This Week's Excuse For Fried Things

Speaking of weekly traditions gone awry... for a while there, foos and booze @ Meconi's was the place to be on Friday night (if you worked at SiteCrafting, and wanted to keep seeing your co-workers after a 40-hour week of them). We even got a few of the Tacoma blogsters in on the action once or twice.

Meconi's, for us, at least, had three primary draws: foosball, pool and fried things. The foosball table was much more stable and level than our table here at the office. I didn't like it as much, but only because I wasn't as good on it. The pool table, while not a magnificent feat of engineering, was decent, big, and free (balls checked out by surrender of your DL as collateral). And the fried things, oh the fried things... I've had their burgers and sandwiches, and they're pretty solid, but the key is the appetizers. Mozzarella sticks and onion rings. Scrumchelesent.

Anyway, the foosball table broke, and went away (plus now we have a better one, anyway). The free pool got replaced by a smaller, coin-op table. All that remained was the fried things, and, good as they are, it just hasn't been enough. As long as I've got an excuse for a hot dog, or a craving for a cheese steak sammich (which is frequent), there's just no drive.

Until now...

Tonight I am pulled back to the glorious grease-fest by one thing: the Tacoma Beer Society. The TBS is having their monthly shebang tonight at 6:30. In the spirit of the lovey dovey season, the theme shall be beer and chocolate in conjunction.

Now, being also a bit of a wine fiend, beer is not my first thought when pondering what to drink with chocolate. But then, some of my favorite beers are made with chocolate malts, so perhaps I shall discover a new world of spectacular deliciousness beyond my wildest tasty imaginings.

Or maybe it'll just be good.

Anyway, RSVP here. Cost is $10. And Meconi's is located at 709 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, just a few blocks from the 10th and Commerce transit hub (beer and public transit... a wonderful combination). Be there or be... not eating chocolate and drinking beer with the rest of us!

This Week's Excuse For A Hot Dog

I love the Red Hot. I do. I couldn't rightly explain why. I was never a big hot dog fiend before. The Parkway is closer to me and has a wider beer selection (and a masterful cheese-steak sammich). But something about the Red Hot calls to me.

For a while I had a great excuse to take that half hour walk every week: Monday Night Football with Freitas and co. Alas, that time is ended. So what do I do now? I could join the aforementioned crew for the MNF successor: American Gladiators. But that really doesn't appeal to me. I tried to do that last week, and it got bumped by the State of the Onion (which I didn't mind... I'd rather watch baseball reruns than Gladiators). But that's not liable to happen every week, or indeed ever again.

Fortunately this week the world has provided for me: Wednesday night is Stone Brew Night. California based Stone Brewing Co., best known for their Arrogant Bastard Ale (a thick beast of a beer, along the lines of an imperial stout), also makes a couple fine IPAs and a good solid porter. And that's just the stuff I've tried.

Anyway, pints of whatever Stone goodness is on tap run for $3 starting at 7PM. And like any good brewer's night, there will surely be merch prizes galore.

Oh yeah... and they'll have hot dogs.