Evening out in Midtown
These warm July evenings have been so conducive to enjoying the lively streets of downtown Seattle! On Wednesday I snagged a table by a large open window at Palace Kitchen, one of several restaurants owned by uber-restauranteur Tom Douglas, and watched the active street scene on 5th Avenue. I sipped a perfect gimlet while waiting for a friend who joined me for the evening from the Eastside. Her 1.5 hour trip through afternoon commute traffic reminded me again why I'm glad I don't live over there! I enjoyed a lovely gazapacho which, in my humble opinion, is the quinessential summer first course. We then sauntered over to Jazz Alley to hear virtuoso guitarist Stanley Jordon. This was the first time I''ve ever been disappointed with a show at Jazz Alley. Jordon did an entire set of what he calls "spontaneous composition." He is a brilliant technician, but not all the pieces really worked. My opinion is that two or three of these would have been fine, but to do an entire set of them without performing even one song that might have been familiar to the audience, was really just self-indulgent. Following the show, we strolled north on 5th to Spice Restaurant, where an energetic waiter named Ryan recommended two fabulous desserts that made up for the boring Stanley Jordon show. Thanks, Ryan!