Nishino

Price: $$$
Thoughts: ☆☆☆☆
Nishino: Menu

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Whenever I think of Japanese food, sushi is almost the first and only thing that comes to mind. While skimming menus to see where to eat next, Nishino's menu stood out in the sense that it had a much more diverse variety of dishes that I don't think I've seen at any Japanese restaurant. Here's their specials of the day when we went:



Located on the southern tip of the Arboretum in Madison Park, it was a nice drive through the lesser traveled roads winding around the large garden. The exterior of the building is very nondescript, I almost mistook it for the small fitness club that was in the same plaza had I not seen their shop sign. The inside however, was quite a contrast from what I was expecting.



We started off with two rolls, the Spicy Tuna and Arboretum Roll (yellowtail, jalapeño, and avocado). I ordered the foie gras and seared tuna and my friend, the dynamite.


Spicy Tuna Roll and the Arboretum Roll- yellowtail, jalapeño, and avocado)

It's really hard to go wrong with a spicy tuna roll, so that was a safe choice. The Arboretum roll was nice and sweet which tasted great. The jalapeño was mild like a bell pepper so it didn't provide an unnecessary spiciness for the roll.


foie gras and seared tuna- with shiitake mushroom and red wine soy reduction

This was their first time having foie gras which was the highlight of all the dishes eaten tonight. I was debating on another order of it as it melted in your mouth and just left such a savory taste lingering in your mouth.


dynamite- baked geoduck, scallop and mushrooms with creamy sauce

Both of us have never eaten geoduck so we were not sure what to expect, other than assumptions from what we know from the taste and texture of other mussels. The ratio between the mushrooms and geoduck (which looked almost like the mushrooms too) was pretty good; 60/40. My impression of the geoduck is it feels just like eating a mussel, but not as tough. The scallops hid under the creamy sauce which I could not separate the flavors other than mayonnaise, still very good. The scallops were cooked enough to sustain it's shape but still break apart very easily.


soft shell crab- served with ponzu sauce

Deep fried until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, tasted exactly as I would have expected. Very simple, but it felt like it was missing something, but still tasted great.


shiso shrimp dumpling with spicy yuzu sauce

The minty kick from the shiso that was wrapped around all of the shrimp was very pleasant. The spicy [and sweet] yuzu sauce made an excellent compliment to the fresh taste. The dumpling skin was so fragile that the skin slid off a few of the shrimp, but it helped soak up a lot of the yuzu sauce.


grilled salmon skin with arugula

Normally when I eat salmon skin, it is deep fried and served in a roll. Having it grilled gave it a nice smoky taste to the salad. At first I was having a difficult time determining whether I was eating daikon or a pear. After a little bit of time, I concluded it was a daikon from the barely noticeable sour aftertaste, it was unusually sweet for a radish.


Green Tea 'Tiramisu'

There was no dessert menu, so I had to use my best guess as to what each of the layers were. The top of the cake was a matcha mousse, the dark layer in between would be a matcha-soaked ladyfinger, followed by more matcha mousse, and then another ladyfinger. It almost reminded me of the matcha cakes I used to eat at the Panama Hotel (before the lady who baked it moved back to Japan, taking the secret recipe with her). This would be the second best dessert (Ristorante Machiavelli holding the top place with their Mousse Tiramisu) I've had so far.

The restaurant is suitable for casual and formal (as the table behind us was filled with people in suits while a few tables across had people in causal wear and kids playing with their training chop sticks.

From what we have sampled, I am curious as to what the Omakase had (as we kind of created our own tasting menu). I'll save that for next time.

Gorgeous George's

Price: $$
Thoughts: ☆☆☆☆
Gorgeous George's: Menu



Mediterranean food is something I cannot recall ever having, and Gorgeous George's was the only Mediterranean restaurant on my list. Very simple interior, nothing fancy and relatively quiet. At first I thought it was closed due to how dark it appeared from the outside.

I had been craving for some stuffed grape leaves during the weekend so that was a definitely something I was getting. I also got the Grilled Lamb Chops and my friend their special, the Spring Lamb Ribs along with a Greek salad with a side of fresh made feta cheese on the side (my friend does not like feta cheese). Complimentary hummus and bread was served as we waited for our appetizer.


Hummus- Mashed Garbonzo Beans Flavored with Garlic, Tahini, and Lemon

It had been a while since I've had hummus, they were very generous with the portion as well, which meant I did not have to hold back on dipping large amounts of it onto the bread.


Stuffed Grape Leaves- Six Pieces Veggie Grape Leaves Served with a Side of Mint Yogurt Sauce

The grape leaves were brought to us before we had a chance to finish our hummus and bread. Even though the menu stated that it was served with five pieces, the chef was kind enough to add another to make it an even amount between the two of us. It was my friend's first time having grape leaves, which was thoroughly enjoyed by us. I was tempted to order more, but held back on it.


Greek Salad- Field Greens, Feta Cheese, Olives, Tomato, Cucumber, Basil, Green Pepper, Red Onion, Zatar in a House Basil Vinaigrette Dressing

Again this dish was brought as we were just finishing the grape leaves (which disappeared really fast). The salad was loaded with the house vinaigrette which had a lot of zatar in it. This was a very fresh tasting and delicious salad, and would've been fine just eating that as a meal itself. As we were finishing up the salad, our entrées were brought to us. Starting with my Grilled Lamb Chops:


Grilled Lamb Chops- Three Succulent Lamb Chops, Grilled to Perfection. Served with Grilled Tomato Onion and Parsley

This had to be the juiciest lamb I've ever had. Slicing through it littered my plate with juices and the rice was very fluffy and light. I had to slow myself down so I could actually enjoy it and not let my eating habits finish this in a matter of minutes. There were no leftovers.


Spring Lamb Ribs- Succulent, Tender Spring Lamb Ribs Prepared to your Desire using Delicate Herbs and Spices. Served with Garden Vegetables

As my friend cut the ribs, it reminded me of slicing through a grapefruit, very juicy and no resistance while cutting the flesh. It puts the lamb ribs I've had at Ruth Chris' to shame, both in price and in quality (and quantity). Despite being served with ramekins filled with some kind of sauce (most likely variety of yogurt), we did not need it to add more flavors to these dishes.

To finish it off, a house baklava:


Baklava- Layered Filo-dough with a Nutty Filled Center. Chef George's Recipe

This baklava was very fresh and still warm. I think it was a good way to end the meal, as it was nice and small and very light. Unlike most of the baklava variations I have had in the past, it was soft all the way through, which made it easier to eat it with just a fork.

One of the things I really enjoyed about eating here was that there was no waiting between our orders. Everything came in, one after another without any waiting for our next meals which is pretty impressive for what appears to be run by two people. The ratio between quality and price was very well matched, and the atmosphere was suitable for dressing up or just coming dressed casually.

I highly recommend getting their lamb and grape leaves, as I'm already craving for some again.

Elliott Bay Brewery (second trip)

Price: $$
Thoughts: ☆☆☆☆☆
Elliot Bay Brewery: Menu

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It has been six weeks since my last post. A lot of scheduling conflicts and getting sick has caused many delays for the entire month of May. Once the dust had settled we decided to start off with our top choice (so far) from the places we've eaten; Elliott Bay Brewery. This time around we decided to try some of the happy hour items for starters. We got the Onion Rings and Mussels with Fries. Both were $4.95 each:


Onion Rings

These rings were huge, about the same diameter as an apple. I do not think I have ever seen any this big before. Trying to pace ourselves we left a couple onion rings to box up as leftovers. I discourage doing this, as they do not reheat very well (both microwave or oven still leaves it a little damp). Their "house sauce" (which I am pretty sure is a combination of BBQ sauce and ranch and something else (maybe worchestershire) tastes great. I found that crushing the rings works better for dipping them into the undersized dipping containers.


Mussels with a side of fries


The mussels aren't anything out of the ordinary, as there isn't anything wrong with preparing them with the lemon and garlic.

For the main dishes we ordered the California Avenue and Black Angus Philly Cheese Steak (his turn to try it).


CALIFORNIA AVENUE- Topped with guacamole, Swiss cheese, and bacon with mayo on the side

The burger wasn't too difficult to scarf down (although we were already getting a little full from the two happy hour portions already). The swiss cheese was a little difficult to taste as the guacamole overpowered the flavors from the other ingredients (save for the bacon and patty), which still tasted great. The burger is quite messy regardless of how much caution you put into eating it. I saved a small portion of it to take home for lunch (or breakfast the next day).


BLACK ANGUS PHILLY CHEESE STEAK makes it's return

My friend enjoyed the cheese steak and had to take some of it home as the daunting hoagie along with the fries makes for an already filling meal.

The last time eating here, I was not able to make it through for desserts (too much food kills the cravings). But we gave one of their seasonal desserts a shot, Shortbread Sundae with Hazelnuts.


Shortbread Sundae with Hazelnuts *SEASONAL*

This was too big for one person, at least the waitress gave us a warning and discouraged us from ordering two. Good call on her end, as we didn't even finish the one that we had shared. The shortbread breaks up nicely with a spoon making it easy to get a little bit of the ice cream, chopped hazelnuts and some shortbread all in one scoop. We weren't able to finish this one unfortunately (we scooped out all the ice cream and hazelnuts towards the end).

Once again the Elliott Bay Brewery has done a great job providing a lot of food for the money. Still number one in my book!