On a recent March visit to the University District in Seattle, Washington, my daughter and I had the pleasure of visiting my dear old friend, Joe (who some of you may know). Catching up and finding breakfast were our two agenda items. Now I've known Joe for 17 years and it wasn't until this moment I realized Joe is even more indecisive than me (especially when it comes to food!) God knows how this guy can profess, account, invest and lawyer!? I'm sure he was attempting to make me feel better about my own decision making skills or lack there of, after driving up and down every street in the U- District.
As if the creepy ladies weren't enough we explored the back of the restaraunt, anticipating we'd find some hidden secret in this offbeat place. Lurking about with our full stomachs, guess what we found!? Hidden not so discreetly behind a wall of bamboo paneling, Joe, the 9 year old and I discovered a runway! Yes. The type of runway that hosts only a drag show in the University District of Seattle, Washington. So thanks to Joe for satisfying our two agenda items and teaching my 9 year old that men too can walk a runway.
After nearly an hour in transit, we were still undecided on our morning fare. Luckily we had it narrowed down to; 1. IHOP (yuk!) 2. Julia's and 3. Somewhere else. Joe said Julia's was funky and known for it's pancakes, eggs benedict and "atmosphere." Once the 9 yeard old realized the adults would outrule her hope of IHOP, she became intrigued with Joe's candid explanation of "atmosphere." It went something like this...
Breakfast and lunch by day, drag show performance venue at night. Now don't let that scare you because it certainly didn't scare the 9 year old! If anything, the term "drag show" was foreign, demanded curiousity and deserved a poignant question. "What is a drag show, Joe?" I looked amusingly at Joe and awaited his answer. A father of five, my guess was that his kids too had been to Julia's and asked the same inquisitive question. Nonchalantly Joe responded, "A drag show is when grown men dress up as women and promenade on a runway." Yes, my daughter looked at me with eyes that said, "what the heck?" I suddenly found it difficult to remove the smirk from my face.
Luckily, the hostess who was performing multiple tasks (serving and possibly cooking too?!) seated us. Any further explanation was unnecessary as the smells of sweet syrup and sight of other plated tables overtook our tummies. As a threesome we hungrily ordered pancakes, omelets and fruit. Then the "atmosphere" started to take shape. Our morning dining experience soon started to pop with these supervillian-like mannequin's dressed in boa's and gawdy jewels. To make their appearance even more entertaining, scarlet make-up and wigs insured our wide-eyes. At one point, the 9 year old grabbed my Nikon and assertively walked the scope of the floor to take pictures. She now tells me the lady with the black wig and purple feather boa "creeps her out!" Undoubtedly!
As if the creepy ladies weren't enough we explored the back of the restaraunt, anticipating we'd find some hidden secret in this offbeat place. Lurking about with our full stomachs, guess what we found!? Hidden not so discreetly behind a wall of bamboo paneling, Joe, the 9 year old and I discovered a runway! Yes. The type of runway that hosts only a drag show in the University District of Seattle, Washington. So thanks to Joe for satisfying our two agenda items and teaching my 9 year old that men too can walk a runway.
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