Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
False Advertising
Drove around today in the rental car....all things considered, the weather was awesome, I woke up early...AND it was my day off...who knew!?
Jody was driving and was incredibly un-impressed with his new GPS. Turn where? back there? aw bloody hell.
We went to Mukilteo where we saw....expensive houses....and cheap crack houses. We saw the ferry terminal...and a really run-down looking brew-pub called Diamond Knot. Mind you the website for Diamond Knot makes it look somewhat more glamorous than a suped up Denny's...but c'mon...this place was like a beat-down shack waiting to implode. I was expecting to see $5 streetwalkers rolling up their pantyhose and drug dealers lookin to sell their smack. And even they wouldn't go there.
Ended up exploring Mill Creek/Bothell. Ripper.
McMenamin's is famous in Oregon, and especially to Oregon afficianados...in fact one could say that it literally could replace that other McRestaurant in popularity with pasty faced teenagers and crack whores from Mukilteo...(besides the Diamond Knot).
Their properties in Portland are outstanding, the bars...amazing, and the beer perfectly satisfying...however this McMenamin's in Mill Creek must have been the brew-pub that time forgot.
Built into what appears to be the leftover Hollywood video spot in a stripmall, one could only wince as you sit in your wood booth looking out into the desolate strip-mall parking lot. The view, merely a Safeway, a busy gas station, and of course the various cars driving in and out un-ceremoniously visiting the local Department of Licensing office just next door.
An insipid and un-inspired bowl of macaroni and cheese...taking 10 minutes to bring out to my table, consisting of boiled macaroni and a liquid cheese "soup"...then sprinkled with about a teaspoon of panko bread crumbs. Oh how demeaning....to pay $9 for instant or was it frozen mac and cheese.
Where was the love? Where was the careful attention to pure food that Oregonians are famous for....it definitely was not swimming in my soupy bowl of macaroni. Nor did this level of detail come out of the pepper shaker...which by the way definitely did not taste like pepper or anything much at all....probably the same pepper from when it was a Blockbuster video store...yeah I know.
I tried the beer sampler, knowing that one of my most favorite beers of all time is the Terminator Stout. The Ruby (a horrendous raspberry ale) was disgusting, absolutely undrinkable and now I know why it's one of their best sellers...the Bud/Miller/Coors crowd would have a heyday with this one. Just like when we use to mix beer and orange juice for breakfast at the University.
Their pale ale was drinkable, their IPA was pretty much the same, the seasonal was a bland irish red ale that needed more malt but was the clearest of the 6. Their Porter...much better than I remember. In fact it was better than the Stout.
Consistency seems to be a problem for a lot of businesses these days. I just didn't expect it to show up in a bowl of mac and cheese.
Jody was driving and was incredibly un-impressed with his new GPS. Turn where? back there? aw bloody hell.
We went to Mukilteo where we saw....expensive houses....and cheap crack houses. We saw the ferry terminal...and a really run-down looking brew-pub called Diamond Knot. Mind you the website for Diamond Knot makes it look somewhat more glamorous than a suped up Denny's...but c'mon...this place was like a beat-down shack waiting to implode. I was expecting to see $5 streetwalkers rolling up their pantyhose and drug dealers lookin to sell their smack. And even they wouldn't go there.
Ended up exploring Mill Creek/Bothell. Ripper.
McMenamin's is famous in Oregon, and especially to Oregon afficianados...in fact one could say that it literally could replace that other McRestaurant in popularity with pasty faced teenagers and crack whores from Mukilteo...(besides the Diamond Knot).
Their properties in Portland are outstanding, the bars...amazing, and the beer perfectly satisfying...however this McMenamin's in Mill Creek must have been the brew-pub that time forgot.
Built into what appears to be the leftover Hollywood video spot in a stripmall, one could only wince as you sit in your wood booth looking out into the desolate strip-mall parking lot. The view, merely a Safeway, a busy gas station, and of course the various cars driving in and out un-ceremoniously visiting the local Department of Licensing office just next door.
An insipid and un-inspired bowl of macaroni and cheese...taking 10 minutes to bring out to my table, consisting of boiled macaroni and a liquid cheese "soup"...then sprinkled with about a teaspoon of panko bread crumbs. Oh how demeaning....to pay $9 for instant or was it frozen mac and cheese.
Where was the love? Where was the careful attention to pure food that Oregonians are famous for....it definitely was not swimming in my soupy bowl of macaroni. Nor did this level of detail come out of the pepper shaker...which by the way definitely did not taste like pepper or anything much at all....probably the same pepper from when it was a Blockbuster video store...yeah I know.
I tried the beer sampler, knowing that one of my most favorite beers of all time is the Terminator Stout. The Ruby (a horrendous raspberry ale) was disgusting, absolutely undrinkable and now I know why it's one of their best sellers...the Bud/Miller/Coors crowd would have a heyday with this one. Just like when we use to mix beer and orange juice for breakfast at the University.
Their pale ale was drinkable, their IPA was pretty much the same, the seasonal was a bland irish red ale that needed more malt but was the clearest of the 6. Their Porter...much better than I remember. In fact it was better than the Stout.
Consistency seems to be a problem for a lot of businesses these days. I just didn't expect it to show up in a bowl of mac and cheese.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Why Via Tribunali Sucks....
Via Tribunali
The place does not blow me away.
Why?
Not only is this a restaurant dedicated to the darkness of the non-lit atmosphere of an incredibly overpriced and overhyped locale....but..
Their pizza is pretty O.K.
But wait you say....Via Tribunali should have D.O.C. pizza...the stuff that the italians actually approve of!
In fact, they approve of this pizza so much that they need to go around and give them their "stamp" of approval! That's right folks, Via Tribunali does not bring something original to the Seattle table... (the original in Seattle was Tutta Bella by the way)....so you would think that they would make a special twist on their version to set it apart...
Well, if $5-8 more per pie, absolutely impossible weekend parking, and 80% darker interior lighting meant better....then well it MUST be better.
Who am I to argue with the tragically "hip" folk who live upon that hill....capitol hill....with a capital "O" for over-hyped and overly-gentrified.
Fine...YOU can drive around in circles trying to find parking....YOU can squint like a blind rat trying to read the menu in their dimness.....YOU can pay $18 for the same pizza you can get down the street at the original D.O.C. pizza joint for less....
One could say that the darker the interior the restaurant...the more things they DON'T want you to see..
And they really shouldn't be selling Spaten Pils......they need Georgetown beer....or at the very least Fat Tire.
Via Tribunali...a product of ego-inflated journalistic hype.
Think about it, try it once and then YOU decide.
The place does not blow me away.
Why?
Not only is this a restaurant dedicated to the darkness of the non-lit atmosphere of an incredibly overpriced and overhyped locale....but..
Their pizza is pretty O.K.
But wait you say....Via Tribunali should have D.O.C. pizza...the stuff that the italians actually approve of!
In fact, they approve of this pizza so much that they need to go around and give them their "stamp" of approval! That's right folks, Via Tribunali does not bring something original to the Seattle table... (the original in Seattle was Tutta Bella by the way)....so you would think that they would make a special twist on their version to set it apart...
Well, if $5-8 more per pie, absolutely impossible weekend parking, and 80% darker interior lighting meant better....then well it MUST be better.
Who am I to argue with the tragically "hip" folk who live upon that hill....capitol hill....with a capital "O" for over-hyped and overly-gentrified.
Fine...YOU can drive around in circles trying to find parking....YOU can squint like a blind rat trying to read the menu in their dimness.....YOU can pay $18 for the same pizza you can get down the street at the original D.O.C. pizza joint for less....
One could say that the darker the interior the restaurant...the more things they DON'T want you to see..
And they really shouldn't be selling Spaten Pils......they need Georgetown beer....or at the very least Fat Tire.
Via Tribunali...a product of ego-inflated journalistic hype.
Think about it, try it once and then YOU decide.
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