Exploring Ballard

We picked Ballard as our first place to explore because I had purchased a Groupon for halibut fish and chips for two at Ballard Brothers Seafood and Burgers while still in Madison. We've eaten plenty of fried fish on Fridays in Wisconsin, but we've never had fried halibut! The menu at Ballard Brothers seems to be elevated fast food. This is no Long John Silver! The seafood is wild caught and the burger patties are 1/3 lb!

Ballard Brothers Seafood and Burgers

Fried cod is lighter and more buttery. Fried halibut is meatier and more filling! I liked it a lot but could only finish two pieces of the 6 oz. serving. The tartar sauce was especially tasty. In the end, I prefer fried cod because it's lighter, but I think the fried halibut would go better in a sandwich than cod because you would be able to taste it more and it wouldn't fall apart as easily.

Halibut Fish and Chips and Local Sodas

Light Breading = Yummier!

While finishing up our lunch, we browsed around on Google Maps to see what points of interests were around. Mike was immediately drawn to a place called Card Kingdom as we both really enjoy board games, and I was drawn to the Fishermen's Terminal.

Card Kingdom turned out to be so awesome that we almost want to come here every weekend and abandon our goal of exploring other places! The store has a comprehensive collection of board games and they have many available that you can play for free in the store or at the adjoining Café Mox. The staff and servers are super friendly and helpful.

Card Kingdom

Café Mox

We tested out Pandemic over coffee and a hummus plate and had a blast! We can't wait to play the game with more players. The couple next to us played a card game of Kittens in a Blender. I must try that next time!

Playing Pandemic in Café Mox

Delicious Hummus Platter

Cute Elephant Nose Drain on the Side of Café Mox

After vowing to become regulars at Card Kingdom/Café Mox, we headed to Fishermen's Terminal despite the rain. The area was empty but it seems like a potentially fun place to boat watch. It doesn't seem very touristy and there were plenty of free parking so it may be a good place to walk around and pick up some seafood in the future.

Fishermen's Memorial

Fishermen's Terminal

Wild Salmon Seafood Market

On the way back to Lynnwood, we stopped by the Scandinavian Specialties store. We knew this place was the real deal when we parked next to an honorary consul general. We were still too full from lunch and our afternoon snack so we only took note of their menu and various Scandinavian candies and frozen foods for future reference. The imported goods are pricey, but the menu prices are very reasonable.

Nordic Café

We had a really fun time exploring Ballard and are excited that our first venture outside of Lynnwood is so positive!