I’ve been planning a trip up to Vancouver with Zach and wanted to get some caviar to bring up with us—to go along with a bottle of champagne I received from my bosses at Christmas. Zach had never had caviar by itself, so I took him with me to the Seattle Caviar Company for some taste-testing.

For $5, we each had a sampling of Iranian Beluga, Iranian Osetra, Iranian Sevruga, Yellowstone River Paddlefish, California White Sturgeon and Ikura (salmon roe). I liked the Osetra and Sevruga best because they were salty and the cleanest tasting. Zach liked the Osetra and Beluga because it was buttery.

I had recently read an article lauding the white sturgeon caviar from Stolt Sea Farms in California and wanted to try it—and with the Iranian caviar starting at over $100 per ounce the white sturgeon was the clear choice. Although in a side by side comparison, we both wondered about the quality as it tasted somewhat muddy.

I also bought golden whitefish caviar, because a Swedish friend of mine had once served it to me in a great salad, which I wanted to replicate. At $27 for 4 ounces, it’s a steal and can be frozen for future use. The lady that was helping us threw in some frozen blini and crème fraiche and we were good to go.

Later that evening we met some friends of mine at Barbacoa for dinner. After looking at the website, I was expecting a loud and bustling restaurant, something more along the lines of the Frontier room in Belltown, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the restaurant was very small and quaint.

We started off the meal with fried green tomatoes served with ‘Oaxacan’ mayo. The tomatoes were extremely crunchy, due to the corn meal coating and were good, but not outstanding. Zach ordered a double-cut pork chop with frizzled onions, which was tough, despite the fact that it was almost raw in the middle. Kristina ordered the chile relleno, which I didn’t try, but it came in the same crunchy coating as the tomatoes. Tim had the enchiladas verdes, which I thought was the best dish at the table.

I ordered the pork ribs with “10/15” onion rings. I asked the waiter what 10/15 meant and he said the onions were planted on 10/15. This confused me greatly so I Googled it when I got home, but I only came up with onion recipes that served 10-15 people or are cooked for 10-15 minutes. The ribs were okay, but not anywhere near as good as Jones BBQ. The most annoying thing was that the onion rings were piled a foot high on top of the ribs. I thought vertical food went out in the early nineties…

Zach and I wanted a quick and relatively cheap meal, so took me to Jamjuree for dinner. I had never been before, but I had walked by the place and thought it looked too fancy to be a good thai place. The restaurant has nice, dim lighting, rich colors and fabrics on the walls and a comfortable table arrangement (i.e. the tables aren’t crammed next to one another).

I ordered the swimming rama, with a one-star rating—I was feeling wimpy. The chicken was perfectly cooked and tender, resting on really fresh spinach and topped with a perfect peanut sauce. Zach thought it would be even better with more spice, but I liked it just fine.

Zach ordered a tamarind seafood dish with three stars. It was packed with prawns, scallops and octopus. It was great, but I couldn’t eat much of it because it was so spicy. We also got an order of the plain brown rice, which looked more red than brown, but it had a great nutty flavor.

I’m excited to have a nearby thai place to frequent!

For some strange reason I was craving German food today. Maybe it was the cold and blustery weather. We ended up at Die Bierstube (‘beer room’) on Roosevelt Way.

The food was very… German. It was good, but not very interesting. I had the wurst plate which came with a bratwurst, a knockwurst, tons of sauerkraut, some really dry bread, honey mustard and stone ground mustard. Zach had the Rippchen, a smoked pork chop, that came with the same accoutrements. The best thing on the plate was the Gundelsheim pickled gherkin—it was SO good.

The beer, on the other hand, was great. I had an Erdinger Pinkantus and don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a beer as much as that one… but I’m not really a beer drinker or connoisseur.

I’m back at it and in force. We started out with breakfast at Cafe Besalu. I had a flaky caramelized onion and gruyere pastry, which was amazing. They know how to pack some serious flavor into a tablespoon of caramelized onion. The pastry was insanely buttery. I ended up trying to eat the thing with a knife and fork because every time I picked it up it slipped out of my hands. Okay, I’m exaggerating. I also split a Pain Au Chocolate with Zach, which had the same delicious pastry but I didn’t like the dark chocolate. I like milk chocolate and Zach thinks that’s wrong.

Zach had the Quiche Lorraine, which is actually the only reason we drove all the way from Capitol Hill to Ballard in the snow (a whole quarter inch, can you believe it?!). I had made a bold statement that I didn’t like quiche and Zach wanted to prove me wrong. And he did. This quiche was so good that it made me sad that the other crap sold in coffee shops is labeled as quiche; that nasty, wet, rubbery stuff gives quiche a bad name. The crust was golden and flaky, the bacon and cheese filling was great, but I couldn’t get over how perfect the egg was—dense, but somehow also light.

After breakfast we wandered around Ballard looking at all the new stores. Zach was devastated to find that Dish Urban Market was no longer, but I pointed out that there was a new cupcake store in its place. Zach kept complaining about Dish and I interrupted, “Did you hear me? CUPCAKES!” I got a mini cupcake, which was a little dry—probably because it was about the size of a quarter, but the icing was good.

Then we headed over to Phinney Ridge to look in the junk stores (I found another elephant egg cup at Antika!). We passed by a Greek deli/cafe on 85th and Greenwood called “Olive You” and I was drawn in by the cases of beautiful seafood and vegetables. I bought containers of marinated mushrooms, giant fava beans in tomato dill sauce, marinated cuttlefish and dolmas. The total came to $25, which at the time seemed really expensive.

We decided to graze for dinner so we hit up Whole Foods for some meat and cheese to accompany our marinated goodies. We got slices of San Daniele Prosciutto, Applegate Farms Sopressata, Smoked Duck and Salmon Lox. We chose three great cheeses: Seal Bay Triple Cream (amazing and salty), Brie de Nangis with Grand Marnier (bright and orange-y) and St. Loup Tomme de Chevre (great mild goat flavor). I grabbed a loaf of rosemary bread and Zach snuck quince paste into the cart.

Everything was delicious, but the stand-outs were the cheeses, marinated mushrooms, fava beans and dolmas. The dolmas were the best I’ve ever tasted—the rice was flavorful and tender and spiked with dried bits of fruit, which lent a slightly sweet taste to the filling. Unfortunately, the owner said that his mom, who is just visiting, makes them. So when she goes back, they may not be available anymore…

I cooked today! I made a breakfast scramble with leftover things in my fridge: cheddar cheese, green onions, cilantro-chicken sausage and a mild enchilada sauce. Writing this, it sounds like it should have been good, but somehow it wasn’t very satisfying. So a few hours later I convinced Zach to go to Red Line with me for a sandwich.

Red Line is in the old Hamburger Mary’s location on the corner of Denny and Olive and it has undergone a dramatic facelift. I am no longer scared of eating there. In fact, the place was really cheery and bright—and offers free wireless, so it was packed with people and their glowing apple laptops.

Upon entering, we were both set on ordering something healthy, but once I read the special, Roasted Pork Loin with Braised Cabbage and Leeks, I changed my mind. Zach got the Fig, Prosciutto and Gruyere pressed sandwich.

The pork wasn’t what we were expecting (which was a big juicy slab of pork with lots of gooey mayo). It was actually a nice, healthier version of that—thinly sliced pork (similar to sliced deli meat, but better) with a cabbage and leek coleslaw-type spread that was light on the mayo. Yumm.

Zach’s sandwich was even better. The figs were made into a paste, mixed with balsamic and thinly spread on the best sandwich bread ever (really crisp on the outside, but at the same time soft, so it didn’t damage the roof of my mouth). It was packed with salty prosciutto and a light layer of gruyere and it wasn’t swathed in oil like most pressed sandwiches are, so it was just a nice warm sandwich with melted cheese.

This will be a great spot for me to while away the rainy Seattle winter months, eating good food and writing in my blog.

I’ve decided that only one of three things will break my eating out streak:

a. My scale loops around the weight dial, twice
b. I get a call from the bank announcing “Non-Sufficient Funds”
c. There is some sort of intervention

So, true-to-form, I wanted to go out on Friday for a burger. For some reason I was more concerned with the atmosphere at this point. I wanted something nice, but I also wanted something very quiet. I decided my best bet would be one of the less popular hotel bars; I chose the Library Bistro (the scaled-down replacement for the Painted Table restaurant) in the Alexis Hotel—not to be confused with their other hotel restaurant, The Bookstore Bar.

It was perfect; there were only a few people in the entire place—it was actually so empty that they had closed the lower restaurant portion, but the cozy bar area was still open and serving food.

My burger was very juicy and sloppy with pickled onions, blue cheese and ‘Bavarian’ bacon (I asked about the origin of the bacon and it was apparently from Bavarian Meats in the market, but no one could tell me what exactly made it Bavarian). The burger was great, but not as good as the amazing blue cheese burger they serve at Septieme. The fries were soft, which normally I don’t like, but these had an abnormally prominent potato flavor and they were great. They also had a gorgeous array of single-malt scotches—the list was two pages long!

All in all, this is a great place to come when you’re looking for a low-key night out in a very comfortable and warm environment with good, solid food.

My eating out streak is lasting longer than I expected, but at least the meals are getting cheaper. My friend Kait is leaving town for a while, so a few of us got together for an impromptu bon voyage dinner at Than Brothers Pho on Broadway. I’ve never been to the location on Broadway before, but I used to go to the one near Greenlake all the time.

I had a small bowl of chicken pho, which was very good, but I don’t think it was quite as good as at the Greenlake location. I’m also getting spoiled eating the pho at Ballet, which is exceptionally good.

But at $3.45 for a hot, steamy bowl of pho and a cream puff, I’m honestly not complaining!

Today I had lunch at one of my favorite lunch spots near my work: The Broadway Cafe. It’s a TINY little restaurant on the south end of Broadway that has about six tables and a make-shift kitchen in the back. The owners are so sweet and friendly and know me by name now—although I try not to go too often because I don’t ever want to tire of eating there.

I ordered my usual, a Vietnamese Sandwich (Banh Mi) with Pork. It comes on a soft and flaky French roll, piled with salty, seasoned shredded pork, white onions, lettuce, tomato, cucumber slices, shredded carrot and cilantro sprigs. It was so good.

All the other hot dishes (pho, teriyaki, curry, etc.) look great, but I’m so addicted to the sandwich that I have never ordered anything else. I think I should work on expanding my horizons.

I swear that sometime this year I’ll actually cook a meal. But I’m feeling lazy thus far. In my defense, I still have a bit of a cold.

Zach and I went to Takohachi because it’s my favorite new cheap eat. I got the Chiri-Nabe (hot pot) and it was delicious, but not quite as delicious as the last time. I think it was because I ordered it with just chicken instead of chicken and fish. It seemed to be lacking salt.

Zach got something I can’t spell, but it was broiled saba. It was sooooo good. I don’t even like saba, but I may have to get it the next time I go. We also had the fried potstickers, which were surprisingly good. Crunchy and not at all greasy, and filled with salty salmon and green onions.

I think there will be quite a few posts about Takohachi because I want to go back and try everything on the menu…

I hate to admit this, but I am one of those suckers that happy hour promotions are geared toward. Somehow the term “Happy Hour” registers as “Cheap Night Out!” to me, but invariably it ends up being really expensive—or at least more expensive than I anticipate.

Case in point, Bambuza. They offer $3 happy hour appetizers. There is a good selection, but when you start looking at the real menu, words like “Fragrant Ginger Duck Breast” and “Claypot Caramelized Catfish” jump out and tempt you in ways you can’t resist.

We started out with two happy hour appetizers: deep fried tofu and peppered calamari. I loved the deep fried tofu. It’s really light and served with a great soy-based dipping sauce. The calamari was also good, but the batter tasted slightly undercooked.

Zach had the claypot caramelized catfish, which was quite delicious—tangy, salty and sweet all at once. I tried the drunken chicken, which was good, but the sauce was so sweet that it bordered on cloying towards the end. The (dark meat) chicken was extremely crunchy and moist.

We also had a few happy hour ‘lime drops’ and the bill came to almost $80 with tip! The food is good, but not worth the price—especially when there are so many other, less expensive, asian restaurants just a few blocks away in the International District.