Stopsky's Delicatessen
3016 78th Avenue SE
Mercer Island, WA 

This is a blog about brunch in Seattle and Mercer Island isn't Seattle and I went back and forth about adding this one.  I haven't had a good place to review in a while and Mercer Island is really close but mainly it's my blog and I can do what I want!!

I had been here before.  For lunch once.  It was delicious.  And I had another errand on Mercer Island so it was a natural return.

The menu is full of delicious looking options.  The deli is Jewish but not kosher which is my kinda place.  I was really torn about what to order and probably should have gone with the cold fish plate but opted instead for the salami scramble.

Food:  It was good.  And one of the best scrambles I've ever had in a restaurant.  The eggs were perfectly done.  My experience is that scrambles are usually cooked to death.  This sure wasn't.

It needed some salt and there wasn't any on the table and I didn't bother to ask.  The latke was good but, honestly, I can get as good at Trader Joe's.  The toast needed a lot more toasting and butter.

But it was good.

Service:  The service was excellent.   It was efficient and my coffee never even got close to cold.

Everything else:  I love that it opens early (8 on Sundays) and there was no waiting.  I got a great table.  There are lots of little kids but none that caused me to wish it was a bar where no kids are allowed.  It's a comfortable, nice place to eat.  Lots of regular customers which gives it a nice atmosphere.

View Larger Map

Boka Restaurant & Bar
1010 1st Avenue

Several years back, I ate brunch at Boka every single Sunday for about a year.  Everybody knew my name.  I've been back once or twice since but not in a while.  Until today.

I saw that they have croque madame on the menu now.  It's a nice little walk from my house so what the heck!

Food:  It was fair.  The brioche needed crunch.  The egg was cooked too long.  The presentation was sloppy and the ham was really blah plus dry.  If the croque madame at the Bastille is a 10 (which it certainly is), this is a 2.

Service:  The service was excellent with one minor flaw.  My coffee was topped off every few minutes. I had lots of good ice water.  I wanted some time to relax before eating and asked the waitress to slow down my order which she did perfectly without even a hint of fuss. I got my bill promptly and did not have to wait long at all to cash out.

The only weirdness was a pet peeve of mine...  I get that severs need and should take breaks but don't tell me about it.  This waitress, twice - once with me and once with the table next to mine - interrupted out meals to announce she was going on break.  I am not married to a server.  The relationship I want is with service. If you are going on a break, go.  Quietly.  Just make sure I have service while you are gone.  I probably won't even notice.

Everything else:  I have to say that the Boka is one of the nicest feeling places in town.  It just envelopes you in comfort and class. It feels so nice.  I love the ambiance a whole lot.  Next time I'll just order something else!

Lucky Diner
2630 1st Avenue

This was not my first time at Lucky's but it was my first time for breakfast/brunch.

It will absolutely not be my last.  This is a lovely little bright spot in Belltown.

Food: They have a specials menu as well as a regular menu for breakfast, lunch and inner. I'm pretty sure they are not time restricted.   I opted for the Cali benedict which was just wonderful.  The first bite revealed that the avocado was stone cold - a bit of a shock but turned out not to be an issue.


My companion had vegetarian biscuits and gravy.  He said it was good. It did not look good but I have moral objections to vegetarian food.

The menu seemed to be full of wonderful choices... next time.

Service:  Our waiter was cute and really really nice. He won the coffee race by a mile. I never saw the bottom of the cup.  We got our order very promptly, and our bill, too.  Good good service.

Everything else:  This is just a bright and chipper and fun place.  Giant windows let you monitor all the comings and goings on 1st ave.  The staff is great.  The seating is comfortable.  They don't have a good spot to wait for a seat so a line makes it seem pretty crowded.  This could be an issue if they get really popular which they just might.

Oh and the bill came nicely divided without our even having to ask!!

View Larger Map

Harvest Vine
2701 East Madison Street

It has been a long while since I added any new brunch places!! I don't go every weekend day any more plus, I've been doing a lot of repeats recently.  But today is a totally net new place!

It might be my first time ever having Basque food.

Food:  I had no clue what most of this was and as I got there just as they opened, I couldn't even peak at the plates others ordered.  So I punted with Revuelto de Champiñones.  And coffee.

It was a great choice.  Delicious.  I could have used a side of bacon or some other meat to go with it.  It was really not quite enough food.  But it was really tasty - wonderful delicate flavoring.  And the toast was perfect with it.

Service:  The service was pretty good - my coffee cup was constantly topped off.  The food took a long time to get to me and because of the seating, wait service wasn't really comfortable.

Everything else:  It's a tiny tiny place - maybe 50 seats.  All of those seats were counter/bar height and not at all comfortable.  Most are squeezed in around a bar which surrounds the working kitchen.  Had the chairs been more comfortable and less crowded, it would have likely been a much better experience.  I did not linger - my thighs, cut off because I had no where to put my feet, were losing blood!

I can't see going back until the seating is better which is a shame because I think I like Basque cuisine!

I was charmed by the sugar cubes.  It's been a long time since I've seen them served anywhere.

View Larger Map

Bastille Cafe & Bar
5307 Ballard Avenue Northwest

For the past several years, I've joined my neighbors for dinner here on Christmas Eve.  It's always a wonderful evening.  When they started serving brunch on Sundays, it went on my list.  The down side is that it is smack in the middle of the Ballard Farmer's Market which is year round so getting to the place is a bitch.

But, today, I proved to me that the enormous hassle is well worth the effort.

Food:  The menu has several items that looked like Must Tries and then the nice waiter came by to share 3 specials.  It would have been a torturous decision except the menu had my achilles brunch heel - Croque Madame.

And it was perfect.  Just perfect.  There used to be a place in West Seattle that had the best but they retired it off the menu.  But even the memory of it isn't as good as this was this morning.  The perfect ham, the perfect cheese - the egg was done... perfectly.  OMG

The waiter did tell me that it was perennial on the menu so I could feel free to experiment next time knowing that I could come home to the Croque.  (He also told me of another place near by - Anita's who also served Croque Madame.  But, I have no need to top perfection.)

Service:  Impeccable and exceptional.  In every way.

Everything else:  This restaurant has the secret sauce.  It was really loud but the noise became background music in no time.  There was a table with two unruly kids next to me and they didn't bother me a bit.  I read my book and enjoyed my meal.  Oh, I had forgotten to load up the Kindle app on my tablet with my current book but I looked and they had free WiFi!!

Seriously, this is absolutely my new favorite brunch place ever.  I may have to come back here a few dozen times before I even try anyplace else again.

View Larger Map

Bill's off Broadway
725 East Pine Street

I have always wondered about this place and thought it might be more than a college dive bar that served food as an afterthought.

It's not really.

The bloody mary did look great, though.

Food:  I walked by the kitchen passthrough window and saw the breakfast pizza which looked so delicious that I really did not consider anything else on the menu.

The guy at the next table had some pretty sexy looking french toast, however.

Anyway, the breakfast pizza turned out to be all looks and no taste.  I was brunching with a friend who had the eggs benedict and she reported some missing taste in her meal as well.

Service:  On a scale of 1-10, I'd have to give our service a 2.  We got our coffee and our food eventually.  And my coffee mug, once I got it, stayed topped off.  But, really, service is not their core business, I don't think.

Everything else:  If you are in the 'hood and dying for a bloody marry, go for it.  But keep on truckin' if you are looking for a good meal, clean tables, service of most any kind.

View Larger Map

Angelina's
2311 California Avenue SW

This is  a perfect example of a place where the food may not be the best but the rest is so good that it is absolutely on my repeat list.

I had never heard of it and found it this morning when I googled "brunch West Seattle".  I love the internet.

Food:  The menu had a lot to pick from but I got 4 items down and was lured into "Rod's Scramble".

When I go back there are lots of other things I want to try.

The scramble was ok.  The potatoes were ok.  The toast need more toasting.

And while the butter came wrapped in foil (my pet peeve) at least it was in a separate dish and not plopped on top of my food.

None of the food was bad but it was desperately in need of flavor.



Service:  The service was perfection.  Really.  My coffee mug stayed full of hot coffee.  Had I wanted anything, all I had to do was lift my head and someone would have been there.  When I was done, I put my credit card on the table and the guy appeared out of nowhere.  When he brought the slip back for me to sign, he addressed me by name.  I felt like I was a regular, treasured customer the whole time I was there.

Everything else:  I was seated at a nice, quiet, cool booth that had a small chalk board on the wall.  There was chalk and an eraser right there at the ready.  This tickled me.

The whole place had a calm, lovey feeling.  I read my book and ate in peace and comfort.  When I left, I had a real feeling of having had a lovely experience.  I'm quite looking forward to my return trip.

View Larger Map

Coastal Kitchen
429 15th Avenue East

I am not at all sure why I never ate here before. The place has been on the peripheral of my radar for years but I never actually made it through the doors until today.

Two people mentioned having eaten there in the past couple of days and I figured it must be time to try it.  Plus it opens early on Sundays which is a big plus in my book.

So, this morning, off I went.

I found a free parking space fairly easily and got a table within minutes of walking through the door.  And that was just the beginning of good things to come.

Food:  The menu was a laundry list of things that all looked heavenly.  I finally narrowed it down to the Pan De Pain Perdu and the Dungeness Crab Cake Breakfast.  I asked the waitress to decide and she went with the crab cakes.

Good choice for sure.  They were just delicious.  The eggs were poached perfectly (the waitress asked me my doneness preference and delivered - thumbs up).  The Mornay sauce was delicate and good as were the crab cakes.  The potatoes looked like perfection but fell just a hair short of that.  The toast, from a local bakery, was excellent.  The fruit was a little tired but, I was full anyway.  It was just a delightful meal.

Service:  I couldn't have asked for more.  My water glass and coffee cup stayed topped off.  As soon as I finished eating, my dishes were whisked away and my check came promptly.  It was all very efficient and lovely.

Everything Else:  Everything else was just great.  It was a lovely and pleasant place to eat.  There were children but I only noticed them because I looked - no screaming or screeching.  There was interested conversation to eavesdrop on but the acoustics were such that I easily toned them out to concentrate on the book I was reading.

I will absolutely go back and soon.  Within easy walking distance are two drug stores, two grocery stores and my bank.  I can eat well and get my errands done, too.

View Larger Map

Manhattan
1419 12th Avenue

I set out to discover a restaurant two door down until I got there to find it is a vegan restaurant. I do not do vegan - especially not for breakfast.

So I wandered down the street and found a place I'd never heard of.  And except for one tiny, yet totally fatal flaw, it was a great find.

Food:  The menu had some interesting aspects but nothing scream stop the presses so I did my usual. 2 eggs over easy.. if great, come back and discover the rest of the menu.

The bacon was good.  The hashbrowns were ok.  I wish I had had toast.  I don't expect much when I do this order and this time my expectations were met.

Service:  I was the only diner in this place for the entire time I was there.  The sign says seat yourself, which I did.  After a fair amount of time seeing absolutely no one, I stood up and tried to get someone in the back to notice me.  Finally they did, with no apologies.  Must happen often.  But, the mediocre service wasn't the fatal flaw.

Everything else:  This is one of the prettiest restaurants I'd been in ever. The tables were white marble which was beautiful and soothing.  Even the food on the plate was arranged pleasingly.  The decor was rich and fun to look at and the place had a wonderful feel.

And the killer was the music.  Headbanging, heavy metal music with more bass notes than anything should ever have.  It was excruciating.  Had anyone come by to ask how I was doing I would have asked them, since I was their only customer, to at least maybe turned down the volume to one where the silverware did not rattle on the marble table tops.  But, no one asked so I paid and got my ass out of there.

If not for that horrible music, I might well have thought better about everything and would surely have tried it again.  But, now it's on my cold-day-in-hell list.

 

View Larger Map

Jack in the Box
Nearly everywhere

I was about 30 minutes from home this morning in an unfamiliar area.  Google says there were no breakfast places nearby but I spied this Jack in the Box.  I knew from endless TV commercials that they had breakfast so they got tapped.

Food:  As expected most of their breakfast choices were on-the-go selections.

But the deluxe looked like a real breakfast so that's what I got.  The options were bacon or sausage or both.  I got bacon.

I have certainly had worse - this was actually pretty tasty.  The bacon was quite crispy  The potatoes were particularly good.

The pancakes were a bit rubbery but a lovely size - perfect for dipping into the syrup.

Service:  I ordered at the counter and got a number.  I went to a table to wait for my number to be called and bingo - here comes the nice counter lady with my order!  Quite a delight.

Everything else:  You know, the place was clean, the music was nice, there were no screaming babies or out of control children.  It was just a nice place to get breakfast and it was CHEAP.

Boka
1010 1st Avenue

A few years back, I used to 'do' Sunday brunch at Boka every single week.  I had not been back in a long time but recently read they currently have my all time favorite - Croque Madame - on the menu so I put it on the list pronto.

Food:  I'll start with the bad.  The Croque Madame arrived looking like she had had a horrible Saturday night.  And it got no better.  In my book, it should be crispy, crunchy grilled bread centered with special ham and wonderful cheese melted in the middle covered with hot bechamel sauce and a sunnyside up fried egg.

This was a very soggy not very hot, not melted entirely couple of slabs of bread with sad ham and unmelted cheese in the middle in a luke warm mediocre sauce with two sad over easy eggs falling off of it.  It was actually a worse eating experience than it was to look at.  Sad sad sad all around.

My dining companion, on the other hand, totally raved about is omelet which did look good and was thrilled to get veggie sausage.

He had never been before and said he will definitely be back.

Service:  The service was excellent for the most part.  The waitress was perky and friendly and attentive.  She took at little long in getting us our bill and said nothing about my half eaten breakfast.  I would have hoped she would have asked if there was a problem.

Everything else:  The Boka is a beautiful beautiful room and an elegant place to dine. Just walking in the door makes you feel special and important.  And the price of their brunch, considering the elegance of the surroundings, is a steal.  If you go, do do do stop in the restroom - it's across the lobby (of the Hotel 1000 where the restaurant is located) and well worth the trip, I promise.

View Larger Map

Four Spoons Cafe
850 Northwest 85th Street

As often happens, I was on my way to another place on Saturday. I'd passed this place many times but for some reason thought it was just a coffee shop.  This morning, however, I spied the Breakfast Served All Day sidewalk sign and made a u turn.

Food:  While there were several things that sounded good on the menu, I went with the usual - 2 eggs over easy, bacon, etc.

It was a good choice.  The potatoes were nothing to brag about but the rest was excellent.

The english muffins were particularly nice - well toasted and buttered and offered with a very tasty blackberry jam.

Service:  The service was excellent.   The place is tiny and they had more than sufficient staff all of whom were on the ball.

Everything else:  This place is just cute and cozy and lovely.  I'd go back in a heartbeat and surely will.

View Larger Map

Lola's
2000 4th Avenue

I'm pretty sure that Lola's is the only Tom Douglas restaurant I've never tried.  I think it's because nothing on the menu really grabbed me.  But, I saw it on Check Please Northwest this week and decided to give it a go.

I'm very glad I did.

Food:  I had the eggs benedict which was delicious.  Home made english muffins.  Delicate hollandaise with dill.  Almost too much ham and I don't know what kind it was but it was good.  The eggs were done perfectly and the potatoes were crispy and soft and yum.


Service:  The wait for a table was long so I sat at the bar.  The bartender made a decent waiter.  Not the best since he was busy making drinks but pretty good.



Everything else:  The wait for a table was about 30 minutes but the bar had two very nice and different options - stools at the window looking out and stools with backs around the semi circular bar.  Both options had rungs for my feet.

I sat at the semi circle which was a lovely place to enjoy my meal.  I will totally do it again.

View Larger Map