Lincolnite

My father and I ate lunch at the new El Sitio location at 47th and Pioneers yesterday. Here's a quick look. As you can see, there isn't too much to see on the inside. That shouldn't surprise those of you who are familiar with the building. It's pretty small. Note, however, that they did manage to add a few booths along the edges. Here's a look at what they've done with the front counter. The entire experience says "simple". Which is fine, really. El Sitio is very much a neighborhood-style restaurant. As with the general appearance, service was simple as well. There was only a single waitress while we were there. She kept up with the pace just fine. Once we sat she invited us to help ourselves to some chips and salsa. The chips were your standard corn chips. The salsas weren't my favorite. They weren't bad, but for my tastes they ventured too close to Pace territory. My father had no complaints. The lunch menu consists of about a dozen combination plates, each priced at $6.99. It's a smart strategy for such a small restaurant: limit selection and keep pricing reasonable. The strategy paid off on our visit. Mere minutes after ordering our food arrived. My father ordered an enchilada and tamale: He had been hoping for a chile relleno -- his Mexican restaurant default -- but there wasn't one offered on the lunch menu. Nevertheless he enjoyed his meal just fine. For my meal I went with a chicken chimichanga. I use chimichangas as a barometer of sorts for assessing Mexican restaurants. If it's fried to death, for example, it suggests that there isn't much TLC going on in the kitchen. As you can see from the photo, my chimichanga was fried to a light brown. Perfect. It was presented nicely as well. The biggest surprise was the cheese sauce on top. The menu said something about cheese on top, but nacho cheese sauce wasn't what I was expecting. It felt like a very American touch. Again, that's not necessarily a bad thing, it just really caught me off guard. I had never been to El Sitio's old 17th and Van Dorn location, primarily because nobody ever talked about the place. Its new location is significantly more visible, so that should help them quite a bit. The overall experience isn't going to knock anybody's socks off, but that's ok. It seems to be a nice, unpretentious, neighborhood-style restaurant that I'm happy to have just up the road from my house. I look forward to going back at dinner to see how that menu differs.

LPS's Marilyn Moore says she is going to retire at the end of the school year. Yeah right. I kid, sort of. Ms. Moore just doesn't strike me as the retiring type, if you know what I mean. I don't know her aside from the public persona she's presented over these past quarter century. But based on that, can you imagine her not being actively involved somehow in local education or youth issues? I sure can't. Especially not at the young age of 62. Let's just hope she doesn't run off to warmer climes. It'd be a shame if her years of experience left Lincoln. It's far too early to start saying adios to Ms. Moore, but you can bet we'll be hearing more about her and her contributions as her retirement date approaches. It will also be interesting to see who's in line to replace her. You can be sure that decision will generate plenty of discussion.

There's a new place to dine in College View. El Sitio, formerly of 17th and Van Dorn fame, is now located at 47th and Pioneers Boulevard in the former Paul's BBQ location. I've heard mixed reviews of El Sitio -- you'll note you probably haven't seen it on many lists of Lincoln's best dining establishments -- but hey, it's just up the road from me so you know I'll dine there just as soon as I can. Here's some random Wednesday morning trivia for you. El Sitio translates to "the site" or, a little more loosely, "the place". I used to love to watch a children's television show that featured a venue called The Place. What oh-so-80s show was it? For bonus points, what was the original name of the venue?

Free to a good home: square wood kitchen table (approx. 34" on a side) and four chairs. It has been sitting in our basement since we moved in, under the mistaken belief that for some reason we might one day want a second kitchen table. We don't. It served us well back in our apartment days, though. And before that it valiantly served up hot meals to the residents at the nursing home in Firth. Interested, or know somebody who might be? Contact me at mrwilson at lincolnite dot com. First dibs to those in need. I'll post photos eventually. If I don't get any replies from here, my next stop is Craigslist.

On Saturday night, Lincoln police officers took 17 drunk drivers off the road. Think about that. Seventeen. Those are just the ones who were caught. I don't think I'll ever understand the mentality of those who get behind the wheel after drinking. You might hurt or kill somebody else. You might hurt or kill yourself (as one of my cousins did). And even if you manage not to run into anything or anyone, you might get arrested. Considering how simple the alternative is -- have a sober person on hand to drive you home -- I just can't fathom why anybody wouldn't utilize it. Then again, this is coming from a guy who drinks so little alcohol he can actually remember every drink he's had in his life. I'm not exactly wired for empathy on this topic. In any event, be careful out there, folks.

Congratulations go out to UNL Political Science Professor John Hibbing for his induction into the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a prestigious honor held by no other UNL professor. Professor Hibbing's research of late has earned attention because of the evidence he has gathered that suggests links between biology and political attitudes. I had the privilege of working with Professor Hibbing back in my undergraduate and graduate days at UNL. Back then he was just getting into the biology/politics connection so it's exciting to see how his research has evolved over the years. Bravo, Dr. Hibbing!

If you're a local soccer fan you'll want to check out the Creighton Bluejays tonight at 5:00pm as they take on the Charlotte 49ers in the College Cup on ESPNU and ESPN3. I know several of you regular readers like to keep tabs on Creighton so this is definitely something you don't want to miss. The Jays are vying for their first national championship in any sport. I know there are several watch parties up in Omaha but so far I'm not aware of any here in Lincoln. If you know of one, please let us know!

The Missus and I ate at Village Inn on Van Dorn Street (just east of 48th Street) last night, as is our quasi-tradition each year on our dating anniversary. I say "quasi-tradition" because we haven't actually kept it going very well these past few years. Fifteen years ago we ate at Village Inn all the time, as many Southeast High School students did back in the day. These days VI just doesn't have the same appeal to us. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised that VI has completely upgraded its interior. The tables are a bit crowded and some of the decor is cheesy as hell in its attempt to be "hip", but overall it's a nice look. (Just one question: why didn't they change out the old, cigarette smoke-stained ceiling tiles?) Even the service had received an overhaul since the last time I stepped foot into a VI. Our waitress Bubbles, in particular, was a hoot. When we arrived the restaurant was probably a good 80-85% full, but service seemed to be humming along just fine. Overall the experience was ... nice. Nothing about VI is going to blow you away, but they've clearly stepped up their game since my last visit. I've got to give them credit for that.

The Missus and I began dating fifteen years ago today. Our first date followed our appearance with the Lincoln Southeast marching band in the Star City Parade. It wasn't much warmer for the parade that morning than it is right now. Happy anniversary, The Missus!

Some store called Ulta Beauty is opening next to Trader Joe's at SouthPointe. I would've let that news pass by, but I know plenty of folks have been longing for a Best Buy at SouthPointe and when I saw that a new store was opening next to Trader Joe's I thought maybe this was it. Nope. Better luck next time, Best Buy fans.

Now's your last chance to guess the name of Lincoln's Haymarket Arena because an announcement will be made at 10:00am. Jack Mitchel is reporting that it's a local business, although my understanding that that's based on hearsay rather than anything solid. So who do you think it is? Some of my guesses include:

• Pinnacle Bank
• Union Bank
• Nelnet
• ConAgra
• BNSF
• Bryan LGH

I could go on -- I haven't mentioned any insurance companies, for example. What are your guesses, serious or otherwise? UPDATE: Hey what do you know? My first guess was right! Pinnacle Bank Arena is the new name. Commence celebration and/or whining.

Ignite Lincoln is fast-paced, inspirational evening of talks designed to get you thinking. The third iteration of the event is coming up on January 26, 2012 at The Bourbon Theatre. The first year and second year were a huge, standing-room-only success. The event is particularly fun and unique because of its format. Speakers have just five minutes to get their ideas across. Each presentation is accompanied by twenty slides, and the slides automatically advance after fifteen seconds. It's a quick and simple process that requires clarity and brevity. Of course, in order for the event to be a success it needs presenters. If you have a great idea you want to share with your fellow Lincolnites, submit a proposal to speak. I'm thinking about submitting a proposal this year. I have two ideas worked out in my head, but I would like to brainstorm some more ideas before I settle on one. Got an idea for me? Let me know and I'll put it into the mix. Heck, maybe I'll even ask you folks to help me choose my topic. A limited number of free early-bird tickets will be available. Keep your eyes peeled for an announcement about their availability. And then get one, because you know you want to be there. Have any of you attended or spoken at Ignite Lincoln in the past? Tell us about it!

Before Robbie came around I was a baseball umpire. After he arrived ... well, I just didn't have the time to be an umpire on top of all my other responsibilities and activities. Since that time, my umpire gear has sat around waiting to be used. In my car. In the garage. in the basement. I've tried giving it away before and so far nobody has taken it. This is my last attempt. Please please please somebody take this stuff off my hands. Mask; chest protector; shin guards; plate shoes; shirts; hats; plate brush; count indicators. It's all there, and it's all inside a giant duffle bag. And it's free. There's got to be an umpire out there who wants a bag o' free gear. Anybody? Bueller?