Cafe Lulu – Greenlake
Description on Cafe Lulu’s website: A fun, cozy, welcoming atmosphere might just become a natural extension of your own home.
Neighborhood: Greenlake
Address: 6417 Latona Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115
What we ate/drank: Doppio Espresso, Cinnamon Roll.
Comments: It’s actually been awhile since we’d been to Café Lulu, the small little neighborhood coffee shop in between Greenlake and Roosevelt neighborhoods. They just recently did a remodel which really changed the feel of the café. Before it was a cozy colorful spot with orange walls, chalkboard menus and lots of art. Now Café Lulu has been transformed to a more modern clean café with white walls, bright lights and no artwork. Perhaps the remodel is not completely done? One thing that remains at Café Lulu is their collection of travel books. I remember coming here a few years ago and reading through a Japan travel guide right before our trip there.
Here are the before and after comparisons:
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
The seating quantity is about the same as before, but the quality is much nicer. There’s some stool seating along the front counter looking out on Latona Ave. There 5 tables of two and 1 table in the front that starts at the wall and goes perpendicular to create a table. The wood tables are quite stunning. The counter between the customers and the barista is much more open and lower now, so you can more easily interact now. Before you could only see their heads as they were making drinks.
The coffee machine they have has a Caffe Vita sticker(yes, I finally figured out Vita vs Ladro), so I assume that’s what they’re serving.Some of the food options are yogurt, banana, oatmeal, breakfast burritos, bagels and I think some bagel sandwiches. One other thing they added with the new remodel is the selling of wine by the glass and bottle. With the addition of wine it only makes sense that they extend their hours from 2:00 closing to 6:00 on weeknights starting in February.
I’ll be honest, even with the upgrades in lighting and outlets, I kind of miss the cozy environment prior to the remodel. Perhaps, it’s just something we need to get used to. I give kudos to any coffee shop that’s been in business for 21 years especially with the plethora of coffee in Seattle. They’re obviously doing something right maintaining their customer base.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: Library of travel books
Atmosphere: 3.75
Service: 4.50
Food Options: 4.25
Overall: 4.15
Eavedropping Convo: There must be a Microsoft Connector bus stop nearby. 2 Microsoft employees waiting inside Cafe Lulu for the bus. I think they had just figured out that both of them were both waiting for the Connector.
M1(Microsoft Employee 1): What area do you work in?
M2(Microsoft Employee 2): —-Sales. I just started two weeks ago so I’m still finding my way with the commute and the company. Note: I couldn’t hear the exact sales dept.
M1: It takes awhile to get the lay of the land that’s for sure. It’ll get better. I promise.
M2: Yeah, I’m sure it will.
M1: Where did you come from?
M2: I moved here from Atlanta. Man, this cold weather is another thing I need to get used to.
M1: This? This ain’t nothing. It’s actually been a mild winter. Don’t worry, it’ll get colder.
M2: Gee, thanks.
Related:
Citizen Cafe – Queen Anne
Recommended by: Our Server at Square Knot Diner is a resident of the Queen Anne neighborhood and mentioned a little known and underrated spot called, Citizen Café.
Description on the Citizen Cafe’s website: Welcome to Citizen Cafe and Bar. We are located in the lower Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, Washingon in the shadow of the Space Needle. We love our neighborhood and the people that we see everyday, as well as those who might be passing through, looking for a place to grab a bite or a sip. We also love creating food and drinks that are fun and delicious. Things are always changing with new specials for every season and creative new ideas for cocktails and dishes. Be at home in our cozy cafe or on our sun-drenched patio and let us take care of you.
Neighborhood/Type: Queen Anne
What we ate/drank: Pulled Pork Tacos, Korexican Tacos, Macchiato
Comments: Until our server at Square Knot Diner had told us about Citizen Café, we’d never heard of it. Maybe it’s because when going to Queen Anne we’re familiar with the businesses on Queen Anne Ave on top of the hill and the businesses on lower Queen Anne on Mercer Ave. Citizen Café is located on the lower western part of Queen Anne. When we did arrive, we were quite shocked how big the property was. In addition to the two story café they had a huge adjoining outside portion. Citizen Café is a bit of a unicorn in Seattle in that they serve 7:00am breakfast not only on the weekends, but also on weekdays.
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The bottom portion of the space is the café portion, where a lot of commuters are just ordering coffee to go. There is some counter space along the window and a few stools near the cashier, but the second story is where the main seating area is. Our server told us that the second story was added on only a few years ago. The space has a lot of character. You’ll notice the exposed brick throughout and the exposed wooden beams. Our server advised that prior incarnations of the space were a fire station, a horse stable and more recently storage for the auto repair business next door. An original touch is the pages of Anna Karenina wallpapered along the wall on the second floor.
We both decided on tacos for breakfast, the pulled pork tacos and the Korexican Tacos(see details in the picture below). I’m not sure why, but I wasn’t expecting much when we ordered our meals. Maybe we thought that they were mainly a coffee shop first and food would take a back seat in quality. We were happily surprised that their tacos were really good. I especially like their pulled pork tacos. I thought for the portion size and quality, the dishes were also reasonably priced.I’m more of a savory person than a sweet person, so the Korexican tacos were not a hit for me, but my wife loved them.
Our server was accommodating and friendly. I point this out because we were there with two kids-(2 yr old and a 3 month old). The place is really unique and we’ll be sure to add it to our list of places to take visitors or local friends. Just a warning, it’s not a place that can accommodate larger groups. I would say maybe 6 people max and even that’s pushing it. Citizen is coffee cafe/brunch spot by day and bar/cocktails in the evening.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.50
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.65
Bang for the Buck: 4.25
Overall: 4.50
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!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: Our server(Brian) mentioned The 5 Spot as another option for breakfasts in the area when asking for suggestions.
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Caffe Ladro – Fremont
Description on Caffe Ladro’s website:Visit Caffe Ladro in 15 different neighborhoods in the Seattle, Washington area. Each of our cafés is unique and built to suit the neighborhood where it makes its home. You will find the same great coffee and fresh-baked goods at any Caffe Ladro location you visit.
Neighborhood: Fremont
Address: 452 N 36th St, Seattle, WA 98103
Music Playing: It’s A Jungle Out There-Buddy Guy, Let the Good Times Roll-BB King, Bleeding Heart – Jimmy D Lane
What we ate/drank: Gibraltar
Comments: This is the 4th Caffe Ladro we’re writing about. In a previous Caffe Ladro review, we mentioned that each branch has a very distinct feel. For example the one located in downtown on Pine Street, we call, The “Jetsons Caffe Ladro”. This one in Fremont we call, “The Library Caffe Ladro”. Why? This one has three sets of long tables that have the little lamps on them that you see in university libraries.
In addition to the library style tables, there are 6 or 7 smaller marble tables and counter seating all along the front looking out on N 36th.
I’m not sure if they always play this type of music in this location, but on the morning we went they were playing the blues-Buddy Guy, BB King, Jimmy D Lane. The music definitely adds to the laid back relaxing atmosphere of this location. This location is the exact opposite of The Jetsons Ladro, which has a very futuristic feel to it. This Ladro has an old nostalgic feel-exposed wood beams, warm lighting from Edison bulbs, beautiful huge wooden window frames.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: The library style lights on the bigger tables.
Atmosphere: 4.00
Service: 4.50
Food Options: 3.75
Overall: 4.25
Eavedropping Convo: As you can tell by the pictures, we ended up going here very early in the morning. This would be the perfect time to have a personal discussion with your boss outside of business hours. The weird thing is this conversation happened on a weekend morning and it was definitely a boss-underling conversation.
Boss(B): Why did you want to meet this early?
Underling(U): I just felt I needed to get some things off my chest before I made any rash decisions.
B: The floor is yours
U: I feel that some of the things promised are not being followed through on. You said you would mentor me, but it seems you are spending way more time mentoring the others and I want to know why. Is it because I’m not as pushy? Are you too busy? I want to improve, prove myself and get promoted as I’ve mentioned before, so how do I do this?
B: Sure, sure Ok. Fair enough. I’ve probably been more occupied with some of the others because they’re more outspoken. They’re go-getters and you know actions speak louder than words.
U: I don’t want you to mistake my quietness for not wanting do improve.
B: Sure, OK. But in my defense, you have never asked to meet until now. I want to give you every opportunity, but you’ve never asked for feedback.
U: I feel like, you should be the one to provide feedback to me because I don’t know.
B: Sure, sure Ok. Well, first you need to improve your grammar in your correspondences. Your use of plurals and pronouns needs work.
B always started his responses off saying, “Sure, sure OK”. Also, as you can see B got quite defensive and once that happened B went on the offensive and was painfully blunt. Not only did he say U had to improve on her grammar, but also talked about her getting to work earlier, staying later, being more outspoken in meetings, meeting deadlines that she thought were unrealistic. Once B was finished, he asked U, “How will you prove this to me”? Savage.
Related:
**********5/20-Unfortunately, This Restaurant Has Closed Down**********
Il Corvo – Pioneer Square
Recommended by: Our server(sorry we didn’t get your name) at Trove in Capitol Hill recommended Il Corvo as her favorite lunch spot.
Description on the Il Corvo’s website:At Il Corvo we rely on years of experience and knowledge in order to create the perfect noodle. We work with traditional bronze dies and handmade tools as well as high quality organic ingredients to develop pasta with a proper al dente mouth feel that is both delicious and firm.
Neighborhood/Type: Pioneer Square
Address: 217 James St, Seattle, WA 98104
What we ate/drank: Campanelle, Pappardelle, Maccheroni, Kale Salad
Comments: Update 9/22/19: Il Corvo just made Seattle Met’s 100 Best Restaurant
There are certain Rites of Passage in Seattle like standing in line at Paseo for a sandwich or standing in line at Tsukushinbo for Ramen Friday. Here’s another one. Standing in line for lunch at Il Corvo.
Some history of Il Corvo first. It used to be this secret pasta place located in a gelato shop near Pike Place Market. I can’t remember if they served lunch everyday or only on certain days, but I remember there were maybe 3 tables. And I don’t think there was any signage that Il Corvo was located in this gelato shop. You just had to know about it. I also remember that it wasn’t really a proper kitchen but that pasta was being made off of a portable butane burner, like you might have for camping.
Eventually Il Corvo moved to it’s current location in Pioneer Square, but it’s only open for lunch and it’s only open on the weekdays. The daily ritual that happens is a line starts forming at 10:45ish and sometimes earlier. If you want a seat(aprox 35 seats) in their small location coming at 11:00 right when they open is too late. If you look at the picture below it was taken exactly at 11:00 and you might think that there’s only about 12 people waiting. Nope, there’s already a line from the back of the restaurant that starts at the cashier all the way through the restaurant and out the door. So although there’s 12 people waiting in line outside, there’s actually a line of more than 20 inside. This is definitely an indication of how good their pasta is. The owner/chef, Mike Easton, was a Finalist for the Best Chef: Northwest award given by the James Beard Foundation.
So you stand in line, get to the cash register and order. Then they will advise you where to sit and bring the food out. Even with the large crowds, they do a good job of managing the available tables. While waiting in line to order, they went down the long line to ask if you were ordering to go or staying and this way they could decide where to seat people even prior to them ordering. If you are a party of one or two, don’t be surprised if you’re sharing a table with others. It can’t really be helped due to the popularity of Il Corvo and the always present line through the restaurant, but it can feel very cramped once seated with those in line hovering right over you. It’s just the price you have to pay like any popular place.
There’s an ever-changing menu of three pastas a day at $9.95 per dish. You can follow what they’re serving that day on their Instagram. They also have some Anti-Pasta dishes such as kale salad, prosciutto plate, pickled vegetables and house made focaccia. They also serve wine.
We always order the three different pastas and when all dishes get to the table, we always look and each other and say, “There’s no way we can finish this”. We always do.
The Pappardelle ala Bolongnese was my favorite and gets a five out of five rating from me. Served with flat broad pappardelle, the meat in the Bolognese sauce is blended into a gooey paste. Bon Appetit actually published the recipe for this gravy back in 2015, but I’d much rather have it prepared and cooked by a pasta Jedi.
The Campanelle with arugula pesto with walnuts, almonds and pistachio was on the other side of spectrum with a really fresh and light compared to the savory Bolognese. I think we’ve had this same dish, but it was with Fusilli the last time we were here.
The last dish was the Maccheroni with corona beans, swiss chard and mama lil’s peppers, which was also a home run. The Maccheroni noodles are massive to match the corona beans. I think the bigger holes in the noodles allows all the ingredients to really permeate. And we’re big fans of Mama Lil’s Peppers. These are also a main ingredient of both Morsel and Biscuit and Beans’ biscuit sandwiches.
As a courtesy for those waiting in line for a seat, try not to linger too long. We did notice that a lot of people do order to go to eat back at their office, but definitely the best way to enjoy it is fresh off the pan in the restaurant if possible.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.25
Service: 4.75
Food/Drinks: 5.00
Bang for the Buck: 5.00
Overall: 4.75
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!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: After this blog post was published a friend/reader reminded us of Tavolata after seeing me gush about Il Corvo’s pappardelle. We’ll head there soon.
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Ada’s Technical Books Cafe
Description on Lighthouse Roaster’s website : One of Seattle’s original roaster cafes, Lighthouse has spent more than twenty years creating a loyal following of coffee lovers by treating the coffee buying, roasting and drink-making as a noble calling.
Description on Ada’s Technical Book Cafe’s website : Everything we serve is made in house and prepared to order. Tasty. Thoughtful. Wholesome.
Address: 425 15th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98112
Music Playing: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Frank Sinatra
What we ate/drank: Cortado
Comments:
It’s not often we come to this stretch of coffee shops and restaurants on 15th Ave E. in Capitol Hill, so this was the first time visiting Ada’s Technical Book Café. Ada’s Technical Books Café was founded in 2010, but moved to it’s current location in 2013. It reminds me of Meg Ryan’s children’s book store in You’ve Got Mail, except Ada’s is a STEM-centric book store. It’s got that community feel in a niche book area.
Ada’s is bright and airy, coffee and food, books to browse, display tables to discover. It’s the type of place that you can stay for hours and come back over and over. Ada’s is named after Ada Lovelace, a mathematician, who is considered the first computer programmer ever. She lived from 1815 to 1852. Her silhouette is the logo of Ada’s Technical Books.
Their pastries are cooked in-house and they also provide various vegetarian meals, such as Spicy Southwest Black Bean Burgers, Seasonal Potato Hash, Biscuit & Country Mushroom Gravy and Ada’s Breakfast Sandwiches.
So where do we begin. Once ordering your coffee(and meal) you can grab a seat at one of their various display tables. Oh, no tipping policy by the way. Each one is unique and interesting. It’s like sitting at a museum display case. Check out the one below with various old locks and lock picks. We truthfully wanted to go from table to table to see each one. You could come back multiple times and just sit at their various display tables and be entertained each time.
They have an area dedicated to puzzles and books for youngsters. When my daughters are old enough, we’d love if Ada’s became one of their favorite place to come to. Because this was a former residence, in addition to all the technical books there are separate rooms to sit down in. The first room off the main store area has a long bench and some counter seating along with a huge checkboard. There’s also an area called the Lab that offers a rentable event space in which cocktails can be served. That’s not all. There’s also an area called The Office, which provides desks that can be rented daily or monthly with 24 hour access.
Check out Ada’s Technical Books Cafe website for more details and their events. Some examples of classes that definitely foster a neighborhood feel – More Than You Ever Really Wanted to Know About Coffee, Seattle Music Machine Salon(discussion on aspects of making music with computers/electronics), Aphrodisiac Tincture Making Workshop(making aphrodisiac potions).
Ada’s Technical Books is definitely one of the more memorable cafes in Seattle. The geekiness of it, the fact that it’s for all ages, the interesting décor from the display tables to the hanging collage to the maze of rooms. It’s really unique. I’ll admit Ada’s might become our new Coffee Place to Impress Seattle Visitors.
Breaking News-5/21/20: Ada’s has acquired the three Fuel Coffee branches. You can read about the details here.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: Everything!
Atmosphere: 5.00
Service: 4.75
Food Options: 4.50 (only because we like meat, but admittedly they have a good variety)
Overall: 4.75
Eavesdropping Convo: Guy and a gal who seemed to be doing a long distance relationship.
Guy: I can’t keep traveling back and forth.
Gal: Can’t you take sick leave? If you said you needed time off for your mental health, I don’t think they’ll say no. It’s not their culture.
Guy: Alright let’s see how it goes.
Gal: You never really thought about that in the beginning, so don’t just dismiss it.
Guy: I don’t feel right about it. It’s dishonest.
Gal: Ok then……..pouts. Where do we go from here?
Guy: Let’s see how things go.
Gal: Looking demoralized. Ok, but I’m not feeling optimistic though. I gotta tell ya.
Related:
**********Unfortunately, This Restaurant Has Closed Down**********
Recommended by: We’re huge fans of Revel and Joule from the wife/husband team of Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, but had never been to Trove in Capitol Hill. We were in the mood for some Korean BBQ, so off we went.
Description on the Trove website: Korean barbecue is at the heart of Trove, the ambitious culinary playground Yang and Chirchi opened in 2014. Trove BBQ’s dining room holds tabletop grills on which diners can cook their own deeply flavored meats.
Neighborhood/Type: Capitol Hill
What we ate/drank: Pork Kimchi Dumplings w/mapo sauce, Meat Tower for 2: Beef sirloin with salted black bean cure & pork belly with garlic chili cure. Stoup Pale Ale.
Comments: We knew about Trove since we are fans of Revel and Joule and remembered when it opened, but we were shocked that it was over 4 years ago. Well, we finally made it out here. First of all, Old Village Korean BBQ, this ain’t. We’re in Cap Hill, so of course we’re dealing with a very chic place.
Trove seems to be split in 5 different compartments. You have the truck that is attached to the building that serves parfait from the truck window. Although this section was closed when we visited on a Friday night. The entry leads you to the second compartment, which is a noodle bar with a few seats that are right in the store front on Pike. At first we thought this was the entire restaurant and thought, “Wow, this place is tiny”, but when the host appeared, he took us back to the main bbq area. Although, they don’t have the built in bbq grills into the table at this section, I did see that they had portable grills that they could put next to your table if you wanted bbq.
Before reaching the main dining area, we passed by the third compartment, which is their bar area that’s got a dark romantic vibe to it. The forth compartment is the main dining area which has the tables with the bbq grill built in. This is wear we ate. The fifth compartment is a slightly elevated private room area.
For starters we ordered some drinks and the Pork Kimchi Dumplings w/mapo sauce. One thing I notice about these dumplings is that there was no wasted space between the wrapper and the filling of the dumplings. Normally, there is the filling and then a bunch of space between the wrapper when the filling inside normally shrinks when it’s steamed. Not only are the dumplings on the bigger side, I really feel like you get your moneys worth when the dumpling is all the way full of pork.
As our main course we ordered the Humble Meat Tower that included beef sirloin with salted black bean cure and pork belly with garlic chili cure. This was perfect for two of us, but oh how I wish we had more people so we could have gotten the Baller Tower Plus for 6 people, which include pork collar, beef tri tip, leg of lamb with cumin and Sichuan peppercorn rub and duck with carmelized plum sauce. We’ll definitely have to come back with more people or bigger appetites.
With the Meat Tower comes three dipping sauces-a jalapeno sauce, a seafood sauce and a miso sauce. The Meat Tower is literally a tower of meat. It also comes with leafy veggies so you can wrap your meat and eat ssam style. We did use the lettuce to wrap our cooked meat, but we also ordered rice to eat that way too. So you get your tower of thinly sliced raw meat, they provide some tongs and you place the meat on the grill. Once done you use a pair of scissors they also provide to cut up your meat, put in your lettuce wrap, put a little bit of the sauce on and devour. You can cook the meat at your pace, so you can take breaks in between.
Some might think, “I came all the way to this fancy restaurant in Capitol Hill and I have to pay to cook my own meal?!?” But there is something fun about cooking your own food, especially when you’re out with groups. And like I said, you can eat at your own pace, which is nice. What you’re really paying for is the spices/marinate and quality of the meat that you can’t get anywhere else.
We really enjoyed our meal at Trove, but if we’re being honest, it’s a distant third to Revel and Joule . I know it’s not fair to compare since Trove’s niche is Korean BBQ which is very different from Revel and Joule , but we consider those two to be two of the top 5 in all of Seattle so our expectations were high. All in all, it was fun and tasty and we’d love to come back to see if we could take on the Baller Meat Tower so we can get more of a variety.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.25
Service: 4.25
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 4.60
Overall: 4.50
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!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: Our server mentioned Il Corvo as her favorite lunch time pasta restaurant.
Related Articles:
Armistice Coffee
Description on Armistice Coffee’s website :We are looking to give back to the city of Seattle, the best way we know how- coffee!
Neighborhood: Eastlake
Address: 2201 Eastlake Ave E, Seattle, WA 98102
Music Playing: In My Feelings by Drake
What we ate/drank: Cortado
Comments: The coffee shop choices have been pretty slim pickings in the Eastlake neighborhood for a while. Before the Link Light Rail at UW opened, I used to take a bus to work that would go through Eastlake, so I’d also know when a new business popped up. Now that I don’t take the bus anymore, I only go through the Eastlake area maybe once every month at most. The last time going through we noticed a new building and on the bottom floor of that building was Armistice Coffee, so we’d thought we’d check it out.
First thing we noticed upon heading toward the front door is that in the store front window you can see a small roasting machine and found out that Armistice Coffee roasts their own beans on the premises, so you know you’re getting fresh coffee. Because it’s in a new building, it has a new modern feel to it. The seating options are rather limited on the inside. You have a “living room” configuration with a leather sofa and four leather chairs surrounding a coffee table.
There are some chairs off to the side, a community table that fits 6 and way in the back are two secluded tables with a bench and some finished log stools. The real highlight are the seating options outside where they have a patio with tables surrounded by trees. They also have doors that open to the east and south, that would make it nice a breezy. We came in the winter, so although it’s sunny, when it’s 39 degrees at noon, you can’t really enjoy the patio or have the doors open. I’m sure we’d enjoy the space more if we came back in the summer.
We went there to enjoy a coffee, but if you are coming here to work on a lap top, there aren’t many seating option except for the community table of 6 and the two tables in the back, which is an area that is really dark.
There are limited pastry options. The Cortado was exceptional.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: Having a sorely needed new coffee shop option in the Eastlake neighborhood.
Atmosphere: 4.00
Service: 4.00
Food Options: 3.50
Overall: 3.75
Eavesdropping Convo: None
Related:
There’s always been hype around Uneeda Burgers upgraded(“Fancy”) burger. Check out this excerpt from a food critic from The Stranger:
First of all, let me say that both burgers were excellent. Nothing wrong with relatively well-off suburban cows. Painted Hills, A+. HOWEVER. The Wagyu burger was a revelation. I mean literally like the book of Revelation, like eight flaming man-goats descended on fiery Segways and beat me in the face with their righteous swords of deliciousness….The Wagyu patty was soft without being insubstantial, drippier, darker, and beefier than its counterpart. The Wagyu burger made you forget that ketchup exists. Seriously, it was so good. If my mother were a cow, I would still eat this hamburger. If I were a hamburger, I would eat this hamburger. If I were this hamburger, I would eat myself.
Whoa. After reading this wouldn’t you be a tad bit curious to see if this burger was that good? So we had to do our own taste test.
As mentioned in our Uneeda Burger post, we have our favorite burgers, the Croque Madame Burger and the Crimini Mushroom Burger, so we’ve never had the “fancy” burger patty.
To really taste the patty, we just did the Classic Burger, which is as plain as you can get. It’s bun, patty, lettuce, tomato, pickle and sauce. We ordered one with the normal all-natural painted hills beef and then ordered the fancy patty made of gleason ranch 100% pasture-raised beef for an additional $2. Both were cooked to medium.
The Verdict: The regular classic is $5.00 and the “fancy” 100% pasture raised beef is an extra $2.00. In order to really compare, we had to test side by side, and there was a discernible difference with the pasture-raised beef. It is a bit more flavorful, but here’s the thing-the regular burger also has quality beef and it’s nearly as good. It was a fun experiment to do the taste test, but with the 40% markup on the pasture-raised beef, it’s not soooo much better in our opinion. Plus more importantly, we like the Uneeda burgers with the other quality ingredients like cheese, eggs, mushroom, ham,etc, so with the additional flavors and the regular burger already being of great quality, we don’t envision ordering the “fancy” burger going forward.
Update 9/22/19: Uneeda Burger just made Seattle Met’s 100 Best Restaurant
Related Articles:
- Paseo vs Un Bien
- Ezell’s vs Heaven Sent – Battle of Seattle’s Best Fried Chicken
- Battle of the North Seattle Taco Trucks
- Uneeda Burger – The Best Burger in Seattle
Caffe Vita – Fremont
Description on their web: By creating an environment where the customer can see, touch, and taste the coffee they purchase, we provide a unique learning opportunity that allows our coffee to speak for itself. Caffe Vita is always fresh, imported directly from the farm and roasted on-site.
Neighborhood: Fremont
Address: 4301 Fremont Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103
Music playing: I Really Like You by Carly Rae Jepsen
What we ate/drank: Espresso and an apple strudel
Espresso & Apple Strudel
Comments: You may recall the fiasco where I made a fool of myself at the Caffe Vita in Pioneer Square when asking about their logo. There was no such embarrassment this time around, just a relaxing visit in my old neighborhood.
I actually lived a few blocks away from this location when I first moved to Seattle. Every single business on this cross section of Fremont Ave and N. 43th St has changed and in most cases multiple times. The only businesses that have not changed is the coin operated laundry mat and Eyes on Fremont. The Caffe Vita – Fremont location is no different. When I first moved here, this spot was a hair salon and it’s the spot I used to get my hair cut. It’s now odd looking out the window from Caffe Vita – Fremont and remembering the exact view when I was getting a hair cut.
This spot is much smaller than their Pioneer Square location, but the service is just as friendly and it definitely has a neighborhood feel versus a quick grab-a-coffee-to-go commuter spot. A lot of cafes near downtown/SLU/Cap Hill/Pioneer Sq can sometimes turn into a place for work meetings or freelance workers. Caffe Vita -Fremont feels like a place for neighbors to get a quick respite for relaxation. While here, there was a couple in which one was teaching the other how to read Chinese, a grandfather and grandson grabbing a hot chocolate(?) and few folks who stopped by for a coffee pit stop while walking their dogs.
On this visit, I had an espresso and an apple strudel. Caffe Vita – Fremont is a corner, so there’s lots of light that comes in through the windows. There are a couple of tables/seats out on the sidewalk and about seating for maybe 25 people on the inside.
If you are interested in the history of Caffe Vita and it’s owner, I encourage you to read this fascinating article from the Seattle Met Magazine. I had no idea the owner was also a restaurateur and behind Via Tribulani. It also references the relationship between he and the owner of Herkimer Coffee(a co owner of Caffe Vita at one time) and the owner of Espresso Vivace (a mentor).
Ratings(Scale 1-5)
Favorite Thing: It’s nice to have a neighborhood spot from one of the premier Seattle coffee roasters.
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 5
Food Options: 3
Overall: 4
Eavesdropping Convo: None
Related:
Square Knot Diner
Recommended by: Carmela, our server at Roxy’s Diner in Fremont recommended Square Knot Diner for really good breakfasts.
T
Description on the Square Knot Diner’s website: No nonsense, straight-up diner food. All ages welcome.
Neighborhood/Type: Georgetown
Address: 6015 Airport Way South, Seattle, WA 98108
Music Playing: Don’t Blame Me by Thelonious Monk
What we ate/drank: Cinnamon Roll, Chile Cheese Omelette, Corned Beef Hash w/Two Poached Eggs
Comments: We have a family tradition of stopping by Square Knot Diner whenever we are headed to Seatac Airport for a trip. It all started when our youngest was born. The first restaurant we ever took her to was Roxy’s Diner in Fremont. Our daughters crying woke us up and Roxy’s Diner happened to be open at 7am on a Saturday. Long story short, we asked our server at Roxy’s Diner, if she could recommend other diners should we find ourselves in the same predicament. She suggested Square Knot Diner in Georgetown. Now, Georgetown is a bit out of the way for us, so we didn’t go there right away, but remembered it as an option if we were ever in the area. We’d never heard of Square Knot Diner before Carmela at Roxy’s Diner suggested it.
So fast forward a few months. We took our daughter on our first flight by plane to Texas. As paranoid first time parents traveling with an infant we left the house far in advance of our flight to account for any issues or delays that might occur. We checked and double checked and headed to Seatac. When we got on the freeway, we determined we were going to be at the airport super early, about 3 hours too early. We remember Carmela’s suggestion in Georgetown which is on the way to the airport and a tradition was born. Now we always build in some extra time to make a stop at Square Knot Diner for breakfast whenever we go to Seatac airport.
Their motto is so apropos-“No nonsense, straight-up diner food. All ages welcome”. This really is a no frills diner that feels like it’s stuck in time. From their old style booths, to the vintage signage and the U-shaped counter that you see in the movies when depicting a diner from the 50s. When we walked in to Square Knot Diner for the first time, I saw the U-Shaped counter and fell in love.
You won’t find any fancy breakfast dishes here, but you will get tasty hearty traditional breakfast meals that are reasonably priced. And true to their word, about all ages being welcome, our server could not have been any nicer, fawning over our daughter when we went there for the first time and in each subsequent visit. We’ve gotten various dishes during our visits, but we always get a cinnamon roll. That’s a given. It’s big enough for sharing and it has the perfect amount of frosting and cinnamon. I can’t forget about the music. I don’t know if it’s standard practice here, but on more than one occasion they were playing jazz. I’m talking Thelonious Monk, Coltrane, Mingus. Picture eating a corned beef hash early in the morning in an old timey diner listening to Thelonious Monk. It was surreal.
The atmosphere, the friendly service, the early hours(6:00am even on the weekend) and good bang for your buck are all the qualities of Square Knot Diner that we enjoy. Square Knot Diner will continue to be our stop-before-heading-to-the-airport tradition. And a special shout out to Carmela at Roxy’s Diner for the recommendation. We would have never have come here without it.
B
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.75
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.25
Bang for the Buck: 4.50
Overall: 4.625
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!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: Our server at Square Knot Diner is a resident of the Queen Anne neighborhood and mentioned a little known and underrated spot called, Citizen Café.
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