So lets get caught up. I headed up to Madison for the New Years with M&C as well as Maggie to chill with Phill. He was spinning at a local Cigar bar, Maduro, so we all headed there for the countdown. It was super kickback and a welcome change from the typical drunk-laden parties most bars promise.
The following morning Phill took us to a cool breakfast spot at the Madison regional airport, Jet Room. I opted for the eggs benedict smothered in gravy, rather than the normal hollandaise. A highly recommended variation.
Back down in Chicago, I spent many a night at the GG house wasting time playing Call of Duty MW2. On the weekend however the ladies of the group decided to make up some food and have a little get-together for, among other reasons, John’s bday. Calories were plentiful no doubt.
And as one last hurrah before the 24hr marathon of flights, layovers, delays, crying babies and the like….I had one last jem; the Jonnie’s beef combo:
I did also have time to run to the storage locker and visit the black cars. The cleanest FC in the world is, well, still freaking clean, and my NB started right up after having sat for nearly 2 years. Impressive. As a side note (and a sad one) both of these cars are for sale. Get at me if you are interested.
’till next time; stay classy Chicago
It’s no secret I eat a lot while home here in Chicago. So here is some of the things I have been eating over the past few days. Lets start with last night’s dinner, BBQ Beef Brisket on texas toast with cheese grits, jambalaya, and coleslaw as sides from Heaven on Seven:
When I 1st came in, Mom made me her famous spaghetti:
Of course Portillo’s is a must. Jumbo chili dog and a Combo (Italian been & Italian sausage on one bun):
Peaquods is also a must. Amazing caramelized crust:
And nothing is better than a 3am breakfast at Golden Nugget after some drinks at Green Mill:
This past Saturday I flew up to the twin cities to hang out. Sumo met me:
Got some awesome food, including this juicy blucey along with the best tater-tots in the world, from the Blue Door Pub in St. Paul:
And then headed out to a Heiruspecs show, always good to see Chris up on stage.
And Sunday was spent watching football, eating pizza, and nothing more. One of my best Sundays in a long while. Thank you to my hosts, I hope to see you again sooner rather than later!
Hope you all had a great Christmas. We had a nice small dinner, with nice large portions of prime rib:
Notice the full size twice baked potato for size comparison. My colon hates me.
First off, happy holidays to all you guys out there who actually read this thing! After a nightmare trip back from Japan (that included missed flights, and maxed out credit cards) I finally made it into LA only 12 hours later than I had planned (with a stop in Hawaii for some nice weather). Of course the 1st stop was for some late night HAT:
Despite thr jetlag and lack of sleep for over 24 hours, we got up early and headed out to Horse Thief Mile. The guys over at RAD were cool enough to arrange a small event, and even helped me snag a ride for the car. Big thanks go out to Ryan @ Rad, Terry & Tony Pham for getting the car ready and letting me use it, and to John @ CTO for getting the tires taken care of for me. Tony’s fun car:
After driving that fun little turbo deal in the morning, Jefe let me polish off my remaining pair of DZ101 using his NB. Jefe recently snagged his FD licence at Irwindale and plans to hit Rd.1 at Long Beach hard, so thank you for trusting me to toss your car around! 340hp and similar torque with insane angle made for a FUN time:
As you can tell, I liked the power 
More food was had; this time at King Taco:
Then some more later at Canters. Met up with Rogan, Flybert, John from CTO & Azndoc. Celery soda, Matzo ball soup, and a corned beef/pastrami sandwich:
and then some more grub. This time, some dope Chinese in Temple City:
and there is always room for some yogurt:
Saw Doc Brown’s house (Gamble House) from Back to the Future:
Then met up with the Uncle and Aunt down in Seal Beach for a nice dinner at Walt’s near the pier. Hawaiian Ono:
And then it was off to Chicago, via Minneapolis/St. Paul and into the fantastic weather.
HUGE thanks to B&N for your hospitality! Hope to see you guys in Japan sometime soon
I got a much better shot of the new Stance coilover for the 86 chassis. Complete front and height adjustable rear. Notice the roll center adjuster. Yum
For more info contact Stance USA
That Stance USA has finally released their coilover for the 86. I’m happy to say I had a small part in the process and wanted to add that the wait was worth it. Simply put, the best coilover on the market for your AE86.
No compromises, no shortcuts, the real deal.
Just wanted to take a sec to give credit where it is due. Big congrats to fellow Midwesterner Mike Pollard for is 1st place qual and 2nd place finish at this weekends Pro-am.
Also to long time buddy, and fellow RD forum admin Jefe Abbott for his 8th place qual and FD licence. Keeping that NB legacy going in full force!
Also to fellow RD forum member and ex-miata driver Chelesa DeNofa in his M3 taking 3rd after Mike.
And finally, a shout out to the other fellow Midwest gang that made the trek out to Irwindale; Derek King of Indy and Chuck Litterst of St. Louis.
Check out DriftFotos for more cool pics!
Like many people I have a messy desktop…always saving random cool shots I run across. I shall post some, starting with local Kameoka native and owner of SatakeGT Works at a recent Meihan outing:
GT3 always makes me happy. Black on black even more:
Josh’s thang thang cuz I dig those rear fenders and I’ll always be a SP1 man:
