Jason W.'s Profile

I stopped by for dinner with a friend before seeing a movie at Pacific Place next door.  We started off by splitting a bottle of the house sake -- which was served piping hot, already a bad sign.  (Just as good beer is never served ice cold, good sake is usually not served hot.)  The house sake ($5.25) was the most watery I've ever tasted, but fortunately they had bottles of better stuff ($7-9).  I'd stick to what's named on the menu there.

My friend and I split the Singapore noodles ($10) which had a good flavor and some manageable chunks of tofu.  I also ordered two sushi rolls from their very sparse menu.  At over $8 for each of tuna-and-smoked-salmon and shrimp tempura, I was amazed by how small the rolls were.  Normally two orders of maki will fill me up, but I found myself nibbling at the Singapore noodles a fair bit.  The quality of the fish wasn't good enough to justify the high price or the tiny size of the sushi here.

I can understand the praise for happy hour, since $2 for a half-order of sushi seems much more fair than $8.60 for a full order.  At regular price, the small sushi portions and dreadful house sake bring this place way down.

I've been a member of the Residence ever since a co-worker of mine introduced me to the novel concept.  Buster Butterfield McLeod (born Erik Benson) and longtime friend Lele McLeod (born Lele Ng) rented out a space in a 100-year-old building in Belltown.  Lele wanted to start an art gallery and Buster wanted to start a bar, so they compromised and started both in the same space.

The place is still under construction but shows an enormous amount of promise.  Everything in the art gallery, including the "Shit-Be-Gone" toilet paper in the bathroom ($2) and the gigantic lighted ransom note installation (over $10,000), is for sale.  Becoming a member gets you access to a very eclectic mishmash of engineers, artists, and personalities.  Once the bar is complete, the Residence will open to the public.

When most establishments want to mix technology with community, they put up a wireless access point so people can silently hop on MySpace (or Yelp) while sipping coffee.  The Residence is much more creative.  Their photo booth uploads every candid photo you take to Flickr instantly.  More socio-technological projects are in the works, and if you can contribute your expertise, you might just be made a member for your help.

If you're a Steelers fan in Seattle, this is your place.  A group of local black-and-gold loyalists has been coming here for years, and this was the unanimous verdict when I asked around for a good place to root for the team that won Super Bowl XL (well, by most accounts).

There's not much to say about this bar otherwise.  It is not at all a Steelers-exclusive bar.  Early in the 2006 season, the bar was split in half: the Steelers fans watched CBS on the far side of the room, and the Seahawks fans watched their games on the near side of the room.  Seattle being as passive-aggressive as it is, there isn't very much real animosity between the two groups of fans.  Other decorations on the wall suggest a mishmash of allegiances for collegiate sports, including both the Florida Gators and the UW Huskies.

The only reason I would come here is for a Steelers Sunday, sipping diner-grade coffee while watching the opening kickoff.  (You coffee snobs can stop by the Starbucks next door; the staff doesn't mind outside drinks.)  Aside from the coffee I wouldn't recommend any of the food items here.  Fried foods are often overly greasy and undercooked.  If you order the chicken tenders, a bargain at $7 with fries, cut one open before you eat any of them.  I just shuddered to think what biting into undercooked chicken tastes like.  Though I never indulged in it, their breakfast special is a popular pick on Sunday mornings.

The TVs here all get NFL Sunday Ticket so you won't miss a game.  I was surprised to see a sports bar without even one high definition set.  The projectors work well enough, and the big screen makes for a convenient target to throw Terrible Towels in response to a bad call.

I won't be back until September, and unless you really want to give your digestive system a workout, I'd suggest that you wait as well.

There are two situations when you might see a Road Samaritan truck: when you wish they hadn't come and when you asked for them to come.  I had the latter experience.

For the last three months my car has been garaged while I took the One Less Car Challenge.  In a nutshell, I signed a contract not to use my car for two months in favor of Flexcar and public transportation.  (Since my car spent THREE months idle, you can get an idea of how much I liked Flexcar.) When I finally decided to start driving my own car again, the battery had totally died.  A friend and I tried to jump start my battery but that didn't work.  AAA didn't help me out because they don't provide emergency roadside service when a car's been sitting idle for months.  (Tip: When calling AAA, lie.)  They did, however, put me in touch with Road Samaritan.

On a Sunday night, I was quite relieved to talk to a Road Samaritan rep who laid out the options for me.  No places were open, of course, but she recommended a few to me to call the next morning.  After cross-referencing them with Yelp I decided to call the next morning to have my car towed to a good, fair mechanic.

At about 9:00 AM, it took only about 20 minutes to get a truck out to my building.  A jump start with a portable starter didn't work very quickly, so the driver pushed my car towards the garage exit (using techniques I thought were unique to World's Strongest Man competitors) and gave me a jump directly from his truck.  That did the trick, and he was on his way to the next stranded motorist.

I have praise for Road Samaritan for quick response and courteous service.  (Maybe it's that same attention to detail that would make them hated as a tow company you DON'T want to see coming for your car.)  They even take credit cards for their services, something I didn't expect.

I have only two quibbles about the company.  First, their name implies that they're some kind of charity, and they're definitely a for-profit concern.  (I apologize if the company's owner really is from Samaria.)  Second, the driver was a bit misleading with his advice about juicing up the battery with driving, or perhaps I didn't hear him clearly.  After driving just 15 minutes around the block and to work, my battery promptly died again.  At least the second time, AAA had no problem believing that I had experienced a true roadside emergency.

Good, cheap teriyaki in the Harvard Market.  I spend a lot of time in and around this area and I've been to all the take-out and sit-down restaurants in Harvard Market.  Kyoto Teriyaki is one of the better take-out teriyaki places I've been to among many in Seattle.  Kyoto, owned and operated by a Korean family, offers several kinds of teriyaki, yakisoba, Korean staples like bi bim bap, and fish and chips.

The teriyaki is the reason to come here.  It's flavored well, and the spicy chicken is particularly good.  (Once you've been here enough, you might dare to try the unlisted "EXTRA-spicy chicken.")  Teriyaki dishes are served with heaps of rice and a bit of what you might call "salad." Yakisoba is as greasy as I've had it from other take-out shops and isn't particularly satisfying.  The fish and chips, likewise, are so heavy that I have an even harder time finishing them here than I do at the various pubs around Capitol Hill.  What are you doing ordering British pub food at a Korean Japanese food place anyway?

The place is small inside. A few people can sit on stools, but for the most part this is a take-out place.  The staff is friendly and helpful and the prices are very reasonable ($5-$7 for most items).  Help yourself to some free tea while you wait.

If I can't be bothered to cook anything from the neighboring QFC, I stop by Kyoto.  They are open until 9 PM Monday to Saturday and are closed on Sundays.  For the price and the location, this is a good place for a quick dinner.

When I lived in a far away town, every week I would go with my coworkers to a tiny stall in a nearby fish market to get lunch from Sushi Andy.  For about $12, we walked out with hefty Styrofoam containers stuffed with generous portions of sushi.

After much searching, I stumbled upon my very own Sushi Andy here in Seattle.

Sushi Maki is essentially take-out only.  Its location is so small, I'm surprised they haven't tried to turn it into a $150,000 condo.  There is room for two people to sit in the back, but they may be jostled by incoming people.  There isn't even a restroom for diners to use.

Nevertheless, the ample kitchen area churns out "101" varieties of sushi, all described on the dizzyingly long menu.  (Number 101 is "create your own roll.")  After staring at this menu for an awkwardly long time, I decided on a combination of spicy tuna rolls and five pieces of nigiri sushi.  For $10 plus tax, I got eight large rolls of tuna muddled with Sriracha and nigiri pieces of salmon, shrimp, tuna, whitefish, and yellowtail.  It was the most satisfying $10 worth of sushi I've had in Seattle.  The raw fish pieces were so big I couldn't eat them in one bite like I usually can.  The quality was very good and the price is hard to beat.

The place is cash only for now.  The menu is perhaps the most frustrating thing about Sushi Maki.  I don't mind when a sushi restaurant adds its own inventive rolls to the menu, but of the 100 items on the menu at least 50 are unique to Sushi Maki.  What's more, sushi-ya staples like octopus and squid don't appear on their own.  For sushi lovers who know what they want, it seems unusual to be asked to go "off-menu" to get what is listed on those colorful sushi cheat-sheets you see at many Japanese restaurants -- including Sushi Maki!

The quality of the fish is good and the size of the rolls is excellent.  (Next time I have to try the spider roll -- it's so huge I'd need a knife and fork.)  I'm only docking them a star for their overcomplicated menu that seems to force all order of combinations on people looking for simple sushi fare.

UPDATE: I tried the spider roll and I was not impressed  The soft-shell crab was too small, leaving the regular crabmeat (possibly imitation crabmeat) to dominate the flavor.  The salmon nigiri sushi I ordered more than made up for it, though.

The best doughnuts, bar none, in Seattle.  I will happily walk down from First Hill to the Market and back for these little nuggets of greasy goodness.  About $2 gets you a "dozen" of these little guys.  Go during off hours and you may get more: my first trip was in the afternoon when a "half dozen" turned out to be nine doughnuts.  Keep in mind these are mini doughnuts, less than 1/3 the size of your average Top Pot ring; a dozen will feed two people.

The help puts on a show to earn their tips, especially from the throngs of tourists who are within 50 feet of the infamous fish-throwers.  Nevertheless, service is quick and the price is definitely right.

Their coffee is not notably good and I haven't tried their espresso drinks.  However, a half-dozen cinnamon doughnuts and a cup of drip coffee makes me smile any day.  While sitting in the adjacent counter area, you can admire the articles and drawings of the place, including one from a child impressed by the "donut robot."

I live within walking distance of this place and have visited it three times.  I was unimpressed at the narrow food menu and the average sushi, barely above the level of the nearby QFC but significantly more expensive.  Tempura udon was prepared well but at $13.00, the small size of the bowl was especially noticeable.  I haven't dug too deeply into the sake selection; they offer good specials during happy hour, 5:00-7:00 every day.

I've seen this place market itself as a sake bar, an Asian bistro, and most recently a "Japanese tapas" restaurant.  (Note that as a "sake bar," Vi Bacchus does not have a bar at which you can sit, nor does it have cocktails.)  Although this might be a good place to enjoy some sake at happy hour, as a Japanese restaurant it is not worth the price for small portions and average sushi.  If you don't mind a brighter, more crowded atmosphere, I prefer Hana on Broadway for my Capitol Hill sushi needs.  Vi Bacchus, from its pompous name to its unusual decor, strives more for a hip atmosphere than for a good dining experience.

UPDATE: I regret the review above after having dined when the owners were working.  I visited during happy hour one Thursday night and saw that the owners were waiting tables.  The service was much better though I still think this is a better place for sake connoisseurs than it is for Japanese food fans.