December 22, 2008
Never knew South Lake Tahoe was the Fish Taco capital of the world? Well, now you know. Beautiful lake, snowy mountains and fish tacos. It seems as though every restaurant in town not only has these tacos on their menu, but has special nights dedicated to their existence. Here is a weekly guide to the discounted grilled, fried, cajun and blackened fish tacos of the south lake basin.
Monday: $2 Fish Tacos @ The Fresh Ketch (www.thefreshketch.com)
Tuesday: 2 tacos for $2.95 @ The Cantina (www.cantinatahoe.com)
Friday: $3 Tacos at Riva Bar and Grill (www.rivagrill.com) or $1 Tacos at Chevy’s
Saturday: $2 Tacos @ Steamers Bar and Grill
December 22, 2008
Would you usually choose to eat at a Hawaiian themed restaurant nestled in a minimall between a Pirate store and Baskin Robbins? Probably not. However, like most things in South Lake Tahoe, Freshies Restaurant, is not what it may seem. This local institution and local secret has some of the best food around the lake. Freshies can take you away from the mainland with their awesome “Fish Tacos”, “Rippin’ Red Curry” or “Hawaiian Spare Ribs.” The food is fresh, the staff is friendly and the price is fair. In the summer there is open seating on the roof and in the winter , they offer half priced soup on big powder days. Bring on the Freshies!
Oh,…and on your way out, don’t forget to buy that Pirate flag you have always wanted.
Freshies Restaurant & Bar 3330 Lake Tahoe Blvd, Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
December 11, 2007
Have ever found out that your favorite artist played last night and you missed them? Or do you want to find a fun concert to go to when your best friend is visiting?
Well, it is the one and only website for every concert go-er. Pollstar.com makes finding when and where your favorite artists are playing with a super user-friendly website. You are able to input an artist or group you like and Pollstar will show you a) if they are on tour and b) the dates and locations they will visit. It is also possible to search for cities and venues and see all the upcoming shows in “San Francisco” or “The Warfield.” Finally, a neat feature on the site allows you search for an artist like Ben Harper the site and receive other artists that you may be interested in like Ani DeFranco or Widespread Panic.
November 2, 2007
The first morning we were in Darjeeling, we got up at 4am, had some tea and drove to Tiger Hill to catch the sunrise. At first I thought we may be the only few who decided to get up this early, but I soon realized that practically the whole town would be joining us. Our Nepalese guide, Bizoy, who has lived in Darjeeling his whole life, accompanied us. We followed the train of packed cars to this famous hill outside of town, bundled up and pushed our way past other tourists (mostly Indian) to wait in the dark.
Slowly, the atmosphere began to light up and the surrounding landscape began to reveal itself. As the sun slowly rose, it cast the most beautiful pink light on the Himalayan mountain range. The snow-covered Kanchenjunga, the 3rd highest peak in the world, was visible. I have never seen a mountain range like the Himalayan. It was jagged, white and stunning. Our guide, Bizoy, said that on a very clear day you could see Mt. Everest from where we were standing. Along with all the other sunset peepers, we were trying to catch how magnificent the sight was with our cameras and soon realized this was an impossible feat. We retreated down the hill trying to keep the image etched in our brains.
November 2, 2007
Darjeeling is a tea, but more importantly, it is a city in the very northeastern tip on India. The British originally settled this city as a refuge from the southern heat experienced in cities such as Kolkata and Delhi. Once here, they recognized lands cool climate and tea growing potential and created an economy based growing and exporting this famous light black tea.
Perched in the foothills of the Himalayas, this city is the definition of a hilltop town. Almost every building is built on steep hills or cliffs, all the roads are at an incline and it is almost impossible to find a plot of land flat enough for a soccer field. The roads are an endless web of switchbacks and it was here in Darjeeling where I first began to admire one of our many Indian drivers. The terrain of this city made for every building, shanties and mansions alike, to have million dollar views of the surrounding foothills, peaks and hillsides filled with tea shrubs. We ended up driving most places, but the majority of people who inhabit the city walk everywhere. They were kids coming and going to school, porters carrying loads on their backs, locals shopping along the steep streets and people passing time in the local parks.
November 1, 2007
The Kolkata I had imagined was one of extreme poverty, shoe-less children, relentless beggars and dirty streets. This morning we took a quick tour of the city and it was different than I had imagined. The city was vibrant, alive and was painted with colors everywhere. The cars, buses and transport trucks were decorated with bright vibrant paints. The roads were full of cars, rickshaws (human powered rides) and little 3-wheeled cars called Tuc-Tucs, nicknamed after the noises they make.
The architecture was a combo of old rundown colonial buildings, newer modern structures and bamboo huts lining the streets. We left the hotel at 8:30am and it seemed, in Susan’s words, “the city was just waking up.” People were bathing in the streets, cleaning their storefronts and children were walking to school. The city was starting to come alive with men in turbans, women in colorful dresses and merchants with baskets on their heads wandering the streets. Our guide assured us that Kolkata is not the land of Mother Theresa with overwhelming poverty lining the streets as it was in the 1970’s. He was right and like any city, we saw the poor, the rich, the dirty, the clean, and everyone was going about business as usual. It was a great introduction to Indian city life and Kolkata was alive, colorful and vibrant.
