I found good Mexican food in Seattle!!!!!
Yes it is true. And it's right in my 'hood, Wallingford. Sean and I went here randomly last weekend... I was thinking about trying out Chinoise, but I decided that it looked a little too expensive. Then as we were driving down 45th, the cute orange house that is Chile Pepper jumped out at us.
The dinner started off well, as we were served chips and salsa. I don't think I've ever gotten free chips and salsa in Seattle. As soon as I took the first bite, I knew that this place was not "Sea-Mex". The salsa was the best I have had since I moved here! It was that fire-roasted type of salsa, which I love, and it was actually hot!
Sean and I split the queso fundido, and a pork mole dish. The queso fundido is just melted chese served with tortillas. Since I love cheese, it'd be hard to screw that one up for me. But the important thing was the tortillas. They were obviously homemade, fresh, thin, and delicious! If I remember correctly, they were flour tortillas, and the ones served with the mole were corn. Both homemade, and both amazing! The mole was good, and the beans were decent, although not the best I've had. (I've been told that you have to be old to make good refried beans, so keep checking back, these beans should get better over time.)
Yes, I love this restaurant. So much. If you're asking yourself why I don't marry it, (any 5th graders reading my blog?), it's because I'm already engaged to my North Face. But, hopefully the North Face and I will have many occasions to go back to the Chile Pepper. This restaurant is like a sparkling diamond in a sea of crappy Mexican food. Wait, I mean it's like a breath of fresh air inside a stinky men's room?? Ummm... I mean, it's just freaking good. :)
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
Our Insular Circles
Sometimes I think I have a pretty diverse group of friends. I have engineering friends (of course), I have friends who are lawyers, doctors, phds in bio-chemistry, officers in the military. I even know a couple people in the social 'sciences'. :)
But I recently came across a poignant reminder of just how limited my social circle actually is. I went and looked up a Tucson restaurant, the Firkin and Friar, on yelp.
Some friends of mine actually opened that restaurant, and I ate there recently while I was in Tucson. (If you're in Tucson, let me recommend their Irish nachos... MMMMMMM good).
I found one review, and I clicked on this guy's profile to see what else he had reviewed. Funnily enough, he has a review of the Lisa Frank factory. I happen to know where Lisa Frank is because I lived right by it. However, before I moved down south I had no idea that it was there. Now read this review:
Do not work here... ever. I worked here for two years and it was hands-down the worst, most toxic work environment I have ever been in. Tyranical owners and management, belittlement of staff, shady business dealings and generally unethical treatment of employees... all only the tip of the iceberg.
If you are moving to Tucson and looking for work, avoid this place like the plague. People who live here have almost certainly heard horror stories from friends or friends-of-friends. I saw countless hires relocate to Tucson to work at Lisa Frank only to be fired within months. The staff turnover there is unbelievable.
If I could give zero stars, I would.
original review here
Have I heard stories from friends or friends-of-friends? No. You know why? Because I don't know a single person who works in a factory. In fact, I don't even think anyone I know has any friends who work in a factory. My dad worked in a factory in college, which was about 40 years ago. That's as close as I can get.
Is it just me, or are our social-economic strata really isolated?
But I recently came across a poignant reminder of just how limited my social circle actually is. I went and looked up a Tucson restaurant, the Firkin and Friar, on yelp.
Some friends of mine actually opened that restaurant, and I ate there recently while I was in Tucson. (If you're in Tucson, let me recommend their Irish nachos... MMMMMMM good).
I found one review, and I clicked on this guy's profile to see what else he had reviewed. Funnily enough, he has a review of the Lisa Frank factory. I happen to know where Lisa Frank is because I lived right by it. However, before I moved down south I had no idea that it was there. Now read this review:
Do not work here... ever. I worked here for two years and it was hands-down the worst, most toxic work environment I have ever been in. Tyranical owners and management, belittlement of staff, shady business dealings and generally unethical treatment of employees... all only the tip of the iceberg.
If you are moving to Tucson and looking for work, avoid this place like the plague. People who live here have almost certainly heard horror stories from friends or friends-of-friends. I saw countless hires relocate to Tucson to work at Lisa Frank only to be fired within months. The staff turnover there is unbelievable.
If I could give zero stars, I would.
original review here
Have I heard stories from friends or friends-of-friends? No. You know why? Because I don't know a single person who works in a factory. In fact, I don't even think anyone I know has any friends who work in a factory. My dad worked in a factory in college, which was about 40 years ago. That's as close as I can get.
Is it just me, or are our social-economic strata really isolated?
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Koop Island Blues
Clarinet and beautiful beach scenes. It doesn't get much better than this. I have to thank Radio Paradise for introducing this song to me.
Monday, December 3, 2007
The Holiday Spirit
I have to admit, I'm usually a little bit of a grinch about Christmas. It's full of stuff I don't like - spending money, going to the post office. But last weekend someone did something so nice for me, it reminded me of all that is good in humanity. You'll probably read this and laugh at me for blowing it out of proportion, but I seriously can't over-emphasize how much this meant to me. Here's the story:
On Sunday I was at an unnamed airport, going through security. A friend had given me a gift, and she said "don't open it until Christmas!" I had already packed my suitcase and it was very full, so I just tossed the gift into a shopping bag with the rest of the items that had over-flowed from my suitcase. After checking my suitcase, I went through security. Here I was thinking about how great I was because I didn't have any contraband - not even a tube of toothpaste! (All my liquids were in my checked bag - or so I thought).
The woman watching the screens called for someone to check my bag. Ugh, they want to open my present , I thought. That was dumb of me. Oh well, I'll just find out what the present is a little early.
The man who checked my bag was very friendly. He said, "Do you have a bag that you can check?" I said, "No, I've already checked it." He sighed and said that he wished I had put the present in that bag.
"If you need to open it, that's OK," I said.
"No, it's not OK," he replied. "Do you know what I'm going to find in here?"
"I thought it was candy," I said, but I was getting a little bit worried. Did they see something metal on the x-ray? I was really hoping that my friend didn't buy me a mini BB gun or biological weapon of some sort.
"I'm going to find liquids and gels," he told me.
"Ohhhh," I said slowly, as it dawned on me that he would have to throw away my present. He took a knife and started cutting open the wrapping paper on my present. He looked inside the paper, but then he stopped. He told me that in his professional opinion everything in the box would fit into a 1-quart container, and he taped the present back up.
"Don't open it until Christmas," he said. I almost cried.
At that moment, I felt very guilty for ragging on Christmas. This guy went to a lot of trouble to make sure I had that present. He was a modern-day Santa Claus, and I was a little kid, wide-eyed because this world can still amaze me.
On Sunday I was at an unnamed airport, going through security. A friend had given me a gift, and she said "don't open it until Christmas!" I had already packed my suitcase and it was very full, so I just tossed the gift into a shopping bag with the rest of the items that had over-flowed from my suitcase. After checking my suitcase, I went through security. Here I was thinking about how great I was because I didn't have any contraband - not even a tube of toothpaste! (All my liquids were in my checked bag - or so I thought).
The woman watching the screens called for someone to check my bag. Ugh, they want to open my present , I thought. That was dumb of me. Oh well, I'll just find out what the present is a little early.
The man who checked my bag was very friendly. He said, "Do you have a bag that you can check?" I said, "No, I've already checked it." He sighed and said that he wished I had put the present in that bag.
"If you need to open it, that's OK," I said.
"No, it's not OK," he replied. "Do you know what I'm going to find in here?"
"I thought it was candy," I said, but I was getting a little bit worried. Did they see something metal on the x-ray? I was really hoping that my friend didn't buy me a mini BB gun or biological weapon of some sort.
"I'm going to find liquids and gels," he told me.
"Ohhhh," I said slowly, as it dawned on me that he would have to throw away my present. He took a knife and started cutting open the wrapping paper on my present. He looked inside the paper, but then he stopped. He told me that in his professional opinion everything in the box would fit into a 1-quart container, and he taped the present back up.
"Don't open it until Christmas," he said. I almost cried.
At that moment, I felt very guilty for ragging on Christmas. This guy went to a lot of trouble to make sure I had that present. He was a modern-day Santa Claus, and I was a little kid, wide-eyed because this world can still amaze me.
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