PAX Fancypants Restaurant Guide
MaoChan
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hello All,
As it will be my first time in Seattle, I am looking to hit up some fancy dining in the area. Anyone got any recommendations? Also nice bars/microbreweries. Friends and I are staying at the Westin so would prefer something within reasonable distance.
As it will be my first time in Seattle, I am looking to hit up some fancy dining in the area. Anyone got any recommendations? Also nice bars/microbreweries. Friends and I are staying at the Westin so would prefer something within reasonable distance.
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As far as pubs, last year I had a great meal at Kell's, which has standard Irish Pub fair. I had the stew, which was perfectly seasoned.
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Having the internal digestive system of a unicorn, hence they are all dead, is the main reason I can't eat shit and grease for 3 days.
Kell's looks just like a few local places here in Texas so I think it might be a good lunch trip since it is cheap.
Protip: avoid the space needle restaurant.
San Antonio has the Tower of Americas aka Space Needle Part II: The Revenge. And yes, the food blows so I figured that as a no go. I am looking for places that the locals hit up also the kind of place you might only go a few times a year because eating fois gras daily is too fatty.
I just also want to get the most out of this trip as I have always wanted to visit Seattle and just excited since I am teh noobtardz when it comes to PAX.
Now that's what I am talking about Wifflebat. Dragonfish looks really good. Also if you know any dirty hole in the wall Chinese dumpling houses, please include.
When it comes to beer I am spoiled at the Flying Saucer. I have pretty much already tasted every beer in the world that is shipped more than 100 miles hence I am looking for some microbrewery places in Seattle.
See that is exactly what I am looking for, anyone have personal eating experience at either place? Food? Service? Wine selection?
Salumi looks like a NYC deli. Not to bash but just not fancypants. Is this the place?
See I try to think that Zagat means something but I have eaten at almost every high-ranked Zagat place in Houston, Austin, and San Antonio and most of them sucked big time. Lots of the best places are in Zagat but not ranked so it's hard to tell. But yea I am interested to hear what they might say.
That's the place. Any establishment that Mario Batali sites as inspiration is good enough for me. Is it feasible at all to get in there on a Friday afternoon?
I can add my voice to those endorsing Kell's. That's the best Irish restaurant in the state I'm sure. Earth and Ocean is too full of yuppies, so I've never tried it. I don't know how far people are willing to travel, so I'll try to work outward. Within the first half mile or so there's Ayutthaya for Thai, 13 Coins which is Seattle's only 24 hour gourmet, and Nijo Sushi.
As I go through stuff further out, I realize most of my recommendations would be for Japanese or Chinese places, would that interest anybody?
Meh, I need to sleep. I hate getting up at 04:30 everyday.
Thanks for all the suggestions so far everybody, looks like some very nice places. A few places look a little to opulent for my taste but I bet they have great food and environment anyway.
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I fully endorse this place. I celebrated my birthday there with a crowd of Enforcers.
YES!!! I'm primarily looking for cheap sushi and awesome udon... it's killing me being away from the beautiful udon at the whole-in-the-wall I go to here in town ALL SUMMER while I try to save money for PAX and I'm going into withdrawal.
Wow, now you are speaking my language Liger.
Also after hearing that Batali is down with Salumi, then I might need to try and get some lunch there.
Where Japanese food is concerned, Bush Garden is always first in my mind. The service is hit or miss, but their sukiyaki is delicious, their sushi is fresh (if a bit traditional compared to all the crazy creations elsewhere in the city), and their sake selection is competent. Just try to avoid the kareoke...
Fuji Sushi is a good, quiet backup, once again more traditional, but if you want crazy sushi + the best sake selection in the city, go to Umi Sake House. Umi can be loud and crowded with Belltown yuppies, and commensurately a little overpriced, but their rolls range from creative and inspired to downright madness.
Hearing mention of the monorail, I must say the only thing worth time I've yet found on the other side is Racha. It may just be the best Thai food in the state. Just don't go there before a Seattle Opera performance, the proximity just packs the place.
Best Buys: 1) Bakery Nouveau, 2) Armandino's Salumi, 3) Paseo, 4) Cafe Besalu, 5) Belle Pastry, 6) Thai Tom, 7) Glo's, 8) Other Coast Cafe, 9) Macrina Bakery and Cafe, 10) Pecos Pit BBQ
Chinese: 1) Szechuan Chef, 2) Kau Kau Barbeque Market, 3) Jade Garden, 4) Shanghai Garden, 5) House of Hong
Japanese: 1) Kisaku Sushi, 2) Nishino, 3) Shiro's Sushi, 4) Maneki, 5) Chiso Restaurant
Italian: 1) Cafe Juanita, 2) Armandino's Salumi, 3) Il Terrazzo Carmine, 4) Tropea, 5) La Rustica
"Meet for a Drink": 1) Campagne, 2) Metropolitan Grill, 3) El Gaucho, 4) Brasa, 5) Volterra
Most Popular: 1) Wild Ginger, 2) Dahlia Lounge, 3) Canlis, 4) Restaurant Zoe, 5) Flying Fish
Seafood: 1) Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar, 2) Flying Fish, 3) Shuckers, 4) Waterfront Seafood Grill, 5) Ray's Boathouse
There's a bunch of other categories in this but those were the ones I really wanted to see and I don't want to be overly spammy, if you want any specific lists posted though just let me know - I'd really like to hear what the local peoples' opinions as they're probably more accurate than the Zagat ratings.
Does your Zagat book list any Afghan restaurants? I had it for the first time in D.C. in January and oh my god was it amazing. Think Persian mixed with hints of Indian food.
There was this dish called Kadu that made me want to have sex with the plate. It was pumpkin with a meat sauce and yogurt sauce. I was blown away by it and would like to get some more.
I remember seeing an Afghan place in Wallingford called Kabul. Never been there or read anything about it, just drove past it.
As for the Zagat listings, the only one I haven't talked about within my experience is Wild Ginger, which is great if you like very well-composed pan-asian cuisine surrounded by yuppies. I go there every now and then, and the quality is excellent, but the generic-ness bothers me somehow, and I can't help whining on the inside about how I didn't go somewhere more unique or authentic.
As for seafood, I would usually go to Chinook's, a lesser known outpost of the Anthony's empire. However that may simply be from habit as my parents have been taking me there since early childhood.
Edit: Another one of the Zagat listings I would actually denounce, Jade Garden in my recollection was boring, bland, and sloppy. Your milage may vary of course.
I checked out the menu and the items that are vegetarian sound so good that I might forgo my usual carnivore feasting just to eat there as the veggie dishes such as the Buddha Wonton Soup sound so good.. I do see what you mean though about the uniqueness not really being up there.
The only one that comes up under Afghan is the one ElectricTurtle mentions, Kabul Afghan Cuisine, it looks like it's rated highly in food and service but less highly in decor.
On an unrelated/somewhat connected note, is Trophy Cupcakes worth making an effort of seeing/trying or is it mostly hype?
Ah, Taphouse, yes that was it. The beef springrolls during happy hour were full of win. The only knock that I had was the crowd, as it trended towards the yuppy puke-sack ilk during my visit.
LOL sadly even though I try and avoid it, I probably am also one of those yuppies you talk about on account of the collared shirts and my VW Passat. But then again I usually have my DS Lite or PSP in my back pocket so I think that helps balance the equation.
I see you share my aversion to eating with yuppies. I think that's why I like dim sum so much, the environment seems to scare away the bulk of squares and boors. Not to mention one time on Valentines Day at Honey Court, my then-girlfriend and I watched some fish-out-of-water gweilo ask for a menu, a fork, and then proceeded to mash his order with the fork... into who knows what. It was hilarious, we laughed so hard his s/o figured out that we were openly mocking him/them, or so it seemed by her demeanor...
Er... yes we're jerks. It was still funny though.
I probably look like a yuppie now that I work for Tommy Bahama. From the last sample sale I picked up a couple dozen silk shirts and pants, but they're $5 each at the sample sale (MSRP $100+). So I look 10x more affluent/successful than I am. But on the weekends I lean back toward Thinkgeek tshirts and eccentric things like cheongsams.
I have started to forgo my nerd shirts even on weekends, a button down just looks so much better (and the Mrs. prefers them). But I make sure to include little things that are subtle hints to the careful eye of how dork I am such as my Evangelion NERV branded business card case and my Metal Gear Solid cellphone. Or you could look at my car and see the pile of hard Sci-Fi books in the backseat.
Crazy Taiwanese menu lady won't reveal her secrets!!!
For some reason the site doesn't work in IE 7, but it works for me in Firefox 2.0.0.14.
Also the Thai of Thailand are very different from the Taiwanese (Chinese) of Taiwan.