Today I took my family to Serendipity, a newish cafe in Magnolia Village.  I’m happy to report that it the food is excellent, the coffee is excellent, and that’s not even the best part!

In the back of the seating area, the owners have built a kids’ play area that is surrounded by a low wall.  Parents can grab one of the booths or tables outside the area and keep an eye on the kids while they talk pleasantly among themselves.  It’s a real highlight for harried grownups.  Inside the play area is a tabletop train station, a large dollhouse, and other smaller toys.  It’s fun for diaper butts all the way up to maybe 6-year-olds.

The food was great: my Spanish scramble was as spicy as any I’ve ever had at a breakfast place; great for my taste buds by maybe a bit too much for the average diner.  The French toast was thick, custardy, and loaded with vanilla and cinnamon; a real treat.

At 9:30 on a Sunday morning we did not have to wait in line, which was a real treat since I’m used to the lengthy lines at other Seattle-area breaksfast places like The Dish or Julia’s.

The only downside, and this is being very picky, was that the service was a touch slow; but it ended up being a net positive as my wife and I were able to enjoy our coffee and talk while the kids enjoyed themselves in the play area.

Give it a try – you won’t be disappointed!

Reposted in its entirety from the Seattle Tech Startups mailing list, a notice from Brian Dorsey:

I’d like to announce a new fun cheap co-working space in Pioneer Square:
Giraffe Labs.

It started from our work on Saturday house and Six Hour Startup.
Justin Martenstein pushed the plan forward and we (myself, and Anders
Conbere) signed the lease last Friday for the former home of Jackson
Fish Market at 620 Western. (Thanks Hillel!)

This is however, not your traditional co-working facility, we don’t
have assigned desks and we don’t have conference rooms, or
receptionists. We do have a group of creative, engaging people,
working in a relaxed atmosphere (think couches and tables) at a price
that is hard to beat.

For $100/month, you get power, wireless and a place to work with
creative people nearby.

More info:
http://www.giraffelabs.com/

“Wait, doesn’t Seattle already have My Day Office, Office Nomads and
StartPad?”
Yep, isn’t Seattle great, lots of co-working!

We’ll be at the space from 5-8pm this Thursday. We’d love it if you
came by to check out the space and talk about what we’re trying to do!

Take care,
-Brian

This looks interesting. Some people, including yours truly, need to rub elbows with smart/creative types in order to be fully effective. Others need silence and isolation. If you’re one of the former, you should think about checking this out.

OK, Portland beat Seattle in one of these “best places” polls.  It’s the Fortune Magazine “Best Places to Live and Launch” list for 2008, and Portland came in at #6.  Seattle?  Didn’t even make the top 100.

How is this so, you may ask?  I’m thinking some sort of big Keno game tacked to the wall at the Fortune headquarters.  Or perhaps astrology.  Maybe old-fashioned ballot-stuffing.

Bellevue, which is sort of like an appendage to Seattle (a good one, not one of the icky kind), ranked #1.  I can’t get much joy out of that, even though my brother-in-law lives there.

(h/t John Cook)

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately learning about, and participating in, the local startup community in Seattle and am going to step back, take a 30,000 foot view, and spend some time telling you why I like you.

Is it your money? A lot of you have obviously made some mind-boggling fortunes. You have accounts at Charles Schwab that cause their own gravitational pull. But no, it’s not the money. Plenty of you work for a salary, have never started a company, and your 401(k) has barely begun to see five figures.

Is it your success? There’s a lot of you that have started, ran, and sold multiple successful businesses, or are running one now. You’ve been the Head Cheese at industry-changing outfits, and are a “go-to person” in your field. But no, it’s not the success. Plenty of you are still climbing the ladder, have faced setbacks, or are just starting out.

Is it your notoriety? Some of you or are on lists of Top Bloggers, or the Seattle Startup Index, or have 6,000 Twitter followers, or whatever. But no, it’s not your notoriety. Plenty of you have never been on any of those lists, and can count your Twitter followers on two hands.

Is it your smarts? Some of you are technical geniuses, or business geniuses, or both. You’re the type who program neural networks in your spare time, or can do NPV calculations five years out in your head, or can juggle 100 pressing details about your product and barely break a mental sweat. You may have had an important theory named after you. But no, it’s not your smarts. Plenty of you are average Janes and Joes, like me.

You know what it is? It’s your optimism. Every outing — no matter what — I come away absolutely enthused, refreshed, with a happy outlook on life, career, and the world. Everything is possible. Nothing is out of the question, nothing too difficult, too permanent, or too unknowable. You, individually and as a group, have a belief in yourselves that is on the far right side of the bell curve. That is gold right there. Optimism is better than money, success, fame, or anything else, because it makes the world the best of all possible worlds (h/t Voltaire).

So that’s why I like you!

Marcelo Calbucci of Seattle 2.0 released a list yesterday of the most influential bloggers in the Seattle entrepreneurial scene.  There’s been lots of backslapping and good-natured hand-to-chest “what, me? REALLY?” posting since then, and I strongly recommend anyone interested in Seattle startups to add the people on this list to their RSS reader.  I’ve already seen some outstanding information.

Are there not any influential female bloggers in Seattle?  I can’t think of any offhand, but then again I’m not plugged in like the people on this list are.  Someone must have some nominations.

Thanks for the list Marcelo!

I just saw some CNN talking heads mention this article from Cooking Light on TV:

An abundance of fresh local foods, walker-friendly streets, and inclusive attitudes helps make Seattle America’s best city for healthy living.

Portland came in at #2. That’s fully 200% behind Seattle. Oh, snap!

Driving through Madison Valley last night I was struck by a fact that I had been slow to recognize — Madison Valley is really hopping these days. Back in the day Madison Valley was definitely NOT trendy and hip. I had friends move there who, when asked “where did you move to?” would stutter out “Madison Park — well, ALMOST Madison Park. Really close, in Madison Valley,” as if apologizing for the Valley and trying to leech some of Madison Park’s upper-class reputation.

Last night, the restaurants Chinoise, Voilà, and The Harvest Vine were all hopping — at 7:45 PM on a Sunday night. Madison Park proper was rolled up. The Central District was quiet. But in between, the happy revelry of trendy young-ish crowds.

I think, if you haven’t been there for a while, you’ll be shocked and amazed at the proliferation of hip, upscale shops, boutiques, etc.

It’s just another reminder of how New Seattle is replacing Old Seattle everywhere you turn. I think this is a generally good thing; my wife (another lifetime Seattleite) disagrees to some degree. But whether you like it or not, you can’t disagree that it’s happening, all over the city.

I’m not sure what to make of the face that the Washington State Democratic Caucus is as popular as “Hug-A-Jew Day”. Or that that the popular events in Seattle have zero attendees.

Database, heal thyself!