Jeff "Don't harsh my mellow" G.'s Profile

Ick
Kind of dirty and dumpy.
The service was crummy. We asked to sit at a table in the back, were told we couldn't, then another couple of two was seated there 2 minutes later. The waitress didn't even try to tell me what any of my sashimi was; I'm not sure she even knew.

Some of the Sashimi was mushy, probably from being frozen and much of it had a metallic taste. Didn't taste Sashimi grade to me.

I'll give them a little credit for the effort of trying to be mainly a traditional sushi joint and not another all in one Japanese place. But there's pretty much nothing else to recommend it.

I lost my best friend on Thursday night. We came back from a nice dinner at Cactus and Cosmo didn't come downstair to greet us. We thought it was a little odd but his hips have been giving him a hard time and at 13 he's slowed down a bit. We came up and found him in the bathroom just staring at the toilet. When my wife bumped into him he fell over and I got that sinking feeling. A few seconds later we got him to stand up but then he pooped all over the floor. We called Emerald City and got him in the car but we were pretty certain this was it.

We were met a the door by a really sweet tech. she came out with a gurney and took him upstairs.  She put us in the the room that my friend who lived near there used to call the "sad room"(very accurate). The vet whose name i can't remember was patient and offered us several diagnostic options but when we asked if he thought it was time for us to let our buddy go he said yes and made it clear that he felt we were making the right decision.

The process was very calm and they gave us lot's of time to reminisce with Coz. We joked about how we got put on probation by the Post Office when he was a puppy because he scared the mail carrier by barking. We remembered all the good walks he'd had. And then when we were ready, the doctor very gently sat down with us and helped Cosmo pass. He and the tech were patient and supportive.

This was literally one of the worst days of my life and it's still hard to talk about. But at least Emerald City was there to make this bad moment go as easily as possible.

I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

Chuck E Cheeze you have been replaced. No creeky robot animals or sweaty kids in rodent costumes here. Just pinball, ice cream, pizza and...wait for it....beer!!! Can we get an Amen!!!

For a base of 75 bucks for 10 people you get a drink(non-alchoholic) and Ice Cream. And here's 'the really cool part(as if this isn't all ready cool enough)The birthday boy or girl gets to invent an Ice Cream flavor and take a pint home, and they also sell it that day to the public. You can also throw in some beer and pizza for an additional price.

We had two adults celebrating birthdays with  7 kids and 7 adults we mowed through several beers and 4 pizzas and the tab was around 150 bucks. The adults had some serious pinball competitions, while the kids played retro video games like Frogger and Dig Dug.

Just for the record one of the adults chose a cornbread jalapeno ice cream and the other chose a margarita ice; both pretty good.

According to the handyman at my new apartment this is one of the "best French restaurants"' in the country. He said it twice so either he's never been or he needs a serious geography lesson. This is unmistakably an Italian restaurant and; a very good one.

They take they're Rustica name seriously, the paint is peeling, it's cramped(If you sit by the bathrroom you're going to have people bumping into you all night) and it's a very old school menu. Nothing innovative, or pseudo retro, or kitcschy. Just very very very good classic dishes.

The spicey Calamari is delicious in a light but spicey broth. The Gnochi made from polenta is fluffly and delicious. I've had both the batarga and linguine(shaved fish roe) and the chicken liver and peas with linguine which can be disgusting if they're not made well. These are two of the best I'v'e ever had.

The place is perfect for a romantic evening or smallish group. If you come with more than 4 you're going to have to wait. But that might not be so bad since they have fantastic wines and cocktails too.

They really should  have a warning sign on the door. "Caution Employees are cranky, irritable and rude...communicate with them at your own risk." The place is great for finding cheap computer parts or parts you can't find anywhere else.

The guys who work here take the cranky IT guy stereotype to a whole new level. I make it a point to never ever ask any questions; you just know they'll fire back with some rude comment. Bad social skill? Marketing gimmick? I'm not sure, but it makes it a place I go to only if I've exhaused every other option, including the Internet.

A friend had described this as the best used bookstore in the Northwest next to Powells in Portland. Big talk, especially to a book freak like me. When we pulled up to the squat white brick building in the middle of a monsoon last weekend I was less than Impressed...until I opened the door and practically heard angels singing. I was that stunned by how huge the place is inside.

The kid's section alone is as big as some other bookstores. There are 2 solid aisles of mysteries(not to mention an entire room with more mysterys, suspense and thrillers. We ended up spending two hours just browsing. I love pulp novels and  found an awesome 80's era series called The Survivors, about a guerilla force trying to defend the U.S from a Russian Invasion. I also found an awesome series from the 30's called G-8 and His Battle Aces.

If this was in Seattle I'd probably never go to Twice Sold Tales or Half Price Books again.

This place is amazing.For a minute I thought I'd walked into my bedroom back when I was a teenager. This place is packed with every possible pop culture thing you need. Cabbage Patch Kids bubblegum still in wrapper - check. Luke Skywalker doll from the 70's Check. Farrah Fawcet poster - check. Dick Tracy movie novel- check.

Its a tiny space and it's literally stuffed to wall to wall and floor to ceiling with cool stuff. If I'd had more time I could have spent more hours and money. But I did manage to score 2 original volumes of Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers collections and a spaced out a spaced out 70's era graphic book called the Alternative History of the American Revolution.

A fire chased me my wife,my mother in-law and my dog out of the house. Our insurance company is paying for us to live somewhere in the meantime and I picked Homewood because they take pets. The place is comfortable, with a big living room, two bedrooms and a decent kitchenette. Most of the staff are very friendly, especially to our large dog, Cosmo.

I can't even describe how terrifying and upsetting it is to suddenly not be able to live in your house, but having a comfortable friendly place like this to re-group in is being very helpful.

Thursday morning I had a kitchen. By 9:30 I had a house full of smoke, water pouring through my kitchen floor and a smoldering stove in my back yard. My wife had turned on the wrong burner on the stove and everything changed dramatically. The firefighters(who were outstanding) recommended servpro, as did the insurance rep.

They arrived within 2 hours of my calling. Our rep was helpful, very precise about the process and very sensitive to our shock and fear. She carefully walked us through the house and detailed the steps that are needed to restore our house to the way it was. Because there was toxic smoke, every single item in the house has to be removed and cleaned, the walls painted, cabinets and appliances replaced.

Within minutes of our signing the agreement there was an army of men in moon suits placing air scrubbers and dryers, and more men boxing up our life to be taken out and cleaned. Every single one of these guys is very nice and courteous and they go out of their way to be helpful.

We're still deep in the middle of this process(living in a hotel) and it's going to go on for awhile, but the ServPro people have really helped us to understand the cleaning process and to help us relax a little. I can't say enough about how great they've been so far.

Update 4/30
It's strange to see your life summed up by what you owned. They've inventoried every bit of food and all of the items in my kitchen that are ruined. It comes to 16 pages - The herbs and spices alone fill two solid pages. And apparently we had a lot of things in Mason Jars. From the list:
Mason Jar full of substance
Large Mason Jar Unknown Substance
2 small mason Jars w/unknown substance

I think there were 14 billion people in line for the Emerald City Comic Con(maybe more, I lost count) The line snaked from the upper level garden down to the 4th floor concourse. The staff was incredibly efficient and courteous.

I've never been to a bad event here and I've never seen anything but excellence from the hard working staff. Kudos!