Moments in the Pacific Northwest
Seattle is magnificent. Walking to Pike Place Market just as it
was opening (and before the tourists descended), exploring Capitol Hill,
hanging out and cooking with new friends in what I believe was the Queen Anne
district--something felt impossibly right about being in Seattle. I'll have to
take a real vacation there soon, hopefully as a treat for good news regarding
graduate school (fingers, toes, arms, legs, and eyes crossed). My heart soars a
little bit at the thought of being back there for a longer time. This trip was supposed to be one, but I've been writing cases since
stepping onto the first plane on Sunday. My own fault, I suppose, for not
finishing them sooner, but at least I've been getting to write with some truly
beautiful backdrops (and frankly, with better and more abundant food options at
my disposal. Thanks, West Coast!)
On the subject of food, airbnb hostess in Seattle was allergic to
wheat, so she had plenty of gluten-free restaurant suggestions for me, and the
most remarkable was this Malaysian sidewalk storefront called Kedai Makan. I
had Nasi Goreng, which is a fragrant stir-fried rice dish with a fried egg on
top, and it was just as delicious for leftovers the next morning. The bar next
door to Kedai Makan, Montana, lets you bring you bring in your food and eat it
inside--I was thankful for this on a cold, rainy night in Seattle. Rachel, who
I think is the owner, had recently launched her homemade ginger beer into
retail stores, and the ginger beer, alone and in the Moscow Mule I ordered at
Montana is the best I've ever tasted. Basic takeaway: when in Seattle, go to
Montana.
Starting a food business, it was really inspiring to be in
Seattle. Coconut milk mint matcha latte? Sure thing. Vegan horchata ice cream?
Of course. And I didn't even get over the University district this trip, where
there's supposed to be a world-class gluten-free and vegan bakery, Violet
(which I found hilarious since the place I'm baking and working temp in
Cambridge is called Violette). I still talked to tons of store owners and while
there's compostable spoons and almond or rice milk in almost every coffee shop,
I was surprised by how few non-cross-contaminated, non-granola bar allergy-free
options were available. In other words, maybe there's a place for ZC on the
other side of the country. I love the thought of my
cookies being sold in some of the cafes I saw there one day :)
As I write my reflection on Seattle, I'm in Portland. From the
brief clips I've seen of the show Portlandia, there's some truth to the
stereotypes associated with the people of this city. I mean, I'm sitting here
in a coffee bar that is all wood, has bikes hanging as decoration, and am
drinking specialty kombucha while writing and looking out at the Broadway
Bridge. Still, I might come back here, as there's not enough room in my stomach
for all the cool things I've seen at food trucks and I really needed a whole
day to explore one of the biggest bookstores in America, Powell City of Books.
If I do make it back here, I will:
1. Not stay at my current accommodation, at least not without a
rental car. Nob Hill/Arlington is charming,
and I'm right near the Japanese Gardens, but I didn't realize just how
far my airbnb was from downtown. It's a 40+ minute walk down a gigantic hill on
a major road to reach downtown Portland (which means walking back up is 50+
minutes up that gigantic hill on the major road). The host is nice and
competent (he's a travel agent, in fact), but the place isn't central enough.
2. Get the Alberta Street experience: the first coffee shop I
went to told me that Alberta was the area most satirized in Portlandia. I'll
take the barista's word for it, as he looked just like a stretched-out version
of Fred Armisen in the show.
3. GO TO BOB'S RED MILL! They make 50% of the gluten-free flours
I use for baking and they have a whole factory and restaurant in Milwaukie,
right outside of Portland. Even though I liked my time in Seattle more and
preferred the energy of that city, Bob's Red Mill would be worth a trek back
here. Next time, Erica. Next time...
Tomorrow, I head to the state I've dreamed about for as long as I
can remember: California. I've been once before when visiting a good friend at
Stanford, but the time was mostly spent on campus, only briefly in Palo Alto,
and even more briefly in San Francisco proper. It was also in January 2012,
when I was eyeballs deep in my senior thesis and freaking out about producing
40+ pages over the course of the month. While that doesn't sound too different
from my current situation (1.5 cases to complete, at least 6 teaching notes by
the end of December) I'll have to figure out a way to balance the work. It
would be a pity not to enjoy what San Francisco has to offer. I'll also have to
get a sense of what work/school life in the Bay Area would be like, assuming I
get to choose a future out there. At the very least, it would put me closer to
Seattle :)