Thursday, February 26, 2009

Lunch #67: Green Village

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
Green Village

Luncher: Emmett

Juicy Beef Noodle SoupLunch: 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

Hot Pepper Diced ChickenLunch: 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

Twice Cooked PorkLunch: 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

House Special Chow MeinLunch: 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

General ChickenLunch: 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

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

Luncher: Jared

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

Green Village Photos

Green Village
Green Village

Male Pattern Waiting to Order
Male Pattern Waiting to Order

Green Village Menu
Green Village Menu

H&SS
H&SS

Juicy Beef Noodle Soup
Juicy Beef Noodle Soup

Hot Pepper Diced Chicken
Hot Pepper Diced Chicken

Twice Cooked Pork
Twice Cooked Pork

General Chicken
General Chicken

House Special Chow Mein
House Special Chow Mein

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice review. I was suprised no one tried the pork fried rice out. I went for lunch the other day and realized I haven't tried anything else on the menu, because their fried rice is the BEST! I cannot attest the other menu items, but my sister lovingly refers to it as 'crack' fried rice.

Needless to say, we've managed to addict every person we've taken there to the fried rice.

For $6.50 + tax, it's enough fried rice for TWO meals.

Emmett said...

fair enough. i think i now need to try this 'crack fried rice.' i'll be right back.

Ashtormie said...

Definitely try the Chicken Cold Noodle. My dad has been going there before I was even born, and now I am following the trend. I order it every time, definitely one of my favorites!