Posts by John Tornow

I’ve been going back through some of my archived photos lately and stumbled across a few that I never thought much about before but suddenly am enjoying.

This shot is from a few years ago somewhere on one of the many winding roads of Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i.

We’re in the midst of a second growing season before the end of the fall here in Texas. Needless to say we were a bit surprised to find these little guys growing in the backyard so late in the year. It took all of maybe 5 minutes before we threw them on a hot grill. Delicious.

A new, old door.

The third issue of Offscreen Magazine arrived on our doorstep a few days ago. For those that haven’t heard of it, the folks at Offscreen are putting together a fantastic little semi-regular publication for and by the digital creators of the world. It seems slightly ironic that some of the finest design, writing and thoughts in the Web community are presented in the timeless print format.

The design is beautiful and carefully prepared. The photography and articles are simply fantastic. And the whole concept is just refreshing. If you work or play on the modern Web, pick yourself up a copy today.

Finally. The 2012 NFL football season is under way. What better way to start off the season than with some homemade grilled Buffalo wings? I can’t think of one.

Cheers!

Clearing out the rest of my favorite shots from the streets of San Francisco. Such a fun city. Can’t wait for the next visit.

I’ve been going through these like they are going out of style lately. I love what the folks at Field Notes are doing, especially with this latest edition, and it’s always good to get the latest pack in the mail.

Enjoying the architecture and building styles of San Francisco.

This is one of my favorite shots from our trip to San Francisco a few weeks back. It was completely unintentional (especially the feet!) but turned out to be a great perspective of the scene.

Seen on the streets of San Francisco.

We just returned from a long weekend trip to San Francisco. It was my first time. What a great city. Great weather. Amazing food. Enjoyed every minute.

I was only able to grab one picture of the Golden Gate Bridge and this is it. The fog overwhelmed the entire bridge, making it gloomy and dark even in mid day. What an amazing sight.

More to come from this trip soon.

The weather has been great here lately. Oddly enough, not too hot just yet. It was a perfect day for a walk around one of our favorite neighborhoods.

One of my favorite new restaurants is a tiny little place outside of downtown called Chicken Scratch. The recently opened restaurant is the brainchild of Chef Tim Byres, of Smoke fame, so right from the start I was expecting big things.

This hot spot is noticeably out of place in the city of Dallas with its quiet and inviting courtyard, hollowed-out freight containers for seating and soundstage made entirely of shipping palettes. As you sit in the wide open courtyard on a warm summer night, you can’t help but feel like you are somewhere perhaps a little bit more exotic than a small city block (next to a trailer park) just a mile away from the upscale city skyline.

The atmosphere is just great, and the food is even better. Chicken Scratch’s specialities are pan-fried chicken, amazing hand-made side dishes, and the best biscuits you’ll find for a long while.Seriously.

They also have their own generic soda on tap. The root beer was already out the last time we went, but they had a great grape soda that was next in line. Bravo.

There are a few things I typically don’t post a ton of pictures of: food and our baby girl. It would be easy for me to post daily pictures of meals eaten or the latest of her ever changing facial expressions. But that would be too easy. However, this post is a big exception. Today was my first Father’s Day, and we celebrated appropriately with copious amounts of seafood and family time.

On the menu was steamed shrimp, mac and cheese, and grilled red peppers, Portobella mushrooms and salmon. It couldn’t have been more fun (and delicious).

And this is the little girl that made it all possible:

A few days ago, our area was hit hard by a fast-moving yet hard-hitting hail storm. These sort of things happen in Texas often, but rarely of this size and strength. It was incredible. Our yard was coated with baseball-sized chunks of ice falling from thousands of feet in the air. Most of the cars on our street lost their windows, and ours were no exception. It was a bizarre storm that only lasted a few minutes, but served up an estimated $400 million in damages. These are a few quick shots from our front yard, minutes after the storm passed by. What a crazy night.