seattlemary

I am taking a dear friend out for her birthday. My first thought was to do Sitka & Spruce which neither of us have done> This would be mid-July. How early does one need to get there on a Saturday night in order to get two seats (communal table is a great idea)? Thanks. Mary

Have read lots of threads on here about Portland HH deals. I'll be down there for two days next week - I will have a car so can go to any part of town. I'm looking for good value and unique food experiences. I like all kinds of food. In previous visits, I was staying the NW area and had fun with HH treats there but it has been a number of years since I've spent time in Portland. Thanks for your help. Mary in Seattle

I like both rustic and smaller - I'm not crazy about green peppers in my hash but I can live with it. Geraldines sounds like a good idea - I hadn't thought of that - thanks tsquare. Since this is a weekday, Persimmon won't work. Mary

I'm looking for GOOD corned beef hash - made from scratch in Seattle for my birthday breakfast. It's one of my favorite things and not easy to find. Thanks. Mary

HELP - I was gifted with the Saulto Lever Corkscrew - I've always coveted a lever one but now I can't work it. SOrry to ask such a basic question but when I pull the lever back out, the metal cork puller just comes right out of the cork. I looked on line for instructions and any I find talk about twisting to have it pull the cork out. I can't figure out what to twist. Thanks for any help. Mary in Seattle

I would not recommend China Gate anymore - I used to enjoy that place, although not as much as Imperial Garden and places in Bellevue. I took my father-in-law yesterday and it was pretty poor. It was a weekday and the place was almost empty. The Cheong Fun (long rice paper shaped almost like a eggroll but not fried around shrimp) was some of the worst I've had in a LONG time. The Chinese Broccoli was luke warm. The shrimp rolls tasted kind of gummy as did another steamed dumpling with rice paper. We ordered a bowl of WonTon for my father in law who is not really into dim sum, and it was pretty flavorless and cost $8. The only good thing was the Hum Bow. So.... Seattle Mary

Spent a lovely 4 days down there and found a VERY good little place in Ilwaco of all places. It's called Pauly's Bistro (or Pauli's, not sure which). It's on the waterfront, at the very end and it does lunch and dinner most days. Lunch menu was about 4 salads, a chowder that looked good, a special soup, various sandwiches/burgers etc and "halibut and chips". I use quote marks because it was not your typical fish and chips. First of all, it was a very light breading, with lots of sesame seeds - I think they called it Sesame Crusted. It came with a very good tarter sauce and a slaw from fennell and apple. Plus they were very happy to substitute a side salad (your choice from the 4 salads listed) at no extra charge. (Cost of halibut & chips was $12) While my partner enjoyed that, I had the soup of the day which was a Posole which I really liked - quite a bit of pork, firm hominey, just enough spicing and a good broth. I had this in a combo plate with choice of salad and had the "house" which is good greens, apples, gorganzola and candied walnuts. Cost of Combo plate was $9. Had a glass of "decent house white" which was quite decent but don't know what chardonay for $4.50 Dinner menu looked nice - if I remember correctly had preparations of oysters, pork, steak, chicken etc plus starters and soups and salads. Also went to the Ark on Sunday night as they are only open Friday to Sunday. It has not really changed much at all - same wait staff although I hear the bartender has changed, same menu, similar quality. I had a mushroom crusted loin of lamb which was pretty good, but it came with a couscous that had a moroccan flavor that didn't really compliment the sauce of the lamb. I asked the waitperson what the flavorings of the sauce and the couscous were and got back the answer from the kitchen that the sauce was just a demi glace which really didn't tell me much and that the couscous was simply flavored with veggies. I wouldn't go back unless the new owners make some changes but I still like the space (kind of tacky but with a great view) and the people. But with a much cheaper option of Pauly's, I would gladly go down to Ilwaco. Thanks for the suggestions before the trip. Mary

I tried doing a search but I end up with all kinds of things - too many other Long Beaches etc. Merrill & I are hoping to spend mid week before I start tax season down in that area and. although we hope to mostly cook for ourselves, and we will probably end up at the Ark one night, we are looking for other ideas. Also if anyone has suggestions for renting an "affordable" (ie cheap) house where we can hear the ocean from Sunday through Thurs AM, I would love ideas. Thanks. Mary

It's almost dinner time, I still have two boxes with leftovers (haven't even opened to see what I ended with) and I am still full. Talk about a wonderful dinner and evening. Thanks so much to Rocky and Lauren and Paul for all the work they all did. It was wonderful. If I had to choose fav's, I would guess the honey dew fish, the lobster and the rice cake with beef or pork on it. Oh and the meat balls. Thanks again. Mary

If there's room for one more, I'd love to go. I was on a road trip for almost 2 months and it's taken me a while to get settled back in. Thanks. Mary

I consider myself very lucky in that I live within easy walking distance from the U district market and I love it. But I often go to Ballard on Sundays because it is NOT all the same vendors - I sometimes get annoyed that the same group of farmers get the spots at U District, Columbia City and West Seattle. Haven't been the Lake City Way one (thanks for the reminder, I must get up there). Ballard was the first one to deal with organic meat and I like to support diversity. Mary