common esculents

food drops

2009-11-01T12:32:00.001-08:00

drop candy!
Originally uploaded by Rakka

Rakka got a whole pile of food drops in the mail (from Chotda). I took part in the great food drop taste test. I'll summarize, but you should follow that link for the in depth review.

Right. So, food drops are sugar candies that come in flavors of regional Japanese foods. We're talking beer, octopus balls, udon... you get the idea. We tried 8 kinds. How was it? The short answer is: most of these foods were not meant to be sweet; not, at, all.

Bento Kudasai

2009-10-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

I haven't been to Japan, so I can't speak to the authenticity of Bento Kudasai. But authenticity doesn't matter when lunch is on the line; it's on value for money that we judge places on around here. 'Course, perceived authenticity is a factor in the formula, so maybe it does matter. Well, either way, Bento Kudasai has it. So lets get to it.

nigirizushi bento

The most important question is, is it good? Yes it is. They say they make pretty much everything themselves, including the kimchi (which, omg, kimchi! you know i'm going back again and again). It shows; the quality is really high. Though, to be honest, the vegetarian boxes have tasted better to me than the fishy ones. The vegetable boxes are full of subtle flavors and textures. I think the fish is pretty low on the sashimi quality scale though.

zOMG! Kimchi!

But then it would be, he segued, because the price is right. Lunch for under $10, come on down. Well, unless you're me and fail to resist the mini box full of kimchi. But I usually manage to get away for $11. A box and kimchi is a pretty ideal portion for me. I did a full box and udon once; man, was I stuffed.

case full of bentos

Other notes: CG seriously digs the gyōza; I think whenever he suggests Bento K, he's got the gyōza on his mind. It's pretty small, just a bench with about 4 stools. The lady that runs the front is really friendly.

In conclusion, get on down the street and get you some bento.

[where: 95 Marion St, Seattle, WA 98104]

damson gin

2009-09-06T23:51:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned over on casa rakkaleff, we have this damson plum tree in our back yard. The plums aren't really hand fruit, but they're good for canning and stuff. As soon as we figured it out, I ordered a bunch of canning stuff (which I wanted anyway). Everything got here quick, with the minor exception of the actual feckin' jars. So the jam is on hold.

The le parfait jars did make it here, and so did a couple of fifths of gin. And that's all we need for damson gin. Rakka found this recipe on cottage smallholder. It's super simple, and we both love gin, so we thought we'd give it a go.

Damson Gin

We don't have a kitchen scale (yet), so I had to estimate how many plums in a pound. I thought about rigging up a stick with a can of beans on one end and a bowl of plums on the other and yadda yadda yadda. Sounded like work though. And really, we're talking about gin that will be more or less plummy depending, right? Should be fine.

'Course, we won't know if I screwed it up for three months. Assuming I didn't, it's important that you get your name on the casa rakkaleff new years party guest list. The gin should be about ready then, and seats are limited. natch.

Fritz European Fry House

2009-09-06T16:14:00.000-07:00

To be honest, I've only been to Fritz European Fry House a handful of times. The trouble is that I love fried potatoes and Fritz fries a really good potato.

Portrait of a Fry Cone

If I don't keep it in the special treat category, I'd soon be rolling down there on a hoveround and reserving 2 seats for myself on airline flights. As special treats go, they're fantastic.

The fries come in a cone, street food style. The tables, which are more bars to stand at, have holes in them just the right size to hold a heaping cone of fries. There are 10-15 different sauces to choose from. Plain ketchup and tartar sauce, obviously (it's close enough to seattle that the tartar sauce is a given), but they have some unexpected stuff like thai peanut sauce, bbq and red pepper parmesan. This time, we went with curry ketchup.

Large Cone and Spicy Curry Ketcup

There are a selection of belgian beers to compliment your fries with, which makes sense.

If a giant cone of fries isn't enough fried food for you they have fried chicken and sausages. I've never tried any of that stuff though. I'm just there for the fries.

[where: 94 Washington Ave, Bremerton, WA 98337]

bread and butter

2009-08-16T21:43:00.000-07:00

Rakka got this cheese making book. I thought she was taking this whole self-sufficiency lark a bit far, but I picked it up and flipped through it. And of course, I'm the first one to attempt one of the recipes. Butter!

it's butter, which I made

It turns out that making butter is astoundingly easy. You don't need an official churn or anything, just an old pickle jar or something. Make sure to wash it out pretty thoroughly though. Learned that the hard way.

Anyway, put your room temperature heavy cream (has to be heavy milk, learned that one the hard way too) in the jar, put the lid on tight and shake for 5-10 minutes. That's pretty much it. You've just got to pour off the buttermilk, push the rest out with the back of a spoon, and rinse it a bit. You can mix in some salt.

It's the best butter ever.

And the best thing to put it on is homemade bread.

sourdough came out pretty good this time

This is a recipe from the book of bread. Or, two, really. I made the sourdough starter a couple weeks ago. Attempted the bread last weekend, and it sort of worked. It worked better this time, but still not great.

I have a long way to go before I really understand bread. I always end up using nearly twice as much flour as the recipe calls for. The sourdough in particular always sticks to every freaking thing. The work surface, my hands, the bowl, the pan. Everything.

Maybe it's like driving a stick shift. Keep grinding the gears long enough and one day you just get it.

update: changed "whole milk" to "heavy cream". Whole was the stuff I tried the first time, and it didn't work at all.

Myhre's Restaurant

2009-07-26T15:52:00.000-07:00

After one visit, I'm very enthusiastic about Myhre's Restaurant. I can't help it, I love authentic diners, and Myhre's is the oldest working restaurant in Kitsap county. At least according to the waitress.

I know you're hungry, so we'll get right to the food. It's exactly what you'd expect from an old diner. Exactly. For instance, in the chicken sandwich the chicken is deep fried. Also, the side of fries is bigger than the sandwich.

French Fries. Oh, and a chicken sandwich

I have to say, that chicken sandwich seemed slightly small. But the quality was higher than I expected. It evened out. I came away perfectly satisfied.

Another for instance: Rakka said this potato salad was just like her grandma used to make. No faint praise there. It has big chunks of egg.

Potato Salad... and a tuna sandwich

The tuna had noticeable chunks of pickles. As if to prove conclusively the dinerism of the establishment, they were the same pickles as the ones next to the sandwich.

It takes more than food, however, to make a really dinery diner. The Cafe has an attached Terrace Room, and a skinny bar sandwiched in between. Nothing says diner like attached bar. Nothing says sixties makeover like attached 'Terrace Room'. Unfortunately it wasn't open at noon on Saturday.

Terrace Room

Ok, here's a little more of the interior. Note the country flavor. Do you not love this place?

Cocktails, rest room

I do (love it). Reasonable food at reasonable prices in a real diner. What more could you ask for? How about I throw in at least one boat ride to get you there, which will be the easiest transport (unless you live in port orchard).

[where: 737 Bay St, Port Orchard, WA 98366]

Samudra Coffee and Yoga

2009-07-19T11:44:00.000-07:00

Samudra Coffee and Yoga is literally right over my back fence. They're good neighbors to have, because they make wonderful baked goods and fantastic cold brewed toddy coffee. I haven't tried the yoga yet.

toddy coffee

Toddy coffee is the hot [don't you mean cold? -Ed] new thing. I can see why. When they mix a bit with ice and water it has a very subtle, almost tea like, flavor, with no bitterness. I can't get enough.

The baked goods are awesome too. I really liked my cranberry-orange scone. I tried Rakka's berry bar; the flavor was intense. Everything is baked on site, so it's super fresh.

Scone and Berry Bar

The blondie was as good as it looks.

Blondie

Samudra is in a location that has a rep for short lived businesses, but I want it to last. So please, I beg you, go there, try one of everything.

[where: 1222 McKenzie Avenue, Bremerton, WA 98337]

Piroshki on 3rd

2009-01-30T08:42:00.000-08:00

Piroshki's are fun. I think it's technically illegal to go to the market without stopping in at Piroshki Piroshki. But are they lunch or just a snack? At Piroshki on 3rd, I think you have to order carefully if you want a full meal sized meal for a reasonable price. I spent 10 bucks and was still hungry.

piroshki on 3rd

I got the smoked turkey breast and cheese piroshki with a large borscht on the side, with sour cream. It was very tasty. Especially the borscht. The piroshki was just sort of, there. Not that one expects piroshkis to explode with flavor, like some Russian pastry version of flavor blasted goldfish. It was tasty though, and shaped like a turkey leg. You've got to love food that's shaped like it's main ingredient. No, seriously, it's another one of those unwritten piroshki laws.

Turkey Shaped Turkey Piroshki (and borscht)

The thing is, a piroshki is kind of small, compared to, say, a sandwich. But it still runs at about $4.50. And the borscht was about the same. Maybe it was just a hungry day, but it didn't seem like much food for the price.

There are a ton of things to try though. Which tempts me to go back.

Sweets look very sweet

Savories look very savory

Overall, I'm glad it's right across the street from work.

[where: 710 3rd avenue, Seattle, WA 98104]

salmon teriyaki [adventures in japanese cooking]

2009-01-29T08:53:00.000-08:00

This is another from the Japanese cooking for honkies cookbook. As I've probably mentioned, teriyaki is to Seattle as cheesesteak is to Philly, so obviously I was anxious to get this right. I don't think I did.

bento style

American, and therefore Seattle, teriyaki is not really like the Japanese stuff. Overly sweet and seasoned, not subtle, etc. At least according to the the book. I don't know. I still haven't been to japan to see for sure. I really aught to fix that. Anyway, the recipe I went is supposed to be authentic.

it's easy, just mix the stuff, put the fish in, wait, cook

It was less sweet than Seattle teriyaki, in a good way. But the sauce didn't condense down into a syrup in the time it took to cook the fish. I was afraid to cook it any longer for fear of ruining the fish. Still, it was good and easy enough to try again. I'll let you know if I have any breakthroughs.

Oh, by the way, who knows how the salad dressing works at Seattle teriyaki places? I tried to make some up, and it was ok, but not quite right either.

Eamonn's, a dublin chipper

2009-01-25T10:04:00.000-08:00

The subtitle works to convey intent, but otherwise is stupid. Luckily the food at Eamonn's is good enough to make up for it. Just so we're clear, it's fish and chips, yeah? And mushy peas, which I totally forgot to order, damn. Well, it's mostly about the fried anyway. I'm not going back anytime soon; I was only there as part of the big inauguration trip.

There were four of us, which gave us a chance to try three things. Yes, Rakka and I both went traditional and got the cod. I figure when they emblazon "thanks be to cod" on the door, they're pretty serious about it. But my mom had the grouper, and my sister tried the chicken nuggets, having had fish for lunch that day.

For science, and for you, I nicked some of everybody's food. It was all very, how shall I put it, um, fried. But that's what you're there for, innit? The cod was my favorite, but it was all good.

Cod

So were the chips. They were ever so slightly battered. I don't know if that's Dublin style or just an Eamonn's thing. It was good though. And a lot; between the four of us we couldn't finish two large chips. And I was there, so that's saying something.

Cod and Grouper
(blurry pic courtesy of the no flash brigade)

The sauces are worth noting. In addition to traditional malt vinegar there is a selection of mayo based, flavored sauces. I chose the Chesapeake, because being a Maryland expat I must consume Old Bay whenever possible. My dining companions got the hot chili sauce, which I also liked. I should have gotten all Seattle and gotten some tartar just for my chips.

Chesapeake Sauce

People on yelp complain about the price and the portions, and you do only get one chunk of fish. But more food than four people can eat, for 40 bucks, is not something I'm willing to complain about. I may not be back soon, but only because I'm 3000 miles away. Thanks to Chris Glew for the recommendation!

[where: 728 King St, Alexandria, VA 22314]

Genki Sushi

2009-01-04T10:55:00.000-08:00

LQA has its fourth sushi place, and its second conveyor belt sushi (kaiten-zushi) place. It's Genki Sushi, and it's pretty good.

We were the only ones in the place during our visit, which was at some random time, early Saturday afternoon or something, so that sort of made sense. It meant that we had plenty of service.

Entrance (upstairs, next to office max)

The location is a little weird. You enter through the lobby of the new QFC, and it's right across from the office max. But once you get inside it's fairly fancy. There are tables and a bar, if you like.

The Conveyor

But we sat at the conveyor belt, where we were given the pricing chart. As you probably know, each plate color is a different price, so you know by looking how much each thing is. Traditionally, the plates are one solid color. At Genki, they have different designs. There are six.

Most everything I tried was tasty. Some of it was seasoned a bit more strongly than I'm used to with sushi, but that's not a complaint. The inari (fried tofu pouches with fillings) was particularly good; a bit spicy. Also, this fishy nigiri (it was slightly cooked, I think) was super yummy.

Fishy Nigiri

I don't even know what it was, which is part of the fun. If it looks good, try it. You can get much more variety this way then you would at a regular place.

Fish Heads at the entrance (by rakka)

In addition to sushi, the conveyor belt brought us fried chicken bits, edamame, and one of those glass bead drinks. All of which was fun and exciting. I'm looking forward to going back.

[where: 500 Mercer St Seattle, WA 98109]

xmas pizza

2008-12-25T15:54:00.000-08:00

At my house, we're not what most people would call traditionalists. We do have our things that we do though. Like pizza for breakfast on christmas day. It started at my mom's house, back when I was vegetarian. She normally makes ham and crap, but she happened to have some frozen pizza crusts around, so she whipped up some pizza.

The idea stuck.

it's homemade pizza

It's "homemade" in that it is assembled in house, but these days most ingredients come prepared. The sauce is from a can, etc. I'm sure you'll be surprised to hear that I don't make the cheese from scratch either. I know, scandalous right? I do srhed the cheese myself. Also, I cut vegetables. The crust is one of those frozen dough balls. I don't use none of that boboli crap; it makes the baby jesus cry.

Green Eggs

2008-12-19T21:02:00.001-08:00

I'm not the only person in my house that thinks about food all the time. Rakka's suspect and fugitive involves the nosh quite frequently. She has a pretty different perspective than I do, though. And, of course, she tries not to waste stuff. So...

Green Eggs in Pan

Yes, my eggs are green. And why? Well, 'american ferrera' had to go somewhere.

American Ferrera on Suspect and Fugitive

If it was amusing in the pan, it was frightening in the eggwhich it was destined for. But it was just food die, so it tasted fine. It's like that green ketchup they had for a while.

Green Eggs and Fake Ham

So, if you're the one reader who hasn't seen S&F, now you have no excuses.

Happy Teriyaki

2008-12-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

There are two things you go to Happy Teriyaki for: quantity and speed. Also, it's cheap.

To be honest, I have a rather unflattering nickname for the place. I stand by it, but as I do actually like the place, I won't actually spell it out. Suffice it to say, it rhymes with "Happy Teriyaki" and starts with "Cr".

Spicy Chicken

It may seem strange that I disparage the place with stupid names, but still claim to like it. Or maybe not. You probably expect this type of thing by now. Any place that packs a large styrofoam container (though maybe not for long, what will happen in january? ooOOoo!) for less than $8 is bound to find itself in my good graces some days.

And it's not bad, for what it is. And it's fast. Everything's ready when you get there. The rice is already in the container. You tell them container size and choice of meat and it's assembled almost as you finish talking. When the line is out the door it still only takes 5 to 10 minutes to get through. When you're big hurry and you've a big hunger, you can't really beat it.

I should mention, if you get tofu or fish (breaded) they fry it up fresh. It takes longer, but it's good. Nice and crispy.

[where: 823 3rd Ave Seattle, WA 98104]

chikindon (gyudon but with chicken) [adventures in japanese cooking]

2008-12-13T19:31:00.000-08:00

Remember last month I got that 'Japanese cooking for Americans' book and then made some stuff from it. Yeah. That was great.

chikindon

No, seriously, it was. Which is why I'm fiddn ta keep it going. There's a recipe for gyudon, which looked pretty freaking fantastic. But I'm not down with Gyū (beef)*, so I adapted it for toriniku (chikin (chicken)). This was a complex process with many steps, they were:

Replace beef with chicken

Hard, right? The rest of the thing was pretty easy too. Basically just some onions simmered in soy sauce and sake with a bit of ginger, sugar and garlic. I'm probably leaving something out, but it was easy.

The end result was sweet, winey deliciousness. I had mine with extra yum, in the form of a raw egg on top.

when in doubt, crack an egg on top

The only question now is: what's next?

* I know a 'no mammals' policy is weird. It's an arbitrary place to draw a line. All lines are arbitrary. so thhhbpht.

meeting "the man" (Dixies BBQ)

2008-11-29T10:27:00.000-08:00

The big thing about Dixies BBQ is this super special hot sauce called "the man". Typically, the owner walks around with a pot of sauce, asking if you've met "the man". If you haven't then you get one tiny drop from the end of a single tine of a fork. The idea is: it's hot.

The thing about the man is it's basically dave's insanity. Maybe it's home made, maybe it's purchased and dressed up, but the theory is identical. It's tomato paste with pure capsaicin extract mixed in. If you haven't encountered it, there are two things you need to know about Dave's. 1) the extract makes it hotter than hot peppers. 2) it tastes like ass. The same applies to "the man".

So, as gimmicks go, it'll work on me the once.

But if I'm not going back for "the Man", am I going back for the BBQ? In a word, no. It wasn't really any good. Average at best.

Chicken BBQ

Also, the atmosphere is extremely uncomfortable. You wait in line forever, then you finally get into the kitchen and you find out why. It is run as a model of micromanagement. There's this huge lady sitting at the cash register directing nearly each movement of everybody else in the place. "Cook, you will make two pork rib plates. Now put them there. Now make three 520s. Line them up next to the other orders. Now stop. Now make two potato salads. Stack them, no, on that counter..."

Hey, it's potato salad.

And for some reason, they arbitrarily group 5 or 6 orders together before they hand them out. So you've paid, your order is sitting there a foot from you, and you're expected to wait for the 5 suckers behind you. Bah.

at least they have big tables

To cut a long story short, I don't expect to be visiting Dixe's again anytime soon.

[where: 11522 Northup Way, Bellevue, WA 98004]

belltown pizza

2008-11-25T08:29:00.000-08:00

I walk by belltown pizza all the time, but I've never been in? Why is that? Probably because it seems from the outside like a crappy, touristy, sports bary place with no redeeming qualities. But you know that thing they say about book covers, right?

You are likely to be eaten by a grue.

It's dark inside, so I don't have a lot of great pictures. As devoted as I am to you, dear readers, there are some days when I'm incapable of being 'that asshole with the flash photography'.

But enough about that. We're here for pizza. And it's good pizza. The Fire in Belltown is my new favorite pie. Of course, you already know that any place that puts the hot sauce on the pizza for me is going to surge ahead in the rankings. It's almost like cheating.

Hot sauce? I'm home.

It's not just the hot sauce though. The ingredients all seemed to be high quality. The cheese stood out as particularly good, having enough flavor to stand up to the hot sauce and roasted red peppers without being overpowering or vulgar.

good vinaigrette, this

The salad even caught my attention. The vinaigrette was just right; vinegary, but not too vinegary. An impressive feat that continuously eludes me. The croutons were almost too crunchy though. Couldn't get a fork in them.

[where: 2422 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98121]

adventures in Japanese cooking

2008-11-22T11:05:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago Rakka and I stopped in at Kinokuniya (the one in Uwajimaya) and, purely on impulse, we picked up "Let's Cook Japanese Food".

It's written by an American lady who married into a Japanese family, and then spent a bunch of time in Japan learning to cook from her mother in law. I'm not exactly in the target audience, since I have no ambition to be a housewife (Japanese or otherwise), but I'm close. After all, I am an American whose exposure to Japanese food is mostly limited to sushi restaurants. And yes, I am interested in simple home cooking that real people make on a regular basis.

Ok, so lets start with Ebi no Chiri So-su (shrimp in mild tomato chili sauce). This was surprisingly easy, and would have been more so if I had sprung for pre-shelled shrimp.

shelling shrimp

There were a ton of ingredients (yes, there's ketchup hiding in this picture), but putting them all together only took one bowl and one pan (and one dish to temporarily hold the cooked shrimp).

ingredients (labeled)

As you can see, it came out pretty good. It was slightly sweet, subtlety spicy and nicely shrimpy.

Ebi no CHiri So-su

The ketchup thing threw me for a minute. According to the book, a lot of everyday food in Japan is adaptations of other cultures' food. This is heartening. Now, when I head into the kitchen to bastardize some traditional japanese dish, I can feel like it's a trade instead of a theft.

So the shrimp was last week. Last night I tried my hand at Tsukune (grilled ground chicken skewers). This, even more than the grilled corn, justified the indoor electric grill that the book made me get.

Indoor grills rock

It came out a little more meatloafy than I expected, and a little more chary. All in all, pretty good though.

Tsukune

There are still 100+ recipes in the book, and there's a whole Kinokuniya full of more cookbooks. I think my adventures in Japanese cooking will continue. And, of course, they'll be obsessively documented right here.

unicorn crêpes

2008-11-11T20:44:00.000-08:00

What do I need to say about Unicorn Crêpes? It's French food writ Japanese street style. The shop is full of plastic examples of the delights contained within, and two tables. It's fantastic.

Crêpe!!!

Of course, I go savory whenever possible. The spicy tuna, egg, lettuce and mayo contrasted nicely with the lightly sweet crêpe.

Savory

Rakka, who is of course my exact opposite, goes for sweet at every opportunity. So UC is her type of place. Blueberry chocolate received her seal of approval.

a bit sweet?

I mentioned the plastic crêpes right? It's one of my favorite things.

it looks so real!

I like it so much, I took a lot of pics.

It's not too far to get to for lunch. I think I'll do that... every day!

[where: 421 6th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104]

Uptown China

2008-11-08T19:04:00.000-08:00

Uptown China combines two extremely rare things in Seattle: decent chinese food and delivery. Though it's far from authentic, it's easily the best chinese I've found outside of the ID. And it's certainly the best non-pizza delivery in LQA.

signed, sealed*, delivered, oh yeah
*loosely

This is what it's all about. When food shows up magically at your door you know you've arrived. Because, you know, you haven't gone anywhere... er. you know what I mean. I really don't know why there's not more delivery around here. But at least there's uptown.

chang sa chicken

The food is pretty good for american style chinese food. The chicken is good quality, etc. Everything was decent tasting but kind of bland, exactly as you'd expect. Not what I'm looking for all the time, but there are days when it's perfect.

broccoli with garlic sauce

And, as with all delivery, the big question is 'how is it the next morning'? Survey says: I wish we ordered more.

[where: 200 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109]

uncommon esculents: alaskan crab legs

2008-11-02T13:15:00.000-08:00

Being a Maryland boy, I grew up eating Chesapeake Blue Crab by the bushel. But as much as I love those, it's taken me three years in Seattle to get around to trying king crab. Today, that oversight has been rectified.

The apple is for scale

Now, at twenty dollars a pound, these are decidedly uncommon esculents. But sometimes, well, sometimes you just have to drop 30 bucks on a single course. When they're on special at Larry's (metro market) seems like as good a time as any.

this is the biggest solid chunk of crab I've ever encountered

I'm starting to understand the appeal of these things. I've just had the one leg so far and I had to take a break. It's so much crab in there. It really is sweet too. The butter, on the other hand, was a bad move. It's over powering. Best to just let the crab speak for itself.

bakeman's

2008-10-25T15:57:00.000-07:00

Ah, Bakeman's. What can you say? A real, honest cafeteria, that's famous for it's turkey sandwich. And rightly so. In fact, I'm hard pressed to order anything else.

So, lets see what we've got here.

Now that's a lunch

A big old sammich, soup, and a pickle and a half. It was, what, $8.50 after tax. It's served with a "you better ask right or we'll let you know" sort of attitude. Which makes me nervous, and I always ask wrong. It's a, thing, I do.

Turkey Sandwich

But it's worth it. I mean, check that sammich. It's as good as it looks. I get it with mixed meat, that is half dark half white, but you have your choice.

So, what about the other stuff? Their food is of a certain quality. It seems manufactured, but on closer inspection I do believe they make everything themselves. The salad seems to come from a bag, but up close the carrots show themselves to be hand cut. The turkey soup seems like campbell's, but again, I'm 90% sure they make it themselves.

my soup is turkey noodle

So, that's about it. Pure cafeteria food at it's best. The only thing I have left for you is a blurry blurry picture of the inside of my sandwich.

oooh, cranberry sauce

Yes, that's cranberry sauce. It's twenty five cents extra. Entirely worth it. It's like a harvest festival in here.

[where: 122 Cherry St, Seattle, WA, 98104]

burgermaster, or should I say BURGERMASTER

2008-09-29T20:41:00.000-07:00

I have finally made it to Burgermaster. I've meant to go for ages and ages, but I hardly ever make it over to the U district. this past weekend was the big book sale at Magnuson park, so it was a great excuse to stop by.

I am the BURGERMASTER! BOW TO ME!

I'm really glad I did. The place is awesome. Product of my time that I am, I love a 70s fast food joint that's been frozen in time. Well, not exactly frozen; everything is hella worn. The wood grain has almost worn off of the tables. But at least they have a bizarre coffee bar thing out in the middle of everything.

I am the BURGERMASTER! WOULD YOU LIKE SOME COFFEE!?

I love the ambiance. I have to admit, as soon as I got inside it didn't really matter what the food tasted like. I was home.

I am the BURGERMASTER! THE FOIL WILL HELP YOU MUNCH!

The food was good though. And it was brought to the table. Woot! Table service makes it classy!

I am the BURGERMASTER! YOU ARE NUMBER 8!

Speaking of class, I'm a bit of a classist, but in the biological classification sense. I didn't actually get a burger; I went for the turkey (no bacon). I was happy with my choice. They went out of their way to make it just as greasy as a burger, if not more so, which I appreciate immensely. I'd feel like a chump getting something healthy at Burgermaster.

I am the BURGERMASTER! ENOUGH ALREADY!
Err. A Turkey Sandwich, fries, and shakes

Oh, and the shakes were excellent. I'm not a huge fan of Rakka's fake banana, but I liked my mocha a lot. Again, healthy choices are not allowed. You must go for the shake.

No greasy burger? don't worry, we'll fry the bread

Oh, and the best part? The whole shebang, sandwich, fries and 2 shakes, was about 12.50 delivered (to the table, remember). In conclusion, my heart and arteries are very happy Burgermaster is difficult for me to get to.

[where: 3040 NE 45th St, Seattle, WA 98105]

nothing to see here, move along

2008-09-21T19:37:00.000-07:00

So, again with the not much to talk about. Company meeting food is adequate, but not, how do you say... exciting. Evidence:

if they had french toast I could have been intercontinental

And more evidence:

if they had french fries I could have... no, joke's over

Not that there's anything wrong with the catering at the Edgewater. It's meant to seem fancy without getting in the way of whatever meeting they're hosting. In that regard it succeeds. But also in that regard, there's nothing more to say about it.

[where: 2411 Alaskan Way # 67 Seattle, WA 98121]

Zaina

2008-09-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

Howdy, yall. I'm here to tell you that I haven't forgotten you, despite appearances. Also, forsaking has not been happening. I've been sick, Rakka's been sick, we haven't been going out. etceteras etceteras. Ok. Excuses out of the way? Right, let's get started talking about...

Zaina has hookahs all over the place for the night time festivities, but at lunch time it's just a bunch of working schlubs, and me (who is working but awesome).

Oooh, that looks good

The food is good, in that lunch timey kind of way. I thought the sandwich would be a little bigger though. At ~$7 you'd think it would be somewhat filling, even in this era of rising food prices. It wasn't. I hadn't breakfasted, so I ended up having most of another lunch after.

trying something a little different with the pics, hovering should work

The plate is apparently the way to go. The one member of the party who got a plate, who professed himself to be starving btw, was unable to finish it. They're up in the $11 range though. Stupid inflation.

So, looking back, this isn't a glowing review. But it's not to say it's a bad one, right? It's a nice place. I'd go again.

[where: 108 Cherry St, Seattle, WA 98104]