Wandering in Wallingford

Previously, I considered Wallingford a thoroughfare, a gateway between the beauty of Ballard and the grunge of the University District. This stretch of 45th Street existed as blur passing by my car windows. Wallingford was lost on my radar up until my recent disappointing encounter at Cupcake Royale. I was informed by several reliable sources that a cupcake rivalry was taking place – without my knowledge! Cupcake companies attempting to outdo each other?! Now that is a battle I want to be present for! Trophy Cupcakes, located within the Wallingford Center, is a fairly new establishment having just opened in 2007. The Wallingford Center is a sight itself having opened in 1904 as the Interlake Elementary School, and since then it has been converted into an assortment of shops, restaurants, and apartments. Trophy Cupcakes definitely dominates and without this thriving business the Wallingford Center would be a lost cause. I approached Trophy Cupcakes with a dose of hesitation. Cupcake Royale was rumored to be the best in the business, but it turned out to be highly overrated. Trophy Cupcakes has also had great press coverage, but perhaps these were all misleading, or maybe I just have over the top cupcake expectations (Sprinkles in Hollywood is tough to beat!). Browsing the selections (PB&J?!) I settled on red velvet with cream cheese frosting. This was breakfast after all and cream cheese is the breakfast bagel staple! I found a table and took my first bite…let’s just pause a moment as I relive this heavenly experience…ok….HOLY cupcakes! I have never tasted anything so good! I quickly devoured the cupcake, coating my fingers in a gooey mess of cake crumbs and creamy frosting. The cake was moist and rich, yet light and fluffy. The frosting was nothing like frosting and every bit cream cheese. I couldn’t believe my taste buds, was this for real? I almost went back for another, but visions of my nearing Greece vacation dissuaded any previous urge for more. The black satin tea (black tea with bits of cocoa and vanilla) was the perfect finish to this lavish breakfast. I left, reluctantly, still imagining that extra cupcake I missed out on and visualizing my new purpose in life - to expose every one I know to these glorious bits of heaven.

My journey through Wallingford was not quite complete. I returned later that day to continue my exploration. I had enlisted the help of a friend to accompany me to Dick’s Burgers. Being vegetarian and all, I was sort of out of luck as Dick’s serves up a broad selection of about three items – Burgers, fries, shakes. Alas, my dear friend backed out and I was forced to hit the famed establishment solo. Dick’s has been serving up speedy, drive-in, affordable service since 1954 when they opened their original Wallingford location. You can now find a Dick’s Burgers in Lake City, Crown Hill, Capital Hill, and Queen Anne. As I pulled up to this legendary establishment, I felt a bit like an alcoholic in liquor store – what was I thinking? The smells of fries crisping and burgers grilling filled the air, as dozens of locals, young and old, gathered around the counters enjoying their tasty treats. I didn’t stay long; I came, saw, and conquered and was on my merry way.

Wallingford is quaint, fairly quiet, and surrounded by small streets with cute houses. The people seem established and real. This is a place where dental offices share street corners with wine bars. The buildings and architecture all feel very iconic, vintage neon signs light up theaters and retro style signage hang from awnings.

To finish up my tour through Wallingford I ate a quick dinner at Julia’s, a Seattle based vegetarian friendly restaurant, which I love, and then continued heading West on 45th Street. I was planning on taking a few photos and just going home, but I became distracted as I saw hoards of people spilling out of a small shop into the street. Seeking some reassurance from a nearby pedestrian I was assured that this was quite normal, just the line into one of Seattle’s top ice cream establishments, Molly Moon’s. I watched the employees carefully make each waffle cone specifically for every customer as they ordered. The flavors were not your typical chocolate and vanilla. Instead honey and lavender, chocolate mandarin, strawberry balsamic or yes… salted black licorice topped the ranks. I watched as the customers slowly filtered in through the door. As I was about to head home, I asked a couple leaving with big drippy cones of ice cream how long they had waited in line. “Only about 30 minutes, we’ve waited longer” was their response. I then got in my car and drove home, in the same amount of time.