I wouldn’t presume to do a top 10 list for all restaurants in Seattle, there are just too many. So I bring you sandwiches. A good sandwich is like a masterpiece. The bread should be fresh but yielding, the ingredients should blend in that perfect way to give you salty, sweet, sour, umami, fresh in every bite. A good sandwich has been tasted and perfected, not just thrown together.

These are my favorites. I don’t believe in nominating someone just for the numbers, so there’s only a top 8. But then I haven’t tried Bakeman’s.

1. Salumi

Armandino Batali (Mario Batali’s father) has made this place an institution. They’re only open during the day during the week and there’s always a line out the door, but the meat speaks for itself. I am addicted to the finochiona, a fennel scented salami. Not to mention the freshly made buffala mozzerella. It almost makes up for the lack of Italian delis in this town. Almost.

2. Paseo

I really fell hard for Paseo back when I discovered it a few years ago, and would go out of my way to pick up a Midnight Cuban for my afternoon hike. Sitting on the top of Mt. Si with pork juices dripping down your chin mingling with cilantro and hot peppers—there’s nothing like it. They’ve cleaned up their act a little since then, upgrading the small shack on Fremont Ave to a bigger shack, but as far as I can tell the food hasn’t suffered. The sign is still non-existent, but the line down the block should give you a clue.

3. Homegrown

A relative newcomer, but already a star in the sandwich arena. They have 10-15 cold and hot sandwiches, all with fresh and locally sourced ingredients. The flank steak sandwich is a standout with its mix of blue cheese and arugula, but everyone has a favorite. They also have soups and salads and some seating options, with that blond wood clean living kind of décor.

4. Skillet

You really only need two words—bacon jam. Skillet operates out of an airstream trailer and is there one day and gone the next due to the vicissitudes of the city’s polices around truck food, but it’s worth searching out. Their website has a calendar for where you can find them any day of the week. They make a mean blt, cook up some juicy burgers and make fries worth standing in the rain for. All out of something your parents might have camped in back in the 70s. Rumor has it they’ll be at the West Seattle farmer’s market on sundays come summer.

5. Pho Cyclo (SODO)

There is something about the banh mi at Pho Cyclo (the SODO location is better, not sure why). Theirs are not the cheapest banh mi in the city, but they are near perfect as far as I can tell. Grilled pork, pickled daikon and carrots, cilantro, and jalapeno make one of the most balanced and delicious sandwiches in the city. Only offered during lunchtime and made even tastier by the addition of café sua da (Vietnamese iced coffee).

6. Baguette Box

I would put baguette box higher on the list if they weren’t so spotty about their service. Run by Eric Banh (of Monsoon), this place gives a nod to banh mi by putting pickled vegetables and cilantro on many of their sandwiches, but then runs away, adding Salumi meats, grilled lamb, and coconut curry tofu. Some days I think this place is the most amazing place ever, the next day their counter guy gets all uppity about running out of cilantro. “These aren’t actually banh mi, the cilantro is just a gesture.” But even so…their red wine braised pork sandwich is otherworldly, the soft silky meat brought alive by jalapenos and pickled vegetables.

7. Grand Central Baking Company

Solidly great sandwiches with house roasted meats (pork loin, chicken) and local cheeses all served on Grand Central bread. I somehow don’t remember exactly what I had when I went as it was 6 months ago, but I seem to recall roasted turkey with cranberry chutney. All I know is it was good. Lots of vegetarian options too and some great soups. With locations on Eastlake and Pioneer square.

8. Essential Baking Company

An old standby in the sandwich arena, but still fabulous. Similar to Grand Central, they make some outstanding sandwiches, often changing to fit what’s fresh and local at the moment. They also have yummy baked goods, which doesn’t hurt. Fremont and Madison Park.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I know it’s been forever. The truth is– I’m pregnant.

It so changed my food world, I had to wrap my head around it. Raw meat has become the worst smell in the world. Luckily once the meat is cooked, it tastes fabulous.

I think this means we need to eat out more.

A few weeks ago I headed out with Lynn and Kyung for a dimsum gardenclub meeting. I’d given up on Seattle dimsum after trying Jade Garden a few years ago. Perhaps I didn’t give it a fair shake. I couldn’t get past the dusty interior.

O’Asian is the 25 year old night clubber to Jade Garden’s old grandfather. In the former Ruth’s Chris space on 6th and Columbia, it is decked out in glam. There are tables that could fit 20. It feels better to eat dimsum in a space like this.

When we arrived at 11 it was almost empty, but we slid into a cozy booth and watched the show begin. Soon we had steaming plates of gai lan and shrimp and spinach dumplings. By the time we left the place was heaving. Literally. And mostly with big chinese families, which bodes well.

We had dumplings and humbow and greenbeans and greens (gai lan). All were very good. Amazing? Hard to say. Very solid. We cleaned our plates.

Our fave of the day was by far the jin dui (sesame seed balls filled with red bean paste). Hot and crisp from the fryer, they were just perfect.

O’Asian made me love dimsum again. Now I want to go back with 20 people, fill one of those gigundo tables and order every thing on the carts. They even have free parking on the weekends.

In the next few weeks, look for more wallet-friendly restaurant reviews. That’s my new mantra (as I imagine it is for all of you).

……………………………………………………
O’Asian
800 5th Ave
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 264-1789
http://oasiankitchen.com/

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I know. The name alone makes you start to doubt.

And the interior didn’t help. It was all metal and frosted glass with a wall of lights that slowly changed color. The gray velour booths were filled with tittering women in highheels and men in suits. This didn’t bode well for the food.

But then our appetizers arrived. I took one bite of the sweet corn soup and was blown away. It was like summer in Vermont, so pure and sweet. Like essence of fresh corn on the cobb. As Sheela said, “this is one of those things I would’ve ruined with salt.”

Then came the grilled figs with melted roquefort, served alongside arugula with a perfectly honey-sweet dressing. The figs melted in my mouth, mixing with the sharpness of the cheese, the bitter arugula, the sweet dressing. We also tried “rubies and pearls,” a mix of orzo, sprouts and beets, and it too was amazing. It had this incredible lightness– the spicy sprouts popping in my mouth, contrasting with the earthy beats.

But interrupting our food rapture was the waiter. We asked for a wine menu and it never arrived. We asked again, we asked the busgirls, finally after 4 tries someone gave us one. And then he walked over as we were finishing our appetizers, “Oh did they forget your bread?”

Incidentally, the gelled balsamic they serve with the bread is wonderful, though why not olive oil? The butter seemed too old school. And the bread was slightly stale.

Finally we had the main course (lamb) which was sadly a disappointment. Cooked perfectly with a flush of pink at the center, it was still tough and with an excess of cumin. The apricot couscous and carmelized shallots on the side were perfect.

By this point the women at the next booth were getting louder and more highpitched as they downed their cocktails and we were both getting tired of the ever changing walls. The final topper was the waiter’s description of the dessert special, “it’s huckleberry linzer torte, you know, linzer torte? Like with that…that weaving on the top.”

Sigh. I do love seattle. I just wish someone would import some waiters.

*************************************************

http://www.bokaseattle.com

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.