Northwest Gold Coast

It seems that there are coffee shops on just about every corner in the Seattle area.  We Northwesterns love our java, but there is one locally owned coffee shop that stands out from all the others.

Mike’s Community Cup, a newer addition to the SeaTac community, is more than just your daily dose of caffeine. This locally owned, family operated business has a personal touch and gives back to the community. 10 cents from every beverage purchased goes back to organizations serving the SeaTac community including McMicken Heights Elementary School, SeaTac’s Back to School Resource Fair, Young Life, Des Moines Food Bank and local fire victims.

Mike Condon opened the shop in January 2009 across from Safeway on Military Road in SeaTac. Mike is a personable guy with a connection with his customers. Punch cards are held at the counter so customers don’t have to worry about carrying them around or losing them. Photography from local artists hangs on the wall for purchase.

The relaxed atmosphere has a draw for a wide audience with daily specials, a drive through, free wi-fi, a 42 inch Plasma tv, comfortable leather couches and a kids playing area. Sports fans are welcome to come in on weekends for some football and great drink specials.

The menu includes premium coffee beverages, hot, iced and blended, as well as Italian sodas, granitas and 8 flavors of delicious smoothies. Sizes of cup range from 8 ounces to 24 ounces. Along with the beverages, Mike’s also offers breakfast sandwiches, bagels, pastries and cookies. Breakfast sandwiches are a hot item because of their portion size, price and selection.

This is a great place to meet people in the neighborhood, have some truly great coffee, and help give back to the community.

For more info and map and location, visit their website at www.mikescommunitycup.com.

Tags: Dining by Risa Miller
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If you’re like most of us and consider a whole block of fresh Parmesan an absolute splurge compared to the normal powder in the green cans, then have we got a place for you! Or if you know exactly what “fromage” means and just where to find “rennet” at your neighborbood store, then again we’ve got the place for you!

Benson’s Best Bites is just the type of store/deli that the southside has been needing for a long time. It is comfortable as Loie and Ezra Benson offer true Mom & Pop service. Plus, the store’s wares are both eye and taste-appealing. The specialty items encourage you to get creative with normally impossible-to-find cooking and baking ingredients. Ezra invites customers to be adventurous with their palates as he offers tastes of exquisite cheeses like the 2008 Paris Fair winning cheese and offers insights to fine foods. Then as you are dining on your choice of specialty handcrafted soups or sandwiches, Loie slips behind you to offer samples of pickles or the 16 varieties of olives that are sold at the store.

The service isn’t speedy, nor should it be. The time and care going into your order gives you ample time to explore the shop. And honestly, we spent twenty minutes just walking around soaking it all in before we could even bring ourselves to place an order. In the end we ordered sandwiches, the very items Ezra never intended to sell when he and Loie first opened the shop.

Ezra explained how he had originally envisioned a fine cheese and cold cuts counter with other delectable treats for the cook, baker, and eater enthusiasts in the area. If he made a few sandwiches here and there that was fine, but the plan didn’t include sandwich specials. After the recommendations of many customers that he make sandwiches with cold cuts and Havarti, he made a decision. He would make sandwiches with what he calls a Havarti Upgrade*. *(Havarti being one of the “fanciest” cheeses found at most grocery stores was as far and strange as most customers had been in the world of cheese.) However, Ezra sought to take them further and farther into the world of fromage.

Needless to say, when Benson’s Best Bites started making sandwiches they were sure to do them right. Our Ciabatta Mufaletta, Mozzarella di Buffala pesto en Carroza, and Dirty Jobs sandwiches were nothing short of spectacular. The Ciabatta Mufaletta has been cut down in size from its New Orleans cousin but retains all the full flavor of the Big Easy original. Both the name and a bite of the Mozzarella di Buffala pesto en Carroza truly are a mouthful in the most delightful sense of the word.
The Dirty Jobs featuring Lebanon bologna, smoked turkey, and smoked mozzarella on white bread was a pleasing surprise. Having been a student from Kindergarten through grad school for the past 18 years-I always think of white bread as that sweet-stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth Wonder bread sort. Nope, what I had before me was pure artisan bread, the very kind that makes you want to cradle the whole loaf and try Pixar’s Ratatouille squeeze on it to find out if it too, “…eez a symphony of crackle.”

Benson’s Best Bites is an eclectic but wonderful store selling everything from gourmet fresh and dried pasta, to spices like saffron and lavendar, to giant hunks of fine cheese or chocolate, to Mexican Coca Cola. And more than just the selling of products, the store and its owners are there to share with you: to share their knowledge and passion of fine food, to share their community involvement (fliers about local events are posted around), and to share their thoughts on the current weather and economic status in the southside.

The store is not the easiest to find as it is located near the back right-hand side of the Manhattan QFC in Normandy Park, but it is worth the trip, well worth it.

Benson’s Best Bites is open M-F 10 am – 6:30 pm and Saturdays from 10am – 4pm serving garlic fries the flavor and balance of which has already been adored all over the internet. If you have any questions, please phone 206-243-2420 or simply stop by the store at 17851 First Avenue South,
Normandy Park, Washington 98148.

Tags: Dining, Shopping by Jennifer Paulsen
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California Pizza Kitchen, located at 150 Andover Park West in Tukwila, opened in mid-February 2008.   It serves up a hearty lunch and dinner menu that features a signature honey-wheat pizza dough.

As you enter the double glass doors you’re surrounded by natural stone work, wood blinds, suspended lamps and sunny art deco-style décor.   The half round kitchen to the left sparkles with chrome and bright lights.   Hand paintings of eggplant, artichoke and other produce on the tops of take out pizza boxes serve as trendy 3D art in clear Lucite boxes on the perimeter walls.

There is nice variety in seating arrangements including square expandable tables, corner round booths and interior square step up booths.

A popular appetizer is the Singapore Shrimp Rolls with shrimp, baby broccoli, soy glazed Shiitake mushrooms, Romaine, carrots, noodles, bean sprouts, green onion and cilantro wrapped in rice paper, served chilled with a sesame-ginger dipping sauce and Szechuan slaw.

One favorite entrée is the Wild Mushroom Pizza.   This dish features Cremini, Shiitake, Portobello and white mushrooms, Fontina and Mozzarella cheeses and a wild mushroom   walnut pesto and is garnished with chopped Italian parsley.

Mushroom lovers also enjoy the Mushroom Pepperoni Sausage which includes fresh mushroom, pepperoni, sweet Italian sausage, Mozzarella cheese and a restaurant tomato sauce.

Over ten types of pasta grace the menu including Grilled Sausage & Pepper Penne (large penne with slices of grilled spicy Italian sausage, mild onions, red and yellow peppers and Parmesan cheese in a special marinara sauce) and Jambalaya Pasta (blackened chicken and shrimp in spicy Jambalaya sauce with crawfish, Andouille sausage and Tasso ham served on linguini fini and topped with fresh green onions.

The desserts are tasty and sized to share.   The Red Velvet Cake and Caramel Fudge Pecan Cheesecakes are smooth and rich finishes to a great meal.

While the restaurant is a bit noisy during the lunch hour, it is a great dinner date venue as it is relaxed and upbeat.

For more information: visit www.cpk.com.

Tags: Dining by admin
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Lunch or dinner at Kokiri Restaurant (Elephant Restaurant), an authentic Korean restaurant located at 32703 Pacific Highway in Federal Way, is best shared with a group of friends or colleagues.     Guests should expect to stay at least two hours because the meal itself is an event.

While the menu is varied and extensive, the most popular meal is the Combination Dinner Ko Ki Ri Dinner A for six people.

Just as is common in Korea during the winter season, soothing hot barley tea is served first instead of ice water.   Ice water and other beverages are available upon request.

Next friendly wait staff begin bringing items to the table.   One staff person places large thin sections of marinated meat on the grill at each table.   The meats include:

• Marinated Kal Bi – Thinly cross cut beef short ribs that have been marinated in a special barbecue sauce which are one of the most internationally popular Korean foods.
• Pork Bul Go Ki – pork rib eye, marinated in a spicy sauce, gochujang (red chili paste).
• Marinated BBQ Chicken that looks and tastes similar to teriyaki chicken.

At the same time other wait staff load up the table with:

• “Banchan”- small side dishes set in the middle of the table to share. These dishes are served in small portions which are meant to be finished at each meal. Once any dish is finished, you can ask for more of that dish and more will be brought at no extra charge. Included in these dishes are a variety of Kimchee- fermented, spicy vegetable dishes usually made of baechu, radish, or cucumber.
• Denjang Chi Gae- A soybean paste soup with tofu and vegetables which is often called “Korean Miso soup”.
• Rice cake and pot sticker soup- One bowl of this mild, tasty soup is traditionally eaten on New Year’s day to signify that you will be a year older than the previous year.   In Korea your age is calculated by the number of New Year’s Days you’ve passed rather that birthdays passed. (So do we get two years older than the previous year if we eat two bowls of soup?)
• Pajeon- This pancake-like Korean dish is made mostly of eggs and flour mixed with green onion.   It is like pizza in that several different ingredients can be added to it. Dinner A includes a seafood pajeon which features invertebrates such as squid, shrimp, mussel along with other vegetables such as carrots, onions, etc.
• Purple Rice – While most of the rice in this dish is white rice, the addition of some wild rice and beans creates a deep purple hue and gives it a nutty, rich taste.
• Broiled Flounder- This grilled flounder is seasoned with the house salt rub.
• Jap Chae- These low-calorie potato clear noodles are stir-fried with vegetables and beef.
• Lettuce in which you can wrap the meat, rice and any condiments you want. You can always ask for more at no extra charge.
• Condiments- Soy bean paste, jalapeño pepper, garlic cloves.

Once all the dishes are placed on the table there is very little open space left.   Each person is provided a small plate, soup spoon and chop sticks.   Forks and knives are also available upon request. In addition, each table is supplied with tongs and scissors for turning the meat and snipping it into serving size portions.   And guests typically eat their soup and sample various banchan while the meat grills.

As is common for most Korean dishes, many of the items are seasoned with sesame oil, doenjang (fermented soybean paste), soy sauce salt, garlic, ginger and gochujang (red chili paste).   Surprisingly, Korea is the largest consumer of garlic, ahead of the rest of Asia (particularly China and Thailand,) and the Northern Mediterranean (mainly Spain, Italy, and Greece).

Ultimately, the meal is finished with slices of seasonal fruits per Korean custom.

A reservation is recommended to secure tables with built-in grills.   Ample free  parking is  onsite and a large semi-private room  is available to  support banquets and parties.   To make a reservation or obtain more information regarding Kokiri Restaurant phone 253.838.4288.

Tags: Dining by admin
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Simply Thai III Executive Chef Nitha Moore prepares her dishes with precision. Not with the typical precision that most cooks understand – precise measurements according to a written recipe. Rather, she selects the best possible ingredients and assembles them adding only one ingredient at a time in a precise order at a precise temperature to a precise spot in a large wok. Observing her work is similar to watching a fine florist produce an exquisite, artful arrangement.

Blessed by a heritage that can trace each recipe to the kitchens of the Royals of Laos, Nitha does not compromise a recipe by preparing sauces or mixtures in advance. Produce is bought fresh daily and each item is added as soon as washed and cut so that the flavors are authentic and the dish offers the best possible nutrition.

Especially wonderful is the Salmon Panang. This “melt in your mouth” dish starts with a paste of cumin (which gives the dish its warm color), cinnamon, yellow curry, coriander and sesame oil. The paste is mixed into coconut milk and used to complement red and green bell peppers, “just off the boat” salmon, lime leaves, and basil. As it is served onto a blue and white platter the dish is finished with a dollop of coconut cream that elegantly smoothes out this excellent main dish.

Nitha and husband/business associate Rick Moore state that the aim of their new 406 Broadway East Seattle location is to create a sense of contentment for each patron. They do this with an upscale, yet comfortable, environment that incorporates hardwood and bamboo décor; tropical plants; wine, blue, gold, and emerald fabrics and parasol accents. They do this with their beautifully prepared meals that are affordable, nutritious and delicious.

Simply Thai has three locations, 406 Broadway East, Seattle; 375 Strander Boulevard, Tukwila; and 1001 Andover Park East, Tukwila. They also cater special events or meetings. For more information, call them at 206-322-7600.
To learn more about this business when it first got started, click here.

Tags: Around Seattle, Dining by admin
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Is there room to fit in another chain Mexican Restaurant around here?   We’ve already got Taco Bell, Taco Time, Azteca, Taco del Mar, Torero’s Mexican Restaurant, just to name a few.   And if so, what could it possibly offer that all of these can’t?

Qdoba Mexican Grill has recently opened up next to Acme Bowling at 100 Andover Park West in Tukwila.   And the good news is that there is room for this latest addition to Seattle/Mexican venue because it offers “fast food style” Mexican fare with unique fresh flavors unlike any of the others.

The menu is loaded with descriptions including the word “fresh” and that is the best way to describe everything there.   Qdoba makes its own homemade tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole, 3-cheese queso, Ranchera sauce, poblano pesto, fajita ranchera, chicken mole and much more.   These fresh ingredients make even this simple plate of nachos taste delicious (top photo).

The grilled quesadillas come with sides of fresh guacamole, sour cream and choice of salsa.   This Flat Iron Steak Quesadilla has wonderful flavors and by choosing your own salsa, it can be as mild or spicy as you’d like.   Just looking at their Taco salad, you won’t be able to appreciate how good it tastes.  What you usually get from a Taco salad–lettuce, meat, cheese and sour cream; that’s all there. There’s also fresh lime, black bean corn salsa, picante ranch dressing and more.

All burritos start with cilantro lime rice and your choice of black or pinto beans (no beans on Fajita Burritos), and are topped off with your choice of salsa and cheese or sour cream.     Their huge Chicken Mole Burrito has marinated grilled chicken topped with a rich and slightly spicy Mole sauce and is a meal just by itself.

Five to seven dollars will get you any meal/menu item and all entrees are prepared in front of the customer and topped with personally selected ingredients.   The first Qdoba Mexican Grill restaurant was opened in 1995 by Anthony Miller and his partner Robert Hauser in Denver. There are now over 300 Qdoba Mexican Grills located in more than 40 states from coast to coast.   You can learn more about Qdoba from their website, http://www.qdoba.com/. If you’re looking for fresh, healthy Mexican food that is also quickly prepared, Qdoba will fulfill your search with fresh vegetables, marinated meats and a terrific blend of spices.

Tags: Dining by admin
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