Ethan Stowell’s latest, Cortina. (We’ll be back in August and October so maybe we can make it.)
@attran99, just stumbled on this link. Should give us lots to work through over the next few visits 
https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/best-restaurants-in-seattle
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Had a great casual dinner at Ballard Annex Oyster Bar this weekend. Their selection of PNW oysters allowed me to try and fall in love with a varietal that I had never had before…Quilcene…very creamy, a bit meaty, and briny. They also had a very nice fish and chips where the cod was so super moist and juicy inside the crispy batter. The housemade Parisian gnocchi were melt-in-your-mouth good, but the sauce really overpowered the Dungeness crab it came with. My cousins enjoyed the linguini and clams, while my oldest loved their baby octopus stir-fry with vermicelli noodles. I wasn’t a fan of their New England Clam chowder…it wasn’t clam-y enough for me.
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I suck at taking photos during this trip. Didn’t take photos of anything we consumed.
Seattle Biscuit Company
After a morning of sightseeing in the Fremont area, we found ourselves driving by the brick & mortar post of the Seattle Biscuit Company. I believe they started as a food truck and now have opened an outpost here. At 10:30AM, there was a healthy crowd inside. We ordered to-go because it was rather warm inside the restaurant filled with lots of bodies, and they haven’t quite filled their patio with furniture, yet.
From what I understand many of the items/components are made in house…the biscuits (of course), andouille sausage, various seasonal jams, etc.
The biscuits here are huge. They are larger than the size of my palm. They are between 2.5-3 inches tall, have a nice golden brown crisp crust, are super flaky, and are very tender inside. They taste like butter and buttermilk with a hint of salt. They are delightful alone or with local honey and butter or with any of the housemade jams and butter. They’ve currently got a lovely peach and sage jam that was quite delicious.
We also tried their biscuits and sausage gravy with scrambled eggs because the husband doesn’t like runny-yolked eggs. The gravy is made with their andouille sausage so it has a pink tinge and a bit of spice. It was a solid rendition of biscuits and gravy…my southern-leaning husband approved.
I got the Willie Jane breakfast biscuit with fried egg, bacon, and their house berry jam. Now I usually don’t like the combination of fruit and meat (I rather think it strange), but the lovely berry jam contrasted well with the super crispy and salty bacon. There was bacon and egg in every bite of my sandwich. While it was delicious, I wish the egg yolk was still runny in my sandwich…but that could have been due to the time it was wrapped up and transported back to my accommodations. Our kids couldn’t get enough…I should have ordered more. I would come back to this place, again.
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Witness Bar (Capitol Hill)
We came in late one night to check out the bar scene in Seattle with some of my cousins. They picked the bar because of the speakeasy vibe and their list of interesting cocktails and food.
I love darker and more quiet bars. The party scene doesn’t interest me much anymore. I’d rather hit a quality place where I can have a conversation with my companions. I also love a place that changes their menu on a seasonal basis so it’s not the same drinks time after time. The drinks here are really reasonably priced…everything stays under $15 with the average price being about $12 for a cocktail…that’s like free if you’re from L.A.
Between the 4 of us we ordered quite a selection of drinks. I was a fan of their Burning Bush…a gin-based drink that was refreshing and had egg whites…I love a good drink with egg whites as the consistency and texture is just so nice. We also ordered the Passionate Kiss…also good. And I was a big fan of their Jack Rye’an…a play on an Old Fashioned.
My cousins ordered the Banoffee pie, which they loved. I was both too tired and full from the wedding we had just been to and declined on trying the dessert.
Service was great. Water was refilled seamlessly, and the staff didn’t blink an eye when my cousin found their summer watermelon cocktail too spicy because of the peppery bitters. They happily made her a new one without the bitters.
We left sated and happy to be able to try one cocktail experience in the city.
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Snacks and Treats in Seattle
Theo Chocolate (Fremont)
I came in at around 5:30PM just 30 minutes before closing. It was pretty busy because everyone was trying to do their shopping before the store closed. I think a factory tour may have just ended, too, which probably added to the mass of people inside the store. My cousin, who lives in town, introduced me to this chocolate some time back. I really enjoy it, and thought it would make nice gifts to bring home.
Admittedly, I do not know if coming to the factory store saves much money. The basic bars are sold for $4. Then they have specialty collections and confections that can’t be found in the grocery stores. There were a lot of confections in the factory store…peppermint patties, s’mores bars, lunar pies (their rendition of moon pies), they had renditions on 3 Musketeers and Milky Way, fair trade chocolate, caramels, a scotch-whiskey collection, a local Seattle beer collection, their seasonal confections, and their higher-end chocolates amongst other items. One thing the factory store may have is items on sale. The chocolate clusters collection was on sale for $3 (50% off) and their peanut butter cup boxes were $10 (also at least 50% off).
Our kids loved the s’mores confection…fresh made marshmallows, caramel, graham cracker crumbles enrobed in chocolate. I should have gotten more. They also had a double chocolate peanut butter cup where there was dark chocolate folded into the peanut butter and then covered in dark chocolate. That’s going to be my a hit with my dark chocolate and peanut butter-loving sibling.
For folks interested, they offer tours of the factory and chocolate tastings throughout the day with the last tour at 3:45PM. Reservations highly recommended. There wasn’t enough time for me on this trip to make an appointment, but I would probably try to do so next time.
The Cookie Counter (Ballard)
Met one of my college friends here for dessert one night. Who knew that cookies and ice cream could be vegan? Who knew that vegan cookies and ice cream could actually taste delicious? Not me.
While the cookies here are more crumbly than normal, the flavors were really good. I had a scoop of peach ice cream with a lemon sugar cookie, and my friend got mint chip ice cream with a shortbread cookie glazed with marionberry icing. Both orders were really good. And I couldn’t tell the difference.
I actually picked up some extra cookies and pints of ice cream to take back to share with my family. I didn’t tell them it was vegan and none of them were any wiser. My kids seemed to love the mint chip ice cream the most. They finished the whole pint in less than a day.
Cookie selections change every day and they also have 2 seasonal ice creams all the time. Current seasonal ice cream is peach and coffee crunch.
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YAY! The Seattle Biscuit Company and the oyster bar are new to us and we’ll definitely check them out in a couple of weeks. Glad to see the oyster bar does lunch FR/SA/SU. So much in Ballard is closed during the day when we’re most apt to be out and about. Thanks for great write ups. C
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Kamonegi (Fremont)
This place is totally hot right now. Recently named one of America’s Best New Restaurants by Eater, reservations can be hard to book. Only open at dinner and with a few walk-in seats available throughout service, this is a tiny place. Happy hour is available at opening where appetizers and snacks are discounted.
The chef here makes soba noodles fresh and by hand. That’s right, folks, no machines. She’s inspired by her grandmother who taught her these techniques and the recipe. So if you haven’t tried fresh soba before, this would be a good place to check out.
I sent my cousins here because my husband is not a fan of noodles…would be a wasted trip for the entire family. They were nice enough to bring me back a take-out order of the duck tan tan bukkake…a cold soba dish served with breaded and fried duck chunks, green garlic, cucumber, sesame vinaigrette, chili oil and crushed peanut. The soba is divine. There is a wonderful chew and supple texture to the noodle that is just lovely. The sesame vinaigrette with chili oil gave it a salty-umami heat that is delicious. You get crunch from the cucumbers and peanuts…I can even say that the duck is unnecessary. I was so happy with the soba.
It’s served cold and I had the dish within an hour or so of the original order. I think the portion size is pretty hefty, too. I split it into two servings.
My cousins said their experience was so good, and they can’t wait to try fresh made soba at home in the OC. I’m glad they were able to try something new during this trip.
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Sexy Alley (Ballard)
We come to Seattle, and what do we find as we walk along the entertainment area in Ballard? Puffy tacos. One of my husband’s weaknesses. We were so full after dinner, we had to walk the neighborhood more in order to make room. It’s just a window attached to Hotel Albatross.
This place has a whole lot to live up to since I live by Arturo’s Puffy Tacos in the suburbs of L.A. (the brother to Ray’s and Henry’s in San Antonio). The guys fried up fresh puffy shells for our order, and we had them filled with carnitas. What’s interesting here is that they do a slather of refried beans on the puffy shell to try to deter the sogginess from occurring. Then there’s the meat, lettuce, cheese, and salsa.
First bite in, and the texture is right. The flavors are different because it’s a different spin on puffy tacos. But it’s a solid effort in this Tex-Mex specialty. I only had a bite because I was still so full from dinner. But my traveling crew devoured it all. My husband still prefers our local Arturo’s (and so do I), but it was cool to find puffy tacos in Seattle.
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Until I read this I’d never heard of “puffy tacos.” I see they’re from San Antonio, TX. We’ve generally been disappointed in Mexican food in SEA but that’s just not their demographic. Glad you enjoyed it.
Someone told us about a Oaxacan place in Ballard that’s ‘good.’ But with all the food in SEA I think I’ll stick with Reno for good Mexican.
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Got into Seattle yesterday and here’s my first food treat:
Growing up in Atlanta, it was a stand by. Boy Scouts used to stand in intersections and sell boxes of them.
Only had one cause it wasn’t hot. If they’re hot I can eat two.
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