$13 Dog and Suds Lunch at Cafe Racer

Posted Oct. 15 at 2:58 pm by Maggie Savarino

​Here's lunch from the subject of my column this week, Cafe Racer. Democratic say in music played: $0.00, wi-fi: $0.00, hot dog slathered in relish: $4.75, salad: $3.95, red beer: $2.50; that's under $13 after tax but before tip. (Cafe Racer, 5828 Roosevelt Way N.E., Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.)

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$13 at Fat Smitty's: The Most Republican Burger You'll Ever Have

Posted Aug. 31 at 1:15 pm by Chris Kornelis

Actual burger pictured after the jump.

​What: The Fat Smitty Special (Double bacon cheeseburger with an extra bun, stacked high. Served with steak fries.)
Where: Fat Smitty's, 282624 US Highway 101 Port Townsend (This is the tip of Discovery Bay. You drive past it between the Hood Canal Bridge and Sequim/Port Angeles on your way to the Olympics.)
When: 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Thursday to Monday
Cost: $9.95
Note: I overheard a man in a wolf t-shirt talking about his buddy, Steve, who ate two Fat Smitty Specials the last time he was in.

A few words about Fat Smitty's: It's legendary. Next time you're driving to the Olympics, it's definitely worth a stop. Not only is the burger delicious — I felt better after eating a Fat Smitty's Special than I've ever felt after a burger — but the joint is a shrine to the military, the GOP, and the conservative cause. These photos tell the story better than I can.

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Happy Hour: Mars Bar (and Cafe Venus Food!) at $13

Posted Aug. 26 at 3:54 pm by Maggie Savarino

​Pictured: carrot-dill soup with half of a Sputnik: Market House pastrami, cheese, and onions on Macrina bread, oooeee.

The above is not part of happy hour, just an example of the grub available at Eastlake's Cafe Venus, under the radar and solid. During happy hour here (4:00-7:00 p.m.), you can get a $3 salad and a $5 pizza, as well as assorted $5 appetizers. Drinks are all 50 cents off in the cafe, with $5 pitchers of PBR in the Mars Bar. One salad plus one pizza plus one pitcher equals $13. (Cafe Venus & Mars Bar, 609 Eastlake Ave. E., 624-4516.)

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Happy Hour at Six Arms on Capitol Hill

Posted Aug. 17 at 3:22 pm by Maggie Savarino

​$13 will take you far, if not at least two thirds through the happy hour food menu at Six Arms: $1 for fries, $2 for a caesar or hummus, and $3 for a third-pound burger. That's $8 and three courses right there. Wells are $3.30, as are McMenamin's ales (try the ruby, whose aroma lands somewhere between raspberry and grapefruit), and PBR is $2.25 a pint. Not the cheapest pint of Peebers on the hill, but decor and jukebox make this old standby something you need to remember. Preferably between the hours of 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. daily, and again at 10:00 p.m. to midnight. (Six Arms, 300 E. Pike St.)

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$13ish Worth of the New Menu at the Athenian

Posted Aug. 3 at 10:42 am by Chris Kornelis

​What: Breakfast from the new menu at the Athenian.
When: Anytime.
What does $13 Get You? Not much. Bring a $20.

Time was you could sit yourself down to a breakfast of five eggs, hash browns, and toast for $6.95. With the marginal, yet obligatorily refillable coffee, it clocked in at less than $10 for one of the most filling and satisfying meals downtown, and it came with the best view in the city. Which is why any of us ever ate there. I never woke up in the morning craving their cafeteria-style cheeseburgers. But the coldest beer in the city and a view of Elliott Bay starts to sound pretty good around lunch.

But today there are no more five-egg omelets. A new chef has brought in a new menu that has, dare I say, classed up the place. (But not too classy. They still remedy spilled beer on the floor by covering it with a paper towel.)

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$13 $5 Dinner: Tacos and Corn on the Cob

Posted July 13 at 2:51 pm by Maggie Savarino

Three carne asada tacos from La Fondita #2 in White Center (9811 15th Ave. S.W.) and a giant ear of corn on the cob from the stand across the parking lot. I guess you could spend $13 dollars, if you hopped two blocks south to Big Al's Brewing (9832 14th Ave. S.W.) and filled your growler with a summer lager (opens at 3:00 p.m. during the week). You'd still have some money left over for some pork rinds from Carniceria El Paisano up the street (9629 15th Ave. S.W.).

The lady above at the corn and fruit cocktail stand (??) is Joan De Luca, a King County Health Inspector who, though mild mannered enough, was scaring the crap out of the sweet little thing working the truck. There were no major infractions, just no proof of a food handler's permit and glove issues. In my experience, the health department always has a glove issue. Didn't stop me from getting ten buttery inches of pure summer joy. (Pro move: Tell them to leave the husk on if you're getting the corn to go so it stays warm.)

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$13: Happy Hour Lunch at The Alibi Room

Posted June 29 at 1:33 am by Chris Kornelis

Chris Kornelis

How should you be spending the $13 a week Obama supposedly put in your pocket? Voracious has some ideas.

What: Happy Hour Lunch at The Alibi Room
When: 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
What does $13 Get You? A beer and two items from the menu (PIZZA!)

Some of my favorite happy hours are those that can take the place of dinner. That is the point, no? A chance to experience the good life at a fraction of the price, and skip the Chef Boyardee for another night. But it's not often that I get a chance to experience one that overtakes lunch. On a school day, this can present a challenge for workers of any collar.

Enter The Alibi Room, the oft-overlooked nook outside the entrance to the Market Theater in Post Alley, now serving up its happy hour menu from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. That's seven days a week. If there's one characteristic of a good happy hour, it's seven-day consistency. How nice to know that there is forever a place to find a $3 glass of hops and a plate of apple, brie, and honey, one of my favorite servings between breakfast and lunch.

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$13: NY Strip Steak Lunch

Posted June 17 at 9:23 am by Chris Kornelis

How should you be spending the $13 a week Obama supposedly put in your pocket? Voracious has some ideas.

Where: Whole Foods' Smokehouse Grill (In the back by the fish and meat counters).
What Does $13 Get Ya? That depends on how hungry you are. You can choose anything from the fish or meat departments and they'll toss it on the grill at the per-pound price. Through June 23, Whole Foods has their NY Strip Steaks at $9.99 per pound (normally $14.99). On my first visit I got an 8-ounce strip ($5) with two sides provided by the grill: a side salad and caramelized onions ($2.99 for two sides), putting my glorious meal at all of $8. A hungrier diner could pull down a full pound of steak and remain true to the $13 theme of this column.
Worth It? Without question.

Steak is such a misunderstood lunch meat. Lemme toss this out atcha: You know those processed deli meats that mom used to throw on our sammys in elementary school? They're still around. They're pre-packaged and hang on the walls of your local Safeway. Take a look at the per-pound price on those suckers one of these days. I recently saw ham for $13.99 per pound. You wouldn't think about it when you're — or, hopefully not — pulling them off the shelf, but you're paying more per pound for that sandwich meat than I did yesterday for a fresh NY strip steak at Whole Paycheck. Yes, I found one hell of a deal at the most expensive grocery store. Go figure.

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A Month of Breakfasts for $13

Posted June 10 at 9:00 am by Chris Kornelis

What do you do with the $13 that Obama's supposedly adding to your paycheck every week? Voracious has some ideas.
What does $13 get you? 60 eggs at Costco ($7), plus $6 to spend as you will (I suggest investing in a huge ham when it goes on sale for pennies a pound.) Other options include 9 pounds of Quaker Oats via Amazon.com for $14 (split with a friend).

To make this work, you've gotta love eggs. We love eggs in my household, a party of two that puts away 120 of 'em every month. That's not nearly the cholesterol fix you think it is. And if I replaced my morning routine with the a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats (the way I did in 10th grade), I'd be hungry before second period all over again.

Fixing yourself two eggs in the morning, plus whatever else you have lying around will do wonders for your morning routine, save you calories (seriously, you're waist ain't fooled by that bagel and low-fat cream cheese), and more importantly you'll save precious dollars. Breakfast is one of my four favorite meals of the day. Done right, it can also be the cheapest (the t-bone steak and eggs at the Family Pancake House is never a good idea).

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$13 at Tangerine Thai

Posted May 12 at 7:41 pm by Brad Hole

Where? Tangerine Thai, 5914 Phinney Ave., (Phinney Ridge)

What Does $13 Get You? Roasted chicken in coconut milk and rice.

Recommended? Absolutely.

Official Tasting Notes: I love Thai food. I do get bored seeing the same thing from menu to menu without much change. Tangerine Thai just moved into an old pottery studio space on Phinney Ridge(in between Santa Fe Cafe and Phinney Market. What I like about this place is they offer some different selections than other Thai restaurants as well as the old stand-bys.

I asked my server what he recommended and for him it was a toss-up between the yellow curry or the charbroiled chicken, actually a bone-in Cornish game hen. The chicken was marinated in coconut milk and yellow curry sauce, then roasted to perfection. The meat came cut into sections but fell off the bone. The chicken was moist and curry and coconut milk added a subtle sweetness. A small dish of sweet-and-sour sauce came on the side to dip each bite in. I was quick to surrender my fork and knife for sticky fingers and an extra paper napkin.

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$13: Hunt Club's Happy Hour Is a Snacker's Paradise

Posted April 15 at 12:08 pm by Chris Kornelis

Chris Kornelis

By the time I remembered to take a picture, we'd already devoured our plates. Oops.

Hotel Sorrento's Hunt Club
When: 5:15ish. (Happy Hour's from 4 to 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. to close.)
What Does $13 Get You? Three fried oysters ($1.50), one Bombay Dry ($4), two sliders ($4), half an order of fries ($1), two prawns ($1), Bud Light $2.50, split an Ahi Tuna ($2.50 is my half). OK, so I went over a little...
Best Find(s): Their well gin is Bombay Dry. Fried Oysters: do yourself a favor and order by the dozen.

My snacking partner and I learned a lot about the woman sipping white wine at the Hunt Club between the seventh and tenth innings of the Mariner's home opener. And though it would violate our informal confidentiality agreement for me to eat and tell, I think it goes without saying that stepping it up a notch for $2.50 Bud and $.50 fried oysters pays off in spades in the chit chat department.

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$13: Beer By the Bucket at Maximilien

Posted April 8 at 2:50 pm by Chris Kornelis

Where: Maximillen
When: Happy Hour: 5 to 7 p.m., M-F; 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday
What Does $13 Get You? Half a bucket of Kronenbourgs ($7.50), an order of Moules Marinière (mussels steamed with butter, $2.95) and Salmon Coulibiac (fish and friends in a pastry, $2.95)

The first and only time I'd ever been served a bucket of beer before my trip to the Market's Maximilien was in Nashville. Happy hour was a about to end, and we each ordered a few rounds to get properly housed on Bud Light, one of only three beers seemingly served in Nashville. It is not the kind of experience I expected an encore performance of six years later at Maximillien, a potential tourist trap tucked behind those boys tossing fish, and around the corner for the ladies peddling tea. Their long-standing happy hour, boasting better-than-average snacks for $2.95 and and the aforementioned suds hits the sweet spot in recession-era drinking and dining.

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All the Sushi You Can Handle for $13

Posted Sep. 1, 2008 at 5:00 am by Anna Roth

Where: Musashi’s, 1400 N. 45th St., Wallingford, 633-0212.

What Does $13 Get You? A lot. Harusami (noodle) salad $1.50; miso soup $1.20; half California roll $3.20; small sake $3.25; tuna sashimi $1.70; yellowtail sashimi $1.70 = $12.55. But that’s a pretty chintzy tip. You can probably skip the sake.

Recommended? If you feel like sushi on a budget.

Official Tasting Notes: Here’s the thing about me and sushi. I have the same feelings towards it that I do towards wine: I appreciate quality when it comes my way, but most of the time, cheap is just fine. I mean, intellectually, I understand that the words “cheap” and “fish” shouldn’t be in the same sentence together, like, ever. But that never stopped me from pigging out on cheap fish from Musashi’s every week when I lived in Wallingford. And loving every minute of it.

The thing to order is chirashi, a massive bowl of sashimi and rice that’s not on the menu, but at $14 it’s out of our price range (though I feel obliged to plug it as the bargain it is just the same). So this time, I decided to branch out. The miso is standard—better than my low bar, those packets from Trader Joe’s. The harusami salad is superb, but I can’t explain why, unless they mix in crack along with the rice noodles and bits of imitation crab and cucumber and sesame seeds and weirdly addictive white mystery sauce. (Is it mayo-based? Probably. I could do my job and call for the recipe, but to tell you the truth, I’m afraid if I know what’s in it, I’ll never order it again. Kind of like the tragic day I uncovered The Secret of the Honey Walnut Prawns*.)

But I digress. Back to the cheap fish. The California Roll is more substantial than most, packed with imitation crab, shrimp, avocado, cucumber and egg. The sashimi cuts are huge and fresh and tasty. I have no idea why everything is so cheap; I’ve never gotten sick, and neither have the legions on yelp—I’d say that’s a sample that would satisfy any statistician.

Bottom line: If you’re looking for amazing sushi, Kisasku is right around the corner and happy to have you. But if you’re fixing for some thick cuts of yellowtail and are (a) broke and/or (b) not picky, then Musashi’s will get the job done every time. Just make sure to get there right on the dot at 5 p.m. when it opens, because, man—it turns out that everyone else in town has a soft spot for cheap fish, too.

*Mayo. Lots and lots and lots of mayo. Ugh.

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$13 Worth of Falafel - That's a Lotta Chickpea!

Posted Sep. 1, 2008 at 3:00 am by Nick Feldman

What? Dueling falafels (fried balls of spiced fava beans and chickpeas)

Where? Cedars Restaurant (1319 NE 43rd Street) and Samir’s Mediterranean Grill (1316 NE 43rd Street)

What does $13 get you? A falafel sandwich ($3.50) and “homemade” lemonade ($1.50) at Cedars, then another falafel sandwich ($4.00) and a giant baklava ($3.00) at Samir’s, plus a buck to spare. If you hit the to-go window, tax and tip are a non-issue. So bring a friend, because the good prices means you’re easily going to score enough for two. And make sure you have cash — there’s a $.50 fee for using plastic on purchases under $10.

Recommended? It’s hard to argue with cheap eats! The price was definitely right, and the taste was easy to love. There’s also a similarly-priced selection of gyros and other sandwiches to enjoy if chickpeas aren’t your thing.

Official tasting notes: At first, I was a little perplexed that the two manage to exist at such a close proximity, literally right across the street from each other, but it was clear that neither had any issues shoring up business.

For everyone who’s ever eaten a pita, well… there’s only so much variation you can employ. It was pretty much the usual at both places: a soft shell stuffed with lettuce, tomatoes and onions and drizzled with sauce. But in this case, it was falafel balls that provided the main substance of the meal rather than gyro meat or beef. To be honest, I wished it was the other way around a few hours later — being an omnivore, I wasn’t quite satisfied by the vegetarian meal.

At first, the taste and texture reminded me a little of hush puppies… but if I wasn’t quick to follow with a bite of wrap or lettuce, the aftertaste was decidedly unpleasant. Luckily, there was more than enough of the other ingredients that any traces of bitterness were usually avoided.

I split the two falafels into halves and took one of each. Half way through, I forgot which sandwich was from what restaurant. I eventually figured it out (colored wrapping paper!), but that example illustrates just how similar the two are.

As for my sides… I’d recommend passing on the “homemade” lemonade; the tiny serving and syrupy sweetness was unimpressive at best. Just stick with water, or grab a can of soda for a little less. The baklava, on the other hand, was well worth its cost — the piece was huge, easily two or three times the size I’m used to seeing, and though it tasted a little mass-produced the honey-tinged flakiness was a perfect end to the meal.

The verdict: The difference between the two is really splitting hairs. If you’re in a hurry or really appreciate great service, swing by Samir’s. Or, if you’re feeling picky (or extremely cheap), cross the street and wait a few extra minutes for Cedars — you’ll save a few cents and get a little more taste.

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What Does $13 Get You at a Complimentary Buffet? (Hint: Lots!)

Posted Aug. 18, 2008 at 3:00 am by Julien Perry

What: A complimentary buffet from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. M-F.

Where: The upstairs bar at Il Fornaio at Pacific Place.

What Does $13 Get You? As much food as you want.

Recommended? Uh, yeah! Where else in Seattle can you get free grub during happy hour? Or any other time for that matter?

Official Tasting Notes: While the food wasn't stellar, it was damn good. Yeah, the free price tag probably added to my sensory enjoyment, but can you blame me?

Here's the deal with the Il Fornaio happy hour. You come, sit down, grab a plate and eat. That's right, you don't even have to order a drink! Did you hear me? There is not even a two-drink minmum. Oh, but if you want a glass of wine or beer during happy hour, it's only a couple bucks.

I went last Thursday with a girlfriend of mine. We each had a glass of the house white (which was delicious) then pigged out.

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