Sonrisa Modern Mex, Seattle

Sonrisa Modern Mex is a relatively new addition to the University Village. The outdoor dining area is complimented by a sitting area with oversized chairs and an outdoor fireplace. We found the flickering of the interior fireplaces rather inviting as we were walking along outside in the cold. Inside the restaurant, we were immediately taken in by the lighting throughout the restaurant, and the tiling on the bar. The place looks lovely. The service was wonderful as well.

The food - the food aspires to mediocre. The Guacamole was wonderful, full of huge chunks of avacado and served with plantain chips along with the usual corn chips. The plantains were a nice addition to the chips, but they weren't really anything special and I certainly wouldn't want a whole order of them alone. The corn chips were fresh, but much to greasy.

Mr. H ordered the Baked Chile Relleno (Roasted poblano pepper stuffed with ancho rubbed chicken, apricots, golden raisins, pepperjack cheese, cilantro and onions. With salsa verde and red enchilada sauce and achiote rice). It was underdone,the cheese hadn't even begun to melt and the chile was still tough. But the flavors were nice so it wasn't too bad.

I had the Picante Primavera (Penne pasta sauteed with roasted shallots, roasted garlic, zucchini, asparagus and spicy salsa fresca. Finished with grated cotija cheese). This struck me as intriguing so I just had to try it. Each of the ingredients was wonderful on its own. The garlic was mellow the asparagus had a wonderful flavor and texture. But I found myself picking though the dish for specific items, a bite of asparagus, a bite of zucchini, several bites of garlic; each one delicious yet together they just didn't work.

The desert menu was interesting; a couple items included habanero peppers in the description. I wasn't feeling that brave, so we opted for the flan trio. The flan trio is described as being a chocolate, vanilla and berry brulee. What arrived was a dish with six compartments. Three ramekins each with a custard, one berry, one vanilla (the only brulee), and one chocolate. The remaining three compartments had whipped cream, one strawberry flavored with a strawberry on top, a tiny speck of plain vanilla, and chocolate flavored whipped cream with chocolate chips. I must admit, this is precisely what the menu said. But whipped cream with chocolate chips didn't work for me. None of the whipped creams were very good or even interesting. The creme brulee was good. The strawberry "brulee" was bland and over sweet and the chocolate "brulee" (neither of these two had been touched with a flame) was terribly thick, like fudge. I'm not one to leave dessert on my plate, especially where there is chocolate involved, but I couldn't eat this. I didn't even bother to ask for a box to take it home.

So would I recommend this place? That's an interesting question. Certainly not for dinner. However the bar is nice, the service is great, they have an extensive inventory of tequila and a talented bar tender. The guacamole is great. The happy hour menu boasts $5 appetizers, $4 house margaritas, and $3 draft beers. I say, if you want to meet friends for margaritas at happy hour, this might be just the spot.

Sonrisa Modern Mex
2614 NE 46th Street
University Village
Seattle, WA 98105

http://www.sonrisamodernmex.com/

206-524-2242

Eastlake Bar & Grill, Seattle

This morning we took a walk down Eastlake Avenue and stopped for lunch at Eastlake Bar and Grill. I've been wanting to check out this place for quite a while.

The deck sprawls around the exterior of the building, taking advantage of every inch of view; there is a rooftop lounge as well. We were the only souls willing to brave the weather to enjoy the deck, but I have no regrets. The service was spot on even though we were far from the less adventurous patrons opting to eat indoors.

Aaron selected the chicken club sandwich, I stole a bite and it was wonderful. My prime rib french dip retained a bit of pink in the meat, which was very juicy. It was topped with provalone and a horsradish sauce that could have used a little more bite, but very flavorful nonetheless. The ciabatta bread used for both sandwiches was light and flavorful, and the french fries were just out of the fat.

I'm looking forward to returning to check out the dinner service.


Eastlake Bar and Grill
2947 Eastlake Ave E
Seattle, WA 98102

(206) 957-7777
http://www.eastlakebarandgrill.com/

Fish Tacos at Aguas Verdes

Fish Tacos at Aguas Verdes, originally uploaded by coffeejitters.

On the south end of Seattle's U-District sits a little lakeside cabin that houses the Agua Verde Cafe and Paddle Club. The cafe menu is short and simple: Mexican food made with fresh, healthy ingredients. Fresh house-made juices, such as the watermelon juice, taste like summer. Fish tacos are a house specialty with cabbage an avacado dressing, and your choice of bacalau, smoked salmon, mahi mahi, or catfish. I come back for the smoked salmon taco time after time and can't get enough.

I'm not a fan of most of their salsas, I find them much too sweet. And the guacamole is merely a mash of onion and cilantro, what little avacado is in there lends no flavor. But the fish tacos have flavor enough on their own and any additional salsa would detract from this amazing balance of flavors.

Come for a day, come for an hour. Rent a kayak and explore Lake Union and Lake Washington, then follow up with drinks and dinner in the cafe. It's a wonderful way to enjoy this beautiful city.


Agua Verde Cafe & Paddle Club
http://www.aguaverde.com/default.asp
1303 NE Boat Street, Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 545-8570

Dahlia Lounge

This afternoon when I was visiting Grandma, I told her Aaron and I were planning to go to the Dahlia Lounge for the first time. She said, “have the pie.” When Grandma tells you to try someone else’s pie, take notice. She knows pie.

So we’re not rich and I’m trying to lose weight – yet our favorite thing in the whole wide world is to eat really good food at nice restaurants. We’ve found that the best way to protect my waistline and his wallet is to share a starter and entree rather than each of us getting our own. This doesn’t always work well for us when it comes to service. Sometimes the server will just bring us a spare plate. Sometimes this results in distainful looks from the wait staff. But at Dahlia Lounge we were treated like rockstars.

Our Tuscan grilled bread salad with pesto, olives, mozzarella and spicy coppacola was artfully presented on two separate, smaller plates – with a smile. This salad was amazing. Very earthy with warm smoky tones – I feel like I’m describing a wine – yet the salad was good enough to warrant such pithiness.

Also artfully presented on two smaller platters was our shared entree. The five spice Peking duck was delicious: perfect herby crust, juicy inside, served with a super hot teriyaki and plum jam. Yummy.

And by the way, Grandma was right. The coconut cream pie was heavenly, topped off with a towering mound of toasted coconut and white chocolate shavings.

The meal was not cheap, even sharing the dishes. One soda, one scotch, one salad, one entree and one desert came out well over sixty dollars. But definitely worth it.

Come if you can, save up if you need to.

Save room for pie.

Zephyr Grill & Bar, Kent

The most recent addition to the new Kent Station , Zephyr Grill & Bar is easily the nicest restaurant in Kent. Taupe walls, dark wood booths topped with sculpted glass, elegant lighting, and white fabric napkins (yes, in Kent that's a step up) all add up to a nice ambiance, with a skilled wait-staff and the food was excellent too. Why, however, do they not put some kind of padding or buffering in the ceiling - or is it just that deafening restaurants are currently en vouge? Just a touch of buffering makes a world of difference in allowing you to hear what your partner is saying, and in drowning out the laugh of the obnoxious blonde on the other side of the room.

When we were seated in the dark-stained wood booth by the window, our server immediately brought out the bread basket: a selection of olive loaf and sourdough breads with sweat cream, pesto, and red pepper butters. The menu was a bit pricey, the entrees ran from the high teens to the low thirties; mostly around $25 a plate. We decided on a starter each and then we would share an entree and a side dish. Mr. H had the yellow pepper soup, which came out in a huge bowl. I'm not so much a fan of the yellow pepper so I didn't taste the soup, but he reports that it was excellent. My caesar salad was delivered in a huge wooden bowl, large enough to be a meal itself.

Mr. H ordered a glass of the MacMurray Ranch Pinot Noir which arrived in a glass much more empty than full. As we pondered the two fingers of wine and the air that filled the remainder of the glass we discussed the glass half empty/half full pessimist/optimist distinction and whether it was relevant when the glass was 1/5 full. I stuck my nose in the glass and inhaled, then took a sip. Not bad, not noteworthy, just a decent red wine. As I whined about the quantity of wine our server arrived with another glass, this one filled to a more appropriate depth. Apparently, the bartender had not completed filling the glass before the server ran off with it so they sent another glass of wine over with their compliments. Giving me free wine will always make points.

Our entree arrived on a huge platter: two filets of salmon on two puddles of sauce, one was a cabernet marionberry sauce and the other was lemon butter. The center of the plate contained a mound of rice pilaf, topped off with broccoli florettes. We also ordered a side of asparagus. The asparagus was amazing. The chefs treatise on asparagus is apparently "Don't so much cook it, as threaten it." The theory paid off with perfectly grilled asparagus topped with a light butter sauce. Would that he had held the same theory for broccoli as it was woefully overdone and floppy. The pilaf was hearty if a little bland. The sauces were good but the real treasure of the meal was the salmon. It was perfectly prepared with just the right herby crust. I found I preferred the salmon on it's own, without the sauces.

All in all it was an exceptional meal at a very nice location. I'd go back again in a heartbeat.

Bamiyan Afghani Restaurant

After the waterfall we had to decide what to do for dinner. I would have loved to try the Salish Lodge; we stopped and checked out the menu, but frankly I was not inspired. When plates start at $23, the description on the menu should make my mouth water. We decided to head towards Issaquah instead.

Gillman village is a cute little shopping center in Issaquah comprised of a grouping of cottages on a boardwalk. The shops are cutesy and charming, ranging from toy stores, to yarn shops to kitchen gadgets - there is also an Amish furniture store that made me want to refurnish the whole house.

Gillman village also has an assortment a restaurants, but the only one we have ever tried is Bamiyan Afghani Restaurant, because how could you pass that up?

Bamiyan was originally just an Afghan restaurant, but we noticed that they've added more traditional Persian dishes as well (Persian food and Afghan food are very similar). We started with the Ausht, which was an amazing creamy and savory soup - very rich. Then Mr. H had the koobideh which is one of our all time favorite dishes. Koobideh is a savory ground beef kebab, the kind of savory where it's difficult to stop eating even when you're completely stuffed. I had the fesenjan. Fesenjan is one of those dishes that lives on a continuum, in this case between sweet and tart. The placement on that continuum depends largely on family recipe and geographic origin of that recipe. I asked the server how tart the fesenjan was and she claimed it was not too tart. Fesenjan is a dish of stewed chicken in a walnut and pomegranate gravy. The tartness of the dish depends on the amount of pomegranate juice used. It turned out a little more tart than I expected, but I like it really quite sweet. Nonetheless it was very good.

For desert, Mr. H had the Firni (custard with cardamom and pistachios). I went with the Bastani which is ice cream made with rosewater and pistachios (we served this at our wedding with the cake). To top it all off I got to watch Mr. H rap with the staff in Farsi which always turns me on.

Yummy, yummy, yummy, I love this place.

Chihuahua's Restaurant and Cantina, Auburn

I got out of class early tonight and on the way back home, Mr. H and I were both trying to think of ways to get out of preparing dinner. Then Mr. H confessed that he got paid today - and we veered left into the parkinglot for Chihuahuas.

We live near Chihuahuas - and have for years, but for some reason we have never bothered to give the restaurant a try. How sad that we lived this close to such a good restaurant and didn't know it.

I had the tortilla soup - the chicken was grilled to perfection, lots of vegetables, fresh avacados and the broth was very savory. I only got half way through the bowl and I was stuffed.

Mr. H had the fish tacos, and judging from the effort I had to exert to try to get a bite, they were pretty good. (I did eventually get a bite, but it was only the tiniest corner and mostly cabbage.) Mr. H was also quite pleased that his O'Douls was delivered with a frosted mug.

The flan did not live up to the standards set by the rest of the meal, but it was good nonetheless. We'll be back.

Caspian Grill: Dinner with In-Laws

Mr. H and I had dinner with his mother and sister tonight. This probably doesn't happen as often as it should as we only live a few miles away from each other. Dinner went well and we introduced the inlaws to one of our favorite restaurants.

The Caspian Grill is on the Ave just north of 55th in the U district. The food is Persian and very well prepared. We like to share food, so they served it family style for us - chicken kabobs, koobideh, fesenjan, and gormeh sabzi, with a giant heaping plate of saffroned basmati rice for each - a standard order for us (well, we don't usually get the chicken kabobs). The food was excellent as usual, but the service was quite slow. The help wanted sign in the window may speak to that issue.

Impusliveness

I got out of class 2 hours early and as I was walking back to meet up with Mr.H I saw the most amazing sunset. We made a snap decision and decided to lickety-split down to Salty's on Redondo Beach for dinner. Ordinarily we cant afford to eat there but we just got paid and all the bills were paid and we were just really feeling impulsively optimistic what with the beautiful sunset and all. (Yay for camera phones, by the way. I snapped both of these pictures with my phone.)

So we wind down the hill to the beach as as we come in to view of the sea-wall it's lined with couples holding hands and making out. It's just all to cute and we both let out an involuntary "Aawwwwwwwwwww."

Salty's is worth the visit for the bread alone, but they seated us right up at the window with this amazing view, and after the sun went down we watched the jumping fish and the scuba divers ascending out of the water - too cool. The food was amazing - we both went for the special - halibut over wilted spinach and red potatoes with a delicate hollandaise. Yummy! I love being impulsive.

Dinner with Mom and Grandma

We had a great visit this weekend with Mom and Grandma. It's so good to see the two of them doing so well. On Saturday night we went to dinner at the Caspian Grill for Persian food. Bill's Judy joined us there as well so we had quite the little party. We had hummus, smoked eggplant and a yogurt dip to start and followed it with koobedeh, lamb kabob, tadeeg, gormeh sabzi, and fesenjoon (my favorite). Mom and Judy really loved all the food. I don't think Grandma liked the stews as much but she really enjoyed the koobedeh.

Wild Wheat Bakery and Cafe, Downtown Kent

It's payday weekend so we splurged on breakfast this morning.

We went to Wild Wheat Bakery and Cafe in downtown Kent. I love the downtown part of Kent, it's so old school. The shops are all independently owned and it's a great pedestrian area where you can walk from the library to a wide selection of cafes while shopping.

Wild Wheat is a european style bakery with the really crusty breads. The decor inside the cafe is very simple, but punctuated with pieces from local artists that are available for sale.

Mr. H had the eggs florentine which was garnished with tomatoes and dill (the dill really added something special.) I had Stollen French Toast. The stollen bread is made with hazelnuts, raisins and currants and then stuffed with almond paste, and then battered and fried like regular french toast. The edges carmelized perfectly, and the meal was served with fresh fruit and real butter. Its a sad commentary in our world when butter is a pleasant surprise. We topped it off with 2 lattes and got out of there for less than $30.

The Alibi Room

Last night we had dinner at the Alibi Room. This is a hideaway bar and restaurant down Post Alley beneath Pike's Place Market.

I love this place, and used to eat here regularly when I worked in the area. Last night they did not dissappoint. While the service was a little slow, we showed up between shifts and they had plenty of customers already. The food was great, we ordered caesar salads, pita and hummus for two, along with Peroni and we got out of there for $30 including the tip.

A Three Hour Tour

For Mr. H's 30th Birthday, I took him out whale watching... well that was the idea anyways, but apparently the whales didn't get that memo.

The tour went out of Friday Harbor, so we had an adventure just getting there. We drove to Anacortes, two hours north of home, and then took a ferry across to San Juan Island where Friday Harbor is located.

We tried to have dinner at Front Street Ale House, but the service was so slow - not so much the kitchen, but getting the attention of the waiter (the one with the flat brim baseball hat cocked askew) - so we asked for the food to go and ate in on the boat as it was pulling out of port. The food was a bit greasy, but not bad.

The tour company we used was San Juan Safaris, and I would definitely use this service again. Our Captian was an old sea dog that looked like he'd spent more of his life on water than land, and the naturalist was a young college student who had been born and raised on the islands. They were both very skilled at keeping their guest happy and engaged (there were 20 of us on board) especially after it became apparent that the whales were not going to make an appearance.

We saw lots of eagles and eagles' nests, rhinocerous oclets (horned diving birds), harbor porpoise, seals, sea otters, and beautiful scenery. The most fascinating sighting was also the most grotesque, we came across a tiny island, maybe 20 feet in diameter, with two young bald eagles on it. In the water below were a seal and her newborn pup. By newborn, I mean minutes old. We came up right after ther birth. The eagles on the rock were displaying their pecking order, the older eagle was eating the placenta, while the younger eagle stood by patiently waiting his turn.
We got back to Friday Harbor in time to catch the last ferry back to the mainland. The 9:55 is the milk run stopping at every island on the way, so we got back to Anacortes by midnight. That 2 hour drive back to Auburn was exhausting.