romulus

Two huge pools (technically five), three-court gymnasium, 20-foot climbing rock, exercise rooms, steam room, dry sauna, walking track, pool room. The exercise room has machines, nautilus, and free weights; 6 TVs but no radio transmitters, some of the exercise machines have TV headphone jacks.

There were a few kinks early on—the sauna room broke, and the elevator was broken for months, but everything lately has been working OK.

The front desk sells bottled water, soda, trail mix, and a few other amenities for reasonable prices. Sports equipment can be checked out.

Spacious mens/womens locker rooms plus a family locker room in the middle with 5 first-come-first-serve private bathrooms. The men’s locker room has divided showers.

Individual monthly memberships can be had for $30 and family memberships for $60.

A branch of the well-known Tacoma rock-and-roll-themed pizza house, but like their other suburban branches, this one is much bigger than the original store. You may have to wait for a table particularly on Fridays and weekends and your pizza will take a little while to cook. Try the brown sugar mozzarella bread while you’re waiting.

Located inside the Commons at Federal Way mall, this 17-screen theater has nice screens and seats. There is also a decent sized game room. Concessions are self-serve (except popcorn).

There are side entrances to the theater that you can get to from the back of the mall via walkways if you are having trouble finding parking on the front side.

When the Century Theaters (q.v.) opened up in the mall, this theater switched to a second-run format. Now you can go see an out-of-theater movie here for $2 a pop.

Not to be confused with the Federal Way S 320th Park and Ride, which is two blocks south at 23rd and 323rd.

Sound Transit, Pierce Transit, and Metro buses stop here. The 194 and the 174 going southbound goes to the P&R as their next (and last) stop, as do the DART buses. Likewise the northbound 174 and 194 come here after the P&R. So if you find yourself at the wrong bus station, either walk a few blocks or wait for one of those buses going the right direction. Don’t be surprised if the driver tries to dissuade you.

There are 5 levels of parking in the garage. Usually the 3rd is full by 7:45.

Be sure you are at the right bay for the right direction of your bus. Southbound and northbound versions of the same route will stop at different bays.

We were really happy to see atypical cultural fare in Federal Way when this place first opened a few years ago. The menu showcased lots of standard Greek items and most of it was quite good. The restaurant got good ratings from local papers, etc.

As time went on, though, the restaurant has slipped. Staff is very unstable; most staff have a very low retention rate. There have been a few good servers, but many of the servers are negligent and clueless; most don’t even know what is on the modestly sized menu. They are constantly looking for new staff and cooks.

We’ve also noticed portions of the same items dwindling in some cases. Appetizers that used to serve four now barely serve two. The Hummus, at least lately, is not very good.

The restaurant is often cold, patrons swing the door open such that it sticks open, letting in cold air. After seating yourself, you often have to ask explicitly for such amenities as adequate place settings, plates, etc. There used to be Greek wine and beer on the menu, but no more. The focus of the restaurant has seemingly been on its pizza and not so much on its actual Greek food.

I would have once recommended, but I don’t recommend any more. For Greek in the Seattle area, try Costas Opa in Fremont.

Kent Station is a departure from the regular Seattle suburban strip mall. Designed around a curving roadway, it provides plenty of space for reflection and socializing. The restaurants aren’t the typical Red Robin, Azteca, and Starbucks, but a broad range of newcomers to the Seattle or South Sound area. A modern 12-screen AMC Cinema steals the show facing onto an open plaza. For colder seasons, an outdoor gas fireplace outside the Dilettante espresso stand will warm you up.

When you are looking for “exotic” Asian treats, but Uwajimaya (cf.) is too far away, HMart is a more than adequate substitute. Located in the spot of the former QFC, in the heart of the burgeoning downtown Korean-American presence.

While this “improvisational grill” is not truly a Mongolian Grill (a nationally popular style that New England is strikingly lacking), it is the exact same idea, without the ethnicity. This give it some leeway to go beyond the Mongolian Grill mold, and offer a wider variety of fillings, a broad range of sauces, and even offer custom grilled burgers. (The Harvard Square and downtown locations are about the same quality.)

While there is a small zoo, maze-like boulder garden, and nature trails, the focus of this attraction are the caves themselves. The wooden path always gives you the option of plunging into the lit rocky stairwells and paths into various caverns and niches, or to go around. The most challenging walk is the steep Devil’s Turnpike, a narrow and low path that seems to go precariously straight down. The icing on the cake is the Lemon Squeeze, a seemingly tight slide through a pair of close rocks blocked by a third rock about 4 feet high. It seems impossible but it is surprisingly doable, just get over any claustrophobia (even any you didn’t know you had). For the doubters, there is the low Orange Crush roundabout path, and for the truly squeamish there is the walkway straight to the end—but most will have second thoughts, even third thoughts, and walk back to give the caves a try. This was the perfect place for a fairly energetic family which was getting burnt out on New England history.