Spice Thai, 24 Holyoke Street, Cambridge: DON'T. EAT. HERE.

warning, friends: this is going to get graphic.

as a veteran of the food service industry, it takes a lot for me to discourage anyone from going to any eatery. shit happens: people have bad days and forget to put order slips into the kitchen, fridges break in the middle of the night spoiling produce and dairy, restaurants become short-staffed and frenzied if someone calls in sick with the flu. restaurants, cafes, bars and coffeehouses are especially susceptible to falling apart at the seams over a minute thing, but there are some standards that need to be set and observed, obviously, and serving ROTTING FOOD to customers? definitely not something you do, regardless of how crazy things get in a kitchen or how stressed you are. so, spice thai of cambridge? i'm officially you calling you out as a disgusting restaurant unfit for serving people.

last saturday, we ordered takeout from spice thai outside of central square while we were in the midst of a TPB production meeting. i was the only one out of the four of us who got anything different: gab, milap and jessie all had pad thai, while i went with tom kha gai (coconut chili soup with chicken) and the "special pad thai" (pad thai with wide egg noodles instead of normal ones.) we ate, we finished the meeting, i went home, blah blah blah.

fast forward to noon the next day: i felt DISGUSTING. i felt bloated, feverish, hung over and gross, and i hadn't been boozing the night before so it made absolutely no sense that i felt this way. i couldn't shake the feeling all day, and on monday i was literally doubled over in my cubicle at work feeling like an alien was going to explode out of my insides sigourney weaver style.

long story short: i spent every single day last week feeling like something was very, very wrong. i was told by my doctor that food poisoning, though violent, unpleasant and instantaneous, should only last up to MAX 48 hours and that me having these symptoms for over 5 days was a major red flag. after two trips to my doctor, a day home sick from work and a solid week of eating nothing but saltines and bananas, i just wanted answers. my friends insisted i go to the hospital, my family insisted i bail on the planned trip to maine we had set for that weekeend, and i was getting delirious and exhausted from oh, NOT EATING. i gave the doc a sample (the least pleasant kind you can think of, blaghhhh) and they did the lab work.

my doctor called me yesterday with the results. the verdict? there were "extremely dangerous levels" of campylobacter in my system, which is the bacteria that causes nasty food poisoning and comes from eating rotten chicken or coming into contact with feces. ROTTEN. CHICKEN. OR SHIT!?

spice thai in cambridge: having one of your customers keeling and puking and doing god knows what else and being unable to eat or function or even keep down fluids for over 5 DAYS is UNBELIEVABLE. is it that difficult to keep track of the groceries you prepare? is it that difficult to mark the soups you serve, the chicken you keep and the stock you use? is it that difficult to make your employees wash their hands, clean the utensils they prepare food with and make sure that they, oh, i don't know, adhere to regulations set for them by the department of health in order to ensure the wellbeing of their customers and employees? this problem is so easily avoidable and it has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the "restaurants get crazy" clause i mentioned above. my sickness was caused by ignorance, laziness and neglect, not stress, an inadequate number of people on duty or demanding customers.

and oh, it gets better! i called spice thai yesterday to tell them hey, i was sick because of food they prepared, maybe they should check out the chicken/potential transferral of poop problem in their kitchen. the woman on the phone hung up on me the first time, and when i called back to speak to a manager she told me that he wouldn't be in until friday. um, i called on a tuesday. i mentioned to her on the phone that i was filing a complaint because i had contracted severe food poisoning from their cuisine and that it needed to be resolved right away. she insisted i call back on friday.

the verdict: if you value your stomach, your small intestine, your colon, and your sanity, do not under any circumstances order takeout or frequent spice thai restaurant at 24 holyoke street in cambridge, massachusetts. i don't know about you, but i'd feel more comfortable checking out one of the other amazing culinary establishments in the area as opposed to going to a restaurant that serves tainted food and refuses to deal with an urgent problem having to do with their neglect to consider the safety of their patrons. spice thai in cambridge? you suck. and your pad thai is mediocre at best.

if you're looking for GOOD, NON-POISONING THAI FOOD: check out pho n' rice, sugar and spice and spice and rice, all within a stones throw of central, harvard and porter squares. they've all been delicious and affordable in the past and i'd gladly send more traffic their way then to spice thai.

i fucking love being 23.

tonight, jessie and i rode our bikes down hampshire street and into central square and met up with our friends as they were stumbling out of the bank of america atm on mass ave.  we went to zuzu's, as it was soullelujah night, and danced like maniacs to motown until 2:30 am.  we then threw champ (the bike's name is champ, we've decided) into the back of christoph's car, stopped at the 24-hour shaw's down the street from my house for fixin's, and headed back to my place for grilled cheeses and mojitos on my roof until about 5 minutes ago.

had you asked me five months ago whether or not i could feel this excruciatingly happy i probably would've looked at you like you were a crazy person.  that was then, this is now, and excruciatingly, insatiably happy doesn't even begin to cover it.

the happy list, "i f*cking love my life" edition.

1) i have a scorching sunburn and look like quite a lobster, but i spent hours lounging on harvard yard lunching on delicious food with a group of my absolute favorite people.  avocado bruschetta, mango salsa, red cabbage and raisin cole slaw, pavlovas, brie, sparkling cider and more tortilla chips than we knew what to do with? so. so. so. goooood.

2) i spent the majority of my weekend playing outside with my friends, be it romping around davis square on a tequila buzz or getting blisters on my hands from the monkey bars at the playground up the street.  this weekend felt like SUMMER.

3) i cannot stop listening to the shout out louds and the love language.  the love language are getting a post of their own because jessie took some amazing, amazing photographs at their show the other night, but in the meantime, i will blast their "lalita" along with the SOL's "very loud" on repeat and dance around my apartment while i clean up the remnants of weekend debauchery.

4) i found my sunglasses, my camera and my missing favorite earring.  scoooore.

5) my thao tickets came in the mail, along with the latest issue of paste magazine! so excited. i've been meaning to pick up paste for awhile.  this is going to be a pretty heavy week on the ear drums: i'm going to go to tt's tomorrow night for the sounds' show with jessie, the bodega girls are playing harper's ferry on friday, and i'm hopefully going to be writing some new reviews/features for chicks with guns in the near future.  

6) the city is in such an incredible mood.  the sox have trounced the yankees SO FAR in their three game series, but it's only the start of the seventh inning of the third game and i don't want to jinx it.  i love watching baseball on my couch.  my daddy would be so proud.  haha.

7) it's nice to finally recognize myself in the mirror again.  i was heartbroken in january, furious in february, bewildered in march and hopeful in april, and now i finally, FINALLY feel rested and refreshed and able to take control of my life again.  i wake up every day EXCITED, man.  i'm optimistic and  i'm no longer wasting time on wishful thinking and coulda-shoulda-wouldas.  i've tried to right my wrongs and it may be too late to salvage friendships and feelings and all that from previous offenses, but i would like to think that the universe'll get me back for that one.  it's cathartic, admitting you're wrong, and i swallowed my pride and apologized in the only way i could.  i don't know what to expect, but for the first time in four months i'm not dwelling on it and worrying about it.  what's done is done, you know?  my hurt and my heartbreak are no longer controlling my outlook and my feelings and that's something to be ecstatic about.  i feel like me again.  it took a little longer than i liked for me to get back here, but that's worth noting all the same.

i am truly happy.

for the past four years, the first sox vs. yankees game of the season has been the true start of spring for me and i've celebrated it with my best friends in new york who all happen to BLEED pinstripes.  with the exception of the spring of '07 when i was still living in spain, i've watched the game go down at a dive bar in yonkers with bren, ryan, billy, larz and a slew of my other ny favorites.  i got all nostalgic sitting on my couch with meg and later jessie last night watching the sox take it in an AWESOME game that stretched into the twelfth inning courtesy of jason bay and his 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th with two outs.  i miss my boys down in yonkers and mel and jules very much, though it was kind of wonderful to just crack open a brew and feel the first drafts of summer passing through my open windows last night.

so, this is meg and goofing around during the game.  photobooth turns everyone into small children who are easily amused.

oh, and jessie and i got excited when they won.  here's the celebratory shot.

this is jessie's anime face.  this is just my scary face.

before the sox went all rockstar at fenway park last night, meg and i went for a feast at local indian food favorite punjabi dhaba followed by banana cinnamon/chocolate banana ice cream cones at christina's.  there is NO BETTER COMBINATION than a delicious, piping hot meal at p-dhabs followed by the best homemade ice cream in cambridge.  we were gonna stop at the thirsty scholar on the way home for a round/some sox action but opted to just drink the beers in my fridge and slouch on my couch for the game.  we ran up to the roof last night because meg's never seen it, and i could've done cartwheels when i realized that it's FINALLY that time of year for drinks and hookah on the roofdeck.

meg had to bust early due to her crazy athletic fitness loving ways (she's going hiking today, have fun meggg!), but jessie, christoph, mikey and matt all came bounding into my apartment shortly after her departure and within fifteen minutes we were smoking honey shisha on my roof while matt cat-called and howled at random pedestrians moseying up and down somerville ave.  (favorite quotation of the evening: "hey BOZO! you got a calzone? .... yeah ENJOY YA PEPPAHRONI CALZONE BOZO.")

after the hookah started to ash, we opted for an impromptu adventure and decided that heading to the nearest playground was definitely the way to go.  the one up the street from my house is an excellent choice for late-night playground debauchery as it's got good swings, monkey bars and a huge basketball court that slants at a pretty sharp angle, ha.  we must've been out there for at least an hour.  here are the best photos from one of the best nights of early spring.

it's gorgeous out in boston today, you guys.  jessie and i are bouncing over to harvard to go find maya in a little bit and i'm wearing the first sundress of the season.  GO SPEND TODAY OUTSIDE! :)

hil's social calendar.

i'm just a social lil' butterfly this weekend, aren't i?

friday:

+it was too gorgeous out to go to the gym.  i met up with los for a lovely lunch at crema cafe in harvard square and i had quite possibly the most delicious grilled chicken/cotija/avocado sandwich of my life.  we walked over to utrecht, where i picked up a few canvases and some more paint, because i have presents to make for a couple of boys.  we moseyed back to my place and i got my first sunburn of the season in the process, and then we spent the rest of the afternoon drinkin' beers and listening to lykke li with every single window in my apartment open.   love. ly.

+my mom came down for a visit to drop off my bike (!!!) and we had a nice dinner at the independent.  i just got a cheeseburger, nothin' fancy.  and of course the deviled eggs.  ohhhh the deviled eggs.

+i met up with james in coolidge corner last night and we went to the brookline booksmith, which is something i've been meaning to do for AGES.  a leisurely stroll through the bookshelves made me realize a few things: 1) i have entirely too many books in a stack on my bedside table that i've been meaning to read for ages, including infinite jest [still haven't started gah], crime and punishment, and el coronel no tiene quien le escriba [no one writes to the colonel 2) i have entirely too many books that i want to add to that list, including more stuff by chabon, brautigan and bukowski 3) i cannot be stopped around used books that have anything to do with picasso.  while poking through the booksmith's used section, i stumbled upon portrait of picasso as a young man by NORMAN MAILER.  i love norman mailer. i love picasso.  i had NO IDEA that this book existed until last night. so good.  other used books i've procured regarding pablo picasso are picasso's war by russel martin, picasso on art: a selection of views, edited by dore ashton, and life with picasso, which is a memoir written by francoise gilot, one of picasso's companions and the mother of his two youngest children.  here's a shot of my growing collection.

anyways, after the brookline booksmith, james and i moseyed up beacon street for beers at the publick house, only to shy away from the place because it was PAAACKED.  for a laugh, we continued on a beer at mary ann's, the infamous BC watering hole where my father and his best friend in college got into a massive fight that resulted in 23 paddy wagons hauling up outside the cleveland circle dive.  not much has changed: the place was chock full of BC underclassmen who probably got in with their older brother/sister's expired license so we booked it outta there fast.  eventually, we wound up meeting up with marcy and we settled for beers at the road house before calling it a night.  low key and pretty great evening out, if i do say so myself.

saturday:

+caught up on some reno 911 episodes while scarfing down a delicious breakfast of tomate frito, manchego and french bread.

+going to work on my fitness as soon as i finish this post.

+and, finally, getting all gussied up for the double-header i have in store tonight: wine riot takes place tonight, and after my very first wine tasting, i'm heading back over to my neck of the woods, where mcalister drive is headlining a show at precinct.  my smokin' date tonight is the one and only jessie and we've been counting down to this all week.  no pressure. haha.

sunday:

+brunch with los, jessie and maya at deep ellum

+BIKE RIIIIDES!

+and, duh, the sea monsters at precinct. 

i'm not even gonna touch on what's going down monday because iiiii am too excited.

CHRISTIAN McNEILL AT TOAD! TONIGHT!

image courtesy of christian's myspace; photo credit: jon strymish

TONIGHT! TONIGHT! TONIGHT TONIGHT TONIGHT!

don't go to the bar! don't go on a hot date! and if you still feel the need to go to a bar or go on a hot date, bring your hot date to this lovely little music bar in porter square, toad, to see CHRISTIAN McNEILL's acoustic solo set at 7pm!

christian's recording an acoustic album and will be playing a few intimate sets in the area, and i guarantee you want to be there for the first one.  plus, i may buy you a beer if i see you there.

Lake Street Dive: ¡LISTEN TO THEM! ¡NOW!

[first of all: sorry for the grumpy post yesterday.  had to get it out. today's perfect springtimeyness made me feel infinitely better.]

ANYWAYS: I'M REALLY EXCITED BECAUSE I FOUND A NEW BAND I LOVE!

the sea monsters brought down the house at lizard lounge thursday night, but before their excellent, intimate performance in the famously carpeted basement of one of cambridge's favorite venues, lake street dive had every jaw in the packed house hitting the floor.   due to the sardine can-like seating conditions, my friend james and i were left standing next to one of the pillars and thus could only really see the bass player and the drummer, and as a result this review may be a little biased due to our proximity to lake street dive's rhythm section... but honestly, bridget kearney is one of THE MOST talented musicians i've seen. EVER.  it's not just the fact that the woman trounced the art of playing the upright bass, which in no easy feat.  kearney made that instrument an extension of her body and her energy was INSATIABLE.  the bass lines to each and every one of LSD's (lsd, haha) songs pulsed, swung, and drove the gorgeous, velvet voice of rachael price and the uplifting presence of mike olson, who plays trumpet and guitar.  mike calabrese's drumming was absolutely exceptional, and like i said, i'm probably biased towards his performance as well as kearney's due to the fact that we were so close to them and completely enthralled with their playing.  together, they're unshakeable, and we surely would have been dancing our asses off had we not been shoulder-to-shoulder with a group of our new favorite strangers.

lake street dive's next show in the area will be at toad in porter square on may 10th.  you better believe i'll be there, and you should be, too!  just give 'em a listen on itunes, or check out lake street dive's the panhandling song below.

anyways, last night was lovely, and i was lucky enough to spend time with my very best friends in the whole world who i haven't seen in months.  brittany and whitey are home for easter, and we beat the rain in my living room with drinks, hookah and candlelight in the company of los, marcy, davis and potter.  sometimes you just need to get back to your roots for a little bit to ground yourself, you know?

the night that funfetti devoured my kitchen/we devoured funfetti: Los' 23rd.

get ready for some surrrrrious cupcake porn.

SO DOMESTIC.  jessie is so vogue.

kevin felt the need to document our frosting/sprinkles process because we were kiiind of into it.

to quote marcy: "these cupcakes look like fairies pooped all over 'em."

if los was a cupcake she would look like this.

i missed the "be sexy!" memo.  ah well. kj's into it.

sadly, there aren't many photos of the birthday girl - there was a pretty massive turnout and she was bouncing around to say hi to all the party goers, but i was able to snag a quality shot of the four of us before the night ended:

and a shot of me and the newest member of the 23 club.

happy birthday los :)

what's on tabs this weekend: bishop allen tonight at the middle east, brunch at deep ellum at some point, the sea monsters, of course, and a long, bloody, drawn-out battle between me and my frosting-covered kitchen floor. I WILL CLEAN THIS APARTMENT! I WILL!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WIFEY!

LOS TURNS 23 TODAAAAAAY!

expect a photo-heavy post chronicling the celebrations sometime tomorrow.

¡QUE LOS CUMPLAS FELIZ, MI ESPOSITA!  i'm so lucky to have you as a best friend and my #1 partner in crime. i love you!

the happy list, april fool's edition.

this is what came popped up when i google image-searched "happy" this morning. lolz.

THINGS THAT ARE WONDERFUL:

+big plans for big weekends.  this weekend, by comparison to previous weekends, won't be that extraordinary, but dance parties, dive bars, brunch at deep ellum (to visit mr. chris sous chef extraordinaire), painting dates, playing outside and a night with the sea monsters are all on the table. bliss.

+scarfing chicken tikka masala from punjabi dhaba with some of my favorite people before running up to magoun square for trivia nights and games of pool at townie dive bars.  MEDFIHD BY CHOICE! (my family's actually from medford. i guess that makes me legit/a real townie? i don't know.)

+i think i'm going to get a bike.  i'm still terrified at the thought of riding one alongside the crazy people who drive on somerville/mass ave, but i've been convinced, i think.  i'll be brave.  i'll try, anyway.

+i've lived in this apartment since november and i only realized recently that i have WINDOW BOXES YAAAAY.  jessie thinks i should use one for a mini herb garden.  i want flahwiz.  (i don't want bees buzzin' right next to me when i'm sleeping  some rando stole hers from the lawn in front of her apartment in allston.  le sad.

+this week marks the two year anniversary of slovak attak '07, which consisted of a ten day trek through vienna, bratislava and budapest with los, nico, vince and katie.  during slovak attak, i ate enough sacher torte for a family of five, almost got arrested for riding the metro illegally in budapest and somehow wound up downing absinthe on a boat on the danube only to walk back to our slovakian hostel without my shoes on.  in short: it was epic and its anniversary is always worth noting.  that, and i miss nico, vince and katie so incredibly much :( 

now, it's off to the gym to work on my fitness, as opposed to staying home and making french bread french toast. gahhh. i would so much rather be doing the latter.  i HATE pulling pranks on people and will definitely be refraining from that today, but what are you guys up to for april fools?

(just playin'. you've been warned.)

H!L

"she left those white boys/back in lexington"

walking home from inman today i passed someone's front stoop and saw theeese little babies.

crocuses! crocii? (good question, jessie.)

anyways, point being, it's finally finally finally finally officially spring.  no more snow, please, o benevolent new england weather gods.

i know everyone's been going bonkers over passion pit and after seeing them in action downstairs at the middle east a few weeks ago i can understand why... but, honestly, i feel like bodega girls stand a shot at overshadowing the hub's resident favorite when it comes to keeping hipsters on the dance floor.   last night was the second wednesday i've spent shakin' it at middlesex to the tunes of bodega girls and jessie came with me this time around.  we weren't there for the whole show, but we made it for the majority of their set and stuck around for the dance party that ensued after the live portion of the program ended.  bodega girls get major points in my book because they actually stick around and dance WITH their fans after their shows, and their "drink, dance, fuck and be merry" attitude is friggin' great.

anyways, here's the music video for my favorite track of theirs, she's into black guys.  bodega girls' next show in the area isn't until may 1st when they play harper's ferry over on brighton ave, but they're playing at the iron horse in north hampton if all you kids out in amherst feel like gettin' down on a school night.

happy things.

hi!

i just posted this on los' fbook wall.  i figured i'd share the love with you, too.

as much as i want to write about how spontaneous and awesome it was to run to the back of the somerville theatre last night to greet U2 after their super secret surprise show, i'm too tired right now. i have no idea why, either, seeing as i got plenty of sleep last night. (ok not really but i got more than 7 hours, i think, so i shouldn't complain.)  in lieu of talking about how much i love bono and how genuinely happy he seemed to see the crowd who had come out just to say hi, i'm going to write a happy list.

THINGS THAT MAKE HIL A HAPPY CAMPER! (in no particular order):

+coffee and ginormous chocolate chip cookies from 1369.  mikey and i hit up 1369 after a fantastic visit to the ICA (see below) and the cappuccino i had was one of the best caffeinated concoctions i've downed in awhile.  (i usually consume between 4-6 shots of espresso a day, so this is big.) 

+the interlock mini skirt from american apparel.  i have it in black and eggplant and i wish it were springier outside so that i could wear either one with leggings and cute little flats and not have to worry about getting said cute little flats all muddy and gross.

+"back to the future": i own the complete trilogy and watched the first installment while awaiting the arrival of marcy, chris and andrew before our bono sighting.  los and i are thinking of going as marty and doc next year for halloween, but only if this brilliant plan falls through.  (jessie i know what you're thinking but I ALREADY HAVE THE PURPLE SKIRT AND THE GLASSES OK!)

+shepard fairey.  i went to his show at the ICA today and found it to be inspiring and humbling and it made me wanna go home and create something.  the arrangement of the exhibit was exquisite, the presentation was superb, and i absolutely plan on taking advantage of the free ticket i scored sometime next week.  his guns and roses poster is now prominently displayed in my kitchen.

+i love the sartorialist and it's one of the first blogs i check when i wake up in the morning, and i've bookmarked this photo since its original posting on february 13th.  i want a bright blue scarf!  i want a grey blazer with colorful, almost unnoticeable details! (i want the girl version, however, seeing as i am not an extremely tan italian man...)

+buenos aires.  this time last year los and i were prepping and packing for a weeklong stay in my second home.  to say that it was incredible, that whole returning-to-my-favorite-city-for-the-first-time-since-leaving-it-with-my-best-friend-in-tow thing, would be a gross understatement.  some favorite shots from our trip to buenos aires in march of 2008:

los hanging out in the hammock at our hostel in palermo.

we got to catch up with tony, one of my good friends who i had studied with while living in buenos aires in 2006, and this was the view from the roof of his apartment building on charcas.

the graffiti and street art that plasters the walls of capital federal is amazing, and this was one of the many murals we spotted on the entrance to a restaurant in palermo.

i stayed out with a bunch of newfound friends 'til dawn my last night in BsAs and was able to snap this shot while walking home that morning.  sunrise on rio de la plata? this doesn't even begin to do it justice.

so, anyways!  that's the march 12th edition of the happy list.  what's making you smile today, ladies and gents?

-H!L.

Kendall Square: You confuse me.

last night, after a lovely couple of hours spent drinking limca (indian keylime soda, look into it as it's DELICIOUS and i'm going back to shalimar to get some more in a few) and smoking some rose and mango shisha with mike and matt, we opted to head over to kendall square to shoot some pool.  on the way there, i realized that my friends and i, uh, NEVER go out in kendall. ever.  know why?  because kendall is a royal pain in the ass and one of the most awkward areas in cambridge or boston to navigate, on foot or otherwise.

here's my beef with you, kendall: you're humongous.  and nothing of interest, with the exception of buildings important to MIT and all that, is situated anywhere near your T stop.  when i say "everything of interest", i mean everything that's not legal sea foods or the harvard coop satellite store, both of which are located on main street.  i mean the kendall landmark theatre, which is one of the best cinemas around for international and feature releases; i mean flat top johnny's, where we were last night; and i mean the garment district, which is the reigning champ when it comes to procuring vintage clothing and costumes in the greater boston area.  the fact that you gotta GoogleMap your kendall-bound destination before you even leave your house is enough reason to refrain from heading anywhere near that part of cambridge for the night.

with that said: i wish your layout was a little more sympathetic with the needs of boston/cambridge nightlife, kendall, because your location is ideal.  you're right over the bridge, for chrissakes! you've got movies, booze, pool and decent shopping! why can't you just be a little more accommodating when it comes to organizing a bar crawl or shopping on a rainy day?  

we wound up ditching flat top johnny's for the independent in union square, which is way closer to our respective homes and open until 2am on fridays and saturdays.  the food is awesome and the drinks are fantastic, and it's one of the few bars around that serves legitimate cocktails: i'll bet you $20 that a faneuil/causeway/comm ave bartender has no idea what an aviation cocktail is, let alone how to make one, and they shake up a mouthwatering aviation over at the independent.  union square, i fall a little more in love with you every day...

so, yeah. sorry, kendall.  you're kind of awkward, which is too bad because you've got some real potential. and now, i'm off to central (which beats kendall in every single solitary sense for food, nightlife, entertainment, shopping etc. anyway) to pick up some canvases, limca and some more paint.  i think i'm gonna walk there, too, seeing as it is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS OUTSIDE.  seriously.  get off your computer and take yourself for a walk, just be sure to leave the jacket at home and bring your shades.