Ly's World: Homemade Thoughts and Reviews

(Warning:  This entry encompasses three days, four restaurants and a back story.  It’s going to be long is what I am saying.  Enjoy!)

Hello Extras!

I know it’s been a while since I’ve updated this blog but it was the holidays and I’ve done a little traveling but I’m back with a blog about my foodie trip to Las Vegas.  (I’ve been waiting to get the pictures up from the trip but I haven’t gotten them yet but I will update this entry with pics when I get them!)

First the story, then the reviews!

Las Vegas.  What can I say about that city?  The lights, the hotels, the shows, the spas, the gambling, the half naked ladies, the people on the street peddling cards with numbers to call or see the half naked ladies get even more nakie!, and of course… the FOOD!  Sin City:  Gluttony, buffets, check; Lust, strippers and brothels, check; Sloth,  spas, check; Greed, gambling, check; Envy, staring daggers at those who are winning or get a bonus round on the slots, check; Pride, leaving a winner, check; Wrath, leaving a loser, check.  All that can happen in one day!  LOL what a fun city!

Trevor and I were invited by our friends Ryan and Jamie to go to hang out in Vegas with them on the last week of December.  At first, I was hesitant to say yes because I already had another Vegas trip planed for the third weekend of January until they told us that we would be getting a discount on our room and all we will have to pay for is our flight down there and whatever else we wanted to do down there.  Um… YEAH!  LOL I was totally down and feeling a little greedy because I get to go down to Vegas TWICE in a month’s time.  Aren’t I a lucky one?

Our first night there, we went to go see Aria (the new hotel and casino at City Centre), had a drink and made dinner reservations at Mon Ami Gabi in Paris Las Vegas.  I am always in the mood for a French meal so I was totally excited that we were going there and that Trevor was the one that wanted us to go there!  (He never really is in the mood for French.)  Luckily we made reservations on Open Table because they weren’t taking any walk-ins at that time and we got seated promptly.  The food was amazing.  They served us bread with butter and this carrot thingy, I’m not sure what it was.  I think we were supposed to eat it on the side because I tried it on my bread and it didn’t taste right. We also got the Escargots de Bourgogne ($10.50) which was delightful.  It came out of the shell in this garlic basil sauce that was very close to pesto (could be pesto) and was delicious and went well with the bread.  For our entrees I got the Roast Chicken & Frites ($19.95).  The frites were to die for!  They were these thin cut flat strips of potatoe that were fried to perfection.  Crispy yet still a little soft in the middle.  Trevor got the Pork Tenderloin that had two thick strips of bacon with it.  Jamie go the Seared Sea Scallops ($21.95) that came with this lovely creamy whipped cauliflower that tasted like smashed potatoes but better for you, and Ryan got the Filet Mignon with the merlot butter, red wine reduction ($31.95) which was perfectly cooked.  We all agreed that merlot should not be drunk but that it should be made into this lovely sauce.  By the end of the dinner, Jamie and I were delighted see a French couple sit right next to us, validating the authenticity of the restaurant.

http://www.monamigabi.com/vegas

The next day we went to Mesa Grill in Caesars Palace for lunch.  I used to be a big fan of Bobby Flay when he had his show Boy Meets Grill but after that, he kind of because this cocky celebrity chef and I was turned off, so I was neither excited or dreading going to Mesa Grill.  Like Mon Ami Gabi, making a reservation at one these restaurants is crucial to getting seated quickly or at the time you want to eat.  One of the things that we found out about making reservations for this restaurant is, if you make it on Open Table, make sure you see that it is the Las Vegas one and not the New York one or else, you will not be seated right away.  We made our reservations in person, lucky us, because most if not all of the people, who made the reservations on Open Table, made it at the wrong location.  At Mesa, we ordered and appetizer along with our lunch. Our waiter was very helpful in recommending what he thought was the best on the menu, so we had two orders of the Tiger Shrimp + Roasted Garlic Corn Tamale ($14), three orders of the Mesa Burger ($16), and one order of the Pressed Cuban Sandwich ($16).  All three dishes were amazing.  The tamales were perfectly cooked.  It was soft and falls apart as you pick at it and the shrimps were large and plump.  The burgers were cooked to medium rare, seared perfectly on the outside, pinkish red through out the middle and oh so juicy.  The Cuban had so a lot flavor to it (according to Jamie).  The fries that were served with the burgers and sandwich were kind of a let down though (after having Mon Ami Gabi’s frites!)

http://www.mesagrill.com/lasvegas/

Then it was off to Qua Spa at Caesars.  After the spa, we all wanted something light so we went to Sushi Roku in Caesars Forum.  The fish was fresh and everything else was good.  I asked for Ankimo (Monk Fish Liver) but the waitress made a face and said they were out and recommended the Uni instead but it was $12 dollars for the Uni while it was only $7 for the Ankimo, so I went for the $7 Albacore instead, which I am glad I did, because that Albacore was like butter! I also had the Rock Shrimp Tempura with Jalapenos ($9) which was good and slightly spicy and the Organic Garden Salad with Japanese Yuzu Citrus Dressing ($9).  Trevor had the Mixed Sashimi Salad with Ginger Vinaigrette ($17) and the Chef’s Sashimi Combination ($26) I think… he got something Sashimi lol.  Jamie had the Yellowtail Scallion ($7) and the Cold Cha Soba ($11).  Ryan had the Sautéed Salmon & Hokkaido Scallops: XO sauce with Asparagus & Potatoes ($26) with Miso Soup and Rice ($6) ($(Me thinks unless they changed their menu).  I was too sleepy from the relaxing spa to start reviewing the food in my head.  I just remember it was good but not really worth that price, but it is Vegas.

http://www.sushiroku.com/sushiroku/menus/lv.asp

The fourth and final restaurant gets a posting on its own.  Look at my next post for the review of my first One Michelin Star restaurant!

To Be Continued…

Hello Extras!

In my last post, I said I was going to write a special addition to the Las Vegas part Une post and here it is!  Jamie and I wanted to go to one of the restaurants featured on Top Chef: Las Vegas so we went back into our memories and tried to figure out which restaurants were featured.  We couldn’t remember the restaurants but we remembered a few of the chefs that showed up in a few of the episodes.  Jamie remembered the Chef of the Century Joel Robuchon and we were set.  He has two restaurants in MGM Grand that we could choose from, Joel Robuchon which had 3 Michelin Star(!!!) or L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon which had 1 Michelin Star(!).  We couldn’t get a reservation at Joel Robuchon but was able to get one in L’Atelier.  So it was set.  We were going to have the tasting menu ($85) when we got there, but we were all apprehensive about the term “tasting menu” because we were unsure of what the size of the plates were going to be or whether if it was worth the price.

On our last night there, Jamie, Ryan, Trevor and I got ready in our nicest outfits that we brought along with us, since we were going to go to see some shows after dinner, got into a taxi and headed off to MGM Grand.  We were all pretty excited about going to this 1 Michelin star restaurant (after seeing signs for Guy Savoy’s 2 Michelin Stars restaurant at the Caesars and Daniel Boulud’s 1 Michelin Star restaurant at the Wynn and then Joel Robuchon 3 Michelin Stars!).  When we got there, there was a Baccarat tournament happening in front of the restaurant with confetti and globs of people, bundles of cash and a car… I’ll explain why this is important later… just starting as we walked in a giant sliding glass door (the whole wall facing the casino was made of glass and one section of the glass wall was a door!).  We got seated pretty quickly and our waiter came to provide us with water which was poured into these lovely red stem less glasses.  The ambience was wonderful, kind of ritzy yet casual and comfortable.  There were tables and a bar facing the kitchen which was opened so you can see what they were doing (which I was in awe off how well the whole kitchen staff worked together and how clean and beautiful the kitchen was, even as they were all working hard back there!  There was even a whole leg of prosciutto!).  BTW, the Executive Chef Steve Benjamin looked young was very easy on the eyes.  We got a look at the menu and noticed a cheaper 3 course meal ($36) with some tempting dishes (only the main course sparked my interested, it had sweetbreads and I really wanted to try it) but we all agreed that we will be having the 6 course ($85) tasting menu since everything on there sounded amazing.

Cremeux de foie gras                      Les Moules                       La Langoustine

First was the L’Amuse-Bouche: Cremeux de foie gras au porto et son emulsion au parmesan (Foie gras parfait with port wine and parmesan foam).  It came on a flat rock in a shot glass.  At first I couldn’t see the foie because it was hidden inside the sauce and foam, but I had a lovely medallion in there and it was to die for.  It was rich and light at the same time.  It was sweet and lovely.  Just … lovely … I could eat like 50 of those… it was so good, I scraped off all the goodies and was tempted to steal the others’ shot glasses and scrape them clean too.  I kept staring into the kitchen and whenever I saw them make it, I’d say to myself… really I did, I really wanted more of it… it was sooooo GOOD!… Ok I’m salivating just thinking of it… With that perfect start, we all got excited to see what else laid in store for us.

Second we had Les Moules en velute a la mimolette et croutons dores (Mussels and mimolette veloute with croutons).  It was mussels in a creamy sweet soup.  The croutons that were in the dish were still crunchy and added a lovely crunch to the soup.  The mussels were plump and perfectly cooked.  I hate over cooked mussels, it’s like chewing rubber but these just fell apart in your mouth as you chew them.  The cream soup was delicious and I also scraped every last bit of soup with my bread before I let it go.  (As you can see by this second dish, that there is a theme developing here, I ate… EVERYTHING!)

Third we had La Langoustine dans une papillote croustillante au basilica (Crispy langoustine fritter with basil pesto).  It was a deep fried langoustine (similar to a lobster but smaller) wrapped in something like a wonton wrapper with a large leaf of basil inside served with a delicious basil pesto sauce.  Again, the seafood was perfectly cooked and sweet and the crunch wrapper with the freshness of the basil worked beautifully together.

Le Saumon                   Whipped Potatoes                           Le Boeuf

Fourth we had either Le Saumon cuit sur la peau, aux aromates et croustilles de pommes de terre (Scottish salmon with aromates and crispy potatoes) or Le Boeuf la joue fondate a la bourguignonne (Beef cheek Burgundian style).  Both items came with a ramekin of velvety, buttery whipped potatoes.  The four of us decided that we should try both, with each pair trying one of each.  Ryan and I got the Beef cheeks and Jamie and Trevor got the Salmon.  We each made the right decision because both Ryan and I loved our dishes better than the Salmon dish and both Jamie and Trevor preferred theirs.  The beef dish was amazing, the sauce was rich and deep with flavor, the beef was so tender, you can flake pieces of it with your fork!  It came with little strips of bacon and broiled (?) pearl onions.  I tried the beef with the onions and found the flavors to not work in unison very well, but first having the beef with that rich sauce and then taking a bite of the onion, the onion cleans the palette and allows you to take another bite of the beef or a taste of the sauce and have a totally new experience.  The salmon was well cooked, firm and flakey.  It came with crispy potatoes placed like lattices on top of the salmon and Trevor wasn’t too fond of it (probably the only thing that was ok, while everything else was excellent).

Fifth was Les fromages de France selectionnes par nos soins (Selection of imported cheeses).  Oh, ok, this dish, I can’t remember the names of the cheeses.  There were three types, one goat and two cow’s milk.  By this time, I was so full… my brain stopped focusing on the things around me.  I just kept eating and eating!  Oh and by this time, the Baccarat Competition was over, more confetti but all four of us were just savoring the moment and didn’t even notice the hubbub happening outside (Only Ryan got a glimpse of what was happening because he was facing that way, the rest of us were so in the moment).

Last but not least there was dessert with the options of Les Tartes de tradition (Traditional Tarts) or Glaces et Sorbet (Ice cream and sorbet).  Jamie and Trevor got the tarts and Ryan and I got the ice cream.  Ice cream and sorbet list:  White Chocolate, Raspberry, Lemon, Espresso, Chocolate.  Tart list:  Cinnamon, Chocolate Hazelnut, Pear, Cheesecake, and something else I can’t remember.  By dessert time, we were all pretty full but looking at the desserts, we had to keep trucking.  They were so good.  The ice cream and sorbets were delicious and refreshing.  Mixing the flavors was part of the fun of having 5 different choices in front of you.  The tarts were also full of flavor and just plain pretty to look at.  The favorite from the tart was definitely the cinnamon one.

Les Fromages                      Glaces et Sorbert                    Les Tartes

The experience I had at L’Atelier was amazing. This meal was definitely worth the price, maybe even more! If you happen to be in Vegas and for one night, want to go all out on a delicious meal that cost under $100 per person but feel like you are spending more, go to L’Atelier (and if you want to spend more, they have a $175 tasting menu!).  I will definitely be back, and hopefully next time, I will win some money at the slots and go for the $175 tasting menu, until then, I’ll just dream about tasting that Amuse again.

Even though I left Vegas as a loser in gambling (I lost like $50), I went home a winner with the amazing meals I had there.  With the help of Trevor and my friends, I think I will be able to become the foodie that I aspire to be.  Here’s to future foodie vacations and may they be even better than the experience I just had.

Yummo! I want more Michelin Star Restaurants!

Hey Extras!

Are you guys ready for another review?  I hope so!

Our next stop is Chutney Bistro for some Indian Cuisine.  Chutney Bistro is located in the Wallingford Center in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle.  Its location is 1815 N 45th St.  It has a very big and open front patio area with a fountain in the middle.  Very inviting if it was summer but since it is fall, not so inviting. The inside is open with booths and tables in the dining area.  They have the usual buffet placed conveniently near the entrance of the restaurant and near the kitchen (it kind of turned me off to the place seeing the buffet line right when I walked in).   The decor of the place is very pleasing.  It had dark table cloth, the chairs were comfy and have booth options plentiful.  The glasses are one of their most unique traits here.  There is a full bar available and they play lovely Indian music at a very low level which is very pleasing and not to overt.  Since they moved into the Wallingford Center, they share the bathroom with the building so you have to go out of the restaurant and punch in code which you have to wrangle in a waiter to get. 

I went there with Lisa and Trevor after hanging out at Kevin’s place for a bit the day after Thanksgiving (I know. I know!  I am really slow at writing these posts).  We were deciding between Chinese and Indian and Kevin suggested we go here, since it’s one of his favorite Indian restaurants to go to.  (I’ll have to get more suggestions from Kevin since most of his suggestions for places to go and eat have not failed me so far… see Green Leaf!)

The menu is pretty extensive and now they have an Organic Menu available along with organic wine and beer to choose from.  As intrigued as I was about the Organic Menu, I had a hankering for lamb which I rarely get unless it’s in an Indian restaurant.  I have no idea why, LOL, I just do.

When we sat down, they gave us a basket of papadum  and two different kinds of chutney (red and green.  I didn’t what they were but if you know! Please tell me .  I didn’t really cared much for the papadum.  It had an interesting and unique flavor that didn’t pair well with me.

       

Papadum and Chutney      Raita and Basket of Naan

On to our food delights.  First we ordered a Basket of Naan ($7.95) that came with regular naan, garlic and basil naan, your choice of stuffed naan (we chose paneer).  I ordered the Lamb Vindaloo ($13.95) 3 stars, Trevor ordered the Lamb Rogan Josh (16.95) 4 stars, and Lisa ordered the Chicken Tandoori ($10.95).

The naan came pretty quickly.  It was all delicious.  It came in a basket… all jumbled up together.  We could not tell left from right, top from bottom.  It was so hard to tell what’s what since it all looked like it was thrown in together so the garlic, basil and parsley was everywhere. 

The Lamb Rogan Josh (cool name huh!) came in a small bronze colored bowl with a big bowl of rice… I mean… BIG!  Way more rice than Rogan Josh.  It came with no veggies and it wasn’t that spicy.  Side note:  I have a problem with Asian restaurants who ask how spicy you want it and then send a dish that has no spice at all OR when people around the table order different spiciness and it all taste the same.  BLAH.  So it was with both Trevor’s and my dishes.  It didn’t taste spicy and his was definitely not spicier than mine.  Besides not being spicy, the dish overall was tasty.  It smelled tangy but slightly sweet and taste as it smelled.  There was also an herby back note in the sauce.  The lamb was tender, over all a good dish.

The Chicken Tandoori came in on a sizzling plate like an Indian fajita!  It looked like one too and Lisa said “It tastes like a fajita, very confusing.”  The chicken cuts were breast and thigh I believe, and sits on top of some saffron veggies (mainly onions).  If you ate the onions and chicken together, it totally taste like a fajita.

My Lamb Vindaloo came with rice and a salad.  The vindaloo wasn’t spicy at all, subtle and tangy.  The lamb was very tender and there were a lot of lamb, two maybe three times as many as the Rogan Josh.  The rice was saffron rice with many threads of saffron in them.  You can literally see each stand in the rice.  I tried some Raita ($1.95), a cucumber yogurt that was fresh and citrusy, with the dish and it really added to the flavor of the dish. It gave it an extra fresh and yet slightly creamy layer of flavors.

The best part of the meal though was the salad that came with the dish.  It at first looks like cooked veggies, but they weren’t cooked. Another surprise, there was young sweet but crunchy mango in the mix along with onions, bell pepper, celery, cilantro, sesame seeds and what I thought was carrots, then decided it was crunchy papaya, then no, it was carrots that tasted really sweet and lovely.  Then I found some apple pieces! It was all enwrapped in a lovely dressing that pulled it all together.  Fruit and onions and all those other veggies… working together… FRUIT and VEGGIES!!!  GAH … *bliss*.  I could just eat that all night.  It was like finding an old trunk in the attic and each time you dig in, another little treasure pops up.  LOVELY!  I want that recipe!

Overall, our experience was good.  The service was quick, the food was tasty and the company was great.  I would defiantly recommend this place to others.  I will be back in the spring and summer to eat out on their patio.

My rating: Ambiance was very nice.  Love the subtle music in the background.  Price was reasonable. Tastes was delicious.  Parking is decent.  Street parking, so head for the side streets.  Recommendation, you should definitely try it.

Check out the website here!  http://www.chutneysbistro.com/index.html

Hello Extras!

So here is another review… Is it too soon?  I know you all aren’t use to me blogging one review after another!  What is the world coming too?!  Well, enough of the nonsense… On to the review!

Today I will be reviewing Green Leaf Restaurant in Seattle’s International District.  Located on 8th near Jackson, this little Vietnamese restaurant is a gem.  I’ve been here once before a long time ago with my friend Woo but last Sunday, I ended up at the restaurant with my boyfriend Trevor and our friend Kevin (who was super excited to go there… I think it’s his form of crack… really… look at this picture… he’s really super excited!).

The restaurant is really small.  It has two floors of dining but the width of the restaurant is like 15ft – 20ft across… enough just for three rows of tables consisting of a table for four and two for … well two.  Sitting at that table, I have to say though, it was hard to eat with another person sitting beside you and you not wanting to be in the way of the waiter/waitresses dashing by next to you. 

They have these beautiful sconces made too look like Asian lanterns with dangling Hello Kitty tassels on them (huh?).  They also have a large Buddha statue near the cash register with cartoon cow heads above it and near the stairs to the top floor (again… huh?).  The room was a lovely inviting green color with these bamboo wall runners.  The tables looked like black granite with really comfy dark colored wooden chairs.  Overall, I liked the ambiance except for the Hello Kitty and the cartoon cows.

The menu came out along with some tea (I love it when tea is on the house!) but we did have to ask for water.  The waitresses all were in their uniform (a Vietnamese style black and red top with Green Leaf on it) but unfortunately our waiter wasn’t in uniform (although he did have very hip style).  One of the reason’s why Kevin love this place is the menu.  There was Cashfish on the menu tonight lol and other miss types through out the menu.  Cute if there is a few… odd when there are many.

We ordered our dishes by number (since they were all numbered… of course) and our waiter knew them all… number 6 … “Escargot Stuffed & Pork… number 28 … Pho Combo… number 49 … Udon Noodles with Shrimp & Crab… number 63… Combo Rice Dish!  OMG!  I was very impressed.  I love it when waiters do that.  It shows that they really know what they are doing. 

(Sorry for the quality of the photos… I turned off the flash not wanting to bother people so they are kind of dark.  I hope you get the feel of it though… next time… screw the other people!  I have a review to do!)

The Escargot Stuffed & Pork (Ginger Sauce) ($6.95) was so good.  It was flavorful, moist and had little chunks of escargot studded through out the whole kebab.  The patty was formed around a piece of lemongrass that adds a slight lemony flavor to it (brilliant and so inventive!).  The taste of the escargot really comes through in this dish and the ginger sauce really enhance the flavor of the dish.  The little gem in this dish is the fried onion on top.  That thing was packed with flavor and the pickles that came with it (pickled carrots and jicama, no daikon) was sweet with just a touch of sourness.  The jicama was like eating slices of Asian pear.  It was light and crisp… I could eat a whole bowl of that thing!  It also came with a salad that had no dressing but Kevin indicated that you were suppose to drizzle the ginger sauce over it.

On to the main entrees.  Kevin had the Udon Noodles with Shrimp & Crab ($8.25).  Again, me being the bad critic I am… I relied on my company to help me taste and review the dishes offered in these fine establishments.  Ah friends… they are more useful than you think … LOL OK… Here is what he said.  He liked the Udon.  He’s a fan of thick noodles… (the gay in me just want to make a joke but the critic in me is restraining)  There was a good amount of salt.  The broth was well season.  We think its a vegetable base broth.  Shrimp and crab not over cooked.  He liked the stringy bits of crab meat. 

Trevor had the Combo Pho ($8.25).  It had brisket, tendon, tripe, flank.  It’s more expensive than the pho I am use to getting so I was hoping it would taste that way.  Unfortunately, I was unable to taste it before he put things in it so I couldn’t get the original flavor of the dish.  What I did taste was great.  Even with all the things he added in, I could tell that the soup was light.  Trevor described it as “so light, it’s almost chicken brothy instead of beef broth.”  The pho also came with the usual sides of bean sprouts, Thai basil, lime slices and jalapenos.

My dish was the Rice Combo ($9.50).  This was a crazy dish.  It had grilled pork chops, chicken, shrimp, a fried egg, white rice, picked carrots and jicama and salad that consisted on lettuce, tomato and a slice of cucumber.

Look at the sucker!  It also came with a spoon, fork and knife which added to my chop sticks that I already had.  CRAZY!  It looked really intimidating and I didn’t think I could finish it.  Look at it.  There was a huge mound of food topped with a fried egg.  Both the chicken and the pork were grilled to perfection.  They were tender, flavorful, sweet and smoky.  The shrimp were flavorful too although they didn’t take out the vein in the back and that is something that really bothers me.  I didn’t think the salad was necessary… the tomato, cucumber and lettuce added nothing to the dish although I could of used more of the pickles… so tasty!

Overall, my experience at Green leaf was really good.  It can use a little more space but that can’t be helped can it, unless they bought out their neighbors and tear down the wall dividing the two space… (hint, hint Green Leaf!)  It seems like going in twos or a big group works better than going in 3s or 4s.  The price here is way reasonable and a perfect place to eat a great meal if you are on a budget.  Most of the dishes are all under $15.

My rating: Ambiance was good.  Price was reasonable.  Tastes was delicious.  Well the things that we got. Parking is tough.  It is the International District.  Recommendation… Yes! 

What do you think guys

Check out their website!

website: http://greenleaftaste.com/default.aspx

Hey Extras!

A two for one deal!  Only for a limited time!  Buy one get on FREE!  OK I am done now… on to the Review!

Shabu-Shabu… Hot pot… delicious by any name and super fun to eat!

My trip to Seven Star Pepper Szechuan Restaurant (Wow a mouth full huh?  Shouldn’t restaurant names be simple? If they’re not, they should!) started when Jamie asked me if I wanted to hang out when our men are away.  Both Trevor and Ryan were in Chicago that week and Jamie and I decided we should do something and that something was Shabu-Shabu!  So Jamie and I along with two of our other friends Kevin and Kathryn decided to meet up at Seven Star Pepper.  We gots a talking and they recommended I blog about our experience there… so I drew up my note book and started taking notes.  (I think they said it as a joke and thought I wasn’t going to do it but I did… WHAT?! I took the challenge and I think they had fun with it too.  That’s us in the picture above!)

Seven Star Pepper Restaurant is a Chinese restaurant situated on 12th and Jackson street (1207 South Jackson St.) on the edge of Chinatown and Little Saigon in what we Seattleites call, the International District.  It is in a business complex with the restaurant on the second floor.  The decor is Chinese inspired with glass tables and not too comfy chairs… Me thinks me chair was slightly broken.  The best thing about our table was that it had a Lazy Susan built in the middle!  Note:  We didn’t use it because the hot pot was on it and we didn’t want to spin that sucka around.

On the menu was Szechuan Style Cold Noodles and Family Style Hot Pot with two different broth, spicy and not spicy.  Don’t ask me what the flavor of the broth was, because for the life of me, I was not able to distinguish what the base flavor was.  I think either chicken or vegetable stock.

The food came out rather quick after we ordered it.  The wait staff was nice and kept asking us if things were OK and brought things for us when we asked for it promptly (extra napkins, a ladle for the soup).

When eating Asian Cuisine, the thing you expect to taste is … well, a variety of tastes.  Sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami all in one lovely bite.  A taste experience for the taste buds.  And if you are tasting cuisine from any of the pepper loving countries, you expect lots of spiciness!  So it was with the lovely Szechuan Style Cold Noodles.

Szechuan Style Cold Noodles, have I repeated that name over and over enough yet?  Kathryn recommended that we get that as an appetizer.  I’ve never had it before and was pretty excited to try it.  Cold noodles… I didn’t know what to expect!  When it came out though, boy did it look tasty.  The noodles were light and perfectly cook with a little give to their texture.  They were sitting in this crazy sweet, salty and spicy sauce with scallions sprinkled on top.  Now, I don’t think I’ve experience true Szechuan peppers before.  I didn’t know if it will creep up on you or hit you right in the face.  Now I know.  It is an experience.  At first, there is this subtle heat all around.  Then, slowly, it creeps up at the back of your mouth and moved slowly towards your lips and then they begin to tingle… Delightful!  And it made my nose run, but I didn’t think it was that hot… It was weird and fun.   I swear to you, I couldn’t get enough of those noodles.  It sat by me during the whole meal and I was so tempted to put my whole face in there and lick it all up but I had Hot Pot to attend too.

Ah Hot Pot.  What a lovely dish.  So interactive and perfect for the family to just enjoy a dinner with each other.  Add a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  Allow to boil and cook, take out and eat.  Our family style hot pot came with a wide assortment of things you can drop into the broths: Seafood that include shrimp, fish (don’t ask me what kind of fish… It looked pink and um… recently defrosted), squid and fish balls.  Meat that include thin strips of beef and lamb (or what we thought was lamb… me thinks it might of been veal instead).  Two different kinds of noodles, udon and glass.  Tofu, bamboo shoots, black fungus, potato (one sliced up) and napa cabbage.  Oh and it also came with this weird looking peanut sauce that is umami heaven.  It added so much depth to the dish.  I can’t explain the flavor.  It was kinda … um… peanuty (I know that isn’t a word)… and um… goodness… you’ll have to go and taste it.  Really, its something that has to be experienced.

Back to the hot pot.  The two broths were interesting.  The not spicy one had such a subtle flavor to it.  When I just stated the broth, I was expecting something, but really I got nothing but its not bad… its magic!  Once you put things in there, those things had flavor.  No, I know those ingredients already taste like … um … themselves… but, when place in the nonchalant not spicy broth, there was extra flavor!  Especially with the napa cabbages.  I don’t know how to explain it.

The hot soup was, in the words of Kevin, “looks crazy red and hot.”  There were a ton of red pepper flakes in there but it wasn’t overwhelming hot.  The soup here had more flavor and I think, the better of the two.  (btw, the soup wasn’t hot enough for Kathryn, so she asked for chili sauce!)

Over all, the meal was good.  There were a ton of things to eat and we ate… almost of all it.  They came by and added more soup because they noticed it was running low.  The thing that fell short for me was the bamboo shoots and the fish balls.  Both didn’t take any of the flavors of the soups so they were just one note, even in the spicy one.  I didn’t get the potato but that didn’t get a good review from anyone. It was “odd” they said.

Oh, there was a restaurant next door that also sells hot pot and they were offering a free lobster for 2 or more people but we didn’t go to that one…. … regrets?  Not so much.  The meal was good.  The price was good and of course, the company was great.

My rating:  Ambiance could use some work.  Decorations could use some work.  Price reasonable (it was about $18 per person including tip).  Parking is plentiful (they have a garage underneath).  Would I come back… Yes.

Hello Extras!

These posts are coming in slow aren’t they?  Well, again, it’s all about me being inspired to write and I haven’t been too inspired to write lately.  I figured… why not today.  Today’s review will be duet with Barrio and Seven Star Pepper Szechuan Restaurant.  In this post, we will cover Barrio.

Woo, Michael and I decided to go to Barrio for dinner after yoga one Tuesday.  I’ve been to Barrio before but never for dinner, usually its just for late night happy hour.  So when we went there, I was expecting great food.

Barrio is located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.  It is situated on 12th in the middle of block between Pike and Madison.  The place is usually dimly lit with candles.  The style of the place is really nice, dark wood, a multi box paneling with candles in them and really comfy chairs.  The ambiance is really different from you usual Mexican Restaurant.  Very chic.

When we got there around 9:30 pm, the place was half empty so we got our seats right away.  Our waiter came, showed us our menus, gave us water and took off to help others.  We were so hungry, it took us no time to figure out what we wanted to eat.  We were getting the Made to Order Guacamole with Chips to start with, Mike and Woo were getting the Chicken Torta and I was getting the Braised Short Ribs.  Ready.  Where’s the waiter?  We had to wait about 15 mins for him to come back and finally take our order.  As he was taking our order, Mike asked about the Torta which the waiter promptly explained that “it is Spanish for a Sandwich.  It’s from Mexico”… to which Mike was not having any of it!  LOL it was a very classic Michael moment.

The Made to Order Guacamole and Chips came out super fast.  The Guacamole came in a bowl with the tomatoes and cilantro placed on top and in the middle.  It was quite beautiful to look at. All of us being a big fan of Guacamole dug right into it.   At first, the guys were enjoying the Guac.  I on the other hand sense something was a miss.  The Guacamole was really sour… too much lime juice.  I love sour things, but the limy sourness masked the other flavors of the Guac.  Where was the garlic, onion, tomato, cilantro flavors!  A great Guacamole will showcase all these flavors in every bite.  All I can taste here was lime juice.  Oh and don’t get me started on the chips!  They were a little stale to me.  The first batch at least.  Stale chips and limy Guac… not a great start to the meal.

Next came out plate of food which took an additional 20 mins to come out.  The Chicken Torta looked great.  It came with Yucca fries.  I didn’t get to taste either of them because I was taking notes from both of their reactions to the dish.  Here are some of the highlights.  I’ll let them explain the rest if they remembered and prefer to comment below .  (Hey!  I’m doing my job… its just nice to have friends who can help critic with me.  It’s more fun that way I think.)

Yucca fries taste like “corn dog batter”.  Sandwich just “all right” and kinda “spicy eggy” ~Woo

Taste like a “spicy chicken sandwich at burger king”.  ”Nothing special” ~Mike

My Braised Short Ribs came out and it was beautiful.  I was so ready to dig in.  The short ribs were one big chunk braised until it was falling off the bone with just a gentle tug with a fork.  It was so tender.  It was sitting on a bed of winter squash, with caramelized onions and a nice brown sauce.  I took one bite of the meat and was shocked to find it under seasoned.  Maybe if I put some of the sauce on it, it will help.  No dice.  The sauce was also under seasoned!  The veggies underneath were cooked until they had a mush like consistency but yet some how with but the grace of god, keeping their structure.  The only thing with much flavor to it was the caramelized onions.  Just one little bright light in the dish.  Oh, I forgot, it came with two tortias that offered no help to the dish whatsoever except for a little starch.  What looked to be a promising dish turned out into a dud.  I was crushed.

How could this be?  The happy hour food was so good!  The tacos, the Mexican Pizza… they were so mouthwatering good!  This is what happens when you venture off the beaten path.  Some times, things don’t turn out as great as you thought it could be.  If I go back, I am definitely sticking to what I know is good there.  And I will be back… for Happy Hour.

Oh and a little note.  I was trying to take pictures with my phone because I keep forgetting my camera and couldn’t get any light to take the picture.  The hostess graciously offered me a little key chain flash light to help me take the pics.  That’s why they look like they look.  Thanks hostess!  Without your quick thinking, there would of been no pictures.

My recommendations: Taste was OK, definitely come for the happy hour.  Cheap tasty food.  Parking on the Hill can be a pain.  Price is moderate.

Chicken Torta with Yucca Fries

Braised Short Ribs

Hello Extras!

I know its been a while since I have bloged but I’ve been so busy and wasnt in the writing mood but here I am.  I am currently working on another post that is currently delayed because I have to write about the Elysian.

A little background to the day.  My friend Mike and I went to yoga last Thursday.  It was a big workout and we both had very little to eat before the class since they told us to eat light before doing any of the poses or else… things might come back up :-/  Neways, we both were pretty much starving by the time we got out.  Coming out of the class, we both were wondering where to go and eat.  Well, I suggested the Elysian because 1) it was close and 2) my friend Kevin and his pose went to the Elysian that weekend to taste some yummy Pumpkin beer and I had a cravin.  (I know right… beer after yoga… Im such a bad person)

Neways, we get in and waited for a hostess to seat us.  For some odd reason, the hostess was not in her usual spot and had to be corralled back to work like 10 minutes later.  The Elysian has a very opened space with a moderate sized bar and a two tier dinning space divided into three areas.  There are some eclectic decor and has a lovely red color that is quite inviting.  While waiting though, Mike found a news paper about where the breweries are around these parts and we decided we needed to go on a Brewery Tour.

Neways, after being seated, we first glanced at the beer menu… Hello! Pumpkin Beer!  LOL I ended up getting the Dark O’ The Moon Pumpkin Stout which was tastey but had a very subtle (and when I say subtle I mean really really subtle) pumpkin flavor.  The cholcolate flavors totally overwhelmed the… oh wait… this isnt the Seattle Drink Patrol!  LOL I will save my review for when the Patrol visits the Elysian… until then…

Ok, on to the main show.

Mike ordered the Black Bean Burger while I decided to order the Pulled Pork aptly named the “Hot Babe” over the Shepard’s pie.  I just couldnt resist!  With a name like that and only $10 dollars, I was sold.  It came with either fries (thin shoestring or thick jojo style) or a salad (you can replace both for a soup and something else for extra $).  I chose the fries-shoestring… Hey! I am already getting a pulled pork sandwhich… might as well.

The food came alot quicker than the tables (I couldnt help but wonder why when there were quite a few empty tables… but I digress).  Once that plate hit the table… my eyes grew big.  Side note:  I’ve had plenty of pulled pork sandwiches in my life time.  I wasn’t all too excited about getting it in the first place, I just loved the name.

The sandwhich was pretty large.  The pulled pork actually looked like pork that was pulled instead of strings of pork.  There were nice large chunks in there that told me this pork was carefully looked after… perfectly pulled.  I had some of the fries first.  It was good.  Nicely seasoned and crunchy (a big yes!).  Then, I went and tried to tackle the sandwhich.  When I said it was big, I meant big.  The pork was in between the two slices of a onion kaiser roll with the most perfect slaw on top of the pork.  The pork had the most amazing flavor of any pulled pork I had ever had.  It was spicy, sweet  and tangy all at the same time.  The spiciness had this lovely but not too overpowering slow burn that made your mouth tingle and craving for more.  Each bit was an experience.  The pork felt saucy and juicy but there appeared to be very little on them, just coating them with sheer bliss.  No messy sauce drippings.  All the flavors were packed neatly in those two slices of Kaiser.  It… was… AMAZING! and I dont say that all that very often.

I totally credit the Chef… for whom I got the name but my phone unexpliciably crashed on me and now I’ve lost it.  I believe its Eric Greenberg but I will have to get back to you on that.  (Update! I found my notes and its Eric Greenwald!  Sorry for that confusion Eric, if you ever read this blog or find your name by searching yourself, you must give me that recipe.  I will do anything to get that recipe or just learn your secrets!

Mike was also very impressed with this Black Bean Burger.  His comment was something of the sort… It good, the patty looks like over seasoned patties but in a good way with black beans and corn.  It also looks like a real patty because it stuck to its form and didnt fall into pieces like other vegetarian patties.  Um… he described it better than I did here since I was a bad food critic and focused mainly on MY sandwhich >_<.  Mike! If you are reading this… comment below and describe your meal!  LOL.

I would totally recommend the Elysian and try their “Hot Babe” pulled pork sandwich.  I will definately be back to try more of their food, next time with more people so I can taste more

Ratings:

Ambiance: Casual and ecletic.  Cost: All of the items are below $15.  Taste:  So far so good.  Both the pulled pork and the black bean were a hit.  Location:  On 1221 E Pike St.  Capitol Hill.  Parking can be a drag.

This past weekend, I along with Trevor, Jamie, Ryan, Sean, David, Kevin and Taylor, went up to Cougar Rock from a weekend of camping.  We also went on a 6 mi hike up the Skyline Trail.  Here are some pics of our weekend!  To find more pics, please go to my facebook!

So the other night I went out to go to Gay Bingo hosted by Lifelong AIDs Alliance.  It was so much fun!  Eric and I got to sit at the Movin 92.5 table.  I didnt win but it was so much fun.  I want to get alot of people together and get a table!  We can dress up and have tons of fun with Bingo and share the winnings!  Good times!  Think about it yalls.  Lets get a table!

 http://www.lifelongaidsalliance.org/gaybingo

Here is the schedule for the next events!  Talk to people and lets get a table together!

http://www.lifelongaidsalliance.org/queens

What a fun day yesterday was!  Yesterday I attended the South Lake Union Turkey Crawl sponsored by Lakefest.  7 bars, 7 drinks and a whole lotta fun!  Bars includes Patty Coyns, Feierabend, Victory Lounge, South Lake Union Grill, Laadla, Tessa Bella (I think) and Marazul.  Most of the drinks suck except the one at Victory which was this awesome hot apple cider drink.  YUM!  It was my favorite.  At the other bars I got beer except for the Laadla, which had this awesome, yet too sweet, mango drink and Marazul which had this Mai Tai-like drink.

Oh and I dont recommend going to Marazul because the bartender was a bitch, well the girl one.  She saw us coming and was trying to block some of us out!  Her excuse, some of us were too drunk, which is kinda true (I’d say really tipsy but no one was belligerent) but we are on a Pub Crawl!  Apparently, this bartender doesnt understand the concept of a pub crawl.  Neways, she tried to bar some of our people, and one of our people got in her face and then her bf was trying to act all macho and come up to one of our friends face.  I was like oh no he didnt!  Luckily, the manager and the bartender came and pull him away, but our friend apologized for the way he acted but she kept talking about it.  And then she was trying to get sympathy from these two guys at the bar and I was talking about her and one of them gave me a stare!  Ooooh… Like I am afraid of you staring at me!  Blah.   Long story short… Dont go there!

 Othere than that… the pub crawl was AWESOME and I recommend all my friends to attend the Lakefest Pub Crawls.  Here is a like to Lakefest… I have friends in that Org. OK! ^_^

http://www.lake-fest.com/