The food critics at the Seattle Times recently shared their favorite takeout food experiences, which inspired me to share a few of my own recommendations! Food is a huge part of my life and the pandemic food experience has been bittersweet. For every sad story I’ve read about a restaurant struggling or going out of business, there have also been wonderful stories about chefs harnessing their ingenuity to create fun and delicious takeout experiences. Here are a few of my favorites:
Delivery
Fremont Bowl
I miss my meals inside Fremont Bowl
Located right next to one of my favorite places in the city (Book Larder), Fremont Bowl has a simple concept - “homestyle Japanese comfort food” - and executes it perfectly, every time. My favorite dish is the Sake Don, a deceptively simple preparation of raw salmon, rice, and soy sauce. When a dish is this simple, it has to be absolutely perfect - and at Fremont Bowl, it is. The salmon is exceptionally high quality, melting in your mouth like butter. The rice is even better, as if every grain of rice was individually cooked to the perfect amount of doneness. Happily, because this dish is served at room temperature, it travels well; it’s the perfect pandemic delivery meal. On nights when I am craving protein and Japanese food, this is my go-to order.
Takeout
Flora Bakehouse
Photographic evidence of how much I enjoyed my Flora Bakehouse croissant!
The weekends are when I visit my favorite bakeries and check out new ones. I think everyone who knows the wonderful vegetarian restaurants Cafe Flora and Floret was eagerly anticipating the opening of Flora Bakehouse. And it totally delivers! The Bakehouse is located in an up and coming section of Beacon Hill, so it’s fun to visit and explore a new neighborhood. When you enter, the interior is beautiful - I loved the huge windows to look into the kitchen! They have a huge selection of baked goods, including tons of vegan and alternative options. I sampled a plain croissant and an empanada filled with roasted corn, chard, and chilis. Both were top-notch. Highly recommend!
Take Home & Cook
Sea Star
My contribution was the beurre blanc!
The best deal out there for a meal to bring home and prep is from Seastar. For less than $100, my family of four was given enough food to last us multiple meals. None of my photos do justice to the quantity - but perhaps they can almost do justice to the quality. Everything was TASTY and the amount of home preparation was always the perfect amount - just enough to make me feel like I was making a contribution, but never so much as to feel even an ounce of stress. We ate several meals from Seastar and each was better than the last. I will be very curious to see if this new kind of meal - the “take home and prep yourself” will continue after the pandemic. With food this great from Seastar, I sure hope so.