ramblings of a Seattle travel, food and photography hound
The recently opened Stoneburner has two meanings, our waiter informed us. Not only does it refer to the stone hearth oven in the kitchen but also to the namesake chef, Jason Stoneburner, who is also the executive chef at Bastille, only a block away in Ballard. The waiter added that the menu is Italian-inspired, much... Continue Reading →
The biggest Asian restaurant opening to hit the Eastside since Din Tai Fung has been that of Kukai Ramen & Izakaya. Kukai is a highly successful ramen chain in Japan. The Bellevue branch is the first in the States. No sooner had Kukai opened its doors than the lines started forming. For weeks, you could... Continue Reading →
Because my wife and I will be driving down to Southern California in a few days, she and my daughter took me out for an early Father's Day dinner at Stumbling Goat, a restaurant in the Phinney Ridge/Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle. It's been around for at least ten years at the same location and has... Continue Reading →
If there is one sure sign that the Issaquah Farmers Market has started in earnest for the season, it's the silhouette of a familiar food truck when driving past Pickering Farm. Maximus/Minimus has been feeding the faithful for several years running. It draws many customers not only because of the good pulled pork sandwiches but... Continue Reading →
A sure sign of impending summer is the long-awaited appearance of the peony. It is greatly admired and revered in China and has unofficially been regarded as its national flower. More than ever, peonies have been popping up for sale here in the Seattle area (and I imagine elsewhere). When Costco and Trader Joe's begin... Continue Reading →
Getting a good banh mi sandwich on the Eastside is problematic. Several places sell them, but not exclusively, which doesn't mean that they're bad. It's just that the best places, like those in Seattle, specialize in this delicious Vietnamese sandwich. Much attention is paid to using the freshest bread and preparing the variety of fillings... Continue Reading →
When chef Cheng Biao Yang, one of Seattle's luminaries of Chinese—and specifically Szechuan—cooking sold Szechuan Chef to pursue another restaurant opportunity, fans began to wonder the inevitable. Would there be a decline in quality? As the weeks went by, there began to be reports that, yes, things have started to go downhill. I used to go there... Continue Reading →
Years ago, when I worked in Renton, a group of us used to go to Bai Tong for lunch, a Thai restaurant that was located on Airport Way near SeaTac airport. The interesting backstory is that an ex-Thai Airways flight attendant wanted to make familiar foods available to the Thai Airways crew on layover in... Continue Reading →
The recent run of good weather made it ideal for us to visit a local garden and admire the springtime displays. One of the small horticultural treasures in the Seattle area is the Bellevue Botanical Garden, a stone's throw away from the Bellevue commercial district. It's a resource for gardeners and a showcase for flowers, shrubs... Continue Reading →
We celebrated a friend's birthday by taking her out to a Salvadoran restaurant. El Comal has been in Bellevue for several years running now, having moved once from its location set back in a strip mall on the eastern edge of Crossroads Shopping area to one in the same mall but closer to 106th Ave... Continue Reading →
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