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Good Food
Good Food
By Zachary D. Lyons
Aug 29, 2002 -- LABOR DAY is upon us again – that great American holiday when we celebrate ourselves, the working masses. Or at least that is how it is supposed to go. A bumper sticker I occasionally see says: “Unions - The Folks Who Brought You The Weekend.” While you are mulling that over, honor yourself and your hard working sisters and brothers with a trip to one of these places.A Union Joint For, Like, Ever!
The Athenian Inn is a Pike Place Market institution. It has been there since 1909. Originally opened as a bakery and luncheonette by three Greek brothers, it eventually became one of the first eateries to regain a liquor license at the end of prohibition in 1933.
Robert and Louise Cromwell bought the Athenian in 1965, when it was known as the Athenian Tavern and Luncheonette. They set out to make it a full-scale restaurant with a larger menu. In 1974, they added the lounge and, in 1979, they added the balcony, with its spectacular views of Elliott Bay and the Olympics.
The Athenian Inn is historic in many ways. One of the first places in Seattle with more than just Oly and Rainier on tap, today they have sixteen taps and a large selection of bottled beers. It was also one of the first places in Seattle to serve breakfast all day. “I am one of those people who must start the day with breakfast,” said Louise. “But if you got up and out after 11 a.m., you were out of luck.” And it served as a movie set for scenes in “Sleepless In Seattle.”
This union restaurant, hearkening back to when many Seattle restaurants were union, was born in a time when Seattle was boiling over with union activity. It lived through our nation’s only city-wide general strike, and it remembers federal troops in Discovery Park, brought in to quash the Wobblies and Longshoremen. Today it is only one of a handful of union restaurants left in Seattle.
The menu reads much like many Downtown menus did years ago, with the Hangtown Fry, Manhattan or Boston Clam Chowder, Grilled Liver and Onions, and lots of local seafood. Most portions are big. The menu is huge.
The house Gravlox, with nice chunks of local salmon cured well with dill and salt, is served in a mustard sauce with cucumbers. Slather it on a piece of chewy bread for a Northwest taste delight. The Seafood Spinach Pasta Salad comes with Bay shrimp, squid, octopus and nicely grilled scallops. While quite enjoyable, it is small, so adjust your expectations. The Clam Hash, on the other hand, is quite generous. Another Old Seattle recipe, Clam Hash is similar to corned beef hash, but with clams... and of course the topping of bacon. This hearty dish pleases your palate while filling your stomach. Sitting at the old front counter, watching the hustle and bustle of the kitchen, I imagined a farmer, laborer or business person enjoying the same meal here decades ago.
The menu is built around breakfast and lunch, as the Athenian closes just after the market does. Sandwiches, soups, salads, and lots and lots of seafood, with the occasional Greek flare from the old days. Just remember that the person serving you, or cooking your food, has likely been there for years, because they have guaranteed hours, health insurance and a retirement plan. That’s why the head cook has been there over 30 years! So when you go to the Market to support local farmers and artists, don’t forget to support one of the last local union restaurants, too.
The Athenian Inn, 1517 Pike Place (in the Main Arcade), 624-7166, Open Monday - Saturday, 6:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m., closed Sunday, NO CHECKS, $.
Hard Working Owners Give Animals A Break
One of my favorite quotes from my Boycott Quarterly days comes from Feminists for Animal Rights – “The hardest working women on the planet are egg laying hens.” For Labor Day 2002, I wish to salute all of the thanklessly hard working farm animals, most in less than hospitable conditions. (They need a good union themselves.)
The Green Cat Cafe a vegetarian restaurant, operated by its owners. Original owner, Mark Edmison, bought the place in 1992 with his then wife. Then it was just a coffee shop. The pair added a vegetarian menu, because his wife was a vegetarian. There were few vegetarian options in the neighborhood then. When the couple split up in early 2001, Edmison sold the Green Cat to some folks who, while enthusiastic, were new to the restaurant business. Edmison wisely included a clause in the contract of sale that returned the space, name, equipment and lease to him should the new owners falter. That they did earlier this year.
During a brief closure, Edmison rounded up four new business partners, and the Green Cat reopened on June 1. Edmison was joined by new partners Stephanie Speer, Paul Garber, local music promoter Dave Meinert, and Ivan Cochrun. Edmison and Speer work the kitchen, with Garber and Cochrun working the counter and house. Meinert books the live DJs performing during Saturday and Sunday brunch hours. Alan Hurley organizes the excellent rotating exhibits of local artists adorning the Green Cat’s walls.
Green Cat is a comfy, easy going place with an atmosphere reminiscent of the Seattle days before “the Hype”. The fare is basic, homestyle vegetarian – tasty and filling without being too highbrow or expensive. Dishes like the Tamale Pie will carry you back to a meal you had with your activist buddies before taking to the streets and getting hauled off to jail – before the War on Terror.
We enjoyed the Curried Tofu Scramble, bright yellow with curry. Well seasoned tofu and vegetables are served over some of Green Cats tasty roasted spuds. The accompanying garlic toast rocks – nice crusty, chewy, earthy bread. The Buddha Bowl with spicy peanut sauce is a tasty concoction of steamed vegetables tossed in a peanut sauce which we could have taken spicier, but which was very good nevertheless, served over a bed of brown rice. Both dishes are vegan, and most dishes which do contain egg or dairy are available vegan.
The Black Bean Chili over Brown Rice is hearty and full of flavor. This stick-to-your ribs dish is great on a cool, gray day. It comes with two big pieces of that chewy bread, too, and a cup will easily top you off.
Check the blackboard for daily soup, pasta, quiche and any other specials. Try one of the pastries or desserts, like the vegan Amazon Chocolate Cake. While not made with or by any actual Amazonians, it is huge with flavor – moist and rich – and you will wonder why anyone uses animal ingredients to make their chocolate cake.
They plan to expand hours into the evening soon, and they hope to make wine and beer available. Find out more at www.greencatcafe.com.
Green Cat Cafe, 1514 E Olive Way, 726-8756, Open daily 8 a.m.-6 p.m., $.
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