Food Truck Friday - Taco Time Traveler

For this week, I'm showcasing a truck that some might disparage as a corporate attempt to hone in on a grassroots movement, but being a Seattle-area native, I consider to be NW comfort food: Taco Time Traveler.

Two of the victims of the Capitol Hill condo-fication were the Taco Time on 15th Madison and the Taco Bell on Broadway. When I lived on 'the hill', I was a regular at both. Usually Taco Time during daylight hours (or a quick bite before going out on the town), while Taco Bell was my 2am, drunken indulgence. When Dan & I moved to South Seattle, one of the perks is that we have a Taco Time and not one but two Taco Bells in our area. I even brought Taco Bell to our friend Craig on his last birthday, as we were often together on those drunken visits to the Broadway TB. And both bring up childhood memories of getting the treat of having fast-food for dinner, and high school years spent at Taco Bell.

Given my love of both, I was super excited to see the Taco Time Traveler parking regularly in the SLU neighborhood. They have a very limited menu of crisp & soft tacos, crisp burritos, and tostada salads, plus Mexi-fries (Regular and Sweet Potato). My real weakness on the menu is the crisp burritos, but couldn't justify the calories, so I went for the classic Chicken Soft Taco ($5.50 with tax). I could tell you how it was, but if you've ever had one, you already know. Just like their brick & mortar restaurants, the food was consistently produced using fresh ingredients, and was just what I expected. The service was also really friendly - coming out of the truck to greet me and take my order, and with a table set up with hot sauce, napkins, etc.

On my second visit, I went for the Bean Tostada Salad ($7 with tax). I'm not sure I've ever ordered one at their restaurants, so wasn't sure what to expect. It apparently normally comes with Ranch Dressing, but I was given the option of hot sauce instead. It was a little sad for the price - a flour tortilla bowl with beans, shredded lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, black olives and hot sauce. I didn't intend to eat the fried bowl, but couldn't resist a few bites... which turned into half the bowl. Oh well. It's a salad, so it's healthy, right?

Say what you want about Taco Bell, but don't you dare disparage my Taco Time.  They're a local, Seattle-born company celebrating 52 years since they opened their first store in White Center back in 1962. I'm happy to see they continue to evolve to match what customers want, and that I can get my fix here in SLU. It's worth noting that they give you enormous bags to carry your food away in, and as I carried the walking billboard into my building, it caught a lot of attention from folks excited about the prospect of Taco Time for lunch, too.

A Night at The Attic - Salish Lodge

After a holiday lunch with extended family up in Snohomish, Dan & I drove through torrential rains to Snoqualmie, WA to meet up with Ruth & Paul for a night away at Salish Lodge.



There was a mini-mixup with whether we had room reservations, but in the end the lodge found us a room that was just perfect, and we headed up to meet Ruth & Paul in The Attic - the lodge's casual restaurant.



After a round of drinks, we ordered some of the bar menu fare - including a goat cheese and grilled pear pannini, a beef pot pie, a smoked paprika chicken sandwich, and Cap'n Crunch Chicken - which was pretty good, and served on a bed of it's namesake (which was also used for the breading).



Despite being fireside, the lighting was a bit dim for my camera, so the photos are a little sad - but we had a great time eating and drinking, goofing around in the library, then heading to bed.

Hudson - Truckstop Diner, Grandma's House, Hipster Bar or Fancy Supper Club?

Although I failed to capture it on film, we spent Sunday doing some wine tasting with Ruth, Paul, Mark, Peter and Mathew - up in Snohomish - then had dinner at Stellar Pizza in Georgetown.

And Dan left his credit card there. So tonight we had to swing back down to Georgetown, and took the opportunity to grab some dinner at a new (to us) place: Hudson.



Seemingly in the middle of nowhere, attached to the old morgue, Hudson is an enigma worth visiting.



From the outside, it seemed a little like a truck stop, and once inside some of the clientele definitely continued that vibe. But they were joined by Georgetown hipsters, surrounded by decor that reminds me of a supper club. Fancy wallpaper is covered with old family pictures, with dim lighting and wood tables topped with candles.



The menu echoes the truck stop feel - with lots of comfort food favorites. But the execution of the menu is way beyond what I expected - my awesome chicken fried steak was paired with perfectly cooked fresh green beans (where I'd expected a sad veggie medley from a bag). Dan's open faced sandwich was equally delicious, and the local beers available to wash it down were great.

Dan's Birthday Dinner Courtesy Dave's Diner

Dinner turned out to be a change of plans, too - after we ordered from Ezell's via 2goServices, only to find out that they were closed.

Thankfully, Dave's Diner is also a restaurant that 2go supports, and they had a fried chicken dinner on the menu. It turned out just perfect, and hopefully Dan enjoyed his big day - despite every restaurant we planned to visit being closed.

Dan's Birthday Breakfast at Geraldine's Counter

After the Thanksgiving feasting and karaoke in our tiki bar, Dan's folks stayed the night in the guest room. This morning, we all got up and headed to Columbia City for some brunch.

Dan had hoped to go to Verve, but forgot that since it was a Friday, the brunch options would be limited - and not include Verve, it turns out. We ended up at Geraldine's Counter.

I got the biscuits and gravy, and Dan got the Emerald Scramble. I've definitely had better biscuits and gravy elsewhere, and was bothered that the servers cut between our table and the next one, bumping my chair (which was as pushed in as I could get it) every few minutes.

I'm still baffled why they have a line out the door every weekend for brunch, when Verve & Lottie's Lounge offer better service and (IMHO) better food. I guess I'll count myself happy that the places I like to go aren't busy, huh?

Indian Mac & Cheese

Inspired by Aarti Sequeira to add a little Indian to any dish, tonight we adapted our standard Mac & Cheese recipe to make it decidedly more Indian.



In addition to adding Garam Masala, coriander, curry and all sorts of spices to the sauce, I also cooked some coriander pods, cumin seeds and brown mustard seeds with the butter that I mixed into the panko bread crumb topping. And, like when we made a spicy Thai curry version, we used coconut milk in place of standard milk for the sauce.



And in addition to some white & sharp cheddars in the sauce, I added cubed paneer before baking.

Memento Meal - Childhood Favorites

The supper club Dan & I are part of, known as Memento, started it's second year tonight in a slightly new incarnation. There's been some changes in the "cast" and the rules, but the food is still the star.

Tonight's hosts, Anna & Jason selected a theme of 'Childhood Favorites' to kick things off, and everyone delved deep into their memories to share flavors that brought smiles to their faces as kids - and to our faces tonight.



Anna, Jason & Otis shared with us a trio of mini tacos representing their childhood favorites.



Anna gave us an amuse bouche version of the taco her Mom made her as a kid



Otis' love of mashed potatoes and gravy translated into a mashed potato taco with gravy on top



And Jason's childhood love of cream tuna on toast became a delicous little fish taco with crema



Our second appetizer came from our guest - Shannon. One of the changes to Memento is that the second appetizer will always be a guest of the host, trying their hand at the Memento concept for the first time.



Shannon seriously delivered with a mouthwatering dry-rubbed pork rib, oven roasted due to the cold, wet weather (as opposed to her preferred barbeque technique). It's been a favorite of hers since childhood, and is one of the few meat items her son Soren enjoys, and it was clear why. Spicy, sweet, moist and amazing, with homegrown coriander, cumin, fennel and brown sugar.



Gerald & Liz combined childhood faves into a steak 'Crying Tiger' salad.



Served on her good China (representing her Chinese heritage), butter lettuce wrapped around heirloom tomatoes and perfectly cooked steak, which we dipped in a tamed down (but still hot) sauce of roasted chilies.





The Manta-Kennedy clan treated us to a Shirley Temple (Zoe & Logan's fave) to start off our first entree course...



A Roasted Pork Loin (a staple of David's childhood)...



A side dish of the filling from Carolyn's family Spanikopita recipe (the secret ingredient is... SECRET!)...



And a ramekin of panko topped macaroni & cheese, featuring mushrooms and truffle oil.






James, Marcy & Penelope translated a love of steak into a buffet steak tartare, with every possible topping.



Cream cheese, capers, red onion, green onion, hard boiled egg, anchovies... it was all there to further elevate the raw, shaved steak



And for the dessert, course, Dan & I shared a duo of chocolate decadence, translating Dan's childhood love of Hostess Ding Dongs and my penchant for chocolate chip mint ice cream.



The ladies were served an organic Dagoba chocolate sorbet, while the gentlemen enjoyed a Guittard chocolate ice cream, each homemade and topped with candied mint leaves.



The ding-dong began as a flourless chocolate cupcake, which I filled via a piping bag with homemade marshmallow fluff, then covered with melted bittersweet chocolate to create a hard chocolate coating.

We also shared a bottle of Chocovine that we purchased at The Herbfarm last week - a mixture of red wine, chocolate and milk that's winning awards, despite how dubious it sounds.



Marshmallow Fluff
3 egg whites
2 cups light corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

In large bowl of an electric mixer, add egg whites, corn syrup, and salt. Using your electric mixer on high speed, mix for approximately 5 minutes or until the mixture is thick and volume has almost doubled. On low speed, add powdered sugar and mix until well blended. Add vanilla extract just until well blended. Use immediately, freeze, or refrigerate in a covered container for 1-2 weeks.

Chicken Pot Pie, Plus Pesto Peas & Pasta Salad

In response to last night's junk food extravaganza (did I mention Dan got something called a 'Baconator'?), tonight he stopped at the PCC to get some really delicious little chicken pot pies, and some pasta salad featuring pesto and peas. My tummy thanks him.

Mac & Cheese with Salad

Starting with our standby recipe for Mac & Cheese, tonight we made it with Gouda, White Cheddar, and a little Mozzarella, and I mixed in some Serrano chilies with the onions at the beginning, to try to add a little spice. I only used two, however, and Serrano's aren't much hotter than a jalapeno on the Scoville scale, so next time I need to bump it up a bit more with some more peppers (or hotter peppers) if I want to feel some heat.