Seattle Eating Part 2

Paseo: Revisited - In my previous Seattle Eating post you'll see that Paseo was the first place we tried here. It didn't thrill me. But I was determined to give it another chance. I stopped by the ghetto little pink (PINK!) stand on my way home from errands one day. I was starving and figured this was a good time to try it - anything is good when you're starving. Well, I was also in my first trimester and generally grossed out by meat. Paseo + pregnant lady who abhors meat = dumb idea. I got the Cuban Roast sandwich. A huge hoagie sandwich with mayo, pork chunks and giant shards of onion. I wouldn't be surprised if one whole onion was in that thing. And one whole pig for that matter. It was good for the first few bites - juicy, flavorful meat, crunchy bread. Then I just had to cry uncle and call defeat. This sandwich is not for me. For dudes? YES. Carnivorous male humans: go here. But I may be done with this place for good.

Taco Del Mar - I thought for a short moment that this place would be my Seattle replacement for Cafe Rio. Buuuuut, it's basically just a chain taco place, nothing special. The first experience was really good. I got the shredded pork tacos and ate them in the restaurant. It was one of those few times in a pregnant woman's life that a meal just hits the spot. The second time, same meal, was bad. I got takeout and by the time the food made it into our hands, it was soggy woggy. I appreciate moist meat, but squeeze it out next time, please. I have an urge to try their mondo burrito. Just cuz it sounds ridonculous.

Kabab House - It was the day before we flew home for Christmas, and I couldn't cook with a fridge full of nothing, so out we went to find something new. This place serves Pakistani and Indian food. In short: it knocked our socks off. Not like we're aficionados of this type of food, but now we want to be. I played it safe by ordering chicken tikka masala. OH MY. Creamy, spicy, chickeny, ricey marvel of a dish. Everything about it was perfy. Adam got lamb vindaloo. Vinda-who? It was more of a tomato based sauce. Plenty of interesting spices and tender lamb. He was a raving vindaloo-hoo, and if you read Dr. Suess, you'll know what I mean. We also had light and crispy garlic naan. Perfect for sopping up extra sauce. We will be going back for sure. I still can't figure out why we were the only people in the restaurant, though, and every time I've driven past it is empty. Well, secret's out now! Go there!

Chocolati Cafe - Have you ever stumbled upon the perfect hot chocolate on the one night of the year you most need perfect hot chocolate? I still can't believe our luck! It was an evening in December that we had designated for driving around to look at Christmas lights. We figured we'd stop at one of the trillion coffee shops in the area but didn't want to settle for Starbucks. We walked around Green Lake area because we knew there was some other coffee shop. That one was closed. Next door? The Chocolati Cafe! We didn't see the sign, and walked in and asked, "Hey, do you serve hot chocolate?" Stamp IDIOT across our foreheads. The whole menu is hot chocolate. Adam and I both got the house special and it was basically drinkable chocolate. I took home the ginger and wasabi chocolate (not very strong) and a sea salt something (can't remember it). I will be back for their hot chocolate for sure, especially because I just discovered one even closer to my house. Danger!

Gabriel's Fire - Adam was hankering for some BBQ and one Yelp reviewer said this place had the best meat in Seattle. Oh yeah? Try me. We got The Delicious Double which was a platter of a bit of everything for two to share. The meat was really good. Ribs were my favorite (but aren't they always?). The pulled pork was yummy, the chicken was very moist and the brisket was really good. How's that for some lame adjectives? The sides were not good. Corn bread was charred, baked beans were some funky flavor I didn't recognize, and the citrus dressing on the salad was too zingy. The macaroni and cheese actually did hold its own. We were disappointed with the much-hyped sauces as well. Nothing special about them. We'll probably be back for the occasional rib fest with one order of mac and cheese.

Robertino's - This cute little gelato place shared a space with Gabriel's Fire and there was an open door between the two, so we wandered in while our meat was smoking. Adam spoke some Italian with Alfonso (which always makes me weak in the knees), and we went back for hazelnut and chocolate gelato after dinner. Alfonso was very sweet and gave us each a double scoop for a single scoop price. The stuff itself was okay - I'm no expert in this area either - but I'd say it could have been creamier. However, a really fun end to the evening.

Honore Bakery - My new friend, Jihan, is also my newly designated Seattle bakery tour guide. She met me at Honore Bakery (next to Delancey, which I'm sure I'll be trying soon) and we nibbled French macarons. Right after my daughter smashed much of them into her own mouth. So there's a less dainty picture for you to imagine. It was my first time trying a French macaron. I believe I got the lavender and the sea salt caramel ones. They were lovely and, yes, dainty. I don't imagine myself craving them or anything, but I would love to try their other exotic flavors, like some hot pink thing that contained chili something.... yeah, they need some signage on those cookies. I also had the kouing aman. I liked Salt Lake's Les Madeleines' version better, but, still, you can't go wrong with buttery, salty, sugary, croissanty doughishness. Can you believe I'm not a food writer? You can't tell me these aren't all viable adjectives.

Macrina Bakery - And the following week we met at Macrina Bakery to try a Jihan-favie: Mexican hot chocolate. You're thinking: Sounds loco! But it wasn't even hot. Just a leetle nutmeg or all spice or cinnamon or something. It was perfect, actually. I had the morning roll as well. Think kouing aman. But better! It was more dense and flavorful and I liked the shape better. So, what, can't I like a food item because of its shape?

Thai Siam - Having emerged from first trimester food funkiness, I can now actually enjoy what I'm eating. This happened that magical night at Thai Siam. The place was packed. It was dim and smelled weird (wet cat?) (my olfactories are still heightened). We couldn't make sense of the menu so finally I asked the waiter to show me the curries. I picked the green one. It had green peppers and bamboo shoots and chicken, all over rice. There were some more lame adjectives uttered between groaning, "Mmm, this is soooo goooooood. Oh man, yuuuuuum, oh my gosh, so freaking yuuuummmm goooooood." And that's why dinner conversation with me is disappointing. Anyway, it was amazing, and I loved it as leftovers just as much. Adam got his usually spicy-out-the-yang Phad Thai. Yuck if you ask me - I have never been a Phad Thai fan. He said this one was ite. Not his best. They had such an extensive menu, I think we will be going back to try more.