Posts Tagged ‘msfties-25’

Black Bear Diner

Saturday, February 21st, 2009

Black-Bear-Diner-exterior

OGF: 3/5
Upon entering Black Bear Diner, you may feel as though you’ve been transported out of the software developer cultural epicenter that is Redmond and straight into small town American West.  A chain started in Mt Shasta, California, the Redmond location certainly exudes the National Park family restaurant vibe.  Surprisingly given its proximity, it doesn’t seem to be frequented by many Microsoft employees, but rather a selection of the plaid button down shirt types.

Taste: 3/5 – Typical American restaurant food with burgers, sandwiches, salads and breakfast served all day.  Many of the entrees have a California twist, often by incorporating avocado in some way.  Most of us opted for the breakfast options and were not disappointed.

Price: 4/5 – Undiscounted prices are what you’d expect, however recently they’ve started offering a generous 20% prime card discount.

Quantity: Doggie bag

Wait Time: 20 minutes

Rotation: 1

% MSFT employees: 25% or less

Parking: Easy

Prime Card: 20% off

Don’t Miss: The “hobo” omelet with it’s huge accompanying biscuit

Black Bear Diner

14804 NE 24th St, Redmond, WA
http://maps.live.com/?v=2&ss=ypid.YN925x151462429&encType=1

Taco Time

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009

Taco-Time-Exterior

OGF: 2/5
A North West fast food chain which purports serving what can be called "tacos" only in the loosest, technical sense.  Serving "Mexi-fries" (tater tots) and "crisp burritos" (deep fried tortilla wrapped meat), even Taco Bell beats them in taste and authenticity.  The best you can say about this place is that the lettuce shreds are green and fresh.  Why on earth you’d go here when delicious and cheap options like the taco truck on 24th and 148th abound is beyond me.

Taste: 2/5 – Somehow, they managed to take what looks like a burrito and make it blander than your Minnesotan mother’s tuna noodle casserole.

Price: 3/5 – Not particularly cheap for a fast food joint, and definitely not worth it.

Quantity: Just right

Wait Time: 5 minutes

Rotation: 0

% MSFT employees: 25% or less

Parking: Difficult

Prime Card: No

Don’t Miss: The exit, and if you’re brave enough to actually eat your order, make sure you locate the bathroom.

Taco Time

2001 156th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA
http://maps.live.com/?v=2&ss=ypid.YN925x15737578&encType=1

Pizza & Sandwich House

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

Pizza&Sandwich Exterior

OGF: 2.5/5
A small family run shop selling pizza and sandwiches along side Chinese food.  Family pictures line the walls.  About half full, immediate service.

Taste: 2/5 – we ordered a pizza, a sandwich and a Chinese noodle dish.  All decidedly average, didn’t find a “crave-it” dish.

Price: 5/5 – Easy to find a $4-8 entree including a full “grinder” sandwich for $4 as a lunch special.

Quantity: Just right

Wait Time: Less than 10 minutes

Rotation: 0.25 – While it would be easy to go several times a week by rotating between sandwhich, pizza and chinese, there’s nothing here to draw you back.

% MSFT employees: 25% or less

Parking: Easy

Prime Card: No

Don’t miss: The warm cookies provided with the bill

Pizza & Sandwich House
2245 140th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA
http://maps.live.com/?v=2&ss=ypid.YN925x15733845&encType=1