(In case you missed how the Big Breakfast Adventure got started, you can read it here: How it all began)
Octopus for breakfast? Anyone? Now before you start wrinkling your nose (& clicking off to some other blog in disgust) I should tell you right up front: this breakfast was amazing. This has turned into a weekend of utter foodie heaven, even though I started it all with too much sleep & a bad attitude. Ok, 2 bad attitudes, although today’s was definitely the lesser of the 2 ‘tudes.
I zoomed off downtown at some crazy time…6:10 am…surprised at the amount of traffic scooting up & down the freeway. Once I neared the end of the freeway I decided that this was a morning to push those directional boundaries of mine and I took a new route, sans map. It should have been an easy-peasy trip down 4th Avenue to Virginia…except that it turns out today is Seattle Pride & the entire street had a parking ban on it & there were police & barriers everywhere. I managed to find a spot on a side street one block down from Lola, but only because I was there so dang early.
Then, after I had ambled down the sidewalk to Lola I found a very frustrated manager taking the door lock apart…from the inside. They couldn’t get the door open. Is someone trying to tell me something about {not} going to Lola today??!! To be honest, I am not sure that I really wanted to eat the designated breakfast of the day: The Best Northwest Spin on Hash in Seattle. Octopus & chick peas just didn’t sound good.
The manager finally decided to give up on the lock & had her little posse of eager diners go through the hotel next door in order for us to get inside. Being first in line I snagged a cute little corner spot in the window, right where the sun was starting to poke it’s fingers through the clouds & skyscrapers.
I remember from last time that the hot chocolate was very ordinary (Tom? Are you paying attention?) so I opted for the herbal tea. I am not entirely sure exactly what the herbal tea was although the lovely Kate did tell me that it had mint in it somewhere. I didn’t even look at the menu today. I knew if I did I would be enticed away from octopus & chick peas in a heartbeat. So I just ordered Tom’s Big Breakfast & awaited my fate.
Oh…My…Gosh.
First…it looked fantastic.
Second…it tasted outrageously good.
Third…one bite was all it took to have me swooning.
Deeeeee-li-cious!
I have to say that when Kate first plopped the plate down in front of me I thought “Tom’s Big Breakfast? What happened to the ‘big’ part of that?” However, by the time I got 3/4 of the way through it, I had a full-blown battle going on: my taste-buds were desperate to get more of those amazing flavors swirling around in my mouth while my stomach was yelling “Hey! You up there. We’re getting full down here!” Probably needless to say…the taste-buds won. Did I mention that the hash was served on a bed of Greek Yogurt? Seriously. Oh & the bread was awesome.
As I sat there with the sun streaming intermittently through the windows, contemplating how it was possible that octopus & chick peas could taste so utterly glorious, I suddenly realized that I was most likely experiencing the calm before the storm. The storm being the arrival of some 350,000 other people & I’m-not-sure-what else. In a little under an hour the streets of Seattle would be groaning under the influx of bodies, floats, costumes, policemen & steel barricades. Time to get outta town before the craziness started.
Octopus & Chick Pea Heaven
I am fully aware that I have posted 3 images of essentially the same thing. I don’t care. This breakfast was so worth it. After I had eaten it I wished I had taken more. I think I may even frame one & hang it on the wall. So there.
I remember my first outing to Lola. It was good. I liked it. But after today’s adventure Lola has zoomed right to the top of the charts.
LOVE Lola. LOVE octopus & chick peas for breakfast.
(In case you missed how the Big Breakfast Adventure got started, you can read it here: How it all began)
I had a bit of an attitude when I finally rolled out of bed this morning. Most likely due to the 3 hours of lolling, snoozing & cat-cuddling I did after I woke up at 4:55 am. That just never works out well for me. I always end up feeling like I haven’t slept in days. Ugh. Anyway, roll out of bed I did since I was on a very important mission…a Vietnamese mission with the very lovely Miss Kathy, who had not joined me for a Big Breakfast Adventure for what seemed like forever. We were going to see if Monsoon really do make the Best Gourmet Belgian Waffles in Seattle. It seemed like a rather unlikely pairing – Vietnamese & Belgian Waffles, but hey, my weekend forays into the Seattle brunch scene have been getting stranger as the weeks have gone by, so what the heck.
I still had an attitude by the time I rolled up outside the deserted Monsoon, a little before 9:50 am. I wanted protein. I didn’t want another plate of carbohydrates. I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that I just don’t do as well on breakfasts with no protein, but I knew that this breakfast was destined to be another carb-fest. Rats.
Miss Kathy arrived, resplendent in a shocking pink T-shirt & a smile as wide as the ocean. We sat outside for 10 minutes or so waiting for the folks inside to make ready for their weekend Brunchers. I complained about the imminent carb-fest we were about to embark on. Note to self: do not loll in bed for 3 hours after you wake up. It’s just not fair on the world.
Once inside it didn’t start well. If you don’t drink coffee, well, you’re screwed. I don’t drink coffee. Not only that, but Miss Kathy assures me that the coffee was bad. The menu was odd. Not much of it sounded good or even sounded like food. We located the waffles, for which they are famed, but then ummed & ahhed over whether we were really going to eat huge piles of carbohydrates or whether we were going to veer right off the path & just go for protein. I reluctantly decided to go with the plan & have the waffles. But darn it, I was going to have eggs on the side. Determined to get some protein also, Miss Kathy opted for sausage on the side.
The Best Gourmet Belgian Waffles @ Monsoon
The whole day rapidly started to improve once the waffles had been whisked from the kitchen to our table. The waffles were quite wonderful, and although they were of course just carbohydrate, I didn’t have that heavy I’ve-just-had-an-enormous-plate-of-carbs feeling. The strawberry & rhubarb preserve was lovely (is it possible for anything with rhubarb NOT to be lovely?) & while the crème fraîche could have been tarter, the whole thing worked very well. The waffles were light & crisp & buttery…just exactly how Belgian waffles should be. Perfect.
My side of eggs was delightfully presented & they were beautifully cooked. But Miss Kathy’s side of sausage was a complete revelation. Who knew that nem nuong could possibly taste SO good? Turns out that nem nuong is really berkshire pork & shrimp sausage. It was divine. I stole a tiny little piece from Miss Kathy’s plate & determined immediately that once I had polished off my waffles & eggs I was having a side of sausage, and I didn’t care what anyone else thought about that.
What had felt like it was going to be a rather clunky, annoying & disappointing breakfast actually turned out to be amongst my favorites yet. I would go back to Monsoon for that exact same breakfast again. And again after that. We also saw several amazing looking dishes destined for our fellow Brunchers tables that we both agreed we would be heading back to try.
Vietnamese & Belgain waffles are a very, very good pairing. Particularly with nem nuong on the side.
(In case you missed how the Big Breakfast Adventure got started, you can read it here: How it all began)
Today was just one of those days. As much fun as I am having discovering all these wonderful new breakfast places, today was just not a day for wild new discoveries. Today was a day for the familiar. A day of no surprises. A day for comfort. A day for favorites. I woke up wanting protein. Hot protein. Yummy protein. I knew right then where I would be headed: Café Presse for Baked Eggs. For the 4th time since February :-)
However, I knew as soon as I walked in the door & looked towards “my” table that today was going to be different. It was 7:30 am and it was PACKED. What’s the story?? Ah! The World Cup.
So Café Presse wasn’t the quiet, isolated early morning haven that I have come to love, but I gotta tell you, the Baked Eggs were every bit as awesome as always. Arriving at my table bubbling merrily away, those baked eggs are simply magical. I just find it hard to think of a better way to start my day. I admit, the rowdiness emanating from the TV was annoying, but then I ain’t no football (soccer) fan. Note to self: The World Cup will be streaming live at Café Presse until July 11th. There was also another added bit of excitement to today’s breakfast…I swallowed half of one of my teeth. Apparently it randomly decided to part company with it’s other half. Rats. That’s a $500 bill galloping towards me in the next 8 weeks. Sigh. I hasten to add that it was nothing to do with my breakfast!
Once I had devoured my baked eggs I decided I needed a little something more. Pastries. Perfect. So I headed over & up to Honoré where I knew I would find some perfect pastries to round out my comfortable, familiar, no surprises, favorites day.
Honoré Artisan Bakery: Incredible Pastries
I was not disappointed. Honoré does have the loveliest servers anywhere. Those girls are unbelievably courteous & truly care about what they do & their customers.
The display case was kinda bare when I got there, but since all I needed was 2 pastries & a cup of hot chocolate, it was all good. And believe me, it WAS all good. The hot chocolate was rich & chocolatey & the pastries were perfection. You cannot eat a pastry here & not make a mess, which of course, is half the fun.
Honoré's Hot Chocolate: actually tastes like it has chocolate in it
I sequestered myself out the back on the patio, grateful for the garden umbrella to keep the pitter-patter of the rain shower from dampening my 30 minutes of bliss. And bliss it was. I got exactly what I wanted: comfortable, familiar, no surprises & some of my favorite things.
Next week I’ll be back to wild new discoveries and hopefully some more favorites to add to my list.
(In case you missed how the Big Breakfast Adventure got started, you can read it here: How it all began)
Making it into Seattle Magazine for serving the Best Northwest Style Pancakes, I was off to the U-District (& more specifically the Portage Bay Café) to meet up with 2 sisters famed for their pancake-eating abilities. Arriving 30 minutes after opening time we were almost knocked over by the amazing smell that greeted us as we walked in the door. The place was already well-occupied by loudly chattering locals. The U-District location is the Portage Bay Café ”Mothership”, with other locations in South Lake Union & Ballard. NOTE: There is free parking for PBC diners in the hotel-next-door parking lot! Don’t feed a meter! :-)
The Portage Bay Café is like a Build-A-Bear Workshop, but for pancakes.
STEP 1: Pick your pancake
Vegan Pancakes, Organic Pancakes, Swedish Pancakes, Organic Apple and Whole Wheat Pancakes , Buckwheat Pancakes , Rice Flour Pancakes…yeah & you thought a pancake was {just} a pancake, huh. By the way. The pancakes. They are huge. HUGE.
Buckwheat Pancakes @ The Portage Bay Café
STEP 2: Visit the Toppings Bar
Strawberries, pears, blueberries, almonds, brown sugar, maple syrup, butter, blackberries, whipped cream, raspberries, butter…& a bunch of bowls filled with other yummy stuff. This is where it gets really fun. Pick whatever combination of toppings you want & simply pile ‘em up on those pancakes. But while you’re there, remember the admonition in the menu – “take all you want, but eat all you take”. Good advice. Those pancakes…they’re HUGE.
After a trip to the Toppings Bar
STEP 3: Eat
And eat, and eat, and eat…
We had a great time at Portage Bay Café. Lovely restaurant, fun ambiance, great food, HUGE servings, fantastic fresh juices. Shame about the so-so service. It was super busy & we did feel like our server just wanted us to vacate the table so that they could get more people in.
There were LOTS of things on the menu that we all wanted to try so I am certain this one will be added on to the Big Breakfast Adventure re-runs.
Bon appétit!
Today was a BIG day. Miss Michaela Van Putten graduated with her degree {magna cum laude} in Business Administration. After her jaunt across the stage wearing her flowing robes & bright blue mortarboard to the wild cheers of her family & fans, Michaela wanted to eat sushi. And if Miss Mic wanted sushi, sushi she would have.
We took up & overflowed 2 huge booths at Blue C Sushi in Lynnwood. It is a magical place if you’ve never been before. I hadn’t. It was magical. A little train track runs around the middle of the whole place with little “railroad cars” of sushi dishes circumnavigating non-stop. You simply grab a dish as it passes by & eat it. When you’re done eating the server comes round and counts up all your empty dishes & you pay. Very fun! I have to say that for a virgin sushi consumer the menu was a complete mystery & add to that the little railroad cars & the whole pay at the end deal & I was sure glad that I had a whole pile of friends around to show me how to get fed; otherwise I think I would have either been very hungry, very broke, very embarrassed or any combination of the three.
There were a bevy of busy Asians skilfully chopping, slicing & wrapping in the middle of the “train track”. It was fascinating to watch them turning huge slabs of raw fish into beautiful, dainty little morsels of yumminess before loading them into the their little railroad cars & sending them merrily off on their way to circle the restaurant until they were grabbed by eager sushi-lovers. Goodness in motion.
I had no idea what I wanted. I had no idea what was good. Grandma Helen had also never been to Blue C Sushi so she was likewise rather befuddled by it all. Then I spied one of the chefs chopping up cream cheese into small squares. Ah ha! Anything with cream cheese wrapped in it or around it couldn’t possibly be bad. I wanted sushi with cream cheese.
Having decided (at least a little) what you want to eat you then have to wait for the train to bring your chosen sushi round to your table, be paying attention when it gets to you & grab one before it all chugs past. I wasn’t paying attention a lot. I was sat right next to the train track & was so occupied grabbing dishes for my table mates & then photographing their food that I think I missed my cream cheese sushi at least a couple of times. Not that I cared, we were having so much fun.
We were sharing food & laughing & talking up a storm as well as watching Mis Mic open her plethora of cards & gifts. Blue C Sushi is a fantastic place to do all of that.
The railroad cars of sushi just kept coming & coming. Miss Mic ordered some food from the server as well – including calamari & later on some strawberry & vanilla mochi ice cream.
Gimpy had this strange drink called a Sake Bomber (or something like that) which is a Sake cup with Sake in it sitting in the bottom of a beer glass. Then you pour a bottle of beer into the beer glass with the Sake cup inside. All very strange, but hey you learn something new every day. I didn’t ask to try it. I have a feeling he wasn’t sharing anyway. He wanted every last drop, & who can blame him? It was Friday after all & the end of a long work week.
I had my sushi with cream cheese…it also had avocado & salmon rolled up with it. Yum! I tried octopus for the first time. Yum! I had California Rolls. Yum! I tried the noodles, they had a bit of a kick to them. I tried the calamari, they had a bit of a not-quite-sure-what to them. The food was good, the place was fun, the company was grand & Grandma Helen picked up the tab for our booth – THANK YOU Grandma Helen! What a wonderful way to celebrate a BIG day.
Now, for those of you who follow along, you’ve probably noticed that there’s no people in my images. Not that I don’t like people…I LOVE people…but photographing people is just not my forté, so I tend not to do it very often.
However, today was a BIG day & I just had to include a shot of our STAR performer delightedly savoring her post-graduation octopus.
HUGE congrats, Miss Mic, on a job extraordinarily well done.
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by carrie
ford girl - I wish I could write like you. As Margaret Laurence once said “When I say “work” I only mean writing. Everything else is just odd jobs.”
Foodie Favorites of 2010 » Foodie Footnotes - [...] Lola: Tom’s Big Breakfast [...]
The Big Breakfast Adventure | Original Pancake House » Foodie Footnotes - [...] The second: I am rapidly coming to the end of eating my way through the 55 Best Breakfasts in Seattle & apart from some that are scheduled avec mes amies in the coming weeks, the remainder are ones that, well, really don’t appeal to me too much. Now that’s not to say they aren’t fabulous…it’s just the thought of them doesn’t get me excited. Mind you, I wasn’t excited about eating Octopus & Chick Pea Hash back in May & look how THAT turned out. [...]
Bleating On » Foodie Footnotes - [...] The trouble with not getting posts written up within a couple of days of eating the food is that you can forget some of the detail. Or, if it’s been a really long time, most of the detail. If it wasn’t a good meal, this can actually be a good thing; but it’s a real shame when the meal was jaw-droppingly good and that’s all you can remember about it. And so it is with my last breakfast with my BFF at Lola. [...]
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