MmMmmmm.... Moqueca, farofa, e coxinhas

So, I'm basically in Boston at least once a month, and I have a couple of friends up here that I go to dinner with. Most of the times we're in the north end for some Italian. If you ever find yourself in Boston, 2 place you MUST try for dinner and then dessert. Giacomos is probably the only place I would say that the food is worth the wait. There's only 10 or so tables and there is ALWAYS, regardless if it is -20 or 80 degrees outside, a line. People file in and out pretty fast and the service is no bullshit and fast. If your there, get the calamari and the house special, whatever it may be. The only place I've had better Italian is at Alto in NYC, and thats a 2 star Michalin restaurant. The kicker is it doesn't cost that much, while Alto cost $150 for 2 people.

After dinner, go to Mike's Pastry Shop. It is a little touristy and is featured on every show about Boston food, but trust me, it's absolutely the best for a freshly made cannoli, pastries, and a good Italian espersso. Pistachio cannoli is absolutely the best. They do a great job at balancing all the tastes. It's not too sweet and not too filling, and is always fresh. They are also opened late (Boston terms), which is good.

So today, since all my friends were busy or not here anymore, I took my woeful Portuguese to Muqueca in Cambridge. All I have to say is: There's nothing like pirao and farofa. Of course the Muqueca was great, but I love the other side stuff especially pirao and farofa. I ended up chatting with the waiters there, and realized, my Portuguese is awful. Any one got some Rosetta Stone?

As for capoeira, I generally train with Mestre Deraldo. He's leaving for Brazil sometime in July, so if you get a chance to see a piece of living history and talk to him about the history of capoeira, do it! After he leaves, CM Toca and Calango will continue teaching there. I've basically learned all of my jogo de angola from them, though I'm not sure that is a compliment to their school. Boston also has a bunch of capoeira regional schools and they are everywhere. CM Marquinho is in Chinatown, M. Chuvisco in Cambridge and BC, Inst. Caveira is in Everett, and so many many more. I just need a place to train Angola, so I stuck with Mestre Deraldo.

I love Boston. It was the first city I came to in the US, went to school for a year here, so it always has a special place in my heart. If it wasn't so DAMN cold, I'd consider moving here....

Durham, NC. You are pretty cool!

Not going to lie, I imagined Durham, NC as a banjo playing, tobacco chewing, mud bogging, slack jawed yockles. It turns out tobacco country USA has a lot going on downtown. Granted, I'm guessing having Duke bring its snobbery to the city helps, but there's nice restaurants, a theatre (with an RE!), and a hopping salsa scene.

So, I already knew of the salsa scene last time when I went out on Thursday night. Cuban Revolution is actually a lot of fun, never had the food there, but drinks are good and music is poppin. One of my friend's sister teaches there Thursday nights and is well worth the time to take the class, dance some salsa, and grab a drink.

This time around, my friend Adrianna, Preto, and I went to The Federal. This place kinda rocks. Large beer selection and it puts a twist on food that I would not expect. I got a grilled cheese just because I didn't want anything heavy, but seriously, people, you need to try this at home. So its a grilled mozzarella cheese with avocado, cucumber, and tomatoes. It's phenomenal, and at only $8 with fries, you can't really beat that. Oh yeah, and get the fries. I got a salad because fat is for losers, but both my friends got the fries and I was seriously eye that shit. They also have something else that I have never seen (I didn't order it, but it looked seriously good): Duck confit poutin. What is poutin you might ask? Well, in Maryland we call them hobo fries. It's fries with either cheese curd or crumbled cheese and gravy (it is French-Canadian, which I guess they do something right). Now, if thats not enough, add some duck confit on top of that. Heaven? Maybe? Pretty close? If you ever down in Raleigh-Durham area, seriously go to the Federal, its really good for really cheap.

Now, as for capoeira. There's a couple of groups in the area, but my homeboys Inst. Mata 4 and Linguica (Capoeira Brasil) do a really good job at the Terreiro de Arte e Cultura. Its always a good time with them, and they are right in Durham, so check them out!

ALSO!! They are having a batizado July 2nd-4th. They are a small group, so everyone will get a chance to play. I'm headed down (more than likely) so lets coordinate something and we can carpool it down!

Philly/Philly area... you redeemed yourself a little bit

So, I'm REALLY not a fan of Philly. They have crabby people, crappy sports teams, and not exactly great food. Gino's Cheesesteaks irritates the shit out of me with the blah blah blah cop "MURDERED BY MUMIA ABDUL-JABBER" sign out front. I'm not a fan of cop killing or anything, but don't go toting the very iffy conviction of Mumia please? And really? Cheese-wiz??

But this time around, I stayed near Valley Forge. And I've picked up a new hobby: jogging... or is it yogging with a soft J. So to add onto the crazy stuff on this blog...now I'm going to post running trails or at least suggestions.

Valley Forge National Park is well worth the visit. You really get a chance to see the place where Thomas Paine said "These are the times that try men's souls". You really do get a better appreciation for the founding of this country and why the US loves the underdog in so many situations. It also has an amazing running trail thats a good distance.

The other place I did take a run is Schuylkill River Trail. It's a 17.6 mile trail that start somewhere and ends in west Philly (don't go there). It shaded and you get to run by a river. Is there really anything better? It's also extremely quiet and safe, I did my run at midnight and was fine, there's no lights so please be careful!

So there you go! Thanks to Kevin Kempter, I've started running and stop being a fat ass. Remember, fat is for losers....

Couple of days around town (its a rarity)

So I rarely get a chance to spend time at home, and I don't get a chance to explore the areas I live. I took yesterday to do just that, not much, but found some cool stuff.

If you're in Alexandria and looking for a good burger, check out The Burger Joint. There's a lot of burger places in the area, like Ray's Hell Burger, but there's always a fucking line outside of that place. And truthfully, I've never had food that was worth a 30 minute wait, and Ray's Hell Burger is great, but also falls into this category. The Burger Joint is simple, good, no frills, with thick sliced bacon. They also have great onion rings and sweet potato fries, so thats a plus. The cool thing is, apparently, there's some new kind of soda machine with a touchscreen and 40 different choices. It has like ever soda you can think of and you can choose flavor shots. Coke Lime, turns out, is pretty damn good.

The one thing Cais and I did find that was really unique was this spice and tea shop. The Spice and Tea Exchange has a whole bunch of great exotic spices and the tea selection is fair. The couple of things I haven't been able to find anywhere else is Himalayan pink salt, sassafras, and pinot noir salt. I did get some tea though, and white rose tea is light and flowery, but needs some extra green tea to give it some kick. The peppermint tea is also good, its more minty than what I expected and is better as an iced tea than hot.

The DC area kinda rocks. I love home....

Chicago.... 3 times in 5 months

I feel like I keep coming back to this city. It's not a bad thing per se, but I really don't see what's so great about Chicago. Granted the Field's Museum is cool and the fountain thingy, Michigan Ave, and Millennium Park is all good, it's like a wanna be New York. Sorry it is. It can also be that my first trip to Chicago back in 2004, SUCKED!!! For those who know.... it involves an ex, and a haircut, enough said....not my proudest moment.

The first time was decent... went dancing at Nacional 27, which was a lot of fun. The next couple of times was with my bosses, so didn't do much expect eat at crappy chain restaurants. Nobody I work with reads this, so I will say this: I work with a bunch of people that all live in suburbs and are horribly afflicted by suburbia syndrome.

Couple of places in Chicago are really good though, surprisingly. Shaw's Crabhouse is not bad... a little pricey, but it is fresh seafood. I love scallops and they make a great simple grilled scallop. They also have a lot of local beers, which is always a plus in my book.

Gino's East, which claims to be the first Chicago deep-dish joint, is not so great. Maybe its just the style, but a thick ass pizza, load with red sauce, that takes 30 minutes to make isn't my cup of tea. But if you like Uno's, you'll like this place, its is better than Uno. Then again I haven't been to a Uno's for a good 10 years.

On another kind of cool note, went to my first baseball game and saw a no-hitter. Kinda cool in my book. I can actually understand now why people go to baseball games, though it is still the most boring sport in the world, but beer and good people make it worthwhile.

....My crap attempt of being artsy....

Anyways, I'm sitting in the 2nd worst airport I've been in, O'Hare, trying to get home. And yes, after a long ass time away from home, Panda Vermelho is finally home for the weekend :) I miss home and all the people there....

Seattle in April is SOOOO much better than November

First, Frana... stop lying to me that Seattle isn't that cold in April. IT WAS FUCKING COLD!

It was sunny though!! Which means its frigging gorgeous! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Nothing better than snow capped mountains in the distance

If you ever around Seattle, you have to check out Paseo (6226 Seaview Avenue Northwest, Seattle, WA 98117) This place ROCKS, thank you Pinguim for taking me there. Get the Cuban Roast Pork Sandwich (sorry my Muslim and Jewish friends). It's big, messy, has everything you can ever want in a sandwich. The only thing is.. its cash only.

Hi-Life in Ballard is also OFF THE HOOK. Been there twice, once for brunch and once for dinner, both times has been amazing, more brunch than dinner.

There's a fuck load of bars in Ballard, its like a drinking, granola, liberal place, but we went to The Noble Fir. It has great local beer, but whats REAL good is that for all you outdoor-y people out, it has a whole bunch of maps, surveys, trails, everything you need to hike through every single national park and then some. Definitely worth the stop in Ballard.

Capoeira capoeira ie.... Capoeira Males and Mestre Curisco is there, they're always good. But of course I'm gonna say train with meu grupo, Grupo Senzala, maybe a little biased, but it is my group. Also Prof. Fenix, Grupo Candeias, is also there, so check him out.

Thanks again to Frana and Alessandro for housing me there, love you guys!

So people keep asking

People keeping asking me 3 general questions:

1. Where am I?

2. What's good to eat there?

3. Who teaches capoeira there and who should I train with?

Like most of you know, I travel for work. Up and down the east coast, and more recent coast to coast and everywhere in between. So I decided to start this blog, which will cover the 3 things above and also some random-ass ranting.

DISCLAIMER (Mostly for capoeira): These are the people I trained with. I like them, so I will recommend them on here. Not hating on anyone....