Park Chow

Price: $$
Thoughts: ☆☆☆½
Park Chow: Menu

---

The Dinner Menu

After dinner at the Bistro 9 we went to Park Chow, which was only a few steps away. The entrance to the place sported a rather thick looking curtain which opened into their entrance which was well-heated with many heat lamps.

This place was very packed when we came in. Seating did not take long at all which was surprising, or convenient that a table just opened up as we came in. I was told that she only gets one thing here, which was a dessert. Their ginger cake. I was a bit scared since I am mildly allergic to ginger. I took the plunge and went along with it.


ginger cake with pumpkin ice cream and whipped cream

Thankfully there was not a lot of ginger inside the cake so I was able to enjoy the cake without any reaction that I could notice. I really enjoyed the unusual combination of a ginger cake coupled with pumpkin ice cream. Definitely a good pair. We split one order and it disappeared as quickly as it came.


fin

A great way to end the night with a non-heavy dessert. I would like to try their food sometime as well. There were lots of pleasant smells all over the air. I should have eaten more slowly to enjoy the atmosphere and good company. But habits are hard to break, especially when it comes to eating slower.

Bistro 9

Price: $$
Thoughts: ☆☆☆½
Bistro 9: Menu

---

Bistro 9's Menu


A chalk easel with today's specials

One of the two restaurants I went to while in San Francisco visiting a friend and my family over the Christmas holiday. She frequents this restaurant after work and suggested we give it a shot.

There is something about hand drawn chalk menus that really attracts me. Bistro 9 had a nice one sitting just outside of it's entrance. I did notice that it was a bit on the empty side but hey it wasn't peak hours (not to mention it was the day before Christmas). So as always, reservations aside I went in with an open-mind.


House bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar


The Moussaka: eggplant + potatoes +onions + mushrooms + cheese + served with couscous

Her usual choice is the moussaka (which I almost got, but opted for a suggestion made by the waitress). I was given a pretty generous share of her plate and it was definitely good. Unlike most dishes I've had with eggplant, it's taste did not overpower the dish as a whole. Which worked out nicely (then again Indian food does not hold back on spices).


the lamb moussaka

As for myself, I ended up with the Lamb Moussaka. I am a little preferential to lamb meat. Okay I lied, I'm very partial to it. Anyways, the meal went down really quickly and the meat was very tender as I should expect.

This place despite it's lack of customers that night is definitely worth making a visit to, especially to those who love Indian food.

A quick Jja Jang Myun (짜장면) run

Price: $
Thoughts: ☆☆☆

---

During my trip to California there was a restaurant called "China Road" or something along these lines in San Jose. They were known for a different dish (which I did not order) but my current cravings were more onto jja jang myun. This is one of those things I grew up eating and calling it brown noodles for the longest time.


The two parts separated


Just before stirring


Time to eat!

It's really hard to go wrong with preparing this dish unless you overcook or burn any of the ingredients. However the noodles in this were slightly overcooked, as a result the noodles were breaking apart just from lifting it to my mouth. The sauce was prepared nicely with a generous helping of potato and pork (no complaints here).

My craving was definitely sated, but it would have hit the spot if the noodles were more chewy. Still a pretty good place.

Le Fournil (third trip)

Price: $
Thoughts: ☆☆☆☆½
Le Fournil: Menu

---

a warm turkey sandwich

A friend asked me to help with her Finance papers (none of which I really understood offhand) tonight. What better way to do this than over some pastries at a cozy little cafe right? A quick turkey baguette to start off the evening of exciting finance. The bread was nice and crusty as I would expect a baguette to taste like. Very simple and satisfying enough to leave room for something else.


a various assortment of pastries including a cup of latte and the opera cake to the left)

Anyways, to fuel ourselves as we continue to read through this dry material we grabbed a few of their seasonal cakes (and the sandwich pictured earlier). Unfortunately for myself, I am unable to recollect the names of them other than the opera cake.

This was also the first time having fondant (the green surface on the tart to the right). It just tasted like flavorless candy and seemed to do just what I would expect; decorative purposes mostly.

As of now, this is the third time Le Fournil has been featured as a post on my blog. So far it has not disappointed me.

Le Fournil (second trip)

Price: $
Thoughts: ☆☆☆☆½
Le Fournil: Menu

---

A hot cup of latte

To start the day before heading back to the last day of the convention we opted for breakfast at Le Fournil.


Chai (left) + Latte (right)





We started off with a nice warm drink with a sweet cinnamon bun along with a ham & cheese croissant. The croissant was not heated and was a bit on the cool side which was alright, next time I would suggest asking them to toast it. The cinnamon bun was very good and tasted great without any need of additional heating. The meal also came with a free pastry of your choice. I went for the éclair and a chocolate orange cake. She went with a lemon curd tart.


the éclair


the chocolate orange cake


lemon curd tart

The éclair was as expected, larger than what most places give, but without a doubt very delicious, I can never figure out the proper way to eat this without making a huge mess of things. This also goes with the chocolate orange cake's cocoa powder that is generously dusted across one half of it's triangular surface. I tend to inhale it just before biting the fork which results in a violent coughing chocolatey fit. The cake is also flourless which makes it very rich and not something to try to down really fast. Latara's lemon curd tart was pretty nice, although the lemon taste was not as strong as I had imagined it to be. But the raspberry in the center added to that.

Le Fournil, while they may have sandwiches and other such treats, I would recommend getting what they do best. Their handmade baguette loaves and their pastries. Other than that, it's best to come in the morning when they have just opened (as they are closed relatively early for a cafe in Seattle).

The Crab Pot

Price: $$$
Thoughts: ☆☆☆
The Crab Pot: Menu (embedded flash on their site)

---

The Crab Pot, while yes it is a tourist trap (so expect 30+ minute waits). It does prepare you for what you waited for, getting messy and devouring seafood. I thought it would be fun to take my friend here whom was visiting from Oregon for the weekend.


their signature mallet for shell crushing


The Pacific Clambake- steamed clams, mussels, dungeness crab, snow crab, oysters, shrimp in the shell, halibut & salmon skewers, andouille sausage, corn on the cob, and red potatoes in their jackets


A close up of the skewers

This would be what makes the dining experience the most fun. Given a hammer and some boiled and seasoned crustaceans is bound to be an adventure. Which also draws in tourists by the droves. However, with my personal experience with eating massive amounts of seafood, I knew the more effective way to crush these shells is to use your teeth (primarily because you can gauge the appropriate amount of bite pressure needed without creating a countless number of shards).

The halibut & salmon skewers were coated with plenty of cajun seasonings which felt just right, but not excessive. The waitress also brought out a tray full of butter for dipping the glorious mountain of food for extra flavoring (the worse it is for your body, the better it tastes --true story).


the Electric Watermelon and Crab Pot Iced Tea


almost there!




the aftermath

Washed down the food with a couple of drinks and continued our feast. I like to brag about how much I can shamelessly stuff my food without end, especially when it comes to seafood. However, I found myself slowing down a little bit past the halfway point of the remaining items while my friend continued eating and dipping the remains into the butter. Color me impressed!


rhubarb cake with a side of vanilla ice cream

Initially we both felt satisfied with the dinner alone, but we felt confident enough we could still add in dessert. The rhubarb cake was a lot larger than what the waitress had indicated (using gestures with her hands), and we were too intimidated to even eat more than two bites before surrendering and getting it boxed.

The Crab Pot, located right off the Waterfront with a nice view over Puget Sound. The interior sports a very casual atmosphere with it's checkered white/red plastic tablecloth and the chalkboards that pepper the walls and ceiling. Great place to take your friends and family for a very unique seafood experience, if you're the person that is afraid to get their fingers dirty, I do not suggest this place.

Plan in advance as no matter when you come you will be waiting in a line for at least 30 minutes.

Lake Wenatchee & Leavenworth

Price: n/a
Thoughts: ☆☆☆☆☆

---

Alright, it has been far too long since my last update. Having gone camping for a few days with some good friends of mine, I realized that I did not take as many pictures as I had hoped (partially due to the fact that I did not carry my phone with me at all times.

Without further ado, here are the pictures! (As scarce as they may be)


Roasting corn in the fire pit

Having gotten picked up from my condo in the morning, we began our drive over to the campsite. I didn't really take many photos as I slept through the majority of the car ride. Some interesting conversation between Lanna and her family in Alaska, included her repeatedly saying something about someone's "butthole". Eventually she cleared our confusion by indicating that it was the shorthand form of "halibut hole".

It was well into the afternoon when we finally reached our destination. Which was a good time to start cooking dinner for the group. We separated ourselves into groups to manage the food tasks for each day. Tonight was mine and we decided to go with making tacos.


Warming up some tortilla wraps


More roasted corn

It was safe to say that the tacos turned out pretty well. Not to mention the roasted corn was always another bonus (there was so much corn that it is safe to assume we had that for every meal except breakfast).


Heating up some tomato sauce

The second day's dinner consisted of spaghetti and tomato sauce. Very simple, but definitely hard to go wrong with. Again, roasted corn made it's appearance.


A cooler full of beer and soda


Leavenworth

I have never been here before, but many of my friends have visited here before. My general impression of the entire place is a German-themed Disneyland.


Sandy's Waffle & Dinner Haus


The Menu


Shrimp and Chips

The customer service here was very nice. The price for your food was also very nice ($) and I would have to say is worth coming to eat. It had a similar atmosphere to Sherry's except without the all-you-can-eat fish and chip dish.

I played it safe and got the shrimp and chips since it was the first meal of the day.


An easel featuring their cherries


Baskets of Cherries

On the drive back to Seattle we came across this easel featuring $1.00/basket of cherries. That's a pretty good deal for some local farm produce. However, it was definitely misleading as the $1.00 baskets were painfully tiny. The larger basket you see next to it was $6.00.

Two of the larger baskets were purchased anyways and it was back to the road again. We passed by a reptile farm that one of us wanted to go to. But we passed on it when we opened the door to see how empty it was. Definitely not worth the admission price. But the BBQ Bus was a nice touch to their parking lot.


The front of the BBQ Bus


BBQ Bus Menu

I regret not snapping a picture of the huge smoker next to the bus where the ribs were all being cooked. The smell of smoked meats was addictive.

Eventually we made it back to Seattle and I prepared the shower for a nice deep cleaning after not bathing properly for a few days.

D'Ambrosio Gelato

Price: $
Thoughts: ☆☆☆☆☆
D'Ambrosio Gelato: Menu

---

Following the dinner at Quinn's was sating the craving for something cold. Initially I wanted frozen yogurt from Red Mango, but passed up on it for gelato instead. This was one of the closer locations that was on the way back from the restaurant so we gave it a shot.

It was a race against the clock for this one considering the establishment closed at 10:00 PM and it was 9:56 when we got there. However to our relief they were still open and had a steady stream of customers. This was already a good indicator that the gelato here must be worth trying out.

The server was highly amused by the shirt I was wearing from Korea. Always good to see and amuse people. I'll post up a photo of it later. They had interesting flavors, and the one I went with was the Bacio di Dama with the Nicciola delle Langhe. My friend got the Bacio di Dama with Cantaloupe (pictured below). The combination of mine worked well with each other. Cantaloupe; not so much.


Bacio di Dama w/ Cantaloupe gelato

Mine looked identical to the above picture, except the flavor that was inside. The gelato was very generous with the amount of hazelnut chips that were in each scoop. Lots of different textures only complimented the experience.

Bacio di Dama translates to Woman's Kiss which was the reason why I chose this as my flavor. Without any description of it other than being located on their crema selections it piqued my curiosity. From what I tasted, it's creamy flavor I believe has possibly a hint of almond or something alike. The portions are great for the money. The quality of the gelato is great without a doubt.

Located on Ballard ave, which is quite confusing if you are unfamiliar with the area and it is dark outside. A great place to go on a summer night as the area is still well-lit and there is lots to see.

Quinn's

Price: $$
Thoughts: ☆☆☆☆½
Quinn's: Menu

---

Today would be what felt like the hottest day since the heat wave we had last month and resorted to taking cold showers (three of them over the course of six hours) to keep myself from perishing under the heat. Having a condo on the third floor will continue to haunt me during my summer days.

After looking through possible places to eat out at we settled for this gastropub which told us that they had air conditioning; something I wish all homes in Seattle were equipped with. What made this place stand out from the typical bar was they served foie gras, which was praised by several customers as being worth trying.

Quinn's is located at the Southern end of Broadway about a block south of Cal Anderson Park in Capitol Hill, one of the most difficult places to find parking. As we drove past it we could see it was packed full, with a small line leading to it. We were told the wait time was about 15 minutes.

We both already settled initially for something light, and their Wild Boar sloppy joe was apparently the hot item amongst previous eaters. I also got their home made cherry-orange soda but did not take a photo of it (as I downed it a bit too fast).


Wild Boar Sloppy Joe, crispy sage leaves

This was served with a roasted jalapeño which literally broke apart on contact and only added to the flavors of the joe. Be warned it is extremely messy, but it didn't slow us down.

This only led us to ordering more food instead of going for dessert.


Oxtail gnocchi with crispy marrow

I found the oxtail to bit more on the salty side but the gnocci helped disperse some of the saltiness from the marrow and the oxtail. Other than that, it was still nothing compared to the joe.


Wagyu beef cheek Philly, with sweet peppers and manchego

My friend told me the beef cheek was a little on the chewy side, which would make sense considering the texture of a cow's cheek. However, still juicy and tasty otherwise.

Next time I would probably get the Sam Smith's organic apple cider to go with the meal. It was the other drink on the menu that caught my eye, and may have been better suited than the soda, which tasted more like a cross between juice and Italian cream soda.

The service was pretty fast. The air conditioning was actually just a bunch of ceiling fans, but the place was still very ventilated considering the amount of people packed into here. If it's your first time eating here, I would highly recommend going with the joes without hesitation.

Forgive the quality of the pictures degrading as the night went on. Camera phones aren't meant to work well in darker rooms :(

Cactus

Price: $$
Thoughts: ☆☆☆☆
Cactus: Menu

---

So I needed to help pass time for a friend, what better way to do it than with food. With the weather as warm as it was, the last thing on my mind was wearing anything that was not shorts, sandals and a t-shirt, so as casual as you can get without dipping into the dangerous realm of fast food. After much thought I settled on a Tex-Mex restaurant called Cactus. And picked the furthest one from us, which was all the way in front of Alki Beach, which is a good drive away.

The place was literally packed from inside out with customers. If there's this much activity, it must be good. When we placed our name for a table the hostess informed us it would be a 45 minute wait, which was fine, killing time was the mission. The buzzer they provided us went off after 15 minutes so we were seated a bit earlier than expected.

As most Mexican restaurants go, we were given complimentary baked tortilla chips with some very delicious fresh salsa. We ordered some drinks, a prickly pear and Mexican lemonade.


Complimentary tortilla chips with fresh salsa

One of the interesting things I found with the Mexican lemonade is the chopped jalapeño pepper inside it. Other than that, the prickly pear lemonade was a nice and fresh feeling.


Prickly Pear Lemonade


Mexican Lemonade

Our server asked us if we had eaten here before. We answered no, and got a quick rundown of what the recommended dishes were. He suggested a few of his favorite antojitos of the menu were. One of them being the spicy Mexican prawns; Camarones D’ El Diablo. We ordered that along with the grilled scallops con tocino; We're very partial to scallops.


Camarones D’ El Diablo- Crispy white Mexican prawns, spicy Diablo sauce, mango–pineapple mojo

These were definitely worth trying. The spicy prawns tasted great as they were without the help of the mojo. Will remember to get this next time as well.


Grilled Scallops con Tocino- Bacon–wrapped natural sea scallops, smoked Fresno aïoli and cilantro oil

Quite juicy and the smoky flavor from the bacon works nicely. Although a bit on the salty side (scallops + bacon can definitely do it), it was still good. But it was no contest against the spicy prawns we just had.

The main entrées were my Cactus fajitas with grilled natural Harris Ranch Angus skirt steak and the grilled skirt steak.




Cactus Fajitas- Served in a sizzling skillet with Spanish rice, cumin black beans and caramelized onions. Guacamole, sour cream, Jack cheese, lettuce, pico de gallo and warm flour tortillas on the side (skirt steak)

This was a lot of food. Despite the warmth from the weather, I had no qualms with eating from a sizzling hot iron skillet. There was a lot of food, and I found myself running out of the tortillas even after heavily stuffing each one with as much meat and beans as I could.


Grilled Skirt Steak- Harris Ranch natural Angus skirt steak, guajillo mole, sautéed hominy with corn and rajas, and crispy fried sweet onions

As a steak should be done; medium-rare. Juicy and looked quite filling. There was nothing left to take home by the time we were ready for the check. I was debating on getting dessert despite feeling a little full, but I saw one of the other customers eating a flan with a birthday candle in it, and that seemed simple enough.

When the waiter came to us, he surprised us with a flan on the house for being first time customers.


Three Milk Cuban Flan (on the house!)

This trumps my previous attempt at making flan. I would definitely suggest coming to the Alki location while the summer weather is still here. All-in-all, good food and passed a good amount of time for the day.