Here & gone

HERE: As promised, Cactus on Alki just opened. Must have been a blitz of last-minute touches — the landscaping, the green neon sign, all up in the last week or so. We cruised by around sunset; looked like a lively crowd. We haven’t even been to Coyotes yet, so we might not make it to Cactus any time soon; please share reviews when you give it a try!

GONE: A little corner on Cali Ave at the bottom of Gatewood Hill is a lot less bright tonight. The found-items-turned-flowerpots, the stuffed-animal sentinels, the whimsical little signs, all gone from outside the funky old brick apartments (scroll down this page for photo) that are two buildings and one street south of Caffe Ladro. The corner unit is suddenly empty, bereft of the longtime tenant who clearly had a sense of humor, joie de vivre, and flair, at least so far as we passersby could tell. We walked past her/his displays dozens of times, almost always stopping to notice something new that had joined the eclectic collection of repurposed bric-a-brac arranged against walls and clumped on the parking strip. Wherever you went, whoever you were, hope your new neighbors and passersby are getting the same chance to harvest a smile from your sidewalk garden.

7 Replies to "Here & gone"

  • Karen August 29, 2006 (10:53 am)

    Does anyone know what will be going in next to True Value now that there’s a hole in the ground?

  • Administrator August 29, 2006 (7:12 pm)

    The building permit says it’ll be another one of those “mixed-use buildings” — 4 stories tall, 14 residential units, “ground-floor commercial” and a parking garage with 19 spaces. I’ll send you the city URL offline.

  • Jen August 30, 2006 (10:47 am)

    The Dude & I visited Cactus last night. Got there a little after six and snagged a table easily – the place was about half-full. By 6:30, both the restaurant and bar were packed and people were waiting for tables. Everything was good – drinks, food & service. I haven’t been to Coyote yet, either, but with Cactus down the street, I wouldn’t be surprised if Coyote didn’t make it past the winter (based on reviews I’ve heard from others).

  • David August 30, 2006 (9:03 pm)

    Went to Cactus tonight and it was excellent!! Got there around 5:20 and we were seated immediately. No wait for water, menus, chips, etc. Excellent service! The food and drinks were great and the place was close to packed by the time we left at about 6:15. Our server was Christin and she was great at keeping track of drinks, checking on meal satisfaction, etc. Such a complete difference to what we experienced at Coyotes both times we went there. Needless to say, I can’t imagine that we’ll be going back to Coyotes again. Such poor service there and wait staff seeming in no hurry to do anything (at least the times we were there). We’ll highly recommend Cactus to friends and co-workers. Looks like they know what they’re doing from Day 1, which is nice.

  • Anne September 1, 2006 (4:02 pm)

    We went to Cactus on Wednesday night and like other comments, it filled up quickly and the food and service was awesome… I was not impressed with Coyote’s and Bamboo has been rather hit & miss lately too. With Cactus, we have a new shining star in the neighborhood – the bar has been raised!

  • Jen September 2, 2006 (1:50 pm)

    Followed up Tuesday’s Cactus visit by going to Coyote on Friday, to give it a fair comparison. The service was just fine, but both The Dude and I are still having stomach problems from the food…20 hours later. Fried foods were really, really greasy, salad was limp, salsa tasted like canned with a few extra onions thrown in, drinks seemed like they were concocted from pre-made mixes. By contrast, the food at Cactus was very fresh, as were the drinks. With Cactus a block away, we don’t see any reason to go back to Coyote.

  • Jason September 3, 2006 (10:52 pm)

    Went to Cactus on Sat night and had a blast. The place was packed but we managed to get a couple of seats at the bar while we waited for our table and the bartender (Jeff?) gave us a nice little lesson in tequila. When we finally got our table the service was just as good. The food is amazing as is the atmosphere. Cactus is just what Alki needed!

Sorry, comment time is over.