Posts Tagged ‘Taste4’

Frankie’s Pizza and Pasta

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

Frankie's-exterior OGF: 4/5
A traditional American-Italian restaurant serving pizza by the slice,  calzones, lasagna and pasta dishes off a reasonably priced lunch menu.  As with most pizza by the slice, it’s better when it’s fresh, so try to judge by taking a look at the tray as you enter to see which pie looks the freshest.

Taste: 4/5 – Pretty much what you’d expect from a decent place of this kind.  If you were looking for a classy dinner you might be disappointed, but as a lunch option it beats the chain options.

Price: 4/5 – The base prices of most dishes are reasonable, but adding a salad to anything but a pizza slice is a little more pricey than I’d like ($4 extra).

Quantity: Doggie bag – unless you get a single slice you’ll probably get more than you should eat (but maybe not more than you could…).

Wait Time: 15 minutes

Rotation: 2 days a week

% MSFT employees: About Half

Parking: Easy

Prime Card: No

Don’t Miss: The house special calzone with a small caesar salad to start.

Frankie’s Pizza & Pasta

16630 Redmond Way, Redmond, WA
http://maps.live.com/?v=2&ss=ypid.YN925x15775283&encType=1

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Posted in Italian, Pizza | No Comments »

ZenYai Noodle House

Saturday, February 21st, 2009

ZenYai-exterior

OGF: 4/5
One of the more interesting of the abundant Asian pseudo-ethnic restaurants surrounding the Microsoft campus, ZenYai serves primarily Thai dishes of widely varying quality.  Sometimes excitingly named, it’s worth going in with a recommendation or spying on your neighbors dishes before making a decision as while the “Hot Mamma Noodles” (usually on special) are delicious, dishes like “Noodle Explosion” are decidedley “meh”.  Despite the name, there are also a large variety of non-noodle dishes.

Taste: 4/5 – While we’ve had our share of bland dishes here (avoid the Ramen and the  aforementioned Noodle Explosion), they have a number of delicious and highly satisfying options such as the “Angry Curry Noodles”, “Hot Mamma Noodles” and “Crispy Garlic Chicken”.  It’s also hard to go wrong with Thai staples such as Pad Thai and Panang Curry.

Price: 3/5 – What you’d expect, roughly $8-10 a meal.

Quantity: Doggie bag – always more than you can eat.

Wait Time: 15 minutes on a normal day, but this place can get busy!

Rotation: 1

% MSFT employees: close to 100

Parking: Difficult – in the frustrating Mayuri/Trader Joe’s/Can-Am complex

Prime Card: No

Don’t Miss: The Hot Mamma Noodles when they’re on the special’s bored at the front if you like spicy food, or, if you’re feeling unadventurous, the Crispy Garlic Chicken is a decidedly unhealthy yet scrumptious option.  Also, unlike the entrees, their appetizers are universally acceptable.

ZenYai Noodle House

15400 NE 20th St, Bellevue, WA
http://maps.live.com/?v=2&ss=ypid.YN925x15738201&encType=1

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Posted in Asian, Thai | No Comments »

KoBe – Sushi Sake Robata

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

KoBe-exterior

OGF: 4/5
A Classy Japanese restaurant with more elbow room and variety than Bento Box, KoBe is located in the plaza just south of Fred Meyer’s.  Recently opened, KoBe was surprisingly empty for a restaurant of its quality, low price and speed.

Taste: 4/5 – It’s hard to find a bad dish.  Whether you’re craving soba noodles, sushi, teriyaki or katsu, you’ll be sure to find something you like .

Price: 4/5 – Surprisingly low prices despite giving off a higher end vibe; you can find many lunch dishes for $9.

Quantity: Just right

Wait Time: 15 minutes

Rotation: 1

% MSFT employees: About half

Parking: Reasonable

Prime Card: No

Don’t Miss: The donburi was quite good, but really, you can’t go wrong with any of their dishes.

KoBe

14603 NE 20th St, Bellevue, WA 98007-3750
http://maps.live.com/?v=2&where1=14603%20NE%2020th%20St%2C%20Bellevue%2C%20WA%2098007-3750&encType=1

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Posted in Asian, Japanese, Sushi, Teriyaki | No Comments »

Taj Palace

Saturday, January 31st, 2009

Taj-Palace-exterior

OGF: 4/5
With more and roomier seating, a wider selection of vegetarian dishes (along with all the meat dishes you’d expect) and far easier parking, we can heartily recommend Taj Palace over the slightly closer Mayuri to satisfy your Indian lunch buffet needs.  The day we visited, there were all the standards (Tandoori and butter chicken, palak paneer etc) along with an additional set of 4-6 rotating dishes.  The fruit, vegetable and desert selections are also worth a stop.

Taste: 4/5 – The dishes seemed slightly better prepared and of higher quality than Mayuri.  Nothing amazing, but solid choices all around.

Price: 3/5 – Typical price for a buffet lunch in Bellevue of about $10.

Quantity: Just right – It’s an all you can eat buffet, so quantity is not an issue

Wait Time: 3 minutes – there was a short line for the buffet when we arrived, but nothing compared to Mayuri on a typical weekday.

Rotation: 1

% MSFT employees: 75% or more

Parking: Easy

Prime Card: No

Don’t Miss: Those balls floating in goo at the desert tray are actually honey and cardamom soaked donut holes.  Delicious!

Taj Palace

2331 140th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA
http://maps.live.com/?v=2&ss=ypid.YN925x15733839&encType=1

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Posted in Indian | No Comments »

Celtic Bayou

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

Celtic-Bayou-exterior

OGF: 3/5
Probably a better choice for dinner; if MicroGrub weren’t specifically rating spots for lunch, we would have gone for a higher OGF.  As it is, Celtic Bayou probably won’t make it into most people’s regular lunch rotation, despite its surprisingly complimentary mix of Irish, Cajun and burgers with a Pub atmosphere.  Which is a shame since it’s one of Redmond’s more unique restaurants.  If you’re a trivia fan, be sure to stop by Monday nights for some friendly competition.

Taste: 4/5 – It’s hard to find a dish here that’s a disappointment, with the possible exception of vegetarians, it should be easy for everyone in your group to find something they like whether it be a Cajun gumbo, an Irish stew or a surprisingly good burger.

Price: 3/5 – Nothing shocking, dishes usually clock in at just over $10.

Quantity: Just right – maybe even a little too much, but you most likely won’t be bringing home leftovers

Wait Time: 25 minutes – this really is the main issue preventing us from giving it a higher recommendation, CB is definitely more of a dinner and drinks place making it hard to be in and out for an hour lunch.

Rotation: 1 – there’s a decent variety, but more in terms of the spices used than the meat + starchy carbs theme

% MSFT employees: 75% or more

Parking: Easy

Prime Card: No

Don’t Miss: Adding some novelty hot sauce to your Jambalaya.

Celtic Bayou

7281 W Lake Sammamish Pkwy NE, Redmond, WA
http://maps.live.com/?v=2&sp=Point.rybdt74tp7jz_Celtic%20Bayou_7281%20W%20Lake%20Sammamish%20Pkwy%20NE%2C%20Redmond%2C%20WA___&encType=1

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Posted in Burgers, Cajun, Irish | No Comments »