Kenyan food!

I ended up with 3 hours alone time while the Guys checked out a Chinese immersion school.  They came out knowing not a single word of Chinese... I was able to grab a lunch to myself.

Always the dilemma for me... where to go.  I have a billion places I'd love to try in Seattle, but no time to get there.  At first I decided to hit up BBQ Pete's in Kent.  Why?  It's Wednesday!  Wednesday is the only day of the week they do their burnt ends.  Burnt ends sound horrible.  Burnt ends are DELICIOUS!  So I walked in.  Honestly, if I ever ever ever question if BBQ Pete's will survive I should just go... wall to wall to wall packed.  It was like a convention in there!  At 12:50 I waltz up to the counter.  "Hi!  Do you have any burnt ends left?"  "Nope... sorry.  We already sold out."  At 12:50????  We used to be able to show up at 5:30 for those and get 4 plates worth!  One of two things is happening... either it's just one big rouse to get you in or they need to burn more ends in that place!  Anyway, I decided the crowds weren't worth my time and while BBQ Pete's is definitely good BBQ, I really only wanted those burnt ends.  Soooo....

Where to go?  I ran down a laundry list of places I could go.  They tend to fall into three categories:  Places I'd go with both Guys.  Places I'd go with just the Little Guy, Mr. FIT.  And places I want to try with The Critic.  I nearly settled on Chinese when I remembered that a good Thai place near my house was no more as it had been over taken by a Keyan restaurant.  The critic cannot stand Ethiopian food.  So I figured the idea of getting him to try Kenyan was not going to be successful unless I gave it a shot first.  So, without further adieu, I give you Uhuru (Gesundheit!, says The Critic).

Only one other table occupied when I went in.  They had a big plate of something that looked like Dorowot, but I never saw it or anything like it listed on the menu.  Enter this adorable Keyan woman who clearly runs the place close to single-handedly.  She helped talk me through the menu.  What started with a "What's good?" quickly became a "What do you like?" followed by a "I have no idea... I've never had Kenyan food before."  Her first recommendation was clearly too safe for me.  I didn't arrive for nourishment alone... I wanted a new experience.  So "chicken and rice with onions and peppers" seemed like something I could make on my stovetop pretty easily.

Sausage

She recommended I start with a sausage... price was right at $2.50, so I agreed.  It was.... um, sausage.  Yep.  That's it.  Nice crispy outside, but otherwise just a normal breakfast sausage.  No exotic flavors or anything.  I did note that if we all came back together, The Big Guy could probably polish off about 18 of these as his meal. 

Around this time I noticed exactly how cold it was in the restaurant!  Note to self... if I return, bring a jacket!!!

Returning to the menu I come across two things that intrigue me.  One is a chicken curry which looks pretty much like any curry I get in a Thai restaurant, so I assume it would be delicious with some new spices that I am unaccustomed to.  But the other intriguing dish is this chicken stew.  So I ask my Kenyan friend which one she recommends and she says "You can get curry anywhere, any time.  This stew you can only get here."  And that's that!  We have a winner.  Kuku Mchuzi it will be.  I don't even know how to pronounce it!  She asks if I want it with "just white rice" and I ask if there are other options.  One is something that resembles polenta but she informs me it's basically corn meal mixed with water only.  She offers a sample of it and let me tell you... skip on by that option!  The other more intriguing choice was Chapati.  It ended up tasting like a homemade wheat flavored tortilla and was really good as long as it was warm.  Once it cooled off, forget about it... too hard and dry!

Kuku Mchuzi

The stew had definite good points and definite disappointments.  The broth is super rich and flavorful, yet light all at the same time.  Potatoes are cooked perfectly.  And just look at those huge chunks of chicken!  Well, that's what I did... until I tried a piece.  I would say that 90% of those chicken chunks are bone.  And what is fall-off-the-bone meat actually falls off with little bone fragments, and I had no where to put them.  So the side of my bowl was literally flaked around the entire dish with tiny bone pieces.  Anyone who knows me knows I do NOT like meat on a bone.  While I'm better about it than I used to be, bone bits completely ruin a dish for me.  Sadly, this was no exception.  Also, I am not a fan of chicken skin that has been stewed.  Chicken skin, while delicious when its crispy, gets very rubbery when its been boiled and stewed and, again, this was no exception.  So while the small amounts of meat that I did get were super flavorful and extremely tender, it wasn't the dish I wanted it to be.  Oh how I wish it had been what I wanted it to be!

Chapati

So I resigned myself to dip the warm Chapati in the broth and sop it up.  And eat the potatoes, which would normally be my least favorite part of a dish like this. If I had just removed the chicken it was a really good dish.  However, the price was sky high.  The plate shown here cost around $13!  Use that can of diet coke for a size reference... it was really small (oh and that one can of diet coke cost me over $2.25... I thought I was getting it free by checking in on Yelp but apparently she doesn't actually use that promo anymore... hmmmmmm...). 

Overall... I'm really glad I tried it.  I love a new experience and Kenyan food definitely fit that bill.  However, aside from the inexpensive sausage, it was too pricey with too many bones to warrant a return anytime soon.  If The Critic wants to give it a go, maybe I'll be braver and try something like the goat tripe.  But probably not.

Il Fornaio Risotteria

A day in Seattle led us to a lunch with the kiddos.  Looking for the perfect blend of kid friendly and foodie friendly, we decided on a favorite... Il Fornaio.  But not the fancy schmancy upstairs IF.  The one downstairs, which has 4 main selling points.  More kid friendly.  Cheaper prices.  Risotto.  Gnocchi.  Win!

Gnocchi Rustica

I ordered the Gnocchi Rustica.  The Critic loves how I say Gnocchi.  Too bad you can't hear it, huh?  It sort of has a Ny-oh-key sound to it.  I don't know why it sounds better than when I say it, but to him, it does.  The Guys got pasta with meat sauce on the side (Big Guy) and Ravioli (Little Guy).  But unfortunately, the BG didn't have enough food (not that he eats more than a teaspoon of sauce) and the LG really did NOT like his ravioli, which was much more al dente than he wanted... while he's a FIT he's still 4!  The Critic ordered Risotto Dante which has a bit of a kick to it and Italian sausage, peppers and onions.  It was good, but I think I must prefer overcooked risotto.  Always has too much of a bite to it for me.  But OH the gnocchi.  Mmmmm.... I love gnocchi.  The rustica sauce was yummy... creamy tomato with basil and garlic and a whole lot of yum.  Extra bonus is that we can watch them cook.  I am SUCH a sucker for that!  Too much fun.

Risotto Dante

Grand sum up?  Fabulous for the grown-ups as always.  The kids left hungry but filled up with cinnamon and sugar hot donuts near the carousel.  Merry Christmas in Seattle!

The Rock Buffet

Shout out to The Rock AYCE buffet.  I am a "Backstage Pass" member which somehow accrues points and what-not.  Long story short, FIT and I ate a TON of food (mostly him... trying to eat healthy during the holidays) and it cost us just over $6... with tip!  Yay for free, good food!

Chutneys

How cool is this?  The Critic set up a date night which included a return to Chutneys in Bellevue.  When we were looking at the menu we were trying to remember which food we had and what was memorable about it.  Suddenly, I remembered I had blogged about Chutneys before:  here in fact!  We pulled up the post and used it to order.  So for the record, we got the lamb and the chicken again, but decided to do the halibut next time.  We also ordered basic Naan which is SOOOO good to use to sop up that delicious curry sauce!  For a bit of fun after our dinner, we got to talk with the owner for a while.  He brought us back in the kitchen to show us how they cooked the Naan.  That Tandoori oven is much smaller than I thought it would be and he said that ALL their food is cooked in that one.  Pretty amazing!  He was a genuine host and it was easy to see why his business is so successful.  We still love Chutneys!

Mama's Night Out

Went to Mama Stortini's last night with the gals for an ornament exchange.  No pictures taken, but since we ate in the dining room, rather than the bar as per our usual, I opted for the lobster mac and cheese.  I asked the server how it was and he said it was the first night on the menu.  That intrigued me more, so I went for that.  It was okay... for MAC and cheese.  The lobster was definitely an after thought, perhaps three pieces total in the dish.  Panko on the top was a nice touch and there wasn't anything inherently wrong with it (aside from needing salt).  It was a perfectly fine homemade mac and cheese.  But for me, it's not worth my splurge on calories and whatnot.  I'll stick with my standard gnocchi with marinara sauce in the future. 

Thank you!

I admit that we've eaten out some (such as Thai 65 with the FIT today again) since my last post.  But life has hit with a crazy abandon and I haven't found time to blog very much.  I'll try and stay on top of it though.  My little blogger info sheet told me that I had more views yesterday than the entire month combined.  Wow!  I didn't know anyone was still reading!  So thank you.  <sheepish smile>

Fairwood Thai

Just another lunch with the FIT

The ever important Chicken Pad See Ew.  FIT now eats nearly all of this himself.

Complimentary soup.  Meh, it's okay.

Tried their fried shrimp appetizer, which is actually coconut fried shrimp.  Pretty good, but probably won't get it again.  Too expensive and too much of it.