Casina Spinasse - Seattle

Cafe Juanita on Capital Hill!!

Last night Cindy and I had an early dinner, following her botanical painting class, at Cascina Spinasse on Capital Hill. Chef Jason Stratton was selected by Food and Wine magazine as one of the Best New Chefs of 2010 - well deserved based on our dinner. We were also lucky enough to have a good view of the kitchen and I spotted a "newcomer" in the kitchen Chef Stuart Lane - who along with Jason were mainstays of the great Cafe Juanita kitchen. Those two together again in the kitchen in Spinasse will be magic.

We were greeted with complimentary glasses of bubbly as Spinasse is celebrating their anniversary. We ordered their Anniversary Tasting Menu, for $65, began with several extra mini courses of toasted bread with anchovies, prosciutto, a salami with citrus peel and some very nice Columbia Bakery rustic bread. We also order a carafe of a nice 2007 Nebbiolo Roso.

Next we were served a stewed dish of eggplant, roasted peppers, anchovies that was very rustic and nice - not our favorite course but interesting none the less. The next dish was a beautifully prepared plate of 3 house made, stuffed fresh egg pasta that were rolled and filled to look like tootsie roll shaped candy. The filling was a lemon ricotta, and the pasta were served on a bed of walnut sauce. YUM!

Were were then served the house specialty which is a fresh house made angel hair pasta tossed with butter and marjoram and served with sauteed chantrelles and lots of finely shaved parmigiana. WOW! The courses kept getting better.

We then moved on to 2 large Rabbit Sausages shaped like meatballs served over a bed of fabulous Polenta which included fresh corn in the finish with a little broth and a sauteed green on top. This was the top course of the night for us - Beautiful in every way and assertively spiced which as great.

We then had dessert and Italian Espresso. Cindy had a Chocolate Semifreddo, and I enjoyed a Peach/Goat Cheese Mousse . All top notch.

Everything about the evening was great . I really recommend this place - not cheap though for 2 including tax, tip it was $225.

The Old Spaghetti Factory - Seattle

Last week we took our 2-year-old to Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. Jeff has strong nostalgic memories of going there as a kid, and it was a college-student-on-a-budget staple for us years ago. I was leery of dinner for two reasons....1) we're used to pretty high-end, quality food, so i was worried it was going to be nasty, and 2) in the past I remember waiting FOREVER for a table, which is pure torture with a toddler. To avoid problem number 2, we went early...got there at 5:15 and there was no wait at all. We were impressed right away with their kid-friendly setup. As soon as we sat down, our daughter was presented with an activity/color sheet and 2 crayons (as a parent, I appreciate that she was only offered two colors, so we didn't have to spend the next 15 minutes chasing runaway crayons all over the floor). The coloring kit also came with a package of saltine crackers, which kept her busy until the bread came. Pure genius!!! The kids menu was great - lots of choices, and came with apple sauce and milk, along with the small bowl of pasta with spaghetti sauce and one giant meatball.
Given our nostalgic feelings towards the place, we were pleasantly surprised with the dinner. It was not fancy. It was no gourmet. It was not quality ingredients. But it was hardy, tasted good, and was dirt cheap. We LOVED it. For tired parents with a toddler, this is an ideal outing for dinner. My only complaint was that the vanilla ice cream (or spumoni, if you choose) that was served to my daughter was WAY too much. We solved that quickly by scooping two-thirds of her dessert into my husbands bowl without her noticing.
Overall, if you have little kids but really don't feel like cooking, head out to your local Old Spaghetti Factory. Just get there early, or you'll end up waiting forever for a table. There was already a wait by the time we left and headed to the car. Dinner for 3 $23!!

Signs All over Place

Sign over a Gynecologist' s Office:
"Dr. Jones, at your cervix."

In a Podiatrist's office:
"Time wounds all heels."

On a Septic Tank Truck:
Yesterday's Meals on Wheels

At a Proctologist' s door:
"To expedite your visit, please back in."

On a Plumber's truck:
"We repair what your husband fixed."

On another Plumber's truck:
"Don't sleep with a drip. Call your plumber."

On a Church's Billboard

Obey Your Wife

When everybody on earth was dead and waiting to enter Paradise , God appeared and said,
"I want the men to make two queues. One queue for the men who were true heads of their household, and the other queue for the men who were dominated by their women.
I want all the women to report to St Peter."
Soon all the women were gone and there were only the two queues of men.
The queue of the men who were

Tight Skirt Zipper

As the bus stopped and it was her turn to get on, she became aware that her skirt was too tight to allow her leg to come up to the height of the first step of the bus.

Slightly embarrassed and with a quick smile to the bus driver, she reached behind her to unzip her skirt a little, thinking that this would give her enough slack to raise her leg, she tried to take the step, only to discover that

Luc Cafe and Bar - Seattle

Luc is a French-American café and bar named after Thierry Rautureau's father, Luc. Located just up the block from James Beard Award winner Rautureau's Rover's in the heart of Seattle’s Madison Valley, Luc is a neighborhood spot with excellent food, fresh cocktails and a well-selected wine list. Cindy and I ate an early dinner there last night and were very impressed overall. It is interesting to see how all of Rover's fine points are handled in this dramatically lower priced venue. Of course, there is no comparison between the two places - Rover's being the top fine dining in Seattle with everything that goes with it to match and Luc essentially being a bar with very good small plates of comfort food with a great French Twist. However, it is easy to see Theirry's skills and taste at work throughout the operation.





Cindy and I started with an incredible, fairly priced bottle of a wonderful French Rose - Domaine de Fonsainte Gris de Gris 2009 ($35) and the best dish of the night - a Tartine of Smoked Salmon. This appetiser had a generous portion barely smoked fresh Salmon flakes on a toasted country french bread with a light spread of capers and goat cheese and a nice topping of arugula drizzled with olive oil ($8.95). It was both beautiful and amazingly tasty.





We then shared a salad that was very good but not life changing. It was fairly small and was composed with arugula, house pickled Bing Cherries, a small amount of caramelized shallots with a nice olive oil dressing($7.95).



For our main courses Cindy chose the Hamburger($11.95) and I had the Steak Frites($18.50). Cindy felt the burger was one of the best she has been served anywhere. Small, very chewy nice bun, tomato jam, aioli. My steak was typical Rovers, properly sauced, cooked and presliced. The fries were very good but being a small cut cold quickly. The dipping sauce was excellent but had an unfortunate look of a cheap thousand island dressing. The presentation of both plates was very casual, as intended. This type of fries needs to be a smaller portion or in a cone or napkin to retain heat though.



The dessert was an excellent fresh fruit cobbler with house made ice cream. Small and satisfying. We thought the whole thing was extremely enjoyable - with a good crowed vibe in the room. At $125 with tip not as "inexpensive" as it should from the mention of menu prices but still a very nice evening.



Seattle if lucky to have Theirry's excellent restaurants - you get what you pay for - and there is no huge profit in the type of operations he runs - I practically consider it a community service!

Biology Class - Final Exam

Students in an advanced Biology class were taking their mid-term exam. The last question was, 'Name seven advantages of Mother's  milk,' worth 70 points or none at all. One student, in particular, was hard put to think of seven advantages. He wrote:

1.) It is perfect formula for the child.
2.) It provides immunity against several diseases.
3.) It is always the right temperature.
4.) It is

Marriage humor

Wife: 'What are you doing?'
Husband : Nothing.
Wife : 'Nothing...? You've been reading our marriage certificate for an hour.'
Husband : 'I was looking for the expiry date.'

Wife : 'Do you want dinner?'
Husband : 'Sure! What are my choices?'
Wife : 'Yes or no.'

Wife: 'You always carry my photo in your wallet. Why?'
Hubby: 'When there is a problem, no matter how impossible, I look at your picture

Video Panas Anggota DPR

Seorang perempuan menelepon seorang anggota DPR laki2
dengan nada mengancam: “Masih ingat saya?  Kita, kan, pernah tidur bersama.  Saya punya videonya. Sekarang saya minta Rp 3 Milyar.  Kalau tidak  akan saya beberkan ke media!”

Mendapat telepon begitu bapak anggota DPR ketakutan dan langsung menyanggupinya sambil bertanya: “Tapi kamu siapa dan kita tidur di mana, ya?”

Si perempuan di ujung

The 11th Husband.

A young man married a beautiful woman who had previously divorced 10 husbands. On their wedding night, she told her new husband to "Please be gentle; I'm still a Virgin ".

"What?" said the puzzled groom. "How can that be if you've been married ten times?"

"Well, husband #1 was a Sales Representative; he kept telling me how great it was going to be.

"Husband # 2 was in Software Services; he

Things Wife Doesn't Use

The wife came home early and found her husband in their bedroom making love to a very attractive young woman.

' You disrespectful pig !' she cried . ' How dare you do this to me----a faithful wife,the mother of your children !'  I'm leaving you . I want a divorce!'

The husband replied  'Hang on just a minute love ,so at least I can tell you what happened.'

Fine , go ahead ' she sobbed , 'But

Made In ...

John Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock
(MADE IN JAPAN ) for 6 am.

While his coffeepot
(MADE IN CHINA)

was perking, he shaved with his electric razor
(MADE IN HONG KONG)

He put on a dress shirt
(MADE IN SRI LANKA),

designer jeans
(MADE IN SINGAPORE)

and tennis shoes
(MADE IN KOREA)

After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet
(MADE IN INDIA)

he sat down with

Good Luck, Mr. Gorsky

On July20, 1969, as commander of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, Neil Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the moon. His first words after stepping on the moon, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” were televised to Earth and heard by millions.

But just before he re-entered the lander, he made the enigmatic remark: “Good luck, Mr. Gorsky.” Many people at NASA

Flying Over The Fire

The photographer for a national magazine was assigned to get photos of a great forest fire. Smoke at the scene was too thick to get any good shots, so he frantically called his home office to hire a plane.

“It will be waiting for you at the airport!” he was assured by his editor.

As soon as he got to the small, rural airport, sure enough, a plane was warming up near the runway. He jumped in

Compiling a Family History

The Smith’s were proud of their family tradition. Their ancestors had come to America on the Mayflower. They had included Senators and Wall Street wizards.

They decided to compile a family history, a legacy for their children and grandchildren. They hired a fine author. Only one problem arose — how to handle that great-uncle George, who was executed in the electric chair.

The author said he

The Birthday Parrot

A guy named David received a parrot for his birthday. The parrot was fully grown, with a bad attitude and worse vocabulary. Every other word was an expletive. Those that weren’t expletives were, to say the least, rude.

David tried hard to change the bird’s attitude and was constantly saying polite words, playing soft music, anything he could think of to try and set a good example.

Noting worked

The Clergyman and the Dog

A clergyman was walking down the street when he came upon a group of a few boys about 10 years of age, surrounding a dog. Concerned that the boys were hurting the animal, he went over and asked them what they were doing.

One of the boys replied, “This dog is an old neighborhood stray. We take him home with us sometimes, but only one of us can take him home. So we’re having a contest:
whichever

Different Dates

WHITE WOMEN:

First date:
You get to kiss her goodnight.

Second date:
You get to grope all over and make out a bit.

Third date:
You get to have sex but only when

she wants to and only in the missionary position.

IRISH WOMEN:

First Date:
You both get blind drunk and have sex.

Second Date:
You both get blind drunk and have sex.

20th Anniversary:
You both get blind drunk and have sex.

GREEK

17 Agustus di Sorong

Coba simak nyanyian si Frans, nyong Ambon satu ini di perlombaan nyanyi 17 Agustusan di Sorong.

Frans.. sekarang giliran kou..!

Dengan pedenya Frans menyanyi "Enam belas agustus thn empat lima..."

Penilai: "Hey Frans..! kou punya lagu salah itu... ulang lagi..!"

Frans: "Enam belas agustus thn empat lima.."

Penilai: "Frans..! kou salah..!"

Frans: "Beta seng salah bapa... bapa dorang dengar