When a restaurant I like closes, it just breaks my heart. Maybe the restaurant owner feels a great sense of relief, but I'm just crushed. And it's happened to so many Renton restaurants over the years. It's a tough industry. When Gene's Ristorante on S 3rd was sold, it practically killed me. Gene was happy to no longer be working a million hours a week, and with many other irons in the fire, he wasn't able to clone himself. But hooboy was it a great place. I still miss than antipasto. When Japan Thai closed, it hurt. The owners were practically doing handstands they were so happy to get some semblance of a life back. But I was sad. Japanese and Thai food go really well together. When the Aloha BBQ on the Maple Valley Highway closed, I was devastated. That was another place that should have been a lot more successful than it was, fresh, creative, and inexpensive. About a month or two ago, Shuga Jazz Bistro closed. They had an insanely great Happy Hour, as well

First things first. Four Generals Brewing  opens this Friday, July 22nd, at noon. 229 Wells Ave S, beautiful downtown Renton. As Martha Stewart would say " It's a good thing." The Renton River Days parade is this Saturday, July 23rd, at 10 AM, in beautiful downtown Renton. S. 3rd St.( Renton's main drag) will be closed for the parade. It's a fun parade that nicely reflects Renton's diversity. It might be ruined this year by politicians running for office.  If you see some doofus in a pea suit marching in the parade, yeah, that's probably me. Uwajimaya(501 S. Grady Way) has fresh Yukon River Keta salmon filets for 9.99 per pound. You may be asking " Keta salmon? Isn't that another name for pink salmon? The cheap stuff? " Well, technically, yes, Sockeye and King salmon are usually richer, and more flavorful. But Yukon River's salmon are so especially rich and fatty(in a good way), that the Yukon River Keta salmon actually has a higher

C'mon Freddy, don't you mean where you drink beer? No. Because most of the time, when I drink beer, it's at home. But I am a big beer snob, and also a cheapskate.  And also lazy, which means I'm not going to drive half an hour to have a beer. My general guideline, for either refilling my 64 oz beer growler, or to sit down and have a pint or a meal with it, is that it be within about ten minutes from home. So while there are some fantastic breweries and pubs in the Seattle area, if they're not within about ten minutes from home, I'll only go there if I happen to be nearby. Anyway, where do I get beer? If I'm refilling my 64 oz beer growler, it's sometimes at Jude's Old Town in Rainier Beach, Seattle(9252 57th Ave S. Seattle). Jude's has a small selection of well chosen beers that cost only 12 dollars to refill a growler, a great price for a tavern. Jude's also has great food, and comfortable atmosphere. And they have a "growler club