A Conceited Haiku (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Hey, you’re vain, aren’t you?
Look, look - There’s your reflection!
Your own dreams come true.

Inspired by a woman on 3rd street.

Sent via iPhone
~Spec

Stacy’s Surprise Birthday! (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Stacy’s birthday was yesterday and Liana and Co decided to plan a week in advance to throw a surprise party. There were streamers, beautiful weather, birthday signs, a overly hyper dog and lots and lots of booze. There’s a Flickr album (22 pictures) here - all taken with the iPhone. YAY.

I was outfitted with food duty, so I marinated some shortribs Korean style and broke down 12 big bags of chicken wings and threw that in a mixture of honey and sesame oilovernight. I also brought in some roasted potatoes seasoned with furikake and sangria just like I made before.

We had beers, swung at pinatas (wish I had video lol), snacked on watermelon soaked in Basil Hayden bourbon in the sun, and later that night… sipped the sexiest chocolate martinis that I’ve had this side of the Mississippi. It’s nice to follow that up with leftovers the next day. EEEE.

Good times, good times!

~Spec

Korean Food, I’ve Missed You. (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Seattle is funny. When Liana and I moved here, I figured we’d be able to find the best places to eat in the first month, recommend the heck out of them and proceed to eat there until we moved somewhere else. SO TOTALLY not the case. LOL. It’s been almost 7 months since we’ve been here, and only NOW we’ve begun to really dig into the “hay, can you hook a brother up” haunts and dives around the state. Sigh.

Ok why Korean food all of a sudden? I hate to say it, but television. LOL. Jon, from Jon & Kate Plus 8 - an adorable reality show about two parents, their twins and sextuplets - made bulgogi for his family at home. That started the craving. After that episode, we channel surfed over to the Travel Channel, where we watched Anthony Bourdain trek around Korea and eat up anything that was put in front of him. That man makes food look SO DAMN GOOD. It was a sign. No…

IT WAS FATE. lol.

We received a recommendation to eat at Hosoonyi, a clean restaurant in Edmonds, WA - about 20 mins from downtown Seattle. We ordered a LOT of food: Pork bulgogi, soft tofu and seafood soup, beef stew with green onions and a huge seafood pancake. If you’re not familiar with Korean food, most (if not all) restaurants give you 7+ small plates of side dishes - some picked and sour like kim chee, and some soothing to your burning tongue like mochi and boiled potato.

It was the best Korean food I’ve had in a LONG time. The only other place that compares to it is Chicago Kalbi on Lawerence street in Chicago. The pancake was light a fluffy, the soups were spicy as hell, the beer was cold, the pork bulgogi was sizzing on a plate when it got to our table and had a deep charcoal grill flavor. EEEEEEE. DELICIOUS! We ate most of it, but the best thing about all of this is I have leftovers for lunch today (if I can sneak some before Liana gets to it LOL)! YAY Korean food!

Annyong-hi kashipshio!

~Spec

Oh Right. The 4th. (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

I *thought* I took video on the 4th of July and I *thought* I would blog about ‘em, but I guess I was too distracted by the fireworks. Pictures of Matt, Liana and Stacy were taken @ Gasworks Park.

Good times!

~Spec

“New” Comfy Couch! (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

I’ve been twittering this whole saga from the beginning, but if you didn’t know… Liana (she blogged recently!) and I recently swapped couches with a neighbor. w00p w00p! Why? Well, they’re selling their place soon and they’d like a smaller couch to make their living room look bigger (recommended by their realtor). So, after talking it through, they asked us if we wanted to swap couches straight-up. Here were the terms:

HELL YES. It really was a no-brainer. Our couch has no real cosmetic issues and still has that “new couch cushion springback.” Their sectional is HUGE, with a great broken-in feel. Now Liana can veg and watch TV and I can surf on the net without burning her face with the bottom of the laptop. LOL. We’re all jazzed how everything worked out. YAY WE CAN HAVE SLEEPOVERS NOW. LOL.

Thanks guys!

~Spec

Liana’s Birthday!!! (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Deb, Matt, Stacy and I celebrated Liana’s birthday yesterday! WOO HOO. Among other things, we had dinner at Umi Sake House, which is a pretty hip sushi joint in the Belltown district of downtown Seattle. It’s got a really chill vibe - wood flooring, live plants as dividers and lots of sunlight coming from the windows in the ceiling.

Liana opened presents (YAY SHE LIKED THEM), we ordered a LOT of food (almost too many “fruit + fish” rolls) and definitely had way too many drinks. Good times, good times.

Happy birthday sweetheart!

~Spec

Fremont Festival ‘08 - Meh. (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

I’ll keep this short. I went to my neighborhood’s annual Solstice festival today and the only thing that’s worth even talking about is this car covered in floppy discs. Epic community fail. LOL.

I’m skipping this every year. I promise.

~Spec

“Easy” Rattlesnake Mt. Hike (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

LOL. Liana and I have been gearing up for out Half Dome hike in Yosemite in two weeks (EEEEEEE). We’ve gone to the flagship REI here in Seattle (huge and awesome) to try on shoes, pick up Nalgenes (hers blue, mine red) and find other things we might need for the long haul. It’s been fun experience picking up new equipment that I never thought I’d need EVAR. No, seriously. EVAR. LOL.

Finding the correct shoes were hard. Boots? Cross trainers? Shoes I could wear on the street normally? Blah. I had it all narrowed down to Merrell Outland and a Keen mid hiking boot. I ended up getting the Keen Targhee II eVent Mid Hiking Boot, which has CRAZY arch and ankle support. The Merrell was very comfortable, but it didn’t feel as “snug” as the Keens. Apparently, you’re all good if your toes don’t touch the front of the shoes. Pictura below:

So with a quick trip to Second Ascent in Ballard for a few last minute items - moleskin for blisters, new wool socks and a map - we made our way to Rattlesnake Mountain for an easy hike. Easy? LOL. LIES. We hiked 8.2 miles to the Rattlesnake Mt. ledge with one stop for lunch (mmm sammiches from Other Coast!). It had a good “pace,” but the trails hit 45 degrees for very LONG stretches with little to no flat areas. It was rough, but we made it! Victory shot below:

Larger view here. It was really hard to imagine that we were all the way DOWN THERE. I haven’t caught the hiking bug (I was kinda hoping to), but it was a fun trip into the outdoors. Here’s to working my ass off the next two weeks for half dome!

w00p w00p!

~Spec

Soccer: Canada Vs. Brazil, Fight! (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

I’m not into soccer very much, or for sports for that matter. Hell, I’m kinda averse to anything that requires physical activity (KEEP IT CLEAN PEOPLES lol). But let me tell you something, hitting up the International friendly Brazil Vs. Canada match at Qwest field was mighty fun. THANKS DON FOR THE INVITE (and also for taking a totally “HEYYY LADIESSSS” picture of us). It completely blasted away my preconceived stereotypes of what watching a soccer game is: BORING. lawl.

Honestly, I almost ripped off my “close as I could get to wearing Brazil yellow” t-shirt and supported the Canadian team! I haven’t WOO’d that much in QUITE a while. That is… until this happened (via ESPN soccer):

Robinho pounced on a defensive mistake to give Brazil a 3-2 win over Canada in a friendly on Saturday, their first win in three meetings against the North Americans.

The result was rough justice on Canada, who twice came from behind to equalise and could have gone in at halftime with a handsome lead.

Boo. It was one hell of an exciting time though! Heartbreaking, but exciting. Now that Microsoft is sponsoring The Seattle Sound (our new MLS team in 2009), I’ll definitely try and watch more games through out the season. I gots to get me one of those soccer jerseys!

OOh! I almost forgot. I made a quick video of what ELOTES is. WTF is it? Watch the video or hit the WIKI to make your next BBQ totally worth the wait. Bonus points if you go to a market in the midwest for fresh 20 EARS for $5! Youtube link here. w00p w00p!

Soccer? YES.

~Spec

VIDEO BLOG: Seattle’s King Fish Cafe (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

Youtube link here. Oh, hi there, Herschell here. I have a question: Do you like fried chicken, golden brown and delicious? Do you appreciate marinating catfish overnight and then delicately breading it and making it so lovingly crispy on the outside and moist on the inside then topping it with a silky red pepper sauce? Do you also like your fried foods with hearty grits, flavorful collard greens and red beans with luxuriously large chunks of ham hocks in a bold tomato sauce… not to mention the moist-EST corn bread muffins EVAR?

Yes, I know I got you hot and bothered. Two words, homeslice…

…Kingfish Cafe.

This isn’t your “eat with some friends on a Friday night” kind of place, this is “have some supper with your dearest acquaintances” kind of place. This is not Famous Daves. This is not Boston Market. This is proper soul food that allows you to take things at half speed, relishing every bite. MMMmmMm MmmMmM MMmMmMM! I have no issues with calling this the best damn soul food on the west coast. Honest. If you visit me here in Seattle, this is our new “go to” place. Brunches here are supposed to be ridiculous too! We’ll keep you updated. Hee hee.

Liana and I have been on a really good streak of finding great places to eat in this city… I guess all I needed was some decent weather to drag me out of my regular routine. Rain, rain go away…

Soul food w00p w00p!

~Spec

Evidence that We Hit the (Black) Bottle (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

atish Says:

pics or it didn’t happen

OH NO YOU DIIIIIDN’T (and yes it did - happen, that is). Elephant polo too!

WHAT WHAT.

~Spec

Seattle Eats: The Black Bottle (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

Liana, Deb, Matt & I hit up The Black Bottle in celebration for the new store opening @ DV in the Ballard District in Seattle. Liana and I have always passed by the place driving back home from downtown, but never really thought we should give it a go. FAIL. Damn if I don’t go back again in the next two weeks! Here’s what we ordered (+ a bottle of wine):

local sausages beer mustard braised - From the CasCioppo Brothers, hearty and spicy.
hanger steak and daikon/shiso - beef melted in my mouth with the slight pepperiness from the shiso
ceviche mahi mahi - standard ceviche, I prefer thicker pieces of fish. Salsa was good, but a little overwhelming
steamed clams - tender and succulent, broth was bold and spicy
smoked chicken and sun-dried cherries on flatbread - great balance of salty and sweet. The airiness of the flatbread was great against the smoked chicken and cheese
brian’s tiramisu - decent, plated for one. Weird chocolate glaze.
coconut plantain cup - show stopper, best dessert of the night. Salted caramel base was DELICIOUS.
peach/blueberry kettle tart with fresh cream - not so good, wasnt’ congruent with the rest of the menu. Kinda homely and crust was mealy

This was one of the best meals I’ve had in Seattle, save the time with Mark at Stumbling Goat (I still have dreams about that place hee hee). The food was fresh and local, the vibe was surprisingly void of any douchebaggery… AND, we got to have the company of some really good peoples (nevermind the 5+ bars we went to after lol). GOOD TIMES, GOOD TIMES.

Gotta get back to Black Bottle soon!

~Spec

All Things Chill (in Seattle) (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

Breeze. Bare feet on grass. Neighbors’ dinnerware making clanging noises as they wash their dishes. The sky turns violet as the trees sway too and fro to catch the last wisps of sunlight. I sit here rather comfortably on poorly aged wooden benches with my laptop, a cell phone and a mason jar full of cranberry juice, lime and Tanqueray. Relaxed.

It may be the gin talking, but this is the first time that I’ve really felt tranquil here in the emerald city. Seattle is a completely different city when the skies clear and the dull melancholy-stained blanket of blah is stored away for the Summer. The city is filled with good humor. Spilled libations on the sidewalk mark late nights of debauchery. Douchebaggery also halts to a minimum (except when guys hit on your girlfriend lawl) & pure unadulterated kindness pours from the sky (gyros for free? amazing).

So, to all of you who have asked me “How do you like Seattle so far,” my reply will no longer be…

“It’s killing me,” but…

“It hasn’t killed me yet.”

Baby steps people, baby steps.

~Herschell

Salty in Seattle: Indie Ice Cream Complications (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

I found a post on Seattle’s Metblog about Molly Moon’s Ice Cream, a new ice cream joint a leisurely stroll from our place in Seattle.

Normally, when I experience something (brace yourself for the pun) savory or unsavory, I post about it in my blog… but since this post presented itself at the right place and the right time, I decided to unload and leave a comment.

I don’t want to get too harsh, but the salted caramel was wayyy too salty and gave an “off” flavor. It didn’t taste like Kosher or sea salt to me… more of an iodized tint.

All the way back home, I kept murmuring to myself “I really want to like this, I really, really do.”

That being said, the scoop underneath, vivant coffee, was good… but not good enough to make me forget about the caramel.

I’ll definitely be back, I *need* them to succeed!

Maybe salted caramel just isn’t my thang (even though I so want it to be). Yes, it was kinda harsh, but I made a promise yesterday that I’d be back to support the shop. I really want it to be a place where I can take all of my visitors and say “YOU WILL NEVER GET BETTER ICE CREAM ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD.” (or at least wherever the heck the person is visiting from.) Hee hee.

Go indie ice cream!

~Spec

Bottle Shock @ the SIFF! (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

The Seattle International Film Festival, lovingly shortened to The SIFF, kicks off on May 22nd and runs through June 15. I read a great overview of the festival on Seattle.Metblogs, which is really giving me some sort of a pulse on this city.

One of the movies that I *did* want to check out is Bottle Shock… which tickles every culinary bone in my body in all the right culinary places. LOL. That sounds dirtier than I’d like. Oh well… summary below!

…another based on real life feature, this one about the shockwaves sent around the world in 1978 when the Paris Tastings revealed that Californians could produce wine every bit as good, if not better, than the French.

It’s gon’ be a showdown here tonite fellers! While I’d love to go in depth about how some regions in California have the same longitude (dude, it’s not latitude, I looked it up) as the well respected areas in France thereby creating a similar grape growing eco-system (pushes up glasses in a snobbish way)… I’m sure the film will explain it better than I ever could. Hee hee.

The film was an offical selection for the 2008 Sundance Festival and includes actors and actresses such as - please forgive me for the vague *also in* film references - Steven Spurrier (That bad guy in Harry Potter and the cheating dude in Love Actually), Eliza Dushku (she was in Buffy) and Bill Pullman (ya know, the president in Independence Day).

Bottle Shock will close out the festival, so there’ll be plenty of other movies to see! I hope it’ll be just as fun as the SFIAAFF!

Go Movies!

~Spec

Oakland A’s 4, Seattle Mariners 3. YAY. (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

Liana and I went to the aforementioned A’s game last Friday, and before all of this precious blog fodder goes stale, I thought I’d post it before more stuff comes through my blog’s pipeline (EEE MARIO KART WIIIIII). Youtube link here. Flickr album here. To keep things short, we ate a bowl of chili, some garlic fries and roasted peanuts (yo, check out my double chin rofl NO WAIT DON’T LOL).

We had a great time with Deb and Matt and I figured I’d actually get all SPORTS-Y and do this on a semi-regular basis. Hee hee. The DS’s Seattle Mariners-specific software was great and Matt figured out we could actually watch the team’s TV stream! It was prettttyyyy cool when we were waiting in line for food, when we weren’t watching the action on the field. The quality was better than I thought and could totally work as a crutch if we decided on cheap nosebleed seats next time. EEEE.

Good times, good times.

~Spec

Mariners Vs. A’s. At Least I’ll be Warm! (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

Liana and I (with Deb and Matt - if only I could post those Rock Band videos lol) are going to tomorrow’s Seattle Mariners Vs. Oakland A’s game! The last time I was at a baseball game, it was for Jackie’s birthday party… which was in Oakland… watching the A’s last game of the 2007 season. Crazy. I’ve been to more baseball games on the west coast than in Chicago. Sad, but true. OH WELLS. Hopefully I’ll keep myself occupied stay awake the whole time!

In celebration of the coldness the occasion, I bought the NorthFace M Half Done Hoodie in Rubicon Green to show support for the BAY ARRREEEAAAA - only because I know that area MORE than I do Seattle. LOL. It’s a luxuriously soft fleece with a bright “Where the heck is Hersche… oh I see his green hoodie” color. I’m wearing it right now and I feel soooo comfortable, kinda like those kids with the ADORABLE froggy bath towels. LOL. Ooh, I’ll also be bringing my Nintendo DS, since the new Mariners’ only downloadable content was just released as a free service (via Opposable Thumbs)!

Last year, Nintendo tried something new at Safeco Field, home of the Seattle Mariners. If you brought your Nintendo DS to the field and paid a $5 fee, you could use your DS to access the scores of other baseball games, check out team standings, chat with other Mariners fans, and play trivia and minigames. This year, Nintendo is making it even better: the service will now be free.

There’s even a You Tube video of how the program works! EXCITING! Using my handheld gaming system to order nachos and beer, churros, hot dogs, candy, garlic fries and margaritas is something I totally want to do. Maybe I’ll catch some baseball too - if I don’t get sucked into a Tetris DS tournament with the boy scout troop in the next row.

Can you get a merit badge for Tetris?!?!

~Spec

Planet B-Boy is Coming to Seattle this Friday! (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

With all the love that the guys from Jabbawockeez have been getting by winning the first season of America’s Best Dance Crew on MTV, breakin’ as a whole on the mainstream level is getting out of the novelty role (again) and its movement is gaining serious (and positive) momentum. I hope these guys capitalize on the opportunistic world that they’ve found themselves in, ’cause I’ve been kinda disappointed with their DJ / Turntablist Hip Hop brothers and sisters after all the press from the Scratch movie. Sigh. ANYWAYS…

That’s why a release of Planet B-Boy to Seattle April 25th - May 1st at the Landmark Theatre is so perfect. So uhhh… what’s Planet B-Boy? Wiki has the deets:

Planet B-Boy features extensive footage of the dancers in competition as well as street performances and various rehearsals by the different crews from around the world. The narrative of the film centers on five particular crews (representing France, Japan, South Korea, and the United States) in their quest to win the Battle of the Year, and it includes multiple interviews with the B-Boys and their families. The film also includes interviews with German B-Boy and promoter Thomas Hergenröther (who founded the Battle of the Year competition) and legendary B-Boy Ken Swift of the Rock Steady Crew.

I’ve seen the trailer and it’s dope. There’s not much else I can say about it, other than ZOMG DID YOU SEE THAT GUY DO THAT CRAZY UPROCK INTO AIR-SWIPES INTO A BEACHBALL AND THEN A 1990 INTO A POSE? lol.

Well did you? lol.

~Spec

Fields of Tulips! (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

After being drugged a lil’ bit with some recommended OTC medication to make me magically “un-dizzy,” Liana and I went to the The 25th Skagit Tulip Festival. YAY. She drove, my job was to not get nauseous. lol. We attended the last day of the Kiwanis Salmon BBQ, took pictures of a ton of flowers (12 picture Flickr album here!) and spent hours walking around the red / pink / yellow and purple tulip fields.

There were footlong corndogs, after-dinner mint loaves of bread (wtf?), assorted arts and crafts and lots of pets running around. It was your average town festival, but it was still a great way to spend the semi-sunny day.

YAY tulip festival!

~Spec

Greek Food & Bright Kites in Seattle (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

Plagued with dizziness (you will be reminded of this at every blog post lol), Liana and I just bummed around the house on another dismally bleak Saturday. We did however, end up at Costas Opa Greek Restaurant later that night which was pretty lively and had decent food (nothing to write home er.. blog about). Thanks for the company Don!

Today also marked the first time I used brightkite.com. Think social networking + current location information done right. Their FAQ has the deets:

How does Brightkite work?

The basic idea is simple. When you’re out and about in the real world, you tell Brightkite where you are by checking in at places (you can do this on your phone). Brightkite can then tell you who else is there, who’s been there, what’s happened there, who is nearby etc. Additionally you can post notes and photos at places that others nearby will see.

My first text to the brightkite servers was relatively painless and took the same amount of time as it would to tweet it (on Twitter). All I did was send “? LOCATION” to BrightKite’s SMS # and in seconds, BKite (see what I did there? heheh) asked me to verify WHICH LOCATION, in which I replied “1″ and PRESTO CHANGE-O! Internets! YAY. Bonus points for the seamless integration with my Twitter acct! HOORAH.

On a related note, I was really excited to say that I was at Sonic Boom Records for “Support your Local Record Store Day” (thx Jason!), but the damn thing was closed for business. I don’t want to laugh or anything (LAWL) but the irony is just TOO MACH. TOO MACH LAWL LAWL LAWL.

While geo-blogging isn’t for anyone (some people just don’t like the Internet stalking thang), I figure I’m going to post about it 6 or 7 hours later anyway. If I “check in somewhere” and there’s someone that I know that’s close by and wants to have a pint at a local bar… I figure that all of this effort will be worth it, yes?

OPA (Oops in Greek)! I have 5 4 3 2 Bright Kite invites to give out. Anyone want? Comment below WHEEEEE.

YAY Location-based social networking

~Spec

Mark in T-Minus 4, 3, 2, 1… (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

Mark is about to fly into Seattle to visit for a couple of days and since my place is pretty much presentable, I figure I’d run down the list of the things to do / places to eat for the next week.

Paseo for some sammich action! (lunch)
Top Gun Dim Sum (Sunday)
Trip to Trader Joe’s(or Uwaijimaya) for some home cooked meals (today?)
Samurai Noodle (dinner?)
Pike’s Place Chowder (Monday)
Pike’s Place Market (Monday)
Red Mill Burgers (lol Monday too)
Umi Sake House (Next Saturday)
Fuman Dumpling House
Ivar’s - Fried fish for kicks!
Zagy’s (boo, it’s still closed)
Via Tribunali (Tuesday - the one in capitol hill)

Will we go see the needle? Probably. See a couple movies? Yup. Surf the net at Seattle’s many cafes? Sure. Play video games ’till late at night? Heck yeah. Just some brainstorming ideas… who knows what’ll happen!

YAY. Visits!

~Spec

Couch Surfing in the U District (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

While in Redmond yesterday, Liana and I picked up a few books in preparation for some serious cafe couch reading today. We ended up at Cafe on the Ave in the University District, where they serve some tasty breakfast all day and have comfy couches to claim for an afternoon. YAY. The place wasn’t as welcoming as the cafe from Valentine’s weekend, but it was a nice place nonetheless.

While we were there, Liana started on Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, while I cracked open The Reach of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman, the leading authority on what’s going on in the restaurant industry (and an in-depth look into a chef’s mind). Amazon has a quick summary:

For his previous explorations into the restaurant kitchen and the men and women who call it home, Michael Ruhlman has been described by Anthony Bourdain as “the greatest living writer on the subject of chefs—and on the business of preparing food.” In The Reach of a Chef, Ruhlman examines the profound shift in American culture that has raised restaurant cooking to the level of performance art and the status of the chef to celebrity CEO. Bibliophiles and foodies alike will savor this intimate meeting with some of the most famous chefs in the kitchens of the hottest restaurants in the world.

I’ve read a few of Ruhlman’s previous books (thanks Jeff for the present!) and there’s definitely been a lot of overlapping of information through out the series. I’ve been looking forward to this book because it describes the students that joined culinary school after the huge spotlight on the restaurant industry… which is pretty much me. LOL. Regrettably, I’ll probably learn how people like myself have disrupted (read: destroyed) the space-time continuum regular flow of the restaurant industry, but maybe I’ll learn where the future is going!

YAY Reading!

~Spec

96 Hours of (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

Pancakes with blackberry lemon syrup served in bed. Tulips that were too short. Hair through my fingertips. Kate’s cupcakes from a Seattle favorite for her and friends. An orange jacket left in the car. A trip to the taco truck, corporate-based burritos too. High fives. A couple old fashioned donuts. An afternoon on a sunny cafe’s couch, reading paperbacks (one fiction, one not). Booty dancing. A couple dressing rooms full of clothes. Exploring our new city. Some video games on big and small screens. Candied wallnuts. Laughing. A small clutch and a 3AM trip to IHOP. Arguing about Allez or Iron cuisine. A very brief walk around the lake. Flip flops in February. Duck with raspberry soy sauce at an undiscovered sushi spot. Eating perfect burgers with the sun on our faces. Brown tea. Mango tea. Vanilla soy lattes. Music from commercials and suppressed coughing. Straight up, unfiltered fun.

I love this girl.

*blush*

Happy Valentine’s Day sweetheart.

xoxo,

~Herschell

Ring My Bell (town) (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

Sups! I chilled with Don (lol not pictured) and a few of his friends last weekend. There was a lot going on… almost as much jumpin’ around as the ol’ Chicago days. We ate at Umi Sake House, which was 10 x’s larger than I thought (OMG try the crab roll - so fresh). We chillaxed a lil’ bit at Amber (semi-posh and hip bar and lounge) and ended the night @ Havana Social Club, where we danced (and danced and danced and danced) to the freshest 80’s / 90’s hiphop this side of the Mississippi. I’d follow those dj’s anywhere in this city. Hee hee.

Oh, and I must confess that the hot dogs on 2nd street rival those from Top Dog. CREAM CHEESE AS A CONDIMENT? GENIUS!

Once Liana (she’s got a blog folks!) comes back from SF (and whenever anyone else comes out to visit me), I’ll definitely have a plan laid out for the weekend!

Good times, good times.

~Spec

Adventures in Domesticating: A Jammed Garbage Disposal (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

ARGH. Plugged drain, now garbage disposal doesn’t work. WTF, you might mutter to yourself. Call Super Mario Brothers a plumber? Heck no! Call the INTERNETS! lawl.

The following household tip is from ehow.com:

Restore power to the machine. Most disposals have an overload switch that trips when the motor starts to overheat. To reset the switch, look for a small red button on the bottom of the housing, and if it’s there, push it in. If your disposal doesn’t have an overload switch or the machine still won’t run after you reset the switch, reset the circuit breaker that serves the disposal.

In my case, the button was black… but it worked just the same! Thank goodness I didn’t need to do anything dangerous like rewire something or reach down that hole to “test” it! It’s crazy to find out “things you should know when you’re an adult” by experience. There’s no real book for this kind of stuff… I mean, I’m sure there IS, but you won’t find me spending $19.99 on it. YOU KNOW HOW MANY CHICKEN NUGGETS THAT COMES TO? lol.

YAY I ARE DOMESTICATEDEDEDZ.

~Spec

Bowling is Fun, Even When You’re No Good (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

Miscellaneous - and suuuuuper cheesy - bowling picture from a few weeks ago. Since Sunset Bowl in the Ballard district is closing in April to make way for overpriced condos (boo), we decided to hit up this incredible dive establishment and knock around some pins. There was a DDR machine there, but Liana and Deb wouldn’t get off the damn thing for me to jump on. LOL.

As for the bowling, I started getting the hang of strikes with ridiculous curves. I still didn’t break 100 (lol), but I sure had some fun!

YAY bowling!

~Spec

Stiff Drinks Downtown. (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

Hey there buddy, I haven’t seen you in a while. My fault, I’ve been workin’ a lot. Tonite though… tonite it’s time to relax @ Viceroy. Dim lights, mash-up dj, my favorite girl and a double of Tanqueray on the rocks with a slice of cucumber.

Welcome back Internets, I’ve missed you.

~Spec

Senor Moose Must Have Been from Canada (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

Hi! Liana and I went to Senor Moose in the Ballard District to secure a weekly brunch hideaway to catch up on each other’s missed events in the past week and to act all cutesy in public lol. We heard good things about the place and its Yelp page was rockin’ 4 stars, which have never really disappointed before…

(cue thunder and pipe organ)

UNTIL NOW. Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn….

We waited for a bit for a table in the seating area (didn’t mind), while I sipped on some coffee in their cute lil’ “jug” mugs. The cooks hustled well and had “moves”, the waiters communicated and the bus staff was attentive and efficient. The decor had the standard cutesy/lived-in look, with a standard set of salsa music. When we were seated, I noticed the brown paper tablecloths to draw on and a cup full of Crayolas to make stunning works of art. Cute. That kept me busy for a while. Look at my drawings!

I ordered the Entomatadas - Corn Tortillas with Tomato Sauce topped with an egg and a side of chorizo, while Liana ordered the Huevos Rancheros. Her friend recommended the potato dish and we decided to order that as well (for now as well as later in the day). So that’s 3 dishes of “safe” Mexican standards which encompasses the very basic of techniques and the most telling of ingredients. We assumed it would be good and would be able to exclaim that authenticity doesn’t fail 1,300 miles from the boarder.

It didn’t. Everything was bland or with off flavors (a lot of sour/bitter elements) and the side of the in-house chorizo was lacking in substance. Even the potatoes, which were smothered in cheese, mushrooms and peppers, were sub par. Yes, I’m sure if I ordered the carnitas or any of the slow cooked meats, it would be good. If I ordered and of the tacos, they would be wonderful. If I ordered anything fried, I’m sure they would be delicious. But brunch is lacking.

Yes, I came in with megalomaniacal dreams of grandeur (lol) that this place would be OURS every Sunday. But I guess we’ll keep on keepin’ on.

~Spec

Chillin’ in Belltown (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

Liana and I met up with Don and his friends: Shane and Olga for a bite to eat at Casuelitas Caribbean Cafe. YAY. At Don’s recommendation, I had the goat curry (wow delicious) and two rounds of the ginger mojitos, while Liana had the coconut bisque soup (too salty) and chicken adobo (meh). I really wanted to try the Callaloo, mostly because I’ve never had it and a potato dish, but there’s always next time! In my opinion, they represent the Caribbean rather well with a dish from every major area… I’m excited to try their happy hour sammiches!

We ended up walking over to Twist, which reminded me of Lincoln Park / Gold Coast bars in Chicago - lots of guys in button up shirts… and no girls. LOL. I had a lot of fun. There’s talk of a salsa night over in Ballard… maybe I’ll take some pictures of me pretending to know what I’m doing. LOL.

So you think you can dance? PROLLY NOT.

RLY.

~Spec

Refrigerator Note #1 (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by Spec

Sweetheart,

Hallo! I hope you had a good day at work today. I bought the stuff from Target today (OH MAN OUR BATHROOM IS GONNA BE SOOO CLEAN). Does the Swiffer really work? I hope it will. I really wanted to buy a broom instead, but we have the vacuum cleaner too… so I dunno. I’m sure that the Swiffer will work out.

I also picked up that 11-cup Cuisinart food processor that was on sale @ Macy’s. I stopped by to see Julie @ Northgate office and they gave me stuff to lug back downtown. Boo. The food processor only came in white tho, so no matchy-matchy with the Breville blender. Sadness, But that’s ok, I’m still excited about it. I can make some hummus when I get home! w00p w00p!

Oh, talking about food… I made you dinner, but I’m not sure you’ll like it (mmm bratwurst?). If you don’t I’ll eat it when I get home, there’s the soup from yesterday that I put in the fridge, as well as the miso soup in the cupboard. You could always slice some of that ham, shred some Gruyere and top it with an egg. Hee hee. You’d be so European!

Oh btw, I really liked that orange shirt on you today. I’m gonna rock that cardigan you got me today with that funky Ben Sherman tie that I got a couple of days ago. I’m sure I’m gonna get some flack about it at work. I just hope I don’t end up looking like Mr. Rogers! LOL.

That’s about it… It’s a sunny day today!

I’ll see you tonite sweetheart!

~Herschell