I just made this up right now for dinner, and it was awesome. Measurements are approximate - I just throw things in a cup and whisk away, who knows if it will be good when I make it again.
Ingredients
- juice of half a lemon; ~2 tbl
- hefty spoonful of sour cream; ~2 tbl
- splash of worchestershire sauce
- dash of garlic salt
- sprinkle of chili pepper
- dash of olive oil
Directions
Put first 5 ingredients in a cup, whisk until smooth. Add olive oil and whisk again. This should make more than enough for a large bowl of salad for one. I imagine that if you want to make larger amounts of this, to save for later, you would want to blend the first 5 ingredients in a food processor or blender first, and then add oil while the motor is still running.
- Address: 1307 N 46th St, Seattle, WA (Wallingford)
- Type: Italian
- Pricing: $33/person (including wine)
- Rating: 4/5 stars
Yelp Reviews
I needed to take my good friend “the Rat” out for a birthday dinner, but I was having trouble picking a good place. The Rat is a cook in a Ballard restaurant, so he’s got higher standards than ordinary friends of mine and has a lot of commentary for any place he chooses to visit. So, I decided we’d try some highly rated place, and I took a look at the “best of” lists on Yelp.com. First on the list for Italian food was Bizzarro Italian Cafe, a small place in Wallingford. So we took a trip over last night at about 7pm.
There is only street parking available, but we didn’t have much trouble finding a space. The restaurant is located at 46th & Stone Way, and is a little difficult to see at first. Its kind of tucked in at the corner, and the sign was not all that apparent when you are driving north on Stone Way.
We expected a bit of a wait since it was Friday night, but we were in luck as the crowds just didn’t arrive yet. We were seated right away (3 people), which was nice. But then came the worst part - no waitress. We waited for at least 20 minutes before someone came over, but only to take our drinks. A random bread girl came by - we asked for help and she said she would find someone. We finished a whole plate of bread before the chick finally came over. She looked very busy socializing with some couple in the corner. All the waitresses seem to have that air about them that says “I’m too cool to help any of you peons.” I guess we didn’t look hip enough to order food.
When she finally did take our order, it seemed like she suddenly realized we were paying customers, and everything came out pretty quickly. I got the gnocchi gorgonzola, which was good but not the best. The sauce was lacking a little substance, it was a little too runny and thin for gnocchi - maybe it would have been better on fettucini or angel hair? The Rat got the bologese lasagna - and according to him it was probably the best lasagna he has had in Seattle yet. Micro-Monkey got shells and alfredo, standard tasting, not great not bad. Dessert was a large piece of house-made tiramisu. Pretty good, not too rich like some places make it, and I appreciate that she brought a large slice for 3 of us to share.
Total bill was $100 for 3 people, including a $35 bottle of good wine (… something “rosso” a favorite of napoleon’s I guess… don’t remember the name). All in all, I think they rely on the “crazy” eclectic atmosphere to bring people in. It’s good, and I’d go back if I could get reliable service, but I don’t see what all the hype is about. I’m sure there are better Italian places out there with better food for the same price.
- Address: 7500 15th Ave NW, Seattle, WA (Ballard)
- Type: Cafe/Bubble Tea/Coffee
- Pricing: $5/person
- Rating: 0/5 stars!!
Yelp Entry (There was an entry at yelp, dunno what happened to it…)
Ok, so let me just preface this by saying that I know better than to expect world class service and food from a random donut shop on 15th. Also, let me say that I was actually really excited to try this place. It’s a donut shop that has bubble tea! Yes!
Well, this is mostly a review for bubble tea. I didn’t have a donut, thought they smelled pretty good. I knew they would probably have the powdered bubble tea mix, but I was ok with that for the moment. The girl was pretty unfriendly, and was eager to get back to her soap opera or whatever she was watching. I guess that’s ok, but it’s really annoying to buy something from a person who wishes you would stop asking her for stuff or giving her money or whatever.
I picked the green apple bubble tea. I watched her make it, and she looked like she was mostly doing it how I think the powdered kind is typically made… except that I took one sip and I seriously thought it must be one of the grossest things I’ve had in a long time. The bubbles were a little hard - typical for a place that doesn’t get a lot of customers though. Really, I think she just made it wrong or something. I don’t know - it was watery and foamy and really gritty and not cold at all. I threw it out. I don’t think I’ve ever thrown bubble tea out before. Maybe once when I found a bunch of hairs in my bubble tea…
So…lesson learned. Donuts and bubble tea just don’t seem to mix. Can’t even go here for late night bubble tea-donut combos, since this place had signs all over saying they only take cash and serve drip coffee and donuts after 6pm. No bubble tea, no espresso.
- 2 tbl oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 4-5 cups butternut squash, cubed
- 2 apples, cubed
- 1 cup apple juice or cider
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 slices of bread, shredded
- Spices (salt/pepper/italian seasoning) as desired
- Optional: 1/2 cup half and half
- Heat oil in large saucepan and brown onion and garlic (~ 2 min).
- Add squash and apples, stirring to coat with onion and oil (~ 1 min).
- Slowly add juice, broth, and bread and stir well. Add spices as desired. Bring to boil.
- Once boiling, reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer about 40 - 45 minutes until squash is soft.
- If you prefer a chunky soup - smash squash chunks with a potato masher or hand held mixer, then serve.
- If you prefer a more smooth bisque like soup - let soup cool to a reasonable temperature and blend a few cups at a time in a blender or food processor. Reheat and serve. For a smoother texture, add 1/2 cup half and half before blending.
Makes approximately 16 1.5 cup servings of soup.
Obviously, this makes a lot of soup 
For two people, there was so much soup leftover, we had to throw at least a third of it out. It was excellent, and I really enjoyed, but you can only eat it so many times in a row. The reason I used so much squash was to use up a giant squash I received in my Spud Grocery Delivery. After all that soup, I still had another half of squash to use. I will definitely half or even quarter this recipe if I were to use it again.
I was tempted to be lazy and just smash the soup with a potato smasher to eat it right away. But after blending a cup in the blender, I realized that the smooth soup was far more superior in texture and flavor than the smashed version. Maybe if I had some potatoes in there, the smashed version would be substantial enough.
- Address: 316 Virginia, Seattle, WA (Downtown)
- Type: Pizza
- Pricing: $13/person
- Rating: 4/5 stars
Tom Douglas: Serious Pie
This is very close to my office, and I’ve been waiting anxiously for Tom Douglas’ new restaurant to be built. Don’t get me wrong, I had loved watching the bakers run around and move sweet smelling loaves from rack to oven and back, but I love a new restaurant even better. I also have a love affair with Tom Douglas’ cooking.
I love pizza anyway, so how could I resist? It smells good and I knew it would taste good, so I went in for some take-out. I really really love the new place, the design is warm but modern. The giant pizza oven is there for all to see. The tables are tall and squished together, trying to take advantage of all the space they can get in there.
As for the food… I was a little disappointed that the menu for a place called Serious Pie didn’t have has many pies on the menu as I had imagined. There are only 5 different kinds of pizza, but at least for $12/each they are generously portioned. The website says the menu changes daily but I haven’t seen any changes when I’ve gone in the last few times. I think last time they offered me a special, but I didn’t see it posted anywhere and I don’t recall what it was now.
All that said, I really love the yukon potato pizza. Good texture, excellent potatoes paired with cheese and garlic. By far the best potato pizza I have ever had in my life. If you aren’t in the mood for pizza, never fear! You can wander to anyone of Tom Douglas’ other restaurants within 2 blocks of each other. Try Dahlia Cafe around the corner, good soups and a couple sandwiches and lots of baked goods.
- Address: 12543 Lake City Way NE, Seattle, WA
- Type: Sushi
- Pricing: $25/person
- Rating: 3/5 stars
Yelp Page
Parking was pretty easy on the street, though it’s kind of a pain to make a u-turn on Lake City Way. We went at about 7pm and it was perfect timing as we only had to wait maybe 5 minutes. It quickly got very crowded, so I’m glad we went earlier than everyone else. The staff seem hard to get a hold of when you want something, but they were pretty good about keeping our tea and water filled.
The sushi itself wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad either. There was something about it that just didn’t make me happy - it was missing something, or maybe was a little heavy on the sauce or something like that. I think my California roll didn’t have any avocado! Which, if anyone knows me, knows that this is a great injustice, as avocado is the greatest fruit available to mankind. (I dream daily of the avocado burgers we had in Santiago, Chile…mmmm…. that’s another post though)
I had the tempura fried ice cream which was definitely worth it, if not for being too large for me to actually finish. A nice cake and tempura batter over a giant soft-ball sized ice cream. I heard other patrons extolling its values as we were leaving.
All in all, I would probably go back, but only because it’s close to my house. I still don’t have a favorite sushi place around here. I’m never satisfied.
- Address: 1225 1st Ave, Seattle
- Type: Brazilian
- Pricing: $10/person (lunch)
- Rating: 3/5 stars
on citysearch.com
The staff was very friendly and took the time to explain various things on the menu. We went during lunch time, so I didn’t get a look at their dinner menu, which I assume would be much more expensive. It’s a large restaurant, appears much smaller from the outside. We went right when they opened for lunch, but we were only inside for 2 minutes when a couple large groups came in. Judging by the number of waiters there were, I would expect a large lunch crowd.
It smelled awesome and was impressive looking when you first come in. They have meat laying on roasting racks right there in front of you, enticing you to try something. They have a buffet style cold salad & meat selection entree, which was about $14. I would have liked to try it, but we were getting something to go so we can get back to work. I orderd the steak sandwich instead, $6.95.
The fries were pretty good, just the right about of crunchiness. I don’t even like fries that much either. The sandwich, though was just alright. The meat was excellent, and tender, but the sandwich just seemed sort of plain. It was lacking something I can’t put my finger on. Maybe more produce? We also got an appetizer of garlic bread or something like that, which was a little weird and not exactly what I was expecting. I guess it was good for what it was - a little round ball with some spices on it.
Overall I wasn’t all that impressed with this place except for it’s decorations. But pretty Brazillian decorations aren’t enough to make a restaurant good enough to visit all the time. Besides, it was too far from my office to go all the time anyway. Maybe I will try going at night sometime.
- Address: 2001 6th Ave, Seattle (Westin Building)
- Type: Soup?
- Pricing: $6/person
- Rating: 4/5 stars
Sound Soup’s Website
A nice selection of about 12-15 soups, this place is always warm and smells good. Every soup comes with your choice of roll - I usually get the cornbread (with honey of course) or the garlic cheese roll. They also have a jalapeno cornbread that is supposedly pretty good too. My favorite soup is the beef strognaoff with a big spoonful of sour cream. Everytime I go in, I tell myself I should try something else, but I never do.
The staff is friendly and will let you try something if you can’t make up your mind. My co-workers sometimes get them to mix a couple different soups together, which apparently makes some pretty good combinations. I have a “frequent buyer” card too, which helps if you go often, like we do.
- Address: 2408 1st Avenue, Seattle, WA (Belltown Location)
- Type: Italian
- Pricing: $12/person
- Rating: 5/5 stars
Macrina’s Website
A testament to how popular this place already is, we went at about 11am for lunch to a half full cafe, and by noon the place was overflowing. The bread is delicious, and is what makes their lunches so tasty. Most (if not all) of the menu uses organic ingredients.
I tried the “meza” plate, which is your choice of 3 out of 5 options. I had the green salad, the soup du jour (tomato & red pepper) and the crostini. All were excellent, and I was glad to have tried several things. My friend had the “demi” sandwich with a rice pilaf, which she said was also excellent. Our waiter seemed a little inexperienced, but was always helpful and was probably just new.
Afterwards, we bought some bread to take home and a devil’s food cupcake with a slight mocha-like frosting (not sure, thats just what it tasted it like) and some raspberries & strawberries on top. Basically, it took all my will power not to stuff the entire cupcake in my mouth at once. It was excellent, and I wish I had bought a dozen more. I’m sure it’s probably better that I didn’t, since I would have eaten them all for dinner.
Since it’s a little more expensive than I normally like to spend on lunch, it’s probably not a place I’d go very frequently. But, other than that, I’d probably eat there every day. They also serve some good smelling coffee, though I didn’t see what roaster they were using.
- Address: 65th & Phinney Ave, Seattle, WA
- Type: American
- Pricing: $12/person
- Rating: 3/5 stars
Mae’s Website
It can get really crowded, so you have to pay attention to what time you are going there. We went when it was moderately busy (about 4-5 people in line ahead of us) and waiting about 15 minutes. It was nice, though, because they had just opened up the back deck and it was a beautiful morning. I really liked sitting back there though the sun was in just the right position to shine in my eyes. I also felt we might have been a little more ignored because we were sitting so much away from all the other busy happenings inside.
The food was alright, but there was nothing special about it. It was just “ok”. I can’t even remember what I had now, but I think it was the cinnamon roll french toast, and it was too sweet. I could be thinking of another place, though. Personally I think because this place is so popular with everyone else, I’d rather go somewhere else where I didn’t feel like my waitress was running around like a crazy person trying to keep up with all her tables.
I probably have to try this place again and give this entry an update…