Each December, around the time that bonuses are handed out at my job, I like to treat Robert to a nice dinner out. Nothing outrageously expensive or anything, just a great meal in a fancier restaurant than we normally go to. That really isn’t saying much because, most of the time, we are pretty cheap. What can I say? We like our pubs and budget Thai restaurants. But, every once in a while, it is fun to splurge and dine out in the restaurants where foodies like me are probably supposed to be eating.

Last night, on a whim (or, on a “lark” you could say) we decided to head down the street to Lark. It was completely unplanned, but it turned out to be the perfect place for our special occasion dinner. Located in the uber-popular 12th Avenue area of South Capitol Hill, Lark has been getting plenty of acclaim ever since it opened for business several years ago. We tried going there once before, a while back, but it was slammed (they don’t take reservations.) Last night, the winter cold seemed to be working in our favor as we were able to get a table right away.

As is typical of many of Seattle’s newer upscale restaurants, Lark has a very casual, understated elegance. White tablecloths and candles are about all you get in terms of decor. Tables are situated close together in the big, open dining area, and you practically have to walk through the kitchen to get to the restroom. Very casual, very comfortable. I think the emphasis here is more on the food, less on the surroundings.

Lark’s menu is broken up into Cheese, Vegetables & Grains, Charcuterie, Fish, and Meat. Like so many places these days, the dishes at Lark are all small plates that are meant to be shared (to be fair, Lark was one of the pioneers of this movement in Seattle.) Our waiter explained that 4 or 5 dishes is usually sufficient for a couple like us.

We started off with Lark’s homemade crackers and a wedge of Echo Mt. Blue Cheese which is a cow and goat milk cheese from Oregon. We were also given a selection of homemade breads: a plain French bread and a very dark, slightly sweet bread that Robert especially liked. Our waiter informed us that it was dried cherry pumpernickel. Yum - I love pumpernickel!

Our second dish was ricotta gnudi (gnudi are similar to gnocchi.) This dish consisted of three ovals of pillowy soft ricotta dressed in a brown butter sauce and topped with currants, pine nuts and the tiniest cubes of winter squash. It was delicious; the texture of the gnudi was incredible.

To complete the meal, we ordered a couple of fish dishes. We were really tempted by the special of the night: seared scallops with porcini mushrooms and brussels sprouts (I love any restaurant that dares to serve brussels sprouts!) But, since neither of us is particularly crazy about scallops, we ordered the bacon-wrapped cod and the Spanish mackerel instead. The cod, which was wrapped in the thinnest slices of bacon I’ve ever seen, arrived in a subtle truffle broth sprinkled with diced celery root. The fish was cooked perfectly and the light & crisp bacon added just enough flavor to the dish without being overpowering. The cod was good, but the mackerel was our favorite dish of the night. Robert and I are big fans of mackerel, and this dish was a perfect example of why. It was pan-seared (again, cooked perfectly) and served with Bomba rice, chorizo, kale and marcona almonds. The briny, oily flavor of the fish matched so well with the spicy, rich chorizo. It was an outstanding dish that left me dreaming of mackerel all day today.

To drink, I opted for the 2006 Hiedler Grüner Veltliner which proved to be a decent match for the wide variety of tastes throughout the meal. Everything about our experience at Lark was wonderful: the service was friendly and helpful, all of the dishes we tried were excellent and, although it was pricey, it wasn’t ridiculously so (and the food was definitely worth the cost - a rarity these days, in my opinion.)

Lark is located at 926 12th Ave and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 5:00pm to 10:30pm.

Last night, Robert and I stopped by Quinn’s, a new pub that opened up a few blocks from our apartment (new restaurants are popping up all around us it seems - I can barely keep track anymore!) My dad, who never cooks but enjoys watching cooking shows and reading food blogs, alerted me to this place. Quinn’s has only been open for business since Thursday night so they are still in their “soft opening” phase. This means that they haven’t actually announced a grand opening yet and instead are letting customers slowly discover the place and trickle in, using this as a time to work out any kinks and get everything organized before the official opening.

Well, the slow trickle idea might not really be working out so well. The place was pretty packed when we arrived. I guess everyone reads the same food blogs as my dad and I do. Still, we were able to snag a table upstairs (Quinn’s has two levels, a lower level with seating and a long bar, and an upstairs with additional seating.) It looks really nice inside, with lots of dark wood and dim lighting and warm hued walls. The 2-story windows are decorated on top with a striking graphic checkerboard of clear and textured glass. Somehow, Quinn’s manages to be open and airy yet cozy at the same time. It seems slightly upscale at first glance, but everyone in the place was dressed very casually. The closely packed tables and seat yourself casualness keep it from being at all snooty.

Prices are at Quinn’s very moderate. Snacks run between $3 and $5 and plates are between $6 and $19 with most coming in somewhere around $11 to $13. Between Smith and now Quinn’s, there seems to be some sort of “re-meatification of Capitol Hill” campaign going on. Duck rillettes, rabbit pate, marrow and oxtails all make an appearance on the menu. There is even an option for “braised farm animal of the week” (as if it won some sort of prize or something. “You, lucky goat, have been selected as this week’s braised animal. Congratulations!”) There are also your standard pub options, like burger and fries and fish & chips, and some delicious sounding sides such as curried lentils and roasted cauliflower with golden raisins. I could easily make a whole meal out of Quinn’s side dishes.

The beer list boasts a wide variety of primarily imported European beers. I tried the Abbey Leffe, a Belgian beer that Robert remembers enjoying when he was vacationing in Paris. It was very floral and spicy, like a really good wine. For my meal, well, I just had to order the fish and chips. I wanted to go with something more creative, but fish and chips is just such good pub food that I couldn’t help myself. Robert was more adventurous; he ordered the wild boar sloppy joe with fried sage leaves.

At one point during the evening, we were presented with a small plate of sliders and another of cheesy gougere (savory choux pastry with cheese.) We hadn’t ordered them but figured it was some sort promotional gift. We later learned, after we had gobbled them down, that they had simply gone to the wrong table. Oops! Our karma remains intact, though, because Robert had shared them with the people sitting at the table next to us (Robert loves sharing food.) In fact, in very anti-Seattle fashion, we ended up chit-chatting with our table neighbors for quite a while as we were waiting for our checks. That’s got to say something good about Quinn’s, right? If it can get strangers in Seattle to actually talk to one another? Hey, and we weren’t even sitting at the now-ubiquitous communal table (yes, Quinn’s has one too.)

Quinn’s is being referred to as a “gastropub” by the media. Gastropub is a British term for a place that specializes in food that is slightly more upscale than the average pub grub. By that definition, most of the pubs in my neighborhood probably qualify as gastropubs so, for me, Quinn’s just seems like a regular neighborhood pub. It is comfortable, casual, friendly and a great place to settle in for a beer and some snacks. This will be a perfect spot for Robert and I to engage in one of our favorite weekend activities: spending the afternoon at the pub reading our books and savoring a couple of pints.

We met up with friends for breakfast at the Salvadorean Bakery in White Center this morning. I had been hearing such great things about this place so I was really looking forward to trying it. The first thing I noticed when I walked into the Salvadorean Bakery is the display cases full of amazing-looking pastries and cakes. Yum! The second thing I noticed is the rather harshly lit, sparsely decorated dining area. Not exactly what you would call ambiance. But, for me, this is usually a sign that I’m in for some really good food! I have found that, in the majority of cases, the amount I enjoy a meal is inversely proportional to the price, service and level of decor in a given restaurant. I could pretty much care less about ambiance; when I go out, I want to be treated to food that I can’t easily cook myself. Grilled salmon fillet atop polenta with a wild mushroom ragout? I could whip that up any night of the week (at about half the cost it would go for in any restaurant in my neighborhood.) Authentic Salvadorean pupusas, on the other hand, is something I will probably never be able to duplicate accurately at home. And, at a mere $2 each, I’d be happy eating pupusas on a plastic stool in an alleyway let alone in a clean and spacious albeit ambiance-free cafeteria.

The Salvadorean Bakery’s breakfast menu isn’t huge, but it was still a pretty tough decision. It all sounded so good! I finally settled on the breakfast platter because it came with a little bit of everything. The platter consists of two eggs (fried or scrambled) topped with salsa, a fried plantain, refried beans, an unusually large helping of crema, a wedge of crumbly, white cheese (similar to Mexican Cotija,) two rotund links of super-spicy chorizo and a couple of homemade tortillas. The tortillas at the Salvadorean Bakery are much thicker than Mexican tortillas and have a wonderful fresh masa flavor. They were great on their own but even better topped with a bit of egg, beans and crema. I also loved getting the little wedge of cheese. I gave Robert my chorizo and kept the cheese as a little treat for myself. The fried plantain provided a nice sweet counterpoint to the rest of the meal. Robert ordered some kind of stuffed breakfast sandwich. I forget the name of it, but it was basically a football shaped loaf of freshly-baked bread filled with sausage and scrambled eggs. It looked really delicious.

I was disappointed that I didn’t get to try the pupusas but, with the breakfast platter, that would have been way too much food. Pupusas are stuffed masa cakes, a Salvadoran specialty. They are made from the same dough that the tortillas are made from but come with a variety of fillings including meat, black beans and cheese. One that sounds particularly interesting is filled with cheese and loroco flowers. Maybe next time.

In addition to breakfast, the Salvadorean Bakery has a delicious-sounding lunch and dinner menu. I hear their soups are awesome. If you are in the mood to try some really honest, authentic, distinctive food or if you just happen to find yourself in White Center one day with nothing to do, be sure to swing by the Salvadorean Bakery! Salvadorean Bakery is located at 1719 S.W. Roxbury St.

There are some weekends where you spend most of your time hanging around the house, engaging in mellow activities such as reading and watching rented movies, and dining out only in your favorite neighborhood restaurants. But, sometimes, it just so happens that you end up with a weekend jam-packed full of plans with friends and family requiring you to venture out to new restaurants in neighborhoods other than your own. This weekend fell into the latter category for me. I put a pretty big dent in my New Year’s resolution to try some new restaurants. Here are mini-reviews of each of the places I visited.

On Friday, I had to attend a business lunch at Taste in the Seattle Art Museum. Although I would rather do pretty much anything than go to a work-oriented lunch, I had been meaning to try Taste for a while now. Typical of any downtown lunch spot, Taste was bustling when we arrived. Taste is sort of an upscale cafeteria; they have lots of room for sit-down dining but also sell sandwiches and other to go items. I ordered the soup of the day (curried cauliflower) and the Alsatian flat bread. The soup was creamy and very good although it didn’t taste particularly like cauliflower or curry. The flat bread, which came topped with fromage blanc, bacon and caramelized onions, was too dry and crumbly. Every time I broke off a piece, little shards would go flying everywhere out onto the table. For dessert, a couple of us decided to split the S’more which consisted of, not surprisingly, homemade graham crackers topped with chocolate and an oval of toasted marshmallow. It was good, but the real highlight of this dish was the burnt caramel-sea salt ice cream that came with it. Too bad it was served in a thimble-sized cup!

Friday night, Robert and I met up with friends at Calamity Jane’s in my beloved Georgetown. Like all of the restaurants in Georgetown, Calamity Jane’s has a real old-time Seattle feel about it with lots of vintage wood and brick everywhere. There is a definite Western theme going on at Calamity Jane’s. Besides the fact that the sign is written in a lasso-style font, the menu features country favorites such as ribs served with corn on the cob. That said, it is actually a pretty eclectic menu. Friday night’s special was pasta with clam sauce, certainly not something anyone would consider traditional country fare. I ordered the red beans and greens meal which comes with a johnnycake on the side. The beans were good but a little meaty for my taste (of course, that’s only because I don’t really eat much meat. For everyone else, these beans would probably be perfect!) The greens were delicious. They used chard instead of collards so they were nice and tender. If you are a strict vegetarian, you have the option of ordering only greens instead of the beans and greens combo. Overall, it was a great meal and a really fun place. Georgetown scores again!

On Saturday, we had plans to meet up with my family at Crave to celebrate my brother-in-law’s birthday. Crave is only two blocks from our apartment, but Robert and I don’t go there too often. Their food is really good (especially brunch), but there is always a huge wait and we are just too impatient for that. I ordered the goat cheese gnocchi which is served in a cream sauce with roasted garlic, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, and prosciutto (yep, more meat for me…it’s a good thing I had my cholesterol checked last week and not this week!) The gnocchi were topped with stir-fried pea vines which I absolutely adore. The rest of the food looked really good too including mole-braised short ribs with corn bread and the fish special which was seared cod atop a white bean ragout. With my meal, I had a very unusual Australian wine called Pericles. Pericles is a Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend by Flinders Bay Winery. According to the wine list, it is supposed to have an aroma of tomato and jalapeno. I didn’t really pick up on that, but I could tell that it was very different, in a good way. I’ll have to see if any of the wine shops around here carry it.

Finally, we got up early this morning and headed out to Ballard to meet my friend Val and her husband for brunch at one of their favorite spots, Wild Mountain Cafe. Located in a renovated home, Wild Mountain Cafe is very cute and, well, homey. The brunch menu, which is huge, has all of the standard brunch items you would expect to see plus some rather unique creations. Instead of hash browns, most dishes are served with roasted garlic-potato cakes. I ordered the “Tower of Power” which consisted of two potato cakes topped with seared spinach, green bell pepper, tomato, mushroom and sharp cheddar cheese. It was quite tasty and, despite the name, was not an overly gigantic portion size which appreciate. Robert had a breakfast burrito with chicken sausage and green chili. The food was great and the cafe was charming and cozy, just what we were in the mood for on a rainy day like today.

Georgetown is one of my favorite neighborhoods in Seattle. I sometimes think of it as a second home because it is the only place (besides my parents house and the mountains) that Robert and I actually get into the car and drive to on a regular basis. It is a very funky, industrial neighborhood. If Seattle were to hold a contest to see which part of town had the highest concentration of tattoos, bikers, punks and blue-collar workers, Georgetown might very well win. And, as you would expect from a place like this, Georgetown has plenty to offer in the way of dive bars, cheap beer, blaring rock and roll and…vegetarian food?

Yes, that’s right. It may seem incongruous, but this rough and tumble section of town has a pretty significant vegetarian presence. This is most likely due to the fact that Field Roast, a well-known meat substitute, is produced in Georgetown. Many of the sandwiches at Smartypants, our regular Georgetown pub, can be ordered with Field Roast in place of meat. But, just down the street from Smartypants is another pub, Georgetown Liquor Company, where Field Roast is first and foremost on its entirely vegetarian menu.

At first glance, Georgetown Liquor Company seems like an ordinary Georgetown pub: friendly people, casual atmosphere, classic punk rock on the radio competing with loud planes landing at nearby Boeing Field (at one point, I looked out the window and realized we were being buzzed by a huge AWAC - exciting!) But then, as your eyes adjust to the dim lighting inside, you start to notice the very strong sci-fi theme around you. There is a huge mural on one side of the restaurant featuring vaguely familiar-looking aliens (is that Alf on steroids?) The menu offers sandwiches with names such as “Frac,” “Yoda” and “Picard.” During the fall and winter months, Heroes is played at full volume on the TV each Monday night. And, there is some sort of creepy old sci-fi radio program that plays in the bathroom. If you’re a gamer, you will be happy to discover the old arcade machines and vintage game consoles available for playing including an Atari 2600. No, Georgetown Liquor Company is not your average pub. It is a pub for serious geeks (and I mean that in the most loving way since I live with one and occasionally venture into that territory myself!)

The menu at Georgetown Liquor Company consists mainly of sandwiches and salads with a few appetizers and non-sandwich entrees available as well. The wild mushroom tamales and polenta triangles sounded interesting, but sandwiches somehow seemed more appropriate for the surroundings. Robert ordered the “Darth Reuben” which is Roasted-Tomato Field Roast, swiss cheese, sauerkraut and remoulade sauce on marbled rye. He said it had a great balance of flavors. Not too much cheese and not too much Field Roast (let’s face it, if it’s not real meat, you don’t really want it piled up high do you?) His only complaint was that it got a little soggy after a while. A bit more toasting on the bread would have made it perfect. I had the “Picard” which is Lentil-Sage Field Roast, roasted red onions, mozzarella, tofu cream cheese and roasted garlic spread on a toasted ciabatta served with vegan au jus for dipping (vegan au jus…what heresy! I’m pretty sure people have been sent to the guillotine for less.) It was a big, messy, crispy, utterly delicious sandwich. I loved it. We washed everything down with a couple of pints of Manny’s Pale Ale which is also made right here in Georgetown.

Although it is a fairly new place, Georgetown Liquor Company seems to be doing quite well for itself. Every table was full when we were there Friday evening, and everyone appeared to be having a great time. We will certainly be returning; it is going to be a pretty tough choice now between Georgetown Liquor Company and Smartypants. Thanks to Alison for the heads up about this place! Georgetown Liquor Company is located at 5501 - B Airport Way S.

Since we don’t have a backyard of our own, Robert and I spend a lot of time at Volunteer Park during the summer. We have developed a bit of a routine over the years. We go to the park and read our books for a while, then we stop off for beer and fries at Canterbury, one of Seattle’s last true dives, and then we usually stop by the wine shop and Sonic Boom Records before walking back home. Yesterday, we were feeling rambunctious so we decided to break out of the routine and go out for lunch before heading to the park. Our lunch destination: Volunteer Park Cafe.

Volunteer Park Cafe has been open since January 2007. It is located 2 blocks east of Volunteer Park in the super-rich section of Capitol Hill, where scruffy apartment buildings give way to towering trees and grand homes. Despite the surrounding opulence, Volunteer Park Cafe is a very casual, cozy restaurant. Ceiling-high windows and light yellow walls make it bright and cheery inside. It has a very old-fashioned general store feel about it (the building actually used to be a grocery store and meat market in the early 20th century.) There are big jars of gum balls available for the kids and a small refrigerator case full of local beers and wines for the adults. In keeping with the general store look, the tables are surfaced with packaging from flour and other dry goods. There is even a vintage grocery store sign hanging above the kitchen. There are modern touches as well. Huge black and white photographs are up on the walls and the restaurant’s focus on seasonal, local ingredients is very now.

Volunteer Park Cafe is primarily open for breakfast and lunch, but they also have monthly “wine dinners” that focus on pairing foods with local wines (they were advertising a Belgian beer dinner when we were there which sounded interesting.) The breakfast menu features a small number of scrumptious-sounding options including caramelized banana brioche french toast and apple & brie breakfast panini. Or, if you are in a hurry, the pastry case is stocked full of freshly-baked pastries and cookies. For lunch, there are various soups, salads, and grilled panini to choose from. They also usually have some sort of interesting beverage on special. This weekend, they were offering three different kinds of flavored lemonade.

For my lunch, I ordered sour cherry lemonade and a caprese panini which is basil, roasted tomato and fresh mozzarella on country bread. Robert had a B.L.T. made with fancy thick-cut bacon. When our panini arrived at the counter, they were still sizzling. Hot off the grill! Both were tasty, but I thought they were grilled for too long. When it comes to grilled bread, I like a mix of crispy exterior and chewy interior, but this was all crisp and no chew. They were also a tad greasy for my taste. The fillings were great, however. Not being a fan of raw tomatoes, I really liked the fact that they roasted the tomatoes. It made them sweet and delicious. And, the fresh mozzarella was nice and creamy. Overall, the food was just OK which is fine since Volunteer Park Cafe is a bit outside of our normal walking range. I would like to try another one of their panini someday just to see if they are always made that crunchy or if we simply happened to be there on day when the cook was being a little overzealous with the panini press. I am also very intrigued by their breakfast menu (the yeast-raised waffle with seasonal fruit compote must be mine!) Volunteer Park Cafe is located at 1501 17th Ave E and is open Tuesday-Friday from 7am to 5pm and Saturday & Sunday from 8am to 5pm.

Smith, the newest pub to open on 15th Avenue, has gotten more than its fair share of press recently. On its first day, the Seattle blogs were already raving about how great it was. Lots of Seattle notables visited and plenty of hipsters followed suit. The blogs even went so far as to declare that the curse had been lifted. You see, Smith moved into the “haunted” space on 15th that was previously occupied by Cypress, Kozak’s, Maguire’s, Mango’s, and other such duds before that. None of these places lasted longer than 6 months. It was beginning to seem unlikely that any restaurant would ever be able to make it in that location.

While it may be a bit premature to claim that the curse has lifted, I must admit that all signs are pointing that way. The space looks entirely new, yet it also looks like it has been there forever. Unlike the previous restaurants, Smith just feels really comfortable. Plus, Smith is the latest venture of Linda Derschang of Linda’s and King’s Hardware fame, and, if anyone knows how to open up a good bar in Seattle, she does. When we visited last month, the place was packed full of hipsters which, as the Capitol Hill Seattle blog points out, weren’t anywhere to be seen on 15th Avenue before. That must mean that Smith is actually drawing people up from elsewhere on Capitol Hill. If that’s not a sign that the curse is broken, then I don’t know what is. It wasn’t quite as busy tonight, but there was still a decent trickle of nice, normal, non-hipster types (like us) coming in to grab a drink and check it out.

As I mentioned before, Smith feels really comfortable. If you’re a fan of taxidermy, that is. Yes, Linda does love her taxidermy. Although there are many deer heads, stuffed birds really prevail here. The interior of Smith is very dark, with dim lighting, stone tile flooring and dark wood everywhere. Although there are big front windows and lots of open space, the place is a bit gloomy (but in a good way.) There are many tables and booths, including the now-ubiquitous communal table in the middle of the room. Smith is what I imagine a hunter’s den would look like, but on a much larger scale. Although it is summer and cheerfully bright restaurants with patios are better suited to my mood right now, Smith will be a perfect hideout when the rainy season hits.

In keeping with the hunter theme, the menu at Smith features lots of meat. It is a rather odd menu. I feel like I like reading and thinking about the menu more than I actually want to order off it, but that may be because I don’t really eat much meat. Meaty options include steak (served rare), burger (served rare), fried duck legs (think duck corndog) and trout…wrapped in ham. There are some vegetarian choices but they are mostly just vegetables, not really full meals. We ordered the Devils on Horseback which are dates stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped in bacon. It’s tough to go wrong with that combination so, unsurprisingly, they were very good. We also shared an order of fries which were served attractively in a tall mason jar lined with brown paper. Our beet salad consisted of thinly sliced beets dressed simply with olive oil, garlic and fresh thyme. A plate of yummy greens rounded out the meal. They had all of the salty, brothy goodness of Southern greens but weren’t cooked to death. Everything was really good, although we didn’t exactly leave Smith feeling full. Maybe an order of poutine instead of fries would have solved the problem. Poutine is a Canadian specialty which consists of French fries and soft cheese curds covered in gravy. I’m so getting that next time! Overall, even though the menu frightens/intrigues me, I will definitely be returning to Smith. It is a really great addition to the neighborhood. I hope it lasts! Smith is located at 332 15th Ave E.

Cafe Presse, a new French cafe from Le Pichet owners, Joanne Herron and Jim Drohman, opened for business this week, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Cafe Presse is the latest addition to 12th Avenue in the Seattle University neighborhood. This is a really hip area right now. Foodie hotspots Lark, Licorous, Crave, and Osteria La Spiga have all made their homes here in recent years. The owners of Cafe Presse wanted to create a really casual space where people could stop by and sample some French wines, meet up with friends for a few bites of food, or simply read the morning paper over a cup of Cafe Vita coffee (Cafe Presse is also a newsstand offering international magazines and newspapers.) I love that sort of unstructured style, less of a restaurant and more of a hangout where people are allowed to linger a while. If it stays as busy as it was last night, however, it may have a hard time becoming the “alternative living room” that the owners were striving for.

The interior of Cafe Presse has an understated elegance to it. Pretty pale blue wallpaper lines one wall; exposed brick comprises the opposite wall. It is decorated functionally with wine racks and shelves of glassware. High ceilings, tall windows and a huge skylight result in a light, airy atmosphere. There are about 15 tables in the front room with additional seating at the long bar and another small bar with seating at the front window. There is also a back room with more tables.

The menu is broken down into small plates, salads, charcuterie and a short list of entrees. I went with a classic, Salade Nicoise. Robert ordered straight off the small plate menu: baguette sandwich with cured ham, pomme frites and an arugula salad. The baguette sandwiches here aren’t piled high like American sandwiches; instead you get a very slender baguette topped with a bit of mustard and the meat of your choice. Robert really liked his. The pomme frites could have been crisper, but they were tasty anyway. My salad was very good. The tuna was so soft and flavorful. I have a feeling they weren’t using Bumblebee. Even the anchovies were meatier and better than the ones I normally have. Aside from ingredients typically found in Salade Nicoise - tomatoes, potatoes, olives, and boiled eggs - my salad also came sprinkled with tiny chickpeas. An unexpected treat.

Although it just opened, there are already a few things that I’m loving about Cafe Presse. One, the food is all very good. Two, the hours are easy to remember: 7AM to 2AM every single day. Three, the menu is the same all day long. If you want an omelet for dinner, no problem. If you want pan-fried fish over lentils for breakfast, go for it. Finally, and this is a biggie, the prices are totally reasonable, especially given the quality of the food. Small plates run from $3 to $7, salads are $4, and entrees are typically between $12 to $15. Wines are an even better deal. You can order any wine off the list by the glass, demi-pichet (pitcher), pichet, or bottle. We had the most expensive wine, a Sauvignon Blanc from Touraine (in keeping with my Loire Valley theme this week), which was $5 per glass. The other wines on the list were either $3.50 or $4 per glass. $3.50! For a glass of wine! That’s insanely cheap. Let’s see…inexpensive French wines, available by the glass, 5 blocks from my apartment. I think it’s safe to say that I’m coming here all the time! Cafe Presse is located at 1117 12th Avenue.

There are so many changes happening on Capitol Hill right now. It seems like new condos are being put up overnight. Everywhere I look, something is being torn down so that something bigger and taller can be put in its place. While I like the idea of having a denser urban area (less sprawl hopefully means less cars), it makes me wonder when they are going to come after my apartment building. But, for now, the good side to all of this development is that there are a ton of new restaurants opening up in my neighborhood this summer! Let’s see, there’s Cafe Presse, a casual French cafe and newsstand from the owners of one of my favorite lunch spots, Le Pichet. Linda Derschang, of Linda’s Tavern and Viceroy fame, is opening a new place called Smith up on 15th Avenue. Later this summer, the guys from Blue C Sushi in Fremont are supposed to be opening a Japanese noodle shop a few blocks away from us on 12th and Pike. It’s almost too much. We barely have time to visit our standby restaurants as it is.

Last night, we visited another product of the condo boom: Bimbo’s Cantina. Bimbo’s Cantina is the new incarnation of Bimbo’s Bitchin’ Burrito Kitchen, which was previously located down on Pike & Summit until that block was bought to make room for condos. Fortunately for us, the new Bimbo’s is much closer, now located on Pike between 10th and 11th. I’ve always liked Bimbo’s. Their burritos aren’t mind-blowing or anything, but they are good and cheap. Plus, they use lots of organic ingredients. The new Bimbo’s has a slightly more streamlined look. There is still plenty of Mexican kitsch, but it not quite as over the top as it was at the old restaurant. There is a much stronger focus on Mexican wrestler-related kitsch, including a pretty cool Mexican wrestler stained glass window above the door. Bimbo’s Cantina seats around twice as many people as did the old Bimbo’s, which means about 30 plus additional seating at the bar. Whereas the old space was dark and cramped, the new Bimbo’s is spacious and airy. It might not be quite as cool, but I felt really comfortable there.

I ordered what I always order, the “No-Meato Burrito” which is your choice of tortilla (flour, wheat, spinach or tomato) stuffed full with rice, beans (whole, refried or black), lettuce, black olives, sunflower seeds, tomato, cheese, guacamole and cumin-lime sour cream. It was totally messy and delicious. I’m a sucker for the crunchy sunflower seeds. Robert had the “Down Home Burrito” which is filled with a choice of meat (herb-roasted chicken or beef) and garlic potatoes as well as rice, beans, etc. They accidentally left out the meat which, if you’ve ever been to Bimbo’s, isn’t too surprising. He didn’t mind too much, though, because the garlic potatoes were so good. Bimbo’s also offers nachos, tacos and quesadillas and lime jello for dessert for $0.50. The usual Mexican beverages are available including a good selection of cervezas, sangria, margaritas and Mexican sodas. It was a very filling meal and the best part is that, even with beer, we got out of there for under $20!

The Cha Cha Lounge, which is affiliated with Bimbo’s and was previously located right next door, also made the big move up the hill. Now, it is directly downstairs from Bimbo’s. After dinner, we decided to check it out. It is humongous compared to the old Cha Cha. There is tons of seating, including some really nice booths. It looks like all of the leftover Mexican kitsch from the old Bimbo’s was moved into Cha Cha. The walls and ceiling are covered in it; that, combined with the dark red lighting, makes for an otherworldly atmosphere. We didn’t stick around, but it looks like it will be a pretty fun place to meet friends at for drinks. Bimbo’s Cantina and Cha Cha Lounge are located at 1013 East Pike Street.

Yesterday was my birthday. I never do anything too crazy for my birthday. I do like to use it as an excuse to eat lots of good food, though, and this year was no exception! On Sunday night, my family and I went to Kingfish for my annual birthday dinner. I’ve written about Kingfish before so I won’t go into it too much here except to say that, man, their desserts are huge! I had heard that they were “oversized” but apparently I didn’t quite understand what this really meant. We ordered three desserts to split between the seven of us, and we would have easily been satisfied with only two (we did somehow manage to finish all three though!) The dark chocolate cake was an encyclopedia-sized slab, the cherry cobbler was served in a trough, and the strawberry shortcake was piled sky-high with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. It was truly awe-inspiring. If Robert and ever go there alone and want dessert, we may need to go in on it with another table or something. It was so good, I think it would be worth it. The cherry cobbler was my favorite.

My friend took me out for lunch yesterday at one of my favorite restaurants in the International District: Shanghai Garden. We ordered hot & sour soup, mu shu vegetables and spicy szechuan bean curd. One of the things that I love about Shanghai Garden is the table service. If you order soup, they bring it out in a big bowl and then portion it out for each person at the table. They also assemble your mu shu for you, putting the perfect amount of hoisin sauce and veggies into each pancake. I really like the way that Shanghai Garden makes their fried bean curd. Instead of using firm tofu like a lot of restaurants do, they use a soft, silky tofu. It is crispy and light on the outside but soft and pillowy on the inside. The szechuan bean curd was served in a slightly spicy sweet & sour sauce with broccoli and snow peas. We had this with brown rice which was pretty unusual; it was more of a reddish color with lots of darker kernels sprinkled throughout. It was all so good!

After so much dining out, I was more than happy to stay home for dinner on my birthday. I didn’t feel like cooking, though, so I headed down to Pike Place Market after work and picked up some items for a deluxe smorgasboard. I got a really nice piece of freshly-smoked salmon from Pure Food Fish which ended up being way more than I needed (We only ate a quarter of it. I used the rest to make smoked salmon & pickled onion sandwiches on rye tonight.) From DeLaurenti, I bought a small wedge of Taleggio cheese and another small piece of Rogue Creamery’s Smoky Blue from Oregon. If you’ve never had this cheese, you must try it! It is so unusual; it is a blue cheese that has been lightly smoked which makes it taste a little bacony. Mmmm…blue cheese and bacon. But, the true hit of the night was the Taleggio. I just love this cheese. It is kind of stinky, but its flavor is mellow and nutty. And it is so deliciously creamy. I also picked up some Rainier cherries and the last of the local asparagus, which I grilled rather successfully on my little grill pan. To drink, I served another Oregon product: A to Z Winemaker’s 2005 Pinot Blanc. It was a really fantastic wine. It was very full-bodied but without the oak that is usually associated with heavy whites. It just had a really nice, full fruit flavor. Ah, so much good food in such a short amount of time. I can’t wait for my next birthday!