OPENING: Pecado Bueno has Soft Opening in Eastlake

 Pecado Bueno's third location on Eastlake Ave. E. in Eastlake just opened their doors for their soft opening. They still have a few things to finish work on, but the restaurant looks about 95% complete.

 

 When you enter the restaurant, you walk to the back counter and place your order. They give you a number and you take a seat at one of their tables or you can grab a stool at their bar. I order their three soft tacos dinner. It comes with three tacos of your choice on corn or flour tortillas, and a side of beans and rice. I went with the grilled chicken, pork carnitas and roasted butternut squash tacos. All three were delicious and the ingredients were very flavorful! I had never tried a butternut squash taco before. It was very tasty. I'll definitely order more of those!

 

Pecado Bueno is home of the $#, 100% Agave Tequila Margarita. Very tasty!

 The owners of Pecado Bueno have done a great job transforming the old Quick Stop convenience store into a new cantina. I'm looking forward to sitting out in the bar exterior. Hopefully they will have it open soon as long as the weather permits. Since they opened on Wednesday, I have noticed a steady stream of people checking out the new location. I have a feeling I will be frequenting this place quite a bit. Welcome to Eastlake Pecado Bueno!    

OPENING SOON: Pecado Bueno is coming to Eastlake!

Pecado Bueno is coming to my neighborhood, Eastlake! I'm excited to see a business finally take over the former Quick Stop Grocery & Deli location at 2352 Eastlake Ave. E., and I'm really excited that it's Pecado Bueno! This will be the third location with the other two in Fremont and West Seattle. They are owned by James Schmidt who co-founded Taco Del Mar with his brother. James is no longer affiliated with the Taco Del Mar chain. The Pecado Bueno Eastlake location is scheduled to open the second week of September. I'm looking forward to the opening, and I'll write another post after my first visit.

BEER: Breakside Brewery's Salted Caramel Stout

Today I tried Portland, Oregon's Breakside Brewery's Salted Caramel Stout. This Stout was made in collaboration with Salt and Straw in Portland. This is a mighty good Stout! It has a subtle caramel taste with a hint of chocolate and coffee. It has a great aroma with a dark color and good head. The taste is nice and smooth, and it's not sweet as expected. This Stout was voted one of the Top 25 Beers of 2014 by Draft Magazine. I purchased this beer at Mammoth in Eastlake. I'll definitely be buying some more of this!

FOOD EVENT: Eat | Drink | Eastlake

Eastlake's 1st Annual Eat | Drink | Eastlake is taking place March 28th at 6pm at the Tyee Yacht Club. Sample food from Eastlake's great restaurants, and wines from regional wineries. The event will also feature a friendly cocktail competition. Be a part of the best Eastlake has to offer!

EAT | DRINK | EASTLAKE
Thursday, March 28th - 6:00 - 9:00pm
Tyee Yacht Club
3229 Fairview Ave. E., Seattle, WA

Info: Facebook | Tickets

Participating Restaurants
Ravish - Facebook | Twitter
Little Water Cantina - Facebook | Twitter
Cicchetti - Facebook | Twitter
Blind Pig Bistro - Facebook | Twitter
Sushi Kappa Tamura - Facebook | Twitter

REVIEW: Sushi Kappo Tamura

This past weekend I tried some sushi at Eastlake's Sushi Kappo Tamura. My friend and I didn't have reservations, but we only had to wait a short while to be seated at the counter in front of the kitchen. I was glad we were able to be seated, as this restaurant always seems to be busy every time I drive by it. It was fun sitting at the counter. We got to watch the Sushi Chefs create all the great food.

The restaurant itself is very nice. It's a sleek, modern version of a traditional sushi restaurant. To start, my friend and I ordered Shiso Mojitos. They were quite tasty and refreshing. They are Japanese style Mojitos using Crater Lake vodka distilled in Bend, Oregon. We also started with some Kappa Maki (Cucumber Rolls). The rolls were delicious, and perfectly made with crunchy cucumber.

I ordered the Sushi Combo, which was sushi rice layered with nori, tamago, ginger and topped with a mix of tuna, salmon, yellowtail and tobiko. The meal came with a bowl of miso soup. All of the sushi and soup were delicious. The rolls and cuts of fish were fresh and beautifully presented. Every time I order sushi, I always think it will never fill me up, and I will need to order more. The serving portion of the Sushi Combo was the perfect size as I had eaten just enough that I was satisfied without feeling as if I needed more. The chefs and staff were very friendly and they made the entire experience very enjoyable. I'll be coming back for more sushi!

REVIEW: Le Fournil

I finally made a visit to Le Fournil French Bakery. The bakery has been in the Eastlake neighborhood by the University Bridge since 1997. The owner, who is originally from France, wanted to bring the French bakery experience to Seattle.

I ordered a chocolate/orange tart with a vanilla latte. The tart was ridiculously good! It was very rich, and had just a hint of orange flavor. Half of the tart was dusted with cocoa powder. The latte was pretty good on its own. I love French bread, so I also purchased a loaf to take home. The bread was very tasty. Le Fournil offers a full menu of sandwiches, quiche, salads and soups. Not to mention, their dessert case is full of delicious looking pastries that changes seasonally. I highly recommend visiting Le Fournil for all that they have to offer!

REVIEW: Cicchetti

My best friend recently moved back to the Eastlake neighborhood. We have both lived in the neighborhood years before and have always loved the area, so I was very happy when he moved back. We decided to walk on over to Cicchetti, Serafina's sister restaurant. It is located directly behind Serafina. Cicchetti is a perfect addition to the Eastlake neighborhood. Cicchetti has great outdoor seating. On this visit, we sat at the bar. The bar is great. All the liquor bottles are shelved up against large windows that face West, so as the sun is setting all the bottles glow in the sunlight.

We arrived just in time for Happy Hour (5pm - 6:30pm). Cicchetti has a great Happy Hour menu with $5 specialty drinks. One of the drinks I tried is called "The Rumbler". It is a refreshing rum based drink.

Next we ordered some small plates. We started with the Truffle oil popcorn for only $1. I love popcorn and I love Truffle oil, so this was a match made in heaven. I could have easily eaten a jumbo-sized bucket of this stuff. We also tried the Kalamata olives with feta. These were also very tasty.

Next we tried the Margherita Pizza, which is only $5 during Happy Hour. The pizza was delicious. It is cooked in their wood fire oven. The crust was perfect!

Lastly, we had our main course of Hanger Steak. The steak was tender and juicy, and served on a light salad. I highly recommend! Overall, I love this place! Right off the bat, our Server was very friendly. Our Bartender was great. He made great drinks and always made sure we were happy with our food and drinks. The rest of the staff at Cicchetti was just as friendly. The place has a very laid-back vibe about it. Cicchetti is a perfect neighborhood restaurant/bar. I can't wait for my next visit to Cicchetti!