TUFFLUCK CITY has moved to GILDED MONGRELS

Hello Friends, TUFFLUCKCITY has moved to GILDED MONGRELS. What I hope to get out of this and give to you, is better and more frequent content. Because of my laziness I struggled with providing content. I hope to break free from this vicious cycle and talk about what ever I want when I want. Like how tired I am of getting raped by a half assed DuMont. I finally broke up with them (for good this time) last night when I walked out of there spending 45 fucking dollars on a bullshit beet salad that was more like a relish tray with 3 specks of beet and other random pickled shit like potatoes and onions, and blandy blandy bland mac and cheese that I had to docotor up with too much salt and tobasco. BOOURNS, Dumont, boo-urns. You've gotten a little to big for your little girl britches.

...you may also follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/gildedmongrels

THE PIPER PUB AND GRILL - Try to Avoid at all Costs

Ugh. I can't say anything good about this place, so I'll try to keep it brief. Bad service, bad food, bad atmosphere, bad cocktails. I'm not even going to give you directions or a site because you should never go...I mean, they fucked up nachos. You have to really try hard to fuck up nachos. I like nachos from 7-11. And it all culminated with a jacked bill and an apparent lack of management on hand to resolve.

I really hate to bag on anybody in Boise right now, I know everybody is struggling. But these guys really need to get it together. 2-4-1 Happy Hour for drinks and apps only goes so far with this kind of fare...

The PARIS BISTRO - Hands Down, best meal in the SLC

Let me tell you something that you may have heard me mention a time or two, Salt Lake City is a dead zone for delicious eats and for the peeps that enjoy the deliciousness. I mean you can do with a chain in a pinch but I like my food fresh and I don't think there is anything wrong with that. But I digress, I had an AMAZING and I mean AMAZING service and food. And we did the works! Cocktails, wine, apps, entrees, dessert and more cocktails. I mean, listen, it was 3 of my best mates from brown town on my first night back in little bit and I had a delightful meal. I started with the oven roasted beet salad. Just a hint of clove, as it should be. A carbonara that knocked my socks off. I was nervous, I pulled a safety, but this was no Trio cup o' noodles. But seriously, socks, knocked off. I finished with the lemon grass creme brulee. Hurrah!! And not crazy expensive. I mean, it's not Sabarro but let's get real...

1500 South 1500 East (Emerson Ave.)
photo from their site.

INTELLIGENTSIA - So what?

Let me tell you something about this place, their cheapest up of coffee costs about $3.50 for about 6oz. I dunno about you but in these times, girl, I'm workin' hard for my money. This is a luxury item. And don't get you're little douchey hipster haircut all in a ruffle or your Sal Moscot frames askew and before you call all your friends at American Apparel to start picketing my house. I get it. I know it takes one year for a coffee bush to prodce one pound of coffee. I know about fair trade. I know about their fancy brewing machines. I get it. But, this should pretty much be the best cup of coffe I've ever had. Every time. Right? Well it's not. But I'm going to keep going, beacuse I support the anti-man, the anti-machine. I carry my little hemp bags down to the Whole Foods (or as it's affectionately know 'the Whole Pay Check') or the Trader Joes between paydays (personally i'm a pretty big fan of the Fresh and Easy). I like to sit on the little blue bench and pet the dogs and enjoy the weather and oogle the peeps. But come on, let's stop fooling ourselves and call this one like it is...

I'd also like add an extra special 'FUCK YOU' to the CUNT FACED BITCH that petitioned the city to have The Casbah Cafe remove their potted garden from the side of their building. I mean really, you must be very very bored or very very unhappy.

And everybody needs ro start cleaning up after their dogs. Come on buddies. Don't be douches.

3922 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90029

TACOS DELTA - Hangover's best friend

Oh Tacos Delta, how I miss thine nachos and XL Diet Cokes in styrofoam cups with crushed ice. Oh Tacos Delta how I miss thine hot sauce and fresh hot chips. You were just around the corner from me and I took full advantage of the proximity. I miss your burritos and your tacos.

Seriously, this just might be my favorite taco stand ever in the world. Cheap, fast, friendly. A cute little sitting are in the back. Seriously if you don't eat here you area fool. Only drawback, it has a 'B' from the health department, which pretty much means that your taking your life in your hands. But I ate there nearly every day and I never got the shits. They also seem to have a mysterious closing time, because every time I tried to go for dinner...they were closed. Could never really find hours posted anywhere.

No link
3806 W. Sunset Blvd.

THE MODERN HOTEL AND BAR - Right Idea and Execution

What you see here is the bathroom of the Modern Hotel and Bar. Yes, you see a turntable on a gnome. What you can't quite see is the rack of 45's just above the gnome and the stainless shelf between the sink and the can. The towels are kept else wheres. Since this is a full sized ADA loo, you could easily fit 6-7 people in there for your own private party, if uh, you brought your own favors, if uh...you know what i mean...

In addition to the bathroom the bar (which honestly isn't much bigger) sports a menu of mostly delicious seasonal cocktails. They sounded great on paper but the couple I tried didn't quite make it in the flavor department. But they were very nearly there, maybe next seasons will be better and you can tell me all about how amazing they are and how wrong I am.  They also have a great court yard with fire pits and a fair amount of seating. Strong effort. I do recommend.

http://www.themodernhotel.com/

1314 West Grove St., Boise ID

208.424.8244

THE PIEHOLE - Best Pizza in Boise..at least after 9p

We got an early start on our Boise adventure. Early enough that by 10 when we needed pizza it became it's own adventure. My buddy's was just one block out of the delivery zone for any place in the Boise metro (sic.) area. After much pleading, cajoling, harrassment and attempted bribery of the every pizza joint in the city, we picked up from the PIEHOLE. I was drunk but I consider myself a pretty good judge of the 'za and this is a good one. The salad and the sticks were are good news.

And they have dancing mice on their site:
http://www.pieholeusa.com/

205 N. 8th St. call ahead for pick up 208.344.2225. open late-ish but for pick-up only...

SWEETWATER TAVERN - Another 'Every Bar'

I had a great night at the Sweetwater Tavern. But it was entirely the company. Don't get me wrong, it's a perfectly serviceable joint. It was warm and reasonably priced. But it's pretty much just another place. Plaster walls, tin ceiling, cramped but nice bar. I had a steak that was arguably the best I've had in a long but hardly good. But the fries and chimmichuri were amazing as mas my key lime tart. I also had a 'bacon vegetable soup' that was pretty much bland BBQ sauce. I was drinking makers/rocks so can't speak to their cocktails.

So all in all nothing to write home about and not good for groups. The food is passable if not great. But the company totally made up for any shortcomings the restaurant had. Take that for what it's worth....

http://www.sweetwaterny.com/
105 N 6th, BKN, NY

photo stolen from 11211.info

3rd Hard Drive in 2 years

So my laptop is back in the shop. I know you are all very sad. But should be up and running 'in a few days'. Which I take to mean, some time next week...

YACHT ROCK @ KING KING

Two of my favorite ladies, that I don't get to see that often, 'encouraged' me to see a band called KNIGHTS OF MONTE CARLO at an H'Wood bar called King King.

We met for dinner in my hood at El Conquistador. I had already grabbed nachos from Tacos Delta across the street. Dinner was a moderate success. I pretty much eat at Tacos Delta every day and hit the El Conquistador happy hour as often as I can. They give you free nachos and quesadilla. AND their margaritas are the ding-dang best in the hood.

King King looks pretty dive-y from the outside but is a perfectly serviceable and a not to dive-y live venue inside. The first band of the evening was like some kind of reject tragedy from last seasons OC soundtrack. Good thing the KNIGHTS OF MONTE CARLO were highly dance-able, and the front man worked his hips like nothing I'd ever seen. He must be double jointed and do loads of yoga.

TUFFY GOES DOWNTOWN

I did a mini-little bar crawl with my buddy Matras last weekend. We met up at Casey's which is a perfectly serviceable Irish sports bar. What made it even better is that it was not crowded and had a hipster crowd. Our next stop was 7 (no link found with cursory search). Which had a dandy martini but seemed like they had only been open for a week and had opened for the day just before we walked in, i think there is potential, they just need some time to 'get it together'. Oh, and the DJ was l-a-m-e. Next was Seven Grand but there was a lien and we lost patience. Last was the Golden Gopher. We must have liked it there because that's were we stayed. Until they kicked us out. The Gopher wins for the night and I hope to get back soon!

MUSSO & FRANK, Skip Dinner and Go Straight for the Cocktails

I was really fussy about the steak that I ordered. It was porterhouse. It's cooking was very basic and served with some very sad cress. In fact all of the food was really bizarre. The stewed tomatoes were straight from the can. The creamed spinach was the consistency of a sag paneer. The potatoes gratin were interestingly flavored with some cinnamon. So, mostly disappointing but I did pretty much eat most of the steak. My buddy Lane finished the rest and claimed that it was DELICIOUS and that I was CRAZY! And the service also suuuuucked.

The place is not without it's charm. I swear it hasn't been redecorated since the 50's. Loads of dark wood and detail. The cocktails are delicious. Overall I did have a great night.

http://www.mussoandfrankgrill.com/ 6667 Hollywood Blvd.

MALO CANTINA - Is horrible and I hope they die.

I met my friend here for 'happy hour', but it was anything but happy. First of all we were lured in by the 'happy hour' specials, which are $1 tacos and half price cocktails. Second the staff sucks. They were slow and rude and not one bit interested in serving. Third the tricks are in the menu. There is only 1 taco that is actually $1 out of the 5 that are listed. Only well drinks are 1/2 off but it doesn't say that anywhere. The menu says 'happy hour' and lists there ridiculously priced cocktails. I was double charged and was given nothing but 'tude. I ended up spending $60 bucks for drinks and tacos. If I had gone somewhere nice, not a foul stink-hole. Because let me tell you , this place is far from clean or comfortable inside. I can assure I will not be going to this nightmare again any time soon. And I don't think you should either. I hate it so hard I'm not even going to tell you where it is just in case you don't believe me and think you need to try it for yourself. I have a big fat chip on my shoulder against this place and I'm praying for the day that these assholes get closed down for health code violations.

SGT. RECRUITER - A nice place to drink

This place is one of my new favorites in my current hood of SilverFeliz. It's a funky little annex/adjunct to Cobras and Matadors. Rotating beers and wines. Sadly, no booze.


Its Euro inspired (read tiny and tiled) decor makes you feel fancy without being pretentious. The steak frite, one of few staples, is top notch. Cute and friendly staff. Random and diverse clientele. Mad busy. Go early or late because the only seating is at the bar. There are no tables and no reservations.

Couldn't find a site to save my life! 4655 H'wood Blvd.

ABU DHABI pt.4 - I Eat Strange Fruit

In the spirit of adventure I am attempting to try most things presented to me. These things are in a buffet. But it totally counts.


--DRAGON FRUIT--

This thing is interesting. The flesh is quite mild with the seeds very similar to sesame and the skin is quite tough and tart. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitaya Wikipidia claims this fruit 'has been an important food source for Native American people'. But I never seen this thing anywhere.

This thing looks a bit like a hairy strawberry. The skin is quite tough and the skin is fleshy and very mild and sweet. It also has a fairly large pit. It's kind of like a sugary olive.

--ROMBUTON--

In my cursory search i didn't find any satisfactory web results to this fruit.

ABU DHABI pt.3 - The Breakthrough

UPDATE: The sniper nest is actually a public address system.

Please note the worlds biggest golf ball in the selection of photos presented. I've been noticing that the Arabs are big into having the world biggest things. For example, in Dubai, there is the worlds tallest building, http://www.burjdubai.com/. But I think it will only be the worlds tallest building for less than a year because someone else is building the next worlds tallest building right around the corner. Abu Dhabi has the worlds biggest mosque that will house the worlds biggest prayer rug.

Just for the record, I don't know if this is worlds biggest golf ball or not...but it sure looks like it.

There is lots of this crazy pink glass on these 70's type buildings. I'll tell you honestly that i kind of expected the whole city to look like Beverly Hills. You know...the world's richest city and all that. I read an article in Forbes that each native is worth $16 mil.
USD. How crazy is that? But let me assure you that Abu Dhabi is not like Beverly Hills. Keep in mind that not all of the city's inhabitants are native Emirati. There of course, is the working class (driving dapper dudes in the dish dash from neighboring villages), the service industry (Asian immigrants), and the neo-bourgeois (white idle housewives).

The architecture is fascinating. It's pretty amazing to be here at such a pivotal time of the city's evolution. I mean, it pretty much sprang fully formed out of the sand in like 1965 when oil was discovered.

Since Abu Dhabi is essentially the poor man's Dubai, they're totally trying to step up to the plate and let the world know that they are the King and that Dubai is but an Earl.

So they've got the Louvre, the Getty and Warner Bros. moving in and setting up camp. I think that they are all going to build themselves offshore islands. Which, p.s., I totally do NOT understand. There are plenty of usable sand dunes around here. The thought of a man-made magic sand island makes me incredibly nervous and nauseous. It's going to sink sooner or later and then it will be like Atlantis all over again. The lost cities of of Arabia. Do you love it or what.

The good news is that I finally found a bootlegger. Is that genius or what. His name is Kareem and he's an air-host. Which means he has recurring access to the duty free. Ham du lah.

This photo is of the Shang Ri La, where I am not staying but is nice and swanky. This whole scene is totally jet-set. I mean really. I think I've mentioned about the hotel night life scene. So bar hopping or clubbing is essentially hotel hopping. Sometimes there are multiple clubs in hotels which can be delicious. It's totally a no jeans, no trainers type situation and they mean it. I've never run into a cover but the drinks are about 35d which is about 10us. So it's not a cheap night out. But dinners are fairly reasonable you can get a dope spread, with all the good mazzas, juices, bonanza for about 100d or 30us, which is amazing and unbelievably delicious.

This is a spire on a mosque near my office.

I thought I had enough to blather to fill up 4 pictures but I started drinking and my room has turned into the clubhouse. It turns into the clubhouse most nights. You know what that's like, eh? If you don't you should.

THE MIDDLE EAST INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL – ABU DHABI, ANNOUNCES ITS SPECIAL SCREENING FILMS

ATONEMENT, directed by Joe Wright. With Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. Fledgling writer Briony Tallis, as a 13-year-old, irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's (Keira Knightley) lover (James McAvoy) of a crime he did not commit. Already garnering award buzz, the film is based on the acclaimed British novel by Ian McEwan.

I’M NOT THERE, directed by Academy Award®-nominee Todd Haynes. With Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Julianne Moore, and Michelle Williams.
Ruminations on the life of Bob Dylan, where seven characters embody a different aspect of the musician's life and work.

REDACTED, directed by Brian De Palma. With Francois Caillaud, Patrick Carroll, Rob Devaney, Izzy Diaz, Mike Figueroa, Ty Jones, Ohad Knoller, and Paul O’Brien.
A montage of stories about U.S. soldiers fighting in the Iraq conflict with a focus on the modern forms of media covering the war.

RENDITION, directed by Gavin Hood. With Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin, and Peter Sarsgaard.
When Egyptian-born terrorism suspect, Anwar El-Ibrahim (Omar Metwalley) disappears on a flight from South Africa to Washington DC, his American wife, Isabella (Reese Witherspoon) travels to Washington DC to try and learn the reason for his disappearance. Meanwhile, at a secret detention facility somewhere outside the U.S., CIA analyst Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhaal) is forced to question his assignment in an attempt to save thousands as he becomes a party to the unorthodox interrogation of El-Ibrahim. Gavin Hood directed the Academy Award®-winning TSOTSI.

ROMAN DE GARE, directed by Academy Award®-winner Claude Lelouch. With Dominique Pinon, Fanny Ardant, and Audrey Dana
Judith Ralitzer, femme fatale and popular writer, is seeking characters for her next best-seller. A serial killer has just escaped from the Santé prison in Paris's 13th arrondissement. Huguette, a hairdresser in a top Parisian beauty salon, is going to change their destiny. Some encounters are more fatal than others...

Abu Dhabi pt.2

This is my private oasis at the hotel, with some construction in the background. There is construction everywhere, everywhere, everywhere. I'm realizing more and more how conservative this culture is, especially during Ramadan. More on Ramadan later. It's really shocking for a lot of the community to see skin other than hands and face. There is a nice little note in the hotel literature that ask that you not wear shorts to and from the pool, gym, beach or in the lobby. So they build the tourists these little outposts to keep all of that flesh out of public view. There is loads of beach around and I personally find it a tragedy that you can't take your shirt off and experience it any time you like. I've yet to receive a satisfactory answer as to why you can't enjoy the beach or why you are not supposed to touch dogs. I mostly think it was because Mohammad didn't like dogs. Much like the Castillian S.

Also you are not allowed to look a many websites like nerve.com,

pictured here. Sometimes these come up at the most unexpected times.

So, Ramadan is kind of like lent that ends in something like Christmas. It's the 9th month of the Islam calender. There is NO eating, drinking, or smoking in public during daylight hours. Because of this everyone is especially pious and conservative. Because of this I too must fast and be pious during daylight hours. But as soon as the sun goes down it's no hold barred. Except you can really only be outside on certain nights and I haven't really figured it all out yet...Other than it's about 100-110f and about 500% humidity. I have also found that it is not as easy as it seems to take photographs at night. The long exposure. The inability to procure liquor in an easy fashion. It's not illegal. But it is hard to come by. Except for hotels. Where most alcohol serving occurs. I here there are some 'underground' Lebanese discos but...any way...

This is the view of the palace at night. I was fiddling with the exposure and zoom for a while before I figured it out. Here are couple that I liked and finally a clear one...

This a little bit more of the city just next to the palace. Reminds me of the Twilight Singers album cover for Powder Burns.

This is the stuff I was listening to while posting. Some of this neo-shoegaze that I eat up with a spoon.

Glassacre, Slow Attack Caribou, Andorra

A Shoreline Dream, Coastal

ABU DHABI, UAE pt.1

This is the Abu Dhabi Palace of the Emeriates (I think) as seen from my hotel room. The close up is of what I think is a like a crow's nest but for snipers. So the dude that lives up in there is like a Sultan, Sheik, and Prince all rolled up in one. In my mind, and I'll admit that I'm a philistine, I thought that Sultans were to Kings and Sheiks were to Dukes. I'm not sure how the Prince situation works. I'll try to do some more research.


I don't see any snipers in the basket right now so the Prince must be out.


This is the worlds tallest flag pole. I don't know if they're the worlds biggest flags. I would bet they are hoisted by a big machine. And that building is a mosque. It's a place where muslims gather to pray. Five times a day begining at 4:45am. I know this because they pipe the prayers on loud speakers all through the city, just like in the movies.


Some other things I know:

Nescafe is a poor substitute for coffee

This is the most serious amount of humidity I have ever experienced.

I love bidets

Arabs abhor schedules.