IGA Kress Supermarket on 3rd between Pike and Union

The grand opening of the new downtown grocery store is old, old news. However, due to my crazy work schedule these past couple of months, it’s been a while since I’ve left my office long enough for more than a quick lunch in the building. Yesterday, however, I managed to escape (to go to the dreaded post office eek!) and thought it would be a good time to check out the miracle on Third. I mean, much of the press generated about the store mentioned the large pre-made area geared towards downtown office workers and their lunchtime needs, so I decided to take one for the team and try it out.

I should mention that I have old memories of the scary Safeway in downtown DC that I’m using to compare the Kress to, so my opinion of the place might be a little shiny. That said, my first impression of the place, of course, was pretty good. The entrance is kind of overwhelming, what with it’s escalators right into the cherries, but I suppose it is a good use of space…and as in any heart of downtown establishment there were a few crazies talking loudly already, but easily avoided. The layout was easy to follow and even though it is in the basement, the lighting is good. The produce was nice and shiny and the peach I had for lunch was tasty and ripe. They had a good selection of dry and frozen goods as well. Everything one might need, including the same ginger beer that I had gone out of my way to get from Metro Markets the night before (mmm Dark and Stormy).

As far as the lunch bar area, it was indeed large, taking up a good third of the place, it seemed to my untrained eye. The options include a salad bar, soup station, Asian food counter, sandwiches and other deli options. I decided to give the sushi a whirl and also ordered a small (that wasn’t so small) bowl of hot and sour soup. Normally I have neuroses that keep me from cross-culturally ordering, but I wanted to try out a few options and everything else seemed too heavy to pair with the sushi.

lunch: sushi combo, hot and sour soup, a peach and free reusable bag

Everything looked good and clean and fresh. The customer service was quick and friendly. Prices weren’t that bad; my lunch was a little over $13 for the sushi combo, hot and sour soup, peach, and free reusable grocery bag. I really wanted to like it. However, as you might expect, it was still just grocery store food. The sushi was the same as you can get at any area grocery store, and quite frankly I can get better sushi over at Sushi Kudasai in Century Square [us]. The hot and sour soup was decent, but I don’t think this place is a lunchtime destination at all. Harried and Hungry next door can get you better food for the same or less price and time. Sadly, the food gives me no reason to abandon my routine of delicous sandwiches from the Other Coast, located in my own building. I say sadly because I really do need to get out into the sunshine more.

That said, it is still the long awaited and nicely stocked grocery store that downtown has needed forever and I’m glad it’s here. Just not for lunch.

Food shows are all the rage, at least in my household. The DVR is chock full of regular cooking shows, reality cooking shows, and everything in between. I do so like to cook and eat.

Thus, I was both excited and dismayed at the announcement that Anthony Bourdain would be returning to the Seattle area for his most recent book tour. Excited because, hello, Anthony Bourdain! Not just a celebrity chef, but one that can write and entertain as well. Dismayed because, holy shit $125! Okay, okay, there are $30 seats, but if you could stand around and shoot the shit with Bourdain, wouldn’t you? Aparently, I’m not the only one who thinks so, since there’s some crazy auction wherein you can have dinner with him via Sitka and Spruce. Crazy because the minimum bid is now $810. Holy cow, Batman! Anyway, for us folks who spend their $810 on all their meals for the month, I guess we’ll be getting those cheap seats at the Moore on June 8th [$].

In other, slightly less spendy and slightly less celebrity news, Tre Wilcox from season 3 of Top Chef will also be making a stop in Seattle [localwineevents]. The wine dinner at the Columbia Tower Club is a benefit for the James Beard Foundation and will also be hosted by Columbia Tower Executive Chef James Hassell. Tickets are $175.

Wilcox actually won one of the Top Chef mini-games on the show when Bourdain was judging. The prize being a stack of Bourdain’s books and a promise to share some booze. Now that, maybe I’d pay some dough to see.

Like everyone in the city, Greg Nickels is tired of gridlocked regional transportation projects. Gearing up for a re-election campaign, he’s starting to think outside the box. Or outside of the country. Goodbye USA, hello Independent Republic of Pugetopolis:

The Puget Sound regional economy makes up 67 percent of the state’s economic activity, he said. “If we were a country, [our economy] would be just a little smaller than Thailand. We would be larger than Colombia, Venezuela. We are held back because our state and federal government still believe our economies are driven by wheat farms and timber logging.” [times]

While Seattle prepares to leave the Union (ed: in addition to better transit, does this also mean more hookers, blow, and oil reserves?), the 5 Spot is preparing to spiritually sever itself from the city of Seattle in simultaneous celebration of the twenty-six-year anniversary of the Florida Keys’s secession (the theme of their new menu) and in protest of the Sonics skipping town. It’s all very complicated; you’ll need to read the press release for yourself to ponder all of the details. [chow]

At least once a week, I work at home. And since home is Ballard, unless I’ve got a bunch of leftovers in the fridge, I go out for lunch. There are so many good places to eat in Ballard, but my current favorite lunch hangout when I’m alone and at least attempting to work is Ballard’s Kiss Cafe. I waited for Kiss Cafe to open for months, plaintively staring at the papered windows and the signs that were up and turned on for at least a few weeks before they were actually opened. A beer and wine bar within walking distance of my house? Score!

It took me almost two months to get there however. Various circumstances just kept delaying me. Now that I’ve been multiple times, I’m absolutely hooked and soon, hope to achieve ‘regular’ status there. 

So, what’s it like? 

Well, for start, they have a beer club. You can get a card and work your way through 99 bottles of beer. I didn’t know about this club the first three times I dined there, so I’m only through two beers so far, but I’ll get there. When you mark off all 99 beers, you get a ‘member number’ and a glass. I’ll get there. I’ll definitely get there. They have a wide variety of beers, many of them Northwest microbrews. There’s also a nice selection of wine and espresso drinks. 

The space is nice. That might not seem very descriptive, but that’s how I feel about it. It’s nice. They have a raised area in back that looks like it will easily double as a stage (they have live music some evenings) with comfortable tables and chairs. The floors are dark and rich, the bar comfortable with a view into the kitchen. The high top tables in the front of the house have either cushioned chairs or stools. I thought the stools were a bit rickety, but comfortable. 

 The food has always been very tasty. The soups were rich, flavorful, and healthy portioned. My husband and I ordered sandwiches one Sunday and they were quite delicious. I’ve had their Cuban (tangy, salty, and crunchy) and their jambalaya. The jambalaya came with two slices of buttered sourdough toast. This might seem like nothing, but those two slices of bread were about the best toast I’ve ever tasted in my life. I can’t even explain why they were so good, but they were the perfect complement to the spicy jambalaya that had at least 5-7 jalapeno peppers in a single bowl. 

Unfortunately, since the kitchen is so small, they do run out of things occasionally. I’ve still never managed to get an order of their banana bread, but I’m sure it’s just as delicious as their sandwiches. If I haven’t tempted you enough, when you take a seat, they bring you a jar of pickles and a small fork! 

I’ll be a regular at Kiss Cafe for quite some time. 

Kiss Cafe

2817 NW Market Street

Seattle, WA

Last week or so ago, Wesa posted about the front page news story about how cucumbers were going to be outsourced to India [mb, pi]. In case not everyone got to the comments on that particular post (you should if you’re interested in making your own pickles), I wanted to second Patricia’s comment about the absolute wonderfulosity of Woodring’s Parker Pickles. A couple of summers ago, I discovered said pickles at the West Seattle farmer’s market and was so effusive to the gal at the booth that she told me that the owner’s son, Parker, had suggested they start carrying these items and thus the name. I don’t know if she was telling the truth, but I’ve set up a shrine (that consists of many many empty pickle jars) to Mr. Parker anyhow.

Perhaps they do not inspire as much um, gasping, as does the dessert at Madame K’s [mb], but I do love the fresh crispy snap and delicate hint of pepper of the spicy version. So much so that there is a jar in my fridge at all times. For the wimps those that don’t like spicy pickles (they’re not THAT spicy) they have regular dills for sale as well. One can find Woodring’s booths at the West Seattle farmer’s market on Sundays, at the U-District farmer’s market on Saturdays, and everyday of the week at Pike Place Market (but strangely no pickles online). Jars are $7 and HIGHLY recommended.

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PS In an only very slightly related topic, Sound on the Sound just reported that Dethklok will be making a stop in Seattle in June [sos]. Doodily doo indeed!

It’s not often a burger impresses me. Sure, there are some decent ones in this town: Red Mill, The Ram, even Dick’s if what I want is a greasy, cheesy, soak-up-the-alcohol food. But for a burger to impress me, it has to be special. Well, the burgers at Lunchbox Laboratory are definitely special.

The first impression of Lunchbox Laboratory isn’t anything special. I don’t think of that particular block of 15th Ave NW to be a dining destination, and parking isn’t plentiful. The few benches outside were inviting, but not when the high temperature was somewhere in the low 40′s. The one downside of our lunch was that the temperature inside wasn’t much warmer. I spent the entire meal shivering. Though with such a small space, I’m sure the cooks were quite warm back there working their magic. Next time I’ll definitely bring a coat or an extra sweater.

The tables are communal, and probably seat about 15-20 people, maximum. There are two large menu boards, the specials board that you see right when you walk in and the main menu hanging over the counter. I found this a little difficult to navigate since I had to keep moving back and forth in front of the communal tables to see both menus properly.

Prices were decent – around $8 for many of the burgers. The specials, however, were a very good deal. For $10, you got the special sandwich and a side.

What you really want to know, though, is whether the food was good. Let me ask you… does this look good?

On the left is my burger.  That’s an Essential Baking Company roll, onion straws, BBQ sauce, fresh tomato, provolone cheese, at least 4 strips of bacon, and a 100% grass fed burger.

On the right is buttered and toasted sourdough, another 100% grass fed burger, this one stuffed with cheese and topped with a blue cheese sauce and caramelized onions.

I call out the grass fed part because it is very rare that you find a grass fed burger. Grass fed beef cooks faster and has a different feel and taste.  Many restaurants just don’t serve it. I was thrilled to find one that does.

My burger was excellent. The bottom bun was just a bit soggy, but anytime you have a burger with some sauce on it, that is a possibility. I was amazed at the sheer amount of bacon on the burger. My husband’s burger wasn’t quite as good. There was a little too much bread for the amount of burger and the whole sandwich was way too soggy. The flavor was still excellent though.

For sides, we ordered tater tots and fried jalepenos. Again, both were fresh, hot, and tasty. They offer several different types of salt. We chose a smoked bacon salt. The tots weren’t as good as those at Tin Hat, but then again, I’m not sure it’s possible to find better tots than Tin Hat.

They have a variety of specialty sodas, none of which contain high fructose corn syrup. Yay! We didn’t order any, but next time we’ll try at least one.

The total bill was $20. I debated whether I should categorize our lunch as cheap or reasonable, but for the sheer amount of food, $20 is a great deal. We took almost all of the side dishes home and both of us left a portion of our burgers behind (I did eat all of the bacon through). Next time I’ll go for a long run before we go so I can eat more.

Lunchbox Laboratory

7302 15th Ave NW

After reading about how SPUD, the organically local CSA, is kinda taking over Seattle and Pioneer Organics, I did a little investigating. I too want to jump on this local food delivery bandwagon so the research was two-fold. If you’re interested in getting local(ish) food delivered to your door, here’s a breakdown of what’s available in Seattle. Or at least what I had time to look at.

SPUD: Confusing website. Seems like they offer the most though, by letting you choose all your grocery needs, way beyond the produce section. But I have no idea how much anything cost because there were just way too many links, with too many words. I go on first impressions, so I was immediately turned off by this.

Pioneer Organics: Probably the next biggest Seattle CSA enterprise. But if you ask around, there seems to be a lot of discussion on how they seem to give rotten produce every now and then. Like a pear here and a pear there. Sure, they’ll replace it for you, but when you’re paying $35 a month and you have to talk to someone about said rotten pear it just didn’t seem worth it. They do deliver and I like that they could either surprise you with that weeks produce, or you can pick the items on their website, like SPUD.

Full Circle: This one I just don’t get. You have to pick up your food? Couldn’t I go to the grocery store for that? Or the Ballard/Fremont/University District Farmer’s Market? I kept searching.

New Roots: Everything I wanted and them some. Easy website. Not too many links. Personal bins for single people. Price was easy to find. Produce is a surprise and there’s no obligation to stay for a period of time. There isn’t even an order form. You actually get to talk to someone on the phone, without being put on hold and having to listen to Seal over and over again. The only downfall as of yet is that all they offer is produce and coffee. And that during the winter months, they go to California for some of their produce. Both of which are fine by me. I’ve been buying oranges from Venezula for 29 years now, so getting something from Oakland is fine by me.

So you probably know which one I’m picking. And I think everyone has their stories, good and bad, about each service. I believe the best way to choose the right one for you is to just go for it and see what happens. The worst that could happen is that you overdose on brussel sprouts, which might just make your mommy very happy.