Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Tilikum Place Cafe

It’s time for the “Monthly Grind”. This is where I put the spotlight on a local coffee shop. The visit this month takes us to Tilikum Place Cafe to see what all the buzz is about.

After seeing this cafe featured on Anthony Bourdain's "The Layover" show I knew I had to visit this place! The cafe is located at 407 Cedar Street, Seattle. Located near the famous Seattle Space Needle, it is kinda a hard place to spot. Tucked away from the main road, one thing to look for is the the Chief Sealth statue.




 



My friend Nathan and I happened to already be downtown Seattle and was looking for a place to go for breakfast. It was St. Patrick's day and the streets were full of runners participating in the St. Patty's day dash. When we arrived the place was packed and the hostest asked if we had a reservation. Of course we didn't and it was looking doubtful that we would get seated. Just an FYI, apparently weekends are very busy there and they request that you make reservations ahead of time! I mentioned I had seen them on the Layover and was really looking forward to trying them out. She seemed excited about the mention of the show. She was so nice and was able to seat us at an already reserved table! It was a perfect window bench table with a view of the street. We enjoyed watching all the runners go by in their green costumes.

I wanted to try something Bourdain had talked about called the Dutch baby. It is somewhat a famous Seattle breakfast dish that is a cross between a pancake and a souffle. He described it as "crispy on the outside and dense and eggy on the inside." The batter is usually made with a little vanilla, some sugar and cinnamon. Sounded delicious to me! So I ordered that and Nathan ordered the corn beef and hash since after all it was St. Patrick's day.

Finally on to the main part of the blog, the coffee! Offered was a list of unique coffee options with along side the normal brews. One particular coffee concoction "The Nutty Irishman" caught my eye. It consisted of Bailey's, Frangelico and Bushmills, served with a press-pot of coffee. Well as soon as I read it I wanted it! Of course with it being the Irish holiday I thought it would be fun to try. It was kinda pricey coming in at $9.50 for just the coffee drink itself. When it arrived to the table they had the alcohol in a shot glass accompanied by the press-pot and a glass. It is kinda a do-it-yourself drink which I thought was a nice way to serve it. That way you can choose your own balance of liquids in the glass. We both were joking around the fact that I was drinking alcohol at nine in the morning. This was also a first for me having alcohol with my coffee, bringing a different type of Coffee Buzzed!

At the first sip it definitely was not the typical coffee drink for me. The alcohol was very strong at first but the coffee helped smooth out the taste. It really was a lot of unique tastes in each drink taken. I really did like the drink but it is not something I would get all the time. Something perhaps you would want to get on a special occasion. The food arrived not long after the coffee. Nathan really enjoyed the corn beef and hash and mentioned it several times on how good it was! I did steel a couple bites and I agree it was very tasty! The Dutch baby does take longer to make so that is something to consider. I was so excited when it arrived at the table. It comes to you in a personal sized cast iron skillet. They offer a couple different types of Dutch baby's at the cafe. I went with the  sweet side option that had pineapple chunks cooked inside. I really enjoyed the dish and was not something I have had before. It was surprising how much food was in that little skillet.

Wow so this turned out to be a very long blog write up! In closing, this was really was a great place to visit and enjoy a great meal and maybe try some unique food and coffee! I would highly recommend stopping in if you're downtown Seattle. But just don't forget you may want to call ahead for a table.

Tilikum Place Cafe website: http://tilikumplacecafe.com
Some info on "The Layover" episode: http://seattle.eater.com/archives/2013/02/05/a-guide-to-bourdains-seattle-episode-of-the-layover.php