Sunday Brunch at the Little Red Hen – Greenlake

Years ago, a coworker told me I’d love the Little Red Hen in Greenlake. The hen’s known for late night country dancing, which he assumed I’d love being from the South. I didn’t bother to tell him I’d gone country dancing once outside of P.E. class, in Chicago. He thought the South only had one accent anyhow.

Sidebar: In 9th grade, we had an 8-week unit on square dancing. No one was admitting it was any fun at the time. Our P.E. teacher happened to be a former football coach and a current southern Baptist preacher. One of my whipsmart fellow classmates took advantage of his preconceived notions and told him that in her Jewish tradition, it was against her religion to dance in anything but circles. She got to walk the track while we do-si-doed. (She’s an awesome D.C. lawyer now.)

Back to today. We met up with Jim & Laura and A&B at the Little Red Hen in Greenlake. Around 11, we wandered through the cowboy door and into the dark bar to grab a table. It was quiet & cool — perfect for a heat wave. The bartender was gruff, just the way it should be. He warmed up.

Mr. T ordered Chicken Fried Steak (so good!), I got the Ham Benedict (good, but no chicken fried!), A got the CA Benedict, and I sort of lost track of what everyone else got. Regardless, I completely enjoyed my brunch and for the 2 of us, spent $20. The cook even came out to ask how we liked our breakfasts.

I’d go back for dancing, too.

In the afternoon, I headed to Natala’s for afternoon tea. My favorite tea tartine: roasted cherry tomato with cucumber & cream cheese. Close second: White cheddar and mango chutney.

Lovely day.