The family returned to Tutta Bella today and while I didn't really eat anything other than my trusty diet coke, the meal is worth blogging about because both guys loved and I mean LOVED the meatball appetizer. If I don't blog it, we'll never remember. The Critic got a Costanzo pizza which included Italian sausage, prosciutto, basil, mozzarella, olive oil, and a red sauce -- tasty by all three Guys standards (though the Big Guy took a lot of that stuff off and even FIT didn't like the basil). No pictures but we'll definitely go back as a family now that we know it meets The Big Guy's seal of picky approval.
Most fun are the Wiki Sticks they give the kids. The Big Guy made a fetching pair of glasses. There are pics, but I don't post faces on here, so you'll just have to use your imagination.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Ten Mercer
Two dinners out in a week! Who are we? The old us? Too much fun!
Once again it is Seattle Restaurant Week. I think they have these twice a year but sometimes it feels like the "One Day Only" sale at Macy's... you know, the one that is only Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday... at which point does that sale become the "every day sale"? That's how I feel about restaurant week.
This time The Critic and I each picked 4 restaurants we were interested in. From there, I copied their menu plan for the restaurant week website and removed the names (and any incriminating evidence like, oh, say, the Ten Mercer salad). From there, we made our decision. And Ten Mercer it was!
First up was the menu perusal. As usual for me, I opted to NOT do the restaurant week menu choice and instead go my own route. I do this nearly every restaurant week -- they lure me in with their $30 3-course (which used to be $24 as I recall) and then I realize that for about the same cost I can get two courses that I'd prefer to eat, usually scallops, and have a bite or two of The Critic's dessert since I rarely want a whole dessert and would rather have my "dessert" in the way of side dishes. My Ten Mercer experience is the poster child for this particular scenario.
The wild boar ribs were one of the things that intrigued us most and they ended up not being listed on the Restaurant Week menu, so I ordered them as an appetizer anyway. Pretty funny that what got us in the door was the only low-spot of the night. They were really tough. The dry rub was really sweet which was odd and most of them were lucky to deliver a sliver of meat. Also they weren't cut individually, which made them nearly impossible to eat since they were nearly impossible to cut. We, like McKayla, were not impressed. They came on top of some form of starch that I didn't note so it must not have been that great either. But something in my memory makes me think it was at least better than the ribs -- not hard to do that. In retrospect, we should have gone with the pancetta wrapped prawn and asparagus we had been considering. Even saw it on the table next to us and it looked delicious.
Next up... The Critic's Potato Leek Soup. It was fine... nothing stands out. It is about as memorable as a potato and leek soup ever is.
For my main dish, I had the scallops. I know! I'm as shocked as you are. They were cooked perfectly and served on a parsnip puree that was quite tasty. Had these tasty friccos that made The Critic say "Fa-REEK-o!" every few minutes that were fun as well. It was a good dish.
The Critic ordered a steak. No one ever asked how he wanted it cooked yet it was done perfectly -- fried onions on top, a red wine demi glace as well. Even some blue cheese crumbles. Very traditional steak house flavors with a bit of a modern twist. It was also a good dish.
Also ordered were two side dishes. This was a bit daunting for me because I have found my ideal recipes for these two dishes and have since found them done REALLY well and REALLY badly... Polenta and spatzle are like a box of chocolates. So I asked and was assured they were done well. So I ordered both simply because I couldn't decide which one to try.
The polenta was good, though it had some flaws. It had too much rosemary for both of us and too much pepper for The Critic -- I found it was fine as long as I added salt, which it needed. In the end it was finished, so it couldn't have been too bad. The spatzle was the best thing on the table this night. I'm sure a lot of that had to do it being fried in bacon fat. Let's just say it hardly fits on the 1200 calorie eating plan but was worth it in droves. Still, its one fault was again lack of salt. It's okay -- lack of salt I can correct! I would go back to this restaurant just for that side dish.
Finally, dessert. It was chocolatey and caramely and good (though we think we might have been missing one or two elements based on other tables around us).
The only other thing we remember about the restaurant was that it was COLD which is kind of unusual for the warmth that our fall has brought this year.
Ah, Ten Mercer. I think we earned our snob status at this particular place. The chances aren't great that we will return any time soon. But I'm glad we got to see you strut your stuff! Until (approximately) next week, Seattle Restaurant week.
Once again it is Seattle Restaurant Week. I think they have these twice a year but sometimes it feels like the "One Day Only" sale at Macy's... you know, the one that is only Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday... at which point does that sale become the "every day sale"? That's how I feel about restaurant week.
This time The Critic and I each picked 4 restaurants we were interested in. From there, I copied their menu plan for the restaurant week website and removed the names (and any incriminating evidence like, oh, say, the Ten Mercer salad). From there, we made our decision. And Ten Mercer it was!
First up was the menu perusal. As usual for me, I opted to NOT do the restaurant week menu choice and instead go my own route. I do this nearly every restaurant week -- they lure me in with their $30 3-course (which used to be $24 as I recall) and then I realize that for about the same cost I can get two courses that I'd prefer to eat, usually scallops, and have a bite or two of The Critic's dessert since I rarely want a whole dessert and would rather have my "dessert" in the way of side dishes. My Ten Mercer experience is the poster child for this particular scenario.
The wild boar ribs were one of the things that intrigued us most and they ended up not being listed on the Restaurant Week menu, so I ordered them as an appetizer anyway. Pretty funny that what got us in the door was the only low-spot of the night. They were really tough. The dry rub was really sweet which was odd and most of them were lucky to deliver a sliver of meat. Also they weren't cut individually, which made them nearly impossible to eat since they were nearly impossible to cut. We, like McKayla, were not impressed. They came on top of some form of starch that I didn't note so it must not have been that great either. But something in my memory makes me think it was at least better than the ribs -- not hard to do that. In retrospect, we should have gone with the pancetta wrapped prawn and asparagus we had been considering. Even saw it on the table next to us and it looked delicious.
Next up... The Critic's Potato Leek Soup. It was fine... nothing stands out. It is about as memorable as a potato and leek soup ever is.
For my main dish, I had the scallops. I know! I'm as shocked as you are. They were cooked perfectly and served on a parsnip puree that was quite tasty. Had these tasty friccos that made The Critic say "Fa-REEK-o!" every few minutes that were fun as well. It was a good dish.
The Critic ordered a steak. No one ever asked how he wanted it cooked yet it was done perfectly -- fried onions on top, a red wine demi glace as well. Even some blue cheese crumbles. Very traditional steak house flavors with a bit of a modern twist. It was also a good dish.
Also ordered were two side dishes. This was a bit daunting for me because I have found my ideal recipes for these two dishes and have since found them done REALLY well and REALLY badly... Polenta and spatzle are like a box of chocolates. So I asked and was assured they were done well. So I ordered both simply because I couldn't decide which one to try.
The polenta was good, though it had some flaws. It had too much rosemary for both of us and too much pepper for The Critic -- I found it was fine as long as I added salt, which it needed. In the end it was finished, so it couldn't have been too bad. The spatzle was the best thing on the table this night. I'm sure a lot of that had to do it being fried in bacon fat. Let's just say it hardly fits on the 1200 calorie eating plan but was worth it in droves. Still, its one fault was again lack of salt. It's okay -- lack of salt I can correct! I would go back to this restaurant just for that side dish.
Finally, dessert. It was chocolatey and caramely and good (though we think we might have been missing one or two elements based on other tables around us).
The only other thing we remember about the restaurant was that it was COLD which is kind of unusual for the warmth that our fall has brought this year.
Ah, Ten Mercer. I think we earned our snob status at this particular place. The chances aren't great that we will return any time soon. But I'm glad we got to see you strut your stuff! Until (approximately) next week, Seattle Restaurant week.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Din tai fung
It's been a while since The Critic and I have had a chance to go out just the two of us. The occasion of "The Ball Gym" came up for The Guys to hang out for the evening and The Critic and I decided to return to Din Tai Fung.Here's the brief story of our first time to go. We went soon after they opened with The Guys and, well, it was a disaster. The wait was horrendous which we expected, but even after receiving our pager that our table was "ready" we probably waited 30 more minutes before being served. Apparently this is common because the same thing happened tonight -- though it is truthfully just easier to deal with that delay without little kids in tow.
Once we were finally seated (last time) it was one whiny whine after another... the food is too hot, too cold, too mixed together, I don't like [fill in the blank], that looks weird, that smells weird, I don't even know what that is... this might not seem unusual with little kids but ours aren't usually so vocal about their complaints and as far as asian food goes, DTF is really recognizable. What kid doesn't like a potsticker? Ours apparently. Weirdos.
So basically based on that first experience we didn't understand the hype. It was okay, but not outstanding.
Enter phase two: Operation Don't-Bring-The-Kids-This-Time. Guess what? The food is WAY better without the whine! The whole experience is more fun -- atmosphere, company, and even the waiting. We had a great time. The following notes and pictures will be used on our next phase: Operation Return-To-Din-Thai-Fung... not sure if that will be with The Guys or not.
First up is the waiting game. The fun part of this is watching the skilled chefs make the dumplings. One of these was the famous juicy pork, the other was some kind of dessert with black bean curd I think.
After a lengthy wait, we finally sit down and from there on out, it's actually a pretty fast process to order and be served.
We began with a plan. Thankfully they have a HUGE picture menu and, as I might have already mentioned, we had a few minutes (or 30) to peruse it. So the plan was as follows: Famous juicy pork buns, shrimp and crab shi mao, and some chicken noodle dish. We also went back and forth on trying to remember if the garlic green beans were worth it, or not. I think we finally decided no, we'd pass. Once our server arrived, he had other suggestions. First thing he said... "Have you had our shrimp and pork wontons with spicy sauce?" "No." "You have to try them." "We were going to get the pork buns instead." "Yes, those are good. But the wontons are amazing." "We've had wontons tons of places. They are really that special?" "They are REALLY that special." He went on to suggest we try a rice cake dish instead of the noodles -- he got The Critic's attention with the words "like the Asian version of gnocchi". So, with suggestions in our head, plans changed. Here's the final product we ended up with.
 |
| Crab and Juicy Pork Dumplings -- eat these in one bite or they drip all over. We liked them dipped in soy sauce with ginger added to it. In the future, skip the crab. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't apparent either. Save the few pennies extra and just go with the juicy pork. |
 |
| Here they are! Shrimp and Pork Wonton with Spicy Sauce. The Critic didn't think the sauce was that spicy but I sure did. We finally realized it was because I needed to eat one in about 3 bites where he could just inhale it. The result was that my lips burned but his were fine. So worth it though. These are as delicious as our server implied! |
 |
| Shang Hai Rice Cake with Chicken -- These were delicious as well. The rice cakes looked very much like water chestnuts so the texture would throw me off every now and then but the flavor was really good. Definitely need to get this again sometime! |
 |
| Sautéed String Bean with Garlic -- Ultimately we decided we needed more vegetables. Granted the amount of oil used to sautée them sort of negates the "healthiness" of them. Like bacon wrapped asparagus or fried zucchini... anyway, these were DELICIOUS and we need to remember next time that YES they are worth it. Not soggy, lots of garlic flavor. Delicious. |
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Calico Cupboard
Over the weekend we had the opportunity to visit with my folks and some friends of theirs, visiting from out of town. We learned that Skagit Valley has a "Farm Festival" which is sort of a combination between the tulip festival (only in the fall) and a bunch of pumpkin patches on steroids. The neat thing is just how varied the idea of "farm" around here is... there was an apple orchard, a winery, a dairy farm, and a shellfish farm, just to name a few. Our family had an incredible time at three farms and each founds something great to enjoy.
In the midst of it, we stopped for a break for lunch. I think this speaks well to my interest in this blog because it never even occurred to me to take pictures. In this case, it wasn't about the food -- it was about the people and the time with them. It just so happens that the food is also amazingly out of this world and worth the trip! I wasn't really looking forward to it. It seems like the kind of place that would be a typical heavy bakery and, quite honestly, I was concerned about The Guys' tastes and that they wouldn't find anything they liked. Well low-and-behold, they had a plain cheeseburger. And it came with a gingerbread boy! That made for one happy Big Guy dude... let me tell you! FIT didn't fare to poorly either. He enjoyed his first ever peanut butter and banana sandwich with a snickerdoodle the size of his cute adorable face. Precious. And delicious.
For me, I just decided on the garden salad. Remember when I said that I wouldn't blog about it if it wasn't blog worthy? Well, it was! A simple garden salad was AMAZINGLY fresh and delicious. I had the oriental dressing with was low-fat on the side, but came with exactly the right amount. I should have ordered it without the croutons but they were oh-so-tasty that I was okay that I forgot to ask those to be omitted. And the bread on the side, OH THE BREAD ON THE SIDE. That was so delicious. I highly recommend a stop here if you're finding yourself on that long drive between Seattle and Bellingham. Definitely tastier than I recalled.
And check out the farm festival next fall. With 16 blog followers, I'm allowed to let you in on that. Too many more people who find out about it so that it becomes, oh, say, the tulip festival, and I'll have to put that on my "that was a nice thing to do before the crowds showed up" list.
In the midst of it, we stopped for a break for lunch. I think this speaks well to my interest in this blog because it never even occurred to me to take pictures. In this case, it wasn't about the food -- it was about the people and the time with them. It just so happens that the food is also amazingly out of this world and worth the trip! I wasn't really looking forward to it. It seems like the kind of place that would be a typical heavy bakery and, quite honestly, I was concerned about The Guys' tastes and that they wouldn't find anything they liked. Well low-and-behold, they had a plain cheeseburger. And it came with a gingerbread boy! That made for one happy Big Guy dude... let me tell you! FIT didn't fare to poorly either. He enjoyed his first ever peanut butter and banana sandwich with a snickerdoodle the size of his cute adorable face. Precious. And delicious.
For me, I just decided on the garden salad. Remember when I said that I wouldn't blog about it if it wasn't blog worthy? Well, it was! A simple garden salad was AMAZINGLY fresh and delicious. I had the oriental dressing with was low-fat on the side, but came with exactly the right amount. I should have ordered it without the croutons but they were oh-so-tasty that I was okay that I forgot to ask those to be omitted. And the bread on the side, OH THE BREAD ON THE SIDE. That was so delicious. I highly recommend a stop here if you're finding yourself on that long drive between Seattle and Bellingham. Definitely tastier than I recalled.
And check out the farm festival next fall. With 16 blog followers, I'm allowed to let you in on that. Too many more people who find out about it so that it becomes, oh, say, the tulip festival, and I'll have to put that on my "that was a nice thing to do before the crowds showed up" list.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Bunk Sandwiches
There's an app for that.
Food Network has a new app. It's called "On the Road" and, among other things I have yet to research, it allows you to search by location for restaurants nearby that have been featured on Food Network shows. I need to see if there is something similar with Top Chef, but until then, this has already proven to be a useful tool.
A while back I watched an episode of The Best Thing I Ever Ate that sang the praises of pork belly Cubano in Portland, OR. I made a mental note that if we were ever in Portland, we would stop by. One, it's pork belly. And it is almost impossible to mess up pork belly (one unfortunate experience ruins the universal truth). Two, well, it's a Cuban sandwich. And that is probably the greatest love of the critic.
This weekend I found myself in Portland. I was at a convention where I opted to NOT pay the additional $10 for a box lunch. Oh what good planning on my part! Thanks to my handy-dandy phone app, I learned that Bunk Sandwiches is a mere 1.1 miles from my exact location! Guess what? I can walk a mile for a sandwich (and I can walk a mile back too... which is good because, well, it's pork belly and swiss and ham and bread a bunch of other things on the not-approved eating list). And that pork belly Cubano rings it at $8 or $9 and is more food than I could finish... so it just made good economic sense as well.
So I left the convention a teensy bit early for lunch, in case there was a line (there wasn't). It's not in the "best" part of Portland but it was safe enough to walk alone and it was a GORGEOUS day so that really can't be beat. And well, the sandwich, it was worth walking much further than 1 mile for.
I purchased two. One for me, and one for The Critic to eat once I got home that night. I remembered his without mayo. It was a DELICIOUS sandwich. I'll have to watch the show again to figure out what the smokey hit that came on occasion was. And to see if Chris Cosentino ordered it with the housemade cherry peppers (I didn't... but really thought about it). And there will be a repeat performance... only next time it will be on a Portland trip with The Critic. He deserves to enjoy that sandwich the way it was intended and not reheated 9 hours later in the microwave. Though he will be the first to tell you it was still delicious and well worth it.
Food Network has a new app. It's called "On the Road" and, among other things I have yet to research, it allows you to search by location for restaurants nearby that have been featured on Food Network shows. I need to see if there is something similar with Top Chef, but until then, this has already proven to be a useful tool.
A while back I watched an episode of The Best Thing I Ever Ate that sang the praises of pork belly Cubano in Portland, OR. I made a mental note that if we were ever in Portland, we would stop by. One, it's pork belly. And it is almost impossible to mess up pork belly (one unfortunate experience ruins the universal truth). Two, well, it's a Cuban sandwich. And that is probably the greatest love of the critic.
This weekend I found myself in Portland. I was at a convention where I opted to NOT pay the additional $10 for a box lunch. Oh what good planning on my part! Thanks to my handy-dandy phone app, I learned that Bunk Sandwiches is a mere 1.1 miles from my exact location! Guess what? I can walk a mile for a sandwich (and I can walk a mile back too... which is good because, well, it's pork belly and swiss and ham and bread a bunch of other things on the not-approved eating list). And that pork belly Cubano rings it at $8 or $9 and is more food than I could finish... so it just made good economic sense as well.
So I left the convention a teensy bit early for lunch, in case there was a line (there wasn't). It's not in the "best" part of Portland but it was safe enough to walk alone and it was a GORGEOUS day so that really can't be beat. And well, the sandwich, it was worth walking much further than 1 mile for.
I purchased two. One for me, and one for The Critic to eat once I got home that night. I remembered his without mayo. It was a DELICIOUS sandwich. I'll have to watch the show again to figure out what the smokey hit that came on occasion was. And to see if Chris Cosentino ordered it with the housemade cherry peppers (I didn't... but really thought about it). And there will be a repeat performance... only next time it will be on a Portland trip with The Critic. He deserves to enjoy that sandwich the way it was intended and not reheated 9 hours later in the microwave. Though he will be the first to tell you it was still delicious and well worth it.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Specialty's Cafe
My definition of a worthy splurge.
Every time I go to Bellevue Square I get a happy tingly feeling at the idea of enjoying one of these mini quiches and today was no exception. It is simply delicious and I would much rather splurge on this than any sweet thing... or even any crunchy thing and that is saying something. Roasted veggies (I'm sure there are mushrooms in there but I just pretend they are eggplant) which include broccoli and carrots and "eggplant" and onion. A fabulous cheese that is a tasty Swiss I think, but might have some parmesan and a few other things I'm not sure of, and eggs and flour to hold it together but not give it a pie crust because that would just detract from its awesomeness. I do love this. I am so glad that I infrequent Bellevue Square and this remains a splurge I can have.... rather than one that will jeopardize my 25 (YES, 25!!!!) pound loss over the past few months.
I am told I cannot think of food as a reward, nor as a reward or a treat or any other intrinsically valued item. And I don't. But this isn't food... this is a worthy splurge!!!!!
Every time I go to Bellevue Square I get a happy tingly feeling at the idea of enjoying one of these mini quiches and today was no exception. It is simply delicious and I would much rather splurge on this than any sweet thing... or even any crunchy thing and that is saying something. Roasted veggies (I'm sure there are mushrooms in there but I just pretend they are eggplant) which include broccoli and carrots and "eggplant" and onion. A fabulous cheese that is a tasty Swiss I think, but might have some parmesan and a few other things I'm not sure of, and eggs and flour to hold it together but not give it a pie crust because that would just detract from its awesomeness. I do love this. I am so glad that I infrequent Bellevue Square and this remains a splurge I can have.... rather than one that will jeopardize my 25 (YES, 25!!!!) pound loss over the past few months.
I am told I cannot think of food as a reward, nor as a reward or a treat or any other intrinsically valued item. And I don't. But this isn't food... this is a worthy splurge!!!!!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
The Armory
You have probably assumed I fell off the face of the earth, right? Not quite... just not eating out like we used to. My plan is working well... down 22 pounds a bit. I still have a ways to go but all in good time, my pretty, all in good time.
I now get to eat two days on my own. This week we had tickets to see the King Tut exhibit at the Pacific Science Center (last time it will ever be here, or something like that). So we planned to eat at the Seattle Center House. What? What's that you say? I swore I'd never eat there again? Absolutely right... until they gave it a swanky foodie makeover and called it The Armory. Now THIS I had to check out...
First, the proprietors are updated, many of them spinning off from some of my favorite food trucks/Seattle restaurants. I was most excited to hear that BigFood would be there... and probably most disappointed to hear that they didn't have the same menu, including their fabulous flatbread. I had dreams of this that were quickly squashed. But I had also heard from a friend, we'll call her The Volleyball Player, who said a friend set up a new place called Bean Sprouts designed for those looking for a healthy option for kids. Walking in also saw names I recognized like Mod Pizza and Skillet Counter. And a bunch of new places I'd never heard of before. All of it looked fresh. All of it looked swanky. And all of it looked metallic and shiny and new.
The Big Guy was the first to ruin the illusion. "I want Subway". Yep. One of two old standards, the other being Quincy's burgers. Which is what he got. Fine. We all know he doesn't appreciate interesting food. I still have my little FIT to get involved in the foodie scene. Off to Bean Sprouts we go!
Bean Sprouts was cute. It resembled those Bento lunches everyone is pinning these days. FIT picked something called an "Apple Apple Bo Bapple" which had apple slices, cheddar cheese slices, and a parmesan dressing, all on whole wheat bread shaped like an apple. All organic, of course. And side options included FIT's favorite "Edamommy". Seemed like a win-win-win! Not quite though... the dressing was very strong, which sort of took the appeal away from anything it touched. And the edamommy was cold, which is a Cardinal sin in his book. So it definitely wasn't a favorite. He was excited to go back and get a cake pop for dessert, as was The Big Guy... he picked a chocolate cone with teddy grahams and other stuff on a cone... until he realized that it was chocolate hummus. Um, he passed. Surprised? Me either. When we asked about the chocolate hummus she gave us a chocolate chickpea cake pop. FIT tried it and was not a fan. The Big Guy of all people thought it was awesome and loved it. All in all I don't think we are Wallingford enough for a place like Bean Sprouts... but I'm still glad its there.
The Critic enjoyed a meat pie via a pie place whose name I can't recall because the Blogger app didn't save my most recent notes. :-/ (I have a love/hate relationship with that guy... it also removed my location. Hmph...). He thought it was quite tasty.
I headed to the aforementioned Big Food to get (which turned into NOT get... did I already mention that?) my flatbread. Instead I got a small side of mac and cheese with bacon and what I tasted of it was tasty, but most of it went to the FIT. Sometimes you have to to take one for the team. The Critic did get me a sample of their rosemary-balsamic lemonade. This was quite intriguing to me as The Critic was quick to point out... I consume balsamic like its going out of style these days. The calorie plan I am on allows for unlimited vinegars as a flavor enhancer and I have found all sorts of applications for the glorious balsamic vinegar... adds a ton of flavor without the calories. So yes, I was certainly intrigued. But I hate to "drink" my calories so lemonade wasn't in the cards for me. Ah, but a SAMPLE... that would be fine. Here's the weird part. It tasted just like lemonade. Now for some, that's a great thing. But to me, I was really WANTING it to taste unusual... special... unique. I was so busy noting how much it just tasted like everyday lemonade that I kind of forgot to listen to him when he said it was sugar-free. See they added strawberry to keep the sugar out. And then the balsamic takes out the strawberry flavor. Or the rosemary? And the other did something else to neutralize it. It took so long to process all this that it was easily the next evening before I realized I *could* have had a glass without worrying about straying from my calorie-plan. But then I remembered it just tasted like lemonade... so I was okay with not getting it. Weird.
I went to Kabab for my dinner and got... what else? A kabab. A Kafta kabab. The meat itself was pretty good but the pita was sub-par for me... too thin and too tortilla-like. The sauce had no where to go but out and the lettuce on it was simply shredded iceberg lettuce and there was too much of it.
But a dinner anywhere within spitting distance of Skillet just wouldn't be complete without pie in a bowl. And as much as The Guys don't like it (they don't like the salt... which just shows that they don't know a thing about delicious food), The Critic and I can't resist it. So the evening ends on a delicious high note. And next time we will be happy to try out any of a dozen other places that we had to pass over this time.
My overall opinion on The Armory is that I hope it continues to evolve. It is not quite what I hope it will become. But it is amazingly improved over what was there before.
I now get to eat two days on my own. This week we had tickets to see the King Tut exhibit at the Pacific Science Center (last time it will ever be here, or something like that). So we planned to eat at the Seattle Center House. What? What's that you say? I swore I'd never eat there again? Absolutely right... until they gave it a swanky foodie makeover and called it The Armory. Now THIS I had to check out...
First, the proprietors are updated, many of them spinning off from some of my favorite food trucks/Seattle restaurants. I was most excited to hear that BigFood would be there... and probably most disappointed to hear that they didn't have the same menu, including their fabulous flatbread. I had dreams of this that were quickly squashed. But I had also heard from a friend, we'll call her The Volleyball Player, who said a friend set up a new place called Bean Sprouts designed for those looking for a healthy option for kids. Walking in also saw names I recognized like Mod Pizza and Skillet Counter. And a bunch of new places I'd never heard of before. All of it looked fresh. All of it looked swanky. And all of it looked metallic and shiny and new.
The Big Guy was the first to ruin the illusion. "I want Subway". Yep. One of two old standards, the other being Quincy's burgers. Which is what he got. Fine. We all know he doesn't appreciate interesting food. I still have my little FIT to get involved in the foodie scene. Off to Bean Sprouts we go!
Bean Sprouts was cute. It resembled those Bento lunches everyone is pinning these days. FIT picked something called an "Apple Apple Bo Bapple" which had apple slices, cheddar cheese slices, and a parmesan dressing, all on whole wheat bread shaped like an apple. All organic, of course. And side options included FIT's favorite "Edamommy". Seemed like a win-win-win! Not quite though... the dressing was very strong, which sort of took the appeal away from anything it touched. And the edamommy was cold, which is a Cardinal sin in his book. So it definitely wasn't a favorite. He was excited to go back and get a cake pop for dessert, as was The Big Guy... he picked a chocolate cone with teddy grahams and other stuff on a cone... until he realized that it was chocolate hummus. Um, he passed. Surprised? Me either. When we asked about the chocolate hummus she gave us a chocolate chickpea cake pop. FIT tried it and was not a fan. The Big Guy of all people thought it was awesome and loved it. All in all I don't think we are Wallingford enough for a place like Bean Sprouts... but I'm still glad its there.
The Critic enjoyed a meat pie via a pie place whose name I can't recall because the Blogger app didn't save my most recent notes. :-/ (I have a love/hate relationship with that guy... it also removed my location. Hmph...). He thought it was quite tasty.
I headed to the aforementioned Big Food to get (which turned into NOT get... did I already mention that?) my flatbread. Instead I got a small side of mac and cheese with bacon and what I tasted of it was tasty, but most of it went to the FIT. Sometimes you have to to take one for the team. The Critic did get me a sample of their rosemary-balsamic lemonade. This was quite intriguing to me as The Critic was quick to point out... I consume balsamic like its going out of style these days. The calorie plan I am on allows for unlimited vinegars as a flavor enhancer and I have found all sorts of applications for the glorious balsamic vinegar... adds a ton of flavor without the calories. So yes, I was certainly intrigued. But I hate to "drink" my calories so lemonade wasn't in the cards for me. Ah, but a SAMPLE... that would be fine. Here's the weird part. It tasted just like lemonade. Now for some, that's a great thing. But to me, I was really WANTING it to taste unusual... special... unique. I was so busy noting how much it just tasted like everyday lemonade that I kind of forgot to listen to him when he said it was sugar-free. See they added strawberry to keep the sugar out. And then the balsamic takes out the strawberry flavor. Or the rosemary? And the other did something else to neutralize it. It took so long to process all this that it was easily the next evening before I realized I *could* have had a glass without worrying about straying from my calorie-plan. But then I remembered it just tasted like lemonade... so I was okay with not getting it. Weird.
I went to Kabab for my dinner and got... what else? A kabab. A Kafta kabab. The meat itself was pretty good but the pita was sub-par for me... too thin and too tortilla-like. The sauce had no where to go but out and the lettuce on it was simply shredded iceberg lettuce and there was too much of it.
But a dinner anywhere within spitting distance of Skillet just wouldn't be complete without pie in a bowl. And as much as The Guys don't like it (they don't like the salt... which just shows that they don't know a thing about delicious food), The Critic and I can't resist it. So the evening ends on a delicious high note. And next time we will be happy to try out any of a dozen other places that we had to pass over this time.
My overall opinion on The Armory is that I hope it continues to evolve. It is not quite what I hope it will become. But it is amazingly improved over what was there before.
 |
| Apple apple bo-bapple (I don't know why it's upside down and I'm too tired to fix it) |
 |
| Options available at Bean Sprouts -- Kids size counter |
 |
| The awesomeness that is pie-in-a-bowl (as we call it) |
 |
| The Critic believes these are the best fries ever (Skillet) |
 |
| Kafka and Mac and Cheese side... Quincy burger plus cold edamame as well. |
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Palace Korean BBQ -- With Pictures!!
So the sand festival ended up being a bigger hit than I could ever ever EVER have predicted.
He dug in the dirt for 6 hours. 6 hours! After we left McGrath's we went back for what I figured would be a few minutes... and stayed 6 hours more. I absolutely could not believe it.
The Critic joined us at the competition and we oohed and aahed over the sculptures for the standard 15 min. and then set to work finding a place to eat in Federal Way because there was absolutely no way I would make it home for my delicious planned meal of braised chicken in mustard sauce over noodles with a warm leek salad (sigh... I was really looking forward to that meal. Now I have to wait until next week).
With no real options in sight The Critic hit a mental inspiration and searched for Korean BBQ. And there is one in Federal Way! Palace Korean Bar and Grill. I actually have a Living Social (or is it Groupon?) deal for that... in Bellevue. Guess we'll be going again at some point.
For starters, here is another food history connection. Years ago we went to The Roadhouse in Federal Way and reached a certain level of devastation when they closed their doors. And then, we found they still had their Everett location open and their was much rejoicing... until that fateful day. The day that we found out they too, had closed. So what's the connection between a midwest roadhouse that you throw peanuts on the floor and a Korean BBQ place? The location. Same building! I suggested that The Critic not mention it to The Big Guy and he didn't seem to notice. Hard not to... it really does look the same.
Until you get to the food. A while back we went to a Korean BBQ place with The Critic's good friend JB and his cute little family. And I forgot to take a single picture OR even blog about it. So I've been wanting to go again to get some shots for the ol' blog here.
Korean BBQ is a weird cross between Tepanaki and fondue. Basically they prep all your meats, bring them out raw, and you grill them yourself atop a charcoal thing in the middle of your table. Along side are a host of side veggies and salads that has who-knows-what in them (probably someone who is Korean or at least knows a lot about Korean cuisine). I usually try and sample each of them, find one or two that are pretty good, but the real star is the meat. Usually without sauce or lightly marinated, its really about the meat flavor mixed with the grill. At Palace they had an all-you-can-eat option that we went for. Here are a few highlights:
Ahhhh... meat coma.
He dug in the dirt for 6 hours. 6 hours! After we left McGrath's we went back for what I figured would be a few minutes... and stayed 6 hours more. I absolutely could not believe it.
The Critic joined us at the competition and we oohed and aahed over the sculptures for the standard 15 min. and then set to work finding a place to eat in Federal Way because there was absolutely no way I would make it home for my delicious planned meal of braised chicken in mustard sauce over noodles with a warm leek salad (sigh... I was really looking forward to that meal. Now I have to wait until next week).
With no real options in sight The Critic hit a mental inspiration and searched for Korean BBQ. And there is one in Federal Way! Palace Korean Bar and Grill. I actually have a Living Social (or is it Groupon?) deal for that... in Bellevue. Guess we'll be going again at some point.
For starters, here is another food history connection. Years ago we went to The Roadhouse in Federal Way and reached a certain level of devastation when they closed their doors. And then, we found they still had their Everett location open and their was much rejoicing... until that fateful day. The day that we found out they too, had closed. So what's the connection between a midwest roadhouse that you throw peanuts on the floor and a Korean BBQ place? The location. Same building! I suggested that The Critic not mention it to The Big Guy and he didn't seem to notice. Hard not to... it really does look the same.
Until you get to the food. A while back we went to a Korean BBQ place with The Critic's good friend JB and his cute little family. And I forgot to take a single picture OR even blog about it. So I've been wanting to go again to get some shots for the ol' blog here.
Korean BBQ is a weird cross between Tepanaki and fondue. Basically they prep all your meats, bring them out raw, and you grill them yourself atop a charcoal thing in the middle of your table. Along side are a host of side veggies and salads that has who-knows-what in them (probably someone who is Korean or at least knows a lot about Korean cuisine). I usually try and sample each of them, find one or two that are pretty good, but the real star is the meat. Usually without sauce or lightly marinated, its really about the meat flavor mixed with the grill. At Palace they had an all-you-can-eat option that we went for. Here are a few highlights:
 |
| Getting ready to cook! Those thin beef slices were pretty good if you charred the heck out of them... crisped them right up and they were like meat chips. |
 |
| Thin slices of beef and pork belly... at the bottom is some raw garlic that we grilled as well. |
 |
| The stars of our show... chicken and these awesome short ribs. Next time, this is all we'll get. |
 |
| Normally grilled shrimp is a huge hit in our household. These were not my favorite. Too hard to clean and had a very gulfy flavor to them. Still fun to watch them cook on the grill though. |
McGrath's Fish House
No pictures but a fun lunch out with my Big Guy while the FIT is on a trip with his grandparents. BG and I hit up the Northwest Sand Festival. Who knew? World championships and its in the parking lot of a mall... no where near the beach I might add. The sculptures were pretty cool but the highlight for BG was digging, digging, and more digging in a big sand pit. All that digging can work up an appetite for you, so we stole away to McGrath's Fish House on the opposite side of the mall.
McGrath's is a part of my own food history. I went to school in Salem, Oregon, where the original McGrath's was located. I think it has moved from its original location (or just franchised? I don't know). But even though that was "a couple" years ago I still remember their chowder. Every time my family came to visit, we would eat there for lunch. And dinner at Olive Garden. Olive Garden was a big deal back then because it was very rare to find it.
This time around I opted to skip the chowder and try the seafood stew. It was DELICIOUS! Maybe this is just because I haven't had a whole lot of restaurant food since May (and I am officially 20 pounds lighter as a result). We've had a BG birthday trip to Jimmy Mac's I forgot to blog about and I think I've done a Mama Stortini's run for gnocchi and marinara plus grilled chicken skewers (uh, YUM!). But it really is hard to find food that fits with my low-cal eating plan. This stew did the trick.
BG was thrilled as well because he got fish and chips, root beer (no diet coke for me means the root beer isn't Barq's... which he can't have), and to top it all off, a scoop of ice cream. Not just any ice cream... cotton candy ice cream! That kid was in heaven.
A perfect little break to head back to the sand festival.
McGrath's is a part of my own food history. I went to school in Salem, Oregon, where the original McGrath's was located. I think it has moved from its original location (or just franchised? I don't know). But even though that was "a couple" years ago I still remember their chowder. Every time my family came to visit, we would eat there for lunch. And dinner at Olive Garden. Olive Garden was a big deal back then because it was very rare to find it.
This time around I opted to skip the chowder and try the seafood stew. It was DELICIOUS! Maybe this is just because I haven't had a whole lot of restaurant food since May (and I am officially 20 pounds lighter as a result). We've had a BG birthday trip to Jimmy Mac's I forgot to blog about and I think I've done a Mama Stortini's run for gnocchi and marinara plus grilled chicken skewers (uh, YUM!). But it really is hard to find food that fits with my low-cal eating plan. This stew did the trick.
BG was thrilled as well because he got fish and chips, root beer (no diet coke for me means the root beer isn't Barq's... which he can't have), and to top it all off, a scoop of ice cream. Not just any ice cream... cotton candy ice cream! That kid was in heaven.
A perfect little break to head back to the sand festival.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Edited to add...
I did not, I repeat DID NOT forget the Big Guy's birthday. I just forgot to blog about it. I think it's because that was a night of living in denial for me. The Big Guy picked Jimmy Mac's and I planned to eat my favorite salad there and *maybe* one roll plus my big ol' Diet Coke, which isn't blog worthy since I already blogged about all those things. BUT maybe, just *maybe* I had a couple more than one roll... with honey butter, and some of The Critic's salmon... and a taste of a rib... or two tastes. Maybe. And maybe I meant to block out the off-plan night. But I did not, repeat, DID NOT forget my Big Guy's 7th birthday.
He's a picky eater, but he's pretty awesome.
He's a picky eater, but he's pretty awesome.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Barking Frog
Friday the 13th meets our 13th wedding anniversary (a few days earlier). The Critic and I deposited The Guys with his mom and skedaddled off on our own for nearly 24 hours. We stayed at Willows Lodge and despite a LONG night dealing with young 20 somethings playing tag in the hallways (and getting some compensation for it, thank goodness) we did enjoy our relaxing stay.
Dinner was at The Barking Frog. I have never been, though I have heard of it. It was good, albeit a little loud for our taste. If we hadn't just done Rover's we likely would have splurged for The Herb Farm, though that will be a splurge on another day I'm sure.
Interesting tidbit of information I recently heard. The awards and success for Herb Farm are largely attributed to the chef/owner of Poppy, Jerry Traunfeld. So it's kind of nice to have experienced the talent at a fraction of the cost.
But this trip was for Barking Frog. It's a wonderful concept that is becoming an increasing trend... farm to table with the farm being close to the table. It was a delight to walk through the garden and see all the things that were on our plate. It also means that planning ahead and looking at the menu is only partly helpful, since what will be presented depends on what is fresh in the backyard.
First up -- bread of course. I cannot even begin to impress upon you how hungry we were to start this meal! We nearly ordered any sort of appetizer or starter, but were planning for the bread. It was okay... it was bread! The sauce on the side is a sundried tomato tapenade of sorts with fried capers. I think this might be my first time actually eating fried capers and they are pretty cool... crispy with a saltiness that disappears quickly. Even The Critic liked it... capers are not his thing.
But of course, we're not really here to talk about bread. Main course! I chose scallops. Of course I did! You can't read this blog and not know of my obsessions with scallops by this point. The cauliflower risotto (promised on the website) was replaced this evening with a brown-butter quinoa, which was good, except it was way too buttery for me. Seeing as how I haven't had so much as a tablespoon of butter in nearly 2 months, it was a bit strong. But still, I think I made the best choice I could have and the scallops were definitely seared to perfection and fairly well cleaned. The grilled veggies on top were also quite good. I debated ordering with "light butter and oil" and likely should have. I would have enjoyed the meal more had I been so bold. Still, it was tasty.
The Critic won this round of "who picked it best." Sadly his "rack of lamb" had been changed to lamb loin on this particular evening, and it tasted rather "lamb-y", but it still was a deeply flavored dish with some amazing stuff going on. Not amazing was the grilled asparagus. What's that you say? How can The Critic and The Coach Foodie not enjoy grilled asparagus? One word. It was pickled! Seriously! Weird, I know. I'm not sure why it was. A braver woman would have asked. But we just chose to ignore it. Three stars on that plate... the braised fennel, that port jus, and the DELICIOUS Israeli cous cous. Those were delicious and brought this meal from so-so to extraordinary pretty quickly.
Last up, chocolate. I mean really, in our house, dessert = chocolate and chocolate = dessert. No easy substitutes. This had a lot of fun elements all working together, including a cinnamon "snow" which was both powdery and cold, as well as a malt frozen yogurt. And then there were the cocoa nibs... I think I have to order cocoa nibs when I see them just to say I did. This was tasty and quite a delicious way to end the meal.
Dinner was at The Barking Frog. I have never been, though I have heard of it. It was good, albeit a little loud for our taste. If we hadn't just done Rover's we likely would have splurged for The Herb Farm, though that will be a splurge on another day I'm sure.
Interesting tidbit of information I recently heard. The awards and success for Herb Farm are largely attributed to the chef/owner of Poppy, Jerry Traunfeld. So it's kind of nice to have experienced the talent at a fraction of the cost.
But this trip was for Barking Frog. It's a wonderful concept that is becoming an increasing trend... farm to table with the farm being close to the table. It was a delight to walk through the garden and see all the things that were on our plate. It also means that planning ahead and looking at the menu is only partly helpful, since what will be presented depends on what is fresh in the backyard.
First up -- bread of course. I cannot even begin to impress upon you how hungry we were to start this meal! We nearly ordered any sort of appetizer or starter, but were planning for the bread. It was okay... it was bread! The sauce on the side is a sundried tomato tapenade of sorts with fried capers. I think this might be my first time actually eating fried capers and they are pretty cool... crispy with a saltiness that disappears quickly. Even The Critic liked it... capers are not his thing.
But of course, we're not really here to talk about bread. Main course! I chose scallops. Of course I did! You can't read this blog and not know of my obsessions with scallops by this point. The cauliflower risotto (promised on the website) was replaced this evening with a brown-butter quinoa, which was good, except it was way too buttery for me. Seeing as how I haven't had so much as a tablespoon of butter in nearly 2 months, it was a bit strong. But still, I think I made the best choice I could have and the scallops were definitely seared to perfection and fairly well cleaned. The grilled veggies on top were also quite good. I debated ordering with "light butter and oil" and likely should have. I would have enjoyed the meal more had I been so bold. Still, it was tasty.
Skipping an appetizer gave us license to try some desserts. One was great... the other interesting. First up, maple bacon creme brulee. Now, creme brulee is not something we often order in a restaurant. The Critic is quite the pastry chef in his own right with this dessert, even going so far as having a couple years of auctioning off "creme brulee of the month". But in his repertoire of Kahula and cream, lavender, vanilla bean, and caramel he has yet to tackle maple-bacon. So we decided we needed to taste that. First off, I'm not sure where the maple came from. It really was a more salty/savory dessert (we were properly warned by our server of that). But it was intriguing and the bacon brittle on the top was certainly sweet. But otherwise it was much more reminiscent of a breadless breakfast casserole or souffle. Not bad, mind you, just maybe misplaced? It seemed like a fancy breakfast treat. But then I've never been a fan of bacon in dessert.
So happy Friday the 13th, and happy 13th anniversary to my love who gets me and enjoys this crazy dining out passion along side me. He's not nearly as critical as his name lets on, either. Love you, Love. Here's to many more than 13 more.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Salumi
The Guys and I had an iconic Seattle Foodie day today... and I have not one picture to prove it. We began by heading to Pike Place Market where The Guys both chewed and added gum to the gum wall... I did too. Never done that. Yuck. I'd like to pass from EVER doing that again. After that, we walked around Pike Place Market where I was careful to avoid all the munchies until I took them to Beecher's. I mean, every kid needs Beecher's mac and cheese. Trouble was... they couldn't decide between mac and cheese or grilled cheese. So I got both. Wrong decision. They LOVED the mac and cheese... neither would eat the grilled cheese... which took forever to make and wasn't all that and a bag of chips at the end of the day. Finally we ended with a stop at "my favorite produce stand" and that's as much as I can tell you about it... it's the place where they snap the bag open (though they didn't do that this time... sad). Do you have any idea how much money I could spend at the market? Yeah, me either.
After that, we headed to Pioneer Park (place? park place? I can never remember...) where the legendary Salumi is. At the request of The Critic, we went and were going to get several things to try out. This was really hard for me. First, the line to get in was easily a 45 min. wait and I had two squiggly worms with no where to sit, and not even the real promise of anything to eat at the end of it, because I'm not spending that much on cured pork for them when they won't appreciate the difference over pepperoni from a pillow bag. Second, it was just so overwhelming! Actual food, cut meats, warnings to not place slicing orders without 24 hour notice if there was a line, warnings that certain cuts required a professional slicer... it was nerve wracking! When I did finally manage to order (side note... when sandwiched between two gentlemen in a line, they will assume I am with one of them... even the poor 21 year-old guy behind me who was called "Dad" by the gal behind the counter, to which he responded "I'm mildly offended" and I said "I guess I just turned into a cradle robber?"), I was able to get a sample plate, opting to forego the cheese and olives since they aren't The Critic's thing and I'm not supposed to be eating cheese anyway (15 pounds lost, people!).
Bottom line? Delicious and quite the experience. And someday I'm going back for gnocchi because, well, it MUST be done.
After that, we headed to Pioneer Park (place? park place? I can never remember...) where the legendary Salumi is. At the request of The Critic, we went and were going to get several things to try out. This was really hard for me. First, the line to get in was easily a 45 min. wait and I had two squiggly worms with no where to sit, and not even the real promise of anything to eat at the end of it, because I'm not spending that much on cured pork for them when they won't appreciate the difference over pepperoni from a pillow bag. Second, it was just so overwhelming! Actual food, cut meats, warnings to not place slicing orders without 24 hour notice if there was a line, warnings that certain cuts required a professional slicer... it was nerve wracking! When I did finally manage to order (side note... when sandwiched between two gentlemen in a line, they will assume I am with one of them... even the poor 21 year-old guy behind me who was called "Dad" by the gal behind the counter, to which he responded "I'm mildly offended" and I said "I guess I just turned into a cradle robber?"), I was able to get a sample plate, opting to forego the cheese and olives since they aren't The Critic's thing and I'm not supposed to be eating cheese anyway (15 pounds lost, people!).
Bottom line? Delicious and quite the experience. And someday I'm going back for gnocchi because, well, it MUST be done.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Annie Bailey's Irish Pub
Welcome to Pennsylvania and a night out on the town! Guess what? Irish food doesn't jive with healthy eating. Here's the best I could muster up...
I cut off about 3 oz of a pork chop that was grilled, added a couple roasted potatoes, and a couple pieces of grilled asparagus that were dripping in oil, so I didn't think I could muster manage more. Not nearly as tasty as The Critic's BBQ brisket sandwich, but it will do in a pinch. Other than this place, we ate out once at Baja Fresh where I just had salad and then also at Hershey Park where we opted for the character dinner... not the best food but the kids were happy and we were hungry. Washington D.C. restaurants will need to wait for a future trip, though I did enjoy the cafeteria at the American History museum where I was able to get a build (and weigh) your own salad bar with some tasty options, including roasted beets and steamed broccoli.
Been a fast trip, most of it spent with good friends... and sadly, no Pennyslvania Dutch soft pretzels this go around. Oh well, there's always time in the next two or three years.
I cut off about 3 oz of a pork chop that was grilled, added a couple roasted potatoes, and a couple pieces of grilled asparagus that were dripping in oil, so I didn't think I could muster manage more. Not nearly as tasty as The Critic's BBQ brisket sandwich, but it will do in a pinch. Other than this place, we ate out once at Baja Fresh where I just had salad and then also at Hershey Park where we opted for the character dinner... not the best food but the kids were happy and we were hungry. Washington D.C. restaurants will need to wait for a future trip, though I did enjoy the cafeteria at the American History museum where I was able to get a build (and weigh) your own salad bar with some tasty options, including roasted beets and steamed broccoli.
Been a fast trip, most of it spent with good friends... and sadly, no Pennyslvania Dutch soft pretzels this go around. Oh well, there's always time in the next two or three years.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Rover's
A while back we had the night which I like to refer to as "And at the end of the night I ended up in a parking garage with Danny Bonaduci". You would have heard about it here except that the dumb Blogger app ate all the pictures and basically ruined an incredibly odd turn of events.
The sum up... we ended up with tickets that night to see Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert at the Paramount. I had no idea what we were in store for but my friend The Artist wasn't able to use them and offered them to us. We already had sitter plans so we took them up on it. When the talk of reimbursement for the tickets came up, she said "Just take us out to dinner sometime." That night was PHENOMENAL and everything I could dream of as a Food Network/Bravo TV foodie/Coach Bag Foodie etc. etc. etc. So funny and I *loved* every minute. And at the end of the night, while paying for parking, we ended up right next to Danny Bonaduce. Weird.
Enter Rover's. Anthony Bourdain said it was one of his favorite spots to eat at. It has *always* been on my list since I have had the Coach Foodie bug. A perfect spot to go with friends? Yes. Once in a lifetime, for sure. Very special.
And I met the chef. Thierry Rautureau. In his hat. Yes, I enjoyed this night.
Enjoy the pictures. I'm sure I can't remember all the details of what was eaten. Nor are there pictures of everything because, well, sometimes I was just plain hungry. I did love everything I ate. And I had no idea morel mushrooms cost THIS much (they were not bad... best mushrooms I have ever had along with truffles, but that's not saying much since mushrooms barely count as food to me).
The sum up... we ended up with tickets that night to see Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert at the Paramount. I had no idea what we were in store for but my friend The Artist wasn't able to use them and offered them to us. We already had sitter plans so we took them up on it. When the talk of reimbursement for the tickets came up, she said "Just take us out to dinner sometime." That night was PHENOMENAL and everything I could dream of as a Food Network/Bravo TV foodie/Coach Bag Foodie etc. etc. etc. So funny and I *loved* every minute. And at the end of the night, while paying for parking, we ended up right next to Danny Bonaduce. Weird.
Enter Rover's. Anthony Bourdain said it was one of his favorite spots to eat at. It has *always* been on my list since I have had the Coach Foodie bug. A perfect spot to go with friends? Yes. Once in a lifetime, for sure. Very special.
And I met the chef. Thierry Rautureau. In his hat. Yes, I enjoyed this night. Enjoy the pictures. I'm sure I can't remember all the details of what was eaten. Nor are there pictures of everything because, well, sometimes I was just plain hungry. I did love everything I ate. And I had no idea morel mushrooms cost THIS much (they were not bad... best mushrooms I have ever had along with truffles, but that's not saying much since mushrooms barely count as food to me).
 |
| From Left to Right: Sardine with relish, duck confit, and celery soup |
 | |
| Hamachi and purple cauliflower roe plus fried razor clam and quail egg on ailoi |
 |
| This one was different: A Foie Gras mousse with cherry gelee and marcona almonds. Best way I can describe it is like a semi-savory meat flavored cheesecake. Got mixed reviews from the table. Overall, I enjoyed it! |
 |
| Seared foie gras |
 |
| I'm pretty sure this was The Critic's... deer tongue and quinoa cake? Or something. |
 |
| Nifty little ginger drink with a cranberry sphere (total liquid)... like an edible water bead for plants. One of my favorite "dishes" of the night. |
 |
| Something halibutish... belonging to The Critic. My notes on his items were not as complete as the ones of mine... which were still pretty sparse. |
 |
| A crab salad with some cool little things to go with it (aka part of The Critic's meal) |
 |
| Honestly can't remember whose this was... but the deliciousness rings a bell. Mmmmm!!! |
 |
| Okay... time to fess up. This is the one and only picture I have of my pork with polenta and whatever else came on that plate. You can see I didn't enjoy it... not at all. The picture was taken at the exact moment I thought to take a picture. Before that, all I thought was MUST EAT THAT FOOD!!! |
 |
| Lovely dessert trio -- I like the chocolate on the left. I also liked the lemon-raspberry thing in the middle. And I enjoyed the rice pudding creme brulee. Yeah... I liked dessert. But really the chocolate was best. Or the creme brulee. If I had put them together........ |
 |
| To keep the party going... a chocolate bon bon on the left and a raspberry gelee on the right. |
Friday, June 1, 2012
Fairwood Thai --FIT's 5th birthday choice (aka FIT to be Thai! Hee hee hee...)
You know you are doing something right in a food world when you're 5-year-old requests to go to his favorite Thai restaurant for his birthday. The conversation went something like this.
CF: Where would you like to go for your birthday? You can pick anywhere you want to go or I will make whatever you want at home.
FIT: <Without batting an eye> My Thai restaurant!
CF: Ummm... which one?
FIT: The one with Pad See Ew.
CF: They all have Pad See Ew. Do you mean Bai Tong?
FIT: Yes!
CF: Okay. That will be fine.
FIT: Wait. Did I pick the one where the men wear those funny looking green pants?
CF: Yes.
FIT: Not that one. The one that's closer to our house.
CF: Fairwood Thai?
FIT: Is that close to our house?
CF: Yes.
FIT: Yes, that one!
I love him. Happy birthday, Foodie In Training. You make us smile daily!
CF: Where would you like to go for your birthday? You can pick anywhere you want to go or I will make whatever you want at home.
FIT: <Without batting an eye> My Thai restaurant!
CF: Ummm... which one?
FIT: The one with Pad See Ew.
CF: They all have Pad See Ew. Do you mean Bai Tong?
FIT: Yes!
CF: Okay. That will be fine.
FIT: Wait. Did I pick the one where the men wear those funny looking green pants?
CF: Yes.
FIT: Not that one. The one that's closer to our house.
CF: Fairwood Thai?
FIT: Is that close to our house?
CF: Yes.
FIT: Yes, that one!
I love him. Happy birthday, Foodie In Training. You make us smile daily!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Indochine
So I have started a weight loss plan. Which does mean fewer posts on here, though I refuse to end this thing completely. They just won't be quite so interesting. Lots of "I had a salad with a side of steamed broccoli and a Diet Coke." In fact, I'm not even posting those kind of things unless it's truly a unique experience. That's what this was.
The Critic and I had tickets to a comedy show. Side note: We joined this site called "Fill A Seat" that allows us to get tickets to see things like sports events or comedy shows at no cost. We finally found a time we could use it... to see a hypnotist. He was bad. Really bad. Really really bad. Though not quite as bad as the warm-up act that was PAINFULLY bad. I digress.....
The Critic really wanted to try Indochine, a swanky Thai restaurant we were going to that is in Tacoma across from the Washington State History Museum. Side note: We have decided that Tacoma's motto should be "Tacoma, Washington: Home to oddly placed museums that seem like they belong elsewhere". There is some "National" car museum we came across this time... so so weird. Ah! I digress again!
Okay. Indochine. I acknowledged that it would be difficult to stick to my meal plan at such a place so I went in, read the entire menu, and made what I hoped was an informed decision based on what little knowledge I have gained from this plan in the past 1.5 weeks. I decided based on fat and calories listed that the spring rolls were a good choice. Guess what? SUPER tasty!!!! Really fresh... LOVED the basil in them. I had a small amount of chicken and shrimp in them. Yum and happy Coach Foodie for sure.
Worried that wouldn't have been enough food (it totally would have) I also asked for some steamed veggies... said they could be lightly stir fried in no oil. He asked if soy was okay and I said yes. He asked if I wanted some chicken and I agreed if it was a small amount. Pictured below is the chef's creation. Um, DELICIOUS! I was so happy both that I had been able to get good food on a diet plan and felt empowered about asking for what I want and getting something tasty. So this episode is brought to you by WINNING!
The Critic and I had tickets to a comedy show. Side note: We joined this site called "Fill A Seat" that allows us to get tickets to see things like sports events or comedy shows at no cost. We finally found a time we could use it... to see a hypnotist. He was bad. Really bad. Really really bad. Though not quite as bad as the warm-up act that was PAINFULLY bad. I digress.....
The Critic really wanted to try Indochine, a swanky Thai restaurant we were going to that is in Tacoma across from the Washington State History Museum. Side note: We have decided that Tacoma's motto should be "Tacoma, Washington: Home to oddly placed museums that seem like they belong elsewhere". There is some "National" car museum we came across this time... so so weird. Ah! I digress again!
Okay. Indochine. I acknowledged that it would be difficult to stick to my meal plan at such a place so I went in, read the entire menu, and made what I hoped was an informed decision based on what little knowledge I have gained from this plan in the past 1.5 weeks. I decided based on fat and calories listed that the spring rolls were a good choice. Guess what? SUPER tasty!!!! Really fresh... LOVED the basil in them. I had a small amount of chicken and shrimp in them. Yum and happy Coach Foodie for sure.
For those interested or keeping track, these meals DID allow me to stay on the plan. And in two weeks, I am down 6 pounds. Several more to go....
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Barracuda Grill
Open Table is a GREAT site for finding fun, trendy, Foodie-friendly places. It is not, however, a great place to find kid-friendly sites.
Unfortunately, I do not have pictures of our food. This is because from the second we walked in to this place that someone was crazy enough to say was a good fit for "families" (sure, if your family is paying college tuitions), I was in full-on mom-defensive mode. My favorite was when he said "We tried to scrounge up some crayons but could only find a ballpoint pen. Feel free to let the kids write on the back of our menu". Thank goodness for mom-preparedness.
Perhaps if it was just The Critic and I this would have been a good place for a quiet meal. Unfortunately, we could only find faults. I had pork loin with parsnip puree. The puree was good but the pork was dry (he even asked how I wanted it cooked and my response was "correctly!" We all got a laugh over that... still overcooked). The Critic had some kind of fish that was SUPER dry as well. And I actually had to send The Big Guy's plain pasta back because it came with butter, garlic, and TONS of Parmesan cheese (that he won't touch).
So not our favorite spot in the San Diego area at all.
Incidentally, the next night we did find a fun, family-friendly, foodie-fortunate neighborhood gem just steps from our hotel. We all enjoyed a FABULOUS dinner there and, if I recall correctly, The Critic went back a couple of times after The Guys and I returned to Washington while he stayed around for a while. Sadly, no pictures and I don't even recall its name... but the salad I had was delish and The Guys were big fans of their meals. That's what I needed! The rest of our San Diego excursion is sadly undocumented... but most of it was SeaWorld or Legoland food anyway.
Unfortunately, I do not have pictures of our food. This is because from the second we walked in to this place that someone was crazy enough to say was a good fit for "families" (sure, if your family is paying college tuitions), I was in full-on mom-defensive mode. My favorite was when he said "We tried to scrounge up some crayons but could only find a ballpoint pen. Feel free to let the kids write on the back of our menu". Thank goodness for mom-preparedness.
Perhaps if it was just The Critic and I this would have been a good place for a quiet meal. Unfortunately, we could only find faults. I had pork loin with parsnip puree. The puree was good but the pork was dry (he even asked how I wanted it cooked and my response was "correctly!" We all got a laugh over that... still overcooked). The Critic had some kind of fish that was SUPER dry as well. And I actually had to send The Big Guy's plain pasta back because it came with butter, garlic, and TONS of Parmesan cheese (that he won't touch).
So not our favorite spot in the San Diego area at all.
Incidentally, the next night we did find a fun, family-friendly, foodie-fortunate neighborhood gem just steps from our hotel. We all enjoyed a FABULOUS dinner there and, if I recall correctly, The Critic went back a couple of times after The Guys and I returned to Washington while he stayed around for a while. Sadly, no pictures and I don't even recall its name... but the salad I had was delish and The Guys were big fans of their meals. That's what I needed! The rest of our San Diego excursion is sadly undocumented... but most of it was SeaWorld or Legoland food anyway.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Sea rocket bistro
We're in San Diego! Went to the zoo today and used Open Table to find an intriguing sounding restaurant that would appeal to the kids. We sort of decided that the lunches would be theme-park driven. The dinners would be all ours! But we do need to bring The Guys along. Here's where we ended up.
Sea Rocket Bistro is a tiny little hole in the wall that takes rustic food and elevates it. Which is great for a Coach Foodie and The Critic... but makes it a bit more challenging to eat as one of The Guys. Not their favorite spot, but not the worst one in their minds either.
We started with this DELICIOUS honey garlic spread on a rather sour and quite dry baguette... I need to try and recreate that spread I think.
Sea Rocket Bistro is a tiny little hole in the wall that takes rustic food and elevates it. Which is great for a Coach Foodie and The Critic... but makes it a bit more challenging to eat as one of The Guys. Not their favorite spot, but not the worst one in their minds either.
We started with this DELICIOUS honey garlic spread on a rather sour and quite dry baguette... I need to try and recreate that spread I think.
On the side we had a tasty gnocchi dish with some seasonal vegetables. Very tasty! The gnocchi were my favorite thing here.
For dinner The Critic and I shared the fish while The Big Guy got a burger (since it was in between two toasted baguette slices that were nicely charred, let's just say he wasn't impressed). The Little Guy enjoyed the flat bread pizza. Though I think I enjoyed it a bit more once I added that honey garlic spread. Come to think of it, maybe that was my favorite thing here. Sadly, the fish was just kind of lacking.
Not our favorite place but not the worst one we've ever been to. There's always tomorrow night!
Monday, May 7, 2012
Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
About a year and a half ago The Critic and I escaped for a business trip for him. He landed himself in trainings in Thousand Oaks, CA, a suburb on the outside of Los Angeles. I landed myself by the poolside, sleeping in, and seeking out fun places to get a bite to eat. One of my favorite places was The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. I loved the idea of this place... equal parts coffee shop and tea shop... a place for everyone. Even though I'm not a tea drinker as much as a coffee drinker, I have friends who would love to "go for coffee" and skip the coffee.
I guess Seattle truly is the coffee capital of the world because the idea just hasn't shown up here. Surprisingly, it isn't the coffee I have missed. Nor is it the tea (obviously). What I've missed are these delicious cake-y waffles that they spread Nutella on... kind of sugary. I have been trying to replicate them (see this post) without success to date.
When I was on my return flight from my Las Vegas weekend away, I had a layover at LAX. And there was The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf! So excited, I actually ordered 4 of the waffles to go... one toasted and heated up and the other three just to go. No Nutella needed for those three... we have that at home now.
What fun to be able to surprise The Critic and introduce The Guys to a favorite treat. I will, however, admit that they are better when they are fresh out of the actual shops... but an airport pop-up is certainly better than nothing!
I guess Seattle truly is the coffee capital of the world because the idea just hasn't shown up here. Surprisingly, it isn't the coffee I have missed. Nor is it the tea (obviously). What I've missed are these delicious cake-y waffles that they spread Nutella on... kind of sugary. I have been trying to replicate them (see this post) without success to date.
When I was on my return flight from my Las Vegas weekend away, I had a layover at LAX. And there was The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf! So excited, I actually ordered 4 of the waffles to go... one toasted and heated up and the other three just to go. No Nutella needed for those three... we have that at home now.
What fun to be able to surprise The Critic and introduce The Guys to a favorite treat. I will, however, admit that they are better when they are fresh out of the actual shops... but an airport pop-up is certainly better than nothing!
Sunday, May 6, 2012
China Poblano
My last stop on my culinary "Best Thing I Ever Ate in Las Vegas" tour was to go to China Poblano and get Jose Andres' 20 vegetable fried rice.
Incidentally, 2 months later I would find myself a mere 3 blocks from Jose Andres' minibar in Washington D.C. and be ridiculously jealous that I didn't eat there... until I learned that they are closed for the summer and will be taking reservations come September 1 for October 1 and beyond. Oh and they seat like 6 people a night total. That might be a once-in-a-lifetime that never happens in my lifetime. Still, a girl can dream...
I believe it was Johnny Iuzzini who directed me toward this place. At least in my mind it was him. I was heading back from Fremont Street with the girls (zip lining... WHEEE!!!!) and everyone was hitting the hay. And I realized I was hungry. So I decided to give it one last, all out effort to find this place. It's in the Cosmopolitan which in Vegas terms is practically next door and in real-world terms is about 4 cities away. So I did what any other normal, sleep deprived woman in her 30s would do. I called them, ordered ahead, and ran. And ran, and ran and ran and ran and ran... you get the idea.
Guess what? It was NOT worth all that. Nope. If I had eaten there, it would have been fine. It was tasty enough... and definitely had some fresh flavors. But seriously how did I not make a note that one of the 20 vegetables in a fried rice dish would be mushrooms??? I swear I need to watch the episode again because they tell you ALL 20... AND YOU WOULD THINK I WOULD REMEMBER MUSHROOMS!!!! Okay, so I picked them out (sorry Mom... old habits die very slow deaths it seems). And it was fine. But at that point, I should have just stuck close to home and gone back to RM... I know for next time. As much as I would like to try something else another time, I believe it won't be the 20 vegetable fried rice.
Incidentally, 2 months later I would find myself a mere 3 blocks from Jose Andres' minibar in Washington D.C. and be ridiculously jealous that I didn't eat there... until I learned that they are closed for the summer and will be taking reservations come September 1 for October 1 and beyond. Oh and they seat like 6 people a night total. That might be a once-in-a-lifetime that never happens in my lifetime. Still, a girl can dream...
I believe it was Johnny Iuzzini who directed me toward this place. At least in my mind it was him. I was heading back from Fremont Street with the girls (zip lining... WHEEE!!!!) and everyone was hitting the hay. And I realized I was hungry. So I decided to give it one last, all out effort to find this place. It's in the Cosmopolitan which in Vegas terms is practically next door and in real-world terms is about 4 cities away. So I did what any other normal, sleep deprived woman in her 30s would do. I called them, ordered ahead, and ran. And ran, and ran and ran and ran and ran... you get the idea.
Guess what? It was NOT worth all that. Nope. If I had eaten there, it would have been fine. It was tasty enough... and definitely had some fresh flavors. But seriously how did I not make a note that one of the 20 vegetables in a fried rice dish would be mushrooms??? I swear I need to watch the episode again because they tell you ALL 20... AND YOU WOULD THINK I WOULD REMEMBER MUSHROOMS!!!! Okay, so I picked them out (sorry Mom... old habits die very slow deaths it seems). And it was fine. But at that point, I should have just stuck close to home and gone back to RM... I know for next time. As much as I would like to try something else another time, I believe it won't be the 20 vegetable fried rice.
Border Grill
Another place I *really* wanted to visit was Border Grill. Having already eaten at Susan Feniger Street with The Critic and seeing multiple recipes of hers on the Food Network... well, there was no way I'd miss. And there was NO WAY I'd miss when I saw its location... right behind my little toes at the pool at Mandalay Bay. Add in that we were there on Cinco de Mayo? Um... yeah. No brainer.
We went for lunch as we had plans to dine much more "sophisticatedly" at Picasso later that night (see post here). I had the Yucatan pork and a cucumber mojito and thought both were fine, but nothing worth flying to Las Vegas for. I didn't quite have enough corn tortillas though and asked for "a couple more". Instead I was brought out a warm, handmade flour tortilla. THAT was worth flying to Vegas for. Delicious. Can't describe it any other way.
But the most intriguing thing was their "all you can eat Brunch tapas menu". The Engineer and I decided that on her departure day (the next day) this was the best send-off we could possibly have. We nearly missed out and trust me... we would have missed out. In the city of buffets and all you can eat, this one is unique and worth arriving hungry. And you will fill up too fast. Sigh.
Yuctatan pork
Cucumber mojito
We went for lunch as we had plans to dine much more "sophisticatedly" at Picasso later that night (see post here). I had the Yucatan pork and a cucumber mojito and thought both were fine, but nothing worth flying to Las Vegas for. I didn't quite have enough corn tortillas though and asked for "a couple more". Instead I was brought out a warm, handmade flour tortilla. THAT was worth flying to Vegas for. Delicious. Can't describe it any other way.
But the most intriguing thing was their "all you can eat Brunch tapas menu". The Engineer and I decided that on her departure day (the next day) this was the best send-off we could possibly have. We nearly missed out and trust me... we would have missed out. In the city of buffets and all you can eat, this one is unique and worth arriving hungry. And you will fill up too fast. Sigh.
 |
| The Brunch Menu... from here, your guess is (almost) as good as mine. |
Cucumber mojito
 |
| Peruvian Shrimp and Grits |
 |
| Yucatan Eggs Benedict |
 |
| Oaxacan pancakes, Machaca Chilaquiles, Churro Tots |
 |
| Green Corn Tamale |
 |
| Something with an egg on it... breakfast enchilada? Mexican rice pudding parfait, biscuit and sausage gravy? Maybe? |
| Man I'm full... don't need to eat for a MONTH! |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)