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Can Can
Category:
Food & Dining
94 Pike Street
Seattle, Washington 98101
(206) 652-0832
I took my out-of-towner friend for a dinner and a show at the Can Can Club last Friday and our experience kept my friend and I up all night just talking and gushing about this place.
When we...
I took my out-of-towner friend for a dinner and a show at the Can Can Club last Friday and our experience kept my friend and I up all night just talking and gushing about this place.
When we walked we were immediately amazed at everything this place has to offer. The hostesses are dressed in corsets and the entire club is bathed in red lights. The place was packed at 930 in the evening which is always a good sign.
I made reservations for dinner and the show so our seats were very close to the mainstage. I don't think they serve full entrees but their apps are pretty good and cheap. The drinks are a little steep but the service is attentive and friendly. The servers double as performers, they definitely do a much better job serving the customers than most chain restaurants out there.
Tip: eat dinner before going in at The Can Can, their nosh is great but not very substantial.
The show is spectacular. They were a little late to start but it was so worth it... My friends and I had to scrape our jaws off the floor. Everything was funny and tasteful. Must see performers are Fushcia Foxx and Ultra.
If you're looking for a great night out, put the Can Can on the top of your list, you'll definitely have the time of your life!
www.myspace.com/cancanseattle
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I received a 20% discount for any of the Nordstrom's Mall food establishment so I thought, what the hell? I'm trying out this whole new, "I'm gonna try anything once" deal so I walked in Nordstrom...
I received a 20% discount for any of the Nordstrom's Mall food establishment so I thought, what the hell? I'm trying out this whole new, "I'm gonna try anything once" deal so I walked in Nordstrom Bar and Grill in Bellevue Square grabbed a seat at the bar and perused the menu.
Menu: very short but very direct. fish and chips, grilled salmon, salads, sandwiches. Nothing out of the ordinary or too exciting but this is a mall's restaurant after all.
Interiors: the place looks nice, it really does. I expected it to be cheesy but it's not. Polished wood furniture, proper cutlery and glasses, servers dressed in white chef's jacket. Just nice...
Food: I ordered the grilled salmon with asparagus and gnocchi. Actually, I ordered a cup of clam chowder for my appetizer. I'm a clam chowder purist so I was very excited to try their chowder.
My soup came with bread and butter and the bread loaf was actually delicious. I hate it when restaurants give you 3-day old crusty, nasty bread (if you can't give good bread, just don't!), but Nordstrom's earned brownie points just on their bread alone. My server gave me 4 huge pieces of soft, moist, just yummy bread that was perfectly matched with my succulent clam chowder.
I was anxious to get out of there ASAP because I had to be somewhere in 30 minutes but as soon as I tasted the chowder all my anxieties about making it back to my meeting in time disappeared. This is one clam chowder that is worth being late in a meeting for. If you don't like salty don't order the chowder but I'm partial to salt so I enjoyed the chowder immensely. (it's salty but not like potato chips-salty but taste of the sea-salty).
Salmon is definitely a make or break dish. It's so easy to perfect and it's so easy to mess up. My plate was picturesque. It's been a long time I've been able to describe a dish as picturesque and I'm glad I'm able to do so. The pink salmon, the evergreen asparagus, cute little yellow gnocchis. Almost too good to eat. It's a good thing everything was good to eat. Except the gnocchi, I think it was a little overcooked but it was yummy, nonetheless.
Definitely a great place to stop by for a formal/informal lunch. Hell you can even go here for dinner. Just don't get too gung ho about going to a place called "Nordstrom Bar and Grill" it's great food for a nice price and you can't beat the atmosphere.
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I don't know what a crumpet is or pretend I know what it is for the sake of sounding more intelligent and cultured than I actually am (not cultured, not very intelligent) but I cannot resist telling...
I don't know what a crumpet is or pretend I know what it is for the sake of sounding more intelligent and cultured than I actually am (not cultured, not very intelligent) but I cannot resist telling people this "I had crumpets for lunch today, it was quite lovely." This is a long overdue review of The Crumpet Shop, overdue in a sense that I visited The Crumpet Shop early this year (maybe even last year) and I haven't had the chance to praise this quaint Pike Place institution.
I always start with interiors because ambience and decor is as important to me as the food and service of any food establishment. The Crumpet Shop is cute. When I first went to Gilbert's Deli on Main (bellevue) I thought long and hard where I've seen Gilbert's before... Apparently, it was at the Crumpet Shop. Walls are covered with posters, chairs and tables are mismatched, the menu is a blackboard posted against the wall.
This is a crumpet store after all so they have all sorts of spreads and accompaniments for their crumpets: orange marmalade, nutella, jam, cream cheese what not... For a small place the menu is pretty impressive. They did not stop with a "crumpets only" cafe, they also have sandwiches, breakfast goodies, lattes, (this is seattle after all), pastries, bagels and soup.
On my first visit I ordered a red lentil soup with a side of buttered crumpet with Nutella. The soup was sublime. I can't remember if it was a bowl or a cup but the portion was just right. I've never had red lentil soup before and I wondered why I've never had it before (that's right, you don't usually see vegetarian red lentil soup on any food place, ever.). It was thick and just the right amount of chunky. A dollop of sour cream was on top and it was just perfect all around.
So a crumpet is about the size of a Hockey puck, feels and looks like an undercooked pancake and tastes like one, too. Apparently, crumpets are buttered and then smothered with your spread of choice (mine was nutella). I could have gone without the butter. Butter plus Nutella equals sugar rush. But the crumpet was lovely. I don't think it's the type of pastry (?) or snack (?) you can attack. One crumpet was enough for me, I could hardly finish my one little crumpet much less order another one.
Staff's very friendly and accomodating as well. My first visit the guy behind the counter explained how the whole crumpet deal works and even gave the crumpet and nutella recommendation. My next time at the store the same guy kindly told me they were closing so I really can't order anything except for well, bottled drinks.
I can understand how a cute little shop like this survived for as long as they have, they've mastered unpretentious, fulfilling food and the art of customer service.
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In my search for the perfect Tuna Melt I found Opa Beppo's in Gene Coulon park. Okay, I was a little lost because of all the construction going on in that new apartment building complex and it...
In my search for the perfect Tuna Melt I found Opa Beppo's in Gene Coulon park. Okay, I was a little lost because of all the construction going on in that new apartment building complex and it really is a hole-in-the-wall. It's a good thing I love walking because I walked pretty far to find this place. I checked out their website and I found out they have Tuna Melt on the menu and I live pretty close to Coulon Park so I thought, 'what the hell' and went right in.
Interiors: It's cute... A little stand-offish but cute. I'm a big patron of The Met in downtown Renton so I have big expectations for Opa Beppo's since it's obviously modeled after the place. They have a wine cellar on the right side of the wall and this is when The Met versus Opa Beppo's start and pretty much end. Their wine cellar have "30% discount on this rack" signs all over them. So I thought... hmmm... a little too retail for me..
One thing I noticed is the cafeteria tables and chairs. They don't have couches which I would have expected them to have but just standard issue wood-crafted tables and chairs.
Food: The menu's pretty big. They have sandwiches on croissants and bagels which comes with a side of chips or potato salad (pretty good too), daily soup specials, appetizers and salads, pasties and dessert. When I went there last Wednesday they had Turkey and Provolone and Ham and Cheese Croissant on their specials board.
So anyway, I went in for the tuna melt. I had high expectations for their tuna melt because a year ago when I was working for an upscale retirement home my co-worker made the most amazing tuna melt in the history of all tuna melts. It was so simple too, tuna, tomato, cheddar melted on top of an english muffin but it was scrumptious.
I walked in, it took me a while to find the menu since it was tucked somewhere in the cash register but you can take it with you. I ordered the tuna melt (no half orders on this one!) with potato salad. They have self-serve water and a silverware station so I grabbed a huge glass of water and sat down.
The barista/server was a one-man show. He was quite busy too because people were walking in and out of the shop for their coffee orders (they have smoothies and frappuccinnos if you're into that kind of stuff...).
At last! My Tuna Melt. I took one bite of my potato salad, and thought, this is pretty good (red potatoes, celery, onions, mustard, mayonnaise). Unfortunately, whatever good fun i had with the potato salad ended with the potato salad. The tuna melt is served with swiss cheese and seeing no convection oven in the premises, I'm guessing the tuna melt was melted under the microwave (a huge no-no!). It was served in a bagel and the bagel was obviously not fresh. Good bagels aren't supposed to be wee bit rubbery and wee bit tough. The tuna meat itself was so bland I would be surprised if you told me I was eating tuna!
I was sorely disappointed with the food. The barista was oh-so friendly but not in an obnoxious, Victoria's Secret sales associate kind of way. It was a $7 lunch so I wasn't too pissed off. Sigh... the quest continues...
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Okay this is not in Seattle but as soon as you walk in you're gonna forget about the Posches, Hummers and Mercedes Benzes parked outside the street. I worked in Bellevue for about a year and I have...
Okay this is not in Seattle but as soon as you walk in you're gonna forget about the Posches, Hummers and Mercedes Benzes parked outside the street. I worked in Bellevue for about a year and I have to say it was pretty hard to grab good grub in this town sure they have Zizo Market, Byblos Deli and other Teriyaki places but sometimes you just need to have something other than Salmon Teriyaki or Whole Wheat Falafel. This is when Gilbert's on Main shows up. The deli looks pretty out of place in this part of Bellevue, all the other stores are so antiseptic and oh-so pretty I almost didn't want to get something to eat in this place.
Interiors: very quirky, the walls are covered with posters of plays, concerts and the like. The tables have mismatched seats, there are outdated magazines and newspapers stacked everywhere it's just a glorified chaos so to speak.
Food: Unbelievable menu. You want eggs, they've got eggs. You want Lox, they've got Lox. Tuna Melt? check. Veggie sandwiches? check. They even have Crepes too (only during the afternoons though, for a limited time only!)
Cons: everything is expensive. food runs from about $5-$20 although the portions are grotesquely huge, but still...
What you do is when you walk in, grab a menu because if you stand in front of the counter and stare at their big menu posted on the wall you're probably gonna get attitude from the staff or the people lined up behind you. Most of the sandwiches are made with Bagels (they have a huge selection) but they do have breads as well. If you order breakfast it comes with a tiny canister of fruit, for lunch items, a scoop of potato salad or chips if you'd like to substitute.
WARNING: if you can order half a sandwich, do so. I ordered the Tuna Melt on wheat bread and it was huge. After my first slice I couldn't eat anymore, it was just too much.
Good Stuff: The first time I went there I had a Whole Wheat Bagel with coleslaw, jack cheese, avocado and tomatoes. It was so good, to this day I still recreate that sandwich when I feel a little down. Perfect pick me up.
Another Warning: don't go there for lunch because they get attacked by a hungry crowd. Literally. But if you go there after lunch they're out of bagels. I went there at about 230 pm and they had about 4 bagels left...
I don't work in Bellevue anymore and I miss Gilbert's. It's expensive but it's good food and you can't beat the atmosphere too.
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Usually, I stay away from big, flashy businesses and just send my money to small, independent business owners but there are times when I just have to try 'em out. A few months ago when I was still...
Usually, I stay away from big, flashy businesses and just send my money to small, independent business owners but there are times when I just have to try 'em out. A few months ago when I was still working in Bellevue I caught a screening of The Devil Wears Prada at Lincoln Square Mall and had an early dinner at the Manzana Grill (open since december '05).
I wasn't given a menu by the hostess because I asked to be seated in the bar. I picked up the menu and realized it was Happy Hour. The bartender went to my table and I could almost see her being friendly, almost friendly, but not quite. I ordered a Bud, water and a Coke.
The Happy Hour menu is very appealing and actually very cheap as well. You know how some places have Happy Hour but the prices are ridiculous and the portions are so teeny-weany? Not at Manzana, everything was delicious and the portions are price-appropriate. I ordered crab cakes, potato cakes and the southwestern salad.
The crab sakes were huge! They were the size of saucers and for very little money. I think it was dungeness crab cakes and it was very scrumptious and meaty and just delicious. Next up, the potato cakes. Another winner, it was about the size of a Hockey puck and chockfilled with mozarella cheese and corn kernels. Very yummy but after the first patty I had to stop, it got too heavy in my stomach.
By far the best one of my Happy Hour apps was the southwestern salad.Quite unexpectedly too! The salad had the usua greens, black beans, corn kernels, multi-colored tortilla strips and cilantro-lime dressing. It was very light which was the perfect accompaniment to the heavy crab and potato cakes.
I think my tab was less than $15 because of all the drinks I ordered but the food was so yummy I could not wait to go back!
Oh and I did go back for my birthday brunch and i gotta say, they won me and my 2 friends over, hands down! I ordered the spinach, mushroom, mozarella omelette which was amazing but the best part is the sliced baby reds hashbrowns. I've never had baby reds hashbrowns before and it was so tasty. My friend enjoyed her Southwestern omelette which had chorizo sausages and a tomato-based sauce. Lovely happy hour, lovely brunch. You gotta try them out.
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i'm a five-year renton resident and i've been to armondos about three times. the first time i went there my friend and i had an early dinner of sorts. i think we both ordered fettuccini alfredo with...
i'm a five-year renton resident and i've been to armondos about three times. the first time i went there my friend and i had an early dinner of sorts. i think we both ordered fettuccini alfredo with chicken and the calamari steak. the service at best was so-so, the server was friendly but seems very detached and almost bored with her job.
my friend and i picked on our food wondering what was wrong with it. it wasn't overcooked, undercooked, salty, nothing really, and then we realized that's what's missing: it was just bland. my friend is not a food snob unlike myself but she returned her pasta because she just didn't like it. they gave her a new one with some random herbs thrown in (closely following her directions, because she's a good cook as well), she took a few bites on her new plate and it was the same thing. i tasted her plate and we both said the same thing: "it needs oomph!"
i've never had calamari steak before and i probably never will again. i just didn't like it, i wasn't sure if it was because of how armondo's prepared it or maybe it's just me but i just didn't like it.
round 2: i went to armondo's myself. i stood at the hostess table for about 15 minutes. i finally sat myself and a server went to my table. i apologized for sitting myself and she promptly ignored me and plopped a menu on my table. i can't remember what i ordered and i usually have a pretty good memory for those things and i think the reason why i don't remember it's because it was so forgettable...
round 3: i visited armondo's this afternoon (in their new location), it just felt like it was time to do so. once again i stood in front of the hostess table for about 5 minutes. a server sat me in her section and before i even completely sat down she asked me what i wanted to drink. i've been waiting tables myself for about 3 years now and i usually wait for my guests to get settled in before i ask them anything. i asked for water and 2 mins later she came back asking for my order. i just felt like i was being rushed or maybe i'm just having a bad day, i don't know. i ordered the seafood fettuccini which comes with a soup or salad. i asked for the minestrone soup and it was so delicious. the bread basket is paired with 3 different types of star-shaped butter, it was a nice touch but the bread tasted stale.
lunch is cheaper here so my seafood pasta was only about $9. it really was very good, a good amount of mussels, scallops, prawns and calamari were thrown in but sadly not enough pasta. it's served on a basil cream sauce which was wonderful but after a few bites it just weighs heavily on you. nevertheless i was happy with my food.
i left armondo's not fully convinced yet they'll sure to see me back at some point in the next few months.
PS: i worked at gene's ristorante (in renton) for a few months 5 years ago and i have to say nobody has been able to fill the void they left in the italian food industry in renton...
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For my birthday I decided to check out a day spa in Bellevue. I worked in a cafe across Aviva for about year and I've always wanted to check them out but I just never got around to it. So 2 weeks...
For my birthday I decided to check out a day spa in Bellevue. I worked in a cafe across Aviva for about year and I've always wanted to check them out but I just never got around to it. So 2 weeks ago, I called for an appointment. First thing you need to know if you want to check this place, Aviva is appointment only from Tuesday to Saturday. I called 2 weeks before my desired day and their appointment book was packed. They got me down at 245 today. It's kind of weird to go to a spa in the middle of the day but that's their only available spot.
I walked in a bit early because I heard they have an amazing relaxation room. Thank goodness I was punctual like I always am. They have a small dressing area where Shira (owner and aesthetician) instructed me to take off my clothes, wrap the terry-cloth contraption around me which is pretty snug and comfortable and on top of it, a thick, luxurious robe. They also have slippers to wear while you're in the spa and they even have my size (7). I'm 5"1 and the robes are huge. My robe was down to my feet but I didn't have to wear it for too long. I was given a mini crate to stash my shoes and bag.
Across the room was the relaxation area. It was so elegant and relaxing. They have water, tea and dried fruits. A mini waterfall was the only sound that accompanied me while I sat down and read their magazine.
Before my facial I was given a foot soak. The tub was filled with warm water and at the bottom were smooth stones. If the relaxation room was elegant the actual treatment room was breathtaking. It was pretty hard not to gasp. I felt pampered way before the facial even started.
Shira only uses organic, natural skin products and it definitely did the job. My over-medicated skin was relaxed after the facial. My skin's usually swollen, bright red and irritated after a facial but after Shira's treatment, my skin looked 15 times better.
Not only do you get a facial, she also gave me a full neck, shoulder, arm, hand, face, feet and back massage. It was such a treat! and for only $80 i didn't left her spa worried sick over the money i just spent!
The whole place is appointment only which only adds to its charm. There are no people running up and about while you're getting treated, it's just a safe, relaxing, luxurious little haven.
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I really wanted to like this, I really do. I've begged my family to go with for months and so for my birthday (today) we decided to go there.
Interiors: very classy, very clean. low light...
I really wanted to like this, I really do. I've begged my family to go with for months and so for my birthday (today) we decided to go there.
Interiors: very classy, very clean. low light fixtures, the whole place is dimmed. proper plate settings, nice tables and chairs. and oh! you gotta check out the restroom, it is amazing. i can't believe a Renton restaurant finally stepped up to Seattle restaurant standards.
Staff: very friendly. everyone from the hostess to the lady who was refilling everybody's drinks were very corteous and overattentive (i should say).
Food: okay, this is the part that really ticked me off. I eat out all the time so even though I'm not a food critic I can safely say my birthday dinner was a spectacular disappointment.
We ordered the calamari, dungeness crab cakes, coconut shrimp and from Monday to Friday (4-6 pm) they have an Early Bird 3-course Menu (runs from $14-$17). I took advantage of the 3-course deal and ordered the clam chowder and salmon with vermouth butter.
The clam chowder was very good. They used baby reds for the chowder and it was very thick and creamy. It was served in a small cup and I had to wonder (where's the crackers?) but it was good and I let it go. Next up all our appetizers came in at the same time because my mom and sister decided to forgo dinner and order appetizers instead.
Okay it is impossible to screw up deep fried calamari, absolutely impossible but they did. Fin N Bone did. My mom and sister are calamari connoiseurs and after they took a bite, they let out a huge "eh..." I tried a couple of pieces and one has to wonder, "this is deep fried calamari, you could not possibly screw this up" It wasn't crispy at all and it had no flavor whatsoever The aoili-garilic dipping that came with it was so forgettable I've had many aoili-garlic dipping sauces in my life and this one was nothing like the ones I've had before.
A few months before I went to Manzana Grill (in downtown Bellevue) and I ordered the Dungeness Crab Cakes from the happy hour menu. Once again, I didn't think crab cakes canbe messed up but lo and behold! they did mess it up. The crab cake was $10.95 and we got 2 tiny, little patties. very small and did not look appetizing at all. I took a bite and immediately pushed it away. One can't help but remember the scrumptios crab cakes I had from Manzana.
I used to work in a Applebee's/Red Robin kind of restaurant and they had this never ending coconut prawns deal every Monday. so my sister asked me whether I thought she should order the coconut prawns and i said, sure, those are great. Once again, they've messed up the prawns so bad it was ridiculous. There were 5 huge prawns on the plate and in the middle was a honey-based Thai chili sauce of some sort. I took one bite and never returned. The sauce wasn't any good either, the honey was very overpowering. Think overcooked prawns dipped in honey, yeah that's how good it was.
My salmon arrived and after trying out all of our appetizers I was so desperate to get outta there. The salmon of course was so... ordinary. For a "first class" restaurant I thought they would have given the side dishes a little more love but no... I got bland rice "pilaf" and the usual vegetable suspects (julienned zucchini, carrots, onions, yellow squash...). The Applebees'/Red Robin place I worked for whipped out way better, way tastier, way more loving salmon than Fin N Bone did.
Our meal without tip came to $53.50. I'm not sure if I'd come back to this place. Our drive back home was so awkward because there I was babbling non stop about Fin N Bone and we all went home pissed off and unsatisfied.
Sigh...
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I go to Seattle once a week every week for my volunteer shift at Left Bank and as a former vegan and eternally a very hungry girl I always have something to eat. And of course, it had to be Vegan. I...
I go to Seattle once a week every week for my volunteer shift at Left Bank and as a former vegan and eternally a very hungry girl I always have something to eat. And of course, it had to be Vegan. I usually just get a Route 66 burger at Johnny Rocket's and call it a day but things have changed.
I walked around Pike Place Market desperate for a killer sandwich and lo and behold! There it was Three Sisters European Cafe at the Post Alley.
The first thing I noticed was the overzealous cafe worker (owner?). He greeted me by saying out loud all the sandwiches come with a salad. Really loudly, I must say.
Sanwiches in their menu is pretty much a reincarnation of the previous sandwich. Almost every sandwich has some form of cheese, a roma tomato and the same (but incredibly scrumptious) rosemary foccacia bread.
Luckily, they had the Vegan sandwich, I can never remember the name because it has about 5 consonants and about 2 vowels in all its one-word glory. Anyway, I do remember the ingredients: spicy, savory hummus, roasted eggplant, roma tomatoes on a rosemary infused foccacia. The sandwich is phenomenal although it's a bit small, and the side salad is pretty much forgettable. It's just an array of shredded random greens in a sour vinaigrette dressing.
The cafe is a cozy for a lack of a better word. I've never seen it packed but there are always signs the place was attacked and abandoned about 20 minutes before I arrived. Trays and menus are scattered everywhere, the tables are a little dirty but I don't necessarily think of it as a bad thing. It's very unpretentious with it's loud, mismatched paint and over the counter ordering system.
I heard the soups are really good and mostly vegetarian. A meal of my Vegan sandwich, chips and a bottled water would ring up a tab of more than $10. Soups are also a bit pricey but next time I will try them myself.
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