MSG150: Seattle International District Lunch Food: February 2009

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Lunch #67: Green Village

We have heard tales of Green Village since the early days of our journey. But the tiny, well worn eatery was shuttered every time we walked past. It was still closed when its place in line came around and we were forced to pass on by. We did not forget about it and during a recent foray into the area, we noticed that it was open and hopping again. So today the MSG150 crew ventured out to finally check it off our list.

Green Village, Seattle
Address: 516 6th Ave S, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Chinese
Average rating: 3 chopsticks
Lunch date: 2/13/2009 @ 11:45:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 3 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 5 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 35 minutes
Chopstix quality: Cheap Wood
Do they use MSG?: Yes, but they can make anything without it.
Where is the owner/chef from?: Wendy is from Taiwan, and very nice.
Number of tables: 13
Number of occupied tables: 10 (76%)
Number of business lunch tables: 2 (20%)
Number of "local" tables: 7 (70%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Juicy Beef Noodle Soup - $6.95
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Emmett's Review

This is one of those places that everyone tells you about, usually with a bit of glee. Their verbal reviews contain comments like "it's sooooo yummy," or "BEST KUNG PAO EVAR!" Some written reviews even contain ASCII art shrines to this place. Ok, so ASCII art is pretty cool. :) As this is the 67th unique lunch place I've tried in this area, I'll do my best to put this place in context to its near neighbors.

First thing I notice - this place is CLEAN. Not typical of the ID. There's a short line, and then you order at the counter. The counter lady was super friendly, and quickly took my order of Juicy Beef Noodle Soup with side of hot tea. She helped find us some places to sit in the crowded restaurant and promised to bring our food out to us, which was great. I give it an A for the service, which you wouldn't expect in a fast food joint like this.

The noodle soup came in a sizeable bowl, was nice and hot, had a decent flavor. The beef chunks were fatty, a little grisly, and nothing too special. The egg noodles were average, and along with the broth we have a fairly average bowl of beef noodle soup. Here's the lowdown: beef noodle soup is a pretty common dish in this neighborhood, and you can get some fantastic soups for the same amount of money or less literally a block away. Geary had what appeared to be a delicious bowl at Sub-Sand just the other day. Szechuan Noodle Bowl delivers a version that is easily three times as good as this. Gourmet Noodle Bowl, Mike's, Phnom Penh, and of course Pho Bac will have you coming back for more.

However, great quick service does count for something. I'll definitely be back to try other things on the menu.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Hot Pepper Diced Chicken - $6.95
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Geary's Review

The green awning is a bit grungy but the interior seems to have received some care recently. There are new tables and chairs in the otherwise spartan dining area which today was bustling with a near capacity crowd. We got in line to order from the counter and were shouted a friendly welcome from the woman taking orders. The line moved quickly and by the time we ordered a table had cleared and we grabbed it.

The H&SS was delivered almost immediately and was delicious. It was just the right combination of pungent and spicy to get my appetite teed up for the main course. The lunches arrived soon after. My Hot Pepper Diced Chicken was disappointing. I had higher hopes for Green Village, but what I ended up with was typical greasy Kung Pao chicken.

If you are looking for friendly fast service and a filling meal of palatable Chinese food, Green Village would fit the bill. However there are better and cheaper options in the area.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Twice Cooked Pork - $6.95
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Adam's Review

Green Village is open! It had been inexplicably closed for several months, and we were quiet excited to see it's lights on.

When we walked in, we were greeted with an excited "Hello!" and busy restaurant. I love ordering off of a menu board: something about a big menu mounted behind a counter always gets me a little excited. I stepped up, and threw out my order for twice cooked pork (on Amanda's recommendation).

A few minutes later, the food started showing up. The first thing I noticed were the large portion sizes. Then I tried the food and it was pretty danged good. It didn't knock my socks off, but it at least pulled 'em down a little bit. I was also happy to go home with atleast enough food for another meal.

Overall, a pretty positive experience. I'll be back.

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: House Special Chow Mein - $6.95
Rating: 2 Chopsticks

Michael's Review

My food came last to the table, and it wasn't worth the wait. Average flavor with very above average grease.

This lunch left me feeling ill for the rest of the day.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: General Chicken - $6.95
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

Al's Review

I had the General Tao Chicken with sweet and sour soup.

Service - fast; chicken - tender; breading - light; soup - surprisingly bland; price - a little high: 4 chopsticks.

Luncher: Torrey

Lunch: Twice Cooked Pork - $6.95
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Luncher: Jared

Lunch: Twice Cooked Pork - $6.95
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Green Village Photos

Green Village

Male Pattern Waiting to Order

Green Village Menu

H&SS

Juicy Beef Noodle Soup

Hot Pepper Diced Chicken

Twice Cooked Pork

General Chicken

House Special Chow Mein

Friday, February 13, 2009

Lunch #66: Sub Sand

Last week on the way back from lunch I noticed a new store front on 6th. On closer inspection I realized it was a new restaurant. I stopped in found out that they had been open for over a month. How did that get past us? I guess we've been slacking. But we're on it now. Today we headed out in full MSG150 fighting strength to find out what Sub-Sand was all about.

Sub Sand, Seattle
Address: 419 6th Ave S, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Average rating: 4.1 chopsticks
Lunch date: 12/15/2008 @ 12:15:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 1 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 10 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 45 minutes
Chopstix quality: Metal!
Do they use MSG?: Yes
Where is the owner/chef from?: Vietnam with Chinese ansestry
Number of tables: 3
Number of occupied tables: 3 (100%)
Number of business lunch tables: 3 (100%)
Number of "local" tables: 0 (0%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Tofu Vermicelli Noodles - $5.50
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

Adam's Review

A new Bahn Mi joint: we're on it. This place isn't much larger than a hole in the wall, so the 7 of us in the group pretty much filled the place to capacity. I figured someone else would review the deliciously stacked Bahn Mi sandwiches, so I went with the Tofu Vermicelli Noodles (a.k.a. Bun noodles).

Bun noodle dishes aren't very complicated, and it really feels like the "secret" is in fish sauce. This fish sauce was good (not great, not Pho Bac... but pretty damned good). The one beauty of their fish sauce is that I wasn't burping garlic all afternoon: a true treat. The noodles were the right texture... and the helping was pretty huge. The pickled dicon and carrots are good. The lettuce in the noodles was surprisingly fresh and crispy. Overall a very solid meal that I would recommend.

With a nice owner and some good food, I definitely recommend this one.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Spicy Beef Noodle Soup - $6.50
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

Geary's Review

Sub-Sand is a Vietnamese/Chinese sandwich and soup place. The owner is from Vietnam but of Chinese ancestry. The restaurant is small with only four tables. The Sub-Sand logo is an orange cartoonish submarine with a smile and is panted on the back wall under a large neon Sub-Sand sign. There is also a giant mural of a military submarine surfacing on the wall next to the tables. There is a sandwich bar like most sub shops, but since we were eating in they asked us to sit, brought us tea, and took our order at the table.

I ordered the Spicy Beef Noodle Soup based on the beautiful photo of the dish on the wall. While we waited for our food we enjoyed Hong Kong TV on two flat screens and watched the owner carefully prepare sandwiches. He puts an amazing amount of care and effort into each. The soup we good and I ate it all, but it was a bit too divergent from the standard American pallet to be fully enjoyable. For instanced, it contained chunks of congealed blood and a whole pigs knuckle. The tender hunks of beef were good, but the broth was a bit to pungent for me.

I have since been back and have had the BBQ Pork Sub and Salt-and-Pepper Tofu Sub which were both delicious. These subs are more substantial than typical Bahn Mi and include a large toasted bun, lettuce, and cucumbers among other things.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: BBQ Pork Sub Sandwich - $3.99
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

Emmett's Review

Sub Sand has a peculiar name for its tiny storefront, nestled between Unicorn Crepes and a Travel Agent. Unlike Subway, which has wallpaper showing early 20th century subway maps, Sub Sand gets it right and has an 8 foot World War II Submarine on the wall. Hand painted too. It's a small joint, with only 3 tables or so with lava lamps instead of salt shakers. The televisions were showing either Justice John G screwing up Barack's moment, or some crazy TV show with Frodo dancing with robots. It was like we entered some crazy alternative reality - a reality with GREAT sandwiches.

The ordering situation is a bit awkward because it appears to be a deli, so you want to order at the counter, which we do. However, the guy making the sandwiches takes his time making them, so we end up sitting down at the table. If there were more people here it'd be a little cramped. Fortunately the food is worth it. On this visit I ordered the BBQ Pork Sandwich. The sandwich is fresh, delicious, and made with the utmost attention to detail. They are very similar to Vietnamese Bahn Mi, with the spice and veggies, however, Sub Sand adds the lettuce and tomato and does away with Cilantro, aiming for a more American style sub.

My biggest complaint is that for a sandwich shop, it's not a quick in/out. I've been the only person in the restaurant and it's at least 5 minutes to get a to-go order. Fortunately the courteous service, the beautiful wall art, the zen-like ambience, and the delicious subs keep me coming back for more.

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: "Look Luck" Beef Fried Rice - $6.95
Rating: 5 Chopsticks

Michael's Review

One of the finest lunch spots in the area. Huge sandwiches, juicy and tasty, made with great care for very little money. The fellow behind the counter really takes his time and lays out all the ingredients with great precision. This is how you want your food prepared.

I have been back to SubSand over twenty times since our first visit. We are going at least 2-3 times per week. No other lunch spot in the ID has seen so many return visits after a review.

Get the Pork sandwich. Get the Herbed Duck with Noodles. Split an order of spring rolls. And then go back and get another sandwich to go for dinner.