Portland and Seattle.... and some points in between

Its been so long since I've done this I hope I remember where I left off.... So much has happened since last I blogged where do I begin?       Well, I spose I could start with the news of my youngest daughters engagement, her and Brian have decided it was time to make it legal,and her Mom and I quite frankly couldn't be more happier , Brians a great guy and I know he will treat her like the Princess she has grown accustomed to being..... Sorry Brian....    Lucky for us they were in town this weekend and joined us for breakfast today, on this My darling brides birthday eve, of course we went to Voulas, Msues nosh of choice,we were joined today not only by Brian and Cass, but Brians Dad Mike, and other friends Ron and Julie Printz and their son Hunter,so we had quite the the crowd with us today.      Not much to write about that you havent already heard, Voulas is amazing, Msue had the Greek Hobo, I had the "Vagabond Hobo", which consisted of eggs, potatoes, cheese, house made chorizo and assoreted peppers and onions, topped with Pico De Gallo...... pretty darned good ,and a lot of food, as I only ate a small  portion , lunch tomorrow!          Yes in my lack of Blogging, eat we still did, we were in Portland the first week of July,where we spent the week at the Hotel Monaco (courtesy of a great deal) procured from our little princess Cassidy , she works for the Kimpton hotel chain and is stationed at the Monaco.        Personally, I find Portland a little weird,that being said , weirdness aside, there is a ton of places to eat, and even more coffee houses, all the cafes seem to have really good coffee,as apposed to Seattle.        One of our stops was a little bar and grill named "Tasty and Alder"  ( a recomendation from Cass)  I had the Bim Bop,bacon and eggs, which was a bowl of rice, Kim Chi, and assorted veggies and of course bacon with a teryaki type sauce topped with a couple of fried eggs, and as the name sez...quite tasty.      The highlight of our dining experience wasn't for breakfast, we went to a place in Portland named the "Screen Door" for dinner, we were joined by Brian and Cass of course,and our friends Eric and Patty Baker (our Lake Oswegian friends)joined us as well.       The Screen Door is a little place in NE Portland specializing in southern home cookin.... we had Fried Chicken (Amazing) Hush Puppies, Catfish and Oysters,not to mention Collards and bacon....everything was fried and delish! along with that amazing experience, we were  going to have dinner at Cass and Brians one night , but after a long day of shopping with the kids, we ended up getting some Thai take out, it was a fun week all in all bumming around Portland, seeing the kids..... oh yeh! Kenny and Zukes Deli, got to mention that, no stop in PTown is complete without an Egg Salad san and some of their homemade Pastrami!        MSue had a great Idea, on the day we were going to leave, instead of eating in Portland, lets stop in Olympia at Darbys Cafe, another one of "Guy Fierris" Diner Drive ins and Dives  choices, we have been wanting to go for a long time, they serve Oysters.    I had the Oysters Benny... actually its been so long Im not sure of the name, but it was quite delicious. MSue had the Chicken fried  steak.. also delish...... one Caviat     Darbys, while the food was very good, the service was terrible, they didnt care and it showed, they even had a sign that read if you want your food fast? go to Burgerking, and with all of that, the place was still packed, although a few did get up and leave.   Darbys is also on the Diner Drive in and Dive list.. I had to get my own Coffee, and Msues Ice T, she finally got it with the food, but 2.5 hours later we were headin back home... will we  go back? Hell no! there is just not enough time in Life.     On a brighter note we have been to Daves Diner in Seatac.. Home of the Motherlode CFS, the size of a small roofing shingle, Maggies in Kent, home  of the bacon waffle and possibly the best bran muffin I'.ve ever eaten, I always get them to go., We went to the Buttered Biscuit in Sumner,tons of food and tons of people, Browns point Diner of course.. good bloody marys.....   Tomorrow night is Mary Sues Birthday dinner... We're Goin to Vinces... still the best Pizza in town. when inspired I shall blog again, until then oh yeh! I think I will end my blog with my Beer of choice for the month, I know its not breakfast... well ok sometimes it is.... drumroll please  ....................the IPA from Fremont Brewing!   Hoppy and Delicious, their Slogan is "because Beer Matters"    Im in total agreement.. Beer.... its not just for breakfast any more!    Beer is Food! or for my dyslexic friends   Reeb is Doof!

Roanoke Inn Tavern and more!

Hello my many followers!, I realize that these Blogs arn't coming every week,but lately the Ol Ball and.... I mean my Lovely Wife has been keeping me kinda busy, not a lot of "Sit Down Time" so I thought I'd just combine a few of the local spots, plus a new one.             The Roanoke Tavern reminds me of a joint on some remote Lake where the locals gather to talk about their day or plans, where they sell fishing tackle and liquor ,pour you a cold beer. A place where they talk about the giant Lake Trout, that few have seen,and some come close but no one has landed...things  that legends are made of with names like "The General" or "Troutasarus"  perhaps only in my world, ....The Roanoke Inn and Tavern is a Homey little place in a Homey little part of Mercer Island, where locals probably do go on Sundays...or any other time . My friend "Ol Hot T" has been wanting to go there for quite some time and since we don't often bow down to the requests of myself or for him (it is mostly the girls requests) big surprise huh? We thought we would go, must have been at least a month ago, probably more..... its one of those walk right in sit right down places, I normally like, and I did like it, we all did, buuutt.... nothing really exciting , the Menu is short, breakfast anyways, Nothing to entice us Aubernites into travel, but like I said it was good, The Chikas had Mimosas, Ol Hot T had a Bloody Mary,Oddly I did not, for I do love a good one. I believe the ladies ordered The Spinach Omelette...with mushrooms and Jack Cheese...of course Val (Smoj) had to sub some of the choices, she prefers swiss.....yawn.... they both ordered them as a scramble, and of course MSue had her eggswelldonesideofsalsa! there may have been a side of bacon for her as well , Really?   The Ol Hot one had the sausage and eggs, and I had the ham steak along with said huevos,.... If Im on the Rock and its lunch time I may the Roanoke again, but bfast wasn't all that special... I believe the coffee was good  tho, it must have been spendy i think I only had two cups............              Mothers Day weekend.... no Hot T or Smoj this time,just Msue, Myself and the Children, Jessica and Cassidy, we braved the crowds and since it was Mothers Day, the choice was all Msues, and where do you suppose she wanted to go?   no not Spuds, they dont serve breakfast, although I could eat their fish and chips anytime.   Nope we went to Voulas Offshore Cafe, it is MSuse's favo! and rightly so, its awesome! always delivers an outstanding meal, My Lovely Bride had what she always has, the Greek Hobo! a scramble with  potatoes  eggs and veggies , topped with Feta cheese.          Although Voulas has a broad menu, lots a good choices, she never differs.     Jessica had the "Pinata Benedict"... Amazing! their own pulled smoked pork with Chipoltle infused hollandaise .... so good!     Cassidy, bless her just like Dads heart, had the "Big Voula" three eggsters, bacon and greek sausage along with hashbrowns and toast, one of my go too's at Voulas.            I went a little off center this trip, I ordered the special of the day, " The Achilles"  which consisted of a homemade Pita with a feta/pepper    kind of schmear on it, topped with Voulas crispy thick bacon, arugala ...annnd two Eggamundos over perfecto on top, kind of a greeky Huevos Rancheros,and if that wasnt enough,Voulas Browns the best around! as well yep indeedy, Mothers Day Breakfast perfected!    Spuds?  yep! went there for dinner!        I really shouldn't close this post with out a nod to one of our favorite locals... lately weve been going there just cuz its pretty darn good and close!   right in Downtown Kent, now for you Northend readers Kent is like a small Lynnwood, but with prettier girls.... Oh the name?  Maggies on Meeker..... cuz its on Meeker street... in Kent... cmon keep up.       The Food is always good, the service is great, the food can be slow,but the kitchen is small and the joint is pretty big, we went there today Msue and my self, great  as usual, they do some specials on the weekends.... all I can say is the Cornbeef hash on said weekend special is the best Ive ever had, the weekly fare variety is canned but the special is unbelievable!     You can even go to the Pied Piper Tavern,(next door) if you must have a beer with your breakfast and order from Maggies, also they have stubendaerific baked goods , and there is always a house special Quiche or two on the board.   MSue likes it cuz they make a bacon stuffed waffle just for her!........... So friends until next nosh... Adieu!

The Harmon,Pub and Brewery... and Breakfast !

I cant seem to tear myself away from the Masters to compose a bit in regards to our Sunday Nosh... so if I disappear from time to time you'll know why.      So The Harmon?  yep its a like the title says " A bar" and a darn fine one judging from past encounters, never breakfast but we have had dinner there a few times....Two words...French Dip! best around, so last time there we noticed they serve Breakfast, and we finally got around to it this morning.          Ol Hot T and Smoj were on the docket today and picked us up a little before ten...tennish anyone ?   The Harmon is on Pacific ave. across from Union Station (sort of) in the City of destiny we call Tacoma, just south of a Starbucks (isn't every place) which is where we parked, a little stroll and we were at "Our" place of destiny, a window seat looking out at beautiful Tacoma.        The Harmon must have had a busy Saturday night cuz the place a faint urine smell to it.    it appears that they dump sawdust on the floor and sweep it out, it would explaine the garbage cans full of slightly soggy sawdust out side .       But no worries they had 3 dollar Bloody Marys  and Mimosas so all was good ,Yes indeedy  I did partake as well as the other three, tho the Chickas had Mimosas, The Bloody Marys were heavy on horseradish and spicygood !       The menu is limited for breakfast, 3 kinds of Benedicts, basic eggs and meat of choice, a couple of Omlettes, Pancakes,biscuits , gravy....and a Monte Cristo Sandwich.... Oh yeh and a Chicken Fried Steak.              Msue had the CFS with hashbrowns eggsscrambledwelldonesideofsalsa! what? no toast? nope! none offered, strange she thought.      I don't think she was particularly  thrilled with her choice, as she stated it did not appear  to be freshly made, more of the frozen type, nothing really to complain  about, but not enough to take a picture of either.     His Highness of Hot T ordered the Basic Egg and Meat du Jour offering, his choice was Sausage .        Smoj and myself had the Monte Cristo Sandwich, which weirdly came with two eggs.... but I loves My Chicken Embryos, so I was pleased.       The food arrived Sans sausage and salsa, which the Tattooed hoop earing,mohawk sporting waiter apologized and quickly brought Ken a platter of sausage links and MSue a bowl of Salsa.....dude this is not Fremont!, but capable he was . Kens breakfast was ok, although  the extra plate of sausage helped.      I gotta say The Monte Cristo was pretty darn good.... pretty darn big  and with the addition of two eggs  quite a generous helping.      For those unaware of said sandwich, the Monte Cristo is kinda like a French toast club sandwich.. but no bacon,  Turkey, Ham, and Swiss double decked  in frenchtoast, panfried, and for dipping this one had Blueberry syrup ( its usually strawberry Jam), it was really good, I unfortunately ate all of mine, which commanded a short nap once I arrived home  , Val manged to eat half of hers.        I think Bacon would be good on it however.... really Jim? of course it would!  the Coffee was pretty good as well , as I did not require a stop at the Starbucks.        The Harmon, a good Bar,good beer and a decent breakfast!

A High Spot and more

Well since last we noshed with the Brunners aka Ol Hot T and Smoj, MSue and I have been around a bit.                 We last chewed with Hot T and Smoj when we ate at the 5 Spot in QueenAnn , twas my latest blog! and like I stated previously, MSue and I have been around, the weekend following that last episode, MSue and I went to the Cafe we were supposed to have gone to when we we mistakenly  dined at the 5.     We met some friends of hers from work and went to the HI Spot Cafe in Madrona, its between Cherry and Whatever on 34th.       Long story short .... Damn Good!, bit of a wait it was, but worth it!   MSues coworker and his wife along with their little boy, (3 or 4 yrs old)" Milo". .. Its a cute little place, and old house,but arnt all the cute little cafes , old house conversions?, The Cafe specializes in baked goods, muffins , scones etc.which  looked scrumdidlyishes, but lo I did not partake, for I was just gettin over a bout of case of the Yuk and Pukes,and still a bit queezy.      MSues friend Scott did however and ordered a Savory Scone ( they have sweet as well ), a chicken and cheese affair, that passed his inspection with flying colors,for his breakfast, he ordered the biscuits and gravy, the gravy was Chorizo sausage and quite spicy,but pretty good, his breakfast also came with eggs, he ordered over easy,they arrived over wiggly, a little to runny in the whites for my likin, but all mixed up with the gravy, it didnt seem to bother Scott much.  His Wife Andrea had a Smoked Salmon , dill and caper omlette, which she seemed to enjoy,their little boy Milo, had lemons and milk, and water and fruit and eggs and cheese and crackers and anything else that was put in front of him.... cute little guy , good appetite and very well behaved.    MSue had a customized scramble of sorts, Tomatoes ,spinach, feta cheese , probably a shroom or two.. oh yeh, sideosalsa! as for me? well my tender constitution had the Brioche French toast with almond butter and REAL syrup, it was pretty darn good, and the coffee was tasty as well "Fonte" I believe was the brand, and brewed to perfection I had about a gallon. We will have to go  back with Smoj and Hot T... I gotta get me a scone!     The following Weekend again without our cohorts, was a visit to Voulas Offshore Cafe, this time Msues Sister and her husband were drug along for our Sunday ritual, MSue had her usual... Greek Hobo, eggs ,taters,veggies,feta cheese, all mixed up like a dogs lunch, although no side o salsa,as Voulas makes their own hot sauce... mmmtastylicious! Her Sister Theresa, we call her Weeweese, (dont ask, we just do) had the Pinata benedict, which is assembled on a muffin with Voulas own pulled pork,(they smoke it on premises) poachy de eggys and covered with a chipoltle hollandaise .... Holy Caloric overload!! and some of the best cripsy browns around! , Weeweese's husband Herb, we call him Herbie(cuz we do ) had the Greek Hobo, just like MSue, he liked it,but I think he would have rather had the Pinata Benny.like I and his wife had... cuz its awsome! Yep Yep Voulas is goood!             So the next Sunday Cuisine I believe MSue and  I flew solo, ya see, were goin to have breakfast on Sunday, even if we have to go by ourselves, MSues rules!! I think we went to Maggies on Meeker (Kent), nothing really special there quite frankly, but my Girl likes their Bacon Waffles , yep bacon in the waffles, along with?.... Yep a side o Bacon ( her favorite fruit), I had the Bacon (see the theme here) and Eggs along with browns  , pretty good.        Our next trip out was to the Browns Point Diner, one of my very favs, although we had not been there in a while due to a particularly awful plate of eggs benny,(normally outstanding there), yes we gave it another chance..... also solo..... Total Redemption!!! although we both went  old school basic Bacon and eggs, it was pretty amazing, mine anyways, for my Lovely Wife orders her eggsscrambledwelldonesideofsalsa!, thats a tough thing to cook!...mine were over perfect and full of yolky goodness soppin it up with sourdough toast...... MM!............... And almost finally we were in Portland, (weird little city)   Dog sitting for our daughter  Cassidy and her boyfriend Brian, (she calls him Bri Bri)... I however do not! it was Brians birthday and Cassidy surprised him with a trip to the Ocean,which they could not bring their cuddly little boxer Stella to this particular hotel, soooo Msue and I (Gramma and Grampa to Stella)...... so breakfast? ooooh Portland may be weird , but you can sure eat good there, and it seems no matter where we have gone down there the food has been exceptional and the coffee is caffeinogasmic!!, This time we went with our friends Eric and Patty Baker (Lake Oswego) to a tiny little cafe called SteppingStones...... HolyMolyScmoly! another gem in the weirdness I call Portland, MSue had an Omlette served as a Scramble and..... a side of bacon ( she likes bacon), Patty had uh..... I cant recall quite frankly, something basic,but along with her something basic.... she ordered a Mancake, its like a pancake, only the size of a manhole cover,... butter and syrup oh my but it was gihugent! Eric and I ordered Identically... Country Bennedict.... Homemade Biscuit, sausage patty, eggsdelapoachy, all covered and smothered in their homemade Sausage gravy...oh yeh and a pile o homefries.....Caaarb up! yep and some really good coffee as well .       I try not to like Portland, but I think its working its weirdness on me , lotsa good food, and of course Cassidy and Brian live there, as well as my Nephew Brian and his Wife Michelle and there little dude ," G Man" Gabrial! My one regret that weekend is we didnt get to see them, bad planning on my part, next time fo sho!...... This Sunday the whole gang was back together! Yep Ol Hot T and Smoj Graced us with their presence  and joined us for our sunday nosh.    We went to Charlies in Puyallup its been a FF(Famished Four) staple for quite some time now, I wont  get to into it , but its just a good place to eat, they have some signature dishes called Squares... which are really scrambles on square plates, and a  a dish that I call MM!.. its their "Chicken in a Biscuit" it consists of ..said biscuit,along with a piece of crispy fried chicken breast,fried egg annnnd covered in country gravy, forget that waist line Jimbo cuz weez goin to Charlies!.     Msue this time had CFS along with some pretty good Browns, Val had the Chicken in a biscuit , Ol Hot T Had the Pancake breakfast.... cakes ,all you can eat !,meat de jour and eggs,    Guess what I had ? nope Eggs Benny! Ive never had it there and while it was no Chicken in a biscuit it was pretty good.  Yeppers Charlies in Puyallup Great grub Great service!...... All you can eat pancakes!!! how frikkin many pancakes can you eat? at my age the answer is Two! yep Two its all I can eat!   I want to know where was this kinda place when I was in my twenties ? I'd a been there all day!!!

A pleasant mistake " 5 Spot Cafe" Queen Anne

So, I have this friend of mine at work, for the sake of privacy lets just call her Theresa.     Any way , she knows of  the "Famished Four"  (FF) exploits and our pention for all things breakfasty (ooh good word)  often times she asks "Where did you go this last Sunday?" followed by you guys really need to try the 5 Spot, my daughter gos there and she just loves it....... Yeh Yeh, its on our radar, we 'll go there at some point, frankly we have quite a few favs lately, such as Paddy Coynes (Tacoma) , Chelan Cafe (West Seattle) and close to home is Maggies on Meeker (Kent) so we havent really ventured into new locales lately. Last Sunday was our day for newness, we the FF decided we'd try  sumpin new, so off to Queen Anne we scooted, thru the Mercer mess and on up to the top of the counterbalance sits our quest.         Holy Crap do people really drive thru this part of Seattle during the week?, my GPS was constantly telling me to take the next legal U turn , which all could've been avoided , by taking 99 to  the Q A neighborhood or just following the Detour signs might have helped, ( as suggested by M Sue) but eventually we did get there, parking is on the street by the the big KIRO tower so I dropped off my driver assistants at the door and parked in peace, bout a block away, I havent been up in that area for a long time... its nice, Cool Houses, narrow streets, quintessentially Seattle!.        By the time I ambled in to the 5 Spot,  MSue and Ol Hot T and Smoj were at a charming corner table by the window, beverages in tow, my Coffee on the way..... Holy Mackeral!..... they  tout  that Stumptown is their Caffeine Du Jour, this is gonna be Epic!  I have one word for Stumptown Coffee.... MM!  ( yes its a word, I use it when somethings awsome).      The 5 Spot's Menu changes every quarter, or as it suits them, and we happened into a celebration of the Carolinas, southern cookin?... MM!,( theres that word again) needless to say, I for one was excited.       The Service was cute and prompt, bevs were on point and full, The food choices for the Famished Four went thusly ,Smoj along with her namesake oj ordered the Biscuits and gravy, as did MSue (they copy all the time) with the exception of beverages, hers of course was Ice Tea W/lemon , Ol Hot T ordered Eggs Val Verde,.... a Scramble sort of thing with avocado  and cilantro and a Chorizo Chub standin guard over his grub...and Hot T of course, mine was as usual, the best of the bunch.  I had me the "Low Country Benedict"  Split homemade biscuit, thick cut ham, fried green tomato, a pair of perfect poachers, all smothered in a pimento cheese,as opposed to the usual hollendaise, crispy froasted red spuddlies, I say froasted, cuz they appeared to fried and roasted ... whats that word again? oh yeh MM!.     Now I know what your thinking... another great grubfest for the Famished Four... Not so fast my Bloggerphyles, twas not all twinkles and goodness, Smojs Skits and gravy were cold, bless her heart, when the waitress asked how things were tasting? Smojs reply was the Gravy supposed to be cold? of course not! came the reply ,soooo it was whisked away and promptly replaced with a steaming pile of breakfast much more to Vals (Smoj) liking, MSues same breakfast, was not as hot as she would like, but she did not send hers back, although she did state that it was not the best sausage gravy she had eaten, which in itself is a tough sell, for MSue's sausage gravy is beyond reproach!! she did however like her side of Bacon.            The biscuits were good.... the gravy? not so much Ol Hot T enjoyed his meal, and mine was outstanding!  will we go back?  , I might , but its along way to go by myself, and after all this is a group thing.    I can tell you are a bit perplexed by the title of this "A pleasant mistake"     well let me splain it , I was looking forward to telling my friend (Theresa) that yes ,we finally went to her suggested Cafe, and that while not perfect, i did enjoy my meal... I might go back for Fried Green Tomatoes....MM!, so that following Monday I marched into the office and boldly stated, I bow'd to your constant requests and we ate at the 5 Spot yesterday!..... She said back, 5 Spot? wheres that? noooooo, I suggested you go to the "Hi Spot" in Madrona...... Crap! Oh well My bad...... apparently the "Hi Spot" has to die for baked goods , I guess another Blog another time  :)            JR.