Cafe Campagne

As a treat to celebrate all kinds of things, Omaha and I went out to the Cafe' Campagne in downtown Seattle. It's in Post Alley on Pike Place Market, across the alleyway from that incredibly sexy and expensive kitchen supply store, Sur La Table, and of course all their cookware is Le Creuset.

The inside of the restaurant is done with just the lightest touch of kitsch; it's not quite so authentically French as Boat Street Cafe', a place Omaha and I both love, but it is done in dark, warm woods and yellow, indirect incandescent lighting, with brass fixtures and touches that make it feel very cozy. There are the ubiquitous advertisements from the 1960s here and there, but it's not overwhelming; I've been in Italian restaurants where that trick feels much more overbearing. The tables are tiny. At the door, along with an umbrella stand and a coat rack was a newspaper rack, the oldschool kind with the segmented rod to hold the newspaper in a rack. I haven't seen those since high school.

(There was one sour note in the whole place-- amidst all of this loveliness, the big point-of-sale terminal stood out like a plastic cancer. I kept thinking the owners need to find someone in the Seattle cyberpunk community who could make a shell for it that looked right.)

The service staff was friendly and efficient, young and beautiful and thin. One woman had a tattoo on her tricep, where she couldn't see it, with inch-high letters of the alphabet: AaBbCcDd etc. In Times New Roman. I was reminded of XKCD.

The whole point of a restaurant is the food, so let me say this: wonderful. Chef Daisley Gordon's name is prominent on the bottom of the menu, and deservedly so. Omaha ordered the crispy duck, whereas I ordered the cassoulet. She described the duck as delicious and crispy, everything she expected, with no excessive dryness.

The cassoulet was amazing. I mean, it's basically bean stew with a mixture of pork duck sausages, but it was so much more than that, covered in a thick breadcrumb crust that was so perfectly dried out without being drying in turn that I was in awe. The different sausages blended with neighboring beans and choices of fresh herbs in a way that satisfied me completely. Along with the bread, properly made baguettes probably from Le Panier, it was certainly the best meal we've had out in a long time.

Overall, not to pricey, either. I looked at their amazing wine list and decided not to have anything. We just had water-- no ice-- and it was fine just like that. The total bill was about $45 for two, there was no wait although they do take reservations. If you live in Seattle and haven't eaten at the Cafe Campagne, you're missing something special. Go try it out.

Schmooze with the Jews

Because I work for a company that sponsors and promotes indepedent films, I'm plugged into all sorts of indie film things happening in our area. This week we're doing the on-line short-film competition for the Seattle Jewish Film Festival (go watch and vote!), so Omaha and I managed to go hang out at the opening night gala.

It was a nice event, crowded and noisy. We ran into an acquaintance of ours, and my boss eventually showed up with another woman. She introduced the woman as IndieFlix's podcaster, which made Omaha's eyes light up, and there was an exchange of business cards while I took notes. My boss said, "I can tell you two are completely perfect for each other." Everyone always says that.

She also commented on my accent. "What?" I said. Then I realized what she meant. "I'm in a room full of people who all look like my aunts and uncles. Of course I have an accent."

There was entertainment that would have absolutely enraged one of my friends, since the singer was recently from Israel and had a rather one-sided view of the conflict there.

On the other hand, the filmmaker of the night, Andy Schocken, a local who's done well making documentaries, showed off some of his early work and much of it was fascinating. Clips documenting a local famous cantor, another documenting a woman who fled Germany early and her reaction to climbing Mt. Ranier in the 1940s, and a very touching one about Governor Booth Gardner, a former state governor of Washington who the day before he announced he would not run for re-election he had the highest approval ratings of any governor anywhere, ever. Gardner was diagnosed with Parkinsons's Disease, and his last campaign was to get Washington's Death With Dignity Act passed. He succeeded.

Gov. Gardner was at the event, and he gave a short speech that, sad to say, nobody could understand because he slurred and he didn't keep the mic close enough to his mouth. Omaha kept saying that all night: "Learn to eat the mic, people."

Omaha and I left after the Governor's speech. We missed the shorts demo, but I'd already seen them; they're the same ones at the IndieFlix SJFF presentation site.

So that's where all my tax money goes...

This morning, the house line rang. It's very rarely used, so when a call does come in that way we tend to pay attention-- although half the time it's still spam, even though we're on the "do not call" list.

I picked it up and heard:

Female voice: This is an automated phone message from your public school district. Please stay on the line for an important announcement.

Male voice: This is the superintendent of your public school district. In a few days, you will receive a phone call from your district with a short survey of questions. These questions will help guide us in deciding what after-school athletic programs we should invest in. The survey should take no more than two minutes. Please take the time to answer the questions, as it is very important to us that we gather this information and make meaningful decisions to provide better for your child.

A different male voice: If you are hearing this through your voice mail, please do not press any buttons. If you would like to hear this message again, press 1.

Original female voice: Thank you!

My initial reaction was that this sounds more like a "The district is having a serious financial shortfall, and we're looking to see what we can cut back on after-hours."

But if the district is short of money, don't spend any on a robocall to tell me you're going to send me a robocall! What a freaking waste.

A memory

"Mr. Sternberg, you should never again attempt to write anything in the English language. It is clearly not your native tongue." - Thomas R. Button, my 3rd-form (9th-grade) English teacher.