Eating Our Way Through the Eastside

Seattle is home to some of the best restaurants in the world. We've eaten in many of them, and have some great favorites. Last week while we were there we ate our way through the weekend, and had a great time doing so.

We stopped at Top Pots Doughnuts in Bellevue on our way home from the airport. Those are some good donuts. Perhaps the best apple fritter I've ever had. For regular old donuts, though, I still love Factory Donuts in Kingsgate.

Thursday night we took Debby and Randy to dinner to celebrate their birthdays. We gave them their choice of restaurant, and they picked what we consider to be the best food in the greater Seattle area. And believe me, we've eaten at a lot of great restaurants. Ray discovered Tosoni's many, many years ago. Walter, the owner and chef, remembered Ray and promised to put cioppino on the menu for Ray that night. Tosoni's is in a little strip mall in the Overlake area of Bellevue. It's intimate and friendly. If you like melt-in-your-mouth, savor-the-goodness, out-of-this-world food, this is the place for you.

Ray and Diane

Debby and Randy - see the kitchen in the back? We're at the front of the restaurant. Cozy and small.

The menu. The cioppino was a special offering.

Mahi Mahi

Veal Piccata

Cioppino

The best chocolate in all the world. I couldn't wait long enough for the picture. I just had to have a bite first.

The chocolate decadence at Tosoni's is like no other. There is no better chocolate that I've had in my life. Ever. Take it from someone who knows chocolate: it's the best.

On the other end of the food spectrum is King Charley's in Snohomish. The service is excruciatingly slow and the only seating are two archaic picnic tables which more closely resemble teeter-totters. But--there is no better burger, nor are there any better fresh fruit shakes in the state of Washington. Or any other state I've been in so far.

Madeleine, Ray, Debra, Jonathan, Randy, Diane

Those are the extremes of our eating. We also managed to squeeze in Cafe Veloce where I had my favorite Pasta Muffaleta, Pizza Bank for a beef gyro, and Pomegranate Bistro, where I had an incredible BLTGA (bacon, lettuce, tomato, gouda cheese, avocado and peppadew aioli) sandwich. 

The rest of the weekend (and, really the best part) was spent being with family and friends. More of that to come soon.