cburnsi
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Posts posted by cburnsi
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I'm looking for a great venue to entertain clients in Seattle. They are all men in their early 30s from Vancouver.
Would appreciate your suggestions for a venue that has great food, an even better atmosphere for entertaining, and is located either in downtown Seattle or Bellevue.
I've looked at Tavolata and Union online but have tried. Tavolata looks like an interesting room. Union looks a tad too upscale (quiet and catering to the romantics in the room)?
Your suggestions would be appreciated.
Many thanks!
I think if I was entertaining that many youngish men I would opt for Joey's at Lake Union
Good looking waitstaff and a veiw of lake union - but I believe they are based in Canada.I wouldn't go to Matt's even though the food and the view are great, I've found with groups that the menu is too small.
If its an expense acct dinner I'd consider Daniel's or the Waterfront. Otherwise I like Dahlia or Union.
cburnsi
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balomi, the machine you're talking about sounds like what I'm looking for. There are various types, but the simplest just makes rice balls. I will check it out. Are you talking about the one in Queen Anne? Thanks!
Whenever I look in the window at the SouthCenter costco their sushi robot is going like crazy, in fact I think I've seen it in other Costco's too....
cburnsi
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Has anyone heard if Mediterranean Kitchen on lower Queen Anne has closed? CitySearch has a big *CLOSED* next to their name. I tried to call but no one answers, ths isn't unusual as they haven't been open for lunch for a while (and its lucky to get someone to answer during regular hours
)The worst etiquette! (answering my own post) Sorry
I spoke to the owner's son (who runs the restaraunt in Bellevue) and he confirms that Med Kitchen in Seattle has closed as of a week ago yesterday. This seriously bums me out, but I can understand people wanting to retire - especially from this industry
cburnsi
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Has anyone heard if Mediterranean Kitchen on lower Queen Anne has closed? CitySearch has a big *CLOSED* next to their name. I tried to call but no one answers, ths isn't unusual as they haven't been open for lunch for a while (and its lucky to get someone to answer during regular hours
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Does anyone know what is going in to the old "Q" space on Queen Anne? I noticed a liquor license in the window yesterday but as I was driving (and there was no place to park) I couldn't check it out.
cburnsi
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I went to the pre-opening party at Opal on the top of Queen Anne last night.
Nice write-up cburnsi. Tell me about the chefs there, where were they before?
I understand that it is Tyler Anderson formerly of The Rainier Club and Andrew Leonard in the kitchen. I ordered the tenderloin there over the weekend and although I didn't taste the flavors of France, Burma or Morocco it was perfectly done.
cburnsi
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I went to the pre-opening party at Opal on the top of Queen Anne last night. This is the new 'world cuisine' place owned by Orrapin (of the Thai restaurant of the same name next door). I believe the menu is going to be mostly organic and local and the preps are taken from various places in her travels. I have guardedly high hopes; the space is beautiful and the menu looks intriguing. On the top of the hill we have lots of good restaurants but I'm excited to have a good 'nice' restaurant with a bar and space to be social (Portage is nice but too small).
Unfortunately I didn't get much food
(my fault) - too much conversation. I did have some excellent (and warm) bread and three kinds of tapenade; each was unique in color, texture and taste - it was a lovely combo and I hope it is presented that way on the menu. The most surprising to me was a tray that was being passed with what looked like (at first glance) your basic skewered meat appetizer - the meat turned out to be pork, but some of the most tender and juicy I can ever remember being offered in this format (on a stick that is) - and it had a beautifully roasted garlic bulb on the tip. The flavors were Chinese which further surprised me.What I did have plenty of was the signature cocktail - the Opal Martini. Yum. It was tart and sweet but not too much of either - I'm not big into sweet drinks). Someone told me it had gin, vodka and casis...I'm going to have to go back and investigate. Luckily I live close enough to walk
.Opening this weekend.
Also on Queen Anne:
Betty looks ready to open; that is the second location for the owners of Crow, located in the old Gorditos space.
Julia's has got to be close to opening as well - although I had heard they were scheduled for January
. It looks like everything is in place and the most recent rumor I've heard has them opening the first week in May -I'm sure they line for breakfast will be amazing every weekend in May!best,
CBurnsi
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The new HT Oak Tree market is open at 100th & Aurora. Nice selection of Asian goods & produce. Especially check out their sale aisle - they are clearing out old Larry's merchandise. Think boxes of gourmet teas, olives, spreads, etc. for super cheap!
Checked out the market today. They're still not very well stocked with Asian groceries though (couldn't find duck legs, lup cheong or dried shiitake mushrooms). I think the Asian food selection is bound to get better gradually as they phase out most of the Larry's stuff.
There are 2 features that are very very good for now, though: their bakery and their take out counter. They have baked hom bow, lotus seed and red bean buns, coconut pineapple buns and other Chinese goodies (in their display case, not prepackaged like at the Edmonds 99 Ranch Market, and fairly inexpensive---the BBQ pork hom bows are only $1.00 a piece) and some really delicious looking cakes (I especially liked the looks of the mango cake).
Their hot food counter has an amazing number of choices (better selection that most Chinese deli counters, including the one in the food court at Uwajimaya and 99 Ranch). Besides the usual Chinese takeout stuff and the char siu, roast pork, and roast duck (they even had a whole roasted pig's head today), they have some fairly hard to find menu items like kau yuk. Their plate lunch prices are reasonable too ($3.99-4.99). I didn't want to buy a whole plate lunch, I was only interested in the kau yuk, so I bought a side order of it (about 1/2 lb that only cost $1.99).
Since I live in the general neighborhood, I'm going to keep my eye on this place to see if they do really fill up the rest of the empty shelves with more Asian goodies over time.
Miulang
I went on Sunday. It was the first time I remember seeing chicken feet in a deli/takeout counter in the US. I had some very good hot and sour soup from the takeout and found a large variety of tofu (yes even several kinds of soft tofu), including fresh.
cburnsi
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I found cocoa nibs fairly regularly at Peet's Coffee in Fremont, Queen Anne Met Market and Pasta and Co.
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I'm in Fremont... though I'm pretty familiar with my nearest supermarket options. The PCC locations seem to be the worst place for finding soft, fresh tofu... QFC has it sometimes, but not usually in very good shape (thanks to optimistic expiration dates). Trader Joe's once upon a time had soft tofu but now it's hard or harder. If I go north toward the Korean shops in Shoreline or south to the ID, I can find decent options, just not in nearby markets.
I'm aware of La Spiga but it's not quite the "everyday dining" spot, or price range, that piadina would normally be, except maybe at lunch, when I'm generally not nearby... The fact that it's La Spiga is the exception is basically my complaint.
I haven't been to Vij's yet, but my stumbling Indian dining experience in Vancouver was less than remarkable (the same is true in Seattle for the most part, with a few Eastside exceptions).
Where do you live Jason? We can help you find soft tofu outside of the ID.My peeve is that Indian food is fantastic in Vancouver, B.C. and that Vancouver, B.C is not
within "hunger" distance when I want to eat. Why is the food in Seattle so different? Can't any of those restaurant owners from Vancouver come down here?
I regularly buy soft tofu and hadn't realized it was a problem to find - both Safeway and Met Market on Queen Anne have at least medium and usually soft tofu.
cburnsi
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Real ramen in Seattle!?!?!? Do they serve anything else, or just ramen? Man, I have to check this place out. Now if only there was a good okonomiyaki place in Seattle...
The Okonomiyaki isn't bad at Daimonji - and it is the only place I know of around here to get it
. We pass on the 'house' version and order our own. Daimonji is in a strip mall on Corson in the Georgetown neighborhood. -
What about Tia Lou's? They're not too far from the market. They might have something they could prepare and deliver.
I had read up on them but had been sticking to restaurants that had a website where I could check out their menu and also provided an e-mail that I could contact them with. I noted that they did have a great happy hour there though and they would have been a definite contender if we were going to go someplace. I may still give them a call though and see what they've got on offer since the location is good for us if we need to do a pick up.
Tia Lou's is decent and I've seen bridal parties parting there before, but if you are catering I would choose Cactus everytime. Another option would be Mission if they would cater and deliver - here's a link to a review.
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We also shop a lot at Metropolitan Market, though that will likely change now that the new Whole Foods has opened.
Are we talking about the Cascade store?!
Yes, the Cascade WF opened last Wednesday. Ling, have you been using the Met Market on the top of Queen Anne - or the new one in the old Larry's Market?
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I really like getting bahn mi at Green Papaya on Pine Street.
Hey, I noticed they were offering bahn mi a while back! I like their food but we always forget to go there. Can you talk about this some more? What do they offer? How much are they? I think it would take a lot to convince me to go there for a sandwich rather than wander a couple of blocks further down to Baguette Box...
Speaking of Baguette Box, does anyone else remember the pork confit sandwich they had for a very short time? I daydream about that sandwich.
--Ben
Also on Baguette Box, any word on the opening in Fremont?
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This makes me so happy! I can't beleive I missed that in the paper, I remember reading the rest of the article.
They must be a bit behind. The article says they were going to try to open in October.
thinking of truffled fries with my favorite (Major D) coffee.
cburnsi
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OK, Henry, In-N-Out versus Fatburger...what say you?
I was a big fan of Fatburger when there were just a handful in SoCal. It was the first burger I had that included a fried egg and relish. (I used to tip the cashier to make my fried egg extra runny
) I was extremely excited when they opened one up here in Bellevue. Unfortunately, I found that the memory was far greater than the real thing. I found the one I tried up here to be no better than any average burger. I'll have to try one again when I'm back in SoCal. So I'll have to stand by my old favorite In-N-Out as the best fast food burger I've had. Although a Carl's Jr. Western Bacon Cheeseburger comes in a close second!I can't wait to try Taylor's Refresher in SF and Burgerville in Portland!
I was just at Taylor's last week. The burger was great and the fries were good, but the truely memorable thing for me was the mango shake that was the special that day. Wow! What a shake.
cburnsi
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If you love brisket or buy kosher meat and live in Seattle I hope you can help me out of a jam. My wife makes the meanest brisket you've ever tasted (no, sorry but you're not invited to our High Holiday feast this yr but I can provide the recipe). But one of the keys is finding the tenderest flank steak meat available.
We used to buy kosher meat at QFC. But last yr, we bought their kosher brisket & it was so tough it was almost shoe leather. I'm kinda wondering whether after the Kroger takeover they switched kosher meat vendors.
So the question is where can you find tender brisket (not prepared, but in raw form) in Seattle?
I've always had good luck with brisket at A&J meats on Queen Anne Ave, plus their peppered bacon is fabulous
cburnsi
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I've done regional food swaps through another online community, and here's the list of things I've sent:
smoked salmon
Aplets and Cotlets
dried cherries
Dilettante chocolates
Walla Walla onion mustard
hazelnuts
fireweed honey
marionberry preserves
Penguins caffeinated mints
wine
Tom Douglas teriyaki sauces and spice rubs
dried apple chips
pickled asparagus
coffee
Washington wine
Almond Roca
I always get ideas at the Market. DeLaurenti's always has a some interesting goodies of this sort, as does the Made in Washington store. And I always wind up finding a few things browsing the day stalls. The wine was the big hit one time; another time it was the Tom Douglas sauce; another it was the hazelnuts, which went to someone in Virginia who couldn't find them locally. She baked them into a torte that wowed her family.
And the pickled asparagus? That isn't something I automatically would associate with Washington. Is there a story here?cburnsi
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Cburnsi - bad news. We went to China Gate today, but they didn't have fukien rice. I'm not sure if it was good enough to warrant a weekend visit when they might have it again.
I've never had fukien rice before, so for future reference could you give me a description of it? That way hopefully I can spot it on the cart in case they misunderstand our request (which might've been the case today - Brian's Chinese is a little bit shaky).
It's too bad about the food at China Gate. This is a great example of the difference on a Sunday. The place is full of Asian families, both eating and waiting to eat. The kitchen is sending out food as fast as they can, everything is fresh fresh fresh. And there is more variety than you can count. If you are in the neighborhood on a Sunday around noon, you should just pop your head in and see what I mean.
Where are you off to next?
cburnsi
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Cburnsi - bad news. We went to China Gate today, but they didn't have fukien rice. I'm not sure if it was good enough to warrant a weekend visit when they might have it again.
I've never had fukien rice before, so for future reference could you give me a description of it? That way hopefully I can spot it on the cart in case they misunderstand our request (which might've been the case today - Brian's Chinese is a little bit shaky).
Bummer, sorry you didn't get the rice. It really is a great dish. It is on their regular chinese menu, but it is sometimes difficult to get understood. Fukien rice is a great dish but difficult to find. We found it in a Hong Kong Dim Sum place by pointing at someone else's table "what is it called?" we inquired. The response was something that surprised us, but then we figured out he was really saying "Fukien Rice"
, as in that part of China.It is a type of fried rice really, the rice itself is the simpliest of fried rices with just egg in it I believe. The interesting part is the top which is all the parts that could be in a complicated fried rice, plus gravy! I always thought this was a way to use up leftovers - it has a little duck, a little fish, a little shell fish, mushrooms, peas and who knows what else -all in this remarkable dark gravy (definetly more a gravy than a sauce). At China Gate (which is the most reliable place we have found it in Seattle) as in Hong Kong, it is served in a Pyrex pie dish.
cburnsi
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cburnsi - we're going to China Gate next week, so I'll be sure to ask him about it.
Great! I'll be watching the blog
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I don't know about Sunday being better than Saturday, but weekends are probably better. Unfortunately with work schedules, Tuesday seems to be the best day for us, although our original plan was Sunday. I guess when we're done I can start a "weekend dim sum" blog
Thanks to Brian's command of Chinese, we were also able to special request a few things, so I don't think we'll be missing out too much. In my experience, I've actually had less variety going in on weekends by myself than the last few Tuesdays with Brian.
Dim Sum is a traditional place/meal for after church on Sunday(at least for families I know), you will find Sunday Dim Sum more crowded and with more variety than any other day of the week, even Saturday. I would be surprised if Dim Sum restaurants in San Francisco, Oakland and Seattle at least, don't do at least 30% more business on Sunday than on Saturday and substantially more than on weekdays or evenings. This turnover means the food is always fresh and hot, even on the carts.
There are many things that are offered on Sunday that are probably not even supplied for on any other day, this is especially true if you are ordering off the carts - you will see better than twice the variety on a Sunday. In restaurants such as Jade Garden, China Gate, Imperial Garden, Noble Court and Jeem the larger Sunday selection is very apparent, its not that there is anything missing on the weekdays - there are just more and more exciting things on Sunday and to a lesser extent on Saturday.
I'd be interested in hearing what Brian thinks of the Fukien Rice at China Gate and how it compares to what you get in HK, and in general his opinion of Jeem - if you get to the east side.
cburnsi
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A Hong Kong native and self-appointed dim sum expert friend of mine and I have decided to try to eat at every dim sum place in the ID, and I've created a blog to chronicle our adventures. We'll be trying a different place every Tuesday, and after we get done with the ID we'll move on to the rest of Seattle.
Check out www.seattledimsum.blogspot.com for reviews.
Sounds like a great undertaking. I'll be looking forward to your reviews. Reading about tripe on your blog got me thinking...if you go on Tuesdays you will miss all the wonderful treats and variety that are usually reserved for Sundays.
cburnsi
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Mandalay Cafe in Wallingford is closing. Last chance to taste that fabulous nut curry. Our server said the owners are moving to Canada (was it something we said?) and that the chef from the W Hotel bought the place.
Chris
From what I read in the PI, I'm looking forward to the new incarnation. Tilth
Authentic Mexican Food in King/Snohomish County?
in Pacific Northwest & Alaska: Cooking & Baking
Posted
Can't wait to try it! Can you recommend a (Mexican) lunch spot that I try when I go down there?
cburnsi