Silver in Seattle

Dear Readers,

When Whimsy goes on holiday, the sugar and sweet tweesthetic (twee aesthetic) is replaced by something more punky. Something, frankly, more akin to BEDLAM and so it is that I bring you news of a most excellent breakfast spot in the heart of Seattle's Belltown.

We stumbled on this coffee shop and for jet-lagged travellers it's opening hours of 6am to 9pm make it a very warm and welcoming place.

Not only were the two guys manning the shop kind and friendly, they were incredibly hard working and actually genuinely make the best toast ever! For this cafe sells simply: coffee, toast and desert making it my kind of establishment.

It also does a fine line in unusual interior decor and you could happily sit for hours staring at the ephemera suspended from and perched on the ceilings, walls and shelves.

I had a cafe au lait and the cinnamon swirl toast. Oh my goodness - the toast is one inch thick and thickly buttered with a velvety deep cinnamon swirled throughout the melt in your mouth brioche.

The crust was dusted in golden cinnamon sugar and they served it with a little pot of nutella on the side. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! I want to go back for more!

If I lived in Seattle I think BEDLAM would become one of my number one haunts. It's location on second avenue is super-cool. Second Avenue is one of those streets that no-one tells you about, but where you can find all of the greatest bars and local bistros and, of course as we now all know, a super-fine breakfast establishment. (There is also a kind of scary punk record shop nearby, but that's another story.)

Not only is there free wi-fi, there is also a host of paperbacks for you to borrow on the stairs and an upstairs snug with comfy chairs and lots of space to hang out.

In a city famous for its coffee, maybe it's best not to stress over where you can get the most amazing super-fine aeropressed cuppa, but rather stumble on a genuine neighbourhood favourite and let your jetlag pass as you gaze at punky art and write your postcards.

Caffeinated love from,
Whimsy x

The Nordic Bakery

Hello Readers!

Being British, I must commence with a comment on the weather; isn't it wonderful! All my tea dresses are out of the wardrobe and I am basking in the sunshine.

What perfect timing, then, to bring you the first Silver Whimsy Review from the Top Ten List of Cafes across London!

I arranged to meet my Floral-Shirted-Actor-Friend (FSAF) at The Nordic Bakery on the hottest day of the year so far. This was simultaneously a good and bad idea; whilst we had delightfully silky smooth coffees and carbohydrate-drenched cinnamon buns, The Nordic Bakery is more suited to a frost-bitten winter day rather than a sun-drenched April eve.

The Nordic Bakery might not immediately seem to fall into the Aesthetic of Whimsy. But, you see dear Reader, I LOVE the clean lines, the quasi-clinical atmosphere of the wood pannelled walls and as my FSAF commented, the sweating sauna like effect of the glass fronted window onto Golden Square. Oh dear, I'm not painting a good picture am I..?

Let us now move on to an explanation of why the cappuccino's from The Nordic Bakery are the best in central London (excluding Soho). It isnlt just the contents of the coffee cup that make this frothy-drink so pleasing, it is the cup itself and the sanitorium-esque tray on which it is presented.

It all ties in with the 'safe-space' aesthetic of The Nordic Bakery. There is something intensely soothing about the muted colours and the super-shiny and smooth Moomin sized coffee-cups. The contents therein do not disappoint; the ratio of coffee to froth is perfect (although this is a more Australasian and less Italian version of the cappuccino so do not expect an adrenalin-filled caffeine hit); this, then is a coffee to linger over rather than a pick-me-up-let-me-out-of-this-crazy-city-help-I'm-wearing-stilettoes-it's-rush-hour-and-I'm-going-to-be-late kind of coffee.

And then we move onto the piece de resistance du Nordic Bakery. Oh yes, their famed and much-devoured by Whimsy cinnamon buns. The bakery is housed in the basement of the cafe, so freshly baked cakes, buns and breads are constantly brought up into the cafe. The cinnamon bun is a multi-layered delicacy of thick buttery pastry drenched in cinnamon-loaded goodness. My FSAF could detect a hint of something else behind the cinnamon - an almost liqueur like flavour that he couldn't pin down - if you go please send in your thoughts about what this could have been. The best cinnamon buns are soft and squishy inside and sticky and chewy on the outer corners.

I have never ventured into tasting any of their other cakes, but the Tosca Cake sounds most tempting.

So, if you're stuck on Oxford Street and need some respite from the crazed shoppers and endless roadworks, head down Carnaby Street and wend your way t Golden Square; there a sanitorium clam awaits you.

Cinnamon and Springtime,

Silver Whimsy x