Huskies Coach Jim Owens

Clue 28: Seashells below, smoke rising above, the old Canlis landlord and a colonel unite.
Location: The old site of the Twin Teepees Restaurant on Aurora Avenue.

Walter Clark was the owner of the Twin Teepees as well as the Canlis landlord for over 50 years. The dining room in the Twin Teepees had an open-pit fireplace covered with seashells. Menu winner Paula Johnson knew she was at the right place when she saw Brian Canlis standing across the street. He wouldn’t give any help, and there were about a dozen seekers on site. The people at auroraseattle.com shot a video of Johnson finding the menu.

Clue 29: XMBMZAIXIZBUMVB
Location: The Penthouse at Canlis, where Peter Canlis (the restaurant’s original owner and Mark and Brian’s grandfather) used to live.

The letters are a classic substitution cipher for “Peters Apartment.” The alphabet was shifted 60 steps (for the 60th birthday), twice through the alphabet then another 8. The Penthouse is the upstairs portion of the current restaurant, and is today often used for private events.

Clue 30: 18% without 18K could prove a little dicey. So grab your sled and come on down, we’ll meet where it’s less icey.
Location: Counterbalance Park on Queen Anne.

This menu was not for the faint of heart. The tough part was that it was posted at 10pm during the November Snowpocalypse. Most people got that the 18% grade referred to the hill; the menu hunters had to dodge the sledders, but it was found in under 12 minutes. The Canlis brothers made a boo-boo with this clue, for which they apologized profusely. The counterbalance actually weighed 32K lbs, a fact that was pointed out by several hunters. Strangely, no one pointed out the creative spelling of “icey.”

Clue 31: Follow the trend for what “Brian” should have been. Where does 4:4 and an old glacier leave you?
Location: Cowen Park

This clue was tweeted on a cold, cold night. For once it wasn’t found immediately, leaving Mark Canlis literally out in the cold, waiting for a successful hunter. “Brian” should have been “Luke” – Luke 4:4 is inscribed on the gate to the 100-year-old park. Competition was growing ever-more fierce: Ninety-three Facebook comments were posted below the clue on the Canlis website, most written within an hour of its posting.

Clue 32: In the 88th year a secretary’s pen softened insensible hearts. What place have we to be thankful for?
Location: Seward Park entrance sign.

Secretary of State William Seward wrote the Proclamation of Thanksgiving that set aside the last Thursday of November for the holiday. Some menu hunters showed up on this frigid Turkey Day eve at the statue of Seward in Volunteer Park, but alas, they were out of luck.

Clue 33 and 34: Two brothers go shopping downtown in disguise. Both on a mission: gifts for their wives. (Head to Frango’s birthplace).
Location: Downtown Nordstrom

Lots of people were searching at the Frango’s department in Macy’s, but real Seattle lifers knew that the downtown Nordstrom used to be Frederick & Nelson’s—where Frango’s mints were first sold. Mark was shopping in the lingerie department and Brian was nabbed by the 2nd floor escalator.

Clue 35: A historical drinking lesson: Don’t let the mann get you down.
Location: The corner of 23rd and Cherry, former site of Gus’s Tavern.

More red herring fun. Hordes of people headed to the Mann Building, prompting the brothers to tweet “We hear people are headed to the Mann building. Bad move.” In the 1940s, a called Gus’s was 405 away from the Horace Mann School, until parents complained (taverns were supposed to be at least 500 feet away). Mark was standing outside of what is today a barber shop. The winner, Steve Land, had been playing since the beginning, and he is a living testament to the game’s addictive nature. In Steve’s own words, “My wife Paula didn’t actively play along with this at first, but once the ‘phase two’ was announced, she was totally motivated to win, and she’s been helping me for the last several clues. I love Seattle, both my wife and I are foodies, and I can’t stand unsolved puzzles: this was the perfect fit for us.”

Clue 36: 206-xxx-1968
Location: Issaquah’s XXX Rootbeer Drive-In, under table 206.

The restaurant was founded in 1968. This clue made at least one more person aware of the Canlis contest. That person would be Frank Novosel, whose cell phone number seemed like a match. He got a dozen calls within twenty minutes. He finally went online and found some information about the contest, and even logged on to Facebook (something he doesn’t usually do) to comment. He said, “Everyone was very nice and sensitive to my privacy when they realized it was my cell phone. This contest looks like a lot of fun and I wish everyone connected to it good luck.” Everyone who talked to Frank agreed Canlis needed to buy him a drink, and the brothers promptly made the invitation.

Clue 37: Three days late: DDDBGF#A Where? Cu + SN
Location: The Jimi Hendrix statue on Capitol Hill.

The letters are the musical notes for “Happy Birthday”–Jimi was born on 11/27, three days before this clue. The statue is made of copper and tin (CU and SN in the periodic table). This clue was a musical fail for the brothers – as the posted later, that last note should be an E.

Clue 38: On his day, 1962: Seattle celebrates an icon in an icon. Both are gone, but not forgotten.
Location: The site of the old Rossellini’s Four-10.

This clue refers to Edward “Eddie” Carlson, a Seattle civic leader who chaired the World’s Fair Commission and organized the 1962 Century 21 Exposition. Edward E. Carlson Day was Sept 23, 1962. An appreciation dinner was held for him at Victor Rossellini’s Four-10 restaurant.

Photo: Eddie Carlson with William Magnuson. Photo: Historylink.org

Clue 39: Have no fear, Church is here. But how did she get from here to there?
Location: Museum of Flight, in the Boeing Model 80A airplane.

The brothers offered a hint on this one: Pteromerhanophobia. A quick Google search shows this means ‘fear of flying.’ The winner, Greg Barnes, used the Wikipedia surname page to find out that Church was a reference to Miss Ellen Church, a student pilot and registered nurse who convinced Boeing management to hire female cabin attendants for their Model 80 flights. She and seven others, all nurses, became the first stewardesses. Barnes circled the 80A where the menu was hidden a few times before he found it.

Clue 40: AQICTDIWDICTRWIHHOIIHACJAMMQCEKLQMOLMUAHIUO
Location: Canlis Glass Gallery + Studio.

Another cipher clue and, let’s face it, a shameless plug for a cousin’s glass studio. A keyword cipher using “Canlis” as the keyword decodes the letters into BREATHEWHEATSWELLPEELBAMBOORAINDROPDOUBLEUP.
Obvious, yes? Those are the names of art pieces at the gallery. The clue caused one menu hunter to post that it was a lousy clue, at which point the other menu hunters pounced and labeled him a whiner.

Photo: Canlis Glass

Clue 41 and 42: Clue #41/42: Buy a vowel: Grc is to C_nl_s is to c_v__ r, as T_rk_y is to _m_n & C_lv_ is to s_lm_n. Find us.
Location: Pure Food Fish Market at Pike Place Market_

The complete phrase is Greece is to Canlis is to cavier, as Turkey is to Amon and Calvo is to salmon. The Canlis brothers are of Greek descent. Jack Amon, the founder of Pure Foods, and Harry Calvo, the current fishmonger, are both of Turkish descent. The brothers were in disguise at the famous fish stalls wering knit hats and ratty wigs, looking like rejects from a grunge band. This photo was published on the Canlis Facebook page.

Clue 43: 10 bucks South
Location: The old Dag’s Drive-in on Aurora Avenue

A book called _Seattle’s Historic Restaurants describes how Dag’s used to have a sign that said “Canlis is 10 bucks North!” At this point in the game, there are so many hunters that controversy is popping up online from those who want to figure out the clues, but then can’t get to the location in time. Armchair menu hunters (stuck at work, with kids, or just far away) start posting “help” for those on the road. Battles ensue about the ethics of this. The Canlis brothers weigh in on this clue posting, “Gosh..more conversation about thread ethics than about the clue itself! One searcher already on site…” The menu was found minutes later._

Clue 44: Fit this shoe, have a clue, and come to where the sound debuted.
Location: 11th Ave site of The Vogue, now closed, on Cap Hill.

Pandemonium! The Canlis brothers goof. The shoe/clue reference is to Nirvana’s lyrics to "About a Girl". The menu was supposed to be at the location of their first set…which was played inBelltown. The brothers posted a mea culpa shortly thereafter. To make amends, they threw open the bar at Canlis to menu hunters and supplied free drinks and truffle fries. The bar was packed in minutes, despite the late hour.

Image Credit: http://www.burntout.com/kurt/biography/

Clue 45: The organ stops, the circle drops, and captives cry in vain.
Location: The old Woodland Park Amusement Center.

A 1934 fire burned down the carousel and pipe organ and ferris wheel. Zoo animals across the street were screaming, according to a _Seattle P-I article. Lots of ideas–one hunter insisted it was at Benaroya Hall. Talk about a captive audience_.