Monsoon – Fauxdie’s Review

Taste: I hate dim sum; I really do. However, Monsoon’s dim sum is tolerable for someone who hates eating Asian as much as I do. That is to say, it’s pretty damn good. The American brunch offerings were also pretty good, but this isn’t the best American brunch in town. *7/10*

Drinks: I had hot coffee (Victrola) and ice water– nothing special, but it’s nice to see they serve Victrola. *7/10*

Texture: Dim sum dumplings that aren’t soggy?! Sign me up! The caramelized pineapple texture was pretty good, and the French toast wasn’t soggy, even with syrup. Perfectly prepared pork belly. *9/10*

Prettiness: It didn’t seem like they tried to make things pretty, and there was nothing fancy about the plating. The brunch combo came with a lazy dollop of mustard far too near to my beloved pork belly. *4/10*

Atmosphere: Somewhat minimalistic without going overboard. Not cold, not cozy. *6/10*

Service: It wasn’t all that busy and we waited a pretty long time to get our food. The boyfriend’s food came more than 5 minutes after mine. Poor coursing. The server, however, did comp our coffees. *5/10*

Price: Expensive for dim sum, but good dim sum for the money. I wouldn’t recommend Monsoon just for the American brunch– you can get better brunches for less money elsewhere. *6/10*

Overall: *7/10*

Summary: Well-prepared, consciously-devised food. Very good dim-sum, good American brunch. If you like dim sum and hate driving to Renton, come here. If you’ll only be having American brunch, go elsewhere.

Sonrisa – Fauxdie’s Review

Taste: For a Mexican restaurant, their food is certainly lacking in heat. Also, inconsistent across 2 different visits (both lunch). Really, I like the chips best, and they are consistent(ly greasy and delicious). *5/10*

Drinks: Delicious margaritas in a variety of flavors, and only $4 at happy hour! *9/10*

Texture: The foods have the expected textures, for the most part (what should be crunchy is, and what shouldn’t be isn’t).. However, the salsa is very gloopy– weird! *7/10*

Prettiness: C’mon, this isn’t a fancy restau. It’s in the U-Village and it’s Mexican. 3 stars for the effort (which is usually a squiggly squirt of sour cream across the platter and a curled red pepper “flower”) *3/10*

Atmosphere: Warm tones without garish colors. Ugly carpet that doesn’t match the rest of the restau. Fire in vacuum tubes?! *4/10*

Service: All hostesses and servers have been very friendly and attentive. Bar staff 2 hours before closing on Friday night, not so much. *7/10*

Price: The lunch menu doesn’t save you much money. *5/10*

Total: *5/10*

Summary: Better than Azteca, the next-nearest Mexican restaurant in the area. Slightly fancier than Chipotle, and without the long lines. Give it a shot for chips and salsa (don’t splurge for the $8 guac!).. and definitely the margaritas, blended or on the rocks.

Table 219 – Foodie’s Review

Food type: Semi-creative American

Menu: Brunch

Location: On the Broadway strip on Capitol Hill

Atmosphere: Poorly lit (in spite of the sun outside, but that may be a fluke), simple bar and tables kind of place

In attendance: Older solo males, small groups of gays, larger groups of 30-something friends, my parents, my girlfriend and I

Service: Slightly hard-boiled, inattentive, indifferent

Quality of ingredients: Fair to good (i.e. thick-cut bacon-”good”; OJ-”fair”; apple-”good”; eggs-”fair”; bread (from Macrina)-”good-great”; pancakes-”fair-good”; fruit-”fair”)

Dishes eaten:

• Eggs Benedict with hashbrowns as the muffin and tomato sauce as the hollandaise (this “clever” idea fell flat-lazy and insipid) – “Poor” – Why are we regressing?
• Chocolate chip pancakes (fluffy batter chock full of decent chocolate chips) – “Fairly good” – Nothing mindblowing but pleasant to fill up on
• Breakfast combo (very thick bacon, tasty if a bit dry and workaday eggs) – “Fair” – Make at home
• Omelet with feta (what you’d expect) – “Fair” – Edible but I’m still unconvinced Greek cuisine has legs beyond its “authentic” niche
• French toast with peaches and cream (nice Macrina bread taken down a slight notch by an uninspiring batter and the peaches once again suffer from the musty curse from cooking–even Frog Hollow Farm’s peaches are nearly as offputting) – “Fair” – Appealing idea suffering from both lazy execution and inherent characteristics of the ingredients
• Orange and Apple juices (the orange was slightly acidic with a moderate amount of sweetness, definately fresh-tasting, but overall flat in flavor; the apple was a touch too sweet for my tastes but overall very drinkable) – “Fair” – On par with the decent packaged orange juices at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s

Complaints: poorly conceived menu; inattentive service; dark atmosphere

Plaudits: prices; grilled bread; bacon; pancakes; apple juice

Cost: reasonable entrees (up to $12 or 13 at the most I think); side dishes (up to $6 bucks I think)

Overall rating: 5.5/10

Recommended?: No for brunch; although I’m willing to try dinner

Visited: Spring 2008