I think Ken has been dipping into the Peruvian marching powder again; at 4 am this morning he penned this awesome rant, beginning with the etymology of the word “gadget” and ending with Muslims on spaceships.

But somewhere in the middle, while extolling the virtues of true multiculturalism, he makes this scurrilous and pernicious statement:

Jesus, just try to eat Spanish food. It’s like eating a sock filled with ham.

You’ve been chowing down in the wrong dives, Layne. Next time you’re in Vitoria, have dinner at El Portalon, and you’ll wish you’d never written such evil slander. (Or is it libel?)

I had one of the most memorable evenings of my life in the Caballo Dining Room, when the Al Jarreau Band took over the restaurant after a concert at the Vitoria Jazz Festival. After many bottles of stupidly expensive wine from their incredible cellar, and course after course of mind-numbingly delicious food, drummer Alex Acuna was overcome with feelings of love for Al and decided he had to embrace him. Immediately. Even though Al was on the other side of the museum-piece antique dining table. The shortest distance between two points was, of course, directly across the table. Which promptly collapsed with a gigantic crash.

The mark of a true restaurant of quality: the staff simply came in and cleaned up, with no bad vibes. (To be honest, I think some money also changed hands.) Even though we were all cackling like a bunch of liquored-up ugly American/Peruvian goons. And they let us come back the year after.