J is for...Japonessa

Christen and I invited an honorary guest and new Seattleite, Meghan, out to Alphabet Soup last night at Japonessa. It was a great gals night over a bottle of Malbec, a starter of fried brie and 3 sushi rolls:

1) Seattle Crunch (tuna, salmon, avocado, cream cheese, tempura’d, drizzled w/ sweet chili soy glaze)

2) Super Bad Boy (eel, snow crab mix, avocado, cream cheese, tempura’d, topped w/ spicy seared crab, drizzled w/ chili allioli, soy glaze)

3) Paraiso Tropical (salmon, tuna, cucumber, avocado, strawberries, topped w/ tuna, mango, tobiko, raspberry sauce)

None of us were a huge fan of the brie - Christen put it best by saying it tasted like fair food - but the rolls were delicious. And we all liked different ones best.

Ratings:

• Food: 4 - Great food, though a little over-priced when not happy hour (which is served in the bar from 6:30-8pm)
• Service: 2.5 - Kind of a posh waiter, if you ask me and tried to upsell us a bit, but is probably a friendly guy in person - hate to rag on him too much.
• Atmosphere: 4
• Price: 3 - Around $50 a piece (includes drinks)
• Recommended: 4
• Cuisine: Japanese/Sushi

Looking forward to trying this place (very soon!) for happy hour!

I is for...La Isla (La is "the" in Spanish so it doesn't count) ;)

Dressed in my brightest orange shirt with wooden bracelets I was ready to see what this Puerto Rican restaurant was all about. Before even driving to La Isla I was told "such great food" and "hot bartender" by a few co-workers. I was happy to find out both comments were spot on!
Lindsay text me before finding me in this two room restaurant "this place is abdorbs" and I agree! The ambiance is relaxed, a place you meet friends for a drink and dinner, or a place you could take a first date for a fun atmosphere yet nice enough that you don't seem like a cheap date!

We decided to share a few plates again as last time we did this and it was the best way to get a full smattering of what the place has to offer. The plates ordered were as follows:

• Wine (yes this is a food group to Lindsay and myself)
• Great recommendations from the bartender - recommend the Malbec
• Appetizer: Camarones - 7 jumbo butterfly prawns sautéed in olive oil, white wine, and butter served with your choice of three sauces - we choose Isla de Fuego
• No joke about this being their spicy sauce. Light, fresh, but hot, hot, hot! Be sure to have your water full and/or wine to continue to eat this.
• Entrees: Pernil Special - pork shoulder, marinated for days and slow-roasted until it falls apart. complimented with our homemade mojito flamboyan (a roasted red pepper, garlic and rice vinegar sauce) MUY DELICIOSO!!!
• Fabulous! Full plate of food with rice and mini fried smashed plantains.
• Ropa Veija - shredded skirt steak, julienned peppers and onions, red wine, and adobo. oh, it means "old clothes"
• Again - fabulous! If I had to choose though I would go with the pork, obviously a speciality.

Ratings:

• Food: 4 - Great food and would bring friends here again!
• Service: 3
• Atmosphere: 4
• Price: 3 - Around $50 a piece (includes drinks)
• Recommended: 4
• Cuisine: Puerto Rican Cuisine

Be sure to check out La Isla for dinner or for their rum club the last Tuesday of the month. Until "J" cheers!

H is for...Hunger (that certainly makes sense for this blog)

Christen and I had a great time at Hunger. I really enjoyed walking into a tiny but stylish restaurant that reminded me of something in a busy city, not the quiet neighborhood of north Fremont.

The first thing that caught my attention was the bar (surprise, right?). The bartender was dressed like a pro, and as you know from my post in "F is for...", a bartender who crafts a delicious cocktail and takes their job seriously is something that stands out to me when I go out to dinner.

We started with the Miho Frito appetizer, which was delicious.

Then Christen and I shared the Beef Tagine and the Muruno Pork - which were both so savory.

Ratings:

• Food: 5 - Great food and drink, and I think the value was very good.
• Service: 4 - Nothing very out of the ordinary, except that our waitress was a spitting image of Taylor Swift.
• Atmosphere: 5 - I loved the dark, warm feel of the place. It was pretty small (so reservations are recommended), but it was cozy and comfortable - and super stylish.
• Price: $40 for each of us.
• Recommended: Yes! I will be back here soon.
  
• Cuisine: American

Cheers! Until next time...

G is for...Georgia's Greek Restaurant & Deli

G is for great, grand, gourmet, Greek food! Georgia's Greek Restaurant & Deli blew us away. We found this place as my Dad is a big fan of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (where Guy (the host of the show) travels around the US highlighting places with fabulous food in a not so fabulous atmosphere (not awful, just different, not your typical white table cloth restaurant)), any who, as a big fan he had found this place when he was here in Seattle but we never had a chance to check it out so I thought what better option for "G".

You can easily pass the place as the front is a simple awning with the restaurant's name on it but you aren't going to want to miss this place and this is why...

• Appetizer:
• Kalamarakia - Fresh kalamari cut and deep fried in vegetable oil with our own special breading. A crunch in every bite. $9.50
• Keftethes - Three meat patties with authentic spices topped with our red sauce, onions and garlic. A taste to die for. $8.95 (Shown in the TV series and as mentioned "They aren't meatballs!")
• Saganaki - Graviera cheese sautéed with olive oil, afterwards flaméed in Retsina wine, then topped with freshly squeezed lemons. Served with pita. $10.50  (They lit this on fire and yelled "OPA!")
• Dinner:
• Souvlaki Mezethes - 2 Souvlaki skewers (lamb or chicken or pork), loukaniko, feta, tomatoes, tzatziki and 2 pita bread.$15.75 (Filled us up and was fabulous!)
• Desert:
• Baklava - Layers of fillo, and walnuts soaked in a honey lemon syrup Served warm $3.60  (An absolute must if you are going to a Greek restaurant - we shared one but could have had one, or two, or three each as they were so great!)

Ratings:

• Food: 5 - Great food and loads of options.
• Service: 5 Fabulous! The lady is the fiancee of the owner and the sweetest lady that also gave us great service and recommendations (she picked everything - I recommend this as well as there are loads of options).
• Atmosphere: 3 I understand the "Dive" part only because Guy spray painted his face on the wall and they were vacuuming as we were eating, however we hardly noticed as we "oohed and ahhed" the food. Also, there was a huge family there that was straight out of your "Big Fat Greek Wedding" which only made us love the place more.
• Price: 4 - $36 with 20% for each of us!
• Recommended: YES, YES, YES! I will be bringing my Dad here in May!
• Cuisine: Greek

Stay tuned as Lindsay and I cruise to letter "H" next!

F is for...Frank's Oyster House and Champagne Parlor

I am mainly writing this post right now for shock value, as Christen will have never suspected such a speedy entry by me! But since I paid $12.95 for in-flight wifi, and have accomplished most of the other things I needed to do, seems like a perfect time to get on with this. I am not what-you-say a passionate blogger, but don't let that fool you into thinking I must feel the same about food. Because I love food. And going out to eat.

Which brings me to my next subject: Frank's Oyster House and Champagne Bar! Christen found this sweet spot from an online article featuring Seattle Restaurant Week options. When we arrived, I remembered running past Frank's with Christen back in May when training for the Rock n Roll half. At the time, we had motioned to each other to remember this place for "F", which was followed by Sean asking what letter we were on. Christen yelled out "we are on E!" just in time for a dog walker to pass into our range of sound. Us ladies giggled about the glare she shot us for the next couple of blocks.

I really enjoyed Frank's from the moment we walked in. It was only a Tuesday night and the place was hopping. The atmosphere was warm and classy - reminded me of a modern-day parlor from the speakeasy era. I always love a place with a nice cocktail list - and bartenders that could be mistaken for artists with how delicately they craft a drink. And I did have a crafty drink to start out with; the Dover-Calais, made with Hendrick's gin, Elderflower liqueur (which I am totally obsessed with lately) and Chartreuse. YUM! Christen had a savory Cab to start.

On to the food. We started with baked oysters topped with bread crumbs, which I think we both really liked. For our entrees, Christen had the salmon and I had the halibut. The food was delicious, but we both agreed the portions could be a little larger - either that or have more side veggies.

Ratings:

Food: 4

Service: 4

Atmosphere: 5

Price: ~$113 for 2 - the most pricey of our choices yet.

Recommended: I am definitely going back for drinks and appetizers. There is a T-Sat happy hour from 5-6:30 that I'm sure I'll visit soon.

Cuisine: American, Seafood

E is for....Elemental

Starting the soup again and the first stop was "E" for Elemental in Gasworks park in Seattle.

Before you can even make the decision on what to eat you first need to figure out how to get there and then what door to enter at Elemental.

My trusty GPS took me there but the address is a bit deceiving as the location is actually at the top of the stairs where my GPS ended. If you are directly across the park dont' wonder into the park turn towards the condos/apartments and head up the stairs. What you won't want to do is call for directions as the guy is super rude and will act like both you and your GPS are idiots for not realizing where this not packed restaurant is at. Now that you made it to the restaurant, hang a left for the chef's tasting menu (one fixed price for all courses) or hang a right to go to the "wine bar" where you can pick and choose small plates to share. Note that I did stop in the "chef's table" entrance and asked for a table of four and at what point the rude man (think we found who answered the phone) said "there's the tables, grab one." Wasn't going to spend my money supporting someones therapy sessions - on to the "wine bar" next door.

Food: 4
The way it works is there is a  long list of items listed on the scroll as you walk in (see photo) and you get to pick and choose items from the list. You can pick all at once or as you go. All the food was delicious, different, and fun to try. The wine "list" is also fun as there is no list, you simply walk to the wall of wines and choose one for $30!
What we had:
Truffle popcorn
Spicy Goat cheese salsa
Duck
Porcini with black rice
"Link lab" tube for today (German sausage with mashed potato)
Cheese board

Service: 2
I give this a two as I was so turned off by the guy on the phone and the entrance. You can't be this snotty and rude for a restaurant that is this dead. However I must mention that I did, as well as all my girlfriends a complimentary glass of champagne and when we didn't like the first bottle of wine they happily changed it out.

Atmosphere: 3
Ikea modern if you will. Simple, white, fun but not anything special. I did really like the wine wall - who wouldn't?!

Price: ~$38 for 4
Awesome deal for all of us girls, two bottles of wine and many tasting plates.

Recommended: I would go back to the Wine Bar again for a chill night out with some girlfriends but wouldn't go for a special occasion. This reminds me more of a "happy hour" type place where you want to chill, get a few different things, and decide to stay another hour and get another bottle of wine.

For more reviews on Elemental check out Yelp.

Until letter "F" readers clean your plates and never accept bad wine!

D is for...Dinette!

Food: 4

Service: 3

Atmosphere: 4

Price: ~$75 for 2

Recommended: Yes! I would like to try this place again soon.

Cuisine: European

Wow! What a delicious treat. This tucked away Capitol Hill charm was a place we would both want to go back to. Though the plates appear small at first, the dishes are hearty and have a comfort-food quality that I really liked a lot.

We started out with a shared appetizer called Frittata toast. It is artisan bread topped with thin-sliced egg crepes, frisse and white truffle oil. You could definitely taste the truffle oil but it wasn't too overbearing. I thought it complimented the mild (but yummy) egg crepes very well.

Christen had a warm salad topped with halibut. I can't remember the name of the dish and it seems to have slipped off the menu, but she liked it!

I really enjoyed my Pannochie (recommended by our waitress), which I had never had before. I would describe it as a delicate and flavorful lasagna - loved it. Peas and Carrots were mixed in for a great touch.

We decided to stick around for some dessert while we were at it and chose the Goat Cheese and Ricotta Tart filled with lemon creme rhubarb tart.

All in all, I would definitely go back here. While I was skeptical of the menu when we got there (didn't recognize much at all), after trying the waitress's recommendations, I was totally pleased. The atmosphere was adorable. My only complaint is the tables and chairs were small and not incredibly comfortable.

Post-script: I hear they are also known for their cocktails, so be sure to check those out!