Oct 12 2015

Soaring – Lark

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Nikeheart

J. Lo comes a long way from D.C. to visit us and he’s always looking for extraordinary dining experiences in Seattle. I’m happy to oblige, as conversation is always full of witty banter, worldly affairs analysis, and the allure of great food. I had a couple of options that I threw out, but the seared foie gras with huckleberries sealed the deal for Lark. In a party of five, we were able to try quite a few dishes.

chilled corn soup – with truffle mascarpone and chanterelle mushrooms; this dish was perfect with the sweetness of fresh corn, made creamy with the mascarpone, enhanced with a little texture from the chanterelles and punctuated by the truffles; we had a hard time figuring out who was going to get the last bite of this dish it was so good – definitely one of the highlights

Sep 17 2015

A Dash of Everything – Herb & Bitter Public House

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Nikeheart

My friends from Cali were stopping through Seattle after an epic Alaska cruise, and they were so very sweet to add me to their itinerary before they headed home. When I offered to find a place for dinner, they asked for a place with good food and good drinks. And by good drinks, they meant beer, wine, and cocktails. For a girl that’s ridiculously allergic to alcohol, it’s one of those things I only have second-hand knowledge of. So, I found a craft cocktail bar – Herb & Bitter Public House – that serves tapas. Tapas at a craft cocktail bar? Who am I to judge whether or not craft cocktails go with tapas, when I’d have tapas any day!

kefta kabobs – lamb skewers with charmoula, carrots, fresh garbanzo beans, and currents; the currents gave it an unexpected sweetness that helped amp up the dish

Aug 27 2015

Tres Bien – Un Bien

Posted on August 27, 2015 by Nikeheart

J. Lo and wife have never had the legendary Paseo Cuban despite being tourists here multiple times over. Even though the original Paseo is now in name only, the recipe for the sandwich is at Un Bien, and we needed to endocrine him and his wife to this legend!

The Press – the one and only Cuban; loaded with tender meat, smothered in onions and peppers, and then held together with cheese. This is one runny mess that will require a fork if you don’t eat it within 5 minutes of receiving it. While I wish the bread would hold up better to the juices in this sandwich, it’s a small sacrifice for the goodness within.

Aug 18 2015

Sweet Spot – Suika

Posted on August 18, 2015 by Nikeheart

When I was in Vancouver, I had an amazing dinner at Kingyo and they said they had a sister restaurant in Seattle, so naturally, I had to give it a try. It was Nutkin’s birthday – so it was the perfect excuse to try. It’s not quite as good as the one in Vancouver, but they do get my respects for their take on Japanese Korean fusion.

uni shooter – sea urchin with seaweed, raw quail’s egg, topiko, and rice; similar to the uni shooter at miyabi’s, but with rice, which makes it a little more difficult to shoot, but it’s tasty none the less. Maybe a little too much rice though – it gets stuck at the bottom long after you’ve devoured the uni

Jun 25 2015

Song of the Sea – Manolin

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Nikeheart

t0e and I catch up from time to time, to hear about each other’s lives, ruminate on working out, and talk about food over good food. We have history, but it’s always nice to chat about things that make us happy. Manolin had come with high recommendations from Salumi and given that they were part of the same team on The Whale Wins, it seemed like a good candidate.

Potato croquettes – expertly fried with just a thin crispy crust on the outside and creamy potato and parmesan on the inside; garnished with dill, paprika, and a subtle garlic aioli – a perfect starter

Jun 16 2015

Guilty Pleasures – Guilt Trip

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Nikeheart

The Black Knight, my BFF and I were going to Cirque du Soleil show in Redmond and need a place for dinner before the show. Now, Remond is a bit of a culinary wasteland, despite the fact that it’s full of foodie loving Microsofties. It’s getting a little better with places like Tipsy Cow Burger and Homegrown sandwiches, and I’d add Guilt Trip to this list. Guilt Trip is an Indian fusion restaurant – with dishes like cheese sticks and bacon butter chicken. It appeals because it is so different and so hard to fathom what some of these combinations would taste like without trying them. Now, what to try between three people?

lamb kabob – crispy on the outside of the patty with full flavored minced lamb; these aren’t what I was expecting as I was thinking about kebobs on a stick, but these were still pretty tasty. They are a little on the dry side, but that’s what the dal on the side is for!

Jun 5 2015

Divine – Harvest Vine

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Nikeheart

Harvest Vine is without doubt, my favorite restaurant in Seattle. From the very first time I came here, on a whim to try something different, to all the times I’ve come here for my birthday and to celebrate a host of other occasions, it has never disappointed. I remember the first time, sitting at the kitchen bar watching the Joey work his magic and Jose strolling in and just playing with ingredients for fun and serving them to the lucky few at the bar. I was spellbound by the way the flavors come together, the inventiveness of each plate, and the parade of dishes we would try and hope that we had room for more. Though the kitchen has evolved over the years with brunch and a new chef, Harvest Vine is what made me fall in love with tapas. On this night, my birthday night, my Black Knight dined here and I fell in love all over again.

beet carpaccio – paper thin slices of pickled beets sprinkled with salt, garlic, and floating in olive oil; they were a little heavy handed with the olive oil and a little inconsistent with the salt as it was in clumps causing some slices to be much too salty

jamon iberico bellota – the nutty fat just melts in your mouth with the richness of the pork – this is one special jamon that makes you want to lick the bits of melted fat off the plate; we only ordered 1 oz., but I was originally thinking we needed 2 or 3, but we seriously thought about ordering it for dessert as well. Note, it’s $20/oz.

May 29 2015

The Sweet Life – A Seattle Cupcake Crawl

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Nikeheart

Everyone knows that cupcakes are wonderful and should probably be called Happy Cakes instead of cupcakes – it seems more appropriate, given the fact that they are personalized smiles in dessert form. The question is, with all the flavors and the shops out there, which one is the best? Nofrodelius and I decided to try to find the answer on Memorial Day – stopping at cupcake shops all across town. I started at New York Cupcake on the eastside, met up with Nofrodelius in Seattle, dropped by Yellowleaf in Belltown, headed over to Trophy in Wallingford, and made our last stop at Cupcake Royale before going next door to Ballard Coffee to do the actual taste test. We had 8 cupcakes, two from each store – and couldn’t have been happier!

Cupcake crawl – we went to Trophy, Yellowleaf, New York Cupcake, and Cupcake Royale to see who had the best cupcakes. We tried a variety of flavors ranging from normal chocolate to off the wall Elvis.

Apr 25 2015

Mega love! – Omega Ouzeri

Posted on April 25, 2015 by Nikeheart

I love tapas because they offer you the opportunity to try a variety of dishes at the table without getting too full. It’s family style, with 7 more dishes, with the advantage of still being able to go by yourself. Tapas are Spanish small plates, dim sum is Chinese small plates, and mezethes are greek small plates. The only reason I even know about mezethes are because of Jose Andres, who opened Zaytinya’s, in D.C., and t0e used to rave about the restaurant. I’ve never even had mezes small plates before, until I went to Omega Ouzeri.

SPANAKOPITA – the standard spinach and feta with crème fraiche and dill; this isn’t how I imagined spanakopita, this was closer to an empanada, but it’s more delicate and oh sooo delicious; the dill gives it an extra zing and the olive oil it’s resting on is lovely

Mar 26 2015

Nutella Zeppole – Cantinetta Bellevue

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Nikeheart

My mom was leaving for Taiwan, so I wanted to take her out to dinner before she left. We needed good food on the eastside that wasn’t too fancy, but my mom knows good food (yes, that’s where I get it from). She likes Italian, and I had really like the Wallingford Cantinetta when I went a few years ago, so I thought we could try the newer outpost in Bellevue. Cantinetta is upscale Italian at its finest.

steak tartar – with pomegranate syrup, pretty basic steak tartar, and badly missing crostini to prevent the sliminess of the tartar from being overwhelming, though the chunks of meat were fairly substantial and not completely ground

Once Upon A Bite

Fairtytales From the Foodie World

Soaring – Lark

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A Dash of Everything – Herb & Bitter Public House

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Tres Bien – Un Bien

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Sweet Spot – Suika

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Song of the Sea – Manolin

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Guilty Pleasures – Guilt Trip

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Divine – Harvest Vine

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The Sweet Life – A Seattle Cupcake Crawl

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Mega love! – Omega Ouzeri

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Nutella Zeppole – Cantinetta Bellevue

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