The British Museum (London)

The British Museum

Great Russel Street

London WC1B 3DG

The British Museum.  Yup, the name says it all...what's special about this museum is that it epitomizes the whole British esthetic --- the fads and trends, the eccentricities and oddities, the ideals and aspirations  of the past couple hundred years or so.  So you get gorgeous examples of artifacts (they have the Elgin Marbles and the Rosetta Stone), but also some weird stuff like stuffed mermaids and a creepy number of Egyptian mummies.

Tiles with stag and doggies, France, 1200-1300.

Seriously, this museum is massive and you'd need a few visits to take it all in.  It's in a very gorgeous, old space.  We had a whirlwind two-hour tour and it of the little we saw, it was a lot to take in.  Donations, of course, are welcome here.  This is on our must-revisit places next time we go back.

View of the Great Court from the second floor. 

Lots of goodies at Picnic (San Francisco, California)

Picnic

1808 Polk Street

San Francisco, CA 94109

(415) 346-6478

http://www.picnicsf.com/

While in SF over Thanksgiving, I caught up with an old friend, S.  She has the cutest boutique, Picnic, with plenty of pretty items.  The store is in a very up and coming area of SF, with plenty of restaurants, shops and watering holes.

My friend, S.

 

Picnic's got an electic assosrtment of clothes, accessories, shoes and home decor.  I especially like how the selection reflects S.' personal taste and that West Coast vibe.  I ended up with some very cool earrings from carrie saxl (a local jewelry designer), Pacifica solid perfumes and a funky dress/jacket.  Thanks, S.!

Bangin' chicken at Bon Chon

Bo Chon

346 Broad Avenue

Leonia, NJ 07605 (other locationa available)

(210) 944-4112

www.bonchon.com

I suppose the word is already out on Korean-style fried chicken. . . the last time we were here, there were quite a few groups of Filipino kids munchin' on the Bon Chon.

So is this a fad, or is this good chicken?  Korean-style fried chicken is reportedly an improvement over regular fast food fried chicken in that the chickens they use are fresh and never frozen.  The chickens are fried twice (in peanut oil, methinks); the second round of frying only occurs when the order is placed, so the chickens come out nice and fresh.  The chickens then get a thin paint of sauce (your choice of garlic or sweet and spicy) right before they are served.

Plate of garlic fried chicken. 

Plate of sweet and spicy chicken. 

Out of all the other Korean-style fried chicken joints he's tried, DJKung definitely likes Bon Chon the best, giving it a nine out of ten on his fried chicken scale.

There are not a lot of veggie options.  You can get french fries or some radish pickles.  The pickles are cold, sweet and crunchy.