Category:
Pizza
Neighborhood: Belltown
Category:
Mexican
Neighborhood: Green Lake
Categories:
IT Services & Computer Repair,
Computers
Category:
Mobile Phones
Neighborhood: University District
Categories:
Latin American,
Mexican
Neighborhood: University District
Category:
Bookstores
Neighborhood: Ravenna
Listen up, bigger is not always better. Sometimes smaller compensates for lack of breadth and depth with the little things that really give long lasting pleasure, like lingering attention to details and superior personal service. In this respect, Ravenna Third Place Books scores over its bigger sibling in Lake Forest Park. Again and again and again.
This is my favorite bookstore in the city. A friend nails it when she calls it "Elliott Bay Book Co. without the tourist crowds." It has the old wood floors, the thoughtfully selected stock and staff picks, author readings and book groups meetings. They will order books for you when they aren't in stock and they will put books on hold for you when you call them up at, say, 9 p.m. on a Thursday night because you just realized you will finish the 2nd book of a trilogy that night and can't live without starting the third, but it just came out on Tuesday and you're worried that either they won't have it in yet, or it will be sold out. No problem, it's waiting for you to pick up as soon as you get off work Friday. Whew. Crisis averted. They also have their used books next to the new books on the shelf so you can decide which you want without browsing separate sections. Nice touch. And yes, I'll be paying the full, marked price for that newly released book, but I'm doing it deliberately, with forethought, because I care deeply about how and why and where I spend my money and will always support an independent bookstore over a national chain. Besides, I'll make it up browsing their awesome clearance tables.
The icing on this literary cake is having a bakery in the bookstore. Honey Bear's bacon sandwich is the perfect "after book shopping" treat. The sprinkles on the icing on the literary cake is the Pub downstairs. Books, bacon and beer? Call me one happy, satiated customer.
Categories:
Grocery,
Sandwiches
Category:
Mexican
Neighborhood: Ballard
Listed in: All About the Burgers, My Top Twenty Favorite Places…
This place fits me when I'm in a comfortable, no frills mood. Friendliest people around who will talk to you from behind the long barstooled counter and let you watch them make your food. The spinach, havarti, mushroom omelet is my favorite breakfast and when I order tartar sauce for my lunch fries they oblige and handmake it since it isn't on the menu. The burgers are big and juicy and the place is as solid as the old wood floors.
Listed in: My Top Twenty Favorite Places…
"my reality check bounced"
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Review votes:
1905 Useful, 1252 Funny, and 1323 Cool
Seattle, WA
Yelping SinceJuly 2005
Things I Lovethe smell of new shower curtains, dark chocolate, organic fair trade coffee, turtles, the smell of gasoline, long dinners with friends, Camping
Find Me Indomitable
My HometownVashon Island
My Blog Or Website When I'm Not Yelping...I'm sleeping
Why You Should Read My ReviewsSometimes people pay me real money to write stuff
My Second Favorite Website The Last Great Book I ReadRed Mars/Green Mars/Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
My First ConcertVan Halen - David Lee, baby
My Favorite MovieMaster and Commander
My Last Meal On EarthTang and an energy bar, right before lifting off to Mars
Don't Tell Anyone Else But...I eat garbanzo beans straight out of the can
Most Recent Discoverypupusas
Current CrushViggo Mortensen, Anthony Bourdain, David Bowie
Wandering around that section of the city after taking in the Folklife Festival, we decided to take a whole bunch of hungry teens to Zeek's. Zeek's was expecting a party of 30 and told us it would be a 30 minute wait. That's like 30 hours to a teen. Moving on, we spotted Bambino's. Perfect.
Nice big table to fit all seven of us. Sis and I got the bench, most of the kids perched on the stools. Time to order drinks. No beer. Say what? A pizzeria with no liquor license? Okay, fine. Out of apple juice. Fine, whatever. We ordered four different kinds of calzones, 1 pizza and a large salad. The salad rocked. The Della Casa comes with mixed baby greens, dried cherries, Flagship cheese and balsamic vinegar, and it's a HUGE serving. In fact, most of it was left when we were done. The server asked if we'd like to take it home and we said yes, but I realized after that it was still sitting on the table when we left. They never boxed it up and we forgot. Strike three.
The Margherita pizza with the addition of artichokes and garlic was pretty good, and I love the subtle, dry smokiness of a wood fired pizza with a not-too-thin, not-too-thick crust. The tomato sauce wasn't too sweet either and the garlic still had a bit of a bite. Good job. Each of the four types of huge calzones, however, was so stuffed with ricotta and mozzarella that the other ingredients were drowned out and that much cheese was just too much cheese. And I'm a die-hard cheese fan. When even kids say it's too much, it's too much. That goes for all four types.
At the end of the meal, when asked if they take Amex and the answer was "sorry, no," it didn't come as a surprise. Whatever. The service was very friendly though, and they did bring a large pizza when we ordered a small and they only charged for the small, so I think they felt bad for saying "no" so often during our dining experience. That's a plus. So three stars for the roller coaster meal. It almost made up for the fact there's no roller coaster at the Seattle Center any more. You'd think that would be an apples and oranges comparison, but eating there was weird enough that I think I can get away with it.