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welcome to manzana in bellevue (@ in-your-face-eastside lincoln square), home of pan-european appetizers lacking any sense of cohesiveness. i had to run over to crate and barrel for some christmas shopping, and after looking at the hot mess that was belle square parking, i decided to park in lincoln center. then i realized i had to get my damn parking validated, so manzana, you were my unsuspecting victim.
the entrance to the bar is confusing and labyrinthine, but once we entered the dark room, we were left to fend for ourselves to find a spot. we nearly circled the entire room until we found an open seat (it was just after happy hour), but once we did, we laid claim. the bar itself is nice, sumptuous, simple. they have a decent wine list (it is a restaurant after all), and the specialty drink list is intriguing.
we went with the manzana signature margaritas: i sprung for the bartlett pair, and ack went with the pomegranate. mine was good...not too sweet (which i was afraid of) and just tart enough. however, any hint of bartlett pair was lost on my fairly sensitive palate. ack's was good! the pomegranate was tasty and a great holiday flavor.
we went with the trusty chips and salsa (gluten-free, of course). the temperatures were on point: the guac was super cold, the chips warm and crisp, and the salsa was room temperature. the salsa was surprisingly flavorful with a full, smoky flavor....and it was less of a pico de gallo and more of a salsa. perfect.
we also chose the white bean hummus. it was great. the warm, toasty pita was the perfect dipper for the warm, garlicky white bean hummus. the chopped tomatoes and olive oil float was a nice touch, too.
all-in-all, manzana serves its purpose: tasty, simple food that is cheap enough to justify eating just for parking validation. if you find yourself shopping in the bellevue square neighborhood and have the munchies, i recommend stopping by manzana for happy hour. i've never eaten entrees there, so i won't speak on that, but manzana is nothing special. it's just solid.
610 Bellevue Way NE # 120
Bellevue, WA 98004
(425) 455-7600
3 comments:
you so love bellevue. dont lie, they have special snow storms and children singing on the street.
sounds good, I love chips and salsa.
that reminds me, after we left, there was a damn parade outside on bellevue way! wtf. there were people on pedestals playing the drums, kids and parents lining the sidewalk, a man with a bass drum smashing and dancing around, a drum major trying to shimmy shoulders with ack, and a man on stilts with a red and white band-apparel cape. we didn't know what hit us, but we were hysterically laughing. i thought to record it on my phone, but i was laughing so hard and so fearful of getting danced upon by a man on stilts that i refrained.
we escaped into the container store, hunched over and exhausted with laughter.
i almost peed myself. it was a perfect storm of WTF? and OMG!.
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