****NOTE: This review was done prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Of course, things are much different at the moment, but we hope things will get back to normal soon and hope you will continue to support these local businesses****
Herkimer Coffee – Phinney Ridge
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: Greenwood
What we ate/drank: Macchiato
Comments:We previously reviewed the Herkimer location in Ravenna. If you want to learn about the origin of Herkimer’s name, their relationship with their pastry supplier, Café Besalu, and the reason for their odd pricing, you can read about it here.
Herkimer Coffee is a well regarded roaster in Seattle as evidenced by their coffee being served at Brother Joe, Analog Coffee, Porchlight Coffee & Records, and Revolutions Coffee to name a few.
The Herkimer – Phinney Ridge location is their flagship and where their roasting takes place. They have a nice seating section that allows you to look directly into the roastery. The only two other roasters I can think of that do their roasting on premises and allows you to watch are Lighthouse Roasters in Fremont and Elm Coffee Roasters in Pioneer Square. I think Victrola Coffee Roasters in Capitol Hill has one too. But at the Herkimer – Phinney Ridge location you’re encouraged to watch the roasting process with seating set up facing the roaster. The other locations have the roasting process going on, but mainly going on in the background.
This space has an “L” shaped configuration with the balance of the space being used for the roastery. Apart from the sitting area where you can watch the roasting process, there’s a few chairs on the outside store front, lots of window seating, a large community table a separate smaller tables throughout.
One of the quirky items they have is a pencil sharpener on the wall for those doing their crosswords or sodoku. One thing to note, during the roasting process it can get quite loud if you intend to have a conversation or bring in a sleeping infant.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: There’s a pencil sharper on the wall! So bring your pencils when doing your NY Times crossword puzzles. Also the seating looking in on the roastery.
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 5
Food Options: 3.75
Overall: 4.25
Eavedropping Convo: Two guys having coffee on a counter near the window
Guy 1(G1) – Awe, hell no!
Guy 2(G2) – Stands up really quick from spilled coffee. What happened?!
G1 – I wasn’t paying attention and spilled my drink. Damn, all over my phone too. Can you grab some napkins?
G2 – Rushes to get napkins and brings back.
G1 – Well might be time for a new phone. Attempts to power up his phone. Oh good, it’s still working. Phew. Honestly, there’s a part of me that wishes it was busted, so I could get a new phone.
Related:
****NOTE: This review was done prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Of course, things are much different at the moment, but we hope things will get back to normal soon and hope you will continue to support these local businesses****
Vif Wine | Coffee
Description on Vif Wine|Coffee’s website: Vif Wine|Coffee offers a new approach to how wine and coffee are presented and sold in Seattle. Our focus — offering products that are alive, real and natural — sets us apart from all other wine merchants and cafes.
Neighborhood: Fremont
Address: 4401 Fremont Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103
Music Playing: Islands On The Coast by Band of Horses
What we ate/drank: Cortado, Apple Croissant
Comments: Many years ago I used to live in this neighborhood. If I remember correctly, this used to be a teriyaki joint and then became a burger joint. The folks at Vif have definitely done a good job of turning the space from a nondescript grab and go teriyaki/burger spot to an inviting space where you can enjoy a coffee or a wine since they opened in 2013. The plain exterior of the building left by the previous businesses belie the relaxing interior.
There is a wall of windows on three sides of the building, which makes it bright and includes a U-shaped bench with plenty of electrical outlets. Beware: No laptops allowed on the weekends during brunch hours – 8am-3pm. Vif also has a good sized patio area and one of the rarest of conveniences, an adjoining free parking lot. A good amount of the space displays their natural wine selection.
Vif offers a nice place to have a coffee/dessert after eating a heavy meal at Uneeda Burger, Paseo or Fremont Bowl, which are right down the street. They’ve also got some competition with Lighthouse Coffee Roasters and Caffe Vita nearby. What Vif has going for it though, is the in house made pastries as well as a few lighter dishes, such as salads, breakfast sandwiches and avocado tartine.
According to this Stranger article ( https://www.thestranger.com/food-and-drink/feature/2015/10/28/23071788/some-of-the-tastiest-food-can-be-found-at-a-wine-shop-in-fremont) :
The inspiration for Vif came while the two were traveling in France. Feldman(owner) says Vif is modeled after a type of business that’s common there but rare in the United States. “It’s called cave à manger—basically a wine shop where you can get a bite to eat.
Mead and Feldman avoided calling their business a cave à manger because, says Feldman, “no one knows what that means and it sounds a little elitist when you use words that no one understands.”
This concept might be common in France, but it’s definitely rare in Seattle. And the wine that Vif specializes in is natural wine, which is made with as little human intervention as possible. No color additives, added yeasts or chemicals.
There appears to be a second location in the works in Beacon Hill.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: The unexpected transformation from teriyaki/burger joint to a relaxing café.
Atmosphere: 4.50
Service: 4.25
Food Options: 4.50
Overall: 4.40
Eavedropping Convo:
Related:
- Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Seattle Coffee Shops
- Best Seattle Coffee Shops For Each Stage of Dating
- Our New Seattle Coffee Shop Discoveries in 2019
- Part 5 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops for Food Options, Friendliest Service
****NOTE: This review was done prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Of course, things are much different at the moment, but we hope things will get back to normal soon and hope you will continue to support these local businesses****
Outlaw Tamales
Recommended by: Nobody. A testament to how much of a “secret” this place is. I stumbled upon it visiting Tempesta Coffee (RIP)
Description on the Outlaw Tamale’s website: Steve is an artisan, small batch tamale designer making new and original (as well as traditional) tamales in Seattle. Always handmade. Always small batch. Always made with love and care with the consumer in mind.
Neighborhood/Type: Belltown
Address: 2025 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98121 in a Jiffy Lube parking lot.
What we ate/drank: Sausage, Egg & Cheese- $8, Shredded Beef & Cheese(diced green chiles, onion & pepper jack cheese – $9, Salsa Verde Chicken -$8
Comments: Outlaw Tamale is a couple, a cart and a covering in the Jiffy Lube parking lot in downtown Seattle(Belltown to be exact).
There were 10 choices – 2 breakfast, 7 regulars(classics) and 1 special. The special today was Salsa Roja Chicken w/free roasted tomato, but we opted for a breakfast(Sausage, Egg & Cheese- $8) and two classics(Shredded Beef & Cheese w/diced green chiles, onion & pepper jack cheese – $9 , Salsa Verde Chicken -$8).
On this particular day the tamales had pretty traditional fillings, but my understanding is they do experiment with non-traditional fillings like spicy barbecue beef with bacon, Philly cheesesteak and meatball parmesan.
We got the breakfast tamale heated up to eat and took the Shredded Beef and Salsa Verde Chicken refrigerated to eat later. They offered to open up the tamale for us if we were going to eat it on the spot, but we decided to take it back to the office to eat.
While waiting for them to prepare the tamales, I spoke to the owner. I thought this might be a side hustle business, because they are only open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8am – 2pm. He advised this was indeed his full time job and that they are only open on these days because he can only make so many tamales in a day.
First things first, the price is higher than normal, but the size of the Outlaw Tamales are probably twice the size of normal tamales. It’s more of a burrito size than a tamale size. Tax is included in the listed price.
Normally, tamales are 80% masa and 20% or less filling. The Outlaw Tamales do have a thick masa, but the filling is just as plentiful. The ratio is perfect in our opinion. The masa is firm, but moist.
Many times a tamale filing can get dry and clumped together, but the Outlaw Tamale filling is nice and gooey, almost like when you cut open a chicken pot pie. They offer small containers for either a green medium verde salsa or a Poblano hot salsa. Both homemade and both delicious.
The fact that these are made in small batches assures quality control for each tamale. This is really a “mom and pop” operation, so in order to survive they really rely on word of mouth for increased business, which means their product better be tasty enough for people to rave about it to co-workers, family and friends. The common sight of “sold out” on their chalkboard proves word is traveling. We love supporting these small businesses.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: N/A. It’s a cart located in a parking lot.
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.50
Bang for the Buck: 4.50
Overall: 4.65
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- 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!
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