I've arrived in Seattle -- now, I need some tips!

[DennyA]

Okay, I'm now a Left Coaster again! We got in yesterday, and our furniture is ostensibly arriving in the morning.

A few questions for locals, particularly Eastsiders:

1) Any tips on great places to take a two-year-old, besides the children's museum and aquarium?

2) Any stores around Redmond/Bellevue/Woodinville with good prices on DVDs, music, and games?

3) Any great used bookstores?

4) Dining recommendations: Best Indian, Italian, Brazilian, and Pizza places?

Thanks, kids! Looking forward to meeting youse guys soon, after we get settled in.

[Woolen Horde]

1. Woodland Park Zoo. Kids loves zoos. The Children's Museum is at Seattle Center, but still fun to explore with kids.

3. Half-Price Books. Best location is on Roosevelt between 45 and 50th in the U-District, but it has stores up and down I-5. Twice Told Tales also another good one, they also have multiple stores. Dude, Seattle is the city of used-bookstores. Oh yeah, the name escapes me, but it's on Lake City Way in Lake City. Huuuuge used bookstore. So big they actually got Hillary Clinton to show up there to sign her book.

And if you want a really cool/scary/disorganized geek place for comics, old toys, old board games, role-playing games, wargames, etc. Gary's Books and Collectibles up in Everett. Worth checking out.

[Bullhajj]

Hey, welcome aboard Denny.

When my guys were 2, I took them to Crossroads mall in Bellevue. It's nice because they have live music during the week and a food court, so we'd have dinner and then the kids would dance in front of the stage, if there was music they enjoyed. Also, don't forget the zoo. There is a card you can get from MS that gives you a discount on lots of stuff in the area, like the zoo, aquarium and more. Alki beach is fun. When you go to Alki, you have to get fish and chips from Spuds.

I don't like Half Price books for software (too expensive), but it's good for kids books. The Half Price stores are all over.

I mostly by computer parts online, but if you need a quick something or other from a local shop, I go to Computer Stop or Hard Drives NorthWest, which are both on 20th Street in Bellevue.

[Guido Jones]

For Itallian check out Andiamo's - it's a little locally owned restraunt in Downtown Bellevue. It's pretty pricey, but the food is excellent.

As for DVD's - the usual suspects like Best Buy are always good (there's one near downtown Bellevue) - for selection, check out the Barnes and Noble in Bellevue Square Mall.

You can try Pegasus Pizza if it's in your area - they have some pretty good calzones. No great pizza places though. If you want some recommendations on on Steak/Brew houses I do have a few though :)

Now that you're out here finally, we should have another QT3 Seattle Get Together though.

[Bullhajj]

No great pizza places though.

You don't like Pagliacci (http://www.pagliacci.com/index.shtml) or Piecorra (http://www.piecoras.com/)? Awesome pizza. I like Piecorra best, but Pagliacci delivers now.

Roger the get together! I am down for it.

[Case]

Okay, I'm now a Left Coaster again! We got in yesterday, and our furniture is ostensibly arriving in the morning.

A few questions for locals, particularly Eastsiders:

1) Any tips on great places to take a two-year-old, besides the children's museum and aquarium?

2) Any stores around Redmond/Bellevue/Woodinville with good prices on DVDs, music, and games?

3) Any great used bookstores?

4) Dining recommendations: Best Indian, Italian, Brazilian, and Pizza places?

Thanks, kids! Looking forward to meeting youse guys soon, after we get settled in.

Mount Rainier. Take a trip to Paradise Lodge before October, on a sunny day. Stunningly beautiful. One cool thing about Washington is that you can encounter alpine country at 4,500 feet, so you're not gasping for air just to see high country meadows.

[Guido Jones]

No great pizza places though.

You don't like Pagliacci (http://www.pagliacci.com/index.shtml) or Piecorra (http://www.piecoras.com/)? Awesome pizza. I like Piecorra best, but Pagliacci delivers now.

Roger the get together! I am down for it.

Honestly, hadn't heard of either. I should have said "I haven't found any great pizza places though" which I thought I had included. I'll try those out Tim, Thanks :)

Did you ever try out Andiamo's btw? =D

[noun]

Heck, there's a gajllion family friendly and clean parks on the eastside. Perfectly acceptable for a 2 year old. :)

All the good used music stores are in Seattle, sadly. There's one place by the Crossroads Mall in Bellevue, but their selection is a bit thin.

Honestly, hadn't heard of either.

Pagliacci RULES! Oily thin pizza, yum! My second favorite is Flying Pie Pizza in Issaquah, since they don't skimp on the toppings. No joke, I think they add a pound's worth of every topping.

[Anaxagoras]

Jet City Pizza (there are a couple locations in the Seattle area) is excellent... they make unusual pizzas like Chicken & artichoke hearts on an alfredo sauce. Yum! Oh... and I'll second the recommendation for Flying Pie Pizza.

The best Indian around here that I've found is Cedar's in the U-district. And for Chinese, there is Snappy Dragon and also Mandarin Chef, both in north Seattle. All the Chinese I've had on the East side is complete crap, but the Indian generaly seems to be pretty good over there.

Also, if you get a chance, try some of the Thai out here. There are lots of restaurants in the U-district, Downtown, Broadway, and Fremont areas, and they're all pretty good.


As for books, I'm not so wild about Half-Price books.... I generally go to Twice Told Tales. There's a location on Broadway, and they just opened a branch in the U-district.


Finally, a really great place to take a day trip to is Deception pass. Absolutely beautiful place. I'm not so sure if it's a trip for kids, though. (I remember being painfully bored at Natural Wonder when I was a kid.)

[Alan Au]

There are a handful of good Chinese food places on the Eastside. Noble Court (on 140th near Northup/20th) has excellent dim sum, and Top Gun (behind the Factoria Cinemas) has good seafood. There's a place near Crossroads named Shi-Lin, but all the good stuff is on the Chinese language version of the menu.

For DVD's/games stuff, there's also a Fry's Electronics in Renton (405, exit 5). Some things about Fry's: the staff are notoriously unhelpful, never get anything that's been returned/re-shelved, sale prices are good but regular prices are only so-so.

The Woodland Park Zoo is pretty nice, or it was when I last visited anyway. I suppose you could check out the Ballard Locks, but that's probably better for older kids. There are a ton of parks on the Eastside as well. In the winter, you can also go skiing without too much fuss.

I'm definitely up for another get-together. There's also the boardgame thing at Lutes' place on the 14th.

- Alan

[Poops McGee]

Jet City Pizza (there are a couple locations in the Seattle area) is excellent... they make unusual pizzas like Chicken & artichoke hearts on an alfredo sauce. Yum! Oh... and I'll second the recommendation for Flying Pie Pizza.

The best Indian around here that I've found is Cedar's in the U-district. And for Chinese, there is Snappy Dragon and also Mandarin Chef, both in north Seattle. All the Chinese I've had on the East side is complete crap, but the Indian generaly seems to be pretty good over there.


Mandarin Chef is so goddamn good. I love the homemade noodles! Jet City is also my favorite local pizza distributor, but since I'm an Issaquah resident now, I haven't had it in forever. Flying Pie IS tasty, though.

[Bullhajj]

Did you ever try out Andiamo's btw? =D

I have not. I get out with my wife so infrequently for dates, and I can never remember to recommend it when we finally do get a chance. One day!

Heck, there's a gajllion family friendly and clean parks on the eastside. Perfectly acceptable for a 2 year old.

Yep, this is what we did with my kids when they were two. We went to a different park every night so they could stomp around. They had little pet names for each park, that usually involved the color of the climbing equipment or the type of the slide. Fun stuff. There really are a lot of parks to visit.

When Christmas rolls around there's a lot of stuff to do too. The Merry Go Round in downtown seattle is fun. There is a Santa train in Issaquah the kids liked--basicaly just an old locomotive you take a ride on during Christmas time.

Oh, Halloween there is a U-pick pumpkin patch and a carnival thing at Remlinger farms on the East side. It's always fun to get pictures in the patch, and there are things for two year olds at the fall carnival, but you might need another year or two to really get your moneys worth for Carter.

[RightWrong]

Pagliacci RULES! Oily thin pizza, yum!

Pagliacci's sucks. Oh boy, extra oily and thin! I'll stick with my balanced and thick pizza, thank you.

[Doug Erickson]

Jet City is nas-tay. Pizza sauce should NEVER, EVER be sweet. EVER.

Indian: Cedars or the Wallingford Chutney's.
Thai: Pen Thai in Bothell, hands down. Thai Ginger in the Redmond Town Center isn't too bad, either.

If you're ever in the mood, look up me/Jason/Tim at MS and we can hit up a few decent local joints for lunch.

[Jason McCullough]

That reminds me:

www.seattlegasprices.com

[Guido Jones]

Nice, thanks Jason.

[Jason Lutes]

The best Indian around here that I've found is Cedar's in the U-district. And for Chinese, there is Snappy Dragon and also Mandarin Chef, both in north Seattle. All the Chinese I've had on the East side is complete crap, but the Indian generaly seems to be pretty good over there.
You nailed the good Chinese, Anax. Snappy Dragon is great, ate their for years, but Mandarin Chef now wins out in my book, despite the utilitarian ambience. I'd also highly recommend Shanghai Garden in the I.D.

Chutney's has decent Indian, and I had a good meal at Roti in lower Queen Anne. I do hear that the best Indian food is to be found on the East Side, but I never get out there.

If you're feeling adventurous, give Malay Satay Hut at 12th and Jackson a try. Malaysian food is really interesting and if you can handle new flavors, the Hut rocks.

Denny, if you're a full-blooded East Coaster you'll have a hard time finding a pizza to love out here. The chains should be avoided -- you're more likely to find a palatable slice or pie in some hole-in-the-wall joint nobody's ever heard of. Every time I find a really good place they seem to close down a couple of weeks later.

My personal favorite Thai joints are Thai Tom on the Ave in the University District and Siam on Broadway on Capitol Hill. If you want great Mexican, find a Tacos Guymas or a taco cart on Rainier.

Also: What Alan said: boardgames at my place on Saturday and you're all invited!

[Bullhajj]

Have you tried Piecorra, Jason? Hell, I found a syringe on the floor of the booth one time! And this was in Kirkland. You just can't any more NYC than that.

[DennyA]

Lots of good tips, kids, thanks.

I'll add that Sahib in Redmond has a superb Tikka Masala -- ate there on my interview trip.

We're in our house now, but far too buried in boxes to make it out this weekend, alas. Looking forward to getting out and meeting you guys soon! Still got a couple of weeks till I start work -- we got our house sold a lot quicker than expected, so I actually get a bit of vacation before starting. (Not that unpacking a house and figuring out which of the 300 excess boxes of old stuff can go in the trash is exactly recreation...)

[Jason Lutes]

Lots of good tips, kids, thanks.

I'll add that Sahib in Redmond has a superb Tikka Masala -- ate there on my interview trip.

We're in our house now, but far too buried in boxes to make it out this weekend, alas. Looking forward to getting out and meeting you guys soon! Still got a couple of weeks till I start work -- we got our house sold a lot quicker than expected, so I actually get a bit of vacation before starting. (Not that unpacking a house and figuring out which of the 300 excess boxes of old stuff can go in the trash is exactly recreation...)
Congrats on the sale and welcome to Seattle, Denny!

[Euri]

Long as we're talking about resteraunts:

Go to Pacific Place, which is near Westlake Center. Ignore all the CONSUMER WHORE HELLO 2 U shops on the first few levels, and go to the top to a place called Todai. Excellent all you can eat sushi.

[Poops McGee]

Long as we're talking about resteraunts:

Go to Pacific Place, which is near Westlake Center. Ignore all the CONSUMER WHORE HELLO 2 U shops on the first few levels, and go to the top to a place called Todai. Excellent all you can eat sushi.

Todai's pretty poor if you ask me. Assembly line sushi does not equal excellent anything. If you like the buffets in Vegas, you MAY like Todai.

[noun]

Ah, Pacific Place - California's embassy in Seattle. ;)

[Woolen Horde]

Ah, Pacific Place - California's embassy in Seattle. ;)

Frankly, I've always felt that Bellevue exhudes the entire souless Californian city feeling more than anything.

Btw, what's the name of that great little joint on Mercer Island? I think it's the Roanoke. Worth checking out.

[Jason McCullough]

Guess where I'm moving next week!

[DennyA]

Sushi? God gave man fire thousands of years ago. Use it, people.

Guess where I'm moving next week!

Going... to... meet... Jason... soon..... Must... resist... easy... joke!

CAN'T! HOLD! BACK!

Debtor's prison?

:-)

[Bullhajj]

Guess where I'm moving next week!

Wha? You're coming to Bellevue?

[Bullhajj]

Frankly, I've always felt that Bellevue exhudes the entire souless Californian city feeling more than anything.

It is the burbs, but it's not that bad. I've been here about 5 years now.

Ok, does anyone have any recommendations for good Greek food? In honor of the Olympics, I am taking everyone at my house out for Greek!

[noun]

Well - Byblos Deli (or however it's spelled) is on Bellevue Way. It's a Greek grocery store, but you can get gyros and other Greeky goodness pretty cheap. Does that count?

[Bullhajj]

It's a good start! Maybe we'll pick up some dolmadas (sp?) and other goodies and have a picnic.

[Jason McCullough]

I'm moving from Capital Hill to a sweet rental condo halfway between work and downtown Bellevue next week. Five minutes to either - no more fucking 30 to 45 minutes one-way commutes. Or narcassistic crazy hobos. Or people whose life aspirations are drinking and working at a coffee shop. I gain $150 more a month, a deck, and a private garage.

I swear, 520 has degenerated to the point of uselessness.

[Bullhajj]

I'm moving to a place halfway between work and downtown Bellevue next week. Five minutes to either

Cool, you should get a bike and go back to a 30 minute commute. :) I just started biking in and it's a lot of fun. A lot of the garages have showers, which I didn't know until just this year.

[Euri]

Todai's pretty poor if you ask me.

Todai is great! The quality is very average, you won't find amazing and spectacular, but the sheer variety is nothing to sneeze at. Also, you can get almost anything you want fresh made on the spot if you ask for something they don't have right now. Also a great place to take sushi newbies.

[Euri]

For Greek restaurants, Costas Opas and Panos are both good stuff.

[Guido Jones]

I swear, 520 has degenerated to the point of uselessness.

Try 405 South between I5 and I90. It's about as bad.

Also try to avoid 405 around NE 8th in Bellevue if you can until the end of the month.

[Jason McCullough]

Guess we're I'm moving! NE 8th! Argh!