Rainier Teriyaki

I was thrilled when I saw that a teriyaki joint was going in to the newly remodeled Emerald City market building across from the old (gone now) Chubby and Tubby on Rainier Ave, and that they had tofu dishes on the menu.

Not just yakisoba and stirfrys (which they do have) but also a good old tofu teriyaki bowl in the nature of chicken or beef.

I ordered a bowl (I think it was about $5.00... plus an additional $0.50 for "spicy") and it was almost everything I had hoped: a bowl of sticky rice layered in char grilled vegis (carrots, broccoli, cabbage), then a pile of lightly fried tofu covered in a not-too-sweet sauce.
It was fresh and hot and the quantity was incredibly filling. My dining mate ate the teriyaki chicken breast and it was a beautiful thing... a big neatly stacked pile of thin white meat slices with real grill marks and sauce drizzled on top. His came with a salad and rice.

They specialize in really charbroiling the meats (and the vegis), which makes everything especially tasty.

I have since returned and made a special request that caused the cooks to laugh but that they were able to oblige: Mongolian Beef but with tofu instead. It was pretty good, but heavy on sauce and light on any kind of vegetables. The quantity was huge, and after filling up at the restaurant I brought my leftovers home and made a second huge meal by sautéing the rest of the saucy tofu with broccoli.

The inside of the restaurant is really pleasant... clean, new, fancy colored paint job and photography on the walls, nice touches like faux marble table tops instead of simple plastic, etc.

Everybody who works there seems incredibly nice, and the over all experience is a positive one for me.

My two complaints are:

1. They deep fry the tofu instead of grilling it, which is a bummer for me because I don't like the extra grease and the grill makes everything more delicious. I think that next time I go in, I will see if they could grill it instead. They seem friendly and able to adapt to requests.

2. They use a watered down mayonnaise style salad dressing on the salad that accompanies the teriyaki, as opposed to a more rice vinegary dressing. This is just a matter of my personal preference.

Over all, I think this place is great, and I am really excited to have them in the neighborhood and want to support them and help them stay in business. Worth giving them a try... you will definitely get a good value for your money, and the elusive tofu teriyaki is in existence here!

(Please see update to review here!)

Teriyaki Bowl

I know that as a vegetarian, I am lucky to be able to walk into just about any Teriyaki restaurant in Seattle and be able to procure some sort of Tofu dish (not so in much of the USA, as I've recently learned), yet still, most of the time the dish is not exactly Teriyaki. There is plenty of yakisba and various stirfrys, but sometimes I can't help but envy the charred meat and rice dinners of my friends.

This is where Teriyaki Bowl really shines... they do a tofu equivalent of their Teriyaki chicken breast... two generous piles of plump sticky rice adorned in carefully layered out slabs of grilled fresh tofu drizzled in not-too-sweet teriyaki sauce. I have had mixed results in the grilling, sometimes the tofu is just barely golden, other times it has the same sort of intensity of appetizing grill marks that grace it's meat counterpart. Either way, it is always hot and soft and so delightfully not-fried.

A small ice-burg salad accompanies the meal and it is refreshingly dressed in a soy sauce/rice vinegar type dressing (vs. the watered down mayonnaise type).

If you dine in (the restaurant is small and mostly filled with people sitting down waiting for their to-go orders, from my experience), you have the option of shaking some very delicious looking mixed red pepper onto your meal (a jar at every table). I use it every time I'm there, and while it doesn't seem to effect the heat or flavor of anything, it sure looks good on that plate of white rice and tofu.

I really like this place for those unusual but intense times when I'm craving the simple Teriyaki special: rice and "meat" and a little ice burg salad.

Thai Carrot

I've had many a less-than excellent dining experience driving through Aberdeen on the way home from surf trips to Westport tired and hungry, and was thrilled to find this little Thai gem on the edge of town.

So far every dish I've tried has been delicious and my dining companions have had similar experiences. They are totally accommodating to vegetarians (vegans too), and just about every dish can be made without animal products. I had a hard time getting a strait answer about whether there was shrimp paste in the curries (the waitress wasn't sure), but I tasted a curry a friend ordered and it was really good and didn't have any hint of fishiness.

I've tried the Phad Kee Mao (spicy, red, full of charred tomatoes, a little on the oily side), the Garlic Pepper (good sauce flavored of black pepper and fried garlic over a good mix of vegetables including fresh spinach and cabbage), the Phad Prik King (possibly spelled wrong... bell peppers and green beans in a spicy garlicky sechaun style sauce), and had a taste of the green curry (rich in coconut milk, garlic, spices, yum.) All were really satisfying.

This place has definitely become my "after westport" main stay, and I'd recommend it to anybody hungry who is passing through Aberdeen.

Also of note: their Thai iced tea (sweet, creamy, slightly spicy) comes with free refills... a nice little caffeine boost to help finish the drive back to Seattle.

Paseo

The meat is clearly the specialty here, but this smart little restaurant has done something fantastic for the vegetarians: they've created a tofu version of their messy, saucy, delicious sandwich that doesn't hold back on all of the other elements... plenty of grilled peppers, onions, cilantro, spices and greasy (in a delicious way) sauce and slices of tasty tofu on a fresh warm baguette type bread.

It is probably my favorite tofu sandwich in the city, but one that I eat somewhat rarely because it drips so freely in flavorful fats that I tend to leave Paseo 95% satisfied, 5% preoccupied with finding myself some spinach.

The restaurant is small, and popular which lends to long waiting times and difficulty snagging one of the greasy plastic tables. It's not really the sort of place that you'd go to with the intent of spending the evening at your table and lingering over a slow dinner because it is so small and chaotic feeling inside.

But the food is delicious, and supplies exactly the sort of vegetarian indulgence that I dream of stumbling upon in a restaurant known for it's amazing meat.

UPDATE 2/10/08

Went to Paseo the other evening within an hour of closing time, and found that they were sold out of sandwiches (as their hand lettered sign applogized, "yes, really.") So instead I ended up with a rather delicious dinner out of two remarkable sides:

1. The House Salad. I love this salad... it begins with a base of fresh green romain lettuce, then is genorously piled with thin, crisp shreds of purple cabbage, marinated beets sticks, cilantro and a tangy lime vinegrette.

2. Tofu with Rojo Sauce. I was really surprised at what I recieved here... given the price (under $4), and the designation as a "side", I was expecting a small pile of something, but instead received a full dinner sized plate with a nice mound of basmati rice (it always tastes really good here... butter?) with a great pile of their delicious tofu strips in a rich and spicy red sauce. I was having a hard time figureing out the flavours in the sauce... I think I could pick out a red pepper/tomato base/onion base, but the details of the rest were elusive. It sure was good though.

El Sombrero

My favorite detail about El Sombrero is the salsa, which tastes fresh and homemade and keeps coming with hot chips as long as you'd like.

My experience with the rest of the food (vegetarian options only) has been somewhat hit or miss... the vegetarian burrito is pretty good, and I've ordered it smothered in their unusual and good creamy chipotle sauce (usually reserved for a chicken dish), but the avocado tostada was a disappointing mound of iceberg lettuce and avocado slices. I don't know what I was expecting... maybe that's what a tostada is. Also slightly disappointing is the fact that they have homemade tamales, but none that are meatless.

I've heard decent review of the meat dishes, but have to say that the vegetarian options are a little bit lackluster compared to the options at other places around town.

The staff is pleasant and consistent, and seems to be headed by a matronly woman who always looks beautiful and in charge.

There is also a full bar that makes blended drinks, which is a nice addition, and they don't use any lard in their re-fried beans.

Edit: El Sombrero has awesome vegetarian spinach enchiladas.

Blue C Sushi

First I should say: I don't eat fish.

But I really like sushi, and am always on the hunt for a good vegetarian roll. I really enjoy eating at Blue C because they have many vegi options:

1. Tofu roll: has all of the regular stuff you may expect from a vegi roll... tofu, avacado, cucumber, sprouts, etc. I think it compares well to the fancier vegi-rolls of the more expensive sushi joints.

2. Tempura Vegi roll: I haven't found this any place else, and it is super good... fresh hot greenbeans lightly fried in a tempura batter and then rolled. The contrasting textures are really pleaseing.

3. Avacado and Cucumber rolls: old standbys that are cheap... I think that an avacado roll (6 pieces) is around $1.50.

4. Lots of non-sushi items... sesamie noodles, cucumber salad, potatoes katsu, spinich gomai (I'm not sure how to spell that... it is a ball of steamed spinich in a sesami soy sauce), soft tofu in a chili sauce, etc

Like just about everybody who eats there, I was curious about the "how long does it go around the belt?" factor, and asked one of the waitresses. I learned that there are bar codes on the back of each dish on the belt, and that each dish is scanned each time it passes around the belt and plates not taken in a certain amount of time (I don't remember how much time exactly, but it was a surpriseingly short time) the dish is removed.

Baguette Box

I enjoyed a really tasty variation on the typical vegetarian tofu vietnamese sandwich at the baguette box, the Braised Tofu sandwich. Like most tofu vietnamese sandwiches, it consisted of chunks of fried tofu, carrots, pickeled (?) radish, cilantro, onions, etc, but the high quality bread and the exceptionally delicious tofu made this sandwich stick out.

I also had the beet salad, and it was super good... thin tender slices of beets swimming in garlicy olive oil.

Downsides: a little bit expensive, and parking can indeed be difficult if you plan on arriving via car.