Lincolnite

There's a big game in town this weekend. But it won't be the men in red everybody is focused on. Instead, all eyes will be on the men in green. Who do you think will come out smelling prettier: the Top Dog, or the Underdog?

John Q. Hammons has bailed out of the Q Street project. That shouldn't come as a surprise considering how little effort he put into his proposal. The good news is Hammons is still eager to build a hotel and convention center in the Haymarket. Could Lincoln have two new downtown hotels within the next five or ten years? That'd be something, wouldn't it? What are the odds that the Cornhusker could survive all the new competition?

I went ahead and added Police Chief Tom Casady's blog to the blogroll today. It's a new blog, but so far the posts look promising.

I had an unplanned day off today. Robert was feeling pretty crummy and he was running a bit of a fever. I took him to the doctor this morning. We didn't come away with a solid diagnosis, but it looks like some sort of infection in his throat. We'll give antibiotics a try and see what happens. Frankly, I'm glad I got to take the day off. I felt pretty crummy myself all day, but without Robert's illness, I probably would have gone to work anyway. I'm weird that way. Even though spending a day with a cranky kid isn't the best way to recover, the warm fuzzies I get from playing dad make it worthwhile. I'm not sure if Robert and I will go back to our normal routines tomorrow. Robert is obviously still tired and uncomfortable, and right now my eyeballs feel like they're going to pop. Either way, I know I will have to plan to referee a soccer game or two tomorrow evening. There are lots of games in town tomorrow and not enough referees. Stepping up in those situations is what you do when your father is the referee assignor. So anyway, hopefully I'll manage to get a couple posts up at some point tomorrow. See you then!

My niece turned three yesterday, and to celebrate family and friends gathered at Chuck E. Cheese. Or as I call it, Upchuck E. Cheese. When I first walked in I was shocked at how small the place is. In my mind I remember the old Showbiz Pizza being huge. But now, shoot, there's nothing to the place. It was also much, much quieter than I remember, even with all of the screaming munchkins running around. The slightly freaky animatronic critters on stage hardly even make a peep. Makes you wonder why they're there at all. I have to give the Cheese credit for two things. First, the pizza wasn't nearly as awful as I feared. Faint praise, sure, but it's the best I can do. Chuck's pizza won't win any awards, but it isn't really trying to. The food isn't the point at Chuck E. Cheese. Second, I give a very enthusiastic round of applause for the fact that pretty much every game and ride only requires one token (a quarter or less, if you have a coupon). (I didn't check every ride, so some of the contraptions may cost more than one token.) I was flat-out shocked to only have to pay a quarter to play pinball. How many pinball machines these days can be played for a quarter? Not many. I won't be rushing back to Chuck E. Cheese any time soon, but at least I won't have to dread it quite as much the next time my niece wants to go there. I had better get used to the idea of going there occasionally, because with my niece being a fan, there's pretty much no way I can hide it from Robbie.

It's hard to disagree with the City Council's decision to restore the position of auditor for the City of Lincoln. I won't go so far as to imply that the firetruck mess wouldn't have happened had we had an auditor on staff, as Ken Svoboda did. But it sure wouldn't have hurt. Once we have an auditor, it will be interesting to see how well the City Council, Mayor, and others play with him or her. As representatives and employees of the public, they should embrace the auditor and make her job as easy as possible. Unfortunately, government often doesn't work that way, with inertia, turf battles, and other barriers getting in the way. Cross your fingers.

If the City and UNL were able to build an ice rink would you use it? I can't help but feel like there wouldn't be enough interest to keep an ice rink open over the long term, but I don't think I have enough of a feel for the local demand to trust my intuition on this one. Do you think it would last? Where could it be located to minimize start-up costs and maximize usage?

The Zesto on South Street has been sold in order to settle a lawsuit related to the landmark's name. T.J. Group Investments, owners of a Zesto in Wahoo, acquired the seasonal ice cream stand, while former owners Dave and Sandy Wolfe will retain the year-round location on Pine Lake Road. I don't know about you, but I can't stand the Pine Lake Road location. It's like going to a Husker volleyball match at the Devaney Center. Sure, it's the same Husker volleyball team that plays at the Coliseum, but games at Devaney feel unnatural. That's the way it is for me with the two Zesto locations. There's something very unnatural about eating Zesto in a strip mall parking lot. Fortunately for the Wolfes not everybody feels that way. My parents, for example, will probably visit them three times a week this summer.

Last night around 8:30pm The Missus was sitting on the couch reading the newspaper. She pointed to the front page and predicted, "Tomorrow's front page will be the annual Easter dinner at daVinci's." Oops, not quite. It was on page 1B this morning. So close. The article didn't mention how many people were served this year, but it did say that 400 pizzas and 400 pounds of pasta were prepared.

The Missus, Robbie, and I ate at The Isles in Havelock for the first time last night. We will most definitely go back. The Isles isn't out to impress anybody. It has a classic love-it-or-hate-it atmosphere, complete with plastic plates and the distinct odor of beer, pizza, and cigarettes. That's right, after all this time The Isles still smells like the smoking ban went into effect just a week ago. The interior is much smaller than I expected, and though there was plenty of seating when we showed up around 5:45, there were several groups standing around waiting for tables when we left. Note to parents: The Isles only has one high chair (which we managed to snag), so you might want to have a backup plan in the event it is taken. Service was good. It was just as friendly as you would hope from a true neighborhood establishment, and our waitress was plenty attentive. She didn't bring out The Missus' salad until after our pizza arrived, but since The Missus was feeding Robbie, the waitress may have thought she was being helpful. Or maybe that's how they do it at The Isles. Or maybe she just forgot it. In any event, she probably should have asked when The Missus wanted it. Neighborhood joints usually aren't renowned for the excellence of their side salads, so The Missus wasn't expecting much more than iceberg lettuce in a bowl. Instead, her salad was surprisingly fresh and green. In addition, Robbie gives the accompanying Club crackers two slobbery thumbs up. We ordered a medium pizza with half green peppers and mushrooms (The Missus), and half pepperoni and cream cheese (me). Both of us really enjoyed our slices. I was feeling hungry so I chomped through all four of my slices; The Missus made it through two of hers. For me, the pizza at The Isles fills a nice void that other local pizza joints leave open. Whether or not that's true for you will depend on what you want out of a pizza. In my case, I like The Isles' tasty and plentiful (but not excessive) sauce; the plentiful toppings; and the soft and floppy (but not doughy) crust. In short, the only disappointing thing about going to The Isles last night was realizing that I had been missing out on something good for all these years. I've been experiencing that feeling a lot more often lately as I gradually break out of my old ruts and explore the city's dining scene more thoroughly.

With all of this talk about the new building at 14th and Q, it has made me think about what sort of amenities I would put on that corner if I had a few million burning a hole in my pocket. Here are five things I would put in my building:

1. A below-ground restaurant, bar, and/or entertainment venue. There's just something special about entertainment under ground. Remember when Spaghetti Works was in the basement? The atmosphere was much neater than it is today.
2. Quality student housing. I'm not talking party central here, but quality housing options including lofts.
3. Rooftop reception and party space, perhaps with an attached top-floor restaurant.
4. Some sort of a connection with the nearby civic plaza at 13th and P.
5. A three- or four-screen second-run theater. Hey, why not?

After seeing the photograph that accompanies the article, I'm definitely going to Acapulco (1501 Centerpark Road, 420-0058). Mmm, looks tasty. I probably shouldn't judge a restaurant on one photograph alone, so let's see what else the article says. A salsa bar? Hot dog. Green tomatillo salsa on the enchiladas? I'm crossing my fingers that it's something like the salsa at Cristina's in Crete. Large seafood menu? Seafood sounds really tasty right now, even though it's not even 7:30 in the morning. I need to check this place out.

A few details about the parking garage/high-rise project on Q Street were described in today's Journal Star. Most disappointing is the non-proposal from John Hammons; I think a lot of folks considered him to be a front-runner, after his hotel proposal on 17th Street was shot down due to concerns about using eminent domain to boot existing property owners. The other two projects are much more interesting. The first is from Dial Realty, a $45 million, 13-story project featuring a 112-room Residence Inn by Marriott and a 600-stall parking garage. The project would also include entertainment, office, and retail space, including two floors occupied by Sinclair Hille. The second is a much -- much -- bigger project from Lincoln Synergy Group. Their project would feature a "22-story tower with 726-stall garage, 150-room full-service hotel, 104 apartments and more than 140,000 square feet of office and retail space." But that's not all. They also propose to redevelop all or part of the block across the street to the north. That building would include 700 more parking spaces, retail space, room for UNL offices, and 245 retirement units, all within 18 stories. The price tag for the two projects? $180 million. In terms of "wow" factor obviously Lincoln Synergy Group is the winner. To a certain extent "wow" should be a major factor in determining which group gets the project. "Wow" projects generate excitement and momentum -- just what Lincoln needs to boost economic development, attract (and retain) employers, and move toward completion of the 2015 Vision Group's pillars and other priorities. But Lincoln has been promised "wow" before, only to receive much less. Consider, for example, just how difficult it could be to convince property owners on the north block to move. (It's not clear how many would have to move to make room for the proposal.) Although Lincoln Synergy Group's proposal is very exciting, Dial Realty's project is very attractive to me for the simple reason that it sounds achievable. Which is your favorite? What ideas do you like, and which rub you the wrong way?

Lincolnite will be going naked on Thursday, April 5, 2007, to celebrate CSS Naked Day. It's a day to strip websites down to their bare bits, exposing the raw (x)HTML for all to see. What's the point? Well, for one thing this is how geeky web developers get their kicks. But more importantly, it helps to expose flaws in a site's design, especially for folks who rely on assistive technologies (e.g. screen readers) to browse the web. What do you think? Does Lincolnite hold together well without the facade of colors, graphics, and other design elements? I know what I think, but I would like to know your opinions.

The Missus tells me that the Hy-Vee at 40th and Old Cheney, usually a reliable source for matzo and other Passover goodies, didn't carry any items for the holiday this year. We didn't host a seder this year, but I could still go for a bowl of matzo ball soup. I know the Sun Mart on South Street usually carries Passover products. Are any other stores carrying Passover goods this year?