Gyros and More

I love finding these gems around Shoreline. And I always seem to be loving almost everything I find. Another example is Gyro House Cafe & Grocery. Located behind Goldies Casino off of Aurora, this place seems straight out of New York or Los Angeles in it's Middle Eastern style and authenticity. Mainly a quick order restaurant, the fridges are filled with various take out items, including a selection of Halal meats, prepared according to Muslim tradition.

The falafel, gyros and lamb sandwiches (spicy lamb pictured) are large meals onto themselves, but adding baba ganoush, hummus or feta is always a good call. The staff is great. After a couple visits, I know there are lots of things on their menu to try, including full plates instead of sandwiches, so I will return for more (and to get better photos once I get my new camera...). The simplicity of the grocery take out layout with the sparse dining area only means that it's all about the food. And it's some of the best falafel, Greek and Muslim food around.

1125 N 152 St

Grill King

I should know not to make bets on football. Especially betting on the Seahawks and for payouts in full meals at the winner's choice of restaurant. A couple losses to my football buddy has had me breaking out the credit card at a couple great Korean places up in Lynnwood. A tradition was born. A yearly bet with a Korean Feast at stake. Finally, the Seahakws do better than the Vikings and it's my turn. Jon was nice enough to invite Leslie along and since it was lunch time, I didn't feel so bad about adding to the tab. We decided to check out a place we've been meaning to go to for a while.

Next to Shay's on Aurora, The Grill King is the latest incarnation on this spot. Continuing the Korean BBQ of the previous tenants, the Grill King has gotten it right. The banchan was served up quickly and often, featuring fairly good kimchi along with some interesting tofu and mystery vegetable sides. We ordered a Pa-jun, or seafood pancake, since we knew Dylan would love it for an after school meal. It came out hot and with great texture, but it lacked peppers and was very plain tasting. Good for Leslie though, since her Massachusetts up-bringing doesn't make for much tolerance for spicy food.

Kalbi short ribs and Bulgogi meats came out for grilling and we got to work on our middle of the table grill (it's a do it yourself or let the waiter help a bit cooking operation). The meats were tasty although we may have overcooked a couple pieces due to good conversation. You have to order two full orders of meat dishes to use the grill so it can get a bit pricey, but worth it. A soup that accompanies the meat order is chock full of flavor and is perfect when used in between all the other dishes, almost like a reverse palette cleanser. All in all, we had a great meal even though we didn't even get to talk football.

15740 Aurora Ave N

Pho Ha

For the last few years, Pho Ha has become a bit of an old standby for us. With always reliable soups with a variety of meat choices, this Aurora spot has become a classic. For a while our son Dylan had to have the beef soup (Pho Bac) with meatballs at least twice a week. I discovered the chicken variety (Pho Ga) to be an amazingly flavorful.

We also love getting the vermicelli noodles with the sweet and tangy sauce. Served cold, the beauty of this meal is the mix of pork (or chicken, but get the pork), fried spring roll, peanuts and veggies all among the noodles. I could eat this for days. Or nights. The place stays open until 11, which is a big bonus since there are so few places to eat later in the evening around these parts.

15215 Aurora Ave N

El Sabor

Taqueria El Sabor opened a few years ago at one of those classic old Taco Bell buildings. The location had gone through a few incarnations (I particularly recall the slightly odd U-Grill Vegetarian), until finally hitting a home run with El Sabor. Opening day featured a mariachi band, jumpy houses for the kids, and half-price food all day long. The place had been transformed into an oasis of mexicana, complete with palm trees in the front and Univision on the TV screens inside. The food was really good, and a great time was had for all.

We return every once in a while for burritos, tacos, tortas, chili verde, and many other classic mexican dishes. Usually, you'll find as many as ten meat choices offered, grilled in the standard authentic way (like you would find in San Diego or Los Angeles, and of course, the streets of Mexico). The excellent salsa bar is stocked with lots of choices and the free refills on the sodas and horchata is an added bonus. Then I discovered Mojarra, the fried fish plate. This is the kind of meal that makes me happy. Served with made-on-site flour or corn tortillas, a choice of veggies or rice and beans, this Caribbean fish (apparently it could be a tilapia) is served up hot for the plucking. I usually eat most of it straight from the plate, although making little fish tacos or mini burritos, depending on the tortilla you get, is another great way to enjoy it. This little taste of baja along Aurora always brightens any day.

15221 Aurora Ave N

Grinders

One of the most popular and original places in Shoreline has to be Grinders. Serving up sandwiches which are well described on their website:

The term "Grinder" can be traced back to the east coast, where, during WWII, Italian Immigrants set up sandwich shops close to the shipyards. These supersized sandwiches were a favorite of the hard working men who ground rivets off the warships. The friendly shop owners referred to these men as grinders and the ever-popular sandwiches also came to be known as Grinders. In addition to the tradition, true grinders must utilize fresh and bold ingredients like olive oil, garlic, marinated peppers and onions, basil, the finest salumi, made fresh on the spot.

Featuring much more than specialty sub sandwiches, Grinders hosts live music, mostly blues bands, on Saturday nights as well as cooking classes every once in a while. Leslie and I stepped in one rainy early afternoon for a bite and some nice husband and wife time together - a rare occurrence these days with our business and eight-year-old keeping us swamped. When we walked in, the place looked really swanky for a sandwich joint, and was hopping from the lunch crowd, some tables set up community style. We weren't quite sure whether to be seated or go up at the counter, but quickly figured it out as regulars walked right up and ordered at the front which overlooks the prep area so you can see the master sandwich makers at work. We felt like a salad instead of two heavy sandwiches, so we ordered the Whack Whack Salad along with a Chicken Parmesan Grinder.

The salad came to us first and although filled with crisp lettuce, peppers, olives, croutons, cucumbers, cheese, tomatoes, and salami all chopped up into a mesh of Italian style salad goodness, there wasn't quite enough dressing on it to make it all work. The sandwich arrived halfway through the salad and although tasty and totally acceptable for Chicken Parmesan, it wasn't something we could really pick up and eat. The result was a nice Italian meal on toasted bread rather than a Grinder. We felt that maybe we ordered the wrong sandwich. With names like the Goomba, SauBall, Po'Boy and Dipper, on a fun to read menu with some nice sounding ingredients, there are many reasons to return to really appreciate what all the buzz is about.

Los Angeles

Dylan and I headed to my hometown to visit family and escape the relentless northwest rain. The family visits were great, but we didn't quite dodge the rain, as torrential downpours on a few nights reminded us of our NW home. One of the most incredible aspects of L.A. is that the city is collection of neighborhoods and cities within the big city, filled with people and culture from all over the world. And it's reflected in the food. You can drive across town and go through enclaves of nationalities and cuisines. Koreatown in mid-city, for instance, has one of the biggest Korean populations in the world. In Santa Monica, entire villages from the southern state of Oaxaca have set up communities and restaurants featuring the incredible flavors of mole. There are at least 1000 Thai restaurants in the region, as well as Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and other restaurants from Asia, India, The Middle East, Africa, etc. Mexican Food is everywhere, and often outstanding. You can find Brazilian, Persian, Ethiopian, Argentinian, Italian, Salvadoran, French, Irish, you name name it.

Of course, there are the Jewish Delis, something the Seattle region needs desperately. There is the ever classic Canter's Deli on Fairfax, where Leslie and I had our first date over Matzah Ball Soup and a Chocolate Malted (one straw, so cute...). Then there's my favorite, Junior's in West L.A. There's nothing like it outside of NYC, and even then, Junior's and some other Los Angeles delis have been rated higher than their east coast counterparts. Los Angeles is also very serious about being the Hamburger Capitol of the World. There is stiff competition here with the standard top vote getter In N Out Burger - we didn't even attempt to get in a line behind 20+ cars no matter what time of day. More gourmet style burger joints, such as The Father's Office harken back to the working man's world and style of vintage Los Angeles.

We returned home to some more rain, although we missed the mid-winter snow and frigid temperatures, so at least the vacation was well timed. I was excited to get back home and happy that Shoreline is, in its own way, a small version of what my original hometown offers: good dining choices represented by a variety of cultures and cuisines.

Jersey's

After all these years driving by, and almost making it there with a friend who loves the Monday Night Football deals and fun crowd, I finally made it to Jersey's! My wife Leslie and I stopped in for an early lunch just after they opened, so we had the place to ourselves before it started filling up for the lunch rush. Located just across from TOP Foods on 175th, Jersey's is very clean and friendly, with one larger section with the bar and various sports on the flat screen TVs. The other room is more just for dining, but the memorabilia on the walls throughout Jersey's adds to the fun sports oriented feel.
We've heard the food is quite good, and the rumors were right. Leslie had an almost impossibly tall club sandwich and I opted for the Kalbi steak sandwich. Both were above what we expected. her sandwich had layers of tasty ingredients, including turkey, a savory slaw and a soft cheese with bacon for added crunch. The only issue we had is that Leslie had to smush the sandwich to get a full bite! My Kalbi Steak sandwich was amazing, with a mellow (sometimes kalbi can be spicy, not here) mariande on the perfectly cooked meat with slaw on a ciabatta bun. So good. Her fries were pub style and not too salty and I had a side salad which was not bad. Overall, Jersey's is a diamond in the rough - the rough part being the construction that's almost done along 175th. Although a sports bar with trivia nights, all day Sunday happy hour, etc., there is also a kids menu, and on Tuesdays they eat free, so we'll be back!

1306 N 175th St.