Aaron E.'s Profile

I'm pretty sure MorMor serves ~5 lbs of CRAB on their Crab Rolls. I've never encountered so much crab in my life. And it's 110% real and everything! You can imagine my excitement at having so much delicious crustacean. It was, after all, a great consistency, sandwiched between perfectly toasty and crusty bread and topped off with some seriously gooey, decadent cheese. There was a ton of hypnotizing flavors that in no way covered the delicate, delectable flavor of the crab. This divine sandwich was served with a side of freshly fried, crispy frites that were seasoned with garlic and shredded Parmesan. I'm pretty sure I was in heaven.

In addition to my remarkable sandwich I noshed on their "Meat and Cheese Plate".... sans meat. How do you even have a Meat and Cheese Plate without meat? Simple. The chef grilled up some zucchini, purple carrots and..... some asparagus (I think) in lieu of the standard salami and prosciutto. Throw in some crusty, toasted bread and mounds of manchego and brie cheese and I was one happy camper.

In addition to the marvelous food there were some drinks... many drinks. I went with my standard Long Island which was strong, tasty, and was made with quality ingredients. I started to feel adventurous and ordered a Ni-Hi (sp??) which came out tasty, but very different from what I was expecting. Our friendly server noticed I wasn't really enjoying it and made sure it was taken off our tab and replaced with something more to my liking. Very thoughtful of her. The vino others at my table had was all quite remarkable. They have a very impressive selection and their servers are all quite familiar with the product.

So to recap: MorMor has amazing food, great drinks and service, and is half a block from where I work. Will I be back? You can count on it!

Four magic words:  Espresso Explosion Espresso Shake.  It will change your life.  I swear.  Imagine some of the best espresso ice cream blended to perfection with two flawlessly pulled shots of espresso.  They serve these concoctions with a chocolate covered espresso bean (or chocolate stick) and at vanilla infused whip cream is also available.  Chocolate covered espresso beans are some of my favorite things.  The creamy, smooth texture of chocolate and the pleasant crunch of the bean is heaven and I greatly appreciate small little details like this.

Hot Shots has definitely become my go-to coffee joint.  It has a great waterfront location in Poulsbo and is about a block from my office.  And as much as I love my shake, I try to limit that to one a week.  Sad, since they're divine, but good because it allows me to explore their other coffee concoctions (which have all been amazing).  Something about their foam is so decadent.  It's rich, thick, frothy and creamy.  Their robust espresso is always prepared expertly and has never been bitter.

The service is friendly, they have free Wi-Fi, a ton of board games, and packaged cashews called "Rubbed Nuts".  I'll be back.... tomorrow.... to be caffeinated... and so I can laugh at the ridiculous product names.

The low, low prices for the high, high quality items is ridiculous.  For a few hundred cents you can walk away with a freshly baked, delicious savory or sweet pastry, some pie, a slice of cake, even a sandwich.  They have a Ham & Cheese roll that's the size of a log that is pure deliciousness.  The smoked ham, gooey cheese and flaky pastry is perfectly savory, oh so filling and reasonably priced.  Be careful though, they sell out quickly.

Their lunch special cannot be beat.  A sandwich, cup of soup and your choice of beverage OR cake is a tremendous amount of food at a reasonable price.  Their sandwiches are all made on their fresh, homemade bread and feature fresh, quality ingredients.  Their 3 Cheese Grilled Cheese is my personal favorite as it comes with Provolone, Swiss, Cheddar, Tomato and Green Pepper.  

Add some friendly service, a great location and some delicious food and I'm a fan.  Liberty Bay is  a great example of reasonable prices on high quality items.  I'll be back, trust me!

Hands down, the best Pho I've ever had!  Their broth is so complex and layered in flavor.  It's rich, in no way watery and packs in a lot of flavor.  They serve a ton of perfectly cooked noodles and a their meat is super tender and flavorful.  I'm normally a huge fan of dumping in a ton of Hoisin, Rooster Sauce & Lime, but the broth here doesn't really need a whole lot.  A bit of citrus and a splash of Rooster Sauce and I was set.  I have no idea what made their broth so delicious, but I'm definitely a fan for life.

In addition to some remarkable Pho, their Egg Rolls were also delicious.  Freshly fried, crispy and packed to the gills with fresh, tasty ingredients and their dipping sauce--slightly sweet, slightly tangy and slightly spicy--was a perfect accompaniment.  Add in fast service and a very, very friendly server (perhaps owner?) and I'll be back.  For sure!

I'm pretty sure I'm about to die of the black plague.  On top of feeling like death run over, I'm going through caffeine withdrawal since I can't even stomach coffee.  Sad, I know.  The one thing I can usually count on to brighten my mood when I'm crazy sick (or hungover) is a big ol' bowl of Pho.  It's so soothing and warm and comforting and surprisingly hearty.  

While I got my Pho, it was only so-so.  Service wasn't very friendly or attentive and the waitress hovered over me until I gave her my order.  Awkward.  I decided to go with a Large with Tendon and.... Brisket?... and extra noodles.  My order came out in about three seconds which made me happy.  I can get home sooner!

After dousing the soup with Hoisin and Sriracha and some lime it was much more to my liking.  I couldn't get over how steamy and hot it was.  Soothing for the sicko.  There wasn't a whole lot of meat, and most of it was highly fatty, but the noodles were perfect and there were a ton of them!

Pricing is pretty decent.  $7 or $8 for what I ordered.  They charge a little extra for take-out though but thankfully, they accept cards these days.  My one complaint is the amount of MSG in my Pho.  A little on the intense side.  Although for the initial comfort and low prices I'll let it slide.

Dear Katie S.,

You're awesome.  This event was amazing.  We'll miss you.

That's all.

Err.... oops, that's not all.  Thank you!

-Aaron E.

p.s.  FEED ME MORE CRAB CAKES!!!

For some reason I was really excited for the "SEXY TIME" stamp they were supposed to have.  I mean, who doesn't want to be stamped with that?  Although I suppose the "OK" stamp they have is actually a better indicator of what you can expect.  Nothing about Lake Street Bar is especially bad, but nothing is especially good.  

You should definitely expect to drop some $$$ on mediocre drinks that have a lot of ice in them.  As Heidi mentioned, they use an obscene amount of ice in all of their cocktails.  Most drinks are around $8 which isn't really expensive, but considering you get a few drops of booze and a lot of ice, it's not a great deal.  The Long Islands I had were all insanely sweet and had a little too much Tequila in them.   The Jager Bombs were served in a teeny, tiny glass and only had a few drops of energy drink in them.  If I ever come back I'll probably stick with beer.  Although it's entirely possible they'd put ice in my beer just because they're slightly obsessed.

The service was sometimes friendly and sometimes quite rude.  They served patrons rather randomly and the amount of time you waited for a drink could be fifteen seconds to fifteen minutes.  It might not be the worst idea to hire another bartender.

The DJ was so-so.  Definitely played a lot of current and older Top 40 and more than one Sir-Mix-A-Lot song.  

All in all the place was okay but I'm not sure I'll be coming back anytime soon.  It was a great time, but I think that's more a reflection of the awesome people.  Fun for Kirkland nightlife, but the $5 cover was a bit ridiculous.

A bakery that serves up scrumptious pastries, rich espresso, friendly service, and tons of samples of said scrumptious pastries?  5 stars, definitely!  

Poulsbo's copious amounts of coffee joints and bakeries can make it difficult to decide where to go, but TVB's proximity to my office makes it my go-to place.  Their coffee is all robust and flavorful and the way they steam their milk creates a luxurious foam.  Their pastries are all flaky, the perfect amount of sweet and anything with a cream or custard is smooth.  Their tiramisu is pillowy but rich and packs in that espresso and booze flavor.  Their rum balls are dense, chocolatey and mysteriously delicious.... how are these things made?

Oh, and lastly, their samples are numerous and delicious.  Every time I've been in they've offered generous pieces of various pastries that have all been enticing.  Top off these joyous goods with insanely friendly and attentive service and I'm a fan 4 life!

They sell my favorite drink for $6.  SIX DOLLARS!  Six dollars I tell you.  And it's not any drink... it's Vanilla Stoli, Hypnotiq and Sprite.  AND they make it in a pint class.  I kid you not.  For $6.  This drink is usually priced at about $8-10 and always comes in one of those baby glasses.  I was so, so relieved to find out how cheap these drinks were here.  It meant I could order a lot of them.  And I always like ordering a lot of things.  

Aywho, besides the awesome beverage they made me, the service was pretty friendly.  The bartender was fast and the cocktail waitress provided attentive service and was quite approachable.  And while the atmosphere wasn't what I normally look for in a bar, it was a relaxed atmosphere and offered everything (darts, pool, karaoke, video games and such).  

I had a pleasant time here and 5 drinks, 2 shots and tax & tip later I left with a $40 something tab.  Not too shabby.

Apparently I aged about 30 years overnight.  One day I'm drinking until 5 a.m. and then the next, I'm a tired, cranky, old fart.  What happened?  I rather randomly came here with some friends for a concert.  They had planned on going, someone couldn't make it, they had an extra ticket, I went.  I didn't even know who the band was, but whatever.  The main act didn't even start until 10 which was a bit of a surprise.  This was when my old man tendencies came in.... 10 is my bedtime, and I need my sleep.  The whole waking up at 5:30 makes it hard to stay up late.....

Once we got inside the venue (yeah, we were some of those morons that waited in line about 20 minutes because we didn't know there was a 21+ entrance with a much shorter line) all I could think about was how loud it was.  Yes, I was one of those tools wearing ear plugs.  What can I say, I want to hear when I'm 30.

About half an hour after arriving I was telling my friend how much my back hurt.  I guess standing on concrete makes me feel pain.  Whatever, I'm old, I'm lame and I'm old.  I'm just glad my friend felt the exact same way.

Anywho, the venue is okay.  The sound wasn't great, but it wasn't necessarily bad.  The venue is actually huge.  You would never guess it was as big as it is looking at it from the outside.  They have a generous sized 21+ area on the main floor with a bar and then another, separate bar area.  I ended up spending a fair amount of time there since there were chairs and it wasn't as loud (yes, I'm lame).  

The thing that knocks this place down to 2 stars are the drinks.  They're pretty expensive.  $9.00 Jager Bombs  NINE freakin' dollars.  While that's not that expensive, they don't even use Red Bull.  They use the knock-off stuff, which doesn't cut it.  $9.00 and they don't even use the good stuff?  Grrrrr.  Oh, and this has nothing to do with the star rating (after all, it's not a venue's fault they have rude, pushy, trashy patrons) but expect the world's most impolite people.  They will step on your feet, elbow you and push you out of their way.  Just a warning.  

I hope this whole phase of me being cranky, creaky and sleepy goes away soon.  I don't want to be old.... :(