Text 8018, 85 rader
Skriven 2008-05-30 09:30:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: tacoma 385
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We needed wireless, so off to Commencement Bay, Hap's coffeehouse
of choice; I had a chocolate-raspberry cake (probably from a mix -
tasted rather Duncan Hinesy, but that's not too bad a thing) and a
cuppa joe - for me, decaf Sumatra, which tasted almost high-test
but wasn't.

On to Hap's workspace (he showed me some of his watercolors), then
the free tram up to the theater district and the farmers' market,
where nothing really appealed except for a smiling middle-aged
woman from whom I bought a bag of smoked oysters for $5 - this was
a dozen sizable ones, nicely smoked over alder I think; we munched
on them as a snack while figuring on where to have lunch. We
decided on Alfred's Cafe back near Freighthouse Square, which
advertises oyster stew. Sat ourselves down at the counter and
darn near starved to death. Turns out there is a back dining
room, only we didn't see it. It took the blonde waitress two or
three calls from the cook before she showed up; she was genial
enough but consistently very blonde.

I ordered the oyster plate, a dozen pan-fried and served with
chips, mashed, or fries and the vegetable of the day, which
turned out to be micro-steamed broccoli. This took a while to
come out, and when it did, it came with fries instead of the
chips I'd asked for. The cook took the fries and dumped them
back under the heat lamp (they were fresh enough, though, as
we'd watched him cook them) and gave me a big handful of chips
(homemade) out of a big tub. No broccoli, so when challenged on
this, he gave a sheepish grin and fetched it from the nuker. I
asked for some butter, and he put about half a stick worth on:
OMG, that was good broccoli. The oysters were quite respectable,
good flavor, breaded with some kind of crumbs that had a bit of
vanilla taste, nicely cooked; the chips, done dark brown, were
very tasty.

Hap said he wanted something different so we could trade tastes,
but he ended up with the oyster sandwich, which was equally nice.

Then to the Tacoma Art Museum, which had a thought-provoking
exhibition of Renoir as printmaker (including at least one example
of every print subject he'd done) and a peculiar one exploring
Chuck Close and his hybridizing photography with other media.

And the Almond Roca factory outlet, where I picked up a few
pounds of the long-forbidden stuff.

Saar's is the local grocery (quite impressive for prices,
fairly enviable for selection, mixed in quality, and slightly
dubious in appearance and clientele), where we got chili fixin's.
The fixin's - ground beef, celery, onions, garlic, chili powder,
cumin, tomatoes, tomato paste, Jimmy Dean pure pork sausage -
these things I know; things I wasn't familiar with:

El Mexicano chorizo - a good sausage, strong cumin and capsicum
flavor, nice ground not too lean pork, quite salty but without
the sweetness I often get or the vinegariness I often get.

Milwaukee's Best Ice - surprisingly, not offensive; low hops,
not much starchiness (this is a high-alcohol beer); tiny bit of
metallic aspect, pronounced alcohol. Very clean.

Scotch tasting at home -

Glenmorangie 18 ($129 a bottle) - both smooth and kicky at the
same time. Vanilla and spice on the nose continuing to the palate
with citrus and almonds joining. Long smoky finish. Somewhat
sweet, not overwhelmingly so. Quite nice by any standard.

Lismore 7 ($22 a bottle, includes tasting glass) - chocolate,
vanilla, almonds, alcohol. Fair smoke, fair malt, a palatable
dram with a touch of sweetness. Quite nice for the price.

=

Hap makes a very respectable bowl of red. It's got a bit more
tomato than I'd put in; plus he's by no means a purist - I had
a cow when he threatened to put mushrooms in - but I did manage
to choke down about 3/4 of a quart of it, my only addition being
a shake or two of Cayenne.

Pike Brewery Tandem Double Ale, very dark brown, chocolaty, and
relatively low-hopped, went nicely, though it was a hair sweet.

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