New York? – Motorino Pizza

After a disappointing order from a Brooklyn pizzeria was very happy to see Motorino is finally on Goldbelly and even happier that it was on sale. Ordered it for a mid-Sept delivery and got three magherita for K and three soppressata piccante for me. The only other option is brussel sprouts which is gross, I would’ve liked to get a clam pizza but that wouldn’t freeze and reheat well. K and I both thought even though frozen and shipped from across the country it’s top three pizza in Seattle. Even though still have three left just ordered six more since on sale for delivery in Dec.

Vashon – Ruby Brink

I wish Vashon wasn’t so hard to get to. Meat and Noodle is awesome but not much else to do on this small island, I was picking up half a pig from a local butcher and brought our friends to experience some of the best broth you will ever see. We each got a bowl of noodles, each couple got the beef and pork version (they look more or less the same), and shared a bunch of other dishes. Sadly they didn’t have any meat-based broth in the freezer for us to take home.

House Kimchee

Garlic and Lentil Soup – Finn’s bread

Rarebit Toast – house cheese sauce, island tomatoes, chives, heritage grain sourdough

Dill & Garlic Meatballs – lemon mayo

Braised Beef Noodle – egg, roasted and pickled vegetables

Seattle – Stateside

Back in August took some friends to this awesome Vietnamese restaurant for their first time. It had been a while since we had gone and forgotten how good it is. Everything was fresh and bright flavors, the prawns somewhat reminded me of Chinese honey walnut prawns but much better since not as sweet and less sauce. After meal K reminded me should use more fish sauce at home since it adds a ton of umami and works with all kinds of proteins.

CRISPY DUCK FRESH ROLLS – duck rolls wrapped in fresh herbs and rice paper

CHILLED SQUID SALAD – sliced tender squid, cucumber and daikon radish in sesame vinaigrette

CRUNCHY, CREAMY CHILI-GARLIC PRAWNS

CHILI CUMIN PORK RIBS

MASTER STOCK CRISPY CHICKEN – free range chicken poached in aromatic stock, then fried crispy

TURMERIC ROCKFISH – rockfish marinated in turmeric and galangal, rice vermicelli, fresh dill, cilantro, mint and peanuts

CHOCOLATE CREME TORTE

VANILLA DUCK EGG CUSTARD – fresh pineapple and Thai flower tuile

Vancouver – The Fish Counter

Wow, think we found a new favorite spot for fried fish. Too bad it’s over two hours from home. It reminds us of the quality of the original Nosh trucks here in Seattle that haven’t quite carried over to the brick and mortar Proper Fish on Bainbridge. The batter was light, crispy, and not greasy and the fries the right thickness. The po’boy was also excellent, much better than average bread and a great sauce on top.

Oyster Po’Boy

Halibut & Chips

Vancouver – Cold Tea

After a brutal morning of mountain biking on Vancouver’s famed North Shore I wanted to try this Vietnamese / Chinese restaurant with an eclectic menu. Sadly wasn’t worth the hype, the dumplings tasted like they were filled with mystery meat and filler rather than the advertised Asian Fried Chicken and other ingredients. The pho long bao had pretty good taste but cooking them in soup spoons rather than on the paper was really dumb, the dough fused to the spoon so had to try and scrape it off with my teeth which killed the fun of having it explode in my mouth. The chicken hearts were great, not overcooked and the sauce was the right amount of sweet.

BBQ CHICKEN HEARTS - Sticky glazed chicken hearts

Dirty Chairman - AFC fried chicken dumpling, jalapenos, roasted yam, chicken chicharon, pho gravy, scallions

Pho Long Bao - Beef pho soup dumpling

Vancouver – Blue Water Cafe

After two nights with my parents, K and I went out for date night. It had rained pretty much continuously since 8am and we didn’t do much other than go get lunch and do some window shopping nearby. I wanted to try a new restaurant that embodies the PNW and Blue Water fit the bill. A seafood first restaurant so we only got things from the depths below. I steered K away from kushi oysters since they were from Washington so could get anytime, whereas Canadian oysters aren’t that common in Seattle. Got some from both coasts so could taste how the different coasts affect their flavor. We both thought the tuna looked the best of the mains so ordered it. It was superb, cooked to a perfect medium rare served with crispy potatoes and some veggies. The dessert was nice and decadent, hard to go wrong with molten chocolate cake.

Canadian Oysters – BC & PEI

Tsunami – torched hamachi, thinly sliced with jalapeno, ginger + sesame oil

Yellowfin Tuna – yellow and red pepper piperade, crispy potato nest, grilled gem lettuce
and scallion, romesco sauce

Warm Dark Chocolate Cake – brandy truffle center, vanilla bean ice cream

Vancouver – Chancho Tortilleria

On a very rainy day, K and I wanted some comfort food and I found this tortilleria that specializes in making tortillas with various corn from small Mexican farmers and serving it with two cuts of pork cooked for hours, shoulder and belly. They sell by the weight and we got a 1/4lb of the shoulder and the shoulder + belly, each come with four tortillas oddly stacked pretty much on top of each other with three sauces of various heat and some perfectly cooked pinto beans. The beans were super tender and didn’t even have to chew, just fell apart in my mouth. As much as they hype the tortillas, we both found them to be underwhelming, not much better than store bought. They couldn’t hold a candle to freshly made tortillas of masa mixed with water, pressed, and then fried. They should be making them fresh to order, then I think they’d be fantastic. The meat was very good and not watery to make the tortillas fall apart, it was just annoying to have to pull a tortilla out from under the meat and the distribute some of it on top.

Campechano (shoulder and belly) – pickled red cabbage, whole pinto beans, salsas, freshly made Chancho tortillas, and limes

Vancouver – Guu

From fancy one night to super casual the next. There are many slightly different Guus and we went to the original. The food was fantastic and the beer nice and cold. The karaage was nice and crispy exterior surrounding huge pieces of juicy chicken. All of the meat dishes were great for different reasons, I would say the lamb was the favorite. The star of the meal was the black cod head, nice and tender with miso marinade that is found at many Japanese restaurants around the world.

Monkfish Liver

Poutine

Okonomiyaki

Spicy Calamari

Fried Oysters

Karaage

Beef Tataki – green onion, garlic, yuzu ponzu sauce

Beef Tongue – kelp, salt, black pepper and garlic sauce

BBQ Lamb Leg – honey soy sauce

Miso Black Cod Head