Dick's Drive-In

Name: Dick’s Drive-In

Location: Seattle, WA (Five, soon to be six, locations throughout the city)

Type: Burger joint

Meal: Two burgers, fries, and a milkshake

Seattle is easily associated with new. It is home to Microsoft, Amazon, and Cray Supercomputers. It’s coffee culture is now America’s coffee culture. Grunge and most of its most memorable acts all came out of Seattle and its food scene has long been ahead of the local/sustainable curve. With so much of Seattle that screams cutting edge it was a pleasant surprise to find that is does old quite well.

Dick’s Drive-In is a classic burger joint out of Hollywood casting central. A simple menu done well, a prominent yellow, orange, and white color scheme that screams the 1970s, and more than 50 years of success all contribute to a great experience.

The burgers were good; cheap and light enough that ordering more than one is not out of the question. The Dick’s Deluxe is two patties, cheese, lettuce, mayo, and chopped pickles. Their fries are all cut in-house and are similar enough to traditional fast food fries to be comforting but imperfect enough to be special. Tartar sauce seems to be the preferred condiment for the fries which is interesting because there is no fish on the menu. Milkshakes are made to order and as a fast food milkshake should be, are a bit thinner than what say, Silver Diner serves.

All told, grabbing lunch at the Dick’s window and heading back to your car to enjoy the food and people watch is a great meal. Seattle is many things and Dick’s Drive-In proves that the city always has been.

Dick's Deluxe

Lots more pictures after the jump.

Cheeseburger

French Fries and Tartar Sauce

Chocolate Milkshake

Manhattan

Name: LOT No.3

Location: Bellevue,WA

Meal: Manhattans, Bacon, Onion Dip, Salami Sandwich

Type: Gastropub

Every once and a while you stumble across a place that just clicks with you: it serves the right food, it makes drinks the right way, or looks the way a good place should. LOT No.3 in Bellevue met all three of those conditions. I found myself in Bellevue, home to a wide range of restaurants, looking at websites, trying to figure out where to go for dinner (and possibly grab the end of happy hour). My search came to an end the moment I saw bacon as a menu item at LOT No.3.

Apparently the place is pretty new (14-15 weeks) and designed with a quite appropriate focus on spirits. Any place the includes a section of specialized Manhattans clearly knows that they’re doing. I started with a traditional Manhattan, not too sweet, not too dry, just right. Tyler, the bartender, makes most his own garnishes including a scratch made mix of cherries. At his recommendation I followed that up with two of the appetizers specials, sweet onion dip with chips and bacon. BACON. They serve a plate of bacon, regular and candied. The chips and dip were also good, smooth and creamy but not too thick and heavy. The bar menu was exactly what a good bar menu should be: interesting, salty, and a just filling enough to make you want to order dinner.

Happy hour finished off with a different Manhattan, this one made with root beer bitters. Different yet great.

LOT No.3 is nice enough to include one of Seattle’s great ingredients on their menu, Salumi Salami. A Salumi sandwich on crusty bread with a local beer ended the meal. This was a meal that I was immediately impressed with and looking back it still holds up. I cannot speak highly enough of my experience at LOT No.3; it was great. This is a restaurant worth going pretty far out of your way for. Great food, only surpassed by great service.

Bacon, slab and candied.

More pictures after the jump.

Sweet onion dip and homemade chips

Manhattan #2

Mochiko Chicken

Name: Northshore Hawaiian BBQ

Location: Seattle, WA

Meal: Mochiko Chicken, Rice, and Macaroni Salad

Type: Pan-Asian

Seattle much like Hawaii is a mixture of various cultures and cuisine (many of them Asian). In driving around Seattle for lunch I spotted Northshore. I had been curious about Hawaiian BBQ, having seen a few TV spots on it. My plan was to order Hawaiian BBQ of some sort but upon sitting down I saw a dish headed to another table and ordered it on the spot. Chicken Mochiko soon was delivered hot and fresh to my table.

Big chunks of chicken thighs breaded in rice flour fresh out of the fryer tossed with a mixture of soy, ginger, garlic, and sugar is Chicken Mochiko (mochiko is rice flour). The plate comes served with two scoops of white rice and a scoop of macaroni salad. The rice makes sense for a Pan-Asian dish, the macaroni does not make sense but it certainly does work. The creamy soft texture of the macaroni salad balances the savory crunch of the chicken.

I don’t see myself getting to Hawaii anytime soon but I am quite happy I’ve had my small taste of the islands. I’m sure the BBQ would have been just a great like many other items on the menu. Every once and a while you need to go with your gut, put down the menu, look around, and order what you see.

Hawaiian Lunch Plate

More photos after the jump.

Crispy Chicken

Macaroni Salad

Teriyaki Chicken

Name: Gourmet Teriyaki

Location: Mercer Island, WA (Seattle)

Meal: Teriyaki Chicken, White Rice, and a Salad

Type: Teriyaki Shop

Teriyaki is the silent champion of Seattle. Philadelphia is aggressive about cheesesteaks, Chicago  the hot dogs, and New York never stops talking about their pizza (rightfully so). When you bring up teriyaki to a transplanted Seattle native you seem to be reminding them how prominent the food is and which store is their favorite. In the Seattle area there are hundreds of tiny mom and pop stores that sell just about only teriyaki; you’ll be lucky to find a dozen items on the menu.

*Note: The rice came with the smiley face on it because Seattle is awesome.

Taste is reason number one to love teriyaki but if you needed more there is price. Cheap. Teriyaki is dirt cheap yet completely filling. For  typically $5-$8 you get over a pound of cooked to order meat, a mound or two of rice, and a side salad. The sauce is how individual restaurants stand out from the competition; each one a little different from the other. Sweet, spicy, hints of ginger and salty soy all mix together with the tender grilled chicken. Teriyaki chicken, as seen here, is as Japanese as fortune cookies are Chinese. It is a completely American invention; a fusion of immigrant flavors and technique with American taste buds in mind. It helps that the city-wide taste buds of Seattle are probably some of the most sophisticated taste buds in the country.

When you’re in Seattle and it comes to teriyaki there are few things to keep in mind. For one, you can’t go wrong; they’re all delicious, cheap, and filling. Two, you can’t miss them. So keep any eye out and plan a lunch at a teriyaki store. You will be quite happy, and full.

Teriyaki Chicken

Salami Sandwich

Name:  Salumi Artisan Cured Meats

Location:  Seattle, WA

Meal: Salami, Mozzarella, and Sweet Pepper Sandwich and Porchetta Sandwich

Type:  Italian

Seattle is home to a number of great restaurants and meals but you wouldn’t assume that would include world-class charcuterie. The mythos behind the restaurant is that it is run by Mario Batali’s father who, after retiring from Boeing, wanted to learn the art so he traveled to Italy and trained with a master. He returned and opened up shop; a master in his right now. There is no debating that Salumi is now on the short list of Seattle foodie attractions. I had heard stories of the lunch lines (entire store hours 11am-4pm) so I walked over from my hotel and arrived a half hour before they opened their doors and was already third in line. By the time the doors would open, 25-30 people would be queued up to pay their respects to the pig.

There is limited seating available and could have had it but I opted to walk back to the hotel (for photos sake and I was flying home in a few hours). Being only one person, my plan was to get the house salami sandwich but fear of missing out convinced me to order a porchetta sandwich as well. Still being only one person I made peace with the fact I would have to discard a half of each sandwich but then again divide and conquer isn’t the worse battle plan.

The salami sandwich starts on a crusty ciabatta roll that gets a basil spread and parmesan bread crumb spread. Freshly sliced house salami is then piled on, followed by fresh buffalo mozzarella, and sweet peppers and onion. This is a firm sandwich that rewards each bite with a salty, meaty, sweet taste.

The porchetta sandwich, a last minute addition, would turn out to be the star of the show. Unwrapping the paper let out the full aroma of  savory slow cooked pork. Sensing this would be a memorable moment I quickly pulled up a soundtrack for my sandwich, O Fortuna from Carl Orf’s Carmina Burana. As embarrassing as it sounds after the fact, I did indeed listen to cliche classic music as I ate a pork sandwich in my hotel room; and it was magical. The porchetta is just amazing, tender, loaded with fennel, and just the right bit of fatty juice to it.

A great meal all around, Salumi should be shortlisted for anyone who enjoys a good cured meat. More than just for fans of charcuterie, Salumi shows what can happen when someone sets their mind to developing the best technique and using the best ingredients. When you do that you can’t help but deliver a great product; something I keep seeing along all my stops as the Hungry Traveler.

O Fortuna by Carl Orf

Porchetta Sandwich with Sweet Peppers

Porchetta with lots of fennel

Ciabatta crust

Salami, Mozzarella, and Peppers on Ciabatta

Salumi

Top Pot Doughnuts

Name: Top Pot Doughnuts

Location: Seattle, WA

Meal: Doughnuts and a mocha

Type: Baked Goods

Many are quick to stereotype Seattle into a city of coffeehouses. Anyone who has visited can tell you there is much more to Seattle than a good cup of coffee. Those same people will also tell there are many great coffeehouses in Seattle; loyalties run deep. Top Pot Doughnuts is probably known more for their great doughnuts than their coffee but they complimented the other well. They’re a perfect companion to reading; they don’t require much attention.

Relaxing in a coffeehouse while reading a book on a rainy day is one of those quintessential experiences. For years I had this idea of sitting on the grass by the Eiffel Tower with only a baguette, some cheese, and a sketchbook. Guess which one is a less cliche and easier to successfully pull off? Relaxing in Capitol Hill with my book, doughnuts, and mocha I’ll be honest; I felt very Seattle. Regardless of what city I felt like I was quite happy with the doughnuts. Their glazed old-fashioned was just the perfect bit chewy and the sandcastle (chocolate cake dusted with cinnamon sugar) was a unique twist on a standard to did well by my mocha. You can’t visit all the great coffeehouses in a single trip to Seattle but when you’re there, be sure to pump Top Pot Doughnuts up a few on the ranking. You’ll be happy you did.

Latte Foam Art

Components of a great afternoon

Top Pot Storefront

New England Clam Chowder and Dungeness Crab Roll

Name: Pike Place Chowder

Location: Seattle,WA

Meal: Dungeness Crab Roll, New England Chowder, and a Pepsi

Type: Casual Seafood

Pike Place Chowder probably isn’t the best meal in Seattle, it is however one of the best seafood meals I’ve ever had (don’t tell my mom, she’s from Maryland).  Located in the historic Pike Place Market, Pike Place Chowder serves food that has consistently beaten out well known restaurants from New England. If a market store from Seattle can travel across country and still win you know they make a good chowder. One interesting side effect of eating chowder in Seattle is that everyone simply orders chowder, no one tries out a Boston accent to order “chowda”.

Of the two menu items I ate there wasn’t a secondary dish, they were both great. The chowder is creamy without a greasy mouth feel, well seasoned but not overpowering, and has strong enough a seafood taste without it tasting like they wrung out a clam. Pike Place also serves an amazing crab roll, dungeness in this case. Every great sandwich starts with a great piece of bread, Pike Place has a chewy, crusty baguette I’d be love to find locally. The crab is a less chunky then I’m used too on the East coast but they mix it well with mayonnaise, celery, and  some seasoning.

As far as my food travels go, this was one of my more expensive meals coming in at almost $20 but it was well worth it. I expect to pay more for good seafood, I was not disappointed by Pike Place Chowder. Exploring Pike Place Market can take an entire day, at the very least a Saturday morning, to do it properly. You would be well served to make your way to down towards the water and then head down Post Alley, you’ll be rewarded with some exceptional seafood. If your fellow travelers are hesitant to try to the clam chowder (I once was) first implore them to reconsider but if they won’t fear not, there is a good pizza place right next store.

Pike Place Market