Our house host, David gave us a list of some Capitol Hill restaurants that provide breakfast. I chose Oddfellows Café and Bar, which was about four blocks away from the basement apartment we rented on 11th Avenue. The restaurant is across the street from Cal Anderson Park on Tenth Avenue.
I ate there by myself on Wednesday morning and brought Peg there on Thursday morning as we headed back to Tacoma. It was a great way to end a wonderful two day adventure in Seattle.
The café and bar were originally part of an Odd Fellows Hall, but the restaurant itself has only been around since 2008. I think has been really popular since then as well. It's right next door to the Elliott Bay Book Store.
Odd Fellows were members of a fraternal organization that was first created in the 1700s. The organization was founded on the value of “Friendship, Love, and Truth.” The Odd Fellows grew throughout England and then came to America. In 1909 some Odd Fellows members from Oregon decided to build a lodge in Seattle. Their lodge or temple was built on 10th and Pine.
Over the years various halls in the building have been for concerts and performances. In 1996, the building’s large ballroom became the Century Ballroom, which recently was a venue for the Seattle Fringe Festival, which we visited a week and a half before having breakfast at the café. The Century Ballroom was the only stage we missed at the festival.
We sat at a substantial, wooden plank table with solid, heavy benches. They are beyond sturdy. The tables and benches could support the dancing hippos of Walt Disney’s Fantasia. They can easily support the laptops and smartphones, which many of the diners sported.
The food is ordered at the counter and then you are given a numbered stand, which you put on the table of your choice and sit down.
The friendly staff brings you water, warms your coffee, and asks what else they can do to help. When you say, “thank you.” They respond with “of course.” The café screams Seattle . . . a very friendly Seattle. Peg watched the three staff people at the counter directly behind me. She said they were constantly watching and looking for anyone who needed assistance. This restaurant could be a training ground for teaching customer service.
Peg had a nice mushroom quiche, while I had the Bullseye Biscuit along with real butter. Peg rolled her eyes as I very carefully globbed the cold butter onto chunks of my bacon and egg filled biscuit. I was in heaven. We switched to an olive oil & butter mix some time ago.
We shared a chocolate chip cookie. Long strands of melted chocolate were created when I pulled half of my cookie apart and gave it to Peg. I dunked mine. It was wonderful.
The staff brings your bill and slips it underneath your table number along with an Oldfellows Café and Bar postcard. A nice touch. I took my bill to the counter, and had a young woman at my elbow sweetly advise me that I could simply pay at my table. I gave her a twenty for my $19.05 total, told her to keep the change and then added a few more dollar bills into the old glass tip jar on the counter. We’ll be back.
