Moon Over Mike’s Tavern

Last night, to “celebrate” the completion of a certain project, we headed up to Ballard for a bowl of Mike’s chili.

Some people celebrate with champagne, others with cocaine, but that high-brow, pretentious stuff doesn’t fly with me. If ground beef and kidney beans are good enough for cowboys and hobos, then it’s good enough for me dammit.

On the way up 15th Ave, en-route to the Ballard Bridge, I looked back and spotted a full moon hanging over the Seattle skyline.

“I need to make a quick detour!”, I exclaimed before veering on to the Magnolia Bridge and driving up to one of my favorite, lesser-known viewing spots. We soaked in the view for a few minutes, but when I reached into my pocket to take a few shots, I realized that I had left my camera behind.

Fortunately, I still had my EVO, complete with 8Mp sensor, but as you can see, it’s useless in low-light:

Clearly, you had to be there.

After hanging out and taking a few awful photos, we continued on to the small tavern at the southern edge of Ballard.

For those who may be unaware, Mike’s is a somewhat famous joint here in Emerald City. Several years ago, it was even featured on the Food Network.

Even though I am still a quasi-wannabe-vegetarian, on this night, I could not resist getting a bowl for myself. $7 for a pint with cheese = instant carnivore heaven.

Kidney beans, high quality ground beef, a layer of grease from the cheese, and just the right amount of herbs, spices, or something. As a non-foodie, it’s hard to put into words why this stuff is good, all I know is that it is. Mike’s is to chili what Ezell’s is to chicken.

If, by chance, you’ve yet to pay a visit to this Seattle institution, then by all means, do yourself a favor and rectify that in the near future.

Needless to say, a good time was had by all.