Chanukah Shalom

Kicked off Chanukah with a Saturday night on the town. The day started off disappointingly enough: picked up Sean in Bothell in the morning, to get him to SeaTac for a 1:35pm flight. Got to Bothell by 10:00am or so, with the intent of going to breakfast. Turns out the rustic country inn he had in mind was completely overrun that morning, so we skipped that in favor of some other place in downtown Bothell--which we couldn't get to, as the roads were closed after the massive windstorm that hit the area Thursday night. So we drove back to Seattle, with the intention of going to Patty's Eggnest on Holman, a great place that Gillen had suggested before setting out on our roadtrip to Portland last month. And a great place it was: so much so, that when we arrived this last Saturday morning the line was out the door. Not a viable option when there's a plane to catch. So, in one last-ditch effort, we went to Cyndy's Pancake House on Aurora. Also choked. I realize in retrospect that there must have been a higher than average turnout of people eating at restaurants: several thousand people, both in King and Snohomish counties, were still without electricity. Had to pass on breakfast altogether, and simply get him to the airport. Which turned out to be as crowded as any of those restaurants. Got Sean to Sea-Tac with two hours to spare, but had a hell of a time getting back. Stopped in at The Mecca for breakfast (it wasn't quite so crowded), eggs Benedict. Was OK.
But here it was, the first (full) day of Chanukah. Decided to seek out some HeBrew, a Jewish microbrew. Found a six-pack at the specialty beer mart on 105th: not bad. Like a nutbrown ale or something, bit of a heavy aftertaste, but not acrid. That was for later, though: with that purchase ($8.99 for a six-pack) in the back seat, I headed in to town. Parked in Pike Place, set out to First Avenue and the Starlite Lounge. Had a Southern Comfort on the rocks, as I admired the drawing of Sinatra, Martin, and Davis Jr over the bar. Cool place.
From there, I walked up to Shorty's on Second, had a Mongoose IPA and played some pinball. I discovered that they've added a second lounge, in the back. Dark and secluded, it also has its own jukebox. With a decidedly retro theme: barely anything on it that dates past 1965 (one Tom Waits, one EmmyLou Harris). I've got to go back and check this place out.
At this point I made my way to the U District. My goal here was the New China Express, get a few things for takeout. It being the first day of Chanukah, I figured the most Jewish thing I could do was get Chinese takeout. Anyway, I checked out Bulldog News for the latest Games magazine issue (not out yet), then Second Time Around for CDs (picked up Modest Mouse's MOON AND ANTARTICA for $3.99, turns out to skip on the 2nd and 7th tracks--but otherwise what I've come to expect from Modest Mouse). And stopped in at the Old Time Brewery for a pint, then went over to New China Express for a lunch order of almond tried chicken, fried rice, and egg roll to go, along with some pot stickers. All very excellent.
I got back to the apartment and started in, great Chinese food and Jewish beer. Couldn't find a good Jewish-themed movie, though, so I just called up DR. STRANGELOVE on OnDemand. Pretty sure Kubrick wasn't Jewish, but there wasn't much else on.