2 bottles of Virgil’s Rootbeer
2 cups Ketchup
1 cup Yellow Mustard
1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon Molasses
3 Teaspoons Ancho Chile powder
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

The shoulder sat all day in this wonderful mixture all day on the crock’s low setting. This resulted in a very sweet almost candied pulled pork.

The ancho chile powder gives a good smokey chile taste but lacks any sort of heat and 2 bottles of rootbeer was resulted in too much liquid, but that just means I have to try this again to get it right.

-Patrick

This morning, I’m amidst  yet another change.  I’ve been put out of the house, because the floors are being redone.  This is great reason to be put out.  This also, gives me a reason to geek out at my new favorite spot.  Why am I not at work you ask?  Yet another change, I was laid off from my job this summer.  Not entirely a bad thing. I’ll considering elaborating more on this topic later.

Cupcake Royale opened their newest edition to their growing cupcakery empire on Capitol Hill last month.  This place is what my dreams are made of.

Sprinkles on Display

Cupcake Royale puts it ALL out there is the raciest of all Seattle neighborhoods where body piercings and tattoos are almost a prerequiste and vinyl clothing is alive and well on 11th Avenue.  Not only can I get my cake and tea, but I can set up shop and watch the cupcakes being made.

Frosting Station

Sure, you may not be impressed by this having seen cupcakes being frosted at other shops despite the awesomeness of this particular set-up with the counter space and stools welcoming you to take a look, but this, this next photo so exciting and intimidating to me at the same time.

The Window into the Kitchen

This is the closest that I’ve yet to get to this window.  I can’t believe I conjured up the guts to take a picture.  Those found behind this glass are my heros, my celebrities. Sure, I know that there are mornings where they have to get up at 5 or perhaps even earlier to make the happy little cakes that I love and they hate their lives, never wanting to mix another batter, but I want them to know that I appreciate their efforts.  They are the makers of cupcakes: little handfuls of happiness, magic.

This spot truly makes me feel dreamy.  It gives me the same feeling that I get from when I watch the scene from the movie Legend where the unicorns run through the stream and Jack and Lili have conquered the evil Tim Curry character at the end of the movie.

This reminds me of the Mad Hatter's tea party.

Amazing Spot to People Watch

If you’ve had a previous unpleasant experience with Cupcake Royale’s cake being to dry, I encourage you to come back and try it again.  Several articles have come out talking about how the owner brought in a consultant earlier this year to revamp the recipe.  I can’t tell you how much I respect this move.  Despite how successful she’s been, she is flexible and listens to her audience and in then end, I have to say, the cake is great.

Change is inevitable.  I’m learning that it is a good thing (historically, I despise change).  I’m looking forward to updating OFB with all of mine and Patrick’s new changes.

Thank you Cupcake Royale for setting an excellent tone for change.

-Linda

Motorcycle police meeting at the TopPot

Have I mentioned I love my new office with a window.

-Patrick

My baby sister is the savviest girl about town I know.  She always points me in the right direction when it comes to food, clothes, and music.  It had been a while since we had hung out so a double date with our men was in order. She selected The Honey Hole as the spot, located in her neighborhood that she rarely finds a reason to leave and I have to say that I don’t blame her.  Capitol Hill is the coolest neighborhood in Seattle and I plan to write about it a lot more this summer.

My Kid Sister aka Queen of the Hill

In the meantime, let’s get back to the The Honey Hole and their amazing sandwiches.  First of all, I have to say that sandwiches are NEVER the first thing that come to mind when I’m looking for my next meal.  This is probably the main reason that I have eluded this place for over a decade despite the fact that I’ve only ever heard rave reviews.  My mistake.  You’re not going to find any English cucumber finger sandwiches with the crusts cut off here.  This is where cowboys come for sandwiches.  The four of us gravitated to the hot sandwich side of the menu.  We ordered the following:

Nicole – Luke Duke……Hazzard County’s best meatball sandwich with marinara and mozzarella cheese on a fresh French roll   (I’m getting this next time)

Andrew – Texas Tease……In-house smoked and shredded breast of chicken smothered in homemade BBQ sauce, served with red onions and Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese on a fresh French roll

Patrick – Gooch……Roast beef, red onions, and Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese on a fresh French roll served au jus for dipping

Linda – The Bandit……Smokehouse carved BBQ beef brisket sandwich with classic BBQ sauce and Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese on a toasted fresh French roll

The Bandit - Cheesy Briskety Goodness

Beer by the Pint or Pounder!

Nom, Nom, Nom...

Robot Stealing A Pretty Lady

I found the first image a couple years ago wandering around on the internet and it’s been in my tattoo idea pile for a while.

NWS Version!

This other one is from the Nerdcore 2009 Calendar. They put out a pin-up calendar every year featuring geeky things like gamers, comic books, and sci-fi.  I think it’s pretty fitting that my appointment is in the month featuring an image similar to the one I’m considering getting.

I’ll get Linda to take some pictures when I’m on the table  so you can all see my “OW” face.

-Patrick

Edit: I came across this blog looking for a few other examples of robots I could bring in. It’s a gold mine of robot and lady shenanigans.

Never Trust A Robot Around Your Woman

We walked around the soon to be demolished building that had been covered in the designs of the Free Sheep Foundation, a local non-profit art group. They were also responsible for last year’s Bridge Motel Project.

Tubs all dolled up

The hotdogs were my favorite

Scary dude

You can find the rest of my Flickr set here. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go in, but it was still nice to check it out one last time.

So, as the comments have started to creep in, I’ve noticed that only one of them had a photo next to it, our friend Baxter’s.  She’s super savvy. The rest looked like something that you would find in a shooting gallery.

 After both Patrick and I having scanned our site’s dashboard trying to figure out how to update our own photos, Patrick emailed Baxter and she sent him this:

Gravatar

A Gravatar is a Globally Recognized Avatar. This site provides a free service that allows you to create an avatar that will follow you on various web forums and blogs.  It also explains how to get plug-ins for your own site so that you can literally see who is commenting on the droplets of wisdom that you are sharing with the world.  Once you’ve uploaded and cropped your photo, you can even give it a rating of “G”, “PG”, “R”, or “X” to help determine what kind of sites it’s appropriate for.

I can’t wait to see you on here!

-Linda

Here’s a few shots I took with it over the weekend.

Linda having a gyro

Feta fries from the Gyro House

We went down to the Gyro House in International District.  Linda and I had some delicious Gyros and Feta Fries. Seems to be a good place to find a quick bite on a friday. The place was empty, the food was tasty and cheap.

Peter Parker caught by Linda

We also went to see Amanda and Ryan’s new kittens Alder and Peter Parker (he doesn’t have a name yet, but it seemed to fit).

The app is only .99 cents so I would suggest giving it a shot.

Seattle is getting it’s very own Korean Hawaiian food truck.  Inspired by a the popular L.A.  Korean Taco truck Kogi, Marination Mobile will offer up what I anticipate as delectable treats from $2-5. We can look forward to menu items such as kalua pig sliders on sweet bread rolls, kimchi fried rice, and kalbi tacos.  There will also be vegetarian fair for our non-meat eating friends!

Seattle Post Globe-Rebekah Denn: Korean tacos come to Seattle

-Linda

Pimp My Swine

No, we are not kidding.  We are standing by ready to take your order.