While enjoying a cup of coffee and some live jazz at Zoka tonight, I ran into a self-described Seattle old-timer. He was more than happy to tell us about Tangletown’s history, and spent a long time musing about this place that no longer exists- at least, not near Green Lake.

Once upon a time, there was a place called Honey Bear across the street, and in the good old days, that was where everyone went. You’d run into people from Denmark and Sweden while getting $1 cinnamon rolls, and people talked to each other- it wasn’t unheard of for customers to just randomly ask if other customers wanted to go walk around Green Lake after their meal. According to our new friend, Honey Bear was world-famous, because it was so homey and cozy, and one visitor attempted to recreate it in his home country, but was unsuccessful. As these things often go, Honey Bear’s owners sold it, and the new owners weren’t engaged in the day-to-day management, and changed the staff and the atmosphere, leading to its eventual death.

Stories like this make me miss the Seattle I never knew. It’s hard to imagine a restaurant where Seattleites actually talked to each other, and hung out together after meals, though this gentleman’s personality made me believe that perhaps once upon a time, Seattle was the kind of place where these things could happen. Honey Bear has reincarnated in Ravenna and Lake Forest Park, so perhaps I’ll discover a similar community if I manage to venture up that direction; but it does make me nostalgic for this magical place this man described, that I won’t ever be a part of.

It does make me wonder if there are other places that have that kind of friendly following that I just haven’t discovered yet… and also, whether there are other places old-timer Seattleites get nostalgic for that I should know about, even if I won’t ever be able to experience them. So, those of you who have been here for a while, what am I missing?

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a column [times] about how the cute little Belltown restaurant, Marjorie [#], was losing its lease. I immediately thought, “Dang it, Beth!” [mb] Although not quite a “landmark,” this adorable and quirky space was/is a nice place to go for dates and/or to sit on the patio and enjoy a nicely made cocktail. The warm intimate feel paired with the personal service was always a hit.

This morning I received the official news in my inbox:

“it is with a heavy heart that we announce marjorie’s last night…
after 6 beautiful years at our belltown location, and without a new home lined up as of yet, we have decided to end on a high note.
on september 6th, our last night, we will host a wine dinner.”

Former Marjorie chef and current Tavolata chef de cuisine, Matt Fortner, has created the wine dinner menu, of which there will be two seatings (5 and 8:30). Since the restaurant is on the small size, both seatings will be sure to sell out. Reservations are necessary [opentable] and the cost will be $150 per person, which isn’t bad for 8-ish courses and wine pairings.

If you’re not up for a fancy-schmancy dinner, make sure to stop by on the next nice day between now and the 6th and check out that off-the-street patio. Personally, I will mourn the loss of the perfectly made beignets and look forward to Donna Moodie’s new endeavor.

address: 2331 Second Avenue | Seattle, WA 98121 | phone: 206.441.9842

For some reason, I had expected Asteroid Cafe to be a sandwich and soup place with a retro feel. Instead, it’s a rather upscale Italian restaurant nestled behind Dad Watson’s on Fremont Ave. I joined a couple of friends for a small birthday dinner tonight, which started off with some amazing foraged morel mushrooms sauteed with olive oil, greens and sea salt. Not only can I remember all of that, but so could our waiter, who rattled off the three specials flawlessly and then proceeded to describe half a dozen wine flavors to one of my dinner companions.

Actually, Asteroid’s staff is half of the fun- one friend, who had been there before, regaled us with stories of heated political discussions he’d had with Asteroid’s owner. As I mentioned, our waiter was brimming with knowledge on the food and drink, and towards the end of the night, the kitchen staff broke into a slightly off-key rendition of Red Hot Chili Pepper’s “Under the Bridge.”

The food was fantastic- antipasto plates full of olives and almonds and pears and cheese; artichoke and marscapone ravioli; peppercorn-encrusted tuna; and last, but not least, the most amazing tiramisu I’ve ever had. Their mojito and ferrari cocktails were also yummy.

As you can probably gather from the food descriptions, Asteroid Cafe is, well, upscale. Not incredibly expensive (Tulio, I’m looking at you), but edging towards it. Then again, I still think everything in Seattle is expensive, so perhaps you should check Asteroid’s menu for yourself. But this hidden gem in Fremont has a good atmosphere, good food, and a good staff, certainly enough to convince me to return for a romantic date in the future.

Inside the restaurant it looks like it should be either a brothel or drag show. I couldn’t really tell which. But there was a lingerie and feathers theme throughout. And our waitress had smudgy eyeliner on and something my grandma would call a negligee.

We came at the perfect time, which apparently is 6:45 on a Friday and got seated right away. But within the hour the place was packed. So go early.

I asked about their BYOB policy. Which they have. There is a corkage fee if you bring wine but I thought ahead and brought beer, so no corkage fee for me.

The menu is kinda a blur as I’m not a fan of curlicue fonts. I saw food, food, food, ahhhh pizza. And looked in that direction.

I got the deep-dish pizza with sausage, pesto and tomato. He got a deep-dish pizza with broccoli, spinach and garlic. Again, forgive me on the names of the actual pies but that damn font. Maybe it was the beers. Either way, we thought 2 deep-dish pizzas would take forever to make. But we were happily wrong. About 15 minutes later they came, piping hot with oozes of mozzarella cheese on top. Time to forget that lactose pill.

Mine was on the greasier side of course. But the sausage was big and the cheese was chewy. His was green and garlicky. Almost too garlicky. I couldn’t decide which I liked better, but suddenly it was time for dessert and I knew right away where my vote would lie.

The Chocolate Chip Orgasm.

Imagine Chocolate Chip cookie dough put in a deep-dish skillet and then thrown in the oven for like two minutes so that it’s not totally cooked and then topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Eating it is like when your (my) boyfriend pinches your (my) nipples while doing you (me) from behind. It’s friggin’ awesome. Gooey, warm chocolaty goodness with that not thoroughly cooked doughy texture mixed with cold ice cream which was quickly melting, causing the chocolate and vanilla to meld together, was absolute perfection in my mouth. The greasy, but good and garlicky, but good pizzas quickly became second fiddle to this cookie/ice cream heaven we (I) were devouring.

Even today, when we ate our leftover pies for lunch all I really wanted was another orgasm. Then again, don’t we all.

Madame K’s Pizza Bistro  $$$ ($18 for small pie/2 people with 2 pies, glass of wine and dessert =$60)

5237 Ballard Ave. NW, 783-9710

M-Th. 5-10pm, Fri. 5-11pm, Sa. 2-11pm, Su. 2-9pm.