Looking for New and Interesting Places
By Christopher Howard
There has been a lot of coming and going of restaurants in recent months. And, with those dry January restrictions behind us, we set out to try some of the new and interesting restaurants that have been opening up.
Very New Up North
We will open up with the newest, Sophon, 7314 Greenwood Avenue North, 206.644.7316, https://www.sophonseattle.com, a new Cambodian restaurant we were lucky enough to visit during its soft opening. The food menu is fairly limited, but we very much enjoyed everything we ordered. We started by splitting the young mango salad with green mangos, cherry tomatoes, green beans, carrots and many, many other ingredients. The portion was big enough for us to share and it disappeared quickly.
There were only three choices for main courses, a grilled steak, braised pork belly and stuffed, grilled Chinese eggplant. We tried the steak and the pork belly and the non-meat eater among us went with the cauliflower steak (listed as a starter, but ample enough to satisfy). What can we say beyond everything tasted great. The pork belly came with two thick strips accompanied by seasoned semi-soft-boiled egg with a very unusual flavor. The steak was sliced and covered with a tuk prahok tamponade (a fish sauce with picked pieces of vegetables). The cauliflower steak was well seasoned and came with a Thai basil aioli. We would not hesitate to order each of these again, especially the mango salad.
The featured mixed drinks were unusual, both in their names and their ingredients. We tried the brapeinel (“tradition”), the klang (“strength”) the srasa (“fresh”) and a glass of Italian Red. The mixed drinks had many ingredients some rather exotic. The easiest to describe is the strength which is close to a Manhattan with overtones of vanilla and squash. The tradition is a bourbon mezcal mixture with some spice/heat mixed in. The fresh is a light, slightly fruity tequila-based drink. All of the featured mixed drinks were interesting with flavors that often were hard to identify.
We do not say this often, but all four in our party said “wow” about the food. The featured drinks were unusual and interesting, but expensive, especially for the neighborhood. They accept reservation through open table but they hold the bar seating for walk-ins (luckily for us). Sitting at the bar we had very attentive service (and we had a lot of questions). As people familiar with the neighborhood are aware, there can be parking issues., But we will definitely be going back.
New in South Lake Union
The self-proclaimed “sexiest restaurant in Seattle,” newly opened House of Eve, 730 Blanchard Street, 206.600.8827, https://www.houseofeveseattle.com/, is a “female-founded & locally empowered” addition in the heart of Amazonia (roughly two blocks North of the spheres). We got there for happy hour which consisted of $2 off featured drink, only, (not other drinks, and no happy hour food offerings). The featured drinks all feature woman owned distilleries, such as Crater Lake. We tried a drink called Temptation, a takeoff on an old fashioned with whiskey, smoked brown sugar, orange and cinnamon, which was not interesting enough for us to order a second, even on happy hour, and we reverted back to more standard drinks.
We opened with a half dozen oysters and they were local and fresh. The dinner offerings were very limited with three pasta options, a market fish and mussels. The mussels were not local so we both went with the fresh local salmon. The salmon was well prepared with good seasoning and accompanied by a decent quantity of vegetables, mostly cauliflower, but the piece of salmon itself was small. We did not sample dessert.
The service was friendly, but not what we expected in a downtown Seattle restaurant serving seafood. The server did not know the source of mussel (imported, frozen), type of oysters (beyond from Taylor as a supplier), the type of salmon or where it was from. She was able to get most of this information when we asked, but she seemed surprised by the questions which we think are normal questions in Seattle. And, when we ordered a Manhattan, she brought an Old Fashioned; granted, that may have been a logical mistake since we were transitioning from an Old Fashioned like drink. But Eve’s Place is new so some lack of experience in the servers can be forgiven.
We arrived early, as that is when Open Table had a spot. By 5:30, the restaurant and bar were packed, with people waiting, so reservations are recommended. Overall, we found the food interesting and with good flavor, but in small portions and not a great value, as Eve’s Place definitely has downtown prices. So, consider this a place for an expense account meal with a client who wants to try new places. There are more menu options for brunch, and they are a bit more reasonably priced, so we may return to check that out.
On the Shores of Lake Washington (well, almost)
We are not trying to feature the Heavy Restaurant Group, but they have been opening new places, so we have been checking those out. This month we tried the newest Pablo y Pablo (Leschi), 120 Lakeside Drive, 206.707.9730, https://www.pabloypablo.com/leschi/. This is the third restaurant of this brand for the local restaurant chain, replacing another owned by the same group at that location (Meet the Moon).
We started by splitting an order of the street corn. It was flavorful and had some spice/heat, but not a very generous portion for splitting. However, it was probably our favorite item on this visit, and it would go very well with outdoor drinks in warmer weather.
We tried a taco combo. The fish taco (rock fish) was very good. The fish was fresh. The spicing was mild, but they do provide a house hot sauce (served with dropper) The al pastor taco was cold on arrival, lacked much flavor and the pork was tough. We would not order that one again.
The brisket skillet was pushed by server (and it was the most expensive item on menu). It is a beef and potato scramble topped with tomatoes, a fried egg, cheese and cilantro. Our diner who had it felt the quality of the brisket was not great and we probably would not order this again.
We were there for lunch, so we did not sample the bar offerings. We did try the Mexican hot chocolate. This was a fun drink with plenty of flavor. The drink comes with three options for spiking it for those who want to try that.
In summary, we give this restaurant a mixed review. There were other items we saw while dining that looked worth trying, especially for a brunch. We will most likely return in warmer weather to meet others for drinks in their ample outdoor seating.
Dining Out is brought to you by Christopher Howard, now retired from law firm life, but still dining out, together with friends and family who help chose and sample the restaurants. Send comments and suggestions to him at chh@f2t.com or 206.669.5956.
