Sunday, February 03, 2008

More tidbits

Finegan's irish Pub is now on 2nd in downtown Renton, where Giant's Causeway was. It wasn't the worst restaurant in Renton, but service was glacially slow and the food wasn't good. Finegan's is owned by the guy who owns the Williams Ave Pub, across the street from Finegan's on Williams.
The Williams Avenue Pub, as previously reviewed on these pages, is a dive bar, but really has great food.
An African restaurant is coming to Skyway, supposedly open soon, the Afriq Restaurant and Lounge will be at 12619 Renton Avenue S. It's Kenyan owned and will feature foods from all over the African diaspora..DJ Peter Alumasa, who owns a record store on Lake City Way, is the owner.

And another BBQ joint is open in Skyway, Champs Bar and BBQ at 12544 Renton Ave S.
Haven't been there, but will try it, as I do love ribs.
But Champs has a formidable competitor across the street at Gabby's Q, previously reviewed on these pages. Gabby's may not have seating, but they have consistently good quality 'Q.

Skyway Park makeover

There is funding available to do a "makeover" of Skyway Park, located behind the Roman Casino in Skyway, two miles west of downtown Renton. Skyway has a terrible reputation as a place where people go if they want to get shot. It's not quite that bad, but it's often less than savory, especially at night.
But people have all kinds of ideas for Skyway Park, which is about 50 acres. Wednesday Feb 6 will be a public meeting about the park at the Fire District training center on 76th Ave S.
Me, I like the idea of devoting a small portion of the park for an off leash dog area. It's a good way to bring people together, and when people with legitimate uses congregate in one area, the folks with less than legitimate uses go somewhere else.
The City of Renton is also forming an off leash dog park steering committee. Call the Renton Parks Department to get placed on their mailing list.

The Caucuses

I'm not talking about the mountain range in Eastern Europe, I'm talking about the party caucuses in Washington State on Saturday February 9th. Call or visit the websites for the King County Democrats or Republicans for your exact location. I've done it a few times, and it's always kind of fun..takes a couple of hours of your time. And you get to feel like you were really part of the political process by showing up.