Clearwater Casino

Not at all about coffee, but worth writing about just the same...

Said Noel to Alisa, driving back to Bainbridge Island from Poulsbo, where we ate a delicious, but salty lunch at Voodies: Have we driven by the casino yet?
Alisa: No, why?
Noel: I'd love a free lemonade.
Alisa: Laughing hysterically. "Really? You'd go there just for a free lemonade? and not gamble?"
Noel: Don't shame me. It's not that funny.
Alisa: Oh, I'm so all over this. Let's do it!

I pulled up into the valet area of the casino entrance and pulled over, while Noel casually sauntered inside to raid the free beverage station.

Said Noel to Alisa: You're not going to tell anyone about this are you?
Alisa: I can't keep this to myself. Really, I admire your thriftiness. This is really delicious lemonade, by the way.
Noel: I know, right?...I'm never going to live this down, am I?
Alisa: Snaps Noel's picture on her cell phone camera, leaving the casino with the stolen lemonade. Still giggling, she says, "Nope, baby, I'm sorry, you're not. It'll be on facebook by 6 o'clock."

Unfortunately, the next time we craved a free beverage, I made the mistake of going into the Casino with Noel, whereupon I dropped $20 in about 5 minutes on the penny slots. That's the difference between me and Noel. In the end, the casino got theirs...they always do...

Sureshot

Pinball machines, computers, wifi, and coffee, oh my! What an interesting combination of things to lure local college students to drop a few dollars. Despite the great location on University Avenue, Yelp reviewers don't have nice things to say about the supposedly rude service or blaring, metal music. I think we must have hit it on a good day.

It was only 11am, Thai Toms wasn't yet open, and I was starving for something other than a muffin to tide me over to lunch. So we wandered around and stumbled upon Sureshot's steamy windows and a chalkboard sign, which read, "Chili". Mmm, a cup of chili would be the perfect thing to tide me over until lunch on this dreary winter morning. I ordered my chili minus the usual cheese and onions because I've been battling some kind of ulcer, and my doctor told me not to eat dairy to see if it's aggravating my condition. Of course, she probably wouldn't recommend eating spicy chili and a soy latte, but she wasn't there, so I ordered them with a guilty look on my face because Noel knew my doctor would scold me if she knew. I also scored a delicious-looking vegan, coconut-encrusted, blueberry muffin - for Noel, or so I told myself. I'm not a muffin person, but I am a coconut person, and I was pretty hungry, and I knew Noel would eat it despite her protestations that she really wasn't hungry.

So, to my fellow reviewers on Yelp, I must say, we loved Sureshot. The service was fine, the music enjoyable and maintained at a low volume, the food was delicious, the coffee, fine (nothing like soy milk to ruin a perfectly good cup of coffee, right?), and the muffin, delectable and moist. That's a lot coming from someone who doesn't eat muffins. I do enjoy a good apple fritter and the occasional donut, though.

The best part about our visit to Sureshot were the antics of a customer's crazy-eyed dog, who looked just like the famous Blue Dog painted by George Rodrigue. He stood patiently in front of the counter for what seemed like forever, then finally losing patience with the customers who were continually served before him, he finally climbed up on the counter, as if shouting, "Hey, stop treating me like a dog and give me some service!"

Thoroughly full, satisfied and entertained, we pulled ourselves up from the cozy, brown leather love seat and continued onto Buffalo Exchange where Noel suffered through twenty minutes of me shopping for used shoes and clothing. But baby, that's what you get for dating a femme.

15th Avenue Coffee and Tea

15th Avenue Coffee and Tea offers a creative variety of international beverages, so many, in fact, that we asked the pretty barista to choose one for us. I confessed that I almost exclusively drink French Roast, and know little about other coffees. She informed me that the origin of French Roast involved combining old, unused, coffee beans and roasting the heck out of them to make a strong, nondescript brew, as an alternative to throwing out the undesirable beans. Well, we can't have that, so at her suggestion, Noel ordered the Ethiopian Sun-Dried Yirgacheffe. Switching it up a bit, I ordered the Japanese Genmaicha, my favorite tea, to go. Genmaicha is a uniquely robust tea, containing both green tea and toasted, popped rice, which gives it a strong, roasted flavor.

15th Avenue does put on a great show. They utlize a pour-over, Melita-like filter system to brew each individual cup of drip coffee. Unfortunately, by the time Noel's coffee had finished dripping through what I learned was a technologically advanced design over the old Melita drip cone, it was already getting cold, and I was suddenly spending an additional $22, to purchase the superior plastic cone and accompanying filters.

After receiving a crash course in coffee selection and brewing, I wish that I could tell you the coffee was rich, and the tea, roasty. But neither was the case. The coffee tasted bitter, and the tea, tasteless. Fortunately, they were out of stock on the cones, so I got out of there without spending the additional money....turns out I'm perfectly happy with my old, chipped, ceramic cone, purchased at the Women's Craft show in San Francisco eons ago.

Dear Starbucks, You've designed a beautiful, local-style coffee shop, educated your baristas, and chosen what appears to be a great selection of coffees and teas. But it still doesn't work. Maybe you should stick to the old formula. Not as sexy, but consistent and reliable...Meanwhile, Noel and I found another use for our drinks. Hand warmers.

Elliott Bay Cafe

Housed in the basement of the historic Pioneer Square Elliott Bay Book Company, the Elliott Bay Café is surprisingly bright and spacious, with nooks and crannies for folks who like a little privacy. The café is always filled with huddles of eclectic people, from gay knitting groups, to studying students, to couples sitting closely together, kissing and groping one another (oh no, that was us). Well, the café is a great place to people-watch, read a purchase from upstairs, or attend a book reading by a local, famous author. It’s even a great place to flirt with the tattooed and vintage-eye-glass-wearing baristas. But it’s not a great place for coffee.

Although my steamy decaf latte was topped with the mandatory, foamy, perfectly formed leaf, the complete lack of flavor disappointed. I also ordered a macaroon to share with my sweetheart. But I hesitated, wondering if it would be rude to ask for the cookie without the fruit fly. Still, the round mound of moist coconut, soaked in dark chocolate looked delicious, despite it’s dual use as a fruit-fly landing pad, so I couldn’t resist. Certainly, we eat food all the time that has already been sampled by a medley of bugs, like every salad we order in a restaurant, or the toppings for our frozen yogurts, that sit out all day awaiting our order.

Anyway, even the cookie disappointed. Instead of a crunchy outer meringue layer enveloping a gooey, sweet center, it was just a gobby scoop of under-baked, overly-sweet coconut that crumbled in our fingers as we attempted to eat it. I could have purchased a bag of coconut for the same price and enjoyed it more. At least the chocolate was good.

So, score one for the cute baristas. Two for the terrific brick floors and historic atmosphere. Three for the people watching. Four – a great place for a lesbian couple to make out and hardly anyone notices, and even if they do, they smile at you, practically egging you on for more. But don’t go for the coffee. I hear the grilled sandwiches are great. And they do serve lots of bottled beverages….

Andante!

While not in Seattle exactly, I couldn’t pass up a review of Andante Coffeehouse on lovely Bainbridge Island, just a 35 minute ferry ride due west of Seattle. Bainbridge is a little hamlet of a town, full of art galleries, bakeries, boutiques, and restaurants, all charmingly laid out along Winslow Way, just a short walk from the ferry terminal.

If you wander just one block off of Winslow Way, onto B’june Drive (B’june, by the way, happened to be my mother’s closest friend when I was a child), you’ll stumble upon “A is for Artist” Art Cooperative, a fantastic candy shop with locally made fudge and classic old candies, and snuggled in between, Andante.

The atmosphere in Andante invites you to sit and stay a while. A few steps below street level, yet walled with windows, it’s cozy and bright at the same time. Always filled with people chatting, reading the newspaper, working on their computers, or reading, Andante is also a great place to bring your dice or cards, for leisurely games over steamy, frothy, robust and smooth lattes. Did I say I like their coffee? The service is great, and the snacks are delicious, from locally made quiches and baked goods, to other savory delights. We also enjoyed a moist chewy brownie, topped with bright pink candy cane frosting…good to the last crumb.

Although Noel beat me at Farkle, and I also lost at Phase Ten, I enjoyed a fantastic latte on a chilly winter afternoon on lovely Bainbridge Island. It’s truly worth the ferry ride.

Cupcake Royale

A crisp cold October day, a ballerina topped-pink cupcake, a warm, aromatic, heart- swirled latte, a bright window seat, and my gorgeous date sitting across the tiny round table from me.

My introduction to Capital Hill’s Cupcake Royale had come months before, on a warm summer night at the Wild Rose Bar, when a couple of young, tattooed gals hand-delivered a dozen to us late night patrons. I became hooked on their cupcakes from that moment forward, making it my mission to sample each and every flavor, my favorite being the lavender or lemon, depending on my mood. Three months later, I discovered that the perfect accompaniment to a Cupcake Royale cupcake was not a martini as previously thought, but a frothy, Stumptown grande latte, a perfect juxtaposition to the spongy sweet cupcake I devoured along with it. Not bad for warming chilled hands, either.

All at once kitch, modern, and welcoming, Cupcake Royale is a fine establishment for discerning coffee drinkers, solo computer devotees, socializing friends, and starry eyed new lovers. Overall rating: 4 out of 5 beans.

"Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water." -The Women's Petition Against Coffee (1674)