The culinary walking tour: Chinatown

I've been hooked on culinary walking tours ever since my experience on the near North Side of Chicago last September. I appreciate good food, and furthermore, I appreciate learning about regional or ethnic food. So when I found out there's a culinary tour of Chinatown, I had to do it. I'm not very cultured when it comes to Chinese food, so this was a good opportunity to learn some stuff.

The party started at Dim Sum Go Go near Chatham/Kim Lau Square with a sampling of steamed Dim Sum (stuffed dumplings). I can't quite remember which dim sum is which... but I think we've got a shrimp and chive dim sum in there, a duck dim sum, a crab meat dim sum, and one of them is vegetarian. We also had a roast pork bun that was to die for.


Outside at Kim Lau Square, Memorial Day festivities were beginning with a parade.


It was a busy day in Chinatown.


Off to the Peking Duck House (no relation). It was amazing to learn about the incredibly meticulous process – nearly scientific – of raising and preparing the ducks for the dish. To read more about Peking Duck, go here... some of the information (regarding the treatment of the ducks) is a little disappointing to learn, but it goes to show the strict approach to preparing this traditional dish... and on a cultural level, I can accept that.


It was one of the tastiest things I've ever eaten. It's served whole (at your table by the chef), and sliced (at your table by the chef). It's usually rolled up in a tortilla-like pancake with hoisin sauce. Nearly every piece of the duck is used in the meal. The scraps and bones are taken back by the chef and made into soup for the end of your meal – there is an implied investment in time... it's not your 1-hour dinner out.


Ginger root anybody? This was the cheap bulk barrel stuff. There were pieces behind glass going for hundreds, even thousands of dollars.


Modeled after a Swiss roll, it's a tiger cake! Chinese "desserts" are generally not sweet... in fact, most don't in the slightest bit resemble Western and European treats. The sweetness of this sponge cake with a bit of chocolate filling was very, very subtle.

A day in the city

I would doubt that you see this everyday coming off the Staten Island Ferry... I dunno... maybe you do.

The beautiful subway.

Running through Chinatown trying to make it to the culinary walking tour on time...

Center of the Universe: B&H Photo

I had to stop in and check out the gear at B&H Photo... the place where for the last 8 years I've mail-ordered (well... web-ordered) all of my equipment from. I really wanted to buy something small but meaningful while I was there... like buying a pair of socks at a high end store on 5th Avenue... just to say that I actually bought something there. Then I was learned about New York's outrageous sales tax rate and reconsidered... a photo keepsake would have to do...

Photo by Steve Grillo.

Delaware River drive

Took a scenic drive with Steve and his girlfriend today along the Delaware River towards Trenton, N.J. on stone-lined roads passing beautiful historic homes and bridges.

Somewhere near Kintnersville, Pa.

New York, New York

I've arrived in New York to visit my good friend Steve. Although we saw each other a couple years ago in our college years, it's been almost 5 years since I've traveled to see him.

The Manhattan skyline in the distance from the Kosciuszko Bridge between Brooklyn and Queens.

Biz...

Business section assignments can be really challenging. They have the potential to be empty stores, static portraits and product shots. I can usually make something pretty decent out of them, though... I feel a lot of creative dissonance going into these situations, and that unbalanced, uneasy feeling somehow helps me get myself together...

Jacque Jadin, co-owner of Trikes to Bikes & More in New Franken, Wis., works on a repair job in the store's shop area, Wednesday afternoon, May 20, 2009.

This isn't a winner, I don't think. I like the lighting, the textures of the shop, tools, equipment (I really should have asked what the Aussie hairspray is for)... It's quiet and straightforward and serves its purpose of showing a business owner and her work. I just don't feel very engaged by it... but I do think it's more interesting than something posed would have been.

Double homicide in Gillett

Violent crime is, thankfully, rare here in northeast Wisconsin. But every once in a while when something does happen, it's hardly ever a run-of-the-mill homicide. Crandon, the border shootings near Marinette, a teenager strangling his father and putting him in a car's trunk... it's odd stuff.

Tuesday, I was called off of a softball game to go to the scene of a apparent double homicide in Oconto County. A 21-year-old man and his 32-year-old sister were found dead of gunshot wounds in their rented rural home. The woman's child was at school at the time of the murders. As of this writing there are no suspects.

Most of the local TV networks and I arrived on the scene very late in the afternoon (it's a trip), well after the bodies had been removed. So there was very little activity at the scene, and the authorities were not by any means overjoyed to have to deal with the media – so they kept their distance.

So the whole experience turned into what this job is a lot of times: trying to make something out of nothing. These photos didn't get published (we ran another photo showing some investigators approaching the house) but I'm happiest, visually, with these.

An investigator ducks under crime scene tape at a home where a 21-year-old man and his 32-year-old sister were found dead at 12000 Zastrow Road in the town of Gillett, Wis., Tuesday, May 19, 2009.

The crime scene photographer.

Waiting for the sheriff to show...

Sights and sounds of the marathon

The Cellcom Green Bay Marathon was today... I was up and at 'em at 4am to make it to work and get prepared for a day out on the route doing video...

All new at Nitschke

Nitschke Field, part of the Green Bay Packers' practice facility, is being moved closer to their indoor facility, and receiving new bleachers and sod.

Stippled reflected sunlight shines in the face of Dave Hockers of IEI General Contractors of De Pere, as he fastens a piece of decking of new bleachers at the Green Bay Packers' Ray Nitschke Field in Ashwaubenon, Wis., Thursday afternoon, May 14, 2009.

Workers from subcontractor Tuckahoe Turf Farms, Inc., of Hammonton, N.J., install new sod at Ray Nitschke Field.

Videopinions

(that we're calling videopinions) allowing people to record a 60-second video on a topic of their choosing and upload it to our designated Facebook page.

It's taking off a little slower than I thought/hoped... but it's also been challenging to promote and get the word out...

The bell...

Workers remove the bell over the Brown County Courthouse in Green Bay, Wis., Friday evening, May 8, 2009.

Colors back in the trees...

Monique Van Stechelman, left, and running partner Sara Helgeson run down Locust Street during a training run in Green Bay, Wis., Thursday afternoon, May 7, 2009.

All Children Exercising Simultaneously

Payton Nedobec, 7, and his little brother Brice, 2, play while participating in Project ACES (All Children Exercising Simultaneously) at Providence Academy in Green Bay, Wis., Wednesday morning, May 6, 2009. Payton is a first grader at the school.

Reasons I like my job...

You never know what you're going to end up doing. Sometimes the surprises you get are... lackluster. Other times, it really brightens your day.

If you would have told me Tuesday that – all in one day – I would wear a bulletproof vest, witness a rehabilitated bald eagle being released into the wild, and meet really honest, humble and honorable bank executives (yes, they do exist!)... I probably wouldn't have believed you.

I've always been interested in law enforcement. Not necessarily to be an officer, but to understand the training and methodology that they use to do their jobs safely. First assignment I got to experience it really close up. So close, I had to wear a vest! Green Bay's police department invited three officers from our sister city in Mexico to train with them, and Tuesday they were doing close-encounter pistol training.

I really should have gotten a picture of myself...

Officer Julio Cesar Alvarez levels his pistol at his target while training with two other law enforcement officers (an assistant chief and a commander) from Green Bay's sister city of Irapuato, Guanajuato, as they trained with Green Bay police at the Multijurisdictional Outdoor Firearms Training Range in Hobart, Wis., Tuesday, May 5, 2009.

Juan Carlos Mina, an inter-agency narcotics commander, fires off a round.

It was a great experience to talk with the GBPD guys, and the Mexican guys. The disparity in training and equipment is astounding. Many Mexican police are required to supply their own equipment, weapons, etc. They cannot afford many of the latest in safety equipment (such as dual-action holsters)... which costs lives. The GBPD guys hoped that some of the training they gave would help save a life... Mexico is a dangerous place and these police officers are walking targets in their own communities.

Then it was off to the Oneida reservation where a special ceremony was being held before they helped release a rehabilitated bald eagle back into the wild. The ceremony consisted of tobacco-burning over a fire and a Native American blessing. We were not permitted to photograph either of those aspects of the event... but in hindsight, it really wasn't special photogenically... it was special just to experience it.

Mike Reed, curator from Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, walks with Oneida Nation Elementary School students, faculty, and guests, to the release spot after a special ceremony for the release of a bald eagle from the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary at the school in Oneida, Wis., Tuesday, May 5, 2009.

Reed releases the eagle in front of a couple hundred students, faculty, and community guests.

Its first stop as a free bird was in the trees near Oneida High School.

Cool cars

Went to Road America in Elkhart Lake, for a day. RA is permanent road course that has held races since the 1950s.

Lately they've done Wisconsin Electrathon and Supermileage competitions... basically hand-designed and hand-engineered cars that are completely battery powered or get incredible fuel economy.

They're just not all that fast, and not all that reliable...

Brothers golf

Kind of neat when two brothers are top golfers on the same high school team. But it's difficult getting them in the same candid photo.

Even though the little brother's not very prominent, I liked the composition of this shot, and the lighting, and the moment of his posture and the debris coming up off the ground.

Notre Dame senior Ricky Hearden and brother Tommy Hearden, bottom right, a junior, hit some balls at the driving range during practice at Thornberry Creek Golf Course in Oneida, Wis., Tuesday afternoon, April 28, 2009.

A's Restaurant

It sounds like a good place for foodies. A's Restaurant is in hip and happenin' downtown De Pere with semi-upscale fusion dishes.

That, and the executive chef likes watching Hell's Kitchen. I'm a fan already...

Multimedia: The Rosary Makers

Somebody has to make all of those inexpensive plastic rosaries used by missions in the third world and elementary schools here in the U.S. Those craftspeople happen to be here in Wisconsin. They're called the Rosary Makers of the Queen of the Rosary Club (can you say that in one breath?).

Earlier this month I spent a day with the group during one of their meetings. Watch the slideshow. Here is one of my favorite photos of the day.

Children play in the rural yard of the Ullmer residence during a meeting of the Rosary Makers of the Queen of the Rosary Club in Pulaski, Wis., Saturday, April 4, 2009.

Pie in the face

Seeing physics frozen never gets old for me.

St. Norbert associate dean of social sciences Jim Benton takes a pie in the face during halftime of a wheelchair football game at the Schuldes Sports Center at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis., Thursday, April 16, 2009.

Easter egg hunt...

I didn't want to shoot this like every other egg hunt I've ever shot. So I backed off, found the high ground and shot this with Braveheart in mind. Whether it was successful, I don't really know...

Children charge down a hill in a quest for Easter eggs during an Easter Egg Hunt at the West Side YMCA in Howard, Wis., Saturday afternoon, April 11, 2009.

More hockey...

Green Bay Gamblers' Anthony Hayes (17) gets roughed up late in the game by Des Moines Buccaneers' Austin Handley at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon, Wis., Sunday, April 5, 2009.

The Big Event...

...for Little Kids.

I'd be this psyched if I got to drive a school bus at that age.

Callista Boyd, 3, of Green Bay, enjoys her time in the driver's seat of a school bus on display at The Big Event for Little Kids at Shopko Hall in Ashwaubenon, Wis., Saturday afternoon, April 4, 2009.

Pet Expo

Ricky, a 4-year-old miniature smooth dachshund, walks alongside his owner, Cris (cq) Lewis of Hortonville, at the WBAY Pet Expo, held at the Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena in Ashwaubenon, Wis., Sunday, March 29, 2009.

Wrestler of the Year

Wrestler of the year, Luxemburg-Casco's Trever Spude.

Hockey fight

I'm getting a fair amount of practice shooting ice hockey this winter. I'm very pleased I get to shoot in a well-lit arena.

Green Bay Gamblers' Patrick McCadden (18) lands a punch on Indiana Ice's Sebastian Geoffrion (24) during a fight in the first period of a USHL hockey game at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon, Wis., Tuesday evening, March 17, 2009.

Girls' state basketball...

A few frames from the high school girls' basketball tournament in Madison.

De Pere High School's Bryanna Mueller (23), left, and Claire Steffen (20), right, tumble with Milwaukee King High School's Lanae Rash (3) on a loose ball in the first period of a WIAA Division 1 semifinal game at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis., Friday, March 13, 2009.

Milwaukee Vincent High School's 6-foot, 6-inch tall center Nicole Griffin (44) towers over Neenah High School guard Catherine Mayer (3) on a full court press in the first period of a WIAA Division 1 quarterfinal game at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis., Thursday, March 12, 2009.

Sometimes all you can do is hope.

Away from the action...

Covering girls' basketball sectional semifinals last night, I was happier with some moments I captured off the court.

De Pere High School players huddle up for a cheer before taking the court against Kimberly High School in a Division 1 sectional semifinal game at the Kress Events Center in Green Bay, Wis., Friday evening, March 6, 2009.

De Pere High School seniors Sarah Ferry, left, Jared Fink, and Ashtin Schmechel, right, cheer on their team in the fourth period.

Ashwaubenon High School's Lauren Steavpack (32) watches the final seconds tick down in overtime of the Jaguars' Division 1 sectional semifinal loss to Appleton West High School at the Kress Events Center in Green Bay, Wis., Friday evening, March 6, 2009.

Snow like you would never believe

Jo Steber of Green Bay walks to her car after work during a heavy snowfall in downtown Green Bay, Wis., late Thursday afternoon, Feb. 26, 2009.

Absent without leave

Army Spc. Kris Walker of the 353rd Transportation Company, headquartered in Buffalo, Minn., poses for a portrait at home in Green Bay, Wis., Friday afternoon, Feb. 20, 2009. Walker has notified the Army that he is not reporting for duty after his leave because he opposes U.S. involvement in Iraq.

It's torture...

I really enjoy food assignments.

Those who know me know that I'm a "foodie." I love learning about cooking and watching chef shows (Hell's Kitchen rocks). Obviously, I love eating good food, too. It's the one thing that truly tortures me as a photojournalist: not being allowed to eat the food after I shoot it.

Here are a couple recent food photos that I was pretty happy with.

Truffle-dusted sea scallops at Hinterland Brewery, Restaurant, and Lounge in Green Bay, Wis.

Carmen Miranda Salad at The Mustard Seed Cafe in Bellevue, Wis.

UWGB men defeat Butler

UW-Green Bay men defeated Butler (ranked 11th in the nation) last night at the Resch Center. This was my first time shooting and editing a sports action video... it was a real challenge that made me stronger in the end.

Green Bay loves Buddy, Ritchie, Bopper

On February 1, 1959, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper played the Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay. The next night, all three were killed in a plane crash. It was "the day the music died," according to Don McLean.

This year marked the 50th anniversary of their Green Bay concert. For several years, there has been a reenactment concert.

Inauguration of "44"

"Now they can see themselves as the President of the United States."

"He was a special man..."

The Divine Temple congregation celebrated MLK Day on Monday... it was special.

Inked

Green Bay Packers linebacker Nick Barnett gets inked! I've gotta work on my handholding a little bit...

Baby, it's cold...

Highs in the single digits... lows in the minus teens... wind chill of -45º. Don't tell me it's cold where you are because I have no sympathy for you.

Women's curling in Green Bay

Green Bay played host to a qualifying tournament for the U.S. Women's Curling team.

On the video circuit...

After my 1-month of unemployment, I'm reacquainting myself to shooting video... it's funny how it's almost like a foreign language: if you don't use it you lose it. I've had to relearn a lot of basic principles and that's come as a surprise to me.

But it's all coming back pretty quickly.

I'm doing a lot of daily work right now. I'll be embedding some of the better ones here.

A new place to call home...

On Dec. 3, about 2,000 employees of Gannett – myself included – received some pretty rough news: our positions had been eliminated.

I won't elaborate on my feelings here. I'm sure you can imagine how it felt, not only to lose a job, but colleagues who you admired and enjoyed working with.

What's important, rather, is how I'm moving on. Two and a half weeks following my layoff, I've accepted a position as a visual journalist at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. To sum things up succinctly: things sure turned out rosy.

I feel blessed that the opportunity came about. And I feel honored to have been desired for the job. I'm excited. And I'll start on Jan. 5.

My duties will be divided between doing daily multimedia work for www.GreenBayPressGazette.com and providing training opportunities for others in the newsroom and photo department to learn audio and video skills. I'll continue to shoot still photographs, too.

So... Green Bay is a new place to call home...

FILE: After walking through the players' tunnel, Ken Ekstrand of Racine, Wis., takes in the sights of Lambeau Field from field-level during a walking tour of the Packers' stadium in Green Bay, Wis., Wednesday morning, Jan. 16, 2008. (Michael P. King/The Post~Crescent)