I like Caffe Ladro but I must give a shout-out to Bird On a Wire Espresso, on Henderson west of 35th. They will take the time to craft for you a superb cup of joe. Plus I dig the cozy little shop, which has the feel of a family room. Also, as a long-ago former employee of Java Bean, I can attest to acemotel @8’s sentiment that they have both excellent coffee and serious management issues.
Seven Stars Pepper in the ID is great, as is Szechuan Chef in Bellevue. Otherwise, Lee’s is fantastic if you don’t mind that it’s more fusion than Chinese food. Anyone ever eat at Ho-Win on California? I’ve always said I’d give it a try but can’t imagine it’s any good!
I thought it was only in our house that the S’bux drivethrough complaints were heard. Sorry to hear that we aren’t alone. Many wrong drinks here as well. Best way to bring about change is to say something, though. Hunt down the manager and say something. They’re not new anymore.
I love C&P Coffee Company on California. I’m not that picky about coffee so I can’t offer a critique on that, but I love the funky-cozy atmosphere and the live music.
I would also love to find such a person. In my experience the large plumbing outfits are just an incredible ripoff. Very poor service at incredibly high prices.
Being a former employee for 7 years at a big coffee company, I can tell you that either people go to a coffee place because it’s popular, close by or accustomed to drinking Folgers at home. I don’t say this to be snarky, but ask for just a shot of espresso or solo, next time you go into your favorite coffee place and taste just the espresso and then go to another place and taste theirs and see if you can then tell the difference. This is the best way. I would suggest a place that does not use automated machines (these make the espresso taste awful) that pulls the shots around 16-20 secs. How they roast their coffee and how often they clean their machines plays a big part in this too. Hope this helps!
Hotwire is good and my wife and I walk there often. But my favorite is Freshys on California just north of PCC. Funky furniture, friendly staff, and great breakfast sandwiches.
I go to the Starbucks on 35th every day. Occasionally there is a bad barista, but the coffee is far better than the Starbucks on Admiral, where the coffee is usually nasty and bitter. The Starbucks on Alki is usually good, but not always. The baristas who work evenings at 35th are great, and always remember my drink. The best coffee is at Java Bean, but I will never go in there again; talk about serious management problems, I had service in there that was not only bad, but downright scary.
Coffee fans, note that we are once again collecting holiday hours – haven’t gotten to all the coffee shops yet but the ones we have been able to check are listed on the Holidays page. The ones where we know for sure you’ll definitely be able to get your Christmas morning latte’ are Hotwire 8 am-2 pm and Tully’s/Morgan Junction, 8 am-2 pm.
I really like New Kowloon (now called Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant) in the ID. Always tasty, consistent, and enjoyable Chinese food. Huge menu, fair prices, and very reasonable portions make this a regular stop for me.
When I’m really hard up for Chinese food I’ve been known to hit the Bowling Alley Chinese place once in awhile. I know the idea of Chinese food from a bowling alley seems kind of odd, but they’re food is alright (nothing special, just basic) and their prices are awesome. I particularly like their chicken wings.
I completely agree, Steph. That Starbucks is by far the worst I have ever been to. The service is beyond terrible – forgotten drinks, mis-made drinks, clueless baristas, and an apparent lack of management really lead to an adventure each visit there. I try and avoid that location if at all possible. I’ve worked at Starbucks before and all I can say is that it is completely unacceptable how that location is being run. They have no lobby to worry about and they have tons of space to work in! Maybe they just hired the wrong people, I don’t know, but it’s very bad and I have made numerous complaints to corporate about it.
Can I tell you my least favorite? The drive-thru Starbucks at 35th and Avalon. Horrible set up for that drive thru as far as parking/ entering/ exiting/ waiting in line, etc. Service is not good (given completely wrong order many times but I’m in such a hurry after the super long wait that I don’t notice till I’m too far away from the window). Anyway, just wanted to complain and see if I am alone here. (And do a test for WSB!)
Yep, that’s the one. There are two Asian restaurants north of Quidnunc; Lee’s is the most northern on that block. The other (the name escapes me) is mostly a sushi place. I do agree that Lee’s isn’t full Chinese, although they have a few of the traditional Chinese options like Mongolian Beef (which is so, so good) and Sesame Chicken (also great).
I can recommend House of Hong for Dim Sum, as well as Honey Court, both in the ID (although the latter is mostly fried Dim Sum). Then there’s P.F. Chang’s in Pacific Place, which is pretty good for a chain.
I can advise you to steer clear of Louie’s in Ballard. Granted, we’ve only been there once 9 years ago, and it was right after we’d moved here, so maybe it was just bad timing. But the egg roles were breaded and fried like fish from a fish ‘n chips place, and they served them with ketchup. Not my idea of Chinese. I remember those horrific egg roles like it was yesterday. :)
Is Lee’s by Quidnunc and Sweetie? Sue, I found Judy Fu’s Snappy Dragon pretty good. They make homemade chowmein noodles. Very good but they are in Maple Leaf area.
OK BL – let us know – we have received another anomaly report of people who sign in here then not being able to post their distinct screen name when they comment on blog posts (it says “logged in” which it shouldn’t because we thought we had the databases separate) and instead turning up as “anonymous.” That’s why we’re calling it “beta” (but what was alpha? and then do we go to centauri?) — WSB
Hello – we had a plumber from one of the bigger companies come out and quote us a sky high price to do some work on our hot water heater. We have one of those feelings like we are about to be ripped off and we’re looking for a second opinion. Does anyone have a handyman or local plumber they trust that they could recommend? Thank you so much!
My favorite place is Verite (based on the coffee, not necessarily the atmosphere). Don’t care for their cupcakes, but the coffee is great. Other than that, I like Uptown Espresso (Junction) or Hotwire. But my favorite coffee is Tony’s Organic at Alki Cafe.
Lee’s isn’t really “chinese food” though – it’s good, but it’s more of a fushion place, IMHO. I’d love to find a good chinese restaurant too, and willing to travel outside WS for it.
Noticed that edits to my profile didn’t take. Will check back in a few to see if it is just a “server thing.” I don’t even know what a server looks like. But people at work blame them for a lot of things.
We’re looking for restaurants that will be open on Christmas. From breakfast to fancy dinners anything will be appreciated. Obviously not in WS, but I know House of Hong in the ID is going to be open, but we’re hoping to find one local so we can celebrate in style. :)
Thanks!
Can anyone reccomend a good Chinese restaurant? We go to Judy Fu’s but that’s a drive, I hope there is something good and local and not Yen Wor Village +p Thnaks!
…thanks to Facebook anyway! I don’t know if it is just me, but the forum tab at the top of every page is UNDER the “search WSB” box. I am using Firefox on Windows XP.
We talked about them pre-forum in this thread:
https://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=3012
