Seattle Patriot

Long, long ago, in a land not too far away, there was a place called Pete’s Pizza. Pete’s had the best Calzone ever. Ever. (Large enough for two meals, filled with tasty toppings, crispy upper crust, with a chewy crust side, piping hot, excellent flavor…I could go on and on.)

A few years ago, Pete’s tragically closed down. Despite many attempts, I have been unable to find a place that comes close to the calibur of Pete’s on the Calzone front. I have found a few tasty pizza places, but have had many more disappointments. And though I can find a few places with great pizza, I found not ONE place with what I would even describe as “good” Calzone.

I think I’ll make this a personal mission - to find the best *existing* Calzone in Seattle (because Pete’s was the best, and will forever hold the title of all-time best, but no longer exists). Please let me know if you think you’ve found a contender.

Here’s a review what I’ve found so far:

- Italian Spaghetti House and Pizzaria (Lake City Way) - excellent pizza for a very reasonable price. If you like meat, try the Large 15. I’ve been going there for 26 years, and my family for close to 55 years! Don’t even know if they have Calzones…

- Palermo (Ballard) - Very tasty pizza; haven’t tried the Calzones.

- Snoose Junction (Ballard) - Did not care for the Calzone. Not much flavor and too bread-y. Haven’t tried the pizza.

- Varlamos (U-District) - Did not care for the Calzone. Again, too bready, not enough deliciosity packed inside.

- Madame K’s (Ballard) - Good pizza; haven’t tried the calzone. Pizza a bit pricey, though. The atmosphere is really fun; it’s a brothel-turned-italian-restaurant.

To be continued… In the meantime, do you know if one I’m really missing out on?

You know how mullets are all business in the front and all party in the back? That’s like me - but without the downside of having mullet hair. I’m all business in the day and all party in the evening. (As long as “party” involves watching TV in one’s jammies at least once a week.) I found out I was this dual-mullet-personality at volleyball a couple weeks ago when I came straight from work and no one recognized me out of my workout gear. Looking all professional actually got me some business out of them - networking through volleyball, I like that!

I realize this split work/social life is the life of many young lawyers, but who would have known? In the first week of work, there was an associate get-together for an all night party starting at Venom and ending in an Indian Casino at 7 AM - who woulda thunk it?

Anyway, life in the working world is great! So much better than I anticipated. Of course, it may be as awesome as it is since I’m comparing to the world’s most NOT awesome summer last year. Anyway, it turns out work can be FUN when you enjoy the people you’re working with, and they give you REAL assignments (*gasp*), and then spend time showing you how to do things (*double gasp*). Being healthy and having loved ones around to have fun with doesn’t hurt either.

Meanwhile, you get a paycheck AND evenings and weekends free - not a bad deal at all. This has given me more time to spend with friends and family, and a more flexible sleep schedule on the weekends. A couple weekends ago we got to celebrate John’s 24th (our little boy’s all grown up! see proof in photos below) at Marrakesh, a stop at Scott’s, then on to Amber, and Del Mar. It was a great time, and so fun to be able to go out and about without worrying about not having enough time for homework the next day. A girl could get used to this!

Then the family went down to see my Uncle Dave (Brauer-Rieke) get installed as the new Bishop of the Oregon Synod - I’m so proud! photos to follow - and then we did a tour of downtown Seattle’s Condos on Sunday. It’s almost like this is still summer vacation (since most jobs I’ve had haven’t ever been able to last more than about 3 months due to school) and soon I’ll have to go back to the 80 hr/wk grind I’m used to…But NO! The fun continues!! Next weekend is our firm retreat, and I’m going to learn how to fly fish - it should be awesome. One of the attorneys I do a lot of work for brought me a beer yesterday morning in honor of my going on that activitity with him and a group of mostly “the guys” - it’s called “Trout Slayer” - brewed by Big Sky in Montana. Hilarious. I’m sure I’ll have lots of good photos to share of the retreat in a couple weeks

Finally, in other news, Rebekah had her baby on Thursday - Olivia Rosemary Starr. She’s BEAUTFUL and wonderful and the only downside is that she’s not here in Seattle. They’ll be coming up to visit in December, though, so all the Seattle aunties and uncles will just have to wait for then.

John,

We have something that belongs to you. You’ll go along if you know what’s good for you. We want $314,159 in small, unmarked bills. In exchange, your beloved glasses will be returned unharmed.

This is what happens when you miss Culinary Club. You have been warned.

Seafair is just getting started up this year, and in fine Seafair tradition, of course the Seafair pirates are kicking things off. While thinking about things that would be fun to do with my kids one day, or nieces and nephews perhaps sooner, I thought it might be fun to take them to see the pirates, thinking of course that you’d prepare the kids ahead of time for the loud noises, and yelling, and firing of fake guns, and talking about make-believe versus real, and certainly then it would be a blast…that is until I saw the full extent of how terrifying the pirates just might be.

Here’s what I mean: This girl, plus this pirate = permanent emotional scarring.

Note: Photos from the Seattle PI, July 9, 2007.

My goodness!! If I had see this when I was a kid I would be absolutely terrified and I’m sure the fear would have generalized into some crippling terror toward everyone wearing beads, or all men with facial hair. Thank you, mom and dad, for keeping me distant from this part of Seafair!!! Yikes! And most of all, you really have to wonder: Who IS this guy the other 340 days of the year that he’s not a Seafair Pirate???