Dave and Lolo Go There and Back » Pizza Research Institute

On Top of the World!

David Hogge — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:34:32 +0000

So, since we’ve been back there have been a lot of questions about what was our favorite place, our favorite thing to do, etc. We’ll try and address that here. Some things stand out in our mind easily (like our favorite bathroom), others are a little harder to narrow down to just one thing (favorite place? too hard), so we’ve put together a list of some of our favorites. Without further ado, the big list:

Top Five Cities

Dunedin, New Zealand
Hong Kong
Istanbul, Turkey
Melbourne, Australia
Cape Town, South Africa

Top Five Towns

Litang, Sichuan, China
Mussoorie, Uttaranchal, India
Old Dali, Yunnan, China
Burra, South Australia, Australia
Kochi, Kerala, India

Top Five Sights

Tiger Leaping Gorge | China
Petra | Jordan
Sossusvlei Dunes | Namibia
Franz Josef Glacier | New Zealand
Caves at Ellora and Ajanta | India

Top Five Places to Get Away from it All

Top Five Markets or Bazaars

Bai Market, Jingwai, Yunnan, China
Main Bazaar (Paharganj), Delhi, India
Temple Street Night Market, Hong Kong
Rogers Mall, Rogers, Ohio, USA
Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Best Way to Get There

Favorite Airport – Hong Kong | Hong Kong
Favorite Airline – Qantas
Favorite Train – Any Train in China
Favorite Bus – InterCape | South Africa

Best Places to Stay

Favorite Hostel – Sim’s Cozy Guesthouse | Chengdu, China
Favorite Guest House – Bamu Tibetan Guesthouse | Xiangcheng, China
Favorite Hotel – Side Hotel & Pension | Istanbul, Turkey

Best Eats

Favorite Food – Indian Thali‘s (Preferably served on a Banana Leaf)
Favorite Nachos – Mexican Kitchen | Cape Town, South Africa
Favorite Pizza – Pizza Research Institute | Eugene, Oregon, USA
Favorite Candy Bar – Alibi Bar | Mongolia
Favorite Snack Food – Lays Masala Chips | India

Best Activities

Favorite Day Hike – Cape of Good Hope, Table Mountain National Park, South Africa
Favorite Trek – Tiger Leaping Gorge, Yunnan, China
Favorite Guide – Noemie Gay, Wind of Mongolia, Mongolia
Favorite Cable Car – Table Mountain Cable Car, Cape Town, South Africa

Best Other Stuff

Favorite Movie Theater – Raj Mandir Cinema, Jaipur, Rajastan, India
Favorite Public Bathroom – Hundertwasser Toilets, Kawakawa, New Zealand
Favorite Internet Cafe – City Hunter 2 | Sydney, Australia
Favorite Propaganda – CCTV Channel 9, China

Eugenius!!!

David Hogge — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 00:20:12 +0000

PRI - Pizza. Research. Institute.

Our friends Deb and Craig moved out to Eugene, Oregon a couple of years a go and we’ve never visited them. Why? Many reasons, theres nothing even resembling a direct flight to Eugene from DC. We were busily preparing for this trip a good part of the time they have been out there. And, I am highly allergic to Hippies.

Of course, being only a few hours north in Portland we were obliged to pay them a visit, they are some of our best friends after all, and boy did it paid off big! Details will follow, but hold on a minute while I set the stage.

Eugene is a College Town par excellence. The University of Oregon owns this town and dominates just about every facet of life in it. It is also widely known as the hippy capitol of the Pacific Northwest. I don’t know if it’s old growth forest, the generally laid back lifestyle of people here, or the mushrooms that seem to grow everywhere, but there are tons of them here. To quote Bill Paxton from “Aliens” – “There’s movement all over the place! Game Over Man, Game Over!” Except in Eugene he would be talking about Hippys, not Aliens that would one day go on to fight the Predator – Twice.

One more thing to know – hippies make great food. Ergo, there is a lot of great organic, non-GMO’ed, free range food in Eugene. I will speak of only one of them – the best one in my opinion – the Pizza Research Institute. A high fluting name if you ask me, but what else would you call a pizza place that serves corn-on-the-cob on a pizza? They are out there doing the kind of research that just can’t get funding here on the east coast, maybe one day we will all benefit from their sacrifice.

Anyway, this place is out there – in a good way! The menu has a Periodic Table of Ingredients, complete with a column for the “Noble Vegetables” (they have put some thought into this). And if you go, and you should, do yourself a favor and put yourself in the lovin’ hands of the Chef and order a Chef’s Special. Fifteen (15) ingredients of the chef’s choosing on one pie. If listed out, the strange combinations would turn off most people (Peaches and Walnuts on a pizza, egad man!), but when administered by these Researches, it all works.

If you go to Eugene, go to the Pizza Research Institute. Call Craig and Deb and see if they can join you, but go to PRI for the love of Pete.