0 Abonnenten
Newcastle: My hood.
Newcastle is going through a slow and sometimes painful process of de-Rentonization. For my complete analysis of the city's assets and liabilities, see my review of "City of Newcastle."
Here is my take on our local businesses, both good and bad.
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Julians 4-Sterne-Beitrag: Food: Delicious, consistent, great selection, not too greasy. Tons of Chinese diners means you know it's authentic. A first-generation Chinese immigrant at my work says this is the best chinese food in Seattle. Service: Good, always friendly and attentive. Sometimes hard to get a waiter's attention when it's busy, but someone always comes by eventually. Food comes out very fast, no matter how much you order. Atmosphere: There's only so much you can do to mitigate the strip mall location, but Yea's has done all of it. Fresh flowers, candles, giant aquarium with beautiful fish, dozens of model airplanes (tacky or fun? You decide), stone floors, clean linens under clean glass table tops and lazy susans for easy family style eating. -
Julians 3-Sterne-Beitrag: They do shirts well and the prices are competitive. Don't expect a Nordstrom level of customer service, though. This place is staffed by friendly but powerless teenage cashiers. My experience has made me reluctant to entrust them with my most valuable clothing items. For example, when our cat peed on my wife's leather jacket, they were happy to charge us $30 to send it out for a special chemical treatment. When the jacket came back smelling just as bad as when we dropped it off, and I brought it to the attention of the girl at the counter, she didn't jump to offer me a refund or to send it again free of charge. Also, the first time I took a pair of casual pants I specifically asked them not to press a crease down the front of the legs, where there was no crease, but they did it anyway. To their credit, it hasn't happened since then. -
Julians 3-Sterne-Beitrag: The proprietress Ashley is really nice and the prices are great but the espresso (they use Dellano's) is not so great. Not sure if this is Dellano's fault or what. Still, it's the only drive-thru espresso in town (not counting Starbucks by 405) so if you need your caffeine fix, here ya go. Historical note: Former occupants of this espresso stand include the original Java Jolt and Big Shot Espresso. Although this new business uses the Java Jolt name, I don't think there is any connection to the original Java Jolt. -
Julians 3-Sterne-Beitrag: Went here getting ready for a trip to Hawaii last year. The facilities are clean and the staff is nice but watch out for the fine print on the membership agreement. -
Julians 4-Sterne-Beitrag: The optometrist here is really nice and takes his time with you. Be warned that the prices for glasses are a little bit higher than what you get at a warehouse club like Costco, but you'll get better service and if you wear contacts and are willing to buy a whole year's supply, it'll be cheaper here than anywhere else. -
Julians 4-Sterne-Beitrag: Why not review a municipality? The city government provides a variety of services to residents, businesses and visitors. As a resident, I've had a good experience with city government overall, although some city staff have ignored information requests I've made in the past. And there is also the thorny issue of how the city government and planning commission are handling Newcastle's growth management. Newcastle is going through a slow and sometimes painful process of de-Rentonization. The commercial area (which city hall cutely refers to as "downtown") is still an unattractive mish-mash of fast food, gas station and strip shopping malls. The city has laid out a new vision for this area (basically downtown Mercer Island) but apparently failed to provide sufficient incentives for property owners to improve or redevelop their non-conforming uses. Coal Creek Parkway is a big part of the challenge. The newer sections of coal creek, south of downtown, offer attractive landscaping, safer sidewalks, and good lighting. But where the road bisects "downtown" there is only one traffic light and no incentive for people who do not live here to slow down. As a result, pedestrians are squeezed onto narrow sidewalks between landscaping on one side and traffic whizzing by at 40+ mph on the other. There is only one protected pedestrian crossing in the commercial area, and it is unlit at night. (The city's growth management plan envisions a future elevated pedestrian walkway connecting the two sides of downtown, a silly idea that the planning commission should have never allowed onto paper). While Bellevue filled in the "suicide" lanes in Factoria years ago, Newcastle waits for the wake up call of a big accident. And so on. Aside from traffic issues, Newcastle lacks many of the basic community resources that Bellevue and other larger Eastside cities offer. There are few marked trails, a shortage of parks and open spaces, almost no waterfront, no library, no YMCA or community center, and no family-friendly pub (no public house at all, in fact, unless you count the former cigar bar up at the golf club) or diner or restaurant serving traditional "American" fare. Some of these things will never be available in Newcastle (increased waterfront). Others are in development (library, YMCA, improved pedestrian safety downtown). Still others are just promises with no delivery date (notably, expanded parks and trails--Newcastle News and the city's blog and growth management documents are packed with chatter about parks and trails, but the city seems to have its hands full easing the commute for residents of Renton and Issaquah, and leaves trail development up to a private volunteer group). Overall the city's charms, location and relative affordability more than make up for its shortcomings, though. And other than the city's poor response to direct public inquiries and some hiccups de-Rentonizing the downtown area, the city government seems to be on top of things. -
Julians 3-Sterne-Beitrag: It's been awhile since we ate here but the other day I sat in the bar while waiting for a golf buddy and watched the NCAA tournament. Same impression as before: nice atmosphere, dear prices, and average service. Dark wood and brass are nice, but in this setting and for these prices I expect a really exceptional level of service and comfort that we've never experienced. If you want to sit in a bar, the lounge upstairs (The Wooly Toad) offers the same or better service, and food out of the same kitchen, a better view, a more relaxed atmosphere and bigger TVs. -
Julians 5-Sterne-Beitrag: I haven't golfed a course here yet, but I have hit the driving range a couple times. It's hard to beat on a sunny day. Golfing is pricey but the bag of balls doesn't cost much more than Maplewood or other municipal courses and the location, facility and service are top notch. -
Julians 4-Sterne-Beitrag: We've had take-out twice. The food is very good and the portions are huge. I was a fan particularly of the cocunut soup. Everyone seems very nice. The space is not great; the large number of artificial plants makes it feel crowded; the decor is a random mish-mash of asian-themed items; and when you come in, you can see directly into the kitchen. All that makes Thai Castle less appealing than its more polished competitors in the neighborhood: Yea's Wok and Tapatio. -
Julians 5-Sterne-Beitrag: Dr. Chiu and his wife (who also is a dentist at this location), as well as their staff, are always efficient and pleasant. Dr. Chiu has a great "bedside manner" and offers a level of personal service rarely seen these days.
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Julians 2-Sterne-Beitrag: Now I don't usually write up Starbucks locations, because they are so ubiquitous and homogeneous--that would be like writing a review of a post office. But this is my local Starbucks. And, this store is worth noting for its problems. On the plus side, Starbucks has comfy leather chairs, free newspapers and it is one of the only places in town to meet friends (see note below). The staff is generally nicer and more professional than you find at most independent Seattle cafes, which are famously pretentious. But they have gotten our drink orders wrong too many times. One time a drink we ordered and paid for never came. It gets incredibly busy on Saturday mornings. Somehow they have not figured out how to staff enough people to avoid the lines out the door. There are sometimes 15 or 20 people in line. I have had to wait over ten minutes for a drink to be made. This is all very disappointing. On a random note, last year my wife and I both got horribly, violently ill after getting lattes at this location. (Of course we can't prove it was Starbucks' fault.) I have a couple general complaints against Starbucks, which I will air out here since I'm already going negative on this location. $6.30 for a latte and coffee cake?!? For that kind of scratch, at least you could provide free Wi-Fi. Also, I think they changed the formula for the pumpkin spice lattes and they are not as good as they used to be. Waaah. This used to be the only "cafe" option in Newcastle. Fortunately, the new chocolate shop (Sweet Decadence) makes very good espresso and has put in lots of comfortable seating. My advice is to skip Starbucks and cross the street. -
Julians 5-Sterne-Beitrag: It is with great pleasure that I award the final coveted fifth star, for Sandra's successful efforts to upgrade her tables and chairs, which are now as comfortable and plentiful as the other place. If you are in Newcastle and want coffee, or just want to sit down and chat with someone, there is now no reason to go to Starbucks. The chocolates and customer service here are also great, and the quiche is fantastic. Plus they sell wine by the glass or bottle, and host wine and chocolate pairing tastings on occasion. -
Newcastle, WA, Vereinigte Staaten
Julians 4-Sterne-Beitrag: Great selection, usually better than the grocery stores, and often closer to ripe without being past due. Great lettuce, much better Romaine than Safeway. Prices are often lower, esp. for herbs, but not so for berries: Safeway often runs sales that will beat the fruit stand's regular prices on Strawberries, cherries, etc. handily. Their plant prices seem very high, and their flower selection is not very good. -
Julians 2-Sterne-Beitrag: Ok, I realize it's a little silly to review a McDonald's. The food is not good by comparison to almost anything. And I don't usually eat here. Last time I did, I got all the way home only to discover my hamburger had no meat! Frustrated and hungry I went back for my refund. A manager happened to be in the dining area, overheard my complaint, and really stepped up. Besides apologizing profusely, he promised to talk to the line cook, and gave me free fries and a gift card for a free meal. Why is this worth yelping about? Because it was a better response--from a customer-service perspective--than I've received in many fancy-pants high-end restaurants. I can't recall how many times a cook or waiter has screwed up my order and I had to sit and wait for it to be fixed and all I got (if I was lucky) was a half-hearted apology or a nervous chuckle (see my review of F.X. McRory's for a good example). So kudos to McD's for getting something right. -
Julians 4-Sterne-Beitrag: A great all-around choice for us suburban diners. Food is consistently very good (much better than Azteca or other big chains). The seafood dishes are what really caught me off guard with their quality and lack of greasiness. Not expensive. Good 'ritas. Service is consistently good, never a wait for a table, food is fast, waiters are polite and prompt. Atmosphere was just okay previously, but is now much better since a renovation. Very colorful. A note on the menu: Tapatio offers both authentic Mexican dishes as well as the Tex-Mex cuisine (a hybrid of Mexican, Spanish and American influences that originated in the Southwestern U.S.) that is typically presented as "Mexican" food in this part of the country. For example they offer tamales and sopas (real Mexican food), americanized versions of traditional Mexican dishes like burritos and tacos (less authentic), and fajitas (a purely American creation with no roots in Mexican cuisine). -
Julians 3-Sterne-Beitrag: I used to be a QFC man. Food: better prices than QFC, better selection, too. Service: good. Lines are usually not too long. The manager jumps in the mix sometimes. Steve is like the Flash on the register. Great service at the butcher counter and pharmacy, too. Atmosphere: better since the remodel. -
Julians 4-Sterne-Beitrag: I previously wrote about Wooly Toad's stuffy and humorless male servers. Last time I went, to my surprise, our server was funny, engaging and attentive. I also forgot how shockingly awesome the view from the patio is on a sunny day. Easily the best view on the Eastside. -
Julians 4-Sterne-Beitrag: Yes, pet pros is probably more expensive than PetCo, and has less selection, but the staff is really nice and knowledgeable. -
Julians 3-Sterne-Beitrag: Why order delivery when Papa's can take care of you. It's the ultimate in suburban fine dining. They always have specials and it's usually pretty quick.
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Julians 4-Sterne-Beitrag: In Newcastle you don't have a choice where to buy your booze. Unless you want to drive to Eastgate, or the Renton Highlands, which I'm guessing you don't. But the fact that this is a state-owned monopoly makes it even more impressive to me that the staff here is always courteous, friendly and efficient.
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Julians 3-Sterne-Beitrag: Thorough... but expensive! If we got all the shots and check-ups they recommend for our cats, we would spend more on cat maintenance than car maintenance. Cheaper to get new animals than maintain current ones. On second thought, maybe stuffed animals is the way to go... J/K honey. -
Julians 2-Sterne-Beitrag: I was mostly happy with WaMu's service and convenience (definitely better than Bank of America) until an incident late last year that took several hours of customer service calls to resolve. The error was entirely theirs, and the difficulty of getting them to correct their mistake left me without any special fond feelings for this company. So, when they became Chase, it was no hard decision to switch to a local credit union.
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Julians 3-Sterne-Beitrag: The Wine Shoppe occasionally comes up to the chocolate shop in Newcastle for wine and chocolate pairings that are fun and inexpensive. The wines have been hit and miss for me but they seem to have some very good values, and vintners that you won't find at the grocery store. I also learned that they host wine tastings on Thursday evenings. Taste in wine is such a subjective thing, it's nice to try before you buy, rather than grabbing something and hoping for the best. It's too bad they don't do this at a time more convenient than during the dinner hour on a weeknight. -
Julians 4-Sterne-Beitrag: Valley has opened an "urgent care" clinic in their existing clinic location in the Newcastle Medical pavilion. The staff was nice, the wait was short and for cuts and bruises, etc., it beats making an appointment at the doctor's office. -
Julians 3-Sterne-Beitrag: This staff are really courteous and very professional. And I've never had a complaint about UPS as far as their delivery goes. But holy smokes the shipping rates are high! A ground package was going to cost more than double what you'd pay shipping FedEx ground from a business office. -
Julians 4-Sterne-Beitrag: This park's relatively new, clean facilities (volleyball pit, tennis courts, barbecue stations, lots of covered seating) and the lake front make this park a pleasure to play at. -
Julians 5-Sterne-Beitrag: Excellent, knowledgeable service, premium quality products, great selection. On my first trip they were very generous with the samples. Since then we've gotten steak and seafood and all were fantastic.