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Don't know!
Category:
Other Professional Services
On Greenwood at 88th, NE corner
Seattle, Washington 98101
unknown
I don't even know if this business has a name, I can only describe it:
On Greenwood, at the NE corner with N 88th Street (or 89th - there's a traffic light at this corner). It's 1-2 blocks N of...
I don't even know if this business has a name, I can only describe it:
On Greenwood, at the NE corner with N 88th Street (or 89th - there's a traffic light at this corner). It's 1-2 blocks N of the Safeway. Small, faded blue building.
I went there because they advertise they can do 1-hr hem jobs, and that's what I needed. But I also needed other clothes hemmed, and so I figured I take them all at once. Here's what I wrote on my blog:
When I went in, the cute little old man took the order - and in a friendly way started explaining why these particular styles (slight flare, stretch material) will cost more. Whatever, I didn't pay for the clothes, just alter my pants.
I explained that I wanted to keep the hem detailing on 2 pairs that had a split hem. Pretty basic request for a tailor - just take the extra fabric out above the hem and re-sew at the existing stitch line. So he says ok. I'm having some niggling feelings in the back of my mind about this place, thinking I should just take my clothes and leave, but it's just a hem job so I ignore those feelings. Then he tells me it'll take 11 days to do 3 other pairs. 11 days? OK, whatever. I'm watching him add them up and thinking, this guy charges a lot, but - y'know, he's a little cute man who has (as I look around his crumbling building) a long-standing business. He's probably good and charges a fair rate for his labor.
So I come back later in the day for the first pair. They look fine, but then it was a very basic hem job - not one of the detailed ones. But he only accepts cash, so I have to leave and go to an ATM. I have now a chance to take the other 3 pairs of pants back from him, before I pay for them, but that feels mean. He did just fine on the first pair, and it's easier to just go to the ATM once and pay for he whole job now.
Well, 11 days later, on the day they were supposed to be done, they're not. He says he was in the hospital for a heart problem, had 3 or 4 days in the hospital, had a bad reaction to morphine... And so his seamstress never did any work. (Weirrrrd....) OK, so I am getting annoyed but thinking it's rather unfair for me to get mad that he had to go to the hospital, and I'm not in a huge hurry. He's been perfectly sweet, so why am I getting annoyed? Anyway, he tells me they'll be done on the 12th.
So I went today, the 13th, and two of the 3 pairs are done. sigh. OK. Well, he says the 1 seamstress didn't want to do it because it's stretchy fabric, "very tricky" (uh huh). So she gave it to the other seamstress who also did not want to do it. She she gave them back to him, and now he's doing them. He just started cutting out the stitches, and says they'll be ready on Thursday. 5 days, to hem a pair of pants that you just started on?! I take the two pairs, and agree to pick up the other pair on Thursday.
I get home, and come to find out, the seamstress did not keep the hem detail on one pair of pants, and in fact, what I paid extra for ("harder to do flare, split seam. More work!") turned out to be a very simple, straight-line hem that looks nothing like the original! They look like a cheesy hem job that would have looked better if I'd done it myself! Grrrrr!!!!
So now I'm in a sour mood and not looking forward to going back on Thursday and telling him he overcharged me for a crappy job.
AND THEN THE FOLLOW UP!
So, where was I? Oh yes, the split-seam black pants, the stretchy yoga pants and the hemp jeans.
By the way, did I mention that most of these clothes are my work samples that I'm not even supposed to be wearing, let alone altering? But I figured if I can wear them, I can show how they look on a body, instead of just on a hanger.
Alrighty. So, 18 or so days after they were originally dropped off I returned to get the last pair (yoga pants) as well as have the two pair re-done properly.
I get there, and the yoga pants are not done. They are, however, dis-assembled at the hems! So he got, in a week, as far as unstitching them. So, taking a deep breath, I ask how long - another 7 days. He has to get them to his seamstress. Wait, what? I said, "The two seamstresses didn't want to do it, you were going to do it." "Oh yes, now I give to older seamstress! More experience! But her serger? Broke! New one comes tomorrow! So, next week!"
Oh. kay. Now I show him the uneven jeans and the un-split hem.
"I fix it! You see, I am in business 30 year, because I make you happy!"
Uh huh.
It took like 3 times to communicate that not only were the hems crooked on the jeans, but the thread color was all off. (Greyish instead of yellow - y'know, jeans thread!) So he said he would fix the color and straighten the hem. He said, "I call you! Don't make unnecessary trip, I call you!"
So, two weeks later I go back, never having received a phone call. This is last Wednesday, going on 2 months from when I first drop off the clothes.
He gave me the yoga pants. He said, "okay, all paid up, thank you!" and I said, "wait, I have another pair here." So we had to go through the confusion he had about that and he said, "oh yes! I straighten hem. But, not finished. You see, I had to go to hospital, to check the stint, and get another angiogram. Oh, it was awful!...."
Meanwhile, I'm looking at the seam of the yoga pants, the pair that the "older, more experience!" seamstress did, and the hems - two parallel lines of stitches - go around the pant legs but don't even meet up end-to-end! WTF?!?!
My impatience and lack of sympathy must have shown because he said two more days, he fix the jeans! I said, "ok, and did you see this?" and I showed him the yoga pants hemlines where the stitches don't connect.
"I fix it!"
"By Friday?"
"Yes! I fix!"
"ok, I'll be back Friday afternoon."
So I decided to give him a few more days, and I went back today, Tuesday. he's had my clothes for 9 weeks. He had a week just since my last visit to do two hem jobs.
Well, they're "done."
The jeans look like he didn't fix them at all. The color of thread is the same. They're still uneven. I can also now see (in the light of my house, instead of the crappy half-light of his shop) that the tension of the machine must have been off a bit.
The yoga pants are different, so he definitely did something to them, but he did not improve them. They went from having parallel lines of stitches that didn't meet up end-to-end, to one line (the original hems had two parallel lines) that clearly had the wrong tension setting on the machine, and will therefore come apart eventually. And it's not straight.
I didn't care, I took the pants and walked out. It's over. It's finally over.
Oh, except they stink of musty clothes like his shop, so I immediately had to wash them.
All of this for a whopping $80.
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Who doesn't? Well, most men, I assume. :)
But Seattle women are lucky to have a terrific resource in its back yard.
Decent Exposures is a bra company (they also make a few other items like...
Who doesn't? Well, most men, I assume. :)
But Seattle women are lucky to have a terrific resource in its back yard.
Decent Exposures is a bra company (they also make a few other items like swimsuits and skirts) that gives excellent fitting service. Since they're here in Seattle, we get a considerable advantage over those poor women who must order over the internet: we can actually go to their shop for a personal fitting with the owner!
I had no idea how customizable a bra can be! More elastic here, less fabric there.... Organic. Latex-free. Nursing. Sports.
And, once you receive your bra (since they're handmade to order, allow ~2 weeks), you have 60 days to have it further adusted, for free!
The prices are in line with average bras, about $35. But with such personal service, it's a bargain.
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This tiny café (or is it a bistro?!) on Belmont is a real gem, especially if you like spicy foods, but even if you don't. It's great for an adventurous date night! The only thing that kept me from...
This tiny café (or is it a bistro?!) on Belmont is a real gem, especially if you like spicy foods, but even if you don't. It's great for an adventurous date night! The only thing that kept me from giving it a Perfect 5-star rating is that it has a few of the quirks of a newly-established business. Nothing to bring it down, just need to work out a few kinks. Service style is *very* friendly and casual.
NOTE1:
I am a spice wimp, and I barely made it through the meal, but I still considered it absolutely delicious. *Everything* on the menu is spicy, including the complimentary popcorn.
NOTE2:
This is a vegetarian, nearly vegan, café, and the chef is Brilliant! The decor is colorful and tasteful, international in style - as is the menu, a creative and eclectic collection of flavors with influences from Jamaican, Asian, and African traditions. Here is an example:
Lavender Lamb marinated in fresh Green herbs, grilled & served w/ a rich coconut cream & white wine sauce featuring shitake & crimini mushrooms, smoked Swiss, & caramelized onions.
Or consider:
Caribbean citrus spiced & Dark Rum marinated grilled Shrimp served w/ smoked Scotch Bonnet & Grilled Pineapple Salsa, accompanied by warm seasoned chips
Whoa!
NOTE3:
Plan to order the Chocolate Tea for dessert. It is an exquisite taste adventure. It also has the benefit of requiring some assembly, reminding me of the satisfying ritual of making coffee in a French press pot, versus an automatic drip. The Chocolate Tea is truly fun, interesting, delicious, and innovative. And big enough for 3 people to share. Heck, go just for this dessert.
The Healthy Hedon is a bit hard to find, being tucked back off the sidewalk on a small side street, and parking is the usual pain of Capitol Hill. If you know where Half Price Books is, you're doing good - it's just a stone's throw from Healthy Hedon.
But even if you're loathe to deal with Cap Hill, go anyway. Finding the place is just the beginning of the adventure.
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This is a small store-front that serves as an adoption site for PAWS. They only keep a few cats and kittens at a time, but they're ready to adopt. They are very thorough, and you can't even enter...
This is a small store-front that serves as an adoption site for PAWS. They only keep a few cats and kittens at a time, but they're ready to adopt. They are very thorough, and you can't even enter the cats' rooms until you've filled out paperwork, so only go if you are serious. I should emphasize "small" - it's more for convenience than huge selection.
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Carmelita
Category:
Restaurants
7314 Greenwood Ave N
Seattle, Washington 98103
(206) 706-7703
I'm surprised this one hasn't come up. Carmelita has a garden that is very pretty, the food is innovative, and the atmosphere is calm but trendy. It's a great date place, and if you're having a...
I'm surprised this one hasn't come up. Carmelita has a garden that is very pretty, the food is innovative, and the atmosphere is calm but trendy. It's a great date place, and if you're having a special celebration (anniversary, birthday, etc) they give you something special.
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Dish D'lish has opened an outpost in the Seattle Airport, and it was so refreshing to find good snacks at an airport! Fresh hummus and chips, cucumber salad... as a vegan, that's what I went for,...
Dish D'lish has opened an outpost in the Seattle Airport, and it was so refreshing to find good snacks at an airport! Fresh hummus and chips, cucumber salad... as a vegan, that's what I went for, but I'm sure Kathy Casey's quality is on all the grab'n'go items available there. It's not only grab'n'go, though, it's a full-service deli - sandwiches to order, fresh juices, coffee - so if you have time to relax while you're waiting for your flight, take the time to order what you like.
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A spacious, friendly coffeehouse has opened (late 2005) on Greenwood just north of 85th, adding greatly to the stroll-appeal of this reinvigorated neighborhood district. It's extended hours, 6 am...
A spacious, friendly coffeehouse has opened (late 2005) on Greenwood just north of 85th, adding greatly to the stroll-appeal of this reinvigorated neighborhood district. It's extended hours, 6 am until 11 pm daily, serves a crowd that often gets ignored by coffee shop owners: night owls. The owner, Broenwynn, always wears a cheery face.
Wayward Coffeehouse (not affiliated with another favorite spot of mine, Wayward Cafe) serves fair trade coffee and espresso drinks, teas and chai, as well as Essential Baking Company pastries and bagels, and my absolute weakness, Mighty O Donuts.
Since the area is a popular place to take canine pals for a walk, it's only fitting that Wayward Coffeehouse is dog-friendly (biscuits on the counter and a water bowl outside are for the dogs, not the humans). I've never felt that the dogs were too intrusive.
Furthering its quest to become a local gathering spot, Wayward has creative events and live music in the evenings. For example, Wednesday is Game Night (generally for 8 years and older), compliments of local game companies, such as Cranium. Sunday is Poetry Open Mic, and you can meet the artists displaying works on the walls during the Artists Open House (scheduled sporadically, as the art changes). To serve the younger, pre-school crowd, Storytime is Tuesday mornings.
In fact, kids are welcome anytime, and Wayward provides a few play areas and books, although the high ceilings do amplify voices, so if you've got an expressive one, keep that in mind.
During the daytime, the generous room with comfy chairs and couches and inviting round tables makes a terrific meeting place for small groups, as well as a nice place to study or check your email (bring your laptop, there's free wireless here), or play a game with a friend.
So if you're looking for a new place to call your home-away-from-home, or to check out some live music, gather your friends and head to Wayward Coffeehouse. And don't forget to start a punch card there; you'll need it.
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I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of smoothies. But I found that every place here in Seattle uses ice in their smoothies. What's wrong with ice in a smoothie?
Well, for one, I hate...
I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of smoothies. But I found that every place here in Seattle uses ice in their smoothies. What's wrong with ice in a smoothie?
Well, for one, I hate paying for *ice.* It's such a cheapskate's way to make a smoothie!
Two, it's a filler, so the smoothie has less nutritious food. Have you seen how much ice they put in those??
Three, as it melts, the smoothie gets watered-down and blah.
Four, it's entirely unoriginal.
So I make my smoothies at home. No ice. Frozen fruits take its place, packing in more nutrition and making a smoothie that's tasty right down to the bottom.
Sometimes, though, I'm out and about. I want a smoothie for a nutritious snack, but I don't want to pay $5 for a cup that's half full of ice!
Enter Juice Goddess. You can get a "simple smoothie" or a "specialty smoothie" (Green Gorilla is my favorite), and there's no ice!! None! "What, then," you're asking, "do they put in them?" Well, I'll tell you:
The SOB, for example, has strawberries, orange juice, banana, kiwi-strawberry juice, and protein powder.
Or, check out Babe, The Blue Anti-Ox, which has blueberries, banana, blueberry juice, protein powder, anti-oxidant powder, and Dagoba chocolate!
heck yeah!
All that for $5.25 for 16 oz, or $5.95 for 24 oz. You can also boost your smoothie for a bit more money with the usual array of supplements (called Blessings): flax oil, ginseng, multi-vitamin powder, etc.
The cafe is nearly all organic, so you needn't worry that you're also boosting your smoothie with pesticides and fungicides.
Before I forget, I have to tell you about the rest of the menu. Breakfast classics include granola, pancakes, and so on. The Stuffed French Toast is yum-MY! They have muffins - usually one or two vegan muffins per day, but you'd never know these were vegan, so rich and tasty. Bagels, Mighty-O donuts, and toast are also on the menu.
Lunchtime fare is a simple collection of sandwiches, wraps, soups, salads - or put it all together in a Juice Goddess Lunch Box. The sandwiches are perfect and all meats and dairy can be substituted with veg alternatives.
Juices are fresh squeezed here so the price reflects that, but you get a tall glass, not some skimpy 4-ounce sample cup.
And last but not least, there's an espresso bar, and here you can get one of the best prices on a 12 oz, 2-shot mocha I've seen anywhere in town. If you want to kick the coffee habit, there are also coffee alternatives (Soyfee, Teccino), hot cocoa and tea.
Wait! I forgot to mention dessert! Brownies, gluten-free cookies, cake, and ice cream or soy dream, with which you can make a sundae.
Another interesting facet is that the Juice Goddess sells nearly all the ingredients that they use, right there in the store. It's also a pick-up location for subscribers of Pioneer Organics produce delivery service. Juice Goddess was started by Patty, who is the biz partner of Bee Well Vitamin Shoppe's other owner, Jehan. Their shops are connected by an open doorway. It's easier to see Bee Well from the street, being bright yellow.
So drop by, enjoy a real smoothie, and tell them Doh sent you.
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I have issues with my shoulders. That's right, they're a real pain. And a further issue is that the muscles seize up quickly, and then I'm practically out of commission in a very short amount of...
I have issues with my shoulders. That's right, they're a real pain. And a further issue is that the muscles seize up quickly, and then I'm practically out of commission in a very short amount of time.
Fortunately, there's dream clinic.
They have capable staff; every massage I've had has been exactly what my shoulders needed. They listen carefully and ask questions that help them understand what my needs are, and then they deliver. Their prices are standard for massage. But what I like best is that they are often able to fit me in on short notice. They have MTs on call so that I'm able to be seen within a couple of hours of calling. If you find a favorite therapist, of course you can make appts with him/her, but since I have always come in with little notice, I've always had someone different, and yet I've always walked out feeling so much better.
The location is convenient and there's always parking available in their lot. They have hot tea and water available, too.
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When I decided to move to Seattle, no small part of my decision was based on the fact that Seattle is extremely vegan-friendly. But I had no idea of the goodness that awaited me and my son in the...
When I decided to move to Seattle, no small part of my decision was based on the fact that Seattle is extremely vegan-friendly. But I had no idea of the goodness that awaited me and my son in the shape of the humble O.
The Mighty-O is a vegan donut shop.
Vegan donuts?! Yes, and just like the lard-fried originals, they're entirely unhealthy, and entirely scrumptious. Unlike the original versions, though, Mighty-O donuts are slightly less health-threatening. They're fried in palm oil, and made with organic ingredients! The donuts are perfectly fried to a crispy outside with soft cake inside, and besides the classic glazed and chocolate coated, they also come in many more favors such as chocolate raspberry, French toast, and lemon poppyseed.
You can find Mighty-O donuts in many coffee shops and grocery stores (such as PCC and Whole Foods Market), but a particularly nice treat is to stop in the bakery to be able to choose from the full selection, and have a "Good Cop Special" (you can guess what that is, right?) while your kids flip through the books in the corner box.
Lest you think that all that's available is sugar-coated gluttony, they also have prepared sandwiches (with Field Roast) until they sell out. I also saw a couple perfectly-ripe bananas available. They have an espresso bar, too, so you can get a mocha if you really want to pile on the calories. Their coffee is organic and fairly traded.
Arrive between 4 and 5 pm and take advantage of happy hour - 2 for 1 donuts!
There's not much more Seattle can possibly offer since it boasts its own vegan donut shop. I'll never move away.
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