I totally cheated this week.  I knew Steamer's only had beer, and that in no way was I going to be manhandled by a Manhattan-serving bartender bully.  Aside from that, I had a bigger reason for carting myself down to Titlow Beach: a hangover.

It was a simple and slight hangover, one that could easily be bandaged up with a few cold beers and a heaping pile of fried seafood.  I had over-indulged in red wine the night before, ending up with an "accidental homemade hangover." The "accidental homemade hangover" can happen to even the most cautious home drinker, and typically sneaks up on those who are preparing dinner.  It starts innocently, with a simple glass of cabernet while chopping the vegetables - but eventually takes you down a curvy road leading to an empty wine bottle and a haphazard kitchen clean-up attempt.  One never plans on getting sauced at home while preparing a standard dinner, but regrettably - it happens to the best of us.

As I doused my Steamer's fries with obscene amounts of malt vinegar, Kathy brought me the first of three gloriously chilled mugs of beer.

Drink One: Steamer's Amber (bartender's choice) - Kathy tried real hard to get someone else to take her place in this week's Three Drink Minimum picture - but no one else at Steamer's would do it.  I can't say for sure if that was an incredibly lame and teamwork-lacking move on the part of her Steamer's coworkers, or if it was ridiculously brilliant.  Brilliant in the fact that if there was a hypothetical murder at Titlow Beach that afternoon, and the body was found with blue fibers from a Steamer's staff shirt, the Feds would have picture proof of no one other than Kathy working that day. 

Drink Two: Mac & Jack's (most popular drink within last hour) - I think in this picture, the fact that Kathy is obviously not interested in the camera shows her ability to focus on the very important task at hand - serving me beer.  Either that or she's looking out the window to see if the Feds are watching her.

Drink Three: IPA (my choice) - Look, I'm not calling Kathy a killer or anything, so don't get all bent out of shape.  Sure, the hypothetical dead body was found with blue shirt fibers, but the murderer could've been a Best Buy employee. 

One thing that Kathy did murder, thankfully, was my "accidental homemade hangover".  - Steph DeRosa

[Steamer's Seafood Café, 8802 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.565.4532]