If you're starting to think that all I ever do when I go down to Seattle is buy cupcakes then you're probably right. One of these times I will go and I will not buy any cupcakes. We went down to Seattle a couple weeks ago to have lunch with a childhood friend of Ethan's. I thought it fitting to bring cupcakes along for dessert and this gave me the perfect reason to sample the esteemed Salted Caramel Cupcake from Cupcake Royale that I've been reading about here and there. I just visited there site and saw that this month's featured flavour is Honey Peanut Brittle, so clever. I wish the cupcake shop, Katie's, here in Bellingham would get creative like that. I don't think I've weighed in with my two cents on the place so here I'll go. I don't have any pictures of the cakes, frankly, they aren't quite cute enough to go gaga over and photograph. I think it's wonderful that we finally have a cupcake shoppe here in town and wish I'd have been able to do it myself! In my humble opinion, I think the style of the shoppe could be a bit more gender-neutral and stylish, I also think some of the recipes could really use a face lift. The vanilla on vanilla in particular is lacking the richness and wonderful, fine crumb that I think a classic vanilla cupcake should have. Katie's is kind of dry and cottony. I hope the store does well though, I've always thought that Bellingham could support a cupcake shoppe. That's all I'm going to say about that.
We tested out Cupcake Royale a couple of years ago and were not at all impressed. We found the cakes to be dry and not a bit as good as homemade ones. So I crossed the business off my list of to-do's and planned on never returning. Well some sort of fate took me back and I can honestly say that they were much better this last time. I talked with some of the employees and they stated that recipes had changed, etc. I picked two of the Salted Caramel to ensure I got a sample, and then picked carrot cake and Irish Whiskey and Maple. We all agreed that they were very tasty indeed. You aren't going to believe me when I say this, but, I think I've had my fill of cupcakes for at least a couple of months. Just don't hold me to it, okay?
Ethan's friend Joe was gracious enough to invite us over to his lovely home not far from the shores of Lake Washington. It was a bright and airy home with lots of art and Seattle flair. He was playing some fabulous and cheerful music when we arrived and quickly offered us a little fruit spritzer beverage concoction. I was loving it. I'm deeply enthralled in aesthetics and take in so many visuals when I go someplace new, especially if it is beautiful. And in a very Northwest and Seattle-specific way, Joe's bachelor pad was beautiful. I wish I had more pictures for you, I especially wish I had taken a couple shots of the table spread he had laid out for our lunch. Why is it that food always tastes so much better when you are dining at someone else's home? He had a simple array of breads, meats, shrimp salad, cheeses, avocados, cherry tomatoes, and other accoutrements casually placed about the table. It was just what we needed after a frustrating couple hours of traffic. What really jumped out at me was the shrimp salad. Out of curiosity I had to try it. He took little precooked bay shrimp, you know the little tiny pink ones, and just tossed them with a generous amount of mayonnaise and truffle oil. I don't typically buy or eat those little shrimp, but in this salad and on bread with lots of lettuce and avocado, they were just scrumptious. I'll post about my go at it next. I had to include a picture I took in his back garden area. Joe has this amazing tree back there with huge magenta flowers all over it and the ground. Lovely!
After we parted with Joe we decided to take a drive through the neighborhood around his place and fell in love with lots and lots of beautiful homes. I can't believe that in all my years of living here I've never seen those areas of Seattle. You feel like you're in the most beautiful city in the world and tucked away in those tree-lined streets and quiet blocks you don't even feel like you share it with anyone. Mission: get rich and move to the shores of Lake Washington.
After a couple more hours we ended the night in our car with burgers from Dick's and jazz on public radio. I love those kind of days.
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