Bastille Cafe & Bar

The last time I had visited Seattle with mama bear, I came across a magazine in our hotel room that introduced Seattle. There was a list of restaurants in the magazine that tourists could try. I skimmed the page stumbled upon the word "French." I thought to myself this is somewhere I had to visit, not just with anyone but with my bestie.

I travel frequently down the border with my mom as a short mother-daughter get away every month. My mom usually has a system she likes to do when she's down there, so as much as having Seattle to be one of my favourite cities in the world,  I don't often to get to explore as much as I'd like to in Seattle.  It's nice to visit other places in Seattle that is out of the ordinary for me when I am with Michael and friends. Michael was ever so kind to drive myself and the bestie down to Seattle. We spent much of our day gallivanting around the adorable state of Washington.

Bastille

This "French" place that I read about was called Bastille Cafe and Bar located at 5307 Ballard Ave NW.
 Judging from the older looking buildings, Michael thinks Ballard Ave is located in the older, lower Seattle. The street is made out to be their version of Vancouver's Gastown. The brick buildings, cobble stone streets, all made it looked like there was a lot of hip and fun restaurants and bars around the area too. 

A great cafe and bar!

Bastille says they have "damn good French food," and the bestie and I would agree. They were even comparable to we have shared in France. For starters they have the Dijon mustard sitting next to the salt and pepper. They serve water in a glass bottle. These little minor details are pretty authentic touches. We have never come across a French restaurant in North America that has paid such detailed attention. Michael said that he can tell the restaurant has gone well under the knife to update the restaurant in a rather older building.

We all thought the restaurant got rather dark during dinner time. As a matter a fact, a little too dark that we joked we needed a flashlight. Michael asked us if dining in the dark was part of French culture. Bestie and I agree that the restaurant is made out to be a very home and cozy ambiance which is in a lot French cafe and restaurants in France. But dining in the dark, we think not so much. Perhaps the darkness is just to push a more romantic vibe. Well a little menage et trois can't hurt anyone.

Lamb Merguez

It's fair to say that we had a little difficult time deciding on what to eat. For myself I thought as much as everything sounds delicious, I didn't want to get anything heavy that I could fall in to a deep food coma on our way home. Michael settled for the Lamb Merguez ($18) from their specials menu which was a juicy lamb sausage served with broccoli. Michael said that it was a good portion and had a good consistent portion of vegetables that went along with the sausage. The sausage had a lot of natural flavours and the veggies add a pleasant crunch in there. He really liked how the sausage kept all of the natural lamb taste without overpowering seasoning. Perfect.

Croque Monsieur

For myself I got the Croque Monsieur ($11) which is essentially a French grilled cheese sandwich. It is served with Duroc ham and aged comte and mornay sauce. I also got frites served with aoili on the side for dipping to share with the BFF. Croque Monsier is such a french classic, my last meal in France with my BFF was a croque monsier, we  got to enjoy this sandwich a cafe right next to the Eiffel tower. How cheesy.

The sandwich was a delight to chow down, but I felt that there was something in there that was missing, I can't quite put it there but it didn't feel very croque-y. I felt the ham tasted like Montreal smoked meat and I would assume they were prepared the same way. The cheese was smothered everywhere and surprisingly I didn't feel so full that I had fallen in to a food coma after my meal. It turned out to be a pretty light sandwich! I was just bothered by tough corners of the sandwich was a little tough to chew.

Frites

As for the frites ($6) we liked how simple it was made to be, it was very lightly seasoned with salt. The bestie and I just muched away and dipped them in a combination of Dijon and the aoili.

Fusilli

Last but not least, my BFF ordered the Fusilli ($16). It was pasta with a nice simple vegetarian sauce. It was really tasty and filled with flavours. Her favourite was having the pistachios in the dish which added a unique element to the dish.  It was served at a good portion, too!

Other than our perfect meal, it was a pity we didn't get a glass a wine to wash down the dinner since we didn't get to spend the night in Seattle. We all really enjoyed our time at Bastille Cafe, the ambiance is fantastic, the food is delicious, and our waiter was amazing. Parfait!


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Romer's Burger Bar

I can't believe Michael and I have never been to Romer's Burger Bar, and we're so happy that we did. Michael and I spent our day together with our his and her's best friends, we had so much fun in our bff affair. My best friend went to this burger heaven a while back with some friends. She has always told me about this place and I never got a chance to try until now and I am so glad we did!

The burger bar is laid out the way I would like a burger bar to be. It is located on trendy 1873 West 4th. The restaurant had open windows for people watching while diners enjoy their food. We were seated at a cozy round booth. My best gal even made a comment that she could fall asleep in there.

A yummy side of fries to start

Now lets get in to the niddy griddy. Can I just say OH TO THE EM GEE! These burgers are amazing! All four of us were talking about these burgers even hours after leaving the restaurant. There was a lot of selections from their menu but this is a burger bar after all. The kitchen really knows how to sex up their burgers because they taste fabulous and amazing. Oh, they also offer different selections of bread. You can choose from brioche, something nice and buttery, skinny bread almost like a flat bread, and they also offer something gluten free and a "make it green" option which is just a lettuce for buns I believe.

Wicked Deadly Cheeseburger

I was craving for something cheesy but I didn't want to feel completely bloated and full. I ordered the wicked Deadly Cheeseburger ($11) with a veggie patty, which is made up of soy and chopped up mushrooms. I was worried about the veggie patty since it was made up of mushrooms and I've had a not-so-good previous experience with veggie patties. But at Romer's, oh yum! The veggie patty, made of soy and mushroom, looked and tasted like a beef patty. It was served with five cheeses and I couldn't make out exactly all five but they melted so nicely with the patty. There was a hint of Russian tarragon sauce, it was a nice moisture to the bun and the patty. They also added a few touches of red onions that added an extra sweet aromatic zing  in there.

Magic Mushroom Burger

My bestie ordered the Magic Mushroom Burger ($11) also with a skinny bun. Served with a beef patty decked out with portobello mushrooms, caramelized onions, baby arugula and herb garlic boursin. She liked that it was served on a skinny bun because the burger itself was pretty filling already. There was a fresh taste from the portobelllo that gave a nice earthy organic tone to the beef. She had absolutely no criticism to this burger because it was just that amazing.

Myself and gal pal thought the skinny bun didn't look very appetizing but it was far from it. Very soft and fluffy. Since Romars doesn't serve sides with the burgers we need to order them on the side. Myself and bestie shared the big sized fries ($4) with chipotle sauce. We both thought it was a little spicy but she can handle heat a lot better than I can. We both agree that the fries tasted very unique and different from other fries we get. We can't quite put out finger on it but it was delicious. But one word to describe them is soft, because indeed they were.

Romer's Righteous Burger

Michael got the Romer's Righteous Burger  ($12) served on a beef patty, bacon, brasied short rib, gorgonzola sauce, and fresh thyme, along with amber ale cheddar on a brioche. He also added Tuscan greens ($4) on the side. Michael's first bite in to this was "Wow, now THIS  is a gourmet burger." He thought the burger was super juicy and loved the extra added amber ale cheddar on top. There were nice, thick slices of bacon in his sandwich and since he wasn't feeling fries, he really enjoyed how refreshing the side greens were.

Man's Man Burger

As for Michael's friend, he ordered the Man's Man burger ($12) that claims to be the "best damn burger to ever hit your lips." Well, let's have the diner be the judge of that. Michael's friend also ordered the Little Wedge ($4.50), which was wedged lettuce with Applewood bacon and chopped up eggs. The burger was dressed up with amber ale cheddar, onions strings, smoked alder salt, mustard and tomatoes on a brioche bun. The salad was served as sliced wedge of a ball of lettuce, he thought the wedged salad tasted really fresh. As for his manly burger, it was just pure goodness. He thought maybe it was so wonderfully delicious because of the special brioche bun. It definitely was no ordinary hamburger bun you get at a grocery store. The meat was spot on goodness. Filled with juices and freshness.

I am so glad we came here for lunch. It's a casual, fun place but the cooks really know how to deck out their wonderful amazing burgers. It was such a challenge to get through this post because I got hungry just thinking about these magical burgers. Since our last burger experience was a mighty fail, Romer's was such better delicious compensation. It's like they have their burgers down to the science, and whether you're a carnivore, herbivore, or a real health nut, they have something suitable for everyone. Michael and I simply can't wait to come back to eat more burgers! Just pure nom nom nom to the max.

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