One of my favorite cafes in the city is Trabant on 45th and University.

For food, the options are not the best along the Ave. I would recommend Savatdee Thai and Laotian, which is a little bit of a walk, but not too bad. I've heard decent things about U-DON but haven't checked them out myself yet.

For me,

Depends what kind of cheese you're using and whether you're caramelizing the onions or just sweating them.

If you're using a more "bright" flavored cheese like feta or something like Queso Fresco, I'd add some combination of smoked salt, chipotle, and bacon.

If you're using a 'richer' cheese like cheddar or jack I'd add some lime juice and zest.

In either case some pico di gallo might be nice.

What did you put in the pinto beans to begin with?

Also, do you want to stick with mexican, or would you be willing to use other influences?

Personally, I've found the best cooked fish dishes I've eaten in Seattle to be at Ethan Stowell's restaurants, so I'd give them a look. Specifically Anchovies and Olives or Staple and Fancy would be your best bets.

http://ethanstowellrestaurants.com/

Also, Marian Hines owns several certified organic restaurants. (She seems to be a board favorite around here, but I've had mixed experiences. Ranging from great, to very sub-par.

If I were going to recommend one over the others I'd say Golden Beetle is my favorite of the bunch.

http://mariahinesrestaurants.com/

Hope you find what you're looking for.

The date on this has passed obviously, but perhaps they do these periodically?

http://dotsdelicatessen.com/category/...

Hey Everyone, just saying thank you for all of the great recommendations, and reporting back on my experience.

Overall it was a fantastic few days, and we enjoyed almost everything!

Here were my impressions:

Langer's:

I ordered the #19, since it seemed like the flagship sandwich. Pretty tasty, I'm not convinced that it was worth the 1-hour bus ride each way though. (I'm not a pastrami connoisseur though, so perhaps I just cant appreciate it to the extent some of you seem to).

N/Naka:

I was blown away by this restaurant, definitely some of the best Japanese food I've ever eaten, including the best piece of tuna I've ever eaten in my life (which was surprisingly, not o-toro). Too many courses to name all of them but standouts were the tuna and uni nigiri, a modern style scallop sashimi which included yuzu zest, Parmesan, and truffle. As well as a high-class interpretation of mentaiko spaghetti which was divine. Fantastic, probably my favorite meal of the trip.

Gjelina:

Quite nice, and I was pleasantly surprised by the service given the pretentious atmosphere in Abbot Kinney. We actually ended up going twice, once for lunch, and then again for brunch (we ended up staying in Santa Monica near the beach, so it was convenient, and I felt I needed something lighter to offset all of the heavy eating.). For lunch I had a lamb burger with harissa aioli, which was delicious, and tasted very much of lamb (in contrast to many lamb burgers I've eaten in the past), the bun was good, brioche I believe and although some might complain the portion size it small, I actually prefer the size they provided, it was perfect. Dinning partner had a turkey sandwich with prosciutto which they enjoyed. For brunch I had the veggie sandwich, pretty standard and not overly exciting, but it was well executed and I was thankful for the lighter option. DP had the poached eggs and lentils which were nicely done.

Babita:

This was the only real disappointment for me of the trip. The service was fantastic, the chef can out to greet us and chat, and really went out of his way to make us feel welcome.

I also felt like the chef had good ideas, the menu seemed interesting and he seemed to put a bit of his own spin on things, unfortunately these virtues were betrayed by some execution issues and average-quality ingredients. My starter was the chef's riff on huevos rancheros, which sounded good in theory, he served it in a similar way to a tostada, and the egg was a sunny-side up egg placed on top. But the flavor of the dish overall just fell flat. Not to say it was bad, it just didn't wow me at all.

The same goes for my main, which was Mahi-Mahi served in a Veracruz inspired sauce, served on top of a pork tamale. The sauce was good, but not amazing, and was not anything new to me or overly exciting. The Mahi, while decently fresh was overcooked, as was the tamale which was dried out and pretty bland. Again, not 'bad' per-se, still definitely edible but disappointing. DP Started with the chicken sope which he enjoyed, and had the chef's version of Chiles en nogada for his main. He said it was alright but he liked the app better (I tried some, and found it to be so-so.)

Guisados:

THIS is the mexican food I've been searching for, both of us tried the 6 taco sampler, all of which I found delicious and some of which were new flavors for me. (I was less keen on the chicharon, but it was still tasty). The were all delicious, but one of my favorites was (I think, it was hard to keep track of which was which) the chicken tinga.
Fantastic.

Red Medicine:

Overall, liked the food at this place quite a bit. We had the turnips, which were good the kale chips added a nice textural contrast. The Akaushi Beef, which was tender and tasty. The

Turbot and Grains were the standout dishes for me, pan-seared and brushed with squid ink, topped with a charred onion sauce, the fish was perfectly cooked and had some great flavor, my only critique would be that the carrots it was accompanied by were a little too sweet after the addition of the onion sauce. The toasted grains came as a warm-grain salad, but a duck-broth was poured over it and over time it became more like a grain-risotto. Very good flavors, the duck broth was delicious and the hazelnuts added a very interesting dimension.

For desert I had the milk chocolate icecream japanese style, with crunchy black forest cake, buckwheat, cucumber, and a few other elements I cannot readily recall. The dish nailed the textural component, the ice cream was more like a mousse or dense chantily, there were balls of what appeared to be ganache (both buckwheat and chocolate), and it was encased in a cage of crispy cake batter which added crunch. Unfortunately I found the flavor of the ice cream itself to be just 'ok' and the cucumber/vegetal element was done as a sauce poured on the bottom, but it seemed to get lost under everything else. (Also, it wasn't really viscous enough to adhere to the rest of the desert, so it was difficult to get into a bite).

I will say, although I liked the food I think the restaurant's concept is a bit at odds with it's menu. I can definitely understand why people complain about the noise level here, though I didn't mind it too much. The issue though, is this place serves fairly complex foods which require a fair amount of concentration to fully appreciate, but I found the atmosphere detracted from that for me.
(Still and overall good experience though).

Animal:

This place was good. I know one or two of you cautioned me against it saying that this sort of food is already overdone in Seattle. But as a resident I must beg to differ. Yes, we do have gastro-pub, butcher-to-table style restaurants, but I don't think the palates here are ready for the more 'variety meat' dishes on the menu at Animal. Sure, you can get marrow and chicken liver mousse at plenty of places in Seattle, but I've yet to find head or brains on any non-asian restaurant around here, and others like heart and pig's ear are difficult to find since they generally only exist as specials.

We had the tendon chips with pho-dip. Fantastic and fun dish, which really did remind my of pho, but managed to be interesting none the less. The Tandoori Octopus, this came slightly overcooked, and I couldn't really taste the tandoori spices (though the raita was good, and the flavor was still good, just not tandoori). The poutine (The oxtail gravy was delicious, the other components were just average in my opinion. The Rabbit/Shrimp Spring Rolls with green curry, these were fantastic, great texture and flavor. The pig's head, which I wasn't too impressed with, not because there was anything wring with it but after being breaded and deep-fried the taste was nearly indistinguishable from schnitzel. Finally the veal brain, this was a first for me and I was quit pleasantly surprised, nice flavor and texture, plus a sweet-ish citrus sauce complemented the flavor nicely.

One night we also managed to try Sweet Rose Creamery, which I found interesting. They had some tasty and interesting flavors (such as the Yam w/ Sesame Praline, Quince w/ Machego, and Mint Cholotalte Chip which actually tasted like fresh mint leaves.) That said, the ice cream itself was not nearly as flavorful as others I've tried (my favorite thus far is Salt and Straw in Portland, OR).

In any case, that was my trip which (thanks to you hounds) was indeed a delicious one. Thanks again!

I'd nominate either Revel or their sister restaurant Joule as must-eats. They aren't downtown but transit to either of them is pretty straight-forward, and they offer food you don't find often in other places.

http://www.revelseattle.com/
http://www.joulerestaurant.com/

I'm going to second Model Milk, the last meal I had there was very good, and had many interesting less common elements to it (Buttermilk fried rabbit? Yumm).

Even after moving away, Una still competes for my favorite pizza. It is a Neapolitan-esque crust, but the toppings are more of a local-ingredient driven style. Very good.

Finally, I'm also going to second Blink. They just put out some amazing food overall. Don't be fooled by the simple menu descriptions, the preparation is usually spot-on.

Char-cut is good, but I prefer those mentioned above. (I'd probably go to Model Milk for a similar type of cooking before I'd hit Charcut (Or Blink is a block from Charcut if location is an issue).

Ox and Angela I've always had mixed experiences, sometimes I've had fantastic food, other times I've felt completely ripped off. YMMV.

Side note:
I strongly second Phil and Sebastian for coffee, and Sidewalk Citizen for baked goods/ lunch sandwiches. In fact, those sandwiches are probably one of my favorite food items in the entire city.

Ah, thanks for the dessert reccos, will definitely keep those in mind.

Good point about the BBQ, I haven't had it in a while and I'd forgotten that it is indeed quite heavy. It wasn't really at the top of the list anyway, so I swapped it out for Gjelina.

As far as Langer's goes, what's best to order?

Ah, thanks. As far as I know, I will have access to a car, so distance shouldn't be too big an issue.

Alright, super-ultimate revision:

Dinner:
Animal
N/Naka
Red Medicine
Babita

Lunch:
Langer's/Plan Check (Play by ear).
Guisados
Coni'Seafood
Gjelina

Also, seeing as I'm pretty close to a Mexican Food virgin (I've eaten tex-mex, plus some of the stereotypical stuff tamales, tacos al pastor, posole, etc.) what should I order at these places?

(Also, is Pastrami pretty much the obligatory order at Langer's?)

Thanks again for the advice everyone!

Here is my (final?) itinerary:

Dinner:
Animal
N/Naka
Red Medicine
Son of a Gun

Lunch:
Plan Check
Guisados
Coni'Seafood
Park BBQ

Any final comments?

I'm really excited for the trip, and I'll be sure to report back with my experience!

Also as far as coffee goes, my preference is toward the more third-wave 'hipster boutique' profile roasting style of coffee.

My list:
-Intelligentsia
-Cafe at Proof Bakery (can't recall the name atm).
-Handsome Coffee

Anywhere else worth a visit?

Thanks for all the great feedback guys!

As far as Plan Check goes, do they have seating for under-age? (alas I'm not quite 21 yet.) I'd originally had Father's Office in the running too before realizing it was a 21+ establishment.

Revised version:

Dinner:
Son of a Gun (Animal?)
N/Naka (Tasting menu)
Red Medicine (Regular Menu)
Babita

Lunch:
Umami Burger (Plan Check?) (Langer's?)
Zengo (Brunch)
Park BBQ(Jitalada?)
Gjelina (Other Mexican?)

I think I'm alright as far as pizza and dim sum go. We have a number of good neapolitan/ chef driven style pizza places here in Seattle. As was mentioned, Vancouver has me covered for Chinese.

I've also had some pretty good Thai in Portland, after thinking more about that I swapped Jitalada out for Park BBQ (I haven't tried Seattle's K-BBQ but I've never heard anyone rave about our Korean).

Still torn on Son of a Gun vs Animal, is there a difference in terms of ambiance / service between the two?

Also, I'm thinking of swapping out a lunch for a second Mexican meal since I don't often travel to places which do Mexican well. Any nominations for a second place to go along with Babita to give me a rounded Mexican experience?

Well, I haven't tried any other options here so I have no point of comparison for Seattle. But I have tried a fair amount of Sushi in my travels and I frequently dine at Kisaku.

I will say they are consistently among the best quality I've encountered. Sit at the sushi bar, ask the either of the Itamae what is fresh, and you can't go wrong.

Hey everyone! So I'm a Seattle resident who's visiting LA for the first time. Food will play a pretty big role in the planning of the trip so traveling to get good food is not much of an issue. (That said, if there are any interesting things to check out, people watching, sights, etc. I'd appreciate reccos near the restaurants.)

I'm taste wise I'm open to anything, though I'm looking to try things that LA does best, especially things I can't get in Seattle.

After doing some reading this is my list so far:

Dinner:
Son of a Gun (Animal?)
Red Medicine (n/naka?) *Tasting menu.
Chichenitza (Babita?)
Soontofu (Mottainai?) (Casita Mexicana?)

Lunch:
Umami Burger
Zengo (Brunch)
Jitalada
Gjelina

Anything I've missed, or places I should substitute?

I'll have one splurge meal, for which I'll probably do a tasting menu. I'm torn between Red Medicine and N/Naka, any thoughts between the two?

Also, the best and most authentic mexican I've ever eaten is at an Oaxaccan place in Seattle (owing to living in in the North my entire life), so I'd really like to see what Mexican food is all about, if I had to pick one or two mexican options in LA, where would you send me?

Finally, Son of a Gun and Animal both look amazing. Aside from the seafood vs land, is there a significant difference in ambiance or quality between the two?

Thanks in Advance!!!

Try grating some raw cauliflower and then steaming it briefly. Use that as a rice-substitute, either to serve the stir-fry on top of, or you can squeeze out the excess moisture and use it to make fried rice.

Try grating some raw cauliflower and then steaming it briefly. Use as a rice-substitute, it even works relatively well in a wok as fried rice. (Squeeze it dry beforehand if this is the intended application).

My initial reaction would be a rhubarb sauce of some kind.

Either that, or depending on how adventurous your dinner guests are, a basil syrup of some sort? I find maple and basil can work quite nicely together when done properly.

I second Revel, definitely some of the most 'different' (In a good way) food I've found in Seattle. Though my advice if you pick Revel is to avoid the dumplings and the pancakes. (They're still good, but the rest of the menu is far better in my opinion.)

Don't miss the corned lamb salad!

My experience with RW so far hasn't been fantastic either...

I decided to try out Lark for dinner:

I had a tomato soup, which had very good flavor (although the herbs in it + texture made it more reminiscent of a pasta sauce than a soup). But the portion size was laughable, I am not exaggerating when I say the bowl contained about 1/4 cup (2oz.) of soup.

I had tuna is cauliflower, grapes, almonds and some sort of a sauce which I can't recall (I believe it was a pistou or chermoula, some sort of herb-oil combination). Again, the portion size was very small there were two thin slices of tuna, I would approximate the total size to be 5 slices of sashimi for reference. Everything was overcooked, the tuna was dried out and tough (though, give the slices were about the thickness of sashimi I suppose it would be pretty hard NOT to overcook them). The cauliflower was likewise overcooked, although not as badly and its flavor was nice.

Finally I opted for the pear tart tatin with caramel for desert. This was the only dish which had an appropriate portion size (actually, it was slightly larger than some desert portions I've seen in comparable places).
The dish itself though left much to be desired, although the portion of tart was ample, there was hardly enough pear to populate the crust. Again, it was overcooked. Well, the tart itself was fine but the caramel had charred taste at the end which suggested it had been taken a little too far. Not inedible, but not something that would make me return. Finally, the ice cream served alongside it tasted cheap to me, although that could have just been my imagination.

I'm used to restaurants serving smaller portion sizes, and I fine with it provided the food and ingredients are of good quality. However, when I walk away from a three-course meal feeling slightly hungry, and majority of the food was in the dessert course, I believe a line has been crossed. That was my first experience at Lark, and overall I'm sorry to say I won't be planning to return anytime soon.

At least a few of us have found some good RW experiences though!

I like Victrola in First Hill personally.
Seating isn't abundant but I've never been there and not been able to find a place to sit. Good vibe, friendly staff, and passable to good coffee depending on which Barista you get.

Also, I have only tried their U-District location so I don't know what the Pioneer Square one is like, but I'm a fan of Trabant for both coffee and lounging.

You'd be correct in your assumption about not pre-cooking it. I'm sure the fresh pasta sheets would probably work. As for a ricotta substitute, I'm not sure that I can think of anything in particular that would work... It would add an extra step to your recipe but here is a quick recipe for homemade ricotta:

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/...

Otherwise my best suggestion would be adding some creme fraiche to the plate before it is served instead of the ricotta. Though I suspect if ricotta is expensive, creme fraiche isn't going to be very affordable either.

If know how to make stuffed pasta I would do agnolotti.

Salmon meat, thyme, some lemon zest, ricotta. Toss with olive oil or butter and arugula. Serve with lemon and/or Parmesan cheese.

Alternatively for a more decadent option you could serve with a cream based sauce of some sort, maybe a rose sauce?

I'm not sure if the same principles apply between italian and asian cooking (maybe in the asian recipes you are meant to get something else out of the garlic?), But in a Marcella Hazan recipe I made recently the garlic was to be added after the initial searing of the meat.
That was a pan-roasting recipe though, where the meat was going to simmer covered on the stove afterward.

My best guess would be to throw the garlic in when the meat is about half-way colored, does anyone else have any suggestions?

I love omelets, especially ones packed with veggies. If you're looking to go the low-carb route those are always a good choice.
Stir-Fry over top of Quinoa is another good one.
Korean style lettuce wraps are always tasty too, just leave out the rice or don't take as much as you normally would to make it lower carb.
Also, substitute blanched collard greens for wraps if you think they'll fit the flavor profile you're looking for.

Slight complication in Oslo... I've just discovered my dinning partner does not eat any kind of seafood! Can anyone advise a place with land-based options as well?

Thank You! Would you recommend Freyenstein over Holy Moly if I'm only able to get one in? (I'm staying with a friend who isn't the biggest foodie so I'm not sure Wolf is the best idea.)

EDIT: Unfortunately Freyenstein is closed while I'm in Vienna. =( I'm really not having much luck...

Ok new tentative plan is as follows:

Oslo:
-Restaurant Eik

Stockholm:
-Ulla Winbladh Inn

Prague:
-Lokal
-Sansho

Vienna:
-Holy Moly Restaurant
-Restaurant Sperl

I think as far as nicer meals go that will be my plan, I could still use some recommendations for cheaper meals/ self-catering in all of the above (I know about the Markets in Vienna, but other than that is there anything more street-side I should experience on my trip?)

Also does anyone know of good lighter fare in Prague and Vienna? I want to try the local cuisine but from what I hear it is very heavy and I'll probably need a break.

I looked at that restaurant, and was ready to make a reservation. Unfortunately they are closed for vacation while I'm in Prague. As is Maaemo in Oslo.

I guess I picked the wrong time to travel from a Gastronomic perspective.

After doing some further reading here is my itinerary so far:

Oslo: ?

Stockholm:
-Franzen Lindborg
-Ulla Winbladh Inn

Prague:
-Lokal
-Sansho

Vienna: ?