Good Food

3 Squares

The Scarlet Tree, located at 6521 Roosevelt Way NE, is well known as a music and dance venue, but it also serves food all day. It draws a steady local crowd for breakfast, which it serves until 4 p.m. The menu features eggs and omelettes, pancakes and scones. The home fries are the real thing. There is also a full lunch and dinner menu and a full bar open late, all in a cozy, comfortable atmosphere conducive to taking a slow meal.

Open for breakfast Monday - Friday 6:30 a.m. - 4 p.m., Saturday & Sunday 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.; lunch daily 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.; dinner daily until 9:30 p.m.; bar open until 2 a.m., phone 523-7153.

Lunch in North Queen Anne or Ballard

"East Coast sandwiches built with a Northwest attitude." That is the slogan for The Other Coast Cafe, which has two locations at 218 Florentia in the Market on Florentia and at 5315 Ballard Ave. NW. Being raised in New York myself, them's fightin' words. Okay, so is everything else, but we New Yorkers take our sandwiches very seriously and, generally speaking, we think Northwesterners are not very good at making them.

The Other Coast starts off right with large bread. Yes, they have rye (well, Northwest rye.) The sub rolls are cut to order, as is the meat (Boar's Head) and cheese. I cannot tell you how sick I am of sandwiches made with pre-sliced meat and cheese. And if they had a scale to weigh out the portions, I couldn't see it. Amen! This is a sandwich you can wrap your hands and mouth around! It's big. It's meaty. It has Bermuda onions on it!

The Ballard Avenue location opened in 1999 and caters to the large work force in the area, and the new location on the North slope of Queen Anne is just two blocks from the Fremont Bridge. With bicycle delivery at the new location, it is quite handy for Seattle Pacific University students, Adobe workers, and the many folks who work in the office buildings lining the south side of the Ship Canal. The Florentia location lacks tables right now, but the Ballard shop has indoor and outdoor seating. So New Yorkers, while I know you can't quit your whining, at least now you can get a good sandwich!

Open Monday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., call for delivery hours. Queen Anne: 691-9700; Ballard: 789-0936.

Dinner on Crown Hill

Thai Siam at 8305 15th Ave. NW is one of the hidden jewels of Seattle. An inconspicuous family-run restaurant, Thai Siam serves up some of the best Thai cuisine in town. And Thai Siam has a long-standing tradition of giving back to the community. Each August, the restaurant hosts a benefit dinner, the proceeds of which go to such places as Children's Hospital, Union Gospel Mission, North Seattle Boys & Girls Club, and the Foundation of the Blind of Thailand. The dinner raised just over $1,000 in its first year in 1988, and in 2000 that figure has grown to $12,150.00!

This year's dinner featured a number of classic Thai Siam favorites, including Spring Rolls, Chicken Salad, Phad Thai, Vegetable Curry, and more. We went back for seconds on the Mee Krob, fried crispy noodles in Thai Siam sweet & sour sauce, and as Thai Siam is a great place to bring our vegetarian friends, it was nice to be able to sample some of the meat dishes for a change, like the Heavenly Chicken, which is just plain yummy. The Thai Siam Chicken Salad is a wonderful dish, as was evidenced by the restaurant's inability to keep up with the demand for it. For dessert we enjoyed some of the nicest Black Sticky Rice Pudding around, as well as Coconut Custard Cake.

Thai Siam has consistently provided excellent Thai dishes at very reasonable prices for years. You just have to find it on top of Crown Hill. It is well worth the effort.

Open for lunch Monday - Friday 11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.; dinner Monday - Saturday 4:30 p.m. - 10 p.m., and Sun 4:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.; reservations for 5 or more; phone 784-5465.

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