Seattle

Rat and Rave

On The Rat and Raven has a very Clever Dunne's vibe. Apparently, that's not a coincidence. When frat annex, the Irish Immigrant, closed, the owners of the beloved Cap Hill Irish bar brought their cozy dive aesthetic to the U.D. There's lots of space to spread out here. Big, cushy booths provide a stress-free environment for large impromptu gatherings or just watching the match. Shuffleboard is more interesting on their extra long table. Happy hour is 4-7 daily and all day on Sundays, offering lots of cheap, delicious drafts; among them all-too-drinkable Magner's Irish Cider. They also take $2 off their heavenly pub food menu. Famished folks can partake of mind-blowing burgers like the Hawaiian or the Big Blue Shroom (all available veggie). The exceptional badass can take the Raven Challenge by downing a four beef patty, cheese and bacon burger. Victors get their photo on the wall of fame. If you're just in a snacking mood, the Beer Battered Cheese Curds will hit the spot in a way mozzarella sticks never could. The weekend brunch, greasy in all the right ways, will cure whatever ails you (assuming you're hung over), as will a pitcher of mimosas.

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Nightlife • Ravenna

Dogmatic About Pancakes

Living in the UD, I sometimes miss the old IHOP and pancakes at my beck and call. But then I remember the Blue Dog Kitchen and I remember just how much I was slumming it with those nasty gut-bombs and sugary syrups. Blue Dog does "build-your-own pancakes" with an extensive array of bases (like buttermilk, oat bran, blue cornmeal, and poppy seed) and toppings. Fruits, nuts, chocolate chips and syrups combined any way your little heart desires. They're even available wheat-free for more delicate digestive systems. If pancakes aren't your thing, they'll also do an omelet for you, and throw in a piece of fresh bread for good measure. Cafe D'arte supplies the coffee but the Dogs brew their own chai in 10 different varieties, including ginger spice and lavender. If you prefer lunch, they've got that too: Deli-style sandwiches in 20 different varieties. The dog may be blue, but your stomach won't be. The only downside to this place is that the pancake service is limited to the mornings. But I suppose an adult has to adhere to a meal schedule sometime.

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Coffee , Restaurants • Ravenna

Looks Aren't Everything

It certainly looks sketchy from the outside and its proximity to the dodginess of Lake City Way certainly doesn't help. But if you can put look beyond appearances and venture inside, you most certainly won't regret it. With three different menus (American, Chinese, and Vegetarian) it's difficult not to find something you like. The house-made noodles are the perfect combination of chewy and salty and come in a number of different dishes. The vegetarian sweet and sour ribs are a saucy bit of fried heaven. If you're feeling adventurous, order something off one of the colorful signs by the register. Those are the owner's suggestions and are sure to be amazing. Don't miss the weekend brunch with eggy pastry delights and some dim-sum type items. The steamed bun selection (apart from the lackluster vegetarian bun) is outstanding. However, be prepared for spotty service. Depending on how busy they are, (and often, it's VERY) you may wait a long time for your food. Fortunately, there's always take-out. Trust me, it's worth the hassle. This is some of the most authentic (and delicious) Chinese food you will find in Seattle. Just ask the authentic Chinese families who crowd the dining room!

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Restaurants • Ravenna

No Thank You

Sure, it was election night when we went to this Indian restaurant. Sure, it was totally empty and when we got there at 6:30 they were getting ready to close shop. Sure, we were hopeful with the great reviews we heard from the interwebs. But we were all a little disappointed. The Tikka Masala was decent but not great. And according to one friend the lamb naan tasted a little bit like vomit, but slightly better. Because it was a friend's birthday we were hoping for ice cream, but they ran out weeks ago and hadn't been able to get any since. I wonder if they've heard of a supermarket before? Or Ben and Jerry's? Either way, this restaurant might be great for some, but for us it was nothing to rave about.

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Restaurants • Ravenna

Full Disclosure

I have been a vegetarian for 16 years. In that time I have never gone vegan for one reason: Cheese. There's just no suitable substitute. There are acceptable soy versions of milk and rice versions of ice cream. But that orange nacho sludge at 7-11 seems more real than any vegan cheese I've ever had, even realer... than cheese itself. So a vegan pizzeria is a risky venture. Of course vegans will love it. They will claim it tastes "just like pizza" the way I claim grilled Portobello mushrooms taste like steak. But they are meaty and flavorful and that's good enough for me. The Pi chefs certainly know how to make delicious food. Their rustic crust recipe, the basis for most menu items, is salty and satisfying. Their topping options are wonderful (though they inexplicably include pineapple in everything). If you have bad impressions of the place, blame the old owners. The new ones know that you have to keep regular hours. But if you're not vegan, and like cheese, this isn't for you. If, however, you just like good food, forget the whole pizza concept and just enjoy the menu for what it is.

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Restaurants • Ravenna

Little Woodstock

Just a sandal's throw away from the vegan pizzeria Pizza Pi and not one but two head shops, is Sidecar for Pigs Peace. I like to call this area Little Woodstock. Sidecar, a vegan goods store owned by the Pigs Peace Sanctuary, is a vegan treasure trove run by wonderful people working for a worthy cause. All proceeds go to the non-profit Pigs Peace Sanctuary, which provides amnesty to abused and abandoned animals and spreads "the message of compassion and respect for all animals." Sidecar packs a lot into their tiny space, including packaged vegan snacks, canned soups and proteins, frozen entrees and delicious sandwiches made fresh every day. If you're wary of feeding mystery meat to Fido, check out their line of vegan pet food. And they don't just cater to the stomach. They also offer various and sundry guilt-free wares from adorable handmade wallets and bags to greeting cards. It's a little known fact in the omnivore world that vegans are experts at desert-making. So even if you don't abstain from the dairy, you will have no regrets about stopping in for some chocolate or a donut. The little piggies will be glad you did.

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Shopping • Ravenna

Vegan Delights

The Wayward Cafe is an odd name for a vegan cafe with clear procedures about operations. You walk in and claim one of the few available seats. You grab a menu and choose from a steady list of vegan staples like tempeh sandwiches and tofu scramble. You order at the counter and pay cash. Then you sit and wait for your food. And wait. And wait. Hey, competent vegan cooking takes time! While you wait, you read the vegan literature or take in the colorful outfits of the other patrons. When your food finally arrives, you are astonished at how large the portions are, considering what you paid. You are pleasantly surprised at just how delicious a plate of food containing no cheese, eggs or butter can be, even if you are staunch carnivore. If you aren't accustomed to the heaviness of the vegan diet, you MAY need a to-go box which you can purchase for $1 (which goes to help the little piggies you aren't eating). You will bus your own table and probably want to grab a Mighty-O-Donut from the case for later. This is how things always are at the Wayward Cafe: regimented and explicit, but never boring. Not the atmosphere, nor the food.

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Restaurants • Ravenna

Knarr-ly

The Knarr is perhaps the most aptly named denotative dive bar in all of Seattle. I imagine the vibe is very similar to that of the Viking trade ships of yore: alcohol-infused, aggressive revelry, singing of songs, playing of games and generally getting into lots of trouble. The amnesia-inducing dirt-cheap drinks (emphasis on dirt) retrospectively make throwing sharp darts around seem like a bad idea. Feed the juke box (frozen in 1994) and utilize the power of grunge (or Jim Morrison) to aid you in defeating the pool table regulars. Grab a pile of quarters from the bar and be the Pinball Wizard of Medieval Madness all night. Challenge a pair of UW students who were brave enough to travel so far up the Ave to a game of Shuffleboard. It doesn’t so much matter how you decide to allocate your time at the Knarr. You’ll have a blast that you won’t likely remember.

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Nightlife • Ravenna

Bundles O' Bagels

Although I now call Seattle home, I have retained my native East Coast superior attitude. This certainly extends to the quality of West Coast bagels, which in most cases are absolute crap. Square bagels? Are you friggin' kidding? Then I found Bagel Oasis, which truly is a refuge from all the other bad bakery pushers. These bagels have some fight in them and don’t back down after the first bite. They’re just the right combination of crusty outside and chewy, dense interior. And they have salt bagels, the mark of an authentic bagel bakery. Usually I get my bundles of everything goodness to go, since the interior resembles that of a storage unit.

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Restaurants • Ravenna