jwbnyc "Assiduously seeking something spicy"

Being a spicy food maven, I’m always skeptical about ordering a Bloody Mary in Seattle. I was encouraged by the introduction of the Firehouse Mary by the Hi-Life (at the site of the Ballard Firehouse). But it seems become a bit less potent over the years.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I made my first visit to Hattie’s Hat after 10 years in the neighborhood. It’s definitely an old-time Ballard establishment. It makes nearby Madame K’s look like the Ritz instead of the old-time brothel its decor is meant to evoke. (I’m pretty sure some of the stuff in Hattie’s is left over from when it was a brothel.)

I went in skeptical and I came out smiling. The smile was certainly helped by the two excellent Bloodies, but the food was a nice surprise, too. We really enjoyed the vegetarian black beans & rice and the fish tacos. Pub food, to be sure, but fresh and tasty. Definitely get some cole slaw, if you like that sort of thing. The salsa was refreshingly spicy to boot.

As a caveat, I ordered my Bloody ‘extra-spicy’ from Brady, who works Sunday brunch. I can’t vouch for any of the other bartenders.

This is a unique restaurant, almost. It’s the little brother of the original in ‘downtown’ Dallas. I’m pretty sure I went to that on my first trip to Dallas in 1983. I was more impressed then.

The restaurant is in a strip-mall, but once inside it’s easy to forget that. The bar is 1/4 level up from the main floor of the resaurant, and the windows down from there give a feeling of eating on a plaza. The service was broadly friendly (and loudly Texan). For these reasons, I feel a strong positive rating is warranted.

The food was fine, as was the La Margarita, but even in Seattle I can get Mexican that’s just about as good.

This is an unfolding blossom of flavor on First Ave in Pike Place Market. The atmosphere is great for a casual, exotic lunch. The service is likewise casual and efficient. They will bring you a fork without it being requested, so you don’t have to eat with your fingers if you don’t want to. Personally, I love the sensual bonus of tearing the ingera (a large crepe/pancake) and grabbing a dollup of the stewed dish served atop it.

I haven’t been there for dinner, but I think the menu is the same. It’s definitely a good value and would be fun to go with some adventuresome friends. I wouldn’t consider it a venue for romance.

I enjoyed Tai Tung. The restaurant is laid out well for business meetings or perhaps clandestine trysting: most of the tables are in pleasant cubicles, with half the tables on a lower floor. The decor is pretty tired – it has a late-seventies feel to it with a griminess to it that distinctly recalled NYC’s Chinatown.

The dishes were not especially authentic. Though they were nicely done. The service was solicitous and helpful, while very Chinese-American.

As noted above, a great place to go for a business meeting when the focus is getting some work done over a decent meal. Don’t expect to impress anyone with this choice.

This is a throw-back lunch counter – a place that may have existed in 1967 in the Haight-Ashbury. The target customer wears flip-flops and a sarong in winter. The chairs and benches are held together with duct tape and/or age-old grime. After you order and pay for your food at the counter, someone will come by your table and your order will land in front of you. The good part is that you get a cup for coffee that you can fill yourself before sitting down.

On the other hand, the food is made to order and the ingredients are very fresh. It’s probably best to go here in the morning while your eyes are still sealed shut. The coffee isn’t strong enough to wake you, so you may be able to enjoy the food before your eyes open and you’re offended by the surroundings.

The food is so good, I couldn’t bring myself to rate it less than three stars. I doubt I’ll go back, since I can’t think of anyone who would go with me. But I’ll be glad to have the biscuits & gravy again, if I do.

Pretentious, but the clientelle don’t even bother to dress.

I was excited to try the place after looking at the reviews here. My wife and I enjoy red wines and I had noticed the high windows and open decor from the street previously.

My first impression upon entering was the noise. The place was fairly full on Friday night and it was necessary to yell to be heard. That’s not so uncommon in a night spot, but all the metal furnishings and 3 glass walls form an echo chamber that became rather uncomfortable over time, even as the restaurant emptied.

Then came our server. He could scarcely be bothered to look at us while we ordered. Then the order came: the appetizer followed the main dish. The form of apology was that the appetizer we ordered sometimes takes a little longer – so getting our dishes out of order was our fault.

We ordered a flight of 4 wines for $20. I’d hoped that this would be the highlight of the evening. The wines were interesting, but not one was notable. The servings were generous tastes, but I don’t think they equated to 2 decent glasses.

I suppose this is a fine place to go if you want to hang at the bar and drink a variety of mediocre wine by the glass. I’d rather go where they select a couple of decent bottles to pour by the glass – usually at a better price.

Don’t eat here!

We were ‘wowed’ with the robust flavor of the red curry dishes we were served at Sea Thai last night!

This is the freshest-tasting spicy Thai food I’ve had in Seattle. For our appetizer, we had a unique ‘crispy fried rice’ dish in addition to the plate of a dozen little spring rolls. The red curry with pumpkin was almost as good as the BBQ duck in red curry. The most splendid spicy dish was the seafood in a coconut: ‘Ho Mok Talay’.

I enjoyed the sensation produced by the rivulets of sweat running down my temples and behind my ears. I didn’t get particularly sniffly from the spices in these dishes, though at least one of the others sharing the feast needed to replace a soaked napkin. It was definitely hot, spicy food, but not one-dimensional – the dishes were all richly flavored and nuanced.

The restaurant is small and bright, so it’s not a spot for romancing. The staff is pretty much all family, and they treat the customers as guests. We were very comfortable for the 90 minutes it took to consume our feast – I was disappointed that we ordered so much because I wanted to try the sticky rice for desert, but I was too full!

This is a one-man-show under new ownership. Abera is obsessed with the quality of the pizza and parmigiana dishes he prepares. The small storefront provides a lunch counter to enjoy the quick quality in comfort. The location makes it a convenient stop on the way home from the Pearl River train station to grab a great fresh Italian meal. Businesses on the north side Pear River can take advantage of the proximity to send out for a pizza lunch for the crew.

Abera says that he’ll be offering delivery service soon, so give a call.

This is my favorite Vietnamese restaurant. It’s not as good as some for pho or the elaborate french-inspired dishes. I go to this restaurant for lunch regularly in the winter because of the Super Chicken Soup. It’s the best, heartiest chick-stock concoction with rice noodles that I could ask for!

The restaurant is a new incarnation by the original owners in a newly constructed space opened in the summer of 2007 in the original location. The owner is friendly and very helpful if you go when it’s not too crowded. It gets a bit rushed and noisy at lunch, but the prices are in line with the experience.

They also offer a good selection of vegetarian options.

This is a casual and spacious restaurant with good quality food. I asked for a ‘thai style’ hot dish and the server knowledgeably steered my from my original inclination to a dish that would come with a little more heat.

It’s definitely better than average Thai for Seattle, but the food itself wouldn’t justify 4 stars. The food was complemented by good service and a pleasant, clean atmosphere at a reasonable price, so it was overall significantly above a 3-star experience.