January 31: McCoy's Firehouse

Yep -- I've been working in Seattle for more than five months now, and I still hadn't stopped by McCoy's Firehouse for lunch, despite it being less than 500 feet away from the office. It's nice to have so many options.

The joint was pretty busy for a Tuesday lunch hour, but there were still several seats available. The waitress was quick with a Diet Coke, and took my order for the Turkey Dip within a few seconds of me deciding on it. I watched a few minutes of sports talk TV (will the Patriots trade Gronk?), and the food arrived.

I'm not sure if the sandwich had been sitting out too long, or cooked too short, or whether the cheese was too cold, but when I pulled apart the halves, I expected the Swiss cheese to ooze and string and taunt me with its messy melty goodness. Nope. It just kind of broke and flopped. The cold tomato added to the lukewarm nature of the sandwich. I tried to use the au jus to warm it up; it worked, a little.

Flavor-wise, it was fine. The fries were perfectly done, and just at the moment I thought to myself, "Am I going to get a drink refill?", the refill arrived. I was in and out in about 30 minutes, so props to their quick service.

McCoy's Firehouse
172 S. Washington St.
Turkey dip, fries, Diet Coke, $14.23

January Nibbles: MOD Pizza, Tenoch, Zaccagni, Shanghai Garden

Nibbles: quick reviews of new places for which I didn't take time to write a full review.

MOD Pizza: I felt like a walk, so headed to this chain's Union Square location. It's pizza made to order at the counter, kind of like Subway's counter service, but so much better. Pizza is made the way I like it: crispy, messy, made to order. Plenty of table seating in this tatooed/pierced/skater style place. 1302 6th Ave., Pizza with unlimited toppings and soft drink, $11.44

Tenoch Mexican Grill: Craving a burrito, I turned to Google. Its sources pointed me here. They serve burritos in the style of a Taco del Mar assembly line, but much more authentic. Three different styles of chicken; I had the adobado, which was very good. Walk to here via Main, not Washington, unless you enjoy being confronted by junkies screaming at lampposts. Limited table seating in this mamá-y-papá joint. 208 5th Ave. S., pollo adobado burrito and bottle of Coke Zero, $11.07

Zaccagni: An errand found me near the Marion Food Court, where I'd eaten at 206 Burger, and where I'd planned to eat at Thai2Go. The line was too long, so I had a chicken parm sandwich here instead. A bit slippery, a lot messy, and much more than I really should have eaten. Cooked on the spot, yet colder than it should have been. My side order of fries was unnecessary. Meh. 823 3rd Ave., chicken parm sandwich and bag of fries, $13.40

Shanghai Garden: With six coworkers, we sat at the big round table and shared everything spinning around the lazy Susan. Highlights were the green beans, the hand-shaved noodles, and the dumplings. Everything else was merely very, very good. 524 6th Ave S., taste of almost everything with bill split 7 ways, $23.45

January 9: Marcela's Creole Cookery

[Closing December 22]

I had to drive in to leave early last Friday, and parked in the Butler Garage. On the walk back to the office, I walked past Marcela's Creole Cookery, just downhill from Smith Tower. My maternal great grandfather from the bayou would be ashamed, but I don't really know gumbo from jambalaya, but it sounded good, so today, that's lunch.

I ordered "The Sampler," consisting of jambalaya (dirty rice, andouille sausage, and shrimp), gumbo (the same thing, in a spicy soup), and a slice of crawfish pie.

Served quickly, it was all good. The server offered a bottle of hot sauce, but I declined. The gumbo was plenty spicy (I didn't finish it), the jambalaya was well balanced, and the crawfish pie was much, much better than it sounded. Think of a chicken pot pie, but with enough corn starch in the filling to keep its shape, big enough to cut slices out of, and made with crawfish. A thin pastry crust on the edge and bottom provided a delicate base to the hearty crawfish and its mash of peppers, onions, and other veggies. So good.

Service was fast, and the atmosphere evoked thoughts of "yeah, maybe I should go to Mardi Gras this year." If I knew what authentic Cajun cooking was, I'd proclaim this is it. I just know it was good.

Marcela's Creole Cookery
106 James Street
Jambalaya, gumbo, crawfish pie, iced tea, $16.39