aka Steve - Just another WordPress site

The Boyfriend (TB) and I stopped by Plum Bistro today for lunch.

(The “wall of wine” seen in the background of the interior shot belongs to La Spiga, an Italian restaurant across the hall.)

Plum Bistro is the more sophisticated sibling in the Hillside Quickie restaurant family. The menu is 100% vegan and organic. Plum’s menu reminded me of Cafe Ambrosia, which used to be on Lake Union (and which, sadly, has been gone at least 5 or 6 years … the cafe, of course, not the lake).

For our entrees, TB had the Spicy Jamaican Tempeh Wrap and I had the Smoked Northwest Portobello and Tempeh Crepes. For dessert, TB had the Strawberry Crepe. For drinks, we each had a Boylan ginger ale.

TB’s wrap was a delicious and filling blend of spicy (onions, peppers, and jalapeno aioli) and sweet (tangerine slices).

My savory crepes were a combination of hearty mushrooms and tempeh flavored with dill, lemon, and paprika.

The dessert crepe was light and sweet – fresh strawberries topped with chocolate and whipped cream, accompanied by a caramel sauce.

Our server told us that dessert crepes are always on the menu; the fruit varies, depending on what’s in season. Today’s other dessert option was coconut cheesecake.

The service was excellent, the atmosphere pleasant. Our bill came to $37.90 excluding tip.

Plum Bistro, 1429 12th Ave., Seattle (Capitol Hill), 206-838-5333, http://plumbistroseattle.com/; opened in July 2009. Hours Sunday – Wednesday, 8am – 10pm, Thursday – Saturday, 8am – midnight. Street parking.

The Japanese Garden in the Washington Park Arboretum, 1075 Lake Washington Blvd. E., Seattle.

Fair warning: These photos didn’t turn out as well as I would have liked. I was using The Boyfriend (TB)’s camera, and I’m not familiar with it, so maybe some of the settings were incorrect. Also, the pictures were taken late on an overcast, yet still somehow sunny, fall afternoon. In photos where the sky is visible, it looks blown out (i.e., too light), the landscape looks shaded and off-color, and edges and finer details are blurry – which is weird because TB’s camera has image stabilization. All of these things combined made for some eerie – and sometimes really cool – contrast and coloration.

From the parking area:

Buildings and other structures:

The garden in the fall …

… and the promise of spring to come:

Today, The Boyfriend and I toured the Hydroplane & Race Boat Museum in Kent.

David Williams, the executive director, was our guide. Mr. Williams shared a lot of stories and knowledge with us, and his passion for hydro and race boats made our visit very enjoyable.

The Atlas Van Lines boat in which Bill Muncey raced his final, fatal race:

Muncey had told his crew that if anything happened to him, he wanted Chip Hanauer to succeed him in driving the Atlas. The original Atlas was damaged in the crash that took Muncey; here’s its replacement:

When I commented that it takes balls for a guy named “death” (as in, the state of no longer being alive) to be a hydro driver, Mr. Williams corrected me: the guy’s name is actually pronounced “deeth.” But how cool would it be if my pronunciation was right?!

Update: Actually, the guy’s last name is D’Eath. Oops.

Hydroplane & Race Boat Museum, 5917 S. 196th St., Kent, WA; business hours 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. on Thursdays, and 10 a.m – 4 p.m. on Saturdays; www.thunderboats.org.

A few months ago, I noticed that the windows of Vegan Garden had been papered over and a “closed for remodeling” sign had been stuck on the front door.

“Uh oh,” I thought, “another one bites the dust.” I expected that Vegan Garden would close for good and be replaced by another, non-veg restaurant.

I was right … and wrong. Right in that Vegan Garden has closed and been replaced; wrong in that the new restaurant is also 100% vegan.

The new place, Loving Hut, is owned by the same people who owned Vegan Garden.

The dining area still has a large-ish screen playing a continual loop of Supreme Master TV. The little bit that I watched focused on the environmental benefits of a vegetarian and/or vegan diet. Vegetarian and vegan — I’m into that. Being good to animals — ditto. Taking care of the environment — yep. Religion — no. In addition to the TV, the supreme master and god elements are heavily reinforced via the fortune cookie messages:

That’s all a bit much for me.

But I’ll keep going back, because I really liked the food — as did The Boyfriend (TB).

Vegan Garden’s menu was very much like the vegetarian/vegan menu at Moonlight Cafe: a huge number of Vietnamese cuisine dishes, with plenty of fresh veggies, fake meats, fried and non-fried items, and similar names for a lot of the items.

Loving Hut’s menu selection is much smaller, has some dishes reminiscent of Vegan Garden/Moonlight Cafe, plus some unexpected “American” options such as tacos and a burger. The physical menu is lacking; it has a picture of each dish, but no text description of the ingredients.

TB and I had Golden Rolls (fried spring rolls), Summer Rolls (not fried), Phabulous Pho, Mongolian Delight, a Lime Soda, and a Lemonade.

The Golden Rolls were a bit bland, but the Summer Rolls were light, fresh, and tasty.

The Phabulous Pho had a generous portion of noodles floating in a flavorful broth with a good selection of fake meats and a light smattering of veggies. (And the usual side plate with bean sprouts, cilantro, basil, lime wedge, and a couple of slices of a spicy green pepper.)

The Mongolian Delight had “beef” in a tangy, delicious sauce and sat atop crispy noodles.

I preferred the Lime Soda to the Lemonade; it was colder and more tart.

The service was very good.

$33 total, excluding tip. Bonus: vegan fortune cookies!

Loving Hut, 1226 S. Jackson St., Seattle (International District), 206-726-8669; http://lovinghut.us/seattle/; business hours Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. (i.e., closed between 3 and 5 p.m. and on Sundays); opened in September 2009. If you drive there, be sure to ask for parking validation.

From CNN Health (via Fark): Sex, then amnesia…and it’s no soap opera.

The article describes transient global amnesia (TGA), a loss of short-term memory. TGA is usually a one-time event, usually occurs in people over 50 years of age, and is caused by strenuous activity — frequently sex. TGA appears to have some link with migraines and headaches.

So that old “Not tonight, dear, I have a headache” excuse just might be legitimate.

PS: I wasn’t sure which category(ies) to assign to this post. I settled on 1) “Entertainment,” because sex can be quite entertaining; and 2) “Oops” seemed like the other obvious choice.

Kolstrand Building, 4743 Ballard Ave. NW:

4760 Ballard Ave. NW:

Scandinavian-American Bank, built in 1902 (now the Starlight Hotel); Ballard Ave. NW & NW Vernon Pl.:

Kutzner Block, built in 1904; Ballard Ave. NW & NW Vernon Pl.:

This charred door is about all that’s left of the Ernst Brothers Hardware building, which used to sit between the Scandinavian-American Bank and the Kutzner Block:

Built in 1904, the Ernst Bros. building was destroyed by arson in the 1950s.

The Ballard Historical Society has provided plaques for the Scandinavian-American Bank, Ernst Bros., and Kutzner Block buildings, among others in the area.

The Ballard Avenue Landmark District Board also has more information about our beautiful neighborhood.

Nasturtiums are a sure sign of fall:

And piles of damp leaves are a sure sign of fall in Seattle: