Escape from Soycatraz

In my efforts to avoid foods containing soy and to eat more healthily, I've been reading the ingredients of all the processed foods I've been buying, or almost buying. It's really quite ridiculous how many things have soy flour (like the tortillas I almost bought), soybean oil or partially-hydrogenated soybean oil (like the tortillas I did buy), or various other soy ingredients. Is it just because soy is cheaper to grow and process than other plants?

The Pink Door - Downtown

Last night I ate at The Pink Door in Downtown Seattle for the first time with my mom and my fiancee Lisa. Lisa had the risotto with yams, my mom had a half-order of the prawns with the garlic mashers and the rapini, and I had the paglia e fieno, also known as the straw and hay. Lisa and my mom loved the risotto, but I thought something tasted strange about it. I didn't try the shrimp but my mom loved it, and we all thought the rapini and potatoes were delicious. My meal was great, but not quite as good as I had hoped, maybe because it was so buttery. The service was good, they maybe even filled my water too often. We had made reservations for 5:00 on a Saturday but we probably didn't need to since there was hardly anybody there when we sat down. All in all it was a good experience.

Westport Weekend

My fiancee Lisa and I went to Westport over the weekend, a nice little town on the Pacific Coast of Washington. It was a nice trip despite the wind and rain. We stayed in a cabin a five-minute walk from the beach called the Sandy Sea Inn. It was a decent cabin, my only complaints would be the Jesus sign in the kitchen window (if I were a Muslim or Jew or something I would have been extremely offended), the faint smell of urine on the couch, and the smell of smoke as you first walk in.
On our way down we stopped at Ruby Tuesday in Lakewood. I've loved their veggie burgers for years but don't get to eat them very often these days, partly because there are no Ruby Tuesdays near Seattle but mainly because of my soy allergy. I enjoyed it quite a bit on Friday night, but Lisa made the mistake of getting steak and it was really tough and fatty, and she ended up throwing out her leftovers.
In the mood for breakfast food, we stopped at King's Pancake and Steak House on Saturday afternoon for lunch, thinking they must serve pancakes all day if it's in the name. We were wrong. The food wasn't bad, I had a cod sandwich and fries and Lisa had the clam chowder, both reasonably priced. The service was terrible though: our server was extremely condescending, and every time she'd go back to the kitchen we could hear her say "I wanna go home now, can I go?"
Saturday night we ate at The Original House of Pizza. The service was great, and the cream cheese jalapeno poppers were delicious, but the pizza was average at best, with cheap cheese and too much sauce. It reminded me of Gina Maria Pizza in Minnesota, which I believe no longer exists.
Sunday morning we went to Barbara's for breakfast. The service was great and the food--well, we had mixed reviews. I ordered the veggie omelet and Lisa ordered the Swedish pancakes. I ended up really liking the Swedish pancakes, but the cream cheese in the omelet tasted odd to me, and hashed browns were really buttery and synthetic tasting. Lisa enjoyed them both quite a bit.
I highly recommend getting some fudge from Granny Hazel's if you find yourself near the docks in Downtown Westport.

Il Terrazzo Carmine - Pioneer Square

I picked up lunch the other day at Il Terrazzo Carmine in Pioneer Square. I got the pesto fettuccine with shrimp and took it back to work. It was quite delicious, the pesto was creamy and wonderful, the shrimps were large and tasty, and the fettuccine was perfectly cooked. It was around $17, so I wouldn't do it often, but since I had a hankering for pesto and it came with some wonderful bread, it was totally worth it.

Piecora's Pizza - Capitol Hill

Last night I picked up a whole cheese pie from Piecora's Pizza in Capitol Hill. Their pizza is always delicious, perfectly greasy like real New York pizza. I highly recommend it. There is rarely a wait for seating as they have quite a few booths, and parking is often available in back.

Amy's Pizzas

I just had Amy's Pesto Pizza for about the 100th time. I have yet to try one I don't like, though the one I tried with a rice crust was a little strange.

Basil Ravioli with Creamy Basil Sauce

You can never have too much basil, but you can have too much citrus.

Last night I had Bertagni's Basil Ravioli with Grilled Vegetables, topped with Cucina Fresca's Basil Cream Sauce, both from Whole Foods. The ravioli was big and soft, but really didn't have a ton of flavor. I wish I could say it was saved by the sauce, but I actually didn't like the sauce, it was way too citrusy. What's strange is that I don't see anything in the ingredients that would make it so citrusy. It might work as a nice summer meal for some people, but hot citrus foods just don't please my palate.

Spinach and Cheese Ravioli With Alfredo Sauce

I just had an evening in with Monterey Pasta Company's spinach and cheese ravioli (available at QFC for around $5) topped with Cucina Fresca's alfredo sauce (available at Whole Foods, also a little over $5). It was totally delicious! I was at least my third time having the alfredo sauce, which may not be healthy but it always a great addition to any pasta. The ravioli wasn't out of this world, but it was very good and well worth the money.

J Sushi

I just had sushi from J Sushi in the International District, and I have to say I was quite underwhelmed. I got an order of California rolls, and order of Alki rolls (salmon with cream cheese), and an order of spider rolls. The California rolls were strangely wet and barely better than what you'd find in a grocery store, except for being real crab. The Alki rolls were also fairly average, mainly because the salmon was sort of dark and not high quality. The spider rolls were basically inedible, though I should mention that they were similar to those at Fuji Sushi. I'm not sure why it is, but I love Blue C's spider rolls but can't stand anybody else's.

The total came to around $22 for food that was worth about $7.

Seattle ingested

Welcome to my Seattle food blog. I plan to post about various restaurants, food stores, etc. in the Seattle area, so hopefully others will find it useful.

I'm 31 years old, I live in North Seattle, and I usually eat at restaurants that are between $5 and $20 per meal. Some of my favorite eateries include:

Old Town Alehouse
Elliott Bay Brewpub
Piecora's Pizza
Grand Central Bakery
Purple Cafe
Rialto Pasta Bar
Blue C Sushi