Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Flame on.......

Tonight we had Basketball practice...9 kids burning off a lot of steam, and one perplexed dad (me) wondering why these kids wouldn't listen to me about doing drills......Last week, after having my blood pressure rise about 1000% this week I took a step back...and asked myself the following questions...was anybody hurt, or in danger of getting hurt ? Did it seem like they were having a good time ? Was anybody getting left out ? They all seemed to be smiling, and nobody was taking it too seriously, so I just let it run it course......we'll see how it turns out on Friday when they play their next game.

After Practice we went to the "new" burger joint on Queen Anne Avenue called "Flame". For food quality I have to really rate it high- I had a great pulled pork sandwich, fries, and a fantastic Chocolate shake. My son had a cheeseburger which he said was just as good as the kind I make, but a little better because it wasn't quite so charred. He had a great Vanilla shake. For price I thought it was a bit expensive, and as far as service goes, well lets just say they really fell down.

Bjorn was working the counter in a classic black vest and black bow tie - the line cook seemed to be well qualified...the execution of the food was great, but the timing was way off - the fries were done first and cooling by the time the burger and sandwich were done...and then they had forgotten all about the shakes...meanwhile a few more orders were stacking up...they honestly were not slammed - I think there were four parties, but to be in the weeds with just that volume makes me wonder what it would be like if it truly was packed.

We will go back....but we just won't be in a hurry.......

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Train Wrecks

Train Wrecks………

I love my mp3 player…it's not an ipod, it's just a little iRiver T-10. I’ve got a bunch of music stored, and I try to download a Canadian sports radio show every day to listen to while I’m riding the bus in to work in the morning, and to NPR on the way home (it has FM radio also). I use it when I’m washing dishes in the evening – my family laughs heartily as I try to sing along – they only get to hear me without the background. It’s like the worst of American Idol auditions. I often feel a bit like Joel in Risky Business, with a wooden spoon for a microphone. My favorite time is when I’m skiing, and I have it plugged into my helmet – busting down the fall line, good tunes…good times.

I have quite the eclectic taste in music. Some might change “eclectic” for bad….. but I love it… the heck with playlists…right now I’ve just got it on total random, which leads to some interesting transition. Here is an example of some of the shuffle orders I’ve recently had:

Shrimp Shack from the “That Thing You Do” soundtrack, into “Photograph” by Def Leopard, and then a reggae cover of “Every Breath You Take” by UB40…as I’m writing this Hannah Montana is in my ears with “If We Were a Movie” I can’t wait for what comes next (Hey –don’t laugh, I like Hannah Montana / Miley Cirus…really!) and the winner is “Life is a Highway” by Rascal Flatts….

My favorite one was “Bop to the Top” from High School Musical, into U2 – Vertigo, and then Roy Orbison “Oh Pretty Woman”….

Like I said - I love my mp3, it really makes me smile !

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Portage

We ( my wife and I ) went out for dinner the other night to Portage, on Queen Anne Hill...This is a tiny spot, but the room looks fabulous, lots of small deuces (that's restaurant speak for tables for two), white table cloths, and a nice looking bar in the middle of the room.

One of my favorite places in the world is Prune in Manhattan, a space about as small - so my hopes were high...but....not so much.

We started out looking at the very limited menu, "Great Lake Whitefish " huh ???? here we are in the Northwest and I see whitefish from the Midwest ? The wine list is mostly in French ( My American palate has been insulted by the best !) after trying a couple of recommendations by our server, we settle on a bottle of Austrian Pinot Noir...(as in the Sound of Music..not g'day 'mate, though I'd have loved to had some Strong Australian Cab representation on the list).

We then decided on a split of salad, a Tuna Tartare app, a squash app, a Mushroom puff pastry roll entree, and a interesting combo of Diver Scallops & Pork Cheeks.....

The salad never arrived, the Tuna, while OK was not inspired, the olives in the mix added a nice salinity, but the texture just didn't seem right. The Squash dish was fantastic. Small bits of squash with frisee, lardons, and pomegranete seed in a light vinaigrette...very nice.

The Pinot built strength as the night went on... I like a big Pinot, and this one was not meek. The entrees arrived, and I dove into my Scallops which were really good - nice carmelization, and a super cream fraiche sauce , the pork cheek was a dud, on top of a watery potato puree, - everyone wants to do a Rubochon potato, but for it to work ,the execution is key - good Potato, Lots of butter, more butter, salt, and HEAT ! One of the items on the bottom of the list in the world is lukewarm thin potato puree. 'nuf said.

The mushroom roll had the same problem..not enough heat ...we had a lovely conversation though, and eventually the Chef made a tour of the room..he stopped by out table and I asked him about if there was a way I was to eat the scallops & pork..kind of iron chef'ish..."what was the philosophy of the dish"...his response was a lame "my take on surf and turf". His next attempt was to say that we had chosen a nice bottle of wine. We chatted about Pinots and he said if we were interested, next time we should try the Andrew Wright, that wasn't on the list...I then said I thought it was Ken Wright, which he then agreed to.....AWKWARD !!!!!!

Anyway- I really want to love and support this place, but it just doesn't hit the mark...I wish it would ! I feel like saying "here ...go to NYC...go to Prune...hang out for three nights, and come back inspired !!!!

Flexibility is the Key to long life

A Mentor/Friend has told me “flexibibility if the key to long life” many times, and it has really home home in the recent past.

Flexibility #1
My son and I have been going to a Ski lodge about an hour drive and a 40 minute Sno-cat ride (the good lord willing and the radiator don’t break) for the past year and a half. I Got my son “new” skis ( they were two year old demos that I found on e-bay…and since I got him such a good deal, I had to do the same for myself). The plan was to give him the Skis on Christmas, and then announce that we’d head to the hills for the next two days. But with the pre-Christmas storm that we had in the Northwest, the lodge would be closed until the New Years weekend.

Flexibility #2

We had an uneventful trip up the pass, and hit the parking lot with a few minutes to spare. The air was fresh with the exhaust and wine of snowmobiles, and yet here was the pack of motley skiers, snowboarders, telemarkers, snowshoers and sleders….at last the Cat arrives, but….as pilot Jim unclips, he announces that the radiator has leaked all its fluid, we need 6 more quarts……but the fluid is uphill three miles away. A hero approaches after 20 minutes, one of the community has a snowmobile – he blasts up the mountain, and appears 20 minutes later with fluid, and the cavalry in the form of the lodges much small “Pack Rat” cat…. We got the Tom Cat (big cat) ready to go, piled on and up we went, until..

Flexibility # 3

Green fluid dribbles behind and the temp gauge hits the red…..everyone off….1.5 miles up the hill….Gear gets shifted to the small cat, and we put our skis, and get pulled up the hill “water skier style” the rest of the way to the lodge…of course we left the carcass of Tom Cat to be repaired by (I kid you not)..The crack team of college student mechanics/snoboarders & crusty Boeing engineers…hoping that they would get it completed by the time we needed to get down the hill the next evening...

Flexibility # 4

After getting to the lodge, and finding all the “good” bunks were taken both my son and I found ourselves in upper , single bunks….we both skied hard that afternoon and returned to the lodge for evening chips & salsa – As I relaxed , reading “The best food writing of 2006” (a wonderful gift from my wife) , soon I was being addressed..”Are you Jamies Dad? He is being given first aid.” My immediate thoughts are – I hope he’s OK, I hope it’s not serious, where is he …he was just going to get a book! (My Wife is going to kill me!!!!!!!)…which quickly is answered – “he’s fine but a bit freaked out… he cut his foot getting off is bunk (turns out he had a bump on his foot that got scraped off. We all made it through, however there was no waltzing for him that night (nor me, though I enjoyed watching from the sidelines, but that’s another story)

Flexibility #5

I was up early (5:45) on Sunday morning to help with making breakfast for 65, and to try to make the mythical “first tracks” - my new welders gloves ($ 4.50 at Tacoma Screw…thanks guys) were gripping the rope tow firmly- yes rope tow- not a fancy, detachable six pak chairlift, not even an old riblet double chair (riblet tramways, Spokane Washington – originally built mining equipment). This place is served by three rope tows which lend even more to the culture of the hill. I head up to the top of the Mach tow- so named because of the speed at which it travels, get off, and look across the valley to some part of the Cascades that I should know the name of, but they are just the “mountains across the valley” ( which reminds me of a Dale Turner story for another day)…So I push off and head down “the Lane” – I can see my son below me on another run, I take a deep breath, relax, and keep the knees loose, upper body quiet and imagine the Warren Miller camera below…until…. I start to look like a cartoon snowball, as I fall without grace, and land with a face plant beyond compare…yes flexibility of the mind, and the body is important to long life!

…………….So after reading this entry, you may ask what could be so rewarding to justify such flexibility – well that is a future entry, so keep checking back……