Ladies Who Lunch

Long Time, No Post!

2007-07-24T08:20:00.001-07:00

OK everyone... the dining club is back in effect. After taking June off due to the inability of basically anyone to come (though Lenny, Travis and I did have some fine Ezell's chicken -- as Lenny pointed out it came to about $5/person, which was way cheaper than the Kingfish...), on Sat July 21, the Ladies made a triumphant return at Cafe Presse. Lenny picked Cafe Presse after getting a recommendation from a co-worker (?) and reading some great reviews in the paper.

Definitely had a cool vibe to the atmosphere. It's definitely a hip, Capitol Hill kind of place. I didn't eat much (tomatoes served with olive tapenade; I had to ask for bread on the side though and earned a death glare from our waitress for the request) because I had the jitters from the out of the blue, random "I've been crazy about you for so long" bus stop confession and kiss from this guy who I've known (but not very well) from around the neighborhood for the last couple of years. Sorry, Lenny, but the confession/kiss was actually the highlight of the night for me... although the brownie we shared later at Flying Fish was a pretty close second!! Yum-o! I love brownies! Too bad the ice cream on the side had a weird freezer burn texture. Surprising for such a classy restaurant...

Overall ratings (scale of 1-10):

Cafe Press:

Atmosphere - 7/10 (loud, but hip)
Food - N/A (I didn't eat enough to actually rate this, but everyone's steak frites looked good)
Service - 5/10 (due to the death glare when I asked for some bread and subsequent diss when I asked for a refill on my soda)

Flying Fish:

Atmosphere - 8/10 (classy, fun)
Food - 10/10 for the brownie; 4/10 for the ice cream
Service - 10/10 (our waitress was sweet and fun and personable!)

Yay, thanks for another fun night, Ladies!

Urbanspoon & SevenNites

2007-06-13T14:18:00.001-07:00

OK, this must be Wendy-has-bloggorhea day...

This is a newish, super coolest site for people who LOVE dining out! My favorite feature -- you can vote on literally hundreds of Seattle restaurants to say if you like it or don't like it... You can also really easily get reviews on restaurants from local papers and see restaurants in specific neighborhoods. This is the most comprehensive site I've ever seen!

UrbanSpoon

And here's a site that was developed by a UPS alum, who I actually worked with at UPS (not that he'd remember me). He also loves happy hour, so he created this searchable database of Seattle happy hours! You can set certain criteria (neighborhood, hours, days, etc.) and search for all restaurants meeting the criteria.

SevenNites Happy Hour Database

And Speaking of Asian Cuisine...

2007-06-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

Here's an article about Burger King adding Spam to its menu in Hawaii. Mmmm, spam musubi...

Who Loves Spam? Asians!

From the Geniuses Behind Blue C Sushi

2007-06-13T13:58:00.000-07:00

...... Comes a ramen/soba house on Capitol Hill!! Love it already and it doesn't even open until fall!!

Yay, ramen!

Blue C Sushi team to introduce Seattle to Japanese-style noodle house

Kingfish Cafe & Steelhead Diner

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

Two late posts. Apologies, apologies. Life is crazy as always.

Kingfish. Where to start... I'm going to start with dessert because that was truly the most remarkable part of dinner... which isn't to say the rest of dinner was bad -- everything was fantastic, but dessert was unforgettable! We had a party of 8 people (no Tia this month) and yet when we ordered 4 desserts to share, the waitress looked at us and said, "Y'all are crazy."

I beg to differ. I think it's the cake cutting person at the Kingfish who is C-razy with a capital C. The dessert portions are obscene. I don't think we even ate 1/3 of the total mass of dessert that they delivered to our table. If I recall, we had chocolate cake, red velvet cake, white cake, and pineapple upside down cake... each served with a giant mound of whipped cream on the side. The cake slices probably weighed 5 pounds apiece, and probably resulted in each of us gaining 10 pounds within 20 minutes. Sigh, the pineapple upside down cake was the bomb. This wasn't no box cake mix. The fresh pineapple slices were coated in delicious, gooey caramel. Heaven!

For dinner I had the vegetarian griddlecakes and a side of cornbread (the best!). The griddlecakes are tasty, but not necessarily my favorite item on the menu. I really love the rice & beans, chicken salad, and mac & cheese. (Actually, after visiting the Kingfish for dining club and then raving about the desserts to my family, I took them to the Kingfish twice when they visited in May.)

Yay, good pick, Jerrod! Definitely a Seattle classic!

Re: the Steelhead Diner.

This was my pick. And I blew it. And I HATE to blow a pick!!! (That sounds weird, doesn't it?)

OK, so I had heard rave reviews about this restaurant from at least one of the Seattle papers as well as from ex-Bachelor #2. Since he turned out to be crazy, I guess I shouldn't have put so much stock in his opinion, although he was right on about Palace Kitchen.

In any case, this is a restaurant definitely geared towards the tourists. My first pet peeve: even if you tell the server, "No, were not out-of-towners, we're all locals," they still launch into the same totally canned, overly detailed spiel about getting their ingredients fresh that day from the fish vendors, and Uli's sausage, and Beecher's cheese, etc. For the love of God, I know many of the PPM vendors on a first name basis, I don't need a map and menu for every freakin' stall!

Second pet peeve: Our server was conspicuously absent for long stretches. OK, so in every meal, there's a basic order of events. You are seated. Then the busboy brings you water. Then 5-10 minutes later the server comes and takes your drink and/or appetizer order. Then he comes back another 5-10 minutes later with your drinks and takes your meal order, duly noting any special requests. Eventually (ideally within, say, 20-30 minutes) he brings you your food. Then he comes back in about 5-10 minutes to check in and make sure you're happy since he wants a big tip. Then when everyone's given signs that they're done with their meals (i.e., people are no longer eating or are pushing their plates away), he comes back and asks how the meal was and if you want to see a dessert menu.

OK, so my pet peeve is that we had to wait like 20-30 minutes between each visit by our waiter. And I don't think he ever checked in with us after we got our food... Otherwise he would have found out that Lenny's burger, which was ordered "medium well" actually had bits of red, raw ground beef falling out of it because it was so rare. (It actually looked more or less like how I like to eat my burgers - raw meat! Yum!!)

My food (halibut) was actually delicious, though ridiculously tiny... as far as portion size goes, it was a serious contrast to the generous, oversized portions of delectable goodness served at the Kingfish.

My third pet peeve: Instead of comping Lenny's burger, the guy offered to comp us a dessert and said his manager wouldn't let him comp the burger... Which basically meant that instead of all of us going down the street to get gelato (as we decided to do during one of the many lengthy lapses between visits from the waiter) we basically all had to order dessert and fork over more bucks at the Craphole Diner. Dessert was good, though I can't even remember what I ordered, so it couldn't have been outstanding.

My fourth pet peeve: After making a big deal about comping the dessert and Jerrod's glass of wine (which was a $1.25 upgrade and probably just a mispour), he brought the bill and had added a Pilsner to our tab. This was a phantom beer that no one at our table had ordered. Then he did not seem surprised and had the nerve to even seem a little peeved when we brought it to his attention! In other words, I think he tried to pull a fast one on us.

UGH!!!!!!! I'm never going back!!

Steelhead Diner – 19 May 2007

2007-06-05T15:54:00.000-07:00

So the month of May had us dining at the Steelhead Diner located in the “touristy” Pike Place Market. Its gimmick is that they try and buy all their ingredients from the “touristy” Pike Place Market, which is a pretty good idea and works very well, especially for the tourists. In fact the first thing our waiter asked us is if we were all from Seattle. The ambiance is really cool. It was very busy when we were there and the noise level reflected it. The décor was upscale diner. The menus were on our placemats which is a good idea at first but we had utensils, water glasses, and bread plates to contend with while trying to decide what to eat.

Wendy ordered a half order of the halibut special as did Aaron who also order the heirloom beet salad to start with. Travis ordered cod and Lenny ordered the burger medium well (remember this for later). I ordered the Beecher’s (cheese shop located in the market) cheese curds flash fried to start and the pork tenderloin.

I also ordered a glass of merlot but my waiter brought me a Syrah because he said it was better wine but told me he would only charged me for the price of the Merlot, a savings of about $1.25. A nice gesture but I think it was a mis-pour.

I was incredibly disappointed by the cheese curd appetizer. I thought it was going to have a sharp taste but what I got were mozzarella sticks no better than one would find on the menu at Red Robin. A mis-order on my part. It was extremely pedestrian for their menu. All our food was delicious except for Lenny’s burger which came extremely on the rare side. I give props to Lenny for grinning and bearing it and eating most of it. Now I like my burgers on the rare side and I wouldn’t have eaten his burger, it was nowhere near “medium-well”. I would like to add here that once our food was delivered that was all we saw of our waiter.

When he finally came back to help clear our plates, Aaron brought the state of Lenny’s burger to his attention. His response was something to the affect of “well I walked by and everything appeared to be fine.” That was not an appropriate response for the type or restaurant that The Steelhead Diner claims to be. The waiter agreed to comp a dessert so we picked out a nice selection. All were delicious.

When we were finished we finally got the check. At the top of the bill was a pilsner. None of us had beer during the evening. We brought it to the attention of our waiter and he wasn’t apologetic. He just said, “Oh, I’ll take that off.” No “I’m sorry”, or even an “oops”. It was quite fishy (no pun intended). So over all, really good food! And really bad service! I think we all agreed we would never go back.

Black Bottle

2007-04-12T09:24:00.001-07:00

This is one of Belltown's finest... Have now been there twice. A couple of the dishes from my first visit (with Dan & Hannah) were so amazing I kind of *influenced* Rico & Jerrod to order a couple of the same items.

Dan, Hannah, and I had the mussels, hanger steak, and chicken & dried cherry flatbread. The mussels were good -- but the hanger steak and chicken/cherry flatbread were amazing. But the truly memorable dish was the dessert: a peach and blueberry tart served with a jar of whipping cream. Yum! That dessert is on my list of all-time faves... So Jerrod, Rico and I ordered (very similar menu): hanger steak, chicken & dried cherry flatbread, and fried tofu served with a peanut sauce. We also ordered the peach and blueberry tart along with a chocolate cake that was served with vanilla gelato. I was kinda "meh" on the chocolate cake. I still loved the peach and blueberry tart.

We also had a super hot (straight) waiter who checked in on us a few times. There were many hot guys to check out. Rico, Jerrod, and I have no gay-dar, but I think it was pretty split between straight guys out with their girlfriends and gay guys out with their hags.

Black Bottle would make a great first date restaurant. The food is inventive, but accessible, and there's just a cool, hip but casual vibe. I love all the unique light fixtures and the fuzzy, upholstered sliding barn doors.

Update: Where We've Been and Where We're Going!

2007-03-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

Where We've Been:
Aaron - September 23: Paseo Caribbean
Hannah - October 21: Tilth
Tia - November 18: Kabul
Wendy - December 16: Baguette Box
Rico - January 20: The Mediterranean Kitchen
Travis - February 17: Tutta Bella
Lenny - March 17: Lark

And Where We're Going:
Jerrod - April 21: tbd/Volterra??

Wow, Ladies! We've already made it through one rotation! We've had some excellent choices and I'm sure April will be no exception.

So the big question is: Who picks in May? Could it be Dan??? I sure hope so!

If not, then I assume we'll just start the next rotation with Aaron picking in May, Hannah in June, and so on. In any case, everyone should start thinking about their next picks! I've already got one in mind for my next pick, which will be in August/September!

A quick note...

2007-03-28T15:08:00.000-07:00

Just an FYI, Seattle Magazine's "Best Restaurants" issue is out on newsstands now... I noticed with a quick glance through that both Lark and Tilth made it into the top ten! We're so trendy!

Lark

2007-03-18T09:35:00.002-07:00

Our meal last night at Lark was superb -- this was probably one of the best dining club meals so far. The atmosphere was great (the restaurant itself is gorgeous!) and the reasonable noise level made it possible for all of us to enjoy the great (if somewhat tasteless) conversation. I am pretty sure it's the nicest meal I've ever had while conversing about penises and how many places in which a person can be penetrated. I'm glad our waitress had a good sense of humor. Bless her heart!

Lark offers small plates, though their small plates are actually reasonably portioned. Our waitress suggested sharing 2-3 plates per person, and offered to put together a menu for us. Gotta give her props for the selection! It was outstanding! We had so many dishes, I will probably miss some of them... But here's what I remember:

Cheese plate (can't remember the specific types - one was a soft cheese, another was a bleu cheese... they were all wonderful picks)
Prosciutto with quince jam
Pork loin with spiced Marcona almonds and garlic (this was probably my favorite!!)
Steamed mussels
Hamachi (yellowtail) with fennel
Foie gras (poor little yummy duckies)
Beef tartare (yum-o!)
Crispy pork belly with dates (I could've eaten a plate of just the dates!!)
Ricotta nudi (sp?? I thought these were kinda bland) with some kind of greens sauteed with bacon

And for dessert, we had:

Apple/ginger crisp (I loved the ginger!!)
Pineapple tarte tartin (this was my favorite dessert - it tasted like pineapple upside down cake but with puff pastry instead of cake)
Chocolate madeleines with a chocolate dipping sauce
Meyer lemon parfait (a bit too lemony for me)

All in all, a fabulous evening!

AND, for those who were wondering last night... Per www.m-w.com:

Penis

Main Entry: pe·nis

Pronunciation: 'pE-n&sFunction: nounInflected

Form(s): plural pe·nis·es also pe·nes /'pE-(")nEz/

Etymology: Latin, penis, tail; akin to Old High German faselt penis, Greek peos

Dating & Dining

2007-03-13T16:02:00.000-07:00

So my recent spate of dating has been accompanied by a spate of excellent dining. Here's the rundown:

Fine Dining Date #1

Location: Barolo (1940 Westlake Ave in downtown Seattle)

Website: http://www.baroloseattle.com/

Type of Food: Upscale Italian

Vibe: Trendy, posh, romantic - definitely a place for special occasions

Overall Impression: Food was excellent! Reviews I'd read beforehand said that the food was inconsistent, but everything we had was amazing. We started with calamari (not the fried kind) in a light garlic and lemon sauce - it was possibly the most delicious squid I've ever eaten that wasn't battered and deep fried. For entrees I had the salmon. It was served rare, which is exactly how I like my salmon. And it's so hard to find a restaurant that serves its salmon anything short of overcooked and dry!! My date, "B1," (as he shall be referred to on this blog) had the filet mignon. It was soooo good! It reminded me why I love steak so much, even though I hardly ever order it. For dessert we shared a glass of port; since I generally don't drink, I can't comment intelligently on the wine.

The ambience was amazing too. Definitely the kind of place to visit the bathroom just to check out the decor. This is one of the see-and-be-seen restaurants of Seattle. According to the owner, who stopped by and chatted with us (he's a friend of a friend of B1's -- as a result, we got the hook up on a nice booth instead of a normal table for two), Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake had reservations there before they broke up. Don't know if that's true, but if they were going to be in Seattle, then Barolo would have been a great place to try. He also said that the local celebs and professional athletes eat there frequently as well.

Fine Dining Date #2:

Location: Palace Kitchen (2030 Fifth Ave in Belltown)

Website: http://tomdouglas.com/palace/index.html

Type of Food: Pacific Northwest/Eclectic

Vibe: Hip, fun, equally good for special occasions and casual dining (though a little spendy for a spur of the moment, "Hey it's 7 pm, let's grab some dinner," kind of thing)

Overall Impression: Food again was stellar! (Maybe my palate is easy to please because it seems like I enjoy almost everywhere I eat or can at least comment favorably on something. Maybe I just enjoy eating anything as long as I don't have to cook it. Anyways, I digress...) We started with the roast pork & chard ravioli and with the seared ahi tuna (served with "truffled green nectarines" and some kind of pepper). So delicious! I can't decide which I liked better -- the ravioli were so tasty, but I always love seared tuna and the peppers gave it this amazing kick. For entrees we shared the wagyu flank steak, which was served with sauteed kale and mashed potatoes, and a sea bass, which was served with celery root ravioli. The flank steak was amazing!! The bass was good too, but the flank steak was truly memorable. The marinade was amazing. For dessert we had Tom Douglas's famed coconut cream pie. B2, as he shall be referred to on this blog, knows all about my sweet tooth already (he sneaked cupcakes into the movie for me on our second date, which is a date move that just screams out "He's a keeper!!"), including my great love of whipped cream. So the coconut cream pie was a perfect choice for dessert -- it was basically a mountain of fresh whipped cream with toasted coconut flakes and white chocolate shavings. I think there was probably some pie crust in there too, but I was so focused on the football-sized mound of whipped cream, that I didn't even notice it. My god, can you say HEAVEN??

Ambience was more casual than Barolo -- more upbeat and energetic, which was perfect since we'd been wandering around downtown earlier and it was great to keep the energy going. I liked the decor, which was a combination of old/classic furnishings with industrial elements (like steel paneling on the wall that leads from the main room to the bathrooms).

Casual Date Dining

Quick notes - have also been to Typhoon on Western (good Thai, reasonably priced, especially for the location), the Indian place on 1st Ave in Pioneer Square (decent Indian food, reasonably priced, but we were literally the only patrons the night we went), and Virginia Inn (just for apps -- pretty good; got a great casual atmosphere).

Also recommended Casuelita's to Tia for her upcoming first date. I think that's a good pick if you're in the vicinity of the Sculpture Park.

That's all for now...

Help

2007-03-06T08:55:00.000-08:00

Hi ladies, what is a good chinese restaurant in the Seattle/Cap hill/UDistrict area?

Thanks!

Tutta Bella! Yay!

2007-02-25T19:39:00.000-08:00

I don't know what it was, but I swear all the men that worked at Tutta Bella were super adorable. Though I think I was the only one who thought so.......

Oh, and I though the food was pretty good too. I had a pizza with Italian sausage (chicken - *almost healthy*) & Kalamata olives. I loved the thin crust!! I probably normally would have eaten only half of the pizza, but since Lenny challenged me, I was FORCED to eat the whole thing. Yum-o! My only complaint is that the pizza was not served as piping-hot as I expect pizza to be... But as someone who appreciates pizza at a variety of temperatures (hot, cold, etc.), this was not a super big deal to me.

I had gelato for dessert (the gelato they serve is from the gelateria up the street from my place) -- I love gelato, but wouldn't have minded a housemade brownie/cake/cookie type of dessert...

Can't wait to go back to try more pizzas and ogle the cute host guy!!! :-)

Tutta Bella - Columbia City

2007-02-19T19:43:00.000-08:00

This was my second trip to Tutta Bella, but my first to the Columbia City location. The setting is hip, but the restaurant itself is overwhelmingly noisy. To Tutta's credit, they had live music.

The food is good, I ordered the Ensalata di Salerno. Tossed in a simple vinaigrette, romaine leaves, cherry tomatoes, fennel, cucumber, and mozzarella balls. Its light, refreshing, and shares well.

Others at the table chose pizza which I've had but haven't much enjoyed. Personally, I prefer Chicago-style deep-dish. For me, the wafer crust, with a smidgeon of cheese, a few spare dollops of tomato sauce, and sparser toppings; I feel cheated of a true pizza eating experience.

That said, the place is hopping. The wait time for a table on Saturday night was 30 minutes or more. They've got a great concept that many Seattleites appreciate. As Jerrod put it, its a great restaurant for a first date. Beyond that, I'd be hard-pressed to call it one of my favorites.

Where the Chefs Eat

2007-02-02T09:51:00.000-08:00

The Seattle P-I had an article today listing the favorite restaurants of some of Seattle's top chefs... (Note Andaluca chef Wayne Johnson's favorite guilty pleasure: it's a grilled PB&J sandwich!! That's my favorite too!)

Chefs and restaurant owners divulge their food favorites

I would love to try all the restaurants that are mentioned that I've never been to before. It's all *food for thought* for future dining club picks!!!

Here are the ones mentioned that I have tried:

Red Mill, Dick's, McDonald's, and Tacos Guaymas
Shanghai Garden - love their hand-shaved noodles!!! This is probably my favorite "regular" Chinese restaurant in Seattle. They don't serve dim sum, though.
Le Panier - French pastries in the PPM. Ahhhh!
Wild Ginger - A standby for special occasions...
Canlis - Another standby for special occasions. I love how personable the staff are and how retro the place feels. The owners come out and greet you and tell you about the restaurant's history... It's a nice touch.
Restaurant Zoe - excellent food... I had a white fish -- maybe trout or halibut -- served in a delicious, delicious sauce... I wish I could remember exactly what was in it, but it was amazing!
Boat Street Kitchen - well, I've been to the restaurant back when it was the Boat Street Cafe and was located in the U-District - it was like $13 for two poached eggs and 3 mini new potatoes... give me a break. I know it's about quality not quantity, but I like to feel like I actually ate something at the end of a meal.
Baguette Box - love the lemongrass skirt steak!
Honey Hole - love the divey atmosphere and seitan sandwich!
Top Pot - Go at 5 min. to closing and you will get a great deal on more donuts than one person can eat by themselves.

Amazingly, I've never been to any of the *nice* restaurants that are in the vicinity of PPM (other than 94 Stewart). I would love to try Campagne, Pink Door, and Le Pichet... Unfortunately, when I go to the PPM, I'm usually thinking about potential dining deals instead of white tablecloth experiences.

I've also been hearing such great things about Cremant (the new French/Korean fusion place in Madrona) and their $28 burger... Cremant is officially on my list of things to do in 2007...

All Purpose Pizza

2007-01-25T18:16:00.000-08:00

I tried a newish pizza place with some of my neighbors last night. We had a great time at All Purpose Pizza, which offers sourdough crust pizzas with both traditional toppings (pepperoni, mushrooms, etc.) and frou-frou toppings (prosciutto, spinach, arugula, etc.). I loved the crust! The crust is somewhat thin, but not the kind of super-thin like all the trendy pizzerias. It has this fantastic yeasty taste... I don't know if that's because of the sourdough or what, but it was great.

Check out the menu -- we had the Fire Starter (DELICIOUS! Jalapenos, pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, red pepper flakes, and red onion - yum!) and the Hula Hoop (prosciutto and pineapple). Both were really tasty!!

All Purpose Pizza

I vote for Bellevue

2007-01-23T21:39:00.000-08:00

Mediterranean Kitchen in Queen Anne was fairly good. I had their shish-chicken (I apologize I do not remember the rest of the name), but it was grilled chicken marinated with lemon topped with a delicious "Mediterranean sauce" - yah I can't remember the name either, what a looser! -
Over rice. I liked the simplicity of the rice. In my dish balanced perfectly all the flavors from the sauce and the chicken.

The main dish comes with salad (Delicious vinaigrette!!! And they sell it to take home) and a VERY good lentil soup.

Service I think needs a lot, the same with the venue decoration and the background music, unless you are into elevator music.

Although food was good and company great, I think I still keep Mediterranean Kitchen in Bellevue my favorite Mediterranean restaurant. The ambiance is way nicer, servers are very good (and cute), a larger menu and the food in better in my opinion. It seems like it is that side of the family who has grandma's recipe book :)

Oh! Shish Tawook!!! that is the name of the dish

Mediterranean Kitchen - Yum, Yum, Yum!

2007-01-23T18:21:00.000-08:00

I heart Mediterranean cuisine! I had a delicious salmon with a nut topping and a delicious yogurt sauce. The dressing on the salmon was divine!! I would definitely order this again... I had heard that the portions at this place were humongous, but my salmon was nicely portioned. Or else I just eat a lot.

My only gripes: 1) The rice was a teensy bit bland -- it's really hard not to compare it to the rice at Kabul since the food is similar... and Kabul has such delicious, flavorful rice that the rice at the MedKit was a little disappointing. 2) The salad was just a plain garden variety salad. The lettuce was a bit wilty and there were only like 2 pieces of cucumber and tomato. Since I don't eat lettuce, I didn't get much out of the salad. But I have to give major props to the dressing, which was SUPER tasty. Not too vinegar-y and not too sweet or heavy. Delish!

Following the MedKit, we journeyed to Fremont to stop at Simply Desserts. Every night that ends at Simply Desserts ends well. I had the Chocolate Truffle cake, which was heaven on a plate. As I pointed out that night, the difference between cake from Simply Desserts and cake from other bakeries is that the cake portion is actually delicious in its own right -- at most other places (i.e., Cupcake Royale), the cake is really secondary to the frosting!! At Simply Desserts, they could serve me just a plain ol' piece of cake with zero frosting and I would be totally sated. That cake was totally worth the 2,000 calories I'm sure it contained. I loved that we all ordered something different, so I could sample all kinds of cakes I've never had before. Every single one was totally delicious and worth ordering again!

Adieu Cafe Bouchee!

2007-01-17T12:24:00.000-08:00

Cafe Bouchee in Fremont is closing this month!!! BOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO! They were the best crepes in the city (at least that I've tried). Much sadness about this news...

First meeting of 2007!

2007-01-17T11:48:00.000-08:00

Ok ladies, it is finally here... The first meeting of 2007!!! Who's excited??? I AM! Good company and delicious food, who can pass on that?

Well I am honored to be the member who choose the venue for our first meeting of the year. That is why I am choosing one of my favorite, yet pretty unknown restaurants in Seattle, Mediterranean Kitchen. I have only been to their location in Bellevue, but the person on the phone told me that since it is family owned they guaranteed me same great service and delicious recipes.

So here are the details:

Date: January 20th
Time: 7:30
Place : Mediterranean Kitchen Queen Anne
Dress code: Casual
Address: 366 Roy St Seattle, WA 98109
Parking: Street parking can be scarce on event nights, but two-hour validation is offered in a lot immediately south of the restaurant.

Remember to bring cash for easy check out :)

Dining Highlights 2006

2006-12-28T18:01:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to commemorate some of my favorite meals/restaurants from this year...

Best Pizza: Hands down - Zachary's in the Bay Area. Spinach and mushroom deep dish. Sigggghhhh. Literally nothing of this Earth can compare. (Best Seattle Pizza: Serious Pie. Delicious. It's almost unfair having Zachary's to set the bar.)

Best Happy Hour: Sazerac -- LOVE IT! They have a really nice selection on their bar menu (clams, pizzas, sausages, grilled veggies, etc.) and I believe everything is $5 during happy hour. It's extremely reasonable. Plus, Sazerac is rarely so crowded that you have trouble finding somewhere to sit.

Best Breakfast: Tough call, tough call. I'm inclined to go with the Maltby Cafe since it's new (to me) and their food is awesome. BUT I also really like the OPH since I can get a somewhat quasi-healthy meal (egg-whites-only, baked, vegetarian omelette, hold the cheese), whereas at the Maltby everything is slathered in so much grease that no matter how I modify my meal it's still a heart attack waiting to happen. PLUS no matter what you can't skip having a cinnamon roll.

Best Downtown Restaurant: 94 Stewart. Love the Crab Sandwich and the Fried Avocado. So yummy! I can't think of a restaurant I like better than 94 Stewart.

Best Sandwich: Toss up between The Baguette Box and Honey Hole... since I don't think I visited Hillside Quickies in 2006. Both are delicious gourmet sandwich places. Honey Hole is a little more down home and has a funky bar vibe, and it has some really good vegetarian options (I can't think of any other restaurant with seitan on the menu besides the Hillside Quickies). The Baguette Box is like pan-Asian/Asian-fusiony cuisine served on a baguette. Pretty yummy. I've only been to each a couple times, so hard to decide a clear winner.

Best Sushi: I haven't eaten much high-quality sushi this year. I have to give props to Nijo's Chili Cha Cha roll though. Softshell crab, tobiko, jalapeno, and avocado. So good! Well worth the $10+ price tag. Another great sushi place is Kozue in Wallingford. They have both avant-garde/fusion-y kinds of rolls as well as very traditional Japanese cuisine.

Best Vegetarian: The Teapot!!! I <3 the Teapot! This was one of the highlights of my stay at La Casa de Dan y Rico. The Spicy Eggplant is so yummy! And I love that they have brown rice!!

Best Latin American Meal: This year I finally tried Mama's Mexican Restaurant with Tia. It was pretty good, but the service was lousy and the majority of its VAST menu was the super-Americanized Mexican (extra cheese, lettuce, etc.). I did have a really good carne asada taco, though. Hmmm... Giving this some more thought, I'd say my favorite was La Isla (formerly Sofrito Rico) in Ballard. There are a few Mexican places I want to try in 2007 -- there's one near my office and one in Beacon Hill that got rave reviews from the weeklies. I have extremely high standards for Mexican (being from California -- hell, my grandmother used to cook more Mexican food than Japanese food), so we'll see if they measure up.

Best Dessert: Pies & Pints. Of all places!! I love their giant peanut butter cup. A close second is the peanut butter pie at Zoka in the Greenlake/Tangletown neighborhood.

Anyone else have some favorite meals they want to commemorate??

Baguette Box - Late Review

2006-12-28T12:50:00.000-08:00

Lenny, Travis, Hannah, Robert (and Emma and Ethan) joined me at The Baguette Box a few Saturdays ago and we had a great time. I had the Drunken Chicken sandwich, which is The Baguette Box's claim to fame -- it was a lot like ordering Sweet & Sour Chicken or General Tso's Chicken from a Chinese restaurant and putting it on a giant baguette. Very tasty! Still, I think I actually prefer the Lemongrass Grilled Steak sandwich that I had on my first visit.

I love the fact that they have dog posters everywhere!!! And yet there are no Frenchy pictures -- I plan to donate some framed pictures of Sidney to add a touch of class.

We finished the night at Cafe Verite/Cupcake Royale in Madrona. We were a bit worried because part of Madrona still lacked power following the windstorm. As we drove up, most of Madrona appeared to be dark, but we saw two workers inside the coffee shop, so we headed inside. Because they had so many leftover cupcakes (I guess people assumed they would be closed due to the power outages) they offered the large cupcakes to us at $1 a piece or 50% off!! It's becoming so common to get deals on the cupcakes at the Madrona Cupcake Royale, I'm going to expect this preferential treatment every time I go there!

Thoughts on the Baguette Box

2006-12-24T20:07:00.000-08:00

Perfect for adventuresome eaters, especially adults. Thin pickings for the under six year old crowd. I loved it! The kiddos went hungry, thankfully a trip to Madrona and Cupcake Royale fixed that.

Change in Plans...

2006-12-14T10:43:00.000-08:00

So this Saturday, we will be heading to The Baguette Box for gourmet sandwiches (they are DELICIOUS!) and french fries with truffle oil (YUM-MO!)! The Baguette Box is located at 1203 Pine (between Boren & Minor, I believe).

7 p.m. Be there or be square!

The Baguette Box

Thanksgiving Rundown

2006-12-08T15:40:00.000-08:00

So I never posted about my family's Thanksgiving feast. We had about 30 people over (this was the small year)... The feast included:

Sushi;
Spinach dip and bread;
Hummus with pita bread and vegetables (guess who contributed this store-bought item!);
A 7-layer dip and chips;
Cold cuts and cheese;
Two 25-lb FRIED turkeys (pictures below) -- as well as a separate package of turkey wings;
A whole salmon;
Rice;
Mashed potatoes;
Stuffing and gravy;
Chinese chicken salad;
Candied yams;
Green beans;
Two cheesecakes;
Two homemade pumpkin pies;
A pumpkin cake; and
A pineapple-upside down cake.

Well, guess what -- we ran out of food!!! I think we had some cheesecake and pumpkin pie left the next day, but that was pretty much it. Hahahaha! Next year, there will probably be almost twice as many people, so there better be more than twice the amount of food.

Here are some pictures of one of the turkeys meeting its maker...

Where We've Been... and Where We're Going

2006-12-01T17:49:00.000-08:00

Where We've Been:
Aaron - September 23: Paseo Caribbean...
Hannah - October 21: Tilth
Tia - November 18: Kabul

And Where We're Going (subject to change of course!):
Jerrod - December 16: Volterra
Rico - January 2007: TBD
Travis - February 2007: TBD
Lenny - March 2007: TBD
Robert - April 2007: TBD
Wendy - May 2007: The Baguette Box

NOTE THE REVISED ORDER -- Travis has been moved up (since Travis was originally misplaced in the order since I didn't know his last name) and Robert has been inserted as April 2007. Sighhhhhh... And I'm still picking in May.

new lunch menu at 94th Stewart!!!

2006-11-29T21:44:00.000-08:00

Hi guys - Our friend A. told us about the new lunch menu the chef from 94th Stewart was preparing to roll out this week...and of course he had to go to try it. Wendy, Robert and I were there last Tuesday - and I should give credit to all the snow and inhuman cold for that- and the menu looks really good... now, I didn't get to try R's or W's dishes because I was too busy enjoying mine... Seattle spaghetti. What is it? Crab meat balls breaded and deep-fried on top of a delicious tangy-buttery tomato sauce on top of spaghetti. Is that an incredible idea, or what? And it was as incredible as it sounds. The service as always was wonderful, they even brought us glasses with hot water to warm up our hands when we came in.

I think everyone should go and check the new menu. As you know I have diet restrictions, which stopped me from ordering the chicken grilled romaine salad... Sounds delicious, bacon drippings are part of the warm dressing. Ah! Simply mouthwatering!

The Maltby Cafe - Sunday

2006-11-21T11:40:00.000-08:00

OMG! Cinnamon rolls are divine and the salads overly ample. Try the half-Cobb Salad for $7.95 and you won't leave the restaurant hungry. Top that off with a cinnamon roll to share $4.95 and you have the perfect reason to celebrate gluttony!

Kabul - Saturday

2006-11-21T11:38:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed Kabul. I found eating authentic (or nearly so) Afghani foods helped my appreciation of the novel, The Kite Runner.

Coco la ti da - A Possible Dining Club Choice?

2006-11-18T11:40:00.000-08:00

Here's an Seattle P-I article about Coco la ti da, the new Capitol Hill dessert lounge by Sue McCown. She's the genius pastry chef behind the amazing desserts at Earth & Ocean. I'll never forget the gingerbread/eggnog parfait I had several years ago at a Christmas dinner at E&O!!! Superb! I can't wait to try it. Here are some pictures from the web site -- gorgeous, aren't they?

And here are descriptions of a few of the yummy desserts:

Coco la ti da: This is our namesake cake, made of triple chocolate shortbread, devil's food cake, creamy coconut, and coconut-chocolate ganache covered with a chocolate crackling glaze.
Cherries and Cola: A filling of preserved Bing cherries and white chocolate ganache infused with Vanilla Cola turn this divine chocolate cake into the life of the party.
Peanut Gallery: It's like a peanut-butter cookie turned into a celebration, with creamy peanut butter ganache spread between layers of chocolate cake.
Tomboy: The distinctive flavor of this gingery genoise cake comes from dark stout beer, molasses, and a kick of nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom. Of course, it's topped with a sweet cream cheese frosting.

This just might be HEAVEN!!! Maybe this will be my new dining club choice... I know I would not be disappointed with cake for dinner.

Kabul on Saturday

2006-11-16T13:58:00.000-08:00

We have reservations at 7 p.m. I can't wait. Mmmm, kabobs........

Serious Pie!

2006-11-09T10:07:00.000-08:00

Last night, Dan and I went to Serious Pie, Tom Douglas's latest venture (just behind the Dahlia Lounge). We were planning to go to the cajun place on 1st, but it's only open for dinner on the weekends. I can't say our diversion was a disappointment!!

Now, as you all know, I very, very RARELY eat pizza. About the only time I request that we eat pizza is when I go home to the Bay Area and I make a point of going to Zachary's in Berkeley. (Bear with me, this is only a slight digression.) Zachary's is the bomb because it is a deep dish, with a thick crust. The outer crust at the edge is like three inches high and crisp, but the crust in the middle is soft and chewy and topped with tomatoes, sauce, cheese and whatever toppings you pick (they're famous for their spinach and mushroom pie). It is heaven on earth!!! I am usually full after one piece because they're huge, but then I force myself to eat a second and some times third piece because I know I won't be back for awhile.

Serious Pie on the other hand makes its pizzas with delicious, gourmet-ish toppings and a super thin crust. So thin in fact that it's almost like you're not eating anything but air, which is how I justified consuming essentially a whole "cherry bomb pepper and fennel sausage" pizza on my own last night. Yum-mo!

Prices at Serious Pie, by the way, were fairly reasonable - about $14 or so for an 11" pizza, which could be consumed by one, or split between two people if they also order an appetizer to share or if they're both anorexic.

After dinner, we went to Nordstrom. Dan bought shoes (he brought me for moral support and encouragement when he handed the plastic over) and we browed the half-yearly sale. He made me try on this beautiful pink and black Diane von Furstenberg dress that was so complicated it required higher level math and two sales girls to explain how to put the thing on. The result was--well, let's just say that it's definitely the kind of dress I'd rather wear on a night when I haven't just consumed an entire pizza.

A fun evening all in all. I highly recommend Serious Pie. I don't know that it quite reaches the mark set by Zachary's, but the pizza was still damn good and since it's such a different style of pizza it's probably not fair to compare the two.

Pumpkin Bread from Starbucks

2006-10-27T10:07:00.000-07:00

Now, I love pumpkin bread and I love coffee and I love that at this time of year you can get both items at several area coffee shops. While Starbucks might not be my first choice of a place to frequent (far too many awesome neighborhood joints in Seattle for that) I don't have a deep loathing for the place either. They treat their employee's pretty well, the staff is generally friendly (if not a bit over caffeinated) and the goods are passable. So the other day when I had a few minutes before my chiropractic appointment I had no qualms or reservations about hitting up the Starbucks that is just around the corner. I got a latte and a slice of their pumpkin bread. To be honest, even though this is clearly fall, clearly pumpkin season the thought that pumpkin bread might be available hadn't crossed my mind, so I was pretty excited to see it in the display case at Starbucks - life was looking pretty good. The latte was perfectly respectable (maybe it could have been hotter, maybe there could have been a little more oomph there but nothing to detract from the enjoyment). I turned my attention to the pumpkin bread, took a bite...and was kind of revolted. While it tasted fine and the consistency was good and it had been thoroughly baked it left my mouth feeling like it had been coated with some kind of viscous, plastic-like, oily substance. It was gross and it stuck with me for a long time despite trying to watch the effect down with some coffee. Now I haven't had pumpkin bread from Starbucks in about a year (or any kind of Starbucks produced pastry for that matter as I tend to go in for their offering from Top Pot Doughnuts, which is another thing I appreciate about Starbucks) so I have to ask - has it always been like this? Perhaps Wendy or Tia could shed some light on the issue given their recent foray into the world of the Starbucks Pastry.

Tilth

2006-10-24T15:21:00.000-07:00

Thanks for kicking things off, Hannah. Yes, I agree. The food was excellent and inventive. I think that the only (small) gripe I had was the portion sizes. Now, I know that meals should be about quality and not quantity, but I have to admit that after three courses I was hungry a bit later in the evening. Sigh. Since I'm on a weight loss kick, I think this is OK. In fact, it's probably a good thing. In any case, better to have small portions and excellent, excellent, excellent food than go to the Claim Jumper for a two-pound piece of steak that tastes suspiciously like A1 sauce.

My favorite thing at Tilth of course was the bourbon pecan pie with bourbon ice cream. Yum-mo (to quote Rachel Ray)!!! And the corn milk creme brulee--that was totally unexpected!!

As for the main courses, my salmon was delicious. The arugula/bleu cheese/walnut/pear salad I had was tasty, even if it was a common dish (aside from the whole 95% organic thing).

I was in charge (sort of) so it makes sense I'll need to kick this off

2006-10-24T13:22:00.000-07:00

The group headed to Tilth in Wallingford for the second gathering of Ladies Who Lunch.
This was a last minute, snap decision and worked out pretty well considering. They did a good job accomodating us despite a moment of reservation uncertainty, in which Rico nearly got our reservation cancelled at the last minute - just because you couldn't come is no reason to take it out on the rest of us!
Tilth is a new addition to the scene and their whole thing is being certified organic. What this means (as our server informed us) is that 95% of what's on the menu is certified organic and the remainder is foraged or found (like in the woods). Which I think is great and was one of the things that drew me there in the first place. It is kind of like mixing politics and firmly held beliefs with your meal though, so it's possible that not everyone will think this is as fantastic as I do.
Tilth is in a converted bungalow on 45th, very fresh and bright inside. Really comfortable. Beautiful place settings and flat ware. Over all a really nice, well put together place.
And the food - the food I thought was phenomenal. Everything on the menu comes in 2 sizes, making it possible to mix and match and share with others to your little hearts content. I started off with the Tilth version of French Onion Soup. It was in a beef broth with a delicious toasted bread/cheese yummy thing and just a bit of melt-in-your-mouth beef (grassfed!) in the center of the bowl. Quite good. Next I had the smaller size rare seared albacore tuna with heriloom tomatoes. This was also delicious and is supposedly caught in such a way that catches the smaller, younger tuna so your mercury exposure is very low. See what I mean about the whole mixing of dinner with environmental concerns?
Next was dessert. As a table we sampled all of their dessert options. There was delicious pecan pie with bourbon ice cream, huckleberry tart with black pepper ice cream, miniature caramel apples (so cute and fun!), creme brulee (somehow featuring corn) with sugared bacon (weird sounding but truly delicious) and a chocolate/grahm cracker/marshmallow thing that was oddly dissapointing (IMHO).
In summary - I liked Tilth. I would go back. It would be an excellent place to go on a date...now all I need is somebody to take me on a date. Anybody?

Dining Notes for October 2, 2006

2006-10-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had the pleasure of having lunch at Racha on Queen Anne with Mike and Sue Veseth. (Mike is the prof I went to Prague with and Sue is his wife.) Enjoyed a nice conversation as well as several fabulous dishes: Ginger Garden with Chicken (similar to the dish I always order at Jamjuree), Sweet and Sour with Pork, and Green Beans. YUM! What a treat!

I also binged with Tia on pastries and lattes from Starbucks on Saturday night... Highly digestible carbs were a necessity to sustain us during our (Arrested Development, Season 3) marathon. And while I am the first to say that Starbucks pastries are kinda "meh" in comparison to some of Seattle's fine artisanal bakeries and independent coffee houses, the pastries definitely served their purpose. The sugar rush was exactly what I needed to stay awake until midnight!!!

And now tonight I'll get to enjoy Caribbean cuisine at Casuelita's with Tam & Elissa. Casuelita's is one of my favorite spots in Belltown.

I am eating well this week!

Blog your lunch, your coffee and...

2006-09-26T21:23:00.000-07:00

Hey guys I think it would be fun if we post our personal experiences in other places not necessarily related to the club, but necessarily related to FOOD :) This way we can pass on knowledge to our friends and fans (hint, hint, superkid ;)).

So anyways, lately for lunch I have been having this great salads form Dilettante in downtown. They don't make the salads themselves, but it has a sticker that says: Gretchen's. Every time I have one, it is consistently fresh and the dressings are really good! They are pretty big too so I am never afraid of staying hungry after I eat one. AND yesterday I noticed they are the same salads that Starbucks sells, the only difference is that Starbucks puts a sticker with their name on it, but the contents are the same. So if one of this days you feel like having a healthy, fresh-tasting, cheap ($5-$6) salad, head out to the closest Starbucks or Dilettante.

Where We've Been... and Where We're Going

2006-09-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

Where We've Been:
Aaron - September 23: Paseo Caribbean

...And Where We're Going (subject to change of course!):
Hannah - October 21: TBD
Tia - November 18: Kabul
Jerrod - December 16: Kingfish Cafe
Dan - January 2007: TBD
Federico - February 2007: The Mediterranean Kitchen
Lenny - March 2007: TBD
Travis* - April 2007: TBD
Wendy - May 2007: The Baguette Box

Tofu sandwich = yummy

2006-09-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

I was one of the many folks that had the tofu sandwich and I'm definitely a fan. Tasty and filling all for a reasonable price. Messy though, so stock up on the napkin front. The messiness really adds to the experience so don't let that scare you away. I would like to take this opportunity to say thanks again to the group for working with my transportation woes and bringing all the food to my place to picnic on the floor. Next time I'll clean up abit before having you all over.

I'm looking forward to the next outing. I wonder where we'll go. Hmmm.....

QUE BUENO!!!

2006-09-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, Aaron you are a genius!!! How delicious. The tofu sandwich was so good. It was full of flavor and a kick of spicy, just perfect. One thing I'd say though is that it had a bit too much mayo so if you are not a mayonnaise fan, ask for no mayo or little mayo, cause they are not afraid to use it.

The ambiance, I'd say stays a bit too true to the restaurant's inspiration, and it has limited sitting, so recommendation: order "to go."

I will definitely go back many times...Really, really good!

Paseo Caribbean

2006-09-24T10:29:00.000-07:00

GREAT CHOICE, Aaron! Sandwiches were in about the $6-7 range. Entrees were in the $10 range. I had an awesome "tofu con gusto" entree -- well-spiced tofu in a garlicky, red pepper sauce with rice, beans, and corn on the cob. I <3 Paseo's! I didn't try any of the chicken or pork sandwiches, but everything looked great!

It's Finally Arrived...

2006-09-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

Well our first official meeting of The Ladies Who Lunch is here. We are just about to head out the door to Paseo Caribbean. This is Aaron's choice and I think it is safe to say that we are all excited. I will be bringing my camera to document this momentous occasion. Stay tuned...

diVino: wine, cuisine, inspiration

2006-09-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, September 17th, a new wine bar in Seattle is having it's grand opening and we are invited. It is called diVino and it is owned by the same family who owns La Vita E Bella and Mondello. I have an affinity for both these places. Wendy almost burned down La Vita E Bella. And Tia, Aaron and I frequent Mondello so much that they are starting to know us. Hence the invitation to the grand opening of diVino. Tia, Aaron, Wendy and I will be attending. It is from 6pm-10pm. There will be free food and wine... need I say more. I think it would be a fun experience for all of us. Well... That and we'll need some help keeping Wendy away from the open flames!

Address: 5310 Ballard Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107

Peace Out!!!!

Tipping: How Much is Appropriate?

2006-09-15T09:38:00.000-07:00

A timely article about tipping waitstaff. Tipping can be a controversial topic among groups. My dad used to work for tips (as a SF Chinatown tour guide) when he was young, so I've always been raised to tip generously. For the past 10 years, I've generally tipped 20 percent. I try to tip reasonably well even when service is bad, which may defeat the whole purpose.

But what about tipping at the little local grocery stores, coffee shops, and other places? What about tipping your hairdresser? I never know what's appropriate. So here's my list -- I'm curious about what the rest of you do:

Restaurants: Minimally 20 percent (of the subtotal) unless the service is really egregious -- then I'll leave about 15 percent. And in nice restaurants I try to tip a little more than 20 percent. Another weird thing I do when I'm paying with a debit card is to always make my total end on a round number (either a whole dollar or 50 cent increment). It's my OCD.

Local grocery stores: No tip! I think it's seriously wrong to have a tip jar at a grocery store!! Occasionally I'll leave the pennies I get with my change.

Coffee shops: Generally I'll leave the coins from my change except for the quarters. (Hey, I need them for my laundry!)

Hair dresser: 25 percent (but I never tip separately to the person who actually washes my hair. I've always kind of assumed that Amy tips out; maybe I'm really just being rude to the person who washes my hair!! Oops!)

Hotel housekeeping: This is one area where I am really, REALLY bad about tipping. I almost always forget! If I remembered I would probably leave $1/day, but I know that's probably not enough these days.

Shuttle drivers or taxi drivers: I usually tip 10-15 percent. Or if it's the kind of shuttle that makes a pre-set, short route to and from the airport or something, I'll tip $1 per bag if they help me with my luggage (and zippo if I have to haul it all myself).

What do you all think?

Welcome!

2006-09-13T15:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome everyone to the blog for our dining club (tentative name: Ladies Who Lunch).

About the club: We are a group of twenty- and thirty-somethings who live/work/play in Seattle and plan to visit a new restaurant every third Saturday of the month. We will aim to try somewhere that most people have never been to before so we can all enjoy lots of new culinary experiences.

Aaron - September 23
Hannah - October 21
Tia - November 18
Jerrod - December 16
Dan - January 2007
Federico - February 2007
Lenny - March 2007
Travis* - April 2007
Wendy - May 2007

*Travis, this list was alphabetical based on last names... but I didn't know your last name, so I just put you ahead of myself.

May I propose a few ground rules for the club?? Just a few to hopefully make this club work smoothly.

(1) Can whoever is organizing the group for the upcoming month (see list above) PLEASE post a little description about the restaurant - name if it's not a surprise, type of cuisine, price range, etc.? If you don't want to post it, send an email to a frequent poster and we will be happy to post on your behalf.

(2) Can we all make sure to RSVP to the month's organizer in advance -- we may be visiting some establishments that require reservations, especially for large groups. Maybe a week or two in advance? What say you all? And while we're on the topic of reservations, don't forget to use the account at Open Table. There's a permanent link to Open Table on the right side of the page as well. Use Rico's email address and the password provided earlier via email.

(3) Can we all try to bring cash each month to make things a little easier when it comes time to settle the tab?

Great. Now I'll get off my soapbox.

Yay, everyone -- I'm glad we're getting this off the ground!!