It has been an interesting couple of weeks on the culinary front here in Washington. I have had several interesting meals. Most were excellent, some less than stellar. There is much to report so let’s get started shall we?
One of my favorite things about coming to the Pacific Northwest is, with the large Asian population, there are loads of tiny, non-descript Asian restaurants everywhere. It seems that every strip mall and parking lot houses some manner of restaurant that caters to the Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese food lover and many of them make the real deal food.
I made the trek to the Borders Books in Tacoma to pick up some reading material for my room and as I came up on the store, I missed my turn. I pulled into the strip mall across the street to make a U-Turn and go back when I saw Happy Teriyaki #7 tucked neatly into the middle of a long row of shops. It was lunchtime so I stopped in. They had a sushi bar with chef diligently slicing away on a chunk of tuna behind the counter. I took a table and the server brought the menu. An excellent selection of teriyaki, sushi, gyoza, and noodle bowls smiled at me as I opened the menu. I decided on the Yaki Udon with pork. I was there past the lunch rush and there were only a couple of other patrons in the place so it only took a few minutes for a large platter to be placed in front of me. It was heaped with a large pile of thick, glistening udon noodles with teriyaki pork mixed with fresh, stir fried broccoli, snow peas, carrots and onions. The udon was perfect; nice thick strands, silky smooth and slick on the outside with a little bit of chewiness in the middle. The pork was thin sliced on the bias, succulent and tender, with that delicate teriyaki blend of sweet and salty. The vegetables were nice and crunchy and the whole plate was tossed in their teriyaki sauce. It was just delicious. The only thing that was a bit confusing is that on the side of the plate was also a baseball sized scoop of white rice. I am sure it was good but noodles and rice? My momma always told me you can’t have two starches at the same meal so the rice stayed on the plate. Even with that, the plate was so full I could barely finish it. Apparently, Happy Teriyaki is a local chain because I have found Happy Teriyaki #3 just down the street from my hotel. I haven’t paid them another visit yet but, it’s very likely I will.
While out searching for the local post office, I spotted Pho Vy. (909 Sleater-Kinney Road Lacey, WA) Now I am an absolute sucker for good Pho. Pho (I have heard it pronounced as everything from ‘foe’ to ‘F-uh’ and, while I think the later is correct, I usually call it the former since most folks mispronounce it and they will know what I am talking about) is a Vietnamese beef and rice noodle soup loaded with ‘stuff.’ The ‘stuff’ usually consists of various vegetables and herbs and, while I have seen it made with chicken or seafood, pho is traditionally beef.
Pho Vy offered several selections, There was a range of pho, rice dishes, egg noodle dishes and rice noodle dishes that were served in different stocks and with different meat. I decided to order carry out and take it back to the room and eat it while watching a movie. Now I am one of those odd guys who tends to go for the proverbial ‘nasty bits’ so I ordered the Pho Dac Biet which was beef stock with rice noodles and steak flank, meatballs, tripe and tendon. When they called my name, I grabbed the plain brown paper sack that had been taped closed and headed back to the hotel.
Once back in the room, I began unpacking the load of food. In the bag, I found large container of the beef stock, a plastic bag filled with filled with crispy bean sprouts, chopped scallions, fresh basil, a small bag that I thought had chopped tomatoes and a couple of plastic cups filled with sauces and condiments. There was also a styrofoam container with the cooked meats and the rice noodles. I pulled out my large bowl and filled it with the noodles and meats. I dropped in a handful of the raw bean sprouts and several leaves of basil. I unwrapped what I thought were tomatoes and found, to my surprise, that it was actually raw, shaved flank steak. I separated it and scattered that into the bowl too. Once the bowl was filled with these delights, I poured the stock over it. The steamy stock cooked the raw steak immediately. I mixed in the hot sauce and hoisin sauce from the plastic cups and gave it all a big stir to mix it. I sunk a spoon in and took a taste of the stock. It was beefy and rich with overtones of charred anise and cinnamon. The tendon was gelatinous and soft, chewy but not gristly, the steak delicious and the tripe was more texture than flavor, all waxy and crunchy at the same time and the meatballs were small and spicy but a bit to the little to the rubbery side, which is not unexpected with boiled meatballs. I scattered some scallions over the top and it whole thing was just great and at under $7.00, you certainly can’t beat the price.
Thursday has become the day I get to hang out with my Olympia pal, Kitty. We had decided to go into Tacoma and visit the Tacoma Farmer’s Market. The Tacoma market is a temporary affair that is set up on Thurdays only. They block off one of the streets downtown and folks set up temporary stalls with their produce and products. I discovered it the first year I was here and was staying in a hotel just down the block from where it was set up. Kitty and I got to downtown Tacoma and, oddly enough, couldn’t find the market. I had checked online and it was supposed to be there but we couldn’t seem to locate it. We finally noticed a sign advertising the market but with a piece of paper over the it saying it had been canceled due to inclement weather. We were disappointed but it was understandable why it would be canceled. We were getting the effect of the tail end of a Pacific typhoon and there were 50 to 60 mph winds whipping through the area, downing powerlines and cutting power for thousands in the Tacoma area.
We took our disappointment and decided to drown our sorrows in a big plate of homestyle Mexican food at Taco Guaymas. (2630 S 38th St Tacoma, WA) Kitty and her partner, Michael love this place for the home style food and heaping portions. The building itself appears to have been a Burger King or a KFC or some other fast food establishment. We strolled in and checked out the menu, which was posted above the counter. Kitty ordered first while I was making up my mind. She got the grande burrito stuffed with BBQ pork. I ordered the regular beef burrito and, in keeping with my thoughts that if something is available that I have never had, I should try it, I ordered 2 tacos, one with pork carnitas and the other with beef tongue. Yes. Tongue tacos. I was feeling that nervous excitement that I get when I order something new. I have never eaten tongue before and didn’t really know what it would be like. I thought it would be somewhat chewy and strong tasting. We would find out soon.
Kitty’s burrito came out. It was the size of a pillow. You could nap on this thing. Huge and stuffed full of rice, beans, vegetable and pulled pork. She cut into it and offer me a bite, which I gladly snagged. The pork was well cooked and tasty.
About that time, my food arrived. I had gotten the smaller burrito, but it was not much smaller than the grande burrito on Kitty’s plate. The tacos were in a separate basket, soft, warm corn tortillas piled high with pork carnitas on the left and tongue on the right.
Both had lettuce and a homemade pico de gallo. I speared a piece of the tongue with my fork and popped it in my mouth. It was not at all what I expected. It was not the least bit chewy. It was velvety soft and tender and tasted a bit like pot roast with a very slight liverish aftertaste. It was quite good. Kitty tried a piece and agreed with my assessment. I rolled up the tortilla and took a large bite. The corn tortillas, if not made in house, are certainly locally made. They were excellent and the pico was fresh and flavorful with cilantro and garlic. Both the tongue taco and the carnitas taco were wonderful and the burrito, like Kitty’s, was overstuffed with chopped beef and vegetables and rice.
Taco Guaymas is one of those family owned treasures that one stumbles on occasionally that makes being a culinary adventurer worth all the effort.
