Birthday Eats 2020

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I had my birthday recently and just was not feeling it this year. It’s not that I was feeling old and grumpy about it - more like coronavirus has changed everything so much that it just didn’t feel right to celebrate anything. It’s like I just keep waiting for us to get the virus under control so we can go back to some semblance of normalcy when in reality nobody knows when this will get better. Thankfully, Jeff and AR helped me celebrate safely via takeout food. Here are some excerpts:

  1. Jeff baked milk bread cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I probably could’ve feasted on these alone and been one very happy human.

  2. We went to the International District to pick up dim sum for lunch. The area has been vandalized during recent protests, but artists have been coming in to paint the businesses that had to board up their windows. It was really amazing to see the art uplifting the community during these hard times.

  3. Dim sum from Jade Garden never disappoints. We got it take out (really the only option right now) and ate it out of the back of our SUV. It’s not exactly what I imagined for a birthday lunch, but I hope it’s a good memory down the road.

  4. Bonus: on the way home from the International District, I saw Mount Rainier in all its glory while crossing the I-90 bridge. It always makes me happy to yell “Hi, Mountain!” when I get to see it.

  5. After a food coma nap, we headed to Shake Shack for dinner because it’s one of my favorite quick service burger places (and I’m so thankful they came to the East side!). A cheeseburger with cheese fries and a coffee shake may not be the fanciest thing, but it’s so satisfying.

  6. Saturday morning we headed down to Chuck’s Donuts. Their maple bars have a whipped icing/frosting on top that is the bees knees in my opinion.

  7. Bonus part 2: upon returning home I met a cute little snail friend. They’re fairly prevalent in our neighborhood and I always enjoy taking pictures of them.

There were plenty of other good eats (like sourdough banana bread), but I stopped taking pictures. All in all, it was a pretty great birthday given the state of life for most of us right now.