Jul 20 2012

Tek Gear performance shorts

A few weeks ago I reviewed the Tek Gear performance sleeveless shirts from Kohl’s. Since I like the sleeveless shirts so much, I thought that I would try some of their shorts. I couldn’t find any running shorts, but they did make a general pair of athletic shorts, and so I picked up a pair of them.

The shorts are certainly not bad for the price, but I wouldn’t say that they’re great. The material is still significantly heavier than I would like for long bouts of running, and as such, they tend to keep in more heat than would a thinner cotton blend. Also, they are quite long with a 9″ (~23cm) inseam. Though I didn’t necessarily need the extreme of running shorts–which are usually around 1″ – 2″ (2.5cm – 5cm, respectively)–I think that these shorts are too long to be comfortable for longer distances or periods of time. The pockets are a nice depth, though, and allow me to carry keys in them without the fear of them flying out, yet shallow enough that they are unobtrusive.

Tek Gear performance shorts - Kohl's

Overall, I think that the shorts are fairly high quality for the price (which is never full-price at Kohl’s), and that they serve nicely as general purpose shorts. However, for my particular wants out of a pair, there are better options that include shorter inseams and lighter, more breathable material.

Cheers,
Zach

Jul 18 2012

Sitar Indian Restaurant – Durham, NC

As many of you know, I completely favour Asian food, and tend to eat it as often as possible. Though not completely in the same genre as what one typically considers “Asian cuisine,” Indian food is also some of the tastiest to me. Since moving to North Carolina, I have looked and looked for the best Indian restaurant in the area, and I found it. After having been there once a week for the past few months, I can safely say that their food is consistently fantastic, always nicely prepared, and that the service is wonderful. That restaurant is Sitar Indian Cuisine.

Indian buffets are essentially the only types of buffet that I like, and I like them because of the myriad flavours of Indian cuisine; each dish tastes radically different than every other one. In contrast, I’ve found that most Asian buffets have a central theme around which each dish centres, and subsequently, there is a complete lack of variance between the choices. Sitar offers a very nice variety of dishes, ranging from the classic chicken tikka masala, to Saag paneer, to aloo gobi. They also have the traditional sides like naan, and dosa, as well as one of my all-time favourites, idli, (which is rather uncommon for Indian restaurants within the United States). Idli, by the way, are incredible with any sweet chutney, and I especially love them dipped in tamarind chutney.

Sitar Indian Restaurant - Durham, NC - buffet line
Click to enlarge

The weekend lunch buffet is very reasonably priced as well. At the time of this writing, it is $11.99 USD (~ €10), which is a great deal for essentially as much comfort food as one can possibly consume. The only items that I think could be better on their buffet are the desserts. Every week, they feature kheer, and gulab jamun. To me, their kheer is not the correct consistency. It should be somewhat thin, quite sweet (because of the coconut milk), and have some rice in it. This is much more like a standard American or English rice pudding. Not that it is bad at all, it is just not exactly what I think of when I think of kheer. The gulab jamun are essentially warm dough balls sitting in a very sweet syrup. While they aren’t bad either, they are not my favourite. However, sometimes they have bread pudding, which is phenomenal. Unfortunately, it’s not there every week.

Sitar Indian Restaurant - Durham, NC - my lunch
Click to enlarge

By the way, in the photo above, you can see the chicken tikka masala, a chicken kabob, some rice, their plain naan, and their amazing idlis (with the tamarind chutney in the small dish next to them). If you are ever in the Durham, NC area, I strongly suggest that you make your way to Sitar Indian Restaurant. I have been to several other places in the Triangle region, but they don’t come close to the quality or the consistency of Sitar.

Cheers,
Zach

Jul 17 2012

Introduction to Wine, part IV: Reading labels and storing

In the third instalment of “Introduction to Wine,” we covered the different growing periods for the northern hemisphere. In this final chapter, I want to briefly demystify some of the components of a wine label, and discuss optimal conditions for storing wine in your home.

To get us started, let’s talk about wine labels and all the pieces of information that you might find on one. First thing’s first, though, there are huge differences between the label format of a “New World” wine and an “Old World” wine. We’ll start with the “New World” wines, which are the ones that are produced in areas outside of the traditional wine-growing regions of Europe and the Middle East. In particular, many New World wines come from the United States (primarily the West Coast), Australia, New Zealand, South America (with emphases in Argentina and Chile), and South Africa.

Reading a New World wine label - Caymus Vineyards Special Selection

As you can see from the image above, New World wines feature the producer’s name most prominently on the label. The region (Napa Valley, in this case) and varietal (which is the type of wine [in this case, Cabernet Sauvignon] are not nearly as demanding of your attention as the producer. Also, the vintage (which is the year that the wine was produced) is not a focal point of the label. These four parts (producer, region, vintage, and varietal) are the main components of a wine label, but there are other pieces as well. Some of the other information includes the alcohol content, the founder of the vineyard, and the country of origin, and the quantity of the bottle (in this case, the standard 75cl or 750ml).

In contrast to New World wines, Old World wine labels shift the focus more to the region and varietal than to the specific producer. As you can see below, the varietal is at the top of the bottle and the region directly below it; sharing the largest typeset. In general, Old World wine labels emphasise the region and then the varietal, but there can be some overlap between the two. The producer is generally not as prominent, and is often toward the bottom of the label, or even on a separate label elsewhere on the bottle.

Reading an Old World wine label - Montalcino region, Italy

Will all New World and all Old World labels be set up in this exact format? No; different producers will stylise the labels in their own way. That being said, they tend to follow similar patterns of prominence.

Shifting very briefly to wine storage, there are a couple main points to consider when looking for that “just right” spot to house your wines:

  • Temperature fluctuation is bad.
  • Light is bad.
  • Ageing too long is bad.

Simply put, you will ideally store your wine in a dark, cool place (like a cellar) in which the temperature seldom changes. That last point is important as well. Many people think that wines have to age, and the longer that they do, the better they will taste. While there are some wines that develop flavour complexities and subtleties over time, not all of them do. Further, wines will hit an ideal age, and it is possible to let them sit for too long. What happens is that the flavours can mellow to the point of muddiness, or worse yet, dullness. Also, many New World wines are meant to be enjoyed shortly after bottling or purchasing. So, unless you are quite certain that the wine you have will improve with time, pop the cork and enjoy! 🙂

Cheers,
Zach