Food Truck Friday - Happy Grillmore

Although I still haven't tried any of their beef burgers (that sounds pretty heavy at lunch time), this week I'm showcasing the very colorful food truck Happy Grillmore.







Last year, I enjoyed their salmon burger - but honestly don't recall any details of how it tasted, though don't recall being disappointed. Their online menu says it includes 1/4 lb wild Alaskan salmon patty with honey chipotle aioli, spinach, arugula and a sweet and spicy pineapple slaw. I don't remember it being spicy hot.







This week, I tried to go again at their scheduled open time - 11am. I waited 15 minutes, and at 11:15 asked when they'd actually be opening. They said another 10-15 minutes, so I walked off to find something else. Lucky for them (but not me), I didn't find the other truck I was looking for (reportedly up by REI, but nowhere to be found), so I looped back and got in the line that had formed, now that Happy Grillmore was open. Service was pretty quick - though slower than it could be because they give you a choice of cheese, and (if ordering fries) a choice of dipping sauce, which delays each transaction.







But soon enough, our burger was up. I chose the "Shooter": 1/4 lb black bean chipotle patty with Tillamook cheese (I opted for pepper jack), spinach, arugula, roasted red pepper aioli and spicy mustard on a toasted ciabatta. I'm always nervous when burgers are served on ciabatta - not because I don't like ciabatta, but because restaurants often pick very big, thick ciabatta rolls that throw off the burger to bun ratio completely. This was no the case here, where the bun was well balanced and the veggie patty satisfying.



Although I can't say there was anything exceptional about either burger I tried, I would definitely go back to try other burgers... particularly if I could catch them on a weekend or evening, when I'm more in the mood for a beef burger. Of course, I've learned to not necessarily count on them to be open at 11, when I eat lunch (and they're scheduled to be open), so I'll have to play it by ear.

Food Truck Friday - Off The Rez

This week my Food Truck forays led me to Off The Rez - a truck serving Native American frybread as the base for delicious "Indian" tacos.







The tacos come in pork, chicken, beef and veggie, all served on top of the frybread, which is kinda like naan meets a donut: definitely savory, but fried and fluffy. I started with a Pulled Pork Indian Taco ($4.50), which was topped simply with a purple cabbage slaw.







Then I dove into a Chicken Indian Taco ($4.50), which was loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomato, cilantro and a crema.







On my next visit I opted to try something a little different, and went for their Burger ($5.50). I assumed it would be served on the signature frybread, but it turned out to be a beef burger on standard 4" diameter bun, with lettuce, bacon, cheese, cumin crema, and purple cabbage slaw. It was a pretty standard burger, cooked medium, with a nice smokiness from the cumin, and creaminess from the cheese. When I say standard, I mean it no disrespect - it was a tasty, satisfying burger of a good size (not too big, not a slider). It just didn't have any sort of spin on it, unless you count the cumin. Spin seems to be such a standard with food truck food, I come to expect it. But honestly, this burger didn't need anything else.







I was torn on what to get as a final item. The menu includes chili, fries, and a bunch of sweet offerings served on frybread, like the seasonal nectarine marmalade or nutella. But since I've been indulging a bit too much this week already (I made doughnuts for Dan & I to take to work, but ended up eating too many myself), I decided to go with a healthy option: the Quinoa Succotash ($3 for a small). It was a fresh mix of quinoa, corn, zucchini, asparagus, red onion and red pepper with a slightly spicy sauce served in a 4.5" diameter, 1.5" deep container. It turned out be the perfect pairing for my burger, giving me a mix of fresh, brightly colored veggies I could feel good about, packed with lots of flavor and a little heat.




Although the frybread is a bit of an indulgence, it definitely transforms the tacos into something unique, and something I'll be going back for. That, and the nutella frybread.

Goodbye Lunch @ Flying Fish

Today was the last day for my office mate, who scored a job at one of the biggest and best law firms in Seattle. To send her off properly, a bunch joined her for lunch at Flying Fish.



I sipped a hibiscus drink called Aqua d' Jamiaca, which was a little strong in flavor (it wasn't alcoholic, but could've used something to water it down a bit.)



For my lunch, I went with a sandwich billed as a Chicken Banh Mi - the Vietnamese sandwiches that many folks at my company became positively addicted to while we worked in the International District. This, however, was not anything like the banh mi I love. It was served on ciabatta bread, slathered in so much mayo that my hands became covered every time I took a bite, and the ingredients fell all over the place when I tried to eat it. Good banh mi are often considered such because of the amazing baguettes with which they are made - crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, denoting the French influence on Vietnamese cuisine. The baguette is sliced only part way through, creating a perfect pocket to safely house the tasty filling, held in place with just a light spread of mayo. Ciabatta was too dense, and being sliced in half didn't hold anything in place - which may have explained the extra mayo as an attempt to cement the filling to the bread. The sandwich also looked a little lonely on the plate.

That said, maybe I would've enjoyed my lunch more if our server wasn't so obviously having a bad day, and visibly frustrated with our table for not giving him all our attention when he wanted it. The restaurant is fairly loud at lunch, so I think our group of 8 didn't all hear him ask about drinks - creating some confusion.



I wasn't the only one who ordered the "banh mi", and the other folks seemed to enjoy it - though one smartly asked for no mayo. But the two people that REALLY enjoyed their lunch were the two that got the Kobe burger. It came with fries and looked delicious.

Splitting a Burger @ Quinn's Pub

Dan & I had plans to meet up with Ruth at Quinn's Pub for a bite before seeing 'Women In Peril' at Annex Theater. Ever since they inked the date on the calendar, we've been dreaming of a Quinn's burger.



Sadly, Ruth fell under the weather this week, and couldn't join us. But the play's director, our pal Jason, was able to come by and share a drink with us.



I enjoyed The Conquistador - a tequila/rum cocktail with honey and habanero - which had just enough heat to warm your throat, but no enough to make your lips burn. And the tequila/rum combo was surprisingly delicious, rather than overwhelmingly boozy. I guess I've been a sucker for a spicy cocktail lately. I figure, if a bloody mary can have tabasco and horseradish sauce, why not put some heat in a tequila drink?



Even though we'd both been dreaming of their burger, we did the sensible thing and split one.



We ordered it rare and for the first time in my life, the chef cooked the burger REALLY rare. It was borderline tartare in the middle - pink and delicious. We cut it in half and each devoured them, pausing only to shove some of their hand cut fries into our pie holes...



... or to scarf down some of the delicious grilled asparagus we ordered as a side.



The service and the food were impeccable, and even though Ruth couldn't join us, we had Jason as wonderful company. And Jason's show - a campy parody of all those 90's Lifetime movies starring folks like Judith Light and Meredith Baxter Birney (and often Aiden Quinn) - was a perfect end to the evening.