Clearwater Casino

Not at all about coffee, but worth writing about just the same...

Said Noel to Alisa, driving back to Bainbridge Island from Poulsbo, where we ate a delicious, but salty lunch at Voodies: Have we driven by the casino yet?
Alisa: No, why?
Noel: I'd love a free lemonade.
Alisa: Laughing hysterically. "Really? You'd go there just for a free lemonade? and not gamble?"
Noel: Don't shame me. It's not that funny.
Alisa: Oh, I'm so all over this. Let's do it!

I pulled up into the valet area of the casino entrance and pulled over, while Noel casually sauntered inside to raid the free beverage station.

Said Noel to Alisa: You're not going to tell anyone about this are you?
Alisa: I can't keep this to myself. Really, I admire your thriftiness. This is really delicious lemonade, by the way.
Noel: I know, right?...I'm never going to live this down, am I?
Alisa: Snaps Noel's picture on her cell phone camera, leaving the casino with the stolen lemonade. Still giggling, she says, "Nope, baby, I'm sorry, you're not. It'll be on facebook by 6 o'clock."

Unfortunately, the next time we craved a free beverage, I made the mistake of going into the Casino with Noel, whereupon I dropped $20 in about 5 minutes on the penny slots. That's the difference between me and Noel. In the end, the casino got theirs...they always do...

Sureshot

Pinball machines, computers, wifi, and coffee, oh my! What an interesting combination of things to lure local college students to drop a few dollars. Despite the great location on University Avenue, Yelp reviewers don't have nice things to say about the supposedly rude service or blaring, metal music. I think we must have hit it on a good day.

It was only 11am, Thai Toms wasn't yet open, and I was starving for something other than a muffin to tide me over to lunch. So we wandered around and stumbled upon Sureshot's steamy windows and a chalkboard sign, which read, "Chili". Mmm, a cup of chili would be the perfect thing to tide me over until lunch on this dreary winter morning. I ordered my chili minus the usual cheese and onions because I've been battling some kind of ulcer, and my doctor told me not to eat dairy to see if it's aggravating my condition. Of course, she probably wouldn't recommend eating spicy chili and a soy latte, but she wasn't there, so I ordered them with a guilty look on my face because Noel knew my doctor would scold me if she knew. I also scored a delicious-looking vegan, coconut-encrusted, blueberry muffin - for Noel, or so I told myself. I'm not a muffin person, but I am a coconut person, and I was pretty hungry, and I knew Noel would eat it despite her protestations that she really wasn't hungry.

So, to my fellow reviewers on Yelp, I must say, we loved Sureshot. The service was fine, the music enjoyable and maintained at a low volume, the food was delicious, the coffee, fine (nothing like soy milk to ruin a perfectly good cup of coffee, right?), and the muffin, delectable and moist. That's a lot coming from someone who doesn't eat muffins. I do enjoy a good apple fritter and the occasional donut, though.

The best part about our visit to Sureshot were the antics of a customer's crazy-eyed dog, who looked just like the famous Blue Dog painted by George Rodrigue. He stood patiently in front of the counter for what seemed like forever, then finally losing patience with the customers who were continually served before him, he finally climbed up on the counter, as if shouting, "Hey, stop treating me like a dog and give me some service!"

Thoroughly full, satisfied and entertained, we pulled ourselves up from the cozy, brown leather love seat and continued onto Buffalo Exchange where Noel suffered through twenty minutes of me shopping for used shoes and clothing. But baby, that's what you get for dating a femme.

15th Avenue Coffee and Tea

15th Avenue Coffee and Tea offers a creative variety of international beverages, so many, in fact, that we asked the pretty barista to choose one for us. I confessed that I almost exclusively drink French Roast, and know little about other coffees. She informed me that the origin of French Roast involved combining old, unused, coffee beans and roasting the heck out of them to make a strong, nondescript brew, as an alternative to throwing out the undesirable beans. Well, we can't have that, so at her suggestion, Noel ordered the Ethiopian Sun-Dried Yirgacheffe. Switching it up a bit, I ordered the Japanese Genmaicha, my favorite tea, to go. Genmaicha is a uniquely robust tea, containing both green tea and toasted, popped rice, which gives it a strong, roasted flavor.

15th Avenue does put on a great show. They utlize a pour-over, Melita-like filter system to brew each individual cup of drip coffee. Unfortunately, by the time Noel's coffee had finished dripping through what I learned was a technologically advanced design over the old Melita drip cone, it was already getting cold, and I was suddenly spending an additional $22, to purchase the superior plastic cone and accompanying filters.

After receiving a crash course in coffee selection and brewing, I wish that I could tell you the coffee was rich, and the tea, roasty. But neither was the case. The coffee tasted bitter, and the tea, tasteless. Fortunately, they were out of stock on the cones, so I got out of there without spending the additional money....turns out I'm perfectly happy with my old, chipped, ceramic cone, purchased at the Women's Craft show in San Francisco eons ago.

Dear Starbucks, You've designed a beautiful, local-style coffee shop, educated your baristas, and chosen what appears to be a great selection of coffees and teas. But it still doesn't work. Maybe you should stick to the old formula. Not as sexy, but consistent and reliable...Meanwhile, Noel and I found another use for our drinks. Hand warmers.