Bizarro Italian Cafe: Restaurant Review

A couple weekends ago, my family and I celebrated my dad's birthday. He was craving Italian food, so we went to this unique/quirky little place up in Wallingford, Seattle called Bizarro Italian Cafe!

Outside shot.

Quick glimpse of some of the food!

** Warning, picture heavy!! ** =P

When you first walk in, you notice how small the place is and how jam packed everything is with interesting eye-catching pieces!

 

The ceilings and walls are filled with random items. Along different walls, some of the menu is written on a chalk board. I  loved this little saying of "Nobody is 'fine' with water" that can be seen as you walk towards the main dining area (see below).

 

 

The bathroom was just as quirky (maybe a little on the creepy side too!) but I loved it nonetheless.

In the bathroom hall, there was this picture of baby Chinese kids acting like Communist officials/leaders. I found this picture quite intriguing! (We can also go in depth and analyze the meaning behind it, but I won't do that here! haha)

 

To distinguish the women's bathroom, there was a headshot of Alice in Wonderland on the door.

 

This old radio was playing inside the bathroom and it was naming off a list of numbers and then people/places. It reminded me a lot of the dystopian underwater world of Rapture in the game Bioshock!

Menu

 

 

Everyone is offered  bread (foccacia I believe) and a dish of olive oil and balsamic vinegar as a starter.

 

We ordered the meat flatbread as a starting appetizer which had marinara sauce, mozzarella, proscuitto and arugla. It was just like pizza but lighter, and was enjoyed with parmasean and hot pepper flakes on it.

My mom ordered a cauliflower soup that was actually really tasty and I usually don't like cauliflower! There were some greens, and this caper, berry-looking vegetable that was on the salty side.There was cream also added to the soup to give it that smooth texture.

My dad had the cesear salad and as you can see, it was definitely a more rustic and old-school looking dish. The dish consists of a half head of lettuce, not chopped up, and there were actual fillets of anchovies on it! Olive oil, cracked pepper, and lemon wedges were used as a dressing to garnish the top. I loved the aesthetics of this and this tasted really refreshing and light.

 

I had their plain house salad that was dressed with a vinaigrette dressing.

 

 

NOW FOR THE MAIN COURSES!

My mom had the clam linguine. There was a lot more clams than I had expected, but the dish itself was overall a little too salty so I didn't try too much of it. If you're a lover of clams, this may be up your ally. It may not be as salty at the time you order it.

My brother's girlfriend had the puttanesca (kind of a bad name since I think this dish was reserved for the 'whores/prostitues') but it was delicious. I loved the red sauce over it and the texture of the noodles. I believe they were handmade. There was quite a lot of olives in it as well and the grated cheese and parsley leaves over the dish added a nice layer of flavor to this pasta dish.

 

My brother had the gnocchi (potato dumpling). I forgot what kind of meat was in it, but whatever it was and whatever sauce it had in it was absolutely delicious! It was nice and savory and a had bold, slightly smoky flavor. The texture of the gnocchi was just right too--not too mushy and not to chewy.

Now for my main dish (and my dad's too), Elk Bolognese!! The noodles are what made the dish.They were cooked just right, not overly al dente, and not too soft.

The elk meat was also an interesting part of the dish as well. You could tell how lean the elk meat was compared to regular beef since it was chewier in texture.

 

The sauce wasn't what I expected and I was hoping for more flavor from the spices added. Hearing an 'elk' dish, I was expecting something more...exotic or something along those lines. 

It was still good and I think the noodles help save the dish for me since it made the whole meal much better. The flavoring wasn't bad, it just wasn't what I was expecting and not quite intense enough. It seemed the red sauce paired with the meat was lacking in a layer of flavor.

 

 

Now on to dessert!

Dessert Menu

 

 

We kept it light and simple and ordered the artisan cheese plate with apples, spiced pecans, honey, and a thick balsamic reduction. The simplicity of this was very pleasing and the flavor combinations and pairings were great. It was perfect for an after dinner plate since it wasn't too heavy or too sweet.

 

I hope you guys enjoyed this food post! I just love sharing my experiences at new places and my love for food in general.

I will probably come check out this place again and would recommend it if you want to experience a cozy and quirky Italian place! I do recommend going earlier in the evening or later, since the place is pretty small and they do not take reservations. This would be a cute place to take a date too! Then you can check out the rest of the neighborhood and grab some Molly Moon's ice cream to share =P

 

Readers, do you like Italian food? What is your favorite Italian dish? Let me know in the comments!

Miyabi 45: Japanese with a fusion twist

Miyabi 45, a Japanese fusion restaurant located in Wallingford, Washington (just west of the University of Washington) has always been on my to try list ever since I heard about its opening.
I was finally able to try it out last weekend for an early Mother's day dinner with my family.
To me, this place is nothing like the original Miyabi restaurant (located in Tukwila) but it does have a nice atmosphere to it. Since it was a hot day, the side paneled window/doors were open right at the front of the store allowing a nice breeze. The seating was a bit tight since I think they get packed pretty early so they were not able to give us an extra half a table (even though no one was really there yet right when it opened).
Now I'll jump right into the food :

They started it for us by giving us these complimentary tofu bites? I'm honestly not too sure what these were, but I believe it was some type of soybean product. It was soft and creamy and seasoned with ponzu and wasabi.

I wanted oysters for the hot day so we tried out the Shigoku and the Olympias. I've never had the Shigoku before and I have to say that I did enjoy it more so than the Olympia which I had before. They're mild and sweet and a larger size.

Everytime I go to the Miyabi in Tukwila, I almost always order an Uni (sea urchin) shot. They are $2 more here, but I still love them.

Here we had a chop salad with golden beets, asparagus, pea vines, and more. I really liked the dressing that they paired with this salad. The noodles were a little too hard for my liking, but I really enjoyed the tender beets.

A deep fried sweetbread that was on their special, this dish was on the more mediocre side and the sweetbread was a little chewy and not as flavorful as I would've liked. Also, the pea vines underneath were stringy since they didn't remove the top vein (as with most people that prepare pea vines UNLESS you're at an authentic Chinese restuarant). So overall, this dish wasn't as impressive.

Cheese plate with 5 different cheese and homemade crackers. The Meyer lemon marmalade pictured on the far left was amazing and paired with the cheeses really well. My favorite was the koji yeast fermented tofu (cheese on the bottom left ) since it reminded me of the Chinese fermented bean curd used in their cooking.

Foie gras with jerusalem artichoke (sunchoke) and brussel sprouts. This foie gras had a nice aromatic flavor which infused into the veggies. The piece I had (since we split it amongst 5 of us) was a little bit undercooked, but didn't bother me too much. It was still a nice succelent piece.

The main courses were our Soba dishes! (I had the Zaru Soba--cold dippng styple soba) while the hot ones other people had.

My mom ordered the duck and leek (kamo nanban). I only had a piece of the duck which I liked the texture of, but wished it carried a little more flavor.

I ordered the dipping soba. This handmade soba is very good. The texture is different than of the dry packaged ones you buy at the store or even have at other restaurants. It is nice a light and chewy but not overly aldente. Definitely a good soba and a good place if you want something handmade.

For dessert, we had this Japanese fusion style and their interpretation of a french beignet. I liked the idea of it, adding the bacon and having maple syrup that flavor-wise, should pair nicely with kinako (soybean flour). However, the buckwheat tofu reminded me more of the sesame paste with a too gooey of a center that reminded me of mochi (rice cake). It was okay, but I wouldn't miss not seeing it since it was on their special menu.

Overall, I was very pleased with my experience. The location was nice and on a sunny day, its even better because you can walk around and check the area out--(where we also got Molly Moon's ice cream about 3 blocks down!).

I would definitely go back and maybe try some other items like something off the Seattle's Best Bukkake (bad name..for certain reasons!) style of soba.

And below are pictures of the menus and pricing.