You Don't Have to go to Malaysia to Enjoy Their Street Food

I used to work in Wallingford in a previous life. I was surrounded by all sorts of exotic foods that for whatever reason I was skittish to try at the time. Fast forward from 2007 to 2011 and seeing a Malaysian restaurant on 45th drew me in as opposed to turning me away. There are some things in Wallingford that never change. Many of the businesses there have been in the area for a substantial period of time, so when something new moves in it is hard not to notice no matter how long it has been since your last drive through. Plus, this place is right where a store called High Maintenance Bitch (a luxury boutique store for spoiled dogs) used to be and that sign stood out and made its presence known, so when it disappears one takes notice.

Satay has an interesting story behind its inception. Basically, two college buddies went to Malaysia for study abroad and came back wanting to bring the Malaysian street food phenomena to the States. Somehow, they ended up in Seattle from California. One of the owners has a Malaysian aunt who spent over 6 months teaching the two young men how to properly cook her beloved Malaysian food. The result is a simple menu done amazingly well with complex flavors and delicious ingredients. No fooling around, Seattle is so lucky these guys bailed on Cali and opened Satay here because the food is addictive and action packed with spice.

I opted to try the vegetarian dish, Mee Goreng, as I am currently going through my post-college, pre-midlife crisis experimental phase. Normally the texture of tofu is a total turn off for me in dishes and I will pick it out. This tofu, however, was fried and surrounded by delectable spices and noodles. It was a veritable festival in a bowl. Word is from my meat-eating love that the Laksa was also quite tasty. The true test is if the food still tastes good after I have taken the leftovers home and decide to eat it straight from the container. This particular place has eats that exceed my challenge's expectations.

To help with cost, you do end up bussing your own tables and getting your own napkins/silverware/water/et cetera but the food is so reasonably priced and generously portioned that I assure you won't mind. Not only that, but the business is environmentally conscious with its composting and recycling bins, which is expected in Wallingford if you are familiar with that neighborhood's residents. They are a very particular sort of green on that side of the I-5. If you are in the area and are tired of always going to the same places, or you just want to try Malaysian food for the fun of it, go to Satay and tell Peter and Patrick "selamat petang".

http://satayseattle.com/

However You Pronounce It, The Translation Is "Excellent"

Once upon an evening in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle, while trying to find a completely different restaurant, our heroine of this story chose to settle for a little place called Szmania's rather than circle the block a second time. If settling were consistently this successful, I would recommend we women do it more often. Since that is not the case, I do think rather than settling on Szmania's a concerted effort should be made to cross the Magnolia Bridge and explore the artistry of ingredients that comes together on the plates here. I know that the area is a bit out of the way for those of us not dwelling in the vicinity, but I assure you this place is worth it. No, really. It was so good that we ended up eating there two weekends in a row, which is not at all how we roll as a couple who pride ourselves in trying new places and new foods.

Pretty much everything on the dinner menu sounded good the first time we were there so it was really hard to narrow it down. Jacob (yes, he has a name in this posting) ordered the Grilled Fallow Deer (seasonal

offering) and I had the Gulf Prawns. Both dishes were food coma inducing. The Sineann Pinot Noir we ordered was so good, we ended up ordering a second 1/2 bottle and taking some home. The dessert we chose was some sort of triple nut tart of awesomeness. This was the best place we had eaten at since moving to Seattle in October. Now, we have eaten at a lot of fantastic restaurants both here and back in Phoenix, so to say that this was comparable to our absolute favorite place in Phoenix (Vogue Bistro in case you are curious-seriously the best place in the Phoenix metro) is a huge deal because that means the food was a step above excellent. Plus the menu has some really interesting and unique offerings, which is what we enjoyed about our previous restaurant crush.

Upon our return the next week, we opted to order off the Happy Hour menu since it was in fact Happy Hour. Go figure. Side note: why is it "happy hour" when it usually lasts for more than 60 minutes and the name implies singular? Anyway, Jacob ordered some sort of crazy gourmet hot dog packed with toppings galore and I had the ground steak and Gorgonzola sliders. We shared the curry dusted oysters, which exceeded our taste expectations. I joked about moving to Magnolia just so we can go to Szmania's regularly but then visions of what my commute would look like quickly squelched that desire.

It is no wonder this place has successfully stayed in business for 22 years, a rare feat in the ever-changing landscape of the restaurant industry. This place is absolutely inspired and I would recommend it to the masses time and time again. Plus, the price point is outstanding considering the ingredients. I managed to get a coworker to go try this place with his wife within a week of our last visit and he agreed that Szmania's is a great dining experience. Don't miss out on taking advantage of their current special: Happy Hour 3 course meal for $20.12 that rotates weekly.

Enjoy and you're welcome!

http://szmanias.com/index.htm

Odd Name, Great Happy Hour

Looking for a place to have a drink and a snack in the middle of a Sunday afternoon? Want that place to be located at "the crown of Queen Anne"? If so, then I have a fabulous place for you to try and it's called Emmer & Rye. See? It's so delicious I felt the need to rhyme about it. Good food will make you crazy like that.

Emmer & Rye is charmingly located inside a restored Victorian house. This is yet another place where you feel like you are hanging out in some one's house to share a meal, only in this case it would be more like you have been invited over for a very special dinner party. The menu is seasonal and the ingredients are sourced locally. Considering the location and atmosphere, I would say the price point is very reasonable, especially for Happy Hour.

We did have to inquire about the definition of some of the terminology on the menu. It is obvious by the descriptions that the chef is classically trained because instead of saying "raw cured salmon" or "ground pork paste" the menus says "gravlax" and "rilette". Makes you feel extra classy when ordering with your $5 glass of wine or beer though. Normally, I would shy away from such foods, especially the pork. However, my gravlax bruschetta with mushrooms and white cheese and my partner's pork rilette with pepper jelly was outstanding. Both appetizers were like mini parties of flavor in my mouth.

Our experience here was so good that were the location not inconvenient for us, we would likely become regulars here. Highly, highly recommended and I definitely plan to go back when the weather warms up so we can dine outside for even more ambiance.

I'd Like to Tap That!

It was a cold, dark evening. We had been walking for hours. We stepped off the monorail hungry with no clear craving. After a couple blocks of trying to find a restaurant that sounded like a good choice that wasn't completely packed on a Saturday night right before the holidays, I saw the Tap House Grill across the street calling to us to walk down its long staircase and try one of the 160 beers on tap. Always listen to the brew.

The outstanding feature about Tap House other than its extensive beer collection (did I mention there is 160 on tap?) is that the menu is super diverse. You can choose from sushi, a steak, seafood, Thai inspired, Mexican fusion. . . You name the major international cuisine influence and chances are good that you can find something on the menu that will satisfy whatever your flavor profile desire that day. There are so many options to choose from that I had a hard time deciding and as a result I have momentary amnesia when it comes to trying to recall what I ordered when we were there. What I do remember is it was good whatever it was.

By the way, the Tap House happens to boast 160 beers on tap. Just in case you happened to miss that tidbit the first couple of times.

http://www.taphousegrill.com/index.html

Serious Pie=Seriously Different Pizza

The first time I walked past the sign to this place I was not thinking pizza. I was thinking dessert pie. So imagine my surprise upon gazing in the windows and seeing the customers enjoying salad, appetizers, and what appeared to be a pizza like food. I proceeded to Google Serious Pie when I got home and my eyes lit up at their menu. Neapolitan thin crust pizza combined with unique toppings that I had never imagined atop one of my favorite foods of all time. I couldn't wait to try this place!

Let me just say that when your in-laws are in town from a small town in Idaho and they mention they would like pizza for dinner, this is probably not the place to go. It's not that we had a bad experience, it's just that for people that have Hawaiian Pizza from Pizza Hut in mind, this may be a bit too progressive. Also, it is a bit pricey considering each pie is considered an individual portion which we didn't know so each couple shared one and as a result I was making leftover turkey sandwiches a few hours later.

The restaurant was hopping with activity, we got on the list to be seated, and when the time came we were seated at a long table where there were already people sitting. That's right, folks. In Serious Pie downtown you eat with strangers so they can fit in more pizza lovers. Right off the bat I knew we were in trouble. The menu was deeply scrutinized as we poured over limited options to choose the best ones. The in-laws opted for whatever the featured pie was that night (something with a Spanish theme and pork as I recall) and we chose the clam with pancetta and lemon thyme pie. It was truly a different pizza eating experience. I enjoyed it, but as I nervously gazed at the rest of our group, I could tell that this was not a recommendation that would garner me favor.

Of course being the sugar fiend I am, I wanted to try dessert. We shared the chocolate budino with sea salt and biscotti and tried a bite of the coconut cream pie. Both were very good! That being said, the overall experience and price point were such that this is not on my list of places I absolutely have to go back to any time soon and certainly not when it's my parents who are visiting.

http://tomdouglas.com/index.php?page=serious-pie

Indian and Tibetan and Nepali-Oh, My!

Walking up from Pike's Place Market a variety of smells will cross your path, some good and some not so good. That being said, the scent pouring out into the sidewalk from Kastoori Grill was one so good that even if you just ate breakfast you couldn't help but think you were hungry walking past there. Luckily, we hadn't just eaten breakfast as the exotic spices beckoned to us.

My partner has an taste for adventure and aspires to be the Bizarre Foods guy. The friend we were with is cautious in trying new foods. I am somewhere in between. This place was ideal as a result. I tried the Momo, a Tibetan street food classic. It was spicy (not hot spicy, flavorful spicy) goodness encased in homemade dumpling pastry. My friend tried the buffet, which featured a variety of familiar Indian foods. My man opted for the Nepali combo meal so he could try a variety. Being the people that we are, we of course exchanged bites. Everything was so good! Our "server" is one of the owners and she took a moment to talk to us about the restaurant and the food. It's family owned and operated, everything is made fresh and from scratch, and everyone one there seemed really nice. Apparently pleasantness runs in the family. It's the type of place you choose to go back to just because you like the owners so much in addition to the food.

So if you are tired of piroshkies and mini donuts at the market, which I can't imagine because they are a staple to the Pike's experience, head up the incline on Stewart towards 1st Avenue and give the Kastoori Grill a try.

http://www.kastoorigrill.com/index.html

Row Your Way On Over To. . .

The Row House Cafe! Located in South Lake Union, this place is a pleasant surprise tucked away in a neighborhood that we found by chance. The Row House is in fact an actual house that was converted into restaurant space so it feels like you are going over to a good friend's house for a meal and drinks. The menu is done well and has an appropriate amount of offerings in conjunction with the size of the restaurant. The service was slow the day I went, but again you are hanging out at your good friend's house so just relax and enjoy your beverage.

If I had to choose their specialty, it would be their variety of grilled cheese sandwiches, the ultimate comfort food. But this isn't your mom's Velveeta or Kraft American Cheese Product, kids. This is a classier variety of cheeses grilled up to perfection between two fresh slices of artisan bread. Mmm, mmm good! Speaking of which, they do have tomato basil soup on the menu for those of you who enjoy dipping your grilled cheese like a 6 year old (which I totally still do and will until I am too old to lift the sandwich from the soup bowl to my mouth and then I will have someone assist me by dipping it for me because that's how awesome it is).

Anyway, they do have adult beverages available but their salted caramel latte picture looked so good I opted to give their liquid caffeine fix a whirl instead. I would say it was average, but that could be from the distraction created with having 7 different types of grilled cheese to choose from. At any rate, there's definitely better coffee drinks to be had in Seattle, but I doubt they can match the homey comfortable feeling of Row House Cafe. Add this to the list of places to try if you can find it.

http://rowhousecafe.com/menu/