Saturday, April 25, 2009

Burgermaster: Seattle's head nod to the south

By Betsy.

I will state this as plainly as possible. A trip to Burgermaster is a trip to the Red States/South/Suburban Sprawl/Anywhere That’s Not Seattle.1

Burgermaster declares its cultural allegiances early via an imposing Texas Longhorn sign.2 Greasy wonders abound as soon as you enter the door. The only hint that one is on the coast would be the Dungeness Crab Sandwich offering. The first thing that I noticed was a salad bar. I was thrilled to discover that its offerings were almost exactly like the Shoney’s 3 of my youth: lots of meat products, cheese, cottage cheese, and pasta, and very few vegetables. I proceeded to make a plate of iceberg lettuce, croutons (which tasted vaguely alcoholic…any food buffs know what that was about?), bacon, peppers, mushrooms, bean sprouts, cheese and lots of ranch dressing. Unfortunately, I also put some gray-ish chicken on the salad after mistaking it for mushrooms. It was a little gross even for me, but that’s life in the Burgermaster. Clearly a salad full of animal products is not a proper meal, so I went forward to place my burger order. I opted for the traditional cheeseburger meal, which came with fries and a coke.

The actual content of this food was rather unremarkable, but the portions were properly American, which is to say ridiculously huge. I’ve gotten spoiled by 4 Seattle portions. There are not many fast food places near me, and Dick’s, while delicious, is still serving up the same portions as they did in 1954.5 These were normal, contemporary American portions. Could I finish? No. Was I stuffed? Yes. Was I stuffed despite walking 6 miles total that day? Yes. Will I go back? Yes!

Bonus points go to the fact that everyone looks like they are from the Red States. Fellow Red Staters will know what I mean.

Total Score 8.5/10 on the banging scale.

1 I’m in the middle of a book challenging the notion of a “Red State,” but for the time being, let’s just say that Red States exist. Because they do. Sort of.
2Ironically, the Texas Longhorns reside in “smoke it/pass it/keep it weird” Austin, TX, but let’s not belabor that point (see above footnote)
3 http://www.shoneys.com/
4 resigned myself to
5 that would be before 2/3 of the US population was overweight or obese.

Breakfast In Seattle III

Rusty Pelican Cafe
(6/10 on my bangin' scale)

In Wallingford, Seattle on 45th street. About 1 mile from my house.

While a rusty pelican may not sound appetizing, this brunch haunt brings in the masses, especially on Sunday mornings. Praise the Lord I was there on a Saturday, because nothing's worse than a wait when you're hungry.

The good:
While the food was not delicious, it was not gross either. They had a wide array of breakfast foods. The chocolate chip pancakes were chocolate-y, fluffy, and A-OK. The California Benedict (eggs benedict + tomato + avocado) were aiight, though they weren't quite pimp. Service was good. The real treat was the decor:

Welcome to granny's house, full of lace, fake ivy, silly sayings on the walls, and LOTS of Wizard of Oz memorabilia. (And if you were wondering, there is a framed photo of a pelican.)

The bad:
It was a bit pricey ($8.99 for the pancakes and $10 ish for the benedict) for its lack of culinary flair. Also, they were out of their famed cinnamon buns, much to the dismay of the 14-year-old girls sitting next to us.

Despite a warning otherwise, I'd say that this place was definitely better than McDonald's.

Rusty Pelican Cafe on Urbanspoon

Sunday, April 19, 2009

OMGZ! GUEST BLOGGER.

I would like to present to you Making Pennies' foremost expert on the drrrrty south. I'm copying Christopher's guest blogging idea, mostly because I'm too unqualified to say shit about this next place that's gonna get reviewed.

Biography:
Betsy Lee hails from the wild state of Tennessee (the same one where Davy Crocker was born). She's all academic-like, but in a field where sometimes you have to talk to people, since you have to study people to know their politics or something. Highlights of her resume: Knows all the words to Gangsta's Paradise, historical interpreter for Belle Meade plantation, tamed the creepiness of the Pleasantville of Seattle.

Her post to come.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

My school is dying II

  • UW's getting budget cuts between 26% and 31%. That's apparently the worst any school has had since WWII.
  • The long term effect on the school (especially the humanities) will probably be catastrophic.
  • They're cutting people right now. Including graduate TA's.
  • They're trying to pass a movement so that tenured faculty can get fired.
  • I just got a raise.

My school is dying.

UW to make 1000 cuts by the end of April.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Flowers

Skagit County Tulip Festival. Where: One hour drive north of Seattle.

A pointer: You prolly shouldn't go before all the tulips bloom.

Aside from that, it's pretty. PRETTY JAWSOME! Check out: 1. some kites (with mostly non-blooming tulips), 2. mad daffodils that are in bloom, and 3. the tulip/USA shrine (aka, we're not the Danish tulip growers, bitches!) at which most can only make hilarious faces.


Monday, April 6, 2009

Sitting outside: what Seattleites do when it's sunny

University of Washington campus quad, further making the case for GW, bizarro UW.

As soon as it's sunny out (today happened to also be in the upper sixties), everyone flocks outside to the academic quad. There are also mad cherry blossoms. Kinda like DC? Here, even the skankiest of ho's wears at least 50% more clothing than the average GW girl.

One of the free hugs dudes, flanked by an entourage of photographers. Other sunny day activities included guitar music and singing, throwing a frisbee back and forth while balancing on adjacent slack ropes, sitting in cherry trees. Everyone is so happy.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

If Britney were talented, not yet a mother, classy, and black

Bayohnse @ Key Arena. April 1, 2009.

Beyonce floating underwater

Beyonce as Sasha Fierce on the big screen. Silhouette of her all female band.

Bayohnse's tribute to the civil rights movement and President Obama.


Also, for comparison's sake, go here.