Restaurant Snob

Cupcake Royale

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:17:53 -0700

Cupcake Royale: Not just a niche.

Here are the reasons this cupcake spot is so very much more:

*The drinks - delicious coffee, refreshing tea (they even brew a variety of iced tea for warm weather months).
*The music - the aesthetic of Cupcake Royale is so incredibly pleasing that (seriously) any music fits the backdrop. From the Nancy Sinatra, to piano rock, to Fun, to Sufjan Stevens...to really anything, who ever is picking the mixes at cupcake has a good thing going
*The people - You know when coffee houses / blown up niche market spots (ie all the make-your-own-frozen-yogurt houses of the world) seem to employ simply rude people? Well, not at Cupcake - all the employees are completely fantastic, so there's no one ever around to kill your cupcake buzz...only very awesome people to give you suggestions on cupcake flavors, talk music with you, or just shoot the very pleasant breeze.

And the cupcakes! Oh the CUPCAKES!
You will not find more delicious cupcakes...potentially anywhere. Not feeling a full-on cupcake urge? Grab a babycake; adorably sized and still packing the delightfully flavorful punch of the bigger cupcake stars. Also, there's always a variety of pastries and breads at the counter (for the sweet-less desiring folks out there).

BOTTOM LINE: Go to Cupcake Royale. It's good for relaxing to music, hosting your coffee meeting, parties, meeting new people, and of course, Ah-mazing cupcakes.

Cupcake Royale
1111 E Pike St
(between 11th Ave & 12th Ave)
Seattle, WA 98122

Plum Vegan Bistro

Mon, 9 Aug 2010 18:56:13 -0700

I was a very lucky woman this birthday because I got *two* birthday lunches with my fabulous co-workers. Is the reason because they love me more than words can describe? Is it because two of them would be out of the office the day-of and we made it up the day before? Is it both? That's for you to decide.

Both lunches took place at Plum.

Here is the break-down:

The Space: Plum is situated inside a collection of one other restaurant and some office spaces on 12th in Capitol Hill. The interior is a mix of industrial-zen with carefully constructed flowers on each table, earthy (but not *too* earthy) wood-tones through out, and a high ceiling. The walls are donned with big canvass prints hung from thick metal clips.

The Food: Delicious, substantial, appropriately priced. Order the Chipotle Grilled sandwich (tempeh), order the Po'Boy, the Jerk Wrap, and the Sweet Potato fries. Do not order the quinoa sliders...when the only thing you can taste in something is cilantro, that's not very good. The sliders were pretty flavorless overall and falling apart. PLUS, one of the rolls was served to us substantially burnt on top.

The Service: Slow, slow, slow, slow slow, annnnd...unfortunately unapologetic about it. It's not the food that takes long to prepare, it's waiting forever for your water to be filled, for them to bring you the sauce you requested (say when your quinoa sliders taste like textured air)...after you've asked them...twice. It is also waiting forever to check your check when it's the middle of the day and no one else is in the restaurant. Most maddeningly, it is the two servers just standing there, bent over the counter, heads in palms, staring into the distance while your water glass stays empty and the sauce you requested sits behind them on another counter.

The Verdict: The service and lack of consistency in flavor is what earns Plum three stars.

I will go back to Plum to try some of their delicious looking cocktails. I will also go back to plum when I can get take out (and subsequently justify a $9 sandwich as take-out, though they are large!) and hopefully avoid the slow/bad/inattentive service trap.

Agua Verde Cafe & Paddle Club

Mon, 17 May 2010 22:07:38 -0700

The tacos at Agua Verde are SO tasty!

You can enjoy them while you sit either inside or on the semi-enclosed (as in, protected from potential Seattle rain) patio or inside the dining area. The place looks tiny from the street (from Boat St), but it actually opens up into a large space and great views of the water.

There are lots of different kinds of tacos--fish, meat, completely vegetarian.

The setting is casual: order at the counter and they bring it out to you. This is a great place to meet for a casual business lunch, or to get together with friends.

I also want to go back and try renting their boats--they rent kayaks to take out onto Lake Washington.

Agua Verde Cafe & Paddle Club
1303 NE Boat St
Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 545-8570
www.aguaverde.com

Ristorante Machiavelli

Mon, 5 Apr 2010 21:23:11 -0700

Oh dear, I think I've found the answer to my Italian-Restaurant dilemma and that answer is Ristorante Machiavelli.

The dilemma is that I am 100% Italian on my mother's side so I grew up on a ton of delicious Italian food (and no restaurant has ever been able to live up to my mother's sauce and baked ziti, my grandfather's ravioli, and my grandmothers' pizzelles).

But Machiavelli? I not only want to camp out there and just live off the deliciousness, but I would also bring my mother and grandfather there, and be willing to bet that they'd love it.

Machiavelli is seated in a small, but not tiny space along Pine Street in Capitol Hill. There are two levels, the first holds a charming rustic-ish bar (with a great happy hour!) and the second level has the kitchen and dining area. The bar/waiting area is large enough that it doesn't feel cramped, but intimate enough that you can easily strike up a conversation with strangers (in our case, a stranger joined one of ours-giving his valuable opinion on our subject matter...which was Education Policy, because we're cool like that).

After a few rounds of drinks (Matadors--tequila, pineapple, lemon, lime-delicious- for me and my friend Maggie) our party of four was finally all there and we were seated (you have to have your whole party to be seated and all that considered, plus the happy hour, the wait wasn't bad at all).

Everything on the menu looked amazing. Ben and I ordered a bunch of stuff to share: salad (with white anchovies for me-yum!), a mushroom pizza (small, flavorful, perfect), and the eggplant parmesan. Eggplant parmesan is one of my favorite things to make, and surprisingly my go-to at Italian places (its hard to screw up, unless it is way over fried). The eggplant was amazing. The sauce was so good (not too sweet, or chunky, or thin, juuuuust right), and the cheese plus the 'meat' of the eggplant was melt-in-your-mouth. What we ordered was by far enough to satisfy our appetites (especially since they had first brought an amazingly crusty and moist olive bread with olive oil to our table to start), but we did save room for dessert!

There were two options, so the four of us decided to get both and share. Maggie, Sam, Ben, and I dug in to a great cheesecake and tiramisu. It was really an amazing meal, with great friends, fun and friendly service, and good drinks.

I seriously can't wait to go back.

Ristorante Machiavelli
1215 Pine St
Seattle, WA 98101
(1) 621-7941
http://www.machiavellis.com/

Homegrown

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:36:44 -0800

Homegrown is one of my absolute favorite places to get lunch in Fremont. This place stays true to its 'Sustainable' title. All tableware is either reusable (after washing) or compostable, all the items used for the sandwiches (and soups, salads, sides) are held to standards of 'organic' 'local' 'sustainable.' This is displayed in a chalk-written chart next to the wall menu in Homegrown so you can see for yourself where your food is coming from (a huge plus in my book!).

All of the ingredients meet at least two of the standards, and many meet all three. For the conscious diner, the wholesome food is incredibly desirable. There aren't too many options for vegetarians, but it is manageable. There also aren't too many options if you're looking for a cheap lunch. While this is a casual place where you order at the counter and are met with an incredibly warm atmosphere, the sandwiches run up to $10...throw in a tea, a soup or a side like fries etc. (all full sandwiches come with slaw, or add a dollar for chips) and it adds up. I wouldn't say overpriced (as the servings are plenty), but just don't expect to drop in for cheap eats.

What you can drop in for however is SAVORY, flavorful, filling food. Homegrown is SO good! I will gladly treat myself to it whenever I have the chance.

Their menu changes (mostly seasonally, obviously--due to to local elements of the menu), but there are some standards, and everything Homegrown serves is basically just variations on a theme of deliciousness.

PS They just started serving breakfast!

Homegrown Sustainable Sandwich Shop
3416 Fremont Ave N
Seattle, WA 98103
(1) 453-5232
http://eathomegrown.com/

The Original

Wed, 3 Feb 2010 17:07:59 -0800

I went here three times in three days while at a conference in Portland.

My first visit, I struggled as to whether it was going to turn out to be a place I liked, but the food was so overwhelmingly delicious that it won me over. I was alone, at lunch time--awaiting the arrival of my coworkers and desperately in need of sitting down somewhere to eat.

The Original looked good enough--clean, nice setting, a little retro, but not done obnoxiously. It looked like it was going to be good.

I was seated and an irritated looking man approached me asking if I'd like something to drink and also if I had any questions for him regarding the menu. I asked what I thought was an innocent question--did the house made chickpea & quinoa burger have any meat? I'm not going to be all together snarky and type his obnoxious response, or repeat here my mental snarkiness back at him at the time (because overall I really like The Original), but suffice it to say, he took me as an idiot who didn't know what chickpeas OR quinoa was. I'm not an idiot, actually, but a pescatarian who knows too well how often some places like to be what I'm sure they consider ironic and put real bacon on a veggie burger, etc.

Other than this jerk (who continued to be slightly obnoxious for the rest of my first meal there--luckily it was mostly other servers coming to check if I needed more to drink or if they could get me anything), the staff was great, and I'm so glad he didn't ruin the entire experience for me...I did wind up coming back three times after all.

The food is SO GOOD. The chickpea burger was, honestly, the absolute best veggie burger I've had since I've stopped eating meat three years ago...they got it just right.

Other items of note include their fresh fish sandwich (which was Salmon at the time and amazing).

Order something that comes with a touch of aioli--those seemed to be the best dishes.

Not too expensive, good atmosphere, kind of addictive.

The Original
300 SW 6th Ave
Portland, OR 97204
(1) 546-2666
www.originaldinerant.com

Bluebird Homemade Ice Cream & Tea Room

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:10:17 -0800

After a Community Emergency Preparedness meeting (held in the loft of Blue Bird Homemade Ice Cream) all participants were invited/urged to show the owner our appreciation for the meeting space by purchasing a scoop or two.

Apparently, Blue Bird is new, but I’m new to Seattle, so I wouldn’t have known if it hadn’t been mentioned. That’s because Blue Bird already runs like a well-oiled ice cream machine! I have an admission: Ice Cream is not my favorite junk/dessert food (I know, I’m a weirdo), but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it immensely as an occasional treat--especially when that treat includes chocolate, fudge, and some kind of nut. I also have an affinity for waffle cones since I think they’re so simultaneously pretty and tasty.

I ordered at the counter and asked for a waffle cone, but when I made a joke about how I’d be walking with it and probably make a mess of myself, the man taking my order (who actually might have been the owner, but I’m not positive) offered to make me a waffle bowl. I made sure it wouldn’t be too big an inconvenience and since he assured me it wasn’t, for the sake of my sweater, I took him up on this much less sloppy treat.

The waffle cone was made with fresh batter in front of my eyes. Then came my selection of chocolate pudding ice cream. Then the fudge. Then the peanuts. I went fairly simple considering the vast array of toppings and add-ins that spanned a full range of tastes and textures (including mini-wheats!).

The first spoonful of chocolate pudding ice cream was a shock to my mouth. It REALLY tasted like chocolate pudding--off the stove top. It was so intense and right-on in flavor. I had to keep myself from exclaiming out loud (and totally confusing the people with whom I was mid-conversation). Since I bought the ice cream for two, I was able to not only delight in the deliciousness on my tongue, but share it and revel in the amazingness of the chocolate pudding taste.

Since Blue Bird is in a prime location to browse down town shops with ice cream in tow, I can’t wait to be back there soon and while it’ll be hard to stray from the chocolate pudding, my curiosity will probably spur me to try a new flavor!

Bluebird Homemade Ice Cream & Tea Room
1205 E Pike St
Suite 1A
Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 588-1079
bluebirdseattle.blogspot.com/

Ohana

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:52:28 -0800

We were on the hunt for someplace to eat downtown and we were hungry!

We stopped in Ohana because I can never get enough sushi (ever), and luckily Seattle's got my back in that department.

Seated at the window table we were able to easily view the patio and the downtown street) which was nice.

The service was AMAZINGLY fast--such a relief for our hungry bellies. It was happy hour--and what a great happy hour it was. Great prices on rolls and apps. Also, if I remember one thing from the movie Lilo and Stitch it is that Ohana loosely means family, which is just what the warm service and quality food of Ohana evoked.

The whole place has a sort of tiki feel which some how succeeds in not being trite or tacky (total win).

I have to go back to Ohana, especially since Geo of Blue Scholars has referenced it in some of his tweets...and (in an effort to sound like a fan, more than a stalker) I seriously wouldn't mind running into him there.

Ohana
2207 1st Ave
Seattle, WA 98121
(206) 956-9329
www.ohanabelltown.com/