Food Truck Friday - The Grilled Cheese Experience

I'm once again bridging time with my Food Truck Friday post. I first visited The Grilled Cheese Experience back in September, but finally made it back this month.







Back then, I went for the Super Deluxe ($10) - a very crispy, very buttery grilled cheese sandwich with smoked chipotle cheddar cheese, bacon, greens, sun-dried tomatoes and avocado. I found it a little on the greasy side, which I realize now may be due to the Parmesan Sourdough bread. The flavors were outstanding, though.







This time, I opted for the Bluesy Girl ($10) (despite feeling a little emasculated when ordering it). This one features smoked Jack cheese paired with smoked chicken, Gorgonzola, caramelized onions and greens, served on a bacon-crusted bread. I didn't experience the same greasiness as my previous visit, and was happy that the blue cheese didn't overwhelm all the other great ingredients inside the sandwich... nor did it turn my tongue numb, which some blue cheese does to me. (Anyone else have that issue?) As you can see from the picture, they included a free 'shot' of their tomato basil soup on the side - which proved challenging to transport back to the office without spilling while also wrangling my 55lb dog.







The next time I visit The Grilled Cheese Experience I've got to remember one of the additional add-ons they offer. I tasted a bite of a sandwich once that had it (thanks to my pal Clover Honey), and it's super decadent. What add-on could I be talking about? Mac & Cheese. Yes. Mac & Cheese ON a grilled cheese sandwich. Ridiculous? Genius? You make the call. I may opt for their $6 basic grilled cheese plus the mac & cheese ($2) to enjoy the purity of it. We'll see.

Barking Frog Brunch

After our marathon meal at HerbFarm, we slept in a bit before heading across the road again - this time to Barking Frog.



I went for the Croque Madame, while Dan enjoyed the amazing French Toast.



While we were eating, the Executive Chef, Bobby Moore came out to say hi. I worked with Bobby's wife for a few years back in the late 90s/early 00s, and attended their wedding (just up the road at Chateau St. Michelle).



I hadn't seen Bobby in ages, but it was really great to get the chance to catch up a bit and enjoy some of his amazing food. It's we'll worth the trip out to Woodinville.

Seward Park's New Bent Burgers!

Seward Park only supports a handful of restaurants on it's little main drag, and earlier this year we lost the Italian-Spanish restaurant, Saffron. But in its place we've just gained something that hopefully will fit well in the neighborhood: Bent Burgers.

It opened up last weekend, and initial reviews popping up on Yelp and other sites were mixed. But today, Dan & I braved the blustery day to walk up and grab some lunch.



The outside is rather subdued, but inside the decor explodes with a superhero overload. Every surface is filled with comic book memorabilia, and the table tops feature comic book covers embedded under glossy epoxy. Even the menu is vibrant and has a certain comic book flair - which unfortunately makes it a little hard to read. The staff are standing in front of it while they take your order, and the multi colored blackboard takes a minute to get familiar with. It wasn't until I sat down and was digging into my lunch that I figured out that up in the corner it says what comes standard on the burgers (lettuce, pickle, onion, pickle, ketchup, mustard and mayo). I noticed the family behind us grabbed one of the to-go menus in order to understand what was available.

Dan ordered a bacon cheeseburger with pepper jack, plus onion rings and a chocolate shake, while I opted for the regular cheeseburger with cheddar and a vanilla shake. Then we grabbed a booth and sat down.



One of the challenges any tenant in that space faces is the odd angles of the outer wall. Bent has put traditional diner booths (in nontraditional bright orange) along the wall, with the aforementioned square comic book tables between them. With the two halves of the booth at angles, I found I had to pinch in a bit to get in, and that the table was still uncomfortably close to me (and I'm 5'8", 170# - not a big guy by any stretch of the imagination). I solved the problem by pushing the table against the wall, where the booths were the furthest apart - which worked great for Dan & I.

Our shakes came out first (mine, then Dan's a little later), so we got to have dessert first! One of the early reviews I read said the shakes were a little runny, but I wrote it off because the reviewer had taken their order to go (and because it was opening day - bound to be some hiccups). I did find that my shake was a little on the thinner side, and it wouldn't have stood up to travel, or the wait for the rest of our meal. I think if they adjust the ratio a bit toward the ice cream, they'll be perfectly thick and just as delicious.

There was a little mix up with our burgers - with my cheddar on Dan's bacon burger and vice versa, so they checked if I minded bacon and just added some bacon to Dan's burger. Not ideal, but they actually realized the error as they were putting them down, and were pretty quick about the fix. Plus, I got bacon on my burger for free, so who's complaining? The burgers were big (akin to a Red Robin burger, rather than an anemic fast-food patty), juicy and mine was cooked perfectly. And the onion rings were big, crispy and golden brown - exactly how I like 'em.



Prices at Bent are more than you'll spend at McDonald's ($4.98 for the standard hamburger, $2 more for the bacon cheeseburger), but you're getting a lot more in terms of quality AND quantity. Dan couldn't even finish his burger! They've got veggie, turkey and chicken options, and topping options like hot links, avocado, jalapenos and fried egg. Plus yam fries and hot wings. Despite the opening week bumps (which they acknowledge they're working through), we really liked our lunches and we'll definitely be back to Bent - maybe taking some of our comic book obsessed nephews (and friends) when they visit.

On the walk home, we realized the comic book theme doesn't extend the names of the menu items - yet - and I thought it would be a fun way to engage the community for them to have a build-and-name-a-burger contest, where kids (and kids-at-heart) could use the existing options to suggest new super hero themed burgers. My entry would be the Green Lantern: Jalapenos, Avocado and Pepper Jack Cheeseburger. Every month they could feature a new one. I saw a video over on Thrillist of Bent building a crazy burger with egg, hot links, bacon, double meat and double cheese that could easily stand up to being named the Incredible Hulk.

Mushroom & Beef Bacon Quiche

Our good friend and culinary compatriot Jason gave us a bag full of chanterelle mushrooms he picked on a day trip, and tonight we finally made use of them as part of a quiche.

I hesitate to call it a quiche, since I packed the pie crust with so many fillings that I could barely add any eggs. I started with some beef bacon that Alan from Olsen Farms recommended to us, which I cut into thin strips and fried in a little butter (as beef bacon has much less fat than pork bacon). After removing the bacon from the pan, I added sliced onions and cooked those down until soft. Finally, I added a few more pats of butter to the pan and cooked down a 'chef's mix' of mushrooms Dan picked up at the store, plus the beautiful, golden chanterelles. Everything went into the pie crust I'd already baked, then topped with a few eggs mixed with a little milk (we didn't have any cream around). The final touch was putting slices of fresh mozzarella on top, and then into the oven for about an hour.

The amount of filling made this more of a pie than a quiche, as there wasn't enough space for the egg to really fill in between everything and bind it together. But it turned out delicious, and I loved how the mozzarella created a golden crust on top. The individual types of mushrooms tumbled out of the pie as I ate it, so that I could taste and enjoy the different flavors - which was perfect.

Zest Fast Food

I took the end of this week off in order to build our chicken coop, and today decided to take advantage of being home midday to try out a local drive-in known as Zest Fast Foods or simply Zesty's.

Since it's just a couple blocks from our house, I didn't exactly drive-In, but they anticipated foot traffic and have a second window for ordering on foot.



The menu is loaded with fast-food classics - from milkshakes to fish & chips, burgers to corn dogs, chicken sandwiches to Green River soda. I was craving a burger, so went for a single bacon cheeseburger and fries.



The burger was delicious and I was extra excited that the fries were the crinkly kind. That texture creates extra surface area and more crispy crunch, which is my favorite part of fries. Only thing better is a waffle fry.

The Yellow Church Cafe

Every Summer for more than 40 years, Dan's family has headed to Eastern Washington for some relaxing at Sun Lakes Resort, just outside Coulee City. Dan & I missed the fun last year, but this year we were able to swing the long weekend to enjoy a couple nights of this tradition.

On the way over, Dan found a cute little restaurant called The Yellow Church Cafe to try out. In Ellensburg - home of Central Washington University - the restaurant really is a yellow church, converted into a restaurant serving familiar American fare. Dan & I were seated in some converted pews by our friendly hostess, and quickly greeted by our equally friendly waitress.



After drink orders (Limonata for me and iced tea for Dan), we ordered some lunch. Dan went for the Holy Moly Chicken Sandwich ($11.50), which had some gorgeous bacon on top.



There was a lot of great sounding items on the menu, but I couldn't pass up the American Kobe beef burger ($12.50). I ordered it rare, but was disappointed to find it arrived cooked medium - at least - eradicating the great flavor of the meat and leaving it a little dry and mealy. Sacrilege, in my opinion.



Despite the overcooked burger, the service was great and the atmosphere was unique - worth a stop when traveling through town.

Alki's Bamboo Bar & Grill

Awhile back, my inbox was filled with an email touting "50% Off Tiki Bar and Restaurant". If you know me, you know that piqued my curiosity, and it turns out the email (from LivingSocial) was a deal for Bamboo Bar & Grill in Alki.



Today turned out to be a beautiful 80+ degree day in Seattle, so when the heat got to be too much for us to keep working in the yard, Dan & I made our way over to Alki.



We started things off with an appetizer of Coconut Shrimp and a couple cocktails (a Bamboo Blue for Dan & an Alki Pink Lemonade for me). The cocktails quenched our thirsts and the shrimp took the edge off our hunger. I really liked that the shrimp were butterflied prior to being battered and fried - increasing the coconut to shrimp ratio and making for a tasty, crispy bite.




Another round of drinks (a Mai Tai for Dan & a See Ya Later Alligator for me) accompanied our dinner to the table.



Dan had been reading the seemingly endless menu online and was looking forward to a burger, and he wasn't disappointed. He went for the Blue Cheese & Bacon Burger, with fries.



The patty had the irregular shape that clearly shows it was hand formed, and it was cooked to perfection - juicy, flavorful and thick. The blue cheese was something Dan hadn't had before, and he really liked the creaminess it added, particularly with the crispy bacon.



Since I had a burger yesterday at The Ram (though it was disappointing), I went for a slightly lighter option: the Crab Cake Burger. The aioli on it could've been spicier for my taste, but it was a good solid sandwich. And the fries were big and crispy on the outside - reminding us of the bottomless variety at Red Robin.

The place was packed and - maybe it was the drunk lady at the next table hollering that it was her birthday - but we had a hard time not getting swept up in the high energy party atmosphere. It reminded us a little of a bar in Vegas or an airport bar, but the beachy, tiki decor is all Hawaii. The staff sometimes had a hard time handling the rush of customers, but we never waited long for anything, everyone was very friendly, and all our food and drinks were great. With seats right by the window looking out on the water, you don't mind a little extra time to people watch and feel the warm glow of the sun.

I Ate Hagelslag For You Netherlands!

Today was the final of the World Cup, with Netherlands and Spain battling it out on the futball field. Dan & I had his sister Lisa and her two friends Todd and Sarah over to the tiki bar for a viewing party.

To get into the spirit of the game, we came up with a Dutch Tapas menu, and Lisa, Todd & Sarah handled drinks. We started with a round of Spanish Cava Mimosas, and then some folks switched to Heineken.

We started things off with a spread of Dutch Gouda cheeses, Spanish Manchego cheese, Spanish olives, tapenade, and crackers. We also put out Nutella, as we thought it might be Dutch, but were both too excited about eating some by the time we realized it wasn't, so bought it anyway. Todd & Sarah also brought some grapes, crackers and cheese to add to the bounty.



I also searched on About.com's 'Traditional Dutch Food' listing for some inspiration, and made up a few dishes that I thought sounded like good bar food.



The simplest were little shrimp and cucumber sandwiches (on Dutch potato bread), with a mayo/mustard/dill/parsley sauce.



Then we moved on to the very indulgent, heavy, but utterly delicious Slavinken - made by seasoning ground pork with herbs, then wrapping balls of it in bacon before frying them in butter. It was while making these that I realized the Dutch don't mess around. Some people wrap scallops or figs in bacon - the Dutch wrap their pork in bacon.



After recovering a bit from the Slavinken, and while waiting for SOMEONE... ANYONE... to make a goal in the game, I brought out the Chocolade Hagelslag - dark chocolate sprinkles served traditionally on buttered bread in Holland. I actually have vivid memories of a classmate in 1st grade who would eat hagelslag for lunch - which seemed so foreign and strange compared to the PB&J and cheese sandwiches the rest of us were eating.



Despite all my culinary tributes to the Dutch, they failed to score and the Spaniards were able to sneak one point in in overtime (albeit arguably while off sides). Perhaps if I'd been drinking Heineken they could've pulled through for me... but I did eat Hagelslag for you, Netherlands.



Slavinken
1 lb ground pork (455 g)
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 tbsp dried)
2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme (or 1 tbsp dried)
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil (or 1 tbsp dried)
2 tbsp fresh marjoram (or 1 tbsp dried)
Salt & pepper
6 extra large slices of rindless streaky bacon or prosciutto
1 tsp butter

Mix the ground pork and herbs. Add salt and pepper (don't add too much salt, because the bacon is salty). Wet your hands and form small sausages with the ground pork mix. Wrap the bacon around it, tucking in the ends, to form sausage-shaped parcels. Melt the butter in a frying pan, and fry the slavinken over a medium heat for approximately 15 minutes.

BURGERMASTER!

I met up with Dan after work today at the University to see his new office, meet some of his coworkers, and run errands at U Village. Afterwards, we headed over to the original Burgermaster for a little fast-food nostalgia.



I have memories of being taken to Burgermaster as a special treat by my grandparents - I think riding in their truck. (My mom can probably affirm or correct this memory for me.) Back then, I believe it was still a true drive-in, with carhops that took our order and brought it out to clip on your window.



The carhops are gone, but little else seems to have changed.



The longhorn steer logo is still emblazoned on the bright yellow trays, the mustard still only comes in little plastic packets, and you have to pump your ketchup into little plastic cups. I certainly wouldn't call it a 'green' establishment, but the food is much better than the national chains.



Dan and I weren't disappointed with our Baconmaster burgers and crispy fries, and I indulged in a Tom & Jerry shake. When I was a kid, I surely thought that was a reference to the Hanna/Barbera cartoon of that name - not realizing it's a milkshake version of the holiday cocktail. Either way, it tastes like eggnog but is available year-round - big pluses in my book.