Checkout this video from their Kickstarter campaign:
Cafe Hitchcock & the CBD Latte Drama
Description on Cafe Hitchcock’s website : There’s really no info on their website besides minimum address, menu, email/contact info.
Neighborhood: Downtown
Address:818 First Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104
Music Playing: Feel It All Around by Washed Out
What we ate/drank: Cinnamon Roll($3.50) ‘and Caffe Vita Doppio Espresso($2.75)
Comments: Hitchcock on Bainbridge Island was opened in 2010. We always called it “that really nice restaurant on Bainbridge Island at the end of the main street”. Although it was located on Bainbridge Island, it always seemed to pop up on various Best Seattle Restaurants lists regularly. Then there was an expansion of a Hitchcock deli in Georgetown. Then last summer Café Hitchcock opened in downtown.
The one thing Café Hitchcock is known for among Seattlites is the serving of CBD(cannabidiol) Lattes, which are cannabis infused lattes and the subsequent Seattle & King County Public Health issuing of a cease and desist to stop serving the lattes. And the owner of Cafe Hitchcock comparing the cease and desist on CBD-infused drinks to that of the dance ban in the movie “Footloose” Drama, yo! Hand me my popcorn! I regret not trying theses CBD Lattes prior to the cease and desist to see for myself. Because these drinks are available in other cities without issue, I’m hoping I’ll get to try CBD-infused lattes in the near future.
I’m reviewing as a coffee space but I’ve been here for lunch and they have really good sandwiches . They also serve beer on tap. At the time I visited, they had Fremont Brewing’s Lush IPA and Summer Ale, two of my faves. And the happy hour from 3-7 (props for not ending happy hour at 6 like most places) definitely looks interesting and we’ll have to remember it as a downtown happy hour option for the future.
Café Hitchcock is located on the bottom floor of the Exchange Building, which has a historic landmark designation. I actually used to work in this building many years ago and back then it was like walking back in time with it’s art deco feel. It’s actually exactly the same, but Café Hitchcock has replaced the nondescript diner that used to be in the space. Despite the diner’s convenient location when I worked in the building, I never ate there. The Exchange Building is on 1st and Marion, which is directly in the path of all the ferry commuters, so if you time your visit to Café Hitchcock right when the ferry has arrived, you might be waiting in line awhile behind said ferry commuters.
Off Topic: Visiting Cafe Hitchcock actually brought back memories when I worked in this building. Whenever a ferry came in, there were a massive amount of ferry commuters who were too lazy to walk up the block between 1st and 2nd Ave, so they would come into the building and use the elevators to go from 1st Ave to 2nd Ave. Now you can imagine for those of us who actually worked in the building, how frustrating it was to see these people clogging up the elevators and causing massive lines to form, so they could avoid walking one block from 1st to 2nd Ave. What made it more frustrating is the building next door, the Norton Building, had an escalator from 1st to 2nd Ave so there was no waiting necessary, but nooooo….. these lazy ferry commuters could not even take the escalator, they want to take the elevator!!! It boils my blood to this day. Truthfully it was only a small percentage of ferry commuters that did this, but it was enough for it to be a running joke for all of us who actually worked in the building.
Anyways, back to Café Hitchcock. It’s a huge improvement from the diner that used to be here. There’s subway tile throughout, concrete floors and exposed vents and pipes, which give it an industrial feel. The touch that gives it character are the ornate gold frame mirrors that hang on the south wall. Below the mirrors is a long wooden benches that runs along the entire wall with corresponding tables for four people and two people. Each of these tables has an individual spotlight, which makes each table really bright.
When you enter, there are 4 high counter stools looking out on 1st Ave. The left section of the space has an unfinished look with exposed brick and concrete and has 7 high counter stools looking out on the entrance way to the building. In the center are 4 wooden booths that seat two.
I ordered cinnamon roll and the cashier confirmed that all pastries are baked in-house, which I appreciate since it ensures freshness. The coffee is sourced by Caffe Vita. I ordered both for here, but gave both to-go, which is fine, but there is something missing when drinking an espresso in a paper cup.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: Baked in-house pastries
Atmosphere: 4.25
Service: 4.00
Food Options: 5.00
Overall: 4.35
Eavedropping Convo:
Guy 1(G1) – I just got through with a biography about Michael Collins. It was really interesting.
Guy 2(G2) – The Irish dude?
G1-Yeah. What was the last biography you read? I’m trying to get ideas for the next one to read.
G2- uhhhh….
G1-I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.
G2- Ooh!! A few months ago I finished a biography on this lady who used to work with Ted Bundy at a suicide hot line in Seattle. She talks about their conversations, how he interacted with people.
G1 – The serial killer?
G2- Yeah, she said he was really normal, but in looking back at the way he spoke to people, his mannerisms she could see how he had some traits of a psychopath, but wouldn’t be able to see it in real time, only after the fact. It was fascinating. Did you know he went to Udub?
G1 –What? No way! laughs
Related:
Northlake Tavern & Pizza
Recommended by: The cashier at Stone Way Cafe suggested Northlake Tavern & Pizza for what she called the “best pizza in town”
Description on their web: The special kind pizza we feature here is from an old Italian recipe. It happened one day as the original owner of this establishment expressed his dissatisfaction with the pizza. “Pshew, what garbage!” he exclaimed. “I’ll bet I can make a better pizza than this.” So a bet was made.
Neighborhood/Type: University District / Pizza
Address: 660 NE Northlake Way, Seattle, WA 98105
Music playing: None. Trailblazers game was playing.
What we ate/drank: Logger Special Pizza- Canadian bacon, Italian beef sausage, black olives, fresh cut green peppers and onions. Combo – Pepperoni, Italian beef sausage, black olives and mushrooms
Comments: This place had been recommended to us by the cashier at Stone Way Cafe. And although I had been here before, my wife had not. It had been at least 20 years since I’d been there, so you’d think the décor would have been upgraded since then. But stepping into Northlake Tavern & Pizza is like stepping back in time. It had not been changed one bit. The cartoons on the wall are still there, the tables covered in plastic picnic table coverings are there, the bar is exactly the same. I guess you could say this is both good and bad. Bad because nothing has been upgraded and refreshed. Good because it’s nostalgic and not having any upgrades means hopefully no substantial increase in prices. Northlake Tavern & Pizza has been open since 1954 and I would not be surprised if there have been no renovations since then, but that’s part of it’s charm. As mentioned there’s the old cartoons on the wall, there’s UW sports memorabilia and autographs, the neon beer signs are not Fremont or Georgetown Brewing, but Pabst and Budweiser. I’ve already mentioned the plastic picnic table covering, but all you get with your pizza is a paper plate and fork. You read that right, a paper plate.
Let’s get down and dirty. We know there’s a lot of good pizza in Seattle and the sheer number of pizza places make the competition for pizza pretty ferocious. To separate themselves some have carved out a specialty or niche- Deep dish Chicago style, Fusion, Northwest spin, Neapolitan, Vegan. Just off the top of my head for pizza places we’ve been to or ordered from in the last few years-Serious Pie, Flying Squirrel, Pagliacci, Alibi Room, Windy City Pies, Frelard, Dino’s, Rocco’s, Zeeks, China Pie, Turnpike, Veraci, Ridge. So where does Northlake Tavern and Pizza stand out in the Seattle pizza landscape?
- Ambiance? No
- Exceptional Service? No
- Fast Service? No
- Great Location? No. It’s directly under the I5 going over Lake Union
- High end ingredients? No. There’s no truffle cheese or pecorino sadro
- Unconventional ingredients? No. There’s no clams, mandarin oranges or chocolate hazel nut spread.
- Cheapest price? No
- Kid Friendly? No
- Place to impress your first date, in laws or hip/trendy friends? No, no and no.
- Massive amounts of toppings? YES YES YES
This is the place to go for just plain ole great pizza. The one thing that makes it stand out is the massive amount of toppings. The diameter size of the pizza is like any other pizza place, but the huge toppings make the height taller than any pizza in Seattle. For this reason, we always get a small size pizza, because after eating two slices, we’re full. Due to the weight of the toppings, it’s difficult to eat a slice with your hands, so having fork comes in handy. Our go-to pizzas here are the Logger Special Pizza and the Meat Eaters(see below pics for ingredients). And although we know what’s coming, whenever the pizza arrives to our table we always say, “Wow!”
The atmosphere is very relaxed and informal and you get the feeling that most of the patrons have been coming here for not years, but decades. On a particular Saturday night visit we noticed that 80% of the patrons seemed to be 40 years or older, so it really does seem like a place that has some history among those who go there.
One callout, because it’s technically a tavern, you must be 21+ to enter, so no kids. There was a 6 week stretch where our neighbor watched our kids so we could go out on a few date nights. We had a hankering for pizza and came here three times. I mentioned I had not been here in 20 years. I kind of just forgot about Northlake Tavern & Pizza as an option, but the Stone Way Cafe cashier’s suggestion to come here rekindled my affection for their pizza and gave my wife an opportunity to try their pizza for the first time. Coming here 3 times in 6 weeks shows it’s in the forefront of our mind now.
The one area we’d like to see is improvement in would be the time it takes to make the pizza. Perhaps, with the size of the toppings it can’t be helped. On average I would say it takes 45 minutes to an hour for the pizza to be made. Granted, we’ve always come on a Friday or Saturday night which are definitely busier. There’s not a lot of small talk from the servers. It’s pretty much taking the order, which is fine by us. There was one time where the server gave my wife a free soda, because our pizza was taking a long time to come out, which was a nice of her.
If we want ambiance, we might go to Via Trib. Fast service, we might do take out from Zeeks or Pagliacci. Great location, we might go to Dino’s in Capitol Hill. High end ingredients, we might go to Flying Squirrel. Unconventional ingredients, we might go to Serious Pie. Kid friendly location, we might go to Freland Pizza. But when we have a hankering for a relaxed environment with just plain old great pizza, we’ll come to Northlake Tavern & Pizza.
Atmosphere: 3.5
Service: 3.75
Food/Drinks: 5
Bang for the Buck: 4.5 (Small pizza is $23, but it’s so filling due to the huge amount of toppings. This is really 4 meals)
Overall: 4.25
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:
Related:
Preserve and Gather
Description on Preserve And Gather’s website : A Neighborhood Cafe
Neighborhood: Greenwood
Address: 358 NW 85th St. Seattle, WA 98117
What we ate/drank: Cortado, Mocha and Carmelized Onion & Gruyere Cheese Bun
Comments: Our children’s daycare is nearby and we’ve been told about Preserve and Gather but it’s been an afterthought as a cafe to visit. I’ve got to be honest, I wasn’t expecting much when I saw the outside. Preserve and Gather is at the bottom of a newer condominium right on busy NW 85th St in Greenwood. As we walked up we noticed the nice patio that had a long bench and few tables and thought, “well, at least they have a nice patio”.
As soon as we stepped into Preserve & Gather our whole perspective did a 180. The first thing we noticed was how bright and airy it was. We also noticed it had a neighborly vibe-tables with families, people enjoying newspapers, lots of people in conversation. It was a lively atmosphere. It didn’t have the commuter feel like so many cafes have of ordering a drink to go and leaving. Nor did it have the library feel of dead silence in a packed cafe with computer campers. There’s a time and place for both of these types of cafes, but there’s something about the feel of a community/neighborhood focused café like Preserve and Gather that makes you want to hangout, enjoy the space and return for more visits.
We intended to just get a quick drink and ordered a mocha and cortado, but we couldn’t help but notice the case full of both sweet and savory baked offerings. We asked if everything was made in-house and the person at the cash register said, “Yes, everything in made here” pointing to their open kitchen. The barista spoke up, “She’s being modest. She made everything in that case”. I believe the cashier and barista were the two owners. We asked the cashier/baker what her favorite is. She mentioned she likes savory more than sweet and recommended the caramelized onion and gruyere cheese bun, which we ordered. It was a reasonable $3.75. It did not disappoint. It was light, flakey and was like eating French onion soup as a pastry. The cortado was perfect and the mocha had a huge marshmallow added. I believe they use Conduit coffee beans, but I did notice they were selling bags of Silvercup from Everett and Fulcrum Coffee from Seattle, so I’m not sure.
Once sitting down to enjoy our drinks and bun, we really got a sense of the details of the cafe. You can’t help but notice the huge geometrically stenciling in gold against a blue wall. You’ve got the industrial feel with exposed piping and ventilation, concrete floors, Edison bulb lighting and the use of pipes to create magazine racks, coffee tables and high counters. But you’ve also got the pops of homeiness-the various potted plants throughout, the bright yellow wooden benches in front, the umbrella stand, the old-fashioned water jug, the community newspaper and magazine racks. It’s a perfect balance.
We already mentioned the seating on the patio and the yellow benches in front, but there is ample seating all around the space with 3 tables of 6 for groups or community sharing, 6 high counter stools looking out on 85th Street and at least 4 tables of two along the east wall. Besides coffee, they have around 10 choices for loose leaf tea, kombucha, beer and wine. I already mentioned they make all baked goods in house, but for other food options they have yogurt, toasts with toppings, sandwiches and various plates.
One thing to keep in mind is that they don’t have wifi or a lot of outlets, which might be a deal breaker for some who want to work or study there, but I can tell you it doesn’t seem to have hurt business. It may very well have helped business, knowing you are likely to find a seat since there won’t be any “computer campers” taking up a seat for hours. It may make this a first option for those who want to meet up with friends over coffee. I’m sure this was a conscious decision by the owners which I presume helps define the “Gather” in “Preserve and Gather”. It’s a place for people to gather and encourages conversation instead of silent laptop zombies. Another thing is that parking might be a challenge since there is no dedicated parking spaces.
The last observation we noticed and find refreshing is that among the people working at Preserve and Gather they exhibited a sense of pride in their café. Many cafes in Seattle feel like they phone it in and although they make a great coffee, the place is a mess or it feels like the worker is just biding their time until they can clock out. They don’t really care about making the café a comfortable and clean place to relax. The short time we were at Preserve and Gather, I saw the workers constantly cleaning, constantly straightening up, making sure the water jug was full, wiping counter tops and tables of crumbs and spilled liquid. They were not standing around, looking at their phone waiting for the next customer. This type of pride shown by the workers at Preserve and Gather really made an impression on us.
Preserve and Gather won’t be at the top of my list if I need to work remotely, but it will surely be at the top of my list for meeting and catching up with friends, getting a coffee/snacks/pastries with my wife and kids or bringing out-of-towners to a one of a kind Seattle café. I know it will be clean, I know we are likely to get seats, I know we will get quality coffee and food and I know that first time visitors will be impressed with the space like we were.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1456834651/preserve-and-gather-a-cafe-in-greenwood-seattle-wa
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: Made from scratch pastry/food, ambiance
Atmosphere: 5.00
Service: 5.00
Food Options: 4.75
Overall: 4.90
Eavedropping Convo: None
Related:
**********Unfortunately, This Restaurant Has Closed Down**********
Recommended by: When we raved about Little Ting’s Dumplings to some friends, they recommended Little Kitchen as an alternative for dumplings.
Description on the Little Kitchen’s website: They ain’t got one.
Neighborhood/Type: University District (on The Ave)
Address: 4508 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105
What we ate/drank: Shan Dong Boiled Dumplings, Pork Wonton in Chile Sauce, Pan Fried Chive Dumpling
Comments: When we advised friends of Little Ting’s Dumplings, they countered that a new place opened on The Ave(University Ave) that they believe are the best in Seattle and cheaper than Little Tings to boot. As mentioned in our Little Ting’s Dumpling post there are a lot of dumpling places in Seattle. When most people mention Chinese dumplings you mainly hear about Din Tai Fung or Dough Zone. Some others mention J’Dumpling House(Ravenna), Ping’s Dumpling House, Xian Noodles, Jiaozi! Dumplings House, Chiangs Gourmet. Looks like we can add another dumpling alternative to the Seattle dumpling fray.
Whenever we here a restaurant recommendation located on The Ave, we know two things. One, that it should be cheaper than normal. Two, most likely only UW students know about it, so if we go prior to school starting it will be empty. Sure enough when we visited in mid-September, we were the only ones there on a Saturday afternoon. Apparently, Little Kitchen just opened in August, so that also worked in our favor
When we first entered Little Kitchen we were quite surprised how big it was and how nice it was on the inside considering it’s on The Ave and the outside of Little Kitchen is not a true representation of the inside. This has got to be one of the nicer places on The Ave.
When ordering we had to ask some questions since the menu on the chalkboard doesn’t have a whole lot of details. For example, the menu does not state what’s inside a Shan Dong Boiled Dumpling? (Answer:Pork) Once we got our questions answered, we ordered three dishes – Shan Dong Boiled Dumplings, Pork Wonton in Chile Sauce, Pan Fried Chive Dumpling. The dumplings are made to order, so it may take a while, but we’re more than willing to wait for freshly made dumplings. You order at the front counter and then they bring it out to your table.
One advantage that Little Kitchen has over Little Tings Dumplings is that the plates are smaller, so you can have more of a variation of dishes. The dumplings at Little Kitchen typically come in sets of 6. The dumplings at Little Tings Dumplings come in sets of 15. The interesting thing is that when comparing Little Kitchen to Little Tings, if you figure out the price per dumpling, it comes out about the same. The Shan Dong Boiled Dumpling comes out to $.67 per dumpling and the Pork & Chive Dumpling at Little Tings Dumpling is also $.67 per dumpling, so being on The Ave didn’t make it cheaper in that respect like you would suspect. The Pan Fried Chive dumpling came out to $2.50/each.
Pork Wontons in Chile Sauce is one of our favorite dishes and we always order it when available at any of the restaurants we go to. This was our favorite dish, but would have liked a bit more spicy. For an interesting perspective here is the price per wonton at Little Kitchen compared to Dough Zone and Din Tai Fung. Surprisingly, Dough Zone is the cheapest.
Pork Wonton in Chile Sauce (score: 4.5/5.0)
Atmosphere: 4.25 (for The Ave this is above average)
Service: 4.50
Food/Drinks: 4.25
Bang for the Buck: 4.50
Overall: 4.35
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: None
Related Articles:
**********9/20-Unfortunately, EL Diablo Coffee Has Closed Down**********
El Diablo Coffee
Description on El Diable Coffee’s website : El Diablo Coffee Co. has been a fixture in the Queen Anne neighborhood for 15+ years, providing a gathering place for locals and more. We’ve partnered with Tony’s Coffee out of Bellingham, Washington, to serve El Diablo Coffee Co. customers unique, artisan coffee roasts, including carefully composed blends and single-origin offerings.
Neighborhood: Queen Anne
Address: 1825 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
What we ate/drank: Cortado, Strawberry/Banana smoothie, Cuban Toast, Breakfast Burrito with bacon.
Comments: We had never been to El Diablo Coffee prior to them moving into their new digs earlier this year. We were very familiar with Cloud City Coffee, which shares the same owner. I can’t imagine that the old location was nicer than this one.
To give some history behind El Diablos Coffee’s almost soap opera-ish move to a new location we only need to go back to this spring. Although we’d never been to El Diablo Coffee before, we did hear about the impending closing due to the landlord kicking them out within a short time period and the uproar it caused in the Queen Anne neighborhood. At the time it had been open for close to 20 years, so it had been a staple in the community for quite some time. They were given less than a month to vacate and find a new spot. Of course El Diablo Coffee wanted to stay in the neighborhood that made them successful, but also wanted to keep their employees. They tried to work with the landlord to no avail. Luckily there was a space a few doors down that had been vacated by a restaurant and that’s where they’re located now.
One of the reasons we had never been to El Diablo Coffee is that it’s on Queen Anne Hill and we don’t venture out that way too often. On this particular morning, we were meeting somebody who lived there, so we came here for breakfast. It’s basically a café inside of a house. This place is spacious both on the outside and inside. I counted 8 tables just on the front patio which is elevated so you don’t feel your right on the sidewalk/street. The patio also has tons of greenery and huge umbrellas for shade/protection from the rain. As you enter on the left there’s a living room with a group table that can seat 6 and a love chair. Right next to that is the counter/cashier where you order.
In the back is a bar counter and few individual tables, but one thing that may interest parents is a separate room with loads of toys for kids. It was nice enjoying our breakfast and drinks in peace while our daughter was occupied with all the books and toys. We’d pay extra for this amenity alone. What sets El Diablo Coffee apart from other cafes is that the first floor is already spacious for a Seattle café, but they also have a huge area upstairs that includes another patio. I believe the second floor is not yet complete, but it already has various tables, a couch with coffee table and a fireplace. The second floor is also really bright due to the skylights. I can see this being a perfect work area. They also have signage that the space is available to be rented out for things like baby showers, work get togethers, birthdays and even weddings. I believe they said that max occupancy is 100 people, so that tells you how big the area is.
If I’m comparing to Cloud City Coffee, they don’t have nearly the variety of food options. I had the breakfast burrito with bacon which was your standard egg, potato, bacon, cheese. I do appreciate that they toasted the outside. Couple of issues though. We ordered a Cuban Toast, which is tomato, cheese and ham, but they forgot the ham. We returned it and they apologized and fixed it right away. We also ordered a strawberry/banana smoothie, which they forgot to make. At the drink handoff area, they saw me standing there waiting and they asked what I was waiting for and realized they hadn’t made the smoothie yet.
The prices are slightly higher than Cloud City, which I understand, because the space is way nicer than Cloud City. Both places use Tony’s Coffee. One of the main differences is that El Diablo Coffee serves beer while I don’t think Cloud City does. They had locally breweries, Georgetown, Fremont and Figurehead brews on tap. They also had Two Beers and Georgetown Lucille IPA in cans along with, cider and wines.
I love the quirky blue peacock wall paper throughout along with the home touches like French doors, chandeliers and wall sconces for light.
In summary, this is a great place if you have a big group to meet up for coffee. It’s also an ideal location if you have kids since they can be separated in the kids room and you don’t have to worry about them bothering the other patrons. I always appreciate when coffee shops(and breweries for that matter) have dedicated spaces for kids, but El Diablo Coffee goes a step further with an actual room.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: Tons of space both on the front patio, inside the “house” and out on the back patio.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 4.25
Food Options: 4.50
Overall: 4.65
Eavedropping Convo: Guy was sitting by himself and a guy with an Australian accent came over.
Guy from Australia(GFA) – How have you been?
Guy from here(GFH) – I’ve been good, how about you? It’s been a while.
GFA-I like this place you picked to meet up.
GFH-Yeah, I like it a lot. It’s very decorative and I just work down the block, so I come here a lot.
GFA- Simplistic more so than decorative cafes are all the rage back home at the moment. I do notice all the cafes here have avocado toast like back home though. Comment: El Diablo has a Guacamole toast that’s on Cuban toasted bread
GFH- You feel right at home then, huh?
GFA/GFH- laughs
Related:
Best Cream Filled Doughnut Award: General Porpoise Doughnuts
Recommended by: After our Top Pot vs Mighty O post and our post on the doughnuts at Tempesta Coffee, a co-worker advised me that General Porpoise Doughnuts puts all of these places to shame. Let’s see.
Description on the General Porpoise’s website: Made fresh doughnuts—filled with handmade curds, custards, creams, and jams—paired with remarkable coffees from roasters near and far.
Neighborhood/Type: University District/Laurelhurst
Address: 4520 Union Bay Place NE, Seattle WA 98105
What we ate/drank: Chocolate Marshmallow, Vanilla Custard, Peaches & Cream, Rainier Cherry Jam and a Macchiato.
Comments: As mentioned above, I told my co-worker that I found a place called Tempesta Coffee that had perhaps better doughnuts than either Top Pot or Mighty O. She then told me although she’d never been to Tempesta Coffee, there’s a place called General Porpoise Doughnuts that puts Top Pot and Mighty-O to shame. We’d heard of Renee Erickson’s new doughnut place that had opened in Pioneer Square and Capitol Hill, but we never made it out. We’re big fans of Renee Ericsson’s sea-themed restaurants such as The Whale Wins, The Walrus & Carpenter, Barnacle Bar, so we were looking forward to trying General Porpoise.
We’d see the beautiful pics of the filled doughnuts on Instagram and salivated. Then we heard a branch was opening near University Village, which is closer to where we live. It finally opened in late July, so one Saturday morning we took the family to see if my co-worker was right.
As mentioned the new location is near UW/University Village off Union Bay Place that has only a few parking spots, so beware. The interior is super minimalist and more conducive for taking out and enjoying the doughnuts at home than eating there although we ordered enough to do both. General Porpoise doesn’t have your traditional doughnuts with the hole in the middle. They specialize in cream/jam filled doughnuts. We ordered four doughnuts
- Chocolate Marshmellow
- Vanilla Custard
- Peaches and Cream
- Rainier Cherry Jam
It wasn’t hard to pick since they only had 5 types to choose from. We ended up eating to there and taking the other two to eat at home later in the day. All were really delicious, but the four doughnuts totaled over $18+, which includes a 10% service charge, so it’s pricey.
On one of our visits, they had a group of doughnuts that did not pass their standards, so no filling was inserted. These doughnuts were only $1.00 a piece and we don’t know why they didn’t pass muster, but they were perfectly fine to us.
They have locations in Capitol Hill, Pioneer Square and within the Amazon Spheres, but this location is only open to Amazon employees. It is open to the public on every other Saturday from 9am-3pm by reservation only.
On General Porpoise’s website you can pre order online the day before pickup. You can’t pick doughnuts individually like Mighty-O, but you can ask for favorites, but it’s ultimately the bakers choice. The orders come in increments of 10 doughnuts up to 50 and can be ordered up to one week in advance.
Although the doughnuts are creative and tasty, the price will stop us from making this a regular stop. For now we’ll stick to Top Pot, Mighty O and Tempesta. We will reserve visits to General Porpoise to special occasions,such as visitors from out of town or special birthday desserts.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.25
Service: 4.50
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 3.75
Overall: 4.35
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: None
Related Articles:
Caffe Ladro – Union Street
Description on the Caffe Ladro website: CHOOSE WHOLE BEAN COFFEE YOU LOVE- Your personal preferences will determine the type of roast you choose. Many coffees provide tasting notes on their labels. Tasting notes are quick guides to the aromas and flavors you will find while brewing and sipping those coffees. These descriptors are for flavors that naturally occur in coffee a result of the region in which the beans grew, the weather their harvest year, and the way the farm and miller processed the beans after harvest.
Neighborhood: Ballard
Address: 108 Union St, Seattle, WA 98101
Music playing: Helicopter by Bloc Party
What we ate/drank: Macchiato
What we ate/drank: Truthfully much like the Caffe Ladro on 1800 9th, there’s not much to report here. It’s a smaller cafe.
Comments: This review ain’t much, but I had a doozy of a eavesdropping conversation(see below).
This location has three natural wood tables all against the left wall with an upholstery bench running the length of the space . Each of these tables seats four. Then there’s one “living room” space with four chairs and a coffee table. The only other seating area are two stools at a high counter in the front of the space facing out on to Union St.
They have pastries that Caffe Ladro bakes themselves. This is a good place to come to if you are visiting Pike Place Market or the SAM(Seattle Art Museum). Due to it’s small size, I’d recommend coming here for a solo pre-work coffee or maybe a solo after lunch coffee or if you’re meeting up with a friend, but it’s not configured for a bigger group setting.
Ratings(Scale 1-5)
Favorite Thing: This would be my number one choice for coffee if near the SAM(Seattle Art Museum) or Pike Place Market
Atmosphere: 3.5
Service: 5.0
Food Options: 3.75
Overall: 4.0
Eavesdropping Convo: Since the review wasn’t much, I do have a doozy of a eavesdropping convo. This was definitely a recruiter for administrative roles. He was interviewing a candidate(lady in her 40s) for potential positions.
Recruiter(RR): Decaf right?
Recruitee(RE): Yes
RR: Bringing a to go cup without a sleeve for RE. I didn’t see any of those sleeve things.
RE: I don’t think they have them. I looked. I wonder if it’s due to the environment?
RR: Yeah, I don’t know why. How are you? So we talked briefly over the phone and I mentioned there are plenty of positions. We currently have 5 opening for Amazon, 4 for Microsoft and one at Starbucks.
RE: I’m really shocked that Amazon has that many openings.
RR: They are hiring like crazy. We placed 7 last week and I think 4 the previous week.
RE: I don’t know if Amazon is the right fit for me. 15 years ago I did a stint there at the front desk, so I know the environment. I want to protect myself, you know. I don’t want to be in the hot seat. I want a job that is low stress with a good life balance. Otherwise, you just think about work while you’re at home and you can’t relax. I don’t want that.
RR: No, I hear you. But at any job there’s a level of accountability and with the wage range you’re looking at there’s going to be some level of expectations and deadlines. There are lower accountability jobs that are purely admin with little to no knowledge of excel, but those are below your price range. So you did work there before?
RE: Yes, it was 15 years ago. What would I do? I just don’t want to put myself in a position where I’m busy and frazzled all day long.
RR: Like I said on the phone I’m the main recruiter for Amazon, but they don’t really provide details, but it’s $20/hr. Amazon is very secretive. There are some hospital admin positions, but those are on the east side and I know you wanted to be in Seattle.
RE: Do people stay?
RR: It’s hit or miss. Some, it’s not a right fit. Others, get hired or stay long term.
My Commentary: It seems like with the unemployment rate being at record lows, companies are really competing to find positions lately. It gives people who are available and looking for work getting to have their pick of the litter, so to speak. When somebody says they want a high paying job without the stress, you know the area is doing well. You can also see it in the restaurants and bars. People have money to spend right now, which is a far cry from 2008-2010 when it was a ghost town.
Related:
- Caffe Ladro- The Jetsons Coffee Place
- Caffe Ladro(1800 9th Building)-Mystery Solved!
- Caffe Vita – Where I Made a Fool of Myself
Arashi Ramen
Recommended by: Nobody. Arashi Ramen was a participant in our Battle of Seattle Ramen post.
Description on Arashi Ramen’s website: The essence of ramen is in the soup, out signature Tonkatsu(pork bone) soup is handcrafted by master chef Daisuke Ueda with premium ingredients simmered over 16 hours.
Neighborhood: Ballard
Address: 5401 20th Ave NW, Seattle WA 98107
What we ate/drank: Black Garlic Ramen(Salt based, pork belly chashu, seasoned egg, bean sprouts, green onion, fried onion, black garlic oil), Arashi Ramen(Salt based, 3 pork belly chashu, seaweed, seasoned egg, beansprouts, green onion, Honey Garlic Kaarage(Japanese fried chicken with our special honey garlic sauce), Spicy Miso Tonkotsu Ramen, Asahi Dry Beer
Comments: Arashi Ramen first started out in Tukwila and opened a branch in Ballard in March of 2016. Since then, we’ve come to Arashi Ramen whenever we have a ramen hankering and in the Ballard area. Just a warning, if it’s crowded, it’ll be difficult to get a table for a party of more than 4. There are only 6 stools along the front window counter. There’s also 6 solo wooden stools along a narrow counter. There’s also a long wooden bench with individual tables that can be pushed together for parties of more than 2, but you’ll have to wait for two of these tables to open up simultaneously. Most of the tables are accompanied by traditional small wooden stools that some might find uncomfortable, but were fine for us.
Arashi Ramen specializes in Tokotsu style ramen, which is known for boiling and simmering pork marrow or pork bones for long amounts of time anywhere from 12-16 hours. This typically leads to a cloudy flavorful broth. Arashi Ramen has the three basic broths of Shio, Shoyu and Miso, but also have variations such as Tantan, Arashi Ramen(appears to be Shio Ramen with more pork belly chashu) and Black Garlic Ramen.
We started with the honey garlic kaarage, which can be hit or miss if not cooked correctly, but it was nice and crispy on the outside and moist on the inside as it should be. The Arashi Ramen was a bit on the salty side, but the black garlic ramen was the star here. I was expecting the garlic to be overpowering, but the garlic oil is very subtle and tasty. And I don’t recall seeing this in any other ramen place, but the spoons provided are the abnormally long and the exact angle that allows you to scoop up every drop of soup.
Overall, we like Arashi Ramen. We like the ambiance although the space is on the small side. It’s easy to find parking. The service is quick and most importantly the ramen is very good. We’d rate Arashi Ramen in our top 5 ramen places in Seattle after Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, Ramen Danbo and Kizuki Ramen.
Ratings(Scale 1-5)
Atmosphere: 4.25
Service: 4.75
Food/Drinks: 4.5
Bang for the Buck: 4.5
Overall: 4.5
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!
Eavesdropping Convos:
Server recommendations to visit in the future:
Related:
- What Visitors Think of Seattle – Japan(36 F)
- Hokkaido Ramen Santouka – Best Ramen in Seattle
- Battle of the Seattle Ramen Restaurants
- Fremont Bowl
Fuel Coffee
Breaking News-5/21/20: Ada’s Technical Books Cafe has acquired the three Fuel Coffee branches including the one reviewed below. You can read about the details here.
Description on Fuel Coffee’s website : We are committed to perfectly caffeinating each customer with the highest quality coffee and to redefine the standards of customer service in a unique, friendly, and comfortable atmosphere.
Neighborhood: Wallingford
Address: 1705 N 45th St 98103
Music playing: Boys Don’t Cry by The Cure
What we ate/drank: Doppio espresso, mocha, macchiato.
Comments: People often call coffee fuel for the body, especially for us non-morning folks. So I guess it’s an appropriate name for this local vintage road trip-themed coffee shop with locations in Wallingford, Montlake and Capitol Hill. This location on the main street of N 45th Ave is right in the middle of the Wallingford neighborhood. 
We had birthing classes a few years ago in Wallingford, so this was our go-to coffee place during this time. Because these classes were in the morning, we normally had no problems finding parking right on N. 45th Ave, but these do have a small parking lot in the back.
When entering you’ll notice about 5 high counter stools facing out to the main street. There are also a few tables/chairs in the front area, which is where all the sunlight is. You’ll notice the first of their vintage décor, an old fashioned gas pump, which is right next the refrigerator of cold drinks. In the middle is the barista station/cashier with pastries and a few savory foods, such as quiche. The pasties are locally sourced from Standard Bakery, Macrina and La Toscanella. There are times when there is one person manning both the cash register and making the drinks, which could make for a longer wait. When there are two people working, it goes much more quickly.
The vintage road trip-theme continues with a shelf displaying old tire rims, travel books, old Rand McNally road maps vintage coffee cans, soda bottles, spark plug boxes and drinking water. The largest part of the location is in the back, which has a combination of regular tables, coffee tables and high counters with stools. This area can easily seat 20+ people. Although we really dig the painted brick wall with the giant coffee mug and the vintage signage for pies, this area is really dark and has no windows. There are some smaller lamps that provide a bit of light and probably not a big deal during the dark winter months, but not ideal in the sunny summer days. Speaking of signage, we do dig their store front signage, a bright orange circle with “Fuel” and a circular neon arrow pointing to the store.
Surprisingly, there aren’t a lot of coffee options in Wallingford with the exception of Starbucks and a few smaller cafes, but Fuel Coffee, in our opinion, is really the only true option in Wallingford when it comes to really good coffee. According to their website they source their coffee from Caffe Vita.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: Vintage props and signage, which give it a lot of character
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 4.5
Food Options: 4.25
Overall: 4.25
Eavedropping Convo: None
Related:
Kamonegi – Best Soba in Seattle
Recommended by: Friends we went to dinner with at Junkichi Robata Izakaya
Description on the Kamonegi website: Our soba, traditional japanese buckwheat noodles, are made by hand in the nihachi style of 80 percent buckwheat flour and 20 percent all-purpose flour. our restaurant is one of the few in the nation to showcase handmade soba noodles. unless otherwise specified, our soba can be ordered as seiro (cold noodles with warm dipping sauce) or nanban (hot noodles in hot broth, like soup noodles). we also feature bukkake soba dishes with all toppings, noodles, and sauce together in one bowl.
Neighborhood/Type: Fremont
Address: 1054 N 39th Ave, Seattle, WA 98103
What we ate/drank: Creamy morel mushroom and pork belly soba, Yakitori duck tsukune with soft egg, Shrimpcado Bukkake – shrimp tempura, avocado, cucumber, daikon oroshi, wasabi, Anago Tempura -(sea eel), curry salt, lemon
Comments: Update 9/22/19: Kamonegi just made Seattle Met’s 100 Best Restaurant
My wife and I were always big fans of Miyabi 45th. In fact, we had one of our first “getting-dressed-up” dates there. It was the first place, I’d ever laid my eyes on a Yamazaki Whiskey bottle for the first time. So we were heartbroken, when we heard that the chef/owner was stepping away from the restaurant, although it was to care for her daughter, so you can’t begrudge a parent for making that decision.
We were so happy to hear that Chef Mustuko Soma was opening a soba restaurant in the old Art of the Table space. We never had issues getting into Miyabi 45th, so we decided to drop by Kamonegi on a random weekend, but the place was packed. So we tried the following weekend. Same result, it was packed. We soon learned that this Kamonegi became a “hot spot” and had to learn the hard way that you either need to get there super early or make a reservation. We were unaware that Kamonegi had accumulated some accolades over the summer.
- It was named one of the Top 50 New Restaurants in Bon Appetit Magazine in July.
- It was also featured in a New York Times article (along with Analog Coffee), What To Do in Seattle.
- A co-worker of mine also mentioned Kamonegi was featured on a popular TV show in Japan that revolves around Japanese people who move overseas and become successful, so visitors from Japan also want to visit.
We normally decide to eat out on a whim, so it was difficult to really time our visit to Kamonegi without a reservation, but we finally did.
We got there on a Friday at 3:45pm. I suggested to my wife that we just wait in the car and go in right when it opened at 4:00pm. She wasn’t having it and wanted to get to the door early and she was right. As we walked up to the door, there was a line already forming. When the doors opened, there was a total of 15 people in line. The host asked if we had reservations. We didn’t, so the host asked if we can make it quick and get out by 5:00 because she had a reservation for our table. We had to pick up our daughter from daycare by 5:15, so we told her we’d be out by then.
The space is shaped like a triangle which makes the configuration of the restaurant a little odd and cramped. You’ve got the bar area to the right, which seats about 4 people, you have the 5 seat high counter where you can watch the chefs prepare the dishes, there are 3 seats at the middle window and to the left is the main seating area that with a wooden bench and individual tables. This area probably seats around 18 people.
Soba and Tempura are the stars here, but the dish we enjoyed the most was the Yakitori Duck Tsukune w/soft egg. This was taken from the Happy Hour menu. This is normally a $14 dish, but I believe it was $9 during Happy Hour. I love me some egg yolk. Add that with tender duck tsukune meatballs with shishito peppers and you got me licking the plate for every last drop of yolk. The next plate we had was the Anago Tempura. I’ve never had Anago(salt water eel) in this fashion before. The curry salt was a good compliment instead of the usual Tempura dipping sauce. I don’t normally get my soba in the bukkake style(cold noodles and broth), but it was super hot in Seattle the day we went, so ordering the Shrimpcado Bukkake made perfect sense. We also ordered the Morrel Mushroom and Pork Belly Soba Seiro(hot) style. This was also a hit with us. The morrel mushroom really comes through in the dipping sauce and the pork belly is so tender. The hot dipping sauce was really concentrated and flavorful so when it came time to pour in the sobayu(the left over water from cooking the soba noodles that has the expelled nutrients that they give you later in the meal), it turned into the perfect consistency for a soup. This dish really makes me look forward to their Fall/Winter soba dishes.
Creamy morel mushroom and pork belly soba 5/5
We’re definitely interested to come back in the winter to try some of warmer soba dishes with denser soups. We’ll be making reservations in the future, because I don’t think Kamonegi is going to get any less popular.
BTW, “Kamonegi” is Japanese proverb used when a stroke of luck happens. The literal translation is “a duck comes along carrying a leek on its back”. Duck soup is made with duck and leeks, so having the two main ingredients appear at once is a stroke of luck. That explains the duck and leek on their signage.
UPDATE: 3/19/20 -Take out during the COVID-19 Shutdown
Japanese Vegetable Curry-Vegetarian curry, potato, bell pepper, carrot, onion, side of rice w/pork katsu
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.75
Service: 5
Food/Drinks: 5
Bang for the Buck: 5 (hand made soba, cmon! If you want a true appreciation of what you’re eating see the video below)
Overall: 4.85
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!
Eavesdropping Convos: None. But here’s a Youtube video of the chef making the soba
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: The hostess at Kamonegi mentioned Kokkaku in Miyabi 45th former location, as having interesting presentations on Wagyu beef and staying within the Japanese food theme.
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