Mukilteo Musings

Local Businesses I Want to Stay LOCAL

Below I listed some local businesses that went national. I was shocked to learn that REI is back east--I had no idea. Today, I list some of my favorite local places that I would prefer stay local and who knows--I may find out from your comments that even these have spread.

1. Dilettante Chocolates. Actually, I think they would like to be bigger than they are but they have been drowned out by the non-local Godiva. The original store is on Capital Hill. They have fabulous chocolate desserts and a menu with all sorts of milkshakes and sodas and coffee drinks. The Truffles are to die for. A few months ago we visited for after dinner dessert. My husband and I ordered decaf coffee and they always serve coffee in clear glass mugs. Our kids ordered deep chocolate whipped cream desserts. With coffee, they serve you with a tiny plate of raw sugar, cream and their deep dark chocolate chips.
All of a sudden, there was an explosion. My husband's glass mug full of hot coffee spontaneously combusted; glass was everywhere. Needless to say, when management realized we did nothing to cause the disaster, our coffees and desserts were replaced. We were exceedingly lucky that shards of glass were buried in whipped cream instead of eyeball. Even after consultation with scientists at the UW the next day, no explanation exists for why this happened. My explanation after spending a lot of childhood time with an English grandmother is simple: ghosts.

2. Sur La Table. This is a fabulous kitchen store in Pike Place Market that has everything--everything. My husband tried to secretly buy me a colander for our anniversary but since I was with him, it was rather obvious.

3. Delaurenti's. Also in Pike Place Market, this little store was started by one of Seattle's original Italian families. It is unequaled for buying quality cooking chocolate in bulk, cheeses, olive oils and any number of specialty items.

4. Dick's Hamburgers. Ah yes, Dick's--known fondly as Chez Richard's. Dick's has been a Seattle establishment for 50 years. Dick's even made Saveur Magazine's Best list a couple of years ago. How do I explain Dick's?? Seattle's little hypocritical guilty pleasure--the occasional alternative to our normally healthy diets! At the time that places like McDonald's became national chains, Dick's purposely refused and Seattleites love this sort of contrariness. (In fact, we have a McDonald's five minutes from my house but I'd choose the half-hour drive to Dick's any day.)
Dick's has only a handful of drive-ins in the Seattle area and because we love them, they are doing just fine thank you. Dick's is a plain and simple burger joint; there is no drive-thru window; there is no inside seating; nothing is served in plastic or styrofoam. They only have hamburgers, cheeseburgers, milkshakes, cokes and french fries. The French fries are made from actual potatoes and they are good and greasy--the best. The milkshakes are made with real ice cream. And the burgers taste like...Dick's!! Often, we see people we know at the Dick's on 45th near the U. It is a well known fact that Bill Gates loves Dick's just like the rest of us.