Chef Dolan Lane, most recently executive chef at Bluehour, has landed at Meriwether’s restaurant: 2601 NW Vaughn in Portland. I am told that “he has already changed the menu to reflect their farm ethos”. Meriwether’s, which has been around since 2003, is known for a really nice space and lovely back patio.
Another tip says that Acapulco Mexican Restaurant y Cantina has closed. “Not exactly fine dining but a loss for a part of town severely lacking in decent places to eat.” It was at 10566 S. E. Washington St. No word on what is next for the spot.
I’ve talked about this story before, but as it plods along and comes to a conclusion, I’m bringing it up again. I am referring to the accusations that a chain of Washington state drive up coffee stands were encouraging the baristas to flash customers in exchange for er… large tips. Some recent statements by the Snohomish County deputy prosecutor raised my eyebrows.
“Her baristas made money mostly on tips, saying they could earn hundreds of thousands of dollars, authorities said. The women said they could make up to $14 for baring their breasts or genitals and charged more for sex acts, according to charging documents.”
“The sales goals were effectively rent that the girls paid to have the opportunity to perform lewd conduct or acts of prostitution,” Hendrix wrote.
The documents say that Panico could deduct money if the women failed to wear high heels throughout their shifts, did not have a tan or failed to put on makeup.”
Now just wait one minute. “Hundreds of thousands of dollars” for baring their breasts at $14 a pop? Just how much business were these stands doing? That works out to 7,142 flashes, or, assuming a 5 day workweek, 793 times a day. These poor women must have had chapped chests from raising their shirts so often. Lines for coffee must have been blocks long. A veteran sheriff’s sergeant is accused of tipping off the owners before any police enforcement activity, but I have a feeling he was also directing traffic!
According to The Daily Herald, the baristas “charged more for sex acts”. First of all, the mechanics of that defy my imagination, and secondly, that explains why I spent 15 minutes in line the last time I stopped for coffee in Washington – and there was only one car in front of me (he ordered French press).
Anyway, owner Carmela Panico pleaded guilty this morning, has surrendered $250,000 in cash that was seized from her home, and has turned over her five coffee stands over to the city of Everett.
Five coffee stands. Hmm. I guess cities have to make money any way they can.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® has moved a large amount of fish from their “Avoid” listing to their list of “Good Alternative” or “Best Choice” lists. In a blog post this morning-
New and updated recommendations for September 2014 include cabezon, crab, dogfish, groundfish, grouper, grenadier, lingcod, lobster, Pacific cod, sablefish and skate. The most exciting news is that all groundfish caught in California, Oregon and Washington are now either a Seafood Watch “Good Alternative” or “Best Choice.” This reflects a continuing pattern of improvement for U.S.-managed fisheries.
Report highlights:
- All trawl- and longline-caught rockfish have been upgraded from “Avoid” to either “Good Alternative” or “Best Choice”
- Major flatfish species—including Dover sole, English sole, Pacific sanddab and rex sole—have been upgraded from “Good Alternative” to “Best Choice”
- Pacific grenadier has been upgraded from “Avoid” to “Good Alternative”
- U.S. Pacific spiny dogfish has been upgraded from “Avoid” to “Best Choice”
- 13 of the species in this report are certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
Factors contributing to fishery improvements and recommendation upgrades include reductions in the catch of overfished species, additional species stock assessments and area closures to protect vulnerable habitat. The new assessments also factor in other fishery management efforts, including quotas that better account for uncertainty and the implementation of catch shares, which contribute to species upgrades.
Seafood Watch® is a registered trademark of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation.
For the last story of the day, this report from The Onion, that The sandwich chain says it is ‘deeply sorry’ if customers mistakenly believed that eating an entire foot of food could somehow be considered healthy. You can watch a news story about it here.
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