Deck on the Barking Dog - Seattle Restaurant Review

So, I've lived in my neighborhood on the north edge of Ballard for almost 4 years now, and I'm ashamed to say that I've never been to the Barking Dog Alehouse; an establishment located exactly 8 blocks due south.  I've run countless laps around the neighborhood, passing by 70th, and have yet to stop in.  But tonight, as I had no food in the house, and needed something to eat, I finished my run, packed up my computer, and headed down to the Barking Dog.  And you know what, I'm glad I did.

The Barking Dog is a pretty nice place, aesthetically pleasing from the outside, and fitting in nicely amongst the homes in this neighborhood.  There is a small patio outside, and plenty of seating inside.  It's an unassuming place where you walk in and seat yourself, but in typical Seattle fashion, it's a place where pulling out a laptop to work while consuming a beer is not out of place.  The decor is simple, but nice.  And there are flat screen televisions strategically positioned to show a variety of sports.

When I walked in, I grabbed a table along the side so I would have some space to get a little bit of work done while I was eating (this was actually the impetus for me not cooking for myself this evening).  After getting settled, I perused a nice beer list with a blend of local brews on tap, Belgium imports, and some unique beer options.  I settled on a Silver City Red Ale, and then turned my attention to the food menu which was only a couple of pages.  Everything appeared to be simple bar food, but taken up just a notch.  I was trying to figure out what I was in the mood for, and almost narrowed it down to the burger until a part of me just couldn't do it being that I'm still on burger overload from my personal Juicy Lucy Challenge (read about it here).  So, I ended up going with the Halibut and Chips; a fairly safe choice.

After responding to just a couple of e-mails, my dinner arrived.  The halibut was nice and brown, and served over the top of some waffle potato fries.  I'm a malt vinegar guy, so I put a bit on the halibut, dipped it in the tartar sauce and took a bite.  Much to my pleasure, the halibut was cooked very well.  The breading was nice and crunchy with a very subtle flavor, and no greasiness.  The halibut was incredibly moist and was definitely the star of the show as it should be.  The tartar and the malt vinegar accented it very nicely.  I quickly put down that first piece of halibut before I even got into the fries, which were ok, but I'm guessing frozen, not fresh, and lacked just a bit of salt (which I just added myself).

All in all, I made pretty quick work of the halibut, and finished off the fries.  Then I ordered another beer and got some work done.  The meal itself was pretty simple, which is exactly what I was looking for.  And while fish and chips is not a real stretch, and probably not the best indicator of overall performance, I do have to give credit for not overcooking the halibut.  There is nothing worse to me than a dry, ruined piece of halibut.  And the atmosphere was great as well.  I can definitely see myself taking the Heel-Toe Express down to the Barking Dog Alehouse on more occasions to get some work done on nights when it is just me, while trying the more "adventurous" fare such as the grilled pork chop or the bleu cheese and fig ravioli.


Semi-Final Verdict (pending expected trips) - 3.5 Stars

Deck on Lunchbox Laboratory - Seattle Restaurant Review

Before heading out on the road for work this past week, I decided to toss the Seattle Weekly Voracious Dining Guide into my bag as something to read during takeoff and landing.  Not only was it perfect reading material, but it reminded me that there are so many great places in Seattle I have yet to try.  So, rather than coming home and heating up some leftovers, I decided to swing by one of the restaurants that I've yet to try.  Since it was lunchtime, and I was heading to my home in Ballard, I decided to stop by Lunchbox Laboratory on NW 15th.

Driving up to the restaurant, I realized that I had probably driven by it nearly a hundred times and never really noticed it, let alone deciding to stop by.  I wonder how many other places there are like this...but I digress.  The Lunchbox Laboratory is a small, non-descript shop next to a small nail salon on NW 15th, with a sign that is barely noticeable above the trees that line the street.  Walking through the door on the side, you are immediately greeted by the smells of hamburgers crammed into a very small space (maybe 20 people could squish together at the tables.  There were multiple menu chalkboards to look at.  The first is the specials which are the pre-configured burgers.  Below that is the shakes and malts, and around the counter where you place your order is the options menu so you can build your own burger.  I took a quick look at all the menus, and then decided, to go with a special.  I narrowed it down to the "Le Truffle Love" and the "Dorkfather" (dork being a combo of ground duck and pork).  After a mental coin flip, I decided on the 1/4 lb. "Le Truffle Love", a burger containing "Super Beef" (a combo of prime rib, sirloin and rib eye), bacon, onions, cheese, and black truffle mayo; as well as a side of sweet potato fries.  All told it was $13 ($2 more for the 1/2 lb. variety), not bad for a potentially good lunch.

While waiting for my order, I perused the simple decor, made up primarily of old school metal lunchboxes and thermoses adorning the walls.  I didn't see any that I had used, but I started school in the era of platic lunchboxes.  There were only a couple of other people in there, but I assumed that it had more to do with the fact that it was barely after 11 in the morning than anything else.  After about 5 minutes I was handed a very large bag of food.  I walked out and headed two minutes to home.

Opening the bag when I got home, I noticed one bag that contained the fries, a side of dipping sauce, an aluminum foil wrapped burger that appeared much bigger than I expected for a quarter pounder, and a small box that contained the lettuce, tomato and pickle.  I was actually impressed that they put it on the side so that I could add what I wanted, but more importantly, so it stays fresh until I'm ready to eat it.  I put everything on a plate, cut the burger in half, and got ready to dive in. 

The first bite was very good.  I got a mouth full of bacon and onion and burger, with juices running down my hand and back on to the plate.  I made quick work of the first half of the burger before taking a couple bites of fries.  The fries were just perfect, nice and crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.  The sauce was a nice accompaniment, though I couldn't really tell what was it in it...kind of a southwest style.  As I started into the second half of the burger, I realized that there was something just a little off.  A couple more bites and I realized what it was...I was missing the burger and the mayo.  By this I mean that there was so much bacon and onion that it was overwhelming everything else (I know, too much bacon??  Is it possible?).  The burger could have been ground chuck and I never would have noticed.  It wasn't until I got to the last couple of bites where most of the bacon was gone that I finally got the full combination of flavors in my mouth, and it was much better.

Overall, the Lunchbox Laboratory makes a very good burger.  There was definitely a lot of flavor, but the toppings were a little overwhelming and the burger was a tad too well done for my tastes.  But it was definitely good enough to convince me to go back and try again, probably the dork next time.  And I would probably put it in the top 3 burgers I've had in Seattle, somewhere behind the Red Mill Deluxe and the Tillamook Cheddar Burger at Sport.

Final Verdict - 3.5 Stars