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.

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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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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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.