The agony and ecstasy of "Both Ways Cafe"

Seattle residents who haven’t driven down to Seward Park to enjoy the scenery and the cultural diversity this area offers are missing one of our best-kept secrets. It’s a little paradise, this stretch of Lake Washington Boulevard where bicyclists meander along the road and boaters find the peace of this tiny bay a place for relaxation and fishing.

Just north is the Genesee neighborhood, bordering the Lake and filled with parks, great views, and unique restaurants. One of them is Both Ways Café. Standing on the corner of 50th and Genesee, Both Ways is a tiny place with picnic tables on the street, mismatched furnishings inside, and the aroma of french toast sizzling from behind the counter. A friendly wait staff and satisfying menu make this a good destination if a breakfast meal is in your plans.  But if you want a great cup of coffee, keep moving.

Both Ways Café serves it up from an air-pump. As readers of this column will come to discover, air-pumps should be filled with napalm and thrown onto the farthest island never to be seen again. They always retain old oils and residue and only produce a barely-drinkable coffee. In addition, the air-pump contained old coffee, smelling of burned grounds and so thick that no amount of water or cream would have tempered it.

Now, this is a sit-down restaurant as well as billing itself as a coffee house. Using “real” cups would have greatly enhanced the coffee experience. But paper cups were the only containers offered. Paper cups have their place; when you’re getting coffee “on the go,” it has to be paper unless the customer brings his/her own cup or mug and has it filled. When a restaurant, though, has tables, serves food on real plates, and is set up for full service, paper cups should be banned.

I took my coffee outside and sat under one of the trees, trying to sip the unbearable brew. I grimaced with the first taste. It wouldn’t have mattered if I caught them on a bad coffee day; once the experience is cemented in the brain, there’s no going back. Both Ways Café coffee was not good and if I ever try them for french toast and sausage, I’ll have an orange juice…in a real glass.