Adam "Last Chance To Dance No-Pants, Perchance" C.'s Profile

Power Play is the name of the $4 million expansion to Lucky Strike bowling lanes. The 18,000 square foot addition is a well-played cut at what GameWorks aimed to be years ago (does that place still exist?): a video game arcade catering to those above drinking age.
Let there be no doubt about it: these folks know how to throw a grand opening bash. Their intent was free food and drink, with no limitations. Seriously a Pleasure Island type of event. However, that idea was slightly quashed by the folks that own the nearby Parlor Billiards hall calling the liquor control board and tattletaleing that Power Play was going to give out free booze. Think about that the next time you decide to spend more than you should to hang out in Bellevue and play mindless games. Which establishment do you want to support?
So drinks were a dollar, and proceeds went to charity.
Power Play has filled the space with a large array of modern video games. Here you won't find Rampage, Ms. Pac Man or Arkanoid, but you will find just about everything else. If you want to drive Hummers, Harleys, or hydroplanes, you're covered. If you want to rock out to Guitar Hero or dance to Dance Dance Revolution, you're set. You can dunk some real basketballs, roll some video bowling, or even toss some video lawn darts, because the world was really lacking that option.
There are interactive trivia games and a Deal or No Deal game. There's a maze made up of frickin' lasers. With the clientele of Power Play, the video screens outside the maze show scenes reminiscent of the late-90s movie Entrapment, with tightly-clothed women weaving through lasers while trying to keep their cleavage contained.
In a nod to the video arcades of our collective youth, there are games such as skee-ball which spit out tickets to be redeemed for prizes ranging from Pez and stuffed bears to Xbox games and Lucky Strike barware. Play the wheel of fortune game to win tickets at the least, but if you are lucky, you'll win an iPod, Nintendo DS, or... wait for it... a Coach handbag.
The food is standard Lucky Strike bar food; passable greasebombs, but it was free!
Finally, big props to Lucky Strike for their hiring practices. I don't know where they find them, but they have somehow amassed the largest array of silicone-filled tawdry tarts as their staff. The most silicone to be found north of Reno. A hostess whose mere ability to stand upright defies all physics.
I'm docking Power Play a star in advance, just knowing that their clientele on a typical weekend is going to be douchebag central, and for being yet another pretentious vortex in the expanding black hole that is Bellevue, but as far as big, glitzy grown-up video game arcades go, this place fits the bill.

Dodgeball in a room that is floor and walls of trampoline? An hour was plenty to drench us all in sweat and have everyone declaring that we'd do it again.
I am going to feel that one in the morning.
Great for adults and children, and great for parties. Just be sure to eat after jumping, and not vice-versa.

This might just be a little Issaquah secret. The restaurant was sparsely populated on the Tuesday night we visited, but Bamiyan brought home the goods, with great service as well.
We started with the Afghan bread soaked in yogurt with nuts and onions. It was unlike anything I'd ever had, and was so good that we ordered another serving before we finished the first.
We ordered a variety of dishes, mostly vegetarian, but also some kofta kebabs. The kebabs were as good as any I'd ever had before; 2 big ones served with a large plate of palaw rice, some yogurt mint sauce and some pita. A satisfying meal right there.
The eggplant dish was pretty damn good, even to someone that avoids eggplant as much as possible. Cut thick and grilled with some tasty sauces on it.
We had a potato based dish and a veggie dumpling dish, as well as some spinach. Each were delicious and unfamiliar flavors which I would gladly reacquaint myself with.
For dessert, we had the baklava and the ice cream, and the latter was a stand-out. French vanilla with some nuts, cardamom, cinnamon and other flavors. Rich and refreshing.
And the young fella who was our waiter was very cordial and accommodating. He works Tuesdays and requests that everyone visit on Tuesdays, perhaps because those are slow nights.
Finally, Bamiyan is a city in central Afghanistan that was once home to some towering stone Buddhas. The Taliban destroyed the statues in 2001, in their efforts to eradicate all other religions from Afghanistan. There are some photos of the former statues on the walls, but the restaurant wisely avoids any political statements. In any case, an interesting topic: learn yourself something while you eat some spectacular food!

What a delicious experience! I sampled the big pig for the first time at the Mobile Chowdown, where a 30+ minute line surely made the food at the end that much sweeter.
I had the pork sandwich with the Minimus sauce, which was a sweet, tamarind based sauce. I asked them to put some "hurt" on it and took it with the fried chips and a ginger lemonade.
The pork was so tender that it was hardly discernible from the bun other than the astounding flavor. The sandwich was topped with fresh cilantro, one of my favorite ingredients. The "hurt" was a very unique chili powder, maybe the best I've ever had. Apparently it has a variety of chilies in it, including dangerous jalapeno powder. Whatever it was made of, it was tops and brought the right amount of burn to the sweet sauce. Perfect.
Thinking about it, if I were standing halfway in-between Pecos Pit and Maximus, I would probably hem and haw until one closed down or drove away. Totally different flavors but just as amazing.
The chips shouldn't be overlooked: they're a variety of thinly sliced veggies and green beans, fried, and topped with a very flavorful mix of spices. Definitely a painless way to get your healthy dose of fried veggies for the day.
And the ginger lemonade was perfect, made even more so by free refills.
Next time you see the pig driving by, look for me tucked into the snout, sleeping off my last lunch, and waiting for the next one.

I hired The Finish Company to update the floors in my 1907 Craftsman home.
I think the last time the floors had been refinished might have been in the 1960s and as a result the soft fir boards were cracked in a number of places, and in some places the finish was so worn that you could see the bare wood exposed.
In the kitchen, a previous owner had expanded the space and covered the floor with neutral mid-1990s ceramic tile. They worked but I always hated them. So the project was to remove the tiles, remove the cracked boards, and replace the kitchen floor and bad boards with salvaged fir purchased at EarthWise. Once that was done, The Finish Company would refinish the whole thing and make it uniform and stained the same color.
On the whole, the project went very well. The tear-out was quick and the install was as well. They stuck very close to their estimated schedule, which was influenced a bit by some small unforseen obstacles.
Another short delay was when we returned after the stain and finishing layer were dried. I noticed that there were several places where some tiny bubbles had appeared in the finish. It took a couple days to get the guys back out and they decided to sand those spots back down and add another layer, which meant spending another night out of the house. I am so glad they did this final layer though. I don't know what they put in that final layer, but the floor went from looking great to looking as smooth as glass and has a gorgeous semi-matte finish. All the bubbles are gone and I can skate around in my socks to my heart's content.
The only other hitch was there were a couple artifacts from the project: my fridge is a monster to move, and there are some marks on the floor from when they moved it back into place, as well as some gouges in the drywall which I need to patch and paint. Also, the trim under the fridge was broken and needed replacing. Forgivable and minor complaints for a project as invasive as this.
The whole staff was very friendly and accommodating throughout the process, from the initial estimate through completion. They stuck very close to their price and time estimates, and I would definitely hire them again for the next project which I feel is out of my skill level!

Ordinarily I wouldn't trust a gyro place run by people who pronounce the "g" in "gyro". Those shops would generally serve mass-produced, previously-frozen gyro slabs. Not this place.
The gyro meat is not procured from one of those sexy rotating loaves of dripping meat, but is instead more kebab-like. It is rich and full of flavor, has great spices and doesn't come off overly-oily. This place nails it. The gyro sandwich is in the $6.50 range and comes rolled in a pita with lettuce and onion. The gyro salad is $7.50 and is pretty huge, coming with the above (without pita) plus feta and kalamata olives. For something like $2.33 more they will add fries and a tall fountain drink.
The shwarma is tasty, but is not outstanding.
I haven't tried the kebabs or the Indian fare yet, but will.
Service is incredibly fast, even when they have a line, and they offer free papadums as you check out. I only ding them for not having diet cola in cans. Definitely a good addition to the downtown Bellevue assortment of lunch joints.

When I came to...
There was evidence in this room of excessive consumption of almost every type of junk food known to civilized man since 1544 A.D.
What kind of addict would need all these Molly Moon's ice cream tubs and squished Vienna sausages?  
Would the presence of junkies account for the hotdog bun drenched in melted ice cream and peanut butter?
These hardened clusters of Kraft Mac & Cheese on the bureau?
Maybe so...
But then, why all these Twinkies? The Otter Pop wrappers surrounded by splashes of blue and purple that had dried into shiny, sticky puddles?
These were not the hoofprints of your normal night on the town.
The photos pieced together  the rest of the story: a night in Ballard capped off at "Snacks!".
Hazy imagery reveals the friendliest  convenience store employees to walk the earth, and inventory to perfectly suit those special nights out.

Update: these guys stopped accepting my Subway Card. They told me that the card is no longer supported... yet the Subway 2 blocks away still takes the card. I was an easy customer to win with the free cookies, but I am just as easy to lose when they won't take the card their competitor will.

Oh man, I returned to Revo and ordered an item they just added to the menu: Polenta Con Tonco (pork in gravy served on polenta). The pork was so incredibly tender, it was about as close to melting in my mouth as meat can get. The sauce was tasty, and the polenta was just crispy enough on the outside to make it interesting and a perfect accompaniment to the port.
My sister ordered the puttanesca which was spicy and delicious. It was served with spaghetti pasta, and I prefer puttanesca with a smaller pasta, but it all tastes the same.
We had 2 different wines, and since I am not much of a sommelier, I have forgotten what we got. One was from Argentina, and both were spectacular. Again, coming from someone who just doesn't like wine all that much.
We ordered the tiramisu and the creme brulee trio for dessert. The tiramisu was just as great as the last time, but we weren't too sold on the creme brulee. It could be a regional thing, but the tops weren't very crunchy as I am accustomed to, and the raspberry one didn't taste very much like raspberries. Nonetheless, we ate every bite. Can't wait to try more of the dishes!

I have been seeing Dr. Scoles for a few years now. His Saturday hours make it easier for me to get to the dentist and to focus on work during work hours. Since I started seeing him, Dr. Scoles has put a lot of effort into upgrading his office: adding high tech computerized tools and charts. The overall feeling at the office is comfortable, for those that are squeamish, and he has been accommodating in making sure I am not experiencing pain when I have had work done.
Dr. Scoles cemented his standing as a 5-star dentist when I began to develop pain in my jaw muscles. Dr. Scoles has put in countless hours doing research on my situation, seeking input from experts around the country, and creating a plan for how to help me. We have exchanged emails over the weekends and over his holiday.
Dr. Scoles refers to himself as a "dental geek" meaning that he really does enjoy his profession and is in it because he is fascinated with it and wants to help people, more than being in it for money. I think this is apparent in Dr. Scoles' level of service and I would recommend him to anyone.