Gordon Biersch

The Guys and I joined my extended family to see The Nutcracker Ballet in Seattle -- the last year of the Maurice Sendak version.  We all loved it a lot.  The Big Guy wanted pizza -- FIT wanted a burger.  I figured Gordon Biersch would be a great option. 

When I sat down they handed me a picture menu of their "special tasting menu" which included three of several appetizers.  Most of the prices said they were around 7.95 so I decided that was a good way to feed me for not a lot of money.  With the upcoming SF move we just don't have much eating out money... plus we're trying to use up every blessed scrap of food since we need to store things and can't even store dry goods.  Ugh.

So I saw a crab and lobster melt that looked good.  Ordered the special tasting menu version of that.  Big Guy got a pizza, FIT got a burger.   We also shared a small garlic fry.  And each of us had a soda.  The kids meals are around $5 each but don't include their drinks, which run about $3 a piece.  No problem.

The crab and lobster melts were "meh".  Quite small and not a lot of flavor, but for the price, who could complain?  $8 seemed fair... not low price by any means for what you get. 

My bill came for $50!  Wait... drinks were about $9.  Kids' food was $10.  Garlic fries $5.  My appetizer... $8.  How on earth did tax double my bill???  I looked... the appetizer?  That DINKY appetizer, was nearly $21!!!!!!  Seriously.  Each ONE was $7.95.  Or, for a BARGAIN OF A DEAL, you could get three for $20.95.

$20.95!!!!!!

See ya, Gordon Biersch.  I can live without that kind of financial strain!

Swish Swish

The Critic wanted to introduce us to Hot Pot before we left for San Francisco.  It's a ramen meets fondue idea.  A friend of his took him to Swish Swish and so, as a last hurrah, we all went for a lunch one day.

We decided on the all-you-can-eat route.  We were all pretty hungry.  That ended up being a pretty good deal as we were able to try a variety of things.  We weren't fans of really anything seafoodish (seafood meatballs, head-on shrimp) but otherwise it was delicious.  I thought the beef was best.  Everyone else really liked the pork belly (which I enjoyed but not as much as the beef).  FIT and I had the onion broth and The Big Guy had the chicken broth.  The Critic had a miso one, I think. 

Hot pot makes a delicious dinner option for our whole family.  Swish Swish really was a great place for us. 

Il Fornaio

Today's dinner involved a visit to an old friend.  6 years ago we enjoyed Il Fornaio in San Francisco.  There is one in Seattle but it's not the same -- not even on the list of chains with the name on it.  Not sure why -- it's the same logo.  But what I remember, six years later still, was the gnocchi.

This trip we discovered a three course "tasting" menu.  The quotes have to do with the portion.  I started with a bright, fresh, acidic salad that included garbanzo beans (yuck) and mostly deliciousness that I devoured.  And then felt like I had dined enough.  But that was not to be... out came THE GNOCCHI!  Not as amazing as I remembered it -- it had a rabbit ragu which was very good but think 6 years ago I had a creamy cheesy sauce that pressed my happy buttons.  I ate about 1/2 of the "small" portion before I was ready to be rolled out of the restaurant.  Still, the third course came.  Short ribs.  Now, on any given day, one bite of short rib is really enough to fill my stomach completely.  So an entire portion of it... however "small" they want to say it was... was too too much.  Deliciousness.  Thankful for the company dime because we had no way to reheat the food.  It really was delicious.  Just too much of it.

Also, to visit another old friend and welcome in a new life to come, we decided to order tiramisu.  This dessert has its roots in our dating history and it was definitely a delicious way to end an indulgent meal.

The nice thing about this restaurant is the joy I would get bringing friends and family who visit us in the city.  Hopefully the tasting menu continues.  What a nice way to enjoy a wide variety of special food at a reasonable price.

Embarcadero -- Farmer's Market and Boccalone

No houses to look at today.  Boo!  What good is a house hunting trip where you can't hunt houses?  And it was POURING all morning.  Boo! 

Eventually, and thankfully, the rain poured off and we began to get excited about the idea of moving to San Francisco, rather than being worried about what on earth we committed to!  Luckily, on such a beautiful day, two able-bodied adults with NO children to wear them down were able to literally walk the city of San Francisco all day.  We walked from Union Square to The Embarcadero/Ferry Terminal, then down the Embarcadero to Fisherman's Wharf, up through Giradelli Square, back toward town, up through China town, and eventually back to Union Square.  And it took us all day.  That's ok... we were learning to explore our new home.

While at the Ferry Terminal we went to the Farmer's Market.  We will be visiting this market with The Guys when we all get to SF.  The Critic came up with the awesome idea of giving everyone a certain amount of cash and saying "find something to share".  More later on how that ends up.

While there we ate at a stand that had some lamb merguez and hot dogs.  They were quite tasty!  And we went to Boccalone.  This is a foodie stop for me as I've been intrigued by the "meat cone" idea for a while.  It's pretty neat and we were able to get one easily.  One of the meats was a bit soft/slimy for me, but the other two were good.  At $5 it's not a ridiculous expense either. 

French Restaurant -- I think it was Bouche?

This is a perfect example of how to use the company dime to try a place you would never otherwise consider.

We needed a spot that was open late and found this little... and I mean little... French restaurant that was open until 1:00 or 2:00.  And they had duck which The Critic was actually craving (weird thing to crave, don't you think?) so we went.  HOW CUTE IS THIS PLACE???  I swear they can only seat 20 people total and possibly not even that many.

First up -- crispy pork belly.  Very tasty.

Critic's dinner -- Duck.  Delicious.  Came on Farro that was quite tasty.  The rillettes were not a texture The Critic enjoyed.  I was fine with it. 

My dinner -- Ummm... I don't remember.  I'm not a main dish person.  I remember my sides though.  Polenta (yum) and fall veggies.  It was great.  It was also late.  And we were VERY tired.

We also had dessert.  What was dessert?  I have no idea.  Did I mention we were tired?

Such a cute little french restaurant -- get a reservation and try it at least once.  I do recommend going when you aren't exhausted just so you can actually remember the experience.

Daville Cafe

This is my post to remind me of the little cafe we ate in after enjoying the area of Danville.  And still not finding a house.  Sigh. 

Cute little cafe, perfect for lunch.  Noted clientele are women are mother's ages.  Which, let's be honest, fits for Danville.

I think The Critic got a Cuban that was pretty good.  I got the risotto which was VERY good. 

A nice place to eat.  But really, we want a house!

Tartine Bakery

Of all the "must eat" places I have come up with in San Francisco there is one that I just knew was going to be a winner.  Tartine Bakery.  A while back I saw someone on The Best Thing I Ever Ate talking about Pan au Chocolate and knew The Critic would need to try it.  Then Tartine kept coming up in article after article of "must eat".  Each time something else came up.  I even sent him in an email with a list of places with an example item to try or a description of the food type.  Here's what I put for Tartine.

Tartine bakery -- Just trust me

So he did.  We went for breakfast on our first morning in San Francisco.  It was a Friday morning and the line wasn't too bad.  We got items to go so we could get to our realtor appointment.  As I recall, we ate the following items:

Pan au Chocolate -- sublime and worth every rave it got.  One is enough for both of us.
Morning bun -- essence of orange in a cinnamon croissant like muffin.  Tasty, but not what I crave.
A savory egg and gruyere pastry -- Um, yes please.  More please.  Loved this!  (It is better when heated I later learned)
Almond croissant -- stuffed and covered in powdered sugar.  Good.  VERY messy.

We also went a few days later and got the coconut tart (delicious).

The only thing not tasty and wonderful at Tartine is the coffee.  Get your cup from somewhere else and plan to enjoy delicious pastries.  Everyone who visits us in California will be getting a Tartine visit before they leave.  If there is a line, it's fine.  Totally worth the wait.

E&O Asian

Change is coming for us!  We're headed to the Bay Area.  Spent a weekend house hunting and dining -- thanks to the company dime.  First item on the agenda upon finding a house (ok that's the first item on the agenda) is getting BACK on the waistline friendly diet plan (a.k.a. eating at home).  But not this trip.

On our first night we hmmmed and hawed after a LONG day of looking at houses (and really skipping all meals... and having headaches as a result) and ultimately decided on E&O Asian.  Asian food is our comfort food.  And after a fairly discouraging day... we didn't find the house of our dreams... shocking I know... we decided we needed some comfort.


A bit of a back history to this point.  First I wanted to eat at In Canto.  It's closed.  Also wanted to try Rick Bayless's mexican restaurant in the Macy's building.  Closed.  Same for several other places.  Hey Food Network!  Update your recommendations to places that stay open!!!  I guess it truly is a sign of the times.  It's tough to keep a restaurant open.  Even for people who have recognizable names to the moderate Coach Bag Foodie. 

So this place place did not register on our "must see" list because the recommendation came from Brian Boytano.  Ummmm.... weird.  Brian Boytano is welcome to recommend the best place I ever ice skated, but the best thing I ever ate?  I don't know how much I believe you.  As tasty as he made Indonesian corn fritters sound, it's still, well, a recommendation from Brian Boytano.  But the name kept coming up... on Yelp, in the hotel directory... so we gave it a try. 

Upon walking in I noticed it was near Banana Republic which we went to 6 years ago and I remembered eating at some restaurant that was laid back and fun at that point... and tasty.  We sat at the bar and chatted with the bar tender.  Couldn't have told you what kind of food they had, but I seem to remember small plates. And it was a nice place.  But that's as much memory as I could muster.

Inside the decor was quite swanky and cool.  Definitely had a young club-going vibe.  The menu was intriguing.  Lots of fusion items.  And we were HUNGRY.  Plus we basically had a "the world is your oyster" budget (and let me tell you that would have been worth a LOT of oysters... except we're not huge oysters fans.  Come to think of it this place had oysters....).  Anyway, we opted, nearly, to get "one of everything". 

First up, butternut squash dumplings.  They were good, spicy... strong curry flavor.  Pretty good way to start!

Second up... Indonesian corn fritters.  Ummmm... HELLO!  So crazy good.  The dipping sauce made everything better.  Ok Brian Boytano... I'll take your recommendations more seriously now.  Maybe. 

Third.  Short ribs.  Pretty good.  Very strong hoisin flavor.  And a lot of pepper.  The butternut squash dumplings had lots of pepper as well. 

Fourth.  Shaking beef.  Um... perfectly cooked.  Quite tasty.  Very good.

Fifth.  Green beans.  They were fine.  They were not Din Thai Fung green beans.  We keep trying to find those somewhere else.  There is nothing like DTF green beans.  Sigh.  So sad.

And last but NOT least, black cod.  In a word... sublime.  Just. So. Good. 

Finally (because why not when the company is paying?) we had dessert.  Chocolate devil's food cake with 5 spice ganache (couldn't taste the 5 spice) and salted caramel.  Yum.  And warm ginger cookies.  Very good... but they didn't last into the next day. 

So here's the best part of E&O.  While we are eating The Critic starts to wonder if THIS was the cool, laid back place we went to six years ago.  Before our foodie craze.  And before our Asian food obsession.  He said "I remember giraffes and bamboo decor".  So we asked our server if they had remodeled in the past few years.  Why yes they had... before it was covered in bamboo and jungle animals!  How funny is that?  Guess that's a way to welcome us (back and) to San Francisco!

Red Robin

Too tired to cook = dinner at Red Robin. The Critic is having a boys' night out. 

The Big Guy ate a Tavern Double with special sauce on the side (no lettuce or tomato). He can't get enough of it! Special sauce is basically thousand island dressing. 

FIT and I shared a special BBQ burger with candied bacon. It's really good. Only problem is the price tag. 

And campfire sauce. Always campfire sauce. 

Yum.  

Arashi Ramen

Went as a family to a new ramen place in Southcenter.  Here's what I'm learning... despite my intense love of Asian food, ramen is not my favorite.  Maybe this is because of an article I read that talked about how horrible it is for you -- fatty cuts of meat and huge amounts of sodium... cholesterol off the charts.  Maybe, but honestly the nutrition of food has always been second to me if it tastes good.  And that's what it comes down to for me.  I'm not a fan of the taste.  It's too funky -- too fermented (miso?). 

I'll go with the family.  The Big Guy is convinced he loves it, but I'm not so sure.  But I will never crave a ramen night out with the family.

Cactus

We had brunch with The Critic's mom to discuss our plans to move.  Brunch turned out to be a great idea for The Guys as far as food goes at Cactus.  FIT ate nearly everything offered to him… Seafood enchiladas, tamales, and he loved his Tres Leches French toast.  The Big Guy was quite content with his scrambled eggs and bacon.  I got the tamales which were alright. The Critic loved his seafood enchiladas. All in all, it worked as a place for family to eat for brunch.

Wild Waves

A post to sum up the food at Wild Waves.

Don't. 

Do you know what's good at Wild Waves?

Nothing.

Cheeseburger?  No
Chicken tenders?  No
French fries?  No

None of us like any of the food at Wild Waves.  Ok.  Maybe the dip-n-dots.  But FIT doesn't even finish the small without help. 

I did see someone with the nachos and they intrigued me, but I'm pretty sure they are awful too.

Moral of the story.... always always ALWAYS bring a cooler of food into Wild Waves and do not eat the food there.  Just. Not. Worth. It. 

Claim Jumper

The fam took a trip to Claim Jumper a few weeks ago.  Just a few notes on it:

They've tried to give it a "fresh face" lift or something -- it's now "CJ's" with fancy cursive. I mean, it's still Claim Jumper -- not sure the image upgrade will work in their favor.

SUPER glad we have the Landry's Club Card.  Earned a $25 reward to spend within a year.

Their BBQ stuffed shrimp is SO good.  I got the appetizer portion and would do the dinner size next time. 

They made the tri-tip/rib combo for The Critic/FIT.  We put in a request that they put it back on the menu (it's not currently).

The Big Guy does not like the pasta here.  He does, however like the macaroni and cheese.

We miss the mini i-declair.  (well, 3/4 of "we" -- I'm fine without it)

No more cornbread equals frowny face for most of us.  The cheese bread was good but not uniform at all.  Too much cheese for The Big Guy (of course).

Mazatlan

In an effort to find "the best chicken mole'" in our area I went to Facebook and my housekeeper, who is of Mexican decent, recommended this place.  It's not often that The Critic gets a hankering for "old school" Mexican food. 

The food was alright.  It was drastically under seasoned with salt.  I think I was hoping for more.  It wasn't the worst Mexican food we've had, but we're still on the hunt for our favorite old school Mexican restaurant. 

And while we're at it we're still looking for that old school Chinese place as well...

Updated to add:  The next day we went to The Fair and received a coupon for Mazatlan, who sponsored The Guys' free face painting.  Oh if only we had known!!!

The Stone House

A night out with The Critic.  It's been quite some time since we've gone to a "fancy" restaurant.  He enjoyed searching the area of Redmond we were going to be in on Yelp and happened upon lots of positive reviews for The Stone House

This was everything I had hoped for in Art of The Table... only it really delivered.  Good food, unpretentious servers, nice experience.  It was like eating in someone's home.  Only they've been to culinary school -- and aced it.  Very positive experience and I really hope to return sometime.

Beet salad.  Everything on here was delicious.  Yes, I even ate the flowers.  The cheese was not too strong. Dates were delicious.  I would order this again and love every minute of eating it.

 

This dish did the impossible -- created a brussels sprouts lover out of The Critic.  I have no idea why -- they tasted like any other sprouts to me.  He insists "they worked magic to get out the bitter".  No matter -- it was quite tasty.  How can you go wrong with pork belly?  

The Critic's main course.  Black cod -- he said it'd been so long since he'd had it.  Good... but nothing (in my opinion) compared to.....

 

My dish.  Salmon.  Gnocchi.  Mustard.  Balsamic.  Brussels sprouts.  Heaven.

 

Do your eyes deceive you???  NO!!!  I actually took pictures of dessert BEFORE it was consumed.  Chocolate souffle cake.  Delicious!

 

 

The "saddest" (not) part of the night was when The Critic was told instead of the peach dessert they had a brown-butter apple tart with salted caramel sauce.  You had him at "no peaches".  This was delicious.  Only complaint is it would have been perfect if it wasn't served cold.  

Baja Fresh

Of all the fast food Mexican restaurants, Baja Fresh is my favorite.  My splurge is the steak and shrimp burrito ultimo.  Major favorite!!!

Mizu Southcenter

We enjoyed a night out celebrating The Big Guy who has turned 9, don't even ask me how that is possible.  His dinner choice was "one of those places where they cook the food right in front of you".  We opted for Mizu and I admit I was a bit disappointed that we went for the Southcenter (old) route versus Covington (new)... until we got there.  Best.  Dinner.  Ever.

We started out by trying their agadashi tofu which is the closest we've had yet to the legendary Grand Cayman one.  FIT and I shared a scallops and steak and between the three foods we had more than enough food to go around.  The Big Guy insisted he wanted plain rice and then proceeded to eat half my (our with FIT) fried rice.  

When the show started we were in for the biggest treat.  Because it was The Big Guy's birthday (or because the chef is a rock star... not sure which) he let TBG try and toss and egg!  It was so cool, funny, special... what fun!  Three of the four caught bits of rice in our mouth (poor FIT... he'll get it someday) and TBG just felt like the special guy he is all night.  Mission accomplished.  We also enjoyed an "on the house" dessert.  We all agreed this was the best choice TBG could have made for his birthday dinner.

On the way out we had the added bonus of running into his birthday twin separated by one year.  Great minds think alike and his buddy opted for the same birthday dinner spot.  Which was just super fun to see.  We like that family so much.

Happy Birthday Big Guy!

 

The Crab Pot

This was pretty cool.  Just after going to Serious Pie (thinking we would be on our own all evening) The Critic called saying his friend The Restauranteur wanted to take us to The Crab Pot!  I've never been and was looking forward to having FIT try it out as well.  And thankfully The Big Guy wasn't starving which meant he MIGHT have a good attitude.

The Restauranteur ordered for us so I have no idea what feast we got -- but it was a LOT.  I asked if we could order chicken tenders for The Big Guy -- they were great when they eventually came out but he would have been fine with everything we had.

The big hit for all of us was the crab.  If we went again, I honestly think this might be all we need.  The Critic and I liked the cooked oysters (I had the raw ones as well... not bad... just raw oysters).  FIT even attempted... and failed... a raw oyster.  FIT kept spitting stuff out because "it had a crunch".  He liked the salmon skewers a lot (the rest of us weren't too impressed by them).  He wished he had clam chowder.  I ate the mussels and clams.  The sausage wasn't bad.  The potatoes and corn were obvious fillers and weren't anything to write home about.

It's funny to me how dressed up we got to go to a place that stood likely to stain our hands and everything else red! 

Fun part was that we got a mud pie and a rootbeer float the size of Texas for The Big Guy since it was his birthday tomorrow.  Totally tasty as well.  The rootbeer float could be passed on -- it's HUGE and no one could finish it.  Neat that it was "on the house" -- but really?  Everything was for us.  Which was a pretty special experience.

I've finally been to The Crab Pot!  And guess what?  It's a hit with the whole fam damily. 

Serious Pie

On a whim picking The Guys up from camp we decided to try out Serious Pie.  It was a little early for dinner but that turned out to be a good thing.  The Big Guy's quote is pretty spot on...

"It's not bad, but it's not the best pizza either."

At least now I can say I've been here. 

It's ok -- just not best for me and my kids.  The pizza "flavors" didn't really appeal to us and we ended up getting the basic cheese (which The Big Guy wasn't even a fan of the buffalo mozzarella cheese for goodness sake!).  Thankfully it was happy hour so we got a small amount for half price.

Here's something interesting.  The Big Guy opted for a "house made blackberry soda" which the server assured us was incredibly good.  TBG took one single sip and declared "I don't like it" which kind of frustrated me and I thought he was just being, well, himself!  I took a sip and admitted there was an odd flavor I recognized but couldn't quite place.

FIT tried it of course and said it was "pretty good" but after a few sips even he was done with it.  I kept trying to place it and it finally came to me.

Apple cider vinegar.

Once I passed this on to The Guys the FIT said "Who would put apple cider vinegar into their sodas??? That is just Ca-RAZE-ee!!!  I mean... cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo." 

Yep.  Not best for my kids. Their palates are just not that sophisticated yet.  Come to think of it, neither is mine I suppose. 

Ristrettos

Stopped in for a brief lunch during a work training. I wanted some fresh food and happily remembered I have wanted to taste food from this interesting place.  I got the strawberry salad which has intrigued me the two times I have been in the restaurant but I never ordered it. On the menu I thought it said it had goat cheese -- and maybe it was -- but maybe it was feta? It seemed feta-like. It wasn't bad -- it was certainly very fresh.  But the overall flavor was too sour for me. Don't get me wrong -- I didn't want too sweet -- just sweeter.  It wasn't my favorite, but I certainly have had worse!

Carino's

We headed up to Bellingham for the weekend and got stuck in MAROR traffic the whole way, so rather than push it all the way up we decided to stop at Carino's in Mt. Vernon.  The great news is that The Dad was able to join us -- always a treat.

I had the wedge salad which I have always enjoyed -- I shared some with The Dad who agreed it was delicious and even had enough for leftovers.  Surprisingly, this wedge salad is equally delicious even two days later! 

Gotta love that they have diet coke -- unless you're The Big Guy.  His main problem with that means no rootbeer.  Diet coke means Barq's rootbeer.  Barq's has bite -- aka caffeine.  Which is kind of a no-no when you're nearly nine.  But his luck was that they had bottomless Italian sodas!  Score!  He had peach and vanilla and FIT had cherry twice (I think).  All were big hits -- no cream.

Main course for me was the bowtie pasta.  I like it a lot but it probably isn't the healthiest option.  I broke The Critic's heart when I asked if he was getting The Cuban -- turns out I had a different specials menu that was outdated.  He got a chicken parm panini and liked it fine.  He asked for the Parmesan fries and I'm pretty sure he didn't get those.  The Dad got the jambalaya and gave me a taste -- very tasty!

For The Guys it was bowtie pasta for The Big Guy, plain, with a meatball.  He didn't really like the meatball so hopefully posting this will remind us of that the next time we go.  FIT got spaghetti with butter and Parmesan which he said was fine -- but not as good as Old Spaghetti Factory.

Love this restaurant and how convenient it is when we head to Bellingham.  Bonus is that there was PLENTY of space for us to park, even though we were pulling the boat.

Sport

Can't remember what I wanted to post about this except to say that, contrary to what The Big Guy wants to believe, he does NOT LIKE JALAPENOS!!!!  And I have eaten more jalapeno things as a result of this not being able to get through his head.  The stuffed jalapenos here are spicy!!!

I have a note that we tried the uber bacon -- which I think was good.

We just learned that this is owned by the same people who do John Howie!  Also known as tempura bacon.  Explains the love of the uber bacon.

They have garlic fries!  Like stadium garlic fries!  Which is uber important if you are The Big Guy.

As for me, well, I'm not a fan of diner food in general.

Little Caesar's Pizza

Nothing says Little Caesar's Pizza (Pizza) to me like cheese stuffed crazy bread.  Recently while in Bellingham I found out they don't make it anymore!  Unless it's a special request -- yes, I would be willing to wait.

No one in our area does that... and believe me I looked.  But we have learned to have the go-to $5 carryout pepperoni and/or cheese special.  It certainly makes for an easy and inexpensive dinner that feeds everyone (my waistline must choose to make my own salad/veggies more than eat the pizza).  It's a great choice for a birthday part (cheap) or even to take to my softball games (easier than Subway).

Not too long ago we discovered the deep dish version and, while not as cheap as the carryout special, it is definitely preferred by all members of the family.  I will find that it can be a bit raw sometimes, but somehow that just makes it taste cheesier -- weird.  When we go this route, we usually get a pepperoni and a half cheese, half Hawaiian -- as long as there isn't a ham shortage which there was for a very long time for a while there :-/  Anyway, check it out -- this is good stuff! 

Grill from Impanema

Every time I think that the Guys' food taste is for the birds -- let's be honest, the BIG GUY'S tastes -- I remember that this is one of our favorite spots to frequent.  This is the definition of a treat because it is SO expensive.  Without the kids' pricing and a coupon it could easily cost us $240 a night to eat here.  And I can cook a lot of food with that amount of money. 

Luckily they have a kid's price.  And luckily one or twice a year a Groupon or Living Social deal pops up and I get the max number I can and we enjoy a meal here for a "fraction" of the cost -- which is still nearly $100.  But the food is so so good and we all love it.

First there is the salad buffet where the guys could easily consume their weight in fruit and salami.  I could live and I mean LIVE on the hearts of palm soup which is to die for in my opinion.  I wish I knew what I love about the soup but who cares?  That soup creates happiness in my world every day.  And the mashed potatoes are SO good.  Not so much on the grits -- you can't win them all.

And then the meats come around and you either yay or neigh it with your little red and green card.  In general, it's easier to list what I don't like rather than do.  So for me I pass on the spicy sausage (it just doesn't have a flavor that appeals to me), any meat cooked with provolone (nuff said -- it's becoming more of my nemesis each day), and I'm not partial to the chicken because there are usually bones in it.  Never have liked bones with my meat. 

Favorites?  The parmesan pork ranks up there, as does the rib eye and, oh, most of the steaks. 

And then there is the grilled pineapple!!!  This is my love-hate relationship (same with The Big Guy) because while I could eat my weight in it and not bat an eye my tongue universally disagrees.  Allergy appointments coming up should answer the question of if it is the pineapple, the cinnamon, or both, but it becomes and immobilizing experience for us.  Which is so sad... because it is so good!  Ah well, until we need an epi-pen I suppose we'll suffer in silence. 

Someday I'll post pics but I rarely get them because, let's be honest, I'm always in too much of a hurry to eat at this place.  And the sizes of the portions are tough to photo -- but the good news is you can always get more until your tummy says enough is enough!

Mexican in Bellevue

Old Country Buffet

Just the guys and me tonight -- can't resist the pleading in their eyes when they ask if they could come to the old people buffet -- I mean country. No matter how many times I convince myself there is something good about coming here I am always -- always -- wrong. Today was no exception but I convinced myself that being a Thursday makes it better. Kids eat for 99 cents on Thursdays which should make all the difference except that it will STILL cost us nearly $20 to eat here. That's just too much when I know my food costs all too well. I think there is a fine line both under a certain age and over a certain age that appreciates OCB. And let me assure you -- 41 does not fall in that range. Oh well. Happy kids and I get to use at least a month of "we just went there".

P.S.  The $10 each balloon man has got to go. Every. Single. Time. I need to be asked about balloons. No. No. NO!!!

Bai Tong again

This time we went with our intern (The Fourth Intern) and her parents.  The Big Guy was on a trip with Nana and Papa, but FIT came along.  We got the standards -- Pad See Ew, Massamung curry, Moo Dae Dew, crispy garlic chicken, and "brown" (red) rice.  We also tried a new thing -- the yellow curry fried rice.  The Critic surprised me because he really liked it!  We ended up getting a second order of crispy garlic chicken because everyone loved it and a second order of pad see ew because, well, FIT. 

This was also our farewell swan song to The Fourth Intern.  Gonna miss her smile and fun spirit around our house. 

Gotta love a good Bai Tong visit.  It's been a while.

Cheesecake Factory

We went as a family -- wished I'd blogged about the last time I went because I can't for the life of me remember which shrimp dish FIT and I shared and I kind of wanted it again.  But I was pretty sold on the tuna tar tare which I LOVE... and our server actually talked me out of it.  Shame on me.

I know better than to order a cheesecake salad.  But I saw their picture of the Luau salad as we came in and was intrigued.  I asked how big it was and she said "a pretty good size, but it's delicious... it's my favorite thing here."  Hearing the first part I knew I'd go for the tar tare but she kept insisting "Are you sure?  It's really delicious.  You really will love it."  What is wrong with me???  It came out -- huge, of course, and not nearly as delicious as she insisted.  I ended up eating less than a third of it and had to make an excuse not to take it home.

But they were redeemed by the cheesecake!  The Big Guy was all too eager to tell us he does NOT like cheesecake but he was intrigued by the s'mores one.  It was amazing!  Highly recommend and it's a good dessert for our family to share. 

Kukai

I have a culinary bucket list.  I didn't realize this, but I do.  Among other things on it I would like to eat hand pulled noodles.  I think I finally found a place to do that.  But today was a chance to check off a different type of bucket list item.

I got to be a part of a soft restaurant opening!!! 

Our whole family did and we loved the experience.  How cool to go into a restaurant and get a chance to really experience it -- and feel like what I think actually might make a difference.  It was really cool.

The Critic is friends with The Restauranteur -- who truly is an investor and part owner in a new Kukai restaurant in Northgate.  This is a ramen restaurant and none of us have ever had ramen before -- guess that's another bucket list item?  He asked us to be his guests at the soft opening and we were happy to oblige.  What fun!

Below is most of the pictures of the items we tried and how, in general we felt about them. 

Chicken Kaarage:  Liked by most of us.  Unusual and would definitely order again. 

 

Chicken wings:  A really unique flavor -- bright lemon that you don't expect from wings.  NICE crispy skin.  Enjoyed by half of us.  I liked them!

Agedashi Tofu:  Several years back The Critic and I vacationed in Grand Cayman and stayed at a place with a Japanese restaurant right downstairs that had the most amazing agedashi tofu and broth.  We ate it every day of our vacation, no joke.  And never tired of it.  The problem with finding a spot like that in the middle of the Caribbean is that you constantly spend your time searching it out and find yourself sadly disappointed.  6 years or so later and I still miss that flavor!  This broth is very close, but the tofu is not "the right consistency".  The Guys were completely unimpressed.  The Critic and I probably wouldn't get this again... the quest continues I suppose.

 

Vegetable tempura:  Quite tasty, especially when dipped in the agedashi broth.  Not sure what all we were eating but we enjoyed it!  Would probably get it again, though it's no different than any other vegetable tempura we have had before.

 

A late order and suggestion by The Restauranteur -- Takoyaki Octopus Dumplings.  Neat to try once, but not anyone's favorite, though we all did have a bite.

Bring on the ramen!  I think this was The Big Guy's spicy ramen.  He enjoyed it, which really surprised me.  Most of our experience involved tasting each other's soups.  This was definitely a good one.

 

I think The Critic got the garlic tonkotsu shoyu ramen, but I can't be certain.  But it was great! 

Low sodium shoyu ramen for FIT.  Also very good and enjoyed by all.

For a different experience, I got the Tsukemen dipping noodles with the thick pork broth base.  I added bean sprouts and upgraded to the pork belly.  This is the one dish I personally wouldn't get again.  The broth had too much of a miso flavor and the noodles ended up sticking together.  I couldn't easily "dip" the noodles and in order to get a different broth I would have had to order a whole new plate.  They tried to mellow the sauce with broth but it was still too miso-y.  Oh well!  You can't win them all!!

All in all a very fun experience, right down to the mochi that The Restauranteur let us try (green tea, no thank you, mango, interesting) and the Drumsticks he gave to The Guys which were as big as their heads.  And of course the fun of mouthwash in the bathroom!  We even saw someone attempt the $30 ramen challenge and got to peek in the kitchen to watch the broth simmering... We'll definitely be back, but not often.  I recently read an article which talked about the fat and sodium levels in traditional ramen.  And let me be clear -- you don't even want to know!

Paseo

The Critic and I had a rare chance to have lunch on our own and he requested this stop.  The only downside is the wait time.  With a huge long line outside that does indeed move very fast followed up with lag time for the order we barely had 4 minutes left to consume the lunch (and that was with rescheduling the vet visit and arriving SUPER late to pick up the Guys from their camp.

But yes, it's a sandwich worth its weight in the wait. 

Only one complaint.  I requested no tapenade because I'm really not an olive fan and, as a result, the guy suggested I bypass the garlic ailoi because "it has a strong garlic flavor".  Um, no it doesn't.  And it would have taken a good sandwich and made it extraordinary.  I look forward to saying "yes please" to the pickled jalapenos again which was a risk that paid off.  The scallops were great, but I think next time I'll go for the pork.  Chicken?  It's good -- but I think I like the different flavors available a little better.  Truly looking forward to a return trip!

Michael's on the Lake

No pictures to post:

After last night's delicious Mexican fiesta we had a hard time measuring up.  We felt that a trip to Michael's on the Lake was a good option seeing as how we had, in fact, been living on the lake.  According to Yelp reviews and what-not the price was comprable.

Well, maybe not.

It was a bit fussier than we were dressed for and The Wake Surfer turned out to coin it best -- the coconut shrimp piece was bigger than his fish and chip piece.  I, of course, got the scallops which came on an Israeli cous cous thing that immediately freaked me out because of the olives ALL through it -- no matter, for whatever reason they were easily removed and left no olivey-after taste.  Very un-olive like, if you ask me.

The guys were STARVING and grumpy and, well, acting like themselves and were thrilled to receive the world's most expensive smoothies -- easily $5 each which doesn't seem ludicrous until you realize that a kids' meal was $4 so it more than doubled their dinner right there.  They had chicken strips, which would have been fine but were as tiny as the fish and chips.

The Big Guy got a Cuban.  It was really good -- a bit on the greasy side.

Bottom line?  We'll be doing a Mexican run take two tomorrow.  For future Moses Lake trips I think we'll skip Michael's on the Lake and leave it for the fussier types.

Roadhouse Grill

We were SO excited to hit the Roadhouse Grill after being in Ellensburg a while back and realizing it was there.  We love a good roadhouse -- throwing peanuts on the floor is the best!

Well, don't do that here.

This is a Roadhouse GRILL and apparently that is code for a cross between Red Robin and Denny's. 

This entry is to remind me, if we ever find ourselves in Ellensburg again (and I'm sure we will... briefly) that we should NOT go to the Roadhouse Grill.

Tomato Street

I have a love/hate relationship with this blog.  I have used it as a reference, been frustrated when I can't find what I need, and have NO time to update it.  What to do?

Our family just returned from a driving trip that took us to Couer d'Alene, ID, up to Banff National Park in Canada, then Jasper, followed by Vancouver, B.C., and finally Bellingham on the 4th of July.  The result was so.much.eating.out it was borderline ridiculous.  Strike that.  Just ridiculous.

Side note.  There's a Texas Roadhouse in Ellensburg, WA.  Repeat.  There is a Texas Roadhouse in Ellensburg, WA.  That would have been good to know -- will be good to know when we go to Moses Lake next week with the boat.

Okay -- Tomato Street.  Years ago we were in Couer d'Alene with The Guys so we could hit Silverwood Theme Park and enjoy a family vacation -- like 6 years ago.  So now these guys are 7 and almost 9 and we returned.  I remember seeing Tomato Street when we were there before and thinking it'd be a dive Denny's-esque Italian place.  With The Big Guy's food allergies (eggs and dairy) Italian was a no-no spot.  Not surprising we passed it by.

Huge mistake.  Huge.

This is the best food we've had in a LONG time.  I really wish I could remember all the details that were so great.  I can't -- it was too long of a trip and at the time I had visions of writing notes on all the spots we dined at (ha!).  I will have to keep it short and sweet and photo-free and just say it was A.MAZ.ING.  Go there.  Now.  Drive in your car.  Seriously!

Bollos -- amazing.  They were mini calzones with a meatball inside them (note to self -- must make these sometime).  The alfredo and marinara sauces are both so good -- dip the complimentary garlic bread in them.  Oh yeah. 

Smoked salmon chowder -- delicious.  So was the tomato basil soup.  Dip the bread in that, too.  Oh yeah.

Even the salad!  I don't know what was special about it anymore at all... but even the salad was positively delicious.  

The Critic is still talking about his delicious sandwich.  Pressed something-or-other with deliciousness oozing out of it.  

And The Big Guy and I "shared" something called the Mac Daddy which was a mac and cheese with pancetta maybe?  jalapenos... I don't remember.  But it was GOOD! 

The Little Guy (FIT) had a LASAGNA CALZONE PEOPLE!  It had a very clever name, but I can't remember it to save my life.

And our dessert was a pzookie of sorts.  Who cares?  It was delicious.

The portions were huge -- seriously.  We had so much food it was ridiculous and could have fed at least three small countries.  So. Worth. It.  

So if you find yourself in Couer d'Alene, hit up Tomato Street.   Heck I'm considering a roadtrip again just to go there.  It's only a 6 hour drive away...

JT's BBQ Food Truck

On July 4th we had just finished up our driving trip through Idaho, The Canadian Rockies, and over to Vancouver.  The whole time we had been hoping for BBQ.  We got some BBQ at Silverwood Theme Park in Coeur d'Alene which was great -- for theme park BBQ and that's all. 

So we finally wrapped up our gone-too-long-ate-too-much-had-SO-much-fun roadtrip in Bellingham on the 4th of July -- no better place to be.

JT's was a surprise -- we weren't going for food at all actually.  I think we were on a quest for either fireworks or a hardware store?  But there it was.  Parked next to a brewery with outside tables fit for a dog to hide underneath.

I wish I could recall exactly what we got, but as has already been mentioned we ate out WAY too much in a short time to remember all details.  But it was good.  The stand-out was a stuffed meatball which might be the only thing we get next time.  The brisket was good -- satisfied the BBQ craving for sure.

They are only open Tuesday and Friday, otherwise they do catering.  But I'm looking forward to taking my dad and getting his authentic opinion about it.  Everything I know about BBQ I learned from my father, for sure.

Silverwood Theme Park -- the continued quest for BBQ

While at Silverwood we FINALLY had our chance at BBQ after searching and hoping and wishing and dreaming for BBQ on the drive through Spokane (see post here)..

Moment to calm myself as I recall getting my first speeding ticket in at least 20 years.  Grrr....

Moment over.

After the monumental quest which led to finding the Centralia Ellensburg restaurant that was decidedly NOT BBQ but not too bad either we walked into Silverwood to find they have genuine authentic BBQ food!!!  And it's all you can eat!!!  I promised BBQ to The Critic and I hoped this wouldn't disappoint. 

One of the gals that worked there assured us this is the best food in the park.  And while we are cautious of fair-food, "the best you can get" is as good as we could ask for.

It is the best you can get, but not great.  But what can you expect?

Would I get it again?  Absolutely.  I would not pay extra for the ribs again but am glad we sprung for them to try them.  Most sides were not that great but a few were pretty good.  And while I can't remember the details I'm not too worried about it because if you're headed to Silverwood I would tell you to check it out.  And I myself am not likely to return for at least a couple years, and when I do who knows how similar it will be. 

So go!  Enjoy!  Just remember -- it's fair food.

P.S.  The pizza at the magic show that we ate was ok.  The coffee we had just past the train station was ok.  And the candy store?  None of us would miss the chance to go back to that candy store.  The stand-out from the entire day was the spiral spuds which were FABULOUS and the powdery flavor garbage they put on them?  Perfect.  Now that's disgusting fair food I can get behind!!  Would certainly order that again. 

Palace Cafe

As we were driving through Ellensburg (which I ALWAYS think is Centralia -- thanks Central Washington University) we resigned ourselves to the fact that we would not get BBQ.  I had really tried -- ever since Snoqualmie, to help The Critic fill his BBQ hankering -- to no avail.  One restaurant was closed, another only catered, another closed at 8:00 (which should just be against the law), and on and on and on.

So we decided on Palace Cafe -- which is decidedly not BBQ.  I was a big fan, The FIT liked it as well... Big Guy and Critic thought it was okay.

First off, this is our very first stop with The Dog.  We adopted her about a month earlier and learned as we would go on this road trip about dog-friendly places.  Of which there are none.  It is very hard to hear a million times to NOT leave a dog in a car yet not have an option to leave a dog out of the car (simultaneously we hear that we should NOT tie her up outside... um, okay?  So what are we supposed to do?).  We opted to leave her and check on her frequently, probably stressing her and us out way more than necessary.  And we ate in a HURRY as a result.

Bonus, coke.  Always a bonus.

I could have survived on the wedge salad alone but got some chicken alfredo dish without the mushrooms because The Big Guy of all people said it sounded interesting.

Oh!  Insert the rules for the roadtrip eating.  Rule number one, it must be some place that we cannot easily access from home.  Rule number two, try and order something you don't usually get.

So this fit rule number two for The Big Guy.

The Critic got a hot open faced prime rib sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy.  He was unimpressed.  I think that The Big Guy survived on his mashed potatoes and gravy.  

And the rest, well, I honestly don't remember because as you may or may not notice, we ate out A LOT in the next two weeks and it became increasingly difficult to write everything down.

Bottom line on Palace cafe is I would go back simply for the wedge salad and likely alfredo thing but would most likely be eating alone while the Guys all find something better.

And speaking of... on the way out of town we saw a Roadhouse!!!  While not BBQ it certainly beats the alternative and we will definitely remember to stop by on our trip to Moses Lake in a little over a week.

Old Country Buffet

We went here for The Big Guy's choice of a dinner when FIT was on his motorhome trip.  What is it with kids loving a buffet?  I remember doing so as a kid... There are a few foods I like here, but no matter what I leave feeling like I gained 5 pounds.  Anyway, the meatloaf is good (they didn't have it this time).  The cornbread stuffing is pretty good.  I like making "my salad" (greens, beets, tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, cheese, sunflower seeds, and thousand island dressing -- that salad got me through The Big Guy's pregnancy!).  I also enjoy a taco salad from here.  Mostly I'm just happy when it's time to leave.  The Big Guy likes the pizza (yuck), mashed potatoes and gravy, criss cross fries, and desserts.  This time around I got the collard greens and enjoyed them a lot!  The Critic doesn't like anything here, but he goes because he's a good dad and knows it will rock The Big Guy's world when we take him. 

El Torrerro

Had a great night celebrating a great year with a great team.  But the food?  Not my favorite.  It's ok.  We come for the margaritas (which, by the way, I'm not a fan of either... I come for the diet coke). 

The nachos were no bueno in my world and the carne asada was good.  Even the fajitas weren't that great.  There are better Mexican restaurants for me.

Qdoba

Q-doga!

We have a new wrinkle in the whole eating out realm.  We got a dog.  Guess what?  Most restaurants are NOT interested in having you bring your dog in to sit under the table.  So now we need to find places that are interested in letting us hang out outside.  There is a website called www.bringfido.com that tells you "dog-friendly" places, but I'm finding that most with outdoor seating aren't listed and most dog-friendly ones that are listed say that's fine, as long as you're outside.

Heading out of town for the first time with the dog we stopped by Qdoba.  First off, they took away my favorite burrito.  :-(  I liked the fajita ranchera something-or-other, which I guess I can make since they are now more Chipotle-esque (I've never in my life been to Chipotle... mostly due to the fact that I do not like the flavor of chipotle, though I'm told that's not what it tastes like).  And they commited the cardinal soda sin -- even worse than switching from diet coke to pepsi is changing from coke to the 100+ coke flavor cr@p thing that makes everything tastes like fake lime.  The kids love it.  What do kids know??? 

Anyway, I'd rather go to Baja Fresh, but Qdoba was a nice option to have our cute furry little new family member join us for dinner -- the company... she's not allowed to eat our food.  :-)

Joule

Here's my problem... I've been trying to use the Blogger app while at a restaurant, especially to get the "location" printed.  Which is ridiculous because 99% of this blog is so that I can remember what we ate at a favorite spot so when we go again we don't spend 3 hours saying, "Did we get that?  Was it good?" and so on.  Well...

This is our second time to go to Joule.  We LOVED it before!  I had all the notes of when we went, the pics of the food we ate, and so on... and when I went to open my draft do you know what it said?!?

Wonderful.

No date, no pictures, no food descriptions.  So no idea.  

So this is what we got this time and how we felt about them.  Quick!  Let me publish this before Blogger eats it up (ha ha!  Get it?).

By the way the occasion is Friday the 13th!

First up, shrimp cocktail 2.0.  It has pork belly and pickled ramps on it.  This is not the shrimp cocktail you're thinking of.  My verdict?  I could eat piles of that.

 

Next up, the spicy rice cakes.  This is the one thing we are sure we had before and knew we would always order again.  The rice cakes have these amazing crispy edges -- we think they may have been crispier last time?  It's still one of the best dishes out there. 

File this cauliflower dish under awesome new experience.  I should have had video on it!  I think I wanted to, but was running out of battery.  If you take bonito flake and put it on warm cauliflower, it moves around as if it is alive.  It is CRAZY weird!  This is a good dish -- can't go wrong with roasted cauliflower, but I like mine a bit better.  :-)

 

This is the grass fed hangar.  My only problem with this dish is every time I've ever had grass fed beef I've left thinking "cows that eat corn are delicious".  Personal preference, I suppose.  I am not a fan of the strong flavor that comes from grass fed beef.

 

Some day, some time, just once, I am going to remember to take a picture when dessert comes out.  I think by that time I'm in a food coma and I just don't care anymore.  This one was chocolate and, as you can tell, delicious.  

Din Thai Fung -- Sunday Brunch

I finally finally FINALLY had the chance to go to DTF for the weekend brunch to get the soup dumplings.  And I was TOTALLY.... underwhelmed.  The soup?  It's the broth my Guys ask for every time we go.  And the dumplings are ok, but I prefer the regular size ones.  Plus it took near FOREVER and I was on a time crunch.  And, let's be real, it's just not as fun when I'm there without The Critic and my Guys.