Steven M. wrote: > I'm going to be travelling out there for an interview, > and I would appreciate some restaurant recommendations. > I'd especially like to try the regional cuisine. > > Thanks, > Steve > > -- > __________________________________________________________ > Steven Miale - [email removed] | Don't blame me - > University of Virginia | I voted Libertarian. > Charlottesville, Virginia, US | Aha. Redmond/Bellevue/Seattle, in that order. I wonder who you're interviewing with? I've been up here in Fairfax for a year now, but my wife and my house and my two-car garage are still in Bellevue (where I was working for Boeing, not Microsoft). First of all, I hope you'll have a car. Do you know what hotel you'll be at? No matter which Eastside hotel you wind up at, there's nothing worthwhile within walking distance. The locations I'll be giving you will have to be checked with the local phone book, since they're coming off the top of my head. For a crash course in what it's like to live on the Eastside, visit Chace's Pancake Corral on Bellevue Way, next to the 7-Eleven near SE 16th St. This is just about all the culture there is east of the lake and it's best sampled on a weekend, when you'll see everyone from professional athletes to strip mall kings to manual laborers. Everyone, in short, who lives on the Eastside, except Bill Gates. The menu is unremarkable over all, but Bill Chace's pancakes get my vote for Best in the World. Seriously. If you don't have a lot of time for breakfast, try Sorella's on the north side of Northup Way (aka NE 20th St) between 132nd and 140th. Great breakfast, cheap. Food is much better than Chace's overall, but no pancakes, and no ambience to speak of. (This doubles as a passable Italian restaurant on weekday evenings, but is really a front for a catering business.) Now there are two tracks: local Eastside eats, and good food in Seattle. On the Eastside: For restaurants and nightlife, try downtown Kirkland. Several kinds of ethnic restaurants, a few places where you can get good fish, and several taverns with local ales. This is IMHO a lot more like Charlottesville than the university district in Seattle is, but it can also be a little unapproachable for a single newcomer. For fish and ale in a safer, less chaotic environment, there's The New Jake's at Bellevue Square, which you may want to check out anyway, since it's the biggest shopping mall west of Minneapolis and north of SF. While you're in downtown Bellevue, you might want to stop at Starbucks (across the street from the Nordstrom's end of the Square) or Veneto's (inside the supermarket also north of Nordy's) for a cappucino. If you're gonna live in Seattle, you're gonna have to learn eventually. Speaking of Seattle: If you want to be really ambitious about the regional cuisine, landmarks, and ale thing, go directly to F.X.McRory's, just north of the Kingdome (take I90 all the way into town, and follow the signs to the Kingdome lot, which is the easiest place to park. Flip on the radio to make sure there's not something going on at the Dome before you leave.) I think that the two best places to just go drinking in Seattle are Cooper's Alehouse, on Lake City Way NE, which has some gawdawful number of taps, several dartboards, and not much else, and the Latona Pub on Latona Avenue near Greenlake (Greenlake is always one word. Dunno why.), which is warm, mellow, comfortable, and has jazz or acoustic music on weekends. Best pizza is at Atlantic Street Pizza, which is not on Atlantic Street but rather on University Way north of 55th St. Be prepared to eat in your car unless you go to the other location in Ballard, where they have some seating. The only edible (and it's good) approximation to pizza on the Eastside is Pogacha, at Main Street and 106th (but check me). "Pogacha" is supposed to be some kind of Balkan pizza clone. I'm too much the traditional pizza type, but everyone I've talked to likes it, and they *do* serve good pasta. There's a good take-n-bake pizza place near my house out there, but you won't have a stove... If you're looking for the grunge scene in Seattle, I can't help much, having been thoroughly suburbanized in 1985. Try Market Street in Ballard for starters; the best bars should be within walking distance. If you get stuck for quick food close to the Eastside hotel, drive over to Crossroads Mall. There's a "food court" over there that's a lot more interesting than average, and better quality. For Mexican: La Cocina del Puerco, on Main Street in what's called "Old Bellevue". Alternatively, Azteca on NE 10th just west of Bellevue Way. Best Chinese on the Eastside is Wang's Mongolian Garden in downtown Issaquah (name may be wrong, but the location is right), UNLESS you're sensitive to cigarette smoke. Then try the Peking Wok, just off 128th SE near Factoria Square (Hard to find. Next to a Domino's Pizza.) Burgers: Kidd Valley, near the corner of Northup Way and Bel-Red Road. Teriyaki: Yumiko's, in the north Sears parking lot at 148th NE and 24th St. This is the ultimate Seattle fast food: more chicken, rice, and salad than you can eat, for about $4. And if you get hungry for good ole fashined home cookin, check out the Yankee Diner at 140th and Bel-Red. This will make you never want to go to the Black-Eyed Pea (or any other diner in the East) ever again. Big crowds, no reservations, so go early, go late, or eat in the bar. General note: the Eastside shuts down at about 9 PM (some restaurants at 10). The supermarkets are by and large open all night, but the dining choices are limited... There are Denny's on 148th Ave near NE 24th Street and also just south of I-90 (the latter is a teenager hangout and is also near the local community college). Beyond that, you'll have to cross the 520 bridge into Seattle, where I recommend the College Inn (University Way and NE 40th St; also a good pub downstairs till closing, which is 2 AM in Washington State) and Stella's Trattoria (next to the Metro 10-plex cinema on NE 45th St), both of which are open all night. Well, that's the lowdown on Bellevue (Redmond is just an overgrown cow town that happened to contain enough empty real estate to build Bill's Software Factory, due to the somewhat gerrymandered Bellevue- Redmond border.) Have a good time, even if you decide not to go to work for Uncle Bill, and feel free to ask if you have questions. Jeff Carroll [email removed]
Seattle, WA
Good restaurants in Redmond/Bellevue/Seattle area?
Steven M. wrote: > I'm going to be travelling out there for an interview, > and I would appreciate some restaurant recommendations. > I'd especially like to try the regional cuisine. > > Thanks, > Steve > > -- > __________________________________________________________ > Steven Miale - [email removed] | Don't blame me - > University of Virginia | I voted Libertarian. > Charlottesville, Virginia, US | I try to save recommendations that appear on the net for various cities. This is my collection for Seattle area. Some that I can reccomend are: Dalia Lounge - eclectic but always interesting - moderate price Reiner's - Elegant continental - kinda expensive (more than above) Cactus - Southwest (Santa Fe New Mexico) - moderate Rover's - French - VERY expensive and worth it (>$60/person) Georgian Room (4 seasons hotel) - Elegant continental - expensive Eastside Thai kitchen - hard to beat for Thai Lemon Grass (greenlake) - may beat above but not by much Raja - Indian - moderate Shahmiyama - Indian/Bangladesh 3 pigs - bar-b-q These should keep you busy for a while. I have been to them all and like them a lot. Cheers -- Jim Sanchez Hughes LAN Systems [email removed] OR [email removed] Kirkland, WA 98033 (206)828-7417 (voice) (206)828-2454 (FAX) My favorite is Ho Ho Seafood in the International District. Check out the specials and get the pan-fried halibut if they have it. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mary Malmros | Cayman Systems Inc, 26 Landsdowne St, Cambridge, MA 02139 [email removed] | Phone 617-494-1999 Fax 617-494-5167 AppleLink CAYMAN.TECH How about Sea Garden? It's listed in white/yellow page. You can find pictures of chinese movie stars as well as of Babara Walters at the entrance. Nice restaurant, but a little too much of MSG? A place frequented by Jeff Smith and you can see him in the everning of January 1 (so far... who knows next year). A little bit pricy, but well worth the money. For Japanaese restraurant, I can strongly recommend Izumi at Kirkland. (Again check your phone book, no I am not working for US West.) Happy hours!