Posted on Leave a comment

Destination Inspiration: Nielsen’s Authentic Danish Pastry

Nielsen's Sign

As a Scandinavian food blogger, Daytona is always looking out for good food from the Nordic countries. Having heard about Nielsen’s Authentic Danish Pastry in Seattle’s lower Queen Anne neighborhood a while back, she set out for lunch on a recent February morning and was excited to discover a new favorite bakery–and one that’s perfect for writing.

Nielsen's Tosca

Food and Beverages

Kringle… snitter… kransekage… Tosca… If you don’t know what these confections are, then hurry up and head to Nielsen’s. While danishes are perhaps the most commonly-known of the Scandinavian pastries here in America, the world of Scandinavian baked goods expands to many other delicious treats as well. In business since 1965, Nielsen’s knows what it’s doing.

The Tosca is a Scandinavian’s dream-come-true, with a smooth and rich almond cake layered with raspberry jam, topped with caramelized almonds, and dipped in chocolate. The pastries are the big draw at Nielsen’s, but if you’re looking to round out your meal a little, you can also get soup or a sandwich.

Nielsen’s is especially known for their beautiful handmade wedding cakes. The creations are artistic, mouth watering and bound to add an extra stunning touch to an already beautiful occasion. They also serve Olympia Coffee, which is rich, organic and always fresh from the roaster.

Nielsen's Soup

Location and Atmosphere

Outside the little shop in lower Queen Anne, the greasy smell of fast food mingles with the alluring scent of warm pastries–it is a quick-paced, urban part of town after all. As you drive by and notice Danish flags flying outside, you’ll see what appears to be a tiny sliver of a shop. Walking down the stairs and through the door, however, you’ll find it opens into a cozy and charming shop with a woman sitting with her laptop at a windowside counter, a couple of men having a business lunch at one of the tables, and young man and woman lounged in the armchairs in the back corner.

It’s lunchtime on a Tuesday in February, and people come in and out at a modest yet steady pace. The shop, with its juxtoposition of country touches and play and concert posters, has the feeling of a well-loved and lived-in neighborhood cafe that’s always clean and never pretentious.

Nielsen's Interior

Writeability and Purchased Presence

As long as there’s room, we’d say pull up a chair, pull out your laptop, order some pastries and coffee, and get writing. Order a refill and a sandwich if you’re going to stay a while. And tip well.

Price: $

Typical pastries range from $2 to $4 dollars. A pastry, a cup of soup, and a drip coffee will run you about $10.

Parking

Street parking is your best bet if you want something inexpensive and don’t mind walking a block or two. Pay attention, as some streets are free.

Nielsen's Seating

Writer’s Tip

Take a moment, as you are sitting with your pastry or lunch, to think about the origins of the treats you are enjoying. Consider the culture behind the recipes and how you might let that influence the piece you are working on. If you don’t have a work in progress yet, perhaps start a short story about a character with a Nordic background. Is this a cafe they might frequent? Play the ‘what if’ game and see where your story goes!

Find It
520 Second Avenue West
Seattle, WA 98119
Website

Posted on Leave a comment

Destination Inspiration: 21st Amendment Brewery

21st Amendment Draft Beer List

Having home-brewers for husbands means that we’re never in danger of being in a new city and not knowing where to find good beer. Take San Francisco, for example. Until a few weeks ago, Daytona hadn’t been there in five years, and although Sarah still visits her family in the Bay Area from time to time, it’s been over a decade since she moved away. Yet on our recent weekend together, as our first afternoon in the city drew to a close, our husbands whisked us over to 21st Amendment Brewery in the city’s historic South Park neighborhood for a pre-dinner refresher.

Food and Beverages

We’ll be honest, we came here for the beer not the food, even though it is a brewpub and we could have eaten if we wanted. But having enjoyed a great lunch earlier at La Boulange and having dinner plans with Sarah’s family, we stuck to our mission and ordered beverages. That is, after all, what 21st Amendment Brewery was founded upon.

Daytona’s choice, the South Park Blonde, was refreshing and light yet flavorful, with a friendly wheat profile. The Red Dwarf IPA, which both of the men ordered, was described as “A red IPA with caramel and Munich malts combined with Simcoe and Amarillo hops, like peeling an orange in a redwood grove.” Sarah chose a cider from the Two Rivers Cider Company.

Location and Atmosphere

Near the financial district and San Francisco Giants baseball park, we can only imagine that 21st Amendment is a favorite stop before and after work and games. The atmosphere is light and almost lodge-like with lots of wood and warm colors. The chalk art on the walls and the menu is also really impressive!

21st Amendment Brewery Interior

Writeability and Purchased Presence

It takes little than a pint apiece to add a sense of camaraderie to a gathering, which makes 21st Amendment a great place to meet your writing group after a day at work. Sit back and enjoy the convivial atmosphere as share your successes and what you’re writing on at the moment. As long as no one’s waiting for your table, feel free to linger.

Price: $$

The price is just what you’d expect from a brewpub, with draft beers ranging from $5.50 to $6.50 for a pint of most beers.

Parking

We had no problem finding street parking, on what seemed like a pretty slow afternoon. It was New Year’s Eve, after all, and at an hour too earlier for dinners and parties to begin.

Looking outside from brewery

21st Amendment Brewery Interior Horizontal

Writer’s Tip

There is a history behind 21st Amendment that makes it a ripe place for brainstorming with your writing partner, possibly about a story that could be set during Prohibition. Whether or not your story has anything to do with historical references, there’s nothing like gathering with friends over good beer. (http://21st-amendment.com/the-company/)

Find It

21st Amendment Brewery
563 2nd Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
Website

21st Amendment Interior

 

 

 

 

Posted on Leave a comment

A Productive January

The month of January is a crucial time for writers; the new year sets the stage for new goals and new habits, and the first few weeks can set the tone for momentum moving on through the rest of the year.

Poem

Since one of the common struggles amongst writers is coming up with ideas, we launched the Idea Generator at the beginning of the year, and have been dedicating our Daily Writer’s Fix time this month to helping you build a pool of writing ideas to last you well into 2013.

Blue Bottle Line

We have also been excited to share with you some of our favorite San Francisco writing and brainstorming spots with a special Destination Inspiration series based in that city. From Blue Bottle Coffee to La Boulange and Samovar, we had a great time discovering new creative spots to help you drum up inspiration and creativity if you visit San Francisco.

2013 Writing Goals

We talked about some of our own writing goals and created a worksheet to help you develop a strategy for setting and keeping your 2013 goals. We shared thoughts on the writing life with writing as an excuse to explore and the experience of working with divided attention.

A savory cup

We shared a favorite tea that was the result of a delightful accident, and an overnight coffee cake that’s easy to whip together even when you’re on deadline.

Salted Rye Cookies

And, of course, we talked about the writing ritual and shared a recipe for a delightful cookie that would be just right for pairing with your writing tea when you sit down to work.

It’s been a good month for us here at Nooks & Cranberries, and I hope it’s been good for you too. We’d love to hear what you’ve been working on this month!

Posted on Leave a comment

Destination Inspiration: Samovar Tea Lounge

Samovar Entrance

After coffee at Blue Bottle and lunch at La Boulange during our afternoon in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley a few weeks ago, we didn’t think things could get any better–until we walked into Samovar Tea Lounge.

With its Zen Valley location just half a mile from the other Hayes Valley places we had just visited, we set out on foot to walk off our pastries and lunch and experience a little bit of the neighborhood. What we discovered when we arrived was a tea shop–actually a tea restaurant–that was just up our alley.

Samovar Teas

Food and Beverages

The only thing we regret about our visit to Samovar is that we arrived with full stomachs. Our time in San Francisco was limited, so we packed in as much fun as we could. But that meant not leaving enough room to sit and have a meal at Samovar. If we had, Daytona might have ordered the Russian Service with tagarraon-marined beets, smoked salmon and horseradish, devilled egg with caviar, and other foods served with Samovar’s smokey Tolstoy’s Sip black tea ($24). Then again, perhaps she would have chosen the Japanese Service or Moorish Service–they all sounded delightful. Sarah might have chosen the English service with a 3-tiered platter of goodies and the Breakfast Blend black tea ($24).

Though we couldn’t stay to eat, we did make a point to get to know the teas, spending some time with the servers to pinpoint the perfect ones for us to bring home as memories of our trip.

Samovar Tea

Location and Atmosphere

Located at the corner of Page and Laguna in a micro-neighobhood they call “Zen Valley,” and near the San Francisco Zen Center.

Across the street from some lovely classic San Francisco homes, including one that sold in 2006 for $2.3 million.

Samovar Building

Samovar Neighborhood

Writeability and Purchased Presence

Discreet is best if you’re coming here with writing in mind. Leave the laptop behind, and use your time for contemplation while sipping your tea or to celebrate successes with your writing partner.

Samovar Interior

Price: $$$

The various services, with food and tea, range from $19-24.

Parking

You’ll need to find street parking, which, on the day we were there, seemed like it would have been easy enough. However, even if you have to walk a little, enjoy the classic San Francisco architecture you’re sure to see on your way.

Samovar Sign

Writer’s Tip

Word on the street is that some of the Bay Area’s greatest minds have gathered at Samovar to brainstorm or share a cup of tea with comrades. Consider sitting a while with friends, soaking in the zen and do a little brainstorming of your own. Bring pieces to critique, or simply enjoy a meal together after a long day of writing.

Find It

Samovar Tea Lounge – Zen Valley location
297 Page Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
Website

Samovar Californian Persian

Posted on Leave a comment

Goal Setting Guide

The beginning

Our mission with Nooks & Cranberries has always been to provide inspiration and tools to help you along your writing journey. Sometimes our support comes in the form of photos or destinations, and sometimes in the form of writing gossip and recipes. This time we’d like to share a worksheet put together to help you organize your writing goals.

This guide can be useful for setting goals in all genres and areas of writing, be it a book that’s been brewing in your head for a while, or beginning work as a freelance writer and building your platform. Regardless of where you’d like to take your writing, we’d like to be there to support you all the way in accomplishing your goals. So grab a cup of your favorite coffee or tea and take a peek at this guide. Let the journey begin!

Nooks & Cranberries Goal Setting Guide

Posted on Leave a comment

Destination Inspiration: La Boulange, Hayes Valley

La Boulange Quinoa Salad

We happened upon La Boulange in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley after getting coffee at Blue Bottle on New Year’s Eve. With an eagle eye for anything resembling a French boulangerie or patisserie, Daytona spotted the corner restaurant from our bench in Patricia’s Green, and we made a beeline over to see if La Boulange would serve as an appropriate lunch spot for four hungry adults and two toddlers.

With 20 locations, this Bay Area bakery prides itself in making authentic and delicious French food and strives to provide the French neighborhood cafe experience for its customers. The founder, in fact, has a background in working in presigious bakeries in Paris and near Bordeaux.

La Boulange Interior

Food and Beverages

On a sunny winter afternoon after enjoying coffee and pastries at the nearby Blue Bottle, we all needed a real meal but didn’t want anything too heavy. The fresh sandwiches and salads on the menu at Boulange sounded like just the thing; little did we know that the portions would be twice as large as our appeties could handle. The flank steak sandwich, served open-faced, was flavored with roasted onion, tomato, arugula, and aioli. Served with a quinoa salad on the side, it was a hearty yet fresh option, that would have been perfect to split with a friend. As for the salade niçoise, we’ve had some incredible versions in our time, including the one at Brasserie Four in Walla Walla, which is one of the best we’ve ever had, so unfortunately the one at La Boulange, had high standards to meet, and while it was tasty, there was nothing notable about it.

La Boulange Bread

Location and Atmosphere

La Boulange is on the corner of Hayes Street and Octavia Street across the street from Patricia’s Green park. The cafe was crowded, despite the spacious dining room – a good sign in our book! We managed to snag a cozy corner able that was just big enough for the six of us, with toddlers on our laps and the umbrella strollers folded up and tucked away. The atmosphere was upbeat, bustling and overall charming.

Writeability and Purchased Presence

If it’s crowded, you’ll want to be mindful of the other people waiting for tables. If not, feel free to take your time as you enjoy your sandwich and sip your beverage.

La Boulange Steak Sandwich

Price: $$

Pricing is reasonable especially for the hearty portions. Sandwiches (including an option of sides) start at $8.00. And don’t forget to bring a little extra for pastries!

Parking

If you’re coming from Blue Bottle, as we did, you don’t have to worry about parking as the two locations are an easy stroll away from each other. If not, expect to seek out street parking.

La Boulange Interior

Writer’s Tip

After a successful writing or brainstorming session, treat yourself to a trip to Miette, the beloved pastry shop that’s located nearby.

Find It

500 Hayes St
San Francisco, CA 94102
Website

Posted on Leave a comment

Destination Inspiration: Blue Bottle Coffee, Hayes Valley

Blue Bottle Coffee and Pastries

We’re excited to kick off the year with a special Destination Inspiration series focused on San Francisco. We ended up in the Bay Area together on a whim over New Year’s weekend, and couldn’t resist checking out some of the best pastries, coffee, and beer the area has to offer. On our first outing into San Francisco (we were staying with Sarah’s parents in Castro Valley), we headed straight to Blue Bottle Coffee in Hayes Valley. Though headquartered in nearby Oakland, Blue Bottle has a number of locations in San Francisco and New York.

Slow Coffee Zombies Sign

Blue Bottle Line

Food and Beverages

Blue Bottle Coffee has built its empire upon, well, coffee, and though we live in Seattle–a city known for its coffee–the cappucinos at Blue Bottle are probably the best we’ve ever had. Surprisingly, the pastries are–at the risk of handing down too many declarations that sound like hyperbole–undoubtedly the best  we’ve ever had at a coffeeshop.

The olive oil shortbread had all the elements of a classic shortbread–rich, buttery flavor with a crisp but tender texture–along with the savory touches of Eatwell Farms rosemary and Stonehouse olive oil. The stout coffee cake carried the deep flavors of beer through its tender and moist crumb that was accented with oats and currants. A pecan-caraway streusel finished it off with pleasingly complementary textures and flavors.

Had we visited again, we would have also tried the sesame absinthe cigars made with St. George absinthe and Stonehouse olive oil, and the snickerdoodles with Spanish saffron and Tahitian vanilla, among other pastries. It’s a good thing they recently released a book that, while primarily about coffee, contains an impressive selection of recipes, including all the treats we just mentioned. The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee: Growing, Roasting, and Drinking, with Recipes is available at the store and online.

Blue Bottle Pastries in Hand

Location and Atmosphere

The Blue Bottle location in Hayes Valley is like a little hole in the wall that everyone knows about. The kiosk itself is a re-purposed garage with a finely manicured curbside and is tucked in the folds of an otherwise typical ally. It has just enough room for a lovely pastry case, the necessary espresso machines, a counter and the line that seems constantly formed in front of it.

Blue Bottle Alley

Writeability and Purchased Presence

As a walk-up coffee bar in an old garage in a former alley, there’s no place to sit at this Blue Bottle location, but to be honest you don’t really need one; less than a block away you’ll find Patricia’s Green, a little urban park on Octavia Street that’s just right for creative inspiration. On a side note, there’s amazing inspiration to be found in the history of Patricia’s Green and the amazing woman it stands for as a memorial. You can check it out at www.patriciawalkup.org.

Price: $$

Be sure to bring cash or check. The pricing is very reasonable with coffee starting around $3 and generously sized pastries beginning at $1.50.

Blue Bottle Counter

Blue Bottle Pastries

Parking

Parking is always a little challenging in San Francisco and the streets near Blue Bottle are no exception. There are a few streets nearby that have free 2 hour parking, but bring money for the parking meters just in case you can’t snag a spot there.

Writer’s Tip

Bundle up on a sunny winter day and get a coffee and some pastries at the kiosk, then head over to Patricia’s Green. Settle in on a bench to enjoy your treats and let yourself daydream and brainstorm as you watch the world pass by. Jot down observations, thoughts, ideas, and reflections as they come to you, and try to bring a little of this creative and happy state back to your writing space back home.

Find It

Blue Bottle Kiosk, Hayes Valley location
315 Linden Street
San Francisco
Website

Posted on Leave a comment

Destination Inspiration: Full Sail Pub

Full Sail Brewing

By the time our beer-tasting weekend in Bend, Oregon, came to a close, none of us was ready to leave. Our husbands, babies, and the two of us had had a wonderful weekend together, and heading home just didn’t seem right. So we took the long route, heading toward Hood River, which would guarantee a scenic drive with a great destination–Full Sail Brewing Co. That was a perfect consolation to the fact that we weren’t ready to return to normal life back home.

Full Sail Brewing

Food

From classic pub fare to more original summer delights, Full Sail is a sure shot when you are unsure where to eat. Here’s what we enjoyed that day.

Summer Vegetable Pesto Pasta zucchini, broccoli and cherry tomatoes tossed with rigatoni in our housemade pesto sauce. Topped with parmesan cheese.

Salmon Fish and Chips Session Lager battered wild Alaskan salmon with house made coleslaw and lemon caper tartar sauce.

The veggie salad was perfect on such a hot day! Fresh, firm (not overcooked) vegetables had the perfect coating of pesto. The pesto was light and had just enough flavor to be noticeable but not take over the flavor of the veggies.

The salmon is just what you’d expect. Strong, juicy flavors let you know that the pub didn’t skimp on quality. The Session Lager batter lightly coated the salmon almost more like a tempura than a beer batter. We both appreciated that they didn’t overdo the batter. It’s not uncommon to get a fish and chip plate where the fish is outweighed by the batter. Not at this place!

It may seem strange this far into our brewery trip to not get a beer, but we felt that the best accompaniment to our selected meals would be a glass of wine. And since we are in Oregon, why not try some of the local fare?

A personal favorite part of this meal definitely was the wine.

2008 Winemaker’s White Blend by Maryhill Winery, Goldendale, WA

2008 Peace, Love & Chardonay by Springhouse Cellar, Hood River, OR

Both wines were cool, crisp and refreshing with slight, but not overpowering fruit notes.

Full Sail Brewing

Location and Atmosphere

Overlooking Hood River, the location is definitely part of the restaurant’s charm. With windows for walls in the main dining area, the sweeping view of Hood River is breath taking. The atmosphere is busy, however, and seating can be snug. So come with an expectation that you might make some new friends!

Full Sail

Writeability and Purchased Presence

Come with a notebook and a pen–and ideally a writing partner. You could bring a laptop, but come with a fully charged battery and we suggest doing this only during the off hours as it gets really busy during the rush. This is a great place to gather and brainstorm with friends while enjoying tasty food, quality drinks and a beautiful view of Hood River.

Price: $$

Expect to pay around $5 – 11 for a shared plate, or $10 – 15 for an entree. This is pretty typical of this style of pub and the portions are more than reasonable. This is a brewery, so keep in mind that the drinks are most likely where your money may disappear to.

Parking

Street parking is often available along Columbia Street. But be warned, the street is on an incline, so depending on where you park, you may have an uphill hike ahead of you.

Full Sail

 

Writer’s Tip

There are some restaurants that are great for writing and some that are great for resting. While we always advocate having a notebook on hand, this is one of those restaurants that can be a nice place to just relax with friends, food and a nice drink. A rested writer is a productive writer!

Find It

Full Sail Tasting Room & Pub
506 Columbia Street
Hood River, OR 97031
Website

Posted on Leave a comment

A 2012 Retrospective

Wow, it’s already 2013. The first day of the new year is always an exciting time, and we’re looking forward to what’s ahead. But before we get ahead of ourselves, we’d like to take a moment to look back on a wonderful 2012.

2012 was the year of Nooks & Cranberries, to us. We had gone on hiatus for a while, but when we returned last summer, there was no looking back! We’ve been posting daily for months, giving you writing prompts and inspiration, glimpses into the writing life, and, of course, some fantastic Destination Inspiration. The latter is the backbone of Nooks & Cranberries, so we want to take you along on a look back to some of our favorite recent destinations.
For a Seattle writing space, we love Belle Epicurean. Tip: Order a brioche and take a seat at one of the marble-topped window seats.

Belle Epicurean Brioche

We also got out of town quite a bit, giving you some Destination Inspiration from some other great Northwest places, including Walla Walla’s Brasserie Four

Brasserie Four Macarons

Monteillet Fromagerie in Dayton, Washington, …

Monteillet Cheese

…and Whoopemup Hollow Cafe in Waitsburg.

Whoopemup Hollow Gazpacho

We also had a great trip to Bend, Oregon, with our husbands and sons, where the focus switched from wine to beer (as seen from our sampler, below, at 10 Barrel). There’s nothing like getting out of our natural preferences to expand our palates–and our inspiration!

10 Barrel Sampler

Â