La Isla

Address: 2320 NW Market St.

We're back! It's been about a month since we've ventured out to a new restaurant, but our return to our culinary journey was definitely a hit! As first timers to Puerto Rican cuisine, we didn't know what to expect. To my ignorance, I was expecting something like Mexican food, I was even a little upset we didn't have chips and salsa to snack on before dinner! However, I did do a little research before our visit and learned La Isla is the only Puerto Rican in the state of Washington so I was more than excited to check this place out!

The restaurant itself is quaintly decorated brightly painted walls. It's low lit with candles on each table, nice place for a first date...not too fancy, but a fun romantic setting. If you get there on a sunny day, there's outdoor seating right in front of the restaurant. There's also a bar at the back of the restaurant, I was tempted to try a mojito but decided to save it for next time! The menu is pretty extensive. There's a separate lunch menu that is considerably cheaper than the regular one, less than $10 for a plate. Menu is split up between appetizers, soup and salads, sandwiches and entrees. We both decided to do a full entree each...definitely a good choice. Though, I took a peak at the tables near us that had sandwiches and they looked like decent sizes and they come with sweet potato fries as well. All entrees come with rice & beans, tostones, an avocado wedge and mojito sauce.

I had the Pernil Special $14.99 which is a marinated slow roasted pork shoulder. If you're familiar with Hawaiian cuisine, it reminds me of Kalua pork. The pork shoulder is served shredded and it's very tender and juicy. What surprised me most about this dish is how delicious the sides were. When I saw on the menu the sides were rice and beans, I was expecting your typical Spanish rice and beans. However, the rice served at La Isla is white rice (think of thick, Japanese style rice) with red beans on top. The other side, tostones are sort of a fried potato patty. I googled it earlier today and it's actually deep-fried plantains. J had the Pastelon $14.99 which is a Puerto Rican style lasagna filled with cheese and plantains and your choice of either ground beef or a tofu vegetarian option. J really enjoyed his dish and described it as "sweet and tangy".

This is one of our favorites, probably J's favorite so far. I'm still sticking by my great Indian food experience! If you're in the mood to try something different...definitely check out La Isla.

J&C rate this: 4 1/2 out of 5

For their full menu: http://www.laislaseattle.com/

Gabriel's Fire

Address: 2408 NW 80th St

It's been a while, but we're back! Our last restaurant we visited was Gabriel's Fire, an authentic BBQ joint. We were excited to try a new cuisine...it seems like we've been pretty heavy on Mexican and Asian cuisine...it was due time to try some good ol' fashion American food.

Gabriel's Fire definitely fits your typical BBQ joint...casual, small, cozy and very friendly. The first thing I noticed right off the back was how friendly the staff was. Like a couple other places we've been to on our journey, you need to pay before you eat. Personally, I don't really like this...I like the whole restaurant experience...but J likes this because it's more in and out. The menu is split into five categories...The Sides...Sandwiches...A la Carte...Combos and Sauces. We both ordered A la Carte with sides, I think this is the most economical way to order a satisfying meal here. I would've liked to see more selection in the Combos section, as there's only three.

J ordered the Pork Spare Ribs (by the pound $10.00/2 lb $18.00), Coleslaw ($2.00) and Cornbread (1.00). Remember how I said J can't handle spicy food? This is a perfect example of it. I'll even admit to it...the Traditional Sauce even has a bite to it. So for mild taste buds don't get too adventurous here... He liked the ribs but felt his sides came up short. As a big fan of Coleslaw, J was disappointed, it definitely was missing some taste... a lil too much mayo. The cornbread was flaky and dry, even with butter. I had the Smoked Chicken (1/4 chicken $4.55, 1/2 chicken $8.00, whole chicken $14.50) Growing up eating possibly the best chicken in the country, Ezell's Fried Chicken, I hold my chicken to a pretty high standard and I was disappointed with my chicken. If it wasn't for the Jamaican jerk sauce I had on the side...I would've had a very dry mouth by the end of the meal. My Green salad ($2.00) was good though...but I guess it would've been difficult to mess up a salad! Gabriel's Fire would've ranked a lot lower on my list, but the customer service was so friendly and fast...I wouldn't mind going back and trying some Beef Brisket or Gumbo.

J&C rate this: 3 out of 5

Check out their full menu : http://www.gabrielsfire.com/

Veraci PIzza

Address: 500 NW Market St.

Our first pizza joint on the list! After a long Seafair Saturday, we had built up quite an appetite and were excited to chow down on some pizza. J said there's a ton of pizza places in Ballard, but he'd never been to this one.

The restaurant is very casual. It's seat yourself and you go up to the counter and pay when you order. Slices at Veraci Pizza are HUGE, each slice is about a fourth of a pizza. I had one slice and was stuffed. We started out with the Salati Fresca ($3.50 sm/6.50 lg) and was really impressed with it! I would say it's a split between a regular house salad and chopped salad. The vinaigrette dressing was amazing...I could've just had the salad and been satisfied. It's a by the slice place and once you pick out your slice, they reheat it in their wood-fired oven. J had two slices, the Three Cheese Pizza ($4) and the Amante di Carne (4.75) which is topped with pepperoni, sausage, black olives, red onions and parmeasan. I had the Classic Pepperoni ($4). I was a little disappointed with my pizza, I think they left my slice in a little too long and it was very burnt on the bottom...kinda ruined it. I've had wood-fired Neapolitan style pizza before, and Veraci's didn't impress me as much as other places like Tuttabella's. Maybe it was just the fact that my pizza was burnt, however J wasn't too impressed with his slices either...

There's also some dessert at Veraci's, but we were too stuffed to have some. Next time I'll definitely check out their Gelatos... We both decided this was an average pizza place. Nothing too special, but it definitely filled us up...and we didn't have to wait long at all.

J&C rate this: 3 out of 5

Check out their full menu at : http://www.veracipizza.com/

India Bistro

Address: 2301 NW Market St.

I was so excited for this particular restaurant. I've been wanting to try Indian food for a while. J was a little skeptical about the whole Indian food thing...he thought we'd have to eat on the ground with our hands, guess I was a little nervous about this too! To make this visit even more exciting...me and J had our very own Indian food expert with us that night! My old college roommate who worked at an Indian restaurant in high school joined us for the fun.

At every Indian restaurant...or so my roomie says...they serve papadan while you wait, think of this as chips and salsa at a Mexican place. The papadan is sort of a crispy, thin flat bread that's served with two different dipping sauces. Both have distinct flavors, the red sauce has a tangy mango flavor while the green sauce is minty yet spicy...a combination that sounds somewhat strange, but trust me it is great, especially if you like spicy. We got the Garlic Nan (2.50) for an appetizer at K's suggestion. It was a pita bread with a garlic and oil spread. It was a light appetizer, so it didn't make us too stuffed before our main dishes. For me, the nan could have had more flavor...and maybe a complimentary flavor to the garlic. However...it was great and J enjoyed it.

One thing I noticed off the bat in the menu was the large vegetarian section, since K's a vegetarian...I can see why she loves Indian food. She ordered the Aloo Gobhi (9.95) which kind of looked like vegetable tempura. I actually didn't try her dish, but it smelled great and she enjoyed it. J ordered the Chicken Curry (10.95) on the mild side, he enjoyed the curry and it's also served with basmiti rice. If you haven't tried traditional Indian curry, I would describe it as a stew cooked with tomato sauce, it's probably the most popular dish. I got the Murg Jalfrazies (10.95), which is basically a chicken dish sauteed tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and other vegetables. It's like the Chicken Curry, but with more of a kick...I can't really describe the flavor, but it definitely has more flavor than the curry.

Overall atmosphere is pretty classy...white table cloths, stemmed water glasses. However, the restaurant is fairly small so our table was about 5 inches away from our table, so not much elbow room. Also, don't have real intimate conversations here...we could hear everything the table next to us was saying! Prizes were in the medium range, expect to pay about $10-13 for a main entree. Serving size is pretty generous, I couldn't wait to get home and finish my leftovers! I was really impressed with how much I enjoyed my meal! I cannot wait to try more Indian food...I think I found a new favorite :)

J&C Rate this: 4 3/4 out of 5...Need to go back soon!

Check out their full menu at: http://www.seattleindiabistro.com/ballard.html

O'shan Sushi

Address: 5809 24th Ave NW

As a frequent sushi eater, I was more than excited to eat here! Unfortunately...even with all my persuasive arguments...I still could not get J to even have a bite of my delicious sushi.

We started off with the Pork gyozas ($5.00) which were about average...I actually have made my own gyozas before, and these gyozas needed a little bit more flavor, but I guess that's why they provide you with sesame soy sauce for dipping. I ordered the Spider Roll ($8.00) which was great, but again I've had better. For the non-sushi people out there; Spider Rolls are fried blue crab, avacado, lettuce and tobiko with sweet sauce. I've had different it made different ways, but the tobiko really set off the Spider Rolls. Also, another thing to note for first time sushi go-ers is a roll usually consists of 6 pieces of sushi. The quality of the sushi was a lot better than Blue C Sushi or another conveyor belt sushi joint. J stuck to his guns and ordered the Kalbi Short Ribs ($7.50), which are Korean short ribs marinated in soy sauce, garlic...and a bunch of other ingredients to make it probably my favorite BBQ food....Anywho, J had this at my house, so he decided it was safe enough to have at O'shan! One thing to to note with their "Small Plate" items...it does not come with rice, so you may want to order a side of rice.

Atmosphere was fun and casual....oh yeah...they also serve Budweiser products...much to J's delight. We'd definitely go back and maybe I can convince him to try some sushi...I mean in my opinion, you're missing out on life without raw fish :)

J&C Rate this: 4 1/2 out of 5... Can't wait to go back!

Check out their full menu at: http://www.oshansushi.com/

Monkey Bridge

Address: 1723 NW Market St.

Monkey Bridge was a pleasant surprise! I'm not too big into Vietnamese food...except for their sandwiches. However, after eating at Monkey Bridge...we're definitely ready for more!

We ate there last Friday around 8 and we had no wait at all, which was a definite plus. The restaurant itself is pretty small, but it feeds a huge appetite! Atmosphere is cozy with a modern touch. There's great Vietnamese artwork on the walls and more Asian inspired decoration, without it being over the top or cheesy.

We ordered two appetizers and an entree. The eggrolls were great...think of a lighter version of a Chinese egg roll and the sauce that it comes with it is a great tangy complement. J played it safe and got the Garlic Mini drumsticks (6.90), which he enjoyed. I had the the Blackbean Tofu (9.40) which was served with vegetables, rice and a vegetable soup. The great thing about this place is they offer brown rice with no added cost, which is pretty rare. The dish itself was very tasty and the tofu was cooked just right where it's not too soft and not overcooked to the point where it's rubbery. The soup was a vegetable soup with I *believe* was dried shrimp in it, I would've preferred it if I had a choice on the soup...but again, it was decent. Also, another plus is they DO serve Budweiser...in CHILLED glasses no less!

We went home with some leftovers and a full stomach...all in all great restaurant and we'll definitely come back!

J&C rate this: 4 1/2 out of 5

Check out their full menu at: http://www.themonkeybridge.com/about/

Senor Moose

Address: 5242 NW Leary Ave.

This was probably my favorite restaurant so far! It's the kind of authentic Mexican food that doesn't leave you feeling too full. Atmosphere is cozy and service is good.

If you go, you need to try the chips and salsa platter with the guacomole. Best guac. I've had in a while! I had the Tacos de Carnitas ($10.95) and J had the Tostadas Machaca ($9.95). Both were delish. Only drawback is it's kinda pricey for Mexican food...but you pay for the authenticity!

J&C rate this a: 4 out of 5

Check out their full menu at: http://senormoose.com/