|
just like everybody else i'm a teriyaki-anything junkie. there's so many teriyaki places in this state so it's pretty hard to choose just one to love and to cherish. however, after years of...
just like everybody else i'm a teriyaki-anything junkie. there's so many teriyaki places in this state so it's pretty hard to choose just one to love and to cherish. however, after years of teriyaki-consumption i am proud to announce Teriyaki Box at the Renton Fred Meyer Center has ensnared my heart and my stomach.
first up, i used to be a rabid carnivore (i recently gave up my year-long vegetarianism to eat my beloved northwest salmon) and Teriyaki Box whips up the best Chicken Katsu and Chicken Teriyaki anywhere. the portions are huge too, every entree comes with 2 cups of rice and a side salad (with their super yummy dressing). i've recently tried their salmon teriyaki and i can't get enough of it. the teriyaki sauce is judiciously served so you're food's not drowning in teriyaki sauce to cover up overcooked or bland meat. the salmon's great without the teriyaki sauce too. i've been a devoted customer for years and although the management has changed a few times the quality of the food and the service has remained faithfully the same... (while you're in the neighborhood don't forget to try Pabla (just a few steps away) next time)
Hide
|
|
i'm not a hair girl so i don't really spend any money on my hair (i think it's a waste of money) but a few years ago after countless disappointments in hair salons i decided to try out Salon 229 in...
i'm not a hair girl so i don't really spend any money on my hair (i think it's a waste of money) but a few years ago after countless disappointments in hair salons i decided to try out Salon 229 in broadway as a little birthday treat when i turned 19 three years ago. i make an appointment because i just wanted to check out the place and i still wasn't sure whether i wanted to go through a drastic change of hairstyle. while some places would have immediately turned me away (this has happened in the past), the owner deanna, sat down in front of me to discuss well, my hair. i wanted Beyonce-blonde hair (i have very dark almost black hair) more than anything in this world. we talked for almost an hour about alternative hair options. she was very against bleaching my hair. she profusely advised against bleached hair for various reasons (a. hair damage, b. sucky and expensive maintenance, c. superfluous unwanted attention, d. requires a massive makeup and clothing renovation et al.) and by the end of my hair consultation we both decided on a honey-caramel hue which was very easy on my natural hair color and drastic enough to kill my hairstyle dry spell.
the result: so-fab hair! i loved, loved my hair. everyone i knew loved my hair so much they asked where i had it done. it can be pretty expensive though, my haircut and color with the 5% student's discount and gratuity was a sweet $200 (not kidding). i've never been back because of the price tag but i've had pretty bad hair for about 3 years now... great place, ask for deanna! :-)
Hide
|
|
I've been a volunteer at Left Bank Books for a some time now and I don't intend to leave anytime soon. Left Bank captures the true spirit of righteous livelihood and commerce with conscience. Before...
I've been a volunteer at Left Bank Books for a some time now and I don't intend to leave anytime soon. Left Bank captures the true spirit of righteous livelihood and commerce with conscience. Before I became a volunteer I was a regular customer and not long after I was invited to join the staff. We have an extensive fiction and political selection (new and used), but my most favorite part of the store is the books on Spirituality (we have books on wicca, buddhism, hinduism, taoism, freemasonry, atheism et al..). I love the fact that when a customer spends a good amount of money on our store (at around $100) we give him/her a free (no sweatshop, US made) shirt and some other random knickknacks like our uber cool bumper stickers and such. (when was the last time you spent $100 at Barnes&Noble and got anything for free???)
When you walk in you are greeted by a group of happy people. We're ecstatic to see our customers not because we have a shift manager who orders us around to act like we're really happy to see our customers but we do it for the love of it. We have about 7 paid "workers" and about 30 volunteers. Most of the paid workers have been at Left Bank for years and they're not burned out and grumpy because they're doing what they love to do and they're helping the community as well (we are also connected with Books to Prisoners and some of our members are active volunteers of Food not Bombs).
If you find yourself inside Left Bank Bookstore do everybody a favor and refrain from asking these questions (not in particular order):
1. where is the news stand? (duh, it's right across the street)
2. where is the closest Barnes and Noble/Borders?
3. where's the restroom?
4. do you know who wrote this book? it was released earlier this year and i can't remember the title or the author....
5. is this everything you have? (this one will guarantee to extract gangrenous comebacks from my good pal, collin)
Anyway, help save the indie bookstores in the Northwest. We're booksellers with hearts, we've been in the same location for more than 30 years and I'd like to thank the people who do their business with us.
Namaste!!!
Hide
|
|
i took a friend to Meskel's a few months ago for lunch. we've never had Ethiopian food before so we decided to check the place out. Meskel's looks like a house from the outside and when you walk in,...
i took a friend to Meskel's a few months ago for lunch. we've never had Ethiopian food before so we decided to check the place out. Meskel's looks like a house from the outside and when you walk in, it seems like you've trespassed at somebody's property because it oh-so feels and looks like home. the one and only waitress of the place was sincerely over-worked but she had such such great attitude and respect for her customers.
about the food. the only way to describe it is it's a bit strange. it's not bad or weird but it's not your typical entrees you see in resturants all the time, nevertheless Ethiopian food is very good for vegetarians and vegans. my friend ate his food pretty quickly. i ordered the vegetarian combo plate and it was enormous. it had different types of vegetables and it was very tasty.
oh yeah, you have to eat with your hands. don't make the same mistake i did by asking for silverware (never a good thing when your waitress gives you a disgusted-amused look....)
Hide
|
|
every sunday i go to seattle for my volunteer gig at left bank books (one great bookstore) and before i go in to the bookstore i always, always have to get a cup of coffee at Local Color. i always...
every sunday i go to seattle for my volunteer gig at left bank books (one great bookstore) and before i go in to the bookstore i always, always have to get a cup of coffee at Local Color. i always order the soy white choco mocha and i am always blissfully content. i've been a barista for a year so i pretty much stopped drinking coffee but Local Color revived my faith in caffeine. Great artworks too, the baristas are super-friendly even if they're always awfully busy.
Hide
|
|
first up, i'm a lasagna connoisseur and Pink Door's lasagna was probably one of the most delectable lasagnas I've ever had. it's vegetarian too which gains a lot of brownie points from me. my...
first up, i'm a lasagna connoisseur and Pink Door's lasagna was probably one of the most delectable lasagnas I've ever had. it's vegetarian too which gains a lot of brownie points from me. my co-workers and i went there for a fun dinner out. we were a group of 5 girls and we ordered the bruschetta, the antipasti plate, lamb chops, salmon, cioppino, some coffee and a dessert. we all gave mixed reviews for the food. my lasagna was excellent, the cioppino was so-so, the lamb chop and salmon were both fabulous and then of course the spaghetti and meatballs were you know, OK.
our server was attentive but he acted like he was doing his job for free (although my boss did gave him a big fat tip). my co-workers got to the restaurant first and they complained about the service as soon as i got there (they've been there for almost 2 hours with drinks, appetizers, the works...), apparently everyone was just a tad too rude to them but i didn't care too much because my food was great. dinner comes with a bread basket and olive oil (both really well-prepared). my latte was beautiful and so was my friend's dessert.
i'd like to come bck soon for the food but i'm a bit worried about the service....
Hide
|
|
when i first moved to Renton the first place I had to look for was an indie bookstore. fortunately enough, there was one really close to my house, Buy the Book. I've been going to this store for...
when i first moved to Renton the first place I had to look for was an indie bookstore. fortunately enough, there was one really close to my house, Buy the Book. I've been going to this store for almost 5 years now and it still hasn't changed. it'sstill family-owned, they still have their house cat loitering in the store and the place is still overflowing with new and old books. if you're looking for Classics this is the place to go. They have an amazing Classics and Fiction section. it takes me a few hours to browse through all their books and I never leave without buying 2 or more books from authors I've never heard of. this store is one of the reasons that makes Renton such a charming little town. if you're a true bookworm like me, do yourself a favor and satisfy your literary fix at Buy the Book.
Hide
|
|
I was really hungry one night and decided to try out delivery at Vince's in Renton Highlands. I ordered the canneloni (which I never see in any of the Italian restaurants in Renton. Gene's...
I was really hungry one night and decided to try out delivery at Vince's in Renton Highlands. I ordered the canneloni (which I never see in any of the Italian restaurants in Renton. Gene's Ristorante used to have 'em but it's already closed.) The delivery was super fast. The spinach canneloni was a bit uninspired, the spinach and cheese stuffing tasted stale and a little too salty. I also ordered the bruschetta and it was OK, it wasn't bad but after eating the bruschetta at The Pink Door in Seattle it definitely didn't make the cut. I'll try Vince's again and maybe the second time it will be better.
Hide
|
|
Jubilante's is under it's 3rd ownership, I went there once when it was under the 2nd batch of owners and I thought it was OK. i wasn't a big fan of the interiors but it was nonetheless pretty...
Jubilante's is under it's 3rd ownership, I went there once when it was under the 2nd batch of owners and I thought it was OK. i wasn't a big fan of the interiors but it was nonetheless pretty average. it got pretty busy at lunchtime and the crowd's mostly yuppies and people in business suits. I've met the newest owners and they're pretty nice people. I took my mom to Jubilante's for her birthday and we had a great time. I went there on my 20th birthday (2 years ago) and we had the best meal. The food is intercontinental and seasonal so if you liked something in the menu you'll probably won't see it again. Last time i went there I ordered the angelhair pasta with pesto sauce sans chicken and it was amazing. Most restaurants ignore their salads but the Spinach salad (with walnuts, pears, blue cheese, rasp vinaigrette) was absolutely spot on. The profitaroles and the cheesecake were pretty good too. if you're looking for a proper, grown-up restaurant in Renton this is a place you'd wanna check out. I agree with the previous review, the staff is pretty stiff and inattentive but sometimes if the food's great you let things like that pass...
Hide
|
|
I've been a loyal and devoted patron of Belle Pastry in Bellevue for about a year now. After my first visit i did not want to eat mediocre store-bought pastries ever again. The place: small, airy...
I've been a loyal and devoted patron of Belle Pastry in Bellevue for about a year now. After my first visit i did not want to eat mediocre store-bought pastries ever again. The place: small, airy and sun-lit little spot with white chairs and interiors. Everything in the display case is fashioned by their bakers and sometimes you can even see the owner (a French born and trained pastry chef) covered in flour and carrying around fresh-baked bread. My co-workers and I always treat ourselves to their pastries. we always buy the chocolate and raspberry and cream cheese croissants. my boss always picks the blueberry and cream cheese danish roll and they're all exceptional. However, if you really want to experience the delight of dining here, order the Chocolate Eclairs. they're well-portioned eclairs with creamy filling and dressed in bittersweet dark chocolate. absolutely amazing. they serve cream puffs which are a good alternative to the eclairs but as a tip call them at least 24 hours in advance if you want to get the cream puffs because they are for special orders only. I've never had their coffee but they have a very good tea selection and they do have free lemon water for everyone in the cafe. Forget supermarket pastries and get the real desserts at Belle Pastry you'll be grateful to check this place out.
Hide
|