I must admit that most reviews I have done for this site have been for restaurants that I’ve visited in the past. These are restaurants that, for the most part, I’ve had a good experience with. Hey, after all, you go with what you know, especially when it comes to starting a new venture such as this web site. Yesterday’s review was no different. The restaurant I visited I had actually tried, almost a year ago, yet hadn’t been back since. I know, you’re thinking, “This can’t possibly be a good review.” Well, read on about my experience with Paseo.

A tiny metal building up Fremont Av. N. set back under trees and behind parked cars it’s easy to miss this 12 seat restaurant. Know mostly as a to-go place, if you can find a seat good for you. Fortunately for me I arrived between rushes when there was, aside from staff, no one in the building. So I placed my order and grabbed a seat by the

window. I call it a window when in reality it was a set of French doors which open out onto the sidewalk on warm, sunny days. The temperature being 43 degrees this day, the doors were closed and the heat on. But that was fine; it kind of put me in a tropical mood as I waited for my Pork Sandwich ($6.25) and Media Noche Sandwich ($6.79).

Now here is where I explain why it has taken me nearly a year to return to Paseo. You see, before my first visit, I had heard how their sandwiches had this great Cuban/Caribbean flavor and being from Florida I should check them out. Well, having only just recently relocated from the Sunshine State, I was in the mood for a nice porky tropical sandwich. I had ordered the Pork Sandwich, took a bit and was

incredibly disappointed. What was this? A pork patty, one that was reminiscent of the pork from a McRib ™ sandwich? How were people raving about this? Combine this with waiting in a line out the door and it just never seemed worth going back. But it was by the urging of a couple of people that I went back to try their other pork sandwich, the Media Noche.

So here I am sitting with two sandwiches at my “table for one”. First to taste was the Pork Sandwich. The roll is as I remember it, a nice, golden-brown, slightly chewy crust, and tender crumb interior that has been grilled just slightly. Inside the roll is a good slather of a garlic-y mayonnaise, a couple of leaves of Romaine lettuce, some cilantro, jalapeno peppers, a ton of grilled onions and that pork patty. On closer inspection it appears the patty is a pork cutlet that has been either pounded with a tenderizer or run through a cubing machine. Either way I will admit the texture was very tender, a nice, slightly crunchy grilled exterior slathered in sauce. It is this sauce that I’m having some trouble wrapping my head around. Slightly sweet, slightly spicy it’s not something I’m used to in my Cuban/Caribbean cuisine. I could taste some cayenne, garlic, maybe even some jerk seasoning and what I can only describe as Hoisin sauce. Combine all the ingredients together and you get an interesting flavor combination but one that tends to lean toward the sweet side and less in the “great pork flavor” realm. But this is what I remembered from my first visit.

Now for the Media Noche. While the Media Noche is by no doubt a Cuban sandwich, what arrived at my table was more Cuban inspired. This was basically the same sandwich as the above with the noted exception of shredded pork instead of the pork patty and sans the overly sweet sauce. This was pork in its natural state. Small chunks of slow roasted, tender and falling apart pork shoulder. Nothing to disguise its goodness. Combined with the lettuce, onions, cilantro and onions this proved to be a meatier, yet milder, sandwich than the Pork Sandwich. This was what I was looking for, pork done right.

While I won’t say that someone should pick the Media Noche over the plain Pork, I will say that a lot depends on preference. Do you like a spicy, sweet sauce or do you prefer to have more of the natural, mild pork flavor to come through? Me, I will be returning to Paseo for the Media Noche. One thing is for sure, and is common to both sandwiches, grab napkins. The onions, liberal saucing and ample mayonnaise provide for some slippery contents that will want to escape from your two slices of bread.

I live and work in Fremont so I tend to have “usual” hangouts to grab a bite to eat. Yak’s, Red Door, Costa’s Opa or, even, PCC for a salad are my typical lunchtime fare. While I tend to get bored with these options I really never feel the urge to breakout and try something different. So it was today that I decided to cross to the other side of 34th Street at Fremont Avenue and try out Bandoleone. I have seen it many a time, perched in front of the Adobe building, tables set-up on a patio out front. But for some reason it was the dinner menu that kept me away, it seemed a bit too exotic in some sense. Today though I stopped and took a look at their lunch menu. While a bit pricey for an everyday lunch the offerings seemed more down to earth, a mix of Latin sandwiches and salads.

I arrived shortly before noon and was greeted by an empty dining room and a friendly, outgoing waitress. She said I had my choice of seats and since it was a bit blustery outside, I chose a nice window seat in the sun. Once seated, my drink order was taken and I had time to peruse the menu. I decided on one of the healthier choices, the Prawn, Avocado & Cucumber Salad ($12.00). With my order placed and some quick conversation regarding my Piggly Wiggly shirt I sat back and took in a few pages of my book, as my order was prepared.

What arrived was a mountain of a salad. The bed of greens was composed of fresh spinach and frisee lettuce, lightly dressed in a warm Xeres Vinagreta. What is a Xeres Vinagreta you ask? As near as I could tell it is a typical vinaigrette made with olive oil and balsamic vinegar but with a slight taste slightly redolent of bacon. Plus, and I didn’t taste it with every bite, but I could have sworn there was toasted cinnamon in it. Scattered around the edge of the plate were thin slices of cucumber, their coolness adding balance to the greens and dressing. But the stars of the meal were the half of an avocado perched at the top of the mountain and the plump, firm prawns. The prawns were nicely grilled and cooked to perfection. A crusty exterior was made even better with the presence of a last minute dusting of a peppery blend of spices. While a great mix of warm and cool, light and fat this salad was a perfect midday meal.

My shortcomings tend to be that I judge books by their covers and that’s what I have done with Bandoleone. While I may have shunned dinner with them in the past it has now been made apparent to me that at least lunch is worth visiting them for. Who knows, I may one day be bold enough to try them for an after work meal.

In my days in Florida I would often take for granted the ability to take in the warm breezes of early evening while sipping a Dos Equis and having a great Latin dinner. A warm summer day in Seattle is a brief affair; one that just begs for a dinner of Caribbean fare. So it was that I made the short trip to Ballard for dinner at Sofrito Rico.

A “seat yourself” affair, Sofrito Rico’s open kitchen and small seating area are both warm and inviting. The Latin music playing overhead quickly takes you to a small cafe in the tropics. On this particular night there were only a server and one cook working the entire restaurant. So while I got in early and my drink came quickly, it was soon evident that, with a full restaurant, service could get dicey. I should mention here that I require very little attention so I did not feel the effects of only one server, your mileage may vary.

After my drink had arrived and my order had been placed my food came relatively quickly. I started with Ground Beef Alcapurrias ($6.25). The menu described these as “Taro root and plantain dough filled with a ground beef mix” (you can also get a veggie version). What arrived was far from filled with much of anything other than air. Looking at the exterior of the fritters it was easy to deduce that these were probably not made on the premises. Their homogenous appearance giving away the disappointment I was to find inside. Instead of a meaty center what I received was a dense little cigar filled with only the hint of ground meat. Even the spicy dipping oil was not enough to save these.

Fortunately the meal was saved with the entree, Pez Gato ($11.95). A full plate piled with a mound of two-bite sized catfish nuggets, lightly rolled in corn meal and fried, along with Tostones (fried plantain medallions) and rice and beans. While not a whole catfish filet the morsels were perfect for the garlicky ‘Ajilimojili’ sauce. biting into the first piece I could tell that the chef knew just how long to keep the pieces in the fryer. Moist on the inside with a crispy corn meal coating, the fish was far from greasy but was very light and tasty. Topped with dots of the Ajilimojili sauce made the fish really shine. Let me state here that when I say the sauce was garlicky, I really mean that. This is not the place to go on a first date, unless you both REALLY like garlic as the bulk of this sauce is made of pureed raw garlic. But added to fish or plantains tempers its potency and adds great depth of flavor. Of the plantains, the ones that came with my entree were crunchy on the outside and buttery good on the inside. Paired with the cool, creamy slice of avocado that came on the side of the plate adds an interesting flavor combination. While the beans, dotted with bits of potato, were done to perfection, bold and spicy; the rice tended to be dry and slightly sticky.

For a summer afternoon meal, overall, the experience was pleasant. As mentioned before, on my visit, there was only one server so had I arrived any later then I may not have had such a good feeling of the place. Another negative to my experience was the arrival of both my appetizer and entree at the same time. It would have been nice to be able to work on the Alcapurrias with out my Pez Gato getting cold. But as the Alcapurrias were disappointing I suppose it’s good I had the entree to turn to. So go for a visit while the weather is warm and your mind can drift off to a Caribbean isle, sipping a drink and enjoying a good Latin meal.