To get Julian out of the house, we took a road trip to Columbia City today. This neighborhood is where all of the various ethnic groups in Seattle mash together. It’s rapidly gentrifying, but it still has an African-American vibe. Julian’s mother spent her last years in a nursing home in Seward Park, to the south of Columbia City. Since Betty died, we haven’t gotten down there very much.

We started out by having lunch at Island Soul, a Caribbean restaurant that has a diverse clientele. Julian, aka Miami Boy, introduced me to the joys of Caribbean cuisine. Island Soul does it right, even if we’re in non-tropical Seattle.We ordered the Soul Bowl, a sampler of jerk chicken, oxtail stew, curried goat, rice and peas, and collard greens. The serving utensil was actually a large platter, with smaller bowls set on top. Fried ripe plantain slices garnished the platter between the bowls.  I also had a glass of its sorrel, a hibiscus-based drink with cinnamon and clove. (Think Red Zinger tea, only better.)

After lunch, we walked across the street to Green Eileen, an offshoot of Eileen Fisher that sells gently used clothing. In addition to Seattle, Green Eileen has a store in Yonkers, NY. The profits of the store go to charities that serve women and girls. I found a boiled wool jacket for a very reasonable price, along with two tops and a skirt. Much of Eileen Fisher’s clothing is too unconstructed for my tastes, but I managed to find items that work with the rest of my wardrobe.

The next stop was Bob’s Meats, where we got some veal scaloppine for tomorrow night’s dinner. The veal was pretty red, so I doubt it was from calves raised under normal veal conditions (confined to a small crate). We went to Mutual Fish to look for tonights’s dinner, but nothing called out to us. Therefore, we drove up to the International District and went shopping at the Uwajimaya flagship store in the International District. Our alternate term for this Asian supermarket is Oohwhatjabuyme. The store sells nearly every foodstuff you need for Asian cooking. You can also find kitchen utensils and a wide variety of rice cookers with neurofuzzy logic. (What does this mean? Damned if I know…) The bookstore sells cookbooks, and there’s a food court with most Asian cuisines represented. The Uwajimaya building has apartments above the grocery. Even though those apartments would be closer to work than our current digs, I would find that way too tempting. It would be like an alcoholic in recovery living above a tavern.