Another week is in the books. Here are the highlights.
My sweet granddaughter Sydney turned 4. Definitely has her grandpa’s good looks!
Things are going reasonably well at work. We’ve got some folks on their way out which will require some adjustments. But meanwhile, my boss and I seem to be getting on well. We did another Friday lunch in Itaewon yesterday. Our destination: Manimals Smoke House to get our barbecue on…
It’s up the hill on the alley going to towards HBC (above and generally parallel to the main drag in Itaewon, walking towards Noksapyeong station…
As you may recall, a few weeks ago we ate at Linus’ BBQ. Apparently there is a (friendly?) rivalry as to which serves the most authentic barbecue. Our mission was to find out.
I thought the menu was somewhat limited and also pretty pricey. On the other hand, it’s good to do a few things well rather than having an extensive selection of mediocre items…
The interior is rather smallish, although those window seats offer a nice view. They open at noon on weekends for lunch. We arrived 10 minutes early and although they let us sit down, they wouldn’t serve us until 12. Not nearly as busy as Linus’ had been, just us and one other group. Could have been the holiday I suppose.
We ordered us up some pulled pork and some chicken. I also bought a chunk of cornbread and some “cowboy” beans. It was all good. Although as with Linus’ I was disappointed with the sauce selection. Might have to sneak in a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray’s on my next visit.
I’m not sure if I can resolve the question of which is the best authentic BBQ, might need to visit both again. It was nice to have some cornbread, which was surprisingly moist and tasty even without butter.
We got an early release from work (59 minutes) to get a jump on the Chuseok holiday weekend. I spent part of my hour getting a haircut (I’d done a pedicure at lunch on Thursday) so I’m looking especially handsome for the weekend.
Then it was off to Shenanigan’s as it my Friday night custom. Met up with my old friend Lonnie who will be departing Korea next week after 14 years to take up being an elementary school teacher in the Phoenix public schools. He’ll be missed around these parts, especially by me as I’ve grown accustomed to swapping bullshit over beers with him.
The tradition of the dart league is to send a member off with a farewell tournament, so we headed over to Sin Bin Sports Pub for the dart action in Lonnie’s honor.
We had 18 throwers which is a pretty good showing considering most of the Koreans were tending to family holiday obligations. My partner and I finished second which is good and bad. We split W60,000 but didn’t finish until 0130.
We did take time out to give Lonnie a big thank you for his many years service to the dart league…
So getting home meant dealing with my pet peeve–taxi drivers.
0130 trying to catch a taxi in Itaewon. Streets are packed with cars and people, but still plenty of empty cabs. This guy rolls down his window and says “where are you going?” I’m drunk enough to be pissed and say “you aren’t allowed to ask me that, you just have to take me where I’m going”. He drives off but gets stuck in traffic just a little bit down the road. Like a madman I chase him down, snap a photo of his license tag, and then I yell “I’m turning you in. BIG FINE for you! He says something I can’t understand and I walk away.
I had every intention of filing a complaint with Seoul city hall, but upon sober reflection I discovered that my drunken photography skills were somewhat lacking. Meaning, this was the only picture of the cab in my camera and it’s not much help.
Anyway, the next cab driver I encountered I just hopped in the back seat and said Gireum-dong. The cabbie said where? I repeat Gireum-dong. He looks at me with a blank expression. I try again slowly “Gir-eum sta-tion. He goes “oh, Girerum yak?” I’m all yep that’s it and off we went. When we got close to my place I was actually able to direct him through a series of grunts and gestures to drop right at the gate to my building. A first for me! Fare was W10,000 and I gave him W20,000 and a hearty “Happy Chuseok!” He seemed pleased.
It’s now a little after 2:00 a.m. and Jee Yeun calls and asks “where are you?”. I said “I’m home!” She goes ‘no you’re not, and I say apartment 1804, right? She says it’s 1904 and I go “shit, then who’s this woman laying next to me?”
I’m funny when you’re drunk!
Woke up this morning a little hungover but I’m going to go have some hair of the dog that bit me later on which should get me back to feeling 100%.
Hangover notwithstanding I put myself to work in the kitchen this morning.
3 pounds of pot roast beef, carrots, celery, onion and potatoes along with some seasoning. When I get back home tonight it will be reading and waiting!
Counting down to deliciousness….
Life is good.
That’s an impressive crock pot.
Glad you got home safely. Too bad you seem to have such bad experiences with cabbies. For me, it’s bad only when I’m in neighborhoods where most of the cabbies are looking to take people outside of Seoul.
Also glad that you and the boss seem to be getting along. Imagine what life would be like if employer/employee relationships were shitty.