Sleepless in Seattle Pt. 3

Our tour guide recommended us a few must-try seafood restaurants in Seattle, and this is one of them.

View of the pier from our table.

Apparently August is the season for peaches and I was told peaches in Washington tastes super amazing, hence we ordered a caramelized peach salad. The combination of fruits and greens creates a very refreshing summery taste; perfect for a hot summer day. This salad is a great appetizer since it increased my appetite.

Grilled halibut with poached peaches. We asked the waitress for the freshest thing on the menu, and she recommended this to us. I'm usually not a big fish eater, but this halibut changed my view on fish. The fish is so tender and you can definitely taste the freshness. It just, well, blew my mind.

Sockeye salmon, another local fish, caught daily. Normally, I would've been amazed with this salmon, but after eating the halibut, the salmon kinda fell short. Not as tender, and not as fresh. But compared to salmon in Toronto, it's still very good.

Overall Review:
Food: 7.5/10
The score is based on other seafood I've had in Seattle. I don't feel that it's fair to judge based on Toronto standards since every restaurant would get near perfect score if I do.

Ambiance: 10/10
I mean, it's situated right beside the pier. How much better can it get? The restaurant itself is very sophisticated. What is so unique about this restaurant is it's separated into 3 parts. There's an open bar facing the street kinda designed like a fast-food joint and they sell things like fish tacos and chowders. On the first floor is what they call a diner, designed for casual dining. And the second floor is what they call a restaurant which is designed for a more formal dining experience. The second floor is geared towards the business population. I've never seen a restaurant being divided like this; pretty cool.

Service: 8/10
Good recommendations, the waitress is friendly and was almost always there when we needed her.

Price: 4/10
I feel that we're not getting our money's worth. The menu is overpriced. We probably paid ~$30/person for fish and salad!

Final Verdict: 6/10
This is a classic tourist trap. Situated in the most touristy place with an overpriced menu. Just to play the devil's advocate, if you're looking for an experience, this is the perfect place for it. So it all depends on what you're looking for in a meal.

Address:

2201 Alaskan Way
Seattle, WA 98121
Neighborhood: Belltown

(206) 448-6688

www.anthonys.com/

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Sleepless in Seattle Pt. 2

Another photo entry. 

One of the main attractions in Seattle is Pike Place Market. Kinda similar to Toronto's St. Lawrence Market, they sell mainly locally grown produce and arts. This place is definitely worth a visit, especially if you like food like me! :) 

Remember to visit this pastry shop if you're around the area! You could smell the mouthwatering goodness stores away! They have some of the best Russian pastries around!

Yellow Rainier cherries; some of the best cherries around. Even my friend, who usually dislike eating cherries love this stuff! Everyone was left wanting more when we left Seattle.

I just died a little seeing all these seafood.

The first ever Starbucks. Although they sell the same drinks as other Starbucks, this one always has a lineup out the door.

The original logo. They also sell souvenirs with this logo in and only in this Starbucks.

Sleepless in Seattle

This entry will not be a review, mainly because I don't remember the name/exact location for these photos. :P 

So apparently, bars and pubs across Seattle have happy hours in the afternoon from around 2-5 and at night from 9-close where everything on the menu is 50% off. So once we landed in Seattle, we just went to a bar across from our hotel and ordered this yummy shrimp ceviche. The shrimps were so flippin fresh! My goodness! This easily could appear on a nice restaurant's menu.

Dish: 8.5/10
Perfect treat for summer, but being the healthy person that I am, I kinda wish there were more shrimps and less chips.

Fried calamari. Fresh seafood really makes the dish. By far some of the best calamari I've had. Definitely restaurant quality.

Dish: 9/10

So Seattle is really big on seafood chowders. This is my lobster chowder. Better than anything I've had in Toronto. Even better than the seafood chowders in PEI.

Dish: 7/10 A bit over reduced for my taste. The taste is so strong that it's kinda bullying your taste buds.

Dungeness crab chowder. I mean, you can already tell how delicious this chowder is by its name. Need I say more?

Dish: 8.5/10

My yummy pecan and citrus salade!

Dish: 8.5/10 If only it was more zesty...

My first ever fish taco. Too spicy for me to finish.

Dish: 5.5/10 Too many different flavours competing for the spotlight. Too overwhelming for me.

Washington heirloom organic tomatoes bruschetta. "The best in the country". Yeah, definitely the best tomatoes I've ever eaten. You know how tomato is classified as a fruit? The taste never really convinced me, but THESE tomatoes really do taste like fruits. Even those who don't like to eat raw tomatoes will find this quite dang delicious.

Dish: 9.5/10 It's hard to make such a simple dish leave such a strong impression. But it did, my only complain is that the bread is a bit burnt.

I wish I remember the name of this pasta. The cheese literally sent me to heaven. It is rich and creamy, yet remained light and fresh at the same time. Quite paradoxical, but once you've tried it, you'll understand. I'm kinda kicking myself for not remembering the name of the restaurant or the cheese. I crave for it every time I see this photo. I'm seriously considering revisiting Seattle just so I can find out the name of the cheese. If anyone knows, please tell me!

Dish: 10/10 the cheese made the dish..

Veggie lasagna.

Dish: 9.5/10 it tastes perfect, it's just the portion is a bit small..

Now this is what you call a lasagna. The layers are so think and tender. Although it's a vegetarian dish, it does not leave you craving for the taste of meat afterwards. They also imported the cheese they use from Italy and they make their own pastas I believe. Now this is what you call an Italian restaurant!

Taste of LA Pt. 6

I know I haven't updated the site for a long time, but I promise to post a lot more during the holidays! :) 

My first Wolfgang experience. For those who are not familiar, Wolfgang Puck is a California based chef and he's been given the title as "The Greatest Chef in the World." So of course, I had to go to one of his restaurants when I was in LA. His cooking style is a fusion of Cali and French cuisine.

The whole restaurant is decorated with his photos.

Complimentary bread.

Complimentary cream of mushroom soup.

Our crab cakes appetizer. The hot crab cakes and the chilled tomatoes and onions is the perfect match. The zesty toppings perfectly neutralizes the basic-ness of the crab cakes and the spicy cream sauce at the bottom just gives the dish this extra kick.

Very underwhelming entrée. After a spectacular appetizer, I expected the entrée to be the same quality, especially because this dish is recommended by the waiter. I just don't know what to say about this salmon, it just feels like I can have this dish in any restaurant.

Three cheese ravioli. I only had a bite of this, but I remember really liking it. It is rich and creamy; everything a cheese ravioli dish should be plus that special kick of flavour. Definitely up to par.

Overall Review:
Food: 8/10
Lost points for that generic salmon entrée.

Ambiance: 7.5/10
It's comfortable and clean, yet a bit generic for my taste.

Service: 8.5/10
I liked how they gave us complimentary soup, most restaurants don't do that. The food came at a relatively good speed and the waiter is almost always there when we need him.

Price: 8/10
Pretty good since it's a Wolfgang restaurant. ~$25/person.

Final Verdict: 8.5/10
Is this restaurant worth a try when you're around the area? Yes. Would I come back to this restaurant? Probably not, I feel that we've gotten a taste of what it has to offer already. Would I try another Wolfgang restaurant? Definitely.

Address:

1000 Universal Studios Blvd
Universal Cty, CA 91608
Neighborhood: Universal City

(818) 985-9653

www.wolfgangpuck.com/bistro

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Terroni; Terribly Terrific.

After a very stressful midterm period, my friend and I decided to rewind by having some nice food and a do some catching up. I've heard really great reviews for Terroni, some said it's up to par with food in Italy, so of course we had to try it out!

It's within walking distance from Eaton Centre, so it's very convenient and easy to find.

I was also pleasantly surprised by how fast we were seated (it's a big restaurant) despite the fact that we arrived right during lunch time. 

I'm so sorry I didn't get the name of this appetizer. There were too many choices so we simply asked the waitress for recommendations and went with those. This dish is on the daily menu, so I couldn't find the name afterwards.

Anyways, the white chunk is fresh cheese made from cow's milk, poached cherry tomatoes with basil and bread in olive oil.

The cheese is very light yet the richness of the milk flavour is retained. It's a good dish even for those non-cheese-lovers (I know you're out there!). The acidity of the cherry tomatoes brought a nice balance to the creaminess of the cheese and bread and the basil is just that nice cherry on top of a perfect sundae.

Ravioli di Zio Paperone (Homemade Ravioli Stuffed with Duck Confit, Fig, Roasted Butternut Squash, Sauteed with Oyster Mushrooms & Parmigiano Cheese). After a nice refreshing appetizer, this is a very satisfying, rich, explosion of flavours that signals "let's get the party started!" Everything was seasoned to perfection, and it's amazing how I can still taste each component listed on the menu very clearly (except for the fig). The ravioli was well made, and when you bite into it, the duck flavours flow into your mouth. It's quite a bold dish because the taste of duck is not everyone's cup of tea, but I like an edgy dish. :)  

Pizza Cosi (Tomato, Fresh Porcini Mushrooms, Mozzarella, Fontina & Prosciutto di Parma). Flat out disappointed. For those who like prosciutto, this may be the pizza for you. But I didn't like this prosciutto. Why? It tastes like rotten eggs to me for some reason. So I tried eating the pizza without the prosciutto, and for those who were wondering, no, the pizza is not up to par with the ones in Italy. Trust me, I know. The pizza dough is not thin enough to be a flatbread pizza, and not fluffy enough to be fluffy. Without the prosciuttos, although it tastes better than Pizza Pizza pizza (lols for pizza x3!), but the amount of ingredients put in is the same. 


Overall Review: 
Food: 9.5/10
All the dishes were delicious except for the pizza. Terroni probably would've gotten a perfect score if it weren't for the pizza. Despite popular beliefs, pizzas in Italy definitely tastes a lot better. And I'm not just basing this on the prosciutto that I didn't like, but they called it a thin-crust pizza, but it wasn't! The pizza was also a bit burnt. However, I DID see people order more appealing pizzas next to us, so I think I have to go back and try another type of pizza. 


Ambiance: 8/10
Located in the heart of the business district, the ambiance is very business chic with an Italian accent to the overall design. They had Italian street signs hanging on the wall etc. I loved the high ceiling of the main room, and the foyer. It's kinda like an amalgamation of baroque designs with a modern elements. 


Service: 7/10
Up to par, but nothing really stood out. But I think the staff and table ratio is a bit off balanced. I also find that before we order, she's always around, but after our food came, it's so much harder to find her. The restaurant is quite big, so we did not have to wait in line much even though we arrived at lunch time (12 o'clock). For some reason, they get really packed around 1 though, so don't go there at 1 if you want to be seated immediately. 


Price: 7.5/10
The price of the main dishes were quite good, ~$15, but what threw us off was that the appetizer we had was around the same price as the main dishes $13 (I believe). I mean, the appetizer was delicious, but I still think it's a bit steep. But other items on the menu were reasonably priced, ~$15-$18 for pastas. 


Final Verdict: 9/10
I would definitely go back and bring my family along. It's a very nice place to eat. Besides, I've been craving for that cheese ever since I finished eating it! 


Address: 

57 Adelaide St E
Toronto, ON M5C 1K6
Neighbourhood: Downtown Core

(416) 203-3093

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