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Etta's

malarkey
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malarkey

malarkey

Posted
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We ended up at Etta's for dinner last night after going down and trying to get into Buenos Aires Grill without reservations (duh on a saturday night) and to tell you the truth, I was a bit hesitant. I've heard a few bad reports on Etta's lately and its been years since I've eaten there so I had no idea what to expect.

In short, it was really damn good!

first of all the bread comes from their bakery so its the BEST in town. spinach salad with pear and curried cashews and bacon, and crispy shrimp egg rolls came first. both dishes kicked ass. entree: sea bass in a fennel saffron broth with chorizo and risotto. wow, really great dish, just slightly spicy, wish there was a bit more of the chorizo in it. Tuna with sort of an asian salad thing (I only had one bite of this so I'm not completely remembering the flavors) but very subtle, the tuna was cooked perfectly. and the neaderthals, er, meat cravers had steak frites that comes with a blue cheese goo melted over the steak.

And we had a great spanish grenache with it that was... (drum roll please) cheap! er, affordable!

All in all, it was a lovely experience, from the food to the service. I can understand when you have an empire of restaurants how consistency can be a challenge, but if you've sworn off all of Tom's places, you might want to give them a chance again. We had nothing to complain about and a lot to be happy about.

Born Free, Now Expensive

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lala

lala

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Love Etta's, never had a bad experience there. Good food, excellent staff...

“"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

"It's the same thing," he said.”

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SeaGal

SeaGal

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I've also had good experiences at Etta's. Every once in awhile I crave and have to have their crab cakes with tomatillo salsa with the really wonderful, thin, crispy, real fries. They also usually have good veg sides and appetizers. I think of it as a reliable place to go for a good late afternoon lunch if I'm shopping at the market or with out-of-towners when doing the Market. I probably wouldn't choose it for dinner--I'd go to Matt's or Cafe Campagne instead.

Jan

Seattle, WA

"But there's tacos, Randy. You know how I feel about tacos. It's the only food shaped like a smile....A beef smile."

--Earl (Jason Lee), from "My Name is Earl", Episode: South of the Border Part Uno, Season 2

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Sweet Willie

Sweet Willie

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I must disagree

Etta's came highly recommended to us, so of course we went. VERY mediocre! The chef seemed to be trying too hard to come up w/creative ideas that just did not work well.

Our friends prompted us to go again with them on our way back through town. Which we did. Again VERY Mediocre, All agreed. Friends sadly stated that Etta's is on the way down in their opinion.

"I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be"
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BastilaShan

BastilaShan

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The deep fried Tilapia is pretty good but the rub-with-love salmon or whatever they call it is pretty sad.

You can probably get the deep fried Tilapia at a good Chinese restaurant for a much better price too.

Been to Etta's a few times (for company lunch) but they dont impress too much.

I think Cutter's is better for seafood than Etta's.

Hmm, that kind of rhymes.

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malarkey

malarkey

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  • Topic Starter
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I probably wouldn't choose it for dinner--I'd go to Matt's or Cafe Campagne instead.

well I would too, if GIVEN THE CHOICE. But we were with a very VERY picky eater, and I've been in Cafe Campagne with her before and she couldn't decide what to order because NOTHING on the menu sounded like something she'd like to eat. So I knew that was out right away. :hmmm:

Born Free, Now Expensive

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SeaGal

SeaGal

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I probably wouldn't choose it for dinner--I'd go to Matt's or Cafe Campagne instead.

well I would too, if GIVEN THE CHOICE. But we were with a very VERY picky eater, and I've been in Cafe Campagne with her before and she couldn't decide what to order because NOTHING on the menu sounded like something she'd like to eat. So I knew that was out right away. :hmmm:

Yeah, that's a tough one. I actually have relatives that would feel that way even about Etta's. We have to take them to Emmett Watson's for fish and chips (not that there's anything wrong with Emmett Watson's--great fried oysters!). They're just not adventursome about food at all. :sad:

Jan

Jan

Seattle, WA

"But there's tacos, Randy. You know how I feel about tacos. It's the only food shaped like a smile....A beef smile."

--Earl (Jason Lee), from "My Name is Earl", Episode: South of the Border Part Uno, Season 2

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  • 2 years later...
Ling

Ling

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In the past 7 months that I've been dining with some frequency in Seattle, today was my first time in a Tom Douglas establishment. We had the corned beef hash and the Alaskan halibut dish which came with sweet potato hash with coriander creme fraiche. Both dishes were very good--the halibut was perfectly moist, but I was won over by the bolder flavours of the corned beef (topped with perfectly runny poached eggs) with the chipotle ketchup. Hot damn! I wouldn't hesitate to order it again.

Lorna Yee

the cool kids at belltown lofts

The Cookbook Chronicles

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  • 1 month later...
aaustin

aaustin

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My husband recently said that one of his out-of-state colleagues always eats here when in town visiting and asked why we hadn't ever been. Being that I grew up here, moved away and now we're back, I started explaining that Etta's was hit-or-miss, sort of a tourist place....blah, and then I stopped and realized that my experiences from 4 years ago are just that, and that maybe I was wrong. So I said, "you know, we should try it again."

In light of this, can anyone share any dinner experiences? Still "just ok" or are there good things worth heading to Etta's for?

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