eat.rest.repeat's Profile
Eclectic Tasting Menus in Seattle?
The closest thing you will find to your criteria, I believe, is going to be Spur Gastropub. But while they use a fair amount of molecular gastronomy, its not really in the wacky way that Wylie Dufresne uses it at WD50. I do not know of any restaurants in the area that are doing "weird and wacky". Perhaps you can do the tasting menu at Spur and then go and grab some drinks and bar snacks at Unicorn to get the wacky part you seek. Good luck!
Momofuku-style pork buns?
Momofuku has a few different types. Facing East in Bellevue has what they call "pork burgers" and they are the Taiwanese buns - gua bao that I believe you are seeking. They are delicious there.
Where is the best brunch? Seattle? Eastside?
Do try brunch at Lynn's Bistro in Kirkland. You are started out with a basket of delicious fresh baked croissants. The french onion soup is one of the best anywhere and the brunch fare is great too. It is a highly charming place and one that I wouldn't hesitate taking out of towners to.
Anything to Eat in the Kirkland Area?
Cafe Juanita is head and shoulders above anything else in Kirkland. Izumi is great. I have been to Lynn's many times and love it - great brunch with fresh made croissants. Aside from the chef being Vietnamese, I would say it is pretty straight forward French food.
I think that Cactus does some really fun and tasty stuff if only loosely Mexican/Southwest. Shamiana does a slightly upscale Indian/Pakistani menu well.
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Cafe Juanita
Kirkland, WA, Kirkland, WA
Shamiana Restaurant
10724 NE 68th St, Kirkland, WA 98033
Izumi
12539 116th Ave NE, Kirkland, WA 98034
Dim Sum on eastside
Noble Court is okay but Top Gun is better. Top Gun is probably the best on the eastside... probably.
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Noble Court Restaurant
1644 140th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98005
Seattle First Timer - Trip Itinerary Help Please!
I live here and am still jealous of your trip! Thank you for the fantastic report. Glad you had a wonderful time.
Torontonian coming for a short visit - approve?
Getting from Bellevue to Seattle without a car is not very convenient but doable. Still, I'll add some recommendations for you in Bellevue to have as options - there are a lot of chain restaurants and places that feel like chains in the downtown Bellevue area but some of the best options are: Monsoon East (a newer branch of an established Seattle restaurant) for some inventive and flavorful Vietnamese food (they do not strive for authenticity though). Facing East for some Taiwanese food (I would eat lightly here and stick to the pork burger appetizer and one other dish that looks good to you). And John Howie Steak offers some pretty tasty items and a good happy hour. But definitely try to get over to Seattle whenever possible.
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Monsoon East
10245 Main Street, Bellevue, WA 98004
John Howie Steak
11111 Northeast 8th Street, Suite 125, Bellevue, WA 98004
Torontonian coming for a short visit - approve?
Erin,
I think that your level of homework before posting is refreshing and much appreciated and should net you many helpful responses. Welcome!
Your friend may have had Ezell's fried chicken. Few on this board would say it is the best fried chicken but it is good. Because Oprah has endorsed this place some people do tell their friends that they went there and had the "famous" chicken.
Paseo has been getting a lot of national recognition lately (rightfully so) and it seems that Seattle may soon be known for the Paseo sandwich in addition to the coffee and seafood.
I think that Flying Fish is solid but wouldn't make the short list. I also wouldn't say that Maximillien's mussels are noteworthy. I like the seafood at Anchovies and Olives. Checking out the Walrus and Carpenter would get you over into the fun Ballard neighborhood.
I would add Poppy to your "interesting and delicious" list.
Breakfast at Senior Moose might be interesting for you in that it gets you some quality Mexican food and breakfast in one.
Have a great time!
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Flying Fish
2234 1st Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121
Best Cioppino?
I lived in Santa Cruz for a while and would make the drive down to Phil's to get some of that great cioppino and some of Phil's other great items regularly. I have unfortunately not found a cioppino that is as good. I think that someone is going to chime in that the cioppino at Jack's Fish Spot in Pike Place Market is a good choice but I am going to have to disagree with that in advance. Jack's serves a decent cioppino for cheap and that has its merits but it is nothing like Phil's. If I recall, and it has been a while, I think I had a very good cioppino at Etta's. Let us know if you find something good!
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Pike Place Market
1501 Pike Pl, Seattle, WA 98101
Jack's Fish Spot
1514 Pike Pl Ste 2, Seattle, WA 98101
Where can we find a good Mojito in Seattle?
My wife would give an enthusiastic endorsement to Cactus.
The New Lunchbox Laboratory
Just heard about the unfortunate passing of Chef Scott Simpson at only 38 years old. Not sure what that will mean for Lunchbox Laboratory but I thought it noteworthy for this thread.
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Lunchbox Laboratory
1253 Thomas Street, Seattle, WA 98109
Marcel's Quantum Kitchen
I am thinking that this show might explain something that I found odd about his recent Top Chef all stars appearance: he wasn't really doing anything all that interesting or molecular. Even when he was challenged to make something in Wylie Dufresne's kitchen he didn't showcase any MG techniques beyond what has become "normal". I am thinking that this new show, Quantum Kitchen, was in the works and he might have either decided on his own or have been contractually obligated to save some of the more "Sci Fi" techniques for his show. Or maybe not, but that is the thought that crossed my mind upon seeing the promo for this show.
Austin CH visiting Seattle with toddler
I've taken my 2 year old to Poppy on several occasions and it has been fine. Poppy is sort of new. They are producing really great food and it is a fun environment.
Serious Pie is great but I think unless you can make it to their happy hour its just a bit overpriced. Perhaps the best pizza i've had but I don't want to spend 25 bucks/ person to be full off of pizza IMHO.
My son has been to Mistral Kitchen a couple of times. I definitely wouldn't say it is kid friendly but they had high chairs and seemed to be okay with him there. It gets pretty loud in there.
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Serious Pie
316 Virginia St, Seattle, WA 98101
Mistral Kitchen
2020 Westlake Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121
Local/organic dining in Seattle
Holly Smith of Cafe Juanita has always reminded me of Alice Waters. I've only eaten at Chez Panisse twice though but I remember that the first time I ate at Cafe Juanita the comparison struck me.
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Cafe Juanita
Kirkland, WA, Kirkland, WA
A new spot for excellent croissants: Fuji Bakery
Went to the Bellevue location recently. It is really tucked away and would probably be pretty hard to find for people not very familiar with Bellevue. The pastries were great - had a chocolate croissant, a kouign aman, a little baguette with dark chocolate and balsamic, and a strawberry tartlet. The prices seemed a little bit on the high end. They seem to have a lot of Japanese clients since while I was there for about 10 minutes there were 4 Japanese speaking clients who came in. Despite me being Japanese they must have known that my Japanese is terrible and so talked to me in English.
your favorite foie gras dish in Seattle right now?
My favorite foie preparations have always been at Cafe Juanita. I find that other places are just a let down and my guilt over eating foie is just magnified. At this point I think I will just stick to eating it at Cafe Juanita.
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Cafe Juanita
Kirkland, WA, Kirkland, WA
Last minute trip to Seattle area this weekend
Glad you enjoyed Copperleaf. I have been wanting to go back there lately.
I am not a fan of Southern Kitchen but thought maybe it was just me. Sorry to hear that it was a bit of a mess.
Seattle has a ton of great food for you to check out in the future!
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Southern Kitchen Restaurant
1716 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA 98405
Copperleaf Restaurant
18525 36th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98188
All-you-can-eat ribs anywhere near Seattle?
3 Pigs BBQ in Bellevue has all you can eat beef ribs on Wednesdays. Pretty good stuff for round these parts.
Last minute trip to Seattle area this weekend
Robert -
The restaurant in the Cedarbrook Lodge is called Copperleaf and happens to be really, really fantastic. I would suggest that you have a wonderful dinner right there - plenty of seafood options. And if they have the chestnut soup on the menu it is a must.
In Gig Harbor I had a great lunch at the Green Turtle but that was 5 years ago and I hear that the owner might have changed. Aside from there, I am not too familiar with what to eat in Gig Harbor. There is an Anthony's there and that is a pretty safe fall back option.
Enjoy!
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Green Turtle
2905 Harborview Dr, Gig Harbor, WA 98335
Copperleaf Restaurant
18525 36th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98188
Ramen
I too have noticed that Boom Noodle has been getting better and better. My first experience there was so bad I did not plan to ever eat there again but because a friend had purchased a Groupon deal and took me I had a chance to taste a marked improvement. I've been back again and it seemed to have again been improved.
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Boom Noodle
1121 E Pike St, Seattle, WA 98122
Where can you buy Hummus in Seattle and who has the best?
The best hummus is in Kirkland at Meze. I think that its a bit overpriced, as is most of the menu, but it is the best. You can stop in and get it by the ounce. They also have awesome stuffed grape leaves.
Good chicken parm sandwich?
The chicken parm at Grinders is a special but I see it on the board most times I go. I have gotten it once and I can't recall specifically if the chicken was fried - it might not be. You are right in that they don't have much fried food on the menu (except for the shrimp and catfish for the po boy). However, that place makes some really delicious sandwiches and I would suggest checking them out for sure.
On Business to Lynwood
For very good Korean food with sketchy service and little ambiance, I like Ka Won in Lynnwood. if you were looking for nicer atmosphere (if this is a business meeting perhaps) I would suggest Kaya. It has tasty Korean food but with better service and surroundings. It is south of Lynnwood but easy to get to off the 99.
Wonderful Restaurant in Beautiful Setting
Just went here for Seattle Restaurant Week on Sunday and it was really amazing. It is definitely deserving of the high praise I have been hearing about it. They served me what was the most creative dish i've had all year and certainly the most creative soup i've ever had. A wonderfully creamy chestnut soup poured around a financier cake with a shaved truffle on top. It was an amazing combination that I would never have thought to do.
I plan on returning to Copperleaf at somepoint soon.
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Copperleaf Restaurant
18525 36th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98188
lunch choice for out of town foodie guest
For what it is worth, I recently had a NYC foodie guest in town and went to a few places for lunch including Matt's (quality does not match the price) and Mistral Kitchen (a little too similar to places available in NYC). The place he was most happy with was Monsoon for high end Vietnamese food. (Just realized we were hitting up mostly "M" restaurants).
I very much enjoy Monsoon but don't know if I would consider it one of my top 10 restaurants in Seattle but the guest loved it.
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Mistral Kitchen
2020 Westlake Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121
Facing East Reopened
Went today and can confirm Ethereal's observations. The service is a little spotty now too because it seems that they hired new people for the extra tables and these new people do not seem to have a lot of service experience. The other bad thing is that some of the great things we used to love aren't there any more, like the sweet mixed beans with tofu dessert. Also the citrus tea isn't served by the pot anymore. But overall, the place is still great.
Interesting restaurant for the hard-to-please?
I enjoyed a recent trip to Mistral Kitchen so much that I would definitely put it in a "special date" category. Don't know if any other "new" places fit your bill since the trend now (with the economy as it is) is for more casual restaurants and small plates.
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Mistral Kitchen
2020 Westlake Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121
Visiting from Boston and interested in some specific recommendations
1) Seattle, sadly, is not one of the best places for Chinese food. There are Seven Star Pepper wouldn't be bad though. I think that Facing East (Taiwanese) in Bellevue is the best "Chinese" food around here.
2) I don't know exactly what counts as "unusual" ethnic food in other parts of the US. I can say that Seattle has an abundance of fine Vietnamese food (Green Leaf and Tamarind Tree seem to get the most love), some great Ethiopian places (Meskel is my favorite), and some Russian Bakeries here and there. For more unusual, Pam's Kitchen in the U district offers good, home-style food from Trinidad. I also like Julia's Indonesian near there.
3) Fancy food - Canlis is very high end, has great service, and great food. It is also slightly fussy and the chef is implementing some Molecular Gastronomy techniques - use of anti griddle, reverse spherification, etc.
4) Other Molecular Gastronomy? Spur does some but it kind of depends on when you go and what they are doing at the time. Mistral Kitchen usually offers a Sous Vide prepared item and if I recall I may have seen an item there before with "caviar" or spheres of some type of sauce.
5) For offal you might be best served going to a place like Bamboo Garden in Bellevue and ordering from the "wild side" menu. There are plenty of options on there. Facing East offers a lot of offal items but they are written in Chinese on the menu. However, the staff there are very helpful and if you tell them that is what you are looking for, they will hook you up (you could just ask them about the diaphragm intestine preparations too).
6) Shiro's is great. Mashiko is very good and has a heavy focus on sustainability that is nice.
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Canlis Restaurant
2576 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
Tamarind Tree
1036 S Jackson St, Seattle, WA 98104
Bamboo Garden
202 106th Pl NE, Bellevue, WA 98004
Shiro's
2401 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA
Pam's Kitchen
500 Univ Way, Seattle, WA 98101
Mistral Kitchen
2020 Westlake Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121
