I was THIS close!

The Roots were the coolest concert!

I'm too white for this...

A couple of weeks ago my friend Cassie noticed that The Roots were coming to Seattle. My little brother Jeremy LOVES The Roots, and they're the new house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. I have started watching Jimmy and really enjoying them. So when Cassie asked if I wanted to go, it sounded like fun.




So last night, we went over to FareStart for dinner (it's a Thursday night, we go to Farestart!) for a delicious meal, and then off to the show! We walked into The Paramount to see that there were NO SEATS! It was nuts! We knew the show was GA, but didn't realize that meant no sitting. So, we heard the opening band, Pacific Division. They were pretty good, and one of the guys had this shirt that I really want.

So that was cool. And then The Roots came out! I'm now in love with Tuba Gooding Jr., who knew the Sousaphone was such a bad ass instrument? Probably my mom...The show was great, and it wasn't that full. It was also the most eclectic group of people I've ever seen at a show. Lots of people who looked like maybe they go/went to Whitworth, a large African American crows, and Asian/pacific islander crowd. And the socio-economic status was also pretty surprising. Cassie & I commented on the drive home that it was one of the most diverse crowds we've seen.

The show was AMAZING, the sampling that was done was incredible, and it wasn't that packed, so we were about 4 rows back, it was awesome! It was a great show, and people were even smoking weed next to us! I felt very hip. Mostly because I'm watching WAY too much TV lately where people smoke weed. I kind of think Jeremiah was jealous he wasn't near ACTUAL weed. We are way too white...

Best Meal, Best Cause, EVER

So, on February 5th my friend Becky and I went to FareStart for dinner, before we went to see this new musical Memphis at the 5th Avenue Theater. Memphis was pretty good, it has some work to do before it gets to Broadway, but it was a fun night at the theater none the less.
But, before the show, we went to the COOLEST restaurant in Seattle, and possibly anywhere on earth. FareStart is a restaurant in downtown Seattle that is also a nonprofit that teaches homeless and disadvantaged folks culinary skills so they can work in a kitchen and get a job. They are open week days for lunch, and only on Thursday nights for dinner. BUT, for dinner, they have Guest Chef Night, where a local celebrity chef comes into the kitchen and puts the meal together.

When Becky and I went it was Sabrina Tinsley of Osteria la Spiga. The food was FABULOUS. If the name Sabrina Tinsley sounds familiar, you watch too much Iron Chef America, because she was on last month. She's tiny and adorable and LOVES FareStart. The food was ridiculous, I cleared all 3 courses. It's always a 3 course pre-fix menu, with a vegetarian option. We had this yummy fresh salad with fava beans (but no Chianti on the menu...) and gnocchi with sausage in a cream sauce (amazing, so much better than it sounds), and these awesome cookies for dessert.

And also for dessert...a graduation ceremony. The folks who have gone through and completed the program get to graduate in front of the diners. It is one of the NEATEST experiences I've ever seen. One woman graduated on our night, and one of the staff chefs talked about how great she is, and then they give her a book, and a really nice set of chef's knives, which is an amazing gift.

AND, with all the famous restaurateurs coming into the restaurant, they know the quality of the work and usually look to Fare Start for their hiring. So there you have it, a new date night, and the most "feel good meal" you can eat in Seattle.

WHAT WAS HE ON?

Okay, so I love to watch Letterman. This morning I heard that his interview with Joaquin Phoenix was almost as fabulous as the Farrah Fawcett interview a few years ago. It was SO WEIRD!

But the weirdest part...when he put the gum under Dave's desk...and then pulled it back and put it back in his mouth! He's lost it!

Well, CBS took it off You Tube, but the Wahoo Gazette has a pretty great round up...

This Year's Oscar Winner

Yesterday I went to see Slumdog Millionaire. It was AWESOME! I knew it was going to be, even though a co-worker said it was over-hyped. She's over-hyped, so whatever.

LOST has me hooked on the beauty of Flash backs, so this movie was right up my alley. The Oscars are always a fun time, and this year the list of movies to go see is really short...

• Slumdog Millionaire
• Doubt
• The Wrestler (if time)
• Tropic Thunder

I saw Tropic Thunder on Friday night. It was not the best movie ever, it was a Ben Stiller movie, so take that for what it's worth. Sure, the idea of Robert Downey Jr.'s character was very funny, but what was NOT recognized and should have been, was Tom Cruise! I think Ben Stiller single handedly resurrected Tom Cruise's career. He plays a angry Studio Head and he's PERFECT for it. It's lots of makeup, and a fat suit, but there's also dancing, which is great! Tom Cruise was robbed. And I think the best supporting actor is a lock in for Heath Ledger, so the other 4 nominees don't really matter this year...

But, if I were to add a best actor nom, it would go to Robert Downey Jr. for Ironman. I don't know why I loved that movie so much, but I did!

Green Faeries

A couple of weeks ago I was at a work event and ran into my friend Jeffrey. He's working on this cool event where once a month we go to a bar, have our own bartender, get a history of the bar, and try two or three different cocktails, to expand out cocktail knowledge, know the bartender, and learn a thing or two. I can't WAIT for this event to start! It's called Passport 2 Cocktails, and the first event is this Tuesday, don't you wish you lived in Seattle?

But, that's not the story to tell today. The story today is about LAST Sunday. Jeffrey mentioned when I saw him that there was going to be an Absinthe Tasting and seminar. I've had absinthe once with dad, and I'm not really an anise fan, so I figured maybe if I learn more about it, I'll find a way to like it.

Well, I find out the seminar is a part of the Washington State Bartenders Guild. A newly formed organization. You may be wondering if I'm a bartender, and you'd be right...I only make gin & tonics and pour a pint. So, I walk into the room, and realize we're in this couple's really cool loft over by Safeco Field, but we've got tables for 50 people crammed into this room. Anyway, I find a seat, and the seminar begins. It's two of the world's leading experts on Absinthe, and they both live in Seattle. Sweet! As the seminar begins, they start passing around a few different cocktails. I only drank one full "taster" and it was the Monkey Gland. Oh delicious Monkey Gland...so good! Here's a little about how it got it's name...

So, everything I could find said that Absinthe has been illegal since 1912. So, when I was at the event, the absinthe expert guys kept talking about how it was illegal, and why, (which was really lame reasoning) and now it's not. But they weren't explaining WHY it's legal again. So, during the Q&A I asked, how did it magically become legal again. Honestly, I didn't get the most exciting answer, but I guess what happened is that the outlawing of Absinthe was from an agriculture law, and way before the FDA. So when all these different organizations came under the government, the law outlawing absinthe never made it through the cracks. So, we've been missing out on this unique cocktail for years when we could have been drinking it.

While I was in WAY over my head, and tasted about 6 different brands of Absinthe, I learned that while I'm not a fan of it, Absinthe has it's place, and hopefully the novelty will wear off and distilleries will tout it's usefulness in cocktailing and beyond...

TAKE WITH FOOD!

So, a friend of mine has this company that has developed a natural cold sore medication. I take a daily pill to take care of my cold sore currently. It's really expensive, and is mostly used for the slutty kind of herpes, not the kind that you get from kissing your mom when you're 7.

So, I checked with my naturopath friend who said it seems pretty legit and I could take it. Hooray, a natural medication that isn't as expensive and doesn't make me feel trampy, YAY! I take the medication, twice a day, and it's recommended to take with food. I don't take my medications with food usually, and never have a problem. So I don't take the meds with food...

I take it Tuesday night, Wednesday morning, Wednesday night, no problem. I take it Thursday morning...pop the pill, drinking coffee, getting ready, all of a sudden...over heating...then I barf. oops, evidently he wasn't kidding when he said to TAKE WITH FOOD.

While it was nice to have a day off, I had a seminar to teach for 50 people I had to cancel the morning of. And by cancel, I mean call the office and inconvenience 4 of my co-workers to do grunt work. Blarg, what a crap day. I watched Season 3 of Weeds (yay!) and got caught up on my dvr which was GREAT however. Hank enjoyed a day to hangout at home with mom too which was good!

Merry Christmas Jeremiah!

My friend Michelle found this card for Jeremiah this year, it was too funny NOT to share...

Entourage

Alright, so clearly I just write about HBO lately...

For Christmas, my brother Jeremy and his girlfriend Cassie got Jeremiah and I season 1-3 of Entourage. I also got Weeds Season 1 from my brother Jake, which is such a great show I already owned it. So, I returned it for season 4 of Entourage.

We got back from Christmas break, and it was still snowing around here, so it was a very low-key week off. We had a great time of laying around, glass full of something, blankets piled up on the couch and we watched Entourage. In 4 days we watched over 3 seasons of it. We're now half way through Season 4. It's the most addictive show, and I love it!

If you're not familiar with the show, it's about a movie star who is from Queens, and when he moves out to LA, he brings his two best friend (Eric and Turtle) with him. They had lived with Vince's brother Drama for a while, but now live in Vince's house since Drama is a has-been 90's sci-fi star.

Anyway, the best part of the show is the agent ARI! Ari is the biggest ass I've ever seen on TV. He's actually the definition of a-hole. I'm sure of it. But man alive is he the best character on TV lately. So, it's busy season for Jeremiah and he's coming home late at night, but we still watch at least an episode of Entourage. Season 5 was on late last year, but isn't on demand right now, so we have to wait till it come outs...this may kill us.

Thanks for the present Jerm & Cassie, we love it!