Proper British

Getting pictures from Ern's school is the best.

We went out to the British Pantry in Redmond for dinner. 

It's one of the few places to get a decent meat pie in this town.

I saw the slug and it opened up my eyes, I saw the slug.

Ballard Walking Tour

Today we went on a little Ballard walking tour.

I hadn't been in Pike Taproom before. It was decent.

Barbenheimer!

The Kangaroo & Kiwi was a fun little place that people can watch rugby and other nonsensical sports from down under.

They had meat pies which is fantastic.

I had been avoiding Bale Breaker because we went to the HQ out in Yakima and we keeps it real. But since we were with visitors I figured this might be the closest they will get to hop heaven.

I got a sampler platter. From the right I chose:

"Dormancy

Boasting notes of freshly-brewed espresso and rich chocolate, Dormancy Imperial Stout was conditioned on locally-roasted coffee beans from Yakima's Lincoln Avenue Coffee Co. As winter settles in to the Pacific Northwest and the hop fields surrounding our brewery lay dormant, this beer was crafted to remind us that good things can still happen in the off-season for hops.

Just Peachy Wheat Ale

Brewed using real peach puree in the fermenter, this fruited wheat ale both tastes great and supports a great cause. Inspired by the Tri21 Project and brewed in collaboration with the Younker family, this beer was made in order to raise awareness about Down syndrome and to raise money for Children's Village, where local families and individuals with Down syndrome can receive support and a crucial local network. $1 per pint will be donated to Children's Village, in honor of (and brewed with!) Peach Younker.

Mango Tango Summer Ale (sesiones del Migrante)

Sesiones del Migrante celebrates the Mexican migrant workers who travel to Yakima to harvest hops for breweries around the globe. Founded by Cerveceria de Colima, Cerveza Loba, Ronin Fermentation Project, SouthNorte, Yakima Chief Hops, and Bale Breaker. A portion of the proceeds from this beer goes to local non profits who support migrant farm workers. Made with 28lbs per barrel of mango puree, this summer ale has low bitterness and smells like a freshly-sliced ripe mango with hints of mandarin orange.

La Mas Buena Mexican Lager

Mexican Lager easy drinking malt forward with bread dough and corn chip aromas. Fruity & floral hints, low bitterness & sweetness."

Ernie Meet Pie

We've been itching for adventures since a certain small someone forced a pause in flights. We decided that we wanted to wait until Ernesto got his 2 month old series of immunizations before we got on a plane. In the meantime we've been scheming and plotting. We booked Ernie his first plane ticket to Anchorage, AK!

Previously we'd kind of sponged Ernie to clean him, but this time we got serious and gave him the full salon shampoo over the sink.

He seemed to enjoy it.

We have to sort of fold down Ernie's diapers to not interfere with his little beef jerky umbilical cord stump. When will that gross little thing fall off?

Today I was very excited to make my first journey to The Australian Pie Company in. Burien, Washington. I have a long running love affair with Australian meat pies. I was introduced to them in Melbourne and have been a fan ever since. An Australian guy owned Silver Ballroom, a pinball place in St. Louis, and had meat pies on the menu. Then after the move to Seattle I was overjoyed to discover a meat pie joint called Jesters in Bellevue Square Mall. We only made it in there once or twice before they suddenly shut down. I was left without a pie dealer and times got tough. Now the good times seem to be here again!

The place had some legit Aussie decor.

Not only did they have pies of several flavors but they had some exotic, I assume Australian, dessert things as well.

This was a Lamington, which according to Wikipedia is "an Australian cake made from squares of butter cake or sponge cake coated in an outer layer of chocolate sauce and rolled in desiccated coconut. The thin mixture is absorbed into the outside of the sponge cake and left to set, giving the cake a distinctive texture. A common variation has a layer of cream or strawberry jam between two lamington halves." 

We fed Ernie a bottle outside and I was sort of shocked and disgusted at how light Ernie's hair was! Especially in the sunlight this kid looked like he had red hair after we finally gave him a deep clean. I thought his hair was way darker but it turns out that was just the color of dirt.

I hade my last delicious mamey sapote. So good. If I'm ever on death row my last meal request is going to be meat pies, Lamingtons, and mamey sapote. Partially because those things are delicious and partially because I would hope those things would be hard to find. Checkmate.