This is news from a couple of months ago, so not exactly timely on our part, but we've finally caught up with our back issues of People Magazine so bear with us.

Clearly, we would be remiss if we didn't revisit their "Sexy Man of the Week" featured during the final week of October '07. I bring you Mr. Penn Badgley who stars in The CW's Gossip Girl as "hipster hottie Dan Humphrey."

Penn is from Gig Harbor, 21-years-old, and single.

What does he do on first dates?

"A first date could be as simple as making dinner at my place. I rarely cook, but I would for a girl. The last thing I made was chicken teriyaki -- that's not very sexy."

His seduction secret?

"I'll say, 'I'm gonna take you home and play piano for you.' I don't do that for just anybody. I'm not the kind of guy who'll sit at a party and play Dave Matthews to get girls -- that's too cheesy. I'll write something original."

It doesn't sound like his secret is working if he's still single. I'm guessing it's something about the way he demands that you go home with him so he can "play piano for you." Either that or his original content is not as sexy as Dave Matthews' content.

Either way, I'll tell you what IS working: His tuxedo / long johns combo.

Let's zoom in...

So, what made him so sexy that week? Why is he no longer sexy now that the week is over? Here are my best guesses to explain his fall from grace:

• So many men, so few weeks.
• He doesn't think chicken teriyaki is sexy. IT IS.
• Long johns were SO October '07.
• He revealed his Gig Harbor connection.
• People Magazine editors accidentally caught an episode of Gossip Girl.

Remember how last week I was busy fighting crime and researching Vegas mobsters? Well, it gets better. On Thursday, I got an e-mail from Tom Stenger:

I hear you're mentioning our little altercation on your
blog again. Knock it off already!

sincerely,
Tom "the tool" Stenger

Naturally, I was excited. Finally! Tom and I can put aside our differences and just chat! I replied:

Tom,
Your e-mail is the best thing I've gotten all day. It makes me wish you had
a blog, too!
Question: If I gave you a GritCity T-shirt, would you wear it? I'm serious,
so please write me back.
-Niki "the tattler" Sullivan

See, isn't that clever?! Just me and Tom, pal-ing around. While I waited for a reply, I sent the e-mail around to my fellow bloggers. Laura came up with this vision:

Well, I was in for quite the surprise...

=> Read more!

One of our regular readers lives in the Bay Area and is visiting Tacoma this week, so he wanted some suggestions on where to get a drink. Here are some of our favorites.

Niki
• Monsoon Room About the size of a closet, and perpetually dark. Prepare to get very drunk on tasty exotic/expensive drinks.
• Tempest I love the pin-up girls in the bathrooms. They will not, however, buy me drinks ...

Laura
• The Spar Because they’ll fry anything.
• The Parkway Because I swear their beers have a higher alcohol content than other bars.
• The Pup Room at The Poodle Dog Because it’s on the way home. And I like poodles.

Cole
• Any wine bar They always feel like a classy way to start a night. If purple teeth are classy.
• The Red Hot The place has a genuine friendliness about it. Plus, it's within stumbling distance to my house – but I'm not sure how that helps you.

Kelly
• El Gaucho Go for the vodka, stay for the cheeseburger. Late happy hour till 1.
• Knapp's Like going to your jolly drunk uncle’s house.
• Magoo’s It’s so loud and dark, you might get lucky.

Best Place We Haven't Been to Yet But Really Want to Go Sometime Soon: Top of Tacoma

And we have some questions for you:
Paddy Coyne's or Doyles?
Pacific Grill or Sea Grill?
E9 or Farrelli's?
Matador or Masa?

Also, if any bars will be open late Christmas Eve or Christmas night, please let us know. We'll definitely need a drink after work.