oddfellows

some shots from a few different trips to oddfellows cafe. i like their farmhouse/americana design and sort of wish my house looked more like that. we are back from a long weekend of camping and beautiful sights. it may be awhile before i get my film back, but i'm hoping for great things on those rolls. washington state is so beautiful.

tonight i'm hosting an event with new york times writer, paul greenberg. his new book, four fish, is about sustainability in fishing practices and traces the path of common fish we eat. here's a review. i usually eat more fish during the summer, so i am especially interested in hearing how i can make smart choices when buying fish.

have a good day!

a sweet lunch

a couple weeks back i had a sweet lunch with tara at the place i seem to always be talking about--volunteer park cafe. it was a beautiful day and we had delicious blueberry mint lemonades. tara is such a sweetie!

today i am meeting anthony bourdain! i can hardly believe it. i've met a lot of high profile people over the past two years, but for some reason he seems a little out of my reality. i also get to spend the whole day with him as opposed to just a few hours in the evening. i'll let you know how it goes.

also today is the first day of our summer csa. i am contemplating snapping pics of my csa goods every week to see the change as the summer progresses. that might be fun. all i know is today we are getting two pints of strawberries!!

now i have to go before i add any more exclamation marks. i can get carried away.

secret cafe

a few weekends back, i went to my first secret cafe. the cafe was hosted by some friends in order to raise money for a specific cause (i'm being vague, because it is secret after all). it was a house turned into a restaurant, packed with people at tables of two, four, eight. there were "servers" and "cooks" running around making everyone happy and passing out delicious breakfasts. i had the sweet potato waffle with honeyed whip cream and fruit salad. james had the same, but the dairy & gluten-free version. and jon had a tomato and feta quiche with blue potato hash browns and a carrot-beet shredded salad.

it got me all fired up to host my own secret cafe. i'm thinking about how i can incorporate a cause close to my heart and the preparation of good food in order to raise a little money. we'll see.

cafe flickr group

hi friends! i'm just stopping in today to say--inspired by the great response to my cafe series--i have started a flickr group called the best kinds of cafes. i hope you will join me in sharing your coffee photos there. anything coffee shop related goes: coffee, cafe interiors, yummy baked goods, sandwiches, pastries...
i know you've got some good ones!
i'll see you over there.
hope you have a wonderful weekend.

cafe besalu

okay.
hold on tight.
we are about to enter cafe besalu.
oh my, this place is amazing. have you ever been to france? you don't need to go (if you live in seattle). all the crunchy, buttery croissants, and yeasty, moist pastries, and rich quiches and delicious coffee are curled right up in this little bakery in ballard. besalu gets packed pretty much everyday, but working your way up to the front of the line is worth it, if even just to stare into their pastry case. you may or may not get a seat, but if you do you will have time to watch bakers weighing out large amounts of flour in their open bakery. at besalu, i can take a bite of pastry, close my eyes and pretend i'm back in france.

the best kinds of cafes: essential bakery

 

a few weeks ago, i meet a friend for brunch at essential baking. we weren't really supposed to be taking pictures in there, so i just snapped these three. as you can see, a bit, one wall is stacked high of shelves holding beautiful bread. bread in all different shapes, with flour seeped into the different. this bread wall is by far my favorite thing about essential. it feels like a classic boulangerie in paris. or, like the bakery my dad used to work in on bainbridge island, where i remember coming in and seeing bread on display all the way to the ceiling, in shapes of alligators and mouses. 

the pastry case at essential contains everything from cookies and croissants to chocolate eclairs and fruit tarts. there is a huge chalkboard menu full of homemade sandwiches and soups. and, of course, there is an espresso machine. the wallingford location of essential is a great place to bike to, because it is near the burke-gilman trail. usually i stop there to get a sandwich or pick up a loaf of bread, but on this day i sat with my friend and had a nice latte and apple croissant.

the best kinds of cafes

i've got cafes on my mind. these photos are from a sweet birthday lunch with my parents at the volunteer park cafe and this morning i am going to meet a friend at the essential baking company. i have a soft spot in my heart for a really nice cafe/bakery. my dad is a baker (you must have known one of my parents was) and i grew up watching in awe of decorators perfectly wrapping icing around a cake or of a huge hobart mixer whipping together sticky dough.

there are certain types of cafes or bakeries that are just the best places to be. they aren't just coffee shops and they definitely wouldn't qualify as a restaurant, nor are they simply a bakery. there are specific elements that all pull together to make a nice "cafe."coffee, light lunch fare, a place to meet friends, a place to sit alone and read or think, sweet treats and pastries, larger baked goods like pies and cakes--all the good stuff!

i think i'd like to do a little series on cafe's in seattle. i don't quite know what it will be, but my collection of cafe photos are building, so why not compile them into something coherent? today will be post number one in the series, and it will be entitled "the best kinds of cafes," where i profess my love for the perfect mixture of everything good.

take care!