Who cares if it's raining? Foodventurers must be persistent. Seattle foodventure series.

Foodventure #1: Homey Japanese food in a really old restaurant.

Maneki: A restaurant that is more than one hundred years old (it opened in 1904), Maneki has 367 reviews on Yelp and has a 4.5/5 star rating. Best of all, it's only listed as "$," which means my family (and Japanese relatives) love it for its ability to give you decently-priced, homey Japanese food. All the people that work here are Japanese as well, so they have slight accents (which are cute/endearing). The only thing with this restaurant though is that you NEED to call to make a reservation because they have two "seating times," and cannot guarantee you a seat if you just walk in the door. Well worth it though. One of the top 3 Japanese restaurants in Seattle that I've tried (along with Izumi and Ginza).

Chirashi (I can't remember the specific name): I guess this is such a basic dish--raw tuna, yellowtail and tamago (egg) over sushi rice, but I still really liked it, because the portion size was perfect for my appetite, and had enough sashimi to eat with the accompanying rice. I love sashimi--definitely one of the things I miss in Chicago.

The rest of everyone's food, which was combinations of rolls (Spider Roll, California Roll and the Jojo Roll), gyoza (Japanese potstickers), chicken teriyaki and black cod collar with teriyaki sauce. I mean, it was all pretty standard Japanese food, but prepared nicely and deliciously in a comfortable environment. Satisfying, on the overall.

Foodventure #2: Interesting sandwiches

Baguette Box: This place takes the notion of Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) and combines it with the idea of a sandwich shop, and uses non-usual (organic) ingredients and seasonings in its sandwiches, as you can see on the menu, which combines Asian-type sandwiches (like the Lemongrass Pork) with American-type ones (like the Tuna Nicoise). Didn't get to try their truffle fries though, sadly (next time!).

So we ordered three sandwiches that looked similar to this (seriously, I took pictures of all of them but they all look alike so it doesn't matter), the Crispy Organic Tofu with Avocado, the Lemongrass Steak, and the Roasted Pork Loin with Apricot Aioli. They were good, but really, I can't say that much in depth about all these sandwiches, because they were really just sandwiches with yummy things in them at the end of it.

...except for this one, this one was good. This was the Crispy Drunken Chicken sandwich, which had breaded and fried chicken coated with a tangy sauce and topped with a lot of caramelized onions and cilantro. I really loved this sandwich (and Seattle Magazine does too), because the chicken was not dry at all, and the breading went really nicely with the caramelized onions that topped the sandwich. Additionally, the sauce was just enough to coat the chicken with flavor but not overpower the sweetness of the onion flavor. We split this sandwich evenly among the four of us who were there, but if I go there again, I can probably just eat one on my own.

Foodventure #3: So my mother made friends with the tamale lady.

There's this tamale "house" in Seattle right outside a fruit/vegetable produce stand called McPherson's somewhere in the Beacon Hill area where a lady and/or her husband come a few times a week at specific times in the day to sell their tamales for $1.25 each (and 4 for $5). These tamales are homemade by the woman's mother, and come in different flavors: Chicken Mole, Cheese and Bean, Chipotle Beef and Pork with Salsa Verde. Basically, they are very delicious tamales because they have a lot of filling in them, and the corn is ground pretty coarsely, so they have a gritty texture to them. These tamales are delicious. We got 20 and put them in the fridge and they were mostly gone by the next week.

But yes. My mom made friends with the lady selling tamales, and had a short conversation with her, where we later found out that the lady and her husband are planning to open a taco truck sometime in the year (exciting news!). The conversation ended with my mother greeting her Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in Spanish, and giving the lady a small wallet for her daughter, Emily. Awww.

Foodventure #4: The bridge was closed, but we really wanted good Mexican food.

Muy Macho: One of the places where we go to for good Mexican food, this family-run establishment is somewhere in South Seattle (in a Mexican neighborhood) and serves authentic, inexpensive Oaxacan food.

Chips and salsa: Not bad, but I wish that both were freshly-made.

Champurrada: I saw this on the menu under "drinks" and didn't know what it was, but the lady (whose family owns the restaurant) who took our order said that this was her favorite, so I was convinced and ordered it. A champurrada is essentially a cocoa drink made with sugar, milk, masa (hominy flour) and other spices (vanilla, anise, cinnamon). It was warm, had a light chocolate flavor and had a slightly thick texture because of the masa that was in it.

The champurrada was really interesting, because in the Philippines, we have a snack/breakfast dish called champorado/tsampurado which is made of sweet glutinous rice porridge mixed in with cocoa, sugar and milk, and usually eaten for breakfast, often with salty fish. Of course, both tasted pretty different from each other, but it was still cool to consider how the galleon trade in the past under Spanish rule in the Philippines might have influenced the prevailing similarities of both dishes.

Tlayuda: Kind of like a Mexican pizza, with a crispy tortilla "crust" topped with refried beans, meat, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and avocados. It was served with a smoky, red pepper sauce that was not very spicy, and according to Wikipedia, this is a snack that is specific to the Oaxacan region. Aside from looking similar to a large pizza, it reminded me of eating an open faced crispy taco as well.

Chicken Mole: Oaxacan food is known for its mole, and this one did not disappoint. The mole was smoky from the peppers and slightly sweet from the cocoa, and had a complex but balanced flavor from the mix of spices in it. The flavor of the mole was just executed so nicely and perfectly. It's difficult to describe mole in general, because I find that descriptions fall short a lot of the time--the flavor of mole is a much more intuitive thing...and this one was delicious.
Sopa de Camaron (shrimp soup): The weather outside was cold, wet and rainy, and this soup just hit the spot. I ordered it on a whim instead of the normal pozole or menudo that I would normally order, because I knew that Oaxaca has a more seafood-based cuisine and that this had a good chance of tasting great...and it did. The tomato-based broth was slightly thick and had a strong, mellow shrimp flavor, but had an underlying kick of subtle spiciness that made you feel nice and warm. This soup had some side garnishes of onions, cilantro and lime, which offered a "break" in flavor and added a bit of texture to it (onions) while injecting a burst of freshness to the hearty soup (lime and cilantro). And of course, the shrimps were cooked nicely. It was perfect rainy-day soup.

Oregon...mobile food experiences and bread bigger than three human faces.

Oh Oregon. The land of no sales tax and food trucks, which is a three-hour drive away from Bellevue/Seattle. Needless to say, it is a frequent driving destination for me and the rest of my relatives, who have a similar value system as I do (cheap food, cheap shopping--why not?).

In any case, we had an all-girl expedition (mom, sister, cousins, aunt) to Oregon a few days ago on a very rainy (after all, I do live in the Pacific Northwest) morning, where our first stop were the food carts/trucks.

Food Trucks and Mobilization: Oregon has seen an explosion of food trucks in the last couple of years, which serve a large variety of foods--tacos, sandwiches, crepes, pie, ice cream, pizza, noodles, etc. Pretty much anything you can think of...there’s a corresponding food truck to it, and these guys chronicle all the different food trucks. The thing with food trucks is that you can get quality food for cheaper, since you don’t need to tip and the chefs don’t need to pay a large overhead for their location--given this, most of the things we had were in the $6-8 price range for entrees. Not bad. Your only problem would probably be picking which food trucks to go to, as there is a dizzying array of them. Thankfully, there is always the internet.

Tabor: Wanted to go here because I'd never had Czech food, and I read an article that praised it as one of the top 10 food carts in Portland.

Schnitzelwich in picture...

...and for realz. Schnitzelwich: What the truck is known for, it’s a schnitzel on some ciabatta with some lettuce, red pepper sauce and horseradish. Pretty delicious--schnitzel was tender, and the addition of horseradish gave it a nice kick. While I was eating it, I was reminded of both tonkatsu (panko-breaded pork chops) and wasabi, had the idea of making a Japanese version of this with wasabi instead of horseradish, tonkatsu instead of the schnitzel, and the ketchup-worschershire sauce instead of the red peppers. Maybe I’ll try that next time.

Goulash with Spaetzle: Thought it was delicious, as it was uncharacteristic of all the other goulash I’ve had in the past who had a more tomato-based soup stock; in comparison, this goulash had a very deep flavor, which the Wikipedia article on goulash attributes to the dark beer normally used in Czech goulash. The malty undertones of the beer complemented the beef flavor, giving the stew an rustic/earthy quality which went nicely with the spatzle noodles on it was served with. I thought that the soup was very hearty and satisfying, especially on a cold, rainy day like this one. Pretty heavy dish though--we had plenty for the next day, and the day after that. LOOK ON THE WEBSITE (they have a recipe for this--I think the chefs of this food truck used beer instead of stock).

Chicken Paprikash with flour dumplings: Was very saucy and had a nice smoky flavor from the paprika. At first I thought the flour dumplings were bread at first (but they were not, obviously); they were slightly crumbly yet absorbed the sauce nicely. It was good, but I liked the goulash better.

Built to Grill: Saw this in the second food truck cluster that we went to, and immediately recognized it as the #1 Oregon restaurant on Yelp. While waiting for our food to arrive, my cousin and I stood outside the food truck in the cold Oregon rain, watching the chef prepare his pastas in the tiny kitchen of their truck, which was equipped with only 2 gas burners...and very little counter space. The chef was a pro--he tossed his pastas on the pan itself--not using any other utensils to coat the noodles with delicious sauce.

Linguini alla Vongole: The linguini was delicious--$7 got a pretty large portion of al dente noodles with a flavorful white wine and clam sauce spiced with some red chili flakes. To be honest, it was probably better than a lot of linguini I’ve had in actual sit-down restaurants, and for the price, a lot more worth it. My cousin Mia (she has pretty good taste too) said that this linguini alla vongole was better than one she tried in the a restaurant in the Italian area of New York. That should tell you something.

The mobile food experience: True to the nature of the source of our food (food trucks), we believed that we would "feel" it more if we ate it in the car (no not really, we just couldn't find parking and needed to drive over to the outlets to shop anyway). In any case, eating our food (and passing it around) while in seatbelts...while the car was on the freeway going at about 60 mph in the rain was an experience--and VERY different from eating food on the plane. Fun times.

Lebanese food in Nicholas Restaurant:

After a shopping break, we were pretty tired and wanted to go get dinner. We decided to go to this place because it was in my mom’s “Oregon file” (she has a file of places to eat and addresses since we go there pretty often). Since I also ate Lebanese food in a place called Ye Hala the other time when I drove down (of course, it wasn't actually me driving) with my aunt to get a mattress a few weeks earlier, I was constantly comparing the two restaurants in my head. At this point in writing, I can't really say--both are pretty different. Ye Hala had a more extensive menu, while Nicholas restaurant had faster service and their menu had more Lebanese pizza items.

Pita bread...was delicious and addictive. Jury’s still out on whether this place or Ye Hala had better pita bread. I find that both places have very different approaches to pita bread; while Ye Hala had football-shaped pita bread that was more on the floury/bready side (but was still chewy), Nicholas Restaurant had 2-foot long elliptical shaped flat bread which was more stretchy. They served the pita bread with a za’atar dipping sauce, that was mostly sumac and dried herbs with olive oil and had an herby, slightly sour (because of sumac) flavor. As you can see from this picture, the bread was bigger than three human faces.

Felafel: Didn’t like their felafel as much, because it was more on the crumbly side and a bit bland. Overall "meh reaction" for me.

Tabbouleh/Tabouli: A bit more sour than the one in Ye Hala (which I liked better, because it had a “fresher” flavor), but not bad for what it was.

Hummus: I loved their hummus. Probably one of the best hummus I’ve had--it had a nice earthy flavor and was surprisingly balanced out and mellow in flavor (they didn’t overdo the tahini, which was nice).

Manakish: Was essentially a small Lebanese pizza with za’atar on it, and the “crust” that they used was a bit thicker than the pita bread that they served. To be honest, didn't tast THAT much differently from the pita bread with the dipping sauce, except that the za'atar was dry and therefore a bit stronger in flavor.

Kibbeh: Kibbeh is a dish made of chopped meat (typically beef or lamb) and burgul (chopped wheat)/rice that is shaped into triangles like this one and baked, or made into croquettes and fried. I really liked their kibbeh, because it was juicy and flavorful, with a gritty texture (from the chopped rice/wheat) The rest of the people at my table characterized it as a Lebanese meatloaf, which I thought was an interesting and an accurate description.

Kafta skewer: Mmmm. Kafta/kofta is kind of like a meatball--typically ground beef or lamb mixed with onions and other spices then grilled/fried/steamed/poached/baked/etc (according to the Wikipedia article). In this restaurant, they grilled their kafta, and it was delicious--the charred surface of the meat contrasted with the tender juiciness of the flavorful meat.