Seattle Public Libraries

For the first time in my life I am using a public library- frequently. When I was a kid we didn't live in town and my parents bought a library card (don't pay city taxes no free library) and we would venture into town and then the (air-conditioned) library. When I got older and we were in school we stopped going to the library so much and then it was over. I had access to libraries in college, and graduate school do I didn't have the need for public libraries until now.

The Seattle public libraries are rumored to be one of the most well funded library systems in the US. True or not I think they do a great job.

Fees

Fees are minimal, check out lengths are somewhere between finishing the book and forgetting about it.

Book requests

As far as I am concerned they could be a tad faster but pretty much every book I've requested and under every topic I have found something (from Phillipino short stories to Catholic Feminism)

Diversity

Our neighborhood is fairly diverse. And the book options cater to that diversity at our local branch. I am frequently picking up novels (with pretty covers or intriquing names) and finding that the characters are minorities. Or that the books are translated from the original language.

Service

Good. Real people with answers. And they are downright good to kids.

Building

The Columbia City Branch (our branch) is a Carnegie library- so it has interesting architechture. But the flagship is the downtown library. It's just cool. Take the elevator up and walk down the ramp that goes down all the floors. It's a nice weave through the world of literature.

-So obviously I haven't eaten out recently. But I've been reading a lot.

St. Cloud's in Madrona

I love St. Cloud's in Madrona. I have never had anything bad there. In fact, I have never had anything less than wonderful. My problem with St. Cloud's is that I want to eat everything on the menu. They do an amazing brunch, but what inspires me to write this is not their (amazing) brunch but is their amazing dinner. Beloved and I were invited on a whim to go to St. Cloud's. It was late but we hadn't eaten so we shared a dinner.

So my review.

St. Cloud's for dinner ain't cheap. Entrees range from 14-21 (there are a couple things that are market price so periodically more than 21). With a salad or a drink this could add up fast.

We only got one entree: the Parmigiano-Crusted Pork Tenderloin - served on a bed of penne tossed with bacon, spinach, capers & tomato, topped with spinach aioli for 21.00. It was amazing. The flavors mixed well it was definitly comfort food in terms of having carbs and meat- but resisted boring!

The service, as always, was great! After all the same people have worked there for what seems like generations. We happened to be there when there weren't very many guests and we were treated to a piece of birthday cake that had been served in the bar. It was an impressive amount of generosity.

Finally, St. Cloud's feels kind of like you enter into a family when you eat there. Servers remember people, they give back generously to their community. And frankly, I think they love what they do.

Me Gusta St. Clouds. 5 *****