Craigs Restaurant Experiences

Thai Taste... it's your fault Thai Curry Simple

2012-01-31T14:06:00.000-08:00

I love Thai Curry Simple. I have said it before and I will say it again. It is a great Thai restaurant located in the International District.

When I moved to Seattle, the first weekend the kids were over, I took them to Thai Curry Simple. They were closed. Ok, it was the day after Thanksgiving. I can accept that. Thier main business is M-F lunch crowd. But then I went back in January.. it was still closed. A poorly written note in the window said "closed till Jan 9", the date was Jan 12. I checked the website and the website said "closed until Jan 16". Very dissapointing.

I have been skeptical ever since. If I go to the ID, 10 minutes from work, will they even be open? The website seems to indicate that they are back open.

Today I was heading to Thai Curry Simple. I had a few errands to run in Pioneer Square, so I figured I would keep on going and get some lunch. As it happened, I found a new Thai place. I really didn't want to try a new place, but I still feel let down by TCS. I walked in to Thai Taste on 2nd and Cherry and ordered Phad Tha w/ Tofu to go. $8.60 with tax.

The serving size was bigger than TCS. I liked that. They use Fried Tofu, which was nice, but, it was no TCS. It reminded me of Mae Phim Thai. The dish is ok, but to orangy, like they used the cheater method of adding orange juice concentrate as flavoring. Boring.

I may actually come back here, they have lunch combos for $8.25. You get a spring roll, Phad Thai AND an entree. I think the only one you can get with Tofu is the Swimming Angel which I like.

This place is no Thai Curry Simple, but it is closer to work and affordable. It is clear that TCS has to learn to be more reliable and also hire a staff so you can take a vacation and still keep the doors open to your once loyal fans. I can we won back, but any more unexpected closures will probably signal my last visit.

Ocean Shores dining - Bennetts Fish Shack and Alecs By the Sea

2011-10-17T11:48:00.000-07:00

Typically I have had some of the worst meals in my life on the Washington Coast....

We arrived Saturday ready for lunch. I went to my old favorite, Mikes Fish Market. We pulled up to it, it looked exactly the same as it did two years ago, only with 2 years of Ocean weathering.. It looked run down and no one was there. It wasn't closed, just not popular obviously. Caddilac Jacks next door is closed.

I turned the car around and headed back to a new place I saw on the way. Bennets Fish Shack. We walked in, and there was a big paper menu on the wall behind the counter. You order at the counter, and the bring your food to you. Like a fast food place, except that there is a bar also. Kelsey ordered a Dungeness Crab Caeser ($15.99) and I ordered a Halibut Sandwich ($12.99) after inquiring if it was frozen Halibut. The counterperson told me it was fresh.

We sat at a small table, the boothes were full. I could see the bar and the TV in the bar from my angle. I watched two bartenders tending an empty bar, while the two counter girls were running around like crazy with a full lunch crowd. I realized they were new and lacked experience. Soon though, the bartenders did come out and run food.

The bar began to fill up, the UW Huskies were playing Colorado. The bar tvs were on King of Queens. sigh... The bar customers asked for the game and the bar tender went to find it. He had no idea where to look for a UW Husky game. He started searching by title.. UGH,I just wanted to scream, 627! But I watched him fiddle with the remote for close to 5 minutes before finding the game.

The food came. My sandwich was HUGE. The fillet must have been at least 8 ounces. It was topped with a quality kaiser style roll, Romaine lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, cheese and tartar. It was fantastic! It didn't really need the cheese, but it didn't hurt. The fish was fresh and cooked to perfection. Kelseys Crab Caesar was also great, topped with a generous helping of Crab meat. We both ate every bite.

For dinner, we went to Alecs by the Sea. I have been meaning to try this place for years. We had to wait 20 minutes for a dinner table, it is a popular place.

I was torn, I really wanted the Captains platter, but do I really need a plate of deep fried fish? No. I ordered the Lytle Oysters. Locally harvested. They were fantastic. I think there was a dozen oysters on my plate!
Kelsey gambled on the Razor Clams, lightly breaded and grilled. She was not pleased by the fact that you need to use a steak knife to cut them! They were tough. I tried them. I didn't care for them that much either.
Overall, this place is average at best. It did not live up to the hype. This "Chef" wouldn't make it far in the city, but it's good enough for the coast. I watched droves of people turned away from the bar, Reserved signs at most the tables. No one ever did come sit in those Reserved tables.

Breakfast at Shilo. It was good! I was shocked. A man was complaining loudly at the hostess station when we got there. As we were being taken to our table, we passed by a 6 top, 4 of 6 plates were untouched, and the party was gone. I don't know what happened there, but we had good food and service.

Food trucks

2011-06-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

Why the sudden craze about food trucks? They are all over the news recently, new ones popping up daily.

My earliest experience with food from a truck was the "roach coach" that would show up at the docks at lunch and break. Cheap, greasy food. These new trucks are anything but that.

I tried Maximus Minimus a few years ago, AKA, the flying pig. http://maximus-minimus.com/. It was decent, but expensive. They have a nice veggie bbq sandwich though. You don't see that very often.

Today I tried Curry Now, http://www.iwantcurrynow.com/index.html today. I had veggie curry tacos. $6 for 2. They were small, but very satisfying. The curry had a really good flavor and had a good kick to it. The veggies, potatoes, onions and tomatoes, were good. I see on the website they have Samosas. The truck didn't list them on the menu today though. I love Samosas. I'll probably try this truck again.

Next to Curry Now was a truck called Here, There and Everywhere. http://www.hereandtheregrill.com/. Now this was a fancy food truck. I don't think they had anything below $10 on the very limited menu. One sandwich was going for $12.95! from a truck no less! wow. I don't know if I can spend that much on truck food. If I was going to spend over $10 for lunch, I'd probably go sit down somewhere, most likely Wild Ginger, and have good service, clean napkin, water glass, the whole bit, for the same price as getting a sandwich handed to you from the window of a truck.
For the record, no one was at either of these trucks, today or yesterday when I walked by. I think these trucks do most of the business catering to the bar crowds after dark.

In other news, Pot Belly Sandwiches opened to much fanfare on 4th ave today. It is a Midwest chain and I guess there are a lot of Midwesterner people here because for the last two days, the line has been around the block. PEOPLE, when a restaurant is that crowded and busy, the workers are too. What do we do when we have too much work to do? Typically quality goes out the window. Or, maybe they think its only going to be open for a week? I dunno. I did grab a menu and it is really reasonably priced. Less than $6 for a sandwich! wow. Take that you dumb trucks.

The Burrito Experience - Chipotles

2011-01-14T09:48:00.000-08:00

I finally was able to go to Chipotles yesterday. It opened at least 6 months ago and has a line out the door since. Why? There are two other Burritos places within 500 feet of Chipotles. I saw the SouthPark episode.. why would everyone line up for exploding diarrhea?

I actually made an earlier attempt at Chipotles a few months ago. When I opened the door, the fire alarm went off! I thought I had done something at first.. but then closed the till and kicked everyone out. No burrito today.

This visit, there were no alarms. The menu is basic, Chicken, Beef, Pork or Veggie burritos and rice bowls. Soft tacos. Chips and 4 salsas. Soda, beer and margaritas.

I ordered the Veggie burrito of course. It comes with white rice, grilled peppers and onions, cheese, guacamole (free for veggie burrito), lettuce and salsa. I ordered a side of chips and hot salsa just to try the salsa by itself. $8.15 with tax.

The burrito was rolled into a football shape, not really burrito shape. More short and fat. It was pretty good, the thing that really impressed me was the guacamole. It was fabulous!

The chips and salsa were very good. The chips had a light lime salt on them and the salsa was very hot and flavorful. It also had the most beautiful red color I've ever seen in a salsa.

All in all a good experience, with no Southpark 'ending'!

But, why does this place rise above Qdoba, Blue Water, and Taco Del Mar? Excluding Qdoba, the ingredients are better.

Del Mar sold it's soul a few years back. When it started, it was a quirky SoCal Fish taco place (founded in Everett!). The fish was a good quality cod. They abandonded that model, replaced the Cod with Pollock and focused on traditional America palettes which like ground beef over a good piece of fish.

I still haven't figured out Qdoba yet. I went when they opened a year ago (6 months before Chipotle and kitty corner from it). I wasn't overly impressed because they just put too much stuff on my burrito. Grilled squash was just a bit much, Even though I like squash, it didnt work for me on my burrito. Theyt are definatelt looking for the high end burrito market.

Blue Water has been around the longest in Downtown Seattle. I have been going there for a decade. It is cheap, quick and has a lot of convenient locations all over town. I am especially impressed by the new BlueWater on 6th and Union. It appears to be more Cantina style, offering buckets of beer during happy hour.

While I welcome Chipotle to Seattle, I wish that the other Colorado taco chain, Wahoo, had come here instead. Wahoo and the SoCal chain Baja Fresh are still my tops. There is a new Baja Fresh in the Seattle area now, I guess the Fremont location opened and closed already. Bummer

Fun at Whole Foods!

2010-10-27T14:42:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Whole Foods. If I ever came in to a large sum of money, I would immediately rent a flatbed and go to Whole Foods. They have the best stuff. However, the best comes at a price. If you shop smart and selectively, you can get some good deals. Today I felt like just spending some money.

I got some Yogi Tea. Mint Garden Green Tea. Never tried this variety, never even seen it before. It was on sale for $3.99.

I bought two salsas I've never heard of before. Frontera Roasted Habenero and Green Mountain Gringo Hot Salsa. I tried the Green Mt today with lunch. It was good. Both were on sale for $3.00.

Bhutanese Red Rice! wow, it looks really cool. 16 oz bag on sale for $3.00.

Finally, the real reason I even came to Whole Foods. The frozen burrito.

I went with the Whole Foods 365 Brand Bean and Cheese ($1.69) and Helens Kitchen Pinto Bean and Two Cheese ($2.69). The Whole Foods brand was ok. The Helens Kitchen Burrito was better, but I still prefer Amys over these two.

Pho T and N vs Pho Tai

2010-10-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

First off, why the hell do I have to drive to Poulsbo WA to get decent Pho? Why are all the good restaurants opening in Poulbo? oh well.

I had my first Pho at T and N. I have yet to find another pho as good. I get the vegetarian Pho. This is really not Pho. Pho is made from beef marrow. But, in the USA, it's considered Pho. Vegetarian stock with tofu.

The stock is very flavorful. T and N has three separate stocks. Traditional Beef marrow, Chicken and Vegetarian. Am told the two meat broth is very good too.

Joe, the manager/owner is one of the most friendly guys you will ever come across in a restaurant. He sometimes acts like it is his personal dining room in his house, and we are his guests. I was taken back a bit the first time he ribbed me for not eating my mushrooms. He told me there were expensive. At first I though, so? But they are special, expensive mushrooms. I don't like mushrooms, I appreciated him letting me know that I should order without mushrooms.

Now that we know Joe better, he spends a lot of time at our table. Sometimes too much time. He loves to tell us how we "should be eating it". How its eaten traditionally. His intentions are the best, but sometimes I just want to eat! However, I can't imagine a T and N without Joe.

I have tried the fresh rolls and I find them to be great as well. They use a very good tofu.

Pho Tai opened before Summer. Coincidentally, it is on the other side of the shopping complex from T and N.

The building is brand new. It appeared ready to open many months ago, but never did. It just sat there for many months. One day, it opened.

They do offer a vegetarian Pho, just like T and N. It comes with carrots and celery in the soup. I don't care for that. The broth is good, not quite as good at T and N.

The Vietnamese sandwiches are GREAT! Fresh baked bread from a 3rd generation Vietnamese bakery in Seattle. The bread alone is fabulous. Filled with Tofu, lettuce, carrot shreds and cilantro. this is a great sandwich, for $4.19!

Pho Tai is new. I've had the Pho twice now and it was different both times. I will try again at some point, but for now, T and N is my Pho source. I will be back for the sandwiches. I will be back because, its a nicer space than T and N. It's new, has nice comfy booths. It is more comfortable than T and N.
Overall T and N wins. Now, would someone open a place on Bainbridge?

La Fluente - West Wenatchee, WA

2010-07-29T15:22:00.000-07:00

La Fluente
816 South Mission Street
Wenatchee, WA 98801-3054
(509) 664-1910

This is possibly the best Mexican food I have ever had. The receptionist at the Coast Hotel told us about this place. Her favorite.

We ordered Shrimp Fajitas, House nachos and a Chili Relleno. Omg, the Relleno was heaven! It was freshly made and had an amazing egg batter. It reminded me of eating an omelet.

The beans and rice were incredible. Beans so rich, rice so fluffy and seasoned just right. The house salsa was great too.

The shrimp fajitas was excellent. Big prawns cooked just right. The fajita sauce was great, the sauted veggies were great. Everything was great!

however, I did feel a bit ill a few hours after. I suspect the rice or beans had meat in them. oh well, I'd eat there again in a heartbeat.

Zainas vs Pita Express

2010-02-04T12:38:00.000-08:00

I love my Falafel. Its a great vegetarian sandwich, chock full of protein from the Falafel, which is made of Garbanzo beans.

In the early part of this century, my co workers and I would flock to Zaina to get a Falafel. The line would be out the door during the lunch rush. They closed for a while, and reopened as this hip Indian Hooka Bar. Shortly there after, the no smoking law was passed and they were out of business.

A few years later, Pita Express opened and I began to frequent the establishment several times a month.

One day last week I decided to go to the Nordstroms Rack for something. When I left, I crossed Pine and headed West towards First Ave. I saw a neon sign in small storefront that said "Falefel". I went in to investigate and I saw the same sign from the place my coworkers and I used to love. Zaina was back! However, there are no crowds and I am not sure anyone knows they exist.

The Zaina Falafel uses hand made falafel, caramelized onions, a light peanut sauce and of course, I ask for extra hot sauce. The hot sauce is great! This Falafel is good, not quite as good as it used to be in my memory, but still very good. $5.99

The Pita Express Falafel comes with either a White flour pita, or a wheat Pita. I switched to Wheat and its just as good, hardly noticeable. Pita Express is set up like a Subway, and coincidentally, the owner also owns the Subway next door! PE uses pre made falafel patties, that I suspect are bought frozen premade. They use a light hummus spread, fresh veggies, cheese, although I have no idea what kind, a creamy yogurt sauce of some kind, and of course, extra hot sauce. I think both places use the same hot sauce. Price varies, the owner is constantly tweaking the menu. Today it cost me $5.00. Last week it was $5.79.

It is hard to pick a winner, both have qualities I like. Both are the same distance from my office. If I had to pick, which is what I intended to do here, I'd go with Zaina because they use fresher ingredients. Both owners are very friendly and this can be good and bad. At Zaina last week, the owner was working the register and was having a lengthy conversation with a customer. Two customers had to wait for them to finish their conversation before we could pay and go eat.

Spiros - Silverdale Washington

2009-12-17T12:11:00.000-08:00

I took the kids here years ago when staying at the Silverdale Beach hotel next door. We had a cheese pizza that was good, but what really stood out was the simple side salad we ordered. It came out just covered in shredded mozzarella and sliced olives. The kids loved it. So did I.

I decided to try it again, see if it still had the magic. Its been the same owner for 20 plus years.

I ordered the Mediterranean Caesar. Homemade Caesar dressing, Kalamata Olives, Pepperocini, Tomato, Mozzarella Cheese, croutons and Shrimp on a bed of mixed greens. It was fabulous!

The salad arrived and it was so big, I think even the server was surprised, she asked me if I needed an additional plate to put some on. The salad was about to spill off the plate!

It was layered on top with melted Mozzarella on top of a layer of Tomato slices. Under that was the shrimp. This wasn't salad shrimp, these were nice, big prawn-like shrimp. There must have been 30 or 40 of them on the salad! The next layer was croutons, followed by greens. The pepperocini and Olives were hanging on the side of the plate, barely fitting!

It was really tasty. The dressing was great, the shrimp were good quality. It was a spectacular salad for under $10.

Service could have been better, but, considering its Kitsap, it was on par with most other establishements.

Harbour Pub, Bainbridge Island

2009-11-19T10:59:00.000-08:00

I received a gift card from an associate recently, so I had an excuse to go to the Pub.

It's not that I don't like the Pub, I've had some great times there over the years, but now it has turned in to this yuppie destination. A typical night the wait for dinner is at least 30 minutes.

We went on a Wednesday night, around 6:30. It was a grim night, cold, wet and windy. We found one parking place left and we knew what we were in for.

The hostess recognizing our impatience, offered us a place at the bar.

We both ordered the fish and chips. The menu states that the fish and chips are "consistently voted Bainbridges favourite". Yes, they truly spell favorite with a U. Some might find that quaint, I call it strike one. Last I checked, we were in the USA. This is a historical Bainbridge building and as long as Bainbridge has been enhabited by non indigenous people, Bainbridge has spelled favorite with NO U! Yes, the name is also spelled with a U. grrrr.

Bronwen ordered a side salad This is where the menu becomes confusing. The menu lists the side salad, organic greens, blah blah blah, then there is a little line at the bottom that says "Caesar side salad $4.95", but the main side salad is $6.95. Nearly $7 for a plate of Kale... a few leafs of spinach in there, two slices of cucumber, 4 little tomatoes. Not what B expected.

The fish and chips came shortly after. Three large pieces of Cod. I suspect it was previously frozen, the menu does not say. I rate it good to average.

The coleslaw was probably the blandest I have ever had. Generous addition of salt and pepper made it edible. The fries are decent, hand cut, greasy.

I did the math after we finished and since I abstained from beer, I had enough left for dessert. We saw the Carmel Brownie Sundae come out for another table, I had to have it. It was fabulous. That brownie was the chocolatiest thing I have ever eaten. YUM!

When we left, around 7:30, there was an hour wait to get a table.

Frankly, I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would wait an hour for this place. I like the fish and chips at Winslow 122 better. In the summer a fun night on the deck is great, but for a normal night out, I wouldn't go here.

Winslow 122

2009-10-13T12:21:00.000-07:00

This is the restaurant that used to be knows as Winslow Way Cafe. Let me start out by saying that I do take the ownership group into consideration when patronizing any place of business. Let me also say GOOD RIDDANCE to the former ownership of Winslow Way Cafe.

This new group started out a little rough as well. Inexperienced restaurant owners, they brought in a good, proven management team to set up the new restaurant. Then they fired them. The Chef was a hack from day one but the owners did manage to hire a good sous chef and thank goodness for that. The sous is now the Chef and I hear things are really going well.

We went to Docs last week for our monthly fish and chip feast. It was awful. When walking by one day, I noticed that the Fish and Chips at Winslow 122 were the same price. The challenge was on. We went in on a Saturday night and were seated in the bar. Needless to say, everyone's drinks were more important that us. I expected this.

The Fish and Chips came and as much as I didn't want to say it, they were spectacular, probably in the top ten all time! The tartar sauce was decent, but the chips were those shoe string fries and I didn't care for that.

In conclusion, the food is good, everything else sucks. Hey, this is Bainbridge, I will take it!

OH and they only charged me $2.00 for a bottle of Pacifico, I suspect that was an error on someones part.

Newport Beach Restaurants

2009-05-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

Belly Deli - Hwy 1 Newport Beach
This is the young hipster hang out. The menu had a lot of things, Pizza, salads, wraps, sandwiches..
My veggie sandwich was ok, but not great. They had lots of beer. The place seemed at one time to be a tavern, and after dinner it appears to be a tavern.

Shorewood Inn - Balboa Beach
This place had the craziest menu I have ever seen! There was soo much stuff to chose from. They even had 4 or 5 different veggie meat products. It was unreal. The food, however, was average at best. The service was good and we had good entertainment while watching one very young waitress come to work, and proceed to start removing her clothes. It was a cold morning and she came in all bundled up. Every time she walked by, she seemed to have shed more clothes! Soon she had on a sheer top, no bra, tight sweats and those boots all the girls wear. The food was not great, but the view was pretty good.

finally we got it right...

Bluewater Inn - Newport Beach
This place was in the Marina and had a nice outdoor seating area. We went wild here, starved for some quality food. We two appetizers, the Baked Clams, which were excellent and the Seared Ahi which was phenominal. For dinner we both had the Sea Bass. It was an Australian fish, and it was not as good as Chilean Sea Bass, but it was prepared prefectly. Great meal, not too expensive, I think our bill with several drinks was $100.

Great Mex - Balboa
We had seen this place a few times, what a silly name we thought. We went in, they have a counter you order from, then you take your seat and they bring the food to you. The place was packed with mostly high school age kids.
I had the three combination plate. Shrimp soft taco, Chili Relleno and Crispy Potato Taco. OMG! it was out of this world. We still reminisce over this place daily.
They also feature a salsa bar, with all homemade salsas and beer and wine. This little hole in the wall was too good, we will definately return. In fact, we dined there several times during our short stay.

Baja Fresh - Corona del Mar (various other CA locations)
This fast food chain features all fresh food, nothing frozen or premade. It also has a salsa bar and some locations (Hollywood BLVD from a previous trip) feature beer and wine.

I ordered fish tacos and they were spectacular. We couldn't go wrong eating cheap mexican in Orange County.

Del Taco - various
Crappy chain restaurant similar to Taco Bell. We saw the commercials everywhere and the restaurants everywhere. On our last day, for lack of anywhere better to go at the time, we tried the Del Taco. First thing I see is an Egg and cheese burrito (it was breakfast time). I have never seen a fast food place offer a non meat menu item. I always have to ask for a "egg mcMuffin with no meat" or whatever. This place actually had what I wanted right on the menu. It was better than any Mexican food that I have had in the Seattle area in some time, since the place on 7th and Stewart closed anyways..

Cappys - Newport Beach, HWY 1
This place was a trip. It looked like a restaurant/lounge that you have been too a million times. A Dougals, or Capt K's for my local readers. One problem, they closed at 3! It was very close to the hotel and we so wanted to go there for a drink.
One morning we did go for breakfast. It was unreal. Again, like Shorewood, it had a huge menu. I have never seen anything like it. There must have been 20 different omelets, in addition to scrambles, hot cakes, waffles.. it was amazing.

The food was good too. We ate here twice for breakfast. Simple, greasy, homecooked food. Huge portions!

They had a beautiful, fully stocked bar. And they close daily at 3 pm. We never could figure that one out..

Changes to the Bainbridge eatery scene...

2009-04-22T10:48:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I have had anything to say about my dining experiences. Frankly, I haven't had a meal out that was any good for some time.. But, there have been some changes to our local eateries that should be mentioned, for better... or WORSE!

Winslow 122
First off, the Winslow Way Cafe finally caved. I would like to tell you what I really feel about the former owner, but lets move on. A new place was opened by a rich couple with ZERO restaurant experience. They hired two competent managers to set up the restaurant. They were to be silent owners, step back and let the pros make them money. They decided to be vocal, they fired the only experienced people in the restaurant before it opened. Left with an unchecked inexperienced Chef, they quickly tailspinned right out of the gate. The Chef was fired, the Sous Chef took over. The Sous Chef graduated from CIA, so he probably has skill, but lacks experience. Its been open four months now. What are the signs of a restaurant going out of business? "Kids eat free" and "Now serving Brunch" Good bye Winslow 122, you won't be missed.

Penelopes
A new Italian place opened up in the Pavilion, right next to the Casa Rojas Lounge. We were very excited to have an Italian restaurant open up. When it finally opened, we dined there.

Let me start off by saying, the food was good. Not great, but good, and affordable.

The owners have never had a dine in restaurant before and it shows. The place wreaks of inexperience. They try real hard, but the menu is complicated and many dishes take much too long. The long line to get in is not so much because they are great, its because they are slow.
The Menu is horrible. It simply lists the name of the Entree. No description whatsoever. When ordering pizza togo, this probably isn't a problem

I have hopes that they will learn as they go. I have heard that some of the complicated items are being reworked. Now, they need to add a better beer selection. They have two beers, an Italian and a micro brew.

I will return to this place, I am hopeful, however, there is another new Italian place opening up on Winslow way, so we will see who wins this battle.

Richies 305 Diner
Yeah yeah, you saw it on Diners Drive ins and Dives.. it still went out of business, and rightfully so. Its a DINER, not a gourmet yuppie cafe in France or something.. come on....

Two new owners with limited experience opened the place up a few weeks ago. Hard to tell, no press, no nothing, one day they just opened the shades and turned on the sign. Clearly they missed the class on Marketing and Promotion....

We went there last weekend. I was happy to see that it has DINER FOOD! Thank you. They kinda have a tex mex thing going like the diners in Colorado. They offer green and red chili. I don't eat meat, so I can't comment on whether its good.

I had a three item omelet with hashbrowns and toast. They have biscuits listed all over the menu and the young waitress asked me if I would like a biscuit instead of toast. I asked if they make their own biscuits? They don't. Why they hype the biscuits is beyond me. I had sourdough.

The omelet was beautiful, cooked perfectly. The hashbrowns looked great, but were a little undercooked in the middle. They were alright though.

My daughter had the French Toast combo, which came with a choice of meat. She chose bacon.
The toast looked great, and, I did try one slice. It was crusted with cinnamon and was pretty good. The bacon was a thick cut type. I, of course, didn't try it though.

So, the new owners have the Diner food going ok, there is one problem, they kept the yuppie French Cafe pricing. The worst offender, Steak and Eggs for $17.99. Who are they kidding?
My omelet was $9.99 and the French Toast combo was $8.99. Too high for a diner. Do they not see the sandwich boards that the Salmon Creek Cafe have posted all over town? 2 eggs, toast and bacon for $5.99. Get with it Richies or meet a similar fate of all those before you.

Pabla India Cuisine - 2nd and Pike, Seattle

2008-11-11T11:28:00.000-08:00

I love Indian food, and one thing I love about it is the vegetarian options. There are always many different vegetarian options on an Indian food menu.

This is the best Indian downtown. They do a lunch buffet daily for $9.95 and it is always packed.

The Bombay Allo is just great, big chunks of potatoes in a curry sauce with a slight hint of heat. The Saag Paneer is also awesome, cheese in a rich sauce. Yum.

yes its kinda hard for me to write this, I don't know what all the things are yet. I am still learning my way around this strange exotic food!

try this next time you are downtown.
http://www.pablaindiancuisine.com

Qwest for a new breakfast - we have a winner!

2008-11-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

Well, its a small victory since we are moving to a new neighborhood in a month or so...

The winner is. Market Fresh!

I knocked them at first, when I got breakfast from them on their very first day being open for breakfast. As my search worsened, I thought I should give them another try. I went a few weeks ago and noticed it was totally different.

Today I went again, and was very pleased. They had breakfast sandwiches, and one label caught my eye, "Veggie sausage and egg". I have NEVER seen a premade veggie sausage sandwich before. I was thrilled. It has a Morning Star veggie patty (my second favorite veggie breakfast meat) a fried egg, real cheddar cheese on a fresh english muffin. It was great.

They have two choices for hashbrowns now. Shredded and patty. I went with patty, and that was a mistake, too greasy. I will go for the shredded next time.

Then, as I was paying and telling her how happy I was about the veggy patty, the nice lady at the counter told me she could make them fresh anytime if there were not any out on the line. AND, I get a free coffee or tea with breakfast! I grabbed a Good Earth Jasmine Green Tea.

Hurrah, I now know where to go for breakfast, at least until we move...

Qwest for a new breakfast - Market Fresh

2008-10-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

I was ready to give up. I just am not finding the breakfast I want, then I saw a sign at the Market Fresh Buffet restaurant place that I get a side salad for lunch from time to time from. The sign indicated that starting Oct 13th, Market Fresh would have breakfast.

Oct 13 I ventured into Market Fresh. I figured it would be similar to Kress, some soggy hash brown patties and powdered scrambled eggs. It was worse! The first thing I heard was the lady behind the cash register telling another customer that the hashbrowns were still cooking and would be out soon. I peered in to the steam tray and saw something I cannot fully describe. It was maybe a chiche? I don't know. It was a square piece of egg, like a piece of a casserole. Each one looked identical though. I wonder if it was some sort of frozen egg thing? I turned around and left immediately.

Speaking of Kress, I went there today, I have no other options... However, I turned and left upon seeing strange round egg patties instead of scrambled eggs. I didn't see any hashbrowns either, but I was not staying once I saw that egg patty. I sold out and went to McDonalds and had an egg mc muffin with no canadian bacon and an order of hash browns. I was worried that the man would not understand me. I know how to order in Subway in spanish now, but not mcDonalds. How do you say No Canadian Bacon? Is there a word for Canadian bacon in spanish? However, they got my order right. da da da da da, I'm loving it!

Qwest for a new breakfast - Seattle Bagel

2008-10-01T13:18:00.001-07:00

We get bagels from this place every friday. I used to be the one who picked the bagels up, so I am quite familiar with the place. Occasionally I will get a jalapeno bagel with hummus. It's pretty good, but I am still searching for my replacement breakfast.

I ordered a egg and cheese bagel, of course it comes with a choice of meat, so again I had to pay for meat I didn't get, but, the bagel was darn good. The price was $2.99 plus $.50 tip.

This is by far the best city breakfast I have had since the cafeteria closed. The bagels are always fresh, cooked daily on location. The egg was fresh and the cheese was decent. I think it may have been American cheese, but it really worked I was fulfilled.

Qwest for a new breakfast - Tower Deli

2008-09-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

Tower Deli and I go waaaaay back. The owners all remember me, even though I have only been in there once a year for the last 3 or 4 years. I used to eat there for lunch a lot, but when I changed my diet to meat free, Tower and I had to part ways. I still remember Spicy Chicken day though, damn that was good. In fact, a majority of people in my office still go to Tower Deli on Spicy Chicken day.

But this is all about Breakfast! The last time I had a breakfast sandwich at Tower, I had it covered with bacon... Today, I ordered an egg and cheese on Wheatbread. I think it really confused them that I was ordering again, cause they served three people who ordered after me, before me. I had plenty of time to study the menu and what I realized is, everything comes with either Bacon or Ham. There is no meat free option. I watched intently to make sure she didn't put any pork on my sandwich. She was about too, but asked what my choice was. I said, "no meat". "No meat?" replied the lady in broken english. "No Meat" I repeated. She wrapped it up and away I went.

The sandwich was good. The bread was fresh, the eggs were cooked to order (steamed in a microwave). The cheese was lacking though, only one choice, American, which really isn't cheese is it? Cheesefood? Cheeseproduct? Not cheese. Not my favorite. A slice of PepperJack would have made all the difference.

The damage, $3.54 plus tip, $4.00 total.

Not a bad price I suppose, but I don't like paying for meat that they don't give me. Perhaps I should get bacon on the side and give it to a homeless person or something.

Qwest for a new breakfast - Subway

2008-09-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

I occasionally will get a Subway breakfast sandwich. They are ok, nothing special. I do like having the veggies though. My typical order is 6" egg and cheese on white or wheat. Lettuce, tomatoes and olives.

total cost without tip (I stiffed her) $3.60.

not bad for the price, but I couldn't eat this more than once a week.

Qwest for a new breakfast - Blue Water Taco

2008-09-24T09:06:00.000-07:00

Blue Water Taco is a chain here in downtown Seattle. I don't know much about it, I go there once in a great while for a fish taco. I walked into the food court at Century Plaza today, and that was the only place serving breakfast. I ordered the breakfast burrito. It came with Pico de Gallo, Cheese, Eggs and salsa. Price was $2.90, plus .60 tip for grand total of $3.50.

The eggs were not very good. The Pico de Gallo was not that great. I couldn't even taste any salsa. No, this will not do.

I almost walked into the Turf this morning. The Turf is a scary dive on 2nd and Pike. You can get a cocktail at 6 am, and walk across the street and buy some heroin. Hmm, I dunno if I should try this place or not. How bad could it be?

Qwest for a new breakfast - Kress Supermarket

2008-09-22T08:32:00.000-07:00

I have been a regular breakfast diner at the Qwest Bell Plaza Cafeteria for many years. The food is nothing special, industrial cooking, similar to any cafeteria I suppose. I liked it because it was cheap and edible. I could get an egg and hashbrown breakfast that would fill me up, for $2.17. Occasionally, if I had the time, I would get an omelet. I don't remember the exact price, somewhere around 4 dollars for a made to order omelet. You just can't beat that.

Qwest recently sold the building. Qwest worked out a deal to lease the lower half of the building from the new owners. Since the entire Qwest building is cramming into half the building, some thing had to go. Well, actually two things. The cafeteria closed, being turned into office space. My company is out the door by end of year also. So, I guess it was inevitable that sooner or later, I'd have to find a new breakfast spot.

I decided to try Kress Supermarket on 3rd and Pike. I walk by it every morning, it seemed like a good place to start. I wasn't even sure they had breakfast.

Sure enough, they did offer breakfast. Three options, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, and Hash Browns.

Kress weighs by the pound ($6.49 a lb), so I tried to carefully scoop the equivalent of eggs and hashbrowns that I normally get. The damage, $4.09.

The eggs were better than Qwests, but the hashbrowns were patties, kept in a steamer tray. They were very soggy.

This is probably not going to be my regular breakfast stop.

In the Bowl - East Olive Way, Seattle

2008-04-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

I thought I had already written about this place, but after todays lunch, I wanted to write again. Turns out, I never wrote of this place. That is a shame because this is my favorite restaurant.

In the Bowl is a vegetarian noodle bistro. It’s located on Capitol hill, about a 10 minute walk from my office.

The menu consists of seven different sections. Starters, Salads, Soup, Noodes, Fried Rice, Curry and Stir Fry. There are many options here.

My favorite dish is the Spicy Noodle. You get to choose the type of noodle, Wide rice, chow mien or Udon noodle. I almost always go with the chow mien.

Next you choose your protein. Fresh or fried Tofu, Soy chicken, soy beef, or for an extra buck, soy Prawns. I always choose the fried tofu.

Finally, they ask you how many stars for spice. I always go with 3 stars and it’s just right. I get a ramekin of Chili sauce just to make sure. I usually end up dipping the tofu chunks in the chili sauce.

Everything about this place is excellent. It appears to be a family owned restaurant. The staff seems very involved and knowledgeable. I am always greeted with a smile and my food is always ready to go when I get there. I call ahead of course...

Today while eating it, I was so happy. The flavor is full, each bite is just a joy. Fresh veggies are mixed in at just the right amount. Big slices of carrots, caramelized onions, broccoli and egg plant are usually in this dish. The tofu is cooked perfectly, nice and firm, not mushy inside like a lot of places.

The spice is just right. When I am done my mouth has a slight burn to it. The dessert that accompanies the dish is just what I need. I don't usually eat dessert, but this just hits the spot. It has a light soy cream on top of some sort of fruit pudding. It’s not real sweet, I have no idea what it is and the menu states that the dish comes with the "dessert of the week". It’s been the exact same dessert every time I have ordered for over a year.

I highly recommend In the Bowl. Even if you are a carnivorous human, you will be pleased. Every time I am there, the tables are full and most people seem to be having a soup dish. In the Capitol Hill neighborhood, places come and go, I surely hope this place never goes.

Sams #3 - 15th and Curtis, Denver

2008-04-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

While in Denver, I went to many restaurants, as usual.

I had lots of decent food at fancy places. Nothing stood out as spectacular though. One thing I did like was the professional waitstaff. Its so nice to have a professional front of the house. Its rare in these parts, in fact, its probably non existent. One reason I believe is because of the competition in the Denver 16th street mall district. There are so many restaurants in this area, they all are looking for the edge. I saw wait staff taking tests about what is on the menu, that is pretty cool.

My favorite breakfast place in Denver is an old greasy spoon, Sams #3. It has been in business for 81 years. It doesn't fit in very well with all the new upscale restaurants that have opened up all around it, and that adds to its appeal.

I ate there every morning I was in town, and I had the same thing every day, the #3 breakfast special. 3 egg american cheese omelet, home fries and toast for $3.70. It was fast and good. I was always trying to get somewhere, so I really didn't want a fancy breakfast, I needed an in and out, and this is the spot. The wait staff was great, except for the last day, the waitress was kinda spacey and I had to ask twice for tabasco. Other than that, this place was perfect. I can't wait to go back and I wish we had a place like that here.

J J's Fish House - Poulsbo, WA

2008-04-09T13:17:00.001-07:00

I found myself in Poulsbo Monday afternoon, with some time to spare and an appetite.

We drove around a bit, to see if any new places have opened up since my last trip to Fishtown.

The bar on main street has again changed hands. I don't remember the new name, but there was a big sign that stated they now serve breakfast.. the place was closed at 4 pm..

We settled on JJ's. I haven't been to JJ's since it moved from Main Street, to its new location on the waterfront, next to Thats a some Italian, which I like, but wasn't in the mood for pasta.

The new location is very upscale. The entire front of the building opens up in the summer to an open air patio in front. The decor was very nice, some paintings of old sail boats were placed on the walls.

Our waitress seated us and she was very excited about it. She was bubbly and happy. She came back very quickly to offer us drinks. We chose water and she returned promptly. We ordered, I ordered the Crab Cake burger. Its basically a fresh dungeness crab cake on a hamburger bun. $8.95 makes it pretty much the cheapest thing on the menu. I thought the prices were a little high, but again, they have gone upscale. They have a great wine selection and have quite a good menu.

The food came out pretty quickly and we dove in. The crab cake burger came with lettuce, onion and tomato on the side. The tomatoes were buried under the hot fries, which I didn't like so much. It also was served with a side of some sort of mango sauce. I tried it on a few bites, but it wasn't my thing. Kinda reminded me of jam. I would have been better served with tartar sauce.

B had the house salad. It came with a house vinaigrette dressing which she liked. However, they used a small plate, and proceeded to pile up way too much for such a small plate. Her salad kept falling off the plate onto the table. She explained to me that restaurants generally keep the food in the center of the plate, and leave a border on the outside. Its a better look that a busy small plate that can't hold all the food. Other than that, she liked her salad just fine.

My crabcake was good, fresh made, which is a plus, and it was a good sized cake. I bit into a few pieces of cartilage, to further my opinion that they were made fresh...

The server came and took my plate. B was almost done with her salad.. And then we never saw our server again... We watched as she worked every table around us, carefully never making eye contact with us again. I was in a hurry now, I was waiting for a tire to be fixed up the street and it was well past the pickup time. We watched and watched as she completely ignored us...

I finally went up to the cashier. The other waitress came over quickly and looked for my bill. I explained that I never got a bill. She looked it up on her computer and found our tab and I paid it. I hesitantly went over and left a 10% tip. The entire time this happened, our server never saw us.

It was a very strange experience. She was so overboard at the beginning, we joked that the coffee here must be really good and strong.. Then, suddenly, we were non existent. I have never experienced that before. Usually its good service, or bad service, not good then bad in the same visit!

I would consider coming back again, but will probably go to Thatsa some Italian next time we are in the neighborhood.

Mikes Seafood - Ocean Shores, WA

2008-04-09T12:26:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I have written a restaurant review. Not because I haven't been eating out, but because I have already review it, or was so uninspired, there was nothing worth saying..

While on a family trip at Ocean shores, I had a chance to sneak away, while the kids were in a movie.

I went to Mikes Seafood, part market, part restaurant, to purchase some live crab for dinner. Unfortunately, they were not carrying crab that week, due to the rising costs of the crab.

I decided to have lunch. I ordered the fish and chips, three piece cod basket. They also offered halibut and chips, salmon and chips, oysters, steamer and razor clam baskets as well. They also had fresh steamers, which looked fabulous.

The fish and chips came up fairly quickly in this old, weathered coastal cafe. I was immediately impressed by the dish. It looked great, the batter was a golden color. The fries were cooked perfectly.

One bite of the fish and I knew I had really screwed up... Why wasn't this my first stop everytime I come to the ocean. It will be for now on. They were heavenly. Fresh cod, perfectly cooked, and the quality of the fish was beyond excellent. The batter was light and crunch, and was a perfect compliment. The fries were decent, and the tartar sauce was good as well. Although I still prefer Ivars Tartar.

The service was ok. I was seated quickly, but the two tables that came in after me were served first. I ran out of Tartar and asked for more. I had to wait about 5 minutes for more tartar and I nearly finished my lunch before it showed up.

The server was helpful when I told him I really wanted some live crab. He told me of a place in Aberdeen that had live crab, and even gave me directions. I didn't go though. He also told me I'd be paying about $8.50 a pound.. yikes!

I don't recall how much my lunch was, but it was reasonable and fantastic!

Madoka - February 13, 2008 - Bainbridge Island, WA

2008-02-18T15:02:00.000-08:00

I told myself I wouldn't blog about Bainbridge much, since its such a small community, but I have to share my recent experience about Madoka.

A few of us "locals" will remember this location as the NAPA auto parts store.

Several years ago, NAPA sold to the guy who owned/managed Pleasant Beach Oyster House. He moved to Winslow to attract a large customer base. It worked for a while, I can remember when that was the hot place on the island. He sold out a few years ago, and it reopened as Madoka, featuring a Pan-Asian cuisine.

I took my date to Madoka the day before valentines. She has to work valentines day. This is one of the few places I have not been to yet, and she wanted to go as well.

We were immediately seated into a mostly empty dining area. The lighting, colors and artwork are great. This place has nice ambiance, perhaps the best on the Island.

The waiter quickly came over and brought us our menus. The menu was fairly limited. It was broken down by "small plates" and "large plates". There were probably 8 dishes of each size, but the dishes were unique between the small and large.

There where only a three seafood dishes on the large plates menu, and two of them were Tuna. The other was a scallop dish.

I opted for the Pacific Albacore dish. Grilled with a yam mashed potato side.

It wasn't great. I am pretty sure the fish was previously frozen. The yams, which I don't generally like, where very good.

My date went for the small plate option. She had the Elk Lumpia, baked Tofu and cold crab salad.

The tofu was ok, a bit mushy for my liking, but it was good quality tofu. The cold crab salad was pretty good. It wasn't what I expected though. It came on a small plate, with about 6 ounces of Crab. Underneath the crab was some lettuce and beet I believe. You couldn't see the greens though, It was like a hamburger, with the lettuce being the bottom bun.

She had tried the lumpia before, and said it wasn't as good this time. The meat was a bit old she thought. I didn't try it obviously.

By the time we finished, the restaurant was packed. This place is very trendy apparently.

Pike Place Chowder - Pacific Place

2008-01-25T14:18:00.000-08:00

I am so sick of the food in this neighborhood. I've been working here for 8 years now and I am just so dang sick of the food options. My favorite noodle house is too far to walk too when its 34 degrees out. The Pita express is good once a week. Thats about where I am at now. In fact, sometimes I just don't eat lunch at all and then leave work a bit early to grab Ivars fish and chips on the way to the ferry. Ivars is the best and has been all my life.

Today I decided to walk across the street to Pacific Place. I went to the food court on the top floor and looked around. Johnny Rockets, no. Wild Ginger, no. The mexican place does a decent fish taco, but I decided to try my luck with Pike Place Chowder.

Unfortunately, too many restaurants put Chicken stock in their chowder, so that was out. Although, they did have a vegan chowder. It had lime, coconut, curry and veggies. Interesting, perhaps another day.

I ordered the large order of Pacific Cod Fish and Chips ($9.95 ouch). The large fish and chips contained three decent size fillets on a bed of fries. I grabbed three tartars and headed back to work.

The fish was good quality and the breading was light and crunch. Unfortunately, the fish was a touch undercooked. Not raw, but it could have used a few more minutes. The Fries were also undercooked. A few of them were a bit raw and crunchy... most were just plain soggy and limp. The tartar sauce lacked any flavor. It was basically mayonnaise.

I did manage to get my fill, but Ivars still rules the fish and chips world, for a third of the price.

I would consider coming back to try the vegan chowder and perhaps the Wild salmon and chips or prawns and chips some time.

UPDATE:
after I left work I felt pretty ill. I was sick for a few hours after. I couldnt figure it out, but now I think it must have been the tartar sauce that was sitting out on the counter all day... ugh.

Pita Express - 8th and Stewart, Seattle

2007-11-30T13:39:00.000-08:00

ahh, the eternal quest for a Falafel. Truly one of the tastiest vegetarian lunches.

There was a great place in the old Bon parking garage on 3rd, but it closed a year ago. Then Falafel King opened up to much hype down on 1st by the market. I tried it, but I wasn't very satisfied.

Then, in the funky little spot next to Subway and the bagel shop, a new Pita restaurant opened last month. Nothing in this location ever seems to make it, but this place is the best thing to open here.

I tried the Falafel a week after it opened. I figured it was still new, and they may be working out the bugs. It was great. I tried it again today and it was still great! Consistency is so important.

Not much to say about the Falafel, its a standard Falafel, but the ingredients are fresh and the hot sauce is good. My favorite Falafel in Seattle.

Samba Room 1460 Larimer - Denver

2007-11-30T13:23:00.000-08:00

My favorite restaurant in Denver.

Yes, I know that Chilean Sea Bass is endangered from over fishing off south america, but twice a year, I must have it and Samba Room does it right...

Samba Room is a Cuban themed restaurant. Its also very trendy and expensive. I wouldn't go here if it wasn't a client dinner, which means I get reimbursed for the expense.

We entered the restaurant around 7 pm on Wed Night. The place was packed. We were taken to a table within minutes.

Soon after seating, our waiter showed up and introduced himself, then he holds out two bottles of water and asks us if we would like some imported water. We both declined his offer. I ordered my favorite beer, TaHuey, from Puerto Rico. The waiter didn't seem to know what this is, even though I have had it here many times in the past. He went to the bar and discovered they no longer carried that beer. bummer, its the only place I have ever seen that beer.

I ordered, of course, Chilean Seabass “Enchilado” - Pan Seared, Roasted and Served with a Cilantro Shrimp Orzo and a Creole Latin Style Sauce. I have had this dish at least 3 other times, and each time its been spectacular. This time it was even better! The sauce was spicier that previous visits, it really brought out the best in the dish.

Carrie ordered a box dinner, some sort of special they were running during the film festival going on in the Larimer neighborhood. Her dish came with a salad, so I thought I will get a dinner salad so we can eat salad together.

The waiter approaches the table with something wrapped in a towel. He opens the towel and carefully sets a chilled fork down in front of me. The chilled fork is for my salad. Carrie did not get a chilled fork. My salad came a few minutes later, Carries did not. Apparently her salad is served with her dinner. Kinda odd, and when her dinner and salad came, she did not get a chilled fork! Frankly, thats a bit silly.

The whole service was silly. Who are they catering for, obviously very rich people who are better than anyone else. The poor waiter was trying soooo hard. I tipped him just under 20%... sucker!

eating on the coast

2007-09-25T13:21:00.000-07:00

Its not easy to find a decent restaurant on the Washington coast. Crappy food and crappier service would be the best way to describe the experience...

Windjammer - Pacific City- this is the officers club on the navy base. Food was horrible, service was decent. The ambience was that of a school cafeteria.

Patties Perch - Pacific City - Posted in at least 4 places outside this tiny diner, NO PARTIES OVER SIX. Obviously they can't handle any more than 6 at a time... The menu had very few things on it, I ordered a ham and cheese omelet without the ham.. they screwed it up, but gave me my new one for free.. Service was horrible and the food was slightly better. Actually, the omelet was cooked well, but it had more cheese than egg.. the hash browns were burned.

The Waves - Best Western Hotel - Ocean Shores - My mother loves the Crab Louie and after eating greasy crud all trip, this sounded like my best option. It was great. Funny because our hotel manager told us this place was "shakey" not sure what that means, but it was good. Service was good, and the salad was full of fresh Dungeness Crab. I was pleased. The Hotel manager had suggested the restaurant at the Ramada, raving about the salad bar. We went there and it contained maybe 4 items in the salad bar. It had less than the Qwest cafeteria to offer so we left.

Cadillac Jacks - Ocean Shores - Crappy food and service. good bloody mary though.

speaking of bloody marys. When in Westport to watch the Seahawks game, we visited Anthonys, (no relation to the excellent chain in seattle area) I ordered a bloody mary. The thing came back with a Pepperoni stick in it! No, not Pepperocini, which you expect, but a damn stick of meat and a cube of cheese.. WTF??? i have never had an issue, being a vegetarian, with ordering drinks.. From now on I will have to ask for a vegetarian drink menu...

She reluctantly took my drink back, resisting the urge to just pull the stick out of the drink.. but, it didn't matter as there was so much horse radish in the mix, you might as well used it for dipping your steak in.

all in all, we didn't eat very well. but the ocean still is a wonderful place to be.

The Bushwacker - Hwy 101 Port Angeles

2007-08-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

This place was right next door to the hotel my friend and I stayed in last Saturday night. We were tired and didn't want to drive, so there we went.

It was fancier than I imagined for a restaurant on hwy 101 next to an RV dealership and a moderately priced Hotel.

The menu was rather limited, they had 6 or so cuts of meat, and maybe 10 seafood dishes.
My date had the crab cakes, I had a bite and thought they were average, but my sampling was limited. They were big though, and it came with a sizable helping of Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

I had the seafood fettucine and it was darn good. Loaded with ocean Scallops, prawns, wild salmon, clams and mussels. There could have been a bit more pasta, but the meal was good. The cream sauce was great, I couldn't determine what was in it, but it was kinda tangy.

They have a salad bar, but neither of us visited it.

I would come back here again, if I had the money, as I mentioned before it was a bit more than I like to pay for dinner. Entrees were all over $20.

Bainbridge Restaurants....

2007-08-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

I quickly decided that I cannot review any restaurants on Bainbridge since I am now a resident of this micro Bellevue community...

However, I do have to give a shout out the Emmys Vege House. Great Great Great, I just discovered the Spring Rolls there. Super!

and lastly, Martha down at Docs is putting up some great Breakfast every morning. I had the best omelet ever down there last week. Hashbrowns cooked to perfection!

and the rest?? well, IF I have another good meal on the rock, I might mention it..

Hoodsport marina pub

2007-07-17T12:37:00.000-07:00

During our camping trip, we decided to go into town and get some grub, and myself a drink.

We spotted this quaint little place right on the water.

It was real hot and the waitress was sitting outside in the shade. She was not doing real well with the heat, and her job performance suffered. I am sure she is a good waitress when its not 100 degrees!

I ordered the fish and chips and it was superb! Fresh cut cod and a very light crispy coating. The tartar sauce was average. I still cant get over how good that fish was. Most places server frozen cod or pollock and the quality is usually suspect. I was very impressed, it was the best fish and chips I have had in a long time.

Kelsey had clam chowder and shared on my fries. Jessica had shrimp and chips. I tried hers and it was good. Not as good as the fish, but decent. Both kids enjoyed their meals.

I will not pass through hoodsport withoput a stop in this place. It appears to be a good watering hole as well.

Amys frozen Burritto VS Cederlane frozen burrito.

2007-06-11T15:06:00.000-07:00

I bought one of each at Fred Meyers. Both frozen organic rice bean and cheese burritos.

the Amys burritos, my usual, always blow beans out the ends when cooking, so appearance goes to Cedarlane.

thats it though, the Amys burrito was much tastier. I would eat either one, but prefer Amys.

Noahs Ark Restaurant - Bremerton

2007-06-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

My Mother took me to Noahs Ark in Bremerton Saturday afternoon.

Its an old, slightly run down building, and inside it looked the same as the outside. There is a counter you order from and the menu is listed on a letter board on the wall behind the counter. For those who remember, it reminded me of the Kel-Lin on Bainbridge back in the day...

The menu was just jam packed, you couldn't add another letter to that board. There is only the one board, so its used for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and dessert. I was confused by the menu, as they have obviously had to be very creative with their letter placing to get everything on the board.

I ordered the halibut fish and chips, and to my surprise, I could see no advertisement of this promotion, the halibut fish came with free clam strips.. I said bring it on..

My mother ordered a gyro.

We went into the semi crowded dining area and waited for our name to be called out over the intercom. The dining area was fairly clean, clean enough.

They called our name and I went to get the food. I came back with my water, but no drink for my mother. She said she had ordered a Coke. So, I went back and they looked on the ticket and sure enough, she had ordered the Coke, so the teenage girl behind the counter handed me a cup to fill from the fountain.

The fish was decent, I wouldn't expect anything better from a greasy spoon. The clams were good. Not too chewy, flavorful. The fries were done perfectly, nice and crispy, I hate a soggy fry.
The tartar sauce was average, but it did the trick.

Mother said her Gyro was just ok. It looked pretty tasty.

all in all, its a pretty decent fast food type place. Its better than fast food actually. I would like to try their breakfast menu. Also, many people came in for just shakes or Ice cream, so I am guessing that must be their specialty.

Kyles Crab Feed

2007-06-11T14:54:00.000-07:00

Kyle bought 11 pounds of beautiful King Crab legs. I had to write something about a wonderful meal I enjoyed at Kyles Friday night! YEAH KYLE!

Thai Gusto - Everett

2007-06-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

After watching Champions on Ice, we were hungry. Across the street from the Everett Events Center we found Thai Gusto. It was a bit fancier than I wanted, but we sat down and decided to make a go of it.

I ordered the Phad Thai with Tofu. It was really good. I had to order with no stars as the kids and I were sharing that plate and a plate of chicken fried rice.

The tofu was deepfried, which isnt my favorite way to eat it, but it was deepfried well, not to over cooked, just right. The flavor was very good, no orange juice in this recipe. They offer a great set of condiments too. Fish oil, which I hardly ever see. Then the usual, chile paste, chile sauce and chili powder. All were good.

The service was excellent, our wait staff was very attentive. The food arrived very quickly, a bit too quick really, but since we had a long journey home after dinner, we didnt mind.

The decor is really very nice too. They have an old wooden gazebo thing in there. It was from Indonesia and was 70 years old. The wood work was very intricate.

This place beats the heck out of Aroydy (see other review), but its too far away to go on a regular basis..

Oh, the kids loved the food too. Thats rare! Jessica even took the fried rice home to eat. There was no phad thai left.

Salsa's - Kingston

2007-05-31T09:02:00.000-07:00

Very simple, small menu, no indoor seating. the place is no bigger than a broom closet. The first time we went there, we couldnt figure out how they were cooking in this little place. They told us the food is cooked across the street at Luna Bella. Luna Bella is an italian place that is supposed to be pretty good. Ok, so that made some sense, but an italian place making burritos? It works, very good.

I always order the veggie burrito of course. Its just wonderful. Its big, full of black beans, rice, cilanto and a mexican specialty cheese, I think its called Chorito? The salsa there is superior, one of the best salsas I have experienced. The tortillas are soft and fresh.

Bronwen ordered the supreme burrito. Its loaded with meat, its just huge. She is a huge fan also.

to all the people who disagreed with my Casa Rojas Express review, try Salsas and then lets talk. There is no comparision. Its night and day.

only bad thing I can say is that the place was boiling hot, no air or fans in there. I imagine they will have to put them in. The poor girl said she nearly passed out a few times yesterday... Not a big concern for the customer as you can order inside then go sit outside. They will bring you the food. Great service for a small place like that.

Bagette Box - E Pine St, Seattle

2007-05-29T14:19:00.000-07:00

YUM!
I ordered the Grilled Tofu sandwich. Everthing about it is great. The bagette is excellent, the tofu cooked just right.

Its different than the last time I ordered it too. They used a sweet oil with the sandwich, making it moist and sweet. The veggies were better too, they used red onion and some white spear, like maybe a bamboo spear, it was very good, with a tart taste. A great flavor to balance the sweet oil.

I tried the gravlax sandwich here once also and it was also excellent.

Casa Rojas Express - May 24, 07

2007-05-24T21:40:00.000-07:00

Let me start by sying I love Casa Rojas and my amigo Armando. I didnt like CRE

I ordered the "sin carne" which I guess means, no meat. Sin means no? I like that..

anyway, its rice, beans, lettuce, cheese, pico de gayo, guacamole, salsa on request. Yes please.

The torilla was not the freshed, they steam them so it was a bit soggy and tough. The rice tasted like a rice a roni recipe. I chose black beans, they were decent, but there was not a lot of beans, mostly rice. There was maybe one tablespoon of guacamole in the entire burrito, not enough to really be an influence.

The plus side, the salsa was HOT! I like a place that can offer a salsa that you have to respect.

They do have a nice breakfast menu I would be willing to give that a try. Although at $5.75 a pop, its a bit more than I like to spend for a breakfast burrito. I can do better in the city.

Aroydy Thai Cuisine - May 22, 2007

2007-05-23T13:30:00.000-07:00

Much has been said about this restaurant in recent years... common reviews say the food is good, service sucks.. That is true most of the time.. I probably picked a lame restaurant to start my new blog, but so be it.

We arrived on a Tuesday evening about 6:30. We were seated immediately.
It was the best table we have ever had there, usually we are in the back by the kitchen, or in some odd cubby hole. Once we had to eat in the dark bar... To be fair, its the least crowded I have ever seen the place. It would have been really odd for them to seat us in the back.

We usually order an appetizer here, but had trouble agreeing on one this time. Usually we get the veggie spring rolls, which, is not even on the appetizer menu. You have to go the the last page of the 4 or 5 page menu to get to the vegetarian options. The first one listed is the Veggie Tempura, so we decided to try that.

The waitress came and we ordered the app and two Thai beers, "Singha". Its a good light beer.
We were not ready to order the entree yet, so she went to get the beers. She came back promptly and we ordered. I ordered the Tofu Phad Thai, my usual order. Bronwen ordered the Swimming Angel, her usual order.

The appetizers came in an acceptable amount of time. The tempura was a reddish color, very appealing. I grabbed one, it was too hot to eat.

Once it was ok to eat, we dug in. The brocolli was a bit tough, but I thought the carrots and zuchinni were palatable. Honestly, I am not a huge tempura fan in the first place. The plum sauce was good, however I suspect they buy it pre made.

The entrees arrived before we finished the appetizer! I was shocked, service was right on today.

My phad thai was average at best. I detected the taste of orange juice concentrate in the sauce. I didn't care for the sweet tangy taste. I tried to drown it out with Hot sauce. Not much luck, but it was still ok. I ate half and saved half for work, which I am eating now.

Bronwen was pleased with the Swimming Angel, which is chicken on a bed of spinach, with some sort of gravy on it. I didnt try it obviously..

I have never tasted orange juice in a dish before. I am slightly prejudiced due to the fact that Bronwens last chef she worked for before taking his job, used orange juice concentrate in many dishes.. to that I say NASTY.. dont do it. there are other ways to make a dish sweet and fruity.

all in al l though, it was a decent experience, and its the only thia place in N. Kitsap, so we will go back again I am sure.