Seattle Day Three

Found the best place in Bellevue for breakfast before we left the suburbs for Seattle proper. Ended up at a restaurant off of Bellevue Way called the Pancake Corral (a woman at a coffee shop raved about it to us after we had spent half an hour looking for breakfast in downtown Bellevue). The Pancake Corral is a tiny restaurant that’s been around for years. The parking lot was packed when we got there. The waiting area inside the restaurant was no better. But we got to watch people cook at the grill while we waited for a table. The grill area was tiny! (You can see it behind the maple syrup dispenser). About the same size as the galley kitchen in my apartment. The Pancake Coral servers pretty simply and hearty breakfast fare. The special when we were there was two eggs and corned beef hash. The decor in the restaurant reminded me of an aged Hollywood starlet from the 50s. Photos covered the walls -- everything from black and white photos of the 50s to character sketches to ribbsons. And a chandelier wagon wheel dangled from the ceiling. Breakfast came quickly after we ordered to a very alert and perky waitress. The corned beef hash was a little salty for my taste, but it was stick-to-the-ribs food. Dad was disappointed by his strawberry waffles and whipped crea. Thought the waffles were too hard – he wanted crispy on the outside, a nice, soft middle inside. I think the appeal of this restaurant has as much to do with the packed ambiance as the cheap eats.
After breakfast we motored over to downtown Seattle. Our hotel is just a few blocks away from the Space Needle. (Close to Pinky the Elephant as seen above, which prevented us from getting lost on more than one occasion.) Spent the afternoon driving around the city, and toured Chinatown. Also strolled through some of the downtown area. Seattle seems to have more old wealth to it than Vancouver. And the downtown area has buildings with much more history and character.
Dinner ended up being at a little burger joint named Dick’s. They serve hamburgers, fries, soda and that’s about it. They have a few dessert items and I think ice cream... but it’s mainly a burger shack. There are apparently a chain of them in Seattle. I like their soda cups.