Friday Five

The Week

For those of you scoring at home^[1], you'll have no doubt noticed one small inconsistency in my review of Tini Bigs last week – I mentioned Karin in the review but not in “The Week” section. The reason for this is I try to keep the review from Friday to Friday, and Karin didn’t arrive in Seattle until the Friday night that capped off the week.

Having never been to Seattle, Karin decided that this trip was the right opportunity to come up and check out the city. Since the weather behaved, I think she was rather impressed. Friday saw us just hanging out with MCT’s and keeping things rather mellow. Saturday was just us on the town, and we managed to fit quite a bit in but yet not feel overly rushed on the day – despite not hitting the town until about noon.

We started off with breakfast at Sweet Iron, a small waffle shop (reviewed below). We then roamed on down to Pike Place Market to see all the little shops. Karin would have spent all day (and the better part of a week, I think) checking out every single store if given the chance.

Because we wanted to do the underground tour and still be able to make dinner at Elemental (you have to be there by about 4:30 or so to get a table), we cut our visit to Pike Place to a shorter period of time thank Karin would have liked. Bill Speidel's Underground Tour takes you through the sidewalks under the sidewalks in Seattle. As it turns out, Seattle was originally built below sea level. When a fire destroyed the city in the early 1900’s, they rebuilt with the knowledge they’d be raising the streets after buildings were built. So the sidewalks you walk on in certain  parts of Seattle are hollow underneath, and the tour takes you through there and explains a lot of the history of Seattle. It’s well worth the visit if you’re up there.

Our visit to Elemental turned out to be a bust. After taking the $20 cab ride over to the restaurant we discovered they were closed for a private party – on a Saturday night. We flagged the same cabbie to take us back to the city (in particular to Tini Bigs so we could have a cocktail and watch the game), and he took pity on us charging us only $10 to go back. Brokenhearted, we soldiered on finding a little wine bar/restaurant around the corner from Tini Bigs called Black Bottle. Black Bottle did have one thing going for it – quite possibly the best ribs I’ve ever had. They’re bison ribs and they came out with a great smoky hickory flavor – and no sauce. But never fear – they didn’t need it. In fact, we ordered another plate for dessert they were just that good.

And if you’d like to see pictures, they’re here.

Sunday saw Karin flying home and me flying to Dallas. My week here was, well, another week on the road.

The Travel Note

Quick review of public etiquette:

People getting off the [elevator|subway|tram] have the right of way. Give them room rather than fighting your way on. Trust me, you’ll have time to board.

Escalators are moving objects. When someone is standing on one they don’t have the ability to stop. When you stand at the end of one, the people approaching have nowhere to go except in your back.

Hallways are meant for walking, not congregating and conversing. Don’t be upset with the man who walks right through your group using the hallway for its intended purpose.

The Restaurant

In an effort to find a quick bite to eat before we headed out to see the city, Karin and I took a trip down to Sweet Iron. This is quite possibly the most affordable, best breakfast in downtown Seattle.

The waffles are relatively small (Karin and I split 3) of them, but very flavorful. We had their banana brulee, strawberry (which comes with whipped cream and balsamic vinegar - very tasty) and bacon - how can you go wrong with bacon on a waffle.

The coffee was very good, the service friendly. Great place to start your day in Seattle.

The Five

I know I need to learn to deal with stress better. Here are five stress relievers that do help me.

1. A well made cocktail. I’ve mentioned this many, many times before. But at the end of a long day a crafted cocktail helps the stress just roll right off the shoulders.^[2]
2. Going out with friends. This is one are where Karin and I differ greatly – after a long, stressful day I want to go out and let off some steam. Karin wants to curl up on the couch.
3. Running. This is of course a rather new one, but being able to “run away” from life’s troubles for a while is wonderful.
4. One on one time with Karin. There’s certainly something to be said for spending time with someone who understands you.^[3]
5. Good music. Give me my Zune and my headphones and after a while I’ll soon forget about what ails me.

^[1] Or even if you’re alone.
^[2] I thought about asking for comments as to what cocktail in particular I might be after, but then I realized that’d be too easy of a question.
^[3] Or at least tolerates you.