Review of Phở Tic-Tac Vietnamese Restaurant in Shoreline

The "Notes from the Napkin" blog has a review of the Phở Tic-Tac Vietnamese Restaurant in Shoreline. Here's an excerpt followed by a link to the full review:

I started with the Phở Noodle Soup Bowl with Brisket (the #16). I ordered the small, and you can see it was plenty. It’s served with another plate of bean sprouts, basil leaves still on the stalk, jalapeño slices, and a lime. I put in all of the jalapeños, but I just couldn’t fit in all of the bean sprouts. I also spooned in a bit of Hoisin sauce for some kick. It was a great flavor, and I have to say that I was a bit better with my chopped sticks and spoon this time around. This dish was our favorite of the evening.


Link to read the full review

(photo from "Notes from the Napkin")

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Amazon Fresh review

Since we covered the arrival of Amazon Fresh delivery in Shoreline here on the blog, I thought I'd try it out and let you know how it works. That, and the idea of having food delivered to your doorstep is magical in the way it only can be to someone who grew up after the era of glass-bottled milk and before Kozmo.com and Webvan.com had their brief moments of glory.

It's easy enough to shop on Amazon Fresh; like the main site, it anticipates, for example, that when you type "ground" you may well be looking for "ground beef." I decided to order about half our normal amount of groceries for this test, and included a variety of products, like toothpaste, half-and-half, strawberries, broccoli, lettuce, onions, avocados, yogurt and of course, ground beef. The minimum order is $30, and delivery costs $5, though after you've added $75 worth of products to your cart, delivery is free.

I didn't include any beer or wine, because you must be home to show ID, naturally; I wanted to try the "pre-dawn delivery" option because I was a bit enchanted by the idea of grocery elves visiting in the middle of the night.

And they did. Here's what was on our porch in the morning:


I had wondered if the delivery would be truly silent, or whether our very keen-eared dog would wake up and bark. Apparently the elves wear padded slippers, because none of us heard them arrive.

The containers are very large, which might not be apparent in the photos. There were three, and items were separated between them by the amount of coldness needed; one was insulated and included packs of dry ice, one was just packed with frozen ice packs, and one was simply empty except for a few items. It seemed like a lot of packaging, but of course these things are re-used over and over. The items inside came in thin plastic baggies within their containers.






Everything we received was as expected; the broccoli was fresh and firm, the strawberries, blueberries and blackberries were as good as what I'd have chosen myself at the store (and getting a package of strawberries with no bad ones is actually sort of rare, so that was a nice surprise).



Bridget the cat personally approved the tomatoes.



I should note that I placed this grocery order at 8:00 the evening before, and it came sometime before 6:00 this morning.

Overall, we're pretty pleased with this new shopping option; it's not always easy to get to the store after work, but you could certainly place an order during the day and have it arrive that evening or over night. Another plus was that I found myself much less tempted to impulse-buy. I knew what I needed, and wasn't tempted by the goodies you find while wandering around a store. Prices were about the same for most products, lower for some, higher for others; one negative feature is that by not wandering around a store, you don't see items on sale that you might want to stock up on. There is a sale section, but I didn't see much of interest there.

Another not-so-great thing is the size of the delivery containers. I had to stack ours on the back porch for now. You can request that Amazon come to pick them up right away, though, or just swap them out the next time you order.

Have you tried Amazon's delivery service now that they're available here? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Fuji Sushi & Steakhouse

Remember the Old Country Buffet on Aurora, just north of 165th? Think about that place for a moment, and then try to imagine a restaurant that is its exact, diametric opposite. Now drive over there and see the Fuji Steakhouse, which replaced the Old Country Buffet, and be amazed.

Some of us visited the Fuji last night; we were dubious but we know that often hidden gems are missed by those who don't take risks. Well, we also know that when it comes to restaurants, sometimes serious food poisoning comes to those who do take risks. But fortunately, this was not one of those occasions.

The restaurant was nearly empty when we arrived, a little past 7:30 on a Friday evening. A friendly owner/manager type greeted us at the door and asked if we'd like to try the hibachi, indicating a large room with four big hibachi grills surrounded by seating. The decor was very nice—a monumental improvement over the high-school cafeteria feeling of the previous resident.

We were seated at one of the hibachi stations, and a server took our drink and appetizer orders—we had decided on sushi rolls and sashimi to start—and we each ordered a different hibachi combo as our main event.

We all agreed that our appetizers were good quality sushi; my salmon sashimi was fresh and tasty, and the others' rolls were equally good. I enjoyed a house cabernet, and my cohorts had the Kirin beer. The wine selection was so-so, with only three reds by the glass, but the beer list was more varied, if leaned mainly towards Asian brews.

After our small soups, salads and appetizers were done, the main event began. A young man rolled out a cart full of various containers and positioned himself in the middle of the round grill area. By this time we had another couple seated at our station, and the five of us were ready for a show. A show is exactly what we got!

The chef (if that's the right name for this guy's performance art/cooking gig) started with a display of knife and spatula flipping, playing with utensils and bottles and eggs, and with us. I don't want to detail the whole cooking extravaganza, because there are plenty of fun surprises that I don't want to give away, but it was a showy, sometimes silly, but overall very entertaining affair. If you've ever been to Benihana, you'll have some idea of what I mean.

And the best part wasn't the spectacle, it was that the food was actually very good. I had the lobster and chicken, which was surprisingly fairly priced; others had shrimp, salmon, and filet mignon in their combos. All agreed that it was tasty and enjoyable.

Fuji's prices are a little higher than other venues in the area, but of course you pay a bit more for what's essentially a performance along with your food. It was a great evening out for all of us, and I'm sure we'll go there again.

If you've enjoyed (or hated) meals here or anywhere else around Shoreline, let us know in the comments below!

Indian Sweets & Spices in Shoreline's North City

Have you seen the Indian grocery store at 180th and 15th in the North City neighborhood of Shoreline? The sign above the door reads Indian Sweets & Spices. Although I've passed by there many times before, I'd never been inside until this evening.

I took some photos of the interior of the store and some of the items for sale and I bought a variety of freshly-made Indian sweets. Delicious!

I would say that if you're interested in Indian foods, beverages, and household items (or Indian music and movies, for that matter), you should check this place out. Here are a few photos and a link (below) to see more.

Exterior of the store

A variety of henna products

Basmati rice by the sackful

Dried lemons

Incense and incense burners

Freshly-made Indian sweets!

Nice Time

Link to more photos of the Indian Sweets & Spices grocery in Shoreline

Link to photos & reviews of the store's homemade sweets

Indian Sweets & Spices is at 18002 15th Ave NE, Shoreline, WA 98155
Phone number: 206-367-4568

Have you shopped here? Anything in particular you'd recommend? Please let us know by clicking where it says 'comments'

Review: PetsEnergy pet store, next to Central Market

With a dog and two cats, all spoiled, it's been our habit to visit the two local Mud Bay Granary stores when we need pet supplies. We still do when in the area, but recently I noticed a new shop in the strip of businesses that border Central Market. It's called Pets Energy, and besides being a very convenient stop when we're shopping next door for groceries, it's also a pleasant place to visit.

The shop is small, and not as large or as well-stocked as some of the more well-known pet stores in the area, but any deficiencies are made up for by the cordiality of the proprietors. They often bring their happy, floppy basset hounds to sit on their own couch in the store and greet customers' dogs, and while mutual dog butt-sniffing is in progress, the owners will chat with you about your own pets' needs. They're very helpful and knowledgeable about the foods they carry, and are responsive if you have a special request. My own pup is crazy for squeaky tennis balls; I mentioned it once, and the next week, there were plenty in stock, specially ordered for us.

Pets Energy carries the better brands of food, including gluten-free, organic, and hypoallergenic varieties, as well as a small selection of toys and chewables. While the foods run a bit higher in price than Mud Bay's offerings, the natural bones (filled with some kind of doggie-beloved goop) are the cheapest I've seen.

So if you're shopping at Central and just remembered that you need some kibble, you might give Pets Energy a try. There's even a cigar shop next door, in case you need some people treats (should those be to your taste).

Do you have a favorite pet supply store? Would you rather visit a local store, drive a bit farther for your pet stuff, or order online? You can leave a comment below (no account is needed).

Link to: Mud Bay Granary

Link to: Pets Energy