The Masonry

20170930:
I was taking a picture of my beer, and the next thing I knew my pizza had already arrived in front of me. It smelled amazing.

Sausage Wood Fired Pizza

I took some sips of my beer first and then dug right in.

I first noted that the overall flavor and the taste of the cheese were amazing.

Online Menu Description:
Wood Fired Pizza > Classics > Sausage house italian sausage, fontina, shallot, tomato sauce, garlic 14.5, Happy Hour: 12

I practically ate all of it!

The crust was burnt in a couple of area, but within the limits of what I enjoy.

The sausage was good, but the pizza's flavor was not in the sausage. Instead, it was a combination of the herbs, garlic, and the cheese. In particular, I savored the oil on the pizza which probably came from the cheese. 4:00PM PT

I later ordered the meatballs. These meatballs, as indicated on the menu, were spicy. They were also delicious. 5:05PM PT

Menu Description:
Meatballs so tender, a little spicy 9

[20171029 Edit]

---

The Masonry

A large rotating selection of craft beers available on tap.

Relevant Links:
The Masonry Website
The Masonry - Seattle, WA (Yelp.com)

Wicked Good Grinders

20170929:
After drinking a flight of beers, I took a break and ordered a (whole) chicken parm from the only nearby source of food, a food truck named Wicked Good Grinders.

After digging into the sub, I realized by how it tasted that it had more than just mozzarella. It had ricotta, and the ricotta made the sub taste absolutely delicious.

Chicken Parm

As I ate it, I was reminded of the many chicken parms I ordered late at night from University Market (also known as Uni-Mini) back in graduate school. Of course, I perceived this chicken parm as being made to a higher quality than the chicken parms I had from University Market.

Overall, the chicken was juicy and only lightly breaded. 8:54PM PT

Online Menu Description:
Chicken Parm All natural chicken, lightly breaded and fried, ricotta-gorgonzola spread, marinara, and melted mozzarella on a toasted grinder roll Half - $8.00, Whole - $14.25

After eating half of the chicken parm, I wrapped it back up and ordered a flight of ciders. I later finished the second half after finishing the flight of ciders.

[20171029 Edit]

---

Wicked Good Grinders

Partial Menu on the Side of the Food Truck

Relevant Links:
Wicked Good Grinders Website
Wicked Good Grinders - Seattle, WA (Yelp.com)

Skylark Cafe & Club

20170929:
The Smoked Pork Belly Sandwich was delicious. It was sweet. Of course, it's hard to go wrong with a pork belly sandwich.

The cole slaw in it was also good. It tasted like it had a little fish sauce.

Smoked Pork Belly Sandwich

The flavor of the cole slaw complemented the BBQ sauce of the pork. 1:18PM PT

[20171029 Edit]

---

Skylark Cafe & Club

Relevant Links:
Skylark Cafe Website
Skylark Cafe & Club - Seattle, WA (Yelp.com)

Sport Restaurant & Bar

20170928:
The burger was delicious. The bacon was coated in a deliciously sweet sauce - perhaps some sort of BBQ sauce. It's hard to mess up such a burger. 1:45PM PT

UBER Bacon Burger

Menu Description:
UBER Bacon Burger (For those who like bacon...and who doesn't?!) 65/35 beef-bacon burger, Canadian bacon, crisp smoky bacon, pepper-jack cheese, BBQ mayo, crispy fried onions, shredded iceberg, and fresh tomato. 16.50

Internal view of the UBER Bacon Burger. Oh no, the top bun was squished in the process of cutting it in half.

[20171029 Edit]

---

Sport Restaurant & Bar

Ada's ordered this dish.

Relevant Links:
Sport Restaurant & Bar Website
Sport Restaurant & Bar - Seattle, WA (Yelp.com)

U:Don

20170927:
Ada and I shared the Kano Nanban, an udon menu item with duck meat. I was already full from Chan Seattle, but the broth had a nice flavor and the duck meat was soft. Overall, the soup tasted deliciously rich.

Udon with Duck Meat

[20171029 Edit]

---

When I came to this place, I found the smiley face in the name odd. Furthermore, it made me wonder how one went about reading the restaurant name. Was it just "udon" (oo-don)? Or perhaps it was either "you smile on" or "you smiley face on." Or, maybe the colon acts like a colon and it's pronounced "you-don."

Going to their website, I was surprised to find (if I interpret their mission page correctly) that their brand is pronounced as "You-Don." I'm not sure how I feel about reinforcing American mispronunciations of foreign words, but it fit into their mission: "At U:Don Fresh Japanese Noodle Station (pronounced “You-Don”), we want you, our valued guest, to experience..."

Udon with Duck Meat

[20171029]

---

U:Don

Relevant Links:
U:Don Website
U:Don - Seattle, WA (Yelp.com)

Chan Seattle

Bulgogi Beef Sliders

20170927:
The first to come out was the bulgogi beef slider. Then came the seafood pancake and the pork slider. The pork slider was tastier than beef slider, and the beef slider tasted great.

Online Menu Description:
Bulgogi Beef Sliders cucumber kimchi, chili mayo, scallions, brioche bun 10
Spicy Pork Sliders pickled daikon, mayo, scallions, brioche bun 10

Seafood Scallion Pancake

The seafood pancake had jalapeño which contributed a mild spiciness. I particularly enjoyed the squid's role in the dish: both in taste and texture. I would recommend eating the pancake together with the sauce it comes with, but just try a little bit because the sauce we got was especially salty.

Online Menu Description:
Seafood Scallion Pancake shrimp, calamari, scallion, jalapeno, onion 13

Soup

The soup we ordered was not bad. It was a little spicy. The tofu tasted good, but I later had an upset stomach and the tofu might have contributed to it.

Finally, the bibimbap arrived to the table late - so late that we had considered cancelling it. As such, we weren't particularly motivated to eat it, but we did. On a related note, I was planning to tip less on account of their error, but somehow I accidentally tipped twenty percent instead of ten percent anyways. Whoops. 6:30PM PT

Bibimbap

Online Menu Description:
Skillet Bibimbamp vegetables, bulgogi beef, fried egg, bed of short grain rice 14

[20171029 Edit]

---

Chan Seattle

Spicy Pork Sliders

Relevant Links:
Chan Website
Chan Seattle - Seattle, WA (Yelp.com)

Pedro's Restaurant & Cantina

20170921:
Today Ada and I ate were in the area and decided to eat here at Pedro's.

Fajitas

We started with the chicken tortilla soup which was broth-based and tasted like chicken noodle soup, but with rice instead of noodles.

As for the main course, I ordered fajitas and the food was solid, but overpriced.

Online Menu Description:
Pedro's Sizzling Fajitas Tender chicken slices, bell pepper medley and onions tossed in our special fajita sauce served with guacamole, crema, cheddar cheese, and fresh pico de gallo. Choice of flour or corn tortillas. $19, Grilled Steak (skirt) +1, Shrimp +3

Chicken Tortilla Soup

[20171029 Edit]

---

Pedro's Restaurant & Cantina

Relevant Links:
Pedro's Restaurant & Cantina Website
Pedro's Restaurant & Cantina - Santa Clara, CA (Yelp.com)

Pakwan Restaurant

20170917:
Ada and I ordered the lamb saag and boneless chicken boti.

Lamb Saag

The lamb was spicy and delicious. As with most places where I've had lamb saag, I almost always enjoy the dish until I accidentally bite into a chunk of herbs or a piece of chili pepper; I wish there were a way to filter such spices out of a dish.

The chicken was flavorful.

Chicken

The garlic naan was also good.

I was full by the end of the meal.

In any case, because the chicken was a little burnt, I enjoyed the lamb saag more. I should, however, switch to eating tikka misala instead of saag. 10:36PM PT

Garlic Naan

[20171029 Edit]

---

Pakwan Restaurant

Relevant Links:
Pakwan Restaurant - San Francisco, CA (Yelp.com)

Kimchee Tofu House

20170915:
I've eaten here before, and today I came here with my fiancee Ada. It's located in the Pacific East Mall, Richmond, CA.

Bento Box with Spicy Chicken and Ribs

I ordered the BBQ chicken dish, and when it came out, it was cold on top, but warm on the bottom where the meat touched the hot plate. It tasted okay.

Ada ordered spicy chicken and ribs, and they were also just decent.

BBQ Chicken

Fortunately, all the banchan (Korean side dishes) tasted good. 20170916 11:15AM PT

[20171029 Edit]

---

Kimchee Tofu House

Banchan

Relevant Links:
Kimchee Tofu House - Richmond, CA (Yelp.com)

NoVY

20170910:
Ada and I ate at NoVY today for the first time. Ada ordered the Grilled Chicken Wrap and I ordered the Panos Burger (medium rare) and a Calicraft The City IPA.

Panos Burger

Menu Description:
Panos Burger ground lamb, Kalamata olive tapenade, feta, tzatziki, cucumber, tomato, onion 16

The bun tasted okay. Nowadays, having avoided most carbs, it takes a bun that's toasted just right to impress me. On a different note, the meat might have been cooked medium-well. I eventually ate the rest of the burger without the bun. The cheese had a good flavor.

Grilled Chicken Wrap

Menu Description:
Grilled Chicken Wrap lettuce, tomato, pickled red onion, tzatziki, salsa verde, wrapped in grilled pita 16

I had a taste of Ada's chicken wrap and I liked the flavor. By the time I finished my burger, I concluded that I would have preferred eaten Ada's grilled chicken wrap. 1:45PM PT

Panos Burger - cross section

On a final note, I had some of the fries and they were satisfactory. Personally, I tend to like thin fries more than thick fries. 1:48PM PT

[20170913 Edit]

---

NoVY

Relevant Links:
NoVY Website
NoVY - San Francisco, CA (Yelp.com)

Steak 'n Shake

20170310:
Steak 'n Shake opened near us not too long ago and this was the first time Ada and I decided to come and try it. We got the chili mac supreme, a Cajun slider, and a spicy chicken sandwich.

Chili Mac Supreme - breaks through the paper container.

Online Menu Description:
Chili Mac Supreme Our original Chili Mac, plus diced, fresh onions and shredded Cheddar 'N jack cheese. $4.99

The chili mac supreme came in last for two reasons. The first was that it broke through the bottom of its paper container! Why are they using a paper container!?! It was a hilarious mess which was easy enough to fix by transferring to a plate. The second was that it tasted okay. I was hoping for something special.

Spicy Chicken Sandwich

Online Menu Description:
Spicy Chicken Sandwich Our crispy breaded chicken breast features a zesty blend of peppers and spices. Served with crisp lettuce, vine-ripened tomato and your choice of bleu cheese dressing or mayo. Served with fries. $4.49

The chicken sandwich was the second best.

Steakburger Shooter 'N Cheese - Cajun

Online Menu Description:
Steakburger Shooter(R)* 'N Cheese Mini Steakburgers, made with 100% beef. Choose from 7** different Steakburger Shooter Meals! $0.99

Finally the Cajun slider tasted the best.***

*Apparently they call their sliders "shooters." I don't know if this was always the case or perhaps a change between now (20180103) and then (20170310).
**Note, as of 20180103, the 7 different flavors listed on their website are BBQ, Chipotle, Garlic, Cheese 'n Ketchup, Cheese, Frisco, and Ketchup 'n Mustard. No Cajun. However, after some searching, found a doordash menu that listed Cajun and Ketchup 'N Onion, while leaving out Cheese 'N Ketchup and Cheese.
***It seems, as of 20180103, they no longer carry Cajun sliders.

[20180103 Edit]

---

20170712:
I took one bite with the bun. The bun was crisp.

Single Bacon Cheese Steakburger (20170714)

I took the bottom bun off and took two bites. The burger is delicious.

Menu Description:
Single Bacon Cheese Steakburger 'N Fries One hot-off-the-grill Steakburger(TM) with American cheese and ultra premium hardwood-smoked bacon on a toasted bun. Served with fries. $6.99

Finally, I removed the top bun and finished the burger. Reiterating, the burger was delicious.

[20170712 Event Date, Daly City][20171228 Edit]

---

20170908:
The Jalapeño Crunch Steakburger was good; especially considering I got distracted and ate it when it had already gotten cold. 1:42AM CT

Jalapeno Crunch Steakburger

Online Menu Description:
Jalapeno Crunch Steakburger 'N Fries A Double Steakburger(TM) seasoned on our fiery hot grill with pepper jack cheese, chipotle mayo, fresh salsa and jalapeños, all topped with French's(R) French Fried Onions. $7.99

[20170916 Edit]

---

Steak 'n Shake

Relevant Links:
Steak 'n Shake Website
Steak 'n Shake - Arlington, TX (Yelp.com)

Bishop Cidercade

20170906:
My coworkers and I came here for the first time. Cider and arcade games! What a great combination.

Killer Queen

The way it works is you play an entrance fee for unlimited access to the arcade games and if you're old enough to drink then you can buy drinks at the bar. There are cupholders just about everywhere, so you won't have to worry about spilling.

To drink I had a cup of Argus Cidery Ginger Perry.

Of course, one of the main reasons we came here was for Killer Queen.*

*This was my second time playing Killer Queen. My first time playing the game was in Brewcade, San Francisco, California.

The Cider Taplist on 20170906.

[20190121]

---

20180822:
My coworkers and I came here today and spent most of the time playing Killer Queen.* Since I enjoy variety, I departed from the group (and the strangers which had joined) after numerous rounds and was able to play a handful of games elsewhere.

To drink, I first had a mix of Bishop Very Cherry and Bishop Checkmate.

I later got a second drink, Bishop Guava Cider.

X-Men

*This would be my third time playing Killer Queen.

[20190121 Edit]

---

Bishop Cidercade

Relevant Links:
Bishop Cidercade Website
Bishop Cidercade - Dallas, TX (Yelp.com)