delia

When we first moved here and I saw we were but 3 blocks away from a Mexican restaurant, I was excited. But then we read some not exactly stellar reviews and coupled with the fact that Washington state had not yet passed the indoor smoking ban, we decided to hold off. However, we are about ready to move away and we thought we could give El Gallito a try. Maybe we were too quick to judge based on a few internet crituques. Maybe it was secretly Very Good. Maybe we would become regulars, having initially shunned this controversial eatery without even giving it a chance.

I am hard pressed to think of worse food I’ve had in my life. Daniel Spils comments about “tough meals” had at this eatery, which is an understatement. I cannot believe I actually paid money to eat this food. In fact, it was so bad, they should have paid ME to consume it.

I am not sure what they put in the salsa. Maybe it was guar gum. I am not really sure what guar gum is, but it seems to intuitively be similar to the consistency of their disgusting salsa. Today I had lunch at Taco Bell with my mom when we took a break from house painting. I find Taco Bell to be barely edible, but I will say that I would take their single serving “Fire” Sauce packet anyday over the El Gallito salsa.

After driving through the greater Kirkland area on I-405, I’ve decided I don’t really need to see more than I already have. Sometimes the Eastside gives me the willies.

I went back to the motherland last week to visit friends and family. My mom moved to Cincinnati about two years ago for a new job. She bought a cool house and has a demanding cat that screams louder than should really be possible for something that weighs about 15 pounds. I went to Xavier where she works and a yarn store. The city seemed about what you would expect an Ohio city to be like. Ever wonder why all the major Ohio cities start with the letter “C”. Me too.

My spouse and I became members of the Washington Park Arboretum Japanese Garden because it costs $5 per person per visit or $25 per family per year. You do the math. However, this Japanese-inspired garden is free, bigger, and at least in January, less overrun. It is not as meticulously landscaped and manicured, but I loved the many small trails that you could take to see the garden from different angles. I imagine it will be especially pretty when the flowers start to bloom in the spring, but for now, the holly and heather add other color to the infinite spectrum of green already displayed. Take visiting friends and family here before you shell out $5 each for the WPA version.

I went here over the weekend with a friend and my spouse. We had a several course meal that largely featured cheese. We were about the get the tiramisu just so we could have cheese in our dessert, but we were too full. (Which, as my friend wants everyone to know, features mascarpone, not marscepone, cheese.) The waitstaff was highly knowledgeable and attentive, the food yummy, and as always, my companionship was delightful. I would definitely return because one should always frequent restaurants with fake asteroids on their roofs.

Harborview is the nicest county hospital I have ever seen and in my opinion is one of the best places to get medical care in Seattle. I might be biased though, since it is the location of my clinic, but it is the only level 1 trauma center for several states, so that is cool.

Anyplace that has Giraffe parking and Whale parking has to be fun. I parked in Whale parking today, but tomorrow, it’s Giraffe all the way, baby.

Anyplace that has an event called the “BiOhio” is cool. I also recommend the rose garden and the cow that has a hole in its stomach where researchers can study how they digest food.

I once drank three double espressos here when I was 16 and trying to drown my boy sorrows in caffeine. The only thing that happened was I got to stay awake until 4:30 in the morning, my mind racing, thinking about nothing but that stupid boy.

Far too many seminal events of my life occured on this campus.

Scary.