A friend recommended Kahoo as a good spot for a quick ramen fix, and I wholeheartedly agree. The restaurant is focused on providing quick service and quick food at reasonable prices, and does a good job of doing so in its small space.

Given the semi-hidden spot behind the Mitsuwa supermarket, the lunchtime line out the door was an encouraging sign. Food-wise I was pretty satisfied, and I’ll definitely come back in the future.

So Gong Dong Tofu House fits a nice niche in the dining habits of any suburban-dwelling tofu lover. It’s a quick, bright and clean spot to get your fix of fairly-priced Korean staples such as SoonDoBu and BiBimBap.

The restaurant is far cleaner than a hole in the wall, and offers a nice assortment of different tofu dishes. To top it off, the waitstaff is efficient and pleasant.

The owners of Pho Cyclo Cafe certainly have an eye for the artistic – or at least the interesting. First-time diners will probably marvel at the full-wall mural of a quaint Vietnamese alley, and the rest of the decor (including the rickshaw) by the doorway matches the theme. Far nicer than your average quick-bite Pho joint.

The food is reasonable but not outstanding, on par with other fast-serve Vietnamese restaurants like Pho Hoa. The menu is fairly varied, at least.

It’s a shame that the service doesn’t match up with the decor. We were slow to be seated, slow to be served, and had to make multiple requests to get tea refills. Perhaps the decor set my expectations too high.

Bottom line – it’s a nice place to stop in for a quick, hot bowl of noodles. Just make sure to demand the service speed that you’re looking for.

I’d heard all kinds of great things about Crush before finally coming to try out their 30 for 30 menu. Now I understand why so many diners love this place.

The restaurant was packed for a Sunday evening, so we had a late evening seating. Service was prompt and polite, and we never had to ask for water refills.

There was a bit of a snafu getting our orders in, but the kitchen generously comped us a refreshing salad for the extra wait.

The food was absolutely fantastic. I ordered a meat-heavy course, but each dish was extremely flavorful and well presented. Bonus points for the complimentary sweets at the end of the meal.

As it goes with most Starbucks, it’s all about location, location, location, and this one is pretty good. The drinks are as homogeneous as any other Starbucks, so no surprise there.

I really like the spaciousness of the place, especially compared to some other coffee shops in the area. It’s a nice spot to drop in to read or get some work done on a free afternoon.

They say the best way to judge a restaurant is by the size of the crowd there, and based on that measure, The Deluxe passes with flying colors. The place was totally packed on a Wednesday evening, and we had to wait 25 minutes for a table for two.

I really liked the comfortable and cozy dark wood decor, and cozy seating arrangements. Service was pretty quick for being so packed.

I was most impressed by the value, or maybe I just came on a good night. The Wednesday night “blue plate special” was a burger and fries for just 5 bucks. Good stuff! I’m definitely coming back, and not just for the good burgers.

Feeling a craving for gyros, I dropped in for lunch today and picked up a sandwich. The place was pretty packed with the lunch crowd, and it seemed like everyone had to wait for a while before they got their food.

The sandwich I got was just ok. Next time I’ll try one of their “plates”, which look good but seem kinda pricey.

I’d been hearing a lot about this new restaurant, opened by the former head chef of the Dahlia Lounge, so my expectations were high when I sat down for dinner on a weekday night. Chef Mark Fuller did not disappoint – overall the food was outstanding. However, other aspects of the dining experience prevented a 5-star rating.

Spring Hill’s menu is small and simple on the surface, but upon closer inspection (and with some explanation) one can see that a lot of time has been spent to create the dishes. Lots of fresh Northwest ingredients and interesting combinations of flavors abound. A large portion of the menu is dedicated to seafood. Overall I thought the food was great – the flavors were unique and noticeable without being excessive.

On the down side, I found the ambiance of the restaurant to be detracting from the dining experience. Everyone at the table agreed that the narrow space made the restaurant very loud, and we all had to speak up and repeat ourselves to be heard. Additionally, the space got a bit warm in the early evening, though it was a warm summer day. Finally, the food came out slow, but it was a nice touch of the waiter to let us know about the “kitchen situation”.

Overall, I’d definitely return to Spring Hill for an occasional good meal, especially when the craving for good food outweighs all other factors.

Nijo’s was initially tough to find, as it’s tucked away below 1st Ave next to an alley. At busy times, that would make parking pretty tough, but for a weeknight dinner there was plenty of parking within a 1-block radius.

The interior is small, dark and intimate. There’s a bar area with a giant tv playing anime, and then a more formal dining area with small tables. We got a nice window seat, but unfortunately there’s not much outside to look at besides pedestrians.

Given that there weren’t many other diners, the service was quick and attentive, and the waiter was good at refilling our waters before things got empty. Food quality was quite good – they have a great selection of varied and unique rolls, as well as some solid main entrees and appetizers. You’re gonna pay a decent amount for the food though, so be prepared.

Overall, I’d come back her again in the future to try out some of their other rolls, probably once every 2-3 months.

Ok I admit it, my knowledge of Chinese restaurants in the International District isn’t as good as it should be. Good Japanese or Vietnamese restaurants in the I-District are easy to find, but for some reason I’d always felt that the Chinese restaurants on the Eastside were better than their I-District counterparts.

Dining at Shanghai Garden was a solid first step in redeeming the local Chinese restaurants, IMO. I wasn’t expecting much, and the decor inside is typical for such a restaurant – a large fish tank and some pretty bare walls save for some unappealing pictures of food. Points to them for being cleaner than most other restaurants in the area.

But the main attraction here are the noodles, especially the hand shaved ones. There’s a large selection of different kinds of noodles, and seeing that I really liked what I tried, I’ll definitely be coming back to try the others.

All in all, Shanghai Garden is a solid pick to satisfy your noodle cravings.