Finspot's Profile
Hand-stretched Chinese noodles in Seattle
Wow, awesome work CPN. Can't wait to give that place a try. Was your camera on a table or a tripod?
Mioposto
Perhaps those of us living in leafy Mt. Baker should be happy we have a neighborhood restaurant and shut up. But just because we're a captive audience doesn't mean the service can suck day in and day out. Sure, I know there must be issues since the breakup of the team that brought us such neighborhood culinary razzle-dazzle as...Coastal Kitchen (?). The thing is, the service at Mioposto has always sucked. The folks are nice and all, but they screw up orders, take forever, and generally don't seem to know what they're doing. Maybe they're over-worked. Whatever the source--staff or management or both--the problems are persistent.
The concept is a good one. Take a too-small space, get rid of the kitchen, and do all the cooking in a big ol' wood-fired oven. So far so good. The pizzas are acceptable. Not great, kinda small, kinda bland, but quasi-Neapolitan, which is a plus. The wine is warm but at least the beer is cold.
Now add a big dose of terrible service. It seems like every time I venture there something goes seriously awry--and often the mistakes are couched with a smirk of attitude. A couple weeks ago it was the egg sandwich; despite being empty they still forgot to make my order, a not unusual occurrence. Most recently was last night's attempt at dinner. My daughter insisted on Mioposto for her 5th birthday. How about Flying Squirrel? we asked. Nope. Tutta Bella? Nope. She wanted to walk to the neighborhood joint. Fair enough. They took our number, said they'd call when a table opened. We went across the street to the park. Half an hour later, no call. We go back over. The woman at the register looks at us like we're insane. Did we really think she had time to call us?
That's it. My wife and I have given this place so many passes over the years. We've sat countless times at dirty tables waiting for a simple zamboni, then waited more for a glass of water, never mind trying to place an order--only to have it forgotten. We're easy to please, too. All we want to do is relax at the one place within walking distance. It's not worth it. We drove over to the Squirrel and had excellent pizza and much better service.
-----
Tutta Bella
4918 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118
Mioposto
3601 S McClellan St, Seattle, WA 98144
Cantinetta
Yikes, black trumpets should never be dirty; all you do is cut off the ends. And moss? That's ridiculous. Hedgehogs are tougher quarry to clean, but still. Sounds like they're cutting corners.
Bothell?
Thanks everyone. Russells sounds like a hidden gem--I'll check it out on a Friday with the wine tasting as AlaskaChick recs. Been wanting to go to Szechwan 99. Maybe tonight.
[SEA] Aurora Ave?
No scented candles but they did have some weird Christmas music playing at the end of January.
Cantinetta
Staffstuff, I hear what you're saying. I guess my point is that it's nice to see more neighborhood restaurants (like Cantinetta) opening in Seattle that are paying attention to ambience, service, and at least making an honest effort with the food--as opposed to endless iterations of the corner Thai place of little note. And I didn't find the menu overpriced; it was considerably less than the same fare served up in Belltown, with most mains well under $20. Despite some glitches with the appetizers we really enjoyed ourselves, so they must have been doing something right. I plan to give this one some more time to work out the kinks in the kitchen.
Bothell?
I'm going to be trekking up to Bothell the next four evenings for a class. Any food in Bothell worth checking out? Thanks.
Cantinetta
First the good news. This is exactly the sort of neighborhood restaurant Seattle needs more of. The space is inviting & energized, the service good. If I lived in lower Wallingford I'd be glad to have this place nearby. That said, my dinner companions and I agreed that the kitchen overshot on a few of the dishes on this particular night. Pig trotters braised and fried (so far so good) were accompanied by an overpowering anchovy sauce; a simple gravy or red wine reduction would have served them much better. Steamed mussels were cooked with so much bay leaf that the astringent flavor pretty much wrecked the delicate wine & cream broth and negated the flavor of the fennel entirely. Our mains were decent. I'd order the Casoncelli again. Overall we enjoyed ourselves and I look forward to trying Cantinetta again, with hopefully some better appetizers that don't pretend to be more than they are.
[SEA] Aurora Ave?
Thanks Creepygirl. Five Seasons was a fine choice. My daughter loved her Chicken Noodle Pho (as did I--great broth) and my rice special with egg, short ribs, Chinese sausage, and grilled shrimp was good too. We'll keep that one in mind for next time we see an appallingly bad kids flick at the Oak Tree.
[SEA] Aurora Ave?
Help! I'm taking my 4-year-old to see Alvin & the Chipmunks (ugh) within the hour at the Oak Tree on Aurora. This is not my usual stomping ground. Any recs for a decent place to grab Chinese/Thai/Indian/whatever nearby afterward so I can regain my sanity? No high-pitched squeaky voices. Thanks.
SEA Whole Duck?
No need for head. I'm close to the I-District. Any others besides Uwajimaya?
PNW food blogs [moved from Pacific Northwest board]
Thanks for the responses so far, 'hounds! Good stuff here.
PNW food blogs [moved from Pacific Northwest board]
Just curious, what local food blogs do you visit on your daily rounds?
Looking for opinions on Tilth
Best service I've had in Seattle, hands down. Of course, that's not saying much, b/c the service generally sucks in this town, but at Tilth I can say we had truly excellent service. And good food too.
big sandwich
Second the "I Love NY" call. Got the brisket special most recently, with so much smoked meat and caramelized onions the roll was overwhelmed. Good action!
Crush, Dahlia, or Zoe?
Haven't been to Crush, so can't comment there. Used to go to Dahlia more before it moved (now I've dated myself), still enjoy it but have had more memorable meals at Zoe in recent years. I like the vibe at Zoe, with the wind blowing that curtain around at the front each time the door opens and those big windows looking out on the street and lots of tables packed in. It's a lively place and the food is good.
walking distance from denny & stewart? [sea]
Well, we ended up going to Barolo and boy was I wrong about my worry that it might be too much of an intimate "date-type" place. As Barleywino said, it's much more of a "hipster/trendy" scene and he is very correct. Normally I loath these sort of spots and avoid them like the plague, but we were game on this particular night and went in with open minds.
The problem with hipster/trendy though was on display right from the get-go--an emphasis on surface glam at the expense of actual service and quality. It's hard to take a restaurant seriously that has its hostess dress like a poledancer. We stood around waiting while a bunch of staff tried to figure out where and when we were going to eat, never mind the reservation. (Admittedly we were 15 minutes early, and a 3-top to boot.) Finally I suggested we'd go to the bar and they agreed that would be a good idea. Being a warm night and perhaps the last of the year, I ordered a mojito; the barkeep told me it would take a while and encouraged me to order something else. 45 minutes later our table was ready. My father would have blown a gasket by now but we weren't in a hurry, so no big deal.
Our waiter was young and green and basically knew nothing about the food, but at least he was a nice guy and not sneering like some of the other staff. The sommelier was a much more complicated fellow and we didn't feel real comfortable with him. He suggested the cheapest bottle on the menu and assured us that it was really quite good, a real steal. Since my wife and I weren't paying, we went along with the game and I think he was genuinely surprised when we sent it back; it was awful. This put him in a huff ad so for the second bottle he went the other way and rec'd one of the more expensive on the list. I mean, come on. Can we have some professionalism please? We're just looking for a decent mid-range bottle to go with our food choices.
On to the food. Our apps were fine if not distinguished. Baby octopus wasn't super tender but the sauce was good. Tuna tartare was pretty much as you'd expect. Most of the pasta plates were under $20, which was nice to see. My wife's dinner, tortelloni with porcini, was very intense and flavorful. Our guest and sponsor had a pasta dish, I forget which one, that he seemed to enjoy. I had the ossobuco, which was fairly tender and rich the way it ought to be, with the marrow prominent in the presentation, served over saffron risotto that was just okay. We skipped dessert.
Overall, I'd give it a miss for next time.
walking distance from denny & stewart? [sea]
We're going tomorrow. I made a rez at Barolo, but after reading the rec for Dinette I may have to reconsider... Will let ya know! Thanks everyone.
walking distance from denny & stewart? [sea]
Is Barolo a fun atmosphere, or more of a "date place"? Full disclosure: I've never actually met my dinner companion and don't want to be stuck somewhere uptight. Palace Kitchen would be my definition of a loose, good restaurant.
walking distance from denny & stewart? [sea]
We're meeting a family friend at the Springhill Marriott (a block from Denny & Stewart), then continuing on to dinner. Any decent eateries in quick walking distance (10 min)? Thanks.
where to buy lard? [sea]
Thanks for the replies everyone! I'm not averse to rendering my own (although Mrs. Finspot has reservations about the smell permeating the house for days); the other factor is our blackberries want to be made into pie NOW so time is of the essence.
where to buy lard? [sea]
Hi all,
Where do you buy your non-hydrogenated lard in Seattle?
Thanks!
frozen porcini
Any tips for thawing and cooking frozen porcini mushrooms? Usually I dry my excess spring porcini, but this year I tried vacuum-sealing and freezing the best buttons. Don't know what to expect from the thawing process, although I've heard the mushroom texture is somewhat altered.
Thanks,
Finny
General Tso's Chicken (SEA)
Terrier, I know the dreaded word hasn't arisen yet... figured I'd put a stake through its heart before it did.
I like the Gen. too for what it's worth. Try the Mandarin Chick. It's too sweet for some tastes, though.
Sea - Places you want to hate
For a long time I hated Flying Fish. This was around a decade ago, during its "super model phase," when it was overflowing with a heroin-waif waitstaff that only deigned to smile at Belltown's most fabulous. Then, probably coinciding with the Dot-Com puncture, it fell back to earth and has been wonderful ever since. I've always thought of it as a pretty good deal, too, comparatively.
La Carta de Oaxaca - Am I missing something?
I'm with landguy on this one. Try again and see if you find it.
General Tso's Chicken (SEA)
I'm waiting for someone to say the General isn't "authentic" enough at such and such place. Ha! Get the most Americanized version you can find--that's the true spirit of the General IMO. That little soapbox aside, I'd give Shanghai Garden a go (can't remember if it's the Orange Chicken or the Sesame). Judy Foo's probably has a decent General, been a while since I've been there, like years, but that's the sort of place that can be relied on for the Gen. Also try the related Manadarin Chicken at a little hole in the wall called something like Szechuan Cuisine on NW corner of 12th & Jackson. We've discussed this place before. Some of us (myself included) think it rules. I actually know it simply as The House because a bunch of us at work used to eat lunch there all time a while back, when the sign was virtually unreadable, so we just called it our "house lunch spot," or The House. Get the fried dumplings too.
Help with real Thai in Seattle
I dig the Penang, Juzzin. Anywhere closer to Seattle that you'd stoop to for Penang?
