B&O Espresso

One of my favorite places in Seattle. I used to be lucky enough to live a block from it. This is a great place to come with friends, or even on a date! You know how Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha go to the coffee shop? This is where my friends and I go.

The menu is fairly eclectic but with a more Mediterranean feel. I’ve tried, or been with someone who has tried, just about everything on the menu and have not gone wrong with anything. However, the best thing to go to B&O for is the desserts! The best desserts I’ve ever had! My favorite is the chocolate pot, and I like to call it a little bit of heaven on Earth. It’s like a mini chocolate soufflee and I have not met anyone who hasn’t liked it! For you non-chocolate fans they make some of the best fruit tarts I’ve had as well…actually everything’s good there…so don’t be afraid to order it! The drink menu is pretty fun to with some yummy cocktails (like the Warm Apple Pie)

It gets a bit busy on the weekend evenings, so service can be a bit slow…but it’s fun to just sit there and talk and enjoy each other’s company. They definitely don’t shoo you out, even on a busy night! I’ve also come in during a weekday early evening and was given great service by the owner’s wife, who my friends and I have jokingly referred to as our surrogate mother.

And breakfast at B&O is really great as well! I don’t think I can say anything bad about this place, and I encourage everyone to head out there before they shut down (in about a year or two because the building owner is going to tear down the building to build more condos…augh.) So hurry to B&O and get your dessert fix!

B&O Espresso, 204 Belmont Ave E, Seattle, WA

Snappy Dragon

A group of us decided to give Snappy Dragon a try over the weekend. It was pretty crowded, but we were able to get a table. We sat down and looked at the menu and found it pretty similar to any other “Americanized” Chinese restaurant. Now, I don’t say that to sound snobby, but it lacked a more traditional menu that would have something like chicken feet or something like that.

Anyhow, we settled on a vegetable potsticker, hot and sour soup, pineapple chicken, dry sauteed green beans, tofu stew in a clay pot, sesame beef, chicken in black bean sauce, and chicken chow mein. The service was really fast for how busy the restaurant was and how much food we ordered, so there is no complaints there!

Vegetable potstickers: I wasn’t a fan of it, but everyone else seemed to enjoy them. I actually thought they tasted a bit like tea…as though there was some hint of tea in the potstickers. Everyone else, however, wolfed them up pretty fast.

Hot and Sour soup: it was more hot than it was sour. A bonus was that it was a vegetarian soup, so our friend was able to share it with us. It definitely wasn’t the greatest hot and sour soup I’ve had, but I certainly went back for seconds and thirds of the soup. Granted, I’m a big fan of hot and sour soup, so I just like eating it.

Pineapple Chicken: I thought it was just ok, not horrible, but not superb. Most of the table really seemed to like it though. The flavors were good though. A bonus was that they used chicken breast in all of the chicken dishes. I believe that this was the first dish that we cleaned up, so that’s always a good sign.

Sesame Beef: I think this was overall the fan favorite. It was a great flavor, great texture, great portion, great everything. It was a delicious dish, and I would definitely order it again when we go back to Snappy Drago.

Tofu Stew in a clay pot: This dish wasn’t even served in a clay pot, but in a silver pot…however, I can look past that because it was really good. Three types of mushroom…THREE! The tofu was yummy, and they had the rice vermicelli that was also really great. Duwardo and I have decided we want to learn how to replicate this dish.

Chicken in black bean sauce: AWFUL! It was over salted and I couldn’t eat it all. I took one bit and scooped a bunch of rice in my mouth, but the salt was still overpowering. I think if it hadn’t been over salted it actually would have been quite tasty. There was a lot of that left over, and one of our fellow meal diners decided to take the rest home and see if he could add more chicken to save the dish…I am unsure if it was save-able.

Dry sauteed green beans: An excellent vegetable dish that we chose. The green beans were just crispy enough. Not soggy, not too crisby, actually perfect. The flavors were nice as well and it was a good break from all of the meat that we ordered.

Chicken chow mein: The noodles were homemade, and pretty good. Once again, not the greatest I’ve had, but certainly not the worse either. It was pretty good, and did well to satisfy that noodle craving.

The meal, split between 6 people with tax and tip came out to $17 each…not to horrible when you consider we got appetizer, soup, and 6 dishes.
Overall, this place was a pretty good recommendation that I received from my hair stylist. It was a bit greasy in some dishes, but I suppose not more than most other Chinese restaurants. The only huge miss we had was the chicken in black bean sauce. We’ll likely re-visit it again.

Snappy Dragon; 8917 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA

Wasabi Bistro

Wasabi Bistro came with high recommendation from many people who talk sushi in Seattle. We hit it up on a late Sunday night. Wasabi Bistro has a huge variety of both traditional and “contemporary” appetizers, rolls and nigiri. Also a very good beverage/wine/sake menu. Good descriptions of each sake were very useful to sake novices (me). Complementary edamame came out faster than the water. As per usual, I ordered a selection of nigiri – salmon, yellowtail, tuna, albacore, shrimp and king crab. I was very excited about king crab. The sushi was delivered quick – one piece each, quite large. Presentation was pleasant – the nigiri was crisp, clean, arranged nicely, and the plate was garnished with ornately cut pieces of celery and carrot. The quality of the fish was very good overall. The salmon and king crab, which I had masterfully saved for last, were excellent.

Service and decor/atmosphere were definitely drawbacks at Wasabi Bistro. Our waitress seemed to disappear for long periods of time, and the bus boy kept filling up our water what seemed like every 3 minutes. Leave me alone, man!!! Something about the dim lighting and swanky full bar made the restaurant seem like it was more concerned about being just cool than serving up good sushi (which they do). Unfortunately, being the “it” sushi place is cause for them to charge just a bit more for everything on the menu. 3 bucks for miso? C’mon. Thus, my experience at Wasabi Bistro was very… confusing. I had good sushi, maybe even the best I’ve had in Seattle, but I didn’t really enjoy myself. I’ve had the same quality sushi for much cheaper back in SF… I think I’ve reached a conclusion.

duwardo says: NOT RECOMMENDED

Wasabi Bistro, 2311 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA, 98121

The Pink Door

This is such a fun place to go…especially in the summer when you get to sit on the beautiful deck.

I always order the same thing when I go here, I don’t really stray from it because it’s so good that every time I just wish I had ordered the lasagna. It’s a yummy lasagna, that’s too much for me to eat, so I like to share it with someone special. The antipasta plate is also pretty yummy too. And top it off with a delicious berry shortcake…which is actually an angel food cake that’s perfection.

I brought Duwardo there because he loves lasagna, and while he thought it was good, he enjoyed the Osteria la Spiga lasagna better (I dont’ blame him there, that’s the best Italian food I’ve had outside of Italy).

It’s a fun place…I’ve never been there when they had the cabaret or the fortune telling, but I can only imagine how much fun that would be too! Go on a nice summer evening, sit on the patio and watch the sun set over the beautiful sound!

The restaurant is a bit hard to find if you don’ t know where it is…it’s located post alley near Pike Place, across the alley way from The Tasting Room. Look for the pink door.

The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle, WA

Destination Grill

We went to Walla Walla for the weekend and ended up eating lunch at the Destination Grill. This is a destination not to go because it was horrible!

I ordered the angel hair pasta with a tomato basil garlic sauce. You can’t go wrong with that…right? The pasta was waaaaaaaaay overcooked and basically soggy when they served it to me. The put some balsamic vinegar into the sauce, and it just made everything taste horrible. I felt very sick after eating there and almost had to throw up…not a good thing!

Duwardo had the grilled chicken sandwich…which was a bit better, but he didn’t seem to thrilled with it either.

The good thing? The potato wedges were pretty tasty…but that’s about it. The service wasn’t bad either, so I can’t complain there.

I do NOT suggest going there. Go somewhere else in Walla Walla…but don’t go there!

Oh, and they have an old train that’s transformed into a dining room now…in the middle of a parking lot. The idea is cute, the execution is weird though.

Destination Grill, 416 N. 2nd Ave, Walla Walla, WA

Etta’s Seafood

I’ve never been there for dinner…but lunch and brunch have been great! I had very yummy french toast there once, and most recently, I had the open faced sirloin sandwich for lunch. I love Tom Douglas, I’ve mentioned this before, and I think I’ll keep saying it…because he’s awesome!

I think everyone had a good time there and enjoyed their food. Kyle had some sort of sashimi dish. Kate had clam chowder and the pasta special, which was a corn and ricotta ravioli (similar to the one I had at Palace Kitchen, but without the salmon).  Duwardo had the burger. It was all very yummy.

I don’t think you can go wrong with any Tom Douglas, and I will continue to support him and tell everyone to go to his restaurants, because I believe he runs some great restaurants.

Etta’s Seafood </a>, 2020 Western Ave, Seattle, WA

Moonlight Cafe

My FAVORITE Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle. As a Viet girl who grew up in SoCal and spent most weekends in Westminster/Santa Ana…aka Little Saigon, I’m really picky about my Vietnamese food. I’ve tried various places in Seattle and nothing really quenched my Viet food cravings…until now.

Moonlight Cafe offers two menus…one for meat eaters and one for vegan/vegetarians. They even include dishes that are made of wheat gluten…which is great for my friends, because they’re allergic to soy! I’ve tried food off of both menus, and everything has been authentic, fresh, and tasty.

Duwardo’s favorite dish is the tofu and tomato from the vegetarian menu…and I must admit it’s really tasty and I’m glad he keeps ordering it. The spicy beef noodle (bun bo hue) is almost as good as my mom’s and the one in Santa Ana…but it certainly is the best I’ve had up here. The congee is a bit weird for me, because they put peas and carrots in it…but the flavors are good. My friends have tried the seafood dishes and say that it’s fresh and they provide a lot of seafood. And the best part…CHEAP!

I’m telling everyone about this place…so GO EAT AT MOONLIGHT CAFE and get some good Viet food.

Moonlight Cafe – 1919 S. Jackson St, Seattle, WA 206-322-3378