Sunday Brunch

It’s been a while since I last posted… simply because we haven’t been out lately. But this past weekend, Cherry and I had brunch at a spot we’ve been to already – Indigo Kitchen & Ale House. You can find my first review of when we had dinner back in August, here.

The Food:

 chicken fried steak: spicy sausage gravy, two eggs over-easy (any style) & breakfast potatoes $10.99

 This was a very hearty and filling plate. The steak had a nice crunchy breading but was tender and moist inside. The gravy was rich was flavors of sausage and the spice level was good – not too overpowering. My over easy eggs were cooked well and the yolk provided a creamy texture and flavor to the dish. Completing the plate were the roasted breakfast potatoes a biscuit – both of which were average. It would have been nice for the biscuit to be warmed.

Cherry opted for the biscuits and gravy ($7.99), which had the same spicy sausage gravy ladled over the buttermilk biscuit. She chose scrambled eggs and also ordered a side of fruit ($3.50)with her meal which included strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe and pineapple. I didn’t sample any of Cherry’s plate other than the fruit because we both had essentially the same items. The fruit was refreshing, but I feel overpriced.

 

My Conclusion:

Overall, and most importantly, everything was well prepared and tasted good. We were both full and satisfied.

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Indigo Kitchen and Ale House

Cherry and I were in the North Lynnwood area and found a nice and newer restaurant called, Indigo Kitchen and Ale House. As soon as we entered, the hostess greeted us and sat us at our table with our menus. The interior was dimly lit and decorated with dark colors and accents of blue. Being that it was still early in the evening, there was still plenty of sunlight coming through the two full walls of windows. There is also a large bar on one side of the restaurant featuring 20 different beers on tap as well as a large selection of cocktails and liquor.

The Food:

baby back ribs with sweet potato fries and spicy slaw $16.99

meaty and sweet potato goodness

When this plate came out, Cherry’s eyes glistened and grew like a kid on Christmas morning. This half-rack of ribs was huge and the amount of meat on them is comparable to the amount of a full rack at other restaurants. The meat was moist, tender and really did fall off the bone! There was also great rich flavors throughout with some extra housemade rootbeer bbq sauce on the side for dipping. The rootbeer bbq sauce was very sweet and didn’t carry much tanginess or kick  like a traditional bbq sauce. Nevertheless the ribs alone were awesome – generously portioned and finger licking good! If that wasn’t good enough, the sweet potato fries that it came with almost outshined everything! These fries were unlike any other sweet potato fries I have ever had – there was substance! These were thickly cut, fried perfectly and minimully seasoned to really bring out the sweet potato flavor. Each bite gave a very soft and almost creamy flavor that reminded me of warm pumpkin pie but there was also a nice crunch that came from being fried.

 

 beer battered fish and chips with spicy slaw $13.99

If you’ve been following my blog, then you can probably recognize that I am a sucker for some good ‘ol fish and chips. But who isn’t!? Two importants things I look for in fish and chips (aside from great crunch) is fresh and clean tasting fish. Being fresh is fairly self-explanatory, but what do I mean by tasting clean? Simply put, clean tasting fish doesn’t taste (or smell) fishy. Ever smelled last night’s fish or seafood that’s been reheated in the microwave? Not clean. Ever eaten a piece of fresh sashimi? Clean. But back to the fish and chips… served with three decent sized pieces of cod, a plate of fries and spicy slaw, this reasonably priced dish definitely will fill you up. The batter was light, crunchy and maintained good bite even with the squeezed lemon atop. Not only were these pieces of fish fresh and clean, they also had a light quality to them – no residual oils dripping from of out of the fish. The natural cut fries were seasoned lighly and tasted good and this dish was also served with spicy slaw. What I enjoyed most about the spicy slaw is the nice balance of heat and creamy tartness.

 

My Conclusion:

With a darker and minimally decorated interior, Indigo is one of the better restaurants Cherry and I have been to. Whether you’re stopping by for a quick drink, enjoying their delicious happy hour menu or feasting on their plates that could fulfill the heartiest of appetites, there is something for everyone here.

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Edina Sushi

With a constant hankerin’ for sushi, Cherry and I decided to try Edina Sushi in Lynnwood off 44^th Ave W. We came in on Sunday evening and it was pretty slow – only 3 other parties inside. The servers were very polite and immediately greeted, seated and given our menus. It is a quiet restaurant that can accommodate 40-50 patrons and has a single flat screen TV above the sushi bar. Looking around, it is very clear that all the fixtures and furniture is old and worn – from the sushi bar to the carpet.

sushi bar

The Food:

spicy tuna roll $4.95

The spicy tuna roll was mediocre at best. I personally prefer a sushi roll filling that has chucks of fish you can see and taste – especially a fish like tuna! Edina isn’t the only place that serves a spicy tuna roll like this; spicy tuna filling that looks like a purée or even paste. No texture from the fish whatsoever – the only elements giving this roll any texture was the cucumber for crunch and avocado for a firmer creamy texture and flavor. The spice was mild and the big thing I noticed is that they did not use sushi rice! Sushi rice differs from regular rice in that it is mixed (or cooked) with rice wine vinegar giving it a nice subtle sweetness that is milder and less acidic than regular vinegar. It is key to sushi and it was lost here.

spider roll $7.95

too much sauce

saturated and broken

I wasn’t impressed and quiet honestly, disappointed with the spider roll served here. The biggest critique I have is with the overuse of ponzu sauce. Each piece was sitting in what seemed like a puddle of ponzu sauce, and for good measure, more was squirted atop the entire presentation. As a result, having soaked up all the sauce, the deep fried soft shell crab had no crunch or texture at all, the batter was soggy, and the nori fell apart when you tried picking up a piece. On top of that, the ponzu sauce (which normally has a sweet and tart flavor) had a smoky and almost bitter flavor to it.

 

sushi l-r: saba $4.95, suzuki $4.95, aji $5.50

The first thing I wanted to point out is that their menu says aji sushi is Spanish mackerel. However, upon further research, I found that Spanish mackerel is actually called sawara. In Japanese, aji refers to horse mackerel. Nevertheless, they’re both mackerels and they were both fresh and tasty. I wasn’t able to notice a flavor or textural difference between the two mackerels. The only difference was visually, the aji was a dark pink and the saba was a lighter peach color. The suzuki also had a very clean and fresh flavor. Here at Edina, the sushi chef topped each piece of sushi with shoga (grated ginger) and negi (green onions) instead of putting some wasabi between the rice and fish. Both options add a nice level of flavors but I prefer the strong and bold wasabi to the bright and light flavors of the shoga and negi. Unfortunately, again, sushi rice wasn’t used.

chicken teriyaki $10.95

This place was presented nicely with a generous portion of chicken. The salad was tasty and I enjoyed their dressing. It tasted like a vinaigrette of some kind – light with a subtle tanginess to it. The chicken was nicely grilled and the teriyaki sauce was also very tasty. Not too sweet and not too tangy. The sauce was squirted atop all the chicken and for me, that was the perfect amount. However, there was also a hidden pool of teriyaki sauce underneath all the chicken that I didn’t enjoy so much. For me, good teriyaki is about the perfectly marinated and grilled meat with a touch of additional teriyaki sauce as an accent – not the dousing of teriyaki sauce over everything. This itself is the blasphemous to essence of Japanese cooking – simplicity.

My Conclusion:

 The only real thing that stood out was their service – prompt and polite. Edina made a nice effort to provide tasty sushi and teriyaki but fell short. Their overuse of sauce in the spider roll and teriyaki negatively overshadowed the entire meal.  In a region that’s packed with sushi restaurants, Edina just can’t compete. The prices are fair but in this case, you do in fact, get what you pay for.

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