Nobody 817

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Nobody 817

Nobody Asked Me But:

Did you know: that Charles de Gaulle’s great welcome in San Francisco in 1960 was almost ruined when he raised his hands and shouted “Viva Chicago!”

There I was, drinking my coffee in the lobby of the Cannery Park Hotel in Astoria, its three-story windows looking out on the mighty Columbia River flowing into the Pacific, and thinking that Lewis and Clark probably stayed here, perhaps even in our room – although it may have been renovated since then. In the background a huge, long, green bridge (above) links Oregon and Washington. Under it pass freighters from every port in the Pacific world. The hotel, at check-in, presents its guests with a printed list of their sailing schedule, so that you can know what you are seeing from the lobby or your room window. This hotel of wood and glass and view would be great even without the complementary wine and cheese happy hour.

Also complementary, although we didn’t use one this trip, is their fleet of vintage cars ready to chauffeur you to the restaurant of your choice.

But I am ahead of myself. The Cannery Park Hotel is new to us because we always stay in Cannon Beach, thirty miles to the south. It was good that we didn’t this time, because Cannon Beach seems to have vanished. Either that or we drove right past the road leading into town. Unlikely? Yes. So it must be gone.

However, we did stop at another favorite on our short drive from Lake Oswego to Astoria, the Tillamook Cheese Factory. This legendary place, where I once had a banana split for breakfast, (bananas are very healthy) is the home of world-class grilled cheese sandwiches and some pretty good ice cream.

After our one-night-stand beneath the bridge, we crossed it and headed for Seattle with a stop at Burgerville (a very good small, local chain) for burgers and mocha shakes.

We also went for different in our Seattle hotel choice, and the Grand Hyatt turned out to be an excellent decision, both for its amenities and its downtown location. We had a corner mini-suite on the 24^th floor, again for much less than you might expect, with floor to ceiling windows, electronically operated curtains and drapes and a view of Elliot Bay, Lake Washington and the snow-capped Olympic Mountains. Every morning I arose, closed off the bedroom so that Barb could sleep until eight, and went down to pick up my cup of Starbuck’s, from their store in the same building, and returned to enjoy the magnificent view along with New York Times.

Starbuck’s wasn’t the only extra treat in the building. As part of our room rate, we had $25 dollar each vouchers for breakfast at the hotel’s resident restaurant, Ruth’s Chris. I had two incredible breakfasts and one very good one. More about that later.

The usual suspects: During our 2¾ days in Seattle we returned to many of our favorite places. Queen Anne Bookstore was one. This small but wonderful shop on Queen Anne Hill is operated by people who love books, and it shows in the attention and recommendations they give to their customers. Neither Barb nor I could resist making a purchase.

My wife’s favorite bakery in Seattle is Café Lladro and, to her great surprise and pleasure, there was one directly across the street from our hotel. This required an every morning visit by moi to pick up a piece of her favorite mocha coffee cake, which she preferred over the incredible Ruth’s Chris breakfasts.

Other returns:

Pike Market with its flowers and fresh fish (and hand-painted tops for Barb) was as fascinating as ever. However the burgers at the packed Red Mill, a favorite hamburger joint above Green Lake, were slightly disappointing. Not so my blackberry malt, which was the best food item for me on a trip where the competition was fierce.

Another “regular” place for us is Ivar’s Salmon House on the north shore of Green Lake with the Space Needle and downtown Seattle visible through the window. And, “Look,” isn’t that the Tom Hank’s houseboat from Sleepless in Seattle?” This time we passed on the salmon. Barbara had fish and rice, and I had a delicious clam chowder and equally excellent halibut with fingerling potatoes and pea tendrils. (The tendrils were the best I have ever had. Of course they were also the first I have ever had.)

Yes, we returned to Top Pot, one of the nation’s top doughnut shops. It was a short 5-block walk from our hotel to this treat with its two-story window, walls lined with books, sitting loft and excellent doughnuts. The only problem for me was that my breakfast left little room to indulge.

And now to the new:

Tom, Barbara’s brother, discovered Portland’s Stumptown coffee last year. On our visit to NYC in September, we checked out the cool one in the Ace Hotel. This trip we made sure not to miss one in Seattle. It was a bit northeast of our hotel and filled with Seattle University students. Barb’s hot chocolate was excellent, and my mocha (pictured here) confirmed my New York evaluation – better than Starbuck’s.

Tip: If you want to add some class to your kitchen, you can buy a pound of their Tenth Anniversary special online in a very cool glass quart jar. Tom gave me one for Christmas, and I am torn between looking at it and drinking it.

Another of my wife’s discoveries was Molly Moon’s, a new ice cream shop rated by many as the best in Seattle. The original, as it turned out was between Stumptown and our hotel. Barb’s Theo chocolate was delicious and my salted caramel, the new “in” flavor, was unusual but also excellent.

Since I have never eaten breakfast at Ruth’s Chris before this trip, I will count this experience as new. I had a standard bacon and eggs that was very good, poached eggs on corn beef hash that I would order any day and Northwest Benedict (crab cakes instead of ham or Canadian bacon) that was as wonderful as it was unusual. (This is for 3 days, not all in one.)

Also new was this look at what this trend-setting city is currently driving. (pictured below) I hear it runs on corn-husks and slop.

My bad! My very bad! Before we checked out on our last Seattle morning, we walked back down to Pike Market so that Barbara could try a grilled cheese sandwich at Beecher’s Cheese. (Not I. After my Northwest Benedict I was too full for anything.) On the way, we discovered a new Starbuck’s that, with the exception of Hawaii, rivaled any I have been to. But the line was long and I was neither hungry nor thirsty, so I passed on my chance to add one. Dumb!

Next week – Canada, and then points south.

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I am off for Arizona later this week to attend Emily’s 8^th grade transition. I am glad their idiotic new immigration law is not in effect yet, as I wouldn’t want to be deported back to California before the big event.