A Tangletown (wtf?!?) Gem

this post is a long time coming, but i have no shame in publishing two-month-old pictures! my visit was in the heart of the summer and in the middle of a sweaty, 20 mile bike ride, but this dive is just as great on a rainy sunday evening as a hot summer day.

leny's tavern is just about the nicest dive bar i've ever had the pleasure of spending 6 hours at. the bartender, willow, was super friendly, sarcastic, and even changed the channel for us while (olympic) rhythmic gymnastics were being televised. we went there with a couple friends who swear by this spot (it sponsored M2.'s flag football team) and it's leny's larges, aka 33.8 ounce, four dollar beers.

i've found that a good guage of a bar's well-roundedness is the bloody mary. any bar can throw together a whiskey soda or pull a beer. not every bar(tender) can create a stellar bloody mary. lenys' is the shit. seriously. they make their own mix, dress it with pepperoncini, a pickle, olives, and lemon and spice it up to your liking. it was perfect...dill-y, tangy, spicy; i can't laud willow enough.

the menu is, as one would expect, mostly burgers-and-fries type stuff, but they also offer chili cheese tots, blackened cod, fish and chips, and all manner of fried accoutrements. all of my compatriots ordered the dock street burger (standard burger w bacon and "dock" sauce). M. accompanied his with salt and vinegar fries (bomb).

M2. got the onion straws, which are basically onion rings but, you got it, not rings. those were the shit, and after a few hours of swilling leny's larges and rounds of jaeger, we ended up ordering a basket of onion straws, which was a homerun.

lastly ms. pesca ordered the blackened cod sandwich which was the shit. the fish was great, salty, and "cajun-spiced" with paprika, chili, etc. i subbed in fried zucchini instead of regular fries, which were cornmeal battered, hotter than a motherfucker, and awesome.

since this initial visit, i think we've gone out of our way to tangletown (stupid name) at least 3 times. we even went on a rainy sunday night, had a few larges and shots and somehow made it to work feeling "decent." hit up leny's tavern, even if you're not in the neighborhood. it's a great place for pool, e-jukeboxing, buck hunter, burgers, and bloody mary's.


Leny's Tavern
2219 N 56st St
Seattle, WA 98103
206.632.9175

Store Front Restaurant....Huong Binh!

Sitting in between the International District and the Central District resides a strip mall on 12th and Jackson. The strip mall houses several restaurants and a nice parking lot underneath so you dont have to worry about trying to park on that damn busy street.

A co-worker and myself were on the hunt for lunch and she said she wanted to take me to Huong Binh. Apparently she is a regular and enjoys eating traditional vietnamese food here with her man. The environment was chill and casual. I was impressed by the fact that the food came out very quickly and that it was both fresh and amazing. The fish sauce and hot sauce options are totally on point. The menu has over 50 dishes ranging from noodles, rice and soup.

I went with the charbroiled pork vermicelli plate which consisted of 3 skewers of tasty spiced grilled pork served along side noodles, lettuce, fresh mint, basil and sweet dipping sauce. I started making a huge damn mess putting the pork and noodles in the lettuce wrap but r. told me how to get down with my empty bowl so I didnt look like an asshole.

r. had a variety dish of lemon grass grilled pork skewers, shrimp, pork balls and shrimp covered sugarcane over rice. This also looked bomb.

I plan to go back to this spot when I get the chance. I even had enough food to save some for lunch the next day. All of it cost us under $15.00 with tax.

Open til 8pm. They do not take debit cards yo...so plan ahead.

1207 S Jackson St
Seattle, WA 98144

moose knuckle

last friday i decided to invite a few friends out to dinner, and we had quite the e-maelstrom trying to figure out where to go. it's a little funny with our group since we have one veg, one gluten-free, 2 no-caribbean's (we ate that the night before), and one writer looking for a breath of fresh blog air. three days and three thousand emails later, senor moose was the winner. please see their full menu online.


i never imagined chips and guacamole could be so incredibly delicious. the chips are hot, salty, and made-to-order. they're made from incredibly thick-cut tortillas, so it's almost like eating two chips in one. the guacamole was refreshing, chunky, and integrated chopped tomato, onion, cilantro, and lime. i'm normally not a fan of guacamole because i don't like it pulverized and competely mashed. for me, guac is entirely about texture, so i prefer the chunks of avocado. this was bomb. even after dinner, we were all commenting about the guac. holy shit.


our server was awesome....he brought out the cinco salsas y unos chilitos for all to sample. the chilitos were marinated chipotles (hot and smoky), a crema de guajillo, a pico, a simple chile salsa, salsa verde, and a mint chutney-like salsa similar to the condiment you get at indian restaurants. bomb-naners.


next came the queso panela in salsa. the cheese is a slice of queso freso warmed until semi-melted, then served in a dish of smoky tomato salsa. it was pretty tasty wrapped up in a tortilla with some chipotle.


here's another view of the queso panela.


both suge and rio ordered the special, which was grilled pork that was marinated overnight in a vinegar, guajillo, and pasilla chile blend. it was served with sides of pinto beans topped w cotija, shredded cabbage, and basically mexican home fries. suge enjoyed his dish, but he was jealous of gats' carne asada.


akg ordered the enchiladas suizas which were filled with grilled chicken and queso fresco and smothered in a creamy salsa verde. it looked bomb. she noted that the chicken had a crispy skin which enhanced the texture and her overall enjoyment :).


ah, the coveted carne asada. gats feasted upon seared carne asada, an enchilada verde, sauteed strips of poblano, refried beans smothered in salty cotija, and guacamole. i think you can pretty much figure out how he felt about this dish.


let me mention that pep asked the waiter what the cheesiest dish on the menu was. let's just say that the enchiladas de puya were stuffed with two types of cheese, covered in the same smoky tomato salsa as the queso panela, and then hit with more cotija on top. delicious. black beans and a small salad finished off the plate.

senor moose is really where it's at. this place was awesome, the vibe was great, the dining room was small and friendly, and the waiter was awesome. he kept the modelos and margaritas flowing all night, and when it came time to settle, our party of six came to a paltry $180.

5242 NW Leary Ave
Seattle, WA 98107
(206) 784-5568

Breakfast:
Everyday 8am-3pm
Dinner:
Sunday-Thursday 5pm-9pm
Friday-Saturday 5pm-10pm