Island Soul Caribbean Restaurant

Island Soul is a local Caribbean restaurant featuring excellent made-from-scratch food with lots to choose from on the menu. I bet you can guess what my choice was as soon as I saw the words “hand-cut” and “yam fries” in the same sentence. But how was it?

1. Hand-cut or Processed: Handcut!
2. Texture: Only slightly crispy and a little soggy / greasy. Definitely moist. Very thinly cut
3. Portion: Definitely adequate. On the larger end.
4. Price: Was $6.00. I would say $5 would have been more reasonable, which is the price during happy hour.
5. Taste: Very good especially with dipping sauce, though greasiness was slightly high.

Extra Credit: These items are desirable but not required for a quality experience
- Dipping sauce included? Yes – Jerk Mayo (delicious)
- Was it presented well? Yes
- Was it listed on a gluten free menu? Yes
- Was a quality oil used? No – Canola oil used

My grade: A -

Tips for improvement: Cut them thicker to be fluffier,  make crispier / less greasy, and use a better oil.

 

 

Rain City Burgers

Rain City Burgers is a relatively new restaurant, replacing the old “Primo Burger” that operated on the corner of 65th and Roosevelt Ave N.E. for years. This restaurant was quick to follow the trends of the day and serves antibiotic and hormone free beef, a choice of a normal or gluten free bun, and alternatively the option to wrap it in lettuce.  To follow a likely even bigger trend, they also threw sweet potato fries on the menu.

1. Hand-cut or Processed: Processed unfortunately
2. Texture: Very crisp on outside, slightly moist on inside – little dry.
3. Portion: Small
4. Price: Was $2.69 for the small sized dish. I would say it is border-lining reasonable.
5. Taste: Pretty good, though nothing outstanding.

Extra Credit: These items are desirable but not required for a quality experience
- Dipping sauce included? No
- Was it presented well? Decent
- Was it listed on a gluten free menu? No
- Was a quality oil used? No – Canola oil used

My grade: B -

Tips for improvement: Make them handcut, fluffier, increase portion or lower price, add more seasoning, include a dipping sauce, mark on menu if gluten free, and use a better oil.

The Counter

For this first segment I thought I’d hit up one of my favorite restaurants in Seattle. The Counter is one of the few restaurants where you can actually get exactly what you want. With that, the portions are huge (which I love), the prices are very reasonable, the food is delicious, and the staff are young and extremely friendly. One of the other best parts about the restaurant is that the menu includes my preferred indulgence; sweet potato fries.

1. Hand-cut or Processed: Processed unfortunately
2. Texture: Very crisp on outside, moist on inside.
3. Portion: Huge! Excellent.
4. Price: Was around $4.50ish for that massive plate. They also have a smaller portion for a smaller price. Both options I feel are very reasonable.
5. Taste: Great, especially when mixed in with burger and dressing.

Extra Credit: These items are desirable but not required for a quality experience
- Dipping sauce included? Yes
- Was it presented well? Yes
- Was it listed on a gluten free menu? Yes
- Was a quality oil used? Unlikely

My grade: A- 

 

New Blog Series: Sweet Potato Fries in Seattle

Over the years I’ve become quite the sweet potato fry connoisseur (addict). With sweet potato fries becoming increasingly popular and showing up at more and more restaurants every year, I figured I might as well put this condition to good use. It is with great pleasure I announce my newest blog series; “Sweet Potato Fries in Seattle.”

Now before we get started, I do have to admit that I know these aren’t the healthiest thing to eat. While better than other foods such as regular french fries and grain and sugar based items, they aren’t something I’d recommending letting yourself getting as addicted to as I have become. They are often fried in poor oils and can be heavily processed. But this series isn’t about health, it is about sweet potato fries and the best and worst locations for enjoying their contributions to society. By following this guide you can see where to order them and where to avoid them, making your indulgence worth it.

Grading criteria will be simple:

1. Hand-cut or Processed: Unfortunately most restaurants use frozen, processed fries. Restaurants that go the extra effort to hand-cut them will receive bonus points.
2. Texture: What I’m looking for here is crispness on the outside, and preferably fluffiness on the inside. The ultimate combination.
3. Portion: Nothing angers me more than spending $6 on a side of sweet potato fries only to receive a tiny handful. Go big or go eat salad.
4. Price: Tied in with portion somewhat, but was it priced reasonable?
5. Taste: Seasoning, spices, herbs and any other factor that effects taste will be documented. Nobody likes flavorless fries

Extra Credit: These items are desirable but not required for a quality experience
- Did it come with a dipping sauce?
- Was it presented well?
- Was it listed on a gluten free menu?
- Was a quality oil used?

Now let’s get started! The adventure begins now. Visit http://yamfryseattle.wordpress.com to follow along!