May 15 #22 Phinney Ridge

Another lovely weekend in Seattle. Today we visit the area just north of Woodland Park, Phinney Ridge. What a happy coincidence; there is an Art Walk event in progress today! We started near the Red Mill around NW 67th and Phinney Ave. N. We got a late start, 1:00 PM so we’re thinking lunch, but we can wait – we’re barbecuing tonight and perhaps there is some cuisine a bit farther away.

Phinney Ridge is the least photogenic neighborhood we have encountered so far. On the other hand, it has the funkiest shops, even more than Fremont. Three separate independent book sellers, two game stores, lots of restaurants. This neighborhood is interesting!

We were particularly interested in the restuarants; we checked out each, but the thought of going inside on such a spectacular day just turned us off. We did cruise through some of the shops and we checked out the abundant art. But generally, we just enjoyed the gentle walk up to NW 87th and back. No murals, like West Seattle. No great views. The most visually interesting aspect was the names of the shops. New’s Noodles, Olive You (sadly a victim of the arsonist last fall, but soon to reopen), The Chocolate Shoebox, Pillager’s Pub, Tasty, Slum City Hot Dogs.





We didn’t find a solution to our lunch plans and ended up back at the Red Mill. The stars aligned to make the line short, so we ordered up some burgers, fries and drinks. We took the short drive to Green Lake to enjoy our lunch alfresco.Phinney Ridge is a nice neighborhood, but this walk was not that special.