#18: April Mixing it up on San Juan Island

kids driving the ferry

In April Pacifica, Issei and I went on a camping trip to San Juan Island, which lies out in the Straights of Juan de Fuca, connecting Puget Sound to the Pacific   Unlike other parts of the west coast, the Spanish heritage is not linked to the mission trails El Camino Real…instead it was a named after a Greek explorer, Ιωάννης Φωκάς, who may or may not have sailed up to the region some 400 years ago from Aculpulco.  Unlike Aculpulco, San Juan Island is usually rainy and cold in April, but there is always a small chance of sunshine.  We rolled the dice, hopped the ferry, and it turned out gorgeous.

For our first night, we had the campsite all to ourselves…set up camp, and wandered around on the little beach beneath, and launced driftwood boats out into the water as the sun set.  The next day we explored the town of San Juan, which takes about 1 hour, or less if your kids are riding on razor scooters, more if you like to check out the Whale Museum.  That afternoon, friends arrived and joined us at the campsite, and we all stayed up late until the stars came out and a fox ransacked food we carelessly left out while we went stargazing.  

The next morning we served up pancakes.  And the one after that.  For this trip we tried out two sets of instant mix…Bisquix and  something from the discount supermarket.  As expected, they tasted exacltly the same, but our chefs tried two different recipes: add water, or add less water.   The pancakes took a backseat to some of the delicious sides we prepared…fresh eggs from a local farm, and an assortment of top-shelf bacon and sausages.  On morning 2, we even had savory leftovers…Dutch-oven-roasted pork. Yum.  With 8 kids and 5 parents, we all ate well, then tried to burn off the calories racing and chasing around in the sunshine.

dancing on the top deck

cleaning the kelp off of pirate beach

non pancake breakfast

friends arrive

helping out

kid yoga session

#17: March Crepey Times at the Ridgeback Café

In March we headed over to the lower slopes of Phinney Ridge to a new venue, the Ridgeback Café, famous for its crepes. Nestled near a set of hipster bars, vintage shops, a tattoo parlor, and a sock shop, I was pleasantly surprised to find it open at 8:30 in the morning and none too crowded.  We met up with friends Susannah and Dan, who were wrapping up a week of goodbyes before their departure for Switzerland.

The Ridgeback Café was clean and hip, and having an open kitchen format meant that we could watch the cooks and wait staff work while we waited.  And waited…and waited.  I never realized how long it took to cook crepes, but they sure showed us…at least 30 minutes for our order, and then regularly in 7 minute intervals after that.  To be fair, no one on staff was standing around or taking cigarette breaks. Maybe their crepe grills were just heating up?  Luckily for us they had some things for the kids to look at while we waited: vintage salt and pepper shakers.  The crepes were pretty tasty; I had something savory for about $8 and I would have ordered another one, but it really took much too long to get one…I figure I could have gone shopping,  bought the ingredients, and whipped up a crepe at home.  The kids went for sweet, and Yuken watched it all with interest.

#15: How original...back to the Original Pancake House

Celebrating Yuken's one-month birthday, we set off for the Original Pancake House.  We brought along Nana Carol, and met up with our regular Jack and Jill pals, Tama, Howard, Shoshana and Liora.  This was our largest PKJJ crowd, but we got to the 'cake house early enough that getting a table was no problem. Being a Monday helped, too.  The kids went straight for the chocolate chip pancakes and couldn't be bothered with the other ample choices...blueberry, apple, coconut, etc.  I went for a half stack of coconut, as did Nana.  Mai went for a a regular mixed breakfast, which proved to be a little overcooked...a bit too much grill time on the 'taters.  All in all it was a good time, tasty as usual, though with the 1/2 stack I didn't have leftovers. 

#14 Scandinavian Donut Heaven: Larson's Bakery

Growing up, one of my favorite places to grab a Saturday morning treat in downtown Bemidji was the Blackforest Bakery.  Long shuttered, I've longed for the taste of a nice, old-school cream-filled bismark of my childhood.  In this day and age, when the rage is $5 cupcakes and $3 organic donuts, I've often yearned for those simpler times.  Glad was I to find that an old-school bakery still exists, no pretension or designer prices, right in my own neighborhood.  Larson's Bakery sits at the top of the Ballard neighborhood north of downtown Seattle.  With a long glass case full of refined sugar, bleach flour, and butter-soaked treats, this has become an inexpensive break from our monthly quest for great pancakes.  Rarely does a full meal break $10, and everyone is so sugared up that it makes the walk home pass in a jiffy.  Issei's donut of choice is usually the sugar-coated rings, while Pacifica has been trying pretty much everything in the case.  My favorite is definitely the sticky caramel roll, but the danishes are quite good as well.  Coffee is better than church coffee, which is fine, and the milk case is always paced with fresh pink cartons of skim for the little ones. Yum. 

 

The Rest of 2010...April, May, June, July, etc

Well, 2010...where did you go? Seems like yesterday but already a year since the last blog post.  The good news is that the Pancake Jack and Jill tradition continues, and we've had some excellent breakfasts, most with pancakes, but a couple without.  Other good news is that there is another 'Jack' in the mix, Yuken Paz, who we welcomed on December 17th.  Here are the catch-up highlights of our best three dining adventures from April-Dec.

May: Twin Peaks

Walking into Cindy's I half expected to see David Lynch smoking a hookah with a dwarf.  This fine establishment sits in the heart of Aurora Avenue's strip of broken-down hotels, streetwalkers, and adult book stores, and for the past year or so has been wavering on the verge of a shut down...the proposed replacement is a gentleman's club, which of course would do so much for the area.  As of writing, Cindy's is still open for business, though I'm not too keen on going back...the food was not so bad, but the setting was so surreal it made the pancakes taste strange.  First off was the color red--everywhere, carpet, walls, booths.  Then the high-backed chairs at the bar--set so that you could eat in a cocoon? Then the fish tanks behind the bar, scum-coated and green....the only contrast.  The waitstaff was friendly enough, the food simple and what you'd pretty much expect at any diner, the price, just fine.  Good luck Cindy.

June: Spoons and Soccer In the midst of the 2010 World Cup, Pacifica and Issei and I picked the perfect venue for a Sunday morning meal: our new local diner called the Four Spoons Cafe.  Four Spoons sits in a little old building about a block away from our first apartment in Seattle, so it feels like home.  Inside I recall one TV showing one of the World Cup games.  I think it must not have been England as they did so poorly...it probably was Spain.  Anyways, the TV did not interfere with our meal as Pacifica picked a table that kept it out of our sight.  I went for the English breakfast...a couple of eggs, bangers, roast veggies, beans, a biscuit and potatoes.  The kids went straight for their staple, pancakes, which came out piping hot and with plenty of fluffed butter and syrup.  The folks at Three Spoons were extra friendly, and I can't wait to go back.

August: Fish and Eagles

Aside from innumerable Denny's, Japan is not known for its breakfast pancakes, so we opted to go with the local specialty: sushi.  Pacifica, Issei, Mai and Grandma Koko headed out from our hotel in Ginza strolled down to the Tsukiji Fishmarket, a lovely, boisterous place where you can purchase a kilo of tuna, a stuffed bald eagle, or a fancy kitchen knife.  I picked up a hand-forged steel vegetable splitter for about 10,000 yen...not a bad price had it not been for the terrible exchange rate. I think the eagle was 7,800,000, so I guess I will have to save up. After much browsing and peeking into the various hole-in-the-wall sushi joints--which looked fantastic--we settled on the most kid friendly place, a clean and air-conditioned sushi-go-round joint, the deal sweetened by a dude handing out free plastic fans. 

We five saddled up to the bar and started on our favorites...the kids of course went for tuna mayonnaise, fried chicken, and the like, while Mai and I went for the taro, uni, and other treats.  Most delicious was a $8 plate of three cuts of tuna...extra fatty.  Too bad for Mai, being pregnant and all, that she was a bit more concerned about mercury than usual...so I got the fattiest pieces.  I washed it all down with green tea and figure that will keep me healthy, as will a steady few months of pancake breakfasts.

Breakfast #12: Swedish Pancakes

There was a great article in the Seattle Times this week about how Seattlites have taken the slow food movement to heart...demonstrated by the fact that people take the 1-hour trip by car (and car ferry) over to the other side of Puget Sound for a monthly posh breakfast at a "local" farm.  Not sure if the author meant it to be ironic or not, but I thought it was kinda funny, and it got me thinking about where to eat this month. Luckily, tucked into the same section of the paper was a photo of set of Swedish pancakes topped with lingenberries and whipped cream...advertising a monthly event much closer to home:The Swedish Cultural Center's monthly pancake breakfast.

I'm pretty sure that no one that stood in line with us traveled across the Sound, but the parking lot was packed, and street parkin was hard to come by.  Just before we walked in the door, a #28 bus stopped and a gaggle of pancake eaters emerged, and got a head of us in line. No problem as it was early; 8:35 a.m. and the house was hopping. Liora and Howard were waiting for us and we all waited in line together.  There were perhaps two dozen people ahead of us, and we could see that there were not too many seats out in the dining area. The process appeared to be that you pay, get in line, grab your plates, and then walk around looking for empty seats in the grand dining hall...not really the best system when you are carrying kids and kids jackets...and probably carrying a couple of plates of pancakes.

But the line moved fast, and soon I had three full plates of Swedish pancakes, topped off with berries and a genrous dolllp of whipped cream, plus a slice of ham for garnish. All this for $8, as kids 5 and under are free...plus bottomless cups of church coffee and orange juice.   We five quickly found seats at perhaps the best table in the house: right in front of the stage and dance floor, with a fine view of the 15 or so Swedish folk musicians who were belting out one of the greats from the old country. Kids and adults got up and danced, then went back to eating.  Pacifica was invited out onto the dancefloor by a girl her age, but decided to work on her whipped cream and berries instead. After she cleaned them off her 'cakes, she was out on the dance floor, prancing with the best of them.

 

Soon, it was just Howard and Issei and I enjoying our food. The cakes were cooked about as good as you can get them, and served up plenty hot. Perhaps the best pancake breakfast I'd been to, food wise, and with the music and dancing...well, that just took the cake.  Issei finished his plate and then started working on mine, and then we went back for seconds (two cakes instead of three), and we wound up having a nice chat with some Swedish folks at the table and a couple of other friends that happened to be at the breakfast as well.  We timed things well as the folk music ended, and while the stage was being readied for a pair of accordionistas, Pacifica came back and finished her meal.  When the music started up again she was back on the floor, and Issei and  I went out for a couple of spins, too.  We asked about seeing some folk dancers, and found out that they were already there and done by 8:30. Well, there is always next month, and we don't even have to take the ferry to get there.

Breakfast #9, 10, 11: Back to Basics

The past three months have been plenty busy for us (moving to a new house, school search, kendo practice...), but we kept up the Pancake Jack and Jill tradition.  The past few breakfasts have taken us back to some of our old favorites, kept us in touch with family and friends, and along the way we've introduced a new frequent diner, Issei.  Despite weighing in at only 28 pounds, he can still pack away the 'cakes with the best of them, and (unlike his sister) does not get too distracted by the globs of butter--he heads for the 'cakes.

In November we entertained my parents, and took them down to Patty's Egg Nest, the place where our tradition began, and conveniently located within walking distance of where we lived then, and where we live now.  Patty's was able to seat our party of six without any fuss, and the kids were all smiles as they started drawing on the placemats and we sipped on simple coffee, bottomless coffee, the kind that makes me think of high school nights at Perkins and Country Kitchen up in Bemidji.  I tried out the Swedish pancakes, which were light, eggy, and even better than they looked.  I can't recall what all the other had, but the kids were excited by the whipped cream-smiley faces on their shortstacks.  Pacifica ate the whipped cream, and one piece of fruit, then got into the butter, and started mooching whipped cream from Issei.  I think Pacifica had one bite of the pancake, while Issei made a generous dent in his.  The plastic toys were cute and kept the kids entertained at the busstop as we waited for a bus to take us down to the Ballard farmers market...all in all, another nice trip to the 'Nest.

In December, both Pacifica and Issei got dolled up to try out Portage Bay Cafe in the University District, and we were joined by Liora and Howard.  My old commuter bus drove right by this Portage Bay every morning, and I'd been hearing how great it is, so decided to check it out.  The first thing that was bad was our seating--we were seated in a high-foot-traffic zone near the door, and Issei's high chair was plop in the middle of the thoroughfare.  This despite there being plenty of other seats deeper in the cafe, and plenty of smaller parties starting to shuffle in through the door.  The kids each got a bag of crayons and something to write on, and then some juice I did not want to pay for was delivered ("do you want juice?" the waitress asks the 2-3-and 4 yer old..."Yes!" they reply...duh) but soon the table was crowded out and then things began to tip, crayons began to break and fall under the feet of the passing staff and customers, and it all generally caused great commotion and consternation for myself and Howard.  Next came the 'cakes, and we needed to get up and serve ourselves from the buffet of toppings, which turned into a big old hassle, with kids calling out what they wanted to us harried dads "more strawberries! no, not blueberries! put it back!! Ug, I wanted MORE strawberries!" ...When we dads finally got around to eating, I recall Howard being a bit disappointed with his meal. Mine was fine, but I was pretty happy to just get out of there.  And then the bill came, two juices, two kids meals, and mine, and I felt like it really was not work $50, even with the two green crayons that Issei snuck out in his pockets. 

We started the decade at what I am beginning to sense is the best Pancake house in Seattle...the Pancake House.  Georgia and Joe joined us early on a bright morning.  One great thing about the Pancake House is its neon sign, which has a chubby chef flipping neon pink cakes into the sky, and the heated hall where you can sit and sip coffee and wait for a table (rather than standing out in the parking lot).  Luckily we always get in early, before the church rush, and so we had no trouble getting a seat.  Our seats were a little cramped, but when the waitress brought out some apple pancake samples we forgot all about it--sweet baked apple slices encased in an egg-rich cake batter, nicely flavored with butter, sugar, and cinnamon.  How can you go wrong with that?  I went for the bacon pancakes, which were simple 'cakes loaded with chopped up bits of bacon.  The savory was nice, but I think I should have gone for a full baked apple pancake instead.  Issei went for kids blueberry, while Pacifica went for what she always gets, the chocolate chip short stack.  Issei and I cleared our plates before Pacifica finished one of hers, and we decided to bring the leftovers home to Mai. There are still at least 12 different pancakes there for me to try, so will we be back? You bet.