February 15th, 2010 at 19:13
I just have to write a quick note about Billy McHale’s. First and foremost, they specialize in ribs, steak, and burgers, so this is not a vegan-friendly place. However, we went there tonight for Ty’s birthday, as he loves their chicken strips and brownie sundaes.
I ordered the “Mushroom Cheddar Burger” with a Gardenburger, no cheese, and no mayo. I’m not sure if the Gardenburger was vegan or not (the “Original” is not), but regardless, it was my only choice. Our server, Sahara, was super nice and even made sure to mention that the mushrooms were cooked in a beef broth, so I was able to have them cooked another way. It impressed me that she made the connection between my lack of cheese and mayo, and the broth.
The only downside was that apparently they didn’t get the “no mayo” memo, in the kitchen, as my bun had mayo on it. I mentioned it to our server, and she looked quite mortified until I assured her that I don’t have an allergy. I ate my meal and enjoyed it, but I’ll probably have some kind of salad, the next time we go, if we go. All of their salads have some kind of meat, egg, or cheese, but I’m sure they can tweak a salad fairly easily.
January 20th, 2010 at 19:36
Having lunch with my co-workers today turned out pretty much like I expected … we had Thai food! Denise really has a thing for Thai food, so I wasn’t surprised. We were in Everett, so we went to a Thai place across the street from the convention center, called Thai Gusto.
I was sent out of class about 15 minutes early, to get us a table and order some appetizers to be ready for when everyone else got there. While I was waiting, I talked with one of the servers and she brought me a Thai iced tea (without the creamy milk stuff). She also stopped back to check if the tea was too sweet, and topped it off with some unsweetened tea. I asked about the possibility of ordering pahd thai without the fish sauce and egg, and she said that would certainly be fine. She also went one step further to confirm that I was able to have soy sauce, which I thought was really great.
All in all, Thai Gusto gets an A grade, from me. It also had a really great atmosphere, an awesomely-designed menu, and the servers were very kind and accommodating. So if you’re ever around the Everett area and are feeling for some Thai food, check out Thai Gusto. I think you’ll be pleased with your experience.
January 19th, 2010 at 20:00
I’m in Seattle, for a few days. Ty had to come down for some work stuff, and I had the chance to stay with him in his hotel. My work has two 12-month classes called EVOLVE, and the first class for each group meets tomorrow and Thursday, in Everett and Lynnwood. So instead of driving down from Bellingham and back up each day, I’ll be driving up from Seattle. And I get to stay with Ty, which makes life easier on both of us.
Since our hotel room doesn’t have a kitchen or fridge, we’re stuck eating out or eating packaged food. There’s a small market in the lobby of the hotel, so I’ll be able to purchase semi-fresh fruit for my breakfast, which is good. Dinners are another story.
Where we are, on the west side of Lake Union, there’s not much to choose from for healthy food. Lots of burger/steak and seafood joints. Tonight we had dinner at Jillian’s, about a block from our hotel. It’s mostly a billiards club, with your usual “bar plus a bit more” type of menu. I was able to order a flatbread pizza, which was really good. It had a pesto sauce (hopefully with no cheese in it!) and “roasted” veggies on top. (I don’t think they were really roasted, but whatever.) I also stole a few fries off of Ty’s plate. Not very healthy, but vegan!
I’m looking forward to Thursday night. I’ll be having dinner with my dad at our favorite Chinese place in Mountlake Terrace. I’ll be getting Moo Shu Vegetables, which I know is vegan. In the past I’ve gotten Moo Shu Pork, but there’s so little pork (and it’s so flavorless) anyway, so I don’t think my tastebuds will even notice the difference.
We’ll see what kinds of choices I’ll have for lunch, tomorrow. No idea where we’ll go during our break from class, but my boss has a penchant for Thai food. Hmm.
