The Signature

Last night we walked down to lower Queen Anne (LQA) to check out The Signature – the restaurant that replaced one of my favorites, Moxie. It’s super disappointing to have a great restaurant replaced by yet another Asian restaurant on Queen Anne, since that’s the majority of the cuisine there already.

The Signature was recently mentioned on a Queen Anne blog that I read as a new pho place. The menu included the usual small and large bowls of pho – but for $8, $9, respectively, which is a couple more bucks than the usual bowl of pho goes for. The wine was overpriced too – all glasses were $8. The menu included a long list of “small plates,” in addition to salads, signature dishes, pho, stir fries and grilled skewers. We eyed the short ribs made with a honey sauce, but opted for rare beef pho for Mike, a mango salad for me and chicken wings with a sweet chili sauce for an appetizer.


We thought the broth in the pho was super flavorful, despite the lack of sauces that were brought out to accompany it. (The best part, usually). The chicken wings were kinda just okay, and used only to slurp up the sweet chili sauce, which is kinda like whatever a highly addictive substance would be. Crack, perhaps. My mango salad was super pretty, but I was a little disappointed. For $9, it was a tiny bowl with only four small shrimps and a mango cut into matchsticks. Hardly very filling, but quite light and refreshing for a sunny night. Before I ordered it, I asked the waiter what the dressing was like, and he responded, “It doesn’t have one. It doesn’t need it though; it’s that good!” I thought, “Yeah right,” but was surprised that he was completely right – the herbs and seasonings were amazing. It was tasty; but it wasn't the size I expected for a dinner salad.

Final Verdict: Won’t go back. We felt the menu was overpriced, and while the food was good and the presentation even better, it didn’t stand out far enough ahead to warrant the price. Even if they’re shooting for a “classier” feel to the Asian restaurant options, lower Queen Anne really needs some inexpensive options. And with the abundant pho choices around, we’d rather opt for the inexpensive options such as $6 Pho Than Brothers, which is hard to beat.

Where: The Signature
530 1st Ave N
Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 283-6614
Web site
Category: Vietnamese
Neighborhood: Queen Anne
Atmosphere: Casual classy
Price range: $8-$11
Service: Meh. It seemed like they were understaffed. Dishes were left lying on surrounding tables, but it could have been cause we were in the bar.
Cool features: Open till 2 a.m. with a new outdoor patio!

Old School BBQ

Last summer, we were driving home from Chelan and decided to stop by (just for fun) the Reptile Zoo, which is located on the side of Highway 2, right after Sultan if you’re coming home from Eastern Washington. The Reptile Zoo is ultra bizarre – just a bunch of glass cases with highly poisonous reptiles. Nothing too much to talk about there. Might be exciting if you’re 4 years old, but otherwise, not so much. But there is something worth stopping at the Reptile Zoo for – the Old School BBQ, which is a barbecue place located within a school bus in the parking lot of the zoo.

Old School BBQ is amazing. The couple who runs it is southern, if that tells you anything. It’s a Texas-style barbeque place where everything is cooked outside on the smoker, using mesquite. For all pulled-pork sandwiches fans (I would choose a PP sandwich as my last, dying meal) – this is something not to miss. We stopped by again on our way back from Osoyoos Lake, and were continuously impressed. The woman who takes your order is one of the warmest, friendliest people. And she’ll go out of her way to accommodate her customers – last time they took a personal check of mine because I didn’t have cash (they don’t take credit cards) and this time, they offered up their phone number and told us to call ahead of time if we wanted them to stay open for us later than 7 p.m. if we were running late. Now that’s customer service!

[pgsvensk]

We’ve both ordered the pulled-pork, which is fabulous. This time around, they were out of pulled-pork, so we had to order the tri-tip, which was incredibly soft and flavorful steak sandwich, slathered in barbecue sauce. The only thing we’d criticize is that the sides are just okay – both the potato salad and coleslaw lacked flavor and needed salt. But the barbecue sandwiches are more than worth it!

[pgsvensk]

Final Verdict: Most definitely go back. This place has become a tradition every time we’re crossing over Highway 2 – we don’t miss it! It’s that good! We’ve heard the brisket is to-die-for, so I think that’ll be the next thing we try out.

Where: Old School BBQ
22715-B Highway 2
Monroe, WA 98272
(425) 367-1045
Category: Barbecue
Atmosphere: Casual, outdoor picnic tables.
Price range: $8-$10
Service: Outstanding.
Cool features: A second yellow school bus that acts as a dining room for guests!

Osoyoos Lake State Park

Because we didn’t get tickets to Sasquatch this year before it sold out, we decided to camp wherever space was still available for Memorial Day weekend. (Washington State campgrounds book quick!) Luckily, there wasn’t much decision necessary since Osoyoos Lake State Park was the only place with available campsites when we searched two days before the weekend started! We booked right away and packed for a weekend in Okanogan County.

Osoyoos Lake is supposedly the warmest lake in Canada, and a little portion of it sticks out over the Canadian border, right near Oroville, Washington. From Seattle, it is approximately a five-hour drive, across Highway 2 to Lake Chelan, then north for another two hours. The State campground there is small, with 80-something campsites. A lot of them are in broad daylight, and it is HOT. Gloriously, sometimes scorching, hot. Some of the best spots to snag at the campground, if you have a choice, are sites 1-11 since they are along a wall of trees for shade. Shade is key. We were only able to sleep in past 5:30 A.M. because of our makeshift shade wall we created from Mike's Jeep. We were impressed with how clean the campground was – the bathrooms are practically brand new, and each campsite features a picnic table and fire pit. The lake is located within a daytime park, and has a roped area for swimming, in addition to a dock for boat launching.


One of the greatest things about the campground is that it’s located right next to a gas station and across the street from a huge store called Prince’s, which had everything you could possibly think of. The location of these two places obviously made the campground not very remote, but it sure made it convenient! We picked up a really awesome two-person inner tube raft that had mesh in the bottom (so you could get some relief from the heat) and a cooler in the middle! It’s like we were floating on our own personal island, which we certainly needed in the heat. We also ran there when the sun burnt our lips into cracked and dry deserts, we needed floss after our steak dinner, and we wanted coffee in the A.M. (Hey – it’s hard to totally leave the comforts of home!)


Another great feature of the campground – it’s in Okanogan Wine Country! We brought our bikes, and were able to bike into town to taste test at two wine-tasting rooms, Okanogan Estate & Vineyards (free tasting) and Lake Crest Winery ($2.50 for tasting). If you travel over the border (I forgot my passport), you’ll find 60+ wineries, and supposedly this really neat little adventure place called Rattlesnake Canyon that has mini golf, rides and an ice cream place with 48 flavors. If we go back, we’re definitely bringing our passports with us!

We love corn on the cob with butter and Lawry's seasoning!

Another little recommendation - if you're driving toward Oroville, or out of Oroville, there's a great little diner called Shannon's Place in Tonasket, Wash. It is a family-run place, with excellent sandwiches and salads. I ordered a bacon-cheddar baked potato, and Mike enjoyed a roast beef sandwich dip. They even offer ice cream, espresso and breakfasts on Sundays, and they're outdoor patio is fantastic, with all-you-can-drink ice tea! (My fav).

Final verdict: Probably go back. The weather was awesome; you can’t beat living in a bathing suit all weekend! The campground was clean and convenient. Overall, we liked the location, and while the drive was quite long, we’d head back to check out the Canadian side of things!