Casa Que Pasa: Bellingham

i did not take this photo, stole it from their myspace

Its been far to long since my last post. No excuses. But I have been running myself all over the place the past month. And I really havent been going out to eat as much lately in an attempt to save money, you know...economy. I have found some great cheaps eats along the way and will make sure to post more this coming month. One weekend trip a few weeks back was up to Bellingham with some friends to see a show. We got into town and all realized we should eat some dinner before we hit the club. I now sort of wish we would have hit the pizza spot because I bet Saigon would have been there. Anyway, we went to Casa Que Pasa, L. had been there before and was talking about how awesome their potato burrito was, naturally I was intrigued. In my mind it had to be good for him to claim some sort of veggie burrito was worth his time.

The menu was full of burritos, quesadilla, tostadas, carnitas basic mexican food choices. We started with some drinks. The margarita was intense, I immediately knew I was in a college town in a college bar because this house tequilla was bad, I mean real bad....and I am cool with well alcohol in a mixed drink most times. Damn, just another sign I am getting old.

We also shared the chips and guac, which we all ate so fast and not because they were good, because they weren't but because we were starving. The chips were not made in house and my apologies if they were because if that is the case they were stale. The guac was okay, but we didnt even eat all of it and well, that never happens.

General report was that the food was okay. I did order the potato burrito and so did L. Apparently "world famous" this burrito has battered and fried potatos mixed with beans, cheese and a creamy red chile sauce. The first bite I knew that this was not a healthy choice. The fried potatoes were good but the huge helping of refried beans took up too much of the burrito, this thing could have been smaller and did not require all of those beans! I swear the load up on the beans to make the burrito look huge. Not necessary. I did like the spicy cream sauce, nice addition. It could have used maybe some lettuce or something because it was quite the gut bomb.



Service was okay, ambiance was chill, its an okay place to grab something cheap and fast.

1415 Railroad Avenue
Bellingham, WA
Mon-Sun 11am-1am

The Sound of Spring: CheapCheap, CheapCheap

i love seattle deli. it's cheap. it's tasty. it's simple. and it's consistent. (omg, hilarious that this came up in a google search for "cheap, tasty, consistent.") seattle deli's major downfall has nothing to do with the food; it's the parking. the lot is tiny, compact, and just off of 12th and boren, which is a cluster eff on the weekends. however, if you're brave enough to weather this s-storm, a green papaya salad with shrimp is in your future for only $3.50.

above is the cold case, which is full of tapioca, rice desserts, banana leaf-wrapped steamed rice and meat, and a bevy of other unidentifiable items.

the hot case houses several prepared meat and vegetarian dishes which vary daily, but often include some sort of fried chicken stir-fry, a saucy, chili-spiked tofu, various fried rices, soups, sizzled green beans, and seafood dishes.

right at the cashier is the spread of plastic-wrapped, room temperature foods, such as vermicelli salads with beef, tofu, or shrimp, green papaya salads, fried onion tofu, and several glutinous rice desserts. in addition to the shrimp green papaya salad featured below, i also picked up some coconut-covered, glutinous rice strips that come with a dime bag of a salt, crushed peanut, and sugar mixture for dipping. it's the tiny package that looks like pink, white, yellow, and green gummy bears in the front row, if you're curious.

this salad is great. i almost forgot to take a picture because i was so excited to eat it. in fact, this picture is taken about 3/4 of the way through it. damn you, appetite! the simplicity of this salad is exactly what i love about it. it's only shredded green papaya, cilantro, purple basil, and butterflied, boiled shrimp. it's dressed in the traditional epitome of sweet/savory sauces: fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, sugar, and chili. delicious.

the salad and dessert set me back about $6.00. i wish i saved the receipt so i could tell you exactly how much it all was, but i handed a five and two one's and there was a handful of change.

Med Mix

A few weeks ago I ended up downtown in P Square for a killer show at the J & M cafe. Shout out to the guy managing the sweet sound and the crazy bartenders who mixed the worst drinks . My friend M. and I went next door to grab a quick bite before the show and she was shocked to hear that I had never eaten at Mediterranean Mix. Upon first walking in I wasn't sure about this place but she insisted it was really good. I was overwhelmed by the choices because all of the pictures showcasing their menu items made it hard to decide. Do I want pizza, fish and chips, chicken salad, hot dog...!?!?!?!?

After a long deliberation we finally decided and stepped up to order. M. went with the Gyro, which she said is one of her favorite things to get. I went with the falafel.

While waiting I couldnt help but admire the art work on the walls...so random,

and so AWESOME!
The soda fountain was broken so we shared a can of sprite and helped it out with a little of beam, M. had in her bag. Such a classy move on our part. We totally fit in though, it seemed like lots of other patrons were enjoying spirits as well.

The falafel was hot, crispy and spicy. It has been awhile since I have had really good falafel and I was very impressed. The entire sandwich was right on the veggies, the pita and the tahini were perfect. I ate it so fast and had no time to focus on what M. was eating, I was in a trance. She loved her gyro as well and we both commented on the nice hot sauce on the side.


This sandwich was like under 5bucks too, and it was perfect. I dont get down to Pioneer Square very often but I will make sure to stop by for some more falafel when I do.

They dont have a website but this place is open LATE.
Pioneer Square
205 1st Ave S
Seattle, WA 98104

Wingzone

The weather changes and makes it hard to leave the house and face the cold pouring rain to get dinner. This time of year is when I go into my kitchen and open the junk drawer and pull out a stack of delivery menus. The choices are quite slim so we occasionally check the world wide web for some restaurants who might have decided to deliver to cap hill. L. started talking about how much he loved eating Wing Zone back in the day...he even told me a funny story about how he and J. sold a cd to a delivery driver to cover the cost of their meal. Awesome. I had Wing Zone wings once back in the day when I worked in the U-District, but I had never had the sandwiches.

L. claimed the grilled chicken sandwiches were BOMB. So to our surprise we are able to order a few online. I kept waiting for them to call us after we ordered to give us the bad news that we were out of the delivery zone. But that call never came. My favorite thing about these sandwiches is that you get to choose from 26 types of flavors. Options include BBQ, Blue Cheese, Cajun, Teriyaki and on and on. I had the Thai Chili sauce on grilled chicken and it was really good. You can also go with a fried chicken sandwich if you are feeling like going there. Because I wasnt sure if the thai chili would be hot we also ordered a side of their house hot sauce. All sauces were fantastic. The standard sandwich comes with a side of wedge fries but you can sub a salad, onion rings, mushrooms or mozzarella sticks. The sandwich comes on a soft bun and the lettuce, tomato, onion, mustard, mayo, ketchup & pickle spear are on all on the side.





Wing Zone is a chain but it is the only on on the west coast. It is quick delivery to the hill from the U-District. The food although it comes in styrofoam is very warm and perfectly cooked. The chicken sandwiches set you back only like 8 bucks and once you get delivery they give you coupons for some amazing deals on your next order. I will certainly rep Wing Zone for a quick, lazy dinner brought right to my door. You have lots of options so check them out! Hamburgers, Chicken Fingers, Salads, Buffalo Shrimp, Wings, 2Liters and Brownies!


5042 Roosevelt Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105

Monday-Wednesday: 4:00 pm–1:00 am
Thursday-Friday: 4:00 pm–2:00 am
Saturday: 11:00 am-2:00 am
Sunday: Noon–Midnight

Taco Gringos

I have been thinking about tacos all summer, I think they have passed pizza on the chart of preferred dinner options over the past few months. After meeting up with L. who hadn't eaten dinner yet we walked right by Taco Gringos....and it was obvious this was going to have to do since it was 1am. I decided I would have one taco and L. went with three. We started with four pork tacos. The other options were beef or veggie. Several friends have let me know all the crazy meat they have tried at this place including rabbit, tongue and goat as well as all the creative veggie options including cabbage and tvp. What I have yet to try are the fish tacos, I need to land down there when this happens.

The place is small and the stove and pots they cook in are visible from the street. I do like the simplicity and home style feel of the business and the two guys working were really nice.


Four pork tacos:
The tacos are small, but I think for $2, you get what you pay for. I liked the pork, it was tender and the quality of meat was a surprise. The tacos are simple, just a bit of onion, cilantro and meat. They needed hot sauce which was not a bad thing, because they make that too. The HOT sauce was bomb it tasted like a hot chili sauce. It has the perfect amount of heat that I prefer. Next time, I will try the green sauce.


After eating his three tacos, L. opted for two more. While we waited outside I realized this would be a hard place to eat at when the weather changes since barely 6 people fit inside.



Open Tuesday-Saturday
8pm-3am
1510 East Olive Way
CASH ONLY

little thai: a u-district favorite

a little while back, i had the craving for thai food, and where else would i go but little thai, an underground (literally), family-owned restaurant i've been going to for years. i needed that green papaya salad!!!

this photo doesn't do it justice, but the green papaya salad is the bomb. shreds of crunchy papaya are mixed with iceberg lettuce (yeah, so what, i like iceberg), carrots, tomato, cucumber, onion, red cabbage, and green beans. the salad is super simple; topped with peanuts and dressed with chilies and mirin (rice wine vinegar + simple syrup). damn, it was so perfect.

m was in the mood for rice noodles, so he ordered another oldie but goodie, the phad see iw, which is basically wide rice noodles stir-fried with broccoli, beef, and egg in a thick soy sauce. i love this dish as well; shoot, i even eat the egg it's so deliciously-imparted with that sauce.

instead of ordering my usual (crispy fish in red curry or broccoli in basil sauce), i selected the green curry with white fish. i'll be forthright and tell you that i have no idea what kind of fish i ate, but it was damn good. the curry was immaculate; the fish was tender and clean-tasting; the coconut milk sauce was light, tangy (galanga root), and complex; and the bowl was full of bamboo shoots, green beans, carrot, mushrooms, spring onion, and zucchini. the green curry was a fantastic choice. after i had eaten all of the "stuff," i dumped my side of brown rice right into the bowl to sop up all the curry juices. delicious.

little thai
4142 Brooklyn Ave NE # 105
(206) 548-8009

mee sum transplant

nestled on pike place, mee sum bakery is one of several international options in the tourist-heavy market. their storefront is simple, a little run down, and in need of a good, old fashioned windexing. when my coworker mentioned a new chinese bakery near my office, i had to go for lunch. daydreams of vegetable humbow and sesame balls danced in my head all morning until i took orders from my officemates and headed over to the bakery for a quick pick-up. little did i know that it was mee sum parte due!


my girl sissy ordered the curry beef humbow from the hot case. she said it was bombers. she and her husband hadn't found good bow since they lived in san francisco maaaaany many years ago. as pictured, mee sum also offered chicken bow.


i was excited to sink my teeth into a vegetable bow since i hadn't had a full bite of baked bow in about 8 years. unfortunately they ran out. sigh. however, i did get a taste of my coworker's. next to the vegetable is the char siu bow. sheesh i used to like bbq pork.

the hot case also featured sesame balls, hot wings, crab rangoon, and egg rolls, i just forgot to capture them in my excitement.


mee sum also offered a steam case full of steamed char siu bow, steamed chicken bow, gyoza, and nor mai gai, which is a savory sticky rice stuffed with pork, chicken, a slice of sausage, and dried shrimp. it is then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed to perfection. mmm.


mee sum bakery also had a "wok menu," which listed several standard entrees, like mongolian beef, chow mein, honey sesame chicken, etc. my coworker who suggested mee sum for lunch actually went there once before and ordered the chow fun (wide rice noodles stir-fried with green onions and soy sauce). it was pretty good, simple, and cheap!


you can read the rest of the menu above. i ended up getting a tofu bahn mi, which was okay. the bread was a little dry, the tofu was crispy and good, but there was a severe lack of daikon/carrot pickles, and i didn't get a single leaf of cilantro....only stems!! i also got a sesame ball which was crisp and decent for take out.

i would suggest mee sum to anyone trolling around the udistrict around lunchtime, or even for a snack. i think you best bet is ordering any of the bow or entrees off of the wok menu. it's inexpensive and even offers a variety of bubble teas. this is a great spot for a snack.


4343 university way ne
seattle, wa 98105

nb: the kitchen closes at 9pm but they're still open late for bubble tea

Oregon is for lovers...and the resurrection!

On a recent trip to Oregon, to celebrate B's birthday, and spend Easter with her family, I decided that the perfect first blog for me would be my favorite of all foods.....the cheeseburger. So in an effort to make this as unbiased as possible I decided to try a few burger joints relatively new to me. My original plan was to hit up some joints that aren't locally available. Burgerville, Arctic Circle, and Sonic Drive-In .

The first stop we made was Burgerville, in....... well it was either Kelso or Centralia, regardless it was the first sign I saw off of I-5. The town was rather forgettable. Burgerville promotes it self as being, fresh, local, and sustainable. All of which is rather cool for a fast food burger restaurant. I ordered a Pepper Bacon Tillamook Cheddar Burger Meal with fries and a Mr. Pibb, for $7.63.

The burger was pretty good, I ate it in my truck while B and Bailey stared at me waiting to get back on the road. Well B wanted to get back on the road, Bailey just wanted my burger. The fries were crispy and hot and on the little package said they were from locally grown potatoes. The bacon was actually good for a fast food burger, usually its rubbery and tastes of liquid smoke and cheapness, and the beef was from Oregon Country Beef a naturally raised beef cooperative. Was it the best burger I have ever had at a fast food joint, probably not, but for all the intangibles, if there was a local chain I would partake in the occasional burger.

As much as I love to eat cheeseburgers, it was hard to convince B that it was a good idea to eat one for 3 consecutive meals, especially on her birthday weekend. Burgerville is on the way to Portland, however Sonic is in Hillsboro about 35 minutes out of the way, and we just didn't have he time to get to Arctic Circle. So to redeem my weekend of birthday, burgers, and jesus, I thought it only right to hit up the Markum Inn, home of the Double Jumbo Markum Burger.



The Markum Inn is right outside of Silverton, Oregon. B's mom and her husband own a marion berry farm in Silverton, this is where the family was gathering to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We decided to go to the Markum Inn for dinner on Saturday. I have been to the Markum Inn before so I knew what to expect, but its hard to explain what its like there, kind of miserable and smoky. The people are 95% local and its a farming community. I have tried to eat the D.J.M.B. before and failed, this is a GIANT burger! Since my burger weekend didn't really pan out I thought it would be a good idea to try it again.




This burger has over a pound of meat, like 6 slices of ham, too many slices of american cheese, and finished with shaved lettuce and thousand island dressing. All of these ingredients make a pretty close to perfect burger for me, but this is just ridiculous. When my burger arrived the table next to us were freaked out that I was going to eat this massive thing. By the time I ate 1/2 the burger I was done, the meat alone was too much, but add ham and American cheese. Commence the meat sweats. I finished the whole thing, with some fries, not cause I wanted to, but for this blog. Unless you are in to burgers the size of your head, and you enjoy sweating while you eat, I recommend the Jumbo Markum Burger, the same as above just half the size. I love the Markum Inn and I wish it were closer to home, same with , Burgerville, Arctic Circle, and Sonic Drive-In. The last two I have yet too try, well....there is always Christmas!

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

little saigon

{click to enlarge}

"little saigon" used to be the name of my favorite vietnamese restaurant growing up. it was tucked away in the little shopping center where viet wah is off of 12th and jackson. now it's some other vietnamese restaurant which is more shi-shi and less mmm.

my new go-to vietnamese place is thanh vi. i used to go to the outlet in the u-district all the time between classes or for lunch during work because they have bomb soup (more than pho) and great tofu with peanut sauce for an app. now i prefer the one at 12th and jackson for its convenience factor, though their menu and service is a little different from the u-district.


chili sauce is so crucial. i'm super picky about what kind of chili asian restaurants have. i'm not a fan of the chili sauce that's chunky with green pieces of pickled something or other. that sauce is bitter and icky. my favorite is the dried chili sauce that's preserved in oil. omg. so delicious. it's a little sweet, has a great texture, and just hot enough so i can pile it on everything.


eastside started his meal off with shredded pork rolls (lettuce, carrots, pickled daikon, and rice vermicelli wrapped in a rice paper roll). looked lovely. it was also served with the requisite dipping sauce of fish sauce, mirin, and carrot shreds.


i was curious about one of the house specials: the tofu crepe. i honestly wasn't sure what would come, but i was pleasantly surprised. a crispy, yellow, gigantic crepe, dotted with tofu cubes and stuffed with onions and mung bean sprouts came to the table. it was served with fresh vegetables just like any other vietnamese order "on a tray." the accoutrement included lettuce, cilantro, thai basil, and watercress. i wrapped chunks of the crepe in lettuce and dipped it in the fish/mirin sauce. mmm. suge and eastside weren't as big of fans, but if you're curious, i would say go for it.


the eastside spread: shredded pork rolls, multitude of sauces, plate of duck meat, and duck soup. unfortunately, he said that the duck soup smelled and tasted distinctly of "sock." i trust his assessment. i've always thought duck is a risky thing to order at a vietnamese restaurant because often their preferred taste is preserved duck, which has quite a heady aroma and, let's just say, "distinct," taste.


suge went with the vietnamese version of azteca's "tres amigos." it was a vermicelli bowl full of pickled daikon, carrot, lettuce, cilantro, thai basil, a skewer of pork, beef, and chopped shrimp encasing sugar cane. looked good.


i went for the pretty basic tofu vermicelli bowl. it's the same as suge's above, but obviously with tofu instead of a meat assortment. solid, delicious, never a surprise.


i really like thanh vi, and though this was a mixed visit for each of the guests, i will always consider this a dinner option. it's fast, reliable, delicious, and close.

1046 S Jackson St, Seattle - (206) 329-0208
4226 University Way Ne, Seattle - (206) 633-7867