sharifa70

Dwaraka! It’s on SE Hawthorne between 39th & 40th (about half a block west of New Seasons). The food reminds me of my one visit to India, where I stayed with friends and ate home-cooking for two weeks. The first time I went to Dwaraka it tasted like I was back with my friend’s family, having dal and pakoras for breakfast. When the server came by to check on us I told him everything was delicious and tasted like someone’s mom was in the kitchen, and that’s when he gave the sweetest smile and replied “My mom is in the kitchen.” I’m absolutely thrilled that they seem to have made it through the pandemic. I’ll miss Victoire’s dry sense of humor. I didn’t think she was rude at all when she mentioned that she didn’t particularly care for spicy food, and I agreed with her when she commented about the effect on her sense of taste. I feel the same way: though I appreciate some kick, I don’t like food that is so spicy my lips start to burn. At that point I can’t actually taste anything and it’s pretty disappointing. Gabri is just…exhausting. I like him and he’s clearly talented or he wouldn’t have been his season’s winner, but I would not enjoy working with him.

Because of this episode I ended up going to my favorite Indian restaurant in Portland, OR, where the chef is at least one server’s mom (dad was cooking last night, though). They do have a delicious thali plate but it was a hot day and I just didn’t want that much food. I really loved Amar having such a good time in the kitchen. I like him anyway but this time he just seemed to cook with so much joy. He and Ali are my favorites.

Or Mork & Mindy!

Higgins mocking her for her response of “that guy from Cream” killed me. 😂😂😂😂

Yep. I would never get away with talking to an adult like that. No, I wasn’t a perfect angel and did fall into occasional teenage backtalk (truly occasional), and do you know who put up with it? Literally no one. Bailey’s behavior actually makes me kind of hate Owen even more.

I’m back to wanting to drop-kick Bailey off the nearest tall building.

I interpreted Isaac’s response as maybe hurt that Colin hadn’t confided in him? I hope that’s it because I love Isaac. He handled it terribly but it’s also normal for surprised people to handle things terribly. Yeah, it sucks for the person dropping the surprise, but sometimes people need to process. It doesn’t make either party wrong. I’m speaking as a heavy-duty processor who once found myself so completely incapable of thought that I just pointed across the room and told the other person “I’m going over there now.” Is it helpful? No. Is it necessary? Sometimes. Roy refusing to join the Diamond Dogs (while still being very much a Diamond Dog) cracks me up. Trent’s tentative “Woof” was adorable.

Regarding Jack defacing the book: aside from the general horror of defacing a valuable first edition, am I the only one who caught Jack’s not-at-all-red-flaggy line about being jealous and possessive and not wanting anyone else to be able to have the book/Keeley? Which she (Jack) quickly laughed off as a joke? If anyone at the beginning of season 1 had told me I would end up completely loving Jamie, I would have recommended that person for a psych eval. I have come to completely love Jamie. This show is a roller coaster. Laughing out loud (scaring the dog) over Will’s Beard impression, then crying over Sam’s breakdown, then happy tears over the last restaurant scene. I downloaded that final song and have been playing it on perma-loop.

I’m liking this so far, but yes, this most recent episode is the first one that didn’t make me want to drop-kick Bailey off the nearest tall building. The way she says Hannah’s name so often triggers my Spaniel Rage. I don’t know about y’all, but nobody says my name several times in a conversation and people repeating it even without disdain is just so off-putting. The kid doesn’t have to see Hannah as a replacement mom, but basic manners go a long way. I agree with the people who thought tossing the duffel under the bed was pretty weird. Even if Owen does turn out to be a good guy, I don’t know how they go forward from this. I get that knowing nothing protects them from the authorities, but knowing nothing also opens them up to potentially trusting the wrong people. Not to mention the extreme violation of trust in play here.

I’m satisfied with most of the season. I could have gone without the Augusta/Edward story (she’s too smart, he’s irredeemable: last season’s Esther plot was my point of no return for him), and Tom doesn’t seem to have evolved at all. The biggest thing for me was Otis & Georgianna. That felt completely rushed and un-earned to me. He shows up for a scene or two, goes back to London, and next time we see him, Georgianna is back in love with him? Building that story would have been much better than wasting our time on Augusta & Edward. I would watch the hell out of a Susan/Samuel series.

That “Meta” clue was brutal, and I’ve actually read Snow Crash. Problem is, I read it when it was first published and all I could think of was “cyberpunk novel about a katana-wielding pizza delivery guy,” which was absolutely no help at all. I’m mad at myself now because I’ve been meaning to re-read it for some time now.

I loved this episode so much. That is all.

I think it just got her thinking of following the money regarding the murder. The line about the jewelry was just her trying to get him to talk about where his money was going.

I’m really enjoying this show but I do not like the direction they’re taking Angie. While I appreciate the effort to portray her struggles with addiction in a realistic manner (rather than hand-waving it away as “that time I was a junkie but I’m better now” as many shows do), they’re scooting dangerously close to putting her in irredeemable territory. Homicide: Life on the Streets did this when one detective came to the unit under a cloud of suspicion from an accusation in his previous unit. The show spent almost an entire season establishing that detective’s integrity and he was ultimately cleared (as we knew he would be). Then what did the show do? A season later, after spending all this time writing him as a clean, honest cop, he kills a suspect in cold blood in front of his partner and then spends a bunch of episodes trying to cover everything up. It completely ruined the show for me. I would like to see Angie take a proper leave of absence to get herself squared away and let Will figure out how not to lean on her.

My 74-year-old, 5’5” mother with knee problems drives a Dodge Ram and a Chevy Avalanche, as well as a smaller car for tooling around town. My parents have been driving pickup trucks or SUVs for as long as I can remember. They still go camping, though now they use a trailer rather than a tent. If you can handle the vehicle and need something like a truck, there’s no reason not to have it. Same!

Having the dog at the table is a strict no-no in our house and I agree with the people who are surprised that Will allows it. I love my dog and as a full-coat shih tzu he’s pretty clean most of the time, but mealtimes are strictly off limits. He’s not allowed near the table and he’s not even allowed to look at us while we’re eating. Anything that looks like he might be thinking of begging results in banishment to the other side of the room. I loved the scene between Faith and Farhad. His “I look forward to talking to you” and her “Are you sure?” reply cracked me up. Also: Faith’s ever-changing hairstyles are beautiful.

True story: I was 18 and living in Boise, Idaho when I had my first scones. They were a local staple, you could find them all over town, and the best way to eat them was smothered in honey butter. I loved scones. Fast-forward a few years, I’ve moved back home to Washington state, I walk into a coffee shop, and they have scones! I’m delighted: I order one….and they bring me this biscuit thing with jam. Happened again every time I went anywhere. Like, what the actual hell were all these cafes serving? I ask for scones, they give me biscuity things? Finally, I gave up on trying to find proper scones because clearly everyone in Washington had gone mad. One year, while attending the blues festival in Portland, Oregon, I stopped at one of the many food stalls for some lemonade, and lo! There did I see my beloved, real scones! My first true non-Boise scone sighting in ten years! I ordered one and sat down to eat with joy in my heart, happy at last. And what, pray tell, was this delightful confection? Y’all, it turns out that in Boise a scone (found in restaurants) was what fair-goers know as an elephant ear. Yep, a ball of dough that you stretch and then deep-fry. I’ll happily accept Buddha’s comparison of scones to American biscuits. At least they’re in the same ballpark.

From an article about regency-era betrothals: “Occasionally, a woman would break the engagement, but it was frowned upon for a gentleman to break the engagement. (Society’s disapproval of his breaking the engagement is why Edward Ferrars keeps his word to Lucy Steele in Sense and Sensibility.)” https://byuprideandprejudice.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/courtship-and-marriage-in-the-regency-period/

I try not to be, but I am totally That Guy when it comes to handing my dog (shih tzu) over to a pet sitter/dog walker, even down to the kiss before I let go of him.

As someone who has had to scrape together enough money for a dog’s surgery, I teared up over this - it made me love Buddha even more. I wasn’t sure about Victoire in the first episode, but I’m liking her more and more. “We don’t bake” made me laugh. It was nice to see them get a proper night off where they really did get to just relax and share their stories. This season is unusual for me in that there isn’t anyone I’m actively ready to see leave. Well done on the casting!

You know? Now that you said that, my visits to London (4 between 2002-2005) were very similar. We did eat pub food but none of it really stood out other than the servers being very helpful. My then-boyfriend and I lived on amazing Thai, Chinese, and kebabs, though we did stop in at Hard Rock Cafe for some fajitas because my one weird, huge craving whenever I travel overseas is Mexican food. At that time, Hard Rock Cafe was the closest we could find. Now I feel like I need to go back and give pub food another shot.

It’s all available on PBS Passport (which you subscribe to through PBS), but if you subscribe to PBS Masterpiece through Amazon, you get the episodes 1 week at a time. I watched the entire season last weekend (no spoilers, I promise).

I grew up on cottage pie (in my house it was “Dad’s casserole”), but it’s a very, very basic (povvo) version: ground beef, onions, tomato sauce, and green beans topped with mashed potatoes and cheese. It’s cheap and freezes well, and it’s a winter staple. I always think I want to try one of the fancier versions but childhood always wins out. I also loved the Victoire/Potato Girl team-up (yes, I know it’s Sylwia). My love of potatoes earned me the nickname “Tater” from my dad when I was a kid, so I’ve decided Sylwia is my long-lost bestie. Sara’s crack about Tom using agar in his perfectly-coiffed hair made me giggle. I didn’t like her in her season but I agree with the earlier poster who commented that she seems a little more mellowed out here. Oh! All my life I’ve been putting the malt vinegar on my fish, never the fries. I dip my fries in tartar sauce, though. Suddenly, salt & vinegar potato chips make a *whole* lot more sense….

I loved the team’s collective shock at Roy & Keely’s breakup, and how invested they all seem to be in that relationship. The scene where Jamie tried to comfort Roy was awkward, sweet, and hilarious. I have enjoyed seeing Jamie evolving into a person rather than a “type.”

There was some implication that Harriett’s parentage was in doubt (hence her still being at the school), and that a match with Mr. Martin was greatly advantageous for her, though less so for him. The only person who opposed the match was Emma, because Miss Smith becoming Mrs. Martin put them firmly in different social circles: “as much above my notice as beneath it,” meaning Mr. Martin wasn’t poor enough to need Emma’s charity but not high enough status to come to the same dinner parties. It’s quite probable that Charlotte’s marriage to Ralph could result in this same divide for her and the Parkers. Even without the complication of her obvious attachment to Colbourne, I imagine this is a hard reality for her to be facing.