Great Food and Music 2

It was also an incredibly hot day, so I was very grateful for the press tent. Someone had the great idea to set up a backstage area for press and bring in food so that we could photograph and taste it without waiting in the crazy lines.

Pink’s loves writing on their hot dogs

Bagel and lox from Barney Greengrass

After awhile the band backstage hosted a “meet and greet” and all of those people swarmed into the press tent and started eating all of the food. I was lucky enough to get the next-to-last slice of Juniors cheesecake. Pure heaven.

This banner was on the wall. If you sponsored the press tent, Foodbuzz, I love you!

But I couldn’t hang out in the tent all day. Bobby Flay taught us how to make the perfect burger. He was the king of gestures.

Marshall Crenshaw was playing

I had to check out the wine tent, though I couldn’t drink since I didn’t have a designated driver.

The nice people at J Moss

Maybe just one beer

But I was really excited to find the dessert area. Charles Chocolates: the Perfect S’more

I met Tony Luke, who was supercool, telling me all of the restaurants I should hit on my upcoming trip to Philly. When he found out I hadn’t got a photo one of his cheesesteaks, he sent me with his co-worker into the back of their booth to get pictures of them cooking a steak sandwich.

Where it all starts

After making the sandwich and holding it out for pictures, the guy said, “You want it or not?” I asked then to wrap it up so the people in line didn;t rise up as one and slay me. Later that night in my room, a movie and that sandwich made for a fantastic night.

Posted in Central California, Festivals | Leave a comment

Great Food and Music Fest Part 1

After a somewhat harried trip up the 5, I finally found my hotel behind an alley after driving around for what seemed like forever. It was kind of deserted, but I was shown to my room by a chatty bellhop. He said, “You’re here for the Food festival? You know Anthony Bourdain stayed here when he was filming and watched porn all night long. You should have seen his bill!” Hmmm. I must admit the rooms are stimulating, with their funky chairs and profusion of velour.

The next morning I was all bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready for some serious grub. Saturday promised to be a gorgeous day of music, cooking demos, live music and feasting. Unfortunately, the best laid plans…There was a line. The line stretched for blocks and blocks and blocks. Seriously, the line was like a mile long. I pulled the press privilege and went in the side. I don’t get paid, there has to be a little perk now and then. I think I would have turned around and driven all the way back to LA if I had to stand in that line.

The first restaurant I hit was South Side BBQ but the payment system was all wacked. You got a bracelet onto which you charged money. Vendors swiped the bracelet and it deducted the money. But my bracelet wouldn’t work. I went up to the front and it was a madhouse. None of the bracelets worked. Volunteers feverishly messed with electronic card readers as the crowd grew more and more agitated. I returned to to apologize, and they just gave me the BBQ (LOVE you, South Side !!!)

The anticipated crowd of 2,000 people quickly grew to 8,000. With only 20-something booths, it was a recipe for disaster. Waits to get in to the festival were over an hour and waits in line for food averaged 45 minutes.

Many people blamed insufficient supplies, but it seemed to be more of a matter of distribution. The only items that ran out were pastrami and cheesecake. If there had been more counters around the event, like three Anchor hot wings stands, and sufficient staff for the additional booths, the waits might not have been such an issue. Another ten vendors or so would have helped too. Foodie paradises like New Orleans and Chicago were underrepresented.

Still, those who chose to make the best of it had fun anyways. People made new friends in line, shared food with each other, and were treated to some great demos and music. Hopefully next year the kinks will be worked out, and as Ed put it so well in his official apology, “”If you could find it in your hearts to think of this as our first pancake, that would be great.”

There wasn’t much to do about food until they figured out the bracelet problem (they eventually dumped the idea altogether). They had 2 stages – a small stage for food demos, and another for a concert, a burger cookoff and “big name” food demos.

Ed Levine, in a kind of amusing pose.

Anne Burrell

The lines were crazy

These nice girls were waiting near the front of the line

And they were nice enough to get me a sandwich and wings. I know, I’m a terrible, terrible person. But you would have done the same. God, that sandwich was so good, even if obtained by evil means. These wings were amazing.

People loooove Guy Fieri and he really brought some energy to the event. He was playful with the audience, pretending to squirt kids and really interacting with them.

They seriously love him

They want to MARRY him

Posted in Central California, Festivals | 2 Comments

Harris Farms

Last summer I decided to drive up to Mountain View, just outside of San Jose, by myself to attend the Great American Food and Music Fest. Curated by Ed Levine, founder of Serious Eats, the festival was serving up food from famous restaurants that don’t normally travel outside of their neighborhoods. We’re talking Katz’s Deli Pastrami Sandwiches, Anchor Bar Chicken Wings, Tony Luke’s Roast Pork sandwiches, and Junior’s Cheesecake.

I hate driving the 5, but hey, it was for Katz’s. After miles of nothingness, I started to hear a terrible noise. I pulled into a gas station and they said they didn’t have tires, but there was a place at the next exit. The next exit was five miles away! That was a scary 5 miles.

Luckily there was an open mechanic who was able to put on a new tire. He said that stretch of the 5 eats up tires so he keeps a lot in stock. Coincidentally, we were also right across the street from Harris Farms, my scheduled stop. I should have known by the smell of manure wafting over the 5.

Harris Farms has been in Fresno County since 1937. Since its founding in Fresno. It is one of the largest family owned farms in the nation. They are best known for their quality beef. The family also raises thoroughbred horses and opened The Harris Ranch Inn and Restaurant in 1977.

There are different levels of dining rooms, which is fantastic. There is a cafe style area for big loud families, a quiet elegant steakhouse, and an informal but adults-only bar. I chose to eat in the bar. It was nice to eat on the road without screaming, cranky children. Not that I am a wicked child-hater. I am just cranky enough as it is. The filet I ordered came with soup or salad. I tried the clam chowder. It was full of butter and cream, not very clam-y.

This filet was as tender and delicious as it looks. It could not have been more rare if I had run outside, wrestled a cow to the ground and bitten a hunk out of its leg. The proximity of cattle did add a certain element of that SNL sketch “you stun em, we cook ’em” The rest of the meal was your standard middle-America restaurant fare.

The Harris Farms compound also has a meat market, a huge bakery, and lots of snacks for the road. This pie did not look like it would travel well.

So I got one of these instead.

Posted in Central California | 206 Comments

Recipe Cards on Parade: Crusty Salmon Shortcakes

One of the advantages of real flea markets over EBay is the ability to dig through piles of freaky stuff and come up with buried treasure. One of my favorite finds are collections of old recipe cards.

There was once a time when food photography was somehow limited, perhaps by the printing technique, or the tinting process, or maybe it was just the aesthetic of the time. The food portrayed more often than not showed up in unappetizing shades of orange and pink.

I love those pictures. The less appetizing the pictures, and the more cheesy the names, the more highly they are prized.

This 1971 collection of recipe cards from Betty Crocker is one of the things I would grab if my house were on fire. They sure don’t make them like that anymore.

Just look at that delicious crusty salmon, mmmm. When was crusty ever a good adjective for salmon? And look at that shade of pink. You just can’t achieve that level of inedibility in color these days. And it’s under the category of Impromptu Party Fare. There’s nothing I enjoy serving my guests more than canned salmon and cream of mushroom soup over Bisquick biscuits. And who doesn’t love raw broccoli? And olives? This one is sure to please any partygoer.

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The Monster Dog vs. the Colossal Burger

Papoo’s Hot Dog Show is often overshadowed by the popular and iconic Bob’s Big Boy across the street in Toluca Lake. And to be honest, well, Hot Dog Show is kind of weird. Decorated like an old-fashioned ice cream parlour and populated with bar flies, the restaurant has a strange air of desperation. The servers are friendly, but somehow you get the feeling that everyone has kind of given up.

In contrast to the general weirdness, the food at The Hot Dog Show is amazing. As old-school chili sizes and onion rings go, this is the place. It helps if you think of it as a bar that happens to sell food as opposed to a restaurant that happens to sell beer.

One thing they love here is extreme food with extreme names. So we decided to pit the hyperbolic Monster Dog against the Colossal Burger. As the names would suggest, they are both gigantic. The burger is topped with delicious pastrami that has been cooked on the grill. The monster dog is split and grilled, and bursting with fat. Topped with a delicious truck stop-style chili, it is a force to be reckoned with.

The contest was neck and neck until we stripped away all of the bells and whistles and judged the two solely on the meat. The patty, although moist, is pressed flat and could not be described as juicy. The hot dog on the other hand, bursts with fat and flavor. So in the end, the Monster Dog emerges victorious. Now pour me another beer and let’s try to ignore the drunk guy babbling about politics at the end of the ice cream counter.

OK, remember when Homer Simpson was the voice of Poochie the Dog on the Itchy and Scratchy Show? This is the exact character. Coincidence?

All dogs go to heaven …but how is he holding the harp without any arms?

Who doesn’t want a barbecue beef-ham fountain? I had one at my wedding

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Ceci n’est pas une nacho

I don’t often patronize chains, but occasionally co-workers talk me into it. “It’s El Torito Grill, not El Torito.” The place appeared to be a Wolfgang Puck-inspired El Torito with a long bar and hard liquor. OK, fine. I could go for some nachos anyways.

I got up to answer my cell phone and when I returned, my friend had a strange look on his face and said, “They don’t have nachos.” So I looked at the menu and I saw “The Mexican Platter”

Chicken and shrimp taquitos, steak nachos, cheese quesadilla, chipotle barbecue ribs, tomatillo-avocado sauce and red pepper dip. 12.99

I called the server over.

“Aren’t these nachos on this platter?”

“No.”

“It says Steak Nachos”

“yes, but they aren’t nachos”

“how are they not nachos?

“They are not made with tortilla chips. They are made with tortillas”

“You mean you cut a tortilla up and deep fry it?”

“Yes”

“OK. That’s how you make a tortilla chip”

“No. It is not a tortilla chip”

“That’s OK. Can you just bring me that? On whatever it is?”

“Well, it is not like what you think of as nachos. Each chip has the individual beans and cheese and steak on it.”

“OK, could you bring me the menu item that is beans and cheese and steak individually placed on deep fried tortilla pieces?”

“Certainly madame. More iced tea?”

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Mariachi Night

I spend so much time as an observer, taking pictures and documenting events of other people’s communities, sometimes it is nice to get a reminder that I am part of a community too.

For my mom’s birthday the family got together for the local church’s Mariachi Night. The church I grew up in, where I went to school. The steps I sat on when I had detention. For 20 bucks you got a taco plate, a few drink tickets and lots of family fun.

I like watching them make the carne asada

And then I like eating it.

Later we realized you could get additional tacos and beers for a dollar each and that made it a much better deal. I noticed they hadn’t punched my nephew’s ticket, and I said, “Hey, you could get another plate.” He turned it over and showed me the reverse side

Then there was the entertainment. Ballet Folkloriko was a lot of stomping and big colorful butterfly skirts when I was younger, but I am seeing more and more of these simple flirty dances lately

It’s too dark to see the lasso, but at least you can hear the mariachis

The mechanical bull was a popular attraction for the kids. Why is it so funny to see a little kid fall down? We should all be ashamed of ourselves.

But the important thing is that my mom had a good time.

Posted in Festivals | 2 Comments

Jazz at Jitlada for Gina

Everybody loves Jazz, proprietress of one of the best Thai restaurants in Los Angeles. This video shows her endless charm. Here she discusses the proper foods for new mothers while Sinosoul figures out how to program her I-Phone to Twitter, hence the seemingly odd exclamation of “OK, I know how to follow people now” at the end.

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Tea at the Langham: Hats off to London

I like my tea with bubbles

Last June The Langham Huntingtom Hotel and Spa held its Anniversary Tea Celebration. They “turned back the clocks to 1865” OK. I didn’t know clocks told years. Maybe that’s the third hand. Anyways, back in 1865 The Langham served up the first tea to none other than the Prince of Wales. For this anniversary event, the afternoon tea was priced at 1 shilling, or 15 cents.

So a certain friend posted a story about this tea at the time and it started a flame war! About afternoon tea! Comments included such amazing accusations as that we received “pecuniary remuneration”. Pecuniary? Really? And it had the most amazing riposte retitle ever, “This Tea Was So Stupendously Enjoyable That I Jizzed in My Pants, and I Guarantee You Will Too.”

I love the grounds at the Langham, previously the Ritz. I imagine men from Masterpiece Theater playing badminton in their white wool sweaters.

Traditional Tea

Your choice of tea

VerbenaMint Chrysanthemum
English Breakfast, Earl Grey Passion, Vanilla Bean, Earl Grey

The vanilla bean tea was stellar. Serves piping hot on its own little teapot table, the pots was constantly replaced and refilled to keep the temperature right.

Caribbean Shrimp with Watercress Pesto on Herb Bread

Cucumber with Citrus Mint Cream on Sourdough, Hearts of Palm and Grapefruit

Prosciutto di Parma with Herb Burrata Cream on Squaw with Cantaloupe Caviar and Micro Greens

Egg with Herb Garlic Mousse on Potato Peppercorn with American Caviar

Smoked Salmon Profiteroles with Caramelized Shallot, Caper Cream, Dill Sprig and Lemon Zest

Menus are so damned detailed I expect them to start adding “15 grains of freshly milled pepper and 20 grains of sea salt” one day.

OK, so… some of the items on the tea trays had clearly been prepped the day before. The items made the same day were fresh and delicious and wonderful. But then the other half were dried out and old. It was a shame. It could have been a perfect tea.

The Caribbean shrimp was nice, but the shrimp had been cooked and shelled too soon. It was a nice take on the traditional cucumber sandwich and we were very pleased with it. The prosciutto and egg sandwiches were fine, but the herbed cream an mousses on them were fantastic. It would have been nicer to just have little finger sandwiches filled with mousse. I did not eat the salmon. I almost never do.

Pain Turn Cookie
Lemon Raspberry Tart
Almond Financier
French Macaroons
Creme Brulee Tart
Passion Fruit Gateau
Milk Chocolate Citrus Torte

The pain turn cookie, French macaroon and especially the almond financier were just perfect. Nicely baked. But the tarts had rock-hard shells, and the chocolate torte had been made so long before the chocolate had gummed up. Lesson of the day: make less menu items and make them all fresh.

The gateau was that exact same gateau you see on every upscale buffet table from your last cruise to your cousin’s wedding. The sponge cake was sponge-y and the mousse was nice enough. It was fresh and it was moist.

Lemon Poppy Seed Tea Bread
Scones with Devonshire Cream

Sorry, the scones were not working for me. I didn’t touch them after an exploratory bite. The scones were D R Y. I didn’t eat them, but my friend seemed happy to have any vehicle for Devonshire Cream, which makes her swoon.

So, really, the champagne and tea and about half of the sandwiches and sweets were nice. Not bad for 15 cents. Just to sit there was worth it, really, the place is so lovely.

It sucks being an out-of-work actor in LA because you end up being a footman for the Ladies Who Lunch

“The Langham Hotel and Spa in Pasadena offers afternoon tea Thursdays through Sundays in their gorgeous lobby Lounge.”

My friend also stated that she wanted to swim naked in the Devonshire cream. Now that is worth 15 cents!

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Kiki Maraschino’s Time Space Continuum

Ok, let me explain the Kiki Maraschino Time Continuum. When I am blogging about a trip, I like to finish the trip blogs before moving on. Some of these trips take weeks to write up and meanwhile the world keeps spinning.

But I don’t want to interrupt the flow and have you dear readers jumping all over the globe. So I often backdate posts because I believe there will come that fantasy day when I catch up on all of my posts and am blogging real time. The posts dated 3 weeks ago were written last night. And they could cover any event up to 3 months ago.

Today is October 23rd. In June of 2009 I attended the upcoming tea. But I am going to backdate it to somewhere around October 5th since one day I will catch up on all of my posts and need those open dates. Otherwise I would be writing in the future, which would really be confusing.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Vancouver: Ricky’s

We did stop at a chain diner for breakfast. Ricky’s diner has “evolved into one of Western Canada’s premiere, mid-scale family restaurants. And we’ve achieved this by offering a delectably impressive menu selection in a comfortably modern environment…”

I had to try the breakfast of 3 eggs, 7 perogies and Bavarian sausage with toast. Bavarian sausage is kind of like Polish sausage. The perogies were really delicious for a chain. Perogies are seriously underrated, The Southland needs a really good perogie place.

I think my nephew got “The Works” omelette – Ham, Portobello and button mushrooms, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions and 3 cheeses, topped with a slice of bacon

No one went for the super-Canadian “benny” their version of an eggs benedict. Back bacon, eh? “With two strips of maple bacon and sliced tomato” It should come with a Molsons.

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The Meat Shop

The trip back over the border was unremarkable, except for happening upon the Meat Shop, which totally blew my mind. It was conveniently located next to the tanning salon. Wrong kind of meat.

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Vancouver: Wasabi Ice Cream

When I like something I cannot get enough of it. So after finding out that there was a shop serving wasabi gelato I was all over it. La Casa Gelato serves over 200 flavors of gelato, and has been for 20 years. They actually have over 500 flavors, but keep 218 in rotation at all times. They started out in 1982 serving pizza and ice cream, but soon focused solely on gelato. Owner Vince Misceo insists on real eggs, cream, and “no air”.

They are ready with ample sample spoons. As the owner acknowledges, they bring customers in with the wasabi and sell them the chocolate. The unusual flavors tend to go wayyyy out there. Corn, vinegar, radicchio, blue cheese, and dandelion just to name a few. The curry ice cream was hot enough to leave a burning sensation on my tongue. Way more than the wasabi did. But strawberry-jalapeno is the only one that tore my face right off.

In addition to spicy and savory flavors, La Casa Gelato has a huge selection of Asian flavors, including many fruits you have never seen in this form before. Lychee, starfruit, red bean, taro, jackfruit, black bean, Oh, and I LOVE durian, which my nephew thinks is insane. It tastes a little like skunk, and a little like the scent they add to natural gas. But lurking under all of that weirdness is the most delicious, dark, satisfying flavor. There is a reason people eat it.

I ended up getting a double cone of lavendar and Hedgehog.

Oh, and you can get ice cream cakes! I can’t wait for my wasabi birthday cake!

PS I just had to include this shot

Posted in Canada, Vancouver | 2 Comments

Vancouver: Obey Jonathan Gold at any Cost

Whenever I visit an aquarium they always have a gigantic King Crab. Part of me is standing there thinking about the wonders of nature, and part of me is thinking, “If not for these guards, buddy, it would be you, me, and a pound of melted butter.

When I sent out a general Facebook request for Vancouver restaurant suggestions, none other than Jonathan Gold recommended Sun Sui Wah. Now, that is a recommendation to heed. If Jonathan Gold picked something up off the sidewalk and told me to eat it I probably would – no matter what Lux Interior said.

Sun Sui Wah started out in Hong Kong and became famous there for their squab. During the 80s they opened up two locations in Canada – one in Vancouver, and one in Richmond. The restaurant is set up for banquet facilities with a bride’s changing room, and as the website says, “A party of twenty! No problem!”

When we arrived at the restaurant, they were indeed hosting a wedding reception. We had to park a few blocks away since the ample parking was taken up by wedding guests.

The bride in red

At this point my mom was ready to bail. But they offered us a corner crammed up against the seafood tanks, and Justin was down for the adventure. I was tempted to ask them to just bring us the same food as the wedding guests.

But the thing to have here is the Alaska King Crab.

Alaska King Crab
Indigenous to the deep clear waters of Alaska and free from pollutants, the Alaska King Crab is truly King of the sea with tender juicy sweet meat.

Following my family’s Chinese restaurant tradition, everyone at the table gets to order one dish. My mom ordered chicken/lettuce wraps (Ants Climbing Tree), which was a familiar and comforting dish. But I was saving my appetite.

and my nephew ordered the squab.

The Famous Roasted Squab
The famous roasted squab, a signature dish marinated with a secret blend of seasoning and spices to bring out the best flavors, roasted till crispy with tender juiced meat. One taste and it becomes habit forming. Although the squab is a delicacy more familiar to the Asian culture, now everyone is discovering its’ delicious taste and health values.

I split the squab with him. The skin was crispy and laquered, the meat was juicy and tender without the gaminess I had expected.

Really, we should have only ordered one thing. It was an insane amount of food. But damn it, I was there to have crab and God help me I was gonna have crab. I asked for the smallest crab. They brought a live one out for our inspection, and in spite of it frightening nearby diners, I nodded my approval.

My nephew warned, “Ummmm….auntie….” because he knew how much meat was in that monster. I had no idea. I had eaten 8 crab legs in one sitting before at the local crab shack, so this would be easy. And dammit, a Pulitzer Prize winner wanted me to eat this crab! If Gabriel Garcia-Marquez wanted me to eat this crab, who would I be to question him?

They offered me the crab two ways, so I chose steamed with garlic and cooked with curry. By now my mom was practically rolling her eyes at the insanity. But I was on a mission – a crab mission.

Try to imagine the most delicious seafood you have ever tasted – fresh, intense and clean. Now multiply it by a thousand. The first course was not as buttery as I expected, and the garlic was intense, but the meat was so sweet, so succulent…the perfect crab. I must admit, the crab legs seemed endless – each leg was split into four, and it became a test of fortitude.

When the second course of curried crab arrived, my nephew just shook his head. I was on my own. The creamy, rich sauce was a nice follow-up to the intense garlic. It was smooth and flavorful. My mom stared at me with a mixture of disapproval and horror.

When the bill arrived, I snatched it up as fast as I could. As we left, my mom muttered, “That crab probably cost you 200 dollars.” When I got the credit card bill in USD, it came out to 80 dollars. And it was worth every cent.

Posted in Canada, Vancouver | 1 Comment

Vancouver Friday and Sat: Family

I have always loved visiting Granville Island ever since my Auntie Heather used to haul Starbucks coffee beans across the border to sell in her little coffee store. It also helped that she sold Smarties by weight and had a barrel of Smarties in the shop. I was excited to show Justin the cool warehouse market, which was similar to Pike Place.

Unfortunately, Granville Island has expanded ridiculously. I heard that inside the warehouse, it is still a cool mix of bakeries and fish markets, but we never made it that far. Parking was impossible, and the whole area was a mass of cheap gift shops and chain restaurants ala TG McFunsters. We gave up – so much for butter tarts.

We had a nice dinner at Aunt Heather’s. She cooked enough for 3 meals. I was polite and did not photograph at the dinner table.

Saturday we had a small family reunion. My mom had 14 brothers and sisters, so I have 72 first cousins on her side. This was definitely a small get-together. My mom’s sister came down from north Vancouver Island and her brother came from Kelowna. We had a nice lunch in the hotel restaurant by the harbour.

It was your typical American/Canadian fare – salads, sliders, burgers.

Most of the family ordered the taco salad

I did get into the ahi sliders, mostly because of the wasabi mayonnaise. I am seriously obsessed with wasabi.

Really, people go to unbelievable lengths to humor me and my food photography

Sticky Toffee Pudding, one of the wonders of British colonies

This is a gooseberry

As I was changing out lenses, a cousin impulsively hugged me, and my lens went flying. What is up with Canada and my camera lenses? Canada hates my camera! I was so traumatized I didn’t go out partying with my cousin’s women’s hockey team that night. And that’s not a drinking party to miss.

My Uncle Pat was a prison guard, and scared the hell out of us growing up. I don’t think I saw him smile until I was in my 20s. He does have a nice smile.

The three closest siblings, Auntie Loretta, Uncle John and Mom

My Auntie Loretta is an amazing cook. I have been making her recipes for years.

AUNTIE LORETTA’S MACARONI SALAD

2 cups macaroni
1/2 cup diced ham
1/2 cup diced cheddar cheese
1 stalk celery, diced
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1.2 teaspoon black pepper

(she adds 1/2 green pepper, diced and 1 teaspoon salt, which I leave out. The ham makes it salty enough for me)

Cook macaroni in saled water for 7 minutes. Drain. Run cold water over macaroni until it is cold.

Mix remaining ingredients into macaroni. Add more mayonnaise as desired.

Allow flavors to blend several hours before serving.

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