Pupusas is a street food from El Salvador. I was getting ready to experiment in the kitchen when my friend suggested that I try a few dishes from that region.
Corn Masa
Refried beans and soft cheese (other fillings are also common)
Add water to the masa and kneed it until it turns into a non-sticky dough. You know it is done when you can press the dough and it doesn’t break at the sides.
Take a 2″ piece of dough and form it into a ball, flatten it into a round and add filling in the center
Close the sides of the round over the filling and then flatten the entire ball into a 1/4″ “pancake” shape
BlogTO continues their “Best of Toronto” series with a timely “Best Patios in Toronto” post. Out of their list, my two favorites are Brassaii and Le Select Bistro. Their site also has a handy Google Map of all their selections. Check the article out and discover some hidden gems (like a few in Kensington and the Annex).
Sony has been trying to own type of media for decades. In fact, I think they have based their entire business plans on trying to make up for losing the Beta vs. VHS battle. Since that time, they’ve been trying to own a popular media for the last25 years. Only several failures, have they finally been successful with Blu-ray being the adopted media standard – Sony has backed Blu-ray from day one.
Sony’s R&D labs have produced a large number of media failures, the first and best known is Beta. Beta tapes were technically superior to VHS but VHS was adopted by the public and Beta was regulated to geeks and TV studios.
After they collaborated with Philips to create the CD, Sony tried to create several other media that all had one thing in common: proprietary rights by Sony. Sure other peopel were able to license them, but Sony wanted to whole value chain. Formats included the following failures: DAT (digital audio tape), MiniDisc, Memory Stick and UMD. They even tried to replace MP3′s with Atrac3.
After reading about the new BMW S 1000 R, I decided to catch up with what the competitors have been up to. Motorcycle.com has an excellent review of the supersports from the Big 4: Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki (plus an aside about the Ducati).
They have an excellent quote starting the article:
…we’re stuck in a world of finely honed and fully featured literbikes whose level of diversity is amazingly insignificant. They all haul ass around a racetrack, chassis geometry distinctions are measured in fractions, and peak horsepower differs only by about 5%. Unless you’re a nationally ranked Superbike racer, each of these bikes is way better than you are, and saying one is significantly better than another is mere hair-splitting.
BMW has unveiled their entry into the 1000cc superbike category. Packing 193hp and only 455lbs, it has the best power-to-weight ratio of the entire class.
Paired with technologies like ABS and traction control that is just coming to the competitors (Honda), this bike promises to be something very special.
The video of it’s unveiling is posted below. Pictures available at Autoblog. BMW’s web.tv has not been updated but I’m sure it will be soon. Be sure to check out many of the technical drawings at Hell for Leather.
The article reads a little confusing, so let me clarify. Both tilapia and red seabream are not considered red snapper. Ten restaurants brought out tilapia when red snapper was ordered from the menu. One brought red seabream instead. One other restaurant didn’t list red snapper on the menu but called red seabream as red seabream, the most honest menu.
While Sushi Marche had the most honest answer, I am willing to give Yuzu a break for their description change – they at least still used the words red seabream as the name of the fish. I had been there once in the past, and still will go to Yuzu.
10 restaurants served tilapia when red snapper was ordered from the menu
Ichiban Sushi House
Nara Sushi
Kimono Japanese Grill and Sushi
Katsu Sushi Japanese Restaurant
Japango Sushi and Noodle Restaurant
Sushi and Bento Japanese and Korean B.B.Q. Restaurant
Sushi Star Japanese Cuisine
Sushi on Bloor
Yama
Sushi 2 Go
1 menu described red seabream as “red snapper from japan”
Yuzu
1 menu correctly identified red seabream, did not call it snapper
One of Toronto’s best menswear stores, GotStyle, started a blog a few months ago. It’s been updated fairly frequently and is a nice way to keep up with whats new in the store.
As predicted, Rogers followed Bell and Telus in beginning to charge their customers for incoming text messages. If you have a text messaging plan, this does not apply, but the majority of people do not have a text plan because they get offered a number through their voice plan (not a text plan).
This is a good time to buy Rogers stock, profits will be up.
I stopped by the one of the city’s Porsche dealers to look at the new 2009 Cayman S. This car has always fascinated me because it combines Porsche’s brilliant flat-six engines in a mid-engined layout. Taking the light, nimble chassis of the Boxster and making it lighter with a fixed roof and adding some nice curves.
Very few technologies offer both increased performance and increased fuel economy, but the Cayman has two. The 2009 Cayman S comes with a new 3.4L engine with direct injection, raising maximum output to 320 horsepower – just 5 horsepower short of last years 911 Carrera. The second is the dual clutch gearbox – offering better fuel economy with it’s 7 speeds and more performance with it’s no-lift-off-the-throttle driving style.
The first thing I noticed about the car is how smooth the gearbox is. Having a twin-clutch setup means the other gear is always spun up and ready to be engaged. As you shift the cars, all you hear behind you is the engine powering up for seamless, fast shifts. There’s almost no feedback at all to the pedal and none on the shift lever. Shifting can improve in speed at the penalty of smoothness by using the “sport” and “sport plus” settings provided by the sport chrono computer.
There’s three ways to shift. The first is having the car do it for you. Boring but if I was stuck in traffic on the DVP, it’d be perfect. The second is in manual mode and using the gear lever. The third and final is using the buttons on the steering wheels. You might be wrong if you assumed they would be paddles, but no, they are buttons. Front buttons to shift up, back buttons to shift down. Honestly, paddle shifters would be a lot better. How a company like Porsche decided that this was a better way to go, I will never understand. This is a big minus for this transmission.
The car itself drives like few others. It has a masterful stance and so eager to turn and go in the direction you want. It’s hard to explain but coming from a 350z it corners a lot eagerly. You really notice less weight on the wheels and an ability to control the car with very few inputs. In the Z the steering is heavy, the clutch is heavier, and the car has to be manhandled into tight corners. The Cayman is the opposite – it’s like a slot car and can be put into the perfect apex every time. It’s hard to compare with a 911 Carrera since I haven’t driven them back-to-back.
A short drive is never very revealing, but it did give me some good insights. The default throttle mapping on the car is not very good. With the optional sport chrono computer, you can use the “sport” program to make the throttle more responsive. This is both immediate and noticeable. Frankly I can’t imagine having a Cayman S without this option. The default program has too much lag compared to my Z.
The next drive will be with the manual transmission and a better impression about the car’s handling.
Pupusas is a street food from El Salvador. I was getting ready to experiment in the kitchen when my friend suggested that I try a few dishes from that region.
One of Toronto’s best menswear stores, 
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