Fat Burger

The name alone implies that this place is probably not for me.  Fat Burger opened on Alki  around a year ago.  

At first they were very busy, we went and had a beer the first week and met people who came from far away lands, like Auburn, to try Fat Burger.

They had no happy hour and the menu was mainly meat, so we were in no rush to come back.   A few months went by and the new restaurant thrill ended. They announced a happy hour!  Ok, now I am interested. 

We went back. I had a pint of Bud Light for $3.75.   Not great, but better than $5.  I had a happy hour salad with my beer. Bronwen had wings.   We both felt it was adequent, not exceptoinal.

A few months back, they offered new items, including shrimp and chips and  mahi sliders.  B and I decided to go back. I had a boca burger, Bronwen had a meat burger.  We both felt it was adequete, not exceptional.

Our friend Pat came over one day so we decided to go back. I wanted to try the shrimp and chips.  It was a sunny day and the place was pretty busy.. They brought our food, everything except B's salad. Our waiter had apparently thought we had everything, he wasn't making an effort to come back to our table.  Finally I caught the managers eye. He came over and I explained how we were missing a salad.  He left and promptly returned with a salad.  Then a few minutes later he came back and gave us a few orders of fries on the house!  He was trying at least.

The shrimp was not great.  Way too much breading and not very many for the price.   They did have tartar sauce, which is not listed on the menu.

Finally back one more time to try the Mahi sliders.  B ordered chili fries.   I wolfed down the two happy hour sliders. I was really hoping for more here, but it was the same mince Marlin patties that you can buy at Costco.  Cheap scraps of Marlin and if I recall, 49% pollock.   These are not good.  I envisioned a small filet on the bun.. yeah right.

I then decided to get some steak fries ( they call them Fat fries)  since B had a ways to go with her meal and I was still hungry.  No one offered me any sauce at all.  Not even ketchup.  B said I should ask.. Ya know what? I am done asking.  I am done.

We may come in for a beer now and then, but this place is yet another drink only establishment on our list.  Maybe an order of onion rings or something... but we won't be back for dinner again.

I hope Blue Moon burger can do a better job when they open in our neighborhood someday.

South Lake Union

wow, its been a year or so since I walked down to Whole Foods in SLU.   I need green tea.  I can't find any I like anymore.  Side note(rant)..  seems like if I took all the foods I bought five years ago, at least half of those are not made anymore.   Lately my green tea has come under attack.  My favorite over the last year has been Good Earth Lemongrass Green Tea. A month ago, they stopped making that blend, replacing it with Citrus Kiss, Tropical Rush and Pomegrate Burst.  All with bold new labels and lots and lots of sugar.yuk.  Citrus KIss tastes like licking a bowl of sugar..   sigh

Now it appears Tazo has joined in. I can't find the Green Ginger they make. It was my second fav. It may be gone now too.

Sometimes I feel like an outsider in my own country.  But is it me? Or is it the youth of today who have been hooked on sugar since birth?  There is very few American foods I like anymore.









Ok, rant over.





On my way to the Whole Foods, I discovered a whole bunch of new places that seemingly have popped up overnight! well, within a year anyways.

First one I ran into is in that new building on 7th and Virginia. There used to be an UpTown Espresso or some local coffee shop here,, but now it is a trendy Mediterranean restaurant called Petra Bistro.   http://petrabistro.com I saw a falafel sandwich listed for $6.99.. While a bit pricier than Zainas, I would be willing to try it.

Further down was a new Asian fusion Taco place. Not my thing, but the price was right. $3.00 tacos and htey have a prawn taco. Hmmm


But the biggest surprise was the food trucks I encountered just South of Whole Foods.  In one lot was Fez on Wheels, an Egyptian themed truck I have wanted to try. An Indian place that had decently priced wraps and the biggest surprise, an Ethiopeian truck! I don't think Portland has one of these!  It is called Mesob. 

I walked through Whole foods and it was packed at lunch hour. I decided to try my luck on one of the food trucks. I went to Fez on Wheels and had  a dish called "Ful Mudammas".  $6.99.  It was listed as "the national dish of Egypt"   and it is vegetarian!  The  dish is pronouched "fool".  It is a fava bean stew with onions and tomatoes.  It was pretty darn good! I could eat in Egypt!



I didn't take any pictures on account of the pouring rain. 

Pane Pane 3rd and Union

I had to try it twice to make sure it was not a fluke.  It was not.

This little sandwich shop arose from the ashes of another failed sandwich shop. They opened a year ago at least and there branding and signage looks very professional. However, I find the menu confusing. It lists prices at the top, then three columns but then each sandwich has a price too.  I was super hungry one am, so I decided to try it out.

I ordered the Egg, spinach and cheese sandwich. They make their own bread and it it very fresh and tasty. The egg is scrambled just right. A slice of provolone ands some spinanch leaves hold it together. They recommended the chiptlole sauce, they have many custom sauces for a vareity of sandwiches. It was perfect, topped with some oregano and basil seasoning.  YUM!

I am looking forward to trying a lumch sandwich. They feature a curried egg salad that sounds good, along with an artichoke and hummus, and a few other vegetarian options. Plenty of meat of course for the gluttons! ;)

Bay Cafe - Fishermens Terminal

Bronwen and I moved to Seattle almost exctly two years ago.    Since we have moved we still reminince about old Seattle.   Sometimes I bring up my life in Fishermens Terminal, a place I worked out of for 15 years.
One night we were taliign about old Seattle and I was talking about the Bay Cafe and then it hit me... I live in Seattle. I can GO there now, I don't just have to reminisce!!!!  Bronwens new schedule gives her Saturdays off, so Bay Cafe here we come.

I have not been down here for years.  It was kinda weird. The old Insurance Agency my mother owned is gone. Even the Bank of America that gave me my first credit card is gone!  But the restaurants are the same. Highliner tavern, Chinooks and Bay Cafe.

When I walked in, it was like deja vu. It hasn't changed at all. In fact, I think it's the same manager!

I was worried about crowds but I forgot how big the place is.  We were immediately seated.
The menu appears to be the same. I remember the big omelets. I ordered the Spinach Feta and B ordered the California omelet.  Kimmi and his friend joined us and ordered Waffles.

The omelets were good, mine had maybe a bit too much spinach, but it was still tasty. The hash browns are shredded!  and they were cooked to perfection.  B and I both were pleased.  Kimmis waffles looked perfectly golden brown.

The place continued to fill as we ate and we did have some delay in getting the check. Not an issue normally except Kimmi was flying out soon.

All in all, great breakfast experience. I look forward to checking out Ballard soon. I hear its unrecognizable from my early 1990 memories.

Vegas dining recap - Aug 2013

Here is a run down of the dining we enjoyed or didnt enjoy in Las Vegas.

Peppermill. A Vegas institution. Been coming here since '91 when Glenn took us. It was his favorite place.  The first day we ate dinner there. I had nachos,  just cause and B had the Fettucine Alfredo.  Both plates were enough for  2 people!   My Nachos were decent with beans on the side just the way I like them.  B has still not stopped talking about that Alfredo. She took most of it back to the room and actually did eat some of it.  Leftovers rarely seem to happen on Vacation

We started and ended with Peppmill. We ate our final breakfast here too. WOW! my first breakfast at the Peppermill It was awesome. HUGE omelets with shredded hashbrowns!  Cooked to perfection. Great way to end the trip.

Circus Circus Buffet. WHY?  Never again. I went for the breakfast buffet. The next day I went to Mc Donalds..

Lobster Me.  What  a fun fast food place. Lobster being the main ingredient and their signature dish is the Lobster Roll. We had the Lobster shooter whcih is  a Lobster bloody mary basically. We came back for the Lobster on a Stick. Deep fried and  served with a side of melted butter.   YUM!

Spice Island Buffet at Planet Hollywood   We had a choice of 6 different restaurants that came with our time share offer.  I chose this one. Everyone tried to tell us it was too busy, to go to one of the other restaurants. Nice try. It was not too crowded, but it was super good.  The buffet has separate areas each serving a nationality food. Asian, Italian, Indian, and more. Everything was so good we ate ourselves sick.  Kelsey and I dined for breakfast here a few years ago and it was great.

Rice and Company - Luxor.  Super good rice based dishes. Sushi prepared in the main dining room. B had great Phad Thai with Chicken and Shrimp. I had an Avacado roll and Seared Ahi. Really good and not too pricy.

fool me thrice?

ugh, food trucks..   They have a lot working against them already and now, for the third time, a truck I like disappears.

Yep, Lumpia World truck hasnt been at Westlake since the day I ate that wonderful Pancit..

1. Falafel Salam.  Best Falafel I have ever had.  They left Morgan Junction for Edmonds.  I thought Morgan Junction was an odd location anyways, since the neighborhood is primarily Ethopian, it didnt make a lot of sense to me for a Jewish dude to sell Falafels there.  

2. D Jung on Wheels.  This one is on me, I saw them everywhere, but finally tried them when they came to Alki. The fish cakes are amazing. I really wanted to try the Phad Thai. They packed up for S. Lake Union.

3. Lumpia World. There were at Westlake for over a week. I waited in line one day when they ran out of food, then I finally was able to try the Pancit. It was great!  That's the last I have seen of them.

It is clear that these trucks just don't have a lot of success downtown. Too much competition I suppose.

Lumpia World! yet another food truck!

I really should just name this the Food Truck blog. I can't help it, I am fascinated with them.  Why? The are typically over priced and over hyped.  But here is the reason, because these are small, locally owned and operated trucks, which means that what is coming out is the best they can do. Restaurants can be hit and miss as different people prepare the food each day.  I truly appreciate the quality and consistency of these food trucks. The price is not always good though!

Last week I discovered a new truck, Lumpia World. I  had to check it out. I ate a lot of Phillipine food as a kid, loved Lumpia and Pork Adobo.  But, how can you have vegetarian Phillipine food? My experience in Southcenter at the Seafood Market a few weeks ago was confirmation that its Pork, Pork and more Pork! The first thing on the buffet is a whole roasted pig! head and all.

I looked over this Lumpia World truck with optimistic skepticism.   Sure enough, they offer Vegetarian Pancit and Vegetarian Lumpia! 

Today I bit. I have a full lunch in the kitchen here, but I had to take a look and sure enough they offer a side of Pancit for $4.00.  This is always a complaint of mine, no smaller portions or sides. Its a big ol entree or nothing. 

I ordered the Pancit and asked about the Lumpia.  The menu made it sound like it had sweet potato in it, but not the case. They have a sweet potato  lumpia for dessert.

well, I wouldn't have put down my bowl and started typing if it wasn't FANTASTIC!  I will probably end up going here tomorrow for the Veggie Pancit and Lumpia combo. $8.50

Who needs pork?  Not me. And not Lumpia World although they do have pork. Last friday Veggie Pancit was sold out!