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.

View Larger Map

HellaWalk...!

This past week, I walked from my house in Leschi to my Dentist at Belltown Dental.


View Larger Map

I like my dentist, but they seem to want me to maximize my insurance benefits, as well as pay them out of my own pocket - I'm not a cheapskate, but hey, this is a recession...!

Finally!

I've been away for a while - went with Carrie to Utah to spend a week with in-laws.

Finally! The 1996 Nissan Sentra is out of my life, forever - and along with it, my last tenuous link to my ex-wife. Not that I have anything against her, and I certainly wish for her all the best - but it's time (way past, as a matter of fact) for me to cut my ties with my ex(cess wife) in Texas :)

Cafe Flora

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

View Larger Map

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...

View Larger Map

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.
View Larger Map

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.