Lunchbox laboratory- Battle of the burgers round 2

After visiting the flagship REI store in Seattle, I wandered down the road to Lunchbox laboratory for a taste experiment. I have seen pictures of the food before and have heard people rave about the taste. 

I arrive slightly after lunch time to find the place pretty empty besides a couple of friends at one table and an older family of four at the other table. 

After ordering my meal, I wandered off to the restroom. It was really really really hot in the restroom, I'm not sure why. But wandering through the restaurant was fun because the decor gave me a feeling of nostalgia. 

The taste

I ordered the burger of the gods served with potato gems. When the food got to the table, I realised that I would have to put it together. The burger, although deceptively small was starting to give me heart burn about halfway through. The patty was juicy but there really wasn't anything spectacular about the burger itself. 

Yes, I am salivating as I am writing this review, but really, the taste wasn't that memorable. They also have the options to customize a burger to how you like it. 

My favourite was the potato gems. Well, you could have ordered fries too, but the bonus was being able to customize the taste by the numerous condiments on offer. 

That was definitely my favourite part of the meal. 

But their milkshake (I had the northwest - local berries) was also good, it was thick and generous. Since I didn't finish it, they gave me a take home cup to finish it off on the way. You MUST try one of their milkshakes. 

The value factor

This place is EXPENSIVE! It's not a place I could go to every week on a student budget. And it's hard to say how the quality would justify the price. But you always have to pay a premium for creativity and location. 

The atmosphere

There is both an indoor and outdoor seating area. Indoors, you can see the quirky collection of yesterday year things- old lunchboxes, robots, etc. But outdoors, when the weather is nice, can be a real treat. It's a fun place and certainly gives off that vibe, they also have a bar area right in the middle of the dinning area which offers the place a more youthful aurora. 

Upstairs they have game tables for pool, etc which can be an inviting venue for young people. Perhaps the atmosphere will be better at night? But I am never one to have burgers for dinner. 

My overall thoughts

It was good to finally try lunchbox laboratory. I will probably not be back unless someone else wants to come try it. Firstly, I'm not a burger person, secondly, I don't think my heart/wallet can take it. 

There are much better options out there. Red Robins for instance wins out on round 2. 

Tips: Ask for the condiments with your sides (potato gems or fries). 

Starbucks Gold Card update- rewards program no longer offers modifiers

I am so glad to leave Seattle on the 16 October. Starbucks just announced that they will drop free drink modifiers from it's starbucks rewards program!!

There is no longer an incentive to drink starbucks. Hello other coffee shops!

We've got a few My Starbucks Rewards™ updates coming on October 16. Here's a quick summary of what to expect as a Gold level member.

HELLO faster, tastier rewards. Free Drink (or Food) Now you can use your "free drink" on food too. Whatever looks delicious.** Lucky Dozen Earn a free drink (or food) every 12 Stars instead of 15. Watch 'em roll in even faster. Keep your Gold benefits This hasn't changed: earn 30 Stars every year as a Gold level member and you're Gold for another year. Just like that. No More Postcards (#1 member-requested change) Your free drink (or food) will load right onto your Starbucks Card account. You'll receive an email alert when you've earned your reward. Just bring your registered Starbucks Card or the Starbucks Card mobile app to a participating store and tell your barista. To learn more about redeeming postcards and digital rewards visit Starbucks.com/rewardsfaster.

GOODBYE to the benefits going away. Soy & Syrup Unfortunately, we will no longer offer syrups and soymilk on the house. Tall Drink with Whole Bean Purchase We also will no longer offer a free tall drink when you buy a pound of coffee.

Sign this petition to keep it free. 

http://www.change.org/petitions/starbucks-keep-free-soy-and-syrup-for-reward-card-members#invite

Japonessa: Japanese restaurant battle round 1

I know I know how it's spelt, but the locals tell me it's actually called "Ha- pon-ee - sa". So I have been thinking about visiting this place for a long time. People rave about how fresh the food is. So I made my way down near Pike Place Market during Happy Hour. 

The taste 

I felt comfortable eating my serving of Chirashi. The salmon, wasn't wild salmon, but was fresh and fatty. The other fish was unremarkable, everything was expected. The rice was soft and had a good balance of vinegar. But really it was nothing super special. More suited to a lunch or an ordinary meal. 

But this review was tainted by my first course- miso soup. Miso soup is hard to get wrong, sometimes it's because there is too much salt but that's an easy fix with water. This miso soup seemed to have some interesting bits and pieces in it so I stirred it around to make sure all the shitaki mushrooms surface and the soup is well balanced. It was at this point I noticed a blue floating object- is this a new type of fish? Pretty soon I realised what it was. 

There was a BLUE RUBBERBAND in my soup! This has NEVER happened to me before at a Japanese restaurant, perhaps this is a little latino flair? 

The value factor

Given I went at happy hour, where the price of things are very affordable, I found the portion sizes smaller, but adequate. 

They gave me a bonus blue souvenir to remember!

Without happy hour prices, I would find it hard to justify the prices for the quality of food presented. 

The atmosphere

The restaurant is very chic. Going by myself for the first time, I found it hard to open the door? And once inside it was hard to get a server's attention to get a place to seat. 

Once seated in front of the sushi chefs, I had time to admire the ambience. It is presented as a cool and hip place with dim lighting and splashing with purples and blacks to create a mystical feel to your dinner. 

It doesn't seem very child/pram friendly with the steps leading up to the seating areas but it seems to be a nice place to catch up with friends. 

The service is definitely a hit and a miss. After discovering my rubberband, I tried to get someone's attention for over 5 minutes. Finally, the chef asked if anything was wrong, he took my soup and replaced it himself. The servers weren't impolite, they were just difficult to get a hold of when you needed anything, e.g. water, tea, your bill. 

My overall thoughts

I personally won't ever go again because of my concern for food hygiene. But in all, it seemed like a reasonably placed Japanese restaurant for lunch and a good place to catch up with friends. 

Tips: Happy hour is practically all day. You HAVE to go during happy hour where you at least have the option to choose from the more affordable menu. 

A little history

The head chef brings to this restaurant some of the flare from Umi, another Japanese restaurant I will review later. 

Red Robins - Battle of the burgers round 1

I've never been a big burger fan but when I arrived in America, I realised that eating burgers is a big part of the American lifestyle.

In the next few blogposts, I'll review some of the specialty burger places I have visited during my trip.

The value factor Red Robin is NOT cheap, it's marketed as a gourmet burger, so cheap was never the intention. It's affordable, though, the cost of a burger would equate to the cost of any other food court meal. However, there are ways to make your dollar stretch further. You can order the smaller burgers or you can split a burger between two people. And the fries are BOTTOMLESS so sharing the burger between two girls gives you enough for a meal. The softdrinks are also bottomless which was pretty cool considering I like their strawberry lemonade (with real strawberries!)



The taste 
The burgers are oh so juicy and you can really taste the freshness of the ingredients. There is so much on the menu to choose from though, and with so many options, you can make a burger to your taste. I like the mini cheeseburger with yes- bacon! We also tried the onion rings and the batter was lightly fried and stacked into a shareable tower that your group can enjoy.
TIP: If you have bottomless steak fries with your meal, you probably want to share your onion rings with others otherwise it's a little too much for one person. 
For those who aren't into burgers, they also have a wide selection of salads and desserts!


The atmosphere
While each Red Robin is a little unique in it's atmosphere, you really notice that there is a LOT of red everywhere. If you are some how put off by the colour, you should really avoid this place. In the You can see the cooks slaving away in their semi-open kitchen.

Although the main dining area is child friendly, I question the design of the first Red Robins I went to. You have to walk past the bar area, and I'm not sure I feel comfortable with doing that.






Nevertheless, the service is always friendly and the other patrons give you the sense that this is a true to the word family restaurant.


My overall thoughts
A little pricy compared to macdonalds, but this is a real sit down family restaurant. The food is fresh and tasty, but even with the vegetables on the burger, it would still only be a sometimes restaurant.

A little history

Red Robins has it's roots in Seattle, Washington. The owner had his first store near the University of Washington in the 1940s. Since then it has expanded nation-wide and internationally. Along the way, it's picked up numerous awards and nominations. It's freshness and bottemless fries though are what the locals still love.

Going for Gold - Starbucks coffee houses

I arrived in Seattle during the Summer Olympics 2012. And as people were wildly cheering on athletes, I was trying my best to get GOLD at Starbucks. Coming from Australia, I had NO IDEA what getting a Gold Card at Starbucks meant. Firstly, you buy a gift card, top it up and use this gift card to make purchases at Starbucks stores. Every purchase you make at Starbucks (no matter what you buy) gives you one "star". When you reach 5 stars (within a year), you reach the "Green" level which gives you free modifiers in coffees (free syrups, soymilk, etc) and refills on brews/teas. BUT, when you reach 30 stars (within a year), you get all that plus a shiny Gold Card with your name on it. That was the prize!

So within 30 days in America, I am on the Gold Status!

The value factor
There are so many choices for coffee in Australia that I rarely visit Starbucks. Starbucks in Australia tastes weak and is very expensive. Let me give you a brief comparison.

Tall Latte: $2.65 (US) $3.90 (AUS)
Tall caramel soy latte: $3.85 (US) $4.90 (AUS)
Dirty soy chai latte: $3.85 (US) $4.90 (AUS)
Half decaf soy java chip Frappe: $5.45 (US) $6 (AUS)

Then enter the American Starbucks reward program.
At the "green" or "gold" levels, it brings your customized tall latte down to $2.65 (US) and with a Treat receipt (buy a drink in the morning and get any cold drink after 2pm for $2), it's $2.19 with tax. Amazing value.

The taste
Also, exploring the different coffee combinations at Starbucks is possible with the rewards card. So far, I'm a fan of the dirty soy chai latte (half a shot of expresso in a soy chai latte), soy latte (with either peppermint or caramel syrups) and vanilla bean ice blends. The snacks at Starbucks are also interesting, the raspberry flavoured yoghurt balls and tiramisu cakepop are amongst my favourites. I avoid the drip coffee at all costs as it is bitter but watery at the same time. But it's all up to individual taste and once you get familiar with the options, then you can customize the coffee, style, syrups, milk/soy, sweetness to your taste.

The atmosphere

In Australia, I would only go to a Starbucks coffee house with a friend to enjoy a nice afternoon, or by myself as a treat. But here, I find that Starbucks is more accessible (there are EVERYWHERE), there is free wifi (to be introduced soon in Australia) and you can sit here as long as you want. It's comfortable enough that I go down to do work at Starbucks with my afternoon coffee hit.
The service at Starbucks is nearly always friendly and helpful. I've only had two bad experiences- where the non-english worker could't understand what I was saying and when the girl kept calling me by another name (I'm a regular there).

My overall thoughts
Starbucks may not be a gourmet or cheap coffeehouse. But it's iconic and you NEED to have Starbucks at least once in America. The Starbucks coffeehouses in America are designed for young and old alike with free entertainment options (via the Starbucks entertainment network) and family friendly atmosphere. With the appropriate modifications to your drink, you are bound to find something you like.

My tip: Get a gift card and earn more than 5 stars then feel free to explore all the modifications of syrups and milk/soy to your desire. 


Background on the first starbucks stores in Seattle
I went to visit the first Starbucks store on my trip to Seattle. It's a tiny store located in close proximity to the Pike Place Market. Many tourists, like myself make the pilgrimage and hence you have to expect long lines. Sometimes there are professional buskers outside which makes the waiting less excruciating. On one of my visits they had a African American Quartet, they were AMAZING!

Once inside, you see that the store has signs stating that starbucks has been in existence since 1971, but few realize that this isn't actually the original store. Nevertheless, there is a range of merchandise on display against one wall (DISPLAY ONLY) and you line up to purchase merchandise/and or drinks. I bought myself a travel mug for $20 which displays the original starbucks logo but it's not very effective, I find my coffee warm to cold within 2 hours. But there is a range of things you can buy including mugs, t-shirt, coffee beans. On a subsequent visit I found that I could by-pass the line if I only wanted to buy a gift card!

There is actually no place to sit or stay in the "original" store, which makes sense considering the constant flow of people. My tip: visit during the late afternoons (after pike place market draws to a close ) to have less wait-time. 

New food blog coming!!

In honor of my great American trip, I've started a new food blog!! The official launch will be 1 September 2012!

Here's a sample of the many different food places I've been to so far.

Look forward to sharing with you my food adventures :)

God bless,