Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes and.... Avocado?

Tonight was the end of our loose meal plan week. Dan ran out to QFC to pick up some Big K (QFC store brand sparkling water in cans that Dan is addicted to, so he picked up some fried chicken and mashed potatoes, too.

I reheated the chicken in the oven at 425 for about 20 minutes, and served it and the potatoes with some chopped up avocado with a little black pepper and pink Himalayan salt (a housewarming gift from Anna & Jason). The avocado was to put something green on the plate - though I'm pretty sure avocado goes with everything.

Plaza Garcia Take-out Disappointment

Dan ran out tonight to get some Mexican takeout for us from our neighborhood family Mexican restaurant - Plaza Garcia.

I hopped on Urbanspoon to figure out what I wanted, and decided on the Enchilada Garcia with Refried Beans as the filling.

Dan returned and said the experience was a little strange. He had to sit for awhile before being helped, and he said the staff were a little frenetic and confused. He was asked repeatedly what kind of meat I wanted in my Bean Enchilada.

What I ended up with for over $10 was a small cheese 'enchilada' with no beans and almost no sauce. Essentially, it was a gummy flour tortilla rolled around congealed cheese, covered in more congealed cheese, and topped with lettuce, tomato, sour cream and guacamole. The enchilada sauce was negligible, and I could barely cut through it with a fork (a metal fork). I was expecting a warm, soft, flavorful enchilada - and I got a luke warm quesadilla. Definitely a disappointment. The portion was also small considering the price and our previous experiences there with very generous portions. Dan's chimichanga was also half the size of what he's received ordering the same item in the past.

Dan mentioned he thought the management might've changed, given who was working, the confusion, and a new liquor license permit application in the window. I did a little searching and found that Plaza Garcia officially lost their liquor license on 5/7/2010, but Los Tinos Mexican Restaurant (at the same address) submitted their application for a liquor license on 4/21/2010.

So it appears that Plaza Garcia has changed hands, and is in the process of becoming Los Tinos - with some growing pains in the transition. That would explain why my ordering off the old (or soon to be old) menu caused confusion. From now on, we'll probably stick with El Sombrero - where we know what to expect and can rely on consistent quality.

2-for-1 Reser's Pizza from M Street

PCC Pizza

Today was my (now former) office mate Jason's last day in our team, as he's taken a new job at one of our other locations... and it was also Dan's last day with CSE, since he accepted a position as the Administrator of ChemE, and starts on Monday. So after work, I party hopped from Jason's going away 'do at Temple Billiards in Pioneer Square, over to Dan's at District Lounge in the U-District.

Afterward, Dan & I grabbed a pizza at PCC in our own neighborhood on the way home, and then curled up on the couch with some TV before bed.

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.

Thai Massage & Thai Recipe Take-Out

After another wonderfully relaxing acupuncture & Thai massage treatment by Eric Spivack of Soaring Crane Massage on Beacon Hill, Dan picked me up and we stopped by Thai Recipe (at the corner of McClellan & Rainier Ave S) for some take out.



When I mentioned to Eric where we were going for dinner, he reacted like most people do when Thai Recipe comes up: smiles and statements of how great it is.

Thai Recipe is tucked into a little strip mall with a Domino's Pizza, a Hair Salon, and an empty storefront (formerly a wedding supply shop), sharing an awkward parking lot with all of them - plus the Schuck's Auto Supply. But despite the humble location, the food and service are outstanding, and well worth any jockeying required to get a parking spot.

They don't do delivery, but the amount of to-go orders I've witnessed (my own included) seems a testament to just how good the food is, and how quickly they're able to have it ready. We popped in tonight, took a couple minutes to decide what we wanted (Soft Prawn Rolls, Chicken Showering Rama, and Prawn Pad Thai) and it was ready for us in about ten minutes. Seriously. Ten minutes. While we waited, I flipped through a copy of a big Asian foods book that always keeps my attention during the short wait with information on galangal uses and storage techniques for tamarind blocks.

Despite the sometimes constant flow of customers in and out for take-out orders, the small staff remain quick, courteous and kind - making sure everyone is taken care of promptly, while creating a very relaxing atmosphere.

When we got home, our food was (as always) beautiful and delicious. They have a rare, if not unique ability to cook and pack up to-go orders so that they don't lose any of their quality on the drive home. Temperatures and textures (even with fried foods!) lose nothing in the short trip home, the colors remain bright and appetizing.

And of course, the food is just as good as it looks.

Safeway Chinese Food

Dan's Birthday

Since Dan's birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year, and that day was spent up in Woodinville/Clearview with both sides of the family, Dan suggested we celebrate on the day after. He gets the day after Thanksgiving off, but I had to work - so when I got home we drove down to Kauai Family Restaurant and ordered a Hawaiian feast of Kalua pig, poi, steamed rice, mac salad, lomi lomi salmon, and crispy ginger chicken. The pig, poi, and mac salad were the highlights for me, though I really liked the flavor of the chicken - just didn't like the bones.



For dessert, we had slices of Dan's macadamia nut pie, leftover from Thanksgiving dinner, topped with a candle.

PCC Quiche

For a quick dinner tonight (since we're busy making pies for tomorrow), we had a quiche from PCC.



I had leftover pie dough and apples, so I made a little rustic tart filled with apples, walnuts, cinnamon & sugar.

Thai Recipe Takeout

Chicken Pad See Ew and Crispy Shrimp

Thai Food

Tonight we ordered from Thai Recipe, down the street, and walked together to pick it up, to get out of the house and get a little exercise. Since the advent of the Light Rail, I no longer walk up and down the steep part of McClellan between our house and Rainier Ave, and I think my thighs forgot how steep it is.

I went for the Salmon On Fire special, which was very good (salmon in a spicy sauce, with crispy basil) and came with wonderfully prepared veggies.

My Love Affair with TB

We left our meal plan open for Friday, so we'd have one flexible night to go out, order in, or otherwise be spontaneous about dinner. With the entire nation tightening their wallets, Dan came up with the idea to have a cheap date night at home, with Taco Bell takeout, beer from the supermarket, and Tivo'd TV shows. Being a lifelong fan of TB, I wholeheartedly agreed.

When I was little, and my Dad was out of town, my Mom would sometimes treat me to Taco Bell - and I'd usually order the 'Mexican Pizza'. In high school, TB became a hangout - thanks in part to the 59/79/99 promotion, and in part to having friends working there. I recall people dying their hair in the bathroom, and many plans to meet there before going elsewhere. In college, my campus had a small Taco Bell Express cart, which was when I fell in love with the 7-layer burrito, and when I started collecting Taco Bell Hot Sauces.



College was also when I made Taco Bell Hot Sauce soup - which takes a lot of packets, but costs nothing, so is perfect for a college student budget. My old roommate Julie & I used to make special trips to the big Taco Bell after nights out on the town, and often on the drive back from our regular trips up to Canada.

In more recent years, the siren song of TB often called after a night out with friends. We'd find ourselves walking from whatever bar we finished the night at, to Taco Bell, and back to Craig's place to eat it and watch TV. (I still weep at the sight of the spot where the Taco Bell on Capitol Hill once stood.) And after moving to Beacon Hill, Dan & I have made Taco Bell a ritual when we return from any trip out of town. We haul our luggage inside the house, then hop in the car and go get Coronas and Taco Bell.





Through all these years of infatuation with Taco Bell, I learned a trick for rewrapping my burritos so they stay tidy. You first unwrap the burrito, laying the wrapper open flat in a diamond shape, and place the burrito so the open end (TB burritos always have one open end and one folded end) is even with the top corner of the wrapper. Then you fold the bottom point of the wrapper up to just below the bottom of the burrito. Next, fold the wrapper up, even with the bottom of the burrito, which ensures any drips out the bottom are trapped in the wrapper. Fold the right point of the wrapper over the the left, then the left point over to the right and tuck behind. Now you can hold the burrito by the wrapper, and slowly fold down the wrapper as you eat, leaving the last bite nestled in a wrapper cup.

After rewrapping my 1/2 lb cheesy bean & rice burrito ($1.59 - which truly did weigh 8oz), and Dan's Chicken Fiesta Burrito ($2.86), I plated them with my Spicy Chicken Soft Taco ($1.39) and his Chicken Chalupa with Nacho Cheese ($2.59). I loaded mine up with Fire Sauce, and we enjoyed them with beers and hard ciders while we watched the Office, 30 Rock, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Ace of Cakes, and a Food Network Challenge.

Thai Recipe Take-Out

Thai Recipe

I thought I was going to make Lamb Tikka Masala tonight - but failed to notice that I had to marinate the lamb overnight. So we shifted things around a bit, and I ran down the road for some Thai Recipe.

Thai Recipe

I was warned by a friend & coworker that moving to Beacon Hill meant giving up food delivery. It turns out most places won't cross the Jose P Rizal to come up 12th Ave and deliver to us pseudo-Southenders. Either they're afraid of heights, or it just happens to make a convenient boundary for their delivery zones.

Thankfully, with our location on the mid to North end of the hill, we've found a few places that will deliver to us. Golden Daisy Garden on Beacon, Ti Amo on 12th, and Pizza Hut on Rainier, to be specific.

Since I've been so excited about Ti Amo, I wanted to share my find with other Beacon Hill residents I know at my work. We're all subscribed to an internal mailing list to share neighborhood gossip, and so I sent the info about Ti Amo out. Many of the more southern Beacon Hill residents were suspicious whether they would deliver to any part of Beacon Hill, so some call were made (though I'm not sure of the results).

That also brought up the topic of other restaurants nearby that people were curious about. Thai Recipe came up. It's a restaurant on McClellan & Rainier, and people wondered if they deliver at all. That resulted in great reviews of the food from folks who have gone - and prompted me to finally go. Given that we live about 6 blocks away from it, and we both walk by it on our commute, it's funny we've never ordered from them.

We'll definitely be ordering from them again.

Although I'm fairly certain they don't deliver, they do accept phone & walk up orders for takeout, and that seems to be fairly common. In fact, I think more people came in for takeout than to eat in while we were there.

Besides the food being very good (in my opinion), it was prepared in record time. I think it was less than 15 minutes between placing our order and it being ready for us to take away. Perfect for calling before leaving work, and picking it up on the way home.

I had the Pad Thai with shrimp tempura ($8.95). The noodles and sauce were just the style of pad thai I like best, and the shrimp were tasty. I wouldn't describe the style as 'tempura', but more accurately panko batter fried. Dan had the Pad See Ewe ($7.75) and seemed very happy with it. We shared the Spring Rolls (3 for $4.25), but both agreed that we weren't that into them. I think we both thought fried spring rolls sounded good, but in retrospect I think we would've preferred the salad rolls (also $4.25).

If you're in the area and want some great Thai takeout, give them a call at 206-723-6165. Their menu appears to include all the classics you might want - from Swimming Rama to Larb Gai, Tom Ka to Cashew Tofu.

Hawaii Day 11: The Journey Home

Today we got up, packed the last of our stuff, and headed to the Kona airport for home. At the airport I had some reheated french toast (not worth photographing) for breakfast.

Once we landed in Honolulu, we went looking for the big Stinger Ray's in the main terminal, but discovered it's been closed and is being replaced by a Kona Brewing Company. We were disappointed, but I guess we'll just have to change our tradition a bit. Maybe I'll still be able to get Macadamia Manias at the Brewing company.

They did have a small area set up where you could get a drink, though the mai tai I ordered was a little off. I should have gone with beer.



After our flight back to Seattle, we unloaded our stuff and then headed down to Taco Bell - another of our travel traditions. Whenever we get home late from a flight, we head to Taco Bell and get take out, then devour it with some Coronas.

Golden Daisy Garden

Even though we pigged out a bit on snacks at the social at my work, we grabbed some Chinese food on the way home from Beacon Hill's sketchy looking, yet yummy Chinese restaurant - the Golden Daisy Garden.

It has the look of a place in transition - as if maybe their lease is up so things are being moved out slowly. But the service is friendly, fast, and they even deliver. Since we were already passing by, we decided to do take-out instead, so we wandered the 'hood a bit while we waited for our food. I wanted to check out the ABC Supermarket on the corner, but it had just closed. Instead, we walked around the block, cutting through the alley behind Culinary Communion to get a peak at the back side - which has an impressive ventilation system.

As we turned the corner back to the main street, all sorts of emergency vehicles were descending on an apartment building across the street. From all we could tell, someone tripped the fire alarm - or caused a small fire - 'cuz two fire trucks responded (in addition to ambulances, etc). We stood outside and watched, as did the waiter/host of the restaurant.

Soon after the 'fire' was under control, our food was ready, and we headed home to enjoy some General Tso's Chicken and Honey Walnut Prawns.