Lunch #9: Specialty's Cafe & Bakery

With today's lunch we completed a full circumnavigation of the DLZ and were pulled in by the first of a few chain restaurants that will be caught up in the MSG150. Specialty's is in the base of Paul Alan's swanky office building next to Union Station. As we left the office, Dave repeated a number of good arguments that we could use to amend rule #1 so that we could avoid these chains, but we are committed to eating at every restaurant in the ID and Specialty's is no exception. Dave stayed behind.

Specialty's Cafe & Bakery, Seattle
Address: 505 5th Avenue S, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: American: Deli, American: Bakery
Average rating: 2.8 chopsticks
Lunch date: 11/29/2007 @ 11:39:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 1 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 6 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 8 minutes
Chopstix quality: N/A
Do they use MSG?: No
Where is the owner/chef from?: Based out of San Francisco, they have 17 stores in 4 cities. The guy who pass our sandwiches through the window was from Seattle.
Number of tables: 1
Number of occupied tables: 1 (100%)
Number of business lunch tables: 1 (100%)
Number of "local" tables: 1 (100%)
Healthcode Score: 18
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Hot Italian - $6.25
Rating:

Geary's Review

Specialty's is a chain out of San Francisco that is capitalizing on putting "gourmet" delis with fresh baked goods into high rent office parks and business districts. They are focused on serving the business workers and do so by making it easy to cater meetings and order pick-up on the web. Their web site claims that they often get discounts on rent because a good deli improves the value of the office space. You order at the counter and the sandwiches is delivered to-go out of a magical sandwich cave. There is limited seating inside at stools along the window.

If I were in an office park, miles from decent food, I might be glad if there were a Specialty's near by, but I'm not. I work in a location where I can eat a month of lunches at different places that I think are much better than average and be served by the owners.

Specialty's has good cookies and the sandwiches are fine, but not good as the $2.50 sub at the S&FB and a lot more expensive.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Hot Italian - $6.25
Rating:

Emmett's Review

Meh. My first experience at Specialty's was meh, so I wasn't particularly looking forward to this second visit. However, I went in with an open mind and was pleasantly surprised. The guy taking my order was a bit too smug for my taste. He had a sarcastic look on his face, spoke with that faux-pleasantness-I'm-better-than-you attitude that always pisses me off. We're not at the Apple Store dude! Anyhoo, he took my order quickly and professionally, so I headed over to the bullpen to collect my food.

I ordered the Hot Italian and a cookie. Oh the cookies. I know they're good, but we're here to judge the lunch, not the dessert. The sandwich was good. Not great, but tasty. The bread was the best part, the Hot Italian came on a nice focaccia with a good mix of veggies and meat. The sandwich wasn't too hot though, I think they just toasted the bread or something.

The cookie was great.

So though good, for sandwiches I'd prefer Subway, Quiznos, Tats, and Salumi to Specialty's. But if my friends are going, I'll tag along.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Hot Cheesy Steak - $6.35
Rating:

Adam's Review

Can you say "out of place"? Specialty's doesn't really fit the mold of the places we're going. Whatever, its in the DLZ.

I've been here before, so I knew I wanted to get one of their "hot" sandwiches. I got the Hot Cheesy Steak Sandwich, which was a nice and flavorful. What would you expect on a Hot Cheesy Steak Sandwich? Roast Beef. Cheese. Hotness. But they put lots of other stuff on there too: Provolone, Plain Cream Cheese, Red Onion, Mushroom, Mixed Bell Peppers, Pepperoncini, Toasted Country Ciabatta Roll, Mayonnaise, Stone Ground Mustard, Roast Beef.(from their sandwiches page)

In general, I'm not a big fan of chain restaurants. As far as chains go, this is decent.

Fast service. Accepts Credit Card. Slightly Expensive for what you get. Basically, it gets a rating of "meh." Basically, there is nothing wrong with the place.

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: The Mediterranean - $7.25
Rating:

Rob's Review

Specialty's. Good thing Chinatown is now called the International District, otherwise this chain sandwich and bakery place wouldn't be allowed. Yeah, the sandwiches I've had there have been a mixed bag, and they've all had a certain oily edge to them, for better or for worse. The Mediterranean -- "new!" -- was pretty good. Ingredients were fresh, and the overall taste was good, but, in the end, there's nothing I found particularly special about it. It's just a regular old lunch. With kalamata olives. I guess that's one special thing about this sandwich -- I think it's the first I've seen with kalamata olives. One odd thing about their thyme focaccia bread: there is a sprinkling of salt on top. It's good salt and seems to go with the sandwich, but I'm just generally not a big fan of salt on my bread. Their freshly baked cookies are quite good, though. Mmm, cookies.

I was tempted to skip out on Specialty's, but the next handful of restaurants definitely don't serve my kind. So this will be my last lunch with the MSG150 crowd until Made in Kitchen, which I'm quite looking forward to. I wish my fellow lunchers the best of luck at the Maxang Deli.

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: Hot Hammer - $7.75
Rating:

Specialty's Cafe & Bakery Photos

Specialty's Cafe & Bakery


Specialty's Cafe & Bakery


The Bakery Part


The Sandwich Part


Cookie


Hot Italian (AKA Fabio)


Hot Cheesy Steak


Hot Hammer


The Mediterranean

Lunch #8: Szechuan Noodle Bowl

We headed out, again, for the Szechuan Noodle Bowl and this time it was open. The window lures were faded, but were enough to build a some excitement in the MSG150 group as we entered. We were a large group for such a small place, but got there early enough that they were able to seat us all at one table without a wait.

Szechuan Noodle Bowl, Seattle
Address: 420 8th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Szechuan
Average rating: 4.1 chopsticks
Lunch date: 11/28/2007 @ 11:45:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 12 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 60 minutes
Chopstix quality: Smooth Wood
Do they use MSG?: No
Where is the owner/chef from?: Husband is from Chongqing and wife is from Shanghai.
Number of tables: 9
Number of occupied tables: 7 (77%)
Number of business lunch tables: 4 (57%)
Number of "local" tables: 0 (0%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Original Beef Noodle with Soup - $5.75
Rating:

Adam's Review

I finally found one: I'm going to rate this place a 5.

The atmosphere here is stunning. I grew up in rural eastern Washington, so I'm no newbie to plastic horsies (90% of the girls in Deer Park are "the crazy horse girl" from your high school). Apparently the owners of Szechuan Noodle Bowl aren't newbs either. The pictures on the wall of plastic horsies really class the joint up.

The starters: Green Onion Pancakes. There were eight of us, and the pancakes were cut into six slices... therefore we had to order two of them. This was a $3 treasure. I sacrificed myself, and decided that I wouldn't eat a piece of the first pancake. When the second pancake came out, I ate my piece like an addict eats crack. I'm recalling all of the flavors right now. Flaky and savory dough. Fresh from the pan warmness. Mild but "present" onion flavor. I'm pretty sure that the next time I go to Szechuan Noodle Bowl, I'm just going to order a short-stack of these.

After devouring through our first appetizer, we were all thanking our respective gods that we had also ordered the Dumplings with Hot and Spicy Sauce. The filling in these dumplings was p-e-r-f-e-c-t. Firm enough maintain its shape, but soft enough that you don't feel like you're eating Pb (Thats lead). On the second bite of my dumpling, I scooped some of the Hot and Spicy sauce into my dumpling. Jackpot. The sauce is tangy, spicy, and all sorts of awesome.

Because almost everyone else was ordering the Szechuan Beef Noodle, I decided to get something different: Original Beef Noodle with Soup. Basically, a less spiced version of the Szechuan Beef Noodle with Soup. The most obvious difference between the two is the color of the broth. Mine is mostly clear with a yellowy-brown tint. The Szechuan version was so dark that you couldn't see the bottom of the bowl. The bowl the soup comes in is kind of small, but amazingly filling. What I found most amazing about this soup was the tenderness of the meat. The meat was soft and completely not stringy!

.

Awesome atmosphere. Amazing food. Low Prices. Nice Service.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Szechuan Beef Noodle with Soup - $5.75
Rating:

Geary's Review

The Szechuan Noodle Bowl is not much to look at, but what it lacks in atmosphere, it more than makes up in tasty goodness. The small restaurant has very basic furnishings and decor including, oddly, large artful photos of plastic toy horses.

In addition to each of us ordering a noodle soup, we also ordered Green Onion Pancakes and Won Ton in Hot & Spicy Sauce for the table to share. Both were exceptional. The pancake was rich and flavorful and served just seconds after it was pulled from the griddle. The Won Ton were outstanding. The dough was meaty (in a good way) and clearly handmade. The filling was well seasoned and firm. The dumpling trinity was rounded out with a tangy and spicy sauce that brought the tastes and textures together in delicious harmony.

I ordered the Szechuan Beef Noodle with Soup which came out of the kitchen first. I could hardly contain myself trying to be polite and wait for others to be served. The broth was amazingly rich. It was like liquid spicy pot roast. The beef chunks were tender and not at all stringing. The bok choy was fresh and crisp. It was a perfect beefy concoction.

The Szechuan Noodle Bowl is #1 for me so far in the MSG150 quest and I am torn between giving it four or five chopsticks. If we allowed half ratings I would split the difference. I am tempted to hold out five chopsticks only for perfection, but I fear if I do that I will never rate anything a five. So the Szechuan Noodle Bowl earns from chopsticks from me.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Szechuan Beef Noodle with Soup - $5.75
Rating:

Emmett's Review

I was pleasantly surprised Szechuan Noodle Bowl. Both the exterior and the interior are very unassuming, so at first glance, there's not much to talk about. They have pictures of fake horsies on the wall. They claim all their food is made fresh and from scratch. Their menu is also short and with a limited set of options.

We ordered the green onion pancake and 10 dumplings in hot and spicy sauce to share. The pancake was good, the dumplings were out of this world. They were piping hot, spicy, flavorful, and awesome. I think next time I might make a whole meal of the dumplings. For the main course I went with the Szechuan Beef Noodle with Soup. The broth was dark and rich with beefy flavor. The beef itself was like pot roast, and was very tender. The noodles were roundish flour/egg noodles, and had a nice flavor and consistency. They added some hot to the soup so it had a nice spicy tasty, but not overwhelming. The spicyiness mixed with the beef reminded me of pepperoni, in a good way.

Overall, very good lunch. I'll definitely be back.

Luncher: Dave

Lunch: Szechuan Beef Tendon Noodle with Soup - $5.75
Rating:

Dave's Review

this place is a definite keeper. the appetizers were very good. the pancakes were thick and savory, and the sauce on the dumplings had a nice tanginess that was a good foil for the pork filling. we made a rookie mistake: finishing the pancakes before the dumplings came meant that we didn't have pancake left over to sop up dumpling broth. never again!

the bread-and-butter here is clearly the szechwan noodle bowls. which if you think about it is a pretty convenient coincidence, given the name of the joint. mine, the szechwan beef tendon version, was spectacular. the broth was unbelievably rich and beefy, and the spiciness was spot-on. i'm a sucker for thick flour noodles, and these were fantastic, soft like udon; they were almost more like dumplings. last but certainly not least, the tendon was soft, rich, and gelatinous.

for me the bottom line is this: if you're going for noodle soup in the ID, pho is the default choice. but as of now, as much as i love Pho Bac, i'm thinking i'm going to be heading for szechwan instead.

Luncher: Erin

Lunch: Shredded Chicken Noodle with Soup - $5.75
Rating:

Erin's Review

Given the dingy, cafeteria setting, I did not expect much. I was wrong. Our table shared Green Onion Pancake, Pork Wontons, and I had the shredded chicken noodle in soup. The Green onion pancakes were the best I’ve had, crispy fried on the inside and soaking up sauce perfectly. The wontons were flavorful and the wrap was fresh. My soup was in a tasty chicken broth, not spicy, with fresh steamed baby bok choi and chicken breast with the round buckwheat noodles. It was warming and delicious and I could only eat half. I will more than likely go back to have this soup again. Four Chopsticks.

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: Vegetable Noodle with Soup - $5.00
Rating:

Rob's Review

I'm torn on Szechuan Noodle Bowl. On the plus side, their green onion pancake was quite good and when I ordered the vegetable noodle with soup they asked if I wanted veggie or meat broth, which is always a good sign to me. On the minus side, the soup turned out to be just noodles and bok choy and broth; everyone else's bowls consisted of noodles and bok choy and broth and meat -- it would've been nice if they'd swapped in something else for the meat, like mushrooms or tofu. I did think that, by themselves, the noodles were chewy goodness and the bok choy was fresh and the veggie broth was pretty solid, but all together the dish didn't add up to something greater than the sum of its parts. The veggie broth didn't have much kick to it, either, but spooning in some hot sauce fixed that. All in all, I don't feel particularly compelled to order the vegetable noodle with soup again, but there's at least one other main veggie dish to try, as well as the veggie dumplings (which, I suppose, could be a main dish in and of themselves -- 10 pieces per order!). So, if some other dish clicks for me, I'd easily bump my rating up to 4.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: Szechuan Beef Noodle with Soup - $5.75
Rating:

Al's Review

I need a ghost writer if you expect me to contribute to this blog.

Luncher: Jeff

Lunch: Szechuan Beef Noodle with Soup - $5.75
Rating:

Szechuan Noodle Bowl Photos

Szechuan Noodle Bowl


Window Lures


Green Onion Pancake


Won Ton with Hot and Spicy Sauce


Swallowing Clouds of Goodness


Szechuan Beef Noodle with Soup


Szechuan Beef Noodle with Soup in action


Szechuan Beef Tendon Noodle with Soup


Shredded Chicken Noodle with Soup


Vegetable Noodle with Soup

Lunch #7: Sweet & Fresh Bakery

The MSG150 crew headed out today for the Szechuan Noodle Bowl but were let down by our first "Closed on Monday" sign. Unfazed and in strict accordance with unwritten sub-rule #1-1.B, we headed south on 8th to find the next spot. Based on early scouting reports of the MSG150 route, many of us had assumed that the next stop would be Specialties, but we were wrong. Although the S.E. border is the Gobi Desert of the DLZ, there is a pork bun filled oasis known as the Sweet & Fresh Bakery on 8th just south of Weller. We paused before entering to discuss briefly whether it passed rule #1. The consensus was yes, so in we went.

Sweet & Fresh Bakery, Seattle
Address: 610 8th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Bakery
Average rating: 3.5 chopsticks
Lunch date: 11/26/2007 @ 11:45:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 0 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 20 minutes
Chopstix quality: N/A
Do they use MSG?: No
Where is the owner/chef from?: Owner/Chef from Saigon, with Chinese Heritage
Number of tables: 1
Number of occupied tables: 0 (0%)
Number of business lunch tables: 0
Number of "local" tables: 0
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Pork Pie and a Ham and Cheese Croissant - $3.45
Rating:

Emmett's Review

I have a hard time holding this place to the same standard as our other lunch places - it's missing menus, silverware (or chopsticks), table service, napkins. On the other hand, as a stand-up take-out lunch place - not bad. Their options are limited to a bunch of meat buns, sponge cakes, and fruit tarts, with some submarine sandwiches available for special order. I wanted some savory, went for the ham/cheese croissant, and the pork bun.

The ham and cheese croissant was greasy, and didn't seem like it was made recently, but altogether not bad. It was a little low on the ham and cheese, but was still consumable. The pork pot pie, on the other hand, was fantastic. I warmed it in the microwave for 30 seconds. It had a nice flaky consistency, the pork was mildly spiced, shredded, filled the inside with some diced veggies.

Pros - quick, clean, polite counter staff, some tasty baked options. Cons - lots of bread. Verdict - I might stop in if I was nearby but wouldn't make it special trip.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: BBQ Pork Bun, Curry Chicken Bun, and a Sub Sandwich - $5.10
Rating:

Adam's Review

Not quite a diamond, but this is definitely a precious gem in the rough. None of us knew that this place existed before we walked up to it this afternoon.

I walked up to the counter, and ordered what sounded good. I ordered a BBQ Pork Bun (I'm sure it has a real name, but I don't know it), a chicken curry bun, and a submarine sandwich. I Started of by eating the BBQ Pork Bun. The bread was slightly sweet and pretty fluffy. The meat BBQ pork filling was good, but lacking. I wish the bun would have had about 2 times as much filling. The whole unit was served cold, and it definitely would have been better heated up.

The next thing I ate was the Chicken curry bun. I spied a microwave behind the counter, so I asked the nice woman back there to toss my bun in her microwave oven. 30 seconds of modern technology improved the bun even more. Again, the bun was sweet and fluffy. The chicken curry filling is just what you would imagine... it was chicken curry. It was good.

Then I started on the best part. This is a $2.50 submarine sandwich. This is the American cousin of the "$2 Vietnamese sandwich." The sandwich was turkey, ham, iceberg lettuce, mayo, and pickled carrot shreds. Everything was pretty standard, but the carrots definitely gave it a really great taste. The real winner on this sandwich was the bread. It was crispy, flaky, buttery, and unbelievably delicious. I tried to buy some of the bread, but was told that they only make it for the sandwiches.

Amazing Prices. Great food. Even better food. I'll eat here again.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Chicken Pie, Pork Pie, & Submarine Sandwich - $5.50
Rating:

Geary's Review

The Sweet & Fresh Bakery passed the letter rule #1 but only barley meets the spirit of the rule. Unlike the Sun Bakery with tables and a menu, the S&FB has only 6 stools along the window and no hot menu items. Besides the buns, cakes, and pastries in the cases they have only a submarine sandwich (with or without cheese) to offer the hungry lunch seeker. But, like other similar spots it was all good and affordable and the service (owner) was very friendly.

I was curious about the meat pies so I ordered both. I ate what I assumed was the chicken one first. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until after I had eaten most of it that I realized there was a microwave behind the counter and if I’d asked, the friendly woman serving us would have headed it up. Even cold, the pie was very flavorful and the crust was light and flaky. The pork one, heated up, was even better, but other than being warmer, I couldn’t tell the difference. Maybe I got two chicken (or two pork) by accident.

I also ordered the submarine sandwich with cheese. If there is a real standout at the S&FB, this is it. The sub comes on a freshly baked toasty baguette with fairly typical sub ingredients (ham, turkey, mayo, American cheese, and iceberg lettuce) but with one exception, it has a smattering of pickled carrots nestled between the cold cuts. Yum! This is the same stuff that (in part) gives the bahn mi sandwiches their tang. And, at $2.50 with cheese, it’s a much better deal than you might find elsewhere.

PS: Rob wants me to point out that there are no real vegi-friendly options available here other than sweets. You can see Rob in the pictures below ducking out of the door in search of some place that understands his kind.

Luncher: Erin

Lunch: BBQ Pork Bun, and a egg tart - $2.25
Rating:

Erin's Review

This is a hole-in-the-wall bakery – but surprisingly good. They have a variety of meat buns, perhaps 8-10 varieties, filled with bbq pork, chicken & flavors. They also have a variety of baked goods. I had a bbq pork bun and a large egg tart for a grand total of $2.25 – for both items. The bbq bun was fresh, and the bun was every so slightly sweet and chewy on the outside. Meat inside was flavorful, although it could have been more filled, and I would have them heat it up next time. The egg tart/custard was about 2” across (twice as big as the ones you get for Dim Sum) and had a flakey crust with a good, smooth egg custard inside. I also had a taste of a fruit tart and a steamed bun with egg, Chinese sausage and meat inside. All tasted fresh. They had some interesting looking custards, cakes and cream puffs, and they also made traditional Chinese layer cakes – the kind that are light and fluffy, frosted with whipping cream and topped with fruit. I would return for a dirt cheap and tasty meat bun and a sweet treat. This earned a 3 chopstick rating from me.

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: BBQ Pork Bun, Bun with Red Bean Paste, and Chicken Pie - $3.95
Rating:

Michael's Review

What's not to love about this little bakery? The have it all right here: Ham and cheese on crunchy fresh baked french rolls. Tasty bbq pork hom bow. Buns with red bean. Very tasty, very cheap, and ready to eat right now. And if you need a wedding or birthdcake they can do that too. This place is a keeper.

Luncher: Jeff

Lunch: BBQ Pork Bun, Chicken Pie, and a Fruit Tart - $3.50
Rating:

Sweet & Fresh Bakery Photos

Sweet & Fresh Bakery


Dine-in facilities are lacking


Buns of goodness


More sweets


Ham & Cheese Croissant


Meat Pie anticipation


Custard Pie


$2.50 Submarine Sandwich


Inside a meat pie


Half a Fruit Pastry

Lunch #6: Green Leaf

After almost a week, the MSG150 rolled on again today. We continued south on 8th to Green Leaf. Many of us have been to Green Leaf before and we were excited to go back. Since it is tiny and usually packed for lunch we got an early start. We were an MSG150 record sized group of eight so we had to split up into two tables. Even so, we got seated right away.

Green Leaf, Seattle
Address: 418 8th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Average rating: 3.8 chopsticks
Lunch date: 11/21/2007 @ 11:40:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 8.5 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 50 minutes
Chopstix quality: High-end Wood
Do they use MSG?: Yes, a little in some dishes
Where is the owner/chef from?: Owned and operated by a Vietnamese family, but the owner we spoke to was from Canton (we assume he's in on the business through marriage).
Number of tables: 11
Number of occupied tables: 11 (100%)
Number of business lunch tables: 9 (81%)
Number of "local" tables: 2 (18%)
Healthcode Score: 5
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Mi Vit Tiem - Fried Duck Noodle Soup - $7.95
Fortune: You will be a winner.
Rating:

Geary's Review

Ah, Green Leaf at last. Are ye thy savior of mine overly Kung Pao’ed soul? Green Leaf is one of the top rated Vietnamese restaurants in Seattle and, since I like even the crappy ones, my hopes were high. Green Leaf is in a tiny spot but runs like a much bigger place. It is packed with eleven two and four top tables and had eight people working lunch between the kitchen and wait-staff. It has a nice atmosphere enhanced by the friendly and beautiful servers. Some Saigon soap opera is missing their cast.

I chose the Fried Duck Noodle Soup because I like duck and soup seemed like a good choice on a cold day. We called back our cast member to order a Fresh Spring Roll after seeing the other table get theirs and becoming overcome with jealousy. The fresh rolls had a beautiful presentation and came with four separate peanut sauce bowls, perfect for no guilt double-dipping. The fresh roll was fresh (and rolled) and similar to what I expected other than it had a single piece of crispy fried shrimp in the center which gave it a pleasant Kit-Kat like crunch. I only wish the peanut sauce had been a little more peanutty.

The duck soup was good, but not the five chopstick good I was hoping for. I don’t know what I was expecting, but the soup seemed a bit boring for all the restaurant’s hype. Other’s dishes looked good. I will definitely be back again, but will probably not order the duck soup.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Bun Ga Noung - Vermicelli with Grilled Chicken - $6.95
Fortune: You or a close friend will be happily married
Rating:

Adam's Review

There has been a lot of hype around Green Leaf: Everyone says its one of the best Vietnamese restaraunts in Seattle. Thats a pretty big statement to live up to.

We ordered some spring rolls, because there had been some rumors that they were really good. The first thing I noticed about them was a very nice presentation. There are 4 on a plate, and they're arranged so that two rolls are "standing up" and two are "laying down". Before dunking my spring roll into the peanut sauce, I decided to taste the sauce first. I dipped a chopstick in the bowl, and tasted: It was much sweetier than a standard peanut sauce, and well... not very peanutty. Then I took a bite out of my spring roll that allegedly contained pork and shrimp. I never saw nor tasted the pork, but was assured by my coworkers that it was supposed to be some there. Then the roll suprised me by containing something crunchy. There was a fried stick of something in there, and it was awesome. A little crunch suprise. I guess that makes these the Twix (tm) of spring rolls. Overall, these spring rolls were kind of a let down because of the blandness. Don't feel like you're missing anything special if you skip these.

Because I had high expectations of Green Leaf, I ordered something that I already had a "baseline" of, so I could make a decent judgement. I routinely get the vermicelli noodles with chicken at other Vietnamese restaurants, so I went with that. The Bun Ga Noung was definitely above average. The chicken wasn't overcooked and was a little bit crispy. Combine the chicken with some perfectly fried onions, and you will have a savory treat that will make you want to visit this place often. I'm not sure what they had marinated the cucumbers in, but whatever it was... it was sweet and delicious. The cuc's complimented the all of the dishes other flavors very well. This dish was served with fish sauce on the side, and I poured my whole bowl of fish sauce on the noodles. The fish sauce was awesome, and really enjoyed it on my Bun noodles. I really enjoyed my dish as a whole. I'm writing this review as I ride in my friend's car a across the lovely (and partially snow covered) state of Washington, and I'm burping up fish sauce. My friends are not happy with my decision to pour the whole bowl of fish sauce on today's lunch.

As far as hot sauce goes, this place's was pretty good. The sauce was thicker than normal, and had no visible oil. It seemed like it might have been a mixture of Sriracha, tomato sauce, and pepper seeds. If you're afraid of hot sauce, be careful when using this one because it does contain some actual hotness.

Mediocre spring rolls. Delicious Bun noodles. Good service. Nice atmosphere. Definitely visit this restaurant.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Hu Tieu (hoac) Mi Dac Biet - House Special Noodle Soup - $7.25
Fortune: You will develop a new interest.
Rating:

Emmett's Review

I approached Green Leaf with high hopes. It opened with gushing reviews last year, and it was hard to get a table. The asians I knew raved about it, so I was like, hellZ yeah.

We had the nice table by the window on a frigid, sunny Seattle day. The service was attentive, polite, and quick. I wanted something beyond the normal Pho I usually get, so I asked about specials. There were no daily specials, but I quickly spied the Hu Tieu (hoac) Mi Dac Biet (House Special Noodles, number 29). It promised lots of good stuff - bbq pork, shrimp, fish balls, and WONTONS. It's like all my favorite foods in a bowl.

Our partys' other table had ordered the spring rolls, and we were like, "screw you and your hogging of all the spring rolls." We ordered our own, and they were delicious. They were fresh, had a nice crunchiness to the texture, and the peanut sauce wasn't overly peanuty. The main course came soon after, and it was fantastic. In addition to the listed ingredients, there was some baby celery, green onion, and what appeared to be ground pork in it. I added some red pepper sauce and a bit of hoisin, and dove in. There was only one wonton in it, but by god it was a good wonton.

Oh yeah, the spoon I got had a picture of a Geisha or something on it. Bonus points for that.

All in all a great experience. 4/5.

Luncher: Erin

Lunch: Bun Bo Xao - Vermicelli with Grilled Steak and Onion - $6.95
Fortune: You will receive a compliment from a stranger
Rating:

Erin's Review

On entering the restaurant, you can see that it’s a very small space! However the entry is well separated from the dining area, and the space is warm and comfortable with soft lighting. There was one spot available for more than four people, and it was occupied, so our group sat at separate tables – there were 8 of us. I had a Bun dish with sauteed beef and onions (7.95). Our table also ordered spring rolls with shrimp and pork (about 4.00). I had a Vietnamese coffee – strong coffee with sweetened condensed milk (3.00). I should be wide awake all afternoon. My entree was very good; the beef was sauteed to tender, and there were both fresh onions and frizzled (canned, I think) onions on the fresh rice vermicelli noodles. There was the usual vinegar sauce with shredded carrots and a side of chopped lettuce and cucumber, all very fresh. The dish was well made, however, it could have used some additional flavoring or spice – it was a little on the bland side. The spring rolls were disappointing; the rice wrap was fresh, and the dish arrived creatively plated, but the pressed pork tasted old and the peanut dipping sauce was bland. Service was prompt and friendly and well understood; food arrived quickly after being ordered, and mostly the table’s food arrived at the same time. The place must be popular as it was very crowded. Overall I’d rate this hole in the wall spot 4 chopsticks, because the service was quick, the atmosphere was pleasant and decorative and the food - although needing a bit of spice or flavor - was well cooked and presented.

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: Bun Chay - Vermicelli with Grilled Tofu - $6.95
Fortune: You place in the path of life is in the drivers seat
Rating:

Rob's Review

I've been looking forward to Green Leaf. On the down side, they pretty much have just a couple vegetarian entrees on the menu, of which I've only had one, the Bun Chay. But on the up side, it's so good that I keep ordering it, and today was no exception. It's basically a bowl of vermicelli noodles topped with all sorts of goodness: mushrooms, fried tofu, green onions, frizzled onions, peanuts, bean sprouts, and, for better or for worse, vegetarian ham. It comes with a small bowl of sauce (usually fish sauce, but the Bun Chay came with something that looked soy-sauce-based) that you pour over the noodles and then dig in. I don't particularly care for fake meat, so I asked them to hold the vegetarian ham, and in its place they put grilled tofu. The grilled tofu, I must say, was sublime -- slightly crispy on the outside, which gave it some great texture. The veggie sauce was quite nice, as well, not overpowering but still complementary to the dish. The salad that comes tucked in on one side of the bowl was awesome -- fresh and crisp, and the bits of mint really made it quite refreshing.

Luncher: Yvonne

Lunch: Pho Tai Gan - Rare Beef with Brisket - $6.50
Fortune: You or a close friend will be happily married.
Rating:

Yvonne's Review
Yum!

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: Hu Tieu (hoac) Mi Dac Biet - House Special Noodle Soup - $7.25
Fortune: You have a natural grace and great consideration for others
Rating:

Luncher: Torrey

Lunch: Hu Tieu Xao - Egg Noodle with Grilled Chicken and Bok Choy - $6.95
Fortune: You will find fortune.
Rating:

Green Leaf Photos

Green Leaf


Green Leaf is tiny


Fresh Spring Roll


Rob's Vermicelli with Grilled Tofu


Erin's Vermicelli with Steak and Grilled Onions


Micheal's House Special Noodle Soup


Adam's Vermicelli with Grilled Chicken


Geary's Fried Duck Noodle Soup


Yvonne's Pho


Emmett's House Special Noodle Soup w/ Naked Lady Spoon


Torrey's Egg Noodle with Chicken and Bok Choy


"As the Vietnamese World Turns"

Lunch #5: KC Kitchen

We hit another milestone today with the first turn on our now now finalized route. This was also the first day we had no idea what was next until we got there. Despite the uncertainty we still ended up with seven adventurous and hungry lunchers. As we turned off of Jackson onto 8th we spied the KC Kitchen and entered with hopes running high.

KC Kitchen, Seattle
Address: 414 8th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Cantonese
Average rating: 2.9 chopsticks
Lunch date: 11/14/2007 @ 12:08:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 17 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 56 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice plastic
Do they use MSG?: We were told "No." But my body is saying "Yes".
Where is the owner/chef from?: Canton
Number of tables: 13
Number of occupied tables: 1 (7%)
Number of business lunch tables: 0 (0%)
Number of "local" tables: 1 (100%)
Healthcode Score: n/a
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Sweet and Sour Pork - $5.50
Fortune: You will be enlightened today
Rating:

Emmett's Review

Holy good god this place was bad. Not quite Ga Ga Loc bad (you'll hear about this place soon enough) but the food was a shade better than cafeteria food at a Hong Kong prison.

The "Grand Opening" sign and the decor draws you in, it's quite nice on the inside, and bonus points for the plasma on the wall showing crazy Taiwanese game shows. The lazy susan had recently been wiped down with a paper towel, which also made me happy. It was getting excited. The menu had some expensive specialties, like Shark Fin soup for $28, which intrigued me, but was outside my normal lunch range. I decided to limit myself to the lunch menu, and after much waffling settled on the Sweet and Sour pork.

The food came, looked presentable enough. The pork was breaded and smothered in that red corn syrupy goodness. Unfortunately the meat was bland, the temperature wasn't piping hot like I'd expect fried food to be. A piece of the fried pork, was in fact, HALF RAW. According to most US physicians, trichinosis has largely been eliminated from US pork but seriously guys, seriously. That doesn't mean I want Sweet and Sour Pork Tartare. I sampled the rest of the cuisine, below average to average.

Enlightened indeed. Looking forward to Green Leaf.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Black Bean Chicken - $5.50
Fortune: Someone will offer you good advice.
Rating:

Geary's Review

Wow! Finally a Chinese restaurant with a lunch menu full of the same old crap. Maybe I'm alone on this, but I'm tired of this stuff. I'm really feeling the shackles of rule #2. I need to find a loophole.

KC Kitchen is bright, clean, and nicely appointed with fairly typical Chinese restaurant decor. It doesn't, however, seem to be a very popular lunch spot. There was only one other table there during the entire lunch. I suspect that since the other table was three older Chinese folks eating off of the regular menu a good lawyer could argue that rule #2 would allow me to order off of regular menu. I'll see if I can pull that off at the next spot.

I ordered lunch special #1, the Chicken in Black Bean Sauce with fried rice and hot and sour soup. The soup had lots of good stringy and chunky bits in it and was not overly thick. It would have been exceptional if it had had more tang or spice or something but in the end was just a little too bland. The fried rice was fine and the chicken was typical. Luckily we chose to eat family style and I got good tastes of most of the other dishes. Joey ordered Beef Chow Fun off of the regular menu and turned up the best dish. The dupmlings in Michael's dish were good, but the noodles were boring. Others raved about the General Tso's Chicken, but I have a deep prejudice against sugar covered meats. It tasted just as crappy as I expected. Luckily I didn't even try the Sweet and Sour Pork.

If you're coming for lunch you can expect the typical Chinese restaurant lunch fair standing up tall in the middle of the bell curve. There's nothing too wrong with the lunch at KC Kitchen, but there's nothing too right either.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: General Tsao Chicken - $5.50
Fortune: Good health will be yours for a long time
Rating:

Adam's Review

I honestly had no idea that this place existed. We were walking up Jackson Street wondering if there were even any restaurants on the east side of 8th Ave. There are, and KC Kitchen was the first place we came to. Walking into the restaurant is quite reassuring. A lot of the restaurants on our tour are going to be sketchy and have marginal health code reputations, but KC Kitchen was well lit, had clean tables, clean floors, and a clean bathroom.

Sticking to the rules of the lunch, I ordered the General Tsao Chicken lunch special. Of course it came with a soup, so I got Hot & Sour. At first glance, the soup looked like it was going to be good: the soup was full of egg, vegetables, and other Chinese goodness. Then I gave it a taste, and was kind of disappointed. The soup wasn't nearly as pungent, spicy or flavorful as I would have hoped. I guess it turned out to be standard.

Then my main dish came out, not only did it look different but it also tasted different. This was the least battered and fried General Tsao Chicken I've had and it was actually pretty good, but it lacked the crispness I've come to expect. It was better than a standard General Tsao, but not enough to warrant a special trip here. When I applied my standard amount of hot sauce, I noticed that their sauce was really salty.

Well lit and clean establishment. Standard food. Salty hot sauce.

Luncher: Joey

Lunch: Beef Chow Fun - $6.50
Fortune: Many possibilities are open to you. Take advantage of them.
Rating:

Joey's Review
I thought this was the place my friend told me wasn't very good, but I didn't recognize the name KC Kitchen. Since it had a grand opening sign, I figured the other place musta shut down. So I was a little more hopeful that this food would be decent... I almost bailed and went to Green Leaf next door. The first thing I was impressed with was the bathroom. It had been fairly well remodeld with new tile. I was disappointed however that the urinal would not flush... despite that I give the bathroom a 4/5 rating. Now, onto the food. I ordered the beef chow fun. It was pretty good, but mostly standard from what I've had before. I've had worse, but this pretty much met expectations. The beef was pretty tender, and was the best part of the dish to me. Out of all the other dishes that were ordered, I'd say mine was the best. The General Tso's was "aight". Next!

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: Dumpling and Wonton Noodles with Soup - $6.50
Fortune: You will be presented with a promising business plan.
Rating:

Michael's Review
After watching the videos playing on the wall at this fine establishment I have a new goal in life: To be trapped in a small phone booth with 3 hot young Asian women all wearing very short shorts while a giant balloon is inflated until it pops. How awesome is that? Also the food here was pretty great. The Generals Tso's chicken tasted like it had actually been made from scratch and not just some crappy sauce out of a can. and my Noodles with Dumplings is calling me back for seconds. And that beef nooodle thing was very tasty. I will eat here again.

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: BeefTofu with Brocolli - $5.50
Fortune: You will find fortune.
Rating:

Rob's Review
Minimal vegetarian options. Tofu-ified the beef with broccoli lunch special, but I believe I chose poorly. The tofu with broccoli dish was mostly bland and needed generous helpings of chili sauce to make it interesting. I did like the hot and sour soup, though -- not too thick and lots of stuff in it.

Luncher: Erin

Lunch: Kung Pao Chicken - $5.50
Fortune: You will hear from an old friend.
Rating:

KC Kitchen Photos

KC Kitchen


H&SS


Chicken with Black Bean Sauce


Sweet and Sour and Raw Pork


Dumpling and Won Ton Noodle with Soup


Beef Chow Fun


Rob is Choppin' Broccoli


General Tso's Scourge on the American Pallet


Kong Pao Chicken

Lunch #4: Sun Bakery & Deli

Again, we attracted a good-sized crowd of people as we left the office. It's starting to get hard to tell if people really like us for who we are or just like us for our blog. I guess that's just the price of success... It was next in line and passed rule #1, primary source of income is food, so the six of us had to stop in at the Sun Bakery and have lunch. It looks like this is the last lunch spot on the north side of Jackson inside the DLZ. We have decided on a spiral pattern so we will turn south along the east side of 8th to find our next spot. We rarely venture that far for lunch, so we have no idea what awaits us. It should be fun.

Sun Bakery & Deli, Seattle
Address: 658 S Jackson St, 98014
Cuisine: Chinese: Bakery, Vietnamese
Average rating: 3.5 chopsticks
Lunch date: 11/13/2007 @ 12:37:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 15 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 47 minutes
Chopstix quality: Smooth Wood
Do they use MSG?: A little bit
Where is the owner/chef from?: Born in Saigon, Vietnam but has Chinese heritage
Number of tables: 8
Number of occupied tables: 1 (12%)
Number of business lunch tables: 0 (0%)
Number of "local" tables: 1 (100%)
Healthcode Score: 37
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Sui-Kau Dumpling Rice Noodle Soup and a BBQ Pork Sandwich (Bahn Mi) - $4.50 + $2.25
Rating:

Adam's Review

I don't even know where to start with this review. I really liked this place (I'm reserving love for when I rate a restaurant a 5). But, this is definitely a place I would lobby my coworkers/friends to go to for lunch.

Lets start with the Sui-Kau Dumpling Rice Noodle Soup. Until the very friendly owner explained to me what Sui-Kau was, I had no idea. Being a responsible food reviewer, I'm now passing this knowledge on to you: Sui-Kau is a dumpling with shrimp, pork, and mushrooms in it. And wow, this is one delicious dumpling (actually, there were four in my "small" soup). The rice noodles in the soup seemed kind of bland, but that was expected. And as far as asian soups go, this one is a keeper. The broth was rich and savory and matched perfectly with the dumplings.

Just the premise of a "$2 sandwich" makes me think it will be delicious. It also makes me hungry. Anyway, I ordered the BBQ Pork Bahn Mi. This was my first Bahn Mi experience, so I had no idea what to expect. The sandwiches appear to be premade, and refrigerated until served. The BBQ pork was the typical "red rimmed" pork you get at a chinese restaurant to dip awesomely-hot mustard and poppy seeds. Then it was topped with some mayo, a pickle (I think), and some other vegetables. Even for $3, I think I would still buy one of these. They're delicious.

Great prices. Good food. Bright lighting. Friendly owner. Definitely hitting this place again.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Pho Tai, Bo Vien and a Combo Sandwich (Bahn Mi) - $4.95 + $2.25
Rating:

Geary's Review
Since the "two dollar sandwich" place on King and 5th shut down last year, this is one of the only sources of good bahn mi on this side of the ID. Why are these sandwiches always so cheap? You can't get a basic ham sandwich at any local deli for much less than $5 but the bahn mi are consistently under $3. Is this some Vietnamese reverse price fixing deal? Was this part of some secret agreement the US government made with refugees? "We'll welcome you in our country as long as you provide tasty sandwiches at affordable prices." I can't help but think that if the little shop on King had just raised it's prices to $3, it would still be here today. Maybe they hadn't noticed that Paul Allen had built a fancy new office building immediately across the street where Specialties is selling a ham sandwich for $5.25.

There is really no place friendlier then the Sun Bakery. It is a family run joint and they always seem very happy to have lunch guests. I have been a handful of times now and there is rarely anyone else there. Their primary source of business appears to be the bakery, but they have plenty of lunch seating and an ample menu. The only other occupied tables were one with the owners young daughter and her coloring books and another with a single business man who appeared to be very comfortable there. We chatted up the owner and learned that he was born in Vietnam but his grandparents were Chinese. The menu and bakery offerings are a mix of those two cultures.

Since I usually come for the bahn mi, I rarely get to try the other stuff. Today I had the pho, figuring it was a good baseline to judge quality, and, since I was there, a ham-chicken combo bahn mi. Double yum. I was pleasantly surprised by the soup. It had a rich, flavorful broth, fresh meat, and savory meat balls. It was one of the better phos I have had. I had some sips of the dumpling soup as well and was also impressed.

It wasn't clear to me at first how I should rate the Sun Bakery. On the one hand it was a delicious meal in a friendly environment at a great price, but on the other, I have never had a meal at a Vietnamese restaurant that I didn't like. Should I score this as an average Vietnamese restaurant and give it three chopsticks? In the end I came to the conclusion that we are scoring each against all of the other ID restaurants and, on that scale, the Sun Bakery is clearly in the top half.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Sui-Kau Dumpling Rice Noodle Soup and a BBQ Pork Sandwich (Bahn Mi) - $4.50 + $2.25
Rating:

Emmett's Review

I ordered the Sui-Kai Rice Noodle Soup and the barbecued pork Bahn Mi. Sui-Kai are dumplings with bamboo shoots, mushrooms, pork, and shrimp, and were quite good. The soup broth was light in flavor, with a nice black pepper taste. All appeared freshly made.

The Bahn Mi (sandwich) was good. The pork was salty and a bit cold, would have preferred freshly barbecued pork. The balance of ingredients in the sandwich was also quite good, with cilantro, carrot, and a starchy white veg of some kind (perhaps Daikon?).

The service was attentive, and the atmosphere was nice and relaxed. Overall I'd give it 3 chopsticks - good food but I wasn't blown away.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: Egg Rolls and a BBQ Pork Sandwich (Bahn Mi) - $2.95 + $2.25
Rating:

Luncher: Erica

Lunch: Won Ton Rice Noodle Soup - $4.50
Rating:

Luncher: Torrey

Lunch: Pho Tai, Chin, Bo Vien - $4.95
Rating:

Sun Bakery & Deli Photos

Sun Bakery & Deli


Bahn Mi menu


Menu


Pho


Won Ton Rice Noodle Soup


Bakery Offerings

Lunch #3: Kaname

We hit a milestone for MSG150 today, we crossed our first street. Yay! We moved a block up Jackson crossing 6th to the next spot. For those of you playing along at home, we still don't have a pattern agreed upon. The current working plan is to do a spiral. This is not a perfect plan because it misses a bunch of blocks. We'll figure something out because a pattern is crucial. Without a pattern that forces the next choice, we will end up eating at all of the good places first and be left with months of undesirables at the end.

Just east of 6th and Jackson, the cozy, authentic Takohachi has been replaced with the new, hip Kaname: restaurant, Izakaya, and Shochu bar. I'll miss the Takahachi sign, a happy octopus with a bandanna. Was it a sushi chef octopus or a samurai octopus? Does anyone have a photo? It should be part of this Flikr group.

We showed up today with a hungry group of seven and were seated right away. Well, we were seated right away after we showed the wait staff how to turn a six top into a seven top by adding a chair at the end. They seemed surprised that it worked.

Kaname, Seattle
Address: 610 S Jackson St, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Japanese
Average rating: 3.3 chopsticks
Lunch date: 11/9/2007 @ 12:00:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 1.25 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 20 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 64 minutes
Chopstix quality: Smooth Wood
Do they use MSG?: No
Where is the owner/chef from?: Seattle (3rd Generation Japanese-American)
Number of tables: 17
Number of occupied tables: 12 (70%)
Number of business lunch tables: 4 (33%)
Number of "local" tables: 4 (33%)
Healthcode Score: n/a
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Saba Shioyaki - $8.50
Rating:

Geary's Review
Kaname opened only a couple of weeks ago and it shows. The food was mostly good but the service needs some work. It was less than half full when we showed up and they took our order promptly, but it took them twenty minutes to get all the food out and we had to remind them to bring the miso.

I have to admit that when the food finally showed up I had some order envy. I really wanted to order the Katsu Don, but since it was on the back of the menu and I am trying to abide by rule #2 I went with one of the proponent lunch entrées even though they sounded a little boring. I went with the Saba Shioyaki (broiled mackerel), served with salad, rice, miso (if they remember) and noodles. The mackerel was good although a bit overcooked. The salad was typical, green leaf lettuce with tomatoes and a very light dressing. I've never understood the salad served with Japanese lunches. Is this done in Japan or is this something that has been adopted by Japanese-Americans restaurateur?

Kaname shows potential, but is not there yet. Since we still have over a hundred restaurants on our list it's not likely I'll be back soon, but I'll give it another try someday when they have had a chance to iron out some of the kinks. Good luck Kaname. I wish you well.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Tori Nabe - $8.50
Rating:

Adam's Review

I had no idea what Tori Nabe was (or how to pronounce it) before we went to Kaname, but it was listed next to the Sukiyaki (with beef), so I figured it was similar. It is, but its made with chicken. The cabbage in the dish was cooked to perfection and was by far the most delicious part. Unfortunately the chicken was chewier than I would have hoped for, but I guess that would be expected in a soup.

This place is a little more expensive than I like for lunch places, so that put a bit of a sour taste in my mouth before the lunch even started. Aside from just being cheap, I'm also really impatient. Therefore waiting 20 minutes to get our food put another bad taste in my mouth. Even with these preconceived tastes in my mouth, this place still seems like a decent lunch spot.

High prices. Slow service. Great ambiance. Awesome music videos being shown.

Luncher: Joey

Lunch: Sukiyaki - $8.50
Rating:

Joey's Review
Pretty tasty sukiyaki, but small portions. I liked the thick bean thread noodle they had in there. If they had given more, I may have given it a 4/5.

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: Gyu Don - $7.95
Rating:

Michael's Review
The music videos they're showing are awesome

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: Salmon with House Special Miso Cream Sauce - $8.50
Rating:

Rob's Review
I liked the special miso cream sauce quite a bit. Light and tasty. Wasn't quite sure what to make of the salad, though -- there didn't seem to be any dressing aside from a small dollop of something I didn't find particularly inspiring on the one piece of broccoli. Also, my dish was the one that pushed the food prep time out to 20 minutes. Most of the other MSG150 crowd were a good ways into their meals by the time mine arrived. Aside from all that, the salmon was pretty good, I thought.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: Sukiyaki - $8.50
Rating:

Luncher: Anthea

Lunch: Saba Shioyaki - $8.50
Rating:

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Saba - $8.50
Rating:

Emmett's Review

I had a conflict when the rest of the team went to Kaname, and I was eager to try it. The reviews were quite mixed, maybe reflecting the newness of the establishment. I was visiting over a month later, on December 19th. It was a cold day, and I was visiting with my buddy Sam.

The space is quite nice, definitely an upgrade since Takohachi, which was dark, cramped, yet awesome. This place is well lit, got some nice wood finishes, that sorta thing. I ordered the House Special Deep Fried Mackerel, (Saba Age). It came with Miso Soup, a salad, some cold noodles, and some white rice on the side. It was delicious. Deep fried, piping hot, nicely seasoned. It had a great flavor, and the accompaniments rounded out the meal. Sam ordered the deep fried oysters, which I tried, and were also fantastic.

Service was quick and friendly. I'll definitely be back.

Kaname Photos

Kename - Grand Opening


Kename


Menu cover


Magnum with Tori Nabe


Joey's Sukiyaki


Geary's Saba Shioyaki

Lunch #2: Golden City Seafood Restaurant

Moving east on the north side of Jackson takes us next to Golden City. If you don't look carefully, Golden City and New Star (Lunch #1) look like the same restaurant. They share the same building and have the same awnings. This spot has been a couple of different Japanese restaurants in the past three of years. This stacks the odds against Golden City, but we wish it well.

Today Emmett was busy so Al and Yvonne joined me and Adam on day two of this misadventure. We had all been here before recently, so this visit was more of a formality (we must follow the rules) than an adventure.

Golden City Seafood Restaurant, Seattle
Address: 520 S Jackson St, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Cantonese, Chinese: Seafood
Average rating: 4 chopsticks
Lunch date: 11/7/2007 @ 12:30:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 8.5 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 34 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice plastic
Do they use MSG?: Yes
Where is the owner/chef from?: Canton
Number of tables: 25
Number of occupied tables: 5 (20%)
Number of business lunch tables: 2 (40%)
Number of "local" tables: 3 (60%)
Healthcode Score: 20
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Chicken with Black Bean Over Rice - $3.95
Fortune: Your have will be a source of happiness
Rating:

Adam's Review

Really, the number one reason I like this place is (drum roll): I'm cheap. Reason number two: its actually really good. Its hard to believe that for $4, you can get a good-tasting and filling Chinese lunch. One of my favorite things about the lunch special is that it comes out in a Pyrex™ pie dish, which makes it easier to eat with chopsticks.
One thing you'll notice about Geary and I is that we like hot sauce. A lot. This place's hot sauce seems to compliment their food very well. It's not so hot that it's hard to eat it, but it's hot enough to let you know it's there.
Amazing prices. Great food. This place is a definite lunchtime must.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Seafood with Curry Over Rice - $3.95
Fortune: You have an unusual magnetic personality
Rating:

Geary's Review

I have to admit, that this place was a bit of a surprise*. Their $3.95 lunch menu is not your typical kung pao fair. It forty or so seemingly traditional Cantonese dishes in four sections: congee, soup, noodle dishes, and rice dishesl. But, wait, that's not all...if you are more comfortable with the typical fair (Yvonne) they have a $5.95 lunch menu of standards complete with soup, fried rice. and chow mein. For those keeping score at home, this is now my favorite non-Dim Sum, Chinese lunch spot withing the DLA.

Today I had the Seafood with Curry Over Rice. It was ample and delicious. Also, since the $3.95 lunch doesn't come with soup, I ordered a cup of hot and sour on the side. The soup is nice an pungent. I also really like their hot sauce. I add a bit extra to my soup and even spiced up the curry a bit. Yum!

The one negative is that the food tends to come out of the kitchen randomly. There is typically someone who ends up waiting for their food, although today it all came out quickly. Maybe they are getting their rhythm down.

* Full disclosure: I have been to Golden City 4 previous times. It has been in my regular rotation for the last couple of months.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: Mongolian Beef - $5.95
Fortune: You will help someone in a difficult situation
Rating:

Al's Review
Liked the chow mein, and thinks Yvonne is just being fussy

Luncher: Yvonne

Lunch: Orange Chicken - $5.95
Fortune: You have an ambitious nature and may make a name for yourself
Rating:

Yvonne's Review
Didn't like the chow mein

Golden City Seafood Restaurant Photos

Golden City


Al's Lunch


Adam's Lunch


Seafood Curry with Rice


Orange Chicken


$4 Specials

Lunch #1: New Star Restaurant

We were still laying out ground rules as we headed out to find our first spot. How do we avoid having a lunch of jo-jos and corn-dogs at the corner scary-mart? Should we check for health code violations before going in (Emmett says no)? Somehow we decided to start by heading east on Jackson. The first lunch spot within the DLA is the New Star Restaurant just east of 5th next to the parking lot. We took some pictures outside and headed in.

New Star Restaurant, Seattle
Address: 514 S Jackson St, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Cantonese, Chinese: Seafood
Average rating: 3.2 chopsticks
Lunch date: 11/6/2007 @ 12:10:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 1 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 7 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 40 minutes
Chopstix quality: Cheap plastic
Do they use MSG?: No
Where is the owner/chef from?: Hong Kong
Number of tables: 20
Number of occupied tables: 5 (25%)
Number of business lunch tables: 0 (0%)
Number of "local" tables: 2 (40%)
Healthcode Score: 10
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Prawns in Spicy Garlic Sauce - $6.50
Fortune: It's time to treat yourself to something special
Rating:

Geary's Review

This is the type of place I dread the most about this adventure. It looks like they have a nice dinner menu and probably attract lots of Chinese families with their wide selection of authentic dishes, but it was 12:15 on a Tuesday and it was almost empty. Their lunch menu is mostly the typical American Chinese lunch specials. For six bucks you can get fried rice, a bowl of soup (guess what the two options are), and cashew chicken or Mongolian beef or chicken in garlic sauce or one of the other classics. And since these are targeted at local business folks, not their Chinese customers, they are typically uninspired and bland. They still offer their full dinner menu and had some interesting specials listed on their chalk board, but we must abide by rule #2 so we ordered off of the lunch menu. To be completely fair, the lunch menu was a bit more extensive than typical, but still a bit boring.

Service was prompt and friendly. The hot and sour soup was fine, but neither hot nor sour enough for my tastes. I asked the woman serving us for a recommendation and decided to go with the prawns in spicy garlic sauce that she suggested. The fried rice was average. The sauce on the prawns was too sweet and not very spicy (even at 5 stars) for a dish with 'spicy' in the name.

The hot sauce was interesting. I'm not sure what was in it, but it was like finly chopped nuts or beans. It had a pleasant taste, but wasn't very hot.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Three Flavored Meats in Peking Sauce - $6.50
Fortune: Your respect for others will be your ticket to success
Rating:

Adam's Review

I'm not sure my review for this restaurant is valid because I was so excited about starting the MSG150, that I probably thought everything was tastier than it actually was.
I know you're thinking: "Who in their right mind would want to get a dish called Three Flavored Meats?" That'd me be. The meats were chicken, prawns, and pork (at least I think that was pork). The Peking sauce was standardly delicious. In fact, everything about the meal was pretty standard.
Something that scares most people is hot sauce, but you shouldn't be of this one. The hot sauce may have been the only non-standard thing at this place: It seemed like it had some sort of seeds in it that were a little sweet. The sweetness was good, but the seeds took up all the room,