Pac Man Fevah

So when I make it out to LA I like to hang out with my friend Derwood. A couple of weeks ago I was there and because we enjoy reliving the faint memory of our youth at Miss T's Barcade in Korea Town.

I must admit, though I spent many a quarter trying to get good at video games, I was really too much of a spaz to get really good. Still I enjoy a good game of Asteroids. Darren is seen above kicking A at Galaga. (Play an online sim here. I dare you not to get choked up.)

But the game that got us going that night was the Twilight Zone pinball machine. There was something wrong with it, so there were two balls out at once (sounds dirty, but just annoying), which added to the challenge. Not to mention that we never really could figure out different parts of the game that would have gotten us mucho points. Ah well, all in good fun.

The one sad thing is now that Barcade is legit, there's no more hard liquor. Just beer and wine. You can't beat a little '80s flashback, though.

More New Orleans Drinking

I know this is a total tourist drink. I know it is totally cheesy to go into a bar and order this. But c'mon, this is in the French Quarter just down the block from Cafe du Monde. Of all the places in NOLA that I go to every time--Coop's for the shrimp po' boy, the bar at the Monteleone--I always look forward to going to Molly's to get the frozen coffee drink.

This is strange if you know me. I hate coffee. Never had a cup, don't like candy or ice cream with coffee flavor. But when I go to New Orleans I always go to Molly's (in the case of this trip it was multiple visits) to get their "famous" frozen coffee drink. It is manna from the gods.

New Orleans for My Birthday

To celebrate my birthday and say bye bye to the South, Sara and I went to New Orleans for a few days. The city is still trying to put everything together after Katrina (restaurants are still closed, touristas are still not back in full force), but overall the average visitor won't see much difference from pre-hurricane NOLA. Unless you are visiting the 9th Ward or outside of the French Quarter/Garden District area things are pretty much back to normal. I even saw some boobies flashed, which just made me feel warm all over.

Anyway, the top photo is from our hotel. Loved the chandelier's creepy faces, so I had to share.

The second photo is from my favorite bar in the world, the carousel bar at the Hotel Monteleone. (Better picture here.) My friend Yvonne introduced me to this bar six or seven years ago, and it is the one go to spot where you can get away from Bourbon Street chuckleheads and have any drink you can think of made with perfection. Sara ordered a Ramos Fizz, which you rarely see made with actual egg whites anymore. It sounds sketchy, but was like a delicious dessert. I stuck to a Rusty Nail, which isn't all that complicated. Some may find the carousel aspect a little cheesy, but I love the slight dissonance it causes the more you drink.

So go visit and remember that every drink you take you are supporting the rebuilding of New Orleans.

Beer Goggles Equation: SOLVED!

Where:

• An = number of units of alcohol consumed
• S = smokiness of the room (graded from 0-10, where 0 clear air; 10 extremely smoky)