[Photo] Laundry Love Berkeley Cafe Night

I've posted about Laundry Love Project Berkeley a while ago. Recently, they held a Cafe Night with some great performers including For Christ's Sake, Soulfull, Mickey Cho, and Tim Be Told. Here are some photos from that night.

The emcees for the night.

FCS, UC Berkeley's Christian A Cappella group.

Soulfull, Kollaboration SF 2012's People's Choice Award winners and my friends.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UNuoS1yzkc]

Here's a video of Soulfull's original song from the Cafe Night, shot by my good friend, Michelle.

Mickey Cho, Bay Area hip-hop artist, who I've shot a few times before.

Tim and Andrew of Tim Be Told performing an acoustic set.

[Food] Thanksgiving 2012

I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving yesterday! I know our family most definitely did. Here's how our family does Thanksgiving dinner.

One fried turkey.

And one bacon wrapped turkey. We've been doing this since forever. Before those meatheads on Youtube did this "next level" stuff.

Dessert. Also because I didn't get a chance to snag photos of our "American" desserts.

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgivings and are continuing to enjoy your leftovers... I just wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of you, my readers. You all are awesome. What are you thankful for?

[Photo] A Trip to the City

About a month ago (yes, this post is a bit late), a group of my friends decided to trek into the City for a break from school and work. It was National Museum Day, so we got free tickets to the de Young Museum, wandered around, and ended up at Tartine.

[Photo] Big Game Lights at UC Berkeley

The Big Game against Stanfurd is tomorrow! This past week, the beautiful UC Berkeley campus was lit up in blue and gold and I decided to do a better job of documenting it than last year. Anywho, enjoy the photos and GO BEARS!

[Product Review] Everlane Snap Backpack

Editor's Note: This is our first guest post by my good friend, June Kim! Show her some love!

Hi there! June writing. I usually tumbl over here, but I’m excited to contribute to the blog that is THE edwincho.com. It's been a long time coming, and after talks of collaborating plus a quick rooftop photoshoot, it’s finally here: the Everlane backpack review. At midnight on August 14, I was discussing with a friend about whether or not to buy. With the first batch of backpacks selling out within three hours (yes. three.), I decided to not let this moment pass by.

Definitely one of the better impulse decisions I’ve made in my life.

But first off, what is Everlane? It’s an awesome new startup based in SF with a motto of, “Luxury essentials for under $100.” Basically, they manufacture and sell designer-quality products at a fraction of the price.

To me, it’s in the class of exciting, new, well-designed startups that focus on doing one thing really well—Square (credit card payments), Airbnb (living spaces), and Warby Parker (glasses).

The Snap Backpack About a year ago, after trying to fit in with the North Face crowd with the ultra-functional backpacks (those things have whistles on the shoulder strap!), I realized I just never could pull it off. That began my search for the right backpack—one that was a good mix of functional, good-lookin, and great for daily use.

I tried one out from Herschel Supply Co. for a while. It was great, but I ended up compromising functionality for looks. Their lookbook was convincing.

So here are a few of the things I looove about the Everlane Snap Backpack, which is now back in stock after being sold out for a while! Woohoo!

It’s Functional. This was number one in my search for a new backpack. Sure, it can look stinkin’ cute, but if the thing can’t hold the essentials, it’s pretty useless. I comfortably fit a 13” Macbook Pro (pictured is a 15”), notebook, pens, a book, wallet, and other small things without having to rummage around looking for them all the time.

The canvas. Oooh the canvas. It’s thick and sturdy, but not stiff, and feels great to the touch. But I digress. The backpack also has a front zip pocket which is great, and it also has side pockets for water bottles or other easy-access items.

Overall, it’s great. The only qualm I might have is with the drawstring opening under the snap flap. It takes some getting used to, because in order to take things out you have to loosen the drawstring each time. Not a huge problem, but something to adjust to for sure.

It’s Stylin. I’ve gotten compliments about this backpack from creative directors at work to college students to my loving mother. It’s like an accessory that elevates a look or pulls it all together. Plus, the snaps are a modern update to a classic rucksack look. Not. too. shabby.

It’s Reasonably Priced. One of things I love about Everlane is how transparent they are about their process. It’s so true that when a company is honest and produces great stuff, the money will follow. Here’s an infographic Everlane made of how it manufactures and sells the backpacks:

Kind of a refreshing way for a company to operate, huh?

For anyone, spending $65 on a backpack may be a lot. But I feel like investing in a good backpack will pay off in the long run, almost like buying a good pair of shoes that will last a long time.

I’ve been using my bag almost every day—so far, so good.

--- -- ---

Editor's Note: I personally have an Everlane zip backpack. If you would like to read about that bag, let me know and I'll share my thoughts on that in a separate post! Also, thanks to our friend, Tong, for modeling the backpack in the photos! Such a natural. 

[Music] A Folkchestral Drum Cover of "Switzerland" by The Last Bison

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxQBByA-DH4] Happy Labor Day! Here is my most recent drum cover that I put up on Youtube. It's a cover of folk/orchestral/mountain-top chamber music band, The Last Bison's (previously known as just Bison) single, "Switzerland." Be sure to look out for this group because they're going to be big. They perfectly blend folk music with orchestral and appalachian instruments to create a such a sweet sound that I instantly fell in love with.

As far as my actual cover goes, it was a ton of fun to do. The song does not originally have a drum kit in it, so I had tons of creative freedom to do whatever I wanted. As always, I kept it simple and I think my drums complement the song nicely, but that's just me. Chime in and let me know what you think! Be sure to give the song a listen in its original form (and while you're at it, buy their album, Quill, and listen to that too!). I hope you enjoy the cover and discover some great new music in the process.

Also, please check out 2abbit and Solo Jeans! I just had to rep them eventually in one way or another. I don't mean to throw in a cheap endorsement of either, but I really do support and love their product/work. They're definitely worth checking out.

[Food] Roe

Roe is a fairly new seafood restaurant and fish market in Long Beach. As of the time of my visit, they were working on their sit-down area/location and only had a few seats inside and outside tables.

We started off with some calamari fries to share. They had a flavor that was reminiscent of popcorn chicken from a Chinese boba shop. That means that they were pretty darn delicious. The creamy dipping sauce served alongside the calamari was acidic with a nice amount of spice. My only gripe with these beauties was the lack of a satisfying crunch.

I had the ahi tuna burrito. To sum it up, I should have definitely gone with the plate. I learned my lesson the hard way, these burritos are bland. Seriously. The flavor of the fish was completely masked by all the rice and beans. It was a complete shame because this was seared ahi tuna, one of my absolute favorite kinds of fish. Well, now I know and you do too. Stick to their plates and avoid these burritos like the Plague, unless you like the taste of rice and beans with some Cholula or Tapatío.

This. This is what you should get. I didn't get to taste the fish alone, but I'm sure it was delicious. Seared ahi tuna is always delicious.

The salmon was also a big winner in my book. There was a subtle crust that developed on the surface which provided some great textural contrast. Besides that, I'm pretty sure you know what salmon tastes like. The brown rice was surprisingly pretty good, although it didn't have the bite that brown rice typically does. The slaw was a tad bit disappointing. I like my slaw vinegary, and this slaw could have used some more.

Finally we tried some of their ceviche. It was a mix of both fish and shrimp, and had some citrus notes and was pretty mild. It didn't taste like a typical ceviche you would get at a Mexican place, but it was definitely delicious. Many other patrons seemed to enjoy it as well.

Overall, I enjoyed Roe, it's a great place to get some quality seafood in a prime spot on 2nd Street (if you don't mind all the traffic while you sit outside). Definitely check it out if you love seafood and look out for their new sit-down restaurant.

Roe 5374 E 2nd St Long Beach, CA 90803 (562) 434-2763 www.roe-fish.com

[Photo] The Trumpeter

Sorry again for the lack of posts as of late. I have several planned in the near future. For now, here's a photo I grabbed on the streets of San Diego. As a musician, I love stopping to listen to buskers. This cat was great...and loud. We heard him from way down the street. Grabbing this shot right in front of his horn nearly destroyed my ears, but it was well worth it. You could actually see the volume in this shot. Just look at the amount of air in his cheeks. Ridiculous.

[Edit] So according to reader, Andrew, that's just bad technique in his cheeks. I don't play any brass or woodwind instruments so I wouldn't know. Thanks, Andrew! Do you have anything to add? Is Andrew right? Let us know in the comments!

[Music] Custom Snare Drum Build

Though I don't cover it as much on this blog, music is definitely one of my biggest passions - with the drums being my favorite instrument. On the side, I occasionally build drums (read: very occasionally). I just don't have the money to pump out drums all the time, but I do have friends that are interested in getting some custom drums made. That is how this build came to be.

I was talking drums with my friend, Sam, and the topic of snare drums came up. Long story short, he wanted a new one. I told him that I built my personal main workhorse snare and that I could come up with something for him. We started planning it out - shell, size, hardware, finish, etc. and I got to building. After a few weeks of hard work, she's officially done.

The majority of the time spent came from the finishing process. Each coat of stain or finish takes at least a full day to dry before the next coat can be applied. This particular satin finish took me quite a few coats to get right, but in the end, it's totally worth it.

As far as details go, she's made up of a 14x5.5 maple Keller shell with chrome tube lugs, wood hoops, and a deep brown stain with a satin finish. I put an Aquarian Texture Coated Center Dot head on the batter side and an Aquarian Classic Clear Snare Side on the snare side. Finally, I threw a set of 24 strand Fat Cat snares on there. To sum it up for you non-drummer folk, she's quite lovely.

This is my first experience with wood hoops, and needless to say, I'm in love. Wood hoops carry a hefty price tag, but they are totally worth it. Not only are they drop dead gorgeous and just pure classy, they sound amazing.

I also fell in love with the Fat Cat snares. You can get a ton of different sounds out of them thanks to the two sections that are adjustable independently of one another. It's like having two separate strainers. I'll be getting some for my personal snare drums.

Oh, "How does it sound?" you ask? The answer lies below. Here's a quick video I shot.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCQjtxJvlJ8]

Audio details are as follows: GLS ES-57 (SM57 copy, brilliant, especially for the price paid, just read all the reviews on this thing) on the batter head, Karma K-Micro Silver Bullet small diaphragm condensor on the snare side, and a pair of Karma K-Micro Silver Bullets on overheads. No EQ was used, so you're hearing the pure audio signal with a tad bit of compression.

I had a great time building this beauty and I'll be sad to see her go. I honestly want to hold onto her and call her my own. Who knows? Maybe Sam won't ever see her.

[Photo] Fourth of July

Gotta get those coals white hot,

and celebrate freedom with steak and potatoes, and a Mexican Coke.

Because just one barbecue is not enough.

And you're not celebrating freedom without a kid in a Captain America mask...and a piñata.

Two celebrations are better than one.

Hope you all had a fantastic, safe Fourth of July!

[Photo] A Nighttime Composite

Oh dear, it sure has been a very long time since I've last posted. I'm extremely sorry about that. I've been quite busy as of late, but there's no time for excuses...off to the content!

Here's my first composite image I made about a month ago. Pretty cool eh? How did I do it? What's the story behind it? Let's find out!

So...during finals week, I had an itching to make some photos, but not just any photos; I wanted to try something new. I had been thinking about composites and I love long exposures and strobism, so I thought, "Why not mash them all up together?" I went ahead and called some of my friends in the midst of cramming for a quick shoot at night. Who needs to study, right? I'm sure it was a great study break for them anyway.

First, I started off with the base image - a long exposure. Then I brought one person into the frame, trying my best to remember everyone's location as to not overlap anyone, grabbed a shot, moved them out, and brought the next person in. I repeated this for each person. For the individual shots, I decided to shy away from using a long exposure and just hit them with a strobe. My reasoning behind this was to avoid any possible ghosting. Yes, flash freezes things in a long exposure, but with enough movement, ghosting occurs. This brought about a problem.

There was a stark difference in exposures between the people and the background image. My initial thoughts were to cut everyone out and paste them onto the base image, but because of the lack of shadow details, it would be near impossible to get a clean cutout. So I resorted to a very "rustic" cutout (you can tell I enjoy cooking). Even though it didn't turn out to be what I originally intended, I like the way the cutouts look. They definitely pop out and there is a definite contrast between the background and the individuals.

So there you have it. I'm hoping to start making content more consistently once again. Keep me to my word! Pester me if you have to!

[Music] Sweetness, a Jimmy Eat World Drum Cover

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn9nRa8n7lU&feature=relmfu] Here's a drum cover I put out recently of "Sweetness" by Jimmy Eat World. In my opinion, Bleed American was one of the best records of its time, and is my personal favorite Jimmy Eat World record. The cover itself was shot and recorded in one take with only one camera. It's raw and I just had fun with it. It was also the first video I played around with color grading. Hopefully you all enjoy it.

[Food] Mother's Day Dinner

First of all, happy Mother's Day to all the beautiful mothers out there! My sister and I decided to do a tag team dinner for our mother.

The main course consisted of a seared Ahi Tuna steak with a soy ginger glaze, wild rice, and an arugula salad with a light citrus dressing.

For dessert, we made individual pies/tarts. I'm not sure exactly what to call them, but they started with a pie crust filled with custard, then were topped with fresh blueberries, bananas, and a slice of candied lemon.

Everything was homemade and delicious.

[Food] The Chairman Truck

On a whim, I stopped by Off the Grid, a Bay Area food truck meetup, in Berkeley. I had heard great things about The Chairman truck and it was at tonight's event. You can't miss it; it's big, bright red, and has a long line of hungry people. The line was long relative to the other trucks, but nowhere near what the lines were like when the Kogi Truck first opened up in LA. I remember waiting at least 2 hours for a few tacos, but that's beside the point.

The Chairman features baos, which are basically Chinese sandwiches on steamed or baked buns. They were out of baked buns, but that was not a problem because I love steamed buns. I was going get straight pork belly, but for the sake of journalism, I also ordered a Coca Cola braised pork bao.

I tried the Coca Cola braised pork bao first. This bao was packed with goodness - braised pork, a cabbage slaw, mustard seeds, and sauce. The pork was moist and tender. The Coca Cola they braise it in definitely lends great flavor to the pork. You get the great savory elements of Coke, but without the sweetness. Everything else in this bao complements the pork nicely and the mustard seeds really brighten everything up. It was good, but quite frankly, after eating the pork belly bao, I don't remember too much about this one.

This bao lived up to the hype. Dare I say, the pork belly was succulently sexy. Not only was it tender as the name says, it had a bit of a crunch from getting finished on the flat top. There was just enough fat left, post-rendering, to give great flavor and juice. Maybe my mind was over exaggerating the greatness of the pork from sensory overload, but this was one of the best pork bellies I've ever had. Everything was perfect from the textures to the flavors, and I was happy. The pickled daikon cut through the fattiness of the pork and acted as a breath of fresh air, not that the pork belly was bad in any way.

Everyone has to eat a pork belly bao from The Chairman. Preferably more.

The Chairman www.twitter.com/chairmantruck (415) 813-8800

[Food] Phil's BBQ

This post has been a long time coming. I'm surprised it took me this long to get it up. But alas, in all its glory, Phil's BBQ. For many Southern Californians, Phil's needs no introduction. The 2 hour waits to get in testify to that. However, if you are not familiar with this San Diego institution, it was founded in 1998 by owner, Phil Pace. BBQ in California? Barbecue purists are probably calling heresy. Calm yourselves, perhaps this isn't "real," but this is good stuff. Really good.

On a side note, there's some great BBQ in SoCal. There's always Bludso's Texas style BBQ in Compton.

Whenever we make a trek down to San Diego, it's usually for our pilgrimage to Phil's. As I mentioned before, the lines get long. However, if you get there before the rush, say, around 4 pm, you'll get your food in no time (relative to the typical 2 hour wait). Just remember, they are closed on Mondays. If you're at Phil's for your first time, you'll have plenty of time to wrestle with your heart in regards to what you'll order. My typical order is the half rack baby back dinner with fries and slaw. Some swear by their sandwiches, beef ribs, or chicken, but I stick to the tried and true baby back ribs. Also, don't you ever dare forget to order onion rings. Just do it.

If you survive the wait, successfully procure a table, and wait a little longer for your food, you'll be greeted with something like this. As I said, this is my typical order. And it's perfect. You have your mesquite grilled baby back ribs, fries, and some sort of vegetable, if you want to call it that.

The cole slaw is essential. You need some cool, creamy veggies to cleanse your palette between mouthfuls of tangy, slightly spicy meat and fried potatoes. The slaw is actually not too heavy like some other slaws you'll have. It's light and refreshing. Perfect. The fries are the quintessential carbohydrate. They aren't particularly crispy at Phil's. They kind of remind me of thicker In-n-Out fries. Don't let that drive you away, I know some people hate In-n-Out fries (I don't). The fries are perfect for sopping up all that extra sauce. Oh, and the portions. Dear lord, the amount of fries and slaw you get is almost scary. You'll be more than happy.

You didn't forget those onions rings, now, did you? These are some of my favorite onions rings. Ever. They have a light, crispy crust with a sweet, tender onion on the inside. Absolute perfection (I'm using that big word quite a bit here). Maybe I've developed some unhealthy affection toward Phil's onion rings, but I don't care. They are some of the best I've had. Please do dunk these in the buttermilk ranch they serve them with. Moving on.

Here is the main attraction. These are the tender, fall-off-the-bone ribs you hope to have when you eat BBQ. Yes, great. But do you know what's better? The sauce. The sauce really brings these ribs to life. It's definitely a unique sauce in the world of BBQ. It has the viscosity of a Kansas City BBQ sauce, but with a flavor akin to a North Carolina BBQ Sauce. Thick, vinegary, and a slight bit spicy. Oh, and Phil created this sauce when he was 15 years old... You have to try this. It's really that good.

On our trip in December, the table we were sitting at had these awesome sticker labels on the malt vinegar. The Korean in me was proud and a slight bit embarrassed. Who even thinks of doing this?

Anyway, there you have it. If you live in San Diego, are visiting San Diego, or don't live anywhere near San Diego, you have to go to Phil's. Please. For me.

Phil's BBQ 3750 Sports Arena Blvd San Diego, CA 92110 (619) 226-6333 www.philsbbq.net

[Food] Noshi Sushi

Oh, Noshi Sushi. I'm going to keep my words to a minimum here as I don't know how necessary they will be. Let's just say that this place was packed on a Wednesday night. This place has a great reputation in Los Angeles of having high quality, fresh sushi. Places like this are getting harder and harder to find as most of your sushi places serve cheap, fishy (in a bad way), frozen fish. That's definitely something you won't be getting here. Of course, you get what you pay for. Good sushi is pricey, but relative to other higher-end sushi places, Noshi Sushi is fairly cheap. Look to spend around $20 per person. One last note before we get to the goods, be aware that this place is cash only! However, there is an ATM at the back of the restaurant.

The tuna, salmon, and yellowtail nigiri were all excellent. As mentioned earlier, super fresh and no fishy aftertaste. The cuts of fish here are also very thick, which is something you don't see too often. The sushi chefs expertly grace each piece with a small amount of wasabi (and certain fish with soy) as any self-respecting sushi chef would do. I think this is a good time to take a quick break to learn how to properly eat sushi.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx3JSl9Rdl0]

Okay, so that wasn't completely serious. But if you're eating good sushi, you should be using your hands, not chopsticks, and you shouldn't need to dip your sushi in that soy sauce-wasabi mix that sushi purists would cringe at. If you want to learn how to properly eat sushi in a slightly douchey CHOW video, check this one out. If not, skip ahead.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-fYp_N9kX4]

The assorted sashimi was great as well. I don't know what else to say...moving on.

They offer some more premium cuts of fish, like this one, salmon hara, or salmon belly. The belly of the fish has the best cuts and are generally fattier. However, in this case, I preferred the regular cuts of salmon. This salmon hara had some tough tissue that didn't have the greatest texture.

This, my friends, is chu-toro, or medium-fatty tuna. They ran out of o-toro, or the fattiest cut (that is sold in restaurants), so we had to settle for chu-toro. Even though it was the primo cut we wanted, it was still amazing. Seriously. This stuff melts in your mouth. Just try it. Don't look at the price, just try it. Please. Oh, and get o-toro if you can.

The money shot AKA Get in Mah Belleh.

Here's one last glory shot of some assorted nigiri.

If you are looking for delicious, fairly priced sushi in Los Angeles, be sure to check out Noshi Sushi. There's a reason that it's packed on weekday nights and (from what I hear) hard to get a seat on the weekends.

Noshi Sushi 4430 Beverly Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90004 (323) 469-3458 www.noshisushila.com

[Product Review] Dollar Shave Club: The Humble Twin

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUG9qYTJMsI] Not too long ago, I saw the Dollar Shave Club's viral video, and like many others, I became interested. After my first view, I thought it was a just an entertaining video about a fake product. After finding out the whole operation was completely legitimate, I put in an order for The Humble Twin. Apparently Dollar Shave Club didn't expect the surge of demand, so I ended up waiting a couple weeks before I got my first shipment two days ago.

I love the simple, classy packaging, but this post isn't about the cardboard sleeve they send the blades in.

I also love their sense of humor, but this isn't about that either...

Behold, The Humble Twin. The Humble Twin is exactly what it sounds like - humble. It's the lowest of the three tiers of blades DSC offers, priced at $1 per month plus tax and shipping. It came out to about $3 for me. The other blades offered are the 4X ($6 shipping included) and The Executive ($9 shipping included). You can get more information on these blades at their website (see link at the end of the post).

Back to The Humble Twin. For about $3 a month, you get 5 double blade razors with an Aloe Vera moisterizing strip. The handle is also included. There is a slight pivot on the head, but emphasis on slight. More on that later.

Overall, I had a very pleasant shaving experience. Before using The Humble Twin, I regularly used Gillette Mach 3s and Fusions, both solid blades. The Humble Twin definitely gets the job done. Despite the lack of bells and whistles, I got a surprisingly clean, close shave, exactly what I need.

I'm going to be completely honest and say this blade is not perfect. I have a couple minor gripes. First, the blade is tough to clean. After going through some dense areas, the blade got clogged up a bit and took some effort to clean out. It's not that big of an issue, but it's there. Another is the pivot on the head. It doesn't pivot that much, so going through the contours of my face wasn't as easy as I was used to. Again, a minor issue. However, at $3 for 5 cartridges, I'm not complaining. Remember what I said, this blade gets the job done and does it very well.

I'd say one of the biggest advantages to The Humble Twin is its disposability. Because the cartridges are so cheap, you can change them out the moment they start to go dull without thinking twice. I had a tendency to use my previous blades a bit past their prime. I'm going to use the excuse of being a poor college student. Now, I don't ever have to shave with a slightly dull blade again.

As I mentioned before, DSC offers two higher end blades. They seem to solve the issues I had with The Humble Twin. The 4X has a "wide, open-back for [a] fast, easy rinse" and a "full 90-degree pivot head [that] hugs the turns, [and] surges you onward." I'm definitely going to be upgrading to see how the other blades are. DSC makes it easy to upgrade and you can upgrade (or downgrade) at any time. You'll get your new blades the following month with the matching handle.

As far as The Humble Twin goes, it's a great, simple blade that does what you want it to do, and damn near well if I must say so myself. If you want to check these out for yourself, you can order the blades from the Dollar Shave Club here. Check them out!

[Food] Avocado Ice Cream

We had a bunch of avocados sitting at home and couldn't finish them all before they over-ripened. So, my sister and I decided to make some avocado ice cream.

We used Alton Brown's recipe, which can be found here. It's very simple and we found that it is similar to many of the other recipes for avocado ice cream that we found.

The ice cream was spectacular. It tasted like avocado (a big duh) with an ever so slight hint of sweetness to it, which was great. The texture was smooth and silky, probably thanks to all that fat in the avocado and heavy cream. To further bring out the sweetness, we finished the ice cream with some salt. It really brings the ice cream to life and makes the flavors pop. In my opinion, the salt is absolutely essential.

Here's the lighting set-up I used for the shots. I had a LumoPro LP120 camera right shooting into a reflective umbrella at 1/4 power as my key light. For my fill, I had a LumoPro LP160 camera left in a softbox at 1/64 power. I shot with a Canon 7D and a 100mm f2.8 Macro at 1/250, f/5.6, ISO 200.

[Food] Sushirrito

This will be a rather short review because there's only one thing to talk about, the Geisha's Kiss Sushirrito from...you guessed it, Sushirrito. What is a Sushirrito? Basically, it's a novel lovechild of a sushi roll and a burrito. It's honestly a supersized roll that you eat like a burrito.

I heard horror stories of ridiculous lines, but because we went during off hours, there was no line at all. Nice! Just remember, don't go during the lunch rush.

After gawking at the menu, I finally decided to go with the Geisha's Kiss. All of these Sushirritos have a long list of fillings. The Geisha's Kiss has chunks of yellowfin tuna, tamago, piquillo peppers, yuzu tobiko, lotus chips, cucumber, avocado, green onions, sesame seeds, and white soya. Talk about a mouthful (pun intended).

There are so many different elements to this roll that some flavors get lost in the mix. There are definitely certain flavors that are more pronounced than others. Overall, you get a nice vinegary sweetness with delicious chunks of raw tuna. I've heard many complaints about this particular roll being to bland or mild in flavor, which is true to some degree, but I still enjoyed it.

The tuna is definitely the star here. I absolutely love raw tuna. It's really a thing of beauty, but too often, it has a terribly fishy taste. That was definitely not the case at Sushirrito. There were only chunks of awesomeness in this roll.

Much of the vinegary flavors came from the sushi rice and from the pickled cucumbers. Pickled cucumbers? Don't you mean pickles? No, these are definitely still cucumbers but have a ever so slight tang to them. They also provide for a nice coolness toward the end of every bite.

The last star player in the roll was the lotus chip. It was the sole source of textural contrast that saved the roll from being a mushy mess. And who doesn't like fried food?

Like I mentioned before, everything else was lost in the mix of flavors. I'm sure they helped in the overall experience of the roll, but I'm not sure how big (or small) of a role they actually played.

I would like to go back to try their Mayan Dragon, which contains chicken katsu, purple peruvian potatoes, julienne carrots, pickled red cabbage, avocado, shaved jalapeños, green onions, and Japanese curry.

At $11 and change for the Geisha's Kiss, Sushirrito is definitely on the pricey side, especially considering that I was just barely at the point of satisfaction (as far as fullness goes). But if you're in San Francisco and want to try this novel creation for yourself, definitely go for it! Make sure to keep in mind that they are only open Monday through Friday from 11am-3pm.

59 New Montgomery St San Francisco, CA 94106 (415) 495-7655 www.sushirrito.com

[Photo] Mt. Soledad Long Exposures

I apologize for my lack of posts as of late. It's been midterm season, so things have been a bit crazy. Thankfully, everything is starting to calm down again, so I have time for new content! Anyway, let's get to my first post-hiatus post. Back in December, I took a road trip down to San Diego with some friends. The main purpose behind it was food (posts on that to come soon), but in between eating, we took a digestion break up at Mt. Soledad. That night, the fog was rolling in and it looked beautiful. I immediately thought, "long exposures!" Here are the results from that night.

Here's a view South of Mt. Soledad. You can see the 5 Freeway illuminated by cars. This one is actually an HDR photo. In fact, it was probably my first ever HDR photo. I'm not a big fan of HDR photos, but I thought I would take the opportunity to try it out for once. It doesn't look as hideous as most HDRs tend to be.

Here's a Southeast view from the Mountain. The silky fog was covering everything around San Diego that night.

Finally, this is the cross that sits on the top of Mt. Soledad. There are usually tons of tourists sitting around it, but people tend to clear out once darkness sets in.