Shoes - Shoes Best

On the way to work today I was listening to a podcast of Fresh Air and pop music critic Ken Tucker was giving a review of the new Shoes record Ignition. First of all I was amazed to hear the band Shoes were still around, never mind releasing a new record.  In 1979, Shoes Present Tense was one of my favorite records. It's strange now to think that this power pop bad (think Big Star) somehow snuck into my record collection amongst the punk and new wave records that were more popular at the time.

The band was formed in 1974 in Illinois by two brothers and a couple of friends.  There are three bands they are often compared to, but I would say they were way cooler than Cheap Trick, not as formulaic as The Knack and not as "new wave" showy as The Cars. They released three great records in a row: Black Vinyl Shoes in 1977, 1979's Present Tense and Tongue Twister in 1980, then I never heard from them again. Turns out they released three more records in the 1980's and another two in the 1990's. I am sad that I missed out on them, but it was not for lack of effort. I have looked them up a few times on the music guides and checked the used record shops to no avail. Now that they have a new record out, there suddenly seems to be a lot of info on the band.

If you want to check them out there are a few options on iTunes. You can buy Present Tense and Tongue Twister as a combined record for $9.99 or better yet buy SHOES Best, 22 "greatest hits" for the same price. If you like what you hear you can fast forward 20 years and buy the new record Ignition. It's interesting to see where a group of middle aged guys goes when your way too old to sing about teenage angst.

Boke Bowl

Boke Bowl started as a pop up ramen noodle place in Portland and recently opened a permanent location on the east-side next to Bunk Bar, and Clarklewis restaurant. It is best known for it's ramen noodles which come in several flavors: pork, seafood, caramelized fennel dashi - Japanese eggplant, and miso black cod. I have tried the pork and seafood bowls and both were good, however I found the pork to be a little greasy. Be warned, they are very big, so you may want to consider splitting one if you want to try the other stuff. And I strongly suggest you try the other stuff, so if possible, go with a big group of people so you can share.  Also, it's family style seating, so if like me you don't like sitting by people you don't know, a larger group will insulate you.

The steam buns are like little sandwiches, with three to an order for $7. You can get fried chicken (by far the best of the group), miso mushroom (vegetarian), pork belly (again a little greasy/fatty - I wish they would switch this to pulled pork), grilled zucchini (vegan), ham w/tarragon mustard and pickles, and peanut butter and jelly ($6). The snap peas, pea tendrils, pickled radish, avocado, napa cabbage salad with a tahini miso vinaigrette is a great option as are the pickles for an appetizer.  If you are still in need of something sweet to close it out, the Twinkies are a fun choice.

On the website I saw that they host a weekly Koren fried chicken night. If this fried chicken is the same as the stuff they put in the steamed buns, then I will definitely be putting that on the calendar.

Boke Bowl
1028 SE Water Ave.
Portland, OR 97214
503  719  5698

Monday to Wednesday
10:30am to 3pm

Thursday to Saturday
10:30am to 9:30pm

ParaNorman at the Drive-In

 

In the spirit of doing new things we went to see a movie this weekend at the drive-in theater in Newberg. The theater has survived since the 1950's and is still in pretty good working order. It takes about 45 minutes to get there from our house but it was worth the drive. 

They were showing a double bill of ParaNorman and The Campaign starring Will Farrell and Zach Galifianakis. The picture quality is not as good as a indoor movie theater, but it is nice to be able to sit back in your car and watch a movie. 

The main source of income for the theater is concessions, so don't bring your own food, unless you want to eat healthy. The food at the concession stand would all be featured in a what not to eat advice column from your doctor. That said, the nachos are fine if you eat them fast enough (don't let the cheese cool) and the hot dogs were OK.

In between movies, they play a lot of old commercials and other funny clips. They had a trailer from H R Puff and Stuff that was pretty funny.

If you decide to check out the drive-in you should go early, the box office opens at 6:30 and it sells out pretty fast, and be prepared to wait. There is a long line to get in and once you are in, you have to wait until it gets dark enough to project the movie. It is a good idea to bring something else to help you kill a little time.

Car Update

I haven't seen the car since June, so I thought I would go take a look. There has definitely been some progress. It is now prepped and ready to paint. All the dings I got on the hood in a 1984 hail storm have been popped out and sanded, as well as most of the other bad spots. Hopefully it will hit the paint shop this month and I'll be driving it before we run out of good weather.

36 Holes in Chicago

I played more golf on Friday than I have played in the last couple of months.

The day started with a round at Old Elm Golf Club in Highland Park, a suburb north of Chicago. This is a very old school place. It is a men only club with a couple hundred members, most are 70+, so it doesn't get a lot of play. It's a pretty short course measuring 6,465 yards from the longest tees for a par of 73 . The course rating is 70.7 and it has a slope rating of 123 on Bent grass.  Designed by one of the great American designers, Donald J. Ross, the Old Elm course opened in 1913. There are no golf carts or trollies here, you have to take a caddy.

There had been a torrential downpour the night before we played so the greens were playing slow, which is a shame as the small, fast greens are really this courses only defense. There are plenty of bunkers, but they were all casual water hazards due to the rain. Old Elm is a great walking course and fun to play. It would be great to play it again when the greens are in shape.

The second round of the day was on the tougher Onwentsia Golf Club course, in Lake Forest. Onwentsia celebrated its centennial in 1995, and is one of the oldest golf clubs in the country. The course was designed by one of America's most outstanding golf course architects, Charles Blair MacDonald in 1895, and was renovated in 1997 based on the design plan of Tom Doak. It was the home of the 1906 US Open and has hosted many prestigious events over the years. The course is 6,645 yards from the longest tees for a par of 72. The course rating is 71.9 and the slope rating is 127 on Bent grass.

Once again we were treated to caddies only and a guest locker with my name on it. The course had drained well and the greens were a lot faster than the morning round. It is a beautiful layout with an internal nine and a second nine running on the outside. It reminded me a lot of my home club CECC, with a much nicer clubhouse.

The Dark Knight Rises

I am sorry for the cliche, but The Dark Knight Rises is why movie theaters still exist. In a world of 60" TVs and surround sound, this is the kind of movie that is worth getting off the couch for.

Rises is the last in the trilogy of Batman films written and directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Christian Bale as Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon, Morgan Freeman as Lucias Fox and in the only misstep in this film, Anne Hathaway as a cat burglar.

The star of this film is the aptly named Bane, the scariest of Batman badmen so far. This is a guy you really believe could wipe out the world, never mind Batman.

The story is pretty simple, but it is well told and there is plenty of amazing action to keep you glued to your seat. Thank you summer blockbuster.

Fun Birthday

Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes. It was a great day filled with a lot of eating. I had a great lunch with the work folks at Corazon (1205 SW Washington St., Portland). The food is great, they have several different kinds of tacos as well as great guacamole, corn on the cob and spicy peppers. The location has not been successful in the past so I am a little worried for them, but hopefully they will survive.

 

Then it was home for a great dinner and my favorite cake, German chocolate from Helen Bernhard Bakery with some vanilla ice cream. It doesn't get any better.