When Mystery Meat is meant for you.

2011 is fading into the ether, and before it goes, I want to offer a fond farewell to the year we've all shared. 2012 is coming, as is our possible demise here on this earthly plane, so before we all get washed away and John Cusack holds me in his arms just one last time, let's tackle the simple task of reviewing this last week.

On Christmas Eve, Bill's mom arrived to spend the holidays with us. We were pleased to have Seattle at its best this week, sporting its famous unfailing gloom and some unseasonably heavy rains. Here are the highlights:

The breakfast panini at Odd Fellows Lodge

1. Oddfellows Cafe, a hot spot for off-the-chain quiche du jour and hipster longing.

My box of hom bow hom nom nom

 2.  Mee Sum Pastry at Pike Place Market, serving up a savory array of hom bow that keeps me coming back. We enjoyed our buns after a walk through Discovery Park, fueling up before strolling along the Chittenden Locks in Ballard.

There is an angry jalapeno in here. If you get a mean bite,
don't reach for your beer, dummy. That's just gonna
throw gas on it. Dummy.

3. An evening at Cafe Mox, where we played Incan Gold and Carcassone, enjoyed some happy hour Nightwatch Dark Ales and a plate of wine-braised steak nachos.

Hey lil buddy, you still here?

4. Siam Pura Thai restaurant on Alki, where we ordered a late night spread of pad thai, pot stickers, fresh tofu rolls and tom khah I'm still feasting on 5 days later.

A fine slaw.

A reasonably famous sandwich.

5. Alki Cafe, a popular beach brunch spot that we hit up for lunch. The avocado chicken sandwich has a lot of cred on yelp, so we ordered with confidence,  pairing it with their less-lauded smoked salmon sandwich. With a heavy-handed dollop of "caper aioli' (feebly-flavored mayo) and a disappointing pile of salmon, the best thing about the sandwich was the rye bread, which was actually kind of dry. Sorry, guys. No love here. ...Unless you wanna talk cole slaw. Finely chopped green apples, a steady-handed amount of poppy seeds, clean mayo finish, and what? Is that toasted, finely-pulsed walnuts I hear? Probably just a walnut poppy seed dressing from Costco, but a girl can dream.

6. Wednesday we made the obvious stop at Talaricos for trivia and pizza. Forgoing my usual $2.50 pint of Mac & Jac to make way for a slice of the Coppola, I made a decision to embrace my least favorite cheese this year - I was rewarded with a 14" feast of roasted red bell peppers, garlic and goat cheese. My first public support of goat cheese, which is slowly becoming my best friend. Which I can already tell is a bad idea. I need to meet more people. Noted.

7. A spontaneous celebratory dinner at Mizu Japanese Grill. I've enjoyed hibachi once before with a special friend in Austin, and was thrilled to remember it existed again this week. Our chef was delightful, an Indonesian import with tattoos for days and tricks to match. We started with their onion soup-not much more than water and onion to the naked eye, but we tasted worlds more, and sampled their unagi before our grill got fired up. It was all a hit, fried rice, yakisoba, filet mignon, chicken, shrimp, the works. I even got a tip on how to overcome my shrimp allergy, one small bite at a time.

And that catches us up. This morning we waved goodbye to Bomba (Bill's mom's gambling alter ego) and I set out to decode a strange parcel that arrived yesterday morning.
















Which brings us to
  The Dine of the Week
A 12lb box of beef jerky, boudin cracklins and three industrial sized bottles of cajun seasoning arrived, unmarked, on our doorstep without a clue as who to thank. In a panic, I went into survival mode and decided it was a message. I'm all dried up. I'm gonna end up in a box. I'm gonna suffocate in the process of being vacuum sealed...Who would send such a message? Who has my new address? Who on my Christmas card list have I slighted recently? Ever? What's next? Seafood gumbo? Do they know about my allergy???

Who was the mystery sender then? This morning, I called the vendor, and after a reasonable wait, the lady clumsily spelled out a Filipino name I've known well since the 90's.

My friend's parents. The Lataquins. Thanks guys! When we lose power and have no way of getting through the blizzard, these dried meats will carry us through.
Really. Pounds and pounds of nutrition in here.

Now, I'm off to smoke my eyes out and don the heels, it's the second sluttiest night of the year!
See you next year, dear diners, and remember, when dining out, it's A-OK to feel disgruntled. I always do!