Mama's Mexican Kitchen

Woo, woo!! It's the third Tuesday of the month and so it is lunch with Mike the Liberal.

Mike got to pick the restaurant this month and he chose one in Belltown soooo, it's off to the Link and pay their extortion for the short ride downtown. Again, love the Link....just don't like the cost.

Waiting for the Southbound Link, I got me a self-portrait. Looking pensive.

Heading downtown, lookit the skies!! It's a somewhat sunny day here in the Emerald City. 

And it gets better. Here's a shot up 5th Avenue where the Monorails starts. Allie took me on my first and last Monorail ride a couple of years ago.

It was a short walk, just six blocks and I got to Mama's. Mike's been coming here for a long time from way back when he was in broadcasting. 

The place has a colorful front but it doesn't hold a candle to what it's like on the inside.

Look!! There's Mike. For the first time, he got to the restaurant before me. He's looking tan and fit as he and his wife just got back from a vacation down in Puerto Vallarta. Ah, the idle rich.

Here it is....Mama's Mexican Kitchen, authentic since 1974. Authentic what, I don't know.

Pretty colorful, eh? Take a look at the door. That's an original!!

Here's a detail of the door. Honestly, I had to look around to locate where the door handle was. It took a couple of seconds. Can you find it?

Inside to Mama's...

The restaurant is divided into small....rooms? It's kinda put together with no rhyme or reason. This shot is from the table we were sitting at towards the street side of the restaurant.

And, here, right next to us, is the oddest little booth I've ever seen!! No one used it while we were there, but I do think it's a functional table....with privacy. You get to eat with Elvis and Jimi Hendrix among other artists.

Now, having introduced Elvis into the conversation, let's go see the Elvis Room. Yeah, that's what they've named it. It is a room dedicated to....Elvis.

Mike used to bring his daughter here for lunch. She's a HUGE Elvis fan. They had some great times here at Mama's.

Everything in the room is Elvis.

Here's the fun part...people who come in draw portraits of Elvis on their napkins and then pin them to the wall. Some of them are surprisingly good. Others....not so.

Look up at the previous picture and you can see how many have been pinned on the wall.

I don't know if this is an original but it's cool. 

A serving tray from the '62 World's Fair.

Some of the original artwork on the way to the restroom.

And some original art of the restaurant. Nice, isn't it? It was hanging right above us.

I couldn't believe it, but I forgot to get pictures of my meal. I had a really great beef tamale and cheese enchilada along with some frijoles and arroz. It was very good. Very good. Here's the remains.

After lunch, Mike toured me through the rest of the restaurant. Here's the bar. 

More eating....spaces. This one with a mobile Mike.

Ah, Old Mexico....loving the maize.

Here's a picture of the restaurant from back in the '30s.

The buildings on the corner are still there...

Here's the entry way on our way out. City Produce is on a truck parked along the road.

Outside, I saw this great stature of Elvis in the window.

Walkin' back to the Link at Westgate I saw this ol' Flatiron building, again. I have a soft spot in my heart for these architectural gems. And blue skies...see'em!?!

Down to the Link and the business and speed of the people arriving and departing.

And in the middle of all this motion you find some tranquility. Kid was taking a nap.

Adios, Big City!!

Another self-portrait.

And, finally, home.

I always enjoy these lunches. I get to got to places I would never have gone to on my own. My only regret is that the time is so short that I feel I never get to get into deep conversations with Mike. He deftly avoids all my jabs at his politics. It seems we talk about a lot but nothing too deep.

Good times; Good food; Good Friends

Hooah!!

Paddy Coyne's Irish Pub

My Christmas gifts keep on a-coming!!

Michelle and Matt sent me several gift certificates to various restaurants throughout Seattle and today I used another one. It was for Paddy Coyne's Irish Pub, They have two locations downtown.

 I would do almost anything to not have to drive downtown so I rode the Link downtown to the Westlake Center. I had my choice between the two restaurants. 

Let's see, one was 1.1 miles from Westlake down on the waterfront and the other was .9 miles away on the East side of the Space Needle. 

Hmmmm, let's see....Oh, c'mon, you know me. Do the math and you'll know which one I chose.

No-brainer, right!?!

Just like on any of my adventures, the journey to and from is half the fun. Getting around with a camera  helps to force me to see what's out there. And to think. 

Gotta say it again, Love the Link. I still dislike the price but, you know, it is, really, worth it. Jump on board and disengage the brain and relax. And I get to observe my fellow travelers. 

Anyway, you see some interesting people on public transport. Some you'd rather not be in the same enclosed moving compartment that you can't get out of with. Others are just fun to watch and try and figure out if you've got the time. I had the time and I wasn't too interested in listening to the radio. Besides, the reception is terrible on the Link.

 

I know I'm a cliche. I dress like the old right-wing conservative I am. That's why I was so pleased to see a left-wing liberal tree-hugger cliche. Can you see him? Wide brim green hat and red Carhart jacket. Super skinny with a self-righteous glare in his eyes. I started to mentally put him down and then realized I am what he is just on the other side of the coin. Fun realization.
 

So I watched the people and the scenery. Like the City skyline. Funny how you don't see the metal pole two feet from you when you're grabbing a quick shot. I like the shadows of the people with the woman's face on the left gently lit by the overcast sky. 

 

When I wasn't watching people and the passing scenery, I had this to peruse. Joe and Sara gave me a gift subscription to this magazine. It's a quasi-liberal news magazine and, pretty informative.

 

Lots of news about this....

 

Then there's the local color. There's nothing that you can't paint on if you had the inclination. 

 

To prevent graffiti, some businesses painted their own murals on the backs of their buildings. Some are surprisingly pretty good. 

 

Hey, only in America, right? Even up here in the Great American Northwest.

 

 

Then there's this old architectural gem...The Old Rainier Beer Brewery. I can remember seeing it the few times we drove up North when we lived in Tacoma back in the late 70s and early 80s. 

But finally I got to the Westlake Center. They've got one of the longest escalators I've ever seen to get up to the mall level.

 

 

Until you finally get up to the entrance to the Mall or the next escalator to the street. 

 

As I stepped out to the street I saw these two gems. These are really good, aren't they? And they're just out there, painted on the sides of some plywood. Seriously!!

 

These are some excellent examples of street art. I'd rather see this than some giant popsicle.

 

 

OK, the murals are to the right and then I turned left to walk to Paddy's. Now, here's the streets of Seattle. Grey and overcast skies and busy streets.

 

 

OK, walking to Paddy's and here, right in Old Seattle, is this....The Williamsburg Arms.

 

This is and apartment building. How cool is this? Who woulda thunk, right!?!

 

 

So, I got to Paddy Coyne's Irish Pub. 

It was a lot smaller than I had thought.....

 

 

but I thought it captured, as much as you can in America, the essence of an Irish Pub.

 

 

Good looking bar, eh? I should have taken a picture of the wooden floor just below the three chairs here. That part of the floor has been used so much that there are literal ruts worn into the floor. I mean, it's been WELL used.

 

 

They even have a fireplace. 

 

 

Here's the view from my table. It wasn't too busy when I was there and the street wasn't busy, either. It was a mellow afternoon for some good food.

 

Hey, Michelle!! See the lighthouse? Pretty cool, eh?

 

And there, to the left of the lighthouse is my Groupon Coupon!!

 

 

So I ordered. I already knew what I wanted. No brainer, again. First, some DC. I know it's not real Guinness, but I like the glass.

 

 

Then came the Reuben. 

 

Now, it was good, no doubt about it. I was just hoping it'd be a bit bigger. 

 

Still, it was good.....I'm a sucker for Reubens. I am.

 

 

It went down easy and fast. 

 

While I was enjoying my sandwich, I read up on the latest news from my gift from Joe and Sara, The Week.

 

 

After lunch, I looked around the pub. Here's the back room.

 

This sealed the deal. It's a genuine Irish Pub. Can you see what I'm talking about? Can you see it?

 

 

There it is. A poster for one of John Ford's best works. Wayne and McLaglen were terrific.

 

"The Quiet Man"

 

Yep!! This is a real Irish Pub.

 

 

It really is a genuine Irish Pub.

 

So, filled with good food and feeling mellow, I started my walk back. On the way I passed some more public art (?). I guess these are to represent cut logs. Y'know, Northwest, timber, logs.

 

Yeah, I know.

 

Then I ran across this. It's a garden 'hung' on a wall. The whole thing is stuck on the side of a wall. It was a lot larger than just this part that I photographed.

How cool is this!?!

 

 

Walkin' along I came across another sign of the coming Spring. Love the Spring.

 

 

This is a detail of part of an old Laundromat Factory. I thought, from the front, that it was an old school. Really great architecture. I woulda got a picture of the front if I had brought my wide-angle. Sadly, this is scheduled to be knocked down to make room for....an apartment building.

 

 

Got back to the Link Terminal and, true to form, couldn't resist taking yet another picture of yet another mural in the tunnel. 

 

Walkin' home from the Link, I saw where they're getting a new restaurant at The Station at Othello.

Hola, Se puede decir, Huarachitos Cocina Mexicana

 

 

Wonder what the folks on the Mexican Taco Bus think?

 

 

Regardless, I had a good day and ate someplace I'd never have visited on my own.

 

Thanks, Michelle and Matt!!