Memorial Day weekend

Aside from running, mowing the lawn, watching over kids and the like, not much went on over Memorial Day weekend. The weather prevented us from really being able to get out and do too much until Monday rolled around.


On Monday, Carrie and I took a trip to lower Queen Anne to eat breakfast at Toulouse Petit, an eatery that does for Cajun Cusine what The Kingfish Cafe does for Creole. We went there for breakfast during  their happy hour. We were in line for a twenty+ minute wait, but when two spots opened at the bar, the hostess asked us if we would like to skip the line for seats and eat our breakfast at the bar, which we did.

The bartender was fairly prompt and very friendly. I started off with a Breakfast Flip, and my wife had a Breakfast Martini. Both drinks were excellent and generous. To eat, we had the Cajun Meatloaf and eggs and the Pork Cheek confit. Both dishes were very tasty and delivered to us pretty quickly, considering that the place was at the time packed for the breakfast happy hour, during which all of the dishes were $6. My only minor complaint is that our order of beignets arrived late, after our entrees, but that just meant that we had a desert course!

After that, we went to Lowes to pick up some supplies so that we could get started on our herb garden this year. We planted cilantro, basil, thyme, parsley and chives in pots, and put them on the bench on our porch so that they'd get plenty of sun. 

Aside from the herbs, we had to buy the pots, potting soil, peat moss and vermiculite. We have so much of the soil-related matter left over  that we should be able to plant a fairly full garden with it, and we'll always have plenty of compost for our efforts, since I started composting at least three pounds a week on average since we moved onto Beacon Hill almost a year ago.

Hi-Spot cafe, Madrona

I've been to this place about four times now. We go there just because it's close and we enjoy strolling about the Madrona neighborhood. But on all three occasions, we've noticed the following:
- Wickedly long waiting times (exacerbated by a clientele that seems to enjoy lounging about for half an hour after they are done eating)
- Slow service; our waitress took five minutes to get us water, fifteen to take our orders, ten to deliver our check, and another ten to get our credit card back to us. For each one of these stages, there were people who were seated after us who received the same service before us.
- Mediocre food. We didn't have a single dish that we could not have done better at home for less cost and aggravation.

The pluses:
- Friendly service. When we did get waited upon, the waitress was very charming and accommodating.
- Food delivery. It didn't take long for the food to make its way out to us - once our order had been taken.

We'll be moving out of the neighborhood soon, so I severely doubt that we'll be going back to the Hi-Spot.

Essential Bakery in Madison Park

First off, my wife and I have been coming here a lot over the past year and a half. This place used to be one of our regular stops on our way downtown into work in the mornings. The coffee's good, and they do a pretty good job with their freshly baked selections. As a cafe and a bakery, I'd say that this place is above average.

However, as a spot to grab brunch - I'd definitely pass. The brunch service was sloooow - I ordered French Toast, my wife ordered a scramble, the total order took almost a half hour to prepare - so much for keeping to a schedule!

When the food finally did come out, the two of us were greatly disappointed. My French Toast as either too crispy or too chewy, her scramble was a disheveled mess, and neither tasted all that great. For ten dollars more, the next morning we went to Flora down the street and had much better fare and quicker service.

We might come back to this place for coffee and pastries, but never again for brunch.

Ninas crepes on First Hill

Granted, I only had a simple caramel crepe, but if a supposed creperie can't get that right, then there really isn't any point.

I stopped in early in the morning (before 7) in the mood for a simple sweet crepe. Not finding either of my old standbys on the menu (crepe with butter and sugar, or crepe with butter and honey), I opted for the crepe with butter and "Imported European Caramel". Which came in a can. And tasted like tin. Nice.

So - she makes the crepe. Except that she has to make it twice, because she didn't have all of her equipment up front ready waiting for her when she poured the batter, and wasted a crepe in her attempt to smooth it over the element. All in all, she spent ten minutes making a crepe that it would have taken most others three.

All that would have been worth it had the crepe itself tasted fine. As mentioned before, the caramel topping had a tinny aftertaste to it. The crepe itself tasted vaguely like cardboard - not appetizing at all.

Alki Bakery in West Seattle

This is actually a pretty fun place to grab a quick bite o' brunch at, provided you get there early and can find parking. We both had the usual coffees (neither one of us are fans of Cafe Vita, but that can be forgiven), and breakfast croissants. Mine was bacon and hers was ham - the sandwiches were surprisingly light and fluffy and had a subtly sweet flavor, and the quality of the bread highlighted the egg and meat within. Afterwords, we had their cinnamon rolls, which were again lighter in texture than other places, and the topping was not overbearingly sweet.

Hanger Cafe in Georgetown

Carrie and I have found a new favorite, and it's the Hanger Cafe!! The interior is a bit small, but that just adds to the ambiance. I had the Daily Egg Crepe, while Carrie had the Ham Crepe - both were excellent. The waitress was friendly and attentive, despite being overwhelmed by tons of patrons; my only complaint is that the kitchen, due to its tiny size, is ill-equipped to handle large numbers of requests; we had to wait a good twenty minutes - half hour for our order. But the food was well worth the wait!

Table 219

Table 219 is Geraldine's, but replace the homespun staff and genuine patronage with equal amounts of Capitol Hill Attitude, tempered somewhat on the staff's side with a genuine desire of customer service. If I weren't willing to drive to Columbia City to Geraldine's or walk to Madison Park to Flora, I'd happily voyage over to Table 219. I had the Lamb Burger with Tatziki, my wife had the Bacon, Egg & Arugula Sandwich. The Sandwich was a virtual clone of the one at the Counter, meaning that the owners / chef knows a bit about reproducibility and consistency. The Lamb Burger was Excellent, needing no seasoning whatsoever on my part; the sweet potato french fries were a welcome delight for me and an equally pleasent surprise for my wife, who was skeptical of the concept.

La Cote

Unfortunately, it's been a while since my wife and I visited this restaurant. We walked here during a rare warm early spring day for brunch, and were not disappointed. I can tell you that both the savory and sweet crepes that we had were excellent, and the waiter's wine recommendations for each crepe were spot-on. Good thing we had the walk back during which to sober up a bit!


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Anita's Crepes in Ballard

Carrie I first tried Anita's early last summer at the market in Ballard. We were looking for alternative caterers for our wedding, and were very interested in Anita's. We each tried a sweet and savory crepe at the stand, and immediately inquired about the possibility of having them cater our wedding; unfortunately, since they used gas for their cooking, and we were holding our wedding indoors, we had to give them a pass.

The reason I bring this up is to point out that when we went to the restaurant, we did so not just with high hopes, but with expectations based on past experience. Which is what made the actual experience in the restaurant all the more painful for the two of us.

I ordered Anita's Breakfast with over-medium eggs, sausage and a cinnamon crepe; Carrie had the Wild Mushrooms and Gruyer crepe. The flavors of her crepe were flat and a bit muddles, while the Gruyer had a rather weak, watery composition. My plate arrived with the eggs, sausage and crepe all touching the same buttery creme fraiche topping that should have been reserved for the crepe, which was a bit too thick and doughy for my liking. The eggs were decently prepared, and the sausage was quite good - but that had little to do with the skill of the cooks, and more with the culinary acumen of whoever ordered that particular brand.

The service was decent; the waitress was prompt with getting our drinks to us, although I did have to bug her for a warm up for my wife's coffee. The place was fairly busy, and the cooks seemed to be ill-equipped for the sheer volume.

All in all, we've both had better elsewhere, and were disappointed that, at least for us, Anita's had seemed to miss a few beats in the transition from being a stand-based business to a fixed-location one

Volterra

Yesterday (Sunday), Carrie and I met two of our friends, Alex and Ed, in Ballard and went to brunch at Volterra.

First, the pluses. The place has a ton of atmosphere, and never got that crowded. All of the servers wore bright smiles, and we got excellent service throughout the meal; our server knew just when to come and ask us if we wanted more water / coffee.

Now, the minuses. I ordered a dish that consisted of two over-easy eggs atop a duck confit with spinach and hashed potatoes. For me, the portion size was a bit on the light side, and all of the flavors seemed to run together. Carrie ordered a truffle-based dish with hash browns in which the truffle flavor seemed to overpower everything else. The fare that my friends had - the Volterra Breakfast and Francesco's eggs - seemed to fit them just fine.

We may or may not go back to Volterra to give the place another chance; it's not that high up on our list of places to brunch at, however.

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Cafe Flora

This past Sunday, Carrie and I walked to Cafe Flora, always a pleasure to go to. Here is the route we took:

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The food there is simply awesome. For a dedicated Omnivore such as myself, the main failing that I usually find with Vegetarian / Vegan establishments is that their offerings are either bland or downright aweful. Sorry, I'm not going to give up taste just to make a statement.

Cafe Flora is one of the few places that could honestly inspire me to change my eating ways, however (the other being Hillside Quickies in the U-District, and Hillside Cafe in Capitol Hill). There, the food is fresh, flavorful, and always expertly prepared (the portions are generous too). Carrie and I have been there well over three dozen times in the past year, and we've never been disapointed.

Madison Park Cafe redeaux

The route that Carrie and I took to the Madison Park cafe... not that I would go there again...

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Walk to Geraldines

This past Sunday, Carrie and I took this route to the always wonderful Geraldine's Counter in Columbia City. I can honestly say that we burned more calories on the walk there and back than we consumed at the resturant itself! It's always a kick-ass place to go for Sunday brunch, however! Thier deep-fried French Toast is always a fave with us.
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Breakfast Fail

Sometimes, I question the tastes and palettes of the "Other Half".

Carrie and I went to this cafe in Madison Park, which is a pretty well-to-do area of Seattle located along the western shore of Lake Washington. We saw all manner of well-heeled (or so they like to think, I guess) individuals lapping up their $10 salmon bagels and 8$ sourdough waffles. While those prices may not seem to be exorbant, considering the facts that (1) I've gotten better salmon bagels at Noah's and Pike Place (and Blue Brick in Silverdale) for $2-4 less, (2) the sourdough waffles were wafer thin, (3) the sourdough waffles tasted like crap, (4) the butter pats on the waffles were frozen (which in my book is an automatic 1 star deduction for any breakfast place), and (5) the waitress acted like she was tweaking, I'd say that this place is overpriced, to say the least.

And here were these well-heeled fools, lapping it up, smiling and nodding, happy to be with their own.

Quality doesn't matter, Image is everything.