My wife and I will be visiting Seattle for the first time January 6-9, with our four month old son. We are staying at the Inn at El Guacho and are looking for recommendations for baby friendly eats. Obviously really fine dining is probably out of the question, but any suggestions in the Belltown area would be appreciated.

Pizza- Serious Pie and Delancey get rave reviews, are they really that good?

Seafood/Raw Bar?

Espresso?

Food Trucks- Is there a specific area where they congregate? Any can't miss trucks?

Burgers- looking for a great foodie burger, not In N Out style.

Any other suggestions that you think would work with a four month old.

Arista has great wine and a beautiful location.

7015 Westside Road Healdsburg, CA 95448

also Armida is just down the road and very good.

Since I first posted on Mr Jalapeno's I have been going there pretty regularly. Still very impressed, although I wish they would get their liquor license. The service has improved considerably, but is still no-frills. I would also recommend the chicken azteca soup, served with pico de gallo, queso fresco, and tortilla strings on the side. I really like the horchatas as well. Check it out.

Two Greek restaurants in Lowell would fit all your food requirements, great lamb, seafood, vegetarian stuff. They aren't terribly fancy but the food is excellent.

Athenian Corner: 195 Market St.

Olympia Restaurant: 453? Market St.

I like both places, if I had to pick one it would probably be Olympia. They may have bellydancers on the weekends.

The Old Court on the corner of Central and Middle St. has really good fish and chips, they also offer a fried haddock sandwich which I haven't tried but would assume to be good as well.

Check out Mr. Jalapeno on Merrimack St. in downtown Lowell. Excellent, authentic, Mexican. There is a post about it if you search the board.

After 4 or 5 visits, I can't really rave enough about this new place in downtown Lowell. It was supposed to open at the beginning of February, but inspection delays held it up until 2 weeks ago. It was worth the wait, everything I have tried has ranged from good to excellent. The staff is friendly, and the few minor service problems I had on my first couple of visits seem to have worked themselves out with a couple weeks experience.

I have tried so far:

Tacos: I have tried chicken and pork with red chile sauce. The flour tortillas are obviously fresh made, sour cream and guacamole is free and the meats have been succulent and plentiful. They also have chicken w/chipotle cream or mole, and carnitas pork.

Chiles Rellenos: The best I have had anywhere, very different almost ricotta-like cheese filling, with an eggy batter. Served with excellent refried beans and rice.

Torta: I have only tried the beef barbacoa. Moist, shredded beef, similar to short ribs in consistency on a huge toasted french bread roll. Probably a third of a baguette with lettuce, tomato, guac, and sour cream. Easily enough for two lunches.

Ceviche: Very fresh and tangy with chiles, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and lime. Served on a fried tostado with more lime and avocado on the side. They also have shrimp and crab ceviches.

Burrito: Tried the fajita chicken. Not huge, but very nicely rolled, not overstuffed and falling apart. Very good.

The menu is really extensive, with tamales, fajitas, sopas, and all the usual suspects(enchiladas, quesadillas, etc.) They are in the process of getting a liquor license so margaritas are on the way. They also have mexican coffee, candies and pastries, and 4 kinds of salsa. They seem to be doing well so far, but there is another Mexican place across the street, so check them out now, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

That place really is amazing. They have added a lot of African and Brazilian stuff to their incredible Asian selection, its fun just to walk around in. They sell a lot of cheap cookware as well, rice cookers, bamboo steamers, woks, etc. They even have a little heated case of fresh spring rolls and other delicacies, it is right near the register.

Excellent lunch buffet. Joe, the old owner sold the place recently, but I have not noticed any drop in quality. The chicken with basil is unreal. VERY spicy. I also like the chicken with ginger, pork in spicy tomato sauce, and beef with garlic.

Seven Hills on Factory St. Very cozy. Great Turkish food. Full bar.

www.sevenhillsrestaurant.net

I had wanted to try this place for a while after seeing several glowing reviews in local papers, but hadn't got around to it yet. Last night my wife and I stumbled upon it after Christmas shopping and I really can't rave about it enough.

It is a rather modern looking space with a bar and only a handful of tables in a long, narrow room on the first floor. We didn't make it downstairs but I believe they have a deck looking onto the river out back. We ordered a bottle of Shiraz that was good, not great, but a good value at $24. They have a small wine list with all bottles either $24 or $34, and a full bar.

We ordered the Seven Hills sampler plate to start, while I got the Iskender Kebab and my wife ordered the Chicken Skewer. The sampler was awesome and I will give a quick rundown of what I remember.

Sigara Boregi: Little phyllo rolls stuffed with a sweet cheese, not unlike blintz filling. I could have eaten a dozen of these.

Yalanci Dolma: Stuffed grape leaves filled with rice, currants, and spices. I know there was cinnamon, not sure what else. Very good, lighter than Greek stuffed grape leaves.

Soujouk: Turkish Pepperoni, is how it was described on the menu, I thought it tasted more like a cross between Kielbasa and Salami. Either way it was great, served in a cumin scented sweet sauce.

Kofte: Lamb and beef meat patties. Very tasty, especially when combined with the salad in a pita pocket.

Piyaz: Kind of a basic lettuce, carrot, onion and herb salad with tender white beans. The dressing was lemony and fresh. We found ourselves taking little bites of this the entire meal to kind of cleanse the palate.

Cheese and Olives: A very nice feta style cheese, a little less salty than Greek feta. With oil cured, wrinkly black olives. A basket of soft pita pockets was also included.

Entrees.

Iskender Kebab: This really just blew me away. My only experience with Turkish food was at Oleana which obviously isn't traditional Turkish, so I didn't know what to expect here. It was finely sliced (julienned really) lamb and beef, in a buttery, rich tomato sauce. The meat was from chewier cuts but the knifework made it very tender while retaining intense, almost gamey, meat flavor. It was served over pita bread which soaked up the sauce and reached a soft, almost pasta like consistency. This also came with excellent Turkish yogurt, a grilled hot pepper, and chunk of grilled tomato. One of the best entrees I have had in a long time.

Chicken Skewer: Large chunks of spice rubbed chicken cooked on the grill, with a nice smokiness and juicy interior. Served off the skewer with grilled peppers and onions, and an amazing basmati rice, each grain distinct, fluffy and buttery with just a touch of black pepper and maybe another spice in the background. I could have made a meal of just the rice and pita bread, it was that good.

They offer a few desserts, saw some baklava go by which looked good, but we were too stuffed to try anything. The Turkish coffee also smelled terrific. It was very quiet on a busy night in Nashua, where every chain restaurant we drove by was utterly slammed, so hopefully they are doing ok. Thats all the more reason to check this place out!

Seven HIlls Restaurant
57 Factory Street
Nashua, NH 03060
(603) 578-0777
www.sevenhillsrestaurant.net

(looking at the website for this info I see they have a full Turkish grocery on site as well, if anyone checks this out please post!)

My wife and I ended up going to Flat Iron Tapas Bar (wow thats a mouthful) and had a great all around experience. We sat at the bar so we could watch the Celtics game, and started off with some of their specialty cocktails. I had the Ruby Tuesday which was rye whiskey w/benedictine and black cherry puree and my wife had the Crushed Elderflower: Gin w/ginger, sake, and elderflower, very perfumey and smooth.

We ordered a bunch of the small plates and were impressed by all of them.

The tuna tartar was very interesting with tapioca pearls, snipped chives, and a coconut broth.

We ordered the french fries with 3 sauces which were fried perfectly, nicely salted, and a good sized portion. The steak sauce condiment was very good.

Also had the pork belly confit which was melt in your mouth tender and served with lentils with diced apple. That didn't sound all that appealing but was actually pretty good.

We couldn't resist the Kobe beef sliders, which actually had some very intense beefy flavor and were decadently juicy. Sliders are kind of a hot thing right now and I have found them to be overcooked and bland a few times recently, not these.

The real star of the night was the cinnamon and chili glazed chilean sea bass. Wow, what a unique flavor combo, the fish was buttery soft and we considered lapping up the lemongrass/coconut sauce after(we abstained).

We also had a few more drinks, a caipiroska, which had orange vodka, lime juice and simple syrup, and the flatiron which I only remember as being bright red and garnished with tiny rose buds. They have about twenty bottled beers including red and blue Chimay.

The service at the bar was great, Victor the bartender was really on top of things and obviously serious about his craft. We enjoyed gloating over Boston's new sports supremacy and reminiscing about the dark Hugh Millen years with the Patriots. All in all a really great time and a much needed upgrade to the Garden area food scene.

Just went fort the first time last friday. Very nice atmosphere, a little bit trendy, but in a good way. Excellent bread basket with mini corn muffins, herbed focaccia, and a nice chewy white bread came with sweet butter, garlic oil, and balsamic vinaigrette. My wife and I had the mac and cheese(excellent) scallop fritters(also good, just a tad overcooked) and the seafood chowder (very good, rich and creamy). I had the veal chop for my main course. I really liked the tomato and fennel salad it came with. Also had two nice cocktails an old fashioned and a sloe gin, so the bartender seems to know what he is doing. Not cheap but I felt like it was a good value for the money. I will certainly try it again.

Yes.

Looking for suggestions for a place to watch the Celtics game tonight with better than average food. Not really feeling The Fours or any other sports bar type place. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I will be taking the train in but anything within a reasonable cab ride is an option. Thanks in advance.

Anyone been recently? Thinking about going on Friday night. Thanks in advance.

Here are a few picks that might help you out.

Bakeries: Lowell Portuguese Bakery- 930 Gorham St. Lowell. Excellent Portuguese rolls and rustic breads, good selection of sweets and cakes.

Charo's Bakery-160 Merrimack St. Lowell. Great cookies and cakes, as well as awesome cuban sandwiches.

Sowy's Bakery-474 Merrimack St. Lowell. Puerto Rican sweet bread, sandwiches, and very good fried food, meat pies, etc. Also lots of pastries.

Olympos Bakery 216 Broadway St. Lowell. Greek breads and cookies as well as sandwiches, pita, and beach style pizza.

Restaurants: Cafe il Cipresso. Middlesex Rd. Tyngsborough. Excellent Tuscan Italian, all homemade pasta and sauces, great value.

La Boniche. 143 Merrimack St. Lowell. French bistro, not mind blowingly inventive but good solid food. Think roast duck, steak frites, pate. Excellent service.

Cobblestones. 91 Dutton St. Lowell. Upscale bar food. I prefer the bar to the dining room, great beer selection. Raw oysters.

Olympia Restaurant. 453 Market St. Lowell. Moderately priced Greek with a huge menu. Anything with lamb is good, baked stuffed seafood is also very solid.

Athenian Corner. 207 Market St. Lowell. Slightly more ambitious menu than Olympia, also very good. Try the Gyro for lunch, its huge.

Pizza: Second Espresso's, also Lowell House of Pizza on School and Broadway. Ask for George's style w/pepperoni. Pizzico in Nashua on the Daniel Webster Highway is also very good, traditional brick oven pizza.

Hope thats a good start, let us know if you try any of these.

I'll second Life Alive, they have a wide variety of health food, smoothies and juices. If anyone in Lowell can accommodate you, its them.

I will be in Chicago this weekend for a bachelor party and have already posted about cheap eats around Wrigley. I would love to go to Alinea, Moto, etc. but I just don't have the time/reservations for a dinner at these places. Where can I go for an unbelievable fine dining lunch on Friday or Saturday? I would have to be able to walk in or get a reservation as of Tuesday. No real price constraints, within reason, but I would like to be able to get there and back from Wrigleyville in 3-4 hrs. This might be a ridiculous request, but any suggestions would be awesome. BTW I will gladly reciprocate for Boston/New England visitors who need advice. Thanks in advance.

My bachelor party is this weekend and I am looking for suggestions for cheap, classic Chicago eats. We will be staying in Wrigleyville, about two blocks from Wrigley actually, and I need suggestions for Italian beef, hot dogs, deep dish, polish food, etc. I know there are lots of old posts about all of these but I was just looking for some quick picks. I will be mainly eating close to Wrigley, but will probably be able to travel a little bit one afternoon. Any suggestions for these or any can't-miss cheap eats will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

That sounds like a great few days of eating. I would be thrilled to hit any two of those places in one week, never mind all eight! If a Boston hound wanted to go on the same kind of run in NYC, what would you recommend?

Catching up with a few belated reviews from the last couple of weeks. I was in the back bay randomly on a Wednesday a few weeks ago and decided to hit L'espalier for lunch. Beautiful room, not very busy at about 1:30. Had a nice glass of sancerre to start, then some great bread, black olive and focaccia, with nice salty butter. I went with the prix fixe lunch which was $25 for three courses, I believe. Started with a chilled watermelon soup w/cucumber and mint. Very light and refreshing on that hot day. Presentation was nice, the bowl was presented with a chunk of watermelon wrapped in cucumber and garnished with tiny radish dice, then the broth was poured over it tableside. Main course was spicy Merquez sausage with spring vegetables, yogurt, and veal jus. This was unreal. The sausage was really spicy and succulent, the yogurt was rich and almost reminded me of a bearnaise sauce, and the vegetables(ramps, peas, asparagus, pattypan squash) were all cooked perfectly. For dessert I had the chocolate decadence, a pretty standard flourless chocolate cake, but served with pink peppercorn ice cream, fresh raspberries, and micro mint. Worth it for the ice cream alone. I also had the half order cheese plate which included Fiddlehead tomme, a really pungent goat cheese, and some kind of Espoisses, which was fabulous. Should have saved the cheese list for more details. The service was great, which I was kind of worried about since I wasn't terribly dressed up, was alone, and look pretty young. I would not have been surprised to get a little bit of an attitude, but I was treated great. Will have to get back there before they move.

Last saturday, my fiancee and I took the train from Lowell early and went right to the original Pizzeria Regina in the North End. The place was packed at 12 o'clock but we were seated right away. I had never had Regina's in any incarnation before so we went with a classic cheese to test it out. Wow! We had planned a big day of eating so we only got a small and immediately wished we had ordered a large. Great balance of cheese and sauce, tangy crust, perfectly cooked. Everything you want in a pizza. The only problem is now my fiancee has been bugging me about going back everyday since then.

After that we walked around the North End for a while checking out local shops(bought some imported escarole and arugula seeds) and wanted something sweet. We stopped in at Trani, the place with the ice cream filled cakes. I got a couple of yellow cupcakes with vanilla ice cream, fiancee an ice cream filled doughnut. Pretty darn good, I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes a nationwide chain, despite the unfortunate name.

After a few drinks and a lot of walking, we were ready for more food and headed to Neptune Oyster Bar. I have wanted to try this place forever and it did not disappoint. We got a bottle of sauvignon blanc, no idea of the name, sorry, and several different kinds of oysters. My favorites were the kumamotos and windy bays, very strong cucumber/melon flavor, plump and juicy. We also tried some wellfleets and maybe another kind. I went with fried oysters for my main, absolutely decadent, with pickled beef tongue, kraut and other reubenesque accompaniments. My fiancee had the tuna crudo with potatoes, capers, hard boiled egg, and mixed greens, and couldn't stop raving about it. For the quality of ingredients and complexity of these dishes I thought the prices were very fair.

Dizzy with food and drink at this point, I wanted something sweet for the long trek back to north station. Stopped at Modern Pastry for a quick cannoli. Freshly filled and delicious and a great ending to a gluttonous day of chow.

Romeo and Juliet, a little Brazilian lunch cart on South St. definitely has one. It is called the x-tudo, and also has ham, cheese, corn and peas, and potato sticks. I can't say I have ever had one sober, but they are pretty damn awesome after a couple of cocktails. I don't know if this is the place you are thinking of, it does sell a lot of cakes and pastries, but I wouldn't call it a bakery. It is between Appleton and Middlesex St's in downtown.

Believe it or not, Mysore Veggie, a South Indian restaurant in Lowell has a great falafel sandwich. Mysore Veggie
1689 Middlesex St.
Lowell, MA 01851

Salts, no doubt about it.

Can't recommend it highly enough! Excellent food, flawless service and a cozy romantic atmosphere. All the raw fish dishes are great, as is the roasted duck for two carved tableside. I have recently had tasting menus at No. 9 Park, Clio, and Salts, and my fiancee and I both thought that Salts was the best(and noticeably cheaper as well). You won't be disappointed. Free parking too!

It's tough to quantify value when it comes to fine dining. Is the restaurant making a nice profit on a $110/ 9 courses tasting menu? Of course they are, but if you consider the whole experience, service, atmosphere, presentation, and obviously taste, I think No. 9 is one of the better restaurants in Boston. Portions are small but very rich, so I don't think you will leave hungry after 7 courses. The last time I was there the 9 course meal included a foie gras course, and pasta with truffles, which were omitted from the 7 course, so if you like those( and who doesn't?) you might want to splurge. After all, its not like you will get out of there cheaply regardless. If you are into cocktails they make some of the best in the city, as good as the food in my opinion, so check those out.

I go to Life Alive for juice and smoothies fairly often. They are all pretty awesome, esp. the ginger crush, and love alive. I have only had food there a couple of times, I thought it was ok, certainly healthy, if not the tastiest I have ever had. Heidi, the owner is wicked nice, also a good place to get organic supplements, beauty products, etc.

They are gone, a friend of mine waitressed there. I believe they are making it into some sort of upscale mexican, no idea on the timeline for opening.

Here is my previous post on this place, sorry for the recycle, in a bit of a hurry.

Also in Lowell is Mysore Veggie. Pretty similar to Udupi Bhavan, maybe a little more ambitious, with some chinese/indian fusion dishes. Also excellent falafel which was a nice surprise. In the plaza with Family Dollar and the Post Office right before Udupi Bhavan.
Mysore Veggie
1689 Middlesex St.
Lowell, MA 01851