A Cruise and a Bite
What a beautiful day for a bike ride to Long Beach to see the kite festival. The ride is about 150 miles each way and South Bend, WA is somewhere in the middle. As we were filling the bikes with gas, we were talking about where to eat. A nice lady filling up her truck suggested Chester's in South Bend. She said they had great oysters.
It was an older bar on a pier over looking a slough. There were only a half dozen people in the bar and as we walk towards the back of the bar, the floor slanted downward to the left. The menu was simple. It was all on one of those little signs they put on the table, like the ones they use to advertise happy hour or daily specials. They had burgers, sandwiches, fish and chips, chicken and chips, oysters and more.
We decided to give the fish and chips a try and see how a small bar could compare to the supposedly world famous Duke's. Well guess what they have you beat by a mile. Not only were the fish and chips delicious. They were almost half the price of Dukes, $9.00 and you got 3 pieces of fish and a good serving of fries. Only thing missing was clam chowder. But even without it there was 50% more food than Dukes and beers were only $2.75.
I would rate the cleanliness a 9, atmosphere a 8, service a 9 and food a 9 and you guessed it overall a 9. The only negative is that they take only cash. No debit or credit cards. Kind of tough when the wife won't give me any cash to carry.
I highly recommend that if you are traveling thru South Bend, you stop and give Chester's a try. Oh by the way, make sure you watch your speed thru town. It looked like the police were busy trying to give tickets to anyone who did not obey the speed limit.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Wednesday 8/23/12 - Carbonado Saloon
A QUICK CRUISE AND A BITE
We took the bike for a short cruise up to Carbonado and stopped at the Carbonado Saloon to check it out. It was a nice clean place with a back yard beer garden. I assume that on a Saturday night the place would be very busy, but on a Wednesday there were only 4 other people at the bar.
Wednesday nights are $5 cheeseburger and fries nights, so we thought why not and ordered 2 of them along with a couple of Coors Lights. They have a daily 2 wheel (motorcycle) deal where drafts and well drinks are only $2.
The food arrived fairly quickly as there was only one person working. I was not to sure about the fries, but after tasting them they were pretty good and the burger was good too. I would give the place an 8 for bar food, 8 for cleanlyness a 10 for service, 9 for decor and an over all 8.5.
They also have other specials during the week including Taco Tuesday's. We are definetly going to add this as one of the places to go during the week for the quick cruise and a bite.
We took the bike for a short cruise up to Carbonado and stopped at the Carbonado Saloon to check it out. It was a nice clean place with a back yard beer garden. I assume that on a Saturday night the place would be very busy, but on a Wednesday there were only 4 other people at the bar.
Wednesday nights are $5 cheeseburger and fries nights, so we thought why not and ordered 2 of them along with a couple of Coors Lights. They have a daily 2 wheel (motorcycle) deal where drafts and well drinks are only $2.
The food arrived fairly quickly as there was only one person working. I was not to sure about the fries, but after tasting them they were pretty good and the burger was good too. I would give the place an 8 for bar food, 8 for cleanlyness a 10 for service, 9 for decor and an over all 8.5.
They also have other specials during the week including Taco Tuesday's. We are definetly going to add this as one of the places to go during the week for the quick cruise and a bite.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Duke's Chowder House Tuesday August 14, 2012
The wife and I decided to take the new Stratoliner out for a cruise and headed for the Tacoma waterfront on Ruston Way. It was a beautiful evening and was a nice 25 mile cruise one way. We decided to give Duke's Chowder House a try, as neither of us had eaten there before.
The restaurant was somewhat busy, with a short wait for first available and longer to sit out on the deck. We chose first available and had to wait only a few minutes. We had a nice and cozy window seat over looking the deck and sound. It was nice and cool with the doors open and the vents blowing cool air.
The menu had a good selection. Claimed they served award winning seafood, but pricing was a little on the high side. Not too bad if the food is good and the portions were reasonable. We came wanting fish and chips and fish and chips we were going to have. We ordered the 1/2 Mac & Jack's Fish & Chips Combo which consisted of a 1/2 order of lightly panko breaded Bering Sea Cod, exceptional made–at–Duke's tartar sauce, cup of Award Winning Clam Chowder for $16.60 each. We also ordered a couple of beers to wash it down.
When the food arrived I was a little disappointed. It looked like a couple of frozen fish sticks you get out of a box, a small handful of Jo Jo's, a small scoop of coleslaw and a small cup of chowder. The fish itself tasted good, the tarter sauce tasted like Skipper's, the Jo Jo's were a little limp and greasy, the coleslaw was OK and the chowder was very good. Not impressive for $16.60 per plate. I have had better fish and chips at Ivar's or Skipper's for half the price.
Overall the restaurant was clean, the atmosphere was great, the service was good, the food was OK and the price was too high. I am not much for going out to have seafood other than fish and chips. I would rather have a good Steak. I guess it will be a long time before we ever go to Duke's again.
We ended the evening on a good note by riding thru Point Defiance Park and watched the evening sunset.
The wife and I made a new deal. When we take the bike out for a ride, we need to check out the food at the taverns along the way and forget about restaurants. It is so hard to get good food at a decent price. $16.60 is not to high, but there should have been 50% more of everything they served. I don't mind paying for a good meal, but come on. At least make it worth the trip.
The restaurant was somewhat busy, with a short wait for first available and longer to sit out on the deck. We chose first available and had to wait only a few minutes. We had a nice and cozy window seat over looking the deck and sound. It was nice and cool with the doors open and the vents blowing cool air.
The menu had a good selection. Claimed they served award winning seafood, but pricing was a little on the high side. Not too bad if the food is good and the portions were reasonable. We came wanting fish and chips and fish and chips we were going to have. We ordered the 1/2 Mac & Jack's Fish & Chips Combo which consisted of a 1/2 order of lightly panko breaded Bering Sea Cod, exceptional made–at–Duke's tartar sauce, cup of Award Winning Clam Chowder for $16.60 each. We also ordered a couple of beers to wash it down.
When the food arrived I was a little disappointed. It looked like a couple of frozen fish sticks you get out of a box, a small handful of Jo Jo's, a small scoop of coleslaw and a small cup of chowder. The fish itself tasted good, the tarter sauce tasted like Skipper's, the Jo Jo's were a little limp and greasy, the coleslaw was OK and the chowder was very good. Not impressive for $16.60 per plate. I have had better fish and chips at Ivar's or Skipper's for half the price.
Overall the restaurant was clean, the atmosphere was great, the service was good, the food was OK and the price was too high. I am not much for going out to have seafood other than fish and chips. I would rather have a good Steak. I guess it will be a long time before we ever go to Duke's again.
We ended the evening on a good note by riding thru Point Defiance Park and watched the evening sunset.
The wife and I made a new deal. When we take the bike out for a ride, we need to check out the food at the taverns along the way and forget about restaurants. It is so hard to get good food at a decent price. $16.60 is not to high, but there should have been 50% more of everything they served. I don't mind paying for a good meal, but come on. At least make it worth the trip.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Health Care August 5, 2012
Now here is an idea that I think would work and provide everyone with health care.
The biggest problem is how do we pay for it and make it fair for everyone, including the free loaders. No one likes additional taxes, but hear me out. Cigarettes and booze already have steep taxes, but we need to add an additional tax to these products for health care. We also tax some food items.
Fresh, frozen and some canned unprepared meat, vegetables and fruit are tax exempt. Along with some of your dairy products, such as the different types of milk, cheese and eggs. Everything else will be taxed to pay for your health care.
Any type of prepared or package or high carbohydrate items. including rice, pasta, bread will be taxed. All processed, prepared , package food, including candy, chips, baked goods, flour, sugar, etc. The only exception would be some canned vegetables and fruit where there has been no sugar added. We would have to create a new product labeling system that accurately states a portion size (not 8 pieces equals a serving size) and determine at what point a serving becomes a high carbohydrate item.
Most health care problems exist because we do not take care of ourselves. We eat the wrong types of food, drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes. We end up being over weight, addicted to alcohol or tobacco and end up with diabetes, cancer and many other health issues. Restaurants and anyone who sells food would have to also collect a tax on the unhealthy foods they serve.
I am not saying you can not consume these items, but it will cost you more than eating right and not abusing your body. I have no idea at this time how much of a tax it would take to cover the entire system, but I think the idea needs to be researched. The tax would be fair for everyone as we don't have to buy the products that are taxed.
What if everyone started eating all the right things to avoid paying taxes into the health care system? Well that would be a good thing. We would be more healthy. Need less health care and hopefully less taxes to support the system.
Everyone should be entitled to health care. Low income, middle class, the rich and even illegal aliens. But everyone has to eat and if you like to eat chips, candy and high carbohydrate foods, you will pay into the system.
I am not a health nut. I have been what the doctors call over weight my entire life. I have diabetes, drink occasionally and abused my body with tobacco in the past. When I was a kid, we were allowed to eat a bowl of cereal every night before we went to bed. We had a large pourable container of sugar on the table so we could add as much as we like to our already sugar laden cereal.
I am OK with having to be on a waiting list for non life threatening procedures. The system also should not pay for any type of cosmetic surgery. This would be another tough task, but I think we could come up with a fair, easy to understand list, that would tell us what is covered and what is not. It does not need to be thousands of pages and hard to understand. There should be no exceptions as to who pays the tax or who is covered by the system.
The alternative is to keep on the same path we are on and our society well continue to be less healthy with each passing day.
The biggest problem is how do we pay for it and make it fair for everyone, including the free loaders. No one likes additional taxes, but hear me out. Cigarettes and booze already have steep taxes, but we need to add an additional tax to these products for health care. We also tax some food items.
Fresh, frozen and some canned unprepared meat, vegetables and fruit are tax exempt. Along with some of your dairy products, such as the different types of milk, cheese and eggs. Everything else will be taxed to pay for your health care.
Any type of prepared or package or high carbohydrate items. including rice, pasta, bread will be taxed. All processed, prepared , package food, including candy, chips, baked goods, flour, sugar, etc. The only exception would be some canned vegetables and fruit where there has been no sugar added. We would have to create a new product labeling system that accurately states a portion size (not 8 pieces equals a serving size) and determine at what point a serving becomes a high carbohydrate item.
Most health care problems exist because we do not take care of ourselves. We eat the wrong types of food, drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes. We end up being over weight, addicted to alcohol or tobacco and end up with diabetes, cancer and many other health issues. Restaurants and anyone who sells food would have to also collect a tax on the unhealthy foods they serve.
I am not saying you can not consume these items, but it will cost you more than eating right and not abusing your body. I have no idea at this time how much of a tax it would take to cover the entire system, but I think the idea needs to be researched. The tax would be fair for everyone as we don't have to buy the products that are taxed.
What if everyone started eating all the right things to avoid paying taxes into the health care system? Well that would be a good thing. We would be more healthy. Need less health care and hopefully less taxes to support the system.
Everyone should be entitled to health care. Low income, middle class, the rich and even illegal aliens. But everyone has to eat and if you like to eat chips, candy and high carbohydrate foods, you will pay into the system.
I am not a health nut. I have been what the doctors call over weight my entire life. I have diabetes, drink occasionally and abused my body with tobacco in the past. When I was a kid, we were allowed to eat a bowl of cereal every night before we went to bed. We had a large pourable container of sugar on the table so we could add as much as we like to our already sugar laden cereal.
I am OK with having to be on a waiting list for non life threatening procedures. The system also should not pay for any type of cosmetic surgery. This would be another tough task, but I think we could come up with a fair, easy to understand list, that would tell us what is covered and what is not. It does not need to be thousands of pages and hard to understand. There should be no exceptions as to who pays the tax or who is covered by the system.
The alternative is to keep on the same path we are on and our society well continue to be less healthy with each passing day.
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