El Gaucho Happy Hour

Tuesday, Mike and I went to see The Hangover at Big Picture in Belltown and decided to finally check out El Gaucho's happy hour. El Gaucho is upstairs from Big Picture, so it makes a perfect pre-movie spot. (Black Bottle, across the street is also a really great option. You can read a review of Black Bottle and Big Picture at Seattle Date Night!). El Gaucho is one of Seattle's famous and SUPER spendy steakhouses. It opened in the 1950s and used to be a speakeasy. Neither of us have been before - to tell you the truth, I thought it was a Mexican restaurant for the first 25 years of my life. (Embarrassing to admit). While the price is generally out of our league for a casual date night, I've heard the happy hour is great.

[via valerie's picture playground]

When we walked in, we were shocked with how dark it was! The atmosphere is swanky mcswankerson. It's definitely an "Old Boys" restaurant - a place to smoke cigars in the cigar room, sip expensive Brandy and order a manly steak. Not usually our scene. As we sat down, I realized the very loud jazz music was actually coming from a live pianist behind us. "Gosh, if I had to work in this dark bar and listen to jazz music all day, I'd shoot myself," Mike said. If that gives you an idea of the atmosphere. Haha.

For happy hour, the "bar bites" are half off, specialty cocktails are $6, Bud Light bottles are $3 and house wine is $5. Bar menu can be found here.

[via Corazonita]

After glancing at the menu, we were super glad we were there for happy hour - the prices on the menu for "bar bites" were $19, $15, $14 and other super high prices. I ordered the Mac n' Coastal Cheddar Cheese, $6 half-off price, and Mike ordered the 410 Burger, $7.50 half-off price. Now - the reason I've been using quotes around bar bites is because these are not bites! They're huge meals! The price of them paid off tremendously for the size. Mike's burger was the size of his head and stuffed with 1/2 pound Certified Angus Beef® Prime top sirloin! I wish I wouldn't have forgotten my camera. When I asked him if it was the best burger he'd ever had, he said, "Pretty close," but the size was actually too big to make it just perfect. It ended up being tasty, but a little messy. His plate also had a side of the best mashed potatoes I've had! They rivaled my grandmother's for sure! My mac and cheese was absolutely sinful. I've never ordered mac and cheese at a restaurant, so I decided to live a little. This mac and cheese is made with an imported English Coastal Cheddar, baked in a personal-sized casserole dish with breadcrumbs sprinkled on top. YUM.

Final Verdict: Probably Go Back. I don't think we'll make this a summertime place - it's just too dark and gloomy in there. But the proximity of it to Big Picture and the happy hour value for the amazing food makes it a great option for a wintertime retreat, which is also a more acceptable season to eat carbs with a side of carbs for dinner. I doubt we'll make it for the full meal deal unless it's a very special occasion. (Wink, wink, Mike).

Where: El Gaucho
2505 1st Ave
Seattle, WA 98121
(206) 728-1337
Web site
Category: Steakhouses
Neighborhood: Belltown (Also Tacoma and Bellevue locations)
Atmosphere: Fancy schmancy - don't show up in flip flops
Price range: Happy hour = $3 - $9, Dinner = $27 - $135
Service: An aquaintance of mine was the bartendar, surprisingly, so I'm a little partial on the service. But it's very, very formal. A lot of "sirs" and suits.
Cool features: Live piano music, cigar bar, dancing in the Pampas Room.

Wish-Poosh Campground, Wenatchee National Forest and Salmon Le Sac

Of the camping trips Mike and I have been on already this summer, (Osoyoos Lake and Lake Entiat), we've yet to bring Caden along with us. After taking him on our camping trip to Yakima Statesman Park last summer, all he talked about during the winter was going camping. Our friends, Kristen and Emery were dying to go camping too, so we decided to go along with them and take Caden for his first trip of the summer. Because we had driven long distances two times in three weeks, we wanted to choose a place that was closer to Seattle, yet still in Eastern Washington so we could chase the sun.

Caden loves sleeping in his own tent!

We did something we've yet to do - instead of searching frantically for a free spot at a state park, we pulled out Mike's copy of Inside Out Washington | A Best Places Guide to the Outdoors: Camping, Biking, Lodging, Hiking... and all outdoor activities by Ron C. Judd (phew, that's some title!) Wow. I recommend this book 100 times over. I think we've abandoned our use of state parks for good. Well, maybe not for good... but it was great to find a ton of campsites that we never even heard of, and some of them were even free!

We headed to the area of Washington accessible by Highway 903/Salmon Le Sac road. If you take exit 80 off I-90, toward the tiny town of Roslyn, there's a whole slew of beautiful, woodsy campsites in the Wenatchee National Forest, along lakes and rivers - and it's only an hour and a half away from Seattle! We chose the first campsite that came along, Wish Poosh, after driving through and loving the spacious campsites. This place is perfect if you want a little privacy. The sites are large, and include picnic tables, a fire pit and even a BBQ grill! The bathrooms are clean, a little bit primitave without a shower, but it's still nice to have bathroom facilities. The campground is super woodsy, which was a change for us because we usually find ourselves in deep Eastern Washington where the trees are scarce and you're always left waking up at 5 a.m. to the blazing sun. It was nice to have the shade of the trees, to say the least. The campground has 17 tent sites and 22 RV sites that aren't reservable, but we didn't have a problem when we arrived around 8 p.m. on Friday night; plenty of sites were still available. The campground is located along Cle Elum Lake, a reservoir that was full to the brim and hard to float or swim in. Apparently it drains as the summer goes on, and there's a great big sandy beach along the shore. We were sad to miss it because the lake was a little unusable without a boat.

The next morning, the weather was a little cool (the area is not as warm as Lake Chelan, Wenatchee, or further down Highway 2 and I-90) so we went on an adventure drive, further down Salmon Le Sac Road to check out the handful of other campsites that the book mentioned. The drive is gorgeous.

A little further up the road is Cle Elum River campsite and Red Mountain campsite (free!) along the Cle Elum River. Both of these are approximately 12 miles north of Roslyn. We also drove approximately 10 miles down a road to Cooper River, and Owhi campsite, which was gorgeous, and even further past Salmon Le Sac to Scatter Creek and Fish Lake. The road to these campsites is super rough and the area is really primitive. There is the occasional bathroom, but the road is steep, rocky and hard to drive if you don't have a SUV, Subaru, etc. (All campsites are free, and it's approximately 30 miles north of downtown Roslyn).

An outhouse we found out there - complete with the crescent moon!

We were shocked to see the occasional houses out there - talk about a remote cabin! The scenery is really breathtaking, however. Mountains, streams, waterfalls down the side of the hills, little purple and yellow mountain flowers. We couldn't stop taking pictures!

All of these campsites are so private and remote, they'd be great for big camping parties with friends that are often inappropriate at state parks because of the families and park rangers that don't tolerate the noise. We kept seeing signs everywhere with posted paper plates of people having big camp parties. SO fun!

After our drive and a late lunch, the weather turned for the worse, and we were caught in a torrential downpour and thunder/lightning storm! It sort of sucked. I haven't been camping in the rain in forever. All the more reason to wait to camp in this area until the dead middle of summer. We all tried to make the best of it...

Jiffy popcorn and marshmallows, oh my God!

Hiding out underneath the tarp...

We put up tarps and the boys were frantically digging moats to keep the water out of the campfire, but once the campfire was flooded, the campsite muddy and the rain relentless, we decided to pack up early and head back.

Final Verdict: Most definitely go back. This camping area is too close to Seattle and offers too many options to explore to not head back again! Plus, it was a welcome change to camp in the woods with the shade of the Evergreen trees. Next time, we'll wait until the weather guarantees summer heat, and we can enjoy the water!

Lake Entiat

This past weekend, Mike's work hosted a work camping trip at his boss' waterfront house on Lake Entiat. Located just outside of Lake Chelan, Entiat is actually a reservoir formed above the Rocky Reach Dam. As I said before, Lake Chelan is one of our favorite places to camp - the weather is always nice, and it's home to Chelan Wine Country. Lake Entiat is a close second. Because Lake Chelan is often booked and jam packed during the summer, Lake Entiat is a great alternative with the same weather and recreational gems.

Although we stayed at a private cabin, I've been to Lincoln Rock State Park a couple times, which is on Lake Entiat and an awesome state park. And here's a little extra treat - on Alt 97, the highway that takes you to Lake Entiat, Lincoln Rock State Park and Lake Chelan, there's a little bar on the right-hand side of the highway (traveling toward Chelan) called The Log Cabin. Here, you'll find more than 99 bottles of beer - and a great little game you can play. The bar offers a list of all their beers that you can keep there for as long as it takes to finish. Each time you try a new beer off the list, they check your name off, and when you're done with all 99, you get a mug engraved with your name and a number, which signifies which number person you are to complete the challenge!

After camping on the grass of his bosses lake house, we left the cabin in search of a breakfast joint. (Bacon, bacon!) Entiat is a very, very small town with virtually zero restaurants (at least that we could find). But we did find the most incredible little bakery with breakfast sandwiches that you must check out if you're in the area! It's called Entiat Valley Pastry & Coffee House, and it's one of those little, hidden family-owned places that are a must go! They have pastries that are made every single morning - cream cheese danishes, lemon scones with little white chocolate chips, warm out of the oven and DE-vine. Mike and I picked up two breakfast sandwiches, which come on homemade bread. We were both impressed.

Because Lake Entiat is near Chelan, we were able to drive into Chelan during the day to hit up Slide Waters, the small water park in the town. I don't care if you're 6, 14, 25 or 42 - this place is FUN! There aren't too many slides, but it's worth a couple hours and the minimal $17 fee to get some relief from the sun. We loved the slide where you could race each other down (I won every time. Neener, neener), and the slide where we could race down in a two person inner tube. So fun!

Final Verdict: Probably go back. We're always finding ourselves in this area of the state. The weather and watersports are hard to stay away from - and the drives are also relaxing and beautiful, with great fruit stands to stop at along the way! And we'll most definitely make an effort to go back to Entiat Valley Pastry!

Mashiko sushi

Mike and I don't get out to West Seattle too often - sometimes it feels like it's another planet - but when we do, I always find myself saying, "I would love to live out here when I'm older." The scenery is breathtaking, the beach is um, awesome and the restaurant/bar scene has always treated us well. Last night we strapped on our rollerblades for the first time this summer. Alki is a great place to rollerblade, bike ride or walk. If you park immediately off to the right as soon as you get off at Harbor Avenue, it's a good distance to the end of Alki Avenue and back. We spent 50 minutes rollerblading it - and if you're not from Seattle - Alki/West Seattle is where all the postcard pictures are taken of the Seattle skyline. It's breathtaking. (Except, you'll notice the Space Needle way off to the left. Postcards usually Photoshop it into the middle. Lol)

After burning 415 calories (!!!) we were in dire need of some food. We headed up to California Avenue to Mashiko sushi - the number one sushi place in West Seattle, according to UrbanSpoon. From the outside, the restaurant looks like a little hole in the wall, but on the inside it's cozy with funky little touches. Read: humor is rampant in this place. When you walk in, there's a saltwater fish tank, a ledge with every different type of Magic 8 ball you can think of, and a sign that says, "Please wait to be seated (unless you're illiterate)." We were led to our seats underneath a string of colored lamps, and on the ledge of the sushi bar were kitchsy toys and a little bowl of homemade buttons for the taking with funky sayings like, "I love spicy tuna," "Soy sauce is not a beverage," and "Shut up and eat."

We were sat at the sushi bar, and the service was amazing. Our order was taken, and our rolls created immediately. In the span of a couple minutes, a waiter brought us a bowl of Asian crunchy snacks, cucumber water (!!!) and hot towels to wipe off our hands. Three little things that made me change from, "Uh, this place is cool," to "Um, this place is amazing." The menu includes appetizers, salads, sushi rice bowls, hand rolls, Japanese dishes, nigiri, sashimi, traditional rolls (seaweed on outside), American style rolls (rice on outside), etc. etc. What I love best about the menu was the GLOSSARY on the front page. I'm always wondering what ingredients like shiso are, so that was a great touch.

We ordered three rolls: The Red Violin (tuna, avocado, cilantro & spicy garlic sauce), Limeade (shiso, tempura asparagus w/ salmon & lime on top) and Cajun Tempura Shrimp (tempura shrimp, Cajun spice, spicy mayo & cucumber). We were able to watch our sushi chef make our rolls in front of us, and were actually probably on their Web cam at the time since it's live on their Web site during business hours!

The sushi = awesome! We both agreed that the Cajun Tempura Shrimp roll was the best. The Cajun seasoning they sprinkled on top added a great kick to the sushi, and I think we'll try it at home when making our own sushi rolls. As we ate, I asked the sushi chefs questions about the rolls they were making - it was great to put a visual to all the rolls on the menu, and super informative for our still-new sushi loving minds. We recommend sitting at the sushi bar next time you go to a Japanese restaurant!

Final Verdict: Most definitely go back. We were beyond impressed with this place. When our bill came, it was accompanied with a comment card. We gave the highest marks to all categories - food, atmosphere, service. And we wrote, "We'll be back!" which is something to be said since more often than not West Seattle is too far of a trek for us, but Mashiko might change that. And next time, I want to check out this supposed "most amazing bathroom in Seattle" that I missed this time. (Luxury heated toilets with bidets, showers and a dryer? Crazy!)

Where: Mashiko sushi
4725 California Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98116
(206) 935-4339
Web site
Category: Japanese - Sushi
Neighborhood: West Seattle
Atmosphere: Funky, eclectic and casual
Price range: $4 (hand rolls, nigiri) -$14 (Detailed rolls)
Service: Great! We loved the service at the sushi bar. Staff was great with water refills and brought the check swiftly, which is always something that annoys me when it takes forever.
Cool features: Cucumber water, gummy candies when you leave, buttons with funny phrases to take, luxury toilets.