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Dinner and a cruise!

22 Jun

OK, “cruise” may be a slight exaggeration but we did get to ride on a big boat! It was my turn to choose our dining location and I never pass up a chance to ride the ferry boat so I choose Café Nola on Bainbridge Island. We walked on to the 5:30pm ferry and after a 35 minute crossing and a short walk through town we made it to Café Nola just in time for our 6:30pm reservation.

Café Nola is claims to be a European style café. I’m not exactly sure what that means but the menu was nice and diverse, the staff was very friendly and attentive, the food was all very good and the restaurant itself was very comfortable. Ideally I would have loved to have dined somewhere with a view of the lovely water but I can’t fault Café Nola for its lack of view. We did think the menu was a little over priced – about 20% – but overall it was a great meal and once again it was shared with great friends.

We each started our meal with a salad. Lea definitely had the most interesting salad as she ordered the Roasted Beet salad. I am not a beet fan myself but I have to say after seeing it I might be tempted to try it.  In addition to the roasted beets it included asparagus and yummy polenta croutons. We each sampled her croutons and enjoyed them so much that we asked the waitress if she could bring us a side of them. She happily obliged. Allan ordered the Spinach Salad which came with bacon wrapped dates and also looked very yummy. Bose and I had the house salad which was very good and Dave had the Caesar, also quite nice.  

The main courses were all fantastic as well and the portions were generous. Dave had the Grilled Alaskan Salmon and both Allan and Lea had the Halibut. Bose ordered the Eggplant Parmesan and we were all amazed at how much food he received. It must have been good because I don’t’ think there was much left on his plate. I had the pork chop which was tasty but for me the best part of my entrée was the yummy cornbread pudding.  For dessert we had crème brulée which was good but nothing special and a bread pudding cake that was also very good.

It was fun to explore a new area and we’ve had several other restaurants on the island recommended to us so I think we will have to make another trip soon.  Next up, Dave! Can’t wait to see what he has in store for us.

 
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May 2010 – Mawadda Cafe

07 Jun

Lea picked this place based on some excellent reviews, and we dined there as part of the monhtly dinner outing.  This place is a a small (6-8 table) restaurant, which looks like a semi-take out joint.  We were ready to order and wait to pick up food…but were pleasantly surprised.  The extremely friendly staff took our orders, and requested that we get seated and pay like we do at any sit down restuarant. 

I got a veggie combo plate, which was accompanied by a large portion of a delicious salad (lots of garlic) – included falafel, dolma, hummus, baba and rice.  All of it was extremely tasty!  The falafel in particular was fantastic.  The restaurant wasn’t packed, but a steady stream of patrons (seemed like regulars) kept the kitchen busy.

We couldn’t resist the temptation to try their Baklava, and were requested NOT to use a knife/fork to eat them.  We obliged, and were pleasantly surprised to have tried one of the best Baklava’s in Seattle!

A fun outing overall, and definitely worth going back for more…

 
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Northlake Tavern & Pizza

26 Apr

Allan chose Northlake Tavern and Pizza for our April dining destination and we invited our friend Jeris to join us on this trip. A few of us, including myself, had been to Northlake before but in my case at least it had probably been 10 years ago. Northlake is definitely a pizza hotspot for the UW crowd. Even with a reservation we waited a bit to get a table. But a good crowd is an indication of good food so I didn’t mind waiting!

Northlake reminds me of the pizza places of my childhood. However I wouldn’t have been allowed to come here as a child because remember, this is a tavern, you’ve got to be over 21 to get in to this place! You walk in past the kitchen were the cooks are busy making the yummy pizza goodness and the smell of baking pizza dough fills the air throughout the restaurant. I’m getting hungry just writing this! Just past the kitchen is a long bar along one side of the room and booths lining the wall on the other side and in the back are rows of tables that can be pushed together to accommodate large groups. Remember going out for pizza with your sports teams after a game? That is what this reminded me of. Northlake is defiantly a good place to bring a large group of people. It would not be such a good place for a romantic dinner for two or a business meeting as it is LOUD! But when eating pizza and drinking beer, loud is not a problem.

We ordered two medium pizzas. If I remember right it was one Veggie/Zesty Chicken split and one Loggers Special. Medium pizzas weigh over 4.5 pounds each and are piled with fresh, yummy toppings. There is plenty of cheese and sauce but the toppings are all loaded up on top where you can see them and both pizzas looked great! The Loggers Special was loaded with Canadian Bacon, Italian Beef Sausage, tons of yummy Black Olives, Green Peppers and Onions. The Vegetarian was just what you expected, piled with fresh yummy veggies! Mushrooms, Green Peppers, Onions, Black Olives and Fresh Tomatoes were piled thick. The Zesty Chicken Special warns that “Zesty” is an understatement and they aren’t kidding, this pizza has a little kick! Boneless Chicken marinated in barbecue sauce and piled up with Mushrooms, Garlic, Onions, Jalapenos and a spicy Zesty sauce! It was pretty yummy!

All in all it was another fun night spent with great friends. Lea is up next to choose our dining location. I will be looking forward to whatever she picks!

 
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Crush – March 5, 2010

14 Mar

We picked Crush based on the good reviews we had read, and also because Elemental didn’t take any reservations…we were not disappointed!

A little pretentious (will get to the water part shortly), but definitely a great ambiance.  We got there a bit early, and while waiting for the rest of the crew to join us, we decided to go ahead and order some drinks – an extensive wine list and interesting cocktails on the menu awaited us.  Lea picked an Oregon Pinot, and I chose a rum based cocktail – both turned out to be excellent choices.  I did got back for seconds!  Dave and Trudy picked the rum drink as well – good choice!

Opentable didn’t have their menu posted (nor did their own website), so we had NO idea what to expect.  It is a bit rough for vegetarians – not a lot of options listed on their menu, but the chef does make special dishes and even a vegetarian tasting menu, if asked for. 

Allan went for the tasting menu and everyone else chose to order individual entrees.  The vegetarian entree was a risotto (with mushrooms) – extremely tasty, but the portion was a bit too small to my liking.  I did wonder whether I had to stop by a late night happy hour on our way back home!  We tried their dessert (confection) sampler, which had an assortment of small pieces – a little something for everyone’s taste. 

We fully enjoyed our experience at Crush.

Two suggestions for the restaurant – please post your menu onine, and do consider adding a few more vegetarian options.

 
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