The Root Beer Store

From the exterior, the Root Beer Store looks ridiculously small. 

But inside, the shelves at The Root Beer Store are stocked with more than 400 drinks and over 150 types of root beer. Non-root beer beverages include ginger beers, fruit-flavored sodas and novelty/retro sodas.

Including micro-brew sodas from Rogue Brewery (of beer fame). 

Root beer can be bought by the bottle for a few bucks to whole kegs of Crater Lake Root Beer (starting at $49/keg) and very fancy Rouge Root Beer (starting at $110/keg). 

And some very unusual sodas. Plus candies and sarsaparillas. That's the best word: sarsaparilla. 

Yes, comrades, there's even Leninade. 

The Root Beer Store also offers ice-cream floats with hand-scooped ice cream (starting at $2.95), root beer mugs on tap (from $1.79) and floats with a bottle (from $1.65) at little tables in the store's center. 

Park at the store's rear to ensure a decent amount of browsing time. 


The Root Beer Store 
Address: 20015 WA-99, Lynnwood, WA 98036 
Phone: (425)673-9999 
Hours: 
Sunday Closed 
Monday 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM 
Tuesday 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM 
Wednesday 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM 
Thursday 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM 
Friday 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM 
Saturday 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM 

Web: http://www.therootbeerstore.com/

Glacier Lanes

I love bowling, even though I'm terrible at it. In the past decade or so, bowling alleys went fancy -- featuring dark interiors, DJs, neon lights, Top 40 music videos on giant screens and expensive appetizers. 

Family-run Glacier Lanes is having none of that fancy business. Located in working-class Everett's northern end of Highway 99, Glacier Lanes is going to give you some lanes and some bowling balls and beer. 

Which is all anyone needs, right? Prices start at $2/game, which is fantastic. Lots of specials run throughout the week, and the lanes do offer a weekend evening rock-n-bowl.  

Well, no, some of us also need pull-tabs. What are pull-tabs, you ask?

Well, pull-tabs are tear-up game cards that sort of work like slot machines but a pull-tab runs only 25 cents. Yes, I enjoy a rip of the tab now and then. Sometimes I win, but mostly I don't. 

Kids can't play pull-tabs (darn gambling rules). But if your children also like to throw away money, they can spend quarters at the claw machines and arcade games available at Glacier Lanes -- including my favorite, Ms. Pac-Man. 

If someone made a Ms. Pacman-pull-tab-claw machine, I might spend all my dollars on it. 

(When I was in high school, a classmate wrote an English paper on the evils of pull-tabs because she felt some people were spending all their money on pull-tabs vs. rent or food. While I don't honestly think I'm at risk of chronic pull-tabbing, I guess it's a problem for others)

Anyhow, now you know one of my embarrassing habits. 

Glacier Lanes is always downright noisy with the cracks of strikes, whenever we've visited. Sometimes we can only get a half-hour play on a lane, due to the number of individuals and office parties going on. A variety of ages populate the hard plastic chairs and lanes, but watching grandparents bowl with their grandkids is always super-cute (and I get bowling tips if I eavesdrop). Thursday nights is family bowl, with games running just $2/each. 

Bowling is something no one needs to get dressed up to enjoy and anyone can play (well, with bumpers and assist devices for little kids). 

Glacier Lanes also contains a little restaurant for breakfasting and dining. I can't speak to the quality, but I'll try it soon and let you know. Once I'm finished playing pull-tabs and bowling strikes. 

Glacier Lanes

Website: glacierlanes.com
Address: 9630 Evergreen Way, Everett, WA 98204 
Phone: (425) 353-8292 
Hours: 
Sunday       7:00 AM – 12:00 AM 
Monday      7:00 AM – 12:00 AM 
Tuesday      7:00 AM – 12:00 AM 
Wednesday 7:00 AM – 12:00 AM 
Thursday    7:00 AM – 12:00 AM 
Friday         7:00 AM – 12:00 AM 
Saturday     7:00 AM – 12:00 AM 

Looking for Chai Taiwanese Kitchen

Located in an unassuming Lynnwood strip mall, Looking for Chai is one of the best restaurants I've sampled so far.

The interior is minimalist and upscale. Predominantly black tables and walls absorb light cast from the windows to the parking lot exterior, but the white accents keep it from being too dark. Each table is set with both forks and chopsticks.

The menu was comprehensive without being overwhelming, and integrated traditional Taiwanese foods like bitter melon and hot-pot soups (delivered still boiling, on individual kerosene burners).

We ordered an appetizer of tofu with seaweed and soy-sauce eggs ($5.95).

Looking for Chai is known for their drinks. Dozens of teas, milk teas and other drinks (hot or cold) were presented in the menu and on a giant black-wall board. People inside held mugs of various beverages. So my kids and I decided to order a few. Our chocolate-cookie milk tea was slightly bitter but gorgeous to look at. We ordered it cold, but I think I'd order it hot next time. 

The teas described on the menu as "hand shaken" look somewhat like a big pint mug of beer -- but these are green teas. Here, a green tea with dried plum ($3.75). Sour-bitter-sweet, all at once. The whole table fought over drinking it. 

The lunch menu included this crispy chicken with special spicy sauce. For $2 more, our server said we could make it a meal with two sides and rice. In this case, the sides were corn and eggs and tomatoes. I think I'd skip the sides next time unless the sides were spectacular. Although everything tasted fine, the chicken was more than enough for two to split.

Kids (and immature adults) will get a kick out of the bathroom signs, which are sorta awesome.

Looking for Chai Taiwanese Kitchen

Address:  22511 WA-99 #100, Edmonds, WA 98026 
Phone: (425) 672-0880 
Website: http://steve11977.wix.com/lookingforchai 

Hours: 
Sunday 11:30 AM – 10:00 PM 
Monday 12:00 – 10:30 PM 
Tuesday 12:00 – 10:30 PM 
Wednesday 12:00 – 10:30 PM 
Thursday 12:00 – 10:30 PM 
Friday 11:30 AM – 11:30 PM
Saturday 11:30 AM – 11:30 PM 

Another Castle

Another Castle's interior is divided into two sections. Half of Another Castle's fluorescent-lit interior is a video-game shop selling new and used games for the Playstation, DS, XBox and even Gameboy.

There are also Pokemon stuffed animals and these adorable fridge magnets made from fuse beads (created by lying plastic beads out in a pattern, then ironing the beads to fuse them).

But the other half, well -- it's a darkened three-room circus of retro arcade games and pinball. You'll see Frogger, Contra, Donkey Kong, The Simpsons, Dig Dug and Tetris. Pull up a Mario Brothers-style red-mushroom stool and play a few games (or more).

Most still only cost a quarter or at most, two quarters, even newer games like Mario Kart, Dance Dance Revolution or Star Wars Racer. A roll of quarters comes in hand, or bring cash to draw coins out of the change-making machines.

The store's small kiosk window offers beer, pop and snacky things like chips. But I'd eat before arriving.

I like Another Castle better than other video-game locations in the area; it's a more manageable size, the pricing is straightforward, and I really like the retro games. One employee described it as a dive-arcade, and that's about right. 

A few downsides: Limited hours and limited parking. It's not open until 5 p.m. on weekends, and there are only a few parking spots outside in the tiny lot. You might need to wait, or park in a lot just to the south. Also, trying to turn left out of the lot onto Highway 99 is a recipe for certain death. Just turn right, for the love of Mario.

On weekends, the arcade opens at noon.

Oh, and if you come with kids, they might see some 1980s sexism of the cheesy variety.

Would I play again? An unequivocal yes. GAME OVER.

Another Castle 

Address: 23303 WA-99, Edmonds, WA 98026
Phone: (425) 967-3740 or Arcade: 425-967-7043

Store Hours: 
Monday – Saturday: 10 am – 8 pm
Sunday: 11 am – 6 pm

Arcade Hours:  
Monday - Thursday: 5 pm – 11 pm
Friday: 2 pm – 2 am
Saturday: 12 pm – 2 am
Sunday: 12 pm – 10 pm

Website: http://www.anothercastlegames.com/

Ten Pou Bubble Tea

I've had Taiwanese food before at Facing East in Bellevue, which is incredible. Unusual dishes, great presentation, absolutely delicious. Always a wait for East is East, too. 

So when I read that Ten Pou Bubble Tea was Taiwanese-owned, and right on Aurora -- albeit tucked inside an Oak Tree plaza grocery store -- I thought it might be similar. 

So the decor leaves something to be desired, sure. Cafeteria-style seating, a small TV blaring a Michael Jackson special, and not too many customers at noon on a weekday. 

After ordering at the counter, you take a seat and food is brought to the table. We sat in a room that also held various, random ... things. Stacked tables, mismatched chairs, office chairs, coats, silk flowers in vases, ready-to-recycle folded cardboard,  a teapot that kept boiling and bubbling in the corner, and a sign that said "Visibly Fresh."

Perhaps someone's doing KonMari method or they're preparing for a interior makeover. This is a charitable explanation, as it looks more like clutter. But it's clean clutter. You know what I mean? 

The Chinese broccoli was my favorite dish. Very crunchy and flavorful.

I also liked the duck part of the above noodle-soup equation. Ducks are my favorite bird to eat. However, the meat was still very much attached to the bones. A friend once told me that in their home cuisine, the poultry is cut "with no respect to the original anatomy of the animal." Which can be either messy as hell to eat or a choking hazard. One or the other.

So I ate the duck with my hands, which may or may not have grossed out my dining companion. I come from a people who eat a lot of things with their hands. Even if there is soup all over those things. Better than gravy, I guess. 

These were steamed buns. They were filled with meat. I forgot to notice what kind of meat. They were OK. 

I'm glad I didn't notice these fellows until after lunch. The doleful, accusatory eye would've made me think twice about my order. 

I don't know if I'd go back to Ten Pou. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't amazing either. Or maybe I ordered the wrong things, or my expectations were too high for a place located inside a grocery store. Mostly, I want to return to Facing East, even if it means a drive across a toll bridge.  

Ten Pou Bubble Tea
Address: 10008 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133
Phone:(206) 234-6408
Hours: Monday 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
            Tuesday 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
            Wednesday 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
            Thursday 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
            Friday 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
            Saturday 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
            Sunday 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM

St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store

Plenty of cool costumes and retro clothes. I found a vintage 1970s Gunne Sax dress here for around $8 for my daughter. Tere was this... Neon Fairy? Cinderella Stripper? Outfit, above. 

The lamp selection was minimal, but included the blue gingham lamp I owned as a kid. Weird. I didn’t buy the lamp, but I remembered that if I held my hand up to the wicker-like base, it made my hand glow as if it were lit from within.

And some big-ass TVs. Who needs a big-ass TV? No one, now. 

Also this fun lamp. This store is a party from your childhood. 

This mug. I bought it. You know I did. Because the only thing worse than being 40 is being pregnant, amiright. 

The books at the St. Vincent de Paul are my favorites. There’s a section of very, very old books, including some Dickens from the oughts. Nineteen-oughts.

I found some cookbooks that were frankly … terrifying.

And an interior decorating book from the late 1960s or so with interesting gendered decor suggestions. Boys get TVs and gym equipment and girls get weird hanging dolls. Because of course they do. Click the images to read the antiquated advice. 

St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store

Web: http://svdpseattle.org/

Address: 13555 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133 
Phone: (206) 364-8495 
Hours: Monday 9:00 AM – 6:30 PM 
            Tuesday 9:00 AM – 6:30 PM 
            Wednesday 9:00 AM – 6:30 PM 
            Thursday 9:00 AM – 6:30 PM 
            Friday 9:00 AM – 6:30 PM 
            Saturday 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM 
            Sunday 11:00 AM – 5:30 PM

Indocafe

I'm taking a blogging shortcut today, because I've visited Indocafe before. It's one of my favorite restaurants in all of Seattle.

Indocafe serves Indonesian food (surprise). Indonesian sauces are spicy-sweet -- for example, the soy sauce is thicker and sweeter than soy sauce found in many other restaurants. There's also an emphasis on peanuts, chili sauce and tempeh. Tempeh is fermented tofu, and one of those items you should never, ever eat in a hippie's house or in a raw-foods restaurant, even if they swear it's "delicious." Because it will not be. Here, it is.

The restaurant is in a double-tier nondescript strip mall, tucked just off Highway 99. If there's anything to complain about, it's that the parking lot is a nightmare in miniature. Don't even try finding a spot after 5 p.m. (parking is usually available on side-streets).

Inside, it's all dark tables and bamboo. The waiters and waitresses are unfailingly nice. Diners range from groups of college guys to families to couples on dates.

Coffee is served in a traditional single-serve French Press, with sweetened milk already added to the bottom of the cup. Behind the cup in the photo above, you'll see Indocafe's corn fritters. I took this photo immediately because in about two minutes, they would've been in my stomach. Another great appetizer? The deep-fried tempeh (Tempeh Mendoan). Does not taste like bad vegan food, I promise.

Midday is a great time to go due to the lunch specials and parking lot spaces. For lunch the other day, I had this Gado-Gado, a salad of spinach, bean sprouts and tofu topped with sweet-spicy peanut sauce. With a side of white rice, a corn fritter and a spicy egg coated in chili sauce. I love these spicy eggs but they're too hot for most little kids, should you find yourself dining with one.

OK, this doesn't look so very appetizing but it is, I promise. Bakmi Goreng Jawa -- Javanese-style sweet panfried egg noodles with tofu and carrot and other vegetables. This is at a level 2 from 1-5, and it was a bit hot, but not eye-wateringly so. 

With this meal, I ordered mostly tofu, but meat here is great as well -- particularly anything involving pork.

Indocafe
Address: 13754 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133
Phone: (206) 361-0699
Web: http://www.myindocafe.com/

Hours: Monday 11:30 am – 9:00 pm
            Tuesday 11:30 am – 9:00 pm
            Wednesday 11:30 am – 9:00 pm
            Thursday 11:30 am – 9:00 pm
            Friday 11:30 am – 10:00 pm
            Saturday 11:30 am – 10:00 pm
            Sunday 11:30 am – 9:00 pm

Jazzercise!

When you think of Jazzercise, you probably think of this: 

And who could blame you for wanting to think about it? Those ladies are hot stuff. Do you think they were on cocaine? It was 1984 or so. The women were probably 99% cocaine. 

If you're not familiar with Jazzercise? It was your mom's or grandma's equivalent of Zumba. 

Unfortunately, when you go to Jazzercise on Aurora, you will see zero ladies in leotards and tights and absolutely no cocaine in the bathroom. I looked. There is, however, childcare, if you need it.

The fellow exercisers were mostly over-50-year olds who might've been Jazzercising since the golden days of drug-fueled workout mania. People trickled in, but there were at least 25 people in the class. Shortly, I would find out why it was so popular. 

Everyone came because our class was led by a very, very high-energy woman named Jennifer who looked just like Kristen Wiig. Or Kristen Wiig playing an aerobics instructor. OK, I was in the very back of the room and my eye-prescription might need to be updated, but really, she looked and sounded like her. I wish I could've taken a photo for you.

Jennifer acted the part of a DJ who introduced her over-50-year old audience to new tunes -- "This is Bieber, guys." "This is Christina Aguilera, everyone." She would recite lyrics while doing coordinated arm and leg movements. None were dirty, but I would almost pay to hear her use Minaj's "Anaconda" in Jazzercise because she would kill it. 

After the first 15 minutes of patter, she really stepped up the pace, and at that point, I aimed for an approximation of the arm and leg movements. I still don't know what "chauncey" means, or what my feet were supposed to do in coordination with that word. The choreography wasn't very difficult, but people nearby started giving me lots of room, not because they were nice, but afraid of getting hurt. 

Jennifer was also equal parts sarcasm-fueled entertainer. At one point halfway through the class, a woman handed her a paper towel. "Am I grossing you out with all my sweat?" Jennifer asked, taking the towel and wiping down her face. "Am I spraying you with my sweat? You guys decide where to stand and you don't have to stand in the front. Stand in the front, you might get a little extra shower." 

At this point, I wanted to stand right in front of Jennifer. Because she's sort of awesome. I might bring a towel though.

Two nice older Jazzercisers introduced themselves to me and asked if it was my first time. One wore a headband, which only seemed like a bad idea from the 1980s until sweat started running into my eyes.

I had wanted to be snarky about it all, because perhaps I'm a terrible person. I actually had a lot of fun. Yet Jazzercise still seems like something I'd be afraid to mention in casual conversation; something akin to revealing a secretive secret.  "I'm a day drinker, run guns from my suburban basement AND I JAZZERCISE ON AURORA." 

Two days later, I'm in a lot of pain, particularly buttpain. Why? I don't remember anything happening to my butt. That's just what happens when you Jazzercise on Aurora, I guess. 

Some of those 60-year-old ladies were far fitter than I am. So while you might make fun of Jazzercise, you might then try it, or at least the one on Aurora on weekday mornings when Jennifer is teaching. 


Jazzercise Seattle Studio
Address: 10303 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133
Phone: (206) 298-5377
Web: http://jcls.jazzercise.com/facility/jazzercise-seattle-fitness-center
Cost: $15/class