Baguette Box
October 7th, 2009
Archive
Posts Tagged ‘Sandwich’
Eastlake Bar and Grill (seattle foodster)
May 29th, 2008
Formerly Sam’s Steakhouse, Eastlake Bar and Grill is one of three lakeside restaurants owned by brothers John and James Schmidt. Although each of their three bar and grill restaurants serve similar food and offer up amazing views I believe that it is their Eastlake location that might be the most popular. Although it wasn’t their original (opened in 2004) the Eastlake location offers panoramic views of South Lake Union.
I recently went to Eastlake on one of the first nice Seattle sunny days of the year. Knowing how fickle Seattle weather can be, my girlfriend and I took full advantage of the restaurant’s large outdoor deck facing the water. The deck was packed and although our server graced us with her presence ten minutes later than what would be normal for most restaurants after you’ve been seated, we decided to brush it off.
The Eastlake Bar and Grill offers the Sunset Dinner which is comprised of a soup or salad, one of twelve entrees and a dessert for $12.95. Knowing that hot soup was the one thing I did not want I started with a Caesar Salad. I know that Caesar’s aren’t that complicated to make but I’m starting to realize that I’m sort of a Caesar Salad connoisseur. It was recently brought to my attention by a friend that I eat approximately five Caesars a week, never changing to a different salad choice. Knowing this, you can understand why I was pleased that the Caesar at Eastlake was fresh and crisp and not drowning in dressing.
My girlfriend chose Alaskan Cod and Chips as her entrée. Although we remarked about how cute the crinkle-cut fries were we both noticed that her fried fish tasted sort of soapy. Yet another example of why I stay clear of fish and chips. I decided to try the Blackened Fish Tacos. Although the item title was “taco” and the description said that it was “two flour tortillas” I was still surprised when a Blackened Fish Burrito was served. The fresh slaw and tilapia fish looked refreshing so I figured it would be a waste of time to talk about the dissimilarities between taco and burrito. For as large and heavy as the fish tacos looked they were surprisingly light. The tilapia had a good seasoning to it and the slaw and mango salsa had a cooling effect on this hot day.
For desert I kept it simple; ice cream sundae for me and my girlfriend went with key lime pie. I don’t like key lime pie very much and I found their version too creamy for my taste. My ice cream was served in what I can only describe as a melted state of being. I’m pretty sure this occurred because the weather was hot or perhaps because the ice cream bowl was served on top of a steaming hot plate.
I think the food at Eastlake Bar and Grill is more in the category of upscale bar food as opposed to high end grilled cuisine. While the food was pretty solid there were definitely some aspects that could have easily been fixed. Despite any of these negatives I know that come the next sunny Seattle day I’m going to consider sitting on the outside deck at this restaurant… I just won’t order the ice cream
Frontier Room
November 27th, 2007
The Frontier Room is a bit of an oddity when it comes to BBQ restaurants. Sure, it sells some tasty high-end BBQ fixings but it also functions as a hip Bell Town bar. If the sight of seeing young Seattle yuppie hipsters at a BBQ joint disturbs you, I share your sentiment. A few co-workers and myself decided to go down to the Frontier Room to see if this fancy BBQ favorite could stand up to the greasy napkin, rolled-up-sleeves style restaurants.
Yours truly chose the Beef Brisket Sandwich, served with Snappy Coleslaw and a side of Hush Puppies. The first thing I noticed about my Beef Brisket Sandwich was that it was not covered in a lot of BBQ sauce. I’ve become a bit more educated in the world of BBQ and have learned that many times a pepper and vinegar sauce is used in lieu of the BBQ sauce most people are used to. I took the liberty of dashing some of the pepper and vinegar sauce from the table on to my sandwich.
I was pleasantly surprised by the tart flavor of the sauce which complimented the brisket. Also, the bread was nice and thick so there was no sauce dripping through. This must be part of the reason you can dress so nicely at the Frontier Room and not leave with stains on your shirt. My disappointment centered on the size of the sandwich. Perhaps due to the large plate it was served on, this thing looked kind of puny and was not filling enough for me.
The Hush Puppies, on the other hand, did fill me up. You may know Hush Puppies as Corn Fitters or simply as deep fried corn bread. They’re served along side a ranch-like sauce and a regular order should be shared with others. The outside of the Hush Puppies were a golden brown with a crispy crust. The inside was a soft corn filing with red and green peppers with little bits of corn.
I was very impressed that such a trendy bar could serve good BBQ. When you enter the Frontier Room you get the sense that they might have been more concerned about making the restaurant trendy as opposed to concentrating on the flavor of the food. However, the kitchen offers a well-rounded and diverse selection of BBQ. Also worth mentioning is the Beef Brisket Specialty, Frontier Mac’n Cheese, Bacon-Wrapped Prawns and the Frontier Room Gumbo.
. : Advertisements : .
