Nosh Pit

This Week in Cheap Eats: New Happy Hours, Free Iced Coffee, and Tempura Brie

Keep up with inexpensive indulgences around the town.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Aug 25, 2011 at 12:36PM 0 Comments

Hot chocolate in August? You’re not paying and we’re not judging.

Photo via this website

Happy Hour News
There’s a lot of this. Head over to Sauced for the rundown on HH developments at Poquito’s, Stopsky’s, Luc, and Dahlia Lounge.

Free Food Alerts
Camarena Tequila is still shelling out free tacos around town, check the company’s Facebook page for upcoming locations.

And hey, how about some drink specials? Paratii Craft Bar in Ballard is doing two sponsored events with Pernod-Ricard, which means free Beefeater and Plymouth gin cocktails for you.

Also, through this month at the Chocolate Box: Mention the store’s August newsletter when you buy a dessert and you get a free iced coffee or hot chocolate. Hot chocolate in August? Oh, why not.

Cheap Eat of the Week
This week’s cheap eat is the tempura brie with raspberry soy dip appetizer at Japonessa, in the old Union space at 1st and Union. Japonessa is a place that sounds icky-fusiony on paper—sushi with Latin flair—but is not icky-fusiony at all. It’s actually the picture of professionalism and competence. Somewhat corporate-feeling, yes, but full of good, inexpensive things to eat. And this light-and-crispy fried brie, while neither sushi nor in possession of Latin flair, is the unexpected star of the app menu, thanks in part to the tangy-sweet dipping sauce. Very addictive, and only $6.

Healthy Cheap Eat of the Week
The salade verte at Cafe Presse is an exact replica of France’s ubiquitous bibb-lettuce-and-hazelnuts salad, right down to the just-puckery-enough vinaigrette. It’s $5 and tastes great with Presse’s perfect frites. All things in balance, yes?

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Tags: Downtown, Capitol Hill, Free Drinks, Salad, This Week in Cheap Eats

Tabbouleh Song

“The only beat that’s going to stick in your head and stick in your teeth.”

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jul 01, 2010 at 09:36AM 1 Comments

By way of Seattle Met contributor Jess Thomson, this:

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Tags: Random, Salad, YouTube

Favorite Seattle Salads

Good places to get your greens (and fried chicken, too).

Posted by: Seattle Met staff on Jun 29, 2010 at 11:44AM 4 Comments

Salade verte from Bastille recreated at home
Photo: Jess Thomson

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Salade verte from Bastille recreated at home
Photo: Jess Thomson

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Baguette Box, home of the drunken chicken salad.

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Goi is good at Tamarind Tree in the ID

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The salade verte at Le Pichet downtown: a hazelnut-enhanced classic

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The big salad changes daily at Nettletown and may take longer than an hour to eat.

Seattle Met recently featured a recipe for Bastille’s salade verte, I highly recommend you try it at home. When the French decided that hazelnuts should be a regular ingredient in salad dressing they were very much onto something.

Here are some more of my other favorite everyday, easy-to-come-by salads around town:

A salad need not be light. The drunken chicken salad at Baguette Box is a total calorie whore, but who really cares when you’re looking at a bed of mixed greens—spruced up with orange slices, almonds, croutons, and caramelized onions, and covered in fried balls of chicken that have been crisped to perfection? Nobody, that’s who cares.

On the lighter side are shredded-veggie Vietnamese salads (gỏi), although my favorite does come topped with beef. It’s the gỏi bò at Tamarind Tree: slices of tender beef in an herby fish sauce lie on a bed of shredded cabbage, carrots, herbs, pickled onion, and roasted peanuts.

Le Pichet is a great place to remember when you’re downtown on the weekend in search of a late lunch—the menu is available from 11:30 to 5:30. When I’m there, I must order the cafe’s version of the classic salade verte with hazelnut vinaigrette. It’s basically a ball of bibb lettuce drizzled in perfect vinaigrette with a smattering of toasted hazelnuts tossed on top for good measure. On Capitol Hill, an identical salad is to be had at Cafe Presse (same owners).

It’s been a few months, but I’m still freaking out about Nettletown. The big salad changes daily, and features whatever foraged goodies have made their way into Christina Choi’s kitchen. The first time I went for lunch, I ordered a sandwich and one of my dining companions went for the salad. I actually had to leave her there after an hour to go back to work, she was still digging her way through that big old bowl of greens, and happily.

The insalata mista at Tutta Bella gets big points from me for having white beans as well as white balsamic vinaigrette. White balsamic is less syrupy than its brown counterpart, and when it has its zippy way with a plate of raw veggies the results are mighty fine. It also has carrots, olives, sweet red onions, roasted peppers, and the option to add Gorgonzola cheese. By all means, add it!

So there you have some of my favorites. But come now, good readers. Surely you have some favorite salads of your own. Please, tell us about them.

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Tags: Vegetarian/Vegan Whatnot, Nettletown, Le Pichet, Salad, Vegetables, Summer Eating, Tamarind Tree, Bastille