Revel

Reveldumplings

We visited Revel for the first time just four days after it opened in mid-December. We fell in love. We went again last Monday, and fell even harder.

kneading pasta

Brought to us by chefsĀ Rachel and Seif of Joule (two of the nicest people you’ll ever meet), Revel is a more casual, Korean street food sort of place. The main feature of the restaurant is the huge wood bar that serves as a work counter for the staff and a table for the guests. On our first visit we sat at the bar and had the cooks all wandering by giving us the hairy eyeball to see if we liked the food. Which we did. Oh, yes we did.

shrimp & bean salad

There are salads, savory pancakes, and dumplings…

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Brouwer's

Brouwer's Cafe

Do you like beer and fries? How about mussels? Or single malt Scotch? If any of the above catch your eye, Brouwer’s is the place you’ve been dreaming of.

Brouwer's Cafe

Located in an unlikely building that looks like a cross between a castle and a warehouse (and feels that way on the inside, too), Brouwer’s is a Belgian-inspired bar and restaurant in the Center of the Universe (otherwise known as Fremont to you non-Seattleites). We’ve gone many times (as have my parents) and are constantly blown away by the length of the beer list, the quality of the fries, and the astonishing tastiness of the merguez lamb burger.

Brouwer's Cafe

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lunch on 35th Street

35th st burger

We had a few errands to run in the Center of the Universe (otherwise known as Fremont), and took the opportunity to eat lunch at one of our favorite places, the 35th Street Bistro. It has a lot of what I like: great natural light, good wine list, French-themed bistro food that isn’t too locked into the classics, one of the best cheese plates in town, and a darned good hamburger. We’ve been here many times, and I can only remember being disappointed once (I shouldn’t have ordered the yam thread fries).

35 st moules frites

On this visit, we honored our immediate cravings: J got the burger, which isĀ a magnificent, juicy, rich-tasting production, with a glass of barolo, and I indulged in the moules frites with a glass of verdejo. As always, the food was solid, well seasoned, and well prepared. The frites were perhaps not quite as good as the ones at Bistro Zazou, but still excellent, hot and crispy. We passed up even looking at the dessert menu (I knew it would just get me into trouble). This place makes me happy.