ramblings of a Seattle travel, food and photography hound
I've reviewed Monsoon East in a previous post. Located in Old Bellevue on the Eastside, it (along with the original Monsoon) is the best Asian fusion restaurant in the Seattle area. If there is any single reason why we don't come here often, it is that the restaurant seems more appropriate for a special occasion or... Continue Reading →
After an enjoyable afternoon at the movies (we saw "Silver Linings Playbook"), we were trying to think of a place to eat around Bellevue Square. The thing is, there hardly are any appealing restaurants in what is arguably the hippest shopping complex in all of western Washington. I know people who live in Seattle who... Continue Reading →
We'd been going to Shanghai Café for a long time, shortly after it first opened in (I believe) 1998. So that's almost fifteen years that we've patronized what has become our go-to Chinese restaurant. Over the years, we've brought friends here. Almost without exception, they too have enjoyed the food. My daughter and son-in-law, both... Continue Reading →
Over twenty years ago, Wild Ginger, then located behind Pike Place Market on the downhill side of Western Avenue, opened to rave reviews. It was the owners' attempt to recreate the tastes they experienced throughout Southeast Asia in the late 1980s. Wild Ginger moved to new, more upscale digs on 4th Avenue 12 years ago,... Continue Reading →
When foodies talk about Japanese soup noodles, they usually think of ramen, arguably the most popular kind found all over Japan. Not as well known outside Japan is a different type of soup noodle, also of Chinese origin, that is widely popular, called udon. The wheat noodle is thick-cut and the very best freshly-made versions have... Continue Reading →
The Seattle Japanese Garden, nestled in the Washington Park Arboretum near the University of Washington, is beautiful at any time of year, but never more so than in the autumn, when brilliant fall colors run riot among the Japanese maples. In the past, we never managed to visit the garden at the right moment when... Continue Reading →
We're fortunate in the Seattle metropolitan area that a large number of Asian restaurants have opened in the last, say, 20 years, one of the definite perks of living in a large city on the West Coast. Among the many ethnic varieties, a new Thai restaurant seems to be opening every week. Just last week,... Continue Reading →
As I posted earlier, the large population of Mexican-Americans in eastern Washington naturally leads to the startup of quite a few Mexican restaurants. Driving through the main drag of small towns, such as Quincy, you can't help but notice how many there are. All that competition should raise the overall quality. For dinner tonight, we... Continue Reading →
Eastern Washington has many Mexican restaurants, even in the small towns of the Palouse. One could say that here they are as ubiquitous as pizza, hamburger and Chinese restaurants. After a day of driving over halfway across the state, hiking and marveling at Missoula Flood remnants, we wanted margaritas, so that meant Mexican food.Yelpers seemed... Continue Reading →
One of the biggest surprises about Northwest natural history is that there were many catastrophic floods during recent geological times that dramatically altered the landscape of Washington state. Almost half the state was inundated. This hypothesis was first put forward by geologist J Harlan Bretz in the 1920s. These floods are thought to have swept through the state... Continue Reading →
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