Category Archives: Restaurants

Hooked Fish Bar has a view!

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IMG_3629We hadn’t been to Vancouver in well over 20 years and it was past time. So dear husband and I gathered up dear daughter and off we went. Along the way we stopped at the Vancouver Airport and picked up her boyfriend. Once at the hotel we asked for a dinner recommendation  and we were sent to Hooked Fish Bar at Crescent Beach area. I had the fish tacos, dh had the fish & chips, dd had the salmon burger and bf had the mussels. We shared some poutine, a first for dh who took right to them! Afterwards we walked along the beach and even into the water, gathering shells, admiring the view and generally playing.

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Chamber’s Bay Whole Foods

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16793848633_738f3a9fab_kI was pretty excited when I learned that Whole Foods was opening up a location in University Place (Chambers Bay Whole Foods, 3515 Bridgeport Way West, University Place, WA 98466). We had a Whole Foods near us (kind of) when we lived in Dallas and I’ve always enjoyed shopping there. My day to day shopping is elsewhere, but Whole Foods was a pleasure for a once in a while treat.

I went to Chambers Bay Whole Food’s grand opening with live music and free samples. It was a lively event! But yesterday I went back to see how they are doing now that the opening is over and the US Open has left town.

The good points are.

  • Their employees are helpful, cheerful and knowledgeable.
  • Free samples! Lots of delicious fresh fruit and even a little wine.
  • There is plenty of parking and an entire underground parking lot also.
  • Plenty of ‘to go’ meal options including pizza by the slice, salad bar, hot food bar, juice bar, coffee bar with adjacent bakery, a bar bar (yes, you can have beer or wine with your pizza there in the store!) and other made to order goods.
  • They have a lovely Facebook Page.
  • Their website is also well done.
  • They have a good selection of local produce and other goods. For example there is an upcoming brewer’s night with local beer brewers.
  • All kinds of products that I don’t see elsewhere.
  • I love the octopus on the narrows bridge art over the cheese shop!

The less than good points are:

  • Well, they are expensive. For example the leg cramp medicine my husband uses was 1/3 more expensive than it is on Amazon. Though I found quite a few reasonably priced items and some of the sale items (I love their soaps) were a steal!
  • This location doesn’t carry Tom’s Shoes, which is what brought me there. In fact they have very little in the way of clothes. That’s OK, if I want clothes with my groceries I go to Fred Meyers. Though I really wanted to check the fit on the new Tom’s sneakers.
  • Like Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods doesn’t stock most day to day items, so if I want Pepsi or Oreo Cookies, I need to go elsewhere. They do have healthy options to sodas and sweets.
  • I was looking forward to taking a class or two there and they don’t seem to be set up for that. Maybe in the future.

The good outweighs the not so good and I’m delighted that they are here.

 

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Ivar’s for lunch

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I had a very late lunch today at the Ivar’s in Lakewood, WA. I enjoy Ivar’s not only for their tasty fast food, but also for their quirky sense of humor. More history on Ivar himself can be found here.

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Cafe Vincero

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imageToday  I enjoyed an impulsive lunch with my good friend. We went to a new to us place, Cafe Vincero at 714 Pacific Avenue in Tacoma. The Cafe  pictures Italian dining and specializes in wood fired pizza. The space is lovely with the abundant tile working well with the historic building. Our waiter was attentive and funny! Because of a tiny mix up, which was graciously handled, we ended up with two pizzas.  They were both delicious. Really, they were so good I would happily go back tomorrow!

The building is known as the Kaufman-Wolff Building and was constructed in 1888 with Farrell & Darmer being the architects. Occupants have included: Sperry & Spengemann, G.L. Holmes Furniture, Wallerstein Candies, Edwin Chambers Auto Supplies, Soldiers & Sailors Club House, War Camp Community Service, Edward B. Rhodes Post – American Legion, Sutherland Tire Co., B. Wingard &
Sons Butchers’ Supply Co., United Service Organization (U.S.O.) and the Footprinters’ Club (seriously, what is a Footprinters’s Club?!). As of May 2014, the Vincero was in place on the Pacific Avenue level of the building.

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Yellow Church Cafe in Ellensburg

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16941136686_aed78ba66c_kDrive to visit dear daughter, I stopped for lunch in Ellensburg and used Yelp to discover the Yellow Church Cafe at 111 South Pearl. Prior to being a cafe, the building was actually the Good Hope Lutheran Church for 40 years (sold in 1967) and there were several other uses. The Yellow House Cafe began in 1997 and the current owner took over in 2014. Beside the welcoming setting, the main star of the meal was the homemade bread of my BLT sandwich.

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Original Pancake House

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IMG_2514I’ve been meaning to the Original Pancake House at 601 Pine Street since it opened a few months ago (December 2014). Dear husband and I finally went to the all breakfast restaurant the other day and the pancakes were indeed delicious. I hadn’t realized the chain is so extensive, all over the US and now in Japan and South Korea. The original Original Pancake House opened in 1953 in Portland, OR. Their website is here.

Washing up at Mcmenamin’s Olympic Club

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16544355252_bb97c504e0_oMcmenamins Olympic Club in Centralia has won the award for best women’s room sink (if such an award existed!). Today dear husband and I went for lunch before some antiquing (him) and outlet shopping (me).

The Olympic Club Hotel was built in 1913 and is a mixed use facility which includes a restaurant/bar, pool area, movie theater and hotel with guest rooms.  We didn’t take in a movie this time, though we have in the past. It is a great theater with comfy, overstuffed chair and a full menu/bar service. I snapped a photo between shows. The guest rooms have a shared centralized bathrooms (European style) and are uniquely charming. I had a photo from some years ago that I’ve included. The property has been a McMenamins since 1997.

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Nuckle’s Sandwich Shop, Tacoma

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16468453312_87fd024e35_kNuckle’s Sandwich Shop at 4312 6th Ave in Tacoma was a wonderful find for dear husband and me. We stopped in for lunch. I had the Hot Pastrami and soup and dear husband had the BBQ Cheese steak and soup. He was surprised when his cheese steak came with pineapple, but he loved it! Really, everything was delicious and reasonably priced too. Their menu is here.

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Cheese Wizards, Seattle

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TruckMy friend went to a Portland food truck specializing in grilled cheese and it sounded so good that I went to find one in Seattle. The owners of the Cheese Wizard were so nice and so proud of their food. As well they should be with their focused specialty. I had the Green Seer and dear husband had the Gobblin’ King, both warm and delicious.Their Facebook account is here. There were several other food trucks in the Westlake neighborhood and I thought it was wonderful that there was actually street parking spaced dedicated to them.

The truck was parked in front of the Tesla Showroom, so we stopped in there too. It was interesting to see the cars plugged in to charge and I loved sitting in one and looking at the information panel.  We were told that if we ordered one today, it would be ready in three or four months. I would have test driven one, but the traffic in the area was crazy with all the new construction.

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Storiebook Cafe, Glen Rose

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14732961299_4eb2b1ff8e_kFlashback! I realized that I never published this lovely summary memory of Storiebook Cafe where mom and I had lunch one hot summer day. Their Facebook Page is here.

Storiebook Cafe in Glen Rose, TX is a delightful combination of two of my favorite things, food and books.  Mom and I went for lunch, a cub of soup & a turkey/avocado wrap for me and a Reubin & soup for her. Both were really good. We shared the blueberry cobbler for dessert.

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