MORE Food, Friends, and Goodbyes

Ok, this is the next to the last Seattle post I’m going to do.  We’ve been in Alabama a long time now!  However, there are some pictures I can’t help but share on this post and then we need a good heart-closure post from our year…and THEN I’ll start writing about actual and present life, I promise.

When people came to visit us in Seattle, they usually asked what kinds of clothes they should pack, which led to discussions about what we would do…which led me into long dissertations about the city parks, surrounding countryside, and the inevitable Pike Place Market.  None of those things cost money, and my friends would start to imagine that they were about to spend a vacation where money would not be an issue.  Seattle really is a miracle!  Oh no friends, you’ll spend money in Seattle, but if you’re with us it won’t be spent on attractions.  All your money will be spent on food.  And it will be worth every red cent!

In saying goodbye to the dear friends we’d made and waving farewell to our home of a year, we naturally tended to say these goodbyes over the good food in which we’d been indulging.  We had to eat at all our favorite little spots one last time.  Unfortunately, I didn’t take my camera along on all of these goodbyes.  In case any of you are going to visit, here’s a list (with links) to some of our favorite places that we had to revisit before we could leave…

For Breakfast: Glo’s (a hole in the wall but my all-time favorite Eggs Benedict…which makes it my overall favorite as well), Portage Bay Cafe (Jeremiah’s favorite, mainly because of the Berry Bar you get to visit if you order pancakes/waffles and the indulgent size of the bowl of sheer whipping cream–his ultimate weakness), Cafe Besalu (the memory of these pastries makes me want to cry), The Five Spot (nestled in our Queen Anne neighborhood, it’s a favorite more because of the sleepy Saturday mornings we spent there than necessarily the food, but the food is dang good too)

For Lunch: Matt’s in the Market (with warehouse windows overlooking Pike Place and the famous catfish sandwich, this was where we took Jeremiah’s parents for our last lunch in Seattle.  It also happened to be the meal we ate before finding out we were having a baby boy.  This list is more for me than you isn’t it :)?), Homegrown (I’m no vegetarian, but the hummus, sprouts, avocado, and roasted red pepper sandwich would some days scream my name. Capitol Hill branch has the best ambiance), Palisade (for a three course meal, with a great view, and a classy restaurant–for only $15. Jeremiah’s favorite), Le Pichet (the roasted chicken, the French onion soup, the delicately French atmosphere. My favorite.)

For Dinner: El Gaucho (the Ceasar salad that they make at your table, the roasted corn with chipotle honey butter, the feeling that you’ve stepped back in time to a 1920’s swanky hang, and–of course–the steak), Bastille (because Ballard Ave is awesome and so is this place), Laredo’s (if you’re us–day to day life can’t go on without a favorite, affordable Mexican spot. And this one was only about 3 blocks from our house :))  AND our all-time favorite Seattle restaurant, where we felt our visitors could get a true and delicious taste of Seattle without breaking their wallet…Palace Kitchen.  Now, officially, the first and last restaurant where Jeremiah and I had a date in Seattle 🙁

For Late-Night (because from time to time we did “go out” and on those occasions you sometimes need a really delicious snack or drink before bed :)): Luc (French fries, fried up three different ways until something magical happened, and Beef Bourginion), Cafe Presse (they have steak frites and they’re open late…what else do I need to say?), Sam Bar (for a perfectly mixed and singularly delicious cocktail served under the stars–just be prepared that “Sam” looks and acts a lot like the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland.  Take a gander at him shaking up drinks and try to tell me that he doesn’t.)

For extra special occassions (in other words, the places we only enjoyed once–but only because we couldn’t afford to go back): Canlis, Spinasse (pictures posted below), How to Cook a Wolf, Staple and Fancy Mercantile

For dessert: D’Ambrosio–for Gelato (on Ballard Ave. If you’re into pistachios, you must try this gelato.  If you’re not into pistachios…you still must try it.  Strawberry was my favorite), Molly Moon’s–for icecream (crazy flavors, locally grown fruits, and waffle cones being pressed and folded before your very eyes.  Half salted caramel, half vanilla, in a waffle cone…get back!)

{The next four pictures were taken by the talented Mandie at Sindisiwe Photography.  Thanks Mandie!!}

Now, when y’all email me and ask me where to go eat in Seattle, I’m just gone refer you back to this blog.  And when my pregnancy brain takes the last of my memory and we go back to visit as a family, I’ll be able to remember all the places that made me thankful that when I moved back to Alabama, I had PREGNANCY as an excuse for all the weight I’d gained…But y’all know better 🙂

We said goodbye to dear friends in lots of these places.  We said goodbye to life-long friends in their home, with a meal lovingly prepared by their own hands (which may or may not have included bourbon ice-cream topped with fresh peach slices)  I didn’t take pictures of all the goodbyes.  I couldn’t have stood it.  I think God must have been laughing at my determination, when we moved from Birmingham to Seattle, to not put myself through the agony of making friends here–only to have to tell them good-bye a year later.  He knew the rich friendships and life He had planned…and I’m forever thankful He brought these friends to us.  Because, as cheesy as it sounds, goodbyes are never permanent when eternity awaits us.  Besides eternity, we’ve made all of them promise to come visit us in Dothan!!…although I’m not sure where we’re going to take them to eat 🙂

And because I can’t very well do a food post without some pictures of food, here are some shots of our goodbye dinner with our friends Azurae and Danny.  They took us to Spinasse–a tiny little spot of Italian heaven.