Bremelog.com

Check out the art in this picture. You can see the pie-flipper waiting to take my order.

Yeah, I was surprised, too. I wandered into Boston’s (206 Burwell, Bremerton), absolutely starving — for food and clear-headed thinking — after Norm Dicks’ town hall meeting at the conference center. And because Fritz was closed — dude, there were hundreds of people streaming out after the town hall — I made my way up to a freshly baked pepperoni pizza, served by the slice at Boston’s, and found a new place to drink beer.

Anyway, I’m not hear to go long on the Boston’s experience, only that they serve cheap, GOOD beer all day every day, and they’re open past 9 p.m. That’s $2.35 for their bottles — Stella, Heineken, etc. — and $2 for draft beer — Sam Adams (woof!). I’ll be stickin’ with Stella.

All illustrations by Jessica Randklev

Dear The Bremelogger: You take the ferry because there’s nothing for you in Bremerton. Not even the employees of the county’s largest employer — PSNS — will live there. So don’t come crying to me that someone less tubby than yourself out-hustled you to the hot seat out of nowheresville.

But let’s get right down to the point. The boat’s empty, at least by Island standards. It’s empty because there aren’t many of you mental enough to necessitate proper accommodations.

We have pseudo “assigned seating” on Bainbridge Ferries because there are precious few. You on the other hand can throw a rock between you and the closest person and miss. That’s not just because you and your city has no athletic achievement to speak of. It’s because everyone else has figured out that if you don’t get back on the boat, you don’t have to return to Bremerton.

BTW, I just want to point something out. Even when we lose a boat WSF directs people away from Bremerton: “Edmonds/Kingston is strongly encouraged as an alternate route” is on repeat over there. What they’re effectively saying is Bremerton is strongly discouraged. And with good reason.

Washington States Ferries wishes Bremerton didn’t exist. So do the rest of us.

Sincerely,
Old Man Winslow

OK, so it took an hour since we last checked for a gimp Bainbridge run to steal a boat from Bremerton. File this under SHOCKINGLY PREDICTABLE. Bremerton’s down to one boat for at least the rest of the day. Smart money says to check with WSF tomorrow before you get to the termingal in the morning and discover that your usual boat is servicing Bainbridge.

How long will it take for them to steal a boat from Bremerton? Anybody? Follow along here for details.

The fireworks get started at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the ballroom of Bremerton’s Kitsap Conference Center (you know, the place behind Anthony’s at the ferry terminal). Yes, that means you can take full advantage of Anthony’s happy hour (3 to 6:30 p.m.) before you get talking about public options, death panels, and underground tunnels.

The whole event will be broadcast live on KitsapSun.com if you insist on participating in democracy from the comfort of your couch. Here’s hoping for a lively, respectful debate, Bremeton style.

Between the time he was called to dinner and finally took his seat, Thursday evening, I had a chance to catch up with former Bremerton mayoral candidate Carlos Jara. He was reorganizing his office when I called, cleaning up what became ground zero for his long-shot campaign for mayor.

From the beginning Jara — the youngest, least politically experienced, and final candidate to enter the five-person primary campaign — knew he was the underdog. But at the end of the day, he brought in 12 percent of the vote, earned the endorsement (along with Will Maupin) of the Kitsap Sun’s editorial board, and impressed finalist Patty Lent enough for her to proclaim that he would make a fine candidate for small-business liaison.

Here’s what we talked about:

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So, there I was, sitting at the bar at Bremerton’s Hi-Fidelity last weekend when a sailor took notice of my beverage. I informed him that it was, indeed, a gimlet: gin, sugar, and lime juice. He was intrigued, and I offered him a chance to get his lips around it. He did, and he loved it. For the next 35 minutes, he an I kept ordering gimlets and we each drank from all the glasses that came our way. A little strange, I admit.

At any rate, gimlets and cheeseburgers are flowing this weekend at Hi-Fidelity. I only order gimlets at the Hi-Fi. I mean, I have the occasional beer, but this is the only place I drink gimlets. It’s also the only place I share gimlets with sailors.

“If you can die at any moment, you might as well drink beer.”

Check out the results of the club-sponsored 2009 Kitsap County Fair Homebrew Competition.