So I feel, once again, like “Am I always the last to know?”

A few weeks ago, Groupon (the discount subscription website) offered up $25 worth of food for $10 at the Treehouse in Ballard.  Never heard of it, but just the idea sounded fun.  I mean, c’mon, a Treehouse.  Wasn’t there a time in your life, even a real long time ago, where you thought it would be cool to be in a treehouse?

So, I bought the certificates and tonight was an open night, so I yelled at my son Tyson and we met there after another one of his valiant fights across the mighty 520 bridge.  I had already secured a table and bumped into “Lars”, a guy from Our Redeemer’s Church in Ballard, who recognized me and gave me a first-timer’s welcome.  He let me know that all of the tables in the place were made from the same tree.  I thought that was a cool concept and so when I asked the waitress what the story was, she tipped off one of the owners about our curiosity and came over and joined us.

Her name was Mary and she and her partner had opened the place three years ago, right here at 43rd & Leary.  Truth be told, I rented a home two blocks down the street my senior year at the UW, so it was great to be back in the neighborhood.  She told me the tale of how they created the restaurant from scratch and had the old-growth African wood custom cut into table tops which they finished and assembled themselves.  It’s a very diverse bar food menu.  Tyson had the Veggie burger (yeah, I’m afraid I’ve lost him) and I had the Buffalo Chicken sandwich with potato skins.  As far as liquids, we enjoyed several schooners of Fremont’s Pale Ale, on tap from the local brewery.

Add that to a great NBA playoff game on the screen above us and it made for a great evening.  Mary and our waitress made us feel like one of the regulars our first night there.  There were actually several families with small kids when we arrived.  All in all, it’s that neighborhood place that you wish was in every neighborhood. I’d recommend the next time your in the area of Snooze Junction and you’re up for lunch or dinner, I’d definitely try the Treehouse Bar & Grill. You might bump into me there on my next visit.

Check ’em out on line here.
Tim Hunter