Its time for some restaurant reviews again. These are some reviews that I wrote sometime back for Yubit.com, a local startup that offers deals from local businesses in and around the Seattle Area. Since I have put in some effort (read: EAT and of course, write the review too), I thought I might as well put it out here as a reference for my readers. In the rush of trying out new places each time, I really haven’t been to any of these places after this but I am sure it still holds true.
As in one of my earlier posts, because of various reasons (click here to see what they are), I have decided to start writing mini reviews (these two are not so ”mini” as I had written them before I started the mini reviews series) – just including what we ate, whether we liked it or not, whether we will go back there or not etc ad of course some pictures. That way it will be a quick list for someone wanting to know where to dine in Seattle and surrounding areas.
(Pics will be up soon as I am still trying to locate them after I moved them when I changed my computer)
Galerias, Capitol Hill WA
A brunch at Galerias was one of the best things that happened during the otherwise drab weekend. We went in with not much expectations and it turned out to be a very pleasant experience. It is one of the first times that we had a Mexican brunch and I was pretty impressed with the interpretations and twists to some of the classic breakfast dishes. Galerias is located on Broadway Street in Capitol Hill and is not easy to miss with the colorful “Weekend Brunch at 6.95” banner outside the restaurant. As soon as you step in you are greeted with bright yellow and lime green drapes hung around the room and it feels so fresh and pleasant, all at the same time. The chairs are the old fashioned curvy types with color coordinated fabrics as that of the drapes and the fans in the ceiling blow in a gentle breeze and you feel like you are in a completely different place altogether.
It took us some time to figure out what we wanted as there were so many choices in the menu and each one seemed as appetizing as the other. Finally I settled in on the Huevos Benedictos, a Mexican interpretation of the classic Eggs Benedict with masa corn cakes in place of the English muffin, ham, poached eggs and a spicy (probably poblano) hollandaise. I savored every single bite of that and wished there was more. I asked for the ham to be given on the side and they did serve it that way. AJ had the Mole Poblano – sautéed chicken breast in a delicious mole sauce with fried plantains on the side. A friend of ours who also came for the brunch had the 3 Eggs Omelet and he liked it very much. All the dishes came with roasted potatoes and a mini baked cup with beans in it, which was a little odd in taste by itself but was an interestingly good combination with the rest of the plate. The potatoes were really good with the spices in it not at all over powering its taste, but some of the bigger pieces were undercooked, so that wasn’t all that good. The Mole Poblano and the Omelet were ordered from the main brunch menu as entrees, so we could help ourselves to the brunch buffet which had some of the most delicious and moist cakes, fresh fruits, yogurt and granola. The best part of the brunch was the giant margarita we ordered, to share. It was a tad too early in the day to be drinking but I was told by a friend to not miss the margarita if I ever went to Galerias. So I just had to try that. Our waiter was a little surprised by that order, I must say. But it was one delicious and potent drink!
This definitely was one of those brunches that I will always remember and will look forward to going back again. The food was indeed very flavorful with a lot of fabulous choices to pick from and the quantity was not only just right to be able to finish it but also to keep you full till dinner time. The service was good even though it took a little longer than usual for our food to arrive, but the food from the buffet kept us busy till then. I will totally recommend this to anyone wanting to try out something different for a brunch.
Price: $ ( below $10 for an entrée) – just the brunch
Ambiance: 3/5
Food: 3.5/5
Overall: 3.5/5
Watercress Asian Bistro, Redmond WA
Watercress Asian Bistro – the name is very familiar to us as we have seen it all the time whenever we drive by on Redmond Way. Even though it is set in a strip mall – I liked the atmosphere as soon as we stepped in.
We were served water immediately and since we were already really hungry we did not even bother to go through the drinks menu and directly ordered some Shanghai Style Spring Rolls for appetizers. I have heard that Watercress has one of the best happy hours and I am waiting to make another trip there for that. It wasn’t really crowded as it was a Tuesday evening but still there were many tables that were occupied. Our spring rolls came in real quick and they were gobbled up in no time. I loved the sweet dipping sauce – plum sauce on the side.
For our main course, we ordered the Eggplant Sichuan Style for me. I like eggplants for their versatility and invariably have tried the eggplant dish in most restaurants we visit often. So, it is like base test for me to see how well a restaurant makes its eggplant dish. It might sound easy and not possible to mess up, but I have had real horrible ones in some places. The Mango Curry Chicken was what we ordered for AJ as he likes the hint of sweetness that you find in some dishes in Asian cuisine. We ordered a Vegetable Fried Rice to share. The Eggplant Sichuan Style was good; the taste was pretty much as expected – except that the taste of the gravy had not soaked in to all the eggplant pieces, but overall it was very flavorful. AJs Mango Curry Chicken was exactly word-to-word from the menu – subtle flavor of mango with curry overtones and it is chicken, so one just cannot go wrong there. He liked it and I am glad I made AJ order it. The best of all was the fried rice. I don’t know whether it was the authentic one or not – but it totally reminded me of the Indo-Chinese fried rice that I love so much. There wasn’t anything left of that to box!
Overall, we had a wonderful evening. It was good, especially for a weeknight dinner as it took us just a little over an hour to get in-eat food-pay-get out. The service was fast and efficient and the food was flavorful with enough vegetarian choices on the menu. Only thing we felt that the entrees were a little overpriced for the quantity as well as the kind of food that was served -the menu had very normal dishes that most Asian restaurants offer. Will I go there again? Thats yet to see.
Price: $$ ($10 and above for an entrée)
Ambiance: 3/5
Food: 3/5
Overall: 3/5
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Wow…I love everything in this post. A perfect choice for a special occasion!..and This sounds like a fun place. it's a real restaurant review! thanks
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