It is the season for many things and one of those things is “Top 10” lists. Getting toward the end of the year all the newspapers and TV news programs have them – the top 10 new authors of the year, the top 10 leading news stories of the year, the top 10 local Seattle music releases and The Stranger even had a top 10 places to meet “swingers” in their year end issue for 2004.
So in homage to the city of Seattle, which showed me such a good time and introduced me to many great friends in the years I was there I will introduce you to my top 10 things I miss about Seattle now that I have been gone for a quarter year. A caveat before I start, I miss all of my friends very much and equally and “missing friends” would definitely be #1 on the list – so aside from that here we go ….
1. (Three way tie) Midnight Cuban Sandwich @ Paseo, Blue Cheese and Bacon Burger @ Red Mill and the Dybwad @ Other Coast Café
4. Snowboarding – I know the PNW is having a great snow season and after the disaster of ‘04/’05 I am jealous of having such easy access to good snow
5. Pacifco cerveza – usually a 12 pack for $10 on special at Fred’s every other week. I’m almost ashamed to say it but my days of drinking heavy beers in quantity are behind me, Pacifico and a lime made me feel like I was on a sunny beach in Mexico even if I was actually sitting on the couch in a house with no heat in Wallingford. You can get Carona here but it is a gourmet beer and fifty-odd bucks for a 24 pack – no thanks. Australian beer is good, don’t get me wrong, but after experiencing my first chunder for five or six years just last Thursday I’m a little gun shy right now.
6. My stuff – I mean nearly everything I owned at 3618, clothes, coke bottles, pick axe, Arkie… everything – since it was packed the day before we left we haven’t seen a thing. The good news we received this week was that it has landed in Australia, the bad news was that customs have chosen to inspect every item because of suspicious items included on the packing list – could they have mistaken four boxes of “coke” as meaning something else?
7. Hatties – sometimes just for a beer at the counter and sometimes for chicken fried chicken (with garlic mash potatoes and sweet corn for the “two sides with main”). Some fun times there right through to the end when Kelly and I had a front row seat to see the Radio Nationals do an acoustic set and they used our table to rest their beers on.
8. Mojito’s at El Camino’s – the best cocktail in the city hands down.
9. Rainier on the drive to work – this time of year you don’t get to see it much but when I did I was never any less amazed at how awesome it looked and how crazy it is to be living in a big city with that as a backdrop. A similar feeling was driving home in winter when I was at Amazon in Beacon Hill coming down the hill and seeing the snow capped Olympics – Seattle is beautiful.
10. If this was a “what I most miss about the U.S.” list, #1 would be Popeyes Chicken. A major beef I have against the city of Seattle is that there are no Popeye’s, but I made the drive to Tacoma twice a year and often in winter to have my fill of Popeyes – can’t drive to T-town from here.
Just missing the list was living in a city where half the locals wear purple and puke around in winter (not) – although I’m sure this eyesore does not start until later in winter as U dub is now a basketball school. (We celebrated Apple Cup in the Kelly-Mark household this year so I didn’t miss that momentous event).
We do miss all of our friends and wish everybody a great time over the holidays and all the best for the new year. A year I am looking forward to very much.
Peace and love. - Mark
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