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there was this little boutique pakistani / tex-mex fusion place called karachi cowboys, and a pizzeria called blotto that were my go-tos when i first moved to seattle. they both shut down within six months of each other and i miss them both every day.
thereās just something so special about a restaurant you could pop into and get takeout from that was somebody elseās āi cleared my evening to come eat here.ā and when itās gone, itās not just the food you miss; itās that regular status, feeling like you were a part of the neighborhood, the small talk with the staff. itās a kind of loss thatās inevitable in a sense (restaurants are a hard business; you canāt be surprised when one goes) but the memories you have of that place stay with you and become immortalized as a moment when you were a part of something, that no one else will ever get to be a part of again.
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people hate on seattle restaurants a lot.
sure, itās not chicago or nyc, but my goal is to make a list that will make some non-locals a bit jealousā¦ :)
1. carnitas michoacan: itās hard to find mexican food in seattle, but the southern neighborhood of beacon hill is an oasis of good mexican food. and even employees of the other mexican restaurants admit that they like carnitas michoacan the best š«
2. chebogz: also in beacon hill, itās the rare filipino place that isnāt too greasy for me but is still tasty. very solid comfort food and a small menu (which I like). thereās a really expensive filipino place down the street called musang that is pretty good, but why break the bank? get some bang for your buck at chebogz instead, feat. one of the largest portion sizes in seattle šµš
3. fortune garden: this is one of those classic big menu cantonese places that are slowly going out of business in seattle. Iāve have had many good experiences here, it used to be my go-to spot when I was taking the train back to the airport. especially like their buddhaās delightā it has so many exciting ingredients for a vegetarian dish and I never quite knew what I was eating. just donāt get the salted fishā that shit is way too salty. š„
4. golden daisy: okay I swear this is the last beacon hill place but this is a chinese restaurant with like two employees that looks very janky on the inside. much of the building is unfinished, there are flies, and the cashier chops your meat right in front of you at the counter. and itās soooo good. food safety is overrated tbh š¦
5. loving hut: I found this restaurant from a reddit thread about where you can find a cult in seattle. and yeah, there is definitely something off about this placeā itās always screening āsupreme master tvā and they have this little altar to a living quasi-religious figure. they also barrage you with every known flavor of vegan propaganda. but itās chill bc their vegan food is FIREā¦ I brought a sworn carnivore here once and their āshrimpā stunned him into silence š
6. manao street eats: I used to be a thai food hater, but seattle is winning me over. manao is this fast casual place in cap hill that has no right to be as good as it is. Iāve liked everything on their menu the pad see ew? fire. the pad grapau? also fire. š²
7. mark thai food box: pretty similar to manao, itās this fast casual place in u-district that focuses on bento box-style thai food. idk what these ppl put in their rice but it is very fucking good. expensive for a place where you canāt sit down though. š
8. pi vegan pizzeria: if thereās one cuisine where seattle can punch above its weight, itās vegan food. to be honest this might be the best pizza Iāve had in seattle, idk if that says more about its banger vegan scene or its depressing pizza sceneā¦š
9. skalka: this is a georgian place with one thing on its menu: khachupuri, which is this fucking amazing bread boat. my friend who has had authentic georgian food claimed that it was quite good for a place in americaā georgian food being the āitalian food of eastern europeā. fun place to take out-of-towners as it is really close to all the touristy stuff at pike place. š¬šŖ
10. spice waala: affordable indian fast casual place in north cap hill with very good wraps. it smells very good in there. the experience is complemented by a visit to nearby adaās technical books š
with all that being said, my fav restaurants in seattle are prob just chipotle and dough zone. go ahead and roast meā¦
Dec 23, 2024
Absolutely love when I go back somewhere I used to live and see that an old haunt (cafe, bar, etc) is thriving.
I lived across from 3 Little Figs in Somerville 10 years ago and it was wild to see it bustling beyond belief with a huge line out the door - and some of the same people working there and my favorite items still on the menu. Good for those guys!
May 19, 2024
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In college I went to the same Mexican place every day for a burrito, got the same coffee at the same Dunkinā Donuts every morning
Years later im in a new area following the same philosophy, I eat a chicken bruschetta wrap at the same place every time I go out for lunch and still get the same coffee at the same local Dunkinā Donuts every morning.
I frequent the same full service gas station, go to the same mechanic, Kevin, buy groceries from the same local mart, get my hair cut by the same barber, buy any and all hardware misc from the same little hardware store, Jeds.
When your order gets prepared the second you walk in, and you have a relationship with your dailyās, your life is in a better place.
Dec 14, 2023
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Mar 23, 2024
a treatise on the attention economy - checked it out on libby and got through it over the course of a work day, a lot of really interesting social and cultural explorations about how time itself is the final frontier of hypercapitalism and what decommodification of our attention and time should look like
the book starts with a story about the oldest redwood tree in oakland and how the only reason itās still standing is bc itās unmillable, and how being uncommercializable is essential to our survival. it ends with an exploration of alt social media platforms (mostly p2p ones) and what keeping the good parts of the social internet and rejecting the bad ones should look like
all in all a super valuable read; my only nitpick with the book is that odell isnāt just charting the attention economy but also attempting to āsolveā it and relate it back to broader concepts about labor and social organizing, but her background is in the arts which leads to some really wonderful references to drive the points home while also missing some critical racial + socioeconomic analyses that one would expect (or at least really appreciate) from the book she promises to deliver in the introduction. but this does also make the book easier to read which is good because everyone should definitely engage with what she has to say
will definitely be revisiting
Mar 25, 2024
