Microhoods | Everything's new again in Old Ballard

A stroll down Seattle's Ballard Avenue to see what's cooking (and what's new).

Seattle Times staff reporter

GREG GILBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Clara Wetzel, 2, gives the toys a tryout at Clover. The shop at 5335 Ballard Ave. N.W. also carries baby clothes and room accessories.

GREG GILBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES

The arch of the bell tower frames a view looking south on Ballard Avenue Northwest. The tower marks the site of Ballard's old city hall.

GREG GILBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Lucca at 5332 Ballard Ave. N.W. offers garden ornaments and statuary along with cards and gifts.

GREG GILBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Bark Natural Pet Care at 5338 Ballard Ave. N.W. features food, treats, collars and toys for your furry friends.

Numbers correspond to numbers on map

1. Clover, 5335 Ballard Ave. N.W. First toy store I've been to without feeling sensory overload. Toys neatly organized and categorized. One section: toy appliances, including a washing machine, stove, mini-rolling pins, stainless-steel pans, sieves and other toy utensils. My real kitchen isn't this well stocked. www.clovertoys.com

2. Sutter Home & Hearth, 5333 Ballard Ave. N.W. Fireplaces and Weber grills in showroom. It's been scientifically proved that grilling on a Weber is a life-altering experience. The guys on my block commissioned the study. sutterhearth.com

3. Madame K's Pizza Bistro, 5327 Ballard Ave. N.W. Supposedly once a brothel. The clever owners ran with that theme and decked out their pizza joint in brothel motif.

4. Bastille Café & Bar, 5307 Ballard Ave. N.W. Crispy fries dressed with Beecher's cheese curd, more cheese and béchamel sauce. Seattle's best poutine. www.bastilleseattle.com

5. Moshi Moshi Sushi, 5324 Ballard Ave. N.W. Known more for its cocktails. Mixologist Erik Carlson, who learned his craft in San Francisco, created one of the city's most original and impressive cocktail menus this year. Try the Angel's Share or .40 Caliber cocktail. He has a fall menu out now. www.moshiseattle.com

6. Lucca, 5332 Ballard Ave. N.W. For Francophiles. Cool vintage and contemporary cards, stationery, gifts and European garden ornaments. Nice courtyard that screams "turn me into a wine bar." Instead, we get a showroom of Buddhas, fountains and just what this world needs, another gnome. www.luccastatuary.com

7. Bark Natural Pet Care, 5338 Ballard Ave. N.W. A deli display of dog treats includes taco, tuna melt and Buffalo wrap provolone-flavored snacks. A bakery features peanut-butter-banana bonbons. The bumper sticker out front captures the store's pampering mantra: "My mutt is smarter than your honor student." www.barknaturalpet.com

8. duque salon + spa + boutique, 5348 Ballard Ave. N.W. This is what happens when you listen to your parents and get your haircut at a hair academy to save money. Eventually, you end up in a place like duque, whose motto is "We fix bad hair." duquesalon.com

Whatever that elusive and intangible quality that makes a neighborhood the "it" place, Ballard has it.

The two most talked about restaurant openings in the city recently, hands down, not even up for debate: Bastille Café & Bar and Delancey, both in Ballard. Now Tom Douglas reportedly is looking to expand his mini-empire here.

Bartenders have also ratcheted up the cool quotient in Ballard. On days off, bartenders and waiters often do the Ballard bar crawl: Start at Coppergate, hit the trifecta of La Isla, Moshi Moshi Sushi and Hazlewood, and finish at Sambar Bar and Lounge. Their presence has stamped this hood as the go-to place for sophisticated and classic cocktails.

We look at a block of historic "Old Ballard": Ballard Avenue Northwest, between Northwest Vernon Place and 22nd Avenue Northwest, an area filled with boutiques, coffeehouses, restaurants and, coming in mid-November, Fresh Flours, a Japanese fusion pastry shop based in Phinney Ridge that will open a second branch next to Bastille.

Tan Vinh: 206-515-5656 or tvinh@seattletimes.com

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Comments (9)

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Might want to note that Madame K's is closing in a few months: http://www.ballardnewstribune.com/2009/04/01/news/madame-ks-remain-here-17-months Posted on October 15, 2009 at 7:41 PM by RajIndia. Jump to comment

More proof that people aren't paying attention! Remember when Belltown started getting gentrified, and forced artists out? Fremont? Hey... Posted on October 15, 2009 at 8:28 PM by liberal constitutionist. Jump to comment

saying sambar is a *ballard* spot is incorrect. Posted on October 15, 2009 at 12:53 AM by fly fishing seahawk. Jump to comment

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