A foodie tour of Seattle
Well, I guess I'm a pseudo-foodie. I try my hardest to not eat anywhere I could eat at home when I travel.
Day 1: We arrived at our hotel, famished after splitting a $5 snack box on our Northwest flight. We had some Kashi protein bars and an orange on the plane as well. On the way up Pike Street, we spotted a Vietnamese bistro called Bambuza where I had the teriyaki noodles with prawns added and Nik had the coconut curry prawn soup. We had an awesome green jasmine tea with dinner and it was just the best thing we could have eaten at that time. Later, we were out 'reconnoitering' the area and we stopped by the Cheesecake Factory and picked up a piece of the Toblerone cheesecake to split. It, too, was yummy, but I didn't care for the texture of the Toblerone layer in the cake.
Day 2: I had much of this day to play. We have free breakfast at our hotel, and we definitely ate our fill that morning. We headed up to the cemetery and then over to Chinatown. There, we picked up some donuts from a Vietnamese bakery and they were delish. Nik's custard was still warm. My lemon, while not warm, was a little sticky but still tasty. Our next stop was the Uwajimaya grocery where I had the honey moon bubble milk tea with tapioca and Nik had the almond milk tea with tapioca. Nik's was far, far too sweet. So sweet he couldn't finish it. Mine was just right. I felt like Goldilocks with it.
Following our visit to Uwajimaya we found a Japanese restaurant whose name escapes us (began with a 'T' and ended with an 'i' and had a very cute and happy octopus on the sign outside. Inside, the restaurant rang with the unending graciousness of the hostess / owner, whose 'Thank you' was repetitive, yet always sincere. We loved the hand-drawn specials signs hanging on the walls of the booth we were in, and ordered accordingly. One dish proclaimed that it came with a side of chili sauce so you could 'make your own hotness'. The chicken bento box I had was wonderful. Nik had a seasonal soup (with the chili sauce) and it was excellent. It had chicken, Udon noodle, tofu, cabbage in it and was topped with some green onion slices. No disappointment at our table, and we gave a resounding "thank you" as we were leaving.
Dinner on Friday was excellent as well. We walked 'up the hill' to the Capitol Hill district in search of a local restaurant not populated by librarians. We finally succeeded in locating a Mexican restaurant called La Puerta. I ordered the chipotle chicken enchiladas and Nik had the Expresso burrito with chicken. We ordered a side of guacamole to go with the excellent salsa and still warm chips. The guacamole was creamier than I would have liked, and less chunky by far than I prefer it, but I was hungry and had no problem finishing my entree. I ordered the enchiladas before sampling the salsa. I was worried after the afterburn of the salsa that the enchiladas would be too hot to eat, but they were warm, and flavorful. I had a local hefeweizen, the brewery name now escapes me, but it was a great accompaniment.
Day 3: Yup. Breakfast in the hotel. I was disappointed the egg and meat options did not change. The egg is a little omelette wrapped around a mild Swiss cheese that is creamy and not overpowering. The meat is sausage pattie. I was hoping for a bacon break, but it was not to come. They have the kitschy waffle makers, so I've been on a one-a-day kick with those. I'm so thankful for all the walking up hill that I am doing in this town. Lunch was with a friend after I was shut out of a meeting due to the room being filled. We ate at Subway where I had my standard turkey and ham. It's always a good choice as far as I am concerned. Dinner was unplanned. We kicked around ordering in, but by the time I detoxed from a busy day of meetings, I was ready to go out. We sought recommendation from our desk staff at the hotel for an Italian restaurant (I was dying for pasta of a sudden). He recommended a mom-and-pop operation about 2.5 blocks away called Machiavelli's. We arrived to a crowded bar and the hostess promised us seating within 20 minutes. I'd give them better props for overestimating the time, but she came back to tell others a longer time than she had us as the folks kept pouring in the door. I think we about a half hour to be seated. Not bad for a place where folks like to linger and where they have no more than 20 or so tables in the dining room. Once seated, by the front window, we scanned the menu and made selections quickly. We were delivered a half loaf of bread, in four slices each of a hearty whole wheat Italian and one with black and green olives baked in. Our dip was a hearty balsamic vinaigrette that stood up to the bread beautifully. I ordered the spinach pasta with sausage in the house red sauce and Nik ordered the linguine in red clam sauce. Both were wonderful, if garlicky. Our house salads were unique and delicious: They came with cici beans and the tastiest bite of beet that I've had in a long time. The beet was perfectly cooked. I chose a split of Prosecco to go with the meal. Dessert was a joy. We had their twist on tiramisu, which had a chocolate filling. I could have that at every meal for the rest of my life and not grow tired of it.
Day 4: Breakfast at the hotel again. Lunch was a date at the Cyber Dog cafe just below our hotel on the hill before you get to the convention center. We each ordered the coney island dog with chili and green onions. The catch here is that all the dogs are vegan: no meat, Ladies and Gentleman. You couldn't tell, they were so tasty and the 1/4 lb. size. They required eating with a knife and fork. The only drawback to the place is the cyber cafe arrangement means one-seat seating in most cases. We took our dogs to go and went to the convention center lobby and secured a table. Dinner tonight is at the tapas restaurant up the block. Tango should be an interesting experience.
Day 1: We arrived at our hotel, famished after splitting a $5 snack box on our Northwest flight. We had some Kashi protein bars and an orange on the plane as well. On the way up Pike Street, we spotted a Vietnamese bistro called Bambuza where I had the teriyaki noodles with prawns added and Nik had the coconut curry prawn soup. We had an awesome green jasmine tea with dinner and it was just the best thing we could have eaten at that time. Later, we were out 'reconnoitering' the area and we stopped by the Cheesecake Factory and picked up a piece of the Toblerone cheesecake to split. It, too, was yummy, but I didn't care for the texture of the Toblerone layer in the cake.
Day 2: I had much of this day to play. We have free breakfast at our hotel, and we definitely ate our fill that morning. We headed up to the cemetery and then over to Chinatown. There, we picked up some donuts from a Vietnamese bakery and they were delish. Nik's custard was still warm. My lemon, while not warm, was a little sticky but still tasty. Our next stop was the Uwajimaya grocery where I had the honey moon bubble milk tea with tapioca and Nik had the almond milk tea with tapioca. Nik's was far, far too sweet. So sweet he couldn't finish it. Mine was just right. I felt like Goldilocks with it.
Following our visit to Uwajimaya we found a Japanese restaurant whose name escapes us (began with a 'T' and ended with an 'i' and had a very cute and happy octopus on the sign outside. Inside, the restaurant rang with the unending graciousness of the hostess / owner, whose 'Thank you' was repetitive, yet always sincere. We loved the hand-drawn specials signs hanging on the walls of the booth we were in, and ordered accordingly. One dish proclaimed that it came with a side of chili sauce so you could 'make your own hotness'. The chicken bento box I had was wonderful. Nik had a seasonal soup (with the chili sauce) and it was excellent. It had chicken, Udon noodle, tofu, cabbage in it and was topped with some green onion slices. No disappointment at our table, and we gave a resounding "thank you" as we were leaving.
Dinner on Friday was excellent as well. We walked 'up the hill' to the Capitol Hill district in search of a local restaurant not populated by librarians. We finally succeeded in locating a Mexican restaurant called La Puerta. I ordered the chipotle chicken enchiladas and Nik had the Expresso burrito with chicken. We ordered a side of guacamole to go with the excellent salsa and still warm chips. The guacamole was creamier than I would have liked, and less chunky by far than I prefer it, but I was hungry and had no problem finishing my entree. I ordered the enchiladas before sampling the salsa. I was worried after the afterburn of the salsa that the enchiladas would be too hot to eat, but they were warm, and flavorful. I had a local hefeweizen, the brewery name now escapes me, but it was a great accompaniment.
Day 3: Yup. Breakfast in the hotel. I was disappointed the egg and meat options did not change. The egg is a little omelette wrapped around a mild Swiss cheese that is creamy and not overpowering. The meat is sausage pattie. I was hoping for a bacon break, but it was not to come. They have the kitschy waffle makers, so I've been on a one-a-day kick with those. I'm so thankful for all the walking up hill that I am doing in this town. Lunch was with a friend after I was shut out of a meeting due to the room being filled. We ate at Subway where I had my standard turkey and ham. It's always a good choice as far as I am concerned. Dinner was unplanned. We kicked around ordering in, but by the time I detoxed from a busy day of meetings, I was ready to go out. We sought recommendation from our desk staff at the hotel for an Italian restaurant (I was dying for pasta of a sudden). He recommended a mom-and-pop operation about 2.5 blocks away called Machiavelli's. We arrived to a crowded bar and the hostess promised us seating within 20 minutes. I'd give them better props for overestimating the time, but she came back to tell others a longer time than she had us as the folks kept pouring in the door. I think we about a half hour to be seated. Not bad for a place where folks like to linger and where they have no more than 20 or so tables in the dining room. Once seated, by the front window, we scanned the menu and made selections quickly. We were delivered a half loaf of bread, in four slices each of a hearty whole wheat Italian and one with black and green olives baked in. Our dip was a hearty balsamic vinaigrette that stood up to the bread beautifully. I ordered the spinach pasta with sausage in the house red sauce and Nik ordered the linguine in red clam sauce. Both were wonderful, if garlicky. Our house salads were unique and delicious: They came with cici beans and the tastiest bite of beet that I've had in a long time. The beet was perfectly cooked. I chose a split of Prosecco to go with the meal. Dessert was a joy. We had their twist on tiramisu, which had a chocolate filling. I could have that at every meal for the rest of my life and not grow tired of it.
Day 4: Breakfast at the hotel again. Lunch was a date at the Cyber Dog cafe just below our hotel on the hill before you get to the convention center. We each ordered the coney island dog with chili and green onions. The catch here is that all the dogs are vegan: no meat, Ladies and Gentleman. You couldn't tell, they were so tasty and the 1/4 lb. size. They required eating with a knife and fork. The only drawback to the place is the cyber cafe arrangement means one-seat seating in most cases. We took our dogs to go and went to the convention center lobby and secured a table. Dinner tonight is at the tapas restaurant up the block. Tango should be an interesting experience.