Uneeda Burger! Yes you do.

I needed to get to Uneeda Burger fast. The people behind Restaurant Zoe, and of course, Quinn's (one of our favorite neighborhood haunts) had opened up a self-proclaimed "roadside burger shack." I DID need a burger.

We parked ourselves at an outdoor picnic table in the sun, after ordering at the counter.  Seating is mostly outdoors,  though some tin chairs and small tables are inside.

I got the number 8, a juicy, mushroomy, sophisticated burger with Crimini Mushrooms, Gruyere cheese, carmelized shallot, Porcini mushrooms and black truffle salt.  

Mr Pants got the Philly Smash with charred peppers, onions, Gruyere and a so-called special sauce, suspiciously similar to mayo.  I took a bite out of this bright, summery burger and wanted to hang on to it till it was finished.

I tasted our friend Mark's hand-pulled Empire Ice Cream "black and blueberry"milkshake while he stepped away from the table. (He still doesn't know). Fantastic, fresh, could almost visualize the cows, rolling green hills and blueberry bushes.

Other burgers at the table were a bacon and carmelized onion, with shoestring potato concoction that I got to taste. This burger was generous with the carmelized onions and a smoky, salty bacon.   I don't know why they omitted the words cardiac and arrest in the name of this one.

Skinny cut fries were on our trays too, along with an order of monstrous onion rings, which were good, though heavy on the breading— more like an onion doughnut!

I'm going back to flirt with heart disease and try the quarter pounder classic with cheddar, and the salted caramel shake. 

Highlights:  Burgers, shakes, beer selection.

Disappointments:  Fries were fine, not great, and needed a bit more time in the fryer.  Seating is what it is. Whaddya want, a tablecloth?

Mr. Pants:  SO happy. 

Revel

First was Coupole, then there was Joule, and now we can Revel in the latest restaurant from that golden couple of Seattle fusion cuisine: Seif Chirchi and Rachel Yang.

At first I walked in thinking it looked a little cold with its modern design, fairly bright lights and a bit of a draft, but the food brought all the comfort the decor lacked. 

You gotta love a place that has a sauce tray that they bring to the table. (Mr. Pants inserts comment here that I'm such a saucy girl). I do love the sauce. 

We ordered the the shrimp, mint and edamame pancake - so many textures, soft and crispy pancake, crunchy, salty pickled carrots, cool mint, sweet shrimp, nutty edamame, it all worked. 

It was cold that night so we felt we had to dumpling-up. We got two kinds of dumplings— a flavor-packed chorizo and Delicata squash dumplings with pecans and Earl Grey ricotta — something I couldn't resist trying.  The Earl Grey ricotta was extremely subtle, but still innovative. Neat stuff. 

I got the short rib rice bowl (all rice bowls come with a silky egg yolk)  sambal daikon, and mustard greens.  Fantastic.  Their rice bowls are everything I could ever want in a bowl.  This is what I want someone to make for me every rainy weeknight. 

Mr. Pants got noodles with Five Spice duck meatballs, lacinato kale, and smoked chili.  We swapped halfway (we always do) and I loved his as much as mine. 

This meal was intriguing and excellent, and it make me want to return to Joule, to compare restaurants. 
Yang and Chirchi are gifted indeed.  Revel, as the name suggests, is a revelatory pleasure. 

Highlights: FOOD. ALL OF IT.  I'M NOT KIDDING. 

Disappointments:  Slightly dimmer lighting would help make the space feel warmer.  Maybe they have done this already since our first visit. 

Mr. Pants: Reveling in the experience. Har Har. No, seriously.

Vito's: Welcome (back) to the Hood!

I'd always walked by Vito's curious, but afraid. It had this sort of dingy appeal, and I imagined a windowless space with a martini-soaked bar, simultaneously divey and 70's ritzy. I conjured images of older men with large-collared shirts, and shady conversations.  

Hearing they reopened with new management, I decided to venture in. It was exactly how I imagined, but better. 

Loungy and atmospheric, Vito's has a grand piano, mirrored ceilings over the wooden bar, and a fantastic bartender who I recall from The Hideout just up the street. 

I ordered the Tivoli cocktail, a mind-expanding, liver-shriveling mix of bourbon, aquavit, campari and sweet vermouth. Put me in a better mood right quick.

This is still a hangout, rather than a foodie experience, yet Vito's flavors were clean and more or less hit their marks, no overly heavy dishes, as you may expect in an Italian-American joint. 

We liked the gamberoni- perfectly cooked shrimp with garlic, white wine and parsley - a pleasant little dish, and generous too.  

Veal Parmesan was next. Yes, veal. Imagine the cute little veals cavorting in the fields. Then eat this.  It hit a decadent spot dead on, if the veal could have pounded thinner, and the breading a tad crispier, I didn't much care, it was still good. 

A carbonara-like pasta special that night was bucatini, tossed with chili flakes, ham, and a touch of cream. It certainly helped to soak up some of that first cocktail. 

I'm glad I ventured in, it reminded me of my hometown Chicago and all those places with a dash of history and a very diverse crowd and those things make me happy.  

Highlights:  Gamberoni, bucatini pasta special, cocktails, ambiance! 

Disappointments:  Spaghetti marinara on the side of the veal was lackluster, and this is Italian-AMERICAN food, after all.  

Mr. Pants: Addicted to facebook, and posting "Strong drink in one hand, redhead in the other.."  Icky work mood improved by strong drink, strong food and strong redhead!

Mexico 2011

Mr Pants and I did something we hardly ever do: went on a beachy vacation! We're not the type to sit and gaze at palm trees.  I don't think I've ever sat and gazed at palm trees on a beach, ever.  So we thought we'd see if we can do it without clawing our eyes out with boredom.  Or killing each other. 

Turns out there were no full days of beach dawdling, and not too much lolling about in the sun.  We petted and chased fish while snorkeling, we traipsed around the ruins in Tulum, we walked up and down Tulum Playa road, we taxied into town to replenish our pesos at the ATM, and to check out the town.  

We dove into blue cenotes, and gawked at the stalagmites and stalagtites within the clear water, and saw eerie lights of the divers beneath us.

In Cozumel we stayed at the Hotel Playa Azul, (with stellar fish soup and tacos camarones) and we could walk right out into the ocean in front, don our flippers and goggles and play with the fishes darting in and out of the coral. No underwater camera (stupid stupid stupid!) so you'll have to take my word for it. 

A snorkel tour took us out on the reef (Palancar shallows, I think it was) and while the boat blared Jimmy Buffet, the snorkeling itself was awesome.

Best meals: In San Miguel on Cozumel: a tiny little place called El Foco, where we had poblano and beef tacos and this simple but transcendent guacamole, below. 

In Tulum on the playa road- El Tabana, (grouper in pipian sauce, poblano crepes, caldo de pollo) and at the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve restaurant— after floating in mangrove-lined canals and scoping out large pink birds. They served the best grouper in cilantro sauce, and a fantastic, nutty, pipian (pumpkin seed) dip and tortilla chips. 

Worst meals:  Mr Pants requires constant snacking, like a toddler. I've often thought we should tie a little bag of oats around his neck or something.  He required a mid afternoon meal, and this soup he ordered, in the debris strewn market, had the hide of an unidentified beast still swimming in the bowl. The flavor, was ok, but come on! Unidentified animal hide, with visible fur.  I'm an omnivore, but this did me in. 

An admittedly silly order of Super Nachos along Tulum Playa Road had me seriously enraged.  As if they meant to produce the idea of what trash-eating gringos would eat if they had a can of cheese sauce and a microwave.  (Yes, I said "can" of cheese) Terrible. 

Highlights: Sun! Margaritas! Super fresh fish. Snorkeling. 

Disappointments: Super nachos, animal hide in soup. More touristy area than we usually visit. 

Mr. Pants: Sunburned, docile. Grudgingly conceding that vacations are good things, and that I was right to drag him kicking and screaming to the lovely beaches of Mexico. 

Walrus and Carpenter Oyster Picnic!

I had misgivings.  I pictured standing in inclement weather, oyster juice running down into my sleeve as I balance an oyster in one hand, a glass of wine in the other, and try to keep my blowing hair out of my face.  We came armed with our oyster shucker, layered sweaters, and sturdy boots to face the beach on a December night. 

Turns out I needn't have worried, for the Walrus and the Carpenter Oyster picnic was a grand experience.  It even felt downright decadent to be sipping award winning wines out of stemware on the beach under a full (ish) moon, at low tide, with a bonfire and  with other Gortex-clad oyster lovers.  Wasn't cold for long out there, with the wine (Kunde Sauvignon Blanc and the CMS White) and the heat and glow of the fire.  

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Oysters were plentiful what with the hot-shot shucking masters out there shucking away for our dining pleasure.  We could shuck our own if we wanted, so Mr. Pants went oyster hunting, searching the dark water's edge for specific types of oysters. Questions were genially answered by host Jon Rowley, our local oyster guru, and by Bill Taylor of Taylor Shellfish Farms.

We slurped a variety of gorgeous oysters, the petite Olympias, sweet, plump Kumamotos, Totten Inlet virginicas, and Pacifics.  I have to say I loved them all, and was unable to tease out a favorite. 

Oyster stew (from Xinh's Clam and Oyster House)  at the end of the night was welcome and warming.  

I fear I'm forever spoiled now, and I'm not sure I can have oysters any other way than on a wintery beach in the dark, drinking wine.  Master shuckers don't hurt to have around either. 

Highlights: Freshest oysters on the planet, white wines. Beachy ambiance. 

Disappointments: Some might balk at the length of the bus ride, (about an hour and a half), but the video they showed help to pass the time, and questions such as "Do oysters have brains?" were fired at our host.  

Mr. Pants: Like a kid in a candy store. Tromping around on the beach in his striped fleece cap, picking up this and that oyster, getting tipsy. 

Seatown Snack Bar and Restaurant

Let me be clear: I love Tom Douglas. I think he does a grand job overseeing six restaurants and the Dahlia Bakery. I've never had a bad meal at any of these, and think it speaks volumes that his staff remains with him for years. 

That's why I was so disappointed to find myself muttering over the entrees at Seatown. 

Oysters were good, (and they had better be at a whopping 3 bucks each).  

My appetizer of smoked trout was wonderful. Good portion size, and the acoutrements paired perfectly (soft cream cheese) were interesting (duck-fried capers) and balanced the plate well (small tomatoes, blinis).  

Service was excellent, though it bordered on the obsequious. 

The entrees however, were shockingly dull all around, as in under seasoned, or needing a sauce.  Porchetta was a bit dry, turkey was boring (though, come on, it is turkey, the tofu of fowl).  At these prices I should not be muttering about a single thing. 

I've never had this happen at a Douglas joint.  I'm confident they will improve. For now, Seatown remains a decent spot for a glass of bubbly, fresh oysters or smoked seafood. 

Highlights: Appetizers, smoked trout, oysters. 

Disappointments: Entrees. 

Mr. Pants:  Grumbling.  Poked my side annoyingly until I agreed to blog about it.

Licorous

We were devastated to learn that Licorous, that casual little bar with just the right amount of swank, had scaled way back on their food offerings a while back. 

We'd been fond of wandering over for cocktails and dinner, though we called it "spa food" because the plates were precious (and preciously small).  We'd snack on flavorful corn chowder with Chanterelles, served in a demitasse, or a prosciutto-wrapped fig or three, followed by lamb chops a la plancha.  

So we were all a flutter to learn they're serving up Thai food every Monday with Sous Chef Wiley Frank, who is fresh from a year in Thailand. He's created a slightly refined version of fantastic Thai street food, described here at shophouse. 


Mini curried fish cakes were served in a bowl with thin vinegary sliced cucumbers, adding tang to a dish fragrant with fried basil. 
Next up was a lush, spicy, lime and chili-fragrant soft tofu laab (from Northwest Tofu Inc) with lettuce wrap - I love citrus flavors in food, and I demolished this like I was suffering from scurvy. Roasted rice, chilis and mint everywhere. 
A warming, saucy chicken curry noodle dish had crunchy fried noodles and fried shallots on top and just the right amount of pickled mustard greens....(similar to an authentic dish we had at Citrus Thai not long ago). 
Small pork spare ribs with Thai sea salt (samut sakhon) were tender, addictive little things. These paired especially well with the slightly sweet "St. Amour" cocktail- a bourbon-based drink with a toasted hazelnut at the bottom. 

Licorous is smart to do this. We are thrilled they are back at the game, and a tasty, more affordable game it is, too. 

Can't wait to try their Taco Tuesdays! Not for vegetarians, mind you, as they only have pork tacos for $1 dollar each. 


Highlights: Cocktails, soft tofu laab, spare ribs, dessert trio. 


Disappointments: Curry could have been a little more fiery, because I like curry that way. Still tasty.  


Mr. Pants: Content. Wants to return for Taco Tuesdays!