Nosh Pit

Neighborhood Food News: Lunar New Year Celebration, King Cake is Back at Where Ya At Matt

Plus: Free house-made Samoas, a cookbook callout, and the return of Cupcake Royale’s “Deathcake”

Posted by: Anne Larkin on Jan 25, 2012 at 10:30AM 0 Comments

20 International District restaurants are participating in the Lunar New Year Festival with a smattering of $2 dishes.

BALLARD
In the name of spreading latte love, on Valentine’s Day the cafe/flower shop Emerald City Orchids will choose two fans to receive a free latte every day that the cafe is open.

CAPITOL HILL
Zephyr Paquette’s much-anticipated community-driven restaurant Skelly and the Bean is looking for for donations of dinner plates. Mismatched plates can only contribute to the ultra-communal feel of this unique restaurant.

CENTRAL DISTRICT
Urban farming collective Alleycat Acres is putting together a community cookbook and wants your recipes (well, only if you live in the Central District or Beacon Hill.) When the cookbook is complete, it’ll be available as an eBook for less than $5.

DOWNTOWN
Free house-made Samoa cookies, inspired by the Girl Scout classic, at BOKA this Friday 11—1. Stop by on your way to the boat show for a shortbread topped with caramel, dipped in chocolate and coconut.

INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT
In celebration of the arrival of the Year of the Dragon, a variety of restaurants such as Fuji Bakery and Fu-Lin Ramen House will be offering $2 dishes at the Second Annual Lunar New Year Food Walk this Saturday from 11 am. After dim sum, check out Wing Luke Museum’s exhibit From Fields to Family about the history of food in the neighborhood.

WEST SEATTLE
The newest location of ever-growing froyo chain Menchie’s is having a grand opening this weekend. The California Avenue shop will offer up free frozen yogurt 11–1 Saturday and lots of other activities and freebies all weekend long.

KIRKLAND
Lilli Pilli, the macaron-only bakery run by an local-food-loving Aussie, is offering free delivery on Valentine’s Day for orders of $50 or more. Someone in your life (or you) probably needs a couple boxes of Fleur de Sel caramel macarons, one of our favorites in last year’s taste test.

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Cupcake Royale’s decadent Deathcake is back for another chocolate-drenched Valentine’s Day. Now available in babycake size, the Deathcake consists of Theo chocolate paired with Stumptown espresso ganache, topped with fleur de sel.

A sweet pre-Mardi Gras indulgence, sugary cinnamon-laced king cake is back at Creole food truck Where Ya At Matt.

Food tour company Savor Seattle is putting on a food hunt this February; follow them on Facebook or Twitter to get in on each day’s puzzle. For the first to figure it out each day, there will be a prize ranging in value from $25 to $200 and a ticket to enter in the drawing for the grand prize—a tour for two through every Tom Douglas restaurant.

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Tags: Valentine's Day, International District, Cupcakes, Macarons, Skelly and the Bean, Frozen Yogurt, Where Ya At Matt

Saigon Deli Among T Magazine’s Best Banh Mi

Sun Bakery and Deli also gets a mention.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Feb 07, 2011 at 11:34AM 2 Comments

T magazine includes Saigon Deli in its best banh mi roundup. Photo courtesy yelp.

Will you look at that. We and T agree that Saigon Deli fashions some of the best banh mi out there.

The magazine for The New York Times ruminates on where to find the country’s 13 top versions of the Vietnamese baguettes, and the ID counter not only gets the first mention, but also scores the lead photo.

In the writeup, T calls out Saigon’s quirks—the grimy digs, the “disaster” that is trying to park—but hails the sandwiches as “second to none, especially the $3 banh mi dac biet—pork, ham and chicken liver pâté.”

Of course you already know this—Saigon Deli got top marks in our Asian Food feature —but perhaps you are less familiar with Sun Bakery and Deli. T gives the Jackson Street joint props for its “combo sandwich made with Chinese-style ham, grilled chicken and cucumber.”

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Tags: Awards and Accolades, Rankings, Vietnamese Cuisine, International District

It’s the Year of the Rabbit, Let’s Eat Cheap in the ID

Eat your way around the neighborhood for a couple of bucks.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Jan 25, 2011 at 09:15AM 1 Comments

This weekend: cheap chow and the Lunar New Year Celebration at the ID’s Hing Hay Park.

Chinese lore tells us 2011 belongs to the Rabbit, and Seattle’s International District is paying its respects this weekend. On Saturday, January 29 the neighborhood puts on a Lunar New Year Celebration in Hing Hay Park starting at 11am. In the works is taiko drumming, calligraphy, dragon dances, yadda yadda, but what’s catching our eye is, of course, the food specials.

Ten restaurants will serve up bites and bevs for $2 each, among them the always-delicious Thai Curry Simple (where splurging on roti is a must), and dim sum gold-star Jade Garden. (Find the rest of the roster on the CIDBIA site.) If you’ve yet to take advantage of the culinary gem that is the ID, Saturay’s fete is a golden opportunity.

On a related note, Long Provincial plans to ring in the Vietnamese New Year with a five-course dinner February 1. Both vegetarian and traditional menus are available for $20.11—a steal, really. Call 206-443-6266 to reserve a spot.

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Tags: Cheap Eats, Food Events and Festivals, International District

Just Eat It: Chile Green Onion Ramen at Samurai Noodle

The tonkotsu may be the star, but this spicy bowl isn’t bad either.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Oct 19, 2010 at 12:39PM 0 Comments

Chile green onion ramen at Samurai Noodle.

When people talk about Samurai Noodle, they talk about the tonkotsu. A teeming bowl of long-simmered pork broth, tonkotsu is Japanese ramen cooked the way you want it—soft, medium, al dente. Nestled among the noodles is ultra-tender pork, green onion, and black mushrooms. You can get it out of two storefronts: one next to Uwajimaya, and the other on the Ave, the newer of the pair. Dine in and it’s $6.75; grab-and-go and it’s $4.95.

But enough about the tonk. Let’s talk up another item of note: the chile green onion bowl. This one’s made with a chicken broth, and like almost all Samurai servings is laden with pork. Bamboo supplants mushrooms, and a generous helping of onion wedges freshens up the mix. That blood-red broth is a good indicator of the kick that’s to come with each spoonful, but if the spicy sesame oil isn’t doing the job, red chile flakes await at the end of the table. (Note: water pitchers do not.) Either way, prudent taste bud softies will steer clear of this $8 dish.

Oh, and don’t forget to get sloppy—slurping the noodles is Japanese custom.

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Tags: University District, Cheap Eats, Food Finds, International District

Check This Out: The First-Ever Chinatown I.D. Art Walk is Saturday

Bento boxes, dumplings, sushi, noodle bowls—for $5? We’re so there.

Posted by: Parisa Sadrzadeh on Jul 16, 2009 at 09:00AM 1 Comments

Yummy stuff like this, and a whole lot more, at the I.D. Art Walk Saturday.

This Saturday, the International District hosts the first-ever Chinatown ID Art Walk. The much buzzed-about event features more than 30 local artists, tea ceremony demos, screenings of Wes Kim’s short film Cookies for Sale and the documentary The Cats of Mirikitani, and live music.

Here’s what we’re most stoked about: Fortuna Café, Gourmet Noodle Bowl, Henry’s Bento, J Sushi, Kaname, Kau Kau BBQ, Pacific Café Hong Kong Kitchen, Phnom Penh, and Unicorn Crepes will serve specialty dishes for $5 and under. Fill up on pork boxes, beef noodle soup, strawberry custard crepes, tofu bento, BBQ pork, and so much more. Man, our tummies are rumbling already.

“Sometimes our neighborhood flies under the radar, but after this event we’re hoping people will continue to visit and enjoy what the district has to offer,” said Fen Hsaio of the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority.

Two more walks are planned for the third Saturday of August and September, and if all goes well, Hsaio said the event will become an annual thing.

Here’s to hoping it does—an I.D. food binge is something we could gladly get used to.

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Tags: International District, Chinatown ID Art Walk