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When I went to the 5 spot for the first time about 5 years ago, I was like "wow, this is THE Seattle restaurant for the general crowd." They do diner food, hence the mainstream feeling, but they do...
When I went to the 5 spot for the first time about 5 years ago, I was like "wow, this is THE Seattle restaurant for the general crowd." They do diner food, hence the mainstream feeling, but they do it well and they add themed twists. To my dismay, for several years, I found the themed entrées to be quite small, though flavorful. One time I got 3 tacos, and they were about 2.5 inches long - I don't care if there were 3, they were tiny!
Recently, I treated a big group of friends who helped me move to a 5 spot dinner, thinking "Oh, it will be just ok." That was not the case! I had the pork chop dinner, and it was great. Very clean flavors, mild herbs, and fresh veggies. I forget what the theme was, but my five fellow dining companions enjoyed their meals very much.
I have not had the opportunity to reevaluate their breakfast, however. I remember the long waits (where in Seattle do you not wait at 10am on a Sat/Sun?) and the burnt hashbrowns that sat on the griddle for a liiiitle bit too long. The bloody mary's made up for the mishaps, though it left with an "eh" feeling about their breakfasts, as they too declined in quality through the years.
TIP: Their late night happy hour (10pm and beyond, I think) has excellent prices. PBR for a buck, mac and cheese for five bucks, red beans and sausage for five bucks and a few other things. Its a great pit stop before going out, or if you want some late night grub.
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Amongst many Pho restaurants in this city, I think Pho Cyclo stands out a bit. The flavor of their Pho is tasty and consistently good. The herbs looked like they were fresh picked, and the meat was...
Amongst many Pho restaurants in this city, I think Pho Cyclo stands out a bit. The flavor of their Pho is tasty and consistently good. The herbs looked like they were fresh picked, and the meat was fairly tender. Also, the murals on the wall are interesting, maybe a bit bizarre but nevertheless, aesthetically pleasing. Service was okay, nothing stellar. This is on my list of "approved" Pho places, as some can be sketch, but not here.
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PCC is my kind of grocery store. It is mainly free of the yuppies/SUV driving people, rather I find that more organic people flock here. A few good things: the smell, fresh produce and labeled local...
PCC is my kind of grocery store. It is mainly free of the yuppies/SUV driving people, rather I find that more organic people flock here. A few good things: the smell, fresh produce and labeled local products. Yes, the smell. Its this sweet grocery store smell, that I have only found in a few other "co-op" markets. And second, the fresh produce is awesome. While it may not have the selection of Whole Paycheck, it is generally in good shape and not overpriced. And third, they label (next to the price) which products are "northwest produced."
I find the prices to be a bit steep on certain items, but that is where it pays to be an intelligent shopper. I get a few things here, others at Whole Paycheck and TJs, then I am set.
The product selection in most branches is also fairly diverse. I like the Fremont store and the Issaquah store the mostly due to their size, but the Greenlake store reminds you of their small(er) roots.
Oh, and one time I was unsure of which cheese to get, so they let me sample 3 of them. And another time, I wanted some coffee but the clerk wasn't sure which was the best, so she literally gave me almost 2 lbs of different coffees to try, all free. While this is somewhat common in specialty grocery stores, I felt privledged.
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I love Verite. The baristas serve up some mean coffee but perfectly balanced though never weak. Of course, the cupcakes are a wonderful addition to the coffee -- watch your waistline, however (and...
I love Verite. The baristas serve up some mean coffee but perfectly balanced though never weak. Of course, the cupcakes are a wonderful addition to the coffee -- watch your waistline, however (and your pocket book for that matter). One qualm I have is the Madrona location often fills up annoying clientel at times -- loud kids and laptop campers. Some people sit with their laptop, occupying a 4-top for many hours. Then the screaming kids come in and touch the glass, even though it says "don't scare the cupcakes" the parents don't do anything to stop them.
Despite the kids and geeks, I still like Verite, mainly for the kickass coffee and the tall guy with dirty blonde hair and a bit of sass.
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I love this place. Really, I look forward to it almost every other morning. I started with a ginger banana muffin, that was moist, had many mild flavors, but nothing too sugury or greasy. Wow,...
I love this place. Really, I look forward to it almost every other morning. I started with a ginger banana muffin, that was moist, had many mild flavors, but nothing too sugury or greasy. Wow, finally a pastry that isn't all slimey with oils and sticky with too much sugar. Gotta love it!
I have also tried their morning roll, their artisian breads and rolls. All great. Their coffee is also good. I believe they use the Organic Blend from Vita. This morning the ginger muffin had less cinnamon flavor, but more banana flavor -- gotta love small batch bakeries.
The staff is fairly helpful too. Even when busy, they always offer up assistance, and take great care at handling the beautiful items.
Oh, the other week I grabbed a Lemon Tart cake for my work friends. Once on the table, no one wanted to eat the masterpiece. Of course, they dove in and within 5 minutes most of the Tart was gone. Perfectly lemony filling, firm, buttery crust, white chocolate slivers in places, along with 2 pieces of fresh fruit -- perfect!
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This place used to be in a basement a few blocks away, however, they had to upgrade to a larger space. This brought some positives and some negatives. First, this is one of the few diners in the...
This place used to be in a basement a few blocks away, however, they had to upgrade to a larger space. This brought some positives and some negatives. First, this is one of the few diners in the area. And Planet Java has always excelled at making hearty, solid American food -- sandwiches, soups, and burgers. The prices are reasonable, the service is quick, and the portions are rather large for lunch. Negatives are that the food is more generic, prices a tad higher and the overhead obviously more than a little cafe. I still go here, but I do miss the old venue. Also, the owner is also pretty cool -- she is the original owner, since the business started in 1994ish.
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Takohachi reminds me of a restaurant that closed down a few years ago - Koraku. The style is old fashioned menus in Japanese and English, fried meats (hamburg, fried pork, etc), and an older...
Takohachi reminds me of a restaurant that closed down a few years ago - Koraku. The style is old fashioned menus in Japanese and English, fried meats (hamburg, fried pork, etc), and an older Japanese woman running around. Quirky drawn illustrations of the menu items decorate the walls, complete with color.
The tastes are good, service is okay and the prices are right. My favorite about the place is the pickled cabbage that is hard to find -- I always get two orders ;)
If you go for lunch, go early or late, but not right at 12:00. Unfortunately, this place has been discovered by more people, but I guess that is a good thing since it might actually stay in business.
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I have rented from Handy Andy a total of 2 times, with this last time being my final. On my second trip, I rented their typical 14' box truck and had to drive it about 100 miles round trip. The...
I have rented from Handy Andy a total of 2 times, with this last time being my final. On my second trip, I rented their typical 14' box truck and had to drive it about 100 miles round trip. The truck had the typical steering wheel behavior with about 20 degrees of movement either way, yet you are still going straight. Not only that, but I seem to remember the check engine light being on, and it wasn't like these were new trucks anyway. Overall, I was okay with the rental until I got to the gas station. Filling up with gas - no big deal, right? Well, I started filling it up, and I noticed gas coming OUT below the truck, near the gas tank neck part.
After that scary fiasco, I will never be renting from them again. Personally, I think you take your chances with safety and its kinda ghetto from the get go.
On the other hand, if you want something cheap, and you won't be traveling far, then this is your place.
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This place rocks my socks as far as good, cheap Japanese food goes. It may not appear like much from the dirty building, but its worth a visit. I am going there in a few minutes for lunch, actually....
This place rocks my socks as far as good, cheap Japanese food goes. It may not appear like much from the dirty building, but its worth a visit. I am going there in a few minutes for lunch, actually. What I like about it is the "genuine" feeling you get, that it isn't some knock-off, wanna-be place.
I generally get the sandwiches, that have "tonkatsu" (fried pork) on THICK white bread (with the crust sliced off!) and 2 huge lettuce leaves with mustard/mayo. Very yummy and definitley different. Other wonders include "hamburg" which is a hamburger patty with radish stuff on top, served with rice and a side of pasta. They do have other things besides the breaded meat, like lemon pepper chicken that is "healthy" and some pasta-like dishes.
Its a quirky but quintessental international district place. But don't tell anyone, its already kinda busy at lunch.
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Ok, I'll admit I have only been to this place once. I got a chicken burrito, which was about taco del mar sized, but thankfully not nearly as watery, and the meat was very good. The veggies tasted...
Ok, I'll admit I have only been to this place once. I got a chicken burrito, which was about taco del mar sized, but thankfully not nearly as watery, and the meat was very good. The veggies tasted fresh and their "sauce" was okay. But something was missing. ANY remote taste of hotness -- donde hotness? It was not hot _at all_. In addition, I liked the taste of their "hot" sauce, but again, NO hotness to it. Don't get me wrong, I can barely handle a "2" at a Thai restaurant, so i wasn't asking for much here.
On the plus side, their prices are very reasonable, the atmosphere seems very genuine, and the service is quick. They do have a wide variety of choices: pork tacos, chordizo, all sorts of burritos and more.
I do plan on returning, despite the lack of spice. How often do you find a remotely genuine "taco stand" in Seattle anyway?
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