Ballardblog.com

If you’re heading to the free concert series at The Locks today or spending your Saturday at Golden Gardens, head up the hill and check out Parfait Organic Artisan Ice Cream.  It is a mobile operation, run out of a retrofitted UPS bus and serves up some of the best ice cream I have ever tasted.  Made entirely from scratch, the flavors include Meyer Lemon Bar and Butter Toffee Crunch.  Even the butter toffee is homemade!  The bus is parked outside of the Sunset Hill Cafe Fiore location on Saturdays, at the corner of 85th and 32nd, from 1-5pm.  Yummm…

My daughter and I stopped into Me ‘N Moms this morning to look around and I saw a sign for Tuesdays in Ballard.  Throughout the summer I have noticed the posters in shop windows and restaurants but strangely the signs tell little of what the event is about.  After doing a bit of asking around I found that it is a promotion, sponsored by the In Ballard Merchants Association, that is intended to drive business into the neighborhood on an otherwise slow day.  Many shops and restaurants participate by offering discounts or other perks.  Me ‘N Moms was discounting summer merchandise by 20% for today only.  Today is the second to last Tuesday of the event.  If you’re looking for something to do on a drizzly afternoon in Ballard, check out the website and see if anything strikes your fancy.

This Saturday is Ballard artwalk, an always anticipated event, but this particular Second Saturday will also be the 4^th birthday party for Venue – a wonderful boutique full of art from over 40 local artists. I love this place with its modern, contemporary look and the fact that it carries everything from greeting cards to $3,000 paintings. We visit every month to chat with the ever amiable owner/handbag designer Diane Macrae, meet some of the artists, and see some really great art.

We hear that this month the new gourmet ice cream truck, Parfait will be right nearby and if you buy $40 or more at Venue, you’ll get a free single scoop! Sweet. Especially since Venue already has the most swinging artwalk with cool music, interesting people, great art and the best complimentary snacks. And don’t forget Seattle’s only Art-o-Mat machine – a refurbished cigarette machine that dispenses art from all over the world in handy little packages for $5.

We love wandering Ballard on artwalk evenings, seeing the streets full of people. There’s just such a great vibe. You can go can a drink at the new Bastille restaurant which has such a great ambience in its big open space, not to mention the more hidden back bar and beautiful outdoor patio. Then pop in and out of stops on the artwalk map. We love Market Street Shoes (what’s better than shoes AND art?!), linger by the windows at Annie’s Art and Frame, and then head down into old Ballard, I hear they have art and a guest aerialist at Monster Art & Clothing. And when you finally make your way home filled with art and culture, don’t forget to stop by Ballard’s new Bodega, Snacks for that quart of milk you’ll need for breakfast.

Bastille located on the 5300 block of historic Ballard Ave has been a hard place to get into until recently—even mid-week. The French inspired restaurant opened in late June. Last night, the place was bubbling for a Wednesday evening, but although we were late for our reservation, they were still able to fit us in—something you couldn’t count on a few weeks back.

So many dishes looked good and I wanted to try more than our appetites and budgets could afford—so I never got to their falafel sandwich—I hear they are going to create a walk up window so you can get a sandwich in hand around the back.

I did order their Pommes Aligot—Yukon Gold potatoes whipped with Cantal, a French cheese—which was about the most heavenly thing I’ve had this summer. Their salad greens were crisp and tasty and I couldn’t help but notice that they said they were grown French style right on the rooftop of the building—now that is local! Although I couldn’t go up myself due to liability issues, my waiter, Dave Bender, obliged my curiosity and provided me with a panorama of photos of the rooftop gardens.

Maybe due to the atmosphere or the excellent tequila and good company, the conversation was lively too. Jeanine observed that open water swims at Green Lake are popular among the middle aged female set (Danskin approaches) and Renee (ReneeTheDatingCoach.com) enlightened us about her new venture: the Dating Academy—which seeks to educate the finer points of dating and includes group field trips to nightlife in Ballard and Columbia City with active on site coaching.

It is no secret to Ballard residents that Cupcake Royale’s cupcakes are utterly ridicu-licious (ridiculous + delicious?).   However, there are additional reasons you should support this local business in addition to its tasty treats.  Jody Hall contributes 25 cents of every cake to employee healthcare, and Hall is a crusader for health care for all Americans.

A member of the Washington Can!, she has been an advocate for affordable health care for 2 years.  She has gone to the White House and championed her cause to politicians and the media alike (give health care costs measured in cupcakes on NPRs Morning Edition a listen).  All the while, she has been able to expand her business (opening up a 4th location on Capitol Hill July 22nd)  and make delicious food at an affordable price.  All this blogging is making me hungry…for cupcakes.

I had to debate about writing this post, figuring that the foodies would already be aware of the Ballard branch of the infamous Paseo eatery started in Fremont, now with a second location in Ballard….and that anyone who didn’t know already would then swarm to the place making the lines comparable to the Fremont location.    But my conscience won out and it’s just morally wrong not to give others a chance to eat this delectable food.

A brief background for those who have not heard of the Paseo phenomena…..the original Paseo is a little Cuban joint over in Fremont.  I am careful to use phrases like ‘eatery’ and ‘joint’ because this casual food mecca is tiny inside with just a handful of tables, but that doesn’t stop the crowds from lining up out the door for a taste of juicy Cuban pork sandwiches with caramelized onions.  Yes, they have other meats and non meat dishes for those not into pork, but really the point of the place is pork.

When I found out that Paseo had opened a second location in Ballard at 6226 Seaview Ave NW, past Golden Gardens down by Shilshoe, I was over the moon.  The pinkish building of this location doesn’t look like much and it doesn’t have any inside seating at all, but these are small matters for the convenience of the new location to hungry Ballardites.  Either pick up food and take it to eat elsewhere, or if the weather is good, eat at the outside counter or picnic tables while admiring the view.

Although Paseo’s sandwiches are more expensive than other places, the quality, taste and portion size account for the difference.  They don’t take credit cards, so be forewarned to bring cash. Also, the sandwiches are juicy, so it might be a good idea to stash a container of baby wipes in your car or bag to scrub at the juices dribbling down your arms and face.

Whenever I go, I tell myself to break free from the pattern of ordering one of the pork sandwiches to try their scallops or something completely different, but so far I have always slid back into the warm comfort of the Midnight Cubano.  Maybe some readers who have dared to go past the pork can comment on the other dishes….

With Valentine’s Day coming up, I have started my annual search for a romantic restaurant: something close by, and not too expensive; a place that serves food that both my husband and I will eat (he doesn’t like Asian food, and I’m not a big fan of pizza).

This year my search yielded an interesting find: A list of “Seattle’s Most Romantic Restaurants.”  Most of the restaurants were downtown, but Volterra in Ballard is number 10. As of this writing, 13 people had voted Volterra as one of Seattle’s most romantic restaurants.

Vote for your favorite romantic restaurant by going to the restaurant’s page on Urbanspoon and clicking on the Red heart or the Blue heart to vote Most Romantic (or not).

Here are some other Ballard places that were billed as Romantic:

Carnegie’s

Caffe Fiore

La Isla

Le Gourmand Restaurant

Tigertail

Walter’s Cafe

Agree or disagree?

I know a lot of people are inundated with junk mail and often throw away unopened anything that looks like it might be junk mail.  However, currently Ballard residents are being sent a brochure on Rapid Ride that includes a questionnaire inside to get our feedback on what is the best way to create the new Rapid Ride transit program for Ballard.

Bus ridership in Ballard has steadily been increasing over the years.  Initially due to the rise in population in our neighborhood from the many condos being built, then as higher gas prices pushed more people onto public transportation.  With gas prices currently at a low not seen in years and the development of new condos halting by the economy it would be very easy to get complacent and stop worrying about our bus system.  But we are in a false lull.  Eventually, since gasoline is a finite resource prices will shoot back up and once the economy starts to improve developers will move ahead with plans to fill every nook and cranny in Ballard.  Now is the time to plan for the future and to borrow the slogan of another campaign, “Yes we can” when it comes to improving our local transportation system.  One of the biggest items that needs to be determined is the actual route Rapid Ride will take – should it travel up 15th Ave. NW or follow 24th Ave. NW?  So take a moment to fill out the postage paid questionnaire and maybe even attend the next upcoming Open House on Rapid Ride:

Tuesday, Feb. 3, 5:30-7:30pm

Whittier Elementary School Cafeteria

1320 NW 75th St., Seattle

The Iron Bartender Competitors

The Judges

The Mike McSorley Fanclub

The Winner, Mike McSorley

The Crowd of Hotness (Tiger Tail)

Did you know that there are over 1,700 mixed drink recipes? Probably not, because I just made up that number, but chances are that you’ve never heard of obscure drinks like, Sex with an Alligator, Dead Nazi or Michael Moros Detroit Boy. You probably don’t know how to make them either, so it’s a good thing we have educated and skilled bartenders to broaden our horizons and our palates.

This Sunday at 7pm, the Tiger Tail will feature an Iron Bartender event, with Seattle’s top bartending studs: Mike McSorley of TiniBigs and Majorie and Dallas Taylor of ToST Lounge, dueling for the title of Master of the Universe. Competing bartenders will have three 7-minute and two 15-minute sessions to create their uniquely styled concoction of randomly selected cocktails that will be taste-tested by the Washington Liquor Control Board. I kid! But wouldn’t that be hilariously awesome? The real judges are renowned author AJ Rathbun, Kelly O (writer for the Stranger’s “Drunk of the Week” column), and Liberty owner, Andrew Friedman. They promise to be just as dogmatic and oppressive as the WSLCB.  Come join in on the fun, debauchery, and cocktail snobbery.

704 NW 65th St, Seattle, WA  206-781-TAIL (8245)

Open 7 days a week, 3 p.m. – 2 a.m. (food served 4 p.m. – 10 p.m.)
Happy hour! 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. everyday