Yesterday was a big, meaty day!
First, I went up to the Phinney Ridge neighborhood with a buddy to watch the Men’s World Cup final. We had intended to go to The Dray, which is a cute little spot where they serve delicious flatbread pizzas and usually have a very good selection of interesting beers. They also carry coffee! Unfortunately, even though we got there right after they opened (and almost an hour before the match started), the place was packed. Instead of staying and standing the next 3+ hours, we forlornly started to head back to the car. As we were walking, we passed an Irish pub that we hadn’t noticed earlier. This place (Molly Maguires) had their front door propped open and we could see that they had pre-match World Cup coverage televised on a projector on the back wall. We poked our heads in the door and saw that there were only a couple of other folks sitting at the bar and the beer selection was pretty mediocre (also, no flatbread pizza). However, the game was starting soon and we didn’t want to miss it so we decided (somewhat resignedly) to go in and sit down. This turned out to be a very good decision.
Shortly after we’d grabbed some beer and claimed a table, the proprietor approached us and, in a thick Irish accent, quickly said something, pointed to the back room, and hurriedly walked away. We just kind of nodded our heads uncomprehendingly at him at first, but then we realized that he’d said something about complimentary snacks. Because the match hadn’t started yet, I figured I might as well go and grab some pretzels or peanuts or whatever so I could have something to munch on. But there were no peanuts or pretzels. Instead, there was a line of ~a dozen crockpots/trays/dishes: coleslaw, curry rice, curried meatballs, hot dogs, fried chicken, spaghetti and meatballs, hoagies… all complimentary! It was ridiculous. I made a meatball sub and had some rice and coleslaw. It was all tasty. Also, the pub eventually filled all up by ~the 20th minute. The crowd seemed evenly split between German and Argentinian supporters, so the atmosphere was raucous and the air was constantly filled with choruses of “ooooohs and “ahhhhhs”.
Later in the afternoon, I went over to a cookout at Curtis and Danni’s. We sat on their back porch in the sunshine and Curtis grilled up some hamburgers. There was quinoa salad and chips and guacamole and cupcakes and sangria. I also made a bunch of super refreshing caipirinhas, Brazil’s “national cocktail”, to commemorate the ending of the Men’s World Cup. After everyone was finished eating, we gathered at the table and played card games until the light faded and a few raindrops started to fall on our heads.
It was a good day.
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Miles run in 2014: 174.4
Books read in 2014: 46