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Happy Thanksgiving Y’all!

Yeah thats very american of me but its a day that you need to be “American”. Today is a day for being thankful and grateful for everything we have, spending time with family (if possible) and just enjoying yourself with the traditional things for this time of year, Pumpkin, Turkey, Football & Parades. But is that really the true meaning of it all? Probably not, but to be honest that is how it seems.

A sure fire thing though, today is a big day for everyone over here. Most things are shut in preparation for Black Friday tomorrow (biggest shopping day of the year, so I am soooo avoiding it), everyone is wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving (who says americans are not friendly) and its celebration time everywhere. With a lot of people spending their time with their family, it kind of sucks that mine is on the other side of the world, but it’s a little bit easier when it isnt really a holiday I have celebrated before. I think Christmas will be tougher.

The hardest thing about today though for me is, What to eat. I have some roast Turkey leftover from last night, maybe some lovely pumpkin soup (will keep the pie for Saturday night I think to cap off a truly busy week). I will take it easy after the last couple of weeks of indulging while on my trip (I don’t feel right calling it a holiday), so will keep it all on the down low.

Pretty much I want to take this time right now to say Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends, happy holidays. But I also want to say that I am thankful for the opportunities I have had (especially as of late) and that I am thankful for the friends I have over here in the USA, along with the friends and family I have spread over the world. I truly miss all of my friends back home, and miss my family, but those are the choices I made and I have no regrets for making those decisions.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving

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Introduction

About a year ago, I made the decision to head to one of the biggest airshows in the USA, Aviation Nation. I figured that no matter what happened with my life I was going to head on over here for it. To make things even better, the show is at the Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, yeah that’s right Vegas Baby.

Fast Forward till about a few months ago and I am living in the USA. Still planning to go to the show, but how do I get there. I was pretty much stuck to flying Alaska Air due to the times and the fact that they pretty much dominate Seattle. So I mean ok the airline decision is made but tickets were not cheap $400-500 return in Coach…. OUCH! And I really wanted to go. Really desperately.

Then Icelandair came to the picture, they decided to run a promotion on buying their points. If I bought enough points for a First Class Award ticket with their partner Alaska Airlines I could end up getting the flight for $350 all in. So I could fly first Class, on Alaska Airlines for less than coach… where do I sign up! It was pretty painless, other than the 24 hours it took for the points to post, that was it, Easy as hell. Mind you 4 days after I booked my flights, Icelandair closed the promotion early and stopped allowing redemptions with Alaska. Apparently it got abused a lot 😉

Next up was where to stay. I scoured the web trying to get decent rates at some of the Strip Hotels. But they were all the same cost, all around the same price. I mean seriously, how do you choose when they all look so awesome and are all so similar. So I took the easy way out. I hotwired it. Hotwire is pretty much a mystery bidding website. So you just hope and pray you get a decent hotel. But there are a few websites around that help you with the bidding process. So with their help, and a prayer to the Flying Spaghetti Monster, I made my booking and out came my hotel. Trump Hotel Las Vegas. Awesome! About half a block off the strip but still close enough.

With a car booked with National again (wasn’t going to select a Camaro again, wanted something different after Dayton) I was all set. Now it was just wait, hope and pray the weather is good.

Friday 9th November 2012

After a full day at work it was time to jump in the truck and head on down to SeaTac. Now I finished at 530pm, right in the middle of Peak Traffic, so I knew it wasn’t exactly going to be a quick trip to the Airport. Meh whatever I have time since my flights not till 930pm. So I slowly made my way south to the airport and dropped the truck off. Pretty soon I was safely in the airport, checked in (which took seconds and heading towards security). Since I had time and the main checkpoint was just full on Busy. So I took the option to walk, and walk a lot.. all the way to the A/B/South Gate security. Which is the far end of the terminal. Eh! Whatever. There was no wait (ok maybe 1 or 2 people) but as usual my 100% hit rate on the backscatter machines stayed intact.

Once through security I walked all the way back to the main area and headed into the Board room (aka the lounge). I didn’t know I had access till earlier in the day when I was on twitter and Alaska Airlines let me know that I had access to the lounge! Awesome, free snacks, drinks and a quiet place to live out the world. What more could I want. It was just as expected, and it was a good way to just chill out in peace. Having an amazing lounge is one thing, getting access to a lounge when you don’t really want all that much. Its fine!

With a solid 30 minutes before departure I headed over to the N gates where my flight would be departing from. Alaska has a habit of board really early and getting everyone on as quickly as possible. I have read stories of flights ready to go 20 minutes before scheduled departure. Low and Behold boarding was early.

Alaska Airlines AS614
Seattle to Las Vegas
2135-2354
Boeing 737-900 (N319AS)
First Class – Seat 2A

Boarding: 2050 (Gate N3)
Push Back: 2133
Take Off Roll: 2143 (Runway 34C)
Top of Descent: 2306
Touch Down: 2341 (Runway 25L)
Shut Down: 2350 (Gate E15)

I wasn’t the first onboard as there was a number of preboards first but I was in the first wave and was safely in my seat settling in, even if it was earlier than we were meant to. But they needed that time as it seemed there was just plenty of people all fighting over bin space, and lots of announcements being made suggesting people clear the aisles quickly etc. The announcements seemed to get longer and longer, but I know that essentially they were just there to make sure everyone understood.

We were doors shut and pushing back before the scheduled departure time. We had to taxi all the way from the N gates down to the southern end of the field but we didn’t wait long at the threshold at this hour and were soon skyward, heading for Vegas. This was not going to be an eventful flight really. It was late, so most people were trying to sleep (for some reason?), and I didn’t expect all that much of a party atmosphere being it was Alaska (if it was Virgin America yeah) but there was a couple in the first row who were getting into the spirit of things (newlyweds maybe?).

Either way my flight was filled with Coffee, snack mix (cant they just load nuts) and a sad excuse for a “Chicken Salad” which was pretty much some lettuce and a piece of cold chicken. Come on seriously? Whatever! Don’t be greedy Malcolm!

The flight was pretty uneventful, I finished my book, had about 10 coffees (hey I had been up since 5 and didn’t expect to get any sleep till 1) and pretty soon we were descending to Vegas. The thing that surprised me most about the descent was outside. Vegas just appeared out of nowhere almost. In the middle of this inky black void there was just lights, and thousands of lights. So many lights. The strip was all lit up, sadly my camera doesn’t handle these shots well, especially out of a moving aircraft, at night, in the bouncy air around the desert. But I can see why people do the helicopter flights now. It was beautiful!

Once on the ground we headed off into the new Terminal 3 at McCarran Airport and it was shiny and new and felt all to devoid of a soul (so in otherwords… 100% vegas). The crappy thing was that Vegas like Seattle uses an off site Rental Car terminal. All the car rentals no matter who you hire with, you have to use that facility. So a good 20 minutes after grabbing my bag I was off the shuttle (due to having to wait 10 minutes, then a slow 10 minute drive to the terminal) at the facility. Thanks to my newly scammed Executive status with National I was choosing my car. Not much to choose from (turned down the offer of the Mustang) and went with a GMC Terrain (aka the Soccer mom mobile) pretty much cause I knew it would be well kitted out, full of all the goodies being a GMC.

Within 10 more minutes I was checking into my room at the Trump and after using the $20 trick (tip the person at check in $20 and free upgrade for you) I was heading up to my Strip View studio on the 53rd floor. The room was HUGE! Just massive. Way bigger than I needed. But I just got myself sorted and hit the sack because I was super tired.

Saturday 10th November 2012

Woke up nice and early after like no sleep and hit the gym, there was already heaps of people in the Gym but it was pretty well set up so there was no problem with getting a machine. The night before had been fairly cold and although I had brought my running gear, was going to take it easy… ish. After my workout, it was clean up time, and work out plans for the morning. I pretty much googled a bakery, found the location and drove their for breakfast, even if it was a bit out of the way from where I was going, but hell I am on holidays and it just makes the adventures all the more fun. Plus who doesn’t love breakfast in a random car park while eating off the bonnet of your car.

I hit the road towards Nellis which was easy since it was essentially straight along I15, keep going till I hit the speedway and that’s where I was to park. They were smart in setting up the parking at the Speedway, unlike the JBLM air show where there was very little of any buses and they were not that frequent. Here at the speedway, they were constantly there, row after row of coaches, not school buses, full on coaches. I guess when you’re in Vegas even the airshows are done in style.

The airshow was great, although the wind was pretty strong, the sun was out (for a while) and the photography was just epic). So many good shots, so much to see, so little time. But the wind picked up really really crazy. So strong that I was absolutely shivering. So after the Raptor demo, I bailed and I bailed quick. I did manage a couple of shots of the Heritage flight but I wasn’t pushing it.

By the time I got back to the car and back towards town it was after 3 so a quick grocery store stop for lunch, and then it was off to McCarran for a little bit of spotting. One big problem. The 3 metre high fence  There was no way I was going to be able to shoot over the fence. I did try to get up on top of the car, but when I heard the roof pop in, well that stopped that, cause I don’t feel like explaining that to the rental company (it popped right back thank god). The spotting was a lot of Southwest but it was such a good spot, if I had the truck I would have been super happy shooting for hours. Even better, no need for liveatc as they pipe the ATC through FM (101.1FM for anyone visiting). I gave up as the sun started setting and figured I might as well head back via the strip a little. That meant one thing. The Vegas sign. There was a bit of a crowd but what I didn’t expect was to be crashing a wedding, at sunset, in the middle of the Strip, underneath the Las Vegas sign. AWESOME!

Back to the hotel, and change, shower, warm up and it was off to dinner. I pretty much found the first place on Opentable at one of the big name restaurants and figured, what the hell. Bad Idea. The food was good at Nob Hill Tavern, but it was such a small serving and at such a high price, well, I bailed, but not before a yummy Pumpkin Soup with Brussel Sprouts. I will pay that! So I indulged a little (I am on holidays right?), I had seen somewhere on the web mentioned this totally out of the way ice cream place. So I headed up there and they had pumpkin ice cream… WIN! Great way to end the night, sitting in bed, watching tv and eating pumpkin ice cream.

Sunday 11th November 2012

More of the same routine this morning, Workout, shower, off to breakfast. A few slight differences though, a 6k run through the Vegas streets with at least 3k along the strip (which was pretty cool). The breakfast was pretty cool though. One of the things I had seen on Man Vs Food was this amazingly crazy place that had just some crazy breakfasts. The usual breakfasts but taken to a whole new level. I was looking forward to this for ages.

It was out of the strip area, way out in the suburbs. Way way out! But it was worth it. Hash House A Go Go is this amazingly crazy, down home breakfast place. The servings are not small but pretty good value. They had pancakes on the menu and when I asked if it was just 1 on the serve the answer was “yes, just 1 but they are 14inches across, they would be bigger but we couldn’t find a bigger pan.” I wasn’t sure if shes was joking or not, but hey I’m down with that. I ended up choosing the “Meatloaf Hash” which came with 2 eggs, a “Biscuit” and some fruit. Heaps of food, and it filled me up so well I didn’t eat again till dinner.

The airshow plan for today was only a part day at the show, but it was going to be time to explore the statics on display. It seemed like a better idea originally. Spend the day when I have limited time due to afternoon comittments, exploring the statics. Well that was a good idea at the time, but the weather was so much better. O well. I missed out  but the statics were still awesome, and I got to explore the Thunderbirds Msusem (which is a story all of its own). With my shopping done as well (supporting the troops and their families) I headed back into town, checking out random places, and just goofing off (Zombie Apocalypse Store anyone?).

At 3pm I had an a appointment though. At MGV (Machine Guns Vegas) to fire some guns, some Automatic weapons. This was gonna be fun. Firing guns, shooting just like I did the last time I was in vegas. One of my favourite sayings has always been “Happiness is a Automatic Weapon with Belt Feed” I was going to keep that memory alive, this time with an M60. An old school, big caliber (7.62mm) automatic machine gun. Happiness!

The shooting was fun, I haven’t had that feeling in so long. But it all came flooding back. The feeling of shooting a belt fed weapon is just crazy, like nothing else. Pretty soon my shooting came to an end and I was heading back to the hotel, to clean up and get ready for tonights entertainment. Blue Man Group!

I was going to get to see the new Blue Man Group show. The show had only started a couple of weeks prior so I was excited to see the new show. I grabbed a quick light dinner (wasn’t all that hungry after breakfast still) and I headed over to Monte Carlo for the show. Before the show though they have a parade through the casino to entice people to the theater. Interesting!

The show was pretty epic, again I had poncho seats and didn’t even come close to any paint (though a flying piece of jello is a whole different story). Some familiar pieces but all in all a new show. By the end of the show I was tired and ready for an early night as it was going to be a very early morning.

Monday 9th November 2012

It was the usual morning adventure for me. Up at O Dark Hundred for a work out, check out and off to the airport. Just getting into the gym was a challenge on its own with security deciding that they didn’t like me accessing the gym before it was open, even though several staff had said it was ok (though the lady working that morning was adamant that was a no and a 10 minute fight on the phone I got my way.

The morning ws a repeat of my arrival, just in reverse. Leave hotel, drop car, get on shuttle to terminal. Then it was just check in (which took ages) and security. Boring boring boring. Because Vegas had no place for me to go other than the gate and nothing open other than Burger King, the gate it was for me. I just camped out at the gate and chilled out. By the time boarding was called I was failing badly. I needed coffee… STAT!

Alaska Airlines AS603
Las Vegas to Seattle
0700-0935
Boeing 737-900 (N320AS)
First Class – Seat 3F

Boarding: 0615 (Gate E15)
Push Back: 0654
Take Off Roll: 0707 (Runway 25R)
Top of Descent: 0853
Touch Down: 0919 (Runway 16R)
Shut Down: 0927 (Gate C16)

After being a gate lice for a few minutes boarding was called and it was off to the front of the aircraft as I boarded to my lovely seat. The sun was rising out the window, giving fantastic views, but the thing that made me happy was the flight attendant was happily serving coffee. Thick, Dark, Black, Strong, Hot Coffee. I was happy+++ While everyone boarded my caffeine levels were being fulfilled and I was trying hard to not get to relaxed. Today was going to be a full on day. I would need it to keep myself going, but I guess a little bit of relaxation up to now, would be a good idea.

We pushed back and following a few southwest aircraft and allegiant we headed to the active runway. With a turn onto 25R, power in the throttles and we were gaining speed, heading home to Seattle. In the air, climbing out, seat belt sign off, photos taken. First thing is first… COFFEEEEEEEEEE. The service began with coffee, plenty of coffee and then a nice warm breakfast quiche. It wasn’t big but it was enough for around what I normally eat.

that was pretty much the highlight of the flight. I read a magazine, drank plenty of coffee and then just chilled out and relaxed, enjoying the peace at 37000ft. Pretty soon we were on descent to SeaTac where as expected, it was cloudy, grey and cold. What else is new. The cloud deck seemed to extend all the way down to the runway as we popped out of the clouds pretty much 30 seconds from touchdown on 16R (first time using that runway). Good times!

We pulled into the C gates after letting the ANA 787 go ahead of us, and I was off the aircraft, scurrying through to baggage claim where my bag was 2nd out, within 5 minutes I was on a shuttle back to the car park and in the truck heading home to more crazy adventures

Vegas Avgeek Style

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Well I have had to keep my mouth shut for a number of days now, but the cat is out of the bag. Today I fly away again. If you have been following my twitter and facebook you would of seen a surge of tweets lately. I just got back from Vegas (where I had an amazing time trust me, and a full trip report is pending) but yesterday evening I got to spend the time with Qatar Airways as they signed for their first 787.

Today the festivities continue with more things to happen. But pretty much by the time this tweet goes live (I am writing this about 730am but it won’t be going live right now) I will be onboard Qatar Airways first 787. I am headed to Qatar for the next week and get back next Sunday night (at midnight ouch :/ ) but I am totally, absolutely excited. From an Avgeek perspective this is Nirvana. I get to be a part of the festivities for the delivery of an aircraft but also the delivery flight! And a Rare one at that as it flys direct from Seattle to Doha in Qatar.

Unfortunately I don’t yet have the link for you to follow along but if you keep an eye on Twitter and Facebook (twitter is @bigmalx or follow the hash tag #Qatar787 you should eventually be able to) and you should be able to get a flightradar link eventually to track the flight. My next blog post for me will probably be from the other side of the world, in the warmth of Qatar.

Current Location: Fairmont Olympic Hotel Seattle

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Just a quick update from Vegas. Having a blast out here in the middle of the desert but I swear it is meant to be hit out here. It’s cold!

Froze my butt off yesterday at Aviation Nation and back for more this morning. Hit up Bellagio for the fountains last night and a special dinner (though not cheap) at Nob Hill Tavern. Today is guns and planes day, before Blue Man Group tonight.. woo

Now that I’m fortified after an epic breakfast, time to brave the cold at Nellis for a couple of hours.

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Yep I am back at it again tomorrow. Back in the Air, back where i belong (well where I wish i belonged). Where am I going this time? Why Am I going? Well this trip is definately Leisure. A full trip report will be written including an extended booking process, because on this one, it was a good reason.

But this trip will involve a few little bits and pieces and heres a few photos to wet the appetite:

It involves flying on this:

From Seattle Spotting 2012

To see

From JBLM Aviation Porn

and replicate these:

From North America 2009 Pt 3
From North America 2009 Pt 2

Yeah thats right I am vegas bound! For Guns, Planes, Luxury and some good food!

More from the other side!

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So last night I decided i would be lazy and just try out another Local teriyaki joint. Sadly it was a little dissapointing 🙁

From Expat Life

Himitsu Teriyaki had good reviews on Google Places. Now it wasn’t all that horrible but it wasn’t all that good either.

From Expat Life

Looks more like a Sushi Place than Teriyaki and I think that is what they focus on. I ended up picking up a Chicken Teriyaki Bento for $12 all in. It included Brown Rice, Chicken Teriyaki, Vegetable and Prawn Tempura a California Roll and some Miso Soup. The Tempura was good (i do love my Tempura Pumpkin) and the Miso wasn’t bad. The California roll was ok but nothing special.

From Expat Life

But obviously i was there to try out the chicken. The portion was good considering what else was included. However the Teriyaki sauce was REALLY salty. Really badly salty. But that is all I have to complain about really. I think to be honest my closest one Midori Teriyaki is better but I will have to try another one close by for Comparisons sake.

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So 6 months ago I stepped foot onto a Virgin Australia aircraft in Brisbane at the start of the biggest jump I have ever made in my life. A Flight that would bring me here to the USA. It was a ballsy move, a move that would change my life forever and I do not regret it one simple bit.

There has been times of toughness sure, adjusting to the new weather, driving on the wrong side of the road, frustrations with banks and other things like that but all in all it has been worth it. I may miss home at times but my life is over here now, a new life that I am up for a challenge and all the new experiences that it brings.

I have done so many things since I moved over here that I never thought i would ever do before. I flew in a B17, got behind the scenes at the Boeing Factory for an airline launch, touched the very first YF12 the aircraft that was like genesis to my favourite aircraft the SR71, stood on the spot of the first ever airport, met new people, tried new foods. So much stuff that I do not regret at all.

The journey so far may have only been 6 months but it has made me think about my life a lot. The times when I sit in my apartment alone at times pondering things. I may have been alone when I moved over here, stepping foot into a foreign country but I can tell you now that I feel good about everything. I am totally happy with the changes I made. I don’t regret one single bit moving over here to the USA, in fact i would go so far to say that I never want to go home.

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It has been a long long week full of Food, Workouts, Training, Saying goodbye and just crazyness at work. To top it all off I had a big weekend as well. I was hoping for a quiet weekend at home and I kind of got that, but not.

My weekend usually starts at 530pm Friday afternoon, the minute I walk out the door from work. It has been an on and off week weather wise and the rain was just there all my way home. It didn’t worry me because I was going to be making some batches of cookies, Anzac Biscuits to be exact. What did suck though was having to walk home in the rain from the Supermarket cause i decided to get the bus the whole way on a Friday when I normally don’t, but that paid dividends on its own ;). But it was good to get back into some baking even though a lot of the cookies didn’t turn out but that was cause I needed to experiment more with this oven and the recipes are designed for Aussie products not American (yes there are differences).

Saturday morning was an early rise a training run and then heading out, south to SeaTac to catch up with a mate Charles from Flyertalk who I had met a year ago in New York. Well this time after our brief meetup in New York it would be a slightly longer meetup (by about 30 minutes longer I think) but still good none the less. He was only in town a few hours in between flights and it was good timing with it right around Breakfast. So I took him to Randys Restaurant at Boeing Field. This place is Old School Diner. But what makes it even more Awesome is this:

From Expat Life

Yep the entire restaurant is filled with Avgeek goodness. The food is cheap, good (you know its good when there was 3 police cars parked out back) and the service is Old School. So old in fact that i think the guy serving behind the counter was around when the first aircraft flew out of Boeing Field. But still, its pretty awesome! 2 Blueberry Pancakes, a number of cups of coffee later, lots of chatting and a quick tour of Boeing Field (pity it was crappy weather or I would of taken the decent camera) and it was back to the Airport. The rest of my Saturday was spent doing housekeeping, failing at a mission 🙁 and working on photos from Vancouver.

Today was the usual things, Run, Chores (cleaning, groceries, housework the usual), bills, trolling websites, catching up on all the TV i missed during the week. But it was the run that was a bit different this week. My usual Sunday morning is either spent in the gym on the exercise bike or my day of rest. The last month though hasn’t seen me take a day off yet, but with all the good food i’d been eating that was meant to be sure. Earlier in the week I was thinking to myself “I really want to do one more 5k before the end of the year and it gets to cold.” Well low and behold my trainer Cassie points me in the direction of the “Pumpkin Dash” Supporting Woodland Park Zoo and pretty much a 5k run around Green Lake, it was like the heavens opened.

I had previously mentioned how my runs had been improving and to be honest I just wanted to see how far I could push myself. I don’t know if I over did it but I was pushing my times lower and lower. Before today my fastest 5k had been 27:55 up in Vancouver on what is now referred to as my “Macygver Route”. But I was determined to beat this, determined to knock at lest 25 seconds off it if I could. I was aiming for 27:30 if possible.

Well if you see this, you will see I well and truly smashed it!

Not quite sure how I did it, but Its right. I couldn’t believe the time when I saw my watch. I barely even looked at it. I just kept on running. I did push out hard to try and get out of the pack I was in and try to get into a bit of open space. This must of worked cause I did keep up the pace and didn’t hurt myself at all. Tell you what I will sleep well tonight probably! But still no rest, I will keep it up till next Sunday (though start backing it off just a little) when I can take my first day off in almost 6 weeks! But now I leave you so I can get some much needed sleep.

Expat Life
Vancouver Spotting 2012

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So the temperature here in Seattle has REALLY dropped lately. This is my first real introduction to the Northern winter. I mean seriously i am cold (sorry Ross it had to be said). It has been getting down to Single Digits (celsius) lately in the evening and not going all that high during the day.

I am still running each morning and with the cold cold weather it has been tough to get started but I am managing. I have had to change the way i get kitted out in the morning as well. Where as back home in Aus my usual running attire was shorts, and a tshirt (maybe occasionally a long sleeve if i felt like it) and compressions on the coldest of cold, over here, that just wont cut it. If I wore that i would be FROZEN! I am running in Gloves, Tshirt & Jumper (or long sleeve shirt), Compressions (short or long whatever is clean really), plus either a hat or a beanie. If i have long sleeps plus long compressions, and the beenie and gloves I look like i am heading out to the snow. But to be honest the first half a km I am cold but after that I am warmer than warm.

It is tough though adjusting. I kind of have had to learn to layer my clothes. Back home I used to just wear a jacket and shirt or tshirt during the day and that kept me warm. Over here that same jacket wouldn’t even be any good. So i have a thicker jacket, even that isn’t helping. I struggled for a bit but then my friends kept telling me I need to start layering.

Layering over here involves at least a waterproof jacket on the top, cause yes it rains in Seattle (shut up, i dont want to hear all the silly “it always rains in seattle” jokes). Then the base layer will be whatever I am wearing that day be it work clothes or normal clothes. In between that at the moment is depending what i am doing. If its a weekend its a hoodie, I have a couple of fairly warm fleece hoodies. If its a work day its a “sweater” (can’t call it a jumper) or a sweater vest. This keeps me warm… at times. Gloves do have to be worn though and even then I still struggle some days. But the gloves mean I can’t work my cell (mobile) phone and yeah that can be a hassle but im coping! On top of all of this, on some days I also need to add a scarf. I feel weighed down but its either that or I freeze.

It is a bit of a struggle to comprehend all of it some days, considering that I look at facebook and see people complain about the heat, and this is the temperatures now, It’s only going to get worse. Talking into the NEGATIVES! Dear god….

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Well Restaurant Week is drawing to a close tomorrow night, it is probably a good thing for my waist line. I held back from indulging a to much but I still had some good opportunities to get out and try some amazing food at some of the best restaurants in town. For those who aren’t familiar with what Restaurant week is, it is essentially where all the top restaurants in a City (its not only in Seattle but many other cities like Chicago, New York, Miami, San Francisco) all come together and for a short period (in Seattles case 2 weeks) offer 3 course menus for Lunch or Dinner for a heavily reduced cost ($28 for dinner, $15 for lunch).

Now this concept just would not fly down in Australia, I have a feeling no one would get behind it. But it is a great concept and I love it! I am still a foodie at heart. I love to get out, experience new foods, new tastes, new restaurants but it also gives me a chance to do it on the cheap. The biggest bargain is always the lunch menus as they give some fantastic bargain lunches but that never works as its only ever run Sunday through Thursday (Friday and Saturday are excluded for obvious reasons).

Well this year I decided to hit up 3 places, and I had a good excuse with Ross visiting. The three places I ended up visiting were “Seastar Raw” in Bellevue, Steelhead Diner in Seattle and of course Preservation Kitchen in Bothell. The main one i wanted to try was Preservation Kitchen, it’s just down the road from me in Bothell, has a fantastic reputation as well. But they were pretty heavily booked (as expected when this lists and dates come out, the good places get booked solid pretty quickly), so I couldn’t go when Ross was here and instead had to book it for another night. Because of this Ross and I decided to go to Seastar during the first week as the menu was good, it was convienient to work (just across the street) and they had space (I wanted to try the Barking Frog in Woodinville but sadly it was booked out as well!). The last one was Steelhead, one of my favourite places in Seattle and gave me a good excuse to shout Ross to one final hurrah before he flew home. So here are the mini reviews with at least one photo from each.

Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar Belleve – Menu Link

Fantastic sort of out of the way restaurant that you wouldnt even notice it was there as its surrounded by a Microsoft Building, Expedia, a Bank and just general looking office blocks. Yet it has this upmarket fine dining feel to it. Went here on a Wednesday night and although we couldnt be seated early they were pumping through the tables. The service was ok, a little bit rushed (as you sometimes get during Restaurant week where they try to turn out as many tables as they can. The food was damn good. I went with the Spicy Ahi Tuna Sushi Roll as I was desperate for some sushi lately, and followed it up with the Steelhead for the Entree (main for those aussies). The tuna was great and fresh and tasty and the Steelhead was just to die for. The pesto mash was ok but the fish was just amazing. The kicker of the meal though was this:

From Ross Comes to Visit

That is a White Chocolate Coconut Creme Pie. It was TO DIE FOR. I could of eaten a dozen of them and wanted more they were that good. I will come back to this place just for that dessert.

Steelhead Diner – Menu Link

This is still one of my favourites in Seattle, and it never fails to deliver. They are located right in the middle of downtown Seattle, pretty much in Pikes Place Market (right next to Post Alley actually). If you can see the Famous Seattles Best Coffee cup sign, turn around you will probably be standing right outside Steelhead. The food is a tribute to old school diner but with a modern twist and using mainly local ingrediants. Just what you would expect in the market area. Service was great and in the end, our waiter got a nice sized tip. It was a cold evening so went with the Soup and figured it would be a good start to the meal. The two hits of evening was something I was looking forward to. First up was the main. Steelhead never fails to deliver on tasty Entrees. I had the Pork Collar while Ross had the Salmon. Although they swapped out Ivory King Salmon for Coho as they had run out, Ross was still singing its praises and my Pork was just jaw droppingly tasty. I wanted to lick my plate.

From Ross Comes to Visit

The desserts were just *drool* I had the Pumpkin Spice Cake (i mean seriously everyone who knows me, knows how much i love pumpkin). This cake was just yum! Ross had the Chocolate Pecan Pie. I was glad he couldnt finish it cause it meant i got to 😉 That is their signature dessert I think using locally made chocolate and comes with Bourbon Chantilly Cream. Its always a treat imo.

From Ross Comes to Visit

Steelhead sealed the deal again for me and I will bring so many people back here just because I love the place. It is always a great one to visit.

Preservation Kitchen – Menu Link

I had been looking forward to this one the most, but to be honest, it dissapointed me the most. The company was good and the main course was great and just looked fantastic and tasted just great, but overall it just dissapointed me. It didn’t live up to the hype. They had changed some things on the menu so it wasn’t to be expected. They had run out of the dessert I wanted (and it didn’t look all that busy). The other dessert choices to me were just “so so” One of them wasn’t even on the main Restaurant Week menu (linked above). The two savoury courses i was suckered into as they had 2 of my favourite things. The Starter i went with the Spinach and Beet Salad cause I love beetroot, but this was a non listed menu item so must of been added last minute. the Main i went with the Stuffed Delicate Squash (aka Pumpkin). I was told it was phenomanl and it was. It tasted just tender and soft but so savoury and it was a Vegetarian dish.

From Ross Comes to Visit

The dessert was just totally uninspiring and felt like it was on the list just cause they needed to have a third course. This is it:

From Ross Comes to Visit

Yep thats carrot cake. It tasted like Safeway Carrot cake. Totally totally dissapointing! So not happy with that choice. I don’t know if I will go back as the service was fairly non existant. Not sure if they deserve the reputation they have.

With that being said I will probably need to work out heaps to work off all the good stuff I have eaten in the last 2 weeks, so it will be a bit of punishment runs and training but well worth it overall!

(more photos here)

Ross Comes to Visit