B & O Espresso

Price: $$
Thoughts: ☆☆☆☆☆
B & O Espresso: Dessert Menu

---

THE Chocolate Pot

After dinner at Wann's I wanted to share this little cafe to end the night on the highest possible note (which it did!). I had discovered B & O Espresso many years ago as part of branching out and exploring. It had become the place for me to turn to when I needed a dessert fix. There is only one thing that I ever order here, and that is their chocolate pot. There is just simply no way to describe how addictive this small little almost-soufflé is.

Served in a large ramekin with a spoonful of house made whipped cream, it is just a simple combination that keeps itself from tasting too sweet, but enough to have people who do not care for desserts (such as myself) to come running to.


Strawberry Italian Soda

To add to this we also shared a strawberry Italian soda, which was a nice addition. This place also has it's good share of Middle Eastern food and fondues as well. But if this is your first visit, you must get the chocolate pot, no questions asked.

Wann Japanese Izakaya

Price: $$
Thoughts: ☆☆☆½
Wann Japanese Izakaya: Menu

---

I wanted to surprise my girlfriend with Japanese food from a place that got pretty good recommendations from several friends. However, Seattle decided to drop a windstorm mixed with torrential rain.

We had arrived an hour too early (it opened at 4PM), so we took shelter at the Starbucks next door. I got my usual (Venti Chocolate Soy Milk) and found a $100 laying on the floor as well, this day is going well so far. After we warmed up a bit, the Starbucks closed at 4PM (pretty early if you ask me for a Sunday) which worked out fine since Wann would be open by then.


Miso Soup


Spicy Tuna Crunch Roll (back), Unagi Roll (left), Spider Roll (right)

To start off we went with two bowls of miso soup followed by a Spicy Tuna Crunch, Unagi, and Spider roll. It still boggles my mind to know that there are people who think that miso soup has a taste comparable to mud. Then again I have not had mud before, but if this were true I could just eat mud instead, that is cheaper.

I regret not taking a picture of their bar that we sat across from. It was well arranged and an art in it's own right.


Mecha Godzilla Roll, seared kobe beef tataki covered asparagus, cream cheese, cilantro with habanero teriyaki sauce, spicy aioli, wasabi mayo


Robata Grill sampler

About halfway through the rolls I ordered the Mecha Godzilla Roll and their sampler platter from the grilled meats portion of the menu. The roll was nowhere near as spicy as advertised (if you want a spicy roll Umi's Hotter than Hell roll will have you draining your water). It was still good, but I would have expected the beef to be hot, but it was warm (leaning towards the cool side) but still tasted very good.

The grill sampler had bacon-wrapped prawns, chicken yakitori, shiitake mushroom skewers, and a pork falafel of some sort. Of the lot, the chicken was the best, although the pork was also pretty good. There was an odd aftertaste in the beef too, which was pointed out to me. The shrimp wasn't bad, but a little on the salty side, maybe a little bit of mustard would have been a good compliment to it. Anyways, this place is definitely worth a visit.

For those who looked carefully did you see the "hand" she gave me with taking each of these pictures?

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).