nothing to see here

boringtown! not much to report - played dball last night...a crrrrrap game on my part. i think housing a giant plate of fish'n'chips (haddock) from parkside fish'n'chips did me in. parkside has been around since 1928 and the asian couple who run the shop have had it for the past 24 years. it's pretty grimey and dingy in there, but the first rule of fish'n'chips is NEVER, EVER judge a fish'n'chippy by its environs. that's a fatal mistake. parkside is all fluroescent lights buzzing atop a long, thin room dominated by an ancient battleship of a fryer facing 3 worn and stained chairs for waiting patrons (i stand). it's a takeout operation only. when you open the door, the old man emerges from the back of the shop with a dirty apron on and creakily moves towards you, taking your order with an affable smile.

news alert that should surprise no one: HE BREAKS MY HEART. your choices are cod or halibut or crab cakes all served in a crisp, industrial batter with a heap of fries (soggy, hand-cut, limply exemplifying the essence of potato) wrapped in the de rigeur newspaper and paper. all for the pauper's sum of $8 flat. packaged tartar sauce (the way it's supposed to be). i'm a fan. it's never going to usurp harbord fish'n'chips for value and glassine batter, but it's miles ahead of my hated fish'n'chips nemesis, chippy's. so close, too!

did i tell you they're opening a gourmet burger shop in lil' ugmo's hood? it's going to be called great burger kitchen...they're touting local, organic beef and claiming to be a purveyor of poutines. yessssss!!! AND the new neapolitan-style pizza place seems to be legit enough - wood burning oven, ingredients shipped in from ital-towns - enough so that i will never line up for pizzeria libretto again. seriously, the pizza at libretto was good...but not NOTICEABLY different from the satisfaction derived from a terroni's pie or a piping hot massimo's slice on the enjoyment scale. certainly not enough to warrant lining up for, at any rate.

anyway, i played a listless game of dodgeball cuz i was weighed down with a pound of grease and fries soused in reconstituted swiss chalet dipping sauce to make up for the meagreness with which parkside dispenses tartar sauce packets (at places that have packaged tartar sauce, i understand and commisserate with the miserly distribution of the tartar sauce...THESE ARE OLD CHINESE CHIPPY PROPRIETORS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE, PEOPLE!!!) and their lack of any gravy whatsoever. as s-dawg said when he walked in the room and espied our pre-game dinner, "now i know why you guys are always so loagey at dodgeball" - CAUGHT!

tonight we're hosting one of the dotytron's oldest friends for dinner. they reconnected on FB. apparently S was the dotytron's first partner on all imaginative, kid-creative fueled journeys of the sonic kind. i'm going to let them reminisce and talk shop and stay out of their hair. i'll sit downstairs and try to fast-forward through precious or work on my quilt and watch mad men while they reminisce and music nerd out together.

for dinner i made us a "mexican" lasagne of corn tortillas layered with a chorizo, kidney, black bean, dried chile chipotle sauce (aka my chilaquiles base), roasted, peeled canned poblanoes, and shredded jack cheese. served with a tomatillo salsa and avocadoes chunked up with lime, red onion and sour cream. it was a pretty tasty variation of my favorite ingredients.

fin.