Worst Mongolian Grill Ever - Shang Hai in Puyallup

Kathy and I did not have the puppy, so we thought we might eat out. We were coming back from JLBM and used the GPS to find restaurants as we neared Puyallup. I have always enjoyed the Riverside Mongolian so I thought I would give this a try.

I will say the lady that runs the place is very hard working, she serves drinks and soup, cleans up. Kathy could not eat the egg drop soup, too salty. I could not finish my hot sour soup, it was sweet. Egg rolls were a disaster. I did the beef and bbq pork as my protein for the grill, very tough. Not that much selection. Skip this one! I could kick myself, it is next to Ivar's.

Sorci's is dog friendly 50% of the time, Buttered Biscuit, 100%

Saturday, we finished Yogi's class at Sumner Parks and Rec. Wanted to get some food. Called Sorci's Cameron answered, asked if Yogi could join us at an outside table. He said he needed to ask Jennifer. They were not supportive.

As the summer, hence outdoor table, season comes to an end, we have tried to eat at Sorci's four times. Twice, Tyler answered and they were dog friendly, twice Cameron answered, they were not. Either is fine, it is their restaurant, this is why we always call. However, for the record, we usually order a high end Washington state bottle of wine and I tip 20% at dog friendly venues unless they totally mess up.

So we went to Buttered Biscuit, I had the stuffed grits, (awesome), Kathy had the pot roast, (nicely done), and Kathy had the cucumber margarita and said it was fantastic, I drove.

Buttered Biscuit - Sumner

Tonight was the Sumner wine walk. Kathy and I did not participate since I am not supposed to walk much, but we did go down that way to socialize our puppy Yogi. When we are downtown, we often eat at Sourci's at the outdoor table since they are willing to be selectively dog friendly, (Yogi is in training to become a service dog), but they were chock full.

We noticed the Buttered Biscuit. I had heard of it, but never knew where it was. They say the secret of business is location, location, location. This place seems to be doing well even though I did not know where it was.

They were willing to let us have our dog at one of the outdoor tables. They were even kind enough to bring Yogi water. The menu was a bit overwhelming, they had a gluten free menu, a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu, and we had them all at the same time, (it was six PM).

Kathy had the hash browns with corn tortillas with eggs and artichokes and really liked it. I had the shrimp and cheesy grits. I have had this dish before, but this was the best ever. It came with salad with a sweet dressing, parmesan cheese slices and bacon. I am not big on sweet dressing, when we come back I will ask for no dressing. It also came with cornbread. Now I do not generally like sweet cornbread, but this was almost like cake. Basically if you like comfort food, this is your place.

If you don't, talk with them, they are quite flexible.

Sorci's Italian cafe - New hours

Mon - Thursday 11:30 - 9:00 PM, Friday, Saturday, 11:30 - 10 PM, Sunday 11:30 - 8 PM.

We went there tonight. They let us bring Yogi into the outdoor tables. We brought his mat and he was pretty good. Our server was Tyler who has a half rottweiler, half pitbull so he was comfortable around a dog.

Kathy had the Stuffed Avocado and Minnestrone soup, I had the Lasagna Di Giorno and Yogi had kibbles and salmon treats. We shared a bottle of Sleight of Hands Conjuror, a blend from Walla Walla. Great food, possibly the best lasagna I have ever had.

Hop Jacks - 410 Bonney Lake

The pack was out running errands on 410 when we got hungry and went to Hop Jacks. They have an outside patio and allow dogs there so long as no one complains. Since we were the only people outside, there was no one to complain. Stephen and Kathy shared the  edamame and hummus appetizers, Kathy had the fish taco, Stephen had the soup and salad. I had kibbles.

Several of the staff came to greet me, one even brought me water, but I think our server was afraid of me, you can smell fear you know.

Meeker Days in Puyallup

Friday, after work we hired the Paddywagon service to give us a ride to E. Main and Meridian for Meeker Days. We didn't want to deal with the parking, and this way if we had a glass of wine at the Wine garden driving would not be an issue.

We checked out the street merchants, I finally found a replacement for my Kangaroo skin wallet, it was getting pretty ratty. The brand is Big Skinny and I love it.

We spoke with a lot of nice people and met the most beautiful and well behaved five month old Rottweiler named Roxie. She looked just like Yogi, almost identical markings.

 We had a late lunch/early supper at The Forum, I had the Cuban sandwich, (best I have had in years), and Kathy had the Potato Skins, which she declared awesome.  We will be back. Very friendly wait staff. On the way out, one of the servers told Kathy about Ashley's Room, the consignment shop that had moved next door. She found a dress and a leather purse that she liked.

We walked around some more and were feeling done. So we ducked into Mazatlan, a Mexican restaurant, and called Paddywagon to come get us. A lovely evening.

First outdoor table at Sorci's for the season

It is kind of crazy, but we are enrolled in two different puppy classes on Saturdays. After the first one at the Bonney Lake Petco, we head to Sumner for their Parks and Recs class. We try to get lunch between the two and look for dog friendly establishments.

While we were driving I called Scorci's to see if they would allow a puppy at their outdoor tables. They said yes. When we got there they had a table waiting for us with a water bowl for Yogi. They were a very attentive wait staff, two strapping young men that must lift weights and a pretty young lady. The looked like college students home for the summer time and I think I remember the lady from last summer.

I had the Happy Hour special, three choices for $11 dollars, (meatball slider, asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and the artichoke dip). Kathy had the puttanesca pizza, Yogi had kibbles, (we did training while waiting for the food to arrive).

We will make every effort to come back before it gets too hot for an outdoor table.

Sumner Parks and Rec Dog Obedience Class

Kathy and I took our puppy Yogi for the first class in the Basic Dog Obedience class.  The instructor, Jim Grasley, seems to be quite experienced. There are other activities as well.

Lincoln Memorial 3 and Brank's BBQ

We were very touched by the Lincoln Person Memorial Ride for the family and memory of the little boy that was killed. Big thanks to Urban Timber Coffee for hosting it.

The wooden plaque was very touching and we got to sign it.

They served Branks BBQ there as an additional fundraiser. It was pretty tasty and we had never been. So we went today. They were dog friendly for the outdoor tables, (thanks guys). Turns out they have an all you can eat buffet on Wednesdays. Best BBQ chicken I have ever tasted, (other than my parents). The potato salad is also epic and clearly house made. I am soooooo stuffed. I accidentally dropped a piece of chicken and our puppy Yogi said he liked it too. I will be back!

Sumner Rd.

Not Washington State's Sumner, New Zealand. Sumner road was badly damaged in the Christchurch earth quake. This amazing video shows the situation.