|
We met a friend of ours for dinner on March 6th, 2007 and had a nice experience with ordering dinner and drinks in the bar area of Matt's. The place was hopping when we were there around 730pm but...
We met a friend of ours for dinner on March 6th, 2007 and had a nice experience with ordering dinner and drinks in the bar area of Matt's. The place was hopping when we were there around 730pm but our server was attentive and friendly the whole time even though she was clearly busy.
First we ordered a round of oysters to share. We're always big fans of these and that evening we chose the Snow Creek and Kumamoto types for our dozen and those were gone almost as soon as they hit the table. Rick was enjoying beer and we had martinis (gin) and then switched to wine with dinner.
Dinner consisted of the prime rib for me and Rick. I liked what was served with the prime rib but I have to say the cuts of meat we got were a little less than what we were expecting. Rick thought they tasted like ham initially and I think that came from the big slab of butter they put on both of our entrees.
I agree with him though. The cuts were okay, but not fabulous. I'm sorry to say I can't recall what Michael had that evening. I know we'll come back but I usually keep my hopes from getting too high even though I know Matt's is one of the places that is considered on the higher end in Redmond.
Hide
|
|
We recently ate here and had a nice enough dining experience but if my partner and I hadn't been totally caught up in a great personal conversation we would have likely to be miffed. I will say...
We recently ate here and had a nice enough dining experience but if my partner and I hadn't been totally caught up in a great personal conversation we would have likely to be miffed. I will say though that I think there is a silver lining to this review.
The guy who was our waiter, Colin, is a very nice young man and he is also in charge of the wine list for Nell's. Sadly, there was a representative there from Buty wines that night who hogged a lot of his attention so we were left to wait for the first 5-10 minutes without so much as a hello from Colin. We were given water but that was it.
Once we got our beverages (martinis) ordered, and received, things seemed to be going along just lovely. We both ordered from the $25 pre-fixe menu, which had some lovely offerings, and the first courses came along just fine. I'll point out that the standard menu also looked divine and we plan on eating here again to try more options in the future. To start, I got the kohlrabi soup and Michael got the liver terrine - both which were very good. We also ordered wine with dinner which was lovely although I'm sorry to say I've forgotten already which one it was from the menu.
Our main course was to be the trout (for me) and the pork (for Michael). This is where it got dicey again. Two tables that had come in significantly later than me and Michael both ended up getting their meals ahead of us (they ordered after us) and one of them was actually about done with their dinner and leaving when Colin noticed and mentioned it to the kitchen staff. According to him they just shrugged their shoulders and then put together our dinners. No explanation, no apology, just a "oops" and a shoulder shrug. Thankfully Colin is more adept at being a professional waitstaff person and he quickly tried to make amends. Unfortunately I had to send back my trout for further cooking as about 3/4 of the interior of the fish was uncooked when it came out to the table. I would suggest if you like a less well done piece of pork that you make sure to order to taste - they cook it medium there. It was still good and Michael hadn't given a specific temperature request to Colin.
The re-cooked trout was lovely so I am willing to go here again. The desserts choices we got with our pre-fixe dinner were grapefruit with mango sorbet and honey (me) with a macaroon and for Michael the cinnamon creme brulee with a chocolate cookie of some sort. All very good. Colin gave us a dessert wine with our desserts as a way to make up for the missed timing of our dinner. As I mentioned earlier in this post, we ended up being fine with it since the two of us were having a very meaningful personal exchange throughout the 3.25 hours we were here. Yes, dinner took THAT long but we did enjoy it. It almost reminded me of dining in Europe where the pace is much more mellow and dinner isn't limited to an hour at most. I'm okay with that as it forces those at the table to really spend some quality time together...
Another positive is that you can use www.OpenTable.com to book reservations.
Hide
|
|
We met up with several friends the other night at this favorite of ours and had a really good time. While it can be hard to get a space to sit for a larger group we did finally get a couple of...
We met up with several friends the other night at this favorite of ours and had a really good time. While it can be hard to get a space to sit for a larger group we did finally get a couple of tables we could put together to handle 9 of us comfortably enough. The staff gets pretty harried because of how busy it is in here so be prepared to be patient or they'll ignore you.
The beer brewed by Maritime is some of our favorite stuff - with some of the bigger faves being Jolly Roger (seasonal) and Nightwatch. You do have to be careful of the JR because the alcohol content is much higher than the usual brew so be careful when drinking it and limit yourself. You can get their beer in grocery stores as well - we buy the seasonal Jolly Roger beer every winter. You can frequently find it on sale at the Ballard Market off of 15th Ave NW.
The food served here is usually pretty tasty and we were pleased as usual. We do, however, need someone to remind us when we go in how easy it is to over-order. A ton of food was brought to our table, a sampling of the list is below:
entrees - shrimp carbonara, habinero pork, mixed green salad, opa
samplers/shared foods - jolly's (mini-burgers), mahi mahi burgers (mini), smokers (onion rings), planks (fries), fried pickles, spreaders (hummus and more on bread)
We walked out of there with what I usually refer to as a "food baby". You know, enough to stuff you so you can barely move and you don't need to eat for a day. Still, we'll be back. :)
Hide
|
|
We stopped in at the Lock & Keel this weekend with some friends and got a chance to see a newer side of Ballard. I recall from only 10 years ago what a sleepy little town feel the downtown area had...
We stopped in at the Lock & Keel this weekend with some friends and got a chance to see a newer side of Ballard. I recall from only 10 years ago what a sleepy little town feel the downtown area had before all of the newer development happened. That, and all the old Ballard jokes. Granted, I like the new stuff too but going out can be a dodgy experience.
Anyhow, we were playing pool and having a beer all the while surveying the very eclectic crowd within the bar. There were lots of tattoos and piercings - which is not a big deal nowadays and is actually standard attire for the 20-something set. I have to say that "Scott from Kent" was certainly airing a lot of testosterone with a lot of that in the form of screaming like a Marine out on his first leave since making it through bootcamp. And he looked like a Marine. Then we had "Andy" who was a soft spoken Sacramento transplant (got here 2 years ago) lamenting the (usual) lack of friendliness of Seattle-ites as he hadn't made hardly any friends or contacts in those two years since he'd moved here. He was certainly doing his best to become a buddy to all of us (we had about 7 of us together) and we did enjoy playing pool with him we just weren't about to invite him over to someone's house late at night after having met only 2 hours earlier.
Then there was the bearded salt-and-pepper haired middle-aged attorney in the flannel button down shirt whose gut hung out the bottom of his layered t-shirt. We found out that he defends child molesters for a living and he was more than happy (unfortunately for us) to share some of his stories about work. Apparently he missed the facial and body language cues that would have clued him in to how disgusted we were by his chosen line of work. We kept trying to get away from him but he just kept coming around. Creepy.
While the venue is big enough to hold a lot of folks and the beer is good you have to keep an eye out on who wants your attention in this bar.
Hide
|
|
(206) 679-6054 (ph)
noe_jackson@earthlink.net (email)
Noelle is just the person you should contact for help with home organizing. She is building a business around this type of work as well as...
(206) 679-6054 (ph)
noe_jackson@earthlink.net (email)
Noelle is just the person you should contact for help with home organizing. She is building a business around this type of work as well as helping home owners stage owner-occupied homes for sale.
She is very good with organization and she does have a good design eye as well. Limitations are that if you're looking for staging help she doesn't carry inventory or have a vehicle that can handle hauling so she must work only with owner occupied properties.
Hide
|
|
Qfc
Category:
Uncategorized
416 15th Ave E
Seattle, Washington 98112
(206) 322-5020
Even if you aren't watching your budget the chocolate cakes at QFC have always been crowd pleasers for me. I've been a big fan of their chocolate cake (and the carrot cake) for quite some time. I'm...
Even if you aren't watching your budget the chocolate cakes at QFC have always been crowd pleasers for me. I've been a big fan of their chocolate cake (and the carrot cake) for quite some time. I'm not as thrilled with their white cakes but if you like chocolate consider this as a good option besides the high end places.
I've found that they usually need about 24 hours notice if you want something customized but you should call ahead to find out for sure what the ordering policies are nowadays.
Hide
|
|
I have known Brock now for a few years and he not only has been a client but he's also been a trusted source for me to refer clients to for financial advisory services. While he is based in the...
I have known Brock now for a few years and he not only has been a client but he's also been a trusted source for me to refer clients to for financial advisory services. While he is based in the Bellevue area he is able to meet with clients in a variety of settings so it's not always necessary to make a trip to his office.
Most people haven't heard much about AXA in the United States but they are actually one of the largest financial services companies in the entire world. One thing that I really like about the firm is that the agents have a lot of resources available to them internally - meaning that there are employees with all kinds of backgrounds to help with your needs such as legal, accounting, tax, financial, and more.
Another cool thing is that they aren't limited to only products that their company produces. I've had accounts with Prudential and Wachovia and I can only buy products that they offer. So, I pretty much keep my accounts there to a limit of stocks.
Brock also is a really great guy. I like his no nonsense approach but softened with a wonderful sense of humor. You can't help but like the guy!
His contact info is as follows:
AXA Advisors
Brock Brady
10500 NE 8th St Ste 1600
Bellevue, WA 98004
Phone: 206-956-6254
Email: brock.brady@axa-advisors.com
Web: www.brockjbrady.com/index.cfm
Hide
|
|
My best friend, my niece and I went to this shop last Sunday and we found quite a bonanza of items to buy. With prices in Wichita being significantly under what it costs to buy clothes in Seattle I...
My best friend, my niece and I went to this shop last Sunday and we found quite a bonanza of items to buy. With prices in Wichita being significantly under what it costs to buy clothes in Seattle I was thrilled to go on a small spree while visiting. Check out the link: http://www.charlotte-russe.com/editor-picks/ although the store is better in person - they seem to still be working on their website.
We ended up with 8 items total and our bill with tax included was $164.40. Our loot consisted of mostly fun knit or stretchy tops in the more recent style of a deep V-neck (great for layering) with short or cap sleeves and fun detailing around the neckline and around the empire or baby doll type waist. Some were more loose and others were fitted with stretchy fabric. I also got a short sweater top for layering over camisol tanks.
If we hadn't started running out of time to get to our next scheduled place we could have been here much longer (and spent more) because there were a lot of really cute options and great color choices for the clothes. I loved that it wasn't all thematic like some places do with their shops and clothes for the season. What I picked out ranged from shades of purple to black/cream, white/black/green, blue/red/cream and more with several different patterns. My niece got a great navy and white striped top with an interesting lacy macrame detail at the neckline with a lacy aqua cami to go underneath. The color combo looks great against her fair skin and strawberry blond hair.
Hide
|
|
Maurices
Category:
Apparel
4600 W Kellogg Dr Ofc
Wichita, Kansas 67209
(316) 945-6722
I stopped in this shop with my niece and a friend to look around for some fun clothes and ended up being pleasantly surprised at what we found. Our final total for the day was $155.59 and that...
I stopped in this shop with my niece and a friend to look around for some fun clothes and ended up being pleasantly surprised at what we found. Our final total for the day was $155.59 and that covered everything including sales tax. What did we get for our money? We got 4 tops (2 x $22 and 2 x $26) and one really pretty dress ($49).
I got 3 of the shirts, all of them are appropriate for my business with 1 short sleeved, 1 long sleeved and fitted button down shirt and the other being a 3/4 sleeve shirt. My niece got the pretty dress and we also got her a really pretty and feminine top that she'll be able to layer and use for both dressy and casual occasions.
I did find some items in XL here which could have been good for my friend who was shopping with us but there weren't that many offerings in her size. The sizes weren't consistent throughout the store so you had to really try things on to make sure they fit.
Hide
|
|
Lunch after church on Sunday and we went to RCBC with about 10 people. It ended up being a good meal from the standpoint of our food but the service was a little weird. I'll explain that in a...
Lunch after church on Sunday and we went to RCBC with about 10 people. It ended up being a good meal from the standpoint of our food but the service was a little weird. I'll explain that in a minute.
Our table ordered a variety of entrees: jambalaya (2), burgers (3 varieties), mac and cheese, burritos (2), and 2 noodle pasta dishes. Drinks were kept to tea and sodas, I had the RCBC made root beer and it was very good. My burger was the classic with bacon added - it would have been nice to have more than the 2 slices they put on but otherwise it was good and prepared as I'd asked, which was medium rare. The fries were okay but not the best I've had although they were still better than what you get at fast food. Perhaps a bit over salted.
The strange part came when our waitress was handing out our bills. Her hand was shaking and she was visibly upset and crying. No one knows why and we weren't sure why her employer would allow her to continue waiting on a table in such a condition. I hope that she hadn't just received horrible news but you never know. I guess the alternative wouldn't be great either - that perhaps she is too emotional for the job. However, the experience wouldn't keep me from coming again.
In fact, I'd like to be able to order one of their microbrews as they looked very good but the people in my family just don't drink - especially on Sundays.
Hide
|