bbqer

I heartily agree with you, Kiliki. I found their fish and chips highly ordinary. However, that sirloin sandwich at Norm's sounds great. Thanks for the review!

Now *that's* strong coffee!

Now that's the kind of salad I really enjoy...something beyond the normal fare. When I pop in for lunch at Matts' in the Market, I really like their salad with the sunflower seeds.

Thanks, tsquare! I walked over there for lunch and had a nice pork bahn mi. It looked like their seafood pho was pretty tasty as well.

Does anyone know where in the Pike Place Market Saigon is located? I've never run across it. Thanks!

Welcome to the neighborhood! I'm close to you at 4th and University. There's a quite tolerable teriyaki place on the corner of 5th and Seneca, above a shoe repair shop (we affectionately call it Shoe Leather Teriyaki) that's quite good. Good for carry-out but you can eat there as well. Don't know if you've tried the Columbia Tower (or whatever they're calling it now) food court yet, but there are a couple acceptable alternatives. I like the Vietnamese place because they have bahn mi sandwiches ($3 with a canned drink) that are terrific. My favorite is the barbecued pork. They also serve tasty beef pho and seafood pho soups. There's a Market Fresh nearby that features fresh market foods, an especially tasty salad bar. And there's a little Indian place that has your choice of two tasty Indian entrees plus rice and salad for a very reasonable price. At the Marion Court, on 3rd and Marion, I like Cafe Zum Zum on Fridays when all vegetarian curries are on special. Also noteworthy are the Thai place, pizza place, and Taco Del Mar. Don't let traveling time/distance deter you. You can hop a 3rd Avenue bus and cut some traveling time off a pleasant lunch hour at the Pike Place Market (or even an early lunch at Salumi).

It would be nice to see a few more different restaurants in this promotion. I would think being part of this would truly benefit a restaurant, both short-term and long-term. BTW, Tighe, congrats on your 1000th post here. I always enjoy reading your cogent remarks.

The Crumpet Shop in Pike Place Market offers chicken and turkey sandwiches on their homemade thick-cut bread that is generally warm when I get it. Incredibly delicious bread!

The lamb sausage at Salumi. In fact, anything at Salumi.

I don't get to Salumi for lunch very often (it's a bus ride and involves taking longer than an hour for lunch generally). The few times I've been, I can never get beyond the Italian sausage sandwich or the lamb sausage sandwich, both of which I find incredibly flavorful. Does anyone have any other Salumi favorites? I've been tempted to order the hot meat sampler or the cold meat sampler but haven't yet succumbed. Comments?

Thanks, Sleepy Dragon, for corroborating that the Portland and new Seattle Marrakesh are under the same management. My wife and I had a marvelous meal recently at the Portland Marrakesh. Every course was delicious, but my wife is still raving about the lentil soup. It was the best lentil soup we ever had anywhere. We look forward to trying the new one in Belltown.

Does anyone know if this is part of the same Marrakesh that is in Portland on 21st?

There is a delightful Indian restaurant in Edmonds called Sahib -- down by the water, next to the train tracks, and just before the ferry landing (north side of the street). My wife and I have been going to Sahib for several years now and always enjoy the food. Certain times of the year (Indian holidays?) they feature special buffet feasts that are quite wonderful. But it's their regular menu that shines. The lamb biryani is one of our favorite dishes. A typical dinner for us consists of perhaps a mango lassi to drink, garlic naan (delicious!), vegetable raita, lamb biryani, chicken tikka masala, and afterward, a walk along the beach just a few steps away. Highly recommended. BBQer

Just wanted to add to this thread a bit on my favorite downtown Szechuan restaurant: Chinese Wok on 4th near Blanchard (across from the Darth Vader building, a handy landmark). The Chinese Wok used to be on Fifth and Bell or so, but disappeared temporarily. They are back in nicer space (but still somewhat small) and have the same chef, which means several superb dishes. Kung Pao Chicken, Mongolian Beef (or Mongolian Chicken), and a heavenly dish called Triple Delight are some of the standbys. My personal favorite, Triple Delight, is a stir fry of mushrooms, water chestnuts, mini-corn cobs, snow peas, broccoli, asparagus, and green beans (depending some on what's in season), dotted with shrimp, tender sliced beef, and chicken (the Triple Delight). All ingrediants are infused in a deep, rich one-star to five-star Szechuan sauce that is to die for. I generally accompany my lunch with a cup of their hot and sour soup, which is one of the best of this genre I've had. The above lunch entrees are in the $5-$7 range. My total bill is usually around $8. Going early (11:30 or so) usually ensures a table, although this place fills up fast.

I like strong, bold coffee so I tend to favor the dark city roasts of Starbucks. When I purchase whole bean coffee for home, I have them mix up a custom blend of 3/4 Sumatra and 1/4 Italian. However, I also like Peets flavors and the Torrefazione Italia in my office building has a nice flavor, too, but could be stronger for my taste. Does anyone have any bold coffee places they would recommend? Or coffee places with bold coffee?

Since I moved to Seattle in 1988, I could never understand why Pagliacci continued to appear on "Best of Seattle" pizza lists. I still don't understand it, but now at least I can understand why some people like going there, from the ambiance noted in some of these posts. Still haven't found any pizza to come close to Chicago and Milwaukee where I formerly lived. Maybe some day....