BloatItUp

I was in Xanadu....

2010-01-23T08:18:00.000-08:00

Amber surprised me last night with tickets to Xanadu at the Paramount. If you can, you should totally go. There is even some Air Guitar in it that is ALMOST as good as this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMkuDLesRnU

www.airpocalypsenow.com will be live....Soon....

~Jason

Ok...I'll cheerfully admit...

2009-06-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

This has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with food. However, it DOES have to do with one of my other loves in life....AIRPOCALYPSE!

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/air-to-the-throne/Content?oid=1706114

Hmmm...let's see....

Dirk Courage....Tied for 2nd, Portland Regionals 2009. Me, 5th Place, Portland Regionals 2009, and Chuck Mung, Your 2009 Portland Regional Champ!

AIRPOCALYPSE...Doing Seattle Proud since 2009.

~Jason

Whoa!

2009-06-21T00:52:00.000-07:00

So....The Good Folks at Pagliacci Pizza (a.k.a. my employer) thought that my little 'ole blog was Newsletter-Worthy! Hoo Rah! Awesome! If you at a Pagliacci anytime soon pick one up and turn it to the back page and look for "A Blog of My Own."

Sweet!

I guess this means I need to start posting more lol.

So, if you are here because you read about me in the newsletter, Thanks, and Welcome!

~Jason

RIP, Larry

2009-04-11T23:08:00.000-07:00

So....

This post was supposed to be a fun filled little chuckle of a post about the past day or 2 I've had here on the Oregon Coast.

Then I read this.

I hope you'll understand if I wait a day or two. Go read Larry's blog instead, and be thankful for your health.

~Jason

2 Things...one not food related...

2009-03-13T01:49:00.000-07:00

First, a link to a Seattle Times article about Murray Stenson and The Last Word cocktail. Check it out!

Video Here:

And article here:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/restaurants/2008837441_zres11lastword.html?cmpid=2628

And...

Not by Watterson, but I love it anyway. Looking forward to reading them with my son.

~Jason

The Long Awaited Return of Sam Hassan

2009-03-01T01:26:00.000-08:00

So.... I am absolutely overjoyed to report that Sam Hassan will soon be behind a stove again. The man behind the (great) Rio Brazilian Grill in the U-District and Samba in Maple Leaf is back, bigger, probably better, and out to knock yer socks off and put a nice twist on what us Americans think of "Bar Food".

The All Nations Soccer Bar and Restaurant will be opening (I hope very) soon at the former Mr. Bills on Aurora at 130th. I was lucky enough to get a chance to chat with Sam a week or so back and get the skinny on what he will be doing.

First off, (I gotta get this out of the way early, lol) those of you who ate at his Seward Park Pizza Rio will be pleased to know that he will resume making pizza. He hopes to start serving pies in 2 or 3 weeks. He plans on having delivery. Maybe I'll try it sometime. (Professional interest, of course)

He will, however, also have other types of food, and this is what gets my chops watering.

Bar Food. GOOD Bar Food. Not your standard Bar Food. As in he's calling them Tapas-type Bar Food. Chicken Wings? Natch, how would you like them?

West African Style?

Brazilian Style?

Vindaloo Style?

I think you get the idea. He's envisioning a place where soccer (or is it football?) fans from all over the world will be able to come and get the types of bar food that they would recognize from their home countries. Sounds like a great idea, and I really hope that he is able to execute it. I'm looking forward to Brazilian Crepes, Basque Stew, Grilled Seafood, ("Simple... Mediterannean Style") and to falling back in love with his feijoada and Brazilian Tri Tip and Brazilian Potato Salad. (Yeah, double that Tri Tip order, and a Xingu, please.) Beers from all over, imported (read: hard to find) cacachas, and pisco liquor from Peru.

Luckily, the space is big enough to have both a bar and a restaurant, so I'll be able to take my son Cooper there and see that he thinks. (He's two, so as long as there is something that he can eat with his hands, I'm sure he'll think it's great.)

EveryBlock Seattle lists the date for the Liquor License app as Feb. 6th, so hopefully it is making its way thru the process and I'll be able to get a drink, and a snack, there soon.

All Nations Soccer Bar and Restaurant

930 N. 130th. Street

Seattle

2008-12-05T21:34:00.000-08:00

Congrats to Murray....Again!

My Man Murray has received some great press lately courtesy of the New York Times. See here and here

Congrats, Murray!

~Jason

Wait a fucking minute...are you kidding me?

2008-12-02T22:02:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'll come right out and say it....

I HATED The Big Lebowski. Hated it, Hated it, Hated it. Yeah, I know everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) besides me loves it, but like The Beatles, "Clerks", and to a lesser extent "Office Space" I just don't get it.

I somehow forgot how to do links, so for now, please click on the title of this post for the NY Times article that I am ranting about. Thanks, and Sorry...

This was news, like, 10 years ago.

WTF???

~Jason

Something a little different Redux...

2008-03-22T02:28:00.000-07:00

So Cool...

This one is good too...

And this one is just funny...Metallica!

Enjoy!

~Jason

Technorati Profile

2008-02-04T12:56:00.000-08:00

Technorati Profile

Paulie Walnuts Does Denny's!

2008-02-03T14:14:00.000-08:00

Awesome...Totally Awesome!

My dad, with his partner, (hereafter lovingly known as Uncle Jerry,) bought into the Denny's Franchise in Longview, WA in late 1970 and we, (Mom, Dad, and I) moved there in 1971. (As an aside, family legend has it that they had considered buying into a company that was starting to expand, but one of the partners, and I've never really been able to ascertain who, talked the other one out of it. "Hamburgers" the story goes..."Not gonna go anywhere". The "Hamburger" place that he spoke of was ((of course)) McDonald's, and I later heard that for awhile in the 1980's it was one of, if not the busiest, McDonald's in Washington.)

Anyway, I spent many, MANY hours playing in the back, sitting at the counter chatting with the regulars, and eating lots (and LOTS) of just about everything on the menu.

I probably would have thought Paulie Walnuts was a cool old man, and would have probably bugged the hell out of him everytime he came in to eat.

~Jason

Dead Nightclubs of Seattle

2008-01-31T08:59:00.000-08:00

I was young, and missed a lot of it, but I remember quite a few of these places, and spent some fun times (and saw some great music...) Not to mention Valentine's Day at the Vogue that one year... ;)

Those were the Daze...

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2004154856_deadclubs31.html

~Jason

The train HAS left the station...

2008-01-29T22:04:00.000-08:00

(Seriously, Jason? Almost a year since your last post? What kind of blog is this, anyway?)

Andy's Diner is closing.

R.I.P....

Hope that something cool happens to all of those old railcars.

~Jason

New Posts!

2008-01-24T12:36:00.000-08:00

Not from me, however....

Check out the new posts by earleybird to the right...(Fried Chicken is for Lovers....) Funny!

~Jason

Not the best, but....

2007-02-05T08:09:00.000-08:00

I am always sad when I hear about a place this old closes down.

Hope that the restaurant that replaces it does well.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003557036_bakers05m.html

~Jason

Congrats, Murray!

2007-02-04T18:52:00.000-08:00

Playboy gives props to Murray Stenson, (who, in my opinion,) is the best Bartender on the Planet.

http://www.playboy.com/style/a-list/bartenders/08.html

Congrats again, Murray, and great pic!

Sad...

2007-01-29T22:09:00.000-08:00

The Link to the Tablet review has, alas,been removed. Hopefully I'll run across it here soon and will repost it.

I LOVE the Internet!

2006-04-28T01:21:00.000-07:00

I feel the need....The Need For Speed!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2851488008488190547&q=lelouch%3E%20http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2851488008488190547&q=lelouch%3E%20>

Wow...What a film!

~Jason

2006-04-28T00:42:00.000-07:00

HA!

She said that she wouldn't, but she did! My wife has started a blog and it's real real good. Better then this one, anyway...

http://www.friedchickenisforlovers.blogspot.com/

Check it out. I'm jealous of how well she writes....

(Oh, and I finally figured out how to make links work. Click away, friends!)

~Jason

2/16/06

2006-02-16T07:29:00.000-08:00

Maybe a little depressing....

Mom's Birthday today. I would give just about anything to be able to pick up the phone and call to wish her a happy birthday, but sadly, I'll never be able to do that again.

If anyone who is reading could take a moment and think about their parents, maybe call and just chat with them for a few minutes, that'd be real real great.

~Jason

Drunks

2005-09-17T10:54:00.000-07:00

Man, I hate drunks. After work last night I went to a place that was still open on the way home to my house. Small, walk up to the counter and order type place. I go in, there is a young lady taking orders and a guy in the back cooking.

I can tell right away that she is not having a good night. It is a small place, and it's about 3/4 full. To boot, there is a very loud, very big, and very DRUNK guy giving her a hard time about just about everything. He takes forever to order, is trying to flirt with her, and then sits down next to her boyfriend (who is sitting at the counter, looking like he is doing everything he can not to get really pissed off at the guy....and then this joker comes and sits right next to him and starts telling him about what a firecracker his girlfriend is. Then he starts talking about he President, and then he starts talking about growing up in the ghetto, and asked te boyfriend where he had grown up. When the guy said "in the projects in Minnesota", drunk guy said that "there weren't any projects in Minnesota", and was just generally an ass. So, the guy finally gets his food. He'd ordered a sandwich that came with a side, and immediately starts criticizing the size of the side.

Now, I have thought for a long, loooooooooooooooooooooong time that BarBQue places are expensive, and possibly overpriced. Dunno, and I'm openminded about that. Good 'Que takes time, and time is money understood.

But that's not the point here. Granted, the size if the side was small. However, it's my opinion that the side was just something that they threw in. I mean, let's face it, the $7 that he was paying was for the sandwich. He starts throwing a fit, and starts to get belligerent. The poor girl behind the counter can only take so much before she goes back to get the cook. He comes out, and gets to listen to the guy berate him, berate the size of the portion and just generally be an ass.

And this is the part that really sucks. I can almost see the thought process that is working for the cook. Tell the guy to Piss Off? Tell the guy that is the portion and apologize? Tell him to contact the owner? 86 him?

Did I mention that this guy was big, and looked like he would think a fight would be a fun time? Did I mention that this guy is starting to move slowly into getting into the cooks face?

The cook looks at the guy for a long 30 seconds, swallows, and goes back to get the guy a bigger portion of the side.

I can't begin to express how sorry I felt for the guy. I went outside and ate, and went back in after the place had emptied out. Told them both how much I appreciated them being open and how they were a nice alternative to Fast Food or the ID, with the added bonus of being right on the way home. Turns out the cook isa a HELL of a nice guy and has a kid in pre-kindergarten. He pointed out the picture of him and his son that he had taped up to the wall in the back. After chatting with them both awhile, I left. I hope that they do well, and I think one of these days I'll go back and try to ask the owner about ditching that small side size.

Stephen King In Entertainment Weekly...

2005-07-28T06:39:00.000-07:00

You may or may not know that Stephen King writes a bi-monthly column on pop culture for Entertainment Weekly magazine. You also may or may not know that along with Chuck Palahniuk and J.R.R. Tolkien, he is one of my favorite authors. He wrote a piece for this weeks EW that he titled "My Manifesto". Long Live the King.

I had cut and pasted the entire thing here, but after heeding the advice of my lovely (and smart) wife, I've taken it down and replaced it with a link to the article. Why? Well, because a)don't wanna get sued, and b)it looked like I was saying that I wrote the column, which I certainly did not. I will, however, strongly encourage you to cut and paste the link below and read it. It's very funny and I agree with him 100%

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,1085457_71095500_0_,00.html

(Amne, Brotha! ~ Fay Jai)

Apologies...Not much bloating lately....

2005-07-27T06:32:00.000-07:00

Have been having something going on with my stomach...Bad constipation and what feels like a persistant stitch in my side. Blech. I know that something must be wrong 'cause I have not really felt like eating much lately...It's been about 5 weeks now since I have been to Dick's, that is the longest time I have not been there in about 5 years...My doctor says that I should eat more fiber...Man, am I getting bored of cereal....:(

I am actually checking out the fiber content of stuff that I buy at the store now. I'm taking acidophilus (Thanks, Irwin!) Drinking Ginger Tea, (Irwin again, and btw, it is really f'ing good) and eating prunes oh wait, I sorry, dried plums, which actually aren't too bad.

Ah, well...In September over Labor Day w/e I will be taking a class and will be learning how to make Pate (Hmmm....Talk about Fatty Liver!) and make my own Bacon. YEE HAW!

Bloating It Up

2005-07-04T16:44:00.000-07:00

Sooo....

My wife was wondering why I chose the name "Bloat It Up" for my blog. Easy. While I was attending Lower Columbia College, my good friend Jake and I liked to go out and eat. We were both members of the Speech Debate Team and would really eat alot when we were at tournaments. We would eat until we were bloated. Jake, who is smarter, more eloquent, and pretty much all around a cooler guy then I am, started to say that when we ate, we were going to go out and "bloat it up." Hence the name.

I will say that it always mildly annoyed me how thin Jake was. I realize that some readers of this may have come across it by accident, but (hopefully) some of my friends, (who know how I eat) are reading this as well. Folks, in comparison to Jake, I eat like an anorexic runway model. I have never been able to figure out where this guy puts it! My best memory of watching Jake bloat it up was at Rose's Restaurant in Portland. I think that it is closed now, but back in the day, Rose's was known for its sandwiches. Big, sothickyoucouldbarelygetyourmoutharoundit sized sandwiches. We were there after a debate tournament, (of course,) and after chowing down his pastrami on white, Jake polished off another half sandwich that a teammate could not even bear to look at anymore. After one, I felt like I could barely move, but Jake was good to go for more even after a sandwich and a half. Truly, watching the man put it away was watching an artist at work. I've not had the pleasure of dining with him in awhile, but always look forward to it when I have the chance.

Andy's Diner - The train has left the station...

2005-06-27T16:21:00.000-07:00

So....

I ran across someone on egullet wondering about Andy's Diner down near Safeco Field.

For God's Sake, Man...Don't!

Here's why....

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=57184