Review - Piroshky, Piroshky - Seattle, WA

Piroshky, Piroshky - Seattle, WA

What better way to return to my blog than to rave about one of my favorite indulgences in Seattle!  Piroshky, Piroshky in Pike Place Market... Not to be confused with other Piroshky spots scattered throughout the city.  I think this spot might be the best one!

Review - Toulouse Petit - Seattle, WA

Toulouse Petit

After doing a little shopping at Urban Craft Uprising my Mom, my friend and I decided to go to Toulouse Petit for lunch.  I just returned from a week long cruise to Alaska (which I will blog about soon) where the food was absolutely horrible, and I was craving something good, anything good.  A little spicy Cajun/Creole food on a sunny day in Seattle sounded great!

Review - Green Leaf Vietnamese Restaurant - Seattle, WA

Green Leaf Restaurant

With all of the choices in the International District it can be difficult to find the good spots.  Thanks to the internet and sites like Yelp and Urbanspoon, restaurants are a little easier to choose.  More than reading reviews, I love to see the photos of the food - You can tell a lot from a photo!  So after visiting my Aunt and Uncle who live near the ID, we decided to finally try Green Leaf.

Review - Mr. Gyros - Seattle, WA

Mr. Gyros

I love this place!  This is our go to spot for Gyros!  There are two locations, one on Greenwood, and a newer location in Ballard.   The Ballard location is much bigger than the original Greenwood spot, and we live right in between the two.  I actually prefer the Greenwood location for takeout, Ballard is good if you plan to dine in since there is more seating. 

Review - Wann Izakaya - Seattle, WA

Wann Izakaya

I just love Izakaya style dining.  It's like Japanese Tapas, small plates meant for sharing, and lots of drinks to go around.  We've been going to Wann for quite some time and the food is consistently good!  I love the ambiance of the restaurant, and almost every time we are there, Japanese hipsters are there, boisterously speaking in their native tongue and having what appears to be a great time!

Review - Root Table - Ballard - Seattle, WA

Root Table

Entering into Root Table is how I imagine it feels to be transported to a treehouse in Thailand.  Everything is made from raw cuts of wood, some intricately carved into sculptures.  Each chair and table is unique.

Review - Barriga Llena - Seattle, WA

Barriga Llena

Nestled in a very brightly colored strip of shops is Barriga Llena.  The are self described as Mexico City Style Tortas.  A Mexican Torta is basically a sandwich, often filled with delicious marinated meats from Carne Asada to Carnitas.

Review - Mesa Grill - Las Vegas, NV

Mesa Grill

Sometimes it's difficult to write a review for a restaurant that you have been so repeatedly, it's hard to remember your initial reaction to the decor, the lighting, the overall ambiance.  If the food is good the first time, you will likely return a second.  If it's good the second and third times, you will likely become a regular.  I'll admit, the first time we dined at Mesa Grill, it was solely because I was hooked on watching Bobby Flay on Boy Meets Grill.  I followed a few of his recipes, and thought we might as well try one of his restaurants.

Review - Shiku Sushi

Shiku Menu

Shiku

It seems like Ballard has a sushi place on every corner lately.  Moshi Moshi (yuck, I got food poisoning there..), O'shan, the list goes on.  We finally decided to try Shiku.  

Review - The Other Coast Cafe

The Other Coast Cafe

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I should have read a few reviews before going to The Other Coast, these sandwiches are enormous! I ordered a 12" sandwich, thinking I would eat half and save half for later, but OMG, it was huge! I have to guess it was closer to 18", these sandwiches are probably three meals for me!

Review - Palace Kitchen

Palace Kitchen

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I love to try new restaurants, and they seem to pop up too fast for me to keep up. However, there are a few places that we return to time and time again. Palace Kitchen is one of them. We have dined here numerous times over the past several years, and we will keep coming back. The food is always consistent, and unique twists to their staple dishes help to change it up a bit!

Review - Paseo

Paseo

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Paseo has become a Seattle institution.  Caribbean food with a twist.  And definitely a hole in the wall.  But, 4 stars, because the food is THAT good.  Fortunately I live within 10 minutes of both the Ballard and Fremont locations, so we usually get our food to go, and bring it home.

Paseo Midnight Cuban Press $8.95

Fremont almost always has a long line, and they are known to sell out of sandwiches from time to time.  That's truly a disappointment when you arrive to see that sign!  So I have to admit, I haven't tried anything on the menu except the sandwiches.

Recipe - Miso Sesame Asian Chicken Salad

I think Asian Chicken Salads are really common, I have several versions that I've made, this one is the easiest, and possibly my favorite non-spicy version!  The dressing is Miso Sesame, with a ton of flavor!  If you are in a hurry, you can buy bottled Asian Sesame dressing too!

This recipe is for a large party sized serving but it can easily be scaled down for lunch or dinner using leftover chicken.

Miso Sesame Asian Chicken Salad

Recipe - Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan can seem like an overwhelming task in the kitchen, anything deep fried can be a lot of work to clean up.  This quick and easy recipe isn't baked, it's fried, just the way Chicken Parmesan should be!  I topped each piece of chicken with Provolone cheese and served it with Marinara sauce and spaghetti.  I doubled up this recipe and made this for a birthday party for a group of 8, and it was simple, and it was a hit!

Review - Dahlia Workshop

Dahlia Workshop

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A few years ago, we started having brunch at the Dahlia Lounge downtown.  The most memorable part of the brunch was the biscuits - they were phenomenal!  My friends and I continued to go there, mainly for the biscuits, but because brunch at the Dahlia has always been consistently good.  So weekends often started with brunch at either Lola or Dahlia. My fabulous friends even held my Bridal Shower Brunch at the Dahlia Lounge!  Everyone LOVED it, and they still talk about how great the food was!  (Thanks again C & A, you guys are wonderful!)

Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc Fried Chicken

Let me preface this by saying, although I am a fairly skilled cook, I am not a chef - I contemplated going to culinary school when I was in High School, but I hated HS so much, I had no desire to go back to school at all - Truth be told, I still have no desire to go back to school. I could barely make it to a pottery class I signed up for.


I have never made fried chicken before - I think it's partially the guilt involved with making anything deep fried, and also not understanding how to get the crispy flakes. I've tried some really gross home made fried chicken, and always preferred getting a bucket of Ezell's or even KFC. Then for my birthday, I received Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc At Home cookbook. My SO and I dined at Ad Hoc back in September and really loved it, so I was excited to give some of the recipes a try! I'd heard about TK's famous Fried Chicken Monday nights, but unfortunately we weren't there on a Monday.