Jephir Treks America: Bumbling Through Central America

Eatin' out, Turkish style (mostly)

2010-12-06T23:55:00.000Z

love me some calf's liver

crema is a wonderful thing

Don't call it a comeback

2010-12-05T18:58:00.000Z

I think it's time to get this thing up and running again. More shortly.

Anybody ever heard of Cotzal?

2009-02-13T03:12:00.001Z

Hands, backstrap loom. Or laploom, if you prefer.

This picture does no justice to the extreme steepness of the streets in Cotzal - there shoulda been staihs!

Cotzal again!

2009-02-13T03:11:00.004Z

Them's some wild tomatoes!

Ninja squirrel, pet of our hosts. Very difficult to photograph due to extreme quickness and agility.

Gigante Poinsetta, capable of eating small children.

Cotzal's around 7500 feet or so, and the mountains are even higher - feels like you're flying through the clouds as the day progresses.

More old Cotzal photos

2009-02-13T03:11:00.003Z

You can't hide from me in that tree, ninja chicken.

Steep streets, even for a ninja dog.

Ninjas always travel in disguise.

Moco de Gorila, an essential tool in the ninja's handbag.

Old Cotzal Photos

2009-02-13T03:10:00.003Z

Little Maya ladies

Grandosita, kickin' ass

Note the similarity in color and tone between Diego's lingua and the taza he's got in hand.

More Valhalla

2009-02-13T03:09:00.005Z

Caroline DOES have motherly instincts!

More macadamia blossoms, this time in pink!

Back to Valhalla

2009-02-13T03:09:00.003Z

A return to the Macadamia nut farm Valhalla outside Antigua for another tour of the location.

Super long blossoms equal super long nut clusters equals tons of macadamia nuts!

You can tell which type of Macadamia tree you're looking at by the end of the branches - intrafolia and tetrafolia. Intrafolia isn't used as much because it produces year round, but is much better suited to small scale production in indigenous villages in Guatemala, something our tour guide Ben is attempting to facilitate.

Nancy-Maria making use of the superduperhightech nut size sorting machine

Nut drying rack - the nuts usual dry from a couple weeks to a few months depending upon humidity, etc.

It's Rony time!

2009-02-13T03:08:00.004Z

Back to Rony, our favorite Jocotenango barber and a shave. Just off the main square he's open from 8:30 am onward and has a fun chair for kids when he's not shaving men less hairy than me.

Goin' for #32

On our way!

How much do you trust your barber?

Chimal street food part 2 - dessert

2009-02-13T03:05:00.002Z

rellenitos - sweet chocolate bean filled fried plantain balls

hmmm, don't know what's tastier, the rellenito or Jonathan...

Chimal Street Food Pics!

2009-02-13T03:04:00.002Z

Hmmm... tostada

Hmmm.... street food lady - opens after 5 pm in Chimaltenango almost everyday out of a door in the front of her house. If you want to find it ask for the only Domino's in town - walking west down the street it will be the next comedor on the left hand side of the street after the Domino's. It's probably the most delicious food I've ever eaten out of someone's window on the street, and all the items are 2 Quetzal, or 22 cents each.

Tasty tasty cabbage slaw, cheese and salsa roja on avocado and huge fried chip

Chimal pics part 2

2009-02-13T03:03:00.006Z

Jeff, keeping up his skillz

Incredible ping pong ball collector

super high tech design

Julio and Jonathan, two awesome Chimaltenangans

Chimal pics part 3

2009-02-13T03:03:00.004Z

Julio, Caroline's friend and someday Guatemalan ambassador to the world

It's the local supermarket's pinata section

"That's the weird Bee character" - Zephir, Feb. 13th, 2009

Chimaltenango pics!

2009-02-13T03:02:00.003Z

Senora Licuado - where you can get cornflakes in your fruit smoothie!

A few fresh fruits at the chimal market

Yep, it's a sausage party!

2009-02-13T03:00:00.003Z

Ooops.

2009-02-13T03:00:00.002Z

Artesan market at 3rd and 3rd in Antigua

Agua on a translucent day

Anybody feeling a bit of bromance in the air?

some randome pics!

2009-02-13T02:59:00.001Z

Jeff's finished botas!

Zephir's $6 flower arrangement

Chicken buses and traje!

anybody know what this is?

2009-02-13T02:58:00.000Z

Near San Ignacio, Belize! The story can be found in this fun book!

near the medicine trail

2009-02-13T02:56:00.000Z

Peely bark is good for the skin, or at least this kind is

Stay here for $50/night including 3 meals/day!

All saints day

2009-02-01T00:14:00.002Z

At least in Flores, where they carry around statues of saints and sail about with them as well.

More parade pictures

2009-02-01T00:10:00.001Z

Cheap tequila, free for the taking

love me some baritone, too

Flores Parade!

2009-02-01T00:07:00.002Z

Love me some tuba

They throw bowls to carry your candy in too!

who is that puppet-lady?

Flores festival!

2009-02-01T00:04:00.001Z

What's not to love about Guatemala?

Tikal jungle times six

2009-01-31T23:46:00.000Z

Haaahd workin' leafcutter ants, the original farmers of the forest.

Sensitivo?

A little more toucan for you!

Tikal jungle times five

2009-01-31T23:42:00.001Z

Nice bedunkadunk

Just your average, run of the mill local turkey.

Toucan!

Hungry toucan!

Tikal jungle part four

2009-01-31T23:40:00.000Z

Muy sensitivo!

It's important to be rooted in life.

Any botanists out there care to let us know if this is a fern?

Possible fern photo numero dos!

Tikal jungle times two

2009-01-30T02:58:00.001Z

Tikal jungle times one

2009-01-30T02:57:00.001Z

Z in her element

This is the gumbo-limbo tree - good for skin ailments such as poison ivy, poison oak. Also helps with dancing and N'awlins stews.

Tikal Tour Guide

2009-01-30T02:53:00.000Z

Little Caesar Moran and our own Jeff at the end of the tour. Highly entertaining with an American accent to boot, Caesar grew up in LA after his mother emigrated to the US because his father was killed in the civil war. Insights and humor abounded, can't recommend him highly enough.

Tikal times three

2009-01-30T02:46:00.001Z

View from temple 5

Z attempting to do a little shimmy near the edge in her fancy new duds.

You can't hide from the Z

She's got her eye on you. Jeff's view from Temple 5

Tikal times 2

2009-01-30T02:38:00.001Z

The view from the top of temple 4.

Grrrrrr.

Utterly, unbelievably dangerous steps, the kind that actually can't be conceived of in the US due to the litigation that might occur from even contemplating the construction of slippery, wooden, nearly upright steps. The right steps are for going up, the left for going down. One of the more viceral experiences I've had in the last few years. Increadibly peaceful at the top. No railing up there either.

Tikal times 1

2009-01-30T02:29:00.001Z

Face!

Z above the acropolis

What Z sees.

What Z also sees. Little foggy, not hot.

Tikal!

2009-01-25T17:30:00.000Z

A visit to any national park isn't complete without letting you know what you can't do.

No scratching!

No hurting!

And, of course, no plant wrestling. Again, feel free to pet or talk with the plants, but under NO circumstances are you to body slam, atomic drop, Tiger driver or double knee gutbuster the flora of Tikal.

Goodbye Ziggy

2009-01-25T17:22:00.001Z

Shot at 7:32 AM, prior to our 15 hour trip to Tikal. Note Caroline's extremely friendly demeanor early in the morning and Jeff's stylin' hair and Hellboy T-shirt picked up at the local used clothing market, fondly known as the pacha.

It's jade time!

2009-01-25T17:17:00.000Z

Zephir and Francisco, a master jade maker who hunts for jade in the mountains of Guatemala with little but a burro in tow, keeps a beautiful garden and likes to water his jade more than his flowers. Here he's showing Zephir how to avoid cutting off her fingertips.

If everything goes according to plan Zephir will be makin' jade this afternoon.

Yes, that's a jade jaguar.

Ziggy, our Canadian-Jewish-German friend, weighing his options with this huge piece of jade.

Flowers of San Juan

2009-01-25T17:11:00.000Z

Set in the foothills above Antigua and boasting a nunnery of some fame, San Juan also hosts a number of fantastic artisanal shops and some beautiful flowers.

You can find the pods from these on sale at the market here in Antigua - more photos available upon request for identification purposes.

Grenadia flowers, relatives of the passionfruit.

They call these the camerones flores, or shrimp flowers.

The flowers of Hermano Pedro

2009-01-25T17:07:00.000Z

People collect these flowers wherever they can find them and brew a tea for well being - they make really nice pressed flowers too.

The tree of hermano pedro - any botanists out there care to identify?

Saint Hermano Pedro

2009-01-25T17:04:00.000Z

Some photos from the Church of Santo Hermano Pedro

This one's for you, Fronny - these corn husk sheep, that is...

Even Jesus likes corn husk sheep - he may have been at the market near christmas time when they're on sale everywhere

Huge thing behind the altar, to quote Zephir
Some might call it a station of the cross.

What it takes to build a stove in the middle of the Cuchumantanes

2009-01-23T23:03:00.002Z

These are photos from our 2 days of stove building when we completely built 10 stoves in different houses throughout Cotzal and put together the major parts of another 20 with Caroline, Diego, Rich and Heinz.

Children of Cotzal

2009-01-23T22:49:00.002Z

Here's a little movie we made from our time in Cotzal where we met more than a few kids...

Some Nebaj motel shots

2009-01-22T22:45:00.001Z

Jeff, exhausted, awaiting midnight rooster calls.

Caroline doing her best to outfit the troops with PB&J for our stove building binge

You have to get up pretty early in the morning to pull one over on Diego, in this case sometime between 6:30 and 7 am

2009-01-22T18:44:00.000Z

You know it.

We REALLY liked Nebaj.

Nebaj photos

2009-01-22T18:41:00.000Z

Traje workshop, complete with looms and sewing machine.

Tiny door, eh?

Local mural depicting some of the atrocities suffered in the Ixil triangle during the civil war that lasted 30 years. Zephir is making note of the country of origin of the bombs being dropped...

Purple building built into hill, tiny mayan man with man bag.

Less than spectacular lunch in Quiche

2009-01-22T18:17:00.000Z

Diego, our 20 year old musician/romantic/archaeology major college student who was nice enough to put up with us for a few days...

That's beef with soup - although the avocado makes it all ok.

Diego's 12 Q sandwich, complete with ketchup and ham!

Chicken Bus vs Mini Bus

2009-01-22T18:14:00.000Z

On the right you can see your standard chicken bus, an old Bluebird school bus body with a paint job as juiced up as the truck motor that's been dropped in. How many Guatemalans can you fit on a chicken bus? One more. The max I've seen on one was probably close to 85, but your average ride doesn't tend to have more than 50 or 60.
On the left you can see a similarly tricked out mini-bus, usually an old Mercedes 15 passenger van that can easily hold 28-30 human beings at a pop. But more on that later....

More Chichi!

2009-01-22T18:07:00.000Z

Leon's Dental shop, scaring little kids for over 25 years! In case you're wondering, getting a gold star installed in your front tooth runs around 140 Q, or a little under $20. Not a bad deal except for the hole they have to drill into your tooth to anchor the thing....

Arch to Quiche!

The Chichi tuk-tuks are racer red - note the tiny headlights and wheels....

Smoked Meats

2009-01-21T01:32:00.000Z

So you're heading by shuttle to the highlands of Guatemala from Antigua. Or Lake Atitlan. Or Chichicastenango. Pretty much anywhere west of Antigua, or so it seems. In this fairly likely scenario you'll have an early rest stop about 35-45 minutes outside of Antigua where you'll find the above sign. You're probably saying to yourself, why the hell are we stopping now? We just got on the road for a 3-6 hour journey and NOW we're stopping for the bathroom break? Well, the reason you're stopping here lies below, and it's all about the hard, smokey meats.

Pretty fantastic, eh?

Zephir proudly displaying her newly obtained smoked sausage. Caroline perusing the wares, which that handy attendant will allow you to try - they have approximations of black forest ham (silva de negra), proscuitto and serrano ham for around $6 US/lb, although we asked for half a lb and they gave us 2/3 for the price we asked for.

Chichicastenango

2009-01-20T16:46:00.001Z

This is the market most people see in Chichi, lots of tchochkis, textiles and masks...

But if you walk north and west of the church you'll find chickens and turkeys in nets and baskets.

A nice rooster such as this one will run you about 60 quetzales, or $8.50

Love your traje.

Belize, Tikal, etc.

2009-01-17T02:12:00.002Z

The Jephir currently exists intact on Ambergris Caye, off of mainland Belize. Joined in their adventure by the Viran (who are occasionally known as Vin and Kira), undeterred by rain and cool temperatures, the absurdity continues. Pictures to follow, but today we managed to accidentally steal a golfcart, met a US Embassy Warden who told us to feel free to light up in his backyard, took some compromising pictures with local conch shells, investigated an abandoned house and went offroading with a rented (not stolen) golfcart.

The reason why Jeff isn't in any of those hot springs and three kings photos...

2009-01-13T01:47:00.000Z

booo.

Apartment photos!

2009-01-13T01:45:00.000Z

Our fun and exciting salt bowl.

A few birds above our overstuffed shelves

Beans, beans, beans!

Kitchen, complete with garlic bulbs, mini bar, empty beer cans and hanging owl

2009-01-13T01:41:00.001Z

Yeah, it's basically a huge, crazy street party

More Three Kings photos!

2009-01-13T01:41:00.000Z

Is he cooling Tweety down? Whispering sweet nothings into her eyes? Groping her nose?

Hmmmmm....

Festival of the Three Kings!

2009-01-13T01:37:00.000Z

It's like, for kids! In Chimultenango!

That's breaking and entering for the rest of you out there in intertubeland

This chicken bus decided it was going to drive through the throngs of kids, adults, and all matter of costumed characters to get to it's destination. Who needs a police escort when you've got a truck motor under the hood and flames painted on the sides of your chromed up Bluebird bus?

Whoever said there aren't any hot springs near Antigua?

2009-01-13T01:27:00.000Z

Take the San Lorenzo chicken bus and tell them you're getting off at Al Balneario - it'll cost around Q3, then walk down the road when you see this sign.

And you'll find men! Bathing men!

Shave and a haircut, 30 Quetzalitos!

2009-01-13T01:23:00.000Z

The new and improved, more aerodynamic... Jeff!

Beautiful Guatemalan Countryside

2009-01-13T01:19:00.000Z

and funny trees

Compala Church

2009-01-13T01:16:00.000Z

Kinda funny looking saint

Anybody know what kind of tree this flower grows on?

Who ever thought a graveyard could look like Oak Bluffs?

El Pedregal, a heavenly farm based restaurant

2009-01-13T01:11:00.000Z

The one and only! All breakfasts (such as egg scrambles or carne asada) come with bread, tortillas, jam, crema, queso fresco, black beans, chile sauce, pickled jalapenos and carrots, porridge....

...and duck butts.
They serve breakfast all day and supposedly their lunches are equally big and delicious. Our breakfast was about Q40/person, or $5.50/person. They're located near Tecpan down a little road near a nursery.

More Iximche

2009-01-13T01:01:00.000Z

Mayan prayer site

Hairy guy

Steep steps!

Pre-ruin reconstruction

Iximche!

2009-01-13T00:55:00.000Z

Just your run of the mill, treed ruins...

Into thin air...

2009-01-08T12:29:00.002Z

The Jephir will be out of range for the next 4 days due to travelling to Nebaj and a nearby village to help build stoves for economically disadvantaged Mayan families. For more on this project, check out our friend Caroline's weblog where she discusses her project.

Who ever thought Valhalla was in Guatemala?

2009-01-07T13:29:00.000Z

Their super high tech macadamia nut sorter.

Macadamia nut cream - great for the face!

What to see when you visit Valhalla

2009-01-07T13:21:00.000Z

Macadamia nu pancakes with fresh fruit, macadamia nut sauce and blueberry preserves.

I wouldn't try to take those away from him if I were you.

Local wildlife in a constructed pool where they're trying out a system of food production that uses water hyacynth and tilapia

Larry/Lorenzo next to his high tech macadamia nut processor (yes, that's a spare tire and rebar). Larry has created a macadamia nut finca outside Antigua that acts as a preserve for much of the genetic material of macadamia trees in the world due to the many different varieties that grow on the finca. He's also got a penchant for dirty jokes that would make a professional limerick writer blush.

Some pics

2009-01-07T13:12:00.000Z

Antigua's Central Park fountain

'nanas

ditto

Baby macadamia nuts

Jeff gets a pair of botas (boots)!

2009-01-05T03:14:00.001Z

High tech measurement system reveals that Jeff has two different sized feet!

Nothin' but the fanciest

Botas botas alley.

Botas to be!

2009-01-05T03:10:00.000Z

We live next to an active volcano!

2009-01-05T02:48:00.000Z

Volcan Pacaya has been putting out plumes of ash and little rivers of lava for years now, so we're not especially worried, but it does give me goosebumps now and then...

Just your run of the mill local ruins

A few fruits, some explosions, Caroline, our trusty guide and some odd man

2009-01-04T00:48:00.002Z

Caroline has been nice enough to spend as much time as we'd like showing us around the city, helping us find a place to stay, travelling about the local area, getting us involved with her friends and work, and generally being the best guide one could imagine...

Guatemalans like fireworks. A lot! On New Year's Eve there was a medium sized display by the government of Antigua, and an almost constant collection of smaller fireworks set off from dusk until dawn the next day. Everything from sparklers and those whizzy rockets to full blown explosions like the one in this picture and those machine-gun like ones that are lit and dropped on the ground. New Year's Eve in Antigua feels like some sort of warzone, especially when the really, really loud fireworks are set off without rhyme, reason or warning. In fact, this morning we were awoken by even more fireworks - it seems the new year lives on...

Stopping to smell the strange central american flowers

2009-01-04T00:31:00.000Z

See through money, fun flower arrangements, and hotel sights

2009-01-04T00:27:00.000Z

Hotel Photos and some Moolah

2009-01-04T00:21:00.000Z

Last meal in America

2009-01-03T23:59:00.000Z

Mmmmmmmmhhh, media noche, sweeet, sweet media noche!

Even More Miami

2009-01-02T15:28:00.000Z

More little havana!

2009-01-02T15:27:00.001Z

Main Street, little Havan, complete with giant chicken

las fritas!

sooooo greasy, surprisingly satisfying (roll with hamburger and fried potatoes on top)

I love coffee, even in plastic cups!

Some time (and food) in little havana

2008-12-31T21:52:00.001Z

Cordadito (cuban coffee with milk)

Cuban Pork Sandwich (roasty porky goodness

Pink's the new black

Roadside cordadito times two.

Back!

2008-12-31T13:37:00.000Z

We're back and trekking about, currently in Antigua, Guatemala after some edible adventures in Miami - more shortly, but suffice it to say, after a short break, we're back! Here! Blogging!

My SOTU time

2006-02-01T00:58:00.000Z

Here's what I'll be doing between 7 and 9 tonight.

A photo mon(-woman-and-child)tague

2005-11-18T09:06:00.000Z

New headgear. Professionally designed by Zephir & Co.

Chicken Pot Pies, huge salad, potatoes au gratin

Trusty bear? Trusty coffee!

Who's excited?

who?

Excited?

Sure!

Who's excited?

Strange growth on the side of the face there. Didn't think they allowed the homeless into children's areas...

Lower extremities shot

Zephir shouts with glee as her arm expands to gargantuan proportions

butter...

fly!

...

hmmm...

fava-rrific! (and spinach too)

Some call it blood soup. I call it Tuscan Red Cabbage Soup. But it sure was some good blood soup.

Why yes, I'd love a little spinach with my blood soup.

That's one lucky board

Oiling up our shelves to be

Banker's boxes can be more than just storage devices - they make great levels too

Pay no attention to the yellow mug. Or the yellow glove. Or the many cables coming from the wall.

Organizing woes

"Yes, I'll take the one on the end there..."

Tada! (the end)

The Problem With Hubbert's Peak (as seen today)

2005-11-18T08:18:00.000Z

Been giving a bit of thought lately to the idea of "energy descent" - basically that as stocks of petrol diminish, humans will be forced to come up with a way of living with less total energy available to them. Now I know that there are plenty of arguments about alternative sources of energy such as solar or wind or even nuclear, but petrol remains the major source of energy in the global economy. However, the thing I can't get about people who create websites like this one: is that they don't take into account shale oil. Terrible as the strip mining/processing/retorting/refining is of shale oil, it seems as though the trillion or so barrels of shale oil should act as a cushion since it "only" takes a good $60-70/barrel to produce oil from shale. If you believe these folks: then it wouldn't even cost that much. So my conclusion? Imminent disaster isn't going to happen anytime soon (i.e. within 10 years), and since the U.S. is thought to sit on almost 1 trillion barrels of shale oil, it might be in an even better spot in terms of world energy than it is today. Strange.

Unfortunately, that only gives me more time to ponder the odd concept of "energy descent."

X-mas ideas

2005-11-18T07:53:00.000Z

Feel free to send this one over my way for Cheesus's b-day.

In other news, the Jephir is heading back to Valley View for a few days of rest, relaxation and clothing-optional fun.

Brrrrrrr....

2005-11-16T19:10:00.000Z

Road to Boulder this morning. Damn chilly, if sunny (as usual). Couldn't find me gloves, so I thought I was going to lose everything from my elbow down. If you want to see what it feels like, just put your hand out the window of your car the next 20-something degree day and leave it there for 15 minutes. At least I don't live here.

In other news, seems its getting a touch cooler in Hell.

It's like revenge, you see...

2005-11-16T00:12:00.000Z

...you easily become like your enemy in order to defeat him. Sad when your enemy supposedly embodies all you oppose in this world. Here's a quote from a washington post analysis:

Today, amazingly, America finds itself embroiled in the same kind of debate that Iran--one of the three nation's Bush admonished as a part of the "axis of evil"-- had three years ago when hardliners in the conservative Guardian Council repeatedly vetoed a version of a bill banning the torture of prisoners that had been pushed through the parliament by moderate backers of President Mohammad Khatami.

Read the full text here.

Sick to my stomach

2005-11-12T18:05:00.000Z

I don't really understand where the debate is about torture. The idea that at some point soon the US will make it legal to torture people is beyond anything I would have believed a few years ago.

Here's a quote from a New Yorker article as to why torture doesn't make sense from an intelligence standpoint, one that Senator McCain has been attempting to explain to others:

Ten hours after landing in Jordan, Arar said, he was driven to Syria, where interrogators, after a day of threats, “just began beating on me.” They whipped his hands repeatedly with two-inch-thick electrical cables, and kept him in a windowless underground cell that he likened to a grave. “Not even animals could withstand it,” he said. Although he initially tried to assert his innocence, he eventually confessed to anything his tormentors wanted him to say. “You just give up,” he said. “You become like an animal.”

South Carolina 2000 primary

2005-11-12T04:11:00.000Z

The differences come back yet again...

Biking around Boulder

2005-11-10T20:05:00.000Z

I had heard stories of Boulder biking before I moved out to this land of perpetual sun and endless plains. But actually riding about day in and day out has made me realize how wonderful a place this is to ride one's bike. The streets are wide and well paved, the paths beautiful and under-used, the drivers (moderately-)tolerant. Last weekend I got a taste of what makes Boulder really exciting - the foothills. From Gunbarrel to Boulder is comprised of mostly flat roads with the occasional bump, but once you get closer to the foothills the grade increases quickly and a New Englander like me learns a bit about biking at high altitude. Zephir and I haven't managed to completely avoid riding in cars with gas, but I'm pretty sure we only ride to and from Boulder 2-3 times a week, which is pretty good, since I bike there at least 3 if not 5 times weekly. Of course, it's a bit easier to do that kind of bike riding when you're not employed. Z and I have been trying to keep ourselves busy by cooking dinner, renovating parts of the apartment we're squatting in, and catching up on our reading. Unfortunately, I can't help but read about permaculture gardening and agro-forestry, which leaves me chomping at the bit since we're living in a two bedroom apartment. Zephir is looking for schools she/we can attend - Fort Collins is looking more and more promising, although who knows what might happen?

2005-11-10T20:04:00.000Z

Let's see how Zephir and Rowan work together to plant this avocado seed. Looks like fun!

Where'd that smile go to?

Aaah, family life. Furrowed brows and exasperated expressions. Nothing like a Murphy-Plume collaboration to brighten everyone's day.

2005-11-10T19:58:00.000Z

"What is that?"

"Cheese?"

"Is it melting? Ugh..."

"Is that ice cream?" "Nope, it's scary cheese!"

"Why are we eating scary cheese?" It's cheese and bread night!

Denver Recommendations

2005-11-10T19:20:00.000Z

Recently found a website called Chowhound that has all kinds of exciting recommendations for different parts of the US. Inspired, we put together our own list of restaurants worth visiting the next time you're in Denver and crave an eclectic assortment of cuisines. Here it goes:

Domo Restaurant is a restaurant, museum and martial arts school. It serves great country style Japanese food that is "bowl-centered." More than a culinary experience, lunch is your best bet because of cheaper prices with the same menu.
http://www.domorestaurant.com/

Saigon Bowl is a tasty vietnamese place reminiscent of various vietnamese soup restaurants I've been to. Think Pho Pasteur if you've been to Boston. Inexpensive, their rice combinations are good, and obviously their soups are great. I always get a couple Vietnamese coffees...
Saigon Bowl
935-3742
333 S. Federal Blvd.

Seoul Korean Barbeque: a great little korean place that's a bit out of the way, but has excellent barbequed beef and excellent beef tartar. Every meal get a wide array of pickles!
12091 E Iliff Ave
Aurora, CO 80014-1135
(303) 671-0003

Little India has great breads, chai, and mango lasis. Supposedly their lunch buffet is great, but have only eaten dinner there.
330 E 6th Ave
Denver, CO
(303) 871-9777

Mataam Fez is a great moroccan place that has belly dancing, a price fix menu, you get to sit on the floor, and tea poured from the heavens. Oh, and the food is tasty as well.
4609 E Colfax Ave
Denver, CO
(303) 399-9282

Dozens restaurant serves a great breakfast, although there's often a long wait, but it is definitely worth it:
236 W 13th Ave
Denver, CO
(303) 572-0066

Bump & Grind is another great breakfast place. In addition to amazing food, if you go on Saturday or Sunday you'll find the waitstaff dressed in drag...
439 E 17th Ave
Denver, CO
(303) 861-4841

Stella's Coffeehouse is a place to get a cup of coffee, it is located in a house and is close to Denver University so it has that comfortable study atmosphere.
1890 E Evans Ave
Denver, CO
(303) 777-8828

Across the street from Stella's is a very tasty sushi restaurant named Sushi Den, but the prices are high and the waitstaff is pompous.

Pints Pub has great food and over 50 scotches to try. They even have cask beer on tap! (if you're in the mood for warm, flat beer;)
221 W 13th Ave
Denver, CO
(303) 534-7543

Pete's Kitchen is a good late night spot so you're not stuck going to denny's after spending some time at the local pubs. Here's the website:
http://www.petesrestaurantstoo.com/petesKitchen.html

Jerusalem is the other latenight place to get shwarma and gyros after 2 am.
1890 E Evans Ave
Denver, CO
(303) 777-8828

Jax Fish House has a great fish selection and has rather inventive cuisine that uses fresh fruits and vegetables.
1539 17th St
Denver, CO
(303) 292-5767

There you have it. Everything you might ever want to eat. (More soon)

Menu For November 7th-13th

2005-11-07T05:56:00.000Z

Monday
Edamame
Veggie Sushi

Tuesday
Queso De Mano Goat Cheese
Haystack Peak (soft goat cheese)
Leek & Shitake Mushroom Baked Egg
Black Forest Ham
Musk Melon
Ciabatta

Wednesday
Goat Cheese Souffle`
Seared Rainbow Chard

Thursday
Chicken Breasts with Green Sauce
Radicchio Salad
Pearl Barley

Friday
Chicken Pot Pies
Yet to be named Veggie-table

Saturday
Ligurian Vegetable Soup

Sunday
Bacon, Eggs and Prussian Rye Toast Points
(who eats dinner?)

Feel free to email for recipes...

A visit to Haystack Mountain

2005-11-06T23:13:00.000Z

Goat-errific!

A chicken and some friendly dairy goats at Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy. Be careful, they'll eat you! (or your hair, or your pants or your fingers...)

One of the more stylish hairstyles we encountered.

Elvis. Pure Elvis.

2005-11-06T23:06:00.000Z

Typical picture of the kitchen

Soon to be Tortilla Soup

Tortilla Soup with Queso Fresco, Smoky Steamed Kale and a few local beers from Odell Brewery to wash it all down.

2005-11-03T03:22:00.000Z

Yep, that preeeetty much sums up where I'm at these days...

2005-11-03T03:21:00.001Z

You can see our priorities from the ratio of brewed chicory to sweetened condensed milk...

2005-11-03T03:21:00.000Z

Nacho night!

more excitement than during our last presidential election!

mmmm, cheese

Dinner, again

2005-11-03T03:18:00.000Z

Jalepeno Chicken W/ Olives

Gotta seal in the flavor!

Seared Rainbow Chard

Voila! Add some quinoa and a black bean and pumpkin salad and you've got a meal fit for a king!

Here's lovely Zephir with her walnut shortbread cake

Menu Week of Oct. 31st-Nov. 6th

2005-10-31T23:59:00.000Z

By the way, if you want to stop by for dinner, we usually eat sometime between 6 and 7 pm, but any notice would be appreciated. If you could bring a local beer we'd love it too.

Mexican Week!

Monday:
Jalapeno Chicken w/Green Olives
Seared Rainbow Chard
Quinoa

Tuesday:
Chorizo, Squash, Potato and Spinach Empanadas
Radicchio Chopped Salad

Wednesday:
Nacho Night!

Thursday:
Tortilla Soup
Smoky Steamed Kale

Friday:
Chicken, Tofu, Spinach Mole Enchiladas

Saturday:
Total Tamale Night!

Sunday:
Leftover night (hunter/gatherer night)

Menu of the week (10/23-10/30)

2005-10-31T23:48:00.000Z

We're trying to feed 4-6 people a day on $15-20/day. This is our first week's menu:

Sunday

Collard Greens
Creamed Squash
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Monday (German Night!)

Bratwurst
German Red Cabbage Salad
Spetzel

Tuesday
Fava Pure e Cicorielle with Black Olive Salsa

Wednesday

Ate out (cheater)

Thursday

Chicken Tajine
Couscous
Stewed Okra

Friday (Japanese Night!)

Hot pot w/ udon noodles
Assorted Zephir-made sushi

Saturday

Leftover Night

Sunday

Red Beans and Rice
Blue Cornbread

Random Dessert:
Pecan Pie

Extra food:
Endive bacon quiche
Squash fennel quiche

Hasta la vista, Beantown

2005-09-29T13:24:00.000Z

Too many cups of coffee and a week of waiting has the Jephir ready to move once more. GMC truck '87 finally saw its flywheel crack, and the mechanics at Teele Square Automotive figured out the problem and fixed it.

Today will be filled with a bit of bike packing, scuba test taking, and driving like a bat out of hell from MA to RI to CT to NY and back to CT.

In other news, it seems that every once in a while things self-correct. I guess you can't be called "the Hammer" in the house and not be indicted every once in a while.

Haven't seen you in a while...

2005-09-26T11:54:00.000Z

As Jephir prepares to hit the road in an effort to follow the sun to the Rockies, it hit one half that the blog has been seriously understaffed as of late. It's been a damn ghost town filled with pictures from other trips and thoughts more hackneyed than Will and Grace. This is where one with foresight and a few hours to kill would proceed to frollic and romp through a history of the last few months. However, I have to return a rental car and frankly I'm a little short on foresight prior to my second cup of coffee.

So I'll fill you in on the basics:

Greg (brother) and Christina are now married! (pictures and compromising stories later)

Jephir is moving to Colorado within the next week, so if you're between CT and CO, let us know where you live and we'll drop in unexpected, raid your fridge and shed on your dog.

Jephir will be (and has been) unemployed upon arrival in Colorado, so if anyone knows of any work, let us in on it. We need to start paying off all our fetish parties.

Jeff is contemplating a run at the world beard championships.

And it goes on....