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Good Food
Good FoodU District Restaurants--the Melting Pot of Seattle's North End
By Zachary D. Lyons
Dec 06, 2001 -- It is winter in the University District, the biggest, most transient neighborhood in the city. The cold, wet, huddled masses scurry about in the endless rain and early darkness, looking to study in a cozy coffee house, to pick up a used CD, book or article of clothing, or to find some unique item from another part of the world as a gift for a loved one. While the U-District is full of poor students on tight budgets, with the draw of its world-class university, it is also extraordinarily ethnically diverse. And nowhere can this been seen more clearly than its restaurants.For all the gloom and doom felt amidst all the empty storefronts on The Ave, one area of steady improvement I have witnessed is the food. I spent a recent week pigging my way up this celebrated street, from bottom to top. While I cannot pay homage to all of the good eats on The Ave in this short space, I will highlight some of most unique places I found.
AguaVerde: Gregg Meekins and Dana Beard enjoying a terrific meal in colorful Agua Verde Cafe. |
At the bottom of The Ave, on the Ship Canal, resides Agua Verde Cafe. Housed in the old UW Marines Fisheries Building, it sits atop the Agua Verde kayak rental shop. Diners can relax on the deck overlooking the canal (which is enclosed and heated this time of year), and watch working boats, crew shells and pleasure craft glide by will they eat. Co-owner
Bill Stewart is an avid kayaker, who has spent significant amount of time kayaking around Baja California. He fell in love with Baja and Oaxacan food and decided to bring those tastes home with him. Stewart opened Agua Verde in 1997 with Mick Heltley, and ever since there have been lines out the door to eat there.
The food reflects all the warmth and brightness for which Baja is famous. Tacos, tortas, pesole, and more anchor the lunch menu, while more ambitious dishes are added to the dinner menu. Lunch items are below $5, and dinner below $11. The flavors are crisp and fresh, like the El Rey sandwich: Charbroiled flank steak, lettuce, tomato, onion, and chipotle mayo wrapped in a pita-like bread, which carries you off to a warm Baja beach on a cold Seattle afternoon. This is food you will be thinking about days later, wondering when you will be able to get back for more.
Agua Verde Cafe, 1303 NE Boat St, 545-8570, Monday - Saturday, 11 a.m. -
9 p.m., closed from 4 - 5 p.m.
Kanadala Paradiso chef/owner Chung Roh attends to guests Yoko and Lee Jones. |
This unique Japanese restaurant stands out against the endless backdrop of teriyaki shops on The Ave. The husband and wife team of Chung and Miky Roh opened Kanadala Paradiso exactly one year ago in the final Last Exit space. Chung is a Japanese-born Korean who moved to Korea, where he built up a 14-restaurant empire over 13 years.
The dining room is awash in what seems a mixture of European and Asian influences. Decorated by the couple, the bright yellow walls feel French, while Japanese shades reside in the corners, elegant chandeliers hang from the ceiling and a Chinese horseman statue sits on an old table. A pleasant tango gently fills the air, and one melts into the room in spite of its hard concrete floor and brightness.
Charming handmade menus feature spectacular photos of every dish. When your food arrives, it looks exactly like the photos, and it tastes just as good as it looks. The menu is rich with stews, pastas and bento boxes--a wonderful, while genuine, departure from the teriyaki and sushi found everywhere in Seattle. Prices top out at $8.99. The stews are nothing short of Japanese soul food, while the bentos will make any visiting Japanese student or former American English teacher in Japan a bit homesick for Tokyo.
Kanadala Paradiso, 5211 University Way NE, 528-8010, Monday - Saturday,
kitchen open 11:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m., but feel free to hang out until 11
p.m. over tea.
"Chef Bob" prepares Thai Tom's famous foods in the tiny open kitchen. |
Named for its owner, this tiny Thai restaurant been packed for all of its seven years. I had heard this place on several peoples' top five lists all over Seattle, and it deserves the honor. Five tiny tables and a counter surround the open kitchen where one prep cook and one chef crank out some of the best, and least expensive, Thai food in town. Thai Tom is warm and cozy, and a great place for a single diner to wander in for a great meal and great company. On my recent visit, I enjoyed conversations with strangers on my left and right--conversations which largely consisted of raves about the great food.
I tried two dishes (because I care about my readers!): Garlic Pepper Vegetable with Chicken and Phad Thai with Shrimp. Boy, howdy! Wonderful stuff, and wonderful leftovers, as portions are generous. Everything is available meat-free, with fresh or fried tofu. Prices here top out at $6.50, and they only take cash.
Thai Tom, 4543 University Way NE, 548-9548, open Monday - Friday 11:30 a.m. - 9 p.m., Saturday, 4 - 9 p.m. Mid-afternoon has the shortest line.
Irish Emigrant
While the above places will transport you to warm places with their menus, the Irish have the same kind of cold, damp weather we do. Their food is simple and comforting, and will stick with you for awhile on a cold night. This two-year-old Irish pub and grub, located in the old University Sports Bar space, serves up a variety of traditional Irish classics, like the hearty Donegal Shepherd's Pie made with ground lamb, or the freshly baked, piping hot Chicken Pot Pie, or perhaps Bangers & Mash or Beef Stew or the Ballymack Colcannon--a mash of bacon, cabbage and potatoes. The daily soup might be chicken noodle or potato and cheese. And there is plenty of Guinness, Irish whiskey and Bailey's to go 'round, which means you should leave the wee ones at home.
Irish Emigrant, 5260 University Way NE, 525-2955, Monday - Thursday 4
p.m. - 2 a.m., Friday 3 p.m. - 2 a.m., Saturday & Sunday 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
for breakfast, then open until 2 a.m.
(clockwise from left) Sunny Lee, Tae Kyu Cho and Gae Pack Park enthusiastically scarf down heaping piles of wings at the Wing Dome on the Ave. |
This temple of wing-ness opened in the late 1980s, when the King Dome was still part of the Seattle landscape. The menu is built around wings--hot wings of eight different spiciness levels, and a variety of specialty wings for the non-purist--but it also offers a variety of hot sandwiches and appetizers. The hottest wings use habanero peppers, which strays a bit from the traditional cayenne flavor of buffalo wings, but is perfect for macho frat boys who want to prove their manliness. On Mondays, wings are only 35 cents each, and folks pile in to scarf down piles of wings. While every bar in town has wings on its menu (most of which are overpriced and, in my opinion, lousy), this is strictly a wing joint which happens to also sell beer...which means you can bring the kids!
Wing Dome, 4545 University Way NE, 632-1033, 7818 Greenwood Ave N,
706-4036, Tuesday - Thursday & Sunday 11:30 a.m. - 10 p.m., Monday,
Friday & Saturday 11:30 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Reader Comments
Discuss this article in the forums!
| Nathaniel | Dec 12, 2001 | Los Angeles, CA | |
| Thanks for finally mentioning Thai Thom. This restaurant continually gets overlooked on every other newspaper's Top 10 list, but what other place do you know where people start lining up on the sidewalk 30 minutes before it opens. Try the Swimming Rama, it's amazing. | |||
| James C. Ryman | Jun 22, 2004 | Thai Tom | Senior Applications System Eng |
| Thai Tom 4543 University Wy NE Seattle, WA 98105-4510 (206) 548-9548 (Thai Tom) If you don't have the time don't go!!!! It take some time but worth the wait. Great food, great people!!! Will even teach you a few Thai words given time. They will treat you like family given the time. James C. Ryman, (Jimmy) | |||
| J.R.McDowell | Apr 10, 2005 | El Paso, TX | Self Employeed |
| What is that Russian stuffed sandwitch called? I went to a couple places in the U district when I was up there last Aug. None of the sites mention the small shops that carry this sorta food. | |||
