another food post...

Urbanspoon application rocks!

Got into Asheville tonight and needed a place to eat. Fired up urbanspoon on the iPhone, gave it a shake and the first result? Nine Mile. Really cool Caribean joint on Montford Avenue.

Reggae on the hi-fi, punched tin candle holders, rich colors on the wall. Had the namesake dish, jerk chicken & veggies over pasta. Hot enough to make my nose run. Oh yeah, Pisgah Porter on tap. Couldn't ask for much better.

Well, the company of a certain hot brunette wouldn't hurt...

Mobile Blogging from here.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Posted by maysville at 8:37 PM

Pilon

This one is for my buddy Howard...

One of the best parts of traveling for a living is the restaurants. Mind you, I work for a small family business, so I'm not eating at Chops/Ruth's Chris/Bones/Veni Vidi Vicci or anything of that nature. I do my best to find local places with great food and atmosphere. Lots of average joints with average food that could be found in any Chili's or Applebee's.

Tonight was a winner.

We recently upgraded to iPhones and I've annoyed my wife greatly playing around on Facebook or Twitter or iTunes or searching through the myriad of applications that are available for my new favorite "business tool." One of those apps was "Urban Spoon". The software finds your location via the internal gps, you give the iPhone a shake, and Urban Spoon spins up a dinner suggestion. Tonight's suggestion was "Carmen's Cuban Cafe and Touch Lounge".

Have no clue what the "Touch Lounge" is all about but I'm telling you...Carmen's Cuban Cafe is the real deal. Tried the Ropa Viejo (shredded flank steak cooked in onions & tomatoes) with moros (white rice cooked with black beans) and plantains. Absolutely wonderful.

The best part? The Cuban coffee of course! Intense coffee with lots of sugar (I usually have my esspresso sans sugar) so it made a great dessert.

My buddy Howard (also the senior pastor at our church) is originally from Miami and has a thing for Cuban coffee. He usually has a bag of Pilon around the office. When my cup landed on the table, I immediately thought of him.

Here's to you Howard!

Posted by maysville at 8:43 PM

1st Kayak Trip of 2009

Johnboy forgot his PFD. Imagine that. Not the way to start off a trip. Cold day in January. Raining. Oddly enough, it was a perfect day on the water. The Cartecay was the highest we've ever run it. Great flow.

After picking up a child size orange floatie thing for John at the BP, we were on our way to the put-in. The nice thing about cold days on the river is that you have it all to yourself. No fighting for position to get on the waves. No locals with a cooler full of putrid yellow swill standing in the middle of the choice line.

Spent three hours getting as much joy as the river could provide. When the shivers set in we decided not to push our luck and bailed. Gave up the coveted only legal parking space at the takeout to the next batch of crazies who were braving the cold.

Incredible day in God's creation with two great freinds.

Thanks to John and David for the fun and to the Creator of it all for the river.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Posted by maysville at 10:06 AM

rainy afternoons

The first Friday of the new year. Rainy and cold. Perfect opportunity to sit and quietly ponder all things quiet. Which usually lands me in a book. Managed a chapter in the James Lee Burke novel I've been working on before getting bored.

Moved to the rain soaked back yard with a glass of port and the new Billy Collins collection of poems, Ballistics. Collins takes everyday events, a walk to the mailbox, everyday items, salt & pepper shakers, and turns them into fascinating revelations about life.

If you are already a fan of poetry you are probably familiar with Billy. If you aren't, this is a great place to start.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Posted by maysville at 4:45 PM

New Years Day

Started the new year with a trip to the gym. Had to do a little preventative maintenance for the pancake party Jess was planning for her friends. Now I'm just stuffed. Need to put in a ride to offset the excess carbs.

Then again, maybe a nap is in order.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Posted by maysville at 11:34 AM