125 Belmont Ave E
Seattle, WA 98102
(206) 327-9549
www.captainblacksseattle.com
I’ll start off with an all important disclaimer: Captain Black’s is very new. It was only a month old addition to the Capitol Hill bar scene when I paid my first visit. After eight hours of arduous data entry, I was interrupted by a truly irresistible text invitation. It was a message from my roommate, a man of laughably few words, and simply read “beer, chicken and waffles?” Now who in their right mind could turn down such an enticing and carb-intensive offer? After a quick change (because you just can’t go to a bar in Capitol Hill dressed as you were for a temp job on the Eastside), we were on our way.
The inside of Captain Black’s is dark and cozy, which can provide for great atmosphere but finding an open seat is nearly impossible. The real show stopper is the large patio out back, which allowed us to take advantage of one of those gorgeous summer sunsets that we Seattleites spend the rest of the year reminiscing over. Looking out over Capitol Hill I couldn’t help but wonder – what happens in September? It rains here. A lot. Not as much as they say, but enough to make predominantly outdoor seating areas a dubious choice. But that’s a worry for another season.
On a sunny Friday evening, it’s a perfect chill out spot and had already drawn an impressive crowd. While seating was an issue at first, once we took our seats the thriving congregation of Capitol Hill patrons made for some truly exceptional people watching. We quickly identified the loud and nasally table behind us as a group of disgruntled Starbucks baristas and made a fairly cruel bet over whether the lone bespectacled gentleman a few feet away was being stood up. I won- his date was late.
A massive drawback to the lively crowd was its affect on the service. Captain Black’s clearly couldn’t quite handle its instant popularity. We waited over an hour for our meals, his the signature chicken and waffle dish, mine a lowly bowl of white cheddar mac & cheese. While we waited, the baristas received their orders, which turned out to be wrong, and got into a dispute with the wait staff that was truly painful to hear (but not painful enough to keep us from eavesdropping, obviously). When asked if they wanted to wait for their original order, one of the baristas remarked “no, we don’t want to have to wait another hour.” But once prices were adjusted, they tucked happily into their meals and declared “at least the food is good.”
In the sunlight, this is a great place to relax and chat over a few beers, but at a certain point the night air turned chilly and all I wanted was a hot bowl of mac & cheese. The conversation eventually eroded into sullen silence with an intermittent comment about never being served. We were trapped in this sober, breezy purgatory, my open tab ensuring we couldn’t escape.
Then our meals arrived. My mac and cheese started out strong, hot and bubbling with that burnt layer of cheese on top that makes you realize the concept of crunchy cheese, though initially repellent, is actually amazing. However, the last quarter of the dish was sitting contentedly in a pool of grease that I just couldn’t bring myself to delve into.
The signature chicken & waffles, in the meantime, were breathtaking. Even though my friend pointed out that we eat sausage and bacon with waffles all the time, I was still wary of this unfamiliar combination, but somehow it all seemed to work. The chicken was perfectly white and tender inside, encased in tantalizingly crisply charred batter. The waffle, accompanied by a sweet little jug of maple syrup, was perfectly at home on the plate beside it. Maybe the wait had been worth it, we thought, our spirits rallying. But half an hour later, as my friend abandoned his intention to order a second round of beer, they were down again, and when we did eventually grab the attention of the single waitress catering to the entire patio, we simply asked to settle the bill and left.
Ultimately I still have hope for the place. There is definite potential is there, there are just a few kinks to work out, like designating an appropriate amount of wait staff and figuring out what the hell to do when it rains.
by Nicola Fairhead
[Photos: FeelinFeasty]
