La Toscanella Bakery is a newly opened Italian bakery with lots of beautiful cookies and pastries. When I stopped by for a small breakfast before work (fortunately it is on the first floor of the building I was staying in South Lake Union), I had half a dozen quiches to select from, and went with the bacon and leek one. Though I wish it had been warmer when served, my friend's scramble took 30 minutes and was overdone so maybe I was better off not letting it get forgotten in their grill oven. The iced mocha I had was really chocolatey coffee goodness.
Marjorie Restaurant, the time I had that super green meal for dinner. First, the table shared an appetizer of a special of the day scallop ceviche and Miss Marjorie’s Steel Drum Plantain Chips with Pineapple, Avocado, Tomato, and Chaat, which they plated together. For me this was accompanied by a Sidetrack Raspberry Ricky with Sidetrack Raspberry (Sidetrack is a local distillery), Lime, Cachaca, Soda). The plaintain chips were surprisingly fresh and warm.
But, then when it was time for the main play, I ordered that I realized as they placed my order before me, in a way that totally went green. First, for drinks a Marjorie Mojito of Golden Rum, Muddled Mint, Fresh Lime, the Right Amount of Sugar and Love." (very green love apparently). And for my dinner I had Spinach-‐Ricotta Gnocchi with Kale, Cherry Tomato, Baby Carrot, Pecorino Romano… so green. Must be healthy right.
The next morning, as I perused various breakfast options that were nearby, my eyes lit up at grits. So off to Portage Bay Cafe's Summer Grits and Egg plate, a dish of soft stoneground white hominy grits cooked up with sweet peppers and shallots, topped with Beecher’s Flagship cheddar, and two poached eggs, accompanied by a small bowl of fruit and toast. The grits were just what I wanted.
Yet, I also really wanted a reason to go up to their center table/bar area that was overflowing with fruit and cream for you to top your pancakes or waffles or even your special fruit side plate that you could order as a side (check out Yelp for some photos taken by others). But remembering Sunday and Spinasse and the fullness level I was at then, I wanted to save room for my visit to Beecher's later. My goal was to get a grilled cheese for the Amtrak and some frozen World's Best mac and cheese (I bought mariachi since it came with "vegetables", and I like to buy it frozen because when I put it in the oven I add some panko for more crunch and also let it burn a little) to take back to PDX. Next time. Next time, I would find a way to make it to that fruit toppings bar that just looked gorgeous. It was just brimming with berries and lots of cut fruit, which is my favorite way of having large fruit: already cut for me like I'm a celebrity. Who wouldn't find that appealing?
