A clean, well-lighted place: Hungry Cat

Listening to today's podcast from Slate Magazine, which has some interesting commentary on Starbucks and their "cannibalizing themselves to death" by cutting their stores in rural and smaller metropolitan markets. A side point was made by one of the editors that the store STILL charges for wireless internet, a long-time pet peeve of mine that is beyond comprehension. Starbucks used to be in cahoots with T-Mobile, locked into some sort of contractual agreement, and now it's recently signed on with Verizon, an equally large corporation, and continues with this tragic flaw. For me, it really cuts to the heart of their whole philosophy. While advertising their stores as a "community living room," they still have the audacity to charge the people that pay already outrageous prices for their coffee for internet as well. *End soapbox* Sorry. It's always chapped my hide. :)

So, on to other things. Last night we watched the kids for a while for Gretchen, and then decided to go to Hungry Cat, one of our favorite restaurants in SB, after our Fiesta plans fell through. I hear they also have one down in Hollywood we'll have to try next time we're in LA. We pretty much blew all the money we earned babysitting, which probably should've gone towards paying down the credit card, but we definitely deserved it. It's amazing how a dozen raw oysters on the half shell and some white wine can make things seem a lot brighter. We also had some local sea bass and their bread pudding with bittersweet chocolate for dessert, both of which were impeccable. I like how minimalist the ambiance is also - very east coast. And it's also SO refreshing when you can find a restaurant that is open until midnight here. They're like hidden treasures to me. Anyone who has ever lived in a small town knows what I mean. :) Good night, overall I think.