THE TASTE NW

We visited The Taste NW and "got our food on." My evening ended up having a Korean flavor to it, literally, and that was an absolute delight.



My appetizer was a Korean Cheese Dog from Puffle Up. I had the OG Cheese Dog which is a deep fried mozzarella cheese "dog" coated with sugar, ketchup, and mustard. The sweet of the sugar matches so well with the acidity of the mustard and ketchup. This is essentially a heart attack on a stick, but so worth it.



My entrée was an excellent Bulgogi Bowl from Seoul Bowl. The Korean-barbecued beef and rice were topped with sweet Asian salad, kimchi, and sweet chili sauce on top. There were other toppings available, but this was a good mix—once again balancing sweet with acidic, as well as spicy heat with cool umami.

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Sampled by at least one of us during our evening: 

• Korean Cheese Dogs.
• Korean Bulgogi Bowl.
• Pork Bao.
• Po Boy Sandwich and Fries.
• Pineapple Dole Whip.
• Critical Hit "Bugbear" Soda.
• Tanghulu Sugar-Glazed Fruit Kabobs.

SYMPHONY of SORROWFUL SONGS

A fitting end to 2020. 

Symphony No. 3, Op. 36. (Symfonia pieśni żałosnych / Symphony of Sorrowful Songs). Composed by Henryk Górecki. 

Performed by the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and Beth Gibbons (of Portishead, soprano). Conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki.

#vinyl #turntable #farewell2020

LEGENDARY DOUGHNUTS

I was visiting with my neighbor, who also happens to be my barber, when the subject of doughnuts emerged. He acknowledged that our hometown doughnut shop, Happy Donut, is good, but that if I wanted an extra treat that I should make the trip to Auburn for some "fancy" doughnuts. I was intrigued. I needed a "wandering" for the weekend. Therefore, off to Legendary Doughnuts headed The Child and I.



Clockwise from upper left: (1) The Legendary Doughnuts sign; (2) the Fred Flintstone; (3) the Hot Cocoa; (4) the Steve Urkel.

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The Legendary Hot Chocolate was simple and good. Steamed milk and Belgian chocolate made for a rich and enjoyable hot drink to accompany some sweet and fluffy fried dough.

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The Fred Flintstone was the doughnut of choice for TWT. I saw the Fruity Pebbles on top and was instantly sold. The glaze and cereal made it taste as though I was eating a bowl of Fruity Pebbles with chunks of doughnut floating in it. It was good but almost too much sugar. I believe I may have slipped into a sugar coma at some point. You'll have to ask The Child.

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The Child selected the Steve Urkel, a glazed doughnut ring topped with Nerds candies. The Nerds were sparse but brought a welcomed sweet and sour mix to the doughnut. I thought it was the right amount of candy, but The Child thought them too hard and therefore in conflict with the tenderness of the dough. I don't know how it happened, but The Child ate the entire thing.

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We brought The Wife home the Hot Cocoa. It was a good simulation of a cup of hot chocolate, with chocolate, whipped cream, marshmallows, cocoa powder, and a piece of chocolate bark on the very top. It was my favorite of the bunch. (Oh, but those seductive Fruity Pebbles...)

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These are good doughnuts, but I still prefer the superb dough of local Happy Donut. During the week, I will stick close to home, enjoying what Legendary Doughnuts considers "amateur doughnuts" on their own display shelves (and what Happy Donut excels at). On a few Saturdays, though, I am going to enjoy the novelty of some "legendary doughnuts" and explore some of their other creations.

MID-OCTOBER MORNING

HIGH BACK WING CHAIR

My throne finally arrived.

The mother-in-law inherited a high back wing chair when she bought her new home a few years ago. I found the chair to be extremely comfortable, and stated such. The mother-in-law bequeathed the chair to me, since it didn't match any of her decor or other furniture. The only problem was that we had neither room for it at the time nor a way to move it.

With the move of our home library to a different part of the house, we now had room for the chair. A recent visit from the mother and the father in their pickup truck allowed for transport of the chair. The chair resided on the imaginary line separating the living room and dining room, since we needed to get rid of a hide-a-bed sofa.

The sofa departed this evening with a couple who are establishing their new home together. We inherited the sofa with the purchase of our house a few years back. I never liked it and would have gotten rid of it sooner, except that the wife did like it. With the sofa gone, the chair made a journey from its liminal zone to its new permanent location in the home library. It's floral pattern of pinks, blues, and greens on cream and tan doesn't matter. The comfort of the chair easily trumps aesthetics.

Now I can read and fall asleep in the comfort of my own high back wing chair intead of on the couch!