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 - Fresh Bistro - Seattle, WA

Fresh Bistro

Despite living only about 20 minutes away, I rarely make it over to West Seattle.  But the occasional stroll along California Avenue is great!   For a friend's birthday dinner, we went to Fresh Bistro.   We were with a group of about 20, and unfortunately we didn't get to sit together.  So good to note, this place isn't great for groups.  We were seated in an area with our tables near each other, but were turning our chair around to be able to talk to people at other tables.  

Review - Luc - Madison Park, Seattle, WA

Luc

Ugh.  I don't particularly enjoy writing bad reviews, there are some meals I just wish I could forget.  This Sunday my SO and I decided to head to Madison Park and check out Luc.  I wish we had just gone elsewhere. Anywhere else.

Review - Island Soul Caribbean Restaurant - Seattle, WA

Island Soul Restaurant

I headed south to meet a friend for dinner in Columbia City.  We didn't have a set place to dine, so we wandered through the neighborhood until we found something.  We decided on Island Soul.  I had been there once before, but it's been quite a while so I didn't remember what I previously ordered... I just remembered that the Habanero Hot Sauce was really good!

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 - Local 360 - Seattle, WA

Local 360

So I would be lying if I didn't tell you that I have a slight bias against the hip "Localtarians" that are so prevalent in the Pacific Northwest.  A friend recently moved to PDX and one of his first observations was the over the top localtarianism.  Portlandia even spoofed the whole local sustainable movement in one of their shows.  With a roll of the eyes, I think to myself, "Really? What is the big deal?"  

Review - Salumi

Armandino's Salumi

What do I say that hasn't already been said about Salumi? If you love the swine, Salumi is the motherland. Porchetta, pancetta, sopressata, Guanciale, you name it, they make it.   From what I understand, Mario Batali's Dad, Armandino Batali went to Italy specifically to learn how to make these the real Italian way.   I don't really like to wait in lines for food but this is one place in Seattle that I will stand outside in the rain without an umbrella for! Fortunately this time there wasn't a line, one of the pork goddesses looked up to take my order, and I said,"One Porchetta and one meatball and Gorgonzola please!"

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 - La Isla

La Isla

So, yes, La Isla isn't exactly "authentic" Puerto Rican food.  The flavors aren't quite what one would find in Puerto Rico, but regardless, the food is still awesome!  I live a few minutes away and I don't come here nearly as often as I should.

Review - Book Bindery

Book Bindery

Walking in to Book Bindery, you immediately feel the warm welcoming vibe as if you entered into a familiar place. The atmosphere feels like the love child of Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware. The dim lighting and soft glow from the candle lights make it cozy.

Review - Ad Hoc

Ad Hoc

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I think I love Yountville... Everything is so quaint, and peaceful.  And in the middle of it all, is Ad Hoc.  Ad Hoc is exactly that, each day the menu changes, one meal is served to the entire crowd, and the menu is constantly changing.  They serve everything from Memphis Style Barbecue to Veal Porterhouse.   Every other Monday, they serve their famous fried chicken, unfortunately we missed out on this opportunity!  

Review - Jade Garden

Jade Garden

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I miss when Dim Sum were truly bite sized delicacies.  Now, it seems that most if not all Chinese Dim Sum restaurants have given in to what America wants.  Oversize Siu Mai, giant Hum Bow and portions so large they have to use sketchy kitchen scissors to cut the food up when they serve it.  ARGH!  If anyone knows of a place that serves what Dim Sum used to be, please, let me know.   Not to bag on Dim Sum, I love it, and I am not holding Jade Garden accountable for my rant, Jade Garden is actually pretty good for Dim Sum, if you are willing to battle the crowd.

Review - Flying Squirrel Pizza Co.

Flying Squirrel Pizza Co.

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I wasn't really impressed with Flying Squirrel Pizza Co.  I critique pizza mainly on the crust, and Flying Squirrel's crust just wasn't very good.  It was kind of too chewy, dry, and pretty bland.  Despite being a thin crust, the outer edge was kind of gross.  But I loved the toppings, so that's why I upped it to 2 stars for the food.  Crust, maybe 1 star.  The crust was even worse the next day.

Review - How To Cook A Wolf

How To Cook A Wolf

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How To Cook A Wolf is a great place for a late night dinner, they are open until midnight on Friday and Saturday!  They finally take reservations which is wonderful!  Even before they started accepting reservations, the wait time wasn't too bad. 

Review - Tavolata

Tavolata Zeppole $10

Tavolata

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Tavolata is our go to place for comfort food.  This place is all about their pastas.  I crave the Gnocchi Alla Romana.  It's not what I expected when I ordered it the first time.  I was expecting traditional gnocchi, you know, the small potato dumplings that are soft and chewy.  When it arrived, I knew I was in for a treat!  Tavolata's Gnocchi Alla Romana is to die for.  It comes to you piping hot in a ceramic dish on a hot wood plank.  There are 6 Gnocchi per order for $17, but each Gnocchi is giant.  They are shaped almost like small hockey pucks, and they are super soft, tender and covered in hot melted mozzarella cheese. The marinara sauce has a little spicy kick to it too, so that was a pleasant surprise!

The Definitive Guide to Pizza at Serious Pie

For pizza in Seattle, I have decided that Serious Pie is my favorite. I mentioned in a previous post that I believe that pizza is available in different categories. Frozen, delivery, traditional (Neapolitan) and gourmet. Serious Pie is definitely gourmet, and not necessarily for someone in search of traditional pizza.

Since moving to Seattle from the suburbs about 6 years ago, I have been exposed to a whole different level of pizza. Goodbye Domino's, Papa John's, Pizza Hut. Ick. Actually, I didn't really love pizza until I moved to Seattle. My SO loves pizza. Zeek's, Pagliacci, Via Tribunali, Veraci, you name it, we've tried it. Then Serious Pie opened and all of my pizza preferences shifted.

Review - Lecosho

Lecosho

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Definitely all about the pork! Lecosho's logo is a pig after all! I chose this restaurant to celebrate my meat loving friend's birthday, and it happened to be during the Dine Around Seattle promotion! It's a great way to sample some of Seattle's restaurants. For $30 you get a 3 course meal, often it's an appetizer, entree and dessert.

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.