Nana's Soup House, Wedgewood

A bowl of soup is one of my all-time favorite meals on the planet. I have collected recipes for years and regularly spend entire Sundays waiting for a hearty stew to finish simmering on the stove or tending to a delicate bisque. There are times, however, when chopping, waiting, and fishing a bay leaf from a pot full of spinach, carrots, onions and leeks before running it all through the food processor requires more energy...

Sambar, Ballard

My birthday isn't until October, but I am already deeply engaged in strategic planning for my big day. It's not because of what the event is going to be, but where the event is going to be. I am definitely, without question, celebrating my birthday at Sambar. I knew it the minute I walked in and took one look at the chic, sleek decor. "This is where I want to turn twenty-eight," I thought, because...

Portage Bay Cafe, U-District

If you want to eat breakfast at Portage Bay Cafe on a weekend, get there early. If you arrive much later than 9:00 am you will be forced to stand in a long yet narrow entryway, crammed shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers for forty minutes while you wait for a table. This holding pattern can become incredibly awkward when people need to enter and exit through the front door or go down the hallway to use the...

Joe Bar, Capitol Hill

During my most recent visit to Joe Bar a man brought his new puppy, a chocolate brown Portuguese water dog named Moses, into the shop with him to get a coffee. Moses was in full throttle cuteness mode, bounding from table to table, tugging at shoelaces and licking the hands of charmed customers (myself included) who couldn't help but reach down to pat his darling little head. "It's his visit to Joe Bar," the man...

Oh! Chocolate, Madison Park

I took my first sip of the house-made French Hot Chocolate on a Friday afternoon. Spring sun spilled through the many windows of Oh! Chocolate's Madison Park storefront as I lifted the ceramic demitasse mug to my lips allowing the silky beverage to roll onto my tongue. "Oh my!" were the only words I could use to describe my inaugural taste. I have a girlfriend who lives in Los Angeles. She had a box of...

Piatti, University Village

A couple years ago a girlfriend of mine shared with me one of her favorite pastimes. She said, "Do you want to know what I love to do? I love to eat an early dinner at that Italian restaurant in University Village. You know that one on the corner right across from the Gap?" "Piatti?" I asked. "Yeah," she said, "Piatti! It's so good. I love to go there for an early dinner and a...

Pies and Pints, Roosevelt

My friend Alex and I used to live near Pies and Pints. At the time he and I were next-door neighbors and this wonderful little pub was an easy walk from home. The thing is though, neither one of us knew about Pies and Pints until after we both moved out of our apartment building and into new digs in different parts of town. It was my mother who discovered the place when a friend...

Sip and Ship, Ballard

It only took a few minutes within my first visit to Sip and Ship to realize that I had stumbled upon a special spot. It was a sunny, Sunday afternoon in the middle of December and Sip and Ship (also known as Ballard Mail and Dispatch) was crowded with people shopping for gifts, picking wrapping paper and greeting cards, and mailing packages. Despite the fervor and mayhem often associated with such holiday errands, the staff...

Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park

In 1989 Ray Oldenburg wrote a book entitled The Great Good Place in which he wrote that there are three essential places that all people must have in order to feel centered in life. The first is a home, the second is a school or workplace, and the third is a community space where a person can gather with others to meet, to laugh, to discuss, to banter, to unwind, to simply hang out and...

Royal India, Juanita

Forgive me food gods, for I have sinned! I am ashamed to admit it, but I must come clean: I have been driving past Royal India since it first opened with my lips pursed, my brow furrowed, my nose stuck up in true "I am too good for that restaurant" food snob fashion. For years I have been saying aloud, "I will never eat there." I have been a foolish girl. A wicked girl! I...

Revolutions, Greenlake

If you are a woman who gets utterly annoyed when a stranger calls you "sweetie," you may want to avoid Revolutions as your morning latte provider. If, however, you are a woman who gets a thrill from a little unexpected sweet talk, Revolutions is your place. Here's just a small sampling of the greetings I have received from the baristas upon approaching the counter: How you doing, Sugar? What's going on today, Sweetheart? Hey Girl!...