Matt and I had a visitor this weekend! Half of our favorite couple came between weeks of training to relax and catch up. Turns out her new job is pretty cool, although it is hard to say if she will really like it, because, well- she hasn't been at the office for more than a couple days. They've sent her to NY for training. Anyhow, it is cool to think I know people who can leverage their hard work and experience into valuable and rewarding employment, which gives me a feeling of hope.
We got to spend the weekend catching up and doing fun things. We fought the crowds of Steelers Fans in the Strip District to buy some Steelers stuff (big game coming up, y'know), and farm fresh apples, and sample the wares at the public market. We went ice skating at the outdoor rink downtown- I'm not awesome, but I didn't fall down. And we went out to a favorite bar that recently got a serious upgrade to meet a bunch of her old work buddies. We've liked this place since before, it is spacious, seems to attract and older, mellow crowd who tend to idly watch whatever sporting event is on and drink boutique beers and eat really good wings. Now the beer selection got crazy huge, so we were happy to hang out there.
We even got to have breakfast at our favorite place for pre-exam breakfasts, Pamela's. I've got a lot of affection for those giant greasy pancakes, and it's sentimental to share them with my study buddy. A good weekend was had by all, and we were terrible sad that it's over.
We eventually had to take her back to the airport, (why?? It was just like old times again!) and Matt and I stopped at the new BIG grocery store that is out in the urban sprawl. I'd heard this place was pretty epic, but it never seemed like a good idea to drive out of town for groceries, but since we were there anyway... well, dang, but this place is big. And it definitely gives the Austin Whole Foods a run for it's money, at least is terms of volume and diverse offerings, if not for organic quality. There is a charcuterie, a cheese-monger, an amazing collection of 'eat in foods' that include a creperie and a pizzeria. We indulged in some small cuts of rare and interesting cheeses, and also decided to test the array of apples. Matt has been eating a lot of apples lately, and he doesn't actually know what kind he likes. In recent years, I realized that Red Delicious is the worst kind of misnomer, and vowed to avoid them, but otherwise I can't remember what kind I like. Matt picked 8 kinda of apples to sample, and we made notes. Because we are dorks. The highlights: the Ambrosia and Jazz were our favorites, but the more common Honeycrisp and Fuji placed well. Braeburn and Cortland were both incredibly disappointing, and not yummy with Peanut Butter. I'm sure we'll have tasting notes on the cheeses soon too.
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The Red Delicious put Washington Apples on the Map 40-50 years ago when the Columbia River dams started to turn the desert of Eastern Washington into an irrigated fertile valley of historic post depression-era success. They were Huge, Red, and the epitome of keep-the-doctor-away-teacher's-pet-suck-up-tool. They now have bred to a more tasteless shadow of themselves and have been grimly leading a decline in the global marketplace for the Washington Apple industry and a general reapproachment of the whole Dam the River's mentality. If you ever want to try a breed wth real snap, look for a zingy McIntosh. Very tart, probably not sweet enough for the modern marketplace. If Boeing Jets and Microsoft operating systems ever go the way of the Red delicious, Seattle will be a ghost town.....Dad
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