One of the things I like about visiting my family in Seattle is checking out new restaurants and meeting my twin's friends. While in Seattle for Thanksgiving, my dad's 60th birthday and Hanukkah (can you say a triple threat!?), I just happened to do both: try out a new restaurant and meet Anna's friend Valentina.
When Anna and I drove up to Nettletown, located in the heart of Seattle's Eastlake area, I must admit I had my reservations. It was right next to Subway, which I love on occasion, and looked rather commonplace from the outside. Anna reassured me that Valentina has raved about this little cafe and has eaten there many times. I decided to step in.
Once inside Nettletown, my opinion changed completely. I loved the low key decor, the open kitchen, black board with the menu on it, and overall a feeling of stepping into some one's house. And all this before I even looked at the menu. All three of us decided on a cup of chickpea soup with butternut squash and tomatoes and a sandwich. The lighting in the restaurant wasn't the best for photos, but I tried nonetheless.
First, let me tell you that the soup was perfect for Seattle's cold and windy weather. Both Anna and I were surprised that the soup wasn't pureed, but there was nothing wrong with chunks of butternut squash, plump chickpeas and other vegetables in the flavorful broth. Eating the soup, I decided that the first meal I'll make in my new kitchen (I bought a condo and moved right before Thanksgiving!!!) will be a pot of soup.
Valentina's sandwich, pictured below, was chicken salad: creamy organic chicken salad with celery, lemon and jicama.
I decided to try out a bratwurst sandwich: rain shadow meats bratwurst with caramelized onions and mustard. I'm usually not a fan of mustard, but the whole grain mustard on my sandwich stole my heart and my stomach. The bratwursts were juicy and grilled, and I really liked the bah minh-like marinated carrots inside of the sandwich. The bread was fresh and not overly crisp; I really dislike when the bread is so crisp that it's hard to take a bite of your sandwich.
Anna chose (not pictured) a roast beef sandwich: organic roast beef with spicy miso mustard and really liked it. It's incredible when both of us like the food ;)
Check out the photo below: needless to say, we really enjoyed our lunch at Nettletown. It was a very low key way to spend a weekday lunch and I loved meeting the talented and worldly Valentina.
After our soups and sandwiches, we headed out across the street for cafe lattes and shared a dessert: thanks Valentina for a lovely treat.
If you are ever in Seattle, definitely check out Nettletown. I really should learn not to judge a book by its cover.
6 comments:
I think mustard is one of life's pleasures and absolutely essential for a good salad dressing. So glad you liked the brat.
What a yummy looking lunch. I love the look of the crusty baguette that the sandwich is made of.
*kisses* HH
that soup sounds delicious!
even though there wasn't a picture of it, your description made me want to go to seattle and order a bowl right away!
Was running errands last week and was looking exactly for something like this. Thank you so very much for posting, and I will stop in due to your blog! Happy cooking in your new condo!
Happy Holidays!
Kathleen
that chicken sandwich looks to-die-for and i totally agree about bread that's too tough to eat. i hate that!
It was such a lovely afternoon! I'm so happy we met there and enjoyed such great food in even better company. I'm going to miss Nettletown very much. Can't wait to see you when you come visit in the next weeks :-)
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