Some fun from last week.

Anna - international woman of mystery

Fun with foreigners! Beer, cheesecake and karaoke!

Some crazy guy and Monique from Jamaica. She kicks karaoke butt.

I met all sorts of new friends – most of them not from the States. The night began with a trip to a local bar/pub-thing. Very nice place, but a wee bit spendy. I told myself, “Yeah, I’ll hang out for a bit and then go home…” but no one can resist the siren song of KARAOKE!

Anthony, Thom (NZ), and Garry (Scotland) after a few.

This place served cheesecake, which was awesome, as I don’t often partake.  I think they just buy the stuff at the Japanese Costco analog and freeze it, because it was more like a slab of cheese icecream.  Delicious.

'nuff said.

And then someone would order the same number of beers over and over.  I think there were 10 of us, and 4 or 5 rounds of six or seven beers.  I really didn’t drink my share, to tell you the truth, but I’m such a lightweight it only takes about two or three to knock me on my ass.

Ciao.

Out with older men

So Sarah and I went out with this old Japanese guy tonight at the local izukaya.  I guess she freaked when, after she accepted his invitation to hang out with a friend of our manager’s, he said, “Well, my wife’s out of town…”

Anywho, she asked me to come along, and he bought us food and beer.  He seemed nice enough, but I wouldn’t want to be alone with a strange, married (, Japanese) man any night.  He seemed pleasant enough, and free food is always welcome.  But that’s neither (pronounced here as “ny-ther) here nor there, as the real focus of this tale is the bar:  The beer is on tap (a rarity for me these days, and a special treat, as someone from beer-soaked Portland), and the proprietors are awesome acquaintances of Sarah and Trey’s.  One of the owner’s came out (the husband), asked if I could eat scallops – after hearing that I didn’t eat meat – and, after hearing an affirmative, whipped me up a delightful salad with pickled onions, daikon sprouts, green leaf lettuce, and sauteed scallops.  Did I mention we got hard-boiled quail eggs?

I think I’ve found my new bar.