Shawarma King

Price: $
Thoughts: ☆☆☆☆
(Website and Menu not available)

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Hummus and Pita Bread

This was a suggested restaurant from pictures that were spotted on someone's Facebook. After a little looking around and with no luck on seeing their website I had no choice but to rely solely on the reviews of fellow Yelpers.

A very casual restaurant with a homely feel. The walls were adorned with many Egyptian plates and statues and had very vivid tapestries draped along the walls. Their menu was angled downwards from the ceiling so you had to crane your neck as if you were sitting in the front row of the movie theater, an awkward angle for all heights. The first thing we ordered were two beef/lamb shawarmas which we later added a side of hummus and pita as well.


Lamb/Beef Shawarma

Prior to ever trying a shawarma, I have always been confused as to what the differences between a shawarma and a gyro were. A shawarma seems to resemble a burrito stuffed with extremely tender slow-cooked meats that you would typically find in your gyro, except it is rolled in a similar fashion to a burrito. The meat is also diced rather than laid down in strips as seen in many gyros I've had. On the topic of the meat in the shawarma. I found it difficult to actually distinguish the taste of the meat itself, as it was completely overwhelmed with the flavors from the rest of the ingredients inside (which is not entirely a bad thing).

The service was quick and humble, but the food is definitely good. We gazed at another dish being served to another table which looked very appetizing as well (we were unsure of the dish but I will take a picture of their menu next time).

I will definitely suggest coming here if you are craving for some great tasting Egyptian food. Don't expect a single shawarma and hummus to fill you up though. But it will curb your cravings.

A quick Jja Jang Myun (짜장면) run

Price: $
Thoughts: ☆☆☆

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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

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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

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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).

D'Ambrosio Gelato

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

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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.

津津锅 Gourmet Noodle Bowl

Price: $$
Thoughts: ☆☆☆½
津津锅 gourmet noodle bowl

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Of the 11 years I've lived in Seattle, I've only had hot pot twice. One at a friend's place, and one at a restaurant called the Seven Peppers in the International District. Located next to Dearborn Street on the Southeastern side of the International District it is very easy to miss this place save for the small sign displaying 津津锅 Gourmet Noodle Bowl. Upon arriving, we were immediately seated and given plates of veggies, meats, and garnishes:


Chopped garlic, cilantro, and green onion with some kind of nutty sauce


Udon, tofu, enoki mushrooms, endives, and various leafy greens cover a plate of vermicelli.


Left Side: Chicken stock with scallion, fried tofu, and fish balls. Right Side: Spicy chicken stock, cow intestine, scallion.


Sliced beef and chicken

I found that the non-spicy chicken stock to be very plain, in the sense that all it seemed to do was just act no differently than boiling water. The spicy one however, really added flavor to the meats and vegetables. One of the things I really enjoyed about this place was how attentive the waitress was to refilling the plates with more meats. Which leads to one of the things that bummed me out, they only refilled the meats, then again we did not think about asking for more of the vegetables. But for an all you can eat hot pot for $15/person. It's a really good deal.

If you're with some friends and need a cheap fix to fill you up, this will definitely get the job done.

Ocho

Price: $
Thoughts: ☆☆☆☆½
Ocho: Menu

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It's 9PM, and I'm tired. I was reluctant to go out and eat tonight, but a spur of the moment decision to give Ocho a try. This small tapas bar was very difficult to notice despite it being on the corner of a busy intersection, is near impossible to find at night if you have never been there before. After walking past it three or four times passing it off for the "bar section" of AZTECA, the familiar two panel menu taped to the window caught my eye.

There were about six tables, and a bar. The music was on pretty loud and reminded me of my previous weekend's experience at the Last Supper Club, but the music was at the same time pleasing. The bar is lit almost entirely by candles save for a few light bulbs in the kitchen and some low-watt bulbs overhead. We grabbed one of the two empty tables and examined the menu. We ordered a LOT. The pictures were all done by our phones as usual, and with the very dim atmosphere they're not very good.


Gambas al Ajillo -spicy garlic prawns

This is the first time I've had a lemon sauce that just jumped out at me. I'm not sure what was in it, but I was sad when they took the bowl with the sauce still at the bottom (was hoping for some bread to dip and absorb the sauce with). The shrimp was nice and crisp and was served with their signature olive oil toast.


Huevo del Diablo -deviled egg, salmon roe, pickled onion, tomato dust, fried capers, dill

The saltiness from the salmon roe lingered nicely in my mouth for a while. I didn't want to gulp any water until the flavor was completely gone.


Setasde Ferez -sherried mushrooms, olive oil toast, arugula

I was intimidated with the size of this mound of sherried mushrooms and arugula. Biting into this piping hot mountain of mushrooms and herb was a messy but delightful experience. The olive bread was warm and soft in the center, and crisp on the edges, but held itself together well.


Bisteca -flank steak, white bean caper olive oil vinaigrette

Having previewed the menu while driving to Ocho's, I was under the impression this would be the dish that I would like the most. While the meat was tender and delicious, I found the olives hidden inside the white beans a pleasant surprise.


Banderilla de Boqueron -anchovy, piquillo pepper, fried artichoke, allioli

This was the best thing for the price as well, for $1.50. The anchovy and fried artichoke tied in nicely with the allioli sauce. We almost ordered seconds, but decided to continue expanding our selection of good food.


Pan con Chocolate -olive oil toast, chocolate, almonds, flor de sal, truffle oil

This was the only "dessert" oriented item on the menu. The nutty taste from the almonds mixed with the chocolate on the toast felt like a rich biscotti. I couldn't taste much of the salt or the truffle oil.


Tortilla Espanola -egg, potato, onion, brava sauce, artichoke allioli

When I saw this, it looked more like a cake than anything like a "tortilla". The texture was very similar to a quiche. The artichoke allioli was delicious, salty and garlic in one sauce is hard to go wrong. My friend cleaned the plate of any food leftover.

While Ocho would make a great date spot, the music takes away from making that a viable option. The food all around is solid, since we were able to sample almost half of their entire menu, and each dish provided excellent presentation and taste. Finding parking does not seem to be a problem, despite the location of many popular restaurants in the area. As expected, it is a tapas bar so most people come for a dish or two and to socialize rather than devour half of their seasonal menu, but if you choose to do the latter; you will not be disappointed.

Le Fournil

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


Cloudy & Rainy to Bright and Sunny within an hour!

When the weather is sunny and warm my mood for eating gravitates towards cafes and places with lots of windows. Le Fournil has just that! My friend Shirley introduced this place to me sometime ago last year with her friends. The name literally translates to "the bakehouse" and is located along Eastlake Ave just after the bridge near the University of Washington. With a relatively narrow range of opening hours gives it a special feel (to me).

I have already been here a couple times so I have a good feel of what I enjoy getting: the lunch special, which is a pretty complete meal for $9; a choice of sandwich/salad/quiche/soup, dessert, and drink. My ham and swiss sandwich was quite delicious and warm, the strawberry-pistachio tarte, and a glass of orange juice.

Unfortunately I didn't take any photos as I just wolfed everything down without realizing! But I do have one from October of their delicious Opera and strawberry-pistachio tartes.


Opera + Strawberry-Pistachio Tarte

If you can get here before it's closed (6PM Tue-Sat, 3PM Sun, Closed Mon) I would highly recommend trying any of their pastries.

Baguette Box

Price: $
Thoughts: ☆☆☆
Baguette Box: Menu

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This place is half a block down from Ristorante Machiavelli at the edge of the Capitol Hill/Downtown border. The weather had been really weird (but then again this is Seattle), going from a violent windstorm, heavy rain, to sunny within the period of two hours. Luckily we got a relatively good spot on the same block. Be warned, the interior is chilly.

Seeing as this was our dinner we were convinced that one sandwich isn't going to be filling so my friend ordered two baguettes; the braised berkshire pork belly baguette which was literally forming a pool of liquid at the bottom of the bread boat, but it smelled really good:


"braised natural pork belly + pickled cucumber + hoisin sauce + cilantro"

The other sandwich was their crispy drunken chicken baguette which was what we both agreed to get from previewing the menu earlier:


"battered crispy chicken + sweet tangy sauce + caramelized onions + cilantro"

Adding to the drunken chicken baguette I decided to on a salad to add a little variety to my order of drunken chicken. Originally I planned to get their tuna niçoise salad but I went with the grilled ‘painted hills’ lemongrass steak salad instead:


"grilled organic lemongrass beef + organic greens + green onion oil + roasted peanuts + red wine vinaigrette"

I personally enjoyed the salad over my drunken chicken baguette. The green onion oil and red wine vinaigrette gave it a nice salty and sweet taste. I think I could've done without the red onions as it was a big strong in this salad.

Last but not least was my little side order of their truffle fries. I wasn't sure at first which would be the truffle part, the stuff being fried, or the oil that's used to fry. Just your russet potatoes deep fried in truffle oil. This simple combination works wonders, and tastes great with or without any condiments. I was thankful that it was only very lightly salted, as the truffle oil gives you all of the flavor that you would want.



Sadly, I feel that the truffle fries was the order that stood out the most and wowed me. The baguette wasn't as glorious as I had initially anticipated which surprised me coming from a restaurant that specializes in baguettes, but it wasn't bad either. I found it very delicious, but was overshadowed by the fries and the salad.

I would recommend eating here if you are looking for a quick fix, but nothing to fill you up unless you are willing to order multiple items. All which come with a larger price tag for a sandwich.

Malena's Taco Shop

Price: $
Thoughts: ☆☆½
(Website and Menu unavailable)

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This choice was originally for Monday but I was not feeling well so we pushed it to Tuesday instead. We were in a hurry primarily due to the fact that we had free tickets to the last showing of the IMAX 3-D of Avatar at the Pacific Science Center. A quick skim down the list and I chose a taco shop that was along the way to our destination. This one was on Market Street down in Ballard, probably one of the places I would feel most comfortable walking around. Lots of great places to eat, things to see, and you're close to Golden Gardens as well!

Kevin and I grabbed four tacos each; two shrimp and two carne asada. The taste of the soft taco shell and the fried shrimp reminded me of my trip down to Ensenada. However, that was where the similarity ended. I found the amount of tomato and raw onion was a bit overpowering to the point where you could almost not taste the meat underneath it all, like a vegetarian taco or something.



The place was pretty empty save for the employees there. I can imagine it being more packed with high school kids during the summer. The tacos quelled my hunger for a little while, but did not leave me feeling completely satisfied along with the taste of raw onions lingering in my breath until washing it down with Sour Patch Kids and a Coke at the IMAX.

I probably wouldn't come back here for a meal but maybe a snack during the warmer weather if I'm in the area.