This comes a little later than it was supposed to and I will only blame all the Thanksgiving frenzy for it. Nonetheless, there were a few new good restaurants that we went to during these months and I wanted to capture the experience here. For more posts, reviews. pictures on social media look for #SeattleEatsByCC
Von’s Gustobistro was there on our list for a long time but we never made it there . When we had AJs brother visiting us for a week, we decided to get our sitter to watch the kiddo and make a night out in the city. We had a show to catch later on, so we had only about 45 mins at Von’s. But the service was quick and efficient that we had a great time there in spite of it being only 45 mins or so. The drink list is massive and I was a little confused as I did not have time for more than one drink and did not want to mess it up. The waitress was very helpful in navigating me through the menu and helping me pick a good drink that I liked. I had the Pomegranate Mayahuel Margarita – Mayahuel Tequila is housemade along with their housemade Juniper Gin and Sanctified Vodka. AJ had the Ricochet Rabbit, which even I enjoyed in spite of not being so fond of Vodka drinks. The spun sugar cocktails is on my list to try the next time we go.
It is not just the drinks, they also have a great selection of food on the menu and the food that came out could beat any good sit down restaurant. This is truly a gastro-pub and not just your everyday bar. We had a few sides to go with the drinks – the Homemade Sour Dough Bread with Napa Valley Olive Oil, Von’s Original Wings, Asiago Savory Beignets and Meatballs with Lusty Lady Marinara. The marinara was just mind blowing and I used it as a dipping sauce for my beignets.
Ever since I heard that Chef Jason Stratton closed down his Spanish inspired restaurant Aragona to replace it with an Italian restaurant – Vespolina, I put that on my list. We made it for a lunch date one day. We did not have any anti pasti and went straight to our main course. AJ had the Roman style Spaghetti which is basically Spaghetti Carbonara with guanciale (pork jowl) and I had the Cavatelli with Zucchini, Ricotta and Basil. Both the pastas were so good and fresh, especially the cavatelli with it melt in the mouth texture. The zucchini was cooked so soft in a way I have never eaten it but it was great nonetheless. We both loved the flavor of the sauce in the cavatelli than the spaghetti. We did try two desserts though to sort of make up for missing the anti pasti. The panna cotta was delicious in every bite and the Carrie’s Torrone Gelato Terrine – hazelnut nougat with vanilla gelato, peaches and crisp rice wafer was such a wonderful combination of flavors and textures. {Update: Vespolina is now CLOSED}
Bongos is our newly found Cuban restaurant. It is fairly new in itself and we are now glad we went there, especially now with Paseo closing. We know there is one Cuban restaurant in town we can still go to. AJ had The Desi platter which had Citrus Braised Pork served with Cuban Black Beans, long grain white rice, mango agave slaw, caramelized onions and a Maduro.after having heard a lot of good things about it. He liked it but he still thinks that Paseo was better. I ordered the Chevolution Burger with Seared Cuban Black Bean Patty, Roasted Pineapple Salsa, House Aioli, Cilantro and Swiss Cheese on a Browned Potato Bun. We had a couple of extra orders of the Maduro, because we all love sweet fried plantains. V had a great time playing in the sand, as we sat outside. It kept him occupied once he was done with his food and we could then eat in peace 
The Commons Café in Woodinville has now become our go-to place for weekend brunches and weekday dinners, primarily because we live so close by. I am a big fan of their scones and we always get a few packed to-go to enjoy later. The last time we went for dinner, we had the Roasted Cauliflower with Chile Flake and Lemon Vinaigrette and it was delicious in every mouthful. For the main course, AJ had the Spicy Sautéed Prawns tacos which he really enjoyed and I had the Smoky Vegetable Hash, which I honestly did not care for at all. It felt a lot under seasoned. For dessert, we had the sticky toffee pudding which was good but nothing much to talk about. We continue to go there, as it has a very loft-like feel to it, the food in general is good and the service is pretty decent too. They are also very kid-friendly, which is a big deal for us right now with lil V in tow.
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