If You Haven't Tried These Yet, You Need To

10 Vietnamese Dishes Perfect For Hot Summers

Banh Beo and Banh Bot Loc Combo at Ngu Binh

• At Ngu Binh, a menu with English translations and pictures supplements the previously all-Vietnamese single-sheet list, offering about 18 dishes. Most are rearrangements of rice-flour batter, the chosen medium. The starch is to this Hue cuisine specialist as semolina is to the Italians. Steamed in tiny saucers, it’s called banh beo. Spread as thin as film and used as noodle wraps, it’s called banh uot. And that’s just two iterations. But then there's the banh bot loc dumplings, which are made with tapioca flour instead of rice. They're translucent, resembling squat jellyfish with shrimp-y brains at dead-center with a chewy texture similar to old bubble gum. And when you get both the banh be and the banh bot loc together on the same plate, the competing textures duel in your mouth.

Banh Cuon at Tan Hoang Huong

• The banh cuon at Tan Hoang Huong in Tustin is laid out next to register, wrapped in plastic and offered in about three varieties. The one you want is the complete kit sold for about $5 and includes crisp fried onion, a side of julienned vegetables, slices of cha lua (Vietnamese bologna), a fried tofu, and a nouc cham dipping sauce. To eat it, you dip the meat, crisp-cool veggies, but especially the translucent parcels of the banh cuon into the fish sauce, slurping all the way. Since banh cuon is typically eaten for breakfast, Tan Huang Huong's stock tends to run out the later you go in the day. But you can usually score one for a light lunch. If you're feeling peckish, banh cuon is actually a great first course before tucking into one of Tan Huang Huong's banh mis, which, by the way, are also a great summertime meal.

Nem Nuong Cuon at Brodard

• This is the one item that has seeded Brodard's success and the reason there's always a line. The nem nuong cuon is a spring roll to end all spring rolls. A wetted cylinder of rice paper hides lettuce, a slender piece of deep-fried egg-roll skin, cucumber and nem nuong, a ruddy concoction made of pork or shrimp that isn't quite a sausage and not really SPAM, but a combo of the two. A lot of places in Little Saigon can construct a fine nem nuong cuon, but only Brodard seems to have perfected the sauce that makes it sing. Halfway between soup and dip, its ingredients are a mystery. It's possibly the most guarded secret recipe in the enclave, perhaps OC. For sure, there's garlic, a little chile paste, maybe sugar. Magic and sorcery? More than likely.

Complete list (OCWeekly.com)

These Are Apart Of My Weekly Routine

The Best Equipment-Free Exercise for Every Body Part

Quads: Prisoner squat

Any properly performed bodyweight squat is going to be your best bet for equipment-free quadriceps engagement, but if I have to choose just one, it's going to be the prisoner squat. This is because in addition to targeting the entire lower body, the arm placement also fires up the shoulders, upper back, and core in ways a basic bodyweight squat does not. 

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, your weight centered in your heels. Bend your knees slightly, tighten your core, and place your hands lightly behind your head, your elbows pointing outward. You'll keep your arms in this position throughout the exercise, just make sure you don't push or pull on your head or neck. 

From this position perform a traditional bodyweight squat by pressing your hips back and bending your knees to lower your glutes toward the ground. Keep your chest upright throughout the exercise. When you've squatted as low as you comfortably can with good form, press through your heels and return to standing. Perform 12 to 15 repetitions. 

Obliques: Oblique twist 

While the plank certainly engages the obliques, to really target these muscles that wrap around your torso, you need to perform exercises that involve twisting or bending. The oblique twist is a favorite because it requires core stabilization combined with a twist; plus, you can do it with or without added weight. 

Sit on the floor, your knees bent, your heels on the ground. Keep your upper arms close to your sides, but bend your elbows to a 90-degree angle. Tighten your core and lean back so your body forms a "V" with your torso and thighs.

Keeping your torso fixed in space at this angle, and your glutes fixed to the floor, twist your body as far as you can to the right, reaching your hands toward the ground on your right side. When you've twisted as far as you comfortably can, reverse the movement and twist back to center, continuing the twist to the left side. Continue the twisting motion, performing 15 to 25 twists to both sides.   

Chest: Push-ups 

No surprises here, the basic push-up is about as good as it gets when it comes to equipment-free chest exercises. Start in a push-up position, your palms under your shoulders, but just wider than shoulder-width apart. Extend your legs fully so your body forms a straight line from heels to head. Tighten your core and bend your elbows, lowering your chest toward the ground. When you're just shy of touching down, reverse the movement and return to the high push-up position. Perform 10 to 12 repetitions. If full push-ups are too challenging, lower your knees to the ground for a modified version. 

Biceps: Dynamic self-resisted isolation curl 

For this unusual biceps curl, you're responsible for providing your own resistance. 

Sit on a sturdy object (any chair, bench, or large rock will do), your feet planted on the ground slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Lean forward and place your right elbow against the inside of your right thigh, just above your knee, allowing your forearm to hang straight down. Press your elbow into your thigh throughout the exercise, fixing your arm in place.

Bend your right elbow slightly, bringing your right palm upward so you can clasp your right hand with your left. Your left hand and arm are responsible for providing resistance during the curl. 

Tighten your right biceps and begin bending your elbow to draw your right palm to your right shoulder, but as you do so, press downward through your left hand to resist the curl, making it harder. When your right hand reaches your right shoulder, reverse the movement, continuing to press down through your left palm as you use your right biceps to control the downward phase. Perform this exercise slowly to maximize resistance in both directions. Perform 10 to 15 repetitions before switching sides. 

Complete list (Thrillist.com)

A Rare Gem

(SpeedHunters.com)

I Don't Know Why This Is Suprising

Chris Harris Is Unsurprisingly A Porsche 911 Turbo Purist 

Many people were not thrilled when Porsche revealed that the updated 911 Carrera would be getting some turbo action because it makes the actual 911 Turbo (capital T) less special or something. Chris Harris is among that camp, and says if you’re going to bother with the finance papers, get the actual Turbo.

In Chris Harris’ new video over on TopGear.com, he reviews the refreshed 911 Turbo S, which is not the Carrera. But he does mention that he doesn’t think Porsche has got the new lowercase-t turbo 911 right, and urges you to spend the money on the actual capital-t 911 Turbo instead.

It’s funny, because he’s actually reviewing the 911 Turbo S, but complains that he can’t properly compare the difference between the old Turbo S and the new because Porsche brought him to one of the greatest racetracks in the world that just so happens to be at high altitude with shitty fuel.

(Jalopnik.com) 

Some Good Lessons

17 Harsh Life Lessons That Everyone In Their 20’s Will Eventually Learn

2. Don’t spend more money just because you are starting to earn more. Lifestyle inflation creeping in is a bitch.

If you don’t keep working out and start eating well, you’re going to feel like 45 once you hit 30.


Do stuff that makes you happy instead of doing stuff that makes you look cool.

11. How to stand up for yourself, particularly against authority figures, in a way that gets your point across but is still respectful.

Sometimes your boss will be an utter ass and make your work place hell, so you need to tell them to back off or they’ll keep doing it.

12. You aren’t special and you won’t always get your way. The real world is not fair and it does not care about you. You are in fact capable of accomplishing anything, but it’s not going to be easy.

Complete list (CavemanCircus.com)