Browsing Category

Seattle

Best of Seattle

Best burger in Seattle

I know, it’s a big statement. I still think about this burger since the first time, and am now as I’m writing this. Meet Loretta’s Northwesterner. Thanks to our friend and chef, Brian Walczyk of the Tom Douglas fam and his wife Bea for taking us.

Located in the Seattle neighborhood of South Park, Loretta’s is like a cool cabin in the woods with a with wood paneling, icy frozen glasses of beer, vinyl and board games to play, and an open-air patio with an Airstream trailer to hang out in.

There’s a few burgers on the menu, but we went for the Tavern Burger ($4) with its charbroiled patty, American cheese, chopped onion, sliced pickles, and a special house sauce on a buttery toasted bun. Up it to a double tavern (shown here) or deluxe for a little more. Handcut fries are available for $3 and their icy cold beers were so cold that there were ice chips on top. We liked the Lucille from Georgetown Brewing. The vibe is mellow, full of locals from the neighborhood.

Loretta'sTavernDouble-TinyGlobalKitchen

Loretta'sBurger-TinyGlobalKitchen

Loretta'sPatio-TinyGlobalKitchen

Loretta’s is located at 8617 14th Ave S, Seattle, WA. Check out their full menu here.

What’s your favorite burger?

Cuban Recipe Sandwiches Seattle

El Cubano

CubanSandwich-TinyGlobalKitchen

We used to travel to Miami every year to go to the Winter Music Conference. Meeting with fellow music industry friends, seeing your favorite DJ’s by a pool or stacked back to back in art deco boutique hotels, paying $12 for a Corona… oh that’s right, we don’t go anymore. The highlight of WMC was secretly always about one thing, yes the music was great… but it was the late night Cuban sandwiches with matchstick potato chips at David’s in South Beach with a sweet and slap-your-face Cuban coffee. Every time we see this on a menu, we’re pulled to order it because quite simply- it’s a great combo of flavors (and probably for the sentimental value too.) Ham, pork, yellow mustard, Swiss cheese and dill pickles on a crunchy French style bread, grilled on a plancha or grill press to be melty and crunchy.

We had a date on Sunday after watching The Grand Budapest Hotel at Big Picture, then ducked into The Inn Keeper across the street for a late lunch. The Cuban was spotted, ordered and was delicious. Instead of pickles, they substituted picked jalapeños, and had a moist pulled pork and spiced mayonnaise. I missed the French style bread but it was amazing all the same.

Here’s a recipe for a Cuban, I think a little slice of mango in there would add a nice sweetness, but I digress.

  • 8″ Cuban bread
  • 2 T yellow mustard
  • 5 oz. smoked or roasted pork
  • 3 oz. sweet cured ham (Black Forest would work)
  • Few slices of dill pickles
  • Few slices Swiss or Jarlsberg cheese
  • Butter for the outside of bread and grill

Press down on sandwich, and cook sandwich one each side for 5-6 minutes, allowing the flavors from the cheese, pork and ham to infuse and for the sandwich to flatten down. Enjoy!