Thanks!

Thanks!

Kubota Garden (www.kubota.org)

This 4.5-acre garden is absolutely beautiful. Located in south Seattle, it is definitely worth the drive. You could spend hours and hours here, or just take a quick trip around, depending on how much time you have. There’s many a grassy area to spread out on and finish a book, but wandering around is the best part. If you’re adventurous you’ll find mnay small paths leading away from the main trails that will take you to secret nooks throughout the area. The diverse range of flowers and greenery is amazing, and the water elements add another touch of beauty. It’s a quiet retreat from the city — and it’s free! I feel like I could come back to Kubota all summer long and still find something new each time.

A couple dates to keep in mind: the 4th Saturday of each month (June 27th, July 25th, Aug 22nd) there’s a free public tour of the garden. It starts at 10am and meets in the parking lot. Also, on September 12th from 9am-Noon there’s a fall plant sale!

Washington Park Arboretum (depts.washington.edu/wpa/index.htm)

Kubota was big, but it was no 230 acres! The Washington Park Arboretum is not to be missed, any time of the year. They purposely planted different season flowers and greenery throughout the arboretum so that you can come see something beautiful in nature any time of the year (bring your boots in the fall and winter!!). In June, Rock roses, brooms, Korean dogwood, rhododendrons, stewartia, and styrax are all at their peak. You can also download their June birdwatching guide. My mother and I just loved the Azalea’s — absolutely gorgeous and incredibly diverse. It was also nice to just get out and walk around such a beautiful area so much. This is another place that you could spend hours in and come back all the time and find something new! Check out their map!

The arboretum also has tours:

Guided walks, held first and third Sundays (January through November) at 11 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., highlight the plant collections, seasonal beauty and history of Washington Park Arboretum. The 60- to 90-minute walks are led by trained volunteers and are free of charge. Walks begin at the Graham Visitors Center, 2300 Arboretum Drive East, in Seattle. No pre-registration required. For questions call (206) 543-8801.

And you can’t go to the arboretum without visiting…

Japanese Garden (Seattle Parks Japanese Garden Site)

This garden is absolutely lovely. Created and styled in the true Japanese way, you’re able to walk through all of the elements of a Japanese garden and experience their beauty for just $5 ($3 for students & seniors — or an annual pass is only $15). I picked up a guide map on my way in, and I’m glad I did. It walks you through the garden and explains the different parts, what they mean, and why they are included. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone put so much thought into a garden as with Japanese gardens. The man who created it actually picked all 500 boulders in the garden by hand for just the right ones, and directed where each and every flower should go. My favorite parts were the water features — especially the pond, where you’re sure to catch a glimpse of lots of koi and a couple of turtles as well!

For more pictures of all three gardens, check out Eats & Interest’s Flickr photostream!

What are some other beautiful places you love to escape to in Seattle? Even if it’s just a great coffee shop, I want to know!

It seems that Spring Clean has kicked in to gear — a little late, I guess, so maybe I’ll call it a Summer Clean. I know it’s been pretty slow on here for about a week now, and also on Eat’s & Interest’s twitter. That’s because I just finished up school and have been adjusting to life minus being a student. With vacation coming up soon and a move scheduled for sometime this summer (still in Seattle!) I’ve been trying to deep-clean my place and re-organize and adjust for life post-college. I haven’t been online very much at all, and probably will only make 1 more post before taking off on vacation Friday and 1 post during vacation. Once July kicks in though I’ll be back up with:

• wordpress.org hosted website
• new layout
• updated links, blogroll, map, etc
• ABC list of Seattle favorites
• a giveaway
• and much more!

*ps: these pictures have nothing to do with this post, they are just a couple of my favorites from the pictures I took last weekend when I was on vashon island.

Bustle Seattle by &y

Bustle on Queen Anne (www.bustleseattle.com)

Alright, so not that kind of bustle! (No camera and no pictures of the place up on flickr yet)

I’m talking about the cute little cafe that just opened up on 5th & McGraw half a block from Macrina Bakery in Queen Anne. The furniture is adorable, the windows are LARGE (great for a good summer breeze), and the guys working here are friendly as all get-up.

Queen Anne’s blog the Queen Anne View has this to say:

After months of waiting and speculation regarding the corner of 5th and McGraw, a new coffee shop opens across from Ken’s Market.  They serve that awesome Attibassi coffee from Italy (same coffee that is served at Tutta Bella).   The owner is Patrick, a friendly guy, who offers up a fine selection of sandwiches and pastries to go along with the coffee.  More on this tomorrow!

Let’s see… Their coffee? Delicious. Their owner? Indeed friendly. Fine selection of sandwiches and pastries? Well, what they have certainly looks amazing (I’m off wheat, so I can’t try it) and they say they’re getting even more stuff tomorrow to stock regularly! They also serve wine and beer, and I just overheard that they close at 10pm on weekdays, 11pm weekends! Very nice. Oh, and free wifi! I think they may just have all their bases covered, my friends.

There’s a cozy little back space that is totally ability-friendly (that is, they have a ramp instead of stairs), and the front part of the cafe is incredibly cute and airy. I think I might have to make it a favorite of mine. And with my tentative move to Queen Anne scheduled for July, that’s saying a lot for how much they’ll see me in the near future.

(Someone just popped the top half of their body through the large window to talk to the barista!! Hilarious!)

Now if I could just eat one of those good looking sandwiches…

But moving up here I couldn’t find any good ones. The taco truck next to Dick’s in Wallingford is just alright, and I drove pasted one in Renton that looked promising… but that’s in Renton! And then Jennifer Nicole from Awakened Aesthetic told me about one in her neighborhood, Columbia City.

Tacos el Asadero (yelp webpage)

This was exactly what I was looking for — can’t believe it took me over 3 years to find it! Tacos el Asadero is what you need when you are craving some Mexican food. They have an array of menu items that are all cooked to order right in front of you on the back of the bus and everything is heaven in your mouth. When the meat should be crispy, it’s crispy. When it should be spicy, it’s spicy. (Yes, they have al pastor, the first cart I’ve seen here that does, and it is amazing). Their mulitas (kind of like mini quesadillas w/ avocado) are my favorite and are only $1.50 a piece! Tasty, affordable food is what it’s all about.

I encourage you all to check it out — it’s worth the trip down there. The experience is worth it too. You actually step up onto the bus and walk to the back to order, the menu posted along the sides. It’ll bring you back to elementary school days. You can sit inside the bus on swivel stools at the counters along each side or outside at their picnic tables. Oh, and they have real Mexican coke (real sugar!) and a wide variety of Jarritos fruit sodas as well! And how could I forget: they are open every day until 10pm! Heck yes for more late(ish) night food in this city!

What’s the deal with street food here? I wanted to find out. And with only a little work, I found this in The Stranger:

After a seven-year ban on downtown food vendors, Seattle is forming a plan to reintroduce taco, kebab, and pizza carts to their natural habitat: the streets. As part of the city’s efforts to increase street life in Seattle and make the city more walkable, Mayor Greg Nickels and county health officials are working together to roll back the city’s strict regulations on street food. They’re also working with Skillet‘s [read yesterday's post about Skillet] Josh Henderson and Gabriel Claycamp of the Swinery (and the defunct Culinary Communion) on creating a migrating street-food fair, which they’re hoping to get off the ground later this summer.

All these crazy Seattle nightlife, alcohol, and food regulations! Here’s where I think the major problem was:

In addition to the bans, the city’s tough street-permitting process—which requires consent of neighboring businesses—and additional county restrictions on types of servable foods pretty much made opening a cart more trouble than it was worth.

If I were a lunch restaurant and a cheaper, better tasting street cart wanted to park a block away, of course I’d say no and rat them out! This makes it incredibly difficult for street vendors to set up and keep their place and is entirely unfair.

I’m so glad things are finally changing! You can read about the plans, changes, and about Seattle street food here on the Slog, and here in a Stranger article. A traveling street-food fair?? I’m in! And look at this fantastic picture from the Stranger:

Alright, I kid… kind of. Today & tomorrow’s spotlight is on food you’ll find in Seattle outside the restaurant, in trailers and buses to be specific. One of them roams around the city and may be stopping in your neighborhood. The other stays put, but is well worth the journey to it. Today’s…

Skillet Street Food (www.skilletstreetfood.com)

Ohhh man, Skillet has got to be one of my favorite places to nab food in the city. And you won’t find crap here. I was going to write a short description, but I think the description they have on their site just about sums it up:

Our goal is to provide seasonally relevant, locally sourced and impeccably executed bistro style food up and down the west coast……out of our airstream trailers

And that they do. What you receive after you order & spend a mere 5 minutes waiting is truly gormet and delicious.  Their menu changes every week, but always on it is “the burger”, which is always some variation of this week’s burger, which is: “grass-fed beef, cambazola, arugula, bacon jam, brioche” and served with handcut french fries (which are delectable).

The rest of the menu is pretty diverse, and they always have at least one vegetarian dish, as well as weekly desserts, and a tasty drink (iced tea and different lemonades have been the drink of choice these last few weeks).

This week’s menu is:

• the burger
• thai cured confit of duck, rice and mizuna salad, cilantro plum vinaigrette, 7 flavor cashew sauce
• chop chop salad, chick peas, flat leaf, spring veggies, organic romaine, champagne herb vinaigrette
• papparadelle, sage, peas, grana padano, arugula pesto
• poutine with cheddars, gravy, and herbs
• lavender shortbread, lemon curd, crème fraiche

Honestly, have I not convinced you yet? And I haven’t even gotten to the best parts. 1) it moves daily, coming to an area near you (hopefully)! Their current schedule is up on the site, and I posted it below. The locations, unlike the menu, don’t change weekly, but they do occasionally switch if they get booted from their parking/resting/serving space. 2) All menu items are between $2-$10!

mon/cap hill

tue/sodo

wed/slu

thurs/fremont

fri/(lower) queen anne eve/thornton cinemas (northgate)

sat/columbia city eve/thornton cinemas

sun/west seattle

usually open from 11am-2pm

(click here for maps of exact locations)

Check back tomorrow, readers, for yet another tasty, tasty food cart spotlight. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

PS: If you follow me on Twitter, you may know that I am currently in the process of going wheat-free for 2 weeks to determine if I have a wheat allergy/intolerance. I had a food allergy when I was younger and we were pretty sure it was wheat, but over time it seemed to go away for the most part. I fear it’s back, however, so I am trying to determine once & for all if it is wheat. Anyway, what I am looking for is this: fantastic Seattle wheat- or gluten-free recommendations. From restaurants to grocery stores (Whole Foods: check!), grocery items, recipes, resources, etc. Please Seattle, if you have any wheat- or gluten-free advice, send it my way. It’s tough learning to accommodate such an allergy this late in life. I have over 2 decades of practice eating breads! Haha.

Thanks in advance, trusty casual Seattlites!

"Changing Form" in Kerry Park

I am going on vacation in June for more than a week. I’ll be far enough away to not have to worry about anything, which is nice, and I’ll have the free time to do exactly what I want. But it also throws a wrench in my normal blog schedule. There won’t be any posts about Seattle that week, although I might post with site updates. Here are the changes that’re coming:

Garden Bonanza

The Garden Bonanza will now be posted in the second week of June. Due to vacation and other busy June weekends, I would not have been able to do a Bonanza in June, and it also gives me chance to visit 2 more gardens I would like to include. Benefit to readers: more gardens in Bonanza & won’t have to go a month without a Bonanza.

Hosting

I’m making the switch over to wordpress.org during my vacation. I have the domain & hosting, I just need to put in the work — something I won’t have time to do before mid-June. No more esandis.wordpress.com; it’s all eatsandinterests.com from then on! Benefit to readers: easier to get to the site, contact me, & navigate.

Layout, Theme; Links, Details

With the new hosting will come a brand new layout & theme — hopefully even nicer than this one and more Seattle-centric. I’ll be updating my links in two ways: adding all the places I’ve covered in the blog & updating my blogroll. If you’re interested in being on the blogroll please let me know. I will also be updating the map with all the places I’ve blogged about so that hopefully you can seach by area/neighborhood in the future. Benefit to readers: prettier w/ more links that are relevant to you and widgits that give you what you need.

Your Input

I also want to make sure I’m incorporating things that are important to you guys. What else would you like to see on the blog, either in layout, widgits, context or something else? If I’m doing this overhaul I want to do everything for the better, so please let me know.

Leave me a comment here with what you’d like to see in Eats & Interests 2.0! What do you want more/less of? What’s something entirely new you want?

Curio Confections (www.curioconfections.com)

Pies, tarts, lollipops, homemade marshmallow, caramels, chocolate, and more, OH MY! Plus savory pies, quiches, great beer, and amazing wines. Maria Friedman knows how to pick ‘em & cook ‘em.

Curio is a small confectionery café located at the north end of University Way between 55th and 56th streets. Part bakery, part candy shop, moonlighting as a wine bar… Curio is a mixture of all things wonderful.

The store is adorable, with lots of seating and an environment that would be great for just about anything — date night, wine with friends, alone with a book or getting work done (free wifi coming soon!) — you name it. And the treats are delicious. My mother and I ordered: Pot Pie mad w/ buffalo meat & Rogue hazelnut brown ale (a fave brew of mine), a slice of quiche, a beer for me, a glass of wine for her, plus goat’s milk caramels that were to.die.for and other handmade treats. No, we didn’t eat it all at once (the sweets were saved for later), but we felt comfortable lingering for over an hour as we slowly finished our dinners and drinks and chatted with each other as well as Maria. Fun fact: Maria taught herself to cook and has been doing it since she was little, but I swear you’ll be convinced she’s had formal & extensive training — impressive!

Curio is located right across the street from the University Theater, where you can see Jet City Improv, making it ideal for some drinks and snacks (or even a little dinner) before you laugh yourself silly at a show. Even if you’re just passing through or aren’t hungry for a meal, grab a lollipop, bag of marshmallows, or some caramels for later.

And be sure to check out their website & gallery — it’s old-timey “Around the World in 80 Days”-ish and awesomely interactive, just like the shop.

Are you over cupcakes? If so, what’s your favorite sweet treat?

Agua Verde Paddle Club & Cafe (www.aguaverde.com)

Why did no one tell me that kayaking is the most fun activity in the world?? Years of schooling at UW, many a lunch and dinner at Agua Verde, and never once had I rented a kayak and gone out on the water. I obviously have some time to make up, and I plan to do so every nice weekend the rest of the summer. But on to the information about Agua Verde.

It’s on Portage Bay down from UW like I mentioned. You can rent a single or a double kayak and take it out on one of four different routes: Portage Bay, the Arboretum, Lake Washington or explore Lake Union. Each of them are different difficulty levels and take approx. a different amount of time ranging from 1 hour (Portage Bay) to 4 hours (Lk Wa –> Kirkland). They also do sunset tours!

There’s a 1 hour minimum for rentals, then it it pro-rated for each 10 minutes. Prices are $15/hr for a single & $18/hr for a double. And it’s much easier than it seems it’ll be! However, be prepared to have slightly sore arms and shoulders in the evening and the next day — make it an excuse to get a massage!

And once you’re done kayaking you have to grab some amazing fish tacos at the restaurant! From their site:

We strive to use organic, sustainable and eco-friendly food and are proud of our recycling and composting efforts.

Their tacos are amazing, especially the Bacalao tacos (my favorite!), although we also ordered the Mahi Mahi tacos, which were fabulous, and split them. They’re also known for their Mangodilla, a quesadilla with mango in it which is also pretty tasty despite the odd combo.

Oh yea, did I mention their delish homemade salsas and fab margaritas? What about their Happy Hour? It’s Monday – Thursday from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm, with drink and appetizer specials (mangodilla for $3.75!), and Paddle Club Happy Hour ANY weekday  (cheaper kayaks & your third hour free).

What’s your favorite water sport? And, more importantly, will I see you on the water this weekend??