Wednesday, March 24, 2010

This and That...

1. The Seattle Times recently reviewed the Lakeside Bistro on Rainier, giving it 1.5 stars out of 5. I've dined there a number of times, always had great service, and never had a bad meal there. 1.5 stars? Why? Maybe the place isn't "hip" enough, maybe the walls aren't painted black, maybe the portions are too large, maybe the reviewer was depressed that she couldn't review a place in Ballard. The place is insanely good, and a particularly great deal for lunch and happy hour.

2. Armando's also has good happy hour prices from 3-6, and the place is always pleasant to hang out in.

3. The Renton Reporter is sponsoring a " Renton's best 2010 contest", and the categories include real estate agent. Although Freakazoid Freddy is my blogger name, Ira Sacharoff is my real estate agent name. The perennial winner of the contest is a member of the state legislature who has been selling Real Estate since World War One.
If you're so inclined, a few votes my way couldn't hurt: The Best of Renton is near the upper right on the page.
http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/ren/

4 comments:

Lady P said...

Well, I would be happy to vote for you, Ira. You are by far hip enough for me and I love your eating out tips. Armando's and Happy Hour - uhmmm, sounds like an outing in the making..

Anonymous said...

I haven't been to the Lakeside, but did see the review.

Providence Cicero was the critic. I have always found her to be pretty even handed. She sure isn't as harsh as Nancy Leson.

1 1/2 stars is between adequate and recommended. She had a fair number of positive comments, but the negatives:

"generally lacking crisp clean flavors"
"clumsily made rolls"
"curried coconut chicken stew woefully short on coconut and curry, and tough prawns a long way from "jumbo.""

Again, I haven't been there, so you tell me...these untrue?

Freakazoid Freddy said...

Clumsily made rolls: Never when I've been there, and have choices like prawns and calamari that go into the spring rolls not often seen elsewhere.

Generally lacking crisp clean flavors: Depends on what you order. Lakeside Bistro is not traditional Vietnamese food and doesn't pretend to be. Providence Cicero called it "Americanized", which it clearly is not. It's more an expression of the owner's quirky tastes, which are all over the globe.
Coconut curry chicken stew: I didn't care for it either.
Tough prawns: Mine have always been tender.I agree. I mostly like her reviews. This time i felt she was snotty and condescending, and just didn't get the place.

Anonymous said...

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/ren/survey

This seems to be a more direct link to the Best of Renton survey (I couldn't find it originally).