Mark Groves' Weblog: Food and drink

I Love Sushi

Sat, 29 Jul 2006 19:14:20 GMT

One of the great things about moving to the Seattle area is having family close at hand. Since Val's parents and sister live in Seattle they get to spend time with our son. And we get to go out do dinner now and then since they love watching him. So tonight Val and I got to go out for Sushi (another benefit of living in Seattle). To a place called I Love Sushi, ok the name is lame but the food was great. We got the chef's special sashimi, it was nice not having to pick, our sushi chef picked out some great fish.

A Guide For The Un-Initated To Buying Guinness In An Irish Pub.

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 16:09:53 GMT

A Guide For The Un-Initated To Buying Guinness In An Irish Pub.

Now this is a very important guide. I figured I would post this, since my cousin Pat is in Africa with the Peace Corps, and has been known to take in a Guinness now and then. I have heard Africa is one of the largest consumers of Guinness besides Ireland.

1 Choose your pub carefully. A pint of Guinness does not appreciate loud music, loud people or bright flashing lights.

2 Ask politely for a pint of Guinness. Depending on the pub, it is possible to catch the barman's eye and mouth the word "pint", he will translate this accurately.

3 The barman will fill the glass between 70% and 80% capacity. It will then be put to the side for a few moments to allow it "to settle". Once the brownish liquid has almost turned to a solid black the barman will then fill the rest of the glass. NB: do not under any circumstances take the glass before it is filled. Some virgins seem to think that the settling stage is the final stage and walk away with an unfinished pint. At this point we Irish DO understand the predicament, but I assure you it causes endless mirth as well.

4 Once you have received your pint, find a comfortable stool or seat, gaze with awe into the deep blackness, raise the pint to your mouth and take a large mouthful. Be firm.

5 A good pint can distinguished by a number of methods. A smooth, slightly off- white head is one, another is the residue left on the inside of the glass. These, surprise surprise, are known as rings. As long as they are there you know you're okay. A science of rings is developing - the instance that comes to mind is determining a persons nationality by the number of rings (a ring is dependent on a swig of Guinness each swig leaving it's own ring). An Irishman will have in the region of 5-6 rings (we pace ourselves), an Englishman will have 8-10 rings, an American will have 17-20 (they sip) and an Australian won't have any at all as they tend to knock it back in one go!

6 As you near the end of your pint, it is the custom to order another one. It is a well known fact that a bird does not fly on one wing.

Burger war grows with new 15 pounder

Wed, 04 May 2005 14:46:29 GMT

Ok, so is there really necessary. I know, extreme items make the news, and of course drive business, but come on. I guess it just a continuing sign that our society needs to feel good about how much food they are getting for their money. Of course I'm not surprise that this is coming from PA, even though this is ridiculous, I do miss the good food back in Pittsburgh.

Saucy Noodle

Sun, 12 Dec 2004 23:26:56 GMT

We went out to dinner last night with our friends Mary and Grant, to a great little Italian place in Denver called Saucy Noodle. Pretty laidback place, with some great food, at a decent price. Definitly check it out.