Tag Archives: Beth Partin’s food photos

My Favorite Food Pics from Seattle

Posted on by
4

We ate a lot of good food in Seattle and didn’t even scratch the surface of Ballard in a month, let alone the entire city. Most restaurants we visited only once, and many of them didn’t seem to warrant a full review after so little experience, but there were memorable meals along the way.

Blackberry brambles were everywhere in Seattle. Sometimes I picked berries from the side of the road.

 

There must have been 10 coffee shops within easy walking distance of our apartment in Ballard. This vegan doughnut came from Café Mox, which is attached to a game store.

 

The Counter, located in Ballard Blocks, is definitely worth visiting. The build-your-own burger Todd ordered was fabulous. You could order a burger patty on a salad, so I tried that with a veggie burger topped with pineapple, but the idea was more interesting than the reality.

 

Hi-Life was located along NW Market Street and was always packed. We intended to go there some Sunday for the fried chicken but ended up at brunch with this obscenely thick French toast.

 

I had oysters several times in Seattle. Here: Penn Cove. The server at Emmet Watson's Oyster Bar in Pike Place Market (not where I got this one) explained that August and September may not be the best months to eat oysters because they're spawning and they may taste funny. After I left Seattle, I read about several people getting sick from Washington oysters. I was lucky.

 

Salted cod with ajilimojili sauce from La Isla, the Puerto Rican restaurant in Ballard. Lovely fried fish.

 

Todd had the pernil, a pork dish. This restaurant had tasty sauces; I believe the red sauce is mojito sauce. It also had a waiter who wasn't comfortable looking at me, for some reason, even though I was paying.

 

Portage Bay, a large cafe near Ballard Locks, offered a toppings bar with French toast and such. Here it is.

 

The great thing about Portage Bay's toppings bar was that you could order just the toppings for $6, so I did.

I began with berries and I’ve ended with berries. There are berry brambles fruiting in Portland right now, but they’re not ripe yet. I think it’s so cool to be able to pluck berries as I’m walking along. I’ve never before lived in a city where that was possible.

Plethora of Pancakes

Posted on by
6

Paul’s Pancake Parlor doesn’t brag about itself. Why should it? Todd and I have been there twice and it’s been packed both times. But it does tell it like it is: “All our batters are homemade.”

And what a selection of batters there is: chocolate chip, chocolate chip caramel, buckwheat, five kinds of rolled pancakes (on the crepes side of pancakes), and many more. Not to mention waffles, regular egg breakfasts, burgers, and sandwiches. And two kinds of desserts: pie, and pie à la mode.

I always feel happy about a place that declares, “Breakfast served all day.” As I’ve said before, staying open from dawn until dusk seems to be a Missoula tradition.Missoula restaurants, breakfast restaurantsOr that talks about great-grandmother’s sourdough starter.

On my first trip, I had the rolled Swedish pancakes with lingonberry butter. No syrup required.Missoula restaurants, breakfast restaurantsI declined to have them stuffed with cream cheese. As it was, I ate only two, and these “pancakes” are thinner than the regular ones so that they can be rolled.

On our second visit, I ordered an egg breakfast, and it was OK. The eggs and the hash browns both seemed a little undercooked. The bacon was purple and greasy, and I had 4 pieces, so I gave one to Todd. Turns out his “Western” omelet was a little different: it was filled with bacon. The onions and peppers and ham and cheese were on the wrapping, made of eggs. Missoula restaurants, breakfast restaurantsLet’s just say he didn’t lack for bacon that day. His order also included a stack of pancakes and a half-plate of fruit that the waitress was kind enough to re-plate for him. It looked neater before we started eating it.Missoula restaurants, breakfast restaurants, Beth's food photosI loved our waitress. She was beset by many tables but stayed calm. I flagged her down to get a cup of coffee, and then after I’d had two sips and she wanted to refill it, I said no. Her response: “Oh, sure, waving me down for coffee and now you don’t want any.” I didn’t say no after that.

The other thing I loved about Paul’s was the art on the walls, especially the sign for the mixer on the right below: Missoula restaurants, breakfast restaurants“Why beat it by hand?” has become the motto of our age. Why do anything by hand when you can get a computer chip to do it for you?

If you go to Paul’s, take friends and order several different kinds of pancakes. Reviews on Urbanspoon suggested the burgers were also good.
Paul's Pancake Parlor on Urbanspoon