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...