August 30, 2007
Jen noticed Opa! opened their doors August 24th and organized a blogger meetup last night for dinner. Never one to pass up good Greek food I happily agreed and sat down with Jen, Kevin, Sarah, and Joe for an excellent meal.
Service was extremely quick from our appetizers to our meal. Drinks came immediately (Kevin - a Fanta? Seriously?) and we settled in to eat. We ordered a selection of four dipping sauces and were impressed by most except the hummus, which I noticed sat untouched by most after the initial dip. The Tzatziki was excellent, as was the Skordalia (potato-garlic dip) and we all enjoyed the Tirokafteri (Feta cheese, olive oil, lemon and herbs) as well. The pita was served hot and delicious.
When our meals arrived we dug in with gusto. Sara and I both ordered Myzithra spaghetti which was fantastic. I had never tasted myzithra cheese before and absolutely loved it. I highly recommend it, but plan on taking a box home with you - my stomach was full long before my plate was empty. Jen and Kevin ordered lamb dishes - Jen a stew and Kevin chops - both of which were gorgeously plated and came with rice and potatoes tasting deliciously of lemon.
Joe was the only one to clean his plate, having ordered a chicken dish. You can see Kevin's shots of him digging in here, and the aftermath here. Well done Joe!
I ordered the strawberry cheesecake for dessert and Sarah and Kevin split the white chocolate baklava. The menu states that the desserts are all fresh and homemade, but they taste like they come straight out of a freezer box at a mass produced warehouse. The only disappointment of the night.
The was a bit of a surprise when the check came. I thought the total was a bit high so I looked over the check closely and noticed that there was a gratuity already added. It seemed odd to add a gratuity for serving just 5 people, so that's something they may want to reconsider. Either make your customers aware that this is the practice in your restaurant or do away with it since it's not customary.
For a place that's only been open for 5 days, Opa! was bustling with customers and has a good feeling. The owner came out and bussed our table and said hello, which was nice. The menu has a lot of choose from, if you don't want Greek food you can have lots of other "fusion" options. Our waitress was funny and friendly, the atmosphere was nice, and I will definitely be making a return to Opa! in the future.
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August 22, 2007
Today the designated hot spot was Mary's Burger Bistro on Pacific. They opened their doors bright and early for breakfast, but Frinklin and joined in for the noon rush hour, and holy crap, was it busy!
We met up with so many well known Tacoma bloggers I hardly need to name them. Head over to feed tacoma and pick anyone you want and they were likely there. Reviews are up all over the place. I sat with Frinklin and Jen, Kevin, Sarah, and met Todd for the first time. I also spotted Joe (with a fancy new blog) and Michael of Red Hot Tideflats fame. And I had the luck to meet Tacoma Chickadee in person finally. It appears that even Ed of Ed's Diner made an appearance today.
The atmosphere was festive when we arrived at noon, and the line was out the door. The folks behind the counter were jumpin'. It took about a half hour to order, but we entertained ourselves by meeting new people and munching on the free cookies that were handed out (great cookies, BTW!). Once our food was ordered came the long wait. And long wait it was. Our food took about an hour to come, but we chalked it up to working out the kinks and there was very little grumbling. Free cookies continued to keep the troops happy.
Frinklin proclaimed his BBQ onion burger "great" and happily inhaled it. Unfortunately mine resembled more of a burnt hockey puck. When I pointed out my disappointing burger to Mr. Mary, he immediately swept away the hockey puck and moments later an enormous MIGHTY BURGER was thrust into my mits. Piping hot and deliciously adorned, the MIGHTY BURGER was perfection in burger form. The fries were fantastic and I left mighty satisfied.
The general consensus is that the food is good, operations are still working the kinks out, but overall everyone left feeling full and happy.
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August 20, 2007
But now that the blaming is over, we're having a blast. You can read the sumarized version of how we came to own a Wii this weekend. The slightly expanded version is that we played around with Sarah and Kevin's on Saturday night and by Sunday afternoon we were playing around with our own.
The gaming console is tiny and takes up almost no room. It's shockingly simple to set up and even more easy to use. There are no complicated manuals and walkthroughs to play the Wii Sports game that come with the system (yes, you heard that right Playstation and XBox fans - FREE GAME). There is the simple wireless remote ("wiimote") that is super cool and minimalist. And there is the idea that anyone can use this gaming system from the very young to the very old and have a good time doing it.
Frinklin and I are having much fun beating the crap out of each other at various games and sports. We picked up a few other games including the Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess and Wii Play. Wii Play may go back to the store as a trade in, but Zelda has proven to be pretty cool.
In addition to the games, Wii also includes a news channel with the latest in national and international headlines, global weather, and photos. It's like a web browser within in your gaming console. I've found myself using the Wii in the morning instead of the computer to read the latest news and check the weather.
If you're thinking about getting a Wii I highly recommend it. I'm hoping the next positive thing to come from this will be weight loss. I was on my feet for a good three hours today playing tennis, bowling, and boxing and I'm exhausted!
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August 17, 2007
Special message to Angela and Steve - get a website...everyone's doing it.
There was definitely a festive feeling in the air upon our arrival at six, and the place was already busy. The bartender recommended the Woodchuck Pear Cider which went down well on such a warm day (not recommended if you're looking for something strong - it's more like a soft drink). I started a tab and ordered a couple of appetizers for the table.
Consensus on the apps is that they were OK - not recommended for large groups, but we hardly paid anything for them, so no great loss. Everyone ordered something different. Michael ordered the Tideflats which has absolutely everything on it. He wins the award for bravery 'cause I know my stomach would have put up a serious fight over that thing.
I had the Chicago dog minus the onions, peppers, and tomato. I KNOW OK! I KNOW. What kind of Chicago dog is that? But I wanted the poppyseed bun. Essentially I had a dog with mustard and relish and it was delish! Whatever neon green relish is used - it's the best I've ever tasted. Absolutely amazing.
Kevin's dog had cream cheese on it which sounds weird, but tasty. I'm branching out in that direction next time. Frinklin said the sour kraut was great, as was the slaw.
After three dogs, the cider, water, a root bear, and the two appetizers our grand total was $20.25. Practically nothing!
This could become a regular thing. Thanks Chris!
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August 12, 2007
Who can resist beer and hot dogs?
Every time I pass The Red Hot my mouth waters with antici.......pation (3:33). Hope to see you there!
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August 10, 2007
Happy Birthday to Meeee!
Happy Birthday to Ensie!
Happy Birthday to Meeeeee!
I'll be celebrating by going out to Joeseppi's (did someone say birthday tiramisu?!) tonight with Frinklin and the In-laws. Thanks so much to Kevin and Sarah for doing drinks and dinner last night. It was tons of fun, even as we discovered they are just better looking, younger versions of Frinklin and myself.
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Happy Birthday!!!August 06, 2007
Little did I know I'd end up in hysterical tears on the way home, sitting in front of the house yelling, "And they're all evil! Evil!!" While my husband grasped at what the appropriate response would be to this statement.
This is your typical Michael Moore movie. In turns dramatic and funny, over the top and obvious. Hillary Clinton is the "sexy, sassy" bombshell wife of President Bill Clinton who brings the idea of Universal Health Care to the uneducated masses and when the idea fails is never allowed to mention it again. George W. Bush is seen as a bufoon and the Republican Congress is easily bought by the insurance and pharmaceutical industries.
Canada, England, France, and Cuba have Socialized medicine and therefore have superior health care than the U.S. Which, after watching not just this movie, but other documentaries and reading pieces on medicine in other countries, I am inclined to agree with. As someone who is seriously wanting to start a family soon it kills me to hear the expectant mother in the UK state that all new moms get six months paid maternity leave and another six months optional unpaid leave. And in France you get a nanny to assist with laundry and meals twice a week, it's mandatory to take at LEAST five weeks vacation each year, and doctors make house calls. Did I mention it's all free? Those crazy French.
The harder parts of the film are the insurance denial horror stories. The woman with the haunted eyes that tells the story of her husband who died of liver cancer while the insurance company denied treatment over and over again. "Experimental treatment" they claimed, month after month as his doctor tried valiantly to find something that would fall under the banner of "conventional" treatment. When the doctor found a bone marrow donor that matched perfectly and declared it his last chance, the insurance company denied that too. The woman pled her case in person in front of the insurance board who condemned her husband to die for no good reason. Whoops - there was one good reason - money.
Or the story of the baby with a deadly feaver insured by Kaiser Permanente who was brought to the wrong hospital - MLK in Los Angles - a place infamous to those in Southern California (I used to listen to LA radio and hear about how many people they would kill every month). Kaiser insisted that the baby needed to be taken by car to the nearest Kaiser hospital for treatment while the mother begged that the baby be admitted and receive treatment immediately. While the hospital, the insurance company, and the understandably hysterical mother argued, the baby was eventually moved, and died.
The movie ends with the much-talked-about trip to Cuba with 9-11 rescue workers and a number of other people. Initially they plan to go to Guantanamo Bay to get the same health care as the "evildoers", but abort that plan when alarms go off as they get close. They end up at the Cuban hospital instead where everyone appears to receive the treatment they need, free of charge.
What really got to me about this movie are the people who sit on high in the insurance companies denying claims for no good reason other than to keep the money in the hands of their company. There is a woman who testifies before Congress that in order to move up in the health insurance industry, she had to deny claims, and it is further discussed that saving the company the most money would win you a bonus within the company.
This is a seriously fucked up system. A very evil system.
It is truly evil to allow people to pay you, to allow them to think that they are paying you to protect them when they are at their most vulnerable - potentially dying from a terrible disease, or that their loved ones are dying from a horrible disease, when all the time you are looking for ways to undermine and destroy them. There is an entire system in place to ensure that your benefits are not paid, or if they are paid, that they are returned to the insurance company at a later date, and that you will be retroactively billed. Or that you will be dropped from the insurance company for making a claim.
I can't help but think what would I do if Frinklin were hurt or dying, and the insurance company that we have, that he works for, were to screw us in such a horrible way. Oh, the pain I would rain down upon them...
Universal Health Care Now!
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August 05, 2007
Last Thursday evening, myself, Frinklin, Jen,and Kevin traveled to the KOMO televison studios to attend a blogger meetup for the Seattle area. After scaring the bejesus out of everyone in the car a couple of times and taking a few wrong turns we managed to arrive safe and sound.
There were a good 75 bloggers present and the mingling was excellent. I met several new folks who I may never have run across in the blogosphere otherwise, and I hope to share a cup of coffee with in real life in the future. We also ran into Derek, and had a lovely time chatting it up Tacoma-style.
I know you're going to be jealous of this - but we go to take our picture in the Northwest Afternoon studio, and then we go to play a bit at the KOMO Anchor Desk and the green screen for weather. Somewhere there are shots of Jen and I doing the green screen weather thing. I even made it into the shot on the Seattle PI Big Blog (along with 20 other people, but still!). Since I'm anonymous, you'll just have to take my word for it. Although if you look at all of Kevin's pix, you'll eventually work it out. Although you'd have to be a really obsessed fan (or really pissed off supervisor of mine) to care that much.
After the meetup, the Tacoma bloggers sans Derek had a yummy dinner at the Cheesecake Factory downtown. We had a great time getting to know one another and I'm looking forward to spending time with them again!
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