Drum Fan Deli (Pa Lee's Liquor)

Drum Fan Deli

(Also known as Pa Lee's Liquor)

4160 Donlon Ave.

Ventura CA  93003

I'm not sure for how long, but for a while now there've been signs on Market Street for the Drum Fan Deli's $1 taco, and I've been meaning to swing in. I do have one memory when it was only Pa Lee's Liquor store, and that is while I was sitting at the corner, waiting for the light to change. A young guy ran out of the store, holding a bottle, and an old, asian man, who I assume was Pa Lee, was running out after him yelling something. The light changed, and I drove on.

Okay, back to the Drum Fan. According to some reviewer on Yelp, Pa Lee has headed off to the big liquor store in the sky, and his son has taken over the business, adding the deli.

Concerning tacos. Honestly, it would have to be pretty bad for me to say something negative about a $1 taco. If it has meat and sits on a tortilla, it's probably worth a buck. With that in mind, the bar is set pretty low for the price point.

I walked  in, and it was a s small liquor with a clean deli counter. There was a list of sandwiches, on the side, all reasonably priced. But it was the tacos that brought me in, and that's what I ordered. They have two kinds, a beef barbacoa and a pulled pork. I opted for two of each. I also noticed my favorite corn chips, those from Taco Works (made in San Luis Obispo, and featuring paprika as their 'secret ingredient'), and I picked up a bag and a Dr. Pepper to wash it all down. 

The order was up pretty quick, and I started with the barbacoa. Moist and tender, with plenty of meat and fresh onions and cilantro, along with a mild salsa, it wasn't bad, and certainly worth a dollar.

Then, I had the pulled pork. That was really good! Made in the Korean style, it was both sweet and spicy, with a generous amount of meat on the tortilla. A really pleasant surprise, and the type of place I like to find for this blog!

I'd have paid twice as much for the tacos and not given it a second thought.

Marie Shannon Confections, Ventura

Marie Shannon Confections

27 S. Chestnut St.

Ventura CA 93001

After walking to the post office with my son on a cold winter's eve, I was going to go to Starbucks, but remembered this place and thought that we'd pop in. 

A few words about the post office, though. Originally built in the 1930's, the exterior was remodeled in the 60's and isn't anything special. The inside, though, is filled with WPA/TRAP murals by Santa Barbara artist Gordon Grant. When I was a small child in the 60's, I remember that many post offices had these types of murals-which, upon further reflection, means only Maywood and Bell, which both had post offices of a similar vintage. Anyway, it's nice to see WPA stuff around still, and the murals in this post office, (as well as the post office in Oxnard), are maintained well. That Roosevelt guy may have been on to something.

Maria Shannon Confections is across from the Ventura Theatre, and is open for breakfast, which looks healthy, tasty and reasonably priced. But on this evening, I was looking for someplace to sit and thaw before the walk home. My son had the hot chocolate, while I plunked down a couple of bucks for a medium coffee. They use Caribbean Roast, which is okay. I also had a chocolate chip cookie, which was very good when dipped in the coffee.

The display case was full of pastries, and under ordinary circumstances, I might have tried something else. But one of the reasons I was out for a walk is that I'm feeling a bit tubby from the amount of junk food that I've been eating for the holidays. There was also a book of custom cake creations that looked quite good.

They have ample outdoor seating, which I wanted no part of on a cold evening, and plenty of comfortable indoor seating as well. They also have free wi-fi.

I'll get back in for breakfast and write more.

And now, for more!

I wrote the initial post on  Dec. 28, and on Jan. 4, 2015, I had a chance to go back for breakfast. Since it was Sunday, though, I wasn't carrying my phone-I try not to carry my phone on Sundays, with the rationale that it's family day and I don't need my phone if I'm with my family. It doesn't always work that way, but it sounds good.


My daughter went with the Egg White Spinach Feta Scramble with toast and fresh orange juice. I was about to order empanadas, but the Breakfast Plate, (scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon and toast) walked by just as I was about to order, and I went with that. We sat outside in the slightly chilly patio area, and I was thankful that the coffee was very hot. 

Though not large portions, they were adequate for the price, (about $25 for everything, with tip) and they weren't bad. The patio area was nice, though it seemed like they were slow to pick up after other diners, it wasn't crowded so it wasn't an issue. My daughter rated her scramble as excellent (I took a bit and thought it was good), and the dining space was nice. 

I don't think I'll make a special trip, but I wouldn't be opposed to eating here again. Sorry I didn't bring my my phone, but there are ample pix on the Marie Shannon Confections website, and they're pretty accurate.

DIY Slide Guitar

DIY Slide Guitar

My Board

Let's start with this. I'm not very handy. I'm not creative and I'm not particularly patient, which really is why I'll never be a good craftsman. Still, every now and then I get a bug up my butt, and try to build something. I get mixed results, (though if I remember to give myself enough time, things generally come out okay), and I do have to remember that everything takes me twice as long as it would if I were good at stuff.

That being said, I do also attempt to repair my various musical instruments, and find that when I slow down and take my time, I can do little things. So to try something like build from scratch, I'm really moving into unfamiliar territory. 

Right! Cut once

But it's the New Year, and time for some new challenges. So while looking at stuff on Youtube, I came across this, a DIY Electric Slide Guitar. I had an extra pickup, so I thought, okay, let's give it a shot. If you want to know how to make one, watch the video. It does have all the parts and measurements. Here, I'm just documenting what I did.

Wrong! Measure twice....

The first problem came on my trip to Lowe's-I didn't like any of the 2 x 4's they had, and so, I thought, what the heck, let's go with a 1 x 4. Everything else I was able to find. 

The bottom

Trying to remember to measure twice and drill once, I still made assorted mistakes on my drilling. I reminded myself that this was a practice run, and if it worked, I could do it all again. 

One String!

It seemed easy on the video, but I couldn't get anywhere close to in tune, and had to keep adding washers and nails to what I was doing, taking the strings off and putting them back on-breaking a few in the process. I opted for 5 strings instead of six, too-I broke the only high E string I had handy, so that's not going to happen for now.

Attached to tuner

After about three hours of work, the garage got too cold to work in, and I put everything down. I also think the temps were having an effect on the strings as well.

I did get the brackets attached and the E string added, creating a 'Diddley Bo,' but since I couldn't feel my hands, I couldn't feel the strings cutting my fingers as I was trying to tighten it enough to tune.

More. Note string cutting into wood

The next afternoon, I came out again. I was pretty comfortable in my string anchor placement, but as I finished installing all five, the troubles really began. I couldn't keep any of them tight enough for the tuning screws to be effective. There's a lot of tension on the strings, and the higher, lighter strings would start cutting into the wood, making them impossible to tune. I'd get it tuned to a note, then put my glass slide (an old spice bottle), put a little pressure, and it would be out of tune again.

I didn't solder the pick-up to the output jack, because I hadn't figured out where I wanted to attach the jack. And in the video, the pick-up was just balanced on a wood screw, which seemed very unstable. I was still trying to figure out how I wanted to do that, so for the sound checks, I just rested the leads from the pick-up on the jack, and plugged it into my amp. Though there was a slight feedback hum, it actually worked okay, as the video should show.

Sound Check!

Trying to tune

Bad knots

Again and again, though, I was trying to increase the tension on the strings so that I could tune it, and again and again, I kept getting foiled. I tried to think of way to create stability, and added washers, which gave me the idea of next time drilling through the wood and and then using the ball side to anchor with washers. Then I started to add some nails I had in the garage to act as a bridge. That actually worked, but I think that I needed more tension on the strings to begin with.

I've got the idea, though, so I think with a better piece of wood, and adding more tension from the start, it should work.

There's a better lumber place here in town, so I might try them, or I think I have some old lumber from when the house was remodeled. I might use that. I didn't connect the pick-up permanently so that I can use it on my next try.

Tail Stabilization with nails

Semi Complete

Tuning Screws

1/11/15

It's been a week since I 'finished', and I went back out again yesterday. I played with it a bit, and still can't get it in tune with itself. It's not anymore out of tune, though, so I think with a little more work, and the mods I mentioned above, the next one might come out as more than a curiosity.

Pictures of Ventura Churches

Pictures of Ventura Churches

Back in September of 2014 I started a new blog for the same reason that many people start blogs. I was interested in something and couldn't find much information about it. I'd driven past this church, or at least I assumed it was a church, but there was nothing on it to identify it. (Rick's note: Being a bit more creative with my Google search, I cane across a tax record for this building. It was a church in the 80's, but I wasn't able to find out why it isn't anymore. If you have some information, please send it to me. Thanks.)

And as I drove around Ventura, I'd see other churches, or what I assumed to be churches, but I didn't always see anyone near them. This one on Main Street always looks on the verge of being abandoned, for instance, though I do see a congregation. It appears as though it might have been pretty at some point.

Others seem to be very well maintained, with large congregations. This one is at the top of Poli, and has an amazing view of the ocean. As part of my Lenten sacrifice a few years back, I made my kids go with me to various churches for Sunday services, while going to our own church Saturday night, in part because I wanted to see the inside of this particular building. It's nice on the inside too.

Years ago, I was visiting Budapest, Hungary, and walked through the Hilton Hotel, which was built on top of and uses walls from both an old church and monastery. Part of the historian in me was shocked, but then I thought to myself, if something can't be preserved as a whole (and apparently the buildings were abandoned and unsafe), then parts should be reused. The hotel had some displays showing the old walls, and explanations in several languages as to what was done.

With that, it's interesting to see churches repurposed, either by new congregations, such as this, which went from being a run-down and apparently abandoned building to becoming a lovingly maintained Buddhist temple.

Or this, another building that was in pretty bad shape when we moved into town in the 90's and is now a bed and breakfast that has excellent reviews on the internet, and is apparently haunted as a bonus! 

When I initially had the idea, my original plan was to write little histories of the church buildings, the congregations within and their part in Ventura, and that is still what I intend to do somewhere down the road. But I thought to myself that if I waited to gather the information, I'd never start the project. I also had an idea of taking pictures with several different cameras for different effects, but that proved to be impractical for the amount of time I had to work with. 

Now, if I happen by, have time, and the light is good, I pull out my iPhone 4 and snap a picture. I then use the picture, and if the church has a website, I try to link to it in case someone stumbles across the site and would like more information. I've never tried to find churches in any other way-I have to cross paths with them in my wanderings about the city. That's how I've come across places like this one.

Surprisingly, at least to me, is that some of these churches have no website. Also surprising, is that some of the websites have no pictures of their house of worship, as if they are ashamed of where they gather. My iPhone picture, along with the Google Maps street view, appear to be the only picture of some of these churches on the internet.

I publish a new photo every Sabbath, except when the synagogue comes up, which will published on the Shabbat of that week. I'm writing this on Dec. 28, and I went bike riding yesterday to take a bunch of pictures and have them set up to publish through April, 2015. I think I've all of the Avenues, and I'm working my way through Mid-Town.

On another note, this is the 53rd post of the year, making two consecutive years where I've posted an average of once a week. 

Thanks for reading, and have a great New Year!

Lalo's Ventura

Lalo's Fast Food

1580 N. Ventura Ave.

Ventura, CA  93001

Lalo's is one of two places that the old timers talk about when heading to the Avenues. (Johnny's Fine Mexican Food on the other end of the Avenues is the other), and I went there a lot when I first moved to Ventura. But I generally like sitting inside when I eat, and I don't like to bring food home, so I usually head to Cuernavaca (a place I really need to write about here).

But Cuernavaca is on a two week holiday. I was out bike riding with my daughter and taking pictures for my other blog (consider this a shameless plug for my Pictures of Ventura Churches photo blog) on the Avenues, and my daughter and I were really hungry. 

Seafood through this door

Whenever I drive by, there always seems to be a crowd, but the line moved pretty fast. I felt 'surf and turf', and ordered a pulpo (octopus) tostada ($5) and a carne asada soft taco ($2).  My daughter opted for the quesadilla con carne asada ($6.50). I had the Mexican bottled Coke and my daughter went with a Lime Jarrito.

Strangely, at least I thought, I had to go around the corner from the order window to the screened-in patio area to place my tostada order. The tostada was up first. Some sort of  mayonaise-based white sauce and avocado, with tapitio and lime, all on a crunchy tortilla, it was fresh and good.

 The rest of the food came up a moment or two later. My daughter powered down her quesadilla, and said she really liked it. The taco, though meaty, was a bit chunky and chewy, and would have benefitted from having the meat cut a bit smaller. Also, I thought the red sauce tasted like a ranchero sauce and not really a salsa. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't what I expected. Still, I'd eat it all again.

A couple of other quick asides. The stand is attached to a house and car wash. I don't know if everything is connected to one another-the paint scheme is all the same, which is why I have that impression.

It's worth a trip.

Goleta Coffee, Santa Barbara CA

Goleta Coffee Company

177 South Turnpike Road

Santa Barbara, CA 93111

At the heart of every coffee house is, of course, coffee. And since I started writing the blog and really paying attention to coffee is served, I've come up with some favorites. 

I must confess, as much as I hate to go to chain anythings-restaraunts, stores, whatever, I do like Starbucks. Not that the 800 lb. gorilla of coffee chains needs a plug in my little blog, but I know what I'm going to get going in, and it's consistent, reasonably priced and good. Not only that, they're everywhere-I think there are 8 stand alone shops in Ventura, and more at Vons, Target, etc. There are two Coffee Bean's and one Peet's here in Ventura as well, and I like them, but not as much as Starbucks. The independent coffee houses between here and Santa Barbara usually use Santa Barbara Roast, which I tend to find a bit acidic, or Beacon, which I like and is roasted here in town but not found in as many places.

I've stopped at the Goleta Coffee House a few times before, and have liked their coffee. On a recent Sunday afternoon, there was a crowd but a few seats available for what I was doing-drinking a cup of coffee and reading the paper. I was expecting the usual SB Roast, and was surprised by the smooth smokiness of the Mexican organic. While sitting, I saw several people order the sandwiches, which also looked quite good. There was ample seating up front, outside, and in a rear indoor area that had a fireplace blazing on the cool morning.

Goleta Coffee is reasonable close to UCSB, and what appeared to be several college students were sitting about with books and laptops open, studying-I believe finals were coming up-along with the many locals coming and going, chatting with one another. 

I asked, and discovered that Goleta Coffee used Peerless Coffee out of Oakland, and they keep several types brewed and ready for drinking. A small coffee, or any size of your own cup is $2. With a relaxed, locals favorite atmosphere, it was a good place to sit and have a cup.

No website, but there is a Facebook page. They do have wi-fi. 

World Famous Franks truck

World Famous Franks

Ventura/Oxnard Area

The wife made corn dogs the other night. 

I don't like corn dogs, and since I had to pick up some kid from some practice or another-and the kids'll eat corn dogs, I left the house a little early headed toward Primos Tacos 805 (11/1/14), but on my way I saw World Famous Franks in front of Hypno Comics, which is open until 9 on Wednesdays.

There are actually two comic book stores within 10 blocks of my house, and both seem to do pretty good business. Hypno Comics is the newer of the two, with Ralph's Comic Corner being the larger, older store. Except for a brief time when I was living in San Luis Obispo when I would follow the exploits of Lobo, I was never much for comic books. I'd read the ones my cousins read back in the 60's, and Mad in the 70's, but that was it. I assume both comic book stores are good-they always seem friendly enough when I'm in-but I really can't say. 

Back to World Famous Franks. Loud music blasting as I pulled up, and one of the truckers was advising two women on both the grilled cheese and hot dogs. I didn't need any coaching up, and went straight for the Sinatra, an apple/garlic sausage with sour kraut, grilled onions, mustard, and interestingly, sliced apples, and a bottle of Coke, which set me back $11-more than I would have spent at Primos Tacos, but within the realm of truck food.

I walked into Hypno Comics while waiting, which was hoppin' at the 8 o'clock hour, with a group playing some sort of game in the back and browsers taking in the various comic books. I heard my name, and got my dog. That first bite was good. I wasn't sure how the apples would work against the sausage, but the sweet/tart of the apple against the spiciness of the sausage and deli mustard combined in an interesting and tasty way. On the whole, it wasn't bad. If there'd been a bag of chips, it would have been a pretty good meal. As it is, I'd eat there again-if I wanted a hot dog specifically.

I looked at the grilled cheese menu, too. Some interesting choices there, but nothing that screamed out to me on this visit.