When you're bowling at 6am and you need a quick pickme up at 9, what do you do? You have the Sundowner Restaurant deliver breakfast to your lane. Yeah, that's right. Nothing hits the spot while you're bowling like greasy hashbrowns, a big piece of hame, and some scrambled eggs. While not the epitome of haute cuisine, the Sundowner Restaurant fills a very important food niche and they fill it well. So the next time you're at Sunset Bowl* make sure you grab some grub from the Sundowner Restaurant.
*As long as the next time you bowl is today.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Robbed!
We're all having a rough game except for Crushmonster! After two frames he's bowling a 22. By the way, Crushmonster is 4...
We're eagerly anticipating food being delivered to our lane, apparently there was drama in the restaurant. The line cook clearly doesn't like the dishwasher, who was complaining that someone took her nametag off of her apron. The cook (also her boss) pretty much said, "Waah. Get over it." Then she proceeded to tell a customer at the counter how she had tried to fire the dishwasher but hadn't succeeded. I guess it's good that they won't be working together anymore.
These are the things you miss when you don't go bowling at 6am...
We're eagerly anticipating food being delivered to our lane, apparently there was drama in the restaurant. The line cook clearly doesn't like the dishwasher, who was complaining that someone took her nametag off of her apron. The cook (also her boss) pretty much said, "Waah. Get over it." Then she proceeded to tell a customer at the counter how she had tried to fire the dishwasher but hadn't succeeded. I guess it's good that they won't be working together anymore.
These are the things you miss when you don't go bowling at 6am...
Breakfast at Sunset
TT: We just ordered our breakfast, which will be delivered to our lane shortly. I'm going to miss service like that. Maybe we'll have to come back tomorrow just to eat...
LL: TT is up now and so far she's kicking everyone's butts this game. I think hunger makes her bowl better while it makes the rest of us bowl worse. At least the music is somewhat improving.
LL: TT is up now and so far she's kicking everyone's butts this game. I think hunger makes her bowl better while it makes the rest of us bowl worse. At least the music is somewhat improving.
Crushmonster is in the house!
We've now been joined by Crushmonster and Crushdaddy! Can you believe we've been bowling for two and a half hours already? This fourth game is turning out to be my worst so far and the food in the restaurant smelled a little too good. Maybe we'll order some food and have it delivered to our lane. My battery is dying so I'm not sure how many more posts we'll have.
Synchronized strikes, baby!
TT: Polly and I just did our synchronized bowling round and we both got strikes! Next time we're adding in some choreography...
Going downhill...
TT: So the synchronized bowling is starting to not work out so well. At first I was getting all strikes and spares, but the past several frames have been disappointing. Oh well - it's a worthy sacrifice to make for the entertainment value of counting off our walk.
Game 1 is in the books
After a bunch of synchronized bowling and lane dancing, game 1 is in the books. Everyone did better in lane 19 than lane 20 but my differential was much greater...142-97. We're on game 2 now and Tenpin Tessie is explaining how Wii bowling hasn't helped her real bowling game.
That's right, it hasn't. In fact, there seems to be an inverse ratio of Wii to regular bowling. The better I am at Wii, the worse I am at Sunset. Also, I have a totally different spin on the "ball" in Wii bowling. Maybe it's because there's no weight attached?
Music update: Rock Lobster is now playing so the music selection is getting better.
That's right, it hasn't. In fact, there seems to be an inverse ratio of Wii to regular bowling. The better I am at Wii, the worse I am at Sunset. Also, I have a totally different spin on the "ball" in Wii bowling. Maybe it's because there's no weight attached?
Music update: Rock Lobster is now playing so the music selection is getting better.
What you don't know is I am not left handed...
So far Lane 19 is much kinder to me.
Really, Larry? That's the wittiest repartee you can muster? Very disappointing.
Missy and I had matching splits, so we bowled at the same time and knocked down the same pin. It was much more exciting than it sounds here! Now we're listening to "Two Hearts Livin' in Just One Mind" by Genesis. Or is it Phil Collins? I'm up again...
Um, you need to refer to me as Louie Lanekiller thank you very much. So right after I said 19 was better for me I bowled a 5 in that lane and had a spare in 20. The guy in the next lane mush be wondering what he's walked into with us crazies doing synchronized bowling and TT and PP dancing right after they bowl.
Really, Larry? That's the wittiest repartee you can muster? Very disappointing.
Missy and I had matching splits, so we bowled at the same time and knocked down the same pin. It was much more exciting than it sounds here! Now we're listening to "Two Hearts Livin' in Just One Mind" by Genesis. Or is it Phil Collins? I'm up again...
Um, you need to refer to me as Louie Lanekiller thank you very much. So right after I said 19 was better for me I bowled a 5 in that lane and had a spare in 20. The guy in the next lane mush be wondering what he's walked into with us crazies doing synchronized bowling and TT and PP dancing right after they bowl.
Double strike!
Missy and I just bowled back-to-back strikes, and Jessie got another spare. So did Larry! We're on a roll now...
Jessie just asked them to change the music - normally it's 80's but when we came in today it was really bad soft rock. You know the kind..."the best of the 80s, 90s and today." But now we're rocking out to "With or Without You" by U2. All is right in the world again.
-Tenpin Tessie
Jessie just asked them to change the music - normally it's 80's but when we came in today it was really bad soft rock. You know the kind..."the best of the 80s, 90s and today." But now we're rocking out to "With or Without You" by U2. All is right in the world again.
-Tenpin Tessie
Introducing...
Let's take a minute to introduce the players today. We've got Sally Striker, Pinkiller Polly, Tenpin Tessie, and me, Louie Lanekiller. We're currently bowling on two lanes right now to get as much bowling in as possible. Over the course of the day we'll be joined by some other bowling friends.
Live blogging at Sunset Bowl today...
Jessie wants me to title it something like sunsetting on bowling, but it's too early to be witty. We're going to be blogging live from Sunset Bowl in Ballard this morning since it is the last day of open bowling before they close. We've been coming here the past 5 or 6 weeks on Sundays at 7am but tomorrow they're having an all day tournament so we're mixing it up by coming on Saturday. Look for pictures and updates on how we're doing throughout the morning.
Louie and Sally are up. Their early attempts at left-handed bowling (they're both righty) were not the most successful moments in their bowling careers. But Louie has moved on to a strike-spare back to back.
Louie and Sally are up. Their early attempts at left-handed bowling (they're both righty) were not the most successful moments in their bowling careers. But Louie has moved on to a strike-spare back to back.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Mushrooms!
There's a great article in today's Seattle P-I about Jeremy Faber of Foraged and Found Edibles. Some of you may remember he is the one who helped supply me with mushrooms for our Harvest Dinner a month or so ago. If you get a chance, make sure to stop by their stall at the University and Ballard Farmers Markets and pick up some tasty treats.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
It's been too long
I know it's been forever since I last posted, it's been quite a busy summer. This year we decided to grow more of our own vegetables than we had in previous years. This included 15 different tomato plants, bok choy, rainbow chard, cippollini onions, leeks, red peppers, sorrel, strawberries, blueberries, basil, thyme, and I'm sure I'm missing something else. It was pretty great being able to just go into the backyard and pick what we were going to eat for dinner that night.
But the weather this summer was kind of weird so a lot of our tomatoes didn't start coming in until the end of the summer and the bok choy was done pretty much right away. Our only consistent crop was the rainbow chard that kept on giving all summer and is still producing even today. Our strawberries were a pretty big disappointment, I think we only got to eat 3 or 4 of them the entire summer. I'm sure the squirrels got away with a few more than that, but not many.
We've actually done a pretty good job procuring most of our produce, fish, and meat from the farmers markets this year. It wouldn't be uncommon for me to visit three different markets over the course of the week. There's something pretty fun about trying to figure out what you're going to make for dinner based on what's fresh at the time. "Looks like asparagus is almost done, but look at the beets!"
I've been getting getting a bunch of meat over the past couple of years from Skagit River Ranch up in the Skagit Valley. I think the aha moment happened a couple of months ago when I had made a pork shoulder roast. We were sitting down eating it and I had noticed Kristen had nothing left on her plate while I had trimmed off the pieces of fat. When I asked her about it she said, "I don't think my piece had any fat." Being pork shoulder I knew there was fat all over that thing so maybe she just didn't notice. So I decided to sample a bit of the fat with my next bite and it was a revelation. It just melted in my mouth like the most beautiful butter you had ever tasted. Normally with the fat from factory farmed pigs it would either be chewy or leave a greasy film on the roof of your mouth. But not with this pork and that's when I knew I couldn't go back to factory farmed meat.
Harvest Moon
Tonight is the first night of the harvest moon, which is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. During this time the moon rises pretty close to when the sun sets which means there isn't a long period of darkness so farmers could continue to bring in their crops under the light of the moon.
To celebrate the ushering in of autumn and the harvest moon we decided to throw a little harvest moon feast at our house this past weekend. It was a great time with lots of great food and a whole lot of good friends. At first I was a bit overwhelmed because a lot more people were coming than I thought would. It's kind of like college admissions, where the school would accept a certain number of people know x% wouldn't accept the offer. While the idea of feeding so many people was daunting, I must say it was heartwarming knowing so many of our friends were willing to spend their Saturday night with us.
I had originally planned four courses, three of which I would do the bulk of the cooking. In order to make sure I got everything done on time I had a little notebook that I used to schedule my week and assign tasks for each day. I gotta say, coming up with that schedule save my butt because luckily I got everything done with minimal stress on the day of the dinner.
The first two courses were salads and starches and I tried to do as much of that in advance as I could. Two days before the dinner I rolled and cut the pasta as well as made the two different sauces. The day before I braised one of the proteins and made one of the salads and prepped the other's dressing. The morning/afternoon of the dinner I cooked mushrooms, made the last starch and made my mise en place for the rest of the night.
The night of the dinner went pretty smoothly and according to plan. First course was salads so all I had to do was bring the one prepped salad and the other prepped dressing up to room temp and grill the romaine prior to serving. The starch course just involved cooking the pasta I had made two days before and reheating the sauces. I also had to reheat the third starch dish I had made earlier that day.
The protein course was the most challenging because a lot of that had to be made a la minute. So while people were working on their starches I threw the snapper in the oven to roast. I then took the chicken out to the grill to cook but soon found out the coals had burned down too much so I had to cook them on the stovetop and finish in the oven. While I was doing that, I also needed to make my polenta, saute my kale, warm up the mushrooms, and fire my shortribs that had braised the night before. It sounds like a lot to do, and it was, but everything happened really quickly. When the chicken was ready to be finished in the oven, the snapper was ready to come out. That made it easy to put the chicken and shortribs in the oven while I plated the fish. On the stovetop the polenta cooked, while the kale sauteed, and the mushrooms reheated. The fish went out first with the kale while I plated the shortribs, chicken, and polenta. Then those two went out and I was done. Phew!
I left the last course, dessert, for our guests to supply and I was happy I did. People brought all sorts of wonderful crumbles and cakes and other sweet tasty treats. It was an exhausting but amazingly fun night and I can't wait to do it again.
Here is the menu of things we prepped:
Course 1
Potato, bacon, haricots verts served with a dijon and sherry vinagrette
Grilled romaine with roast garlic and asiago dressing
Course 2
Braised lamb ragu with hand cut pappardelle
Veggie ragu with homemade linguine
Farro with chard and chanterelle and lobster mushrooms
Course 3
Whole roast Alaskan wild red snapper (aka rockfish) with sauteed kale
Braised shortribs with creamy (and cheesy) polenta
Pan roasted chicken breasts with chanterelle mushrooms
But the weather this summer was kind of weird so a lot of our tomatoes didn't start coming in until the end of the summer and the bok choy was done pretty much right away. Our only consistent crop was the rainbow chard that kept on giving all summer and is still producing even today. Our strawberries were a pretty big disappointment, I think we only got to eat 3 or 4 of them the entire summer. I'm sure the squirrels got away with a few more than that, but not many.
We've actually done a pretty good job procuring most of our produce, fish, and meat from the farmers markets this year. It wouldn't be uncommon for me to visit three different markets over the course of the week. There's something pretty fun about trying to figure out what you're going to make for dinner based on what's fresh at the time. "Looks like asparagus is almost done, but look at the beets!"
I've been getting getting a bunch of meat over the past couple of years from Skagit River Ranch up in the Skagit Valley. I think the aha moment happened a couple of months ago when I had made a pork shoulder roast. We were sitting down eating it and I had noticed Kristen had nothing left on her plate while I had trimmed off the pieces of fat. When I asked her about it she said, "I don't think my piece had any fat." Being pork shoulder I knew there was fat all over that thing so maybe she just didn't notice. So I decided to sample a bit of the fat with my next bite and it was a revelation. It just melted in my mouth like the most beautiful butter you had ever tasted. Normally with the fat from factory farmed pigs it would either be chewy or leave a greasy film on the roof of your mouth. But not with this pork and that's when I knew I couldn't go back to factory farmed meat.
Harvest Moon
Tonight is the first night of the harvest moon, which is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. During this time the moon rises pretty close to when the sun sets which means there isn't a long period of darkness so farmers could continue to bring in their crops under the light of the moon.
To celebrate the ushering in of autumn and the harvest moon we decided to throw a little harvest moon feast at our house this past weekend. It was a great time with lots of great food and a whole lot of good friends. At first I was a bit overwhelmed because a lot more people were coming than I thought would. It's kind of like college admissions, where the school would accept a certain number of people know x% wouldn't accept the offer. While the idea of feeding so many people was daunting, I must say it was heartwarming knowing so many of our friends were willing to spend their Saturday night with us.
I had originally planned four courses, three of which I would do the bulk of the cooking. In order to make sure I got everything done on time I had a little notebook that I used to schedule my week and assign tasks for each day. I gotta say, coming up with that schedule save my butt because luckily I got everything done with minimal stress on the day of the dinner.
The first two courses were salads and starches and I tried to do as much of that in advance as I could. Two days before the dinner I rolled and cut the pasta as well as made the two different sauces. The day before I braised one of the proteins and made one of the salads and prepped the other's dressing. The morning/afternoon of the dinner I cooked mushrooms, made the last starch and made my mise en place for the rest of the night.
The night of the dinner went pretty smoothly and according to plan. First course was salads so all I had to do was bring the one prepped salad and the other prepped dressing up to room temp and grill the romaine prior to serving. The starch course just involved cooking the pasta I had made two days before and reheating the sauces. I also had to reheat the third starch dish I had made earlier that day.
The protein course was the most challenging because a lot of that had to be made a la minute. So while people were working on their starches I threw the snapper in the oven to roast. I then took the chicken out to the grill to cook but soon found out the coals had burned down too much so I had to cook them on the stovetop and finish in the oven. While I was doing that, I also needed to make my polenta, saute my kale, warm up the mushrooms, and fire my shortribs that had braised the night before. It sounds like a lot to do, and it was, but everything happened really quickly. When the chicken was ready to be finished in the oven, the snapper was ready to come out. That made it easy to put the chicken and shortribs in the oven while I plated the fish. On the stovetop the polenta cooked, while the kale sauteed, and the mushrooms reheated. The fish went out first with the kale while I plated the shortribs, chicken, and polenta. Then those two went out and I was done. Phew!
I left the last course, dessert, for our guests to supply and I was happy I did. People brought all sorts of wonderful crumbles and cakes and other sweet tasty treats. It was an exhausting but amazingly fun night and I can't wait to do it again.
Here is the menu of things we prepped:
Course 1
Potato, bacon, haricots verts served with a dijon and sherry vinagrette
Grilled romaine with roast garlic and asiago dressing
Course 2
Braised lamb ragu with hand cut pappardelle
Veggie ragu with homemade linguine
Farro with chard and chanterelle and lobster mushrooms
Course 3
Whole roast Alaskan wild red snapper (aka rockfish) with sauteed kale
Braised shortribs with creamy (and cheesy) polenta
Pan roasted chicken breasts with chanterelle mushrooms
Monday, April 16, 2007
Today in the news...
Such sad news today at Virginia Tech and I'm sure there will be more questions than answers in the days ahead. Today's events reminded me of a similar incident that occurred at my school when I was in college.
In 1996 at Johns Hopkins, Rex Chao was killed after being elected the President of the College Republicans. The shooter was his predecessor and former friend Bob Harwood. I heard the shot that night and the memory is still as clear as if it happened the other day. That evening I was on the phone with my sister in my dorm room that overlooked the beach, which is what we called the grassy area in front of the library. While on the phone I heard a loud pop and commented to my sister, who was also a student at Hopkins, that I heard what I thought was a gunshot. Her response was that it was probably just a car backfiring because who would believe that something like this would happen at your school. A place that is supposed to be about learning and growing as you make your way into becoming a full fledged member of adulthood. Where your parents pay a lot of money under the assumption you'll be safe. Even though we were in the middle of Baltimore, a city with one of the nation's highest murder rates at the time, I never would have dreamt something like that could happen.
Not long after I made the comment on the phone, the sound of sirens filled the air and the night was filled with flashing lights. Sadly, what I heard was a gunshot and even more shocking I knew the shooter.
Bob was a friends with my sister and a roommate of one of her good friends. He was two years ahead of me so I didn't know him real well. My only experiences with him were in Rhode Island politics as we were both from the smallest state in the country. I had been working with the Lincoln Almond gubernatorial campaign in the summer of 1994 prior to starting my freshman year of college. We had run into each other at some functions including the Republican convention where Lincoln was officially named the Republican candidate after a surprising upset in the primary. Now, before all my liberal friends here in Seattle start disparaging me for participating in a Republican convention I must point out that New England politics are different than politics elsewhere in the country. Also, Gov. Almond was a protege of the late Sen. John Chaffee who was a well known moderate and was probably more liberal than a number of Democrats, past and present.
On election night in 1994, I got a call in my dorm room from Bob congratulating me on Lincoln Almond's victory that night. I thanked him and we chatted a little while about a hard fought campaign before ending the call and getting back to studying. That was the last time I remember talking to him and didn't really think about him until that April night almost a year and a half later.
None of us could really believe what was happening and the internet was as omnipresent as it is these days so we couldn't just go to msnbc.com to find the latest news. Slowly, throughout the night, the details emerged. There was a shooting after a meeting. After the College Republicans meeting. Someone was hurt. That person was dead. He was just elected the president of the College Republicans. His name was Rex Chao. His shooter was a senior that had graduated early and come back for the election. He was caught by security shortly after it happened. His name was Bob. Bob Harwood.
That's when it became more than just a story on the 11 o'clock news. The sound of the gunshot, the sirens, the flashing lights, that wasn't something on TV or in a movie. It happened outside my window and someone I knew was involved.
On my way to class the next morning I passed the spot where this tragic incident happened. The area was taped off and there on the asphalt was a small pool of blood. Just the sight of that made it even more real and knocked the wind out of me. I continued to class saying a silent prayer for Rex and for Bob.
Over the days and months there were memorials for Rex and outrage that something like this could happen. A statue was built to commemorate a life cut short by someone whose life was now to be spent behind bars.
A few years back I was in Berkeley for Thanksgiving with my sister and her friend that was Bob's roommate joined us. He gave us an update on how Bob was doing in prison and how he had grown a beard and wore dark glasses to seem tougher and not to get into trouble if someone thought he was looking at them funny. They talked about their memories of him and we all said how tragic it all was. Two promising young men who would never have an opportunity to realise their dreams or potential.
Eleven years later and it just seems things have gotten worse. When I first heard about the shootings at Virginia Tech this morning on my way to work, the first thing out of my mouth was, "Not another shooting. Seems like there's one every week." I don't know what the answer is, but I do know an incident like this affects so many people. As time goes on, we move on...but we're never the same.
In 1996 at Johns Hopkins, Rex Chao was killed after being elected the President of the College Republicans. The shooter was his predecessor and former friend Bob Harwood. I heard the shot that night and the memory is still as clear as if it happened the other day. That evening I was on the phone with my sister in my dorm room that overlooked the beach, which is what we called the grassy area in front of the library. While on the phone I heard a loud pop and commented to my sister, who was also a student at Hopkins, that I heard what I thought was a gunshot. Her response was that it was probably just a car backfiring because who would believe that something like this would happen at your school. A place that is supposed to be about learning and growing as you make your way into becoming a full fledged member of adulthood. Where your parents pay a lot of money under the assumption you'll be safe. Even though we were in the middle of Baltimore, a city with one of the nation's highest murder rates at the time, I never would have dreamt something like that could happen.
Not long after I made the comment on the phone, the sound of sirens filled the air and the night was filled with flashing lights. Sadly, what I heard was a gunshot and even more shocking I knew the shooter.
Bob was a friends with my sister and a roommate of one of her good friends. He was two years ahead of me so I didn't know him real well. My only experiences with him were in Rhode Island politics as we were both from the smallest state in the country. I had been working with the Lincoln Almond gubernatorial campaign in the summer of 1994 prior to starting my freshman year of college. We had run into each other at some functions including the Republican convention where Lincoln was officially named the Republican candidate after a surprising upset in the primary. Now, before all my liberal friends here in Seattle start disparaging me for participating in a Republican convention I must point out that New England politics are different than politics elsewhere in the country. Also, Gov. Almond was a protege of the late Sen. John Chaffee who was a well known moderate and was probably more liberal than a number of Democrats, past and present.
On election night in 1994, I got a call in my dorm room from Bob congratulating me on Lincoln Almond's victory that night. I thanked him and we chatted a little while about a hard fought campaign before ending the call and getting back to studying. That was the last time I remember talking to him and didn't really think about him until that April night almost a year and a half later.
None of us could really believe what was happening and the internet was as omnipresent as it is these days so we couldn't just go to msnbc.com to find the latest news. Slowly, throughout the night, the details emerged. There was a shooting after a meeting. After the College Republicans meeting. Someone was hurt. That person was dead. He was just elected the president of the College Republicans. His name was Rex Chao. His shooter was a senior that had graduated early and come back for the election. He was caught by security shortly after it happened. His name was Bob. Bob Harwood.
That's when it became more than just a story on the 11 o'clock news. The sound of the gunshot, the sirens, the flashing lights, that wasn't something on TV or in a movie. It happened outside my window and someone I knew was involved.
On my way to class the next morning I passed the spot where this tragic incident happened. The area was taped off and there on the asphalt was a small pool of blood. Just the sight of that made it even more real and knocked the wind out of me. I continued to class saying a silent prayer for Rex and for Bob.
Over the days and months there were memorials for Rex and outrage that something like this could happen. A statue was built to commemorate a life cut short by someone whose life was now to be spent behind bars.
A few years back I was in Berkeley for Thanksgiving with my sister and her friend that was Bob's roommate joined us. He gave us an update on how Bob was doing in prison and how he had grown a beard and wore dark glasses to seem tougher and not to get into trouble if someone thought he was looking at them funny. They talked about their memories of him and we all said how tragic it all was. Two promising young men who would never have an opportunity to realise their dreams or potential.
Eleven years later and it just seems things have gotten worse. When I first heard about the shootings at Virginia Tech this morning on my way to work, the first thing out of my mouth was, "Not another shooting. Seems like there's one every week." I don't know what the answer is, but I do know an incident like this affects so many people. As time goes on, we move on...but we're never the same.
Monday, February 05, 2007
because i'm a lazy bugger
Kristen has much more pics and details about our trip back east. I promise to put more up here when I get a chance.
Kristen's Books Written for Girls
Kristen's Books Written for Girls
Monday, January 15, 2007
Bergdorf Holiday Windows
The Bergdorf windows were some of the only holiday windows still up when we were in NY the week after New Year's. Here are some pictures, I'll have pictures of the full window up some time later.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
My interview with "Santa"
Here is a transcript of my interview with "Santa" over MSN Messenger. I have some serious doubts it is really him.
Larry says:
are you really santa claus?
Santa Claus says:
Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas, Larry! I'm Santa Claus!
Tell me, are you a boy or a girl?
Larry says:
why do you want to know?
Santa Claus says:
Ho ho ho! Am I talking to a boy or girl?
Larry says:
why?
Santa Claus says:
Sorry - Santa really needs to know if you're a boy or a girl.
Larry says:
is it because if it's a girl you'll talk down to them?
Santa Claus says:
And what do you want for Christmas, Larry?
Larry says:
i want to know if you're really santa
Santa Claus says:
Great, Larry! I'll see what I can do.
And what else would you like?
Larry says:
i would like you to answer my question
Santa Claus says:
My elves will get right on that.
Larry says:
speaking of your elves, how many do you have working for you?
Santa Claus says:
What was that?
Larry says:
how many elves do you have working for you?
Santa Claus says:
There are too many elves to count!
Larry says:
are these elves unionized?
Santa Claus says:
Hmm...
Larry says:
that isn't an answer santa, if that is your real name
Santa Claus says:
Hey! That's my name! I won't call you that.
Larry says:
so answer my question, are the elves unionized?
Santa Claus says:
What was that?
Larry says:
i don't understand why you keep ducking the question
Santa Claus says:
Interesting!
Larry says:
yes it is santa...
Santa Claus says:
Are you sure it is?
Larry says:
are you at least paying the elves a living wage?
Santa Claus says:
Hmm... I don't know, Larry, what do you think?
Larry says:
i think if you were you wouldn't be avoiding my question
Santa Claus says:
What do you think, Larry?
Larry says:
i just told you
Santa Claus says:
Whatever.
Larry says:
what about comprehensive healthcare?
Santa Claus says:
What was that?
Larry says:
are you providing the elves comprehensive health care?
Santa Claus says:
Hmm... I don't know, Larry, what do you think?
Larry says:
it doesn't matter what i think
Santa Claus says:
Interesting!
Larry says:
so are you saying you aren't paying the elves a living wage and denying them healthcare?
Santa Claus says:
What do you think about that, Larry?
Larry says:
i think that's just wrong
Santa Claus says:
Ho ho ho! What?
Larry says:
oh, you know what
Santa Claus says:
What?
Larry says:
i'm beginning to think you aren't really santa
Santa Claus says:
Yes, that's my name!
Larry says:
if you are really santa, then what did you get me last year?
Santa Claus says:
What do you think, Larry?
Larry says:
that doesn't answer the question
Santa Claus says:
Ho ho ho?
Larry says:
saying ho ho ho over and over again isn't going to convince me you're santa
Santa Claus says:
That is entirely unnecessary.
Larry says:
who is kris kringle?
Santa Claus says:
My name is Santa Claus.
Larry says:
have you ever been known under the name of kris kringle?
Santa Claus says:
Yes!
Larry says:
really?
Santa Claus says:
Yes, really.
Larry says:
where do they call you that?
Santa Claus says:
Santa Claus! HO HO HO!
Larry says:
um, that isn't a location
Santa Claus says:
Hmm...
Larry says:
have you been drinking?
Santa Claus says:
I assure you I'm quite sober.
Larry says:
let me talk to mrs claus
Santa Claus says:
Ho ho ho!
Larry says:
please let me talk to mrs claus
Santa Claus says:
Really?
Larry says:
yes
Santa Claus says:
Yup.
Larry says:
you've avoided all my questions so this interview is over
Santa Claus says:
Ho ho ho?
Larry says:
are you calling me a ho?
Santa Claus says:
That's quite unnecessary.
Larry says:
i will be sending osha to check in on your elves
Santa Claus says:
Great, Larry! I'll see what I can do.
Larry says:
please see that you do
Santa Claus says:
Take care, Larry.
Larry says:
bye santa...if that's really who you are...
Santa Claus says:
See ya later Larry. Good talking to you.
Larry says:
are you really santa claus?
Santa Claus says:
Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas, Larry! I'm Santa Claus!
Tell me, are you a boy or a girl?
Larry says:
why do you want to know?
Santa Claus says:
Ho ho ho! Am I talking to a boy or girl?
Larry says:
why?
Santa Claus says:
Sorry - Santa really needs to know if you're a boy or a girl.
Larry says:
is it because if it's a girl you'll talk down to them?
Santa Claus says:
And what do you want for Christmas, Larry?
Larry says:
i want to know if you're really santa
Santa Claus says:
Great, Larry! I'll see what I can do.
And what else would you like?
Larry says:
i would like you to answer my question
Santa Claus says:
My elves will get right on that.
Larry says:
speaking of your elves, how many do you have working for you?
Santa Claus says:
What was that?
Larry says:
how many elves do you have working for you?
Santa Claus says:
There are too many elves to count!
Larry says:
are these elves unionized?
Santa Claus says:
Hmm...
Larry says:
that isn't an answer santa, if that is your real name
Santa Claus says:
Hey! That's my name! I won't call you that.
Larry says:
so answer my question, are the elves unionized?
Santa Claus says:
What was that?
Larry says:
i don't understand why you keep ducking the question
Santa Claus says:
Interesting!
Larry says:
yes it is santa...
Santa Claus says:
Are you sure it is?
Larry says:
are you at least paying the elves a living wage?
Santa Claus says:
Hmm... I don't know, Larry, what do you think?
Larry says:
i think if you were you wouldn't be avoiding my question
Santa Claus says:
What do you think, Larry?
Larry says:
i just told you
Santa Claus says:
Whatever.
Larry says:
what about comprehensive healthcare?
Santa Claus says:
What was that?
Larry says:
are you providing the elves comprehensive health care?
Santa Claus says:
Hmm... I don't know, Larry, what do you think?
Larry says:
it doesn't matter what i think
Santa Claus says:
Interesting!
Larry says:
so are you saying you aren't paying the elves a living wage and denying them healthcare?
Santa Claus says:
What do you think about that, Larry?
Larry says:
i think that's just wrong
Santa Claus says:
Ho ho ho! What?
Larry says:
oh, you know what
Santa Claus says:
What?
Larry says:
i'm beginning to think you aren't really santa
Santa Claus says:
Yes, that's my name!
Larry says:
if you are really santa, then what did you get me last year?
Santa Claus says:
What do you think, Larry?
Larry says:
that doesn't answer the question
Santa Claus says:
Ho ho ho?
Larry says:
saying ho ho ho over and over again isn't going to convince me you're santa
Santa Claus says:
That is entirely unnecessary.
Larry says:
who is kris kringle?
Santa Claus says:
My name is Santa Claus.
Larry says:
have you ever been known under the name of kris kringle?
Santa Claus says:
Yes!
Larry says:
really?
Santa Claus says:
Yes, really.
Larry says:
where do they call you that?
Santa Claus says:
Santa Claus! HO HO HO!
Larry says:
um, that isn't a location
Santa Claus says:
Hmm...
Larry says:
have you been drinking?
Santa Claus says:
I assure you I'm quite sober.
Larry says:
let me talk to mrs claus
Santa Claus says:
Ho ho ho!
Larry says:
please let me talk to mrs claus
Santa Claus says:
Really?
Larry says:
yes
Santa Claus says:
Yup.
Larry says:
you've avoided all my questions so this interview is over
Santa Claus says:
Ho ho ho?
Larry says:
are you calling me a ho?
Santa Claus says:
That's quite unnecessary.
Larry says:
i will be sending osha to check in on your elves
Santa Claus says:
Great, Larry! I'll see what I can do.
Larry says:
please see that you do
Santa Claus says:
Take care, Larry.
Larry says:
bye santa...if that's really who you are...
Santa Claus says:
See ya later Larry. Good talking to you.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
I expected more dirt...
It's been a while since I've blogged and I blame television for that. There are so many shows I've gotten hooked on, and some others I thought I would be but they've lost me over the past month or so. Anyway, TV isn't the point of this post so I digress.
There's a new restaurant that has opened up in my neighborhood and it's one of only two Oregon Tilth organic certified restaurants in the country. Tilth has taken over the location of my much beloved Mandalay Cafe on 45th in Wallingford and I finally had a chance to try it last Thursday. Since I heard what was moving into that space I was interested in checking it out, especially after learning Maria Hines was the owner and chef. Kristen actually got to go a week before I did and you can read what she thought of it on her blog.
I really enjoyed Tilth, the food was well executed and enjoyed the flavor profiles of the dishes. I started with the Local Comice Pear Salad and Kristen had the Full Circle Farms Baby Lettuces. I was expecting the blue cheese in my salad to be a lot stronger than it was and it played well with the arugula and walnuts. Not really paying attention to what was in Kristen's salad I was really intrigued by the light fruit of the vinaigrette. When I asked her what it was she said it was just a lemon vinaigrette and I really liked how it was executed. It was a little sweet and tart without any harsh acid. I can say that a lot of times something as simple as a vinaigrette can make or break a salad, and this one made it.
Our main entrees came out shortly after we finished our salads. Kristen was presented with Sablefish and a polenta cake while I received the seared Top Sirloin. My first impression with the top sirloin was how perfectly it was cooked. Usually when I go out to eat at a restaurant and order a steak I tend to ask for it to be rare/medium rare because if I ask for it just medium rare it'll get cooked to medium. This time, they delivered exactly what I asked for and I was very pleased. The sirloin had a good flavor that I attribute it to being grassfed. I did notice that it could be a little harder to chew if I didn't cut it across the grain of the meat. But when I did, the beef was very tender and almost buttery. This proved to be an excellent counterpount to the accompanying radicchio which provided a nice bitter note. When I took my first bite of the fingerling potatoes I really didn't want to eat anything else. I'm a sucker for potatoes and these were amazing when I had them alone. The saltiness of the seasoning and the creaminess of the potato itself was a little bit of heaven. The flavor profile of the entire dish was well done with the saltiness of the potatoes, bitterness of the radicchio, and beefiness of the sirloin all playing well off each other with no one flavor overpowering any other.
Kristen's balsamic glazed sablefish was the polar opposite of my entree. It was much lighter but just as flavorful. While my entree was a play on some bolder flavors, this dish was all about quieter ones. The mild white sablefish played host to the subtley sweet balsamic glaze while sitting atop a creamy polenta cake. Like most white fish, the sablefish was very neutral in flavor so if paired incorrectly it could easily be overpowered by the flavors in it's companions. But once again, everything played off each other and provided a complimentary and harmonious flavor profile.
After a slight miscommunication about whether or not we wanted dessert, they arrived at our table. We ordered the Mini Caramel Heirloom Apples that Kristen had been raving about since her visit as well as the Smoked Theo Chocolate Pudding. The mini caramel apples were little apples on a toothpick that you then dipped into a side of caramel. I really wished the apples were bigger because I couldn't get enough of the caramel. I tried to get as much caramel as I could on the last mini apple we had, but even then that wasn't enough. The vanilla marshmellow kept throwing me off in the pudding dish. Every time I combined a bite of the marshmallow with the pudding, all I could taste was the vanilla. The pudding itself was really good, but how could it not be seeing that it's made with Theo chocolate. In the interest of full disclosure, my friend's wife is a chocolatier at Theo but that in no way influences my assertion that Theo chocolate is damn good.
As I'm sure you could tell, the food was very well done but for some reason I was slightly underwhelmed by my experience overall. The clean white and green interior threw me off a little because I was expecting something more in line with the tilth theme. Also, our server seemed a little less polished than I would have anticipated but I can't complain because we were never left wanting and our food was also brought out when it should have been. Our server just seemed a little nervous or unsure of herself, which she shouldn't because she did a good job and suggested an excellent wine pairing.
Overall I would highly recommend Tilth. Since this was only my first time visiting I'll give them a few more tries before I pass final judgement on the atmosphere.
There's a new restaurant that has opened up in my neighborhood and it's one of only two Oregon Tilth organic certified restaurants in the country. Tilth has taken over the location of my much beloved Mandalay Cafe on 45th in Wallingford and I finally had a chance to try it last Thursday. Since I heard what was moving into that space I was interested in checking it out, especially after learning Maria Hines was the owner and chef. Kristen actually got to go a week before I did and you can read what she thought of it on her blog.
I really enjoyed Tilth, the food was well executed and enjoyed the flavor profiles of the dishes. I started with the Local Comice Pear Salad and Kristen had the Full Circle Farms Baby Lettuces. I was expecting the blue cheese in my salad to be a lot stronger than it was and it played well with the arugula and walnuts. Not really paying attention to what was in Kristen's salad I was really intrigued by the light fruit of the vinaigrette. When I asked her what it was she said it was just a lemon vinaigrette and I really liked how it was executed. It was a little sweet and tart without any harsh acid. I can say that a lot of times something as simple as a vinaigrette can make or break a salad, and this one made it.
Our main entrees came out shortly after we finished our salads. Kristen was presented with Sablefish and a polenta cake while I received the seared Top Sirloin. My first impression with the top sirloin was how perfectly it was cooked. Usually when I go out to eat at a restaurant and order a steak I tend to ask for it to be rare/medium rare because if I ask for it just medium rare it'll get cooked to medium. This time, they delivered exactly what I asked for and I was very pleased. The sirloin had a good flavor that I attribute it to being grassfed. I did notice that it could be a little harder to chew if I didn't cut it across the grain of the meat. But when I did, the beef was very tender and almost buttery. This proved to be an excellent counterpount to the accompanying radicchio which provided a nice bitter note. When I took my first bite of the fingerling potatoes I really didn't want to eat anything else. I'm a sucker for potatoes and these were amazing when I had them alone. The saltiness of the seasoning and the creaminess of the potato itself was a little bit of heaven. The flavor profile of the entire dish was well done with the saltiness of the potatoes, bitterness of the radicchio, and beefiness of the sirloin all playing well off each other with no one flavor overpowering any other.
Kristen's balsamic glazed sablefish was the polar opposite of my entree. It was much lighter but just as flavorful. While my entree was a play on some bolder flavors, this dish was all about quieter ones. The mild white sablefish played host to the subtley sweet balsamic glaze while sitting atop a creamy polenta cake. Like most white fish, the sablefish was very neutral in flavor so if paired incorrectly it could easily be overpowered by the flavors in it's companions. But once again, everything played off each other and provided a complimentary and harmonious flavor profile.
After a slight miscommunication about whether or not we wanted dessert, they arrived at our table. We ordered the Mini Caramel Heirloom Apples that Kristen had been raving about since her visit as well as the Smoked Theo Chocolate Pudding. The mini caramel apples were little apples on a toothpick that you then dipped into a side of caramel. I really wished the apples were bigger because I couldn't get enough of the caramel. I tried to get as much caramel as I could on the last mini apple we had, but even then that wasn't enough. The vanilla marshmellow kept throwing me off in the pudding dish. Every time I combined a bite of the marshmallow with the pudding, all I could taste was the vanilla. The pudding itself was really good, but how could it not be seeing that it's made with Theo chocolate. In the interest of full disclosure, my friend's wife is a chocolatier at Theo but that in no way influences my assertion that Theo chocolate is damn good.
As I'm sure you could tell, the food was very well done but for some reason I was slightly underwhelmed by my experience overall. The clean white and green interior threw me off a little because I was expecting something more in line with the tilth theme. Also, our server seemed a little less polished than I would have anticipated but I can't complain because we were never left wanting and our food was also brought out when it should have been. Our server just seemed a little nervous or unsure of herself, which she shouldn't because she did a good job and suggested an excellent wine pairing.
Overall I would highly recommend Tilth. Since this was only my first time visiting I'll give them a few more tries before I pass final judgement on the atmosphere.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Inaugural Podcast: Nothing fits...
I've finally decided to do a podcast. It's all music so I'm sparing you the sound of my voice, but that might change as I get more ambitious. Of course I've encoded it in Windows Media Audio format, so you'll need a compatible player for it. Moving forward, I might encode in MP3. The playlist is below, I hope you enjoy it!
10.10.2006 Podcast: Nothing fits... (right click to Save Target, not sure how it works on Macs)
The Decemberists - The Perfect Crime No. 2
Belle and Sebastian - Funny Little Frog
Stars - Reunion
Death Cab for Cutie - Your Heart is an Empty Room
The Pernice Brothers - My So-Called Celibate Life
Regina Spektor - Better
Lily Allen - Friday Night
Beck - Nausea
Metric - Hand$hake$
Cold War Kids - Hang Me Up to Dry
Sandi Thom - Sunset Borderline
Laura Cantrell - 14th Street
Iron and Wine|Calexico - A History of Lovers
Math and Physics Club - Graduation Day
The Long Winters - Fire Island, AK
The Posies - Love Comes
The Raconteurs - Together
10.10.2006 Podcast: Nothing fits... (right click to Save Target, not sure how it works on Macs)
The Decemberists - The Perfect Crime No. 2
Belle and Sebastian - Funny Little Frog
Stars - Reunion
Death Cab for Cutie - Your Heart is an Empty Room
The Pernice Brothers - My So-Called Celibate Life
Regina Spektor - Better
Lily Allen - Friday Night
Beck - Nausea
Metric - Hand$hake$
Cold War Kids - Hang Me Up to Dry
Sandi Thom - Sunset Borderline
Laura Cantrell - 14th Street
Iron and Wine|Calexico - A History of Lovers
Math and Physics Club - Graduation Day
The Long Winters - Fire Island, AK
The Posies - Love Comes
The Raconteurs - Together
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)