Da Marios and

Funnybone Comedy Club!

She Said:

It's been a while, dear readers. And while busyness is no excuse to neglect the most important night of the week, we are devastatingly guilty.

HOWEVER! We've still been venturing out, just haven't had the time to post. So we have quite the reserve of blog posts for you, and we're starting with our best Dorset Date Night yet - Pizza and Comedy!

I think the real reason i was so pumped to move to the UK was because of the British humour. Brett tells me often that, where my sense of humour is concerned, i'm actually a middle-aged British gay man - yay! - so what better Date Night to plan than Comedy??

Lucky for us, we live across the street from Comedy Mecca! Funnybone Comedy Club, located just off the back of the Pig and Whistle on Queens Road in Westbourne, offers an evening of classic comedy every Friday night.

To make a Date Night of it, Brett and i decided to grab some pizza beforehand. Now, Funnybone offers good nibbles (burgers, chips, nachos), but we wanted something a bit more substantial - AND, when we have the opportunity to get to Da Marios, WE GO. It's located just two doors down from Comedy, so very convenient as well.

Great thing about Da Marios - besides the fact that it's family owned, ALWAYS packed, and the pizza is the best we've EVER eaten, is it's BYOB!

So, while Brett ordered us some pizzas (they have a wide selection, but are also super keen to let you build your own - each pizza running about £9), I ran across the street to the Offy and picked up a few adult bevvies.

We felt so naughty bringing booze into the restaurant, but it was perfectly allowed.

Took us all but 10 minutes to devour our pizzas before heading next door to get our laugh on.

Funnybone is a cool venue - certainly wasn't expecting it to be by the looks of the outside (and the fact that it's piggy-backed on a pretty rough pub) - but was really fun! We were able to enjoy THREE acts, each one funnier than the next. Our waitress was attentive, as our drinks never ran dry! (Perhaps this is why we found it so funny? nah... )

Nudged in between several bucks and hens parties, we wouldn't go so far as to say it was the most romantic of Date Nights, but certainly up there with the most fun. Check it out! Tickets run about £20 each, but you can find specific pricing info - as well as other important information about the venue, rules (they are strict!) and upcoming acts - on the Funnybone Website!

Enjoy, and Happy Dating!
xo

Seattle Date Night: Pizza and Crocodiles. The perfect combination!

July 16th, 2009
Via Tribunali

He Said:

Plain and simple… it’s cool! Way cool! When it comes to pizza joints, it’s hard to find one cooler than Via Tribunali - Belltown. From its off street - Vesper surrounded entrance, funky volcanic artwork, sweet high backed booths and located next to Seattle’s coolest rock club The Crocodile, I find it tough to say a bad thing about it.

[alleyway entrance]
[stained glass entry way]
Via Tribunali – Belltown is the 5th installment of the increasingly successful Naples styled pizza chain and it is bloody beautiful.

As I may have said in a previous post, Mandy and I watch A LOT of cooking shows. Sometimes I wonder why I spend all the money I do on cable when we only need channels 35 and 162! But anyways, my favorite celebrity chef is the brash Scotsman Gordon Ramsey from Kitchen Nightmares. He has a simple philosophy: Know your theme, keep the menu simple but well thought out and use the best ingredients you can get. Via Tribunali does this as well as any other restaurant in Seattle.

Whilst I’ve never been to Naples, all reports suggest that Via Tribunali is as close to Southern Italian cuisine as you can get. This is no fluke.

Going back to the knowing your theme statement above, the owners here have taken it to a new level. Everything about the menu and its preparation has been imported from Naples. The ingredients, the recipes, the chef and even the wood fire oven. That’s right! The ovens are made from Vesuvius ash brick assembled in Seattle by Italian masons. This detail combines to create a perfect pizza.

[interior of Via's]
The pizza’s themselves are kept simple with only a few well selected fresh ingredients. Mandy and I shared a Primavera and cheese-less Prosciutto E Funghi.


[PROSCIUTTO E FUNGHI: Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella, Italian Ham, Mushroom: $15 + PRIMAVERA: Cherry Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella, Arugula, Grana: $13]
Both fantastic, both unique and both really healthy. At Via Tribunali you don’t get the usual left over cup of oil reminding you of all the bad you’ve just consumed. To wash it down they have a great selection of Italian wines and a few beers on tap. Italian reds are my favorite so basically this is heaven for me.

[Bonus: They give you scissors to cut your pizza with!]
Via Tribunali scores top marks in all of the scales. It is actually the only pizza heath-nut Mandy will eat, which says a lot!

So in channeling the great Gordon himself, “F$@king get yourself there NOW or f*&K off”*

Cheers!
Brett
*- Gordon Ramsey never actually said this and this is bad, very bad impression on my part!

She Said:

Just as a quick side note, since Via Tribunali is located literally inside the newly renovated Crocodile Cafe (thank GOD it made a come-back!), why not catch a show after you grab a bite to eat? The Crocodile is always featuring fun and exciting bands -- whether it's garage, punk, indie, folk, or good old fashioned rock'n'roll, you're bound to find something that tickles your fancy.


[Us in front of the Crocodile Entrance]

Check out the Crocodile's calendar HERE before you plan your next Date Night! Even if it's a band you have never heard of, or a style of music you would never find yourself listening to, take in a show! It will be a fun little adventure for you and your honey, and with ticket prices usually only about $10 bucks a pop, there'll be no crocodile tears here if you decide to leave halfway through the set, to head home and make your own sweet music!



Read the history of Seattle's famous Crocodile Cafe here.
To see our entire photo album of our date, click here.
To check out all 5 fabulous Via Tribunali locations, click here.

Bon Appetites!

RATINGS:

Romance:
4: Great interior -- sexy chandeliers, stained glass, and dark woods make for a rustic and romantic evening.

Cool Ambiance/Interior:
5: See above. Plus, you're next door to Seattle's famous Crocodile Cafe. That in itself is pretty sweet.

All Around Service:
5: Service was great! Our waitress was incredibly attentive.

Cost:
$$$ = entrees from $14 - 22 (total bill for 2 pizzas and 2 glasses of wine was only 40 bucks!)

Would we recommend it?
5: Yes! And can we come with you?

Seattle Date Night: Four!'s and Whores!

April 30th, 2009:

Interbay Driving Range and Madame K's Pizza Parlour

Okay, while the title of this first Date Night may seem a little crass to some of you (sorry mom!), it really is quite fitting for what we ended up doing last night (no, not that)!

We headed first to Interbay Golf Course, to hit a couple buckets of balls at the driving range!







Neither of us had ever been golfing (Mandy had ‘dabbled’ with miniature golf, and Brett had golfed a dozen or so times in Australia, but never in America) so this was a first for both parties! Blind leading the blind, really…


[at least we dressed the part!]





It was SUCH a beautiful night for golfing – sunshine and 65 degrees – we were able to get a medium bucket (about 75 balls) for only $8



AND, we totally scored, because Monday through Friday evenings, you get DOUBLE BUCKET night! Which means, we got about 150 balls for less than ten bucks (that’s a lotta balls!)! Since neither of us golf, we didn’t have our own clubs, but we weren’t worried—they have irons there for you to use for FREE! And, it’s only $3 to rent a driver. Grabbed some Alaskan Ambers at the bar ($4.50ea) and headed out to try our hand at the range. So, for about $20, we were good to go with balls, irons, and beers! Awesome!








It was one of those double-decker driving ranges (like they have in the movies!) and of COURSE we HAD to be upstairs! Only downside, you can’t use the drivers upstairs… so we decided to spend half our time upstairs trying our hand at the irons, and the latter half downstairs with the big bad driver… We collected our balls from the ball machine (this thing was so cool! We felt like we were collecting quarters from a winning slot machine!) and headed down to find our spot. It was very crowded, it being a beautiful night, but we finally found a spot and started our hand at golf. Of course, Brett killed it… Mandy had a bit harder time, but finally got the hang of it (and of course, hit the guy in the cart collecting the balls like TWICE! Whoops!)











After golf, we were FAMISHED, so we headed over to Ballard to grab a bite at Madame K’s.



Mandy had wanted to try this place for ages! She’d heard that it was fun, funky and sassy (all 3 prerequisites) – used to be an actual brothel, and they provided boas and slinky dresses, funky hats and canes that the patrons could actually WEAR while dining!


[brett really wanted to wear the red boa, but i snagged it first.]

They don’t take reservations, but we got right in, and were seated at a booth in the back. This place was great! Very funky, cool lighting (very RED, so of course, everyone looks good in it!),



lingerie hanging from the walls, the ceilings, the tables… funky and sassy for sure! We had to wait a bit to be served, but there were only two waitresses, so we weren’t too bent out of shape about it (although we were starving!)… ordered some beers (~$4ea) and a large, thin-crust bbq chicken/potato/cilantro pizza to share (YUM!) for about $28 bucks.



The pizza was great! Nothing to write home about, but certainly wasn’t bad. NOT a very good wine selection (5 reds and 2 whites to choose from).

With full bellies (and still half a pizza left over!), we asked for the check – it arrived complete with lipstick kisses -- $45 bucks, NOT BAD for a date night!



Headed home and CRASHED after a long day and an extremely fun night!




xoxox

She said:

Had a BLAST last night! It was funny, I knew that Brett would love the golfing, but he told me at dinner that ‘this is the perfect man-date: golfing in the sun, going to a BROTHEL, and pizza and beer!” Yay! Success!!

Interbay was fun, and we left deciding that we are DEFINITELY doing this more often! Okay, Brett was claiming he doesn’t golf, and isn’t very good, but HE IS GOOD. I swear that man can do anything, and do it well. I, on the other hand, truly had never done this before, and it was clearly obvious! Although I missed the ball only twice (out of one-hundred!), I had terrible form, and when I did hit the ball, only hit it about 100 feet. Finally Brett showed me just how to hold the club, and where to hit it (since somehow I was under the impression I was supposed to hit the balls as though I was playing croquet – what? Is that not how you’re supposed to do it??) and finally I improved [slightly].

I’ll definitely be back (and for you single ladies, TONS of guys there!), but I’m going to have to invest in a really cute diamond-encrusted girly practical glove—it really did hurt my hands after a while! (I’m such a wimp!)

Madame K’s was great, exactly what I pictured (not fancy by any means… think buca di beppos but with a sexy twist). We arrived pretty late, though, and I think the staff must’ve been tired or something – I had read reviews that the staff gets really flirty and sassy with you (it IS, after all, a Brothel!) … but I saw none of that. They close at 10pm (and we arrived at 9p), so perhaps they were over it for the day. The service was slow, but it was probably just noticeable since we were SO hungry… I guess that’s why appetizers were invented (note to self: order appetizer!)!

(I of COURSE grabbed a red boa to wear during dinner. That’s part of the fun of eating in a brothel!)

The pizza was great! But really, can you go wrong with bbq chicken, cilantro, and potato? I think not! Loved the idea of potato on a pizza. And it was huge, so we had lunch (and dinner!) set for Friday! Also, there’s a HUGE back deck perfect for warm summer nights (wasn’t open last night, unfortunately).

All in all, I highly recommend both interbay driving range AND Madame K’s for a fun-filled night on the town!

He said...

Since Mandy pretty much summed everything up in her she said, i won't bore you with reiteration. I will, however, make my contributions to the next Date Night posting... Oi, and Mandy's heaps hot.

RATINGS:

Interbay
Romance: 2
Cool Ambiance/Interior: 2
All Around Service: 3
Cost: $
Would we recommend it? 5: Yes! And can we come with you?

Madame K's
Romance: 3
Cool Ambiance/Interior: 4
All Around Service: 3
Cost: $$
Would we recommend it? 4: Good! Just not our favorite.