Weekly Yelp Profiles White Center

[Sue]

Just got this in today’s email. You can read it (along with highlighted links) at http://www.yelp.com/weekly (dated 7/15):

White Center Welcomes Yelp

Rat City is the unfortunate nickname for the area just south of Seattle that is a vibrant jumble of taco trucks, pho shops, halal meat markets, and the namesake of The Rat City Rollergirls.

A gentle introduction to White Center (or good ol’ Rat City) is a trip to McLendon’s Hardware — Eric B is a big fan of the employees at this Mom ‘n’ Pop shop observing that “Hell, they seem happy to be there.” Interacting with knowledgeable and helpful people can work up quite the appetite, and Tori J feeds her rumbling tummy with “delightful cheese on cheese action” pizza at White Center Pizza and Spaghetti House. Follow that up with a couple of beers and some pinball at Full Tilt, and you’ll be ready to come back for more!

Many people have been drawn down Delridge Way to try out Taqueria La Fondita, but Maia J is a fan of zesty little Taqueria Del Rio. She highly reccomends the “eat it by the spoonful” salsa, and wearing some loose pants. Over at Rosticeria Y Cocina El Paisano, Russel L is impressed with their taco selection, noting that all of the meat is from the attached butcher shop, Carniceria El Paisano. You can choose from staples like “carne asada (steak) and carnitas (pork)” and more exotic options like “buche (pork stomach), chicharron de lonja (pork rinds), tripa (cow stomach), lengua (beef tongue), cabeza (cow head), and criadillas (pig testicles).” Thanks for sharing, Russel! For a sweet ending, check out the pastry case at Salvadorean Bakery, where Dan C says to go straight for the tres leches cake!

Numbered noodle shops are all the rage, and Steve P declares 88 Restaurant to be one of the best places to get a pho fix. Ted C recommends the plenty tasty pho at Pho 99 Noodle House, where they give you complimentary hot tea as well. Be sure to stop by Heng Heng Supermarket where you never know what you’ll find: Andre E remembers “One time they put Cheetos as an offering on their Buddhist shrine.” Eclectic doesn’t even begin to cover it…

And now for some Yelp extra credit: Earn your “Intrepid Urban Explorer” badge by visiting local legend Marv’s Broiler, and snagging an FTR (first to review)! Come on, Rat City deserves better.

Have you found a hidden gem in White Center? Share it with the world in Yelp Talk!

[kirida]

Thanks for the link, Sue.

Has the history of White Center, specifically its name, been discussed on this forum yet? I’d be interested in hearing what tidbits people have.

I’ve heard several stories about the coin toss between Mr. White and Mr. Brown (http://www.whitecenterchamber.org/gotits_name.htm) but as to “rat city,” I’ve only heard one. The now razed Park Lake Homes area used to house military families for Recruitment And Training and it was abbreviated to RAT. Is this true?

[inactive]

Great Yelp write-up!!!! Thanks for posting that,

YES to McLendon’s! My house is the house which McLendon’s built. Talk about helpful, nice, great people. In the spring they have a HUGE sale – got my tankless gas water heater there for 25% off. Now that, dear reader, is a bargain! Plan ahead on major $$ hits like that and take advantage of their BIG sales.

Warning Vegans/Vegetarians: Meat promotion follows –

Also, I thought I would mention for all you hardcore carnivorous foodies out there that, evidently, Carniceria El Paisano also has young goat. Who knew?

And, I would be curious about the history of Rat City, too….

[Sue]

I thought it was great that they mentioned newcomer Full Tilt, although the way they worded the sentence is a bit misleading: “Follow that up with a couple of beers and some pinball at Full Tilt, and you’ll be ready to come back for more!” Might’ve wanted to mention the ice cream they sell. :)

[Sue]

Kirida, this is what Wikipedia had to say about Rat City:

Rat City is a colloquialism for the area of White Center, Washington. A small, low income suburb of West Seattle. White Center garnered a poor reputation due to its high crime rates and small homes. An alternate scenario for the moniker is that the name refers to the “rink rats” who roller skated at the Southgate Skate Center (which still stands).

There are a couple theories as to how “Rat City” got its name. Some people assume there was once a prolific rat problem in the 1940s, but RAT might have also been an acronym for Restricted Alcohol Territory, which Seattle was designated as during WWII. Unincorporated areas such as White Center were a draw for servicemen in part because of less stringent liquor regulations. Additionally, a military Relocation and Training (RAT) Center was located in the area during that period.

[mellaw6565]

Young’s!!!!!! The best breakfast around (a nice little secret that I’m reluctant to share). Family-owned business and always crowded for breakfast. You can get traditional breakfasts (4 egg omelets that overfill the plates and french toast to die for) OR you can get a more traditional chinese breakfast such as egg foo yung.

The staff is very friendly and always remember you after the first time. They are on 16th Ave SW near Cafe Rozella.

[Bayou]

Does Full Tilt serve beer? The ice cream is even better than I thought if I didn’t even notice beer…

As far as “Rat City” goes, I think Sue’s posting covered everything that I have heard/read. I’ve tried to find more definitive answers on the net without luck. So, I just have to assume it’s based on either “Restricted Alcohol Territory” or “Relocation And Training Center”. Of course, the Rink Rats make sense too.

[Sue]

No, Bayou – no beer. That’s why I thought it was misleading. Of course, if one needed beer with pinball, you could always get it at Triangle and then head on over. :)

[JenV]

I had always heard it was called Rat City due to the guys racing their big block Chevys up and down 16th…the big block is called a “rat motor”

[Bayou]

Thanks Sue, I didn’t think I was that oblivious!

Interesting JenV, haven’t heard that one before. I did a search and found yet another theory, “White Center had a bad rap for all of the local bars and there were a lot of “Rats” running around the place.”

http://www.ratcityproductions.us/About_Us.html

[JenV]

of course, I can’t find anything to back that up except for family lore…but that was the accepted version as long as I can recall. Todd can back me up on it at least.. :)

[WSB]

I somehow wound up on the Yelp list (not sure why) and received this and also thought Full Tilt line was misleadingly worded and worse yet didn’t mention their ice cream. No Cafe Rozella mention, either, unless I missed it somewhere. Technically they’re in West Seattle (as is everything north of Roxbury), but they also are proponents of White Center pride so they should’ve been in it … TR

[ToddinWestwood]

Hey Sis, dont believe everything our father has told us kids. He told me that one about W.C. too. I have never heard it again.

[JenV]

HAH! Comedy gold….although in dad’s defense, I heard it from uncle Chris as well…

[AdmiralJaneway]

For those going through street fair withdrawal, White Center Jubilee Days is this weekend.

http://www.jubileedays.org/

[FullTilt]

WE are going to have a booth at the Jubilee fest. I really want to plug this thing. It could be a great street festival if more people knew about it.

[Zenguy]

I asked Mom, also a WS native and she did not know for sure (I swear she told me a story about a rat problem as a child) but said the theory about the cars had promise since people back then put every dime into their vehicles.

[flipjack]

Wow, no mention of the landmark adult bookstores and massage parlors right there on main street (16th).

:-)

I guess they want to keep them secret. haha.

I love White Center. Restaurant 88 is great. And if some of the Vietnamese places smell funky it’s because they use a vegetable called dycon which smells like something gone bad, but it makes the Vietnamese sandwiches taste great. When I realized what it was it put my mind to ease.

[HP]

Also the taco truck on 15th by us bank i believe its taqueria la fondita is awesome. I never would have thought I would eat food from a place on wheels but I had to be convinced it was good and boy was I missing out before I gave it a shot.

[FullTilt]

I’ve done a little research on WC for projects my history classes did. We always found the Recruitment and Training to be the most common story for RAT city. And I always heard it was Mr. White and Mr. Green (someone said Mr. Brown?) who flipped the coin. Greenbridge, the new housing development at Roxbury and 8th, is named for Mr. Green.

I’ll try to dig up a book I have about the area and will have it out at the shop.

[WSB]

We’ll be mentioning the Jubilee event in the weekend lineup – it’ll have some WS presence; the NO JAIL folks from Highland Park plan to have a booth, for example. Another jampacked weekend, overall, though – the West Seattle parade is the big Saturday event (and White Center’s parade is hours later, with many of the same participants); Mediterranean Fantasy Festival at Hiawatha is all weekend too. Oh, and did we mention the first Movies on the Wall movie Saturday night in the courtyard by Hotwire? (Monty Python, last year’s multiple rainout) Sorry to threadjack. — TR

[WSB]

Just checked the website and I see the carnival starts today, so we’ll hit that up shortly.

[kirida]

Sue, thanks for the follow-up info, it’s hard to unleash the google/wiki-fu on a cell phone.

And Full Tilt, I said Mr. Brown, but yikes, I meant Mr. Green. I’d love to see the book you have.

[RS]

Oh RATS! (so to speak…) We’re going camping and will miss jubilee days. Guess we’ll just load up on ice cream before we leave. By the way, one of the best parts of jubilee days is the website, which looks like it was designed in 1994. Adorable! http://www.jubileedays.org/

[MCM]

Anyone know what is moving into the old Lou’s Burger joint on the corner of 16th and 106th? They are doing a lot of work and it is starting to look nice. Hope it is something good!!

[Author]

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