Dear, sweet, wonderful people who will be at Gally...

[gypsylady]

After going through the hell that is extended unemployment, I have raided my retirement fund. It is well worth it, to get me to Gallifrey One next week. I can't afford anything fancy but I will be there, possibly cosplaying Sarah Jane because I have the necessary parts and because I adore Lis Sladen. I will also be knitting with the folks I've met

Comments

[rm]

I can't touch bread, but my team has a rental car, so if you want to make a supermarket run with us, that's cool.

[gypsylady]

If I can find a gf beer, would you like one? I can't promise they have it at the airport store but I can at least try. I know of two local breweries that grew a gf ale. Or Bob's Red Mill is local to me and their gf mixes are incredible.

BTW, I realize it matters not at all to you (NEW YORK!) but good deli is hard to come by in Portland, too. If anyone wants to head out to Fairfax (is that still the Jewish restaurant row?) on Sunday at some point I would hug them till they squeaked!

I love Portland and wouldn't leave here without really good cause, but the lack of good deli and good bagels is killing me... (I finally decided I need to learn to make my own bagels.)

Thank you for the offer. Even if it's not just for bagels, I don't really want to eat all my meals at the hotel restaurants and a grocery run would be most helpful.

[gypsylady]

grew? Damn fumble fingers. BREW!

[rm]

The hotel restaurants aren't bad but pretty limited in terms of food (and the salads are terrible). So yes, come with us. I'm not sure when we'll make runs yet, but probably at least once on Thursday and once on Friday (honestly, I'm so like "let's go to in-and-out burger" which is 3/4s the way there, it'll be a lot).

I would LOVE gluten-free beer if you can find any. Gally always feels like a better occasion, but they don't have any and they don't have cider (which I'm no longer allowed to drink) either.

I have no idea from Jewish delis in LA or what my SUnday looks like yet, but there may be temptation.

[dryad271]

I know this will sound insane...but the Bagelry in Bellingham has ACTUAL BAGELS. Like, people from New York say "THAT IS A BAGEL" when they eat 'em. So there is hope. :)

Kettleman's are pretty damn good but not as good as the Bagelry.

I also hear good things about the bagels at Kenny and Zuke's but haven't tried them myself.

[gypsylady]

Bellingham is a bit of a commute. Isn't it nearly an hour north of Seattle?

I haven't made it to Kenny & Zuke's but I've read good reviews of their pastrami. I'll let you know if I ever get there.

[dryad271]

More like 1.5-2, but if you're ever up there, well worth it ;) Have you tried Kettleman's?

[gypsylady]

Is Kettleman's the one near Pioneer Place? I've gotten their bagels and they're good but that's just in comparison to what else is available. I had a classmate once who had come here from New York and she and I would meet there sometimes before class but she noticed that even at Kettleman's the emphasis is on good coffee rather than the bagels.

I love coffee, mind you, but honestly....

There used to be a bagel place up near the Jewish Community Center that had really great bagels but it got sold to an hispanic family who make bagels but they're not much different than Winco.

[paragraphs]

I think I should get my lazy act together and send you some bagels from the one place here I know of that does all the proper boiling and everything, and see what you think. The owner hails from proper bagel land, and everyone swears by her bagels, but I want to know what an expert thinks!

And Starbucks bagels? LOL!! Round dough. Central Market: round dough. I don't know about Einstein's Bagels, Boopas are the only ones I know for sure have the big proper bagel equipment.

Glad you are going to Gally! It'll do you good to have some fun, and put those worries aside a bit. *hugs!*

[gypsylady]

The Hawaiian bagel we get at Starbucks here is tasty, but its not a bagel. It's a soft loaf of bread shaped liked a bagel, but it's sweet and tasty. I can't quite eat it with cream cheese, but that's just me.

The exciting thing about Winco bagels is that they actually boil them. The sad thing is that they use a regular bread dough. So it's got almost the right texture and it's not overly sweet. But it's not entirely bagel-like. They use fresh onion in their onion bagels, though, so I can forgive a lot.

[paragraphs]

See that is what I am curious about re; Boopas's--they definitely boil them, but is the dough right? I have no basis for comparison, at all. I just know they are my favs, and when I am over that way I buy a BUNCH. LOL.

[vipersweb]

*hugs* I sympathize with the unemployment gig. Mine just ended as I've landed a three month temp job after not working at all for close to a year. So yeah... know where you're coming from completely.

[gypsylady]

Thanks! Every time I hear about how the economy is improving, I want to throw my shoe at the television. It's only improving if I (and my other unemployed friends, of which there are quite a few) are working.

Good luck on that temp; any chance it'll go permanent?

[vipersweb]

Exactly! I stopped listening to the news because I couldn't take it. And it sucks b/c it has put an unbelievable amount of strain on my relationship since we've been essentially living on his meager grad student salary. Which isn't of the good.

I have no idea if it'll go permanent. I'm hoping it is, since that will be a big relief for me and the boyfr. Not just in the economic sense, though that is a big one, but also just will make our relationship healthier and stronger.

About the only good thing that has come out of the whole mess of being unemployed has been that we've strained our relationship but have stayed together, which I think bodes well for our future together.