Author: Rachel

One of those soggy days of early Fall where you realize Winter has arrived. The Baron hardly wanted to venture to the backyard.

A house nearby held an estate sale. Curiosity drove me inside, though I didn’t buy anything. Turns out, this house has not been on the market since 1940. I’m glad I stopped in — it was a time capsule.

A snap from today’s vet visit. First thought: if this is successful, there’s silly money in this region to have such specialty. Second thought: I definitely respect the entrepreneurial spirit.

I spent some time working at the Mountain View library today (wifi zone! peace ‘n quiet! sort of.). This was the scene in front. This reminded me of my Dad’s favorite ride at Disneyland.

So many possible interpretations here.
I met my hilarious & awesome new coworkers for the first time in Mountain View today. We enjoyed a fantastic Mexican lunch on Castro.

Then, I decided it would be very Californian to visit the Reflexologist before an El Salvadorean dinner.

And I thought of my Dad, who used to joke that he hailed from the Cereal State (California): land of fruits, nuts, & flakes.

We awoke early to very Seattle-cliche conditions. Gray and drizzly.

A trusted friend (gfrancie) recommended The Butler & The Chef in SOMA for a new love of mine, eggs benedict, so we made an early beeline to beat the brunch crowd. This restaurant was a little piece of France in SFO’s South Park. I went for classic benedict with Niman Ranch ham. Mr. T got a crepe which led to a half-hearted discussion about the authenticity of buckwheat in crepes.

We checked out of our hotel, packed our luggage into storage, and wandered over to Union Square to kill time before plans with my friend Deborah.

Yeah, I love gumbo too, dude.

Starbucks in Union Square was hopping — the Nike Women’s Marathon wrapped up shortly before, so runners, their support, and tourists escaping the drizzle packed the place. We found a window-seat to peruse the NYT. Soon, it was time to catch the BART to the Mission for brunch at Foreign Cinema.

Sadly, the main draw for me — their Persian Bloody Mary — was all sold out (signature?! how could that be?), but I drowned my sorrows in a Sunday Bloody Caesar. I got my RDA of Cali-Mexican with the Rajas Scramble: roasted pasilla peppers, tortilla chips, salsa fresca, and queso fresco. Mr. T was all about the Yellowtail Tartare & the Caramel Sticky Bun. (Who says things have to match?) Fine brunch, and fueled some odd shopping through the Mission.

We killed more time, then took the BART back out to the airport for our car rental & transfer to Silicon Valley, where In-N-Out awaited. Huzzah.

This place on Alki always has the blue bottles out — they got a little more seasonal this month.

We joined friends up north for dinner at 5 Guys. Little Bacon Cheeseburger All the Way for me, please!

Pleased to find they avoid In ‘N Out’s great mistake — 5 Guys has excellent fries. Tip: order the small fries to share for two people. The overflow of fries in our carryout bag was more than what was in the container to begin with. Also, the regular burgers come with two patties, the “Little” comes with one. Perfect.

I took a meeting on Queen Anne around lunchtime.

I always want to stop for better pictures of the Henry murals. Someday.

Two Eastside appointments put me in the perfect location to check out a Thai restaurant recommended to me, months ago: Nibbana-a Thai Cookery. I beat the Microsoftie lunch rush and was seated in a sunny window. I ordered Crispy Garlic Chicken. While delivered quickly, the chicken was on the over-cooked side. I gather this is a common feature of the dish, as other restaurants’ efforts produce the same.

However, I enjoyed my lunch with its upbeat service, on the whole — and would return if on the Eastside.

Lunch date with the Gastrognome & Misty today! We hit up the new Seatown, Tom Douglas’ latest seafood-focused venture at the Pike Place Market. Ironically, I think Misty’s pork sandwich was the best of what arrived at our table, not that the Salmon Sampler I ordered (pictured) was bad. I guess it’s the Southerner in me.

The buckwheat blinis served alongside the delicious salmon are not my usual cup of tea. If they’re yours, order this, because they were well-executed.

I spent the most inspiring day at the locally orgranized TEDxRainier. As talks become available, I’ll link back to them here. (They take forever, even longer than me to update!)

Afterward, we had monthly book club. We read World War Z, an excellent story that changed my disapproval of zombies as a pop culture fad.

A friend was house-sitting near Discovery Park, so another friend and I brought our dogs over for a visit to the beach.

Three out of four pups were Labradoodles. CUTE. But too fast for my camera reflexes.

I spent my day down in Tacoma and stopped in at the Pick-Quick Drive In on my way back to Seattle. I enjoyed a Deluxe Cheeseburger + one Chocolate Shake sans guilt for my good behavior in knocking off a personal task that I’ve been meaning to do for most of the 2000s.

This burger was recently rated tops in a USA Today poll and while it deserves high billing, I don’t know if it’s THE best. This reflects my own misgivings about saying something is the best of all time. It’s very very good. If heading north between Tacoma and Seattle and looking for a solid place to stop, you should absolutely go to their location in Fife.

In the evening, we had two things: 1) Sonja’s Bourbon Tasting and 2) Quality Time with Gastrognome. No pictures with the Gastrognome, but we do have some from Sonja’s fantastic Bourbon Tasting. Everyone brought a bourbon, wine or beer (no other competing spirits), so we had quite the variety. Fantastic evening — Sonja knows her way around the kitchen and party-planning.

When Mr. T & I lived in Fremont, we occasionally visited Persimmon up the hill from the center of the universe. Sometime in the last year, Persimmon closed and Hunger is now in its place.

I ordered a manchego burger and Mr. T ordered boar sliders, but what we were most impressed by was the cocktail program. I can’t recall the name of Mr. T’s beverage (should have photographed the menu!) but mine was the Tangier: harissa vodka & Chateau de Monet. Our bartender was tops. We will return.

I attended a friend’s open house on the west side of West Seattle tonight. This caught my eye, near Fauntleroy.

I was fortunate to attend the Member Preview today at SAM’s big Picasso Exhibition. This is the first exhibit of this kind in the US — representing works from Picasso’s entire career.

Today’s Member Preview Lecture was given by Chiyo Ishikawa. She spoke of this influences & personal history, giving valuable context to the exhibit most of us were about to see. There’s one more lecture this week, before it opens up to the general public. Highly recommended!

A quick picture of my new commute. It’s pretty sunny up there, past this phone-cam’s lens.