Rainy day treat at Ramen Shop.

Corsair Triple Smoked Malt Whiskey

This whiskey out of Kentucky had all the peaty goodness of a good Islay Scotch but a clean finish that paired well with Japanese flavors. I could drink this all the time. Nice pick by my wonderful and incredibly talented illustrator/bar manager friend extraordinaire, Chris Lane.

tsukemono and pork/squid fried rice

Best fried rice in the East Bay. And OMG, the tsukemono -- Ramen Shop has someone who only does pickles, and it shows. The black radish -- the small slices vegetal, the large ones spicy, taking advantage of natural radish variation -- was to die for. 

sesame-miso ramen w/ ground pork belly

Broth so rich and thick, noodles with a firm chew, ground browned pork belly nuggets like little treasures to be dredged up from the bottom: a perfect bowl.

Go get some!



THIS.

Japanese Man Uses Sweater to Turn Himself Into a Turkey

Just go there.

(images from the Vintage Valentine Museum -- yes, that's a thing!)

I really do pine for those handwritten, pre-phone/Facebook/texting days when something like this was a real treat to give to, and receive from, someone special.

(what I'm also saying is that I could definitely be wooed by a gentleman bearing one of these 19th century calling cards *swoon*)

So, accordingly, I've spent the last hour or so online, trying to track down this vintage 1926 German mechanical valentine that my sweetie was only able to give to me electronically, in the hopes of purchasing it to be my forever precious, but it's been all for naught.

So, irony intact, I will be parking this here, on my blog. Maybe I'll even get it tattooed on my person someday.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ya Beauty!

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