frygirl's Profile
Help with 4 days 3 nights in Aug
Revel is a great option for Korean food. They have a few tables on the back deck that are great on a nice evening.
Joule is Revel's sister restaurant, and it's Korean-French fusion. It is closed for relocation to Fremont, and I'm unsure if it will be open in time for your visit. If it is, I highly recommend it.
Spinasse isn't a typical red-sauce Italian joint if that's what you're looking for. They do Northern Italian cuisine, but the fresh hand-cut noodles with sage (tajarin) is second to none. It's worth a visit just for that. When I dine there, I make a meal out of a couple starters and an order of tajarin and always leave very happy.
I'm a lover of Mexican food and the only place I consistently get good Mexican but doesn't get mentioned on the boards is Cactus. It's more Tex-Mex (perhaps hounds prefer pure Mex) and I think it's very respectable. I like the green chicken enchiladas - the shredded chicken is incredibly moist.
And I'll plug your Sitka & Spruce option - it's a great combination of rustic & charming atmosphere and locavore food. Does anybody know if they have their liquor licence yet? Last time I went they just offered beer & wine.
Grocery Store Soup - Who Has the Best?
I will be laid up for a few days after knee surgery and want to stock the fridge with an assortment of soup for quick-to-reheat meals. I have an aversion to canned soup, so I'm seeking recommendations for either fresh soup from the deli counter or frozen brands.
In the past I've enjoyed the cioppino from Ballard Market, a blended squash soup from Whole Foods, and a nice tomato basil from Metropolitan Market. I'd like to make one stop to select an assortment to stock up. Are there any grocery stores (or frozen cases) that offer a nice variety of soups that my fellow hounds recommend?
If you could only eat in five Seattle restaurants for the rest of your life, which would you choose?
Din Tai Fung - for the juicy pork dumplings
Spinasse - for the sage pasta
Green Leaf - for the Da Nang pork
Market Grill - for the salmon sandwich
The Walrus and the Carpenter - for the oysters, steak tartare and martinis
Suggestions for girls' day out on May 5?
A very girly food destination in Ballard is Bastille. I say it's girly because of the charming decor, and it's less kid-friendly than other Ballard dining spots. I love eating in their bar around the fire pit. They serve very respectable French food.
For a 100% kid-free dining experience, also consider The Walrus and the Carpenter for cocktails, raw oysters, steak tartare and other delicious small bites.
San Diego Trip Report from a Seattle Hound
True! El Pescador has great eye candy behind the counter for the ladies. :-)
San Diego Trip Report from a Seattle Hound
I've just returned from a 5-day solo trip to San Diego. I trolled this message board for budget-friendly, casual restaurants and my tummy left San Diego very happy. Here are the restaurants I visited, the dishes I ordered, and my general observations:
Azucar in Ocean Beach - Guava/cheese pastry, meat pie and mojito cookie. This uber-casual cuban bakery in Ocean Beach was delightful. The pastry dough was perfectly flaky. I realized too late I should have asked for hot sauce to go with the meat pie as I overheard someone else order that. But without it, I still enjoyed the yummy seasoned ground beef filling. The cookie was limey and great. Loved this place and would return. It was fun to walk to the beach to watch the surfers after my breakfast.
Prep Kitchen in Little Italy - Spinach salad with beets, avocado and tangerines. Delish! It felt like a very "California" dish and I loved the hip atmosphere of the restaurant. I would definitely return for dinner and drinks with friends. I ate at the bar and even though they were slammed with people (it was during the art festival) the service was outstanding. A pleasant surprise.
In-n-Out Burger - Cheese burger, fries and a chocolate shake. I'd never been to one before and honestly, I don't see what the big deal is. It was good, but I wouldn't seek it out again. Given my screen name (frygirl) I was excited to try the fries since I know they're hand cut and cooked fresh, but I thought they were just 'meh.'
Marisco's Taco Truck - Fish taco. OMG this was tied with Mama Testas as my favorite food of the trip. The generous portion of fish is so perfectly cooked, and the corn tortillas are soft and fresh. My only regret is that I didn't return a second time during my visit. Note they have moved from University to El Cajon, but I didn't jot down the cross street. Luckily there was a truck parked at the old University location advertising the new address. The new location is in the parking lot of a Chevron station. Yum yum yummy yum.
Point Loma Seafood - Scallop sandwich + cole slaw. I'm glad I tried this. It's a hugely generous portion. I thought the sourdough flavor of the sandwich bread clashed slightly with the mild scallops, but not enough to ruin the meal. The cole slaw was a nice complement to the sandwich - it has the standard mayo dressing.
Mama Testas - Mojados de carne + side of refried beans and rice. This dish is beef flautas chopped into a bowl of chili broth. Ignore my lame description and just go eat it. It's heavenly. The beef is pot-roast tender, and the fried flautas very slowly soften as they sit in the broth so the texture gradually changes during the meal. I read on the board that their refried beans are noteable, but I thought they were just average. The salsa bar was fun. I loved the pickled carrots, the tomatillo salsa with parmesean, and the blended tomato/jalapeno salsa. I licked my plate. Seriously.
Tender Greens - Roasted vegetable salad with lemon vinaigrette. I wish they'd open an outpost in Seattle because I could eat these freshly tossed salads every day. The roasted veggies were tossed with crunchy greens and made for a surprisingly filling meal. The grilled artisan bread slice that came with it was finger-lickin' good.
Cafe Chloe in East Village (or is it Gaslamp?) - Pan seared king salmon salad. Being from Seattle, I have high standards for salmon, and this dish met them to a tee. The fish was perfectly medium-rare and served over frisee, beets and asparagus. It was simply perfect. And I snagged a sidewalk table on a beautiful day.
Pomodoro in Point Loma - Spaghetti carbonara + ceasar salad. This meal was disappointing, probably due to my own preferences. The carbonara sauce was extremely creamy, almost like an alfredo sauce, and it just didn't appeal to me although the flavor was good. Most carbonaras aren't quite that saucy or creamy. The salad was served room temperature (ick), was over dressed, and underseasoned. Maybe I just caught them on a bad night.
El Pescador Fish Market in La Jolla - Grilled seabass sandwich with avocado. This is a great sandwich to pick up and take to the waterfront to watch the seals. I can't say I'd recommend it as worth a drive from SD, but it should be on your list if you're already in LJ. It was a nice item to fill my tummy after hitting the Green Flash tasting room in Mira Mesa for IPA samples.
You have a wonderful city and a fantastic food scene. Thanks for maintaining a vibrant discussion on chowhound. It made my trip a pleasure, because my trips are always all about the food.
Cheers!
Frygirl
Traditional breakfast
Try the Dish Cafe in Ballard or the Hi-Spot Cafe in Madrona. They are both very good.
Worst Fries in Seattle?
5 Corner Market in Ballard had the weirdest fries I've tasted in recent memory. They tasted as if they were dusted with sugar. I wonder if they were accidentally "sugared" instead of "salted." They were totally gross.
Looking For Great Onion Rings in Seattle Area
My favorite onion rings are by far at The Counter in Ballard. They are cut very thin with a crunchy panko-style breading. They are a bit on the greasy side, but not disgustingly so. In my mind, they are the perfect ring. I dream of them often...
Muffaletta? Where to find?
I've had the Latona version. While not a bad sandwich, it's definitely not authentic.
Where, Besides Wing Dome, for Quality Buffalo Wings?
Nickerson Place has great wings, but I can't vouch whether they'll do a drummette.
Best Restaurants near Seattle Westin
All three are excellent, but I strongly lean toward Cascina Spinasse. Their handmade pasta is to-die-for.
-----
Cascina Spinasse
1531 14th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122
Best Restaurants near Seattle Westin
In walking distance of the Westin, I can recommend:
Campagne for French
Serious Pie for casual yet interesting "pizza" (more like fun flatbread)
Palace Kitchen for a nice dinner of applewood grill yummies
Spur for happy hour/cocktails (try the salmon appetizer - so good!)
-----
Palace Kitchen
2030 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98121
Serious Pie
316 Virginia St, Seattle, WA 98101
Campagne
86 Pine, Seattle, WA 98101
Good Bowl of Chili in the Seattle Area (Preferably North of Downtown Seattle)?
Note that Slim's "Texas" chili doesn't have beans, as the OP desires. I was there for happy hour on Friday and enjoyed the Frito Pie - a decent substitute to rice.
Good Bowl of Chili in the Seattle Area (Preferably North of Downtown Seattle)?
Try the chili at The Counter, the burger joint in Ballard next to the newest Trader Joe's.
Unpretentious homestyle food downtown?
Both of these are in Pike Place Market:
Cafe Yarmarka - homey stuffed cabbage rolls
Three Girls Bakery - a great meatloaf sandwich and BLT
-----
Three Girls Bakery
1514 Pike Pl Ste 1, Seattle, WA 98101
Cafe Yarmarka
1530 Post Aly Ste 3A, Seattle, WA 98101
Excellent Gumbo at Shultzy's
I dropped by Shultzy's in the U-district today for lunch. I got a cup of sausage gumbo (the only flavor they offer) with a side salad for lunch. I was completely blown away by the gumbo. It was made with a real roux base and was crammed full of okra. I mean there was tons of the stuff in there. It had several slices of sausage and was very spicy (not sure if the sausage was spicy or if they added cayenne). Served over rice it was a completely divine bowl of gumbo. It wasn't soupy at all, but very thick. It sat atop the rice perfectly.
As a homesick Texan (Louisiana-adjacent) I have fond memories of enjoying authentic Cajun gumbo back home. This is the first bowl in Seattle that came close to the type of gumbo I'm familiar with from my youth. I've tried the gumbo at Bayou on First (too soupy), 74th St Alehouse (they put 1 pickled okra in it - yuk), Steelhead Diner, just to name a few.
I recommend skipping the side salad at Shultzy's. It's just a pile of iceberg lettuce with out-of-a-box croutons.
-----
Shultzy's Sausage
4114 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105
Fast and tasty Salads in Seattle
I'm not familiar with Chop't so not sure if this is what you're looking for...Il Fornaio runs a salad bar in the open mall area in Pacific Place but it's a huge step above food court quality. You can choose your salad ingredients and they toss it with the dressing of your choice. Since you can customize the salad you get exactly what you want, and it's a large, hardy portion. It's one of my favorite downtown lunches. I don't know if they are open in the evenings.
Craving Fresh Hop Ales
The Urban Beer Garden at Fremont Brewing Company has a great fresh hop ale on tap right now.
-----
Fremont Brewing Company
3409 Woodland Park Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98103
What to order at Long Provincial?
My favorite dish by far is the da nang pork. It's a perfectly seasoned and charbroiled piece of pork served with rice and veggies. It sounds boring, but I've rarely found such perfectly cooked and seasoned pork. It really is a treat.
Downtown Seatte happy hours
You're right - the happy hour menu is exclusively on the chalkboard. It's not a huge selection (4-5 items) but always so good.
Downtown Seatte happy hours
Spur's happy hour is so good, I'm hard pressed to tear myself away to try any others. I'm addicted to their pork belly sliders and their smoked salmon crostini.
Which fish monger has the best crab cakes?
Follow-up Report:
I went to Met Market and their crab cakes didn't have bread crumbs on them. So I passed on those and went to Whole Foods. Their crab cakes were generously sized with a bread crumb crust and were $5.99 each I believe. I spent about $40 for 6 crab cakes. They were super crabby with no discernable filler. Loved them!
Boy were these good. Per their advice, I seared them in a skillet on each side then placed them in a 375 degree oven for 6 minutes. They were perfect and were met with rave reviews from my dinner guests.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone!
Where to go for great cocktails and oysters on the half shell
Frank's Oyster House & Champagne Parlor is a great place to go. Awesome cocktails and really beautiful oyster presentation on a frozen ice tray.
Which fish monger has the best crab cakes?
I'm hosting a dinner party and want to purchase crab cakes to cook fresh at home. I'm looking for entree-size crab cakes.
I've heard the fish monger in Ballard on 80th at 24th has good ones, but I thought I'd consult the experts.
Have you had any killer crabcakes that you purchased from a fish monger to cook fresh at home?
Great Mexican and Latin-American Food in Seattle?
The tacos are smallish - two make a meal. I think they are $4 because the corn tortillas are freshly made to order and the quality of the ingredients is supurb.
I had homemade chips there less than 2 weeks ago. I lunched there right after they opened and that's when they had store-bought chips. But they are definitely on board with homemade now. And they sure do it right.
Can you tell it's my favorite Mexican in Seattle? I love that place.
Critique Seattle-hound's Choices for Montreal Food Bender
I've returned from my spectacular vacation to Montreal. And as promised, here is my dining report.
I was unsuccessful in visiting several restaurants on the list as they were either closed on the day/time I stopped by (Reservoir), had no seating available (Pintxo), had a long line I wasn't willing to wait in (La Banquise) or completely inconvenient to the metro stops (Sparrow).
Here's a run down of the meals:
Bistro Cocagne - This was a convenient dinner spot for my first, travel-weary night in town on a Saturday. The restaurant was only half full and I dined a the completely empty counter at the bar. The service was nice and attentive. I ordered an amuse bouche of salmon tartare that was quite large for an amuse bouche (3 bites to finish it) and it was absolutely delicious and a bargain at $2. I had duck confit for my main course which was good not great. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant for a tourist, only because it wasn't a particularly unique or memorable dining experience.
Schwartz's - as expected, I loved the smoked meat sandwich. I saw the line up at the sit down Schwartz's cafe next door so I ordered from the to go counter where the wait was only 3 minutes. There was plenty of counter seating in the back - not sure why people wait next door? I wish I'd known to order my sandwich "lean," but there was so much meat on it I could discard the large fatty parts and still have a massive lunch.
Olive et Gourmando - this was my favorite meal of the trip. The atmosphere was so charming and casual. I ordered the spring sandwich which had fresh grilled asparagus and spicy ham, with a side salad which I didn't see on the menu but knew to order from a review I'd read somewhere. Their simple green salad it a work of art. It's perfectly dressed, tossed in a slightly creamy vinaigrette with a few slices of red onions that were quite mild and topped with slivered almonds. Elegant simplicity at its finest.
Bistro Universel - I had breakfast at this plateau restaurant. I ordered the asparagus and swiss cheese omelet which came with the most divine breakfast potatoes. They were insanely creamy inside and generously seasoned and crisp outside. Awesome! The omelet was pretty good with plenty of market fresh asparagus (why won't someone put a fiddlehead omelet on a menu?) but it had quite a bit more cheese than I care for in an omelet. The portion was huge I only ate half of it and still wasn't hungry until about 7pm.
Le Cafe Cherrier - stopped here for breakfast before flying back to Seattle. I really wanted to have breakfast at Bistro Universel again but didn't want to be boring and decided to try some place new. Boy did I regret that decision. This was the only truly disappointing meal of the trip. I had a build-your-own omelet with a side of breakfast potatoes. The omelet was so salty I had a hard time taking more than one bite, and the potatoes were completely cold and bland. Skip this place, except for a drink only on their charming streetside dining patio.
I didn't make it to many of the restaurants on my list as I discovered after the first night on this trip (my first solo vacation) that I'm just not comfortable having dinner alone. It didn't bother me to dine solo for breakfast or lunch, but for some reason it bothered me in the evening. So I fell into the pattern of having a large breakfast or lunch. Then, after a full day of sightseeing, I'd pick up a light meal to have in my hotel room. I found a fantastic source for that:
Fruiterie du Plateau - I tried a couple of their composed salads (the mixed bean salad was my favorite) and their red pepper hummus. I loved everything at this friendly little place. It was also great for yogurt and fruit in the mornings to start my day.
I also visited both Atwater and Jean Talon Markets. Both were a feast for the eyes and the stomach. And I loved the flower markets at both places.
Thank you again for all your wonderful suggestions. I can't wait to return to your beautiful city!
-----
Olive et Gourmando
351 Rue Saint-Paul Ouest, Montreal, QC , CA
Bistro Cocagne
3842 Rue Saint-Denis, Montreal, QC H2W2M2, CA
Cafe Cherrier
3635 Rue Saint-Denis, Montreal, QC H2X3L6, CA
Universel Restaurant Cafe
3630 Rue Saint-Denis, Montreal, QC H2X3L7, CA
Great Mexican and Latin-American Food in Seattle?
Barracuda Taqueria in lower Queen Anne/Belltown is outstanding. Homemade chips & salsa, homemade corn tortillas and outstanding taco fillings...it's my current favorite for a Mexican fix.
