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Right now we are eating in Seattle, Washington.

     
 
 
   

Restaurant Listings

 

As you'll see by browsing the cities below, some have more listings than others. And some have more reviews than others. I live in Seattle so that has the most depth. But be patient as there are a decent number of listings in other places and these will grow over time. I'm eating as fast as I can.

 

North America

Asia

Europe

 

Special Listings

 

 

Where should we eat?

I have been trying to figure out a reliable source for recommending where to eat out across the planet. As much as I try to make this site that source, it's really woefully lacking as there must be at least thousands of great places to eat in the world (if not tens of thousands) and this site barely has tens. Below is a little experiment. A custom search engine (courtesy of rollyo.com) that allows you to search just sources I trust for restaurant recommendations. I'm sure my list is horribly incomplete but its a start.


  

Restaurant Ratings

 

There are four kinds of restaurants in my mind:

 

Restaurants I LOVE

Places I love are restaurants that I recommend without any doubt or qualifications. Something about these dining experiences makes for an emotional, authentic, and memorable experience. If you're just visiting a city, make sure to go to at least one of these.

 

Restaurants I Really Like

The fact is that there are several excellent restaurants in each city who for one reason or another don't quite make it into the "LOVE" category. They are very close though. (Maybe this category should be called "Restaurants I Really Really Like". Not just any decent restaurant makes it in. Consider this category the list of restaurants you need to round out your regular rotation if you live in a city.

 

Restaurants I've Been To

Just because a restaurant is only listed in "Restaurants I've Been to" doesn't necessarily mean that it's bad. Though it's also not likely something you want to go to since there are plenty of restaurants we either love or like, and you can always try something new. You really need read the notes on each restaurant here to understand where it falls in the spectrum. Many are decent. Some of course, are just bad and should be avoided. Sometimes you may prefer one of these restaurants because it's decent and convenient, but location is something I can't take into account here. Everything's relative after all.

 

Restaurants I Want to
Try (or Retry)

And finally, my t0-do list. In cities where I haven't been able to spend as much time, this may be a reasonable list to choose from, but no guarantees.

 
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     

 

 

  

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  Garlic has long been credited with providing and prolonging physical strength and was fed to Egyptian slaves building the giant pyramids. Throughout the centuries, its medicinal claims have included cures for toothaches, consumption, open wounds and evil demons. A member of the lily family, garlic is a cousin to leeks, chives, onions and shallots. The edible bulb or "head" grows beneath the ground. This bulb is made up of sections called cloves, each encased in its own parchmentlike membrane. Today's major garlic suppliers include the United States (mainly California, Texas and Louisiana), France, Spain, Italy and Mexico. There are three major types of garlic available in the United States: the white-skinned, strongly flavored American garlic; the Mexican and Italian garlic, both of which have mauve-colored skins and a somewhat milder flavor; and the Paul Bunyanesque, white-skinned elephant garlic (which is not a true garlic, but a relative of the leek), the most mildly flavored of the three. Depending on the variety, cloves of American, Mexican and Italian garlic can range from 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches in length. Elephant garlic (grown mainly in California) has bulbs the size of a small grapefruit, with huge cloves averaging 1 ounce each. It can be purchased through mail order and in some gourmet markets. Green garlic, available occasionally in specialty produce markets, is young garlic before it begins to form cloves. It resembles a baby leek, with a long green top and white bulb, sometimes tinged with pink. The flavor of a baby plant is much softer than that of mature garlic. Fresh garlic is available year-round. Purchase firm, plump bulbs with dry skins. Avoid heads with soft or shriveled cloves, and those stored in the refrigerated section of the produce department. Store fresh garlic in an open container (away from other foods) in a cool, dark place. Properly stored, unbroken bulbs can be kept up to 8 weeks, though they will begin to dry out toward the end of that time. Once broken from the bulb, individual cloves will keep from 3 to 10 days. Garlic is usually peeled before use in recipes. Among the exceptions are roasted garlic bulbs and the famous dish, "chicken with 40 cloves of garlic," in which unpeeled garlic cloves are baked with chicken in a broth until they become sweet and butter-soft. Crushing, chopping, pressing or pureeing garlic releases more of its essential oils and provides a sharper, more assertive flavor than slicing or leaving it whole. Garlic is readily available in forms other than fresh. Dehydrated garlic flakes (sometimes referred to as instant garlic) are slices or bits of garlic that must be reconstituted before using (unless added to a liquid-based dish, such as soup or stew). When dehydrated garlic flakes are ground, the result is garlic powder. Garlic salt is garlic powder blended with salt and a moisture-absorbing agent. Garlic extract and garlic juice are derived from pressed garlic cloves. Though all of these products are convenient, they're a poor flavor substitute for the less expensive, readily available and easy-to-store fresh garlic. One unfortunate side effect of garlic is that, because its essential oils permeate the lung tissue, it remains with the body long after it's been consumed, affecting breath and even skin odor. Chewing chlorophyll tablets or fresh parsley is helpful but, unfortunately, modern-day science has yet to find the perfect antidote for residual garlic odor.  

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