Seattle's Historic Restaurants depicts an era of nostalgia and romanticism, and highlights historic photographs of restaurants, postcards, and menus. From 1897 to 1898, thousands of so-called stampeders came through Seattle on their way to the Klondike goldfields. Hungry stampeders could purchase a meal at the Merchant's Cafe' (the oldest cafe' in Seattle) or one of the many restaurants nearby. For the next 25 years, those who made it rich in Seattle were the restaurateurs, shop owners, and real estate owners. Famous local landmarks such as the Space Needle, Mount Rainier's Paradise Camp, Snoqualmie Falls, and the Empress Hotel are still here, but their menus and clientele have changed over the years. Local haunts like Ivar's Acres of Clams, The Dog House, Andy's Diner, Clark's Restaurants, Coon Chicken Inn, Frederick and Nelson's Tea Room, The Wharf, Von's, The Purple Pup, and the Jolly Roger are just a few of the restaurants featured within.
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Title: A taste of Seattle's dining past Author: Karen Gaudette Publisher: The Seattle Times Date: 12/10/2008 The black-and-white photos show waiters dressed as Roman soldiers, Polynesian maidens and farmers' daughters. Hats and gloves were a must. Menus boasted about charcoal broilers and honey from the sky. Flipping the pages of "Seattle's Historic Restaurants," a collection of memorabilia from local restaurants, watering holes and coffeehouses, is time travel at its tastiest. Duvall-based author Robin Shannon made a point to include menus from local icon Frederick & Nelson's restaurants and tea room, snapshots from her beloved Green Apple Pie Shop and a winsome ad from The Dog House restaurant and cocktail lounge, among scads of other grin-inducing finds. We caught up by phone with Shannon, fresh from Thanksgiving in Cancun. Q: So how did you come across all these old menus? A: I've been collecting them for years. As soon as I realized I was going to do this book, I put alerts on eBay with 75 restaurants I was interested in, and as soon as something came up, I was bidding on a menu. Sometimes I was outbid; it was $75 for some. Some menus you can pick up for like $10. ... I love looking at the different menus and seeing how they're put together. I prefer the menus without the pictures, the ones that have description.
Q: Which restaurant seems to be the most unchanged?
A: The Homestead, in my opinion, is the most unchanged, on Alki. To me, even the menu hasn't changed. I think it needs to be updated. XXX Rootbeer, too, in Issaquah.
Q: Do you remember any of these spots from your childhood?
A: My dad used to go to Andy's Diner [in Sodo]. My dad was a supervisor at Texaco on Harbor Island, and when people came from out of town, [Mom and Dad] would take them to El Gaucho.
Q: Is there a greasy spoon you'd resurrect?
A: Clark's Twin T-Ps, the one on Aurora. It was a cool place to stop and just go have breakfast, lunch or dinner, and bring in friends who were coming in from out of town. It served family meals at a reasonable price.
Q: Is there something about Seattle dining that stands out?
A: I'd say probably with the Clark's restaurants [which included the Twin T-Ps, Clark's Crabapple in Bellevue and Seattle's Dublin House] coming to town and him opening up so many restaurants with their exceptional service, I think that that brought all of our other restaurants up to give exceptional service, too. Otherwise they weren't going to keep their clientele. Also, restaurants make the most of our views. We have the Space Needle, Salish Lodge, Paradise at Mount Rainier, Canlis.
Q: Which restaurants have stuck it out the longest?
A: El Gaucho has just outlasted everything, and they just opened another one in Bellevue. Another one in Pioneer Square that's been around forever is the Merchants Cafe. It's been serving almost continuously since 1890. --The Seattle Times
Q: Which restaurant seems to be the most unchanged?
A: The Homestead, in my opinion, is the most unchanged, on Alki. To me, even the menu hasn't changed. I think it needs to be updated. XXX Rootbeer, too, in Issaquah.
Q: Do you remember any of these spots from your childhood?
A: My dad used to go to Andy's Diner [in Sodo]. My dad was a supervisor at Texaco on Harbor Island, and when people came from out of town, [Mom and Dad] would take them to El Gaucho.
Q: Is there a greasy spoon you'd resurrect?
A: Clark's Twin T-Ps, the one on Aurora. It was a cool place to stop and just go have breakfast, lunch or dinner, and bring in friends who were coming in from out of town. It served family meals at a reasonable price.
Q: Is there something about Seattle dining that stands out?
A: I'd say probably with the Clark's restaurants [which included the Twin T-Ps, Clark's Crabapple in Bellevue and Seattle's Dublin House] coming to town and him opening up so many restaurants with their exceptional service, I think that that brought all of our other restaurants up to give exceptional service, too. Otherwise they weren't going to keep their clientele. Also, restaurants make the most of our views. We have the Space Needle, Salish Lodge, Paradise at Mount Rainier, Canlis.
Q: Which restaurants have stuck it out the longest?
A: El Gaucho has just outlasted everything, and they just opened another one in Bellevue. Another one in Pioneer Square that's been around forever is the Merchants Cafe. It's been serving almost continuously since 1890. --The Seattle Times
About the Author
Robin Shannon is the author of a previous book by Arcadia, Cemeteries of Seattle, and a past waitress at Snoqualmie Falls Lodge, now the Salish Lodge. These restaurants, many of which are gone now, are preserved in more than 200 vintage photographs, postcards, and menus, taking the reader on a trip down memory lane.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
LEFT OUT IN SEATTLE,
This review is from: Seattle's Historic Restaurants (WA) (Images of America) (Images of America (Arcadia Publishing)) (Paperback)
I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THIS BOOK. HAVING BEEN A LIFE-TIME RESIDENT OF SEATTLE, AND GROWING UP THERE IN THE 1950'S, THERE WERE MANY, MANY RESTAURANTS THAT WERE POPULAR IN CHINA TOWN, THE UNIVERSITY DISTRICT AND SEVERAL OTHER AREAS THAT WERE OMITTED FROM THIS BOOK. I DO NOT KNOW THE AUTHOR'S BIO BUT SHE SURE DIDN'T DO HER RESEARCH VERY WELL.
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room menu, cocktail menu, postcard shows, menu cover Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives, Courtesy of Nancy Leson, Washington State, Seattle Times, Jolly Roger, Coon Chicken Inn, Courtesy of the Robert, Miller Collection, Courtesy of John Cooper, Courtesy of Mary Patterson, Puget Sound, Maison Blanc, Mount Rainier, Tea Room, Courtesy of the Shoreline Historical Museum, Fifth Avenue, Salish Lodge, Pacific Northwest, New York, Bush Garden, Dick's Drive-In, Courtesy of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, Wharf Restaurant, Second Avenue, Trader Vic Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
room menu, cocktail menu, postcard shows, menu cover Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives, Courtesy of Nancy Leson, Washington State, Seattle Times, Jolly Roger, Coon Chicken Inn, Courtesy of the Robert, Miller Collection, Courtesy of John Cooper, Courtesy of Mary Patterson, Puget Sound, Maison Blanc, Mount Rainier, Tea Room, Courtesy of the Shoreline Historical Museum, Fifth Avenue, Salish Lodge, Pacific Northwest, New York, Bush Garden, Dick's Drive-In, Courtesy of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, Wharf Restaurant, Second Avenue, Trader Vic Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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