Analog Coffee
Description on Analog Coffee website : Modern American coffee shop located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. Serving a rotating cast of exceptional local roasters and Fresh Breeze Organic dairy.
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
Address: 235 Summit Ave E, Seattle, WA 98102
Music playing: 4th Chamber by GZA
What we ate/drank: Macchiato & Mighty O Sprinkled Donut
Comments: First of all, all hail the WU! When I walked in 4th Chamber by GZA/Genius was playing not on Spotify or Pandora, not from a iphone playlist, not from a CD even. It was playing on a motherfucking turntable, yo! This is the 3rd coffee shop I’ve noticed with a turntable, Slate Coffee Roasters and Convoy Coffee, being the others.
If you’re not looking for Analog Coffee, you’ll miss it. There is huge burgundy awning that wraps around this corner spot, but there’s no signage with the exception of a small wooden sign they place on the sidewalk. Because this is smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood, finding parking might be a challenge. But being on a nice quiet street away from the hustle and bustle of Broadway Ave and the Pike/Pine corridor is a major part of it’s appeal. My understanding is that it used to be an old gym, but it feels like an old general store that you might find in Mayberry.
It has an intimate feel, but it doesn’t feel crowded. The walls, ceilings, stools are all white and there’s art/posters hanging on the walls, but the linoleum floors and weathered counter sure does make it feel like an old general store. Outside, there are a bunch of chairs out front and also around the corner. There’s a high counter with stools that run all the way from the door to the back of the café. Along the wall above the counter are the days paper and some magazines clipped to a cable for your reading enjoyment. On the left near the front is a L-shaped wooden bench with a coffee table stacked with comic books. My nerdy jr high school self would be jumping for joy. The very back has a community table that fits about 8, which would be the best place to work on a computer if you needed to. Also in the back is a standing counter if you want to watch the barista do his thing. I also noticed they have a projector so they could show videos/tv on the white walls if they ever wanted/needed to.
The food selection was pastries. Unfortunately, I didn’t peruse the selections once I saw one last sprinkled donut from Mighty O and ordered it. Add Analog Coffee to the long list of coffee places that carry Mighty O. On the day I visited they had two brews from Herkimer(Honduras Benigno Mejia, Ethiopia Kochere) and Camber(Honduras El Tanque & Ethipoia Guji Uraga) each, but I ended up getting a macchiato. They also sold beans from each of the roasters.
To me, the vibe is definitely a relaxing-coffee-in-the morning place, but not really a working/studying place. I don’t know it just has a relaxing nature about it that would make me not want to work/study. We just love these neighborhood cafes that are right in the middle of neighborhoods and not on main streets like most coffee places we review. I understand that putting cafes on or near main streets get volume customers, but there’s something to be said for these neighborhood cafes that either rely on the people who live in the neighborhood or have such great drinks or atmosphere that people will travel from outside the neighborhood to patronize the spot. I’m talking about places like Seven Coffee Roasters, Lighthouse Roasters and to a lesser extent, Zoka in Tangletown. Add Analog to the list.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: What makes Analog Coffee different-The comics, the newspaper/magazines hanging from the wall, the fresh tunes on the turntable, the neighborhoody reel.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Food Options: 3.75
Overall: 4.5
Eavedropping Convo: Two guys having a coffee. It appears they hadn’t seen each other in a while and may have been ex-coworkers catching up.
Dude 1(D1) – I’m been consistently working over 40 hours a week and every two weeks I have to turn in a timecard, so if I have over 80 hours worked in a two week period I leave early, so that it comes out to an even 80 hours a week. So I worked 83 hours the last two weeks and so I told my boss that I was leaving 3 hours early on Friday.
Dude 2(D2) –Ok
D1- He told me I needed to deduct 3 hours from my time card and report 77 hours!! I explained to him that I worked an extra 3 hours and because he didn’t want me to go over 80 hours I was leaving 3 hours early. He just couldn’t understand and insisted I deduct 3 hours if I left early, so I just stayed and worked til 5:00. Then on Monday I submit my timecard with 83 hours, but I didn’t send it to Human Resources, I only sent it to him because I knew he’d blow up. Sure enough, he came to me and said, “I thought I told you that I didn’t want you working more than 80 hours every two weeks?” I told him, “yeah, but you wouldn’t let me leave early and told me if I left early I needed to deduct 3 hours. You can’t have it both ways. You either pay me for the hours worked or you let me leave early so my two weeks come out to an even 80 hours worked.” He knows he was wrong, but was trying to scare me into working longer. I’m one of the top salesman in the company. I just saved this company millions by talking a customer out of leaving us and to come back when they already made the decision to leave us!
D2-You really need to tell this to Rick to make sure he knows.
D1- Oh, I did. Another thing my new boss wants me to do. If I make a sale, he wants me to double check with him before agreeing on the terms and price. I’m not gonna act like a used car salesman, where I have to pretend to check with my boss to make the deal final. I told him if he wants me to check in with him before finalizing a deal with a customer, he’d better call them himself and explain the situation. I’ll look like a spineless dumbass if I don’t have the authority to seal the deal with a handshake right there on the spot.
Stone Way Cafe
Recommended by: Nobody. We found it on our own.
Description on their web: A family owned Cafe in the heart of Fremont offering the finest in quality hand crafted coffee & espresso, pastries & food, craft beer, cider & wine. Relax and enjoy the good vibes of local performing artists, family, friends and neighbors. Our warm, friendly staff aim to please and are here to ensure a most pleasant stop at the Stone.
Neighborhood/Type: Wallingford / Breakfast
Address: 3510 Stone Way N, Seattle, WA 98103
Music playing: Lovers’ Carvings by Bibio
What we’ve eaten:
- Sandra’s Special-Eggs, Pork, Poblano Peppers, Onions with Potatoes & Toast.
- Pulled Pork Cheesesteak-pulled pork, provolone, caramelized onions, grilled poblano peppers, and aioli sauce on a cuban roll.
- Breakfast Burrito- eggs, 3 cheese combo, choice of bacon/ham/sausage/pulled pork/chorizo/veggies, pico de gallo, chipotle lime sauce, and home fries.
- Fried Chicken & Waffles w/sausage gravy and pure maple syrup
- Pulled Pork Breakfast Sandwich-egg, mixed greens, savory herb tomato sauce, pulled pork on a brioche bun
- Special-Pulled pork scramble
- Rosalia’s Biscocho-cheddar & jalapeno biscuit, egg, avocado, tomato, mango aioli, mixed greens served with home fries
- Steak & Egg Breakfast Sandwich- Steak, egg, caramelized onion, tomato with home fries.
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Sandra’s Special-Eggs, Pork, Poblano Peppers, Onions with Potatoes & Toast 
Pulled Pork Sandwiches 
Breakfast Burrito-toasted on the outside. 
Fried Chicken & Waffles w/gravy
Comments: Caveat: This review is only for breakfasts. Why? Well about 2 years ago our daughter was born. Before she arrived, whenever driving down Stone Way we’d pass by Stone Way Café and see people hanging out on the small little patio. I would say to myself, “What a cute little café. We should go check it out some day”. Well, we never did.
Until…….our daughter was born. She would wake up super early and we’d check for places that were open early so we could get some breakfast. I remember searching for a place and reminding my wife about Stone Way Café since it opened at 7:00am. It’s now become our go-to breakfast place. We probably go there once a month. There are times where we go 3 times a month, so we’re very familiar with their breakfast offerings.
The first time going to Stone Way Cafe I was shocked how big the place actually is. From the outside it looks very small due to the small patio, but on the inside it’s huge. The second thing that shocked us was the type of food they were serving. We were expecting a few pastry items and if they did serve “real” meals, it would be standard eggs and bacon or pancakes and waffles.
They actually have friend chicken and waffles, breakfast burritos, Cajun benedict, enchilada stacks, cheddar & jalapeno biscuits and gravy and much more. The coffee they serve is from Victrola Coffee Roasters. There is no server. You look at the menu on the wall, order and pay the cashier and then grab your dish at the kitchen counter when they call out your number.
Stone Way Café checks all the boxes for us. It’s close to where we live, ample parking early in the morning, quality dishes for every craving, good local coffee, opens early on the weekends, and a very casual, family friendly atmosphere.
From the outside, Stone Way Café is in a nondescript square building painted entirely black. The inside is the exact opposite, a airy bright space with revolving works of art, a huge warehouse-like seating area with counter seating, normal individual tables, leather seats and a bigger table for groups and a massive wall painting with the state of Washington. If you sit at some of the tables you have a nice view of the 99 bridge.
Because we only go for breakfast, we’re missing out on a lot Stone Way Café has to offer. Almost every night there is either live music or an open mic night. I’ve mentioned some of the breakfast menu, but they also have salads, tacos, sandwiches, wraps and even a muffuletta. They also have a very impressive beer menu stocked with local breweries-Popluxe, Stoup, Lowercase, Reuben’s, Machine House, Fremont Brewing to name a few. They also have ciders, wine and kombucha.
The thing we like about Stone Way Café is that it’s the type a place we can bring any visitor or meet any friend and feel confident that they’ll like the food and atmosphere. We can bring our parents who just want a simple traditional breakfast, our out of town foodie friend or our friends with kids who want a relaxed family friendly environment. We’ve brought out of towners, new-to-Seattle friends and longtime Seattle folks and they’ve all enjoyed their experience here.
Ratings:Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Food/Drinks: 5
Bang for the Buck: 4.5
Overall: 4.85
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is
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- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Eavesdropping Convos: None
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: The cashier at Stone Way Cafe suggested Northlake Tavern & Pizza for what she called the “best pizza in town”
Related:
Zeitgeist Coffee – Pioneer Square
Description on Zeitgeist Coffee website : Designed different. We work hard to present a warm, pleasing place that is more in keeping with a traditional coffee house—a place for the exchange of ideas and a meeting place for the community.
Neighborhood: Pioneer Square
Address: 171 S. Jackson Street, Seattle, WA 98104
Music playing: Mean Streets by Tennis
What we ate/drank: Macchiato and a Top Pot glazed doughnut
Macchiato & Top Pot Doughnut
Comments: It’s become apparent to us that Pioneer Square has become the epicenter of quality coffee shops. Cherry Street Public House, Caffé Vita, Slate Coffee Roasters, in our opinion, have their best cafes here. Convoy Coffee and Elm Coffee Roasters have their only brick and mortar locations here. Now add Zeitgeist to the list.
I’d been to Zeitgeist before, but because it’s rather far from my work, it’s normally packed and there are so many other choices in the area, I don’t come here often. In talking to the baristas at Pegasus Coffee Bar about their favorite cafes to go to once they are off the clock, one of them mentioned Zeitgeist, so I’d thought I’d stop by.
There are a couple things I noticed right off the bat when ordering. This is the first cafe I’ve seen that offers both Mighty O and Top Pot(see Fun Fact below) doughnuts. The doughnuts are showcased side by side! Most places offer up one or the other and in most cases it’s Mighty O. You notice I never really talk about prices when doing these cafe reviews, but the second thing I noticed is that their drinks are on average about $.75 -1.00 cheaper than most cafes in Seattle. For non-coffee drinkers they had juice, a large selection of teas(15ish) and even bottled beers. For food options they have breakfast sandwiches, eggs, fruits(bananas,apples) and dedicated menu for sandwiches, soup and salads.
Like many of the Pioneer Square cafes, the location has exposed brick walls and wooden beams. Wow, these are some massive columns! The space has very tall ceilings(25-30 feet high), big windows for lots of natural light. The place is already big for Pioneer Square standards but the ceilings and windows make it seem massive. The natural rich colors of the wood used on the walls, counters and furniture add to the brightness of the space.
The space is divided by the front door and counter into two seating sections. There are two L-shaped high counters with stools that seat about 8 people each that look upon Jackson Street. Every few minutes you can watch the First Hill Street Car go by. The rest of the cafe has individual tables and chairs.
I’d say 1/4 of the people who come Zeitgeist Coffee have come from the King Street Station getting a cup of coffee while they wait to board their train. The other 3/4 are locals/regulars. There always seems to be a line as I mentioned up above, which is one of the reasons I don’t often come here, but I have to say the line moved pretty quickly considering most people are not ordering a quick brewed coffee, but an espresso based drink.
It reminds me of the Pioneer Square Caffé Vita in that there are lots of “things to look at”. As mentioned in a previous blog post, people call me a “Looker”. I don’t mean that as in, “wow, that guy’s a looker!” but more like “wow, that guy likes to look at things a lot.” The things at Zeitgeist I really enjoyed looking at:
- Their collection of old percolators that line their back wall from one end to the other. The way they have them displayed make it almost invisible. They’re all about the same size and all silver, so they almost all blend together, but it’s such a cool collection. At least, I think so.
- The old features/décor
- The art deco clock above the cashier/barista
- The old fan hanging from the wall
- The vintage percolator signage right behind the cashier
- The massive hanging lights
- The old school newspaper/magazine stand
- The ornate steel partition above the magazine stand. Remnants of a bank teller?
- The dictionary displayed above a map drawer that contain all sorts of little goodies.
- The small little counter in the middle of the space that has a banker’s lamp on it. It’s so out of place, but it’s not.
- Even the toaster near the coffee station is an older model.
Zeitgeist also closes relatively late at 7:00pm. Even though Zeigeist has gotten one of our highest scores, I’m still not sure how frequently we’ll come due to it’s location and that it’s always packed(for good reason). We will probably come if we are waiting to pick up somebody from the train station, First Thursday Art Walk or any other instance where we are in the area either super early in the morning or in the evening, when it’s more likely to be less crowded.
Fun Fact: One of the original founders of Zeitgeist, Michael Klebeck, went on to become the founder of Top Pot Doughnuts.
Fun Fact #2: Where did the name Zeitgeist come from? According to the Seattle Post Intelligencer(RIP), Founder Brian Yeck put the focus of the shop on art. “We always strive to show interesting, challenging and thought-provoking works,” he said. Zeitgeist means “spirit of the times,” and Yeck felt it fit.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: All the little “things to look at” mentioned above.
Atmosphere: 5.00
Service: 4.75
Food Options: 5.00
Overall: 4.85
Eavedropping Convo: Guy ordered his 16 oz Americano and waited at the hand off for the barista to make it. Gal after him also ordered a 16 oz Americano, but with 4 shots instead of 2. Barista calls out, “16 oz Americano”! Guy goes to grab it and is about to put in cream.
Gal calls out to the guy: Hey, I think that’s mine. I ordered a 16 oz American with 4 shots. Did you order 4 shots or a regular? I think you grabbed my drink.
Guy: Oh… sorry. I just ordered a regular Americano.
Gal: Yeah, I think that’s mine.
Guy: She just called out 16 oz Americano and I was next so I assumed it was mine. Sorry.
Gal: Yeah, no that’s mine. Goes to grab the drink from the guy.
Barista calls out: 16 oz Americano, 4 shots!!
Gal: Oh, There’s mine. Hands back the drink she just grabbed from the guy back to the guy. Grabs her drink and heads straight for the door. Didn’t even say, “Sorry for the mix up”. Really surprised how rude people are. The guy just took in stride.
*****Seattle Coffee Works has moved to 108 Pine Street. See our updated review here.*****
Description on Seattle Coffee Works website : Seattle Coffee Works is a place to experience and experiment with coffee in its richly diverse forms and varieties. Wine connoisseurs have tasting rooms; beer aficionados have brewery tap rooms; fine dining enthusiasts have five-star restaurants. Our goal is to create a dedicated tasting space for specialty coffee. All of our locations commit unrelentingly to making coffee better and providing resources to help our customers make and explore better coffee.
Neighborhood: Downtown
Address: 107 Pike St, Seattle, WA 98101
Music playing: The General by Dispatch
What we ate/drank: Macchiato
Comments: Seattle Coffee Works first started a few yards down the block as a pop up in the touristy T-Shirt store on the corner of 1st and Pike back in 2006. It then moved into the old Johnny Rockets location where it remains today.
If you’ve ever been to Pike Place Market, you’ve most likely seen Seattle Coffee Works since you literally there when you step out the door. The first thing you’ll notice is that there is outdoor seating looking right on Pike Place Market. I’ve never sat there, but although you’ll have a great view, us locals know that it’s also a street that attracts a lot of, how should I put it, crazy people. Although I’ve got to admit it is 10 times better than it used to be now that Target and Hard Rock are there. It used to be a bunch of strip joints.
When you walk in you’ll notice two seating areas One is their ‘Slow bar”, which is where the manually brewed coffee drinks are concocted. Check out the cool syphon in the picture below. This area is comprised of high counters and about 8 stools. The other seating area is just a general seating that has a long bench with five individual tables. There are a few stand alone tables and your coffee shop commonplace leather seats. One thing I want to note about the benches. They are unusually high. My feet were dangling off the floor and the tables, which are normal height were up to my knees due to the bench being so high.
Food options are packaged sandwiches from Molly’s, yogurt and pastries locally sourced from Standard and Macrina Bakery. They also have other drinks besides coffee -juices/water/carbonated drinks/cider/tea/chai.
There are lots of tourist due to proximity to the Market, but if you come early in the morning on a work day it’s nice a peaceful. While there on a Tuesday morning, I’d say most people were not locals/regulars, which is to be expected due to the location near downtown hotels, Pike Place Market, the aquarium, SAM, waterfront, cruise ship terminals, etc.
I can’t really put my finger on why I don’t find it a place I’d like to hang out at regularly or suggest it as a place to meet up. Maybe it’s the weird bench proportions/height, maybe just my mood on this particular day, maybe I like a sense of community, while this location seems to have a more transient vibe. I didn’t think that stuff really mattered to me, but maybe it does.
The coffee was great, cashier and barista helpful and cheerful, convenient location, definitely have the people watching factor, but…… I don’t know. I’m just not feeling it. In comparison, I really enjoy their other locations. Bright and airy Cascade Coffee Works and Capitol Coffee Works. Maybe it’s not fair to compare this location with those being relative new locations and probably without the space and building restrictions this location has. The Ballard Coffee Works has a neighborhood feel, is bigger and has a cool Brew Bar area.
Website: I love their Authenticity Reports that shows transparency of how much they paid and how much they ordered from each of their farms. They also go into great detail about their employee benefits. I don’t know if Second Pay is an industry standard, but I think it’s a really fair policy in which Seattle Coffee Works will pay a little extra to the farm if they determine the quality of the coffee is better than expected after the coffee has already been purchased! If it’s less than expected Seattle Coffee Works admits it’s their mistake an honors the original negotiated price of the coffee beans.
I also really enjoyed the short biogarphies of the farms they source from and their locations.
Super detailed Brew Guides on their website that gives measurements to the gram and timing to the second for Aeropress, Chemex, Hario, Kalita Wave and even a Syphon.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: The above mentioned Authenticy Reports and Second Pay policy.
Atmosphere: 3.75
Service: 5
Food Options: 3.75
Extra Credit: +1.25 for Authenticity Report and Second Pay
Overall: 4.50
Eavedropping Convo: No conversations to report here, but Duh! I just realized after all these years that the Seattle Coffee Works logo of the guy drinking coffee is a play on the Hammering Man in front of the SAM(Seattle Art Museum)
Source: SeattleCoffeeScene.com
Source: Dazzling Places.com
Caffe Ladro(1800 9th Building)-Mystery Solved!
Description on Caffe Ladro website: At Caffe Ladro, we strive to provide profound service.
We believe that profound service improves the world.
Neighborhood: Pioneer Square
Address: 1800 9th Ave , Seattle, WA 98101
Music playing: Wild Horses by The Sundays
What we ate/drank: Latte, Gibraltar
Comments: Debated on whether or not to even review this Caffe Ladro location. I’ve been to many of the other Ladro locations and really this is just a coffee stand in a lobby of the 1800 9th Building. It has no real cafe feel. The lobby area does have nice seating and there are three high top tables against the window right next to the Caffe Ladro counter. And of course you get the Caffe Ladro quality coffee drinks, but the atmosphere is an “eh”.
I can see coming here for a to-go cup, if you were meeting somebody in the building and arrived early or if you worked nearby, but the “Jetsons” Caffe Ladro is only a few blocks away and has a better atmosphere to kick back for awhile. If I worked in this building I’d be super stoked to have a Caffe Ladro in my lobby though. The building I work in has a Starbucks in the lobby, so I’m envious. There were the normal limited bakery goods that are made in their bakery offsite.
Mystery Really Solved: You may remember how I made a fool out of myself at Caffe Vita getting mixed up where I was and asking them about the logo of Caffe Ladro. I was then determined to get the scoop on where the name Caffe Ladro came from. When I went to visit the Jetson’s Caffe Ladro they told me the logo of the silhouetted man represented a cloaked mysterious in-the-shadows thief since Ladro is Italian for thief. Well I got the real scoop now! I don’t know if it’s real but it’s a more clever origin. When the owner of Caffe Ladro decided to open his first cafe, he opened it right next to Starbucks in Queen Anne hoping to steal it’s customers with a better quality coffee and environment, so he picked the name Caffe Ladro or “Coffee Thief”.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: How bright the space is due to having windows surrounding on all sides.
Atmosphere: 3.5
Service: 5.0
Food Options: 3.75
Overall: 4.0
Eavedropping Convo: Took place on May the 4th.
Customer(C) – Have you gotten any Star Wars references today? You know, May the 4th? May the Force?
Barista(B)- Ohhh…..so that’s why I’ve seen so many Star Wars themed shirts today.
C-Are you a fan?
B- I mean I’ve seen them all. but I’m not a Star Wars nerd.
C- Yeah, I’m a fan but I couldn’t name every single character.
B- Oooooh..I should come up with a Star Wars theme drink for the day. How about the “Death Star”?
C – How about “Darth Mocha”?
Our Favorite Seattle Bars (Part 3)
Here’s Our Favorite Seattle Bars (Part 1)
Here’s Our Favorite Seattle Bars (Part 2)
In our post, Seattle Bars For All Occasions, we discussed what we objectively believed were the best Seattle bars based on the occasion. Now we discuss our subjective picks. There are certain bars that you like, not because it’s a great bar with great atmosphere and great drinks. You may like certain bars, because it was the bar you went to to celebrate taking your last exam in college, where you met your wife/husband, where you witnessed the ultimate Seahawk comeback win, where you drowned your sorrows getting over being dumped. We also mentioned in Our Seattle Bar Thoughts post that our bar of choice is the neighborhood bar, Our Bartender Thoughts, How We Treat Bartenders, Best Seattle Bars to Impress Out of Towners and Seattle Bars for Each Stage of Dating.
Bars-Sports Moments Good and Bad
We’re big sports fans, but we normally watch sports at home. But we were at bars for these memorable sports moments.
- Metropolitan Grill Bar-1995 was a magical season for the Mariners. Perennial losers they never even sniffed the playoffs, when suddenly they were in the midst of a playoff race. At the end of the season they were tied with the Angels, so they had a one game playoff. A co-worker and I went to the nearby Met and watched the Mariners finally get to the playoffs to meet the Yankees, who they miraculously defeated. It’s now June of 2018 and out of the 4 major sports leagues-NHL, NBA, MLB and NFL, the Mariners have had the longest playoff drought of any team in sports!
Source: Yelp
- Red Door Tavern-This is in 1998 when the Red Door was in it’s original location on Fremont Ave. UW vs Uconn in NCAA Tournament. UW was an 11 seed and somehow made it to the Sweet Sixteen. They were on their way to the Great Eight, when Rip Hamilton of Uconn made a last second shot. What a heart stomping defeat.
- Rock Bottom Brewing-UW vs UConn 2006. De ja vu all over again. 8 years later they met again in the Sweet Sixteen. This time, UW was the #1 seed and had a promising line up with future NBA pros-Brandon Roy, Will Conroy, Bobby Jones and Jon Brockman. UW had this game wrapped up, but a stupid foul in the last seconds put this game into overtime, where they lost. This place has since closed down.
- The Duchess Tavern-Lakers vs Celtics-game 5, 2010. I’m a huge Laker fan and the Celtics are their main rival. In 2008, the Celtics had defeated the Lakers to win the NBA Championship. 2010 was payback. It didn’t look so good with the series tied 2-2 and pivotal game 5 being played in Boston. The Lakers pulled out a gutty win which propelled them to close out the series and win their 16th title. I don’t come to The Duchess all that often but I also saw the UW vs Nebraska 2010 Holiday Bowl victory and the UW vs Univ of Colorado 2016 Pac 12 Championship victory here.
- LTD-2012 Seahawks vs Green Bay-The Fail Mary game. Met a friend at LTD in Fremont to catch up while watching this game. At the beginning of the NFL season, the referees were on strike. So they had to hire scrub referees. The Seahawks dominated in the first half, but fell behind with seconds left. All looked lost and on the last play of the game Russell Wilson threw a Hail Mary pass to the endzone. It appeared the GB defender intercepted the ball, but the referees called it a catch by Golden Tate and the Seahawks won. The bar went nuts. Shortly after this game, the NFL hired the referees back.
Favorite Dead Bars(RIP):
Bars that have gone out of business, but still reminisce about.
- Marcus’ Martini Heaven(Pioneer Square)-This was an underground cocktail bar that had a bunch of fish tanks. When I mean underground, I mean it was under street level in a room that had no windows. It was my go-to clandestine meet up place if I didn’t want to be seen by people from work. Kraken Congee was in this space for awhile, but I don’t think anybody is in this space at the moment.
Source
- Frontier Room(Belltown) Currently Villa Escondida. This was a very small bar known for making super duper strong drinks. When I was in my early 20’s, this is where we’d go to get cheap strong drinks before heading to clubs, which had weak expensive drinks. This was in the late 90’s/early 00’s.. Around 2004 in turned form the diviest of dive bars to an upscale BBQ place.
- The Chapel(Capitol Hill) Currently The Pinebox. You can actually see some of the remnants of the Chapel when going to the Pinebox. The bar used to be straight ahead when you walked in the door and had a U-shaped seating around it. Back then it really did look like a funeral home converted to a bar.
Source: Yelp
- Cloud Room(Downtown) Currently nothing. This is one I miss a lot. It was an old piano bar located on top the Camlin Hotel. Back then it had decent views and a bar that surrounded the piano. It reminded me of the Fabulous Baker Boys(filmed in Seattle). There’s actually an episode on Frasier(based in Seattle) where Martin meets his future wife who happens to a piano bar singer. I always wondered if it was based on the Cloud Room because it kinda looked like it.
- Duck Dodge (Lake Union). Currently The White Swan Public House. One of my co-workers knew the bartender here, so we always got the hookup with free drinks. It’s right on Lake Union so it’s a great spot in the summers. The spot has actually changed hands at least 3 times.
- Sit & Spin (Belltown)-Currently Commonwealth. This was a bar that you could do your laundry in. Hence, the name. it was a really odd combination. They also had a stage for bands there. I remember seeing a few shows there.
Source: Pinterest
- Buckaroo Tavern (Fremont)-Currently Restaurant Roux. I used to live down the street. It was known as a biker bar, which is strange because Fremont is the antithesis of biker anything. I remember riding the bus past it while they were shooting the movie, 10 Things Hate About You. One more story that I just remembered. There was a guy who was high as a kite on drugs and decided to drive. He hit about 10 parked cars(including mine which he totaled). He ended up flipping his car right in front of Buckaroo Tavern and tried to flee, but the bikers ran out of the bar and tackled him and held him for the cops. The incident was actually on the local news, so I have a VHS tape somewhere in storage of my totaled car on TV.
Source: Yelp
- Floyd’s Place(Queen Anne) -This was my go-to bar to have a drink before Seattle Sonics games. Now both are gone. Tear. Damn you, Howard Schultz!!!
- Dutch Neds (Pioneer Square)-Currently Box House. This was another hang out with my co-workers after work. Truthfully I don’t remember much about the place even though I went there over 30 times. Everytime I left Dutch Neds my mind was hazy. I remember it had a pool table. I remember it had an upstairs area. Other than that I just remember having fun times there.
- OK Hotel(Pioneer Square) -Currently an apartment building. I actually know somebody who lives here now, but before that, it was a bar with a stage right under the Alaskan Way Viaduct. It’s supposedly the first place Nirvana performed Smells Like Teen Spirit. It’s also portrayed in the movie, “Singles”, as the coffee shop where Matt Dillon and Bridget Fonda work. Here’s Nirvana playing at the OK Hotel in 91.
Pouring one out for all my dead homies.
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Herkimer Coffee
Description on Herkimer Coffee website : At Herkimer Coffee our purpose is to create a coffee experience of the highest possible quality. Whether it’s your double espresso, latte to go, or the bag of beans you brew at home, we want your experience to be the best it can be.
Neighborhood: Ravenna / University District
Address: 5611 University Way NE, Seattle, Washington 98105
Music playing: Didn’t I -Darondo
What we ate/drank: Macchiato
Comments: Herkimer Coffee is our go-to spot when our family walks over to Cowen Park or going to the Saturday University Farmer’s Market. We normally get our coffee to go and can only recollect one time where we met up with friends and actually stayed to enjoy our coffees. On this particular day, I decided to stay and enjoy.
Plus points for having “Didn’t I” by Darondo playing when I walked in. One of my favorites. Then some Vampire Weekend. Then some Shins. I asked the barista if this was his playlist and was about to compliment him, but alas, it was Spotify.
I got a Macchiato. Because it was late afternoon, their pastry selection at that point was pretty bare, but there pasties are from Café Besalu in Ballard. Note: As I delved deeper, I found out that Herkimer now owns Café Besalu as of last year! I had no idea.
One thing you’ll notice for some of their drinks is the strange pricing. For example, the Macchiato and Cortado are both $2.72. You may ask, why? That’s because with the tax, it comes out to an even $3.00, which I appreaciate. Keep it simple
The space is small like most places on The Ave, but I feel it maximizes the space with a long wooden bench that runs the entirety of the inside with 7 small tables . There are 4 stools running along the front of the space with a counter and one community table for 8. There are two tables out side on the side walk to look out on the northern part of The Ave. In the front it’s nice and bright, but towards the back it’s warm and dark with soft lighting
They had about some 3 tea selections. There’s local art on the wall for sale. And they got AC, yo!
Surprisingly, Herkimer only has 3 locations-Dexter, Ravenna and the flagship Greenwood location. It seems like there’s more locations, but I guess I drive down Greenwood and The Ave a lot. I don’t drive on Dexter much.
Like some other Seattle coffee roasters(Elm, Slate, Vita, Ladro), I was curious about where the name “Herkimer” and logo originated. Apparently it’s named after a town in New York, where the founder’s dad was born. Another fun fact: The founder of Herkimer also founded Caffe Vita. The bridge in the logo is an iconic bridge in Herkimer.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: I love the fact that there’s a quality coffee shop very near Cowen/Ravenna Park.
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 5
Food Options: 3.75
Overall: 4.25
Eavedropping Convo: Guy and a gal having a coffee. They seem to be UW students, It was right around end of the first quarter, so they were talking about plans for the summer and when they were leaving campus for home. They’d been there before I got there and were still there for the 45 minutes I was there, so they were there a while.
Gal) If you’re free, I was thinking about going……
Guy) Yes, let’s go!
Gal) You don’t know where I was going to suggest.
Guy) I don’t care. Let’s go!
Gal) It’s a place really close to here…….. Both walk out the door together.
Dude was super eager to hang out more I guess.