ok, so i've seriously been the worst blogger in history lately. i've tried lots of foods, none of them fish, and not written about a single one. while sitting at home on a friday night i'm trying to think of something delicious that i've eaten in the past month or so to write about.
then it comes to me!
have you been to nettletown???
because you totally should go. come to think of it, i should totally go again. and again and again.
when i first arrived i couldn't quite figure out what the overall "point" of nettletown was. the location looks better suited for a laundromat. the menu is a mish-mash of all sorts of cuisines and offerings, the decor looks like it could potentially be the children's section of a library (see above photo), and the waitress was adorably dressed in a hand sewn, hand embroidered apron. it didn't really seem to come together until i looked at the menu. underneath the name of the restaurant it just says simply: yummy food. and that's really what we want, isn't it. yummy food. who cares about the way stuff looks and if it all goes together? that fluff is just fall back for non-yummy food, as far as i'm concerned.
so, let's get down to business. what yummy fishless nibbles did i indulge in? on recommendation of the friend who referred me to nettletown in the first place, i tried the knoepfli, a swiss noodley/bready/dumplingy type treat with leeks, cabbage, and herbs. i also added a perfectly poached egg to the top (if you've been paying attention, friend, you know that this gal can't say no to a poached egg). you can also add bacon or bratwurst if you're into that sorta thing. i was really impressed with how addictively delicious my plate of food was. it didn't look like fine dining, but by golly was it tasty. i found the dish just buttery enough, and could have handled even MORE poached egg. i even packed up the second half of it to take home and it made an absolutely perfect breakfast before work the next morning. yum.
my partner in crime for the evening, the lovely e, had the nettletown noodles with tofu. the noodles were good, and the broth was good...but nothing i haven't tasted before. the tofu was the star of this dish, it was rich and had lots and lots of flavor. i would definitely recommend the knoepfli over the noodles if you want to get your carb on at nettletown.
the most interesting part of the meal for me was our starter, which e and i split. chef christina choi (the mastermind behing nettletown) has a background in foraging, and a lot of the veg used at nettletown is foraged. needless to say, e and i had to try the foraged vegetable pickles which rotate based on what's available in the woods. pretty cool. our offering during our visit included sea beans (tiny, skinny, and crunchy) and fiddleheads (asparagus like, twisty, and tart). we got wayyyy more veggies that we thought we would for $3 and were definitely impressed by the quality. come on! you can't even get a hotdog for $3 these days! let alone some delicious pickled foraged ferns. a steal to say the least.
nettletown didn't deliver on dessert for me, though. i'm not one to say no to a dessert, but unless the menu has changed since my visit, you're better off stepping into the mini mart next door for a snickers or something. the options were granola (whaaaaaa?) cookies and milk (meh) or this silly little cup of weirdness called "mile high berry crunch pie". now, lemme tell you about this deceitful dessert. first of all, mile high it is not. it is approximately 4 inches high. second, it is certainly not a pie. at all. more like a flash frozen yogurt parfait layered with nutty, brown sugary, crumbly bits. thirdly, it's kinda gross. according to our waitress (who i could sense kinda agreed with me) it is a family recipe of choi's and either you love it or you hate it. mark two down for hate, please.
all in all, if you skip dessert (or, better yet head to molly moon's or peak's frozen custard for an ice cream nightcap) you'll really enjoy your time at nettletown. it's extremely unique, affordable, and delicious and boasts a really friendly staff. i'm definitely going to make a trip back for one of the piled high baguette sandwiches i saw being devoured at the table next to me!
