a phinney ridge favorite.

it's really suprising that it has taken me this long to blog about mae's on phinney ridge. this place is really the pinnacle of family run seattle breakfast joints, and i can't get enough of it. my first visit was a little over a year ago with my roomies, and i've been coming back steadily since then. with ever-changing breakfast options, ample seating, entertaining decor, and amazingly friendly service--mae's never manages to disappoint.
going into mae's on a weekend will guarantee a serious wait for a table, and you might even have to wait for one on a weekday as well. they operate on a really adorable honor system and have guests sign in with their name and number in party when they first come in. on my last visit, with my bestie g of course, we were actually sat at the same large table as another pair of women (appearing to also be besties). how european, mae's!
you really can't go wrong with anything on the menu, but the biscuits and gravy are absolutely phenominal! you have the choice of classic sausage gravy or vegetarian mushroom gravy, and they even offer an awesome half order (which comes with hashbrowns and 1 egg) that is the perfect amount of food. let's be honest, a full order of b & g is seriously mountaneous. the half order makes you feel not quite as guilty that you just chowed down on some gravy for breakfast. g is a huge fan of mae's oatmeal, which comes with an offering of brown sugar, walnuts, milk, and raisins to season to perfection.
if you're feeling frisky, mae's is also famous for offering "shake and eggs." you heard it here, mae's is the place where you can have a towering shake or smoothie to wash down your eggs, grits, and biscuits. mae calls it the breakfast of champions. now, i'm not one to turn down a challenge...but i've yet to try the combo. methinks it may just be the greatest hangover cure of all time. i'll keep you posted.

picture is of me and g getting ready to head into mae's for breakfast on the morning after my 22nd birthday!

i scream. you scream.

today is the day that i share internet elaboration on my favorite seattle spot of all MOLLY MOONS!!! with two locations [capitol hill and wallingford] this ice cream boutique is absolutely irresistible, intriguingly delicious, and eco-friendly to boot. i love it so much, i even own a molly moon's t-shirt! if you want one for your very own, you can't purchase online just yet...but mine and many more are on sale at either location.
now, my molly moon's knowledge might be borderline embarrassing to most, but i take great pride in having at least sampled nearly every flavor in the repertoire. molly moon is an actual person, and shares her actual given name with the shop. this woman is an ice cream genius. on any given day in the shop you will find such flavors as salted caramel, [girl]scout mint, balsamic strawberry, or theo chocolate [straight from the fremont chocolate shop, which will be blogged as soon as it's visited by yours truly!] toppings include fresh fruit compote, cajeta, lemon curd, and a completely perfect hot fudge. the flavors and toppings rotate, and a new flavor is always popping up to challenge your taste-buds' threshold.
whenever i have visitors to the seattle area, i always take them to molly's and we are never disappointed. beware of going on a warm friday or saturday night, as there can be a line wrapping around the block and on a heavily visited day the shop may run out of (gasp) waffle cones! and trust me, you want to have the option...as they are AMAZING.
and just one more tip to the inexperienced ice cream patron--don't fret if you can't decide between two flavors and know your tummy won't allow a double scoop. you always have the option of asking for a "split scoop" and getting a half scoop of each of two delicious flavors. try salted caramel with maple walnut or theo chocolate, mix one of the featured vegan sorbet flavor with a bit of the scrumptious vanilla bean, or go OFF and try a sample of them all. you won't be sorry and you'll always come back for more!

the classy vegetarian.

my lovely mama and i celebrated her birthday at the greenwood vegetarian eatery carmelita. mama is a vegetarian, and i am a recovering vegetarian, so the swanky little place was right up our alley. aside from minor parking difficulties, the evening was amazing, and the food was even more spectacular than i might have imagined.
now, mama's birthday is a special holiday, so we really went off and tried a ton of stuff. eating on a budget is usually my rule of thumb, but that definitely goes aside to celebrate her! we started with an appetizer of a port-poached pear with goat cheese sorbet and a green salad with candied walnuts. it was a borderline dessert, but absolutely delicious. the pear was named in the menu as a jerzy boyz pear, which i felt suprised i'd never heard of. but after some research, i learned that jerzy boyz is the name of the farm of origin of the pears, not a specific variety. [for more info on jerzy boyz organic apple and pear farm click here]. the table next to us ordered the enviable beet carpaccio, which i will definitely order next time.
as for entrees, i had the absolutely irresistible root vegetable pot pie--served in a ramekin with a warm side salad of greens with hazelnuts and marinated hedgehog mushrooms. the pot pie had a rich, mushroom-y base and featured carrots, potatoes, and turnips. the crust on top was perfectly flaky and the overall result was ultra-comforting and addictive. i could barely stop eating long enough to try my mom's dish on the other side of the table. thank goodness i did, because her purple rice and green onion cake was completely spectacular. served with sugar-pie pumpkin mash and a phenomenal cashew sauce, the dish had the hearty complexity that one typically misses in vegetarian dishes. the giant man to our right looked over and said "i'll have what she's having," when harry met sally style.
now, it being a celebration, we certainly ordered dessert. we didn't even split it. we got TWO. first, mom's pick, the carrot cake [sans raisins, much to her excitement] topped with fennel ice cream (!) and candied fennel seed. the cake was not-too-sweet, and the ice cream was the star of the dish. my choice was the special, a passion-fruit and goat cheese creme brulee that was topped with minced pickled rhubarb. YUM. the brulee was super rich, extremely complex in flavor, and with the perfect bruleed sugar crunch on top.
my mom is seriously already planning on what she might order when we go back, which will definitely happen in the not-too-distant future. and we might just have to take a gallon of that fennel ice cream home with us!

u district lunching for beginners.

i seriously do not have enough praise for the little piece of heaven right on portage bay by the name of agua verde. you may remeber seeing the cafe & kayak rental location on an episode of rachael ray's $40 a day, back before she had the CBS daytime talk show.
don't let the water-inspired name fool you, agua verde IS a fish-lover's delight, but also a fish-hater's friend. vegetarian, chicken, and pork options abound on this colorful, creative, and tasty menu.
at lunchtime the place can get pretty busy. however, the dual ordering system offers a streetcart-esque window for those on the go (typically on bike)and those who care to dine-in order and pay up front right at the entrance. time is saved by bussing one's own table, retrieving one's own water, and helping oneself to the delicious salsa bar. i like this autonomous system, and it seems to work very well for the table turnover at agua.
now, on to deliciousity! this visit, i partook in the "tacos boniato"--3 corn tortillas topped with marinated yams, sauteed peppers and onions, cojita cheese and a flavorful avacado cream sauce. lunch orders come with chips and your choice of 3-4 housemade salsas. my favorite is the sweet and cilantro-y salsa verde, but all are very delicious.
my counterpart, my lovely roomie a, is not of the fishless folk and had the "tacos bacalao" which features alaskan cod in a coconut beer batter with shredded cabbage and the same avacado sauce that highlighted my yam tacos. the crispy fried texture of the cod almost made me want to have a bite (!), but i refrained, knowing i wouldn't like what lay underneath the juicy shell.
i can't wait, and i'm sure won't wait...for another quick lunchtime visit to try the portobello or pollo tacos, or the enticing mango quesadilla!