Week Ten: Evangelos and Mariko

The house is finally coming together! Everything is clean and in it's place, the last pieces of furniture are set to be delivered, and Lola and Smokey have finally adjusted to each other. With the hideous yellow living room walls freshly painted a light gray, we opened our doors to the first on-time couple so far: Evangelos and Mariko.



Erica and I were very excited to host our first dinner with the living/dining room somewhat resembling a place one could live and or dine. There was only one box left leaning against the wall, the color was now deemed wifely acceptable, and we even had our new dining table and wine bar all set up. The awful mantle piece, of course, stayed put.




I met Evan at Roosevelt High School, sophomore year. For lack of a better term, we were drinking buddies. He was friends with the whole clique, and that group expanded to be even larger by our senior year. But ever since I've known him, he's been one of the gang.

One thing I know about Evan is he has an insane poker face while conducting awkward humor. As a practitioner of amateur comedy, I am deeply impressed with his ability to keep a straight face while proposing ridiculous things. So when I texted him to confirm our date and get dinner details, and his response was "I think we're good, we just need to lock down a sitter," I honestly thought he was messing with me. I texted our mutual friend Danny (next Week's guest) and asked if Evan had a kid that I didn't know about it. Turns out he does and she is 13.

Wow. I had seen Evan off and on since I returned to WA from CO, but how could I miss this? It was clear I had a lot of catching up to do. I hit Evan back about the food and drinks, and he said they were easy and would do whatever, so I chose to make salmon, because I have never cooked fish before. He later texted me asking if the meal was Israel conscious, which I then took seriously, but this was a joke.



I picked up four fillets of Alaskan Sockeye, and had my parents forward me their recipe. They cook salmon as follows: oil a skillet, salt and pepper the fish, place the fish skin down first and cook it on medium high for about 2 minutes on each side. Add in julienne bell peppers (red, orange and yellow) and a diced shallot and continue to cook and flip the fish for a few more minutes. Turn down the heat and add in a cup of OJ, four teaspoons of lime juice and four teaspoons of lemon juice. Simmer the mix with a lid for 8 minutes, making sure not to overcook the meat. Sprinkle with dill weed on the back end and you're finished.



To accompany the meal, I added Indonesian brown rice (from PCC) and steamed broccoli with a slice of lemon on the side. We served it with ice water and a sauvignon blanc. And thus far, I would say, thanks to the help of my parents and PCC, it was the best cooked meal to date! Especially because we ended the dinner with a small slice of NY cheesecake.



The meal was great, and so was the company. I dove deep into catching up with Evan and found out multiple things I was in the dark on: Mariko has a 13 year-old daughter, Evan and Mariko have two Boston Terriers, and they just purchased a house together in the Wedgewood area. I was such a wild card when I was younger, and Evan and I were so different, it was awesome to connect and see how similar we have become growing up. This was a very mature dinner party.

Mariko is from Japan and met Evan via her former co-worker Wakako, who is married to our mutual friend Theo. I took that opportunity to sneak my music into the conversation (and inevitably play it) by asking her what the writing on the back of The Let Go's Japanese release said. It said FREE SAMPLE. No wonder we never got paid beyond the advance...



Erica and I stumbled into our "how we met" story, and kind of dropped the ball a bit. I could see her horrified look as I flirted with the idea of diving into a long-winded Alaskan tale, or falsely accusing her of bar-hopping for boys, so I grazed over the topic. We are going to have to accept that this will just be a formality of a DD. Standard protocol of the exchange of information. But it was the only point in the evening conversation lagged.

We did the Table Topics. Blasted some music. Opened a second, then third bottle of wine. Played with the dog and set a date for homemade sushi at their place sometime in the future. I very much enjoy Evan and Mariko as people.



There were a few things I can definitely say about this double date. First, I was surprised at how smooth and comfortable it went, Evan and I have always been casual acquaintances. Second, it felt great to spend time with a couple on a comparable path going through similar things. Third, at the end of the year Couples Awards, Evangelos and Mariko will certainly get Coolest Names, and, of course, First On-Time Couple.

Next week, Erica and I will be hosting hopefully on-time Danny and Julie. Stay TUNED.