The Road to Mandalay

Tuesday night, we sat on the porch at The Mandalay Cafe on 45th in Wallingford. It was a place I'd driven by numerous times over the last 3 years. I'd never made it in--I'd tried two years ago, when my book group was on the hunt for either Indonesian or Dutch food (the book was based in the Netherlands and we aimed for the cuisine of our meetings to match the author or the setting). At the time, we were pretty much stretching for anything that wasn't Thai or Chinese. This place would have fit the bill, but they were temporarily closed back then.

The food could have been categorized as almost-Thai, but Asian fusion is truly the best label for the food here. Several Southeast Asian countries were represented on the menu.

We ordered: Singapore Samosas, Thai Iced Tea, daal soup, Sumatran Roasted Nut Curry, Malaysian Green Banana Curry, and the Thai Basil Cheesecake. Overall, I liked this place, while my gentleman caller didn't so much. I found the use of new flavors and combinations interesting, but he made a great point: the flavors came on strong at first bite, but underneath, everything was bland. There was plenty of heat, but not enough depth on this go-round. (The cook even commented to us that regular patrons don't usually go for the higher levels of spiciness we chose.) The best items ordered were the unique cheesecake and the great samosas.

Three umbrellas outta five.

Pair!

When I first gathered a list of places to visit in search of great mac 'n cheese, I remembered hearing about Pair, in Ravenna. While everything I'd read sounded great, I delayed heading there for nearly a year. I've been in the neighborhood regularly for the last several months, and last night, I decided it was high time to visit.

We arrived at Pair around 9 PM on a Thursday night. We were seated immediately. Pair has a menu full of various "small-plate" comfort foods, which is noted in almost all reviews of this establisment. Which leads me to note: am I the only person who finds the term "small-plates" disconcerting? I'm not even sure why--maybe it's just too trendy of a term, even though I tend to like places that have "small-plates". Anyhow. The waiter recommended that we order two-and-a-half to three plates per person. Two probably would have been enough, especially if I'd known we were going for dessert after, but we ordered five between the two of us.

We ordered a number of items that I bet I'll be going back to order in the future. We started with Napa Valley Chardonnay (I remember little else but that it was a 2002). Next up, we had the Cambozola Fondue with d'Anjou pears, apples and crostini. The cheese was thinner than I'd anticipated, but with the crostini and apples, it was a very tasty winner. Right before the heartier portions, we had a green salad with butterleaf lettuce, vinaigrette and goat cheese toasts. The salad was standard and goat cheese is always appreciated.

To share, we'd ordered the Halibut in Parchment with asparagus, onions and tomatoes, the Pork Tenderloin with tomatillo relish, and the Macaroni and Cheese. I know that I've enjoyed pork tenderloin often lately, but Pair's was great--my dining compadre agreed. The relish and the seasonings were so, so tasty. While the halibut was mostly unremarkable, the macaroni and cheese is the first I've had in Seattle that's truly given Cafe Venus a run for its money. In fact, I may have to check into options for ordering it to take home some night when I'm needing a little mac 'n cheese boost...

The surprise winner of the night was one that I would not have ordered on my own: Banana Bread Pudding with caramel and vanilla ice cream. Amazing. I'd go there for this dessert alone.

Recommmended: 3.75 out of 5 little umbrellas.