Pop-Up restaurants seem all the rage right now here in San Francisco. There is the famous Chinese-cum-hipster pop-up in the Mission (Mission Chinese Food) and the Vietnamese pop-up, Rice Paper Scissors.

Last night we took a party of seven to check out Chubby Noodle, an Asian Fusion pop-up located within Amante (an Italian restaurant) in North Beach. I think its a bit interesting that like NY, the Asians are taking over Italian areas, it was a great night. My hope is that the place will get popular enough for the chefs to open their own venue. A side project of Pete Mrabe of Don Pisto’s, the menu includes Asian-themed items that range from $2 sides of Jasmine rice to $11 plates of Hawaiian Tuna Poke.

I recommend that you go with a large party so that you can try everything. My personal faves:

• Kimchi Hot Dog ($6): Kobe beef hot dog, house made kimchi, mayo. It's not too spicey, but just enough flavor to give your dog that firey bark.
• Fried Chicken ($9):  Mary's Organic Chicken wings are brined in buttermilk  and come with a creamy sambal dipping sauce.
• Korean Pork Tacos ($9): Niman ranch rib chop, korean pickles, yogurt sauce, and arbol chile vinegar. It's the pickle that makes these tacos so awesome.

I've always wondered how these pop-ups work. Do the chefs rent out the kitchen? Is it fixed? or do the owners of the establishments take a cut of the revenue/profits?

Nonetheless, I love the idea of them as it allows chefs to experiment without going all in. Some would say it's like following Eric Ries's Lean startup for the kitchen.

And now, to the delight of their Tiny Tower players, they've created a new passive aggressive mission to win in-game currency.

The mission, "Beware of Dog" includes the copy "After failing to buy your tower, a rival developer would like the following: 13,500 Tower Design (Architect Office), 2,500 City Sim (Game Studio)"

My personal favorite jab is the Bitizen dressed in a devil costume:

It's no secret that many of Zynga's games are clones from other studios. In fact, this is pretty common practice across most social gaming companies.

I'm a captive audience for Tiny Tower because I've already invested time building my tower. I'm less likely to try Zynga's new game. However, it will be interesting what's going to happen. Unlike Facebook, where Zynga has a the offer bar, virality is a harder nut to crack with mobile. Social, on balance, is a lot harder to get right on mobile than on Facebook. Social games that have worked are either multiplayer or head-to-head games (like words with friends)

The ease of copying a game and the inability to protect the IP mean that companies like Nimble Bit have a couple different options: They can complain about it (which Nimble Bit did with dazzling pizzazz), double down on customer acquisition, and/or innovate.

Users will invest a few minutes to assess whether or not tower-based games work for them. If yes, they'll continue to play. Without high social feedback loops, there is little incentive to try another tower-based game. This means that being the first version to be installed weighs disporportionally high on converting the customer.

This is similar to movie remakes, especially plot driven ones. When The Departed won best picture in 2007, I cried foul! I thought that Infernal Affairs (the original screenplay) was so much better. In fact, there were scenes from The Departed  that very similar to Infernal Affiairs. As I started to talk to my friends who had seen both, I started to realize that people's preferences aligned with whatever film they saw first (there were a few exceptions). This is because remakes (or clones) are experiential plot driven movies. Once you know the story arc the intensity of the story loses its appeal. Put it in another way, what if I told you who  Keyser Söze was before you ever watched Usual suspects. Not so fun. What makes Usual Suspects interesting with each successive play is watching the small hints littered across the entire film.

Given that Tiny Tower and Dream Heights gameplay experience are so similar, if a user is going to commit to the game, it's going to be first-come-first-served.  As other game studios launch more tower-based clones, NimbleBit needs to then focus on innovating merchandise and new mechanics to serve their master users. Their current gaming dynamics works for many, hence their success.

While the jabs are definitely fun, Nimble Bit also needs to start pouring money to make sure they get in front of the user first. Apple's spotlight as the game of the year has been great, but the team needs to continually throw cash in becoming the first play for each new user. Continually innovating (which they have done) will help beef up retention from their player-base.

This post was based on another post I wrote on my other blog.

As we were driving from Berkeley into San Francisco, we met with some dense fog around the maze. As we started to climb the bay bridge, I saw the container cranes peaking over the low hanging flog.  Like a scene from Star Wars, it felt like that were slowly marching towards the rebels on the planet Hoth.

While you'll most likely get the courage to order by name after the second or third drink, here's a little digital flashcard tool to give you necessary courage at drink number one.

You'll need an iPad2, free evernote peak app, and a smart cover.

Download the shared evernote notebook from this link and import it into evernote peak: https://www.evernote.com/pub/somaroovin/scotchpronounciations

Sláinte (pronounced: slán-jah)

Sources: Esquire.com, Scotchdoc, Maltmadness

However, the permutations and nuances of how a company tries to gain and utilize those advantages create a multitude of permutations. What looking through history of case studies and best practices tells us how a competitor is most likely to react to any move you are to make.

Look to it not as definitive but as a way to define probable outcomes.

Get out there and make a boatload of money. Enjoy the shit out your money. Pay your taxes.

Check out Blog Maverick.

What I Learned Today: Well technically last night, I learned today that XLB = Xiao Long Bao. For one, I thought I was the king of acronyms, but evidently I am just a lowly serf.

And I thought I was a foodie. (-_-;)

Paris, 1st Arrond. itinerary:

• Chez Jean: €1.90 breakfast--Cheaper than buying water. A croissant and a cup of coffee. Technically, it's not in the 1st arrond, but it was close to my hotel and on the way to the metro station. So there.
• Louvre: Mona Lisa, Venus, etc etc. A must-go.
• L'ecume on St. Honore: Amazing seafood. Once you get beyond the tackiness of a ceiling with seagulls painted on it and a continual loop of seagull squawking, you'll realize your love for French oysters and seafood.
• Comptoir Change: Near the old Opera House. Exchanging money can be a hassle since most currency exchange places give you a raw deal. Comptoir has one of the best rates in town.
• Anish Kapoor @ the Grand Palais. Simply amazing. You have to go.
• A la Biche au Bois: Great rustic French food. The portions are hearty, and the atmosphere is very casual. I had the coq au vin, it was devine.
• Louvre at Night: A second look under the lune is breathtaking
• Hotel Costes: It's been around for years, but it's still one cool and swanky lounge.

Cream Puffs, Galleries, and Space Invaders

Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements (districts) starting from the heart of the city and coiling out in a clockwise direction. Since we stayed at the Hotel Gabriel right next to the 3rd and 11th arrond, we decided to start the day in Le Marais and head toward the Left Bank to check out the Musee D'Orsay:

• Musee Arts et Métiers (Museum of Arts and Industry)
• Contemporary Art Galleries
• Cream Puffs at
• Musee D'Orsay
• Jardin aux Tuileries
• Musee D'Orsay
• Cartier Foundation
• Indiana café
• Le Severo for dinner: a meat lovers paradise. (the owner used to be a butcher)