seattle Archives - Foodology

In American

Cheesecake Factory: Chowing Down in Seattle

February 20, 2014

Can you believe it? I’ve NEVER been to a Cheesecake Factory till now. It’s taken me 25 years to make a visit and taste their cheesecake. I’ve never seen the allure of huge slices of cheese cake and horribly prepared food. I’ve always just had that impression in my mind.

On our recent trip to Seattle, we stopped by Cheesecake factory for an early dinner. It was really early…it was so early, they still had their lunch menu. What can I say? We had a schedule to keep if we wanted to go shopping.

The place was huge, but there always seem to be a line up near the door. It’s super packed during lunch and dinner.

Complimentary bread arrives and you have brown and white. We actually didn’t touch the bread since we had to save our tummies for our meal and dessert. No need to waste space for plain bread.

M ordered himself a coke. Free refills!

Koreangirl got herself a lemonade. Free refills too!

Tomato, basil and cheese pizza ($11.95) from their lunch menu is pretty crappy. There’s no tomato sauce, so it’s just the 3 basic ingredients over the pizza dough. I will not order the pizza again.

The pizza did come with a salad. The salad was pretty good. No complaints. It had a balsamic vinegar dressing. I definitely enjoyed the salad a lot more than the pizza.

Famous Factory Meatloaf ($11.95) comes with 2 sides. M chose corn and mashed potatoes with gravy. The lunch size was still huge but the dinner size is even larger. M likes the portion for lunch as he could actually finish it.

Renee’s Special ($10.95) comes with half a turkey sandwich, a cup of soup and a green salad. You definitely get a little bit of everything. The portion is large for lunch and its very filling.

Fettuccini with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes ($11.95) was ordered by Scarface and looked good.

30th Anniversary Chocolate Cake Cheesecake has layers of their original cheesecake, fudge cake and chocolate truffle cream. M gets this every time he comes here.

Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake ($6.95) has chocolate cheesecake with a layer of Belgian chocolate mousse and whipped cream.

Fresh Strawberry ($6.95) has the original cheese cake topped with glazed strawberries and whipped cream. It’s been their top seller for 30 years. The strawberries were huge and fresh. I really liked it and its a good cake to share. The classics are always the best.

Overall, cheesecake factory is ok. It’s a good price for their huge portions. I wouldn’t come back for the food but cheesecake is worth it.

We Rate The Cheesecake Factory:

Address:
700 Pike St
Seattle, WA

Website:
http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=700+Pike+St&sll=47.6116985,-122.3333375&sspn=0.0055549,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=700+Pike+St,+Seattle,+King+County,+Washington+98109,+United+States&z=16 “]

In American

Rachel’s Ginger Beer: A Treat at Pike Place

February 9, 2014

Rachel’s Ginger Beer is the newest place in Pike Place in Seattle. We were wandering around the area after lunch and needed something fizzy to settle our stomachs after eating at Pike Place Chowder.

They started selling their signature Ginger Beer at Seattle’s Farmers Market and with great success, they opened up their shop in Pike Place during the summer of 2013.

When you walk inside, you’ll be mesmerized by all their drinks. These are the larger jugs that are to go.

Don’t be fooled by their name, they have more than just soda. They have boozy cocktails and ice cream. Some of the drinks can be made warm too instead of cold.

When you order a cup of the ginger beer, it comes right from the tap. I think it’s a really cute touch even though it is non-alcoholic.

Mango Tangerine ($5) , Pink Guava ($5) , Original ($4), and Blueberry ($5) were ordered and it has a very distinctive aftertaste of ginger. You can feel the drink slide down your throat and heating up your body. It can really shock the sickness out of you if you aren’t feeling too well. Good combination is all the soda’s but I liked the original to stay true to ginger beer.

It’s not a drink for everyone. If you don’t like ginger, you probably won’t have a keen liking to the drinks.

We were glad we stumbled upon this cute little shop. I would have never expected a ginger beer shop to exist.

We Rate Rachel’s Ginger Beer:

Address:
1530 Post Alley
Seattle, WA

Website:
http://rachelsgingerbeer.com/pages/pike-place-market

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=1530+Post+Alley&sll=47.6093656,-122.3410995&sspn=0.0055551,0.0109864&t=m&hnear=1530+Post+Alley,+Seattle,+Washington+98101,+United+States&z=16 “]

In Food for Thought

Bird’s Eye Tea: Tea Subscriptions from Seattle, WA

January 1, 2013

Birds Eye Tea is a monthly tea subscription service from Seattle, Washington. Sarah Farr is the creator of Birds Eye Tea and promotes her organic hand-blended, handpicked herb and tea blends online and at local markets.

Monthly subscriptions are $22 per month and you get 3 hand-blended teas at the beginning of the month. Sometimes, there is even a little extra treat too. You can also find some of their teas at Whole Foods.

Since I am a tea fanatic, I wanted to try the different teas they offer. I grew up on Chinese teas, so I am more used to green and black teas. When Bird’s Eye Tea asked me to try their teas, I agreed.

Each package has clear ingredients on the back and instructions on how to prepare the tea. All the teas were very easy to prepare and not too difficult.

The teas chosen for each subscription is based on the theme and season.

Sarah is a responsible wildcrafter, ecologist, and herbalist. She strives for extreme integrity in all of her herbal products. All the herbs are organic or ethically harvested. Any herbs that come from overseas are fair-trade as well as being organically grown and are tested for purity/quality.

Besides tea subscriptions, Sarah sells her tea from her other brand – The Harbor Herbalist and sells teas by the bag and for retail. Xocolatl is their signature herbal hot chocolate, which is quite popular.

Overall, I didn’t particularly like any of these tea combinations. My love of tea is mostly for green, red and black teas. If you are an adventurous tea drinker and like to try new combinations, the Bird’s Eye Tea might be for you.

Website: https://www.birdseyetea.com/

In Fast Food

McDonalds: S’mores Pie and Cheap McNuggets

September 20, 2012

In the United States, they have some crazy menu items at some great prices. It’s always awesome to drive down to the states and try items that are not available in Canada. One of those items was the Smores Pie.

Smores Pie is like a normal pie, but it’s filled with chocolate and marshmallow. You have all the components that go into a smores.

Whats different about this pie is that there is a large slit at the top, so the inside is exposed for all to see.

The smores pies was a tad sweet, but it did have a unique taste. It was like a smores, but less messy!

20 Piece McNuggets ($4.99) is so cheap in the states! You could easily order 100 and not break your wallet! This location didn’t have a larger box for them, so it was split off into 2 boxes.

It’s quite hard to eat 20 all by yourself unless you are super super hungry. My friend and I just split these.

Have you had the chance to try the smore pie or bought yourself a ton of McNuggets?

In Lynnwood

Red Lobster: 4 course meal for $15

February 15, 2012

It has taken me two trips to Lynnwood to figure out where Red Lobster is located. The first time, my GPS led me to a residential area and I gave up. I didn’t want to use data on my phone cause…you know…I’m asian and I hate being charged for unnecessary things I don’t need.

Red Lobster is a chain seafood restaurant in the United States. They specialize in seafood and usually draw in large crowds on the weekends. We saw that they were having a $15 4-course meal, so TaiwaneseGirl, CanuckGirl and I decided to try it out. It’s a good price and it didn’t seem like it could go wrong. In the 4-course meal it gave you a few choices below.

Soup

New England Clam Chowder
Creamy Potato Bacon Soup

Salad

Fresh Garden Salad
Fresh Caesar Salad.

Entree

Grilled Honey-BBQ Shrimp Skewers
Garlic Alfredo Shrimp-and-Scallop Pasta
Garlic-Herb Shrimp and Chicken
Cajun Chicken Linguini Alfredo
Wood-Grilled Fresh Tilapia
Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp
Hand-Breaded Shrimp

Dessert

Triple-Chocolate Brownie á la Mode
Apple Crostada with Caramel Drizzle

When we arrived, there was already a line forming. We had to wait about 30 minutes to be seated. For others, they would have to wait over 1 hr to be seated. It’s always good to make reservations to avoid these long waits on weekends.

The whole interior looked like a boat!

Look Lobsters!

They even give your these taser-like devices that signal you when your table is called.

The dining area was very wooden as well. I guess that works with the theme of the restaurant.

New England Clam Chowder was alright. It had minimal clams and wasn’t very amazing.

Cheddar Biscuits are unlimited!! It was very fluffy on the inside and you can tell there was lots of butter to make these. Despite that, it was hands down very good biscuits!

Fresh Caesar Salad was alright as well.

Fresh Garden Salad had the addition of tomatoes, cucumbers and onions. I had a balsamic vinegar dressing on top.

Garlic Alfredo Shrimp-and-Scallop Pasta is probably the best entree out of the seven choices. TaiwaneseGirl and CanuckGirl did enjoy it, but it wasn’t the most amazing pasta they have had. It had a good amount of sauce, scallops and shrimp.

Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp is just gross! Stay away from this at all times. I really don’t know how this is even considered an entree. It was overly sweet and it really ruined the taste of the shrimp. How is this even somewhat healthy?

Apple Crostada with Caramel Drizzle was alright as well said CanuckGirl. It really could have used a side of vanilla ice cream.

Triple-Chocolate Brownie á la Mode was good! The brownie was warm and super moist with the side of vanilla ice cream. It’s not too sweet and it was a good end to the meal.

The dishes were ok, but nothing amazing. I am glad I didn’t have to pay more than $15 for this meal because most of it kinda sucked. We probably should have gotten lobsters, but the special was just at such a good price.

Words of Wisdom:

Very busy on weekends
Lots of rear parking
Make reservations
Avoid anything with coconuts and shrimp

We Rate Red Lobster:

Address:
4231 196th St SW
Lynnwood, WA 98036
Website:
http://www.redlobster.com

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In Fast Food

Chipotle Mexican Grill: Delicious Food Beyond the Border

February 14, 2012

Chipotle is a chain fast food restaurant in the United States, they have a few on the eastern side of Canada too. Since TaiwaneseGirl was raving about how she wanted it SO badly, we went to grab some lunch. We arrived 30 minutes too early, so we sat in the car and waited for them to open. Surprisingly, we were not the only ones waiting for their delicious Mexican food. There was already about 5 people in front of us as we went inside.

The inside was nice and large. You line up, build your item, pay and eat!

Lots of space and even though it is empty in this picture…it got full fast! People really love Chipotles for some reason.

You first choose from a burrito, bowl, taco or a salad. Then, you can choose what you want to put inside. They have so many options! Oh hey look… calories!

Steak Bowl + Guac ($6.35 +$1.80) may look plain but its amazing inside. It’s like a burrito but without the flour tortilla. TaiwaneseGirl put everything in here and asked for extras, thus her bowl became quite tall. She really liked it. Guac is extra, but its worth it!

Steak Bowl + Guac ($6.35 +$1.80) CanuckGirl got the same thing, but didn’t get as much toppings compared to TaiwaneseGirl.

Caritas Burrito + Guac ($6.35 +$1.80) was stuffed with so much filling, it was so hard for the lady to wrap up. It was a bit messy, but there’s a bowl for you in case it all falls apart. In the end, I just ripped it apart and ate it like a bowl. Delicious and I love the tenderness of the carnitas. Yum!

You can also get free water too. Just ask and you’ll get a cup.

Overall, we quite enjoyed this experience and later in the day…we bought a few takeout orders back to Canada. In a way, it was comparable to Red Burrito in Vancouver. Its best to get the bowl a takeout if you aren’t intending to eat it on the same day. Everything still tastes good.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $10
Delicious steak and caritas
Lots of free parking
Lots of seating
Children friendly with kids menu

We Rate Chipotle Mexican Grill:
Address:
4120 196th St SW
Lynnwood, WA 98036
Website:
http://www.chipotle.com

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In Sandwich

Red Mill Burger: Bacon, Bacon, Verde, Bacon & Onion Rings

November 17, 2011

I have finally finished the last restaurant on my Man v. Food list – Red Mill Burgers. It took me a while to finally try this place since it’s always out of the way of Downtown Seattle and Bellevue. This trip, I made it a mission to try this. M was a little bit unsure about going out of the way, but after showing him the episode, it made him want to see their stack of bacon.

Here is the video of Red Mill Burger on Man v. Food!

It was probably 1 in the afternoon and this place is packed. This location is in Interbay (but i’m not from Seattle so I don’t know what that means). I dare you to peek over the counter to find this:

BACON! A WALL OF BACON! LOTS OF BACON! Imagine how awesome all of that would taste?

There are a few booth seats, but during peak hours they are all full. If you are coming with a friend, get one of them to snag a table as the other lines up. M and I had to do the tag team duo to stalk for a table.

Onion Rings ($3.19) were nicely battered and had a light fish & chips type of batter. M really loved it, but I still felt like it needed a bit of salt to it. People rave about the onion rings…. but I like A&W onion rings better. M and I clearly did not agree with each other.

Tartar Sauce ($0.23) accompanies it very well.

Bleu Cheese N’ Bacon Burger ($6.79) has Crumbled Bleu Cheese, Pepper Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Mill Sauce on a Kaiser Bun. The bacon is crispy and has fresh veggies. I just loved the blue cheese in this burger. I usually HATE blue cheese, but it’s much better when it’s cooked.

I was a bit disappointed by the patty. It wasn’t smokey at all and looked a like it was steamed rather than grilled. The patty is quite thin too. My favorite part was the blue cheese and bacon….Mmmm yum.

Verde Burger ($5.80) has fire Roasted Anaheim Peppers, Jack Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion, with their Mill Sauce in a toasted bun. M added bacon to this.

M’s face lit up when he took a bit of the roasted anaheim peppers. He also felt the patty kinda fell short of expectations. Peppers + Bacon = awesome. It’s not crazy spicy or anything. It’ll just tingle your tongue.

Overall, we felt this place was a little too hyped up from the TV show. It’s still good to try and see what it’s all about.

Words of Wisdom:

Parking in lot or near the park
Delicious smoked bacon
Busy during peak hours
Take a picture of their bacon stack and tell all your friends. It looks crazy.
Under $10

We Rate Red Mill Burger:
Address:
1613 W Dravus St
Seattle, WA 98119
Website:
redmillburgers.com

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In Deli

I Love New York Deli: But This Is In Seattle, WA

November 16, 2011

What on earth is there to eat in Downtown Seattle early in the morning at 7am? M and I just used a food app to look it up and we just went to I Love New York Deli in Pike Place. There’s not many reviews, but it was the mystery that we wanted to unravel.

They are best known for their HUGE sandwiches that are packed full of flavour. Since they are located in the Market Place, the prices are very affordable!

They don’t have many seats, so you may need to fight for a seat or eat outside. You can also just walk elsewhere in the market place and find alternative seating.

Canarsie Reuben ($11.95) is loaded with pastrami, pepper jack cheese, russian dressing and horseradish sauce on marbled rye bread. It comes with a side of your choice and a wedge of pickle.

Look how sexy this sandwich is!!!! This is what I call a sandwich!! Piled full of meat. I thought this sandwich was ok since I am not a fan of the taste of pastrami. If you like pastrami, you will probably like it.

Empire State ($10.95) has roasted brisket, cheddar cheese, caramelized onions and horseradish sauce on marble rye bread. It also comes with a side and a pickled.

I LOVED this! The meat is very tender and works well with the caramelized onions. You must get this!!

Overall, it was a super cool unique find! This is my kind of comfort food! I’ve never been so excited for such a large sandwich.

Words of Wisdom:

Around $10
Your choice of sides and type of bread.
Can also build your own
Best known for Overstuffed Sandwiches
The brisket is to die for
If you go early morning, they might not have all their ingredients

We Rate I Love New York Deli:

Address:

93 Pike Street #4
Seattle, WA

Website:

http://www.ilovenewyorkdeli.net/

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In Cafe

Starbucks: The Original Store in Seattle, WA

November 15, 2011

M and I arrived in Seattle way too early during the long weekend since we expected there to be a wait at the border…there was no wait. So, we were downtown by 7:30am. Nothing is open that early except for Starbucks, so we decided to head to Pike Place Market to roam around. A lot of the merchants were getting ready, so the market wasn’t open either.

As you may or may not know, Starbucks originated in Seattle Washington and has grown into a global phenomenon. Every time I go here and it’s PACKED. Since it was so early in the morning, I knew it would be empty.

The interior is quite spacious when there are a few people inside. On a normal day, it is just filled with people grabbing drinks. If all you want is coffee, best to just go to another Starbucks a block away. They serve the same drinks as all the other Starbucks locations.

They have tons of cups, coffee and stuffed animals to purchase. Since its always so packed in here during usual hours, its really hard to get nice photos of inside this location.

It is a tourists hotspot and it is always packed with people buying coffee and purchasing the original Starbucks mug with their original logo. There’s another location on Firstand Pike that also sells the merchandise. If you hate crowds, thats an option.

Location:
1912 Pike Pl Seattle, WA 98101

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In Four Beakers

Beecher’s Handmade Cheese: “World’s Best” Mac & Cheese

September 16, 2011

I came here a while ago with a few of my friends. I’ve been to Pike Place in Seattle before, but I never knew it was home to the “World’s Best” Mac & Cheese. The next time I visited, I knew this had to be on my list of places to go. I found out through Follow Me Foodie’s post about Beecher’s Handmade Cheese.

When we arrived in the afternoon, this place was packed! Line ups out the doors and people were everywhere. All these cheese are made in house and used in all their products.

They have a large open room, so while you wait, you can watch their staff in action making all the cheese. There’s so much cheese!!

Here’s a very bad view of their menu! I couldn’t move around to find a good spot to take a photo.

I know this is the place for Mac & Cheese, but we really couldn’t leave without some grilled cheese. With a row of their panini presses, you can’t resist!

Ham & Flagship ($7.27 USD) has ham, their all natural Flagship cheese and tomato on a rustic artisan bread. Imagine your classic ham and cheese, but so much better! The outside in perfectly grilled, so when you bite into it, you get an amazing “CRUNCH”. The inside is savory and deliciously gooey!

Grilled Cheese ($5.91 USD) is made with the Flagship cheese in the rustic artisan bread. Nicely toasted and it’s so good! Good choice of bread and quality of cheese just make this sandwich amazing!

‘World’s Best’ Mac & Cheese (5oz- $5 USD) is very very very very good! It is made with penne pasta with a good amount of their Flagship cheese. The whole dish is very savory and is very rich. I’ve never had anything as good as this.

Mariachi Mac & Cheese (5oz- $5 USD) is a Mexican twist to the traditional Mac & Cheese. It contains roasted chilies, vegetables, their Flagship cheese with penne. We all shared this and it was not our favorite. It does have an added kick, but the ‘World’s Best’ Mac & Cheese is still our favorite.

Overall, very amazing eat here if you are a cheese lover. They take a lot of pride in their flagship cheese and the quality really shows when you grab food here.

Words of Wisdom:

Recommended items: ‘World’s Best’ Mac & Cheese + Grilled Cheese
Packed during peak hours.. or long weekends
Decent prices
Under $10
AMAZING Delicious food!

We Rate Beecher’s Handmade Cheese:

Address:

1600 Pike Pl
Seattle, WA

Website:
www.beechershandmadecheese.com

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/beecherscheese

Twitter:

@BeechersSeattle

In Tulalip

Auntie Anne’s Pretzels: Quick Snack at the Outlets

August 6, 2011

If you are from Vancouver, going to the Outlets in the states during the weekend is super fun! Who loves discounts? Something about 40% off clothes makes me overjoyed. Since there really isn’t much food around that area, getting a little snack at Auntie Anne’s Pretzels is always enjoyable.

They make all their pretzels by hand! You can stare at the working if you feel super bored.

I ordered the Pretzel Hotdog Combo ($5.97). It comes with the pretzel dog, choice of dip and a drink.

The pretzel dog is just a normal hotdog wrapped in the pretzel dough. For some reason I thought it would taste super awesome, but I was a bit disappointed. Honestly, it just tasted like a hotdog with minimal bun.

For the dip, I chose the marinara sauce, but there are others you can choose from. I thought a savory type of sauce would go well with it and it wasn’t too bad at all.

In the end, I kind regretted getting the pretzel hotdog since I should have just ordered the normal pretzel. The combo was not very filling and it left me wanting more food to eat.

Words of Wisdom:

Only get the Pretzel!
Good for a snack

We Rate Auntie Anne’s Pretzels:

Address:

#312-10600 Quil Ceda Blvd
Tulalip, WA 98271

Website:
www.auntieannes.com

In Brunch

5 Spot: Long Line for Breakfast

June 19, 2011

During the last long weekend, KoreanGirl, TaiwaneseGirl, CanuckGirl and I headed down back to Seattle for a day. We wanted to try some more jaw dropping restaurants as well as to get a little bit of shopping done.

Our first stop was at 5 Spot Restaurant. We arrived about 2 hours too early since I really gunned it down the highway at 160 km. Since there was no one on the roads and nothing was open, we just slept in the parking lot till it opened.

10 minutes before they opened, we started seeing a lot of people starting to line up, so we got out of the car and joined these early birds.

Soon enough, the restaurant was packed. We were super excited because we didn’t know what to expect.

Here’s a look at their menu.

The water even came in jars!

I started off with Green Tea ($2.50) since I need caffeine in the morning.

TaiwasneseGirl had the Herbacious omelette ($8.75). It has fresh chopped herb omelette hash browns and toast. She found the omelette to be average and nothing too special. She did like the hashbrowns. Extra crispy just the way she likes it.

CanuckGirl ordered the Breakfast Special ($10.25). It has some scrambled eggs with hashbrown and toast. There was something in the scrambled eggs but I don’t really remember what it was. She did like it and had no complains.

I ordered the K-Bob’s Chicken Fried Steak & Eggs ($10.75). Tenderized steak double dredged and fried. It comes with 2 eggs with potatoes and a buttermilk biscuit. I really did not like this dish. Since the steak is double dredged, you get more breading compared to the meat. It just ended tasting like fried flour with salt and pepper.

I loved the potatoes that came with it!

Porkopolis Rumble ($9.75) has scrambled eggs with house-cured pork belly, caramelized onions, thyme and cheddar. It is also served with potatoes and toast. KoreanGirl was not very impressed. The menu description sounded pretty good, but she really did not like it very much.

Overall, it was just ok food. I don’t think we really found this breakfast very unique. Just ok. Perhaps their lunch is better.

Words of Wisdom:

Free street parking in the front
Go early or wait in line
Decent portion sizes for price

We Rate 5 Spot:

Address:

1502 Queen Anne Ave N
Seattle, WA

Website:
www.chowfoods.com/five/index.aspx

In Italian

Olive Garden: Nothing Else Around

April 29, 2011

This is my last food post about my Seattle eating adventures and I am quite sad. So much good food in 2 amazing days.

As we were making our way up Seattle, we wanted to stop by Red Lobster but our GPS took us to the middle of a residential area. We didn’t want to use our data or else it would charge us an arm and a leg, so we decided to head up north to the Seattle Premium Outlets to do more shopping. After walking around and buying some great items, the only restaurant in sight was either McDonalds or Olive Garden. We chose Olive Garden. I was not so keen on going since I did not like my past experience but I reluctantly went.

Since we were a party of 5, we were told that would wait would be about 45 mins. Not knowing what to do, the waitress suggested we could go to Walmart to do some shopping. We started driving towards Walmart… ended up in the wrong direction on a one way street… made crazy fast U-turns and ended up at the Casino’s Valet / Taxi line up….dangerously backed up into traffic and as soon as we knew it, we were at Walmart. It was an adventure indeed. As we got out of the car, our electronic beeper thing went off. =(

We really wanted to get some cheap random things from Walmart, but we just ended up driving *safely* back to Olive Garden. As we went back in the restaurant, they already gave away our table =( Lesson learned, never let the waitress tell you to go shopping in Walmart as you wait for a table. Their time estimations are always wrong.

After waiting a few minutes, we got our table and began ordering!

The menu items.

Since the Sampler Italiano ($11.25) looked very good in their menu, we decided to share it with 3 different choices. We chose from calamari, stuffed mushrooms, fried zucchini, chicken fingers, fried mozzarella or toasted beef and pork ravioli.

We chose the chicken fingers, toasted beef + pork ravioli and calamari. This dish also came with tomato sauce and ranch dip.

At first sight, you knew these were frozen and just fried/heated up. The dish was very average and not the most spectacular thing I have ever ate.

M and BusanGirl both ordered the side soup – Pasta e Fagioli. Soup comes complementary with all meals. The waitress described this more of a chili/stew type of soup. It has white and red beans, ground beef, tomatoes and pasta in a savory broth. M remarked that the consistency of the soup was not like chili, rather a watered down tomato soup. It was as Peter Griffin would say, “rather dull and pedantic.”

Fabo and TanGuy ordered the side soup – Zuppa Toscana. It has spicy sausage, russet potatoes and cavolo greens in a creamy broth.

Our server was quite interesting. She kept suggesting us to try other soups that were on the menu. She said if we didn’t like one soup, we can always try the other ones as well. At the other Olive Garden, we did not get the same offer. Most of us found it weird, so we didn’t get additional soup.

I was the only one to order the Garden-Fresh Salad as my side. I find salads cool! Their salad comes in a large bowl with huge scissor-like tongs. It has the usual lettuce, olives, peppers, croutons, cheese, and onion dressed with a light amount of italian dressing. Simple salad. The best part was the minimal amount of dressing. Thats what I like. I really hate over dressed salads.

The salad has unlimited refills but I couldn’t eat any more salads. The salad they brought for me had about 2 portions. I was tempted, but I had to save room.

M ordered the Lasagna Classico ($14.75). It has layers of pasta, meat sauce and mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan and romano cheese.

This is a classic lasagna, M loved it since he doesn’t get to have lasagna on a usual basis.

Fabo ordered the

Five Cheese Ziti al Forno ($13.50). It has ziti pasta in a five cheese marinara sauce, baked with a layer of melted Italian cheeses.

From looking at the name, you would have no idea what it is. She found this to be quite average and not too spectacular.

TanGuy ordered the Garlic-Herb Chicken con Broccoli ($15.25). It has Rosemary-seasoned chicken breasts sautéed with fresh broccoli in a garlic cream sauce over orecchiette pasta.

He found the dish to be quite bland and tasteless. For a second he thought his taste buds weren’t working.

BusanGirl ordered the Ravioli di Portobello ($13.75) It has portobello mushroom-filled ravioli in a creamy smoked cheese and sun-dried tomato sauce.

She was so funny, it took her a while to figure out her ravioli was stuffed with mushrooms. Perhaps she didn’t look at the description close enough. I don’t think she was too keen on the dish either since she didn’t finish it all.

I ordered the Chicken Parmigiana ($15.50) It has parmesan-breaded chicken breasts, fried and topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. Served with spaghetti.

The amount of spaghetti was very small and pretty average. Nothing very special. It was a bit simple and seemed like something you could make at home quickly. The chicken breasts were a bit on the dry side, so it didn’t impress me much.

After you finish the meal, you are given mint chocolates! Safe to say this was the best part of the meal.

Since Olive Garden is a chain, you can see why its quite average. The service was good at least. Our server was very chipper and quite entertaining at times.

Words of Wisdom:

Close proximity to Seattle Premium Outlets
Nothing impressive, Italian words thrown around with no authentic Italian taste.
Rather Expensive

Address:

10326 Quil Ceda Blvd

Tulalip, WA

Website:

http://www.olivegarden.com/

In Cafe

Cyclops Cafe & Lounge

April 28, 2011

After walking around Downtown, then venturing through Olympic Sculpture Park and checking out Seattle Center, we were so tired of walking! It was time for dinner and we wandered into Bell Town.

After asking people of the Twitterverse where I should check out, I settled with Cyclops.

As we slowly got to Cyclops, we realized it was more of a pub setting. Since everyone was not 21+, we didn’t know what to do since there was a sign saying that people had to be 21+ to enter. Too bad the legal age isn’t 19 in the states. We walked a little bit further and we were super confused, there was another restaurant also named Cyclops. We stood there staring and staring at the doors until someone told us that one was the bar area and another was the dining area. It all made sense!

Cyclops is split in half to accomodate two types of crowds.

M thought of Jim Carrey’s character, Uncle Olaf in the movie, Series of Unfortunate Events, with all the different creepy one eyes in the restaurant.

Their menu is just 2 pages and there is also an additional one for specials.

Since I am over 21, I decided to get myself a Stella Artois. If I’m legal in the states, why not have a drink. Plus, since we did so much walking, I needed a little break. They had a lot of beers that I was not familiar, so I just got Stella.

I used to not like stella since it was a bit bitter than usual beers, but over the years it has grown on me. It has a nice refreshing finish and accompanies meals very well.

BusanGirl was not feeling very hungry, so she ordered the Roasted Corn & Chicken Quesadilla ($7 USD). In this quesadilla is roasted chicken breast, roasted red pepper, caramelized onions, roasted corn, feta, and cheese in a flour tortilla.

She was amazed by the great flavours of the quesadilla. The roasted onions and the roasted corn added a lot of savory flavour.

M and Fabo both ordered the Meatloaf sandwich ($10 USD). As I mentioned before, M loves Meatloaf… 2nd time today he has had meatloaf. This sandwich has BBQ glazed meatloaf on sliced sourdough bread with basil aioli served with fries.

TanGuy ordered the El Cubano ($11 USD). It is a sandwich with roasted pulled pork, sliced ham, cheese, thin pickles, dijon mustard, poblano aioli on a grilled ciabatta bun. He thought the sandwich was ok, but the dijon was very potent.

I ordered the Pepper Bacon Mac n’ Cheese ($8 USD). It has penna pasta, cheddar, swiss, pepper bacon and bread crumbs all baked in the oven and ready to serve. It even comes with some toasted bread on the side.

The Mac n’ Cheese was pretty good, the amount of bacon gave the mac n’ cheese a more salty flavour to the dish. It also added a bit of texture since the bacon was crispy.

Words of Wisdom:

Unique artwork on the walls, check website for info about them
Under $10
Lots of tables and great for groups

We rate Cyclops Cafe & Lounge:

Address:

2421 1st Ave
Seattle, WA

Website:
www.cyclopsseattle.com

In Seattle

Jamba Juice: Beats Canada’s Jugo Juice + Booster Juice

April 28, 2011

We were making our way back to Vancouver and decided to stop by Alderwood Mall to do a bit of shopping. I love Alderwood Mall! It has basically everything. Since the sun was shining and we were exhausted from sitting in the car, we decided to get refreshments.

We wanted something healthy so we headed to the food court. Nothing but soda and coffee could be found, so we looked at the directory because we knew there had to be a juice bar somewhere close. Sure enough, there is a Jamba Juice right outside the food court.

For a Friday afternoon it was quite busy.

Their menu has lots of smoothies and even hot drinks.

Fabo ordered the Razzmatazz (16 oz – $3.40 USD). This contains mixed berry juice blend, orange sherbert, strawberries, bananas and ice.

BusanGirl ordered the Mango A-Go-Go (16oz – $3.40USD) . It contains passionfruit mango juice blend, mangoes, pineapple sherbert and ice. She liked the smoothie a lot because a few hours earlier, she got another smoothie from another store but it only had 1 strawberry and 3 blueberries. She was impressed by the quality and the amount of fruit at Jamba Juice.

M ordered the Strawberries Wild Smoothie (Original size $4.40). It contains apple strawberry juice blend, non-fat vanilla frozen yogurt, strawberries, bananas and ice.

I ordered the Apple n’ Green Smoothie (16oz – $4.20 USD). It has apple-strawberry juice, vegetable juice (carrots, spinach, bell peppers, kale, and lettuce), peach mangoes, bananas and ice.

The thought of having a fruit/vegetable drink might sound weird, but it was really good! It had very smooth consistency and it did not get icy at all. It had a distinct tastes of apples and then hints of mangoes afterwards. The best part of this drink are the little fruit bits left behind from the blender. Maneuvering your straw to suck up all the little mango chunks.

Overall, we loved this place! Hands down, we all agreed this place was 100x better than Jugo Juice and Booster Juice.

Words of Wisdom:

Free Boosts of your choice
Lots of flavours and options

We Rate Jamba Juice:

Address:

3000 184th St SW Ste 880
Lynnwood, WA

Website:
www.jambajuice.com

In Brunch

Beth’s Cafe: 12 Egg Omelettes

April 27, 2011

Beths Cafe is most famous for their 12 egg omelets! They have been featured on Man v. Food when Adam takes the 12 omelet challenge. After watching that episode, it was on my ‘to-do’ list for Seattle. Who wouldn’t want to tell the tale of having eaten a 12 egg omelet?

We arrived around noon, which is probably the worst time to go to any popular restaurant. Can you guess why? Line ups. There were people lining up. There were probably a good dozen people or so infront of us, but the time passed by pretty quickly. They have chairs set up outside and the sun was shining! We basically spent most of the time looking at the menu contemplating which 12 egg omelettes to order.

What is super cool about Beths Cafe is that all the walls are covered in customers art work. This is the ultimate hole in the wall restaurant. Old outdated furniture, tons of tape and paper on the walls. It’s actually quite interesting to see a few of the drawings on the wall. I even found a cool Charlie Sheen reference! I also found Angry Birds too!

M was so happy he sat in the exact same seat where Adam Richman of Man V. Food was sitting in! I think it made his day.

Their covers of their menu even has artwork. When flipping through the menu, the only thing we were interested in was the omelettes. 6 different types or you can even customize your own.

TanGuy needed his caffeine fix since we clearly walk around too much. M ordered Mr. Pibb, the Pepsi version of Dr. Pepper. He went nuts when he could order it here. It was his childhood drink that he has long forgotten. They don’t sell it in Canada, so he wanted to get his hands on this drink.

As we waited for our meals, we began doodling! Fabo drew a scary version of the Deuce Panda and the rest of us collaborated to draw a picture of the Nyan Nyan Cat. The Nyan Cat is this viral website featuring a cat non-stop singing. Similar to badger badger badger. No worries there are no viruses in the above links.

M and TanGuy shared the Triple Bypass 12 Egg Omlette ($20.75 + $1.50). You need to add on an additional $1.50 per person sharing the dish. This dish is so huge that it needs to be served on a pizza tray. Inside the triple Bypass are bacon , sausage, ham, double swiss and double american cheese. The egg is folded up and placed onto a bed of bottomless hash browns. Then you also get 2 pieces of toast on top. You also have ketchup, tabasco sauce, salt and pepper to season your omelette if needed.

The girls wanted in on this 12 egg omelette, so the 3 of us ordered the Makin’ Bacon 12 egg omelette ($17.25 +$1.50 +$1.50). this was also massive! It had mass amounts of bacon, sour cream, tomatoes and swiss cheese.

Eating this was quite interesting, I started off with 1/4 of the omelette was a piece of cake, then I ate the hash browns and I started feeling the barrier. The hardest and most filling item is not the omelette, but the hash browns! If you really want to finish the whole 12 egg omelette, your best bet would be to finish the eggs first and then dig into the hash browns.

Just be warned, there is no reward for finishing the entire omelette. It says specifically on the menu to stop people to attempt the hard challenge. The only reward you will get is self satisfaction and bloating. As all women know, feeling bloated is not a good feeling. If you plan to attempt this, make sure you walk around for a few hours to burn it all off.

Overall, it was a great experience and the omelette was actually tasty! I would eat this again if I was in Seattle!

Words of Wisdom:

Try their famous 6 or 12 egg omelettes
Best HashBrowns EVER (Never Frozen)
Psych yourself up by watching Man v. Food (episode about Seattle)
Open 24 hours

We Rate Beth’s Cafe:

Address:

7311 Aurora Ave N
Seattle, WA

Website:
www.bethscafe.com

In Four Beakers

Pike Place Chowder: Award Winning Chowder

April 26, 2011

As we were around Pike Place, there was one place I had to check out – Pike Place Chowder. Nicolb highly recommended this place, so we were basically anticipating their Clam Chowder all day.

Pike Place Chowder is in Post Alley – perpendicular to Pike St. On a nice sunny Friday, this place was packed for lunch. All the tables were taken up and there was a long line up. Pike Place Chowder was voted to have the best Clam Chowder in Seattle, so there really wasn’t any surprise.

They sell more than just Chowder. They also sell sandwiches and salads. Since it is called Pike Place Chowder, can you guess which item is most popular? Of course, Chowders! Since it was their specialty, we all ordered their famous chowders.

You can have their chowder in a cup or add $3 to have it served in a sourdough bowl.

Since the area where they sell their chowder is quite small, they make their chowder elsewhere. If you walk a few more steps into the building, you can find their kitchen. You can see them in action making their delicious chowder.

M ordered the Clam Chowder ($10). He got it in the Sourdough bowl. The Clam Chowder was very delicious and the only words that came out of M’s mouth was “Epic”. Thats how he would describe this soup. There was lots of clams in this! The sour dough bread definitely accentuated the deliciousness of the creamy chowder. M loved dipping the top bread and when there was only a bit of soup left, M made a Chowder mini sandwich.

I ordered the Seafood Bisque ($7). I also got it in a bowl since you really can’t enjoy this without the bowl. It had a lot of shrimp, cod and salmon. The soup is made up of their creamy tomato basil broth. It was very good and flavourful! One of the best I have ever had! I even devoured most of the bowl since it worked really well together. If you ate the bread by itself, it really would not be as good. The combination of the sourdough and the chowder makes this dish amazing. I highly recommend getting the bread bowl with this dish!

Words of Wisdom:

Get the Bread Bowl, best extra 3 dollars spent!
Go there in unorthodox times such as 2-4 for lunch/dinner to avoid standing!
Buy to go, if possible.

We Rate Pike Place Chowder:

Address:

1530 Post Alley
Seattle, WA

Website:
www.pikeplacechowder.com

In Bakery

Le Panier: Very French Bakery

April 26, 2011

Every time I’m in Seattle at Pike Place, I must have my dose of Le Panier! They are most famous for their macarons and croissants. I also have a crazy obsession for their cookies. Since we were in the area, we decided to take a look and buy a few goodies.

It is usually quite busy with lines close to the door.

They have a lot of bread and different types of croissants.

Lots of cookies and pies!

Of course, there are macarons! Fabo ordered one of each macaron ($1.50 USD). They come in many flavors – Chocolate, raspberry, coffee, vanilla, lemon, pistachio and orange. I had these in the past and they were so good! Probably one of my all time favorite places for macarons.

There are also other pies and cookies that are packaged. It’s great for gifts and to bring back home. I got a package of mini hazelnut cookies to bring back for my parents (~$5 USD). These were all finished within a day! It had large chunks of hazelnuts and I really just love their texture and the satisfying way they crumble with every bite.

I also ordered all of their cookies they had that day.

Sable Chocolat ($1.75 USD)

Sable Noisette ($1.75 USD)

Sable Duo Chocolat ($1.75 USD)

Sable is the french term for their Butter Cookies. They all have a nice crumbly texture and is by far the best cookie I have ever had. My favorite is still the Sable Chocolat because it has both chocolate chips and hazelnuts integrated into a butter cookie.

Overall, all the items at Le Panier are really good! Their Danishs were also very good!

Words of Wisdom: