Friday, September 25, 2009

Seattle eats

Just returned from a 4 day trip to Seattle to promote Hungry. And we did not go hungry. We found a Vietnamese place, Tamarind Tree, that rivals any in San Jose. We went for lunch and it was so good we returned with a group for dinner. The menu is the same but prices are about $2 more at dinner. It's a lovely room plus a really nice patio with a waterfall in a pretty rundown shopping strip on Jackson and 12th Ave. S. A fantastic banh xeo (Vietnamese crepe) with large shrimp and coconut milk in the batter, beautifully balanced green mango salad, and an anise infused pho at lunch. The highlight of dinner was Thanh Long yellow fish (tumeric seasoned catfish) to wrap in lettuce and herbs with peanuts and other goodies-- really amazing. The bon bon salad equalled the mango salad and shitake satay was very good. Any of the fresh rolls are recommended. Another amazing entree was the chicken ginger vodka, marinated in vodka overnight braised with ginger. Grilled beef short ribs were fine, but compared to the chicken and fish, don't bother. And their wine list is pretty good too. 8 people feasted for less than $30 each.

The other change-my-life find was the Cuban sandwich place, Paseo. I heard about this the last time I went to Seattle and was thrilled to try it this time. We went to the Ballard locks before we had to get back to the airport and fortunately there's one in Ballard on Seaview Avenue. OMG! We had to wait until we got on the plane to eat so they were a little soggy but the roasted pork sandwich is one of if not the best sandwich anywhere (gives the meatball sandwich at Mario's in SF a run for its money). Huge chunks of incredibly tender pork shoulder with a garlic aioli, carmelized onions, lettuce, jalapenos on a baguette roll. Also had their original grilled pork (very nice) and the seared scallop with a 3 out of 5 hotness request. Unique and very good but the pork shoulder was the clear winner. I want one now.

We also had a pleasant French meal at Le Pichet right near Pike's Place Market. Highlights were the roast chicken for 2, lentil salad, falafel, and sardines. The hazelnut-crusted fish was a real salty miss but they took it off the bill, a real service-focused thing to do. It's very French with an excellent apperitif and wine list and recommended. In Bellvue, we had a satisfying lunch at Tao on 110th Ave. NE, a block from the library. Good variety of Japanese food with a few Korean dishes. The bento boxes are a great deal for $8.50 and you get a little cup of frozen yogurt at the end of the meal, which was just perfect.

Breakfast at Jimmy's on 1st in the Silver Cloud Inn-Stadium (our hotel via Priceline) was better than one might expect. Bagel with smoked salmon was generously layered with wild salmon, tomatoes, capers and chives for $10. In Pioneer Square we discovered Grand Central Baking Company, which makes the excellent baguettes for Le Pichet, above. They have a daily coffee cake that was terrific as well as healthy tasting muffins and scones. Everything looks good and everything we tried had satisfying texture. We had an excellent, albeit a little pricey sandwich at the famous Salumi, run by Mario Batali's father. The meats were so flavorful complimented nicely by tapenade, although the rolls could have been better. I was walking along Broadway and saw a long line at Dick's, a classic looking drive-in. Tried a burger (OK) but thought the fries were really good. I wasn't hungry enough to try their 1/4 pounder, which most people were getting.

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