We had spent a few hours walking around the Pike Place Market, then we wandered down the hill to the waterfront. We were hungry, and looking for some place to eat. We considered eating at Ivars, but we had just eaten at one of the smaller Ivars restaurants the night before. We found ourselves at Pier 57, and there were a few places to eat here. The Crab Pot was one of these, and I think the only one to have their menu displayed our front. The menu looked interesting so we decided to try it.
We went in and were seated quickly. The waitress took our drink orders and brought my wife’s ice tea quickly. She came back soon afterward with my diet Pepsi, but warned me it might be flat. I tried it, and it was slightly flat. She said a guy was changing the tank, and brought me another drink shortly.
She came to take our orders. My wife wanted the Shrimp Stuffed Salmon. But I was undecided. I asked the waitress for her recommendation. She said the Seafeast was really good, but a bit much for lunch. The Seafeast is a bunch steamed shellfish of different varieties that are dumped on your table, and you are given small mallets to break them apart to eat them. She suggested either the Salmon BLT, or the Seafood Puttanesca. I said the Salmon BLT sounded weird, but she said it was really good. So I ordered the Salmon BLT. We also ordered a bowl of the clam chowder. She warned my wife that the Shrimp Stuffed Salmon would take 20 minutes to bake. We were okay with that.
Our clam chowder came, and it was very good. We polished it off in no time. Then our main food came out. My Salmon BLT was really good. The portion sizes were pretty good, and I was full before I finished my fries. My wife’s shrimp stuff salmon was excellent also.
I would love to come back here at dinner time and try the Seafeast! I recommend this place if you are in the area.
The Crab Pot is located at 1301 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98101. Phone: (206) 623-8600.
We were wanted to get some dinner and were looking for a restaurant. We weren’t sure what we want, but we did know we wanted to eat something local. We went for a drive to see what was around the local mall. Then we saw it. Ivar’s Seafood Bar! We had forgotten there was one here. The decision was easy, and we pulled.
Ivar’s is a local chain. The main restaurant is located near downtown Seattle on the waterfront. It is a larger fancier restaurant. But around the Seattle area, there are many smaller, fast-food versions of Ivars restaurant.
We parked and went inside. They have expanded the menu, and added some many higher end food choices. We ordered a bowl of clam chowder to share. Ivar’s has excellent clam chowder. I ordered the fish and chips. My wife ordered fried clams and chips. Both were very good.
If you are lookng for some good but inexpensive seafood, you can find Ivars Seafood Bars scattered around the Seattle area.
The Seattle area is known for coffee. Coffee shops are everywhere. But something they aren’t widely known for is teriyaki. There are also teriyaki shops all over the place. And I am not talking the fancy Japanese restaurants. I am talking great fast food type teriyaki.
We had planned to eat at The Rainier Roaster at the Southcenter Mall. But they are doing construction and expanding the mall. And in the process, the food court no longer exists. Hence, Rainier Roaster no longer exists. Bummer! They had awesome roast beef and Caesar salads.
So we were hungry, and looking for someplace to eat. My wife suggested teriyaki. There had been a teriyaki place across the street from the mall. I used to eat there sometimes when I lived up the hill. So we went over and sure enough, the teriyaki place was still there. It is named Teriyaki Time. I have only eaten at this Teriyaki Time, but a google search shows that there are a handful of other places name Teriyaki Time, so it might be a small local chain.
Teriyaki Time is a small place and is tucked away. It is not a tourist place at all and is frequented by locals. You can tell the have a lot of regulars.
We ordered teriyaki chicken, and teriyaki beef. Each came with a small bit of salad, and two big balls of white rice. There was soy sauce, and teriyaki sauce on the table too. The chicken and beef were great examples of the type of teriyaki that you find in many of the teriyaki places. I want to find a place that has teriyaki chicken burgers. Anyway, the salad was simple lettuce with a miracle whip type dressing. The teriyaki was very good. I drizzled some teriyaki sauce over the rice, and it was good too.
Teriyaki Time is located at 80 Andover Park W, Tukwila, WA 98188. Phone: (206) 243-2944
After a long day at the zoo, we were all starving. My brother suggested Ray’s Boathouse which is up near the Ballard Locks. I had heard of it, but never eaten there. I navigated our way there using a map my brother had. My sister-in-law called them to make sure they had room for us. They did. We arrived shortly after. We parked, and went inside. Right next door is Anthony’s Home Port which is also supposed to be very good.
I think technically we ate in Ray’s Café and Bar which is upstairs, while the fine dining Ray’s Boathouse restaurant is downstairs. I am guessing the food is the similar. Looking online, it looks like the menus are slightly different, and the prices downstairs are higher.
First, be aware, that this place isn’t cheap. Prices for entrees run from about $11 to over $20.
The five of us sat, and our waiter came over and took our drink orders. He read us the specials which sounded very good. But he came back a few minutes later and informed us that the specials he gave us were yesterday’s specials. He gave us today’s specials, but the consensus at the table was yesterday’s specials sounded better.
I always want to try nearly everything on the menu. But since I can only have one thing, I have a little trick. I will ask the waiter that if I was to have one thing on the menu that would make me remember the restaurant, what should I have? Well, our waiter suggested the Chatham Strait Sablefish in Sake Kasu (With grilled choy sum, jasmine rice, honey soy and scallion oil). My wife and niece had the Dungeness Crab & Rock Shrimp Cakes (Asparagus and roasted new potatoes, with green goddess dressing). My brother had one of the Salmon specials. And I think my sister-in-law had the Sautéed White Gulf Prawns (Coconut sticky rice cake, arugula and cilantro-ginger-lime sauce). My wife and I shared a bowl of the clam chowder.
The clam chowder was good, but not great. We have had better (most recently at Wally’s Chowder House in Des Moines, WA).
Then our entrees came. The presentation was excellent. The portions were on the smallish side for the price, but not tiny. My Sablefish was excellent. I really liked the Sake Kasu too. I tried some of my wife’s crab cakes, and they were very good. My bro’s salmon was also very good. My brother also sampled around the table, and said that he thought my Sablefish was the best. I ate my wife’s asparagus since she hates asparagus.
Often when eating, I don’t have room left for desert. But we had just enough room this night because of the portion sizes. My wife and I split a Chocolate Cherry Tango … for Two (Dark chocolate brownies with sour cherries and white chocolate chunks, bittersweet chocolate and sour cherry sauces, vanilla bean ice cream). The rest of the people at our table ordered the Sweet Heat! Chocolate Chili Lime Soufflé Cake (Warm and gooey, served with lime sauce and vanilla bean ice cream). The Chocolate Cherry Tango was great. I tried a bit of the Sweet Heat, and it was great also.
Frankly, I don’t think you can go wrong with the food here. It was all great. Well except the clam chowder which was still very good. Just be prepared when they bring you your bill.
Ray’s Boathouse is located at 6049 Seaview Avenue NW, Seattle, WA 98107. Phone: (206) 782.0094.
We came back to Washington State to visit with family. We are staying with my sister-in-law and her family. They wanted to take out to dinner. They first suggested a Chinese place. But I am not real big on Chinese. Then they suggested a fish and chips place. Now we’re talking! Being in the Seattle area, fish and chips is a great idea.
So we went off to their favorite fish and chips seafood place named Wally’s Chowder House. They were raving about the clam chowder. My wife and I both love a good clam chowder. It’s located right in the main business area of Des Moines. The parking lot was pretty full, but there were a few spots available. Inside, they were pretty busy. There was a family waiting to be seated before us. But there were seated, and we were seated pretty quickly. The menu was full of seafood choices. They have an all you can eat thing which in retrospect might have been a great deal. They have both New England clam chowde and Manhatten clam chowder. The chowder comes in cups, bowls and quarts. My wife and I shared a bowl of the New England clam chowder. The chowder is one of the best I have had. It was fantastic.
We both ordered cod fingers and chips. Apparently cod fingers are just cut smaller than the cod filets. The fish and chips themselves were good, nothing special. I don’t like tartar sauce, but I was informed by others in our group that the tartar sauce is not great. I didn’t care for the ketchup that they served.
My nephew had the steamers which was a plate full of steamed clams. He said the were very good, but I didn’t have any, but they looked good.
If you like good clam chowder and are in the area, you should give this place a try.
Wally’s Chowder House is located at 22531 Marine View Dr S Des Moines, WA 98198. Their phone number is (206) 878-8140.