But I might just be... an Albie

I was happy to return to Cowtown for the oft-missed ubiquity of Tim Horton’s coffee, but no sooner did I rekindle my love affair with it than I found an even better (or at least cheaper) coffee. A market near where I work has this stuff called Highlander Grog, and damn if it isn’t amazing. Without doubt, I’m probably just attracted to the notion of drinking something called grog, a beverage term under-utilized in modern society. I was an equal part pirate and dinosaur nut when I was a kid, so I’m familiar with the appeal of grog. (For pirates that is, although for the latter it could offer a new extinction theory.)

What cannot be replaced, however, is quality sushi. You have a far better chance of eating any manner of buffalo in this city than the raw seafood delicacy. Plus, when you do actually find it, the stuff is so overpriced you’d think the fish got first class plane service over the Rockies internalized into the cost. My upcoming trip to Vancouver – and a certain sushi restaurant – cannot come soon enough. All you can eat? Or, all you can stuff into a suitcase?

Speaking of seafood, still no Eels (or in Japan, unagi) album review on RS, but I recommend checking out another double disc just released. It’s Ryan Adams’ Cold Roses, recorded with his new backing band the Cardinals – what they lack in creative nomenclature they more than make up for in awesome instrumentation. It’s straight up alt-country goodness, which really just means it’s too twangy for rock, but too non-crappy for country.

Though not a true concept album, almost all of the songs describe physical locations (“Cherry Lane,” “Magnolia Mountain,” and “Easy Plateau,” the best of the bunch), which gives it a great visual quality. It actually reminds me of the first chapter of Steinbeck’s East of Eden (best. Steinbeck. ever.) which describes the beauty of California’s Salinas Valley at length. That place may be full of evil whores and backstabbing brothers, but I still want to visit, and I’m not even an Okie.