Friday nights at Central Market - Dinner & Music

Central Market is located on the upper level of the Sears Plaza, which is between 155th & 160th on Aurora. During the summer, they serve reasonably prices meals and provide free entertainment. Check their web site for more details: http://shoreline.central-market.com/

Amazon Fresh review

Since we covered the arrival of Amazon Fresh delivery in Shoreline here on the blog, I thought I'd try it out and let you know how it works. That, and the idea of having food delivered to your doorstep is magical in the way it only can be to someone who grew up after the era of glass-bottled milk and before Kozmo.com and Webvan.com had their brief moments of glory.

It's easy enough to shop on Amazon Fresh; like the main site, it anticipates, for example, that when you type "ground" you may well be looking for "ground beef." I decided to order about half our normal amount of groceries for this test, and included a variety of products, like toothpaste, half-and-half, strawberries, broccoli, lettuce, onions, avocados, yogurt and of course, ground beef. The minimum order is $30, and delivery costs $5, though after you've added $75 worth of products to your cart, delivery is free.

I didn't include any beer or wine, because you must be home to show ID, naturally; I wanted to try the "pre-dawn delivery" option because I was a bit enchanted by the idea of grocery elves visiting in the middle of the night.

And they did. Here's what was on our porch in the morning:


I had wondered if the delivery would be truly silent, or whether our very keen-eared dog would wake up and bark. Apparently the elves wear padded slippers, because none of us heard them arrive.

The containers are very large, which might not be apparent in the photos. There were three, and items were separated between them by the amount of coldness needed; one was insulated and included packs of dry ice, one was just packed with frozen ice packs, and one was simply empty except for a few items. It seemed like a lot of packaging, but of course these things are re-used over and over. The items inside came in thin plastic baggies within their containers.






Everything we received was as expected; the broccoli was fresh and firm, the strawberries, blueberries and blackberries were as good as what I'd have chosen myself at the store (and getting a package of strawberries with no bad ones is actually sort of rare, so that was a nice surprise).



Bridget the cat personally approved the tomatoes.



I should note that I placed this grocery order at 8:00 the evening before, and it came sometime before 6:00 this morning.

Overall, we're pretty pleased with this new shopping option; it's not always easy to get to the store after work, but you could certainly place an order during the day and have it arrive that evening or over night. Another plus was that I found myself much less tempted to impulse-buy. I knew what I needed, and wasn't tempted by the goodies you find while wandering around a store. Prices were about the same for most products, lower for some, higher for others; one negative feature is that by not wandering around a store, you don't see items on sale that you might want to stock up on. There is a sale section, but I didn't see much of interest there.

Another not-so-great thing is the size of the delivery containers. I had to stack ours on the back porch for now. You can request that Amazon come to pick them up right away, though, or just swap them out the next time you order.

Have you tried Amazon's delivery service now that they're available here? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Indian Sweets & Spices in Shoreline's North City

Have you seen the Indian grocery store at 180th and 15th in the North City neighborhood of Shoreline? The sign above the door reads Indian Sweets & Spices. Although I've passed by there many times before, I'd never been inside until this evening.

I took some photos of the interior of the store and some of the items for sale and I bought a variety of freshly-made Indian sweets. Delicious!

I would say that if you're interested in Indian foods, beverages, and household items (or Indian music and movies, for that matter), you should check this place out. Here are a few photos and a link (below) to see more.

Exterior of the store

A variety of henna products

Basmati rice by the sackful

Dried lemons

Incense and incense burners

Freshly-made Indian sweets!

Nice Time

Link to more photos of the Indian Sweets & Spices grocery in Shoreline

Link to photos & reviews of the store's homemade sweets

Indian Sweets & Spices is at 18002 15th Ave NE, Shoreline, WA 98155
Phone number: 206-367-4568

Have you shopped here? Anything in particular you'd recommend? Please let us know by clicking where it says 'comments'

Holiday Shop & Nosh this Friday at Shoreline Center

From the Shoreline/Lake Forest Park Arts Council:

Holiday Shop`N Nosh!

Friday, December 5
Join us at the Gallery at Shoreline Center
12-7pm

Special Wine Reception from 5-7pm

'Tis the season for finding that perfect gift for friends, family members, or for yourself! We have a wonderful selection of pottery, textiles, original paintings, blown glass, photography, jewelry and distinctive home decorative items by Pacific Northwest Artists! Relax and shop while enjoying a bit of holiday cheer
at the Gallery at Shoreline Center.

The Gallery is located in the Shoreline Center, 18560 1st Ave NE in Shoreline.
Enter by the flagpole, turn right and we are halfway down the hall on the right.

Curious to know what you might find? We have so many artists selling their work in
The Gallery at Shoreline Center and most of it under $60!

New additions for mid 2008 and the Holiday Shop ‘N Nosh are:

Mona Fairbanks – Felted pins and fine art
Chirping Garden – Garden stakes and trellises
Omega Art – Fused glass
Carmen Mettler – Felted messenger dolls and mermaids
Rana Bayrakci – Jewelry
Dick Davenny – Dichroic glass
Marsha Lippert – Holiday themed miniature paintings
Tami Johnson – Ceramics
Pederson’s Garden Poundings – Matted work and cards
Cool Woods – Hand turned woodwork
Kendra Bowdin – Jewelry

Returning favorites:

Guy Michelson – Blown Glass
Julie Perrine – Ceramics
Krista Jefferson - Hand painted wood signs and mirrors
Kelly Blaylock - Copper and glass
Elaine Iodice - Glass
Stan Chraminski - Hand painted mirrors and fine art
Bright Hauser – Jewelry
Denny Sargent - Ceramics
Lynn McManus – Fused glass
Maria Meneses - Jewelry
Irene Dabanian – Blown Glass
Cats Eye Creations - Silver jewelry
Diana Henderson - Fine Silver Earrings
Nancy Charlton - Scanner art
Kaynor Arts - Chinese symbol hangings and paperweights
Stacy Frost - Blown glass earrings
Judy Reese - Polymer clay jewelry
Gary Georger - Ceramics
Eric Hall - Handmade lamps
Jeanette Alexander - Piano CD's
Nancy Skullerud – A little of everything
Katherine Holzknecht - Concrete cast leaves and glass
Richard Armstrong - Garden art
Krista Forsyth Fisher - Polymer boxes

and handmade cards by many local artists and photographers!

A great way to find a unique and affordable gift and support local arts in your community! Come by and take a look!