My new favorite thing...

OK, you may have heard me rant about how I hate that wherever you go in this great big land of ours, it's the same strip malls with the same stores and the same restaurants, and how I strive to eat at local places. And I did a fair amount of that in the Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR area - Gustav's (German food where you can get a burger served on a pretzel bun and fondue for an appetizer), Pambiche (cuban food - grubbin'!), Namaste (Indian Food), Tin Shed (Breakfast), Eleni's Estiatorio or Philoxenia (Greek food,grubbin' but expensive), and Wavy Gravy's - best damned biscuits and gravy anywhere ever - and the best hash browns - like a little potato nest.


And then there's Red Robin. Practically ubiquitous. Rachel and I went there because it was one of the few places open when Rachel arrived late in the evening. So we went. And I ordered the Royal Burger. And that is my new favorite thing:

ROYAL RED ROBIN BURGER™
This is the aristocrat of all burgers because we crown it with a fresh fried egg. In addition, topped with three strips of hickory maplesmoked bacon, American cheese, crisp lettuce, tomatoes and mayo.

Here's a weird, weird thing - There was one near the office and one near my hotel. And they were identical - same exterior, same plants, same layout, same menu, same balloons - I mean right down to the Star Wars Pinball machine. OK, I'll grant there were slight differences in the young attractive hostesses, but we're talking differences in perhaps shade of lipstick, amount of hair highlights, and possibly cup size.

Anyway, I had this strange vertigo combined with deja vu and a mild panic attack. I'd called in my order and for a few minutes, I could not remember where I was - whether I was taking my food back to my hotel room to eat and then sleep a little before going back to work, or just straight back to work to work more and eat. That was a little spooky.