Restaurants In Chapel Hill

Here we go again, Ben Cooke's favorite restaurants in Chapel Hill.
1. Allen & Son's What can I say, everytime I go is special. The extra large barbeque plate for the meal, and the peanut butter pie for desert. Make sure to stick with the tea because the water's a little metallic.
2. The Barbeque Joint This place is a great find along Weaver Dairy Rd. The barbeque is very tasty and the variety of dishes is excellent. I need to get back over there.
3. Lime and Basil Mmm, vietnamese food.
4. Hector's There is no better late-night spot than Hector's. The cheeseburger on pita (with ketchup, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, yellow peppers, and tzaziki sauce) is the way to go.
5. The Flying Burrito James's brother Chris is really into this place, and his enthusiasm has rubbed off. The dishes are excellent and big, and the service is friendly. The only mild problem I have is the black beans. I just don't like the way they cook them.
6. Margaret's Cantina I've only been there once, but the food puts this place on the list.
7. Pepper's Pizza I've only been here once or twice, but the pizza was good, and the gazpacho was delicious.

Benjamin David Lucas

Krista and Benjamin
My good friend Tim and his wife Krista just had a baby boy, Benjamin David Lucas. He's a cute little fella.

Restaurants in Durham

It's time for another top ten list, Ben Cooke's favorite restaurants in Durham. This list has been a while in the making, but as I am just getting into blogging, its time for me to put something out there. I am going to constrain this list to Durham, because later I will add on other spots.

1. Miranda's This little taqueria at the end of Pickett Road is probably my most visited Durham spot. there is no seating, so I usually call ahead and fail at ordering in Spanish. The Chorizo tacos are a good first item to get, and you slowly graduate up to the daily specials. They also have great seasonal fruit and veggies at the fruteria next door.

2. Thai Cafe The decor at the Thai Cafe is nice, and the food is even better. A little pricey ($10-20) for my graduate student budget, but its the only Thai place around and Thai is my favorite.

3. Pulcinella's The thing I love about this place is that you get a salad with your meal. Not to mention the delicious food. The service is excellent and the portions are big. Not to mention cheap. Man I might have to go there tomorrow.

4. The Cosmic Cantina Although Miranda's has filled the mexican slot in my belly, if I need a burrito, I still turn to Cosmic. The burritos are delicious and the old school is still $2.

5. Kashmir I think Kashmir has taken over the reign of The Sitar Indian Palace as the best Indian in Durham. And they are slightly cheaper. (Noticing a trend here?) Also, if you present a Duke ID during lunch you get a special price.

6. China Wok This little chinese spot in the Kroger shopping center on Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd is a recent find. The food is delicious and cheap, and the counter service is friendly. The hot and sour soup is a must buy!

7. Brig's A great spot for breakfast on the weekend. Usually crowded, so get there early or late. The service is great and the prices are also great. I loved the pecan waffles.

8. Babett's This cafe by Southpoint has delicious healthy food and serves a variety of items. They are kind of an eclectic and a good spot for a quick meal before or after hitting the mall.

9. I Love New York Pizza in the Walmart shopping center on 15-501 (New Hope Commons?). This is only on the list for one item, the vegetarian pizza stromboli. If you have never tried pizza stromboli, it is an eye opening experience.

10. Saladelia Cafe This little mediteranian spot has some good Quiche, but their grape leaves disappoint. Overall a nice atmosphere, but no longer in my restaurant rotation.

Others receiving votes:
The Federal, Honey's, Five Brother's Burgers, Chamas, Q-Shack, Elmo's, and Guglhupf Bakery.

RIP:
Trinbago, a fine meal, I will miss you.

Notes:
Other favorites not in Durham (Allen & Son, The Barbeque Joint, The Flying Burrito, Mama Dips, Udupi Cafe, Irregardless Cafe, Lime & Basil,...). A Chapel Hill top ten will be blogged in the future.

Autobots, transform!

I would just like to claim my second place finish for the Washington Post Winter Olympics Day 3 Caption Contest. Yes, that was my "Autobots, transform!" Read it and weep "Did I remember to turn off the coffee maker?" (I voted twice.)

Tournament Time

Here is the Power 16 as I see them:
1 seeds
Duke
Villanova
Connecticut
Memphis
2 seeds
Gonzaga
Texas
Tennessee
West Virginia
3 seeds
Ohio State
Pittsburgh
Florida
Boston College
4 seeds
Illinois
Georgetown
George Washington
LSU

Obviously I think the Big East is strong.
Big East 5
ACC 2
SEC 3

Duke basketball

I was just looking at Sheldon William's stats; they're pretty impressive.

Career stats	Number	Place	Potential Place	Duke Leader
Points	1684	18th	(1850-1950) 12-16	2556 (Dawkins)
Rebounds	1132	3rd	(1150-1250) 1st	1242 (Gminski)
Blocks	384	1st	1st	384 (Williams)
Steals	152	15th	(170-190) 9-12th	300 (Duhon)

Musings

I've seen a couple things today in the Washington Post that caught my eye. I will put them in order of importance.
1. Scooter Libby was told to leak information, which may have included information about Valerie Plame explicitly or implicitly, by Vice President Cheney
2. Former CIA agent in charge of Iraq intelligence accuses Bush of coercing intelligence data, among other things.
3. Trade Deficit hits all-time high.
4. Lisa Leslie scored 101 points in the first half of a high school game when she set the record.

Not to mention Brown (former head of FEMA) testifying in front of Congress. So it was a pretty big day in news, and a tough day if you work for the White House Press Secretary. I mean it was 4 for 4 on all of the things that have plagued the Bush administration. First you get Plame, then you get Iraq, then you get the economy, and you finish it off with Katrina. Man, if only the democrats could muster support to impeach Bush. As I see it, the democrat who wants to win the white house back should run on the following issues:
1. Its the economy, stupid. (Bring back the Clinton bubble)
2. We need streamlined, efficient govenment. The following agencies need to work well:
-FEMA
-Intelligence
-Infrastructure
-Education
The democrats need to use this opportunity to claim efficient govenment back. Bush's govenment is the biggest its ever been, and the smallest recently was Clinton's. Democrats need to claim efficient govenment for themselves.
3. Lowering the deficit. Creating a tax surplus to fix social security and deal with universal health care should be stressed, and the importance of these issues need to be explained to the people.

On a lighter note, I think when Leslie scored 101, the other team had fouled out all but four of their players by the second half, so the game was called. But what a half.

Monday Night Football

I personally can't wait to hear Tony in the booth on Monday Night Football. I think Mike Tirico will be a good foil for Kornheiser, and I guess they need someone with some football background like Theisman. I mean now that they have finally broken up "The Worst Announcers In the History of Football," maybe Theisman will actually be tolerable. But I'm officially "putting him on notice" like Colbert. The real question is, now that Mike Patrick has been unceremoniously dumped by ESPN as a football announcer, will that free him up to exclusively cover Duke basketball? I hope not. I can't wait to see him again before a Duke game to get his autograph for James. Oh it will be a great moment.

Swearing In

What is the deal with the Rupublicans refusing to swear in Bush cronies when they testify before congressional committees? When they questioned Gonzales about the wire-tapping scandal, the republican head of the committee refused to swear him in yet again. This also happened with the oil executives when they were asked to explain their record profits and it seems to be becoming a trend. Are these republicans scared to have their friends caught up in lies? Is this a common occurrence that has been happening for years that I don't know about?

Oscar Picks

Best Picture Brokeback Mountain (Haven't seen Capote or Munich)

Best Director Ang Lee (Haven't seen Capote or Munich)

Best Actor Joaquin Phoenix (Haven't seen Capote or Hustle and Flow)

Best Actress Felicity Huffman (Only have seen Walk the Line)

Best Supporting Actor Jake Gyllenhaal (Haven't seen Cinderella Man)

Best Supporting Actress Rachel Weisz (only have seen Constant Gardener and Brokeback)

Original screenplay Good Night and Good Luck (I liked the Squid and the Whale better, but I think Good Night has to win something)

Adapted Screenplay A History of Violence (good movie)

I just saw Brokeback Mountian today, and both actors could win. The movie was excellent, and should win best picture easily. I thought the other great movie of the year was Walk the Line. I haven't seen Capote or Cinderella Man, but Clooney was trash in Syriana and Crash just wasn't that good. We'll see though, I think it will be close for best Actor, it could very well be Heath Ledger. I have no idea for best supporting actress, but Michelle Williams had such a small role.

I think 2005 was a pretty good year for movies, but mostly in the fall.

Ben Cooke's movies of the year:
1. Walk the Line
2. Brokeback Mountain
3. March of the Penguins
4. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
5. The Squid and the Whale
6. A History of Violence
7. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
8. Matador (maybe 2006?)
9. Match Point
10. ?

Quotes of the month

February 2009

Ben Wallace was right when he called Mo originally being passed over for the All-Star game a shamockery," Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert said in a tongue-in-cheek e-mail to The Associated Press. "But not naming him as the natural and obvious replacement for the unfortunately injured Jameer Nelson is stupidiculous, idillogical and preposterageous.

February 2006

As of last week, the Nuggets were considered the front-runner to acquire Francis in a trade. But Denver reportedly was leery of picking up the remainder of his contract (three years, $49 million). The Knicks, already owners of the league's highest payroll, have no such concerns.
- Marty Burns

March 2006

In the first round, the Jaguars drove at Noah, only to be greeted with a series of emphatic rejections. "If that was their game plan," Noah said, "then they got denied."
- Joakim Noah

April 2006

"Reality is created and guarded by numeric patterns that overlap and awaken human consciousness, like a giant matrix or hologram," writes the .245 lifetime hitter. "They are created by sacred geometry -- numbers, the language of the universe, codes of awakening -- such as 11:11, which represent twin strands of DNA about to return to balance. Eleven equals BALANCE."
- Darren Daulton