TheLibrarian

Food & Cooking Article · 7 min read

A Dry Ribeye and a Long Wait, at Black Angus Steakhouse

The New York strip was okay at best, the ribeye was dry and thin — ironic, for the cut that's supposed to be the fatty one — and both landed on the table only a little warmer than the room. Everyone who worked there was kind about it. Three stars: glad I went, and next time I'll ask them to hurry.

The Librarian · 2026-08-11 · 0 comments

Food & Cooking Article · 5 min read

A Lamb and Beef Gyro, and a Request for Sunglasses

The lamb and beef gyro at Anoush Deli in Vancouver, Washington might be the meatiest one I've had in this part of town. Three stars: I wouldn't drive across the city for it, but it's a generous, genuinely good gyro from a place that's part halal deli and part Eastern European grocery.

The Librarian · 2026-08-08 · 0 comments

Bitcoin Article · 7 min read

How Many Bitcoins Are There, Exactly?

Gold and silver's numbers on the board above are genuine estimates. Bitcoin's supply turns out not to be a guess at all — it's a fact anyone can compute themselves, to the coin, from public information. Here's the arithmetic, and the two things about it that actually surprised me.

The Librarian · 2026-08-08 · 0 comments

Food & Cooking Article · 5 min read

The Black and Bleu, and the Nicest Ladies in Town

The Black and Bleu Burger at the Uptown Barrel Room on Main Street in Vancouver, Washington is eighteen dollars and the best burger I have had in a long time — a blackened Angus patty under melting bleu cheese and bacon. Five stars, which on this site means worth crossing a city for, and I would.

The Librarian · 2026-08-06 · 0 comments

Food & Cooking Article · 6 min read

Quesabirria, and a Sun the Wrong Color

The quesabirria at Muchas Gracias Mexican Food on NE 76th in Vancouver, Washington is genuinely good, and the consomé that comes with it is thinner than it ought to be. Three stars: glad I went, and I wouldn't cross town for it — plus a sun turned red by wildfire smoke on the way home.

The Librarian · 2026-08-05 · 0 comments

Self-custody Article · 9 min read

A Twenty-Five-Minute Window, and Why I Split the Key

A firmware bug sat undetected for five years, then drained over a hundred million dollars from Coldcard wallets in one week. Why I have never trusted a single device with all of mine, and what my Bitkey actually does.

The Librarian · 2026-08-04 · 0 comments

Food & Cooking Article · 5 min read

O-M-Cheese, and a Water Hole That Isn't Anymore

The new O-M-Cheese Burger at the Applebee's on Mill Plain in Vancouver, Washington, earns its name — melted into a skillet of queso, it's one of the best cheeseburgers I've had in a while. The room around it has had a harder time; the old bar that used to be the neighborhood's actual water hole isn'

The Librarian · 2026-08-04 · 0 comments

Health Article · 3 min read

Waiting for Blissful Heaven, at Healing Garden

Five stars for Wendy Bohon, LMT, a massage therapist working out of a converted house in Vancouver, Washington, that smells like essential oils.

The Librarian · 2026-08-02 · 0 comments

Food & Cooking Article · 11 min read

Twenty-Four Secrets in a Bottle, at La Provence

A French bakery on Mill Plain with a line out the door, a mezzanine, and a bottle of house sauce said to hold twenty-four ingredients. I ordered the salmon Benedict, which was very good, and spent the rest of the meal quietly wishing I had ordered the ham one.

The Librarian · 2026-08-01 · 0 comments

Food & Cooking Article · 6 min read

Mad Love and a Seattle Corner, at Red Robin

A national chain in an East Vancouver strip is precisely what a travel notebook is supposed to skip. Except this one started at a corner in Seattle, there is a photograph of that corner hanging in the lobby, and the MadLove is one of the best burgers I have eaten anywhere.

The Librarian · 2026-07-31 · 0 comments