Brent's and Barbara

One of the well known rules in my family is "don't eat before going to Grandma's".  Every time Family P visits Grandma Gutman's house in the valley we leave with very full bellies.  Barbara will stuff your face with bagels, locks, salami, potato salad, and her legendary bundt and ice cream bar cakes (yes, she literally stacks up ice cream bars between cool whip and serves it in massive proportions).  One of her favorite restaurants right downy the street from her is the renowned Brent's Deli.  If Grandma does prepare the giant feast herself, she almost always has a Deli Platter toppled high with locks, white fish, onions,  capers, tomatoes, and spread from Brent's in Northridge.

On our most recent family visit to California we picked up Grandma and took her out to the restaurant for brunch.  Brent's had your classic deli atmosphere.  Vibrant vinyl booths and hanging tubes of salami are always present.

Dad drinking his Dr. Browns
Cream Soda

Zoe eating one of the pickles!

After being seated in our red corner booth, a middle aged blonde waitress greeted us while smacking gum between her teeth (how stereotypical).  A complimentary plate of assorted pickles was served to the table.  I like the very mild ones.  They don't have much of a vinegar taste and are similar to their original state as a cucumber.  I glanced over the menu and confidently chose my order.  You can never go wrong with a pastrami sandwich from a good deli.  My dad ordered the same dish.

As we waited for our late breakfasts/early lunches we talked with Grandma about her garage sale coming up.  The food was out in about 10 minutes.  This was a very quick delivery time for the bustling restaurant.  My dad did mention that this was the only time he's ever seen the place NOT completely packed.  Not typical for a late Saturday morning.

Hot Pastrami Sandwich
On Double Baked Rye Bread
with a side of coleslaw

My sandwich was piled high with thinly sliced pastrami on top of the Double Baked Rye Bread.  Thinly sliced and smokey meat is the way to go.  I'd way rather have layers of meat than one giant slab.  The stone ground mustard on the table was the perfect finishing touch to spread on with my fork.  The sandwich came with a side of coleslaw.  My dad actually put his in the sandwich, but I just ate it on the side.  It was quite creamy, a little runny at the bottom of the dish, but a good and classic deli side.

Potato Latke

Lulu was so excited when she saw that they had latkes on the menu.  My mom always makes latkes during Hanukkah.. and we might have them on one more occasion throughout the year, just if we feel like it.  She gobbled them up with sour cream and homemade cherry apple sauce.  They were much denser than my mom's because the potato was homogenized rather than shredded.

Mom and Grandma shared the smoked white fish platter, what Grandma usually orders when we come over.   It comes with two bagels and lots of extra sides.  They built their bagels with cream cheese, tomatoes, bermuda onions, lox and white fish.

Smoked Whitefish Platter
Whitefish, Lox, Cream Cheese, Tomatoes, Bermuda Onion,

Olives, and a side of Coleslaw.

Before leaving the restaurant, my dad wanted to get a salami to go.  About once or twice a year he will have my grandparents send him a Brent's salami all the way to Seattle.  We haven't been able to find a deli quite like Brent's in the Pacific Northwest.

Zoe's Grad Dinner and Dessert

Zoe finally graduated from high school! I am so proud of her and in the words of my Dad "Thank the lord she made it".  To celebrate, she wanted the family to go out to our favorite mexican place in Ballard- La Carta de Oaxaca.  It's a little more difficult to find authentic mexican food in Seattle, than in LA. I've been told that there are some pretty good food trucks downtown, but I haven't had the courage (or time) to pinpoint them yet.  El Camión is supposed to be pretty good, I'll have to try it out.

Enchiladas Verdes con Pollo

After a brisk rollerblading adventure around Green Lake with my friends Hadley and Corinne, my parents picked me up at UW and we headed into Ballard.  Because it was a Monday night, the restaurant wasn't as packed as usual.  Of course, the Family P is still considered a pretty large party and we had to wait a couple of minutes at the bar.  My parents sipped their margaritas as we snacked on house made chips and guac.  Nothing particularly spectacular.  The chips are warm, but a little greasy.  The award for my favorite house made chips definitely go to Más Malo, on 7th in Downtown LA.  Their deep-fried salty taste is matched with a doughy and crunch-less texture.  I have still yet to find a guac that I enjoy more than my father's homemade jumble of avocado and various salsas, but what are you going to do?  You don't want to waste your appetite on chips and salsa anyways.

After we were seated, we all basically knew what we wanted and ordered promptly.  My parents always get the chicken mole, and Zoe ordered the Entomatadas.  The mole dish isn't my favorite, but my parents swear that La Carta has the best around.  I do enjoy the Entomatadas, but I wasn't in the steak mood after all of the red meat I've been eating at my new internship @ John Howie Steak (more to come).  I ordered the Enchiladas Verde de Pollo.  This is a new item on the menu and I thought I'd try it out.

I was hoping for some dense and cheesy filled tortillas with shredded chicken and salsa verde on top.  The home made corn tortillas came out rolled tightly and packed almost like taquitos.  They were actually a little crunchy and didn't taste as fresh as usual.  The chicken inside also wasn't very moist.  My favorite component of the dish was definitely the salsa verde atop, with sliced onion and crema.  The peppery salsa is cooled with a light cream and the onions bring a nice crisp to the overall dish.  The plate was served with rice and beans.  Nothing spectacular but I would consider ordering it again if I was in the mood for some verde chicken taquitos.

After dinner we headed next door to Hotcakes, the "molten chocolate cakery" Seattle has been raving about.  I've read about their "Boozy" Milkshakes and grilled chocolate sandwiches online and in Seattle Magazine.  My parents were enchanted by their bread pudding last time we went and craved more.

The Bread Pudding
Maple-Clove butterscotch, sautéed apples and pears, vanilla ice cream

"Peanut Butter Cup"
Molten Chocolate Cake
Theo milk chocolate cake, pb fudge,
pb ganache, vanilla ice cream

I ordered the "Peanut Butter Cup" Molten Chocolate Cake.  It was delivered hot in a cute little mason jar with a side of vanilla ice cream.  The cake itself was dark, rich, and chocolatey.  The type of chocolate that almost dries out your mouth it is so rich.  The slightly scorched texture may be due to the fact that it is gluten free. Inside the chocolate sponge is a peanut butter fudge and ganache.  To me, the fudge texture didn't really stick out, but I did notice a light brown molten ooze.  The whole cake was VERY rich.  I found myself constantly going back for more of the vanilla ice cream to mellow out the chocolate abundance.  Peanut butter and chocolate is a pretty typical craving of mine, and although I really did enjoy the dessert, it wasn't my absolute favorite.  I think just the combo of a heavy mexican dinner and then a rich cake threw me off.

My mom and sisters shared the bread pudding, while my dad had his own "Dark Decadence" Molten Chocolate Cake.  The bread pudding was spongey, caramel-y, and deliciously salty (will definitely be getting that one next time), and the Dark Decadence was basically my dish, minus the pb.

Hot cakes is a great dessert destination for you adventurous sweet tooths out there.  The atmosphere is really fun and it always seems to be jam-packed every time we pass by.  I really want to try the alleged "boozy" and regular milkshakes.  I think next time I make a trip it'll have to be not following a large plate of enchiladas.

My dad about to devour his "Dark Decadence"

Grandpa is in Town

The whole family was up in Seattle for LuLu's Bat Mitzvah this weekend.  After all of the festivities, Grandpa P said he would treat the family to dinner.  After visiting many times, he's been to quite a few restaurants in Seattle with us.  I recommended the restaurant we all went out to after my high school graduation in 2011.

The three sisters with Grandpa P

We made a reservation for 7:45 at Serafina, an Italian restaurant close to Lake Union on Eastlake.  Even though our reservations were for outside under the decorative lights, we ended up sitting inside due to my grandfathers wishes (his California blood wasn't quite used to the cold Seattle weather).

Although this is probably not customary, my dad insisted to order an entree as an appetizer.  We asked for the specialty of the house, the Mellanzane all a Serafina.  This is a vegetarian dish that resembles eggplant parmesan.  The thin slices of eggplant are rolled up tightly and stuffed with rich ricotta.  I love eggplant, and the light slices soaked up the flavors of the dish very well.  I didn't really like how they were served over cappellini, but makes sense if it is meant to be an entree.  I think the eggplant rolls a la carte would actually be a great appetizer idea for the restaurant.  The eggplant was a sufficient way to start the meal, but I personally like my mom's eggplant parmesan better.

Insalata della Casa
Delicate butter lettuce dressed
with champagne vinaigrette,
topped with pickled red onion

Zuppa del Giorno
Split Pea Soup

For the my appetizer, LuLu and I split the Insalata della Casa.  Because we split the dish, we each only received 2 leaves of lettuce on our plate.  It was a very light starter, but with a little bit of fresh ground pepper it cleared my palate perfectly.  I really liked the sweet pickled onion on top, not usually one of my favorite sides.  Zoe ordered the Zuppa del Giorno (split pea soup) for her appetizer.  I was contemplating between this and the salad, so I made Zoe promise that she would let me taste it.  I don't usually order soup at a restaurant, but the cold weather kind of put me in the mood.  I'm glad I actually went with the salad because the soup was not as sweet as I would have liked.  It was was pretty bland with a slight earthy taste; definitely needed some pepper or other spices.  But Zoe liked it and finished the entire cup.

Polpettine di Vitello
Veal meatballs simmered in greenn olive-tomato
sauce; tossed with penne rigate and finished
with Ricotta Salata

For dinner I felt like it was classic spaghetti and meat balls kind of night.  Zoe and I both ordered the Polpettine di Vitello.  The meatballs were big and dense and the homemade pasta was cooked al dente.  Theres nothing I love more than homemade pasta but this did not completely inspire me.  The sauce was good; the olive oil base made the dish very unique ( I was just craving something a little more tomato-y.  I was only able to finish two of the meatballs, they were just a little dry for my taste.

LuLu ordered my other possible option on the menu.  The vegetarian Ravioli con Piselli looked light and zesty.  I tried a bite and could taste the black truffle infused potatoes inside.  The butter sauce was quite watery, but overall very light.  

We decided to skip dessert and just have the leftover gelato in the freezer at home. Dinner was nice, but I think our experience 2 years ago was slightly better. The service was excellent and I would still recommend this authentic italian restaurant for anyone wanting to dine outside on a nice summer night in Seattle.