Restaurant Reviews

3 Squares

Breakfast in Ballard

When you walk into Vera's, you immediately feel at home. Located just off Northwest Market Street at 5417 22nd Ave. NW, Vera's is a cozy neighborhood breakfast and lunch joint with comfy booths and lots of elbow room. Its walls are adorned with dozens of historic pictures of Ballard. And true to their motto, Vera's offers "home cooking, friendly service, and moderate prices." For breakfast, Vera's menu features a standard selection of eggs and omelettes, fruit and oatmeal, and various grilled bread products. It was the grilled bread products that drew our attention.

The daily special featured strawberry topped waffles and blueberry pancakes, but we went for two menu standards: French Toast and Plain Waffles. It seems not many places make regular waffles around here, instead favoring Belgian waffles. We were quite pleased to receive small-holed, thin waffles like Uncle Irving used to make. They were light and fluffy and ready to slather with butter and syrup. Yum! The French Toast was much like mom used to make, and indeed few places offer French Toast on their menus. We were convinced about the "home cooking" claim. Of course, we got these dishes with the accompanying eggs and such, and we were pleased to see that "over easy" comes as it ought to be—runny yolk, firm white.

Vera’s is open for breakfast and lunch, Monday – Saturday, 7 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.; Sunday 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Phone 782-9966.

Lunch in the University District

The Ave (University Way Northeast) offers an ethnically diverse a selection of dining establishments. They are largely geared to the cash-flow conscious population of the University of Washington, so affordability is key to success. As a result, many restaurants on the Ave offer lunchtime buffets, where, for a set price, one can graze to one’s content. This makes for an affordable and quick meal, and whatever the restaurant, you always get a variety of dishes to try.

Neelam's Authentic Indian Cuisine at 4735 University Way NE is a short stroll from the University Heights Community Center, where I and my colleagues often find ourselves. Usually we get only a short lunch break, and Neelam's is where we go. Tandoori Chicken always seems to grace the buffet, which is a good thing, and there is usually one other meat dish. The rest of the buffet is generally vegetarian and the dishes vary from day to day. Since we tend to try a little of everything, our spotless plates at meal's end stand in testimony to our tummy's satisfaction with all the side dish options. Neelam's is open for dinner, too, with an attractive variety of menu options.

Neelam’s is open for lunch daily, 11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Dinner is served Monday – Thursday 5 p.m. – 10 p.m., Friday – Sunday 3 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. Phone 523-5275.

Dinner in Lower Queen Anne

Bamboo Garden Vegetarian Cuisine, at 364 Roy St., is recognized by vegetarians throughout Seattle as one of the city's great vegetarian restaurants. But if you normally like eating meat, do not pass this place by on principle. You will be making a mistake!

Bamboo Garden's menu is based on an ancient Chinese vegetarian tradition dating back thousands of years. While the menu features various dishes with "chicken," "pork," "beef" and "fish," these dishes are really made with texturized vegetable protein (TVP) molded and seasoned to mimic the meats’ texture, appearance and flavor. Bamboo Garden succeeds at this task magnificently. In fact, the "chicken" in the Chicken with Fresh Enoki and Shitake Mushrooms is so convincing, the most dogmatic naysayer will be impressed. Not every menu item features TVP acting like meat. There are dozens of soups, vegetable dishes, noodle dishes, bean curd dishes, hot pots and sizzling plates which are sure to delight. We tried the Vegetable Treasure in Pearly Pond (vegetables baked in a coconut sauce) at our server's suggestion, and it was delicious. The soup of the day, a chowder of potato, "chicken," and corn, was wonderful comfort food.

Bamboo Garden is one block from Seattle Center, making it very convenient to Center events, but also very busy as well, so plan ahead. It is also worth the drive from any part of town, and they offer limited free parking while dining—a big plus in a neighborhood notorious for difficult parking.

Bamboo Garden is open for lunch and dinner daily from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.; takeout available. Call 282-6616 for reservations (recommended).

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