Crooked T.'s Profile

I'm from New Jersey where everyone is at least half-Italian, including me.  Take that as you will.

I wanted to like Assaggio but it didn't deliver.  Very good service was the highlight.  It was also nice to see the owner stop by to say hello.  However, service and niceties do not make up for lousy food.  That explains the two star rating.

I ordered the ravioli with chicken and marsala.  It was very bad.  Chewey dark meat chicken and a very unappealing liquid sauce drowning the ravioli.  Interesting concept, terrible execution.  The ravioli themselves were plain and underwhelming.  

I tasted the white whine marinara that someone else ordered and it wasn't very tasty either.  

A few people ordered the desserts.  They were less than impressed.

Prices were fair but without the tastes to back it up I'd suggest looking elsewhere for good Italian food.

The best no pretense bar in Seattle.  Excellently inexpensive and long (4pm-7pm) Happy Hour featuring 50% off all food.  A pool table.  A dart board.  Dark wood interior.  A quiz night.  Occasional live music.  Friendly staff.  Fun clientelle.   A sampling of board games.  And always decked out with the latest holiday decorations.  

Kate's Pub... you're always good to me.

$13 bucks for two small scoops of rice and a handful and a half of unpeeled shrimp.  I should have ignored the tourists and gone with the locals to a truck instead of this finer dining shrimp shack experience.

The lowdown:  

Romy's garlic shrimp are tasty.  Their sweet and sour shrimp are fishy.  And then there's the peeling....  

I'm not a food snob but the last thing I want to do when paying for food is spend 15 minutes yanking off heads and ripping out guts, tiny shrimp feet exploding all over my shorts.  

With about 25 or more similar trucks parked all over Oahu's north side next time I'm trying somewhere different than Romy's.

Oasis-like ambience amidst bustling Waikiki is appreciated.  Unfortunately, the food isn't very good.  

They call this Italian so where's the garlic?  Flavorless food is about as unItalian as you can get and highly dissapointing.

From the bread to the salad to the main entrees, for the prices here (about $25-$30 per entree) you can and should do better.

Decent BBQ/hangout place with interesting lodge/mom's basement appeal.  BBQ brisket sandwich and fried oyster sandwich were both good but where are the sides?  Homemade blue cheese dressing on wedge salad was nice but the Uli's sausages were pretty bland.  Drinks are pretty pricey but not much of a "scene" in the place means I'd definitely come back.

The Reading isn't a place to see or be seen, it is a place to sit with some friends, have a few drinks, eat a chicken sammy and shoot the sh%t.  Best low-priced chicken sandwich I have had since Frankie's Bar and Grille circa 1994 in Pt. Pleasant, New Jersey.  Dart board in the back and a busy pool table to give your butt a break from sitting and drinking, The Reading is a laid back hideaway townie bar perfect for whiling away the hours.  Not much in the way of decor but the place is big and never crowded.  Good stuff, indeed.

I love me some Polynesian, South Seas style tiki action and Luau delivers.  4 star atmosphere combines with 3 star food  for some A-OK good times.

On the food front: Hit or Miss.
I went here recently with the old lady and we went hog wild.  Ordered the short ribs, cob salad, and ahi ahi fish tacos.  The short ribs were SOOOOO soft, falling off the bone, lick your fingers style delicious and filling.  I would have liked to put a little salt on them (no salt at the table, what's up with that?) but they were quite enjoyable.  More like brisket than short ribs though.  The tiny shrimps in the cob salad were bland but the salad ample, the dressing good, and the bacon some of the tastiest I have ever eaten.  Luau: what do you do to yourBACON?  I dream about bacon this good.  The low point of the eats was the fish tacos.  Cool presentation in a bamboo steamer but the taste was very, very bland.  Not a deal breaker but definitely not for me.  Next time we get the pu-pu for two even if I have to gag my lady during ordering to assure we get it!

For desert we had the flaming rum bananas fosters, lit up at the table (Fire!) and oh so scrumptious.  Six dollar bananas at their finest!  

On the drink front: Tasty!
I had Pele's Revenge and it was awesome.  Came in a little martini glass.  It was perfectly delicious.  The lady had a mai-tai, served in a tiki style glass.  Pretty good and pretty strong.  That's alright by me!

Overall, Luau is quite an enjoyable experience. I would imagine exploring the food and drink menu during Happy Hour would be a dream, the kinda dream I can imagine having real, real soon.

Just hit up The Pacific Inn Pub after a Black Crowes show downtown on a Tuesday.  This place is great!  Late night food menu, great jukebox, laid back bar scene, a pool table in the back, friendly clientele, VH1 classic on the tube, and a superstar lady behind the bar.  What more can you ask for?  Well, I asked for the fish and chips and they were splendid.  Lots of white meat goodness and only $8 bucks!  Pacific Inn Pub, your rough exterior belies the gloriousness that lies within.  

Wow.  A perfect night, indeed!

Dining in at Djan''s is good stuff.  It's homey, inexpensive, and the food is fresh and tasty.  The red curry chicken as well the pad thai fusion I ordered both hit the spot.  I didn't eat all of both because I was sharing with my special honey, but damn if I didn't want to!  

On the downside, the lemon water tastes a little funny, the Thai iced teas are a bit too sugary, but these gripes are merely nit-picking.  I enjoyed myself and so did the little woman.  

Keep up the good work Djan's.  I'll be seeing you again...

While The Fremont Troll gets the bulk of the Seattle tourist "Ooooohs" and "Ahhhhs," the extremely odd Wall of Death under The University Bridge is equally as stunning, even more bizarre, and often left out of the guide books.  

A troll under a bridge, sure, that makes sense. But when it comes to art in Seattle, why stop at a troll when you can have a Wall of Death as well?  Only in The Emerald City...

The Wall of Death is a 20 foot tall orange metal ring with the words, "Wall of Death" chiseled from the metal.  Large spikes rise from the concrete below holding up the ring and daring passers by to, well, I don't know, skate or die?  And... that's about it.  

Check it out if you get the chance.  It's pretty cool looking.  After all, it isn't everyday you get to see a Wall of Death, now is it!?