The basic premise of the MSG150
Rules
- We will eat at all establishments who's primary source of income is food. This excludes coffee shops, total dive bars, and scary marts, but everything else is on the list.
- We will order typical lunch fare for each restaurant. We will try and eat the same sorts of things their regular lunch patrons appear to be eating.
- If we go to a restaurant twice, we will only write a review once (but reserve the right to re-review).
- We will eat at restaurants in a predetermined order. However, if the next restaurant cannot accommodate us when we show up, we will skip it for that day and come back to it on the next outing.
- All bribes must be divisible three ways.
- No jokes about being hungry again at 3 pm, unless you are offering to buy snacks.
- We make the rules so we can change the rules.
Designated Lunch Zone
We've decided on the 16 block area defined as the area between:- Jackson St and Dearborn St
- 5th Ave and 8th Ave
We will follow a yet-to-be-determined pattern starting at the NE corner of 5th and Jackson.
Ratings
Each of us will write up some comments about each spot and provide a rating. The rating scale is a five point scale:- 1 chopstick: dog food! - I'd rather eat my arm.
- 2 chopsticks: not so good - Not likely to go back.
- 3 chopsticks: average - Sure, if everyone's going I'll go along.
- 4 chopsticks: good - These guys are on to something. I'll be back.
- 5 chopsticks: great - Wow! A top 10 lunch spot.
*Our apologies to the National MS Society. It's a great organization, but does a lousy five spice chicken.
3/2/08 Updated rules
3/2/08 Reformatted all pots and cleaned up labels
15 comments:
While I assume that your methodology for determination of your DLA was based on extensive geographical information gathering, culinary investigation, and statistical analysis, I thought you might find an alternate map of the ID/Chinatown/Little Saigon from the PI a while back interesting in the overlap with your area:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/181034_chinatown07.html
Looking forward to reading about your adventures!
I renamed the Designated Lunch Area to the Designated Lunch Zone (DLZ) because I can... and because I thought it was funnier.
This is very good stuff! A bunch of us with similar tastes just started working downtown, and we are following your progress with interest...
You should try the new Gyro House on 5th between Main and Washington and let us all know how it is, even though it's slightly outside your boundaries.
Alex,
What do you think we are, some sort of lunch spot reviewing monkey that you can just point at any hole because you don't have the guts to try it yourself? We're on a mission here. Some might call it a death march. But it has rules and being your monkey is not one of them. ;-)
Having said that however, I'd like to give it a try. I'm a big fan of Tenoch on the same block. I've tried Main Street Gyro on 2nd Ext and Main, but it was not as good as Zaina over on Cherry, my gold standard. There's also a new New Orleans restaurant on James that's on my non-ID list.
Fabulous site. I'm going to have to try Unicorn Crepes (#20).
The problem is, you're up to 30 already and who has time to read 30 pages of reviews? (I'm not quite sure how you found the time to write 30 pages of reviews)
Can you have some sort of list of the best and another list of the cheapest with at least 2 chopsticks?
You guys have the best rundown of the ID I've seen yet in one spot - with pictures to boot. I'm with another Seattle review site, Coffee.net and we'd love to team up with you guys sometime or partner up somehow. You can reach me at grant (at) coffee .dot. net. Otherwise, have fun with your quest guys.
Alex,
Thanks for the lead. I was able to stop by the new Gyro House and the Gyro I has was delicious. I look forward to exploring the menu further.
Matt,
Great suggestion. I hope the links on the top right nav help.
pokerg,
Come join us for a bite some time.
Cheers,
Geary
Verily, you guys are truly doing God's work, the God of Delicious Asian Cuisine, that is.
One suggestion: Can you guys each give a short blurb about yourselves, the kind of food you like, what you grew up on, etc? It's nice to get an idea of where each one of you is coming from from a culinary-appreciation standpoint.
I wonder if you might consider expanding your boundaries up to 12th Ave. Presently you are missing some great spots that deserve consideration... tamarind tree, malay satay hut, that szechwan place that I think is called szechwan place... Just a thought.
Thank you for the intrepid culinary expedition. Will def refer to this in the future. Did you miss Hing Loon on the corner of Maynard and Weller, kitty corner from HoHo? Best Chinese, no dim sum, but Dumpling Soup to die for and anything else on the menu. Reasonable $$.
Fast, great service from the same ladies over the last 15+ years. No decor, it's all in the food. Many chefs spotted eating here, btw.
Anon,
Nope, we haven't missed Hing Loon. We are following a very specific, preordained path that has us currently heading west down the north side of Weller. We should hit Hing Loon in a week or two.
Our path is the blue line you can see in the large version of our map: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=101275280465225758225.00043e78c07e33332f14d&ll=47.597685,-122.324588&spn=0.004059,0.009699&z=17&om=1
Cheers,
Geary
My friend sent me a link to your site and said you may be my blogging soulmates. I really appreciate that you're showcasing the best the ID has to offer.
The Blogger search function isn't the greatest. I searched for Unicorn Crepes and got Sea Garden and then Pho Bac. Can you add a list of restaurants that you've already visited with links to their reviews?
Edible Joy,
Currently the best way to see all of the restaurants is to click on the link just below the map to get the large MSG150 route view. The pop-ups on the map have link to the review and the average rating. You can also click on the arrows next to the months on the left side of the page under the title "Blog Archive" to quickly see an expanded list of restaurants for each month.
The large view of the map is really cool and an easy way to see all the reviews at a glance. Thanks!
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