Pike Place Chowder

1530 Post Alley
Seattle, WA 98101

Occasion: We knew we wanted to check out their chowders here, just a matter of when we could fit it into our schedule filled with so many food stops. 09.01.13

There was a Yelp check in deal. 3 chowder sampler cups for $9 so we took advantage of it.

We got the regular chowder, salmon chowder and the seafood bisque.  They were all very creamy and flavorful, but my favorite is probably the seafood bisque. I'm glad the two of us shared all of this, otherwise I don't think I could have finished it. I love variety, seafood and good eats. I'd definitely recommend this for those who are visiting Seattle.

Yellow Leaf Cupcake Company

2209 4th Ave
Seattle, WA 98121

Occasion: Time for an afternoon snack after a morning at the Zoo and a delicious lunch at Paseo's. Another recommendation that I wanted to check out. You know me and my sweets, it's hard to resist. 08.31.12

Honey Lavender

I understand that everyone has different likes and preferences with cupcakes, but this is seriously one of the best I've had. Not only are the flavors unique, but the cupcake is moist and fluffy and the buttercream frosting is airy, light at the perfect amount of sweetness. I love the fact that the buttercream was super light and not overly sweet. Often times, I find myself scraping off more than half of the frosting, but it was definitely not the case here. The sweetness of the honey and the floral aroma and taste of the lavender. My only complaint is that they could have done without the sprinkles, as it's not my thing.

Definitely a unique variety of flavors

Their most popular is their pancakes and bacon. But my favorite has to be the strawberry passion-fruit. Strawberry cupcake filled with passion fruit filling. So delicious. 6 months later and I still think about it. A must try when you're in Seattle. Other flavors tried were also their keylime pie, redvelvet, earl grey. They have their daily specials, so make sure you call ahead to see what they have.

Paseo

4225 Fremont Ave N
Seattle, WA 98103

Occasion: After a morning at the Zoo, we were super excited to try this raved about place both by friends and on yelp. Oh and trust me the sandwiches sure did not disappoint at all. It was about a 10 minute walk from the zoo and very convenient, just go straight down Fremont Ave after you get out of the zoo and walk about 10 blocks.  08.31.12

Carribean Roast Sandwich

Pork shoulder coated in Paseo marinade and slow roasted til falling into succulent morsels.

In my opinion, I thought it lived up to the hype! It was so freaking delicious. The pork meat was super tender and super flavorful and the bread was slightly toasted. It was so good, I wanted more.  I don't know what they use to flavor it, but it was finger licking good.

Paseo Prawns

Black tiger prawns sauteed in extra virgin olive oil, garlic tapenade and simmered in a vibrant red sauce.  Instead of getting two sandwiches, we decided to for variety and got one entree and boy was it a mistake.  We should have just stuck to the sandwiches, because this was at best mediocre to me. Nothing extraordinary nor anything special worth mentioning. Next time, just skip this and get an extra sandwich.

Piroshky Piroshky

1908 Pike Pl
Seattle, WA 98101

Occasion: Breakfast at this infamous and highly recommended bakery that is 2 blocks away from our hotel inside of Pike's place. Oh how convenient. We got there around 9am and already, there was a line out the door; but luckily it's not too long of a wait (about 10 minutes). 08.31.12

Beef and Cheese

This was probably our favorite one out of the few that we tried.  It was fresh out the oven and the pastry dough was buttery and flaky; almost reminded me of a croissant but even flakier, more buttery and way tastier.  It was flavorful, rich and absolutely fulfilling. We loved it so much we went back for more the next day.

Salmon

I'm really torn about how I feel about this one. I love salmon and maybe because I had the beef and cheese first, but I wasn't expecting it to be wrapped with bread, I was expecting it to be in a flaky pastry like the beef and cheese.  It was too much bread and not enough salmon and the proportions didn't match up.

Close up on the salmon filling.  The salmon was cold and reminded me of a salmon spread/ salmon pate.  Not to say it wasn't good, just not what I was expecting.

Altura

617 Broadway E
Seattle, WA 98102

Occasion: Friday night fine dining in Seattle. We both decided to pick a restaurant of our choice to dine at.  Friday night was up to me and I did some research online and on yelp and came to the conclusion of choosing this relatively new spot to dine at. We opted for the chef's tasting menu. 08.31.12

Complimentary shots

We got to sit right at the bar and watched the chef and sou chefs prepare meals.  It was definitely a different experience; something that we enjoyed. A lot of times, we don't get the opportunity to appreciate the art and the work that a chef puts into our dishes.  I'm definitely glad we got to sit at the bar.

Amuse bouche:

Sweet corn Panna cotta with green olive oil and cured salmon

How do you not like complimentary dishes. The light creamy panna cotta went surprisingly well with the cured salmon. There's definitely a good balance of flavors there.

Complimentary bread

Peach and melon salad

Tomato two ways

Tomato with burratta

Reminded me almost of a caprese salad

Tomato bisque

Tagliatelle

Probably my favorite dish of the night! Chunks of crab meat! Soft pasta. Cripsy guanciale(?); which reminded me of bacon but a lot thinner. The sauce was delicious and the cherry tomatoes were super sweet.

Risotto

Creamy with flavorful speck and mussel

Ravioli

stuffed with veal and procini with sweetbread picked onion and lemon reserve

Lamb: Two ways! Loved it seared

Steak: truffles orange and delicious! Crispy fried rice like things. Puree was sweet and great compliment

Foie Gras

I think the chef overheard that we were from California and our reminiscing of the banned luxury good, so he prepared this foie gras torchon for us. It was amazingly delicious. The acidity of the variety of fruit chunks helped lighten the richness of the foie gras and complemented it very well.  Not only was the presentation itself a pretty sight, but the flavors were there too. Thank you for preparing this dish for us!

Cheese plate

Since Henry is not a fan of cheeses, I basically devoured most of this.  There was definitely a bleu cheese in there that had a distinct smell that made it unbearable for him.  How can you not like cheese?

And then, there was dessert. By this dish, I regretted going with the chef's tasting menu and wished that we just chose what we wanted. Don't get me wrong, I love desserts, but when I go fine dining, I like to save all my appetite for the food.  It wasn't anything extraordinary...even though I did almost finished everything. #fatgirlproblems