1604 N 34th Avenue
Seattle, WA
Nearing the end of summer, I felt like I needed to get away for a weekend. W and I both worked for most of the summer without taking a break so we decided to slip away to Seattle for 2 days.
My sister recommended I visit The Essential Baking Company as some of her friends had went and found their bakery items delicious.
It's a simple, counter-order style place. They have whole loaves of bread for sale too.
The interior was a little rustic and industrial which matches the neighbourhood.
Turkey, Bacon & Havarti ($6.50 for half) - Roasted Turkey, bacon, havarti, tomatoes, arugula, pickles, caramelized onions, ranch served on our toasted ciabatta bread
For lunch, we shared the turkey, bacon and havarti sandwich made with their house-made ciabatta bread. The bread was soft yet sturdy enough to hold up the layers of meat. The super long pickled cucumber added a great crunch in between bites!
Tomato Bisque
Along with the sandwich, we ordered a bowl of tomato bisque. There were 2 sizes, being the cup and the bowl. We thought the larger sized bowl would be good for sharing and indeed it was. The bowl was bigger than we expected AND it came with a side of foccacia bread! It was a meal in itself! This was definitely good value. The soup itself was pleasantly zippy and creamy, but it could have been smoother in texture.
Lemon Meringue Tart
There weren't a lot of baked goods on display when we were there. Out of all the items, their lemon meringue tart caught my eye the most. That toasted meringue peak looked like a dollop of s'mores marshmallow!
Under the beautifully torched meringue was a smooth and tart lemon custard and a lovely shortbread-like crust. I was never a huge fan of lemon tarts but this one made me a follower!
Gas Works Park
2101 N Northlake Way
Seattle, WA
W and I found out about Gas Works Park while watching a TV program about America's most interesting parks. Luckily, this park was just 2 blocks away from The Essential Baking Company!
Located on the north side of Lake Union, this park used to be site of the former Seattle Gas Light Company gasification plant.
I liked how they still retained some of the structures that were used to manufacturer coal into gas. It shows the history of the area and the industrial upbringing of the neighbourhood while creating a family friendly green space.
There were lots of big open green spaces including this hill popular for kite-flying!
Even though the old machinery and gas plants are rusting away, they look very much like pieces of artwork amidst the green grass.
Another good thing about this park is the view! You can sit on the hill and enjoy panoramic views of Lake Union with the bustling downtown as the background. You can even see the Space Needle to the right!
Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
NE 45th St & 17th Ave NE
Seattle, WA
Later in the afternoon, we headed to the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. It's located within the grounds of the University of Washington. This is a small museum that not a lot of people would normally go visit. We went there because W found out that they were housing a recently excavated fossil of a head of a T-rex!
The display only showed the encased fossil protected by aluminum foil, plaster and wooden brackets to keep the bones in place. Although we didn't actually get to see the fossil itself, it was pretty cool to see how the fossils were documented and protected during transportation. After its temporary time inside Burke Museum, it would be taken to be analyzed and studied by paleontologists.
After our short visit to Burke Museum (we walked through all their exhibits but we probably stayed there for just an hour!), we headed off for dinner and planned our next day's itinerary!
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