Ouch...Jack in the Box

Jack in the Box, is good for only one type of dining...and that is the meal you decide to eat at 2:30 am. I live so close to this place but rarely dine here. I was walking by on Sunday and it seems like someone is on a mission of hate. If you can't make it out it reads "Feed Your Fat Asses". If that isn't enough reason to not be the asshole who goes inside, I don't know what is.

Shout out to the Jack in the Box jalapeño poppers and the shakes!

Atlanta..and the home cooked meal...

So its not everyday as a tourist you can roll into a city and find someone from the area to make you a meal. Well, I did. And it was so bomb. Fried Chicken, Mac and Cheese (better than mine, which is hard to believe), Corn Bread, Greens, Salad with RANCH and a plum from the garden out back.

I am currently working on getting the recipe for this mac and cheese...something tells me she used like pork juice or something as the broth....because I cannot explain how amazing this tasted.

Hopefully I will have the recipe by the holidays...then I can roll it out at Jive Turkey 3.

Marriot Marquis in Atlanta

Nothing like hotel food...you gotta give it up to the chef and staff who have to serve 500 people at the same time. This food was o.k. nothing to jump up and down about, but it was way different than the chicken and veggies you get at hotels here in Seattle. The main difference being that this food was seasoned. I had some chicken with greens and squash the first night.


Followed by some cheesecake...

I have no idea when this place was built, but it was a trip. It had something like 50 floors where you could look directly down to the bottom floor from the top. The elevator was glass and ran directly up the center, something similar to the glass elevator from Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. I will admit, looking directly down, made you feel kinda sickly...especially after a few cocktails.

Marriott Marquis Atlanta
265 Peachtree Center Avenue
Atlanta, Georgia 30303 USA
Phone: 1-404-521-0000

The City Too Busy To Hate

Sorry for the lack of posts, last week was hectic and then I was off to Atlanta, Georgia for a work conference. I spent most of the time in the hotel...but was able to catch a few bites of local fare.
Let's start with fast food. My goal was to grab something quick and from a place I have never been...


Chick-fil-A

According to their website they have been making the same chicken sandwich for over 40 years.
It's pretty damn good, for fast food. I think the reason the chicken sandwich is so bomb is because of the pickles they slide onto the bottom bun. The lettuce and tomatoes were fresh and they let you control what kind of sauce you want on your sandwich.


I went with the grilled chicken and TK went with the hand breaded sandwich. Both of our meals came with waffle cut fries which were hot and perfectly cooked. Their menu, clearly focusing on chicken, features everything from nuggets, strips, wraps, salads and soups.


We were on the MARTA and met a local who we asked about a fast food place by our hotel where we could get something quick and good. I mentioned to him that prior to the trip I read about a popular place called Chick-fil-A...and he was like, "Are YOU kidding me! You have never been to Chick-fil-A?" So we had to go...

CRAVE for Brunch

I always forget about CRAVE when it comes to deciding on a breakfast place to dine that is close to my house. L. and I went a few weeks ago and even though we had to wait a half hour, it was worth it. The service was great and the food was amazing.

L. had the Mimosa Benedict with proscuitto. It came with poached eggs, sourdough toast, champagne-shallot-orange hollandaise and was served with green chili homefries.

I ordred the Crab Omelet which was filled with chilean crab, capers, fire roasted poblanos & cream cheese. It also came with green chili homefries, toast and fresh fruit.


HOURS:
Brunch: 8am—2:30pm Weekends
Breakfast: 8am—3pm Monday-Friday

LOCATION:
1621 – 12th Ave.
Seattle, WA 98122
Phone: 206.388.0526

Seattle's Dahlia Lounge

These pics will not do this food any justice. The food was so BOMB and the company was wonderful. I happen to know the chef of Dahlia Lounge and he is actually one of the best chefs I know. He knows more about food than anyone I know and you can tell when he talks about it, he absolutely loves food. I rarely go to Dahlia Lounge but a few of my friends have never been, so it was time for the annual trip.

The chef started us out with an amuse-buche...which was made up corn, basil oil, tomato...and something I am forgetting...This was the perfect little taste to start our whole meal and it made me feel like I was on Top Chef.

Next onto the Sea Bar Sampler which was a selection of all of the below:

Mutual Fish taste of the day (which I think was yellowfin?)
Dungeness crab, chili paste, tempura crispies
Dahlia smoked salmon, hot mustard
Alaskan halibut ceviche, red chilies, cucumber
and Albacore tuna, wasabi peas, ponzu

All of the fish was so fresh and had the perfect amount of spices. I could go to Dahlia and just order the sea bar sampler...pretty much everyday. I think my favorite was the crab, closely followed by the albacore tuna.

Then onto some appetizers:

Curried vegetable samosas, avocado with jicama, honey mango, cilantro yogurt

Shrimp ~ scallion potstickers, black vinegar ~ soy dipping sauce

Crater Lake aged blue cheese, figs...and some waffles


The samosas were perfectly cooked and the dipping sauces were simple yet kickin with flavors. The shrimp in the potstickers held a sausage like consistency and finished with just the right amount of heat. I made these potstickers once because the recipe is in Tom Douglas' cookbook Seattle Kitchen. Also in this cookbook are the coveted Crab Cakes... I didn't eat much of the blue cheese but everyone else about died upon eating it. I liked the concept and the waffle pieces were choice.

The onto the main courses....


K. got down on the Sauteéd Alaskan halibut
A. went with the Anderson Valley wood roasted suckling lamb
B. had the Rotisserie roasted five spice Peking duck
L. Grilled Washington beef strip loin

..since all of the above are avid readers, I will allow them to post their reviews in the comments.

I had the Barbecued pork tenderloin & a little hot link, molasses baked beans, collard greens, and nectarines. The pork was so lean that it tasted like chicken and it was perfectly cooked so it just melted in your mouth. The hot link added a nice consistency change to the entree and it was thick not fatty. I loved the greens because they were not overcooked and were perfectly salted. I did not think the nectaries added much to the dish. I heard sometimes the fruit added to the dish are bing cherries...that sounds unbelievable.


Finally Dessert:

Milk chocolate mousse cake
Crème caramel
and...

Triple coconut cream pie

Everyone who lives in this city should check this place out since it has earned its reputation as quite the Seattle food insitution. If you get a chance stop by the kitchen and give my brother a pound.

Dahlia Lounge
2001 - 4th Ave
Seattle, WA 98121
206.682.4142

R.I.P. Broadway Wok, Hello Julie's Garden

Damn, R.I.P. Broadway Wok, one of the only places that you can get Chinese delivery on Cap. Hill. What sucks is that we found out the bad news as L. repeatedly called the number which was disconnected. After two years of living up here, I figured out what things to order and found a solid group of menu items that did the trick. I cannot find any real details about the closing of this spot, but I will take a wild guess that a condo is going up over there...or because of the condos they couldn't afford rent.

So because we were dedicated to not leaving the house we hit the internet to find a new delivery spot...and low and behold we found Julie's Garden which is located in Pioneer Square. L. called them up and its true, they do deliver to Cap. Hill.

We got General Tso's Chicken, which was decent, the portion was solid and the chicken was fresh. It could have had some more heat factor and perhaps they should have cut a whole in the styrofoam because it was way over-steamed. Most lacking was that recognizable flavor of the General Tso sauce...

Curry Sauce Chicken, pretty good even though what I was expecting was something with less turmeric. This dish also needed some more heat...and some overall flavor besides overcooked veggies.

And some egg rolls, sorry no picture...they were as expected.


The delivery took over an hour but Julie's Garden is cheaper than Broadway Wok...so that is a plus. Now we will move into the phase of finding the right menu items to order. They do have Pho....and beer.

For delivery call:
206.223-3690

Free Delivery in the Downtown Seattle Area (Minimum $20. Limited Area)

Mon-Fri: 10:00 am - 9:00 pm
Sat: 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
Sun: Closed

Maharaja Cuisine of India

Maharaja Cuisine of India is dead quite at 930pm on a Saturday night, if you eat in the dining room. Everyone was wasted in the bar, getting down on some cheap cocktails with Stevie Nicks blaring out the door.



If you have read previous posts you know that Indian food is not my top choice, but as I continue to try more dishes, I have found a way to navigate around the yellow turmeric flavored curry that I despise.

I had the Coconut Chicken, which without the heat factor would have been a bit too much turmeric for me, but it was great. I know that L. enjoyed the Butter Chicken but he seems to order that a lot. For some reason I could not figure out why it was bright red....I need to read more about Indian food. We got down on some flavorful naan, one with spinach and another with fruit and nuts. I know that M. had some bright red lamb dish and if I am not mistaken K. had the Saag Paneer.

Everyone loved the food but I forgot to take pictures until we were almost done eating! Below is a pic of my Coconut Chicken.





Maharaja Cuidine of India in West Seattle
4542 California Avenue Southwest

Queen Anne: Peso's Kitchen and Lounge

I don't make it to Queen Anne very often, but one Queen Anne restaurant I do like is Pesos Kitchen and Lounge... for brunch.

After some serious partying on Saturday night at Bumbershoot, L and I went to meet my mom and step dad for some hangover curing food. I could not make up my mind because everything sounded so bomb and I do love the whole chips and salsa situation down there. I would be willing to say this place has my favorite chips. (With a close second being the chips at Mexico in Pacific Place, no joke!)

For brunch, I ordered the biscuits and gravy:

sorry these pics are so strange

This dish was okay, the biscuits were hella dry and the eggs were not served as poached as I prefer them. But I did like the gravy but as my mom pointed out, all the food could truly suck but you would never know because all the dishes are so spicy. Good Call. This gravy kinda killed any other flavors because it was just major heat.

My step dad was really feeling his new cocktail of choice...Michelada, which looked pretty good and better than my thick bloody mary which barely went down. You know its no good when you are trying to add water to your drink and its not cuz its too strong. I wont hold it against them, this place serves a solid bloody mary...but stay away from the secret special bloody with pepper vodka. No Good.

the michelada

Peso’s Kitchen and Lounge
605 Queen Anne Ave N
Seattle, WA 98109
206-283-9353

Breakfast 7 days a week 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Eating at Bumbershoot Vol. 2

Day two...foot long corn dogs!

The kitchen was very suspect. I swear the kid cooking had burns all the way up his arms.

This place had a line around the corner!!! So I patiently waited my turn with an idiot who kept yelling "WIENERS". People really do love elephant ears, garlic fries and corn dogs....this shit was so greasy though, half the people in line had burning oil running down their arms.

This business has to be making some great cash because its $5 for a corn dog and you know that translucent gray wiener is costing them like 10 cents. Let's hear it for diabetes!

Eating at Bumbershoot Vol. 1

So yeah, Bumbershoot...damn I am tired. I parlayed around the Seattle Center for three days with a solid crew of some old and new friends. I had the best time...I dont think I have gone to all three days of Bumbershoot since like 92'.

Let's start with day one, which I always use as my day to take part in the ever famous Big City Burritos, I remember these burritos back in the day at festivals like Lollapalooza. I tried to look up this festival franchise on the internet...but didn't get very far. Perhaps I should consider opening one of these on the corner of my block.



These burritos have gone up in price over the years and the fillings have gotten a little lighter, but these burritos have got to be the easiest thing to eat while walking through a huge crowd or if you have to post up in the grass.

For $7 you get a tortilla, beans, rice, cheese, black olives, sour cream, jalapenos and salsa/tomatoes. So simple, yet so good. Shout out to the faithful friends who walked around the park trying to find this spot.