Text 5675, 91 rader
Skriven 2006-09-20 11:10:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: winding trip down 273
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Some discussion about where to eat. I suggested we go
someplace where Hap and Annie could find a meal that
was South Beach friendly.

We decided on the Ram, a sports brewpub that just happens
to have good burgers. We waited a while for their favorite
waitress, but she was slammed, so eventually we decided to
take the first available table, where they ordered various
burgers (Annie's senza bun or fries) and I the daily special,
the Ram steak (an 8-oz sirloin tippish thing with onion ring
and loaded potato), extra rare (I mooed at the agreeable and
cute waitress, which made her chuckle), for a couple bucks
more than a dressed burger. Hap wanted to celebrate so got
an order of Ram chips, which are thick-cut, fried-in-house,
and almost identical to the Misfit chips served at Duclaw's
in Maryland (which has similar burgers, hmmmm). These are
served with ranch dressing, an aberration I think.

I had a pint of porter, which was coffee-ish and pretty
tasty but a little on the mild side for me.

Hap and Annie's burgers looked and apparently were good.
But speaking of chains (there are 17 restaurants in 5
states under this corporate umbrella) and inconsistency,
my steak came with hardly any pink in the middle at all.
There was some discussion as to what to call it - someone
thought it was medium, someone else called it medium-rare,
and I maintaned that it was medium-well; but everyone
agreed that it was not extra rare, no matter what it was.
I tasted one bite, just to be fair, and I had a hard time
downing it, so I had it sent back, keeping the onion ring
and the potato (bacon, butter, and chives - I had them
hold the sour cream). The waitress, truly chagrined, offered
to get the manager, but I said I wasn't in the mood to yell
at anyone and so just get me a properly done steak. She
offered a salad on the house, but I didn't want a salad and
asked for a second beer, a small one. Shortly - as I was
finishing up the potato, in fact, came out a piece of
meat with grill marks on the outside but true blue on      
the inside (in fact, quite chilly). I imagine the cook
saying to himself, that'll fix him; but of course it was
just what I wanted. It was a good-tasting although not
tender piece of meat, somewhat smaller than the first one
(although both were within an ounce of the promised 8).
Note to self: next time get a burger, the heck with this
special thing (and it had been only a buck or two off).

=

Annie had to go to work early, and I heard her cellphone
at 6 in the morning through my snoozing - her colleague
calling to say he was on his way. I got up to say goodbye,
as it was return to Sea-Tac day. Thought about napping some
more, but figured I could do that on the plane, so Hap and
I went off for breakfast, with myself hoping for something
other than breakfast food, or at least corned beef hash.

We ended up at Knapp's (some echo people might remember it
from a picnic a couple years ago), which, despite lacking
favor because the new owners are beancounters, was convenient.
Hap had sausage-egg biscuits with a fancy name, topped with a
scanty amount of sausage gravy and a sprinkle of cheese. He
groused gently about the lack of gravy; I would have asked
the waitress for an extra little cup of it, if I were he.
Interestingly, one main reason I didn't order the dish myself
was a fear that there would be too much gravy. Instead, I had
the special Tex-Mex skillet - home fries (not otherwise on the
menu) with chili meat, olives, scallions, and a sprinkle of
cheese, with cups of salsa, pickled Jalapenos, guac, and sour
cream on the side. I sent the sour cream back. Everything
was okay, and it didn't really taste like breakfast food, so
I was happy enough. The guac was heavily lemoned, probably
so it could be made in giant batches and kept without obvious
spoilage for a long time.

Then a trip to Commencement Bay Coffee, which has free WiFi
and free parking (as it was kind of drizzly out, we didn't
care to do the usual, which is park at Hap's workspace and
hop the light rail downtown and walk half a block to Cutter's.

Two disadvantages to Commencement Bay. They brew the coffee
weak, and the area with the electric outlets is raised by
one step, which I managed to fall down. The decaf French Roast
(the decaf of the day) tasted like sludgy French Roast cut
with water. Hap expressed surprise that I knew about French
Roast, as I prefer lightly roasted coffee in general, when I
drink coffee at all. This wasn't worth recommending as decaf,
as coffee, or as French Roast.
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