"This is not the Cedar's on Brooklyn, but the Cedar's on the Ave and 43rd. I reccomend sticking with the Cedar's on Brooklyn." - Mike McEvoy
The other Cedar's is Indian food. This Cedar's is Mediterranean food. Inside it is really tiny with only 4 tables crammed in the middle. It gave you no room to hold a meaningful conversation. Mike ordered the gryo plate for his meal. The menu said that it came with pita bread. Mike was excited at this prospect of loads of bread, but much to his dismay, he was delivered tiny triangles of "pita". Basically what you would get to eat a teaspoon of hummus. Also, a majority of his plate was covered in some foreign dish called "salad". This pissed off Mike.
Bottom Line: Mike just wanted more from Cedar's. It's didn't live up to the name Cedar's, but it is definitely better than Samir's.
Value: 3
Taste: 6
Intangibles: 5.5
Total Score: 14.5 out of 30
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Thanh Vi [14]
"What's that thing called...a pananni?" - Mike McEvoy
"I think it's called a panini." - Jordan Collier
On the outside of the restaurant, located at the Ave and south of 43rd, is a sign that says "Best Sandwiches On The Ave". Let's just say Mike is not the biggest fan of false advertising. It was bread filled with meat and shredded carrots. It is a good healthy snack. The sandwich itself was a good deal at $3.50, but it isn't a meal. It's the quinticential definition of an afternoon snack. They also had Pho there. Before this place Mike was convinced that there was no difference between the various pho places, but this place proved him wrong. Thanh Vi's pho tastes noticeably worse than the other 3 pho places. The main reason for this horrible pho is that their meat was groddie. It was basically soggy meatballs in luke-warm water. Yummy?
Bottom Line: meat + carrot strips = not the best sandwich on the Ave. Liars.
Value: 6
Taste: 3
Intangibles: 5
Total Score: 14 out of 30
"I think it's called a panini." - Jordan Collier
On the outside of the restaurant, located at the Ave and south of 43rd, is a sign that says "Best Sandwiches On The Ave". Let's just say Mike is not the biggest fan of false advertising. It was bread filled with meat and shredded carrots. It is a good healthy snack. The sandwich itself was a good deal at $3.50, but it isn't a meal. It's the quinticential definition of an afternoon snack. They also had Pho there. Before this place Mike was convinced that there was no difference between the various pho places, but this place proved him wrong. Thanh Vi's pho tastes noticeably worse than the other 3 pho places. The main reason for this horrible pho is that their meat was groddie. It was basically soggy meatballs in luke-warm water. Yummy?
Bottom Line: meat + carrot strips = not the best sandwich on the Ave. Liars.
Value: 6
Taste: 3
Intangibles: 5
Total Score: 14 out of 30
Friday, March 13, 2009
Subway [13.5]
"Ahh...Subway. The perfect Ave restaurant. The only good Subway in America is here on the Ave." - Mike McEvoy
Mike doesn't have much to say other than everyone's been there and it's a franchise restaurant. It is nice, however, that all of their sandwiches are $5. Mike ate a $5 dollar meatball sub. Yummy. Welp...that's about it.
Bottom Line: Subway might not be the perfect Ave restaurant, but it certainly beats Jack's Tapas Café.
Value: 7 (5. 5 dollar. 5 dollar foot longs.)
Taste: 6
Intangibles: 0.5 (Too franchisey)
Total Score: 13.5 out of 30
ps Subway no longer takes the "buy ten get one free cards" so don't even try
Mike doesn't have much to say other than everyone's been there and it's a franchise restaurant. It is nice, however, that all of their sandwiches are $5. Mike ate a $5 dollar meatball sub. Yummy. Welp...that's about it.
Bottom Line: Subway might not be the perfect Ave restaurant, but it certainly beats Jack's Tapas Café.
Value: 7 (5. 5 dollar. 5 dollar foot longs.)
Taste: 6
Intangibles: 0.5 (Too franchisey)
Total Score: 13.5 out of 30
ps Subway no longer takes the "buy ten get one free cards" so don't even try
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Jack's Tapas Cafe [9.5]
"I don't know who Jack is, I don't know what "tapas" means, and I don't think it's even a cafe." - Mike McEvoy
Jack's is at 52nd and the Ave. Mike had high hopes. They had a newspaper clipping from The Seattle Times saying that they got a good review. Sounds good enough, right? No.
Mike ordered the General Tsao's chicken. Unfortunately when Mike recieved his meal he was not aware that he had ordered from the menu for ants. Basically, what makes this General Tsao's different from other General Tsao's is that this one could barely feed a newborn koala. The second he saw his meal, Mike immediately started thinking about what else he would have to order to suppliment his meal. Mike is going to go on the record and say, "This is by far one of the worst value I have seen on the Ave." Anyways, he ended up getting a side of white rice. (Sidenote: Something about Jack's made mike cough every time he took a bite. Who knows what it is, but watch out.)
Bottom Line: This will explain Jacks: When Mike and his party sat down, the vacated table next to them was covered with beef chunks and dirty napkins that didn't get cleaned up the entire time they were eating there.
Value: 1.5
Taste: 4
Intangibles: 4
Total Score: 9.5 out of 30
Jack's is at 52nd and the Ave. Mike had high hopes. They had a newspaper clipping from The Seattle Times saying that they got a good review. Sounds good enough, right? No.
Mike ordered the General Tsao's chicken. Unfortunately when Mike recieved his meal he was not aware that he had ordered from the menu for ants. Basically, what makes this General Tsao's different from other General Tsao's is that this one could barely feed a newborn koala. The second he saw his meal, Mike immediately started thinking about what else he would have to order to suppliment his meal. Mike is going to go on the record and say, "This is by far one of the worst value I have seen on the Ave." Anyways, he ended up getting a side of white rice. (Sidenote: Something about Jack's made mike cough every time he took a bite. Who knows what it is, but watch out.)
Bottom Line: This will explain Jacks: When Mike and his party sat down, the vacated table next to them was covered with beef chunks and dirty napkins that didn't get cleaned up the entire time they were eating there.
Value: 1.5
Taste: 4
Intangibles: 4
Total Score: 9.5 out of 30
Samir's Mediterranean Grill [13]
"What a crappy week. First Thanh Vi, then Jack's Dumb Cafe, and now Samir's. Uhh...someone bring me a Chipotle burrito before I throw up." - Mike McEvoy
This place basically has gyros, a big Greek salad, or fallafals. The gyros sound like a good deal..and then you taste it. Here's the thing. Samir is a solid dude. He was jolly and giving out mints to eveyone and Mike really wanted to like this place. BUT his pita tasted sooooo gross. It was lacking in meat and it was embellished in a sauce called 'tahini sauce'. As is turns out, tahini is Mediterranean for "tastes like the inside of a camel". The sauce totally demolished the taste of the food with it on it, and all of the food within 10 yards of it. It literally made Mike not want to eat! His eating partner Jordan Collier actually threw up a little in his mouth! Consider yourself warned.
Bottom Line: Feel free to go to Samir's but make sure you bring your own sack lunch.
Value: 4
Taste: 1.5
Intangibles: 7.5
Total Score: 13* out of 30
ps If Samir's actually is good then post a comment telling Mike the dish he needs to get that doesn't taste like a pachyderm.
This place basically has gyros, a big Greek salad, or fallafals. The gyros sound like a good deal..and then you taste it. Here's the thing. Samir is a solid dude. He was jolly and giving out mints to eveyone and Mike really wanted to like this place. BUT his pita tasted sooooo gross. It was lacking in meat and it was embellished in a sauce called 'tahini sauce'. As is turns out, tahini is Mediterranean for "tastes like the inside of a camel". The sauce totally demolished the taste of the food with it on it, and all of the food within 10 yards of it. It literally made Mike not want to eat! His eating partner Jordan Collier actually threw up a little in his mouth! Consider yourself warned.
Bottom Line: Feel free to go to Samir's but make sure you bring your own sack lunch.
Value: 4
Taste: 1.5
Intangibles: 7.5
Total Score: 13* out of 30
ps If Samir's actually is good then post a comment telling Mike the dish he needs to get that doesn't taste like a pachyderm.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Ruby's [14]
"Life's questions can be solved with one answer...add more meat." - Mike McEvoy
Ruby's is south of 43rd and the Ave right next to Flowers. (I'm sorry to keep bringing this place up. I promise this is the last time we will write Flowers on this blog.) It has a cold feel when you walk in and you definitely want a coat. Or at least a scarf. It reminds Mike of one of those New York studio apartments. Much like the one in Big Daddy. Mike and his eating partner were seated right next to the window which was neat. The service was okay. There was only one waitress, but luckily there weren't that many people.
The food was a mix between sandwiches and curry. Mike ordered a delicious sandwich but it didn't come with anything. Not even fries. He had to supplement his meal with a freaking salad. A salad! Salads are what food eats! Ridiculous. Anyways...their curry was good but the large potato chunks made you want to stab your curry.
Bottom Line: If you were someone with a ton of money and you wanted a sandwich, this is the place for you
Value: 3
Taste: 7.5
Intangibles: 3.5
Total Score: 14 out of 30
Ruby's is south of 43rd and the Ave right next to Flowers. (I'm sorry to keep bringing this place up. I promise this is the last time we will write Flowers on this blog.) It has a cold feel when you walk in and you definitely want a coat. Or at least a scarf. It reminds Mike of one of those New York studio apartments. Much like the one in Big Daddy. Mike and his eating partner were seated right next to the window which was neat. The service was okay. There was only one waitress, but luckily there weren't that many people.
The food was a mix between sandwiches and curry. Mike ordered a delicious sandwich but it didn't come with anything. Not even fries. He had to supplement his meal with a freaking salad. A salad! Salads are what food eats! Ridiculous. Anyways...their curry was good but the large potato chunks made you want to stab your curry.
Bottom Line: If you were someone with a ton of money and you wanted a sandwich, this is the place for you
Value: 3
Taste: 7.5
Intangibles: 3.5
Total Score: 14 out of 30
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Mr Lu's Seafood & Burgers [19]
"If you've walked by the outside of Mr. Lu's, you realize why its taken me 53 restaurants to get here. However..."- Mike McEvoy
Maybe it's all of the neon colors in the restaurant. Maybe it's the cultural rift that seems prevalent between seafood, Mr. Lu's, and burgers. But, it took a day like today for Mike to make it up to Mr Lu's. A day where not much was going on and he could leave half way through the day if he were to become sick from burgers and seafood.
Mr Lu's is located at the Ave and just south of 50th. When they walked in the owners were tapping away on their laptops and then jumped to work at the sight of new customers. It was more funny than representative of bad service. When Mike first looked at the menu the $1.95 onion ring basket was staring him down. They specialize in 3 things at Mr. Lu's: Beef Burgers, Chicken Burgers, and Fish Burgers. All of them are reasonably priced at around $5.95 for a burger and fries. Their specialty though is the Blackened Salmon Burger and it was priced at $7.75. It was interesting tasting in a good way with a lot of 1,000 island sauce. Mike enjoyed his choice but he wouldn't get that same thing again.
Mike would go back to Mr Lu's and it far exceded his expectations. It was no Chipotle, but it's no Best Of Bento.
Bottom Line: Touchè Mr. Lu. Touchè
Taste: 6.5
Value: 8
Intangibles: 4.5
Total Score: 19 out of 30
Maybe it's all of the neon colors in the restaurant. Maybe it's the cultural rift that seems prevalent between seafood, Mr. Lu's, and burgers. But, it took a day like today for Mike to make it up to Mr Lu's. A day where not much was going on and he could leave half way through the day if he were to become sick from burgers and seafood.
Mr Lu's is located at the Ave and just south of 50th. When they walked in the owners were tapping away on their laptops and then jumped to work at the sight of new customers. It was more funny than representative of bad service. When Mike first looked at the menu the $1.95 onion ring basket was staring him down. They specialize in 3 things at Mr. Lu's: Beef Burgers, Chicken Burgers, and Fish Burgers. All of them are reasonably priced at around $5.95 for a burger and fries. Their specialty though is the Blackened Salmon Burger and it was priced at $7.75. It was interesting tasting in a good way with a lot of 1,000 island sauce. Mike enjoyed his choice but he wouldn't get that same thing again.
Mike would go back to Mr Lu's and it far exceded his expectations. It was no Chipotle, but it's no Best Of Bento.
Bottom Line: Touchè Mr. Lu. Touchè
Taste: 6.5
Value: 8
Intangibles: 4.5
Total Score: 19 out of 30
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Shalamar [19.5]
"What can I say? I love a good waterfall." - Mike McEvoy
Shalamar definitely takes the cake for the classiest interior for an Indian food restaurant. Speaking of Indian food Restaurants, Mike needs to drop some knowledge of the workings of these establishment with regards to food quality and price. Here's some quick Mike-onomics:
The more buffet-style a restaurant is, the cheaper it is. The less buffet-style a restaurant is, the more expensive it is.
The inside was a spectacle! As Mike ate his Vindaloo chicken a palm tree hung over him and watched a waterfall flowing down over depressed caves of candles. It was putting a calm over Mike which he has never felt before in a restaurant. The scent of curry and rice lingered in the air. A tantalizing treat for Mike's senses...Of course none of this actually matters as much as Mike filling his belly.
They had a lunch and dinner menu too, but Mike should have known he wouldn't be filled up. To this day he still wishes he would have ordered off the dinner menu. It haunts his dreams and dominates his thoughts daily, eating him up inside. Anyways...The service was nice and the aesthetics of the restaurant were really cool.
Taste: 7
Value: 4.5
Intangibles: 8
Total Score: 19.5 out of 30
Shalamar definitely takes the cake for the classiest interior for an Indian food restaurant. Speaking of Indian food Restaurants, Mike needs to drop some knowledge of the workings of these establishment with regards to food quality and price. Here's some quick Mike-onomics:
The more buffet-style a restaurant is, the cheaper it is. The less buffet-style a restaurant is, the more expensive it is.
The inside was a spectacle! As Mike ate his Vindaloo chicken a palm tree hung over him and watched a waterfall flowing down over depressed caves of candles. It was putting a calm over Mike which he has never felt before in a restaurant. The scent of curry and rice lingered in the air. A tantalizing treat for Mike's senses...Of course none of this actually matters as much as Mike filling his belly.
They had a lunch and dinner menu too, but Mike should have known he wouldn't be filled up. To this day he still wishes he would have ordered off the dinner menu. It haunts his dreams and dominates his thoughts daily, eating him up inside. Anyways...The service was nice and the aesthetics of the restaurant were really cool.
Taste: 7
Value: 4.5
Intangibles: 8
Total Score: 19.5 out of 30
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