ramblings of a Seattle travel, food and photography hound
Seattle's Ballard neighborhood has a stellar group of pizzerias, several of which opened only recently. Delancy, Veraci, Ballard Pizza, Stoneburner and Pagliacci come to mind. The latest entry is Patxi's Pizza serving a Chicago-style, thick crust pie. It originates from the San Francisco Bay Area, where the chain has nine outlets. There is great effort to use quality ingredients. The... Continue Reading →
A five-course omakase dinner for two at Miyabi 45th for $60? Yessiree, Groupon. I was motivated because of an excellent soba lunch that I had there recently. The Groupon special is not the only way to have this kind of dinner. A party can otherwise decide how much to spend per person and the Miyabi kitchen... Continue Reading →
The intriguing black ramen that I enjoyed a year ago at Setsuna Japanese Restaurant & Bar got me to wonder whether there was a hidden gem of a ramenya in the Northgate area. Opportunity knocked when we went with friends for dinner there. Setsuna's ramen menu offers four kinds: white, sakura, black and red, roughly descriptive of their colors. White... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
If phở hadn't become Vietnam's most popular dish here in the States, the vermicelli noodle salad known as bún might have taken its place. At least, that's what I like to think because I love them both and sometimes it's hard to pick between the two. For me, the choice might come down to the weather. Served at room temperature,... Continue Reading →
Crispy salted chicken (yan su ji) is so popular at Taiwanese night markets that it's doubtful there are stalls that don't serve it. Served as a snack, chicken pieces are cut up into nuggets and normally double-fried. They get their distinctiveness from a subtle five-spice flavor, batter of sweet potato flour and fried Thai basil leaves that accompany them. So, it was with... Continue Reading →
zoomeboshi 