Gwnewch y pethau bychain

Tag: food

Going to Market

One of the things that excited Larissa and me about our new apartment was that it was walking distance to a great many things, and we can certainly do with more exercise and fresh air in our lives. So today we decided to go out for a nice stroll down to Pike Place Market for lunch and a bit of random shopping.

We left a bit after noon and headed down Thomas Street to the pedestrian bridge that goes down into Myrtle Edwards Park. We’ve already come to love this park, and there’s a great many photos taken of the waterfront and the Olympics across the water on my Instagram page. We had not, to this point, really taken the time to explore the walk/bike trail that runs all along it, though, so we set off south towards downtown to see what we could see.

We wandered along the edge of the Olympic Sculpture park, stopping to take a photo of myself under a giant ampersand.1  There’s a bit of a sandy beach just past it, with a large sign warning people to not pester the harbour seals when they are resting on the rocks.  We didn’t see any seals, but there were a number of ducks on the water looking reasonably pleased with their lot in life.  Past this beach the trail empties out onto Alaska Way which continues on down past the piers on the waterfront.

We ambled on down the street, stopping to take pictures of interesting signs or structures, and eventually arrived in the vicinity of Pike Place Market, where we promptly became incredibly indecisive about where to eat.  It didn’t help that, being Saturday, the market was completely packed with people, so we wandered up the block a ways and found a nice sushi joint called Japonessa which promised “a Japanese core concept with hints of Latino flair.”2  We were seated pretty quickly despite having no reservation and our very friendly waiter got us set up with some ginger beer and a superb edamame appetiser, which was very fresh and salted perfectly.  We then sampled the brie tempura, which was served with an extraordinary raspberry sauce, and finished with a variety of sushi rolls and sashimi.3 I have a feeling this is going to be a restaurant we return to, because everything was excellent.

Well stuffed with food, we went back over to the market4  We poked through the hat shop, but they only had sizes up to XL, which isn’t quite large enough for my head, so no new hats were acquired.5 We wandered down into the lower levels, where they keep the bookstores.  There are two bookstores that I’m aware of in the Market, both with friendly and conversational clerks.  I was tempted by many things, but in the end we only walked out with a single paperback.

We wandered over to Beecher’s Cheese Shop to get some cheese, but it was packed and the line was very long, so we decided to come back another day.  Larissa’s foot was starting to bother her and it was beginning to get dark.  So we headed up Pine St to 3rd Ave and caught the #13 bus back home.

It was a lovely afternoon with no agenda.  And that’s really what Saturdays are all about, Charlie Brown.


  1. amplectere potestem “et” 

  2. This wasn’t a fusion I’d encountered before, so it seemed worth a try. 

  3. Larissa declared the sashimi “the best she’d ever had”, and she’s had quite a lot of sashimi over the years. 

  4. Pausing briefly to politely suggest to the guy standing on the corner with an IMPEACH OBAMA sign that he might consider the many benefits of getting a job, or at least finding something better to do with his time. 

  5. I’ve been told there’s a serious hat shop somewhere in Seattle, and I need to take some time to find it. 

Just a stranger on the bus trying to make his way home

Conversation between me and kitanzi just now:

Me:  Buffalo wings should have a crispy texture when you bite into them.  Crispy skin, that is, no breading.  Breaded wings are an abomination in the eyes of God.1

Her:  I wasn’t aware God had an firm opinion on wings.

Me: God has an firm opinion on almost everything.

Her: Well, all sorts of people have an opinion about what God’s opinion of things is.  That’s not the same thing.

Me:  Ok, let me clarify.  God – as I understand Him – has a very firm opinion on wings. And, when I say “God as I understand him”, what I mean is…..me.

Her:  (offers high-five) Well, at least you’re honest.

I love my wife.  We’re perfect for each other.


  1. Trying to find buffalo wings in Seattle as good as my favourite place back in Atlanta is an ongoing quest. 

I’m a winner, I’m a sinner, do you want my autograph?

This morning, on my way to work, I stopped by Subway to pick up something to eat.  Deciding that I was feeling more breakfasty than lunchy, I asked for a ham, egg, and cheese on flatbread.

The guy behind the counter looked perplexed.  "We don’t serve that after 11am, sorry."

"Aww, that’s too bad," I said, genuinely disappointed but willing to go along with this news for the sake of getting food and leaving.  Subway isn’t a deli, it’s a fast food joint, and I have no illusions about that.

"You could still get a bacon, egg and cheese," he added helpfully.

"So…..that’s still available after 11, but the ham isn’t?"

"Right.  Would you like that instead?"

"Suuuuure."  Clerk goes about assembling my sandwich, and asking what sort of cheese I want (pepperjack, of course).  Then, as he carefully layers the small triangles of dairy spice on my sandwich, I added "…and I’d like you to, for an extra charge, add ham to that." and pointed at the ham.

"You want ham as well?" he confirmed, with a mixture of wariness and appreciation, as if I was enticing him to do something terribly naughty and he was realising that he was going to enjoy it.

I walked out with a nicely toasted bacon, egg, and cheese AND HAM sandwich on flatbread.  More importantly, I have once again subverted the system and shaped reality to my will.

"We have done the impossible, and that has made us mighty."
–Captain Malcolm Reynolds

Fall of Civilization Imminent. Film at 11

Courtesy of mvaldemar, I learn that a minor league ballpark in St. Louis is serving Krispy Kreme Bacon Cheeseburgers:



It’s sweet like a doughnut, and then you’ve got the hamburger. You’ve read that right. It’s a burger with cheese and bacon, sandwiched between a Krispy Kreme doughnut — a heart attack waiting to happen. A burger so perfect, they say, tampering is discouraged.

“You’re ruining it! You’re not supposed to put ketchup on it!” Bowers says to a diner.

“Well, I don’t know. It’s my first time,” he replies.

For a mere $4.50 it’s breakfast, dinner, and a little dessert all in one. That it packs up to 1,000 calories — the donut alone has 10 grams of sugar — doesn’t seem to faze diabetic diner Floyd Schuetz.

“Oh, I’ll have another one of these,” he says.

That is quite possibly the most horrifying thing I’ve ever seen served on a plate.

Good lunch

it’s all your faults you know. Everyone kept saying that I needed to write in my journal more, an effort I’ve now been sustaining for over a month. But as a result, you now get to be subjected to such banality as “What I had for Lunch”.

While we were out and about yesterday at lunch, eloren and I noticed a newish restaurant on Windward Parkway called Thai Picasso, which billed itself as a Thai-French restaurant. We thought this was intriguing, and we both like Thai food (though I admit to still being woefully undereducated about it, so we figured we’d go give it a try.

The lunch menu was nicely priced, with most of the entrees in the $6 range, with a set of specials up around $10. eloren had the spicy basil shrimp special, while I elected for an appetizer of crunchy fried shrimp and ginger beef. In addition, we each had a bowl of soup, with eloren taking the coconut soup and myself a bowl of Tom Yum soup.

Everything was delicately spiced, without anything being overpowering. The “crunchy friend shrimp” turned out to be jumbo shrimp wrapped in a spring roll cover and flash fried, with a sweet sauce for dipping. The Tom Yum was spiced just enough to give it flavour without ever being overbearing, and the ginger beef was succulent and soft in the mouth, with a delightfully subtle taste.

To finish the meal, we split a piece of tiramisu, since eloren‘s more expensive lunch order came with a complementary piece of cake. It was a wonderfully light and sweet finish to a delightful meal.

If you find yourself in the Windward Parkway area of Alpharetta, give this place a try. I was not disappointed.

Gorgeous Day

Today was the sort of day that I hate being trapped inside for. For lunch, eloren and I went to Loco’s Deli, and sat out on the patio in the sun, enjoying the nice breeze and 70 degree (F) weather.

Ah, spring. 🙂

You Are What You Eat

Food meme, taken from maedbh7, among many others.

Wonderful weekend (Friday)

Time spent with far-away sweeties, catching up with friends, great food, a marvelous concert, making music, meeting people previously known only online, and love…

Wherein the Autographed Cat reflects upon his Immortal Soul

I’m going to hell.

Those of you who know me well may consider this an unsurprising revelation, but it’s official. Tonight I committed what has to be a serious and unforgivable sin. You see, in order to stretch our money as far as possible, I try to drink iced tea instead of other various beverages which tend to be more expensive. So I went to brew a fresh pot of tea, and discover….

We’re out of Tetley.

I thought for sure we had some. I looked through all the cabinets, even the ones down near the floor where the extra stuff is kept. No luck. But I did find something. So, out of desperation, a pot of tea was born.

I made iced tea with good Darjeeling.

And it’s good.

I’m going to hell.

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