Bellevue Questions

[LongDawson]

Thai Castle is not very good in my opinion. The owners hire untrained Thai-speaking college kids as chefs, just because they are familiar with the food. That is my understanding. I know Thai food very well and Thai Castle is lame, but that is only one person's opinion. Keep in mind I am unimpressed with almost all Thai restaurants because I like authentic not Americanized. If you like Thai food, go a bit east to Noodle Boat in Issaquah. It is the real thing.

What is the Mexican place you mentioned?

In Newcastle, local residents seem to rave the most about Yea's Wok. I think it is overrated.

That is a really good article about Newport Hills commercial area. It's a little gem there. An excellent opportunity for someone with the right idea. Great neighborhood there.

[MichaelinWA]

My guess is that Ira is talking about Tapatio, in the QFC-anchored strip mall.

Tapatio Mexican Grill

Originally Posted by LongDawson

What is the Mexican place you mentioned?

[Ira500]

I am talking about Tapatio. I haven't eaten in Thai Castle in a few years, and Noodle Boat in Issaquah is easily one of the best in the Seattle area for Thai food. But just having a neighborhood restaurant is a big asset , even if it isn't great...and to be honest, I'm not sure I want something totally authentic. Maybe authenticity is best appreciated if you grow up eating it, but I've eaten insect tacos in the Mexican interior, and it was hard for me to get past what I'd ordered.

[LongDawson]

Excellent point on authentic. I agree w/you. A lot of people think authentic is good, and fusion American style is bad. It really depends, as you said. Glad you like Noodle Boat. Can't be beat.

[dxenopoulos]

First off the thing about the Mormons is funny. I think they just wanna make sure any new Mormon neighbors join the scene. The Mormons are nice (there's a beautiful Mormon temple in Bellevue near BCC), and the Jehovahs are nice too - they're not pushy or anything. Religion isn't a big deal for most communities in the Seattle area - though there are plenty of churches and synagogues and what have you.

I really like Newport Hills/Newcastle area. They are right about that little strip mall needing an update, but most people in Newport Hills do those kinds of things in Newcastle, literally at the bottom of the hill. Newcastle is great. Convenient freeway access, also in your neighborhood you have a QFC, a Safeway, and an array of shops and restaurants - it's definitely a neighborhood destination. Coal Creek, the main arterial has crappy traffic sometimes but they're working on it.

In Bellevue, I think Crossroads and Lake Hills are fine neighborhoods. I'm not sure why they get bum raps. They are some of the more diverse neighborhoods in Bellevue, and I would say Lake Hills is very much your regular 70s-style suburb. The only places I would avoid are the cheap apartments on 156th and 140th. My tires got slashed because I accidentally parked in someone else's parking space at one on 140th (which they've actually re-done and turned into condos - gross!). Nowhere in Bellevue is really "ghetto" though. I think Lake Hills and the neighborhoods surrounding it are a good place to raise a family.

I grew up mostly in the Downtown-side of Clyde Hill and neighborhoods directly north of Downtown. Nowadays you can't live in Clyde Hill unless you're a millionaire. Even the neighborhoods I called home as a kid are way expensive now. But I think that was probably the most convenient place to live and my family loved it. We could walk to the mall in less than 10 minutes. I could walk to school in 15 minutes, it's just an incredibly safe neighborhood. I'm not sure what your budget is exactly, but at least check that area out. Downtown living is all condos (I'm not a fan yet), but directly outside of downtown you get good neighborhoods, some ritzier than others, but the convenience of being able to walk to the best shopping in the region, grocery stores, library, what have you is great.

Other neighborhoods I would recommend: Wilburton (east of Downtown) and Surrey Downs (right behind Bellevue High School).

[sofia76]

Thanks, all - great info!

[jenlion]

Man. We looked at Lake Hills in late 2007/early 2008 to try to get a cheaper house. Prices have dropped 20-25% (I think?) since then, but back about $450k got you a big POS. Houses that clearly needed a TON of work. Exposed copper wiring. Gas lines installed wrong. Second floor windows looked over neighbor's trash heaps in the backyard. Rotting rowboats, fallen-in sheds, windows and doors, piled up on top of multiple tarps that used to cover it, apparently. I'd like to be exaggerating -- I lived five years in Oklahoma next to a drug dealer (when that one got busted, it'd pop up catty-corner in the "appliance repair" shop for a year, till they got busted, then somebody else would move in next door and start over) and not the type you see on Weeds -- but these houses, with very few exceptions, SUCKED, especially with kids.

Scirocco took a screenshot of a map and drew a red circle around Lake Hills so I could know what and where it was. He was right on the money. We thought very hard about that extra 90k or so, but strolling through (on the streets - no sidewalks where we looked), people looked beat down and were quite unfriendly. Not the freeze -- just I-don't-know-why-you're-here-or-what-you-want-go-the-hell-away. Very bad "vybe".

I know some folks that live there and like having a big backyard, but they are always needing expensive home repairs (those flat roofs are bad news) and having neighbor problems. Stuff that just doesn't happen in the neighborhood we're in now.

I do go to Crossroads regularly (every few weeks or months) and it's OK, though a little odd to walk from a mall into a grocery store. :-) I was sad Chilis closed, I thought it might be a good place to meet friends. But it's the weirdest little mall. A Bed Bath and Beyond, a Michaels, a Dress Barn, a library, a board game store, a city services desk? Just ... odd. But I like painting ceramics on margarita night, and Common Folk Kids is very cool, and I like the old-fashioned "rides" on train and car and helicopter for a quarter. So, we go sometimes after daycare on a rainy afternoon.

... I keep wanting to comment on how it is very difficult to go there sometimes, how the mall staff come and yell at the wrong mothers when kids are onstage, and those mothers shrug and point at the actual mothers of the kids jumping on the stage, and fights break out in multiple languages; or how the escorts bringing vanloads from a nearby group home make it very tough to walk through there with a two year old. I've had to stop and delete a bunch of it because it all sounds racist or cruel. So I'll sip my latte and try to remember I'm a liberal and supposed to be better than that. This mall is not dangerous. It's just old and relatively poor, and in a very, very mixed area of town, serving people that have moved to the area from all over the world. You NEVER know what you're going to get there.

[toughguy]

The quality can vary dramatically in Lake Hills... when I lived there, lots of people took pride in their homes, lots didn't. Also, the sidewalks are definitely a little hit and miss; some streets have them, some don't. It's definitely not a high end area, but its in no way a crappy neighborhood for children (if you want them to have a suburban lifestyle).

[drewba]

Originally Posted by MichaelinWA

My guess is that Ira is talking about Tapatio, in the QFC-anchored strip mall.

Tapatio Mexican Grill

Mmmm, Tapatio. We drove up to Newcastle from Fairwood last weekend just to eat there. Much better than the Azteca, Las Margaritas and Torero's chains in my opinion.