Captain Blacks

For a brief moment in time I was really having a hard time figuring out where to go eat on captiol hill...because I burned through all the places up here and most of them were not worth going back to again. I am excited to have so many new places popping up in my neighborhood this summer, so why not check one out and get back to this really awesome blog.

Captain Blacks just opened on belmont ave just down the street from half priced books on an otherwise worthless block. Before Captain Blacks took over the space I did take advantage of the restaurant that occupied the space for a short time prior to the current deck funfari. I wont go into it but the Healthy Hedon was an overpriced veggie spot that had good sunday brunch buffet with bomb ass oatmeal. Now onto Captain Blacks...

My first thought when I heard this place was opening was how rad it was going to be to have a pirate themed bar down the street. (I love Pirates of the Carribean.) But, I was quickly informed it was not going down like that. The decor does touch on what could have been a sweet ode to Goonies. I love you One Eyed Willie.

crazy wall paper, totally 3-D

I made my way to the deck to test drive this spot with a few friends. The back deck is pretty good sized and sits above the local businesses below so you get a spacious view of all the tall apartments surrounding the block. The sun tries to shine down onto your face but is quickly blocked by the cluster of umbrellas on just about every table. Nothing fancy here, just some metal tables, chairs and the sweet Seattle air.

The first request from everyone at the table was a drink. Because the menu suggests their specialty cocktail we all ordered it. Ladies and Gents...here you have the "Captains Tea" which stars a sweet tea infused vodka. I really liked this, pretty much the best thing I had that night. For $6 its a pretty decent choice. Happy Hour from 5-7pm also gives you the option of $3 wells. Not bad, not bad at all...


A few people were curious about the food so they ordered. In the back is the oyster po' boy and upfront is the shrimp po' boy. Both came out with some french fries and were served with the sauce of your choice (cajun mustard, tartar, spicy aioli, mustard vinaigrette, ranch or blue cheese). I tasted L.'s shrimp po' boy...not bad pretty traditional with the lettuce, tomato and pickle but the lack of shrimp on the sandwich gives this dish a boo. The fries were tasty, but not why you ordered the sandwich. Other sandwich options are cod, portobello or chicken cutlet. These sandwiches will set you back $10 or $11 for the oyster. The spicy ailoi was a good taste.

L. also ordered the White Cheddar mac and cheese because I kept talking about how I wanted to try it. I was impressed that it came out steaming hot and for $6 this looked like it was going to be a sure bet. The crusted cheese on top ended up being the best part. The rest of the mac was a bit bland. More cheese please. Everytime I have mac and cheese at a restaurant, I end up thinking about how rich I would be if I just opened a mac and cheese restaurant. What do people have against american cheese as a binder?


Just when I thought it was over, M. rolled in and ordered the signature dish. The highly anticipated Chicken and Waffles. For $11 the menu claimed you would get chicken breast and a waffle with pure maple syrup. And here it is...

The waffle was small and a cut up chicken cutlet was sent out as replacement for the typical sold out chicken breast on the menu. Dont get me wrong it all tasted pretty good, but having had chicken and waffles at other spots including roscos see picture below...

...I was just expecting something amazing to come out that secret hidden kitchen in the back. I am not going to write this spot off because just like most restaurants time should help them work out the kinks. In the mean time get your meal in a can and taste something new... grab a can of Old Chub, a Colorado born strong ass scotish ale. We couldnt stop laughing at the can...I couldnt get down on the taste but for 5 bucks and 8% alcohol by volume it was a sure fire winner for a few of the crew.


I will go back and try the food again in a month or so to see how things pan out. Check out the whole menu here. The multiple decks and friendly staff are also a reason to return. Welcome to the neigborhood Captain, I get your concept now fix your galley.

I cant figure out the hours but the address is here:

129 Belmont Avenue E.
Seattle, WA 98102

The website is also saved but the page contains nothing as of today.
http://www.captainblacksseattle.com/

outside of my dimsum comfort zone

it's pretty much ridiculous how long i've held onto these pictures waiting for the "right" moment to post them on le blog. now it's been weeks and weeks since my last post, and these damn pictures still haven't been written up! well it's about time. i won't flatter myself into thinking that you've been waiting for the newest k&s update. lolz.

my coworker and i always talk about chinese food. we work on the opposite side of downtown from the ID, but we had a serious craving for dimsum. since the new hong kong restaurant has free parking in a vastly empty garage, G decided it would be the perfect choice. also, since neither of us had been there before, we thought it was a great opportunity to steer away from the usual jade garden, which was sure to be at least an hour and a half.

the new hong kong restaurant used to be called the new kowloon restaurant. i assume there was some shuffle in ownership, hence the immensely creative redubbing.

G and i arrived early to ensure adequate parking and to beat the lunch rush. we arrived around 11:45, and the place was nearly empty! we had service basically waiting on us hand and foot...one person with water. another with tea. yet another asking if we would like to order anything besides dimsum. very strange. we started off with shrimp-stuffed eggplant and shrimp tofu. they were both pretty good, though not the bang-bang like top gun. i think my biggest hang up was the sauce on the eggplant. i'm used to a more salty, preserved black bean flavor than what NHKR offered. boo.

next came pineapple buns, baked bow, and curry beef pastries. the pineapple buns were awesome. the pineapple stuffing baked perfectly with the dough to create an almost custard-y magma core. yummmmz. however, the same density that made the pineapple buns great made the baked bow heavy. i tried some of the bread, and it was leagues away from the light, slightly eggy dough i have grown accustomed too. there were no complaints, however, from S, for whom we picked up an extra three bow. G loved the curry beef. the pastry was buttery, light, and flaky. they sure looked tasty.

we also picked up some steamed bow and nor mai gai. the steamed bow was pretty standard: fluffy, spongy breading with a sticky, salty-sweet filling. it's difficult to eff these up. nor mai gai is my dimsum barometer (just as a chile relleno is my mexican measuring stick). the rice should be sticky, but not squishy; very herbal from the lotus leaf steaming; and full of delicious pork/lop xiang/dried shrimp/mushrooms, though not in an evenly-distributed, heterogeneous mixture. oh, and steaming effing HOT. NHKR's nor mai gai was decent. the texture was nice, and the filling, too, was quite meaty (which i picked out for G), however, there wasn't a strong enough lotus leafiness flavor. top gun, how do you do it!??! you've ruined me!!

just when we thought we were full, a fresh cart of shrimp dishes emerged from the kitchen. how could i pass up ha gow and shrimp potstickers?!? the ha gow was good. often times i have a textural problem with shrimp...it's difficult to explain, but NHKR's ha gow passed the test. and this brings me to my favorite dish of the day: shrimp potstickers. NHKR wraps their shrimp potstickers in bright yellow to differentiate them from the regular pork. i don't know what kind of crack they put in there, but as soon as i took a bite, my mouth filled with bright spring onion and juicy, salty shrimp. it was an OMG moment...unfortunately i was too full by that time to get another order, but i was tempted to take one home.

NHKR has a decent dimsum. i don't know if i would ever return here since i have my favorite only 10 minutes away from my house. if G and i require a quick dimsum fix, though, we'll probably be back.

I love Barb

Well, I dont even want to look at how long its been since I have been on this blog. Blame it on being busy, not going out to eat much and just feeling a bit uninspired....Enough of that, I want to get back in the game. Big shout out to ms. tekkadon for holding this situation together.

Last weekend I did go to a place that I don't go to enough and that is my mom's house for meals. This time however was even more of a treat because my amazing chef of a brother and I cooked a meal together. Because in fact it was Mother's Day, we decided instead of going out to brunch that we would make brunch for my mom at her house. A few days prior I asked my mom what she wanted and she immediately requested crab benedict. Now I knew that Brian had to know how to make poached eggs or else he couldn't really be called a chef. I decided to come up with a salad to accompany this rich dish.

The benedict was the perfect. Eggs, perfect. Hollandaise, perfect. Crab, perfect. English muffin, perfect. Brian showed me a few cooking tips while he make the hollandaise and assisted me with segmenting my fruit. The salad I made was made up of watercress, sliced oranges, sliced grapefruit, red onion, celery and pecans. The dressing was a mix of olive oil, honey, orange rind and a bit of salt and pepper. I loved this salad, and it was a great match to the eggs.

The meal was really tasty and we topped it with a glass of Cristal. Well okay, not reall it was Cristalino.


Only thing missing was the rest of the family but they were off bringing home the bacon. I would love to have a restaurant with my brother. I think we would make a great team. Cooking with him was really fun, now I know why he does what he does...and why he is so damn good at it.

a Long time coming....

a couple weeks ago my upper boss took my division out for a nice lunch for our yearly appreciation week. in years past, we've gone to dahlia, ordered lunch in, and some of his other favorites, but this year i was tricked into making a suggestion. there were only a couple criteria: a) some place nearish work; b) a little on the upscale side; c) and something most people would like. i'd never been to Qube (RIP), nor had i ever wanted to, but ever since hearing about Long Provincial opening up in that failed frasian fusion location, my interest was piqued.

i am a lover of Tamarind Tree's luxe take on vietnamese food, and since Long promised some variations on the TT menu, i knew it would be a winner's choice.

i don't usually like to read too many reviews of restaurants before i visit. in general, i prefer to take in a little general buzz, and if it's a chef or restaurant conglomerate i trust, then i'll go and judge for myself. i did, however, distinctly remember reading an press release about Long Provincial taking over the old Qube space, and one gripe the writer had was that the interior was once very open and industrial, and Long had closed in the space unnecessarily with heavy walls.

the interior was interesting, with splashes of color, as you can see, but i have to agree. there was a little too much compartmentalization of the space with giant, royal purple walls. since it was a work function, i didn't want to be too rude and take zillions of pictures. sigh. the post suffers, but hopefully my description will suffice. in the center of the dining room, there what looked like a white, giant rice bowl with flames flickering out of the top. very olympic. also, the tank in the lower lefthand corner of the picture above was full of small jellyfish pulsing in the electric blue water. no wonder the attached watering hole is called the "Jelly Bar."

the portrait windows onto the street, however, we beautifully covered in soft rice paper. the effect was shadowing and serene. in the foreground of this photo, you can just barely make out the top of a gigantic pot filled with tumbled rocks and some tropical, deep malachite green plant.

it took a while for everyone to explore the extensive menu...and that was just for appetizers! after a hot debate over what to get, we settled on the fresh Tamarind Tree rolls. they were refreshing and light; filled with fried tofu, roasted peanut, fresh coconut, jicama, and carrots. they were also served with vegetarian fish sauce. mmm.

the only appetizer that i felt strongly about ordering was the baby clams rice cracker. from the very first time i went to Tamarind Tree, i fell in love with this dish. it's basically chopped baby clams marinated with garlic and onion, tossed with chili, and sprinkled with crushed peanuts. it's served with a giant sail of a rice cracker dotted with nutty black sesame seeds. oh man. i'm getting hungry just talking about it.

ps, i think this was a crowd favorite with my coworkers as well, yay!

lastly came the crispy prawn baguette. i seriously had no idea what to expect when we requested this appetizer. the menu describes it as "baguette slices and Pacific prawns coated with seasoned batter, deep-fried served with hoisin and chili sauce. Popular dish from Mekong Delta wine pairing event-2005," and our served misleadingly described it as a "shrimp donut." i kind of imagined some sort of shrimp toast of the dimsum variety. boy were all descriptions and expectations wrong. it is a fritter. plain and simple. shrimp. meets. fritter. it was tasty nonetheless.

two of my coworkers savored the combination vermicelli bowl which featured sugarcane shrimp, grilled pork skewer, and prawn skewer. like all vermicelli bowls, it came with cucumber spears, cilantro, mint, shredded lettuce, daikon, carrot, crushed peanut, and fish sauce. it all looked so delicious, however, one of the bowls' vermicelli was undercooked!! major fail!!!

F. devoured the lemongrass chicken. it was a simple, elegant, and just right. he said that the chicken was super flavorful (though he would have preferred more heat), and the rice was a soft, fragrant jasmine. his clean plate attested for Long's success.

G. finally decided on one of Long's specialty dishes (win!), the vegetarian crepe. this rice flour crepe was filled with shiitake mushrooms, mung beans, bean sprouts, and tofu served with a side of veg fish sauce (G opted for the real deal). a tray of lettuce, mint, cilantro, thai basil, sprouts, pickled carrots and daikon pushed this specialty over the top to wrap up bites of crepe and dip into the sauce. yumz. G said it was awesome and nearly finished it, and i can attest to the tasty simplicity of this dish since i've had it before at TT!

i wanted to try something a little different, so i went with the La Vang pot rice. it seemed like forever since i'd had jasmine rice, so i knew this would be deeply satisfying. i mean, look at it! who doesn't love anything served in a blue and white pot?!? i would eat hot trash out of this stoneware.

well, Long, you did not disappoint. all the elements of this dish were peppery, earthy, and perfect after i doused it with fish sauce. the pot was filled with a base layer of jasmine rice which soaked up all the braised juices from the fresh, local tofu (northwest tofu? tahnahn son?), chayote squash, carrot, and oyster, black, and fresh shiitake mushrooms. holy s. so good. i had to stop so that i wouldn't explode (i had to return to work, you know).

of course when M asked if we wanted dessert, i had to take him up on the offer. i'll keep it short and sweet (no pun intended, i swear) since this is taking a turn for the epic. M stayed true to herself and got the flan. she couldn't turn down burnt caramel if her life depended on it. not only was it tasty, but it was equally beautiful in its elegant presentation.

F went for simple, as well, and tried the toasted coconut ice cream. do i have to say anything? i mean, just look at that.

apologies for the poor picture quality on this one, but again, i hope description will suffice. M had to try the grilled banana cake. layers of grilled red banana and sweet rice soak in cognac? sign me up. this was also served with warm coconut milk and crushed peanuts. oh yumz.

G got the veeeeeeeeery last scoop of black sesame ice cream. much like ambrosia's bubble shake version, i am a sucker for this flavor. it was both refreshing and rich. "how?" you ask...i have no idea. magic.

and last, but not least, i had to go with something on the "weird" side of the menu. i actually really loved the grilled cassava (yuca) in a pool of coconut milk, crushed peanut, and get this, spring onion. the cassava was like eating a semi-sweet potato....almost like dense, azuki bean paste. at first it was strange, but after i ate a scoop of milk + cassava + onion, i knew it was the truth. just that slight bit of bright grassiness balanced the dense, potato-y nature of the cassava.

Long, thank you for a great staff lunch. i still think about that La Vang rice pot. in fact, it sounds pretty awesome right about now...

mom's tired of feeding our monkey asses!

a couple days after our easter feast, M's family decided to pick up some mexicano for a nice takeout dinner. we were anticipating awesomeness simply because of CA's proximity to the 'co, but i was skeptical of the authenticity of the place because that's just my nature. i accompanied M's step-dad and brother so i could pick out some veg options and a couple of tacos for M. when we walked in, i instantly knew taqueria real surely was the re-al deal.

the taqueria was simple, clean, and full of standard, restaurant-issue square tables. the menu was posted on a lightboard behind the counter with pictures and descriptions next to each item for los gringos. awesome. the cold case, free of any decoration, was stacked with mexican, cane-sugared coca-colas, flan, and energy drinks. there were four 7-eleven-style, glass-doored fridges along one wall which weren't even 1/4 full of various flavors of jarritos, beer, and other soft drinks. i could tell the food was going to be the shit.

R ordered two gigante burritos for the boys...one chicken and one beef. they were truly enormous and fed three teenage boys and two adults. from what i could tell, they were stuffed with the typical whole pinto beans, meat of choice, tomato, and some type of sauce. i think perhaps there was cheese, as well. i assumed that since there wasn't a grain of rice leftover that the burritos were satisfactory.

i tried the ceviche which was awesome. i don't know what type of white fish they used, but it was extremely tender. i thought it was better than guaymas'!! it was so perfectly salty, citrusy, and refreshing. A+

i also got a sopita with just beans, lettuce, and cotija. it was good. the sopa itself was thick, and more of a walled coaster shape than i've had before, but it was good. i must say, el asadero's veg sopitas really are the best and simplest around.

R also ordered a beef quesadilla for good measure. M said it was the shit. boy does he love enchiladas even though he never gets them because tacos are his first love.

lastly i ordered one taco al pastor and one taco de carnitas as a tasting for M. he said they were great. like great great. rivaling el asadero great! i think the house salsas played a part in his opinion, too. the salsa verde and roja were rich, flavorful, and the perfect garnish for every bite.

taqueria real was, is, a little gem hidden away in a strip mall in bel marin keys. we will be back as soon as we get to novato. and M finishes his in-n-out 3x3.

Kan Zamen

about a week ago i went down to san francisco to hang out with family and meet up with a friend that i hadn't seen since last august. the day happened to be quite blustery, making our walk to upper haight from a bar off divisadero quite perilous. K led us to a cozy hookah bar on haight called Kan Zamen. the dark door opened up to quite a large dining room with a (shoju-)stocked bar and elevated area with pillowed banquettes. we decided to sit at the low tables to enjoy some tasties.

we decided on the "maza plus" combination, meaning we could choose three cold and two hot maza (appetizer dishes) from the list of about 10-12 options. we placed our order and sat back to survey our surroundings.

the bar was pretty interesting. they only served shoju "cocktails" since, i'm assuming, they don't have a full liquor license. beer, wine, and shoju...they had shoju mojitos, cosmos, all sorts of desperate libations on the chalkboard. also, if you want to smoke, you have to sit at the bar. sigh.

i ordered a "middle eastern tea" not quite knowing what to expect. i figured it would be dark and strong...much like their coffee. what i got was a lovely glass mug of loose, black tea with some refreshing mint leaves floating on top. it was delicious and lightly sweetened to perfection. i want to make this at home. now i just need to invest in some glass mugs so i don't burn my finger tips off. yowza!

service was extremely attentive (filling water glasses several times) and quick. we were only chatting for several minutes by the time the first plates came out. clockwise from top, we ordered hummus, babaghanous, cold cucumber/yogurt salad, hot lentils, and falafel.

the hummus was M's favorite...garlicky and earthy as a hummus should be. the babaghanous was excellent, too...completely lacking that bitter flavor eggplant gets when prepared improperly. the texture was nice, not mush, and smoky. it's making me want to throw a couple of whole, oiled eggplants into my oven right now!

the cucumber salad was BOMB. tart, chilly yogurt spiced up with garlic, salt, lemon, dill, awesome, and a dash of omg. i love tzaziki and all, but this was more of a salad with bigger chunks of cucumber. i loved every bite and mixed it with everything. i couldn't get this simple dish out of my head all week, and the past couple of days i've made my own version with bay shrimp in the mix for dinner. major holy ess when i added a little bit of cap'n kipp's hot sauce.

the lentils were great, too. they were mother-effing-i-just-burned-my-mouth hot (just the way i like my food!), satisfying, and full of that umami heartiness. i shoveled spoonfuls of this with that cucumber salad on many-a-bite of freshly grilled, steamy pita.

the falafel were good, yet somewhat forgettable compared to the lentils and cucumber dishes. they were crispy, hot, and playfully green with parsley. cracking one open was like staring straight into the door of the irish emigrant on st patty's day.

we all loved every last bite of food and convinced ourselves that we needed to try a couple more. M and K savored the spicy sausage which really looked like a sliced beef hot dog that was sizzled with green onions. i have no idea what it was or where it came from, but both M and K said that it was the shit and way better than a dizzog. my choice was the rice and yellow lentil combo served with a tomato salad and cucumber yogurt. if i knew from the get that the cucumber salad was the truth, i would've ordered the rice&lentil dish all for myself. it was spicy and laced with fenugreek seed. holy crap. so good.

we were all stuffed beyond belief, and including tip, we got out of there for $55. that sounds like a pretty hefty check, but M also had a couple beers, and all three of us basically ate a really early dinner/latelate lunch and had to roll out of there.

if i lived in sf, i would return, but since sf is but a place for vacations and family visits, there are so many other places to try that i probably won't be back for a while. le sigh!

hello?

ah, the hotly-anticipated (maybe just in my world?) moshimoshi sushi spot in ballard! this old fisherman's warehouse's windows were papered over for months and months with the promise of "moshimoshi sushi, opening winter 2009." with the addition of shiku to ballard's sushi roster, i was wondering what aspect of japanese fare moshimoshi would provide.

i was hoping to catch mm's happy hour, but i was dining with a visiting minor...not gonna fly. instead, we ate dinner after picking him up from the airport! "perfect. he loves sushi. this is going to be great," i schemed.

i apologize for the poor picture quality. i forgot my phone in the car and had to use a blackberry with its flash and extreme over exposure.

the setting is nice. simple, bamboo tables, long banquettes facing chairs. lovely stoneware. clean. simple. japanese. i would even say spa-esque.

the best part is the central cherry tree. this picture does it no justice, but it's basically a giant tree with twinkling, pink cherry blossoms dangling over the bar. it's stunning.

we started with the octopus sunomono, which was awesome. just the right amount of vinegar, briny seaweed, and tender octopus. mmm. definitely one to add to the list of tentacled delights around town. after much prodding, we got out 17 year old companion to try it. his words: "not that bad," which, when translated from teenager, means "the shit."

T ordered the vegetable tempura which came with the usual suspects: lotus root, carrot, kabucha, onion, mushroom, shiso, spring onion, eggplant. i didn't have any, but T said it was tasty time.

M and I tried the seafood tempura, which included ebi (shrimp), scallop, crab leg (shelled), and two kinds of fish that i've now forgotten. i thought it was alright. i wasn't a big fan of the batter, which i found to be a little soft. i love a somewhat untraditional take on tempura with soda water + rice flour + panko for extra crispiness. one of the fish was on the skunky side, but i didn't mind the flavor. i think the main problem was that everything lacked salt. also, i felt like it was a travesty to eat crab like that. i like my crab cold. but i know M enjoyed every bit of that plate.

our sushi included a california (for our californian), spider, and moshimoshi roll. the cali roll was nice. just what your would expect. the spider was good, though mashiko's absolutely kills this one. moshimoshi, see also: more flavor.

the moshimoshi roll included "king crab, cucumber, shiso, & umeboshi plum wrapped in seared sea scallop," or so the menu promised. i love pickled umeboshi, so i thought the house namesake was right up my alley. plus, i'm pretty committed to trying restaurant specialties because they're usually where the chef can show off her creativity. anyhow, the roll did had some scallop on top, but it was more like chopped scallop that was lightly passed over by a pastry torch. not exactly wrapped. not exactly seared. oh well. overall i thought it was fine. it just lacked flavor, buzz word if you didn't notice. M said it was gross because the plum didn't belong. i didn't find the umeboshi so offensive, as much as overall flavorless.

sigh. moshimoshi, i had such high hopes for you. i do want to try their happy hour, which sounds like some nice small plates, but again, i know what i like and were i like it (see: mashiko's and maneki).