ramblings of a Seattle travel, food and photography hound
Fish and chips restaurants abound in the Pacific Northwest, not surprising when there's nothing but the Pacific Ocean to the west. Perhaps the most well-known fish-n-chippery in the Seattle area is Ivar's, once owned by Ivar Haglund whose image and personality in local circles rivaled those of Colonel Sanders. His corporation also used to fund a big... Continue Reading →
It's easy to miss, even as you're driving slowly along Front Street in Issaquah looking for it. The storefront is just a sliver, which also describes the very tiny space inside, taken up by four small tables and a skinny counter with stools. Don't let any of that fool you. Max's World Cafe is world-class cuisine. The... Continue Reading →
Amid the current craze to start ramen restaurants, it's refreshing to find a restaurant that serves only soba. Sobaya (restaurants that specialize in soba) are not common in the States, though many Japanese restaurants have it on the menu among their other offerings. Seattle has a sobaya (and izakaya) in the form of Wallingford's Miyabi 45th, which began business... Continue Reading →
Major construction on the northwest corner of Main Street and Bellevue Way prevented a friend and me from having lunch at La Cocina del Puerco because of the lack of parking spaces. So as I drove up to Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, I noticed no one standing outside waiting to be seated. Friend was agreeable to... Continue Reading →
An event like the Eastside Food Truck Snackdown is problematic for a solo diner, such as yours truly at this second annual Crossroads shopping center gala. With twelve mobile trucks to choose from, I'm not able to sample more than a couple things. I cased the possibilities three times. A few trucks drew my attention, among them one... Continue Reading →
The Taiwanese presence in the Bellevue Chinese restaurant scene is unmistakeable. And why not? The Eastside city has a large demographic of Americans of Taiwanese descent. It was no surprise that Din Tai Fung established its first Northwest location in Bellevue's Lincoln Square complex. Many Chinese restaurants in the city, some explicitly serving Taiwanese cuisine and others... Continue Reading →
It wasn’t until Anthony Bourdain in 2009 featured Side Street Inn on “No Reservations” that this local hangout became nationally famous. It’s the answer to the oft-asked question, Where do famous chefs go to eat after work? Some of Honolulu’s top chefs, including Roy Yamaguchi and Alan Wong, had been coming all along just to “hang... Continue Reading →
No sooner did we have an outstanding dinner at The Pig and the Lady last Tuesday than we came across them at the Honolulu Saturday Farmers Market. What was one of Honolulu’s hottest new restaurants doing here?, I wondered. It isn’t so strange, as it turns out, for The Pig and the Lady started out... Continue Reading →
Poké is ubiquitous in Hawaii. Virtually any restaurant serving island food will have it on the menu. It is typically made with raw yellowfin tuna (ahi poké). Combined with sea salt, soy sauce, sesame oil and limu (algae), it's a distinctively Hawaiian creation. Variations include other seasonings and aromatics. While it has been a popular food staple in the... Continue Reading →
After an exhausting day of sipping iced mochas at Starbucks and going to the movies, we decided to unwind by taking advantage of happy hour at Chart House lounge, where we’d last gone in 2009. The popularity of the bar—or maybe it’s the terrific view of the marina and the setting sun from almost any... Continue Reading →
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