Smilin' Jack: Lunch at Louie's

On the road again. This time to Louie's out in Ballard.

It was Mike's turn to pick and he is prone to making me drive looooong distances. He lives up North of Seattle and so, here I go again...

On the road again with all the familiar sights.

Traffic, overcast skies....

And then, finally, Louie's....

Not much to look at from the outside. Seriously, it's nothing to look at from the outside. Right out the front door is the parking lot. Literally.

And the neighborhood it is in is pretty blah, too. I walked around a bit before lunch and there just wasn't much to look at. Well, almost nothing...

Cuz, right around the corner was this sight....

I mean, seriously, I've never seen a sight like this except when I was overseas. I mean, there's the Bardahl Building and, BOOM!! there's the Bardahl sign.

Add the damn Bardahl!!

Don't make me come over there!!!

It wasn't all bleak or industrial.

There was a store called, "ReStore", which recycles, well, everything. They had doorknobs, doors, sinks, A SODA FOUNTAIN about 15 feet long, old lampshades and so on.

Out front they had this small tribute to a gentler, less complicated life.

Inside the restaurant it was definitely Old School. Mike said it's just like it was back in the 60s.

It had that old building smell....comfortable and very much at ease.

The decor was low key, muted. Very dignified.

and topical.

So, we've toured the restaurant and been hyper-critical about everything....

now let's get to the food.

We both started with the soup. Typical soup. This isn't a complaint, just an observation. I think Chinese soups are really blah. Mildly seasoned hot water.

OK, let's get to the nitty-gritty. The good stuff.

I had the Sweet and Sour Pork with Fried Rice and Chowmien.

It was GUH-OOOD!!

And there was enough to fill ya up.

Mike got himself some kind of chicken. Lemon or almond or General Lee, something like that.

I was pleasantly surprised. It was tasty.

Let's head home and, once again, you find beauty in the most unusual places.

I ran across this mural painted on the wall of an overpass on 50th Street. Just pleasant things that you bump into unexpectedly.

Ah, now my stomach's full. I've had some good conversation and, I must point out, without any political shots taken. I have to admit that I am usually the one doing the shooting cuz Mike is a unrepentant liberal left-wing looney. You know, Peace, Love and Sunshine.

Bah!! Humbug!!