Over the past several years I’ve really grown to love root beer. Being that I don’t drink beer beer, it’s nice to have this drink that people still put some effort in to adding their own personal touch to. It’s always fun to go to a different city or different bar and have the opportunity to try their root beer offering.

That being said, Milwaukee’s Sprecher Brewery has the best root beer I’ve ever tasted, hands down. I won’t go in to any adjective-riddled descriptions of its taste, but just know that it is incredibly delicious. And if you live in Milwaukee, you can pick it up at almost every grocery store and most restaurants. The Sprecher line also includes Cream Soda, Puma Cola (two of my other favorites), Lo-Cal Root Beer (Emma’s fave), Orange Dream, Ravin’ Red, Ginger Ale, and Cherry Cola.

As ridiculous as it sounds, I will really miss my daily Sprecher – so much so that I have tried to postpone the inevitable withdrawal by bringing a total of 12 4-packs of Sprecher soda with me to Pittsburgh. Sprecher Brewery does offer shipping of their sodas anywhere, but it’s a little cost prohibitive. However, if anyone cares to send me a house-warming package here in Pittsburgh, I will certainly not turn the delivery man away!

The only thing that I can say negatively about these sodas is that I really can’t stand their packaging. I always thought it would be a fun project to redesign their packaging, as I think they could do a much better job of conveying how fantastic their product is through the packaging. It’s on my list of projects I would love to tackle some day, so who knows – maybe I’ll work it out one day and sell it for a lifetime supply of root beer!

My absolute favorite way to find a new restaurant is through word of mouth. Usually, if someone goes out of the way to tell you about a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that would never grab your attention otherwise, you know you’re in for something special. One such recommendation came to us last Christmas Eve. We were at the annual Niesl Christmas party, talking about our house and our neighborhood with Emma’s cousin, when we brought up the topic of restaurants in the area. He told us that we HAVE to make our way over to Bombay Sweets for lunch sometime.

Boy, I am so grateful for that recommendation. This restaurant has become one of our favorite places in town. It’s all vegetarian, and, just as Miguel had told us, is cooked by two or three women back in he kitchen and served to you on disposable plates. It’s absolutely no frills, the way it should be, and all of the food has real soul. Oh, and did I mention that it’s dirt cheap? I haven’t had anything there that wasn’t outstanding. We recommend Roti Sabji, Samosa Chaat, or the Vegetable Korma. But honestly, my absolute favorite thing that they serve is their chai tea. Perfectly spiced and sweetened, it never fails to hit the spot. I could sit in that quiet restaurant every day with a cup of tea, watching the world go by, and be perfectly content.

Beyond the food on the menu, they also have several cases of snacks and sweet cakes and desserts. It has been awesome this year to get to try a sweet after lunch and make our way through much of what’s available. Emma and I have discovered that we have very different taste in the desserts – her preferring many of the cakes, while I prefer the overly-sweet things that have been drowned in honey.

Now, I must preface this with saying that Cafe Lulu does pride themselves on the “bar and cocktails” part of their fine establishment, but since we are non-alcohol-drinkers, we’re just going to focus on their fantastically delicious food. Serving mainly sandwiches and salads, and some really awesome ciabatta pizzas, the menu items are creative and fun, and the specials are always awesome. How does this sound: Spanish White Bean Spread for an app, Morrocan Chicken Sandwich for lunch, and a fresh slice of cheesecake for dessert. And the best part about getting a sandwich here is the sides – “chips, Asian slaw or a little of both?” The Asian slaw is ABSOLUTELY TO DIE FOR and the chips are served with yummy bleu cheese dressing – so I suggest going with “a little of both”.

You know how you become a regular at a certain restaurant, and even though you know nearly everything on the menu is going to be delicious, you always get the same thing? Well that’s how I am with Cafe Lulu’s East Indian Chicken Pita (and I always get  it with a healthy portion of Asian slaw on the side). The pita is topped with a serious helping of lime-cilantro marinated onions and this really great yogurt sauce. I usually come out with a pretty strong case of onion breath, but it’s totally worth it, every last bite of it!

Well, it has come to my last week in Milwaukee before moving to Pittsburgh for school (sad face). Jason is going to be staying in town for the rest of the month to tie up loose ends with the move (what a guy!), and we decided it only appropriate to spend this month featuring some of the things we’ll miss most about our beloved Milwaukee – starting with one of our favorite lunch spots – Martino’s on 13th and Layton.

We love the vibe of this place. It’s got kind of a diner feel, with super nice folks behind the counter, and the booths are always packed with hard working people on their lunch breaks (or snack breaks… or dinner breaks…). This place is known for their famous Italian Beef sandwiches, but our favorite thing to get is the classic Chicago Dog. For only $2.95 (fries included!), it’s a steal. Pair it with a cold milk shake in just about any flavor you can think of, and you’re set! I have to say, I’ve never been much of a hot dog person until we discovered Martino’s–and now I find myself craving them like nothin’ else!

Oh, and we did manage to escape all of this last week and spend some time up at the cabin in Wisconsin’s Northwoods, where I got to enjoy the company of these two wonderful ladies. :)

Recently, my friend Matt asked me to help him out with super fun project.  Matt is an incredible graphic designer in San Francisco and he had just purchased the gigantasaurus rex 30″ Cinema Display from Apple. He desperately needed a cover for the thing to keep it from getting dusty and dirty when it’s not in use and he called upon me and my sewing skills to help him out.  A few weeks later, this is what I came up with.

before

after

The cover is made from sturdy canvas, with a flannel lining to keep the screen in ship-shape with out any chance of getting scratched.

The design also continues onto the back, with a cutout at the bottom for cords n’ such to stay plugged in while the screen is not in use.

Creating this project has really sparked my desire to get an etsy store up and running, so stay tuned for more stuff of this nature up for sale in the future! (or tweet me @emmaneezer to order one for yourself!)

visit Matthew Fleming at blackt-shirt.com

To begin, I am fully aware that the term candelabra usually refers to an arrangement of candlesticks and these are pillar candles, but it’s just a way cooler word than candle holder, so if you were planning on correcting me, I know, I know, I know. I am also fully aware that the fact that I just wrote that sentence may alone qualify me as a super-dork, but again, I know, I know, I know. The point is, I found this candelabra at Goodwill one day and had a vision. So, I bought it, and with the help of a little spray paint, it has become a very cool addition to our fake fireplace. Spray paint can really be a magical thing!

Well folks, we chose our duvet cover! And in honor of the today’s holiday, I thought it would be the perfect day to show it to you, (since it is part of the greenest room in the house). We went with the Gion Organic Duvet from CB2 (ignore the wrinkles, mom) – fits our style perfectly and it compliments our green bedroom theme without going overboard. We love it! Now we just need some things on the walls!

]]> http://www.dork-a-thon.com/?feed=rss2&p=958 0 http://www.dork-a-thon.com/?p=958 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Dork-a-thon/~3/7G7FqSvhsHI/ http://www.dork-a-thon.com/?p=936#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:27:01 +0000 Jason http://www.dork-a-thon.com/?p=936
(found via Kitsune Noir)

The video above is one of the most wonderful things I’ve seen in a long time. Why don’t you watch it real quick, and then keep reading if you’d like.

This is the Chorus of PS22, Staten Island, New York. The kids are singing the song Lisztomania by the band Phoenix and – can you believe it – every single one of them is completely engaged and loving what they are doing! I honestly couldn’t believe what I was seeing the first time I watched this video. I have worked with music in schools in so many different ways and capacities and I almost always come away from the experience with the following feeling – music programs are completely doomed. Most of the kids don’t care. They’re only doing it because their parents are making them. They thought being in band would be a lot more fun than it actually is. They usually don’t even like the music they’re playing.

Schools everywhere are failing to show their students how learning music can be relevant to their lives. But the director of this chorus, Gregg Breinberg, is really doing something amazing.

I’m always dumbfounded when I’m reminded that creating music used to be an incredibly common pastime in this country. Amateur musicians were everywhere, and making music was a way that families connected and bonded. What happened to those days? Isn’t it amazing that the world isn’t like that any more, yet almost all of us are still incredibly passionate about the music that we listen to? Is it because, while the music around us continued to move forward, the music that schools taught remained staunchly rooted in the past? I believe that is a big part of it.

However, I’m so encouraged when I see something like this and I hope that other music educators can begin to follow suit, because I honestly feel that their jobs depend on it. I would love to see school music programs transform themselves into laboratories where students are given the tools and skills to form their own bands, write their own arrangements, and compose their own tunes. Get kids involved in music in ways that they can relate to. Help them to first form a connection to the art of music-making; worry about how Bach and Beethoven will fit in later.

What do you think? Am I way off base here? We’d love to have some discussion about this in the comments!

]]> http://www.dork-a-thon.com/?feed=rss2&p=928 0 http://www.dork-a-thon.com/?p=928