First up, for lunch we picked me up a Whopper (check out this link, seriously - great video of a guerrilla marketing thing called the "Whopper Freakout." Seriously. It's worth it.) at Burger King, and crossed the street to Mickey-D's to grab a Big Mac so that I could try them side by side. I've never had either of America's top two burgers, and thought it was high time I tried.
While I'm not a fan of "secret" sauce nor pickles on my sandwiches, I tried both of these sandwiches as they came in order to better preserve the sanctity of these two icons of American cuisine.
On wrapping, the Big Mac, in its recyclable cardboard clamshell barely edged out the Whopper, whose wrapper was tight and pristine. Out of the packages, the Whopper had more eye appeal, from the generous amount of sesame seeds on the bun to the even and linear construction. The Mac looked thrown together and cheap, and vaguely like a sandwich that had been dropped in transit. For taste, the Whopper won hands down, pickles and all. In all fairness, the Mac had the disadvantage of secret sauce, which had no redeeming qualities, and the Whopper had the edge with its flame-broiled smokiness.
I'm glad I tried them both, but I can promise that I will never eat them again. The winner, though - as Katherine put it, the one I would pick after nearly starving to death and having a gun to my head - was the Whopper. Who'd a thunk it? I've always liked McD more than BK. Oh well, my horizons have been expanded.
After lunch we headed to the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, which far exceeded expectations. Despite its excellent reputation locally, we both envisioned a collection of vases, Depression Glass, and wall to wall piles of Dale Chihuly works.
While there were certainly ample works by Chihuly (mostly on the Chihuly bridge), we were treated to an astounding array of works in every vein. The first gallery featured works by Preston Singletary, whose roots are in the Tlingit Indians of the PNW, and who learned glass artistry from Seattle and European artisans. Within a minute of entering his exhibit, our breath was taken away by what a true artist could do with glass.
Some of the works looked like they were carved out of wood or stone. Others seemed to be metal or even plastic. But with the exception of guitar which he had painted, every work in the collection was made from blown, molded, carved, and spun glass. It was truly outstanding, and I would highly recommend a viewing to anyone who can make it.
After half an hour or so in this exhibit, we headed to the glass blowing demonstration in the "hot room," a huge arena-style glass blowing studio, where artists were making goblets for an upcoming fundraising auction. While we had both witnessed glass-blowing before, for me, it was really interesting to see a team of two or three individuals working on a single piece.
After the demonstration, we moved back to the galleries, finished the Singletary show, and moved into the next gallery for a show called "Contrasts," which paired various works in perfect juxtapositions to each other. For example, a blue glass cinder block sat next to a spun glass moth (possibly the most impressive piece in the whole museum) to demonstrate the ability of glass art to be heavy, dense, and "ugly," as opposed to light, airy, and beautiful.
We left this exhibit shaking our heads; we had no idea that glass, as an art medium, could be so versatile, so expressive, and so detailed. There was even a collection of glass recreations of various invertebrate animals which were so exact that they are owned by biological museums for study since the animals they portray are too hard to preserve.
On the way in to and out of the museum, we crossed the Chihuly Bridge, which means walking under a display of works meant to simulate sea life, as well as a few dozen vases and other works that are actually visible from the highway that runs under the bridge.
Outside the museum is a reflecting pool featuring metal and glass works, which were impressive during the day, could only truly be done justice at night when illuminated. Look for pictures of this as soon as I can make it to Tacoma after dark.
After the museum and a coffee recharge, we sampled cupcakes at Hello Cupcake!, which were mediocre compared to some of the other local cupcake boutiques. Next was a local brew, Puget Sound Porter, at Harmon Brewery. A very smooth, but rather boring porter
After heading back to F-Way, we grabbed a stack of Asian chow at H-Mart to better help me get through my 30 new ethnic foods, and then got dinner at Pac Island Grill.
I tried lumpia - a Filipino version of the egg roll - for the first time, as well as Loli BBQ chicken, miso soup, and Saimin, a pork and SPAM noodle dish. All was good, not great. I think we agreed we wouldn't go back, but are glad we went this time.
For dessert, I had a "green tea doughnut" from H-Mart, a fried pastry loaded with green tea and toasted sesame seeds. Is it a real "ethnic" food? I dunno, but I'm counting it. Times a-flyin'.
To wash down my Pacific Island food, I had some Pacific Island beers. Kona Brewing in Hawaii provided three damn fine bottles of suds: Fire Rock Pale Ale, Longboard Lager, and Wailau, a wheat ale brewed with passion fruit. All three were exquisite, but the hands-down winner was Wailau. Normally I'm not a fan of "fruit-brewed" beers, but this one is certainly an exception.
I also managed to squeeze in some time getting my gazillions of loose photos, videos, and audio files organized, and registering for the Brew-Ha-Ha 5k in Fremont on September 20. Hopefully I'll be back up to running that distance by then - the training starts tomorrow, seriously - but screw it, even if I walk all or most of it, it's some physical activity, and I'll be doing it in my man-skirt.
So that's Day 1. Day 2 starts all too soon, and will see us visiting the Seattle Art Museum, trying more regional cuisine, and should see me wearing a kilt. Even if I don't accomplish any goals, a crappy day with the missus still pretty much beats a good day without her.
A shot of the ceiling on the Chihuly Bridge.
Funky glass sculptures on same bridge, plus former Union Station, current US Courthouse.
This guy's turning molten glass into something pretty. Much better than my "dark" period, when I turned many pretty things molten. We don't talk about my dark period.
This arsty tower isn't just a pretty roof; it serves as a functional exhaust system for the "hot room," the studio in the MoG where artists use 2400 degree furnaces to make art.
A devil's food and pb & chocolate cupcake from Hello Cupcake! Meh.
I love supporting local breweries. Actually, any breweries. Or wineries. Or distilleries. This local brewery? Meh.
Kona makes a mean beer. It called me names and inferred that my wife was a prostitute.
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