Restaurant Review - Zao Noodle Bar

Zao Noodle Bar, University Avenue, Palo Alto, California. 

A couple of my friends really like Zao -they say its tasty, healthy, convenient, and decently stylish.  And now for something completely different....

When you order take-out (or take back left-overs), you get one of the great bits of Zao - their plastic bags.  These are tough, resilient, stylish.  They're much better for carrying things than the bags you'd get at Safeway.  You can use them for quite a while, too - they have longevity, I kid you not.

And finally, they're great for odor containment.  I carry an extra Zao's plastic bag in my car at all times.  That way, whenever I get takeout from any restaurant, I can always put it in the Zao's bag, and make sure the car doesn't smell.  

Mussoorie, Carlton's Plaisance Hotel Photos

My folks run a bed-and-breakfast in Mussoorie, called Carlton's Plaisance Hotel, up in the Himalayas in India.  It is one of the most beautiful places in the world. 

Here are some photos of Plaisance in winter.

This is the yard on one side.  There is a table-tennis table, and a half-basketball court here.

This is Bugsie, the playful St. Bernard

Page Rank Increase For My Blog

My non-serious cover-all blog,  Capoeirista,  just got a Page Rank bump of +1 ..... its now got a PR=2. 

Ah well, slow and steady, I guess.

My Blogs Crossed 70,000 Visits

And now for another milestone.  My blogs have garnered 70,000 visits so far. 

Don't I look happy?   :)

A New High

This Monday, November 24, my blogs hit a  new milestone - 1,240 visits.  Woohoo! 

Normally, between them, my blogs get around 500 visits/day, so this is a nice new rise.

This occasion calls for a random photo - how about one from Kosmix' 2007 holiday party.  Nagraj and Sailesh are flanking me.

New Milestone For My Blogs - 50,000 Visits

On Tuesday this week, my blogs passed 50,000 visits.  Sweet! 

The blogs, of course, are:

• The serious blog - all about Tech, Startups, Revenue
• The all-purpose, main blog
• Blog on cars - one of my passions
• Blog about Travel topics, including not just destinations, but also food, wine, etc.
• The older, retired Autos blog

And on a smaller scale, my profile on blogger has now been viewed 550 times. 

From Jodi's Blog - My Top 5 Tuna Steak Destinations

Jodi Olson, Kosmix's new head of Public Relations, likes to interview folks for their top 5 lists for her blog.  This week, she put up my list - and quite an arbitrary one it is!  I am very flattered.   Her blog is here, and I have also reproduced the post below. 

Vikram Singh's Top Five List of Cities to Eat Great Tuna Steak

Blogger and tuna steak connoisseur Vikram Singh is the author of Information Overload.
1. Poughkeepsie, New York: The Hilton in Poughkeepsie has a restaurant that serves really, really good Ahi tuna steaks. They pan-sear it, and the crust on the outside is made with seeds or something that’s just amazing. The portions are small—you’ll probably have to order two. I recommend following the meal with the house bread pudding. It goes really well with the tuna for some reason.
2. Boulder, Colorado: You can get great Ahi tuna steaks in Boulder. Order it rare there. Most places have really good wasabi- based sauces to go with the steak, and they don’t muck about with vegetables. St. Jillian’s Hotel in Boulder has a particularly good tuna steak—both for a starter and a main dish.
3. Chicago, Illinois: Ruth's Chris steakhouse in Chicago has the best Ahi tuna steaks compared to any other Ruth's Chris. I wouldn’t use any sauce because their fish has a lot of taste on its own, and they don’t make a good wasabi sauce.
4. Mountain View, CA: The Cantankerous Fish on Castro Street. This is the only salad entry in this whole selection. Their Ahi salad is really good, and they have a really good miso sauce with it. Here’s what you do: ask for two extra helpings of the miso sauce, so that you have three in total, and then ask for two separate helpings of the wasabi cream sauce, so you can try the steak two different ways. The dish comes with a lot of vegetables. Very tasty.
5. New York, New York: Most places in New York city that are mid- to upscale have really good Ahi. They cut it too thin and too small to be considered a steak—it’s more like slices of fish. Because of that, you have more surfaces exposed for taste, which makes up for the smaller portion size. I especially like the Ahi in Anthony Bourdain’s restaurants.