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FSF 4: Jojo Coffee
01 year ago
by abarna
in Uncategorized
Today, a small coffee… stand, was my fooden place. Located in what would have been the lobby of the old Blaisdell Hotel, you may also know this as the location of the downtown student center (I don’t know what it is called, Sharky is probably involved).
It was also raining all crazy like, so I figured coffee would warm me up, I don’t usually drink coffee otherwise.
Coffee however was a mistake, I just ended up needing to visit the restroom frequently for the rest of the day, even needing to leave in the middle of a class to do so, something I really don’t like doing.
As for food, they pretty much had fruit tubs, at least, that is what was recommended to me, so that is what I got.
My Verdict: It’s OK, if you like coffee.
Next Up: Ahi and Vegetable
FSF 3: Dreamer’s Cafe
01 year ago
I’ve walked by this place several times wondering if it is any good. Finally I go in and see whats what, especially considering that I’ve seen quite a crowd inside the place. Just based on the menu always posted outside, I figured it was more of a local food place.
The cafe itself is located on the corner of Fort Street and some other street I don’t know the name of, right across from subway and the 1132 Bishop building. Given that it was a more local place, I ordered a loco moco.
The eggs were awesome, nice and runny, just how I like them. You may also notice that there are onions on it as well, a nice touch, especially because they were nice and crunchy.
The loco moco was not quite what I expected from one. While I probably won’t go back to the cafe, they clearly have something to offer, as the place filled completely while I was eating the food. Perhaps I just chose the wrong thing, maybe it was just an off day. They have a bunch of breakfast foods on the menu like pancakes and stuff, I’m guessing that Dreamer’s would be the place to be for some breakfast awesome.
My verdict is: Glad I tried it.
Up Next: Jojo Coffee
FSF 2: 1132 Cafe
01 year ago
This little shop is on the ground floor of 1132 Bishop Street in the middle of the makai hallway (that is the one the HPU bookstore is not on). I asked what was good and was recommended a club sandwich. So I did it, I mean, bacon. I’ll just let the photos to the rest of the talking, cause I’m feeling lazy today.
The sandwich was quite tasty, though, maybe in the future I won’t have it toasted as the bread was a little dry for my taste.
Next up: Dreamers Cafe
FSF 1: La Taqueria Ricardo
01 year ago
So I’ve been at HPU for about 4 years now, but I haven’t really explored the food places downtown. Having only a limited time left here, I figured it would be nice to try something from each one of the food places on Fort Street Mall and a few of the surrounding areas around HPU’s downtown campus.
First up is the only Mexican food place on the mall, La Taqueria Ricardo. I chose it because I didn’t know where to start on the list of food places I made. So I went with something like home.
The place occupies a space right in the middle of the main food establishments, quite easy to find and often very full (I’ve seen a line out the door) during the lunch hour.
An open space with lots of area for queuing. The menu is simple and you can pretty much ask for anything you see to be put on your burrito or taco or whatever. They have specials listed on the wall, and I didn’t notice until after I had gotten my food. The people behind the counter were quite funny and I had more than a few jokes thrown my way in response to questions.
I ordered a “Super Bean and Cheese Burrito” which, besides beans and cheese, had some Mexican style rice and sour cream in it.
The rice was just right and so were the beans. The burrito was also quite large and I was not wanting more for being quite full at the end of the meal. In a future visit, I would probably find something smaller (a taco or two perhaps) and add a side of rice and beans to it.
Since this visit I have used a computer to randomize the list of food places so I no longer have a choice. Also, I’ve dated this post to when I actually visited the place.
Up Next: The 1132 Cafe and Espresso Bar
On My Own and Cooking Food
01 year ago
I’ve been back in Hawaii for about a month now, school has been going for most of that time. I’ve given myself quite a challenge this semester with a full 15 unit load (that is semester units… which are different somehow from the quarter system). A full four of my classes are undergrad/graduate combined courses and it is looking like that will be the norm from here on until I graduate. Another thing going on, half my classes are at the Oceanic Institute, which is awesome (more on that later). So just to let you know what classes I am taking, here is the list:
- Chemical Oceanography (3)
- Chemical Oceanography Lab (2)
- Geological Oceanography (3)
- Hawaiian Natural History (3)
- Physics 3: Modern Physics (3)
There is however, one major difference between this year and the previous 3, I am living off campus. This means, more than anything, that I need to deal with feeding myself. I suspect I’m unlike the typical college student in that I do not have any ramen around. And also unlike many people that I know who are my age, I know how to use a kitchen. For me, this largely means baking, so I’ll stop stalling and show some pictures!
The above is my first attempt at cinnamon swirl bread, it was delicious and quickly consumed by me and my flatmates. I have also been making bagels on the weekends to have throughout the week.
As you can see, I love garlic and onion, I tried putting the toppings in the bread itself, but it didn’t turn out the way I hopped. This weekend I’m planning on making more bagels but also some rolls for lunches or dinners.
I also am working with a professor on campus on a geoneutrino project, also more on that later, but here is a small teaser made using matplotlib with basemap (python).
Trip to the Bay Area
01 year ago
by abarna
in HPU Blog Mirror
This past weekend was spent in the bay area. Starting early Thursday morning, I picked up some frieds from Sweden (they were in San Diego, I didn’t go to Sweden) and headed up Interstate 5. Along the way I stopped off at Galco’s Soda Pop Shop. If you don’t know or haven’t heard about Galco’s. It is a shop specializing in rare, unique, and unusual sodas. I, being a big fan of something called Spruce Beer, bought and entire case of the stuff, possibly their last one.
Continuing north on the 5, my Swedish friends were impressed by how straight and long the road was. How flat and vast the central valley of California is can hardly be described, perhaps the only thing that rivals it is the ocean, it is something that just needs to be seen.
We made it to San Jose after about 8 hours of driving. For dinner we went to a buffalo chicken place called Smoke Eaters, which some of you may know from the television show Man vs. Food. When I ordered my food I asked for “spiciest sauce you have on the menu.” A mistake you might think, a challenge accepted says I. It was quite spicy, not sure how to describe the flavor, but the hotness had me in a sweat and unable to speak.
Friday Was spent at an Six Flags Discovery Kingdom… it is an amusement park.
Saturday we went into San Francisco. Utilizing BART we went from Daily City to the Embarcadero (Pier 1). From there we walked to Pier 39, aka Fisherman’s Warf. Contrary to what the pier numbers indicate, it was not actually 39 piers. At Pier 39 we ate at Boudin, famous for their clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls. Not being a huge fan of the clam chowder, I had chili in a bread bowl instead. When through with the chili, I ate my bowl, delicious! From Pier 39 we walked to Coit Tower which is on top of Telegraph Hill. Quite a bit up (some 300+ stairs to the top of the hill). A nice view of the city and bay were the reward for the climb. From there it was a short walk to Chinatown and an excellent boba (bubble tea) place. We enjoyed our beverages in a park in Chinatown. After a good walk back to the BART station, we were on our way back to San Jose.
Sunday was spent driving back to San Diego from San Jose. Rather than taking Interstate 5 back, I chose to travel the 101. While the road takes longer, it is much more scenic and enjoyable (for the driver).
Some Summer Shenanigans
01 year ago
Scripps
So what have I been up to this summer? Working at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. They have me doing some coding tasks and other things. Perhaps the best personal development is my new usage of VIM. I was always scared of VIM as I never could figure out how to reliably exit the program (C-c doesn’t work). I’ve spent maybe two weeks using it and I’m hooked. Goodbye textmate.
Cute Infestation
Scripps has a problem, an adorable problem. For a while the bathrooms in the building I was in were inaccessible (they still are, I just moved buildings). So to go to the bathroom, I would need to walk across the “historic park” of Scripps. This is a large grassy area with some old cottages. While walking, bunnies and squirrels and chipmunks would all be scurrying away from me. So many that I would check to see that I wasn’t in a Disney movie.
The Beach Crowds
Being so close to the ocean, I sometimes go to the beach durring breaks as work. And well, the crowds… just look at them!
And that isn’t even the CROWDED part of the beach! I mean, I’ve never seen it this crowded in Hawaii, well maybe one, at Waimea, durring the Eddie… My working posit is that because we had such a lousy summer last year in San Diego, people are flocking to the beach due to awesomeness…ness.
Office Move
My group recently moved offices due to construction. Look what showed up on the whiteboard…
It has gotten more elaborate since I took this photo, and more nerdy…
That’s all for now!
-Barna
Scripps Day 2011
01 year ago
Last friday was Scripps Day, which is a day (heh) to celebrate all things Scripps. Among other things, this meant that the SIO pier was open for to the public. I along with the rest of the group I work with (well, those present) went to check it out. The weather could not have been more perfect!
The above photo shows most of SIO, the building I work in is underneath (visually in the image) the large crane.
This next view is looking south (ish) toward the rest of La Jolla (my hometown).
The aquarium was also open for viewing.
Here are some more pictures if you aren’t already convinced that La Jolla and Scripps is awesome.
If you are interested in what I’m actually doing at SIO (on not Scripps Day), it involves collecting all the data I can find from a German icebreaker, RV Polarstern. Hopefully it will go online soon.
That is all for now I guess.
-Barna
