Bang Bang Cafe (Seattle, WA)

During my trip to Seattle in 2019, I stayed in a very touristy area. This delighted me, since everything was in walking distance and there was plenty to see and discover. I typically plan my trips meticulously, but an urge to be a bit more spontaneous overtook me for my Seattle vacation. During one of these "let's see what's nearby" mornings, I came across Bang Bang Cafe.

I was quite groggy that morning, and took a more casual approach to ordering. Meaning, instead of being very discerning, I ordered the first drink that looked good (a Mexican cocoa) and the first option on the menu (the Bang Bang burrito).

The cocoa had a beautiful design and the cinnamon scent came through.

The Bang Bang burrito was really something. I personally don't enjoy multiple sauces melding together; just a pet peeve. The visual effect is always unappetizing to me. The Bang Bang burrito is a huge, generous portion of scrambled eggs, beans, tater tots, covered with cheese and red and green salsa. Definitely filling and the type of satisfying hangover food people enjoy.

Bang Bang Cafe is centrally located in the Belltown section of Seattle, and the ambiance feeds into that. It was a bright place, with lots of tall windows letting in sunshine. I was lucky enough to get a seat at one of the bars facing one of these large windows, and enjoyed my food while people watching. It had the casual upscale energy of the area: modern, slightly hipster, with a simple, straightforward menu. I could totally see aspiring tech boomers coming here on a day off. 

As well as several Mexican-style burritos, Bang Bang Cafe also serves healthy-ish turkey sandwiches, bagels, and vegan/vegetarian options such as a vegan mac and cheese. Makes perfect sense, since Seattle had some of the most active, athletic locals I've seen while traveling. The menu is also reasonably priced, with items averaging $9, making it one of the easier on the wallet restaurants in the area. 

Biscuit Bitch (Seattle)

When I was planning my trip to Seattle, I asked my friend, who was born and raised there, what were some of the restaurants I should check out. One of the first places she mentioned was Biscuit Bitch, a breakfast spot that specializes in-you guessed it-all things biscuits. Nothing on the menu is served without one. They're the staple, base ingredient of everything this delicious spot has to offer.

They have three locations; I went to the one in Belltown. The down-to-earth ambiance and clever menu were my first impressions that Biscuit Bitch was a special place. They have a charming drink menu that rivals any niche hipster coffee shop. I ordered a Seattle Fog to drink, comparable to Starbuck's London Fog, with vanilla and orange zest. The zest was optional, but I found it really elevated the beverage. It was a wonderful way to wake up in the morning. I sat at a bar facing the window and sipped while waiting for my food order to be called. 

The service style is quite chill. You order and pay, have a seat, and when your drink and food are ready, you grab it. This location was pretty small and jam packed with people, and it was entertaining to people-watch in the short interim between ordering and eating.

Everything on the menu ends in the word "Bitch" (so yeah, maybe not the best place to bring small children if language is a concern). The Easy Bitch caught my eye and was an absolute delight. It's a pretty straightforward dish, two biscuits topped with pork gravy and two gorgeously runny over easy eggs. The biscuits were thick and fluffy, with nice, crisp edges and not too dense. It was easy to see why these biscuits are the restaurant's pride and joy. The pork gravy was hearty and delicious. Putting the egg on top added the perfect touch to this wonderfully savory dish.

The plating here is simple and not pretentious. The biscuits are put in cardboard boats, easy to eat out of and dispose of. 

Biscuit Bitch was one of my favorite food stops during my trip to Seattle! I'm so envious that we don't have a location here in Detroit. If you ever head to the Pacific Northwest, this is a stop you must see. There's just no way you can miss it. The quality is phenomenal, tastes great, and the price point is very affordable, averaging $8.28 a pop. They also have vegetarian and gluten-free options for those with dietary restrictions.

HTCEB: Oatmeal

I'm not crazy about oatmeal, never have been. But, I'm systematic, and would I genuinely be cooking through a cookbook if I didn't try things I knew I wasn't crazy about? Maybe Mark Bittman's version would be better than the other 4 or 5 times I've tried the recipe, I thought. And it was better this time, not because the recipe was bad, but because I got better tasting oats this time.

I'm not saying everyone should invest in Whole Foods, or limit themselves to higher-cost goods out of snobbery. I grew up blue collar, and the holier-than-thou, "All MY food is organic free range non-GMO non-processed..." yada yada attitude really rubs me the wrong way. I grew up on canned, frozen, and less than great food, and I think a truly skilled chef should never look down on any ingredient. She should be able to take anything, whether it's quality is up to your standards or whether or not you like the way it tastes, and turn it into something delicious. Refusing to work with working class ingredients doesn't make you better, it makes you an out-of-touch asshole.

Having said all that, I was impressed with the taste of the oats I got from Whole Foods, compared to the ones I typically get from the grocery store (both are rolled, non-instant oats). I didn't realize the humble oat could have so much variance. There's absolutely no shame in humble ingredients and working with what you've got, but there's also no shame in working with the best you can afford (it becomes a problem when you refuse to even consider certain products, such as canned or frozen, because of an unwarranted, over-inflated ego).

I adjusted the recipe portion to be a bit smaller, enough for one bowl. I used about a quarter cup of oats, covered it with water (about a half cup), threw in a pinch of salt and let it boil.

Then I lowered the heat, stirred it often, and let the water absorb. Then I stirred in some butter (about a half a tablespoon), removed the pot from the heat, put a lid on it, and let the butter absorb.

A few minutes later, I stirred up the oatmeal, which was looking surprisingly tasty at this point. I added a splash of 2% milk, some cinnamon, and some candied walnuts and grapes that I had laying around. These add-ins surprised me; I thought the candied walnuts would be the real treat, but they turned slightly bitter over time, I'm guessing from the heat of the oatmeal. The grapes, however, were such a nice contrast with how bright and juicy they were. They did get a little weird from the warmth of the oats by the end of the meal, though.

This recipe is:
-Vegetarian
-Vegan (swap the milk and butter for nut milk/imitation butter or omit them completely)

This is the 3rd recipe I made from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything: Basics.