Seattle / Tacoma / Washington

@AngryVal +1 for KEXP/LITA - definitely catch an in studio performance if you can, and the coffee shop there is where I think the best coffee in Seattle is. They change coffee sources every month but the baristas there are top notch and its a stellar cup every time. That said, Valhalla in Tacoma is better than anything here tho, that's what I send back to family asking for "Seattle coffee."

Lots of love for JuneBaby and Kedai Makan, too. I would also grab a biscuit at Morsel in the U District. The biscuit game is surprisingly fierce here and, judging solely on the biscuit itself, I'd say Morsel has the edge (breakfast/lunch hours only). With slightly lesser biscuits but a much larger menu of treats, The Wandering Goose in Capitol Hill is a great place to get fried chicken/biscuit/gravy and cake the size of a small car tire (breakfast/lunch hours except Friday night fried chicken supper). Not to be missed are their biscuit cinnamon rolls.

I used to work at the Victrola roastery. They actually roasted that shit right in front of me. There used to be a shop called Neptune Coffee in Greenwood that blew up from a gas leak -- it literally exploded into rubble. It said Neptune Coffee Roaster on the building, but they actually got that coffee from us. They didn't roast it. The spot in the gathering space is using other rotating roasters, so I'm curious about the consistency from that standpoint. The fact is, I hate Victrola because of they way shit went down when I worked there, but I can't knock their coffee and still prefer it. At least, I couldn't knock it when I worked there a little over 7 years ago. When I quit, we had a Kenyan that smelled like straight strawberries when I'd grind it. I could convince tea customers who thought they disliked coffee to drink straight shots of that and a Nekisse we had that tasted like blueberries. It would kind of blow their minds. People from Vivace would often come to get shots. We'd have people from all over the world come in there. If Perry is still working there, he knows what he's doing. But man... I fucking got issues with some shit that went down as an employee, so I haven't had anything from them since I left. They were obsessed about coffee in a way I would never be, though. Unfortunately, they valued it over people, at time.

If you ever wind up at Broadcast and it's warm out, maybe try a disco pony. I've only really hit the one on Roosevelt and 65th, because I have a friend there, but I drink a lot of those now that she turned me onto them
 
I used to work at the Victrola roastery. They actually roasted that shit right in front of me. There used to be a shop called Neptune Coffee in Greenwood that blew up from a gas leak -- it literally exploded into rubble. It said Neptune Coffee Roaster on the building, but they actually got that coffee from us. They didn't roast it. The spot in the gathering space is using other rotating roasters, so I'm curious about the consistency from that standpoint. The fact is, I hate Victrola because of they way shit went down when I worked there, but I can't knock their coffee and still prefer it. At least, I couldn't knock it when I worked there a little over 7 years ago. When I quit, we had a Kenyan that smelled like straight strawberries when I'd grind it. I could convince tea customers who thought they disliked coffee to drink straight shots of that and a Nekisse we had that tasted like blueberries. It would kind of blow their minds. People from Vivace would often come to get shots. We'd have people from all over the world come in there. If Perry is still working there, he knows what he's doing. But man... I fucking got issues with some shit that went down as an employee, so I haven't had anything from them since I left. They were obsessed about coffee in a way I would never be, though. Unfortunately, they valued it over people, at time.

If you ever wind up at Broadcast and it's warm out, maybe try a disco pony. I've only really hit the one on Roosevelt and 65th, because I have a friend there, but I drink a lot of those now that she turned me onto them

I'll have to check out Broadcast, thanks for the tip! I'll give them a visit this weekend. (just looked up Disco Pony and I am for sure intrigued-not something I would normally order but I will try it. Apparently this is some secret menu item too lol thanks for that!)

I must admit, when I tried Victrola I wasn't very moved one way or the other. Maybe it was an off day for whoever pulled my shots (sounds like it could be the case, given the bad taste they left in your mouth-pun entirely intended), maybe I have a crap coffee palate! Both are plausible!

Yeah, it's always different roasters at La Marzocco, but I feel like they must spend a lot of time researching who is worth working with and who isn't because every single time I get coffee there, it's just great. I think the baristas are also really knowledgable about their craft, so they know how to treat the coffee no matter where it comes from. I think that part is actually kinda cool cuz you get to experience coffees from all over the world and not just your standard coffee region selections - for example a few months ago they had Danish coffee in house and I was like "I don't usually think of Denmark and coffee" but it was pretty darn good!
 
I'll have to check out Broadcast, thanks for the tip! I'll give them a visit this weekend. (just looked up Disco Pony and I am for sure intrigued-not something I would normally order but I will try it. Apparently this is some secret menu item too lol thanks for that!)

I must admit, when I tried Victrola I wasn't very moved one way or the other. Maybe it was an off day for whoever pulled my shots (sounds like it could be the case, given the bad taste they left in your mouth-pun entirely intended), maybe I have a crap coffee palate! Both are plausible!

Yeah, it's always different roasters at La Marzocco, but I feel like they must spend a lot of time researching who is worth working with and who isn't because every single time I get coffee there, it's just great. I think the baristas are also really knowledgable about their craft, so they know how to treat the coffee no matter where it comes from. I think that part is actually kinda cool cuz you get to experience coffees from all over the world and not just your standard coffee region selections - for example a few months ago they had Danish coffee in house and I was like "I don't usually think of Denmark and coffee" but it was pretty darn good!

Yeah. Who knows who's working there now. There were certain customers that would only come in when I was working, which was surprising, because I cared the least, in certain respects. At the same time, I probably cared the most about pulling it right, because I didn't already think I was amazing. People get lazy on that shit. But, after work, I'd go home to my pregnant girlfriend and get on with my life. Those people went to every coffee related anything and just expected that, if you were at a work function, you'd naturally want to partake in a coffee design challenge. I've been doing that shit all day. Or, that on my day off, I'd want to work some convention or some weird bullshit.

I remember one day that I was on my break, I saw Daedelus walking out. Not sure if you're familiar with his work, but I'm a fan and I actually set up an interview with him and a friend, which was conducted in San Francisco and published on my website. So, I went outside and said hello. He had Teebs (another Brainfeeder artist) with him, who didn't give a shit about coffee. I wasn't familiar with Teebs at the time, so I went home and discovered that I was a fan of his work, too.

I led them back in and made him a free pour over of the Nekisse we had, which was like $7 a cup, at the time, I believe. I invited the roaster Perry out to talk to him about the coffee. Perry was a fan of electronic music, but I guess he was only familiar with Daedelus by name. Anyway, there was a point where Daedelus joked, "are you sure it isn't made with blueberry syrup" because the flavors and aroma were so prominent. Perry got kind of weird and almost defensive, because he's so serious about his shit. "No. It isn't." Teebs, still didn't really give a shit. He thought it smelled good, but just kind of shrugged. Our drip was always just French press and we'd only serve it within a certain window, so, when that Nekisse got close, I took that high end shit and pressed up pots of it. I was giving it out for free to people in the shop and getting a lot of, "I don't really like coffee and I'd never drink it black, but this is really good." But, again, that comes back to who gives a shit. The roaster gave a shit. Whoever was placing the orders for the beans gave a shit. We'd have people go to the farms directly. I gave a shit. Some people are just too fucking cool.

We were getting a lot of crazy different single origins around that time. Honestly, we had the best stuff we ever had, right when I quit. I kind of hope it's garbage now. I saw that they opened one downtown, which was surprising. The whole feel of the place was off. I quit, because, they were literally calling and texting me about coffee, while my girlfriend was in the middle of labor and having complications. Nobody would cover my shift so that I could have my son. None of them had kids and all they cared about was coffee. I wrote an email from the recovery room to let them know that I didn't work there anymore. I haven't been back since. It will be 8 years in September


Parvaneh at Broadcast used to be a customer of mine at VIctrola and we became good friends. She doesn't play around either. She convinced me to try that Disco Pony situation, so I just trusted her
 
Yeah. Who knows who's working there now. There were certain customers that would only come in when I was working, which was surprising, because I cared the least, in certain respects. At the same time, I probably cared the most about pulling it right, because I didn't already think I was amazing. People get lazy on that shit. But, after work, I'd go home to my pregnant girlfriend and get on with my life. Those people went to every coffee related anything and just expected that, if you were at a work function, you'd naturally want to partake in a coffee design challenge. I've been doing that shit all day. Or, that on my day off, I'd want to work some convention or some weird bullshit.

I remember one day that I was on my break, I saw Daedelus walking out. Not sure if you're familiar with his work, but I'm a fan and I actually set up an interview with him and a friend, which was conducted in San Francisco and published on my website. So, I went outside and said hello. He had Teebs (another Brainfeeder artist) with him, who didn't give a shit about coffee. I wasn't familiar with Teebs at the time, so I went home and discovered that I was a fan of his work, too.

I led them back in and made him a free pour over of the Nekisse we had, which was like $7 a cup, at the time, I believe. I invited the roaster Perry out to talk to him about the coffee. Perry was a fan of electronic music, but I guess he was only familiar with Daedelus by name. Anyway, there was a point where Daedelus joked, "are you sure it isn't made with blueberry syrup" because the flavors and aroma were so prominent. Perry got kind of weird and almost defensive, because he's so serious about his shit. "No. It isn't." Teebs, still didn't really give a shit. He thought it smelled good, but just kind of shrugged. Our drip was always just French press and we'd only serve it within a certain window, so, when that Nekisse got close, I took that high end shit and pressed up pots of it. I was given it out to people in the shot and getting a lot of, "I don't really like coffee and I'd never drink it black, but this is really good." But, again, that comes back to who gives a shit. The roaster gave a shit. Whoever was placing the orders gave a shit. We'd have people go to the farms directly. I gave a shit. Some people are just too fucing cool.

We were getting a lot of crazy different single origins around that time. Honestly, we had the best stuff we ever had, right when I quit. I kind of hope it's garbage now. I saw that they opened one downtown, which was surprising. The whole feel of the place was off. I quit, because, they were literally calling and texting me about coffee, while my girlfriend was in the middle of labor and having complications. Nobody would cover my shift so that I could have my son. None of them had kids and all they cared about was coffee. I wrote an email from the recovery room to let them know that I didn't work there anymore. I haven't been back since. It will be 8 years in September


Parvaneh at Broadcast used to be a customer of mine at VIctrola and we became good friends. She doesn't play around either. She convinced me to try that Disco Pony situation, so I just trusted her

Well that's certainly messed up, I don't blame you for not going back! I feel you on that work/life boundaries thing...and who doesn't cover for their coworker to have a freaking child?! It's just coffee, you guys...So sorry it went down like that!

I don't know Daedelus, not really into much electronic music, but that is definitely a fun story! At least you got to make some killer coffee for an artist you admire while you were there! More than I can say about most of my misadventures in food service.
 
Well that's certainly messed up, I don't blame you for not going back! I feel you on that work/life boundaries thing...and who doesn't cover for their coworker to have a freaking child?! It's just coffee, you guys...So sorry it went down like that!

I don't know Daedelus, not really into much electronic music, but that is definitely a fun story! At least you got to make some killer coffee for an artist you admire while you were there! More than I can say about most of my misadventures in food service.

Dave Matthews used to come into the Essential Bakery Cafe in Fremont when I worked there. I used to fuck with him, but he's actually a really nice guy
 
Dave Matthews used to come into the Essential Bakery Cafe in Fremont when I worked there. I used to fuck with him, but he's actually a really nice guy

I was his neighbor for a number of years, and his daughters babysat my niece a couple of times. He's a genuinely unassuming nice person.

As for coffee, I'm friends with the guys at Convoy, and I've been loving the beans from Stamp Act and Camber lately. Kuma does good work, too, though they put out coffee from so many growers it can be tough to track which ones taste best to me. For something fun similar to the disco pony, I like the deconstructed latte at Slate; good way to focus on the various flavors.

For ice cream, I usually send people to Full Tilt (or Fainting Goat for gelato); haven't liked the consistency at Molly Moon for a few years. Bluebird, Cupcake Royale, and Parfait are all solid. There's also Frankie & Jo's or Seattle Cookie Counter for the vegans & you really can't tell the difference. I agree with all the previous comments about Southern food & biscuits, but also want to give a shout to Southern Biscuit Company. They were doing fine with the truck & the shop in Frelard is great. If you're in Seattle in June, every Sunday is a bagel pop-up by Loxsmith at Canterbury; best I've had in a long time & he's doing some fun flavor combinations and collaborations with local chefs for those who want more than an everything with lox & schmear.
 

Huichica-Walla_Walla_2019-Poster_02-1400x2164_72dpi.jpg
 
This is an incredibly efficient collection of artist very little fat to be had but Walla Walla is a bit of a trek. Fun fact: in Illinois we call “Walla Walla” onions “Vidalia” onions (after a small town in Geogia that had a similar low- sulfuric soil make up as in Walla Walla)


While we are posting WA Fests Here’s a few more...

5428


5430
 
Alright. I’m curious. What’s in a disco pony?


They don't mention the part bout the crushed up pressies on the bottom

Also, the "twist" is zest

 
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