyperfeel Trails are NOT available at Zappos and seem to be a Nike store exclusive.
I Have No Fear Pack
Aw bummer, I didn’t win the chance to purchase the Air Jordan Fear Pack from Ala Moana Foot Locker. I thought the signs were in my favor, especially with a raffle ticket ending with #23. But checking the winning numbers, I was denied both the AJ3 and the AJ5.
Oh well, the kicks gods were against me today, or maybe this is a message that I need to listen to Macklemore and not let consumerism define me. Nah, I’d still rather have a fresh pair of Jordans.
Alyssa Milano Wants to Keep You Current
Who’s the Boss icon, Alyssa Milano, shows off her sense of humor as she tries to keep the general public informed of world events.
Behold the Alyssa Milano sex tape!
Now that you’re current, how about testing your knowledge with this (legitimate) quiz titled, “Do you know more about the news than the average American?” How many of the 13 questions did you get right?
I Have Eaten a Croissant Donut
And probably so have you, especially if you’re a long time fan of Saint-Germain Bakery.
A Brief Intro
Long time Hawaii bakery, Saint-Germain, has followed the course of the cronut, introducing their aptly named Croissant Donut. But here’s the catch. Only 100 of these are prepared daily, and you can only get them at the new Makai location on the ground level of Ala Moana. You got that? Only 100 available at the Makai Saint-Germain (next to See’s Candies). So in order to indulge in the Croissant Donut, you have to get there early (opens at 7am on the weekdays), wend your way through the messed up Ala Moana parking, and battle the influx of senior citizens.
Got Lucky
On a Friday morning while in the Ala Moana area, I took a chance and stopped by the Makai location. I got lucky. There was still a tray of both the plain and cream croissant donuts at 9am.
Cream Croissant Donut
Plain Croissant Donut
I grabbed a few upon which the perusing seniors started the dialog.
“You tried those yet?”
“They supposed to be good.”
“They’re a big thing from New York.”
“How they taste?”
“My son went to New York, and I told him to bring me back one.”
Anyways, you get the idea of how it went as I stood in line waiting to make my first ever purchase of Croissant Donuts.
My Verdict
I’ve had these before – that’s the singular thought in my head after my first taste. Now that’s not necessarily a bad thought but just somewhat anti-climatic. True, I don’t know what an authentic cronut tastes like, but I do know the pastries of Saint-Germain, and the Croissant Donut fit their flavor profile.
Over the years, have you ever tried the regular donuts from Saint-Germain? How about their long skinny donuts that are lined with apple, custard, or chocolate? Yeah, those. Now imagine taking that long donut and encircling it. Then take two of these circles and stack them. There’s your Croissant Donut. Want a cream variant? Use cream to bond the two donuts together. Again, the Croissant Donuts are not bad since the Saint-Germain donuts are good and flakey anyways, but this variation isn’t distinctively unique either.
So as always, I encourage you to form your own opinion based on your own tastes and preferences. Head on over to Saint-Germain Bakery, and try a Croissant Donut and let me know what you think.
Homemade Ramen Burgers Are Like Lugz Zoshos
The ramen burger is a perfect example of a collaboration of cultures – the American beef patty meets Asian noodles. Sounds simple enough that both you or I could recreate this collabo at home. Just don’t do it.
Confess. You’ve thought about it. Cook a few packages of Sapporo Ichiban and sizzle up some May’s beef patties, and marvel at your own homemade ramen burger. Or even better, prepare real ramen noodles, form them into bun shapes, and make your own hamburger patties.
But upon your first bite, you’ll realize it’s just not that simple. While you can mimic the appearance of the noodle bun around a burger, you can’t replicate the taste of the ramen burger. It’s best to leave that to the experts.
Whatever it is, don’t try to make your own ramen burger at home without being ready to infuse it with some flavor and soul. And while going to New York to sample the real ramen burger is out of the picture, you can get a ramen burger locally from Tanaka Saimin. I hear it’s quite tasty.
Deactivating JetPack Photon
Disabling the WordPress JetPack Photon function temporarily. With the latest JetPack release, Photon is messing up resized images, or rather is not adhering to image sizes. In preview mode, the images look fine, but when published, the images display in their native size.
Disabling the JetPack plugin resolved this issue, so that helped isolate the culprit. Now I’m specifically deactivating Photon to see the impact.
Where Is Gregg Hammer?
Another foodie fad from the East Coast like the cronut, the ramen burger “traveled” to Hawaii much faster than the donut hybrid. So far, Tanaka’s is the first location I know of that serves this Asian American combination.
Thanks for the tip, Hammer! And we’re still missing you on Hawaii radio waves.
Aroma Caffe No Longer at Ala Moana
On a recent trip to Ala Moana, I made my rounds then headed to Aroma Caffe for a caffeine pick-me-up. With a location in the center court area, this cafe is typically empty which makes for short waits. Let’s be honest, the Starbucks end caps in Macy’s and Sears are just way too crowded and your drink takes forever. I never got into the Honolulu Coffee Company even with their convenient locations. So Aroma Caffe was perfect – good location, short waits, decent prices, and I personally liked my espresso drinks.
But on this day, the location was vacant with no trace of the colorful Italian themed kiosk. Maybe they relocated in the mall due to all the construction? I couldn’t find their relocation using Foursquare or Yelp so instead I headed to my backup coffee spot, the eBar at Nordstrom’s.
Looking online, Aroma’s site still lists Ala Moana, but Ala Moana’s web site does not show them as a vendor. On Facebook, there are pictures of a new storefront with no location given, but on Yelp, a recent review places Aroma at the Ilikai Hotel. Aw bummers, looks like I lost my coffee oasis in Ala Moana. 🙁 Thanks for the memories, Aroma Caffe.
Maybe I Should Fear the Jordans
After watching Macklemore’s video Wings, maybe I should be fearful of the Jordans.
Although at my age, I’m not worrying so much about about defining my identify through my kicks. It’s more about reminiscing the past through retros and enjoying the colors and designs of contemporary kicks. Maybe I should worry about coworkers eyeing and taking my kicks, especially with @abaggy and @gquiks487 around.
Are you intrigued by the song? Read more about Wings, its message about consumerism, and Macklemore selling out to the NBA.
Do Not Fear the Jordans
The Jordan “Fear Pack” didn’t interest me, but at Foot Locker’s House of Hoops Ala Moana, they were raffling off the chance to purchase the Fear editions of AJ3, 4, and 5. Since I happened to be there, I had to enter the raffle but only for the AJ3 and AJ5. Not digging the Oreo-look of the AJ4, and I have bad memories of the heel tab digging into my foot from back in the day.
AJ3
AJ4
AJ5
Images from Foot Locker.
Winners announced on Wednesday. I never owned a pair of AJ3 or AJ5. I’ve missed out getting all those AJ3 retros over the years and the AJ5 never appealed to me in white. Black’s not so bad but the Fear colorway is unique. Oh, and I have Foot Locker credit so good conditions all around to add to my kicks collection. 🙂
A Yeti and a Gingerbread Man Meet by a Camper
Sounds like the beginning of a joke, but I don’t know the punchline. Just that a Yeti, Gingerbread Man, and a VW camper are an odd combination.
