I was ready for some football, but Big Al's wasn't ready for me.

I love football. And before I went gluten free, I would enjoy going to Sports bars on occasion. Besides sports, a sports bar generally offers 2 things: 1. Beer and 2. Bar food- which consists of burgers and many deep fried things (and sometimes pizza). This doesn't really bode well for the gluten free crowd. But, with the promise of a gluten free burger bun on the menu, we headed out to Big Al's anyway.

First off, let me say, Big Al's IS a great place to watch a game, and looks like it would be a really fun place to bowl a few games. With 3 huge screens and several other screens in the sports bar area, watching the game is no problem, no matter what game you came to watch.

When we arrived, after taking in the enormousness of the place, we took a look at the menu. Indeed gluten free buns were available. The problem however, quickly became evident shortly after that. It turns out, you can order a burger, but you can't really get anything that is supposed to come with it. Fries? Nope, they're beer battered. Chips? Nope, cooked in the same oil as the fries and seasoned with gluten, according to our server. Caesar Salad without croutons? No, the dressing has gluten? Plain lettuce with vinaigrette was our only option- all the other dressings had gluten. For future reference I asked our server if the chips used in the nachos were corn. He said yes, but they have gluten. I clarified- are they fried in the same oil as gluten containing products, or do they actually have gluten in them? They have gluten in them he confirmed. So, we could eat the plain proteins and gluten free bun and that was about it according to our helpful server.

So, I got a chicken sandwich, with bacon. My wife got a burger. They tried to give us some chips, even though we'd already had that discussion with the server. The gluten free bun was fine, maybe bordering on good. Taste wise, it was pretty decent for bar food. However, even after all the conversation with our server and back and forth with the kitchen, and my lame salad, I'm pretty sure I STILL got glutened. I had an upset stomach all night on into the morning.

The bottom line is this: if you are looking for a gluten free place to watch the game, Big Al's is currently not an option. However, if you can eat gluten, and for some reason want to enjoy a gluten free burger bun, Big Al's is there just for you.

p.s. If you know a good place for GF Portlanders to watch a game, please post it in the comments section here. I for one, am dying to know!

Seaside Month 4

Okay, it's cold. I am homesick. I've come to find that the dream of the coast was just a dream. What I built up in my head is the furthest thing from reality. The reality is living on the coast is just like any other small town. That is to say mostly, it is boring. So, I know now, the beach is not really a place to live, just a nice place to visit. And that's okay. Now I have a new dream- to live a normal life, in a normal neighborhood, in a normal city with my wife and dogs. It's hard to admit, but I actually had my dream before we took off and moved to the coast. But, we gave it a try. How does that song go- "don't know what you got til it's gone"? Yeah, that's how I feel. Tired and I wanna go home.

Seaside, Oregon, month 1

I've been in Seaside for over a month now. It seems I am slowly making the transition from tourist to local. Mostly, I still feel like I'm on extended vacation, except when I'm at work. Right now, I have a love/hate relationship with living on the coast.

I love the fresh air, the ocean being right down the street, Astoria and the farmer's market being a few miles away, fresh seafood all the time, Sleepy Monk coffee and walking to work.

I hate not having a decent grocery store- Safeway sucks and is always full of tourists. I'm praying for a Winco to move into the old Costco in Warrenton. I know we will never have anything close to a New Seasons. I miss having access to any culinary ingredient my heart desired at any given moment. I'll just have to stock up whenever I am in Portland. Of course I miss being close to friends and family as well. Winter will be bittersweet, as it will wash away the tourists, but also limits visits from friends and family. I hope we can make it over the pass at Christmas time.

Overall though, I'm living my dream of living at the coast. It's taking a little getting used to, but honestly, I don't have much to complain about. Most people spend $100 a night just to visit our little town. I get to live here. I'm pretty lucky.

Food, Inc.- You need to see this

Randomness

Okay, I haven't updated this blog for a long time. Here's what has happened since the last blog.

-Got a job at an awesome restaurant owned by friends from school
-Moved from Hillsboro to Sellwood to be closer to work (and rid of the mortgage)
-Traded in 2 cars for 1 newer car so I could ride my bike to work
-Went to church for the first time in ages, and actually went back a 2nd time
-Laid off from the awesome restaurant I was riding my bike to
-Got a scooter I can ride to job interviews
-Currently applying for every job I am remotely qualified for

That's about it in a nutshell. Life is actually pretty great, I can't complain. I have a great wife who always supports me. I have 2 crazy little dogs who entertain me. I have a roof over my head, food on my table and clothes on my back. I'm a blessed man.

Now, for some updated randomness:

Restaurants that rock: Tabla- for serving consistently superb food every single time, Burgerville- yeah I know, it's not the best burger you ever had- but at least they try to use good local, sustainable sources, How to Cook a Wolf (Seattle)- a. Coolest name ever b. Italian tapas- how cool is that? c. They can flat out cook. Lunchbox Laboratory (Seattle)- where else can you get a burger called "Chili-cheese dork"? Dork of course is a combination of duck and pork, slathered in homemade chili and good ole American cheese. Top it off with fresh cut shoestring fries with bacon salt and I'm in hamburger heaven.

Last movie I saw in the theater: Management (Jennifer Aniston, Steve Zahn), actually a pretty good indie romantic comedy. The best part: the Szechuan House Restaurant in Aloha is featured in the movie- yeah, Aloha represent!

Last movie I saw on DVD: The Wrestler- I like wrestling, and I liked the idea of a behind the scenes look at an aging wrestling legend, but honestly, I don't see what the hype was all about. Mostly Marisa Tomei naked, and a somewhat predictible plot.

Restaurant that stinks: Anthony's Pier 66 (Seattle)- I went here because I had a good memory of a trip we took 5 years ago. We went to a different Anthony's location and had a great experience. This time was a different story. Burnt "pan-fried" oysters, soggy fries, boring shrimp cocktail and to top it all off- creme brulee that had been burnt hours, if not days, earlier.

Next restaurant I want to try: the one I get a job at.

Sign I'm getting older: A couple days in a hotel bed or a few hours in the car and I'm stiff as a board.

More randomness to come, someday.

Wow, it's been a long time

Wow, I haven't written a blog for a really long time.