Squeeze Inn

My family descended upon the poor unsuspecting Squeeze Inn in Galt, California (right outside Sacramento) to try their famous grilled-crisp cheese cheeseburgers.  Once a modest establishment, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, and other accolades have caused rather rapid and aggressive expansion.  We ordered just about every type of burger and fry they served, milk shakes, and other artery cloggers.  In the end, we enjoyed ourselves, but a mix of average service and often underseasoned food caused the overall assessment to be rather lower than where they could, and probably should, be.

The milkshakes were large and delicious.

The fries were fresh and cooked perfectly, but needed more salt.

The chili fries were a meal unto themselves and featured good, Texas-style red (no bean with meat) chili.

The sweet potato fries (a new addition) were rather disappointing.  They had an odd taste, were crisp but not 100% delicious, and the wasabi ranch sauce was probably powder ranch mixed with powder wasabi (resulting in an extremely tart, oddly tangy - in the wrong way - pretty impossible to eat mix).

The burgers were beastly (hand for scale) with a delicious side of crispy cheese (which I folded back onto the burger).

And filled to the gills!  (Fork for scale of crispy cheese).  The patties were the thin variety, not fat "Red Robin" style, but more expanded "Wendy's" style.  This said, they were juicy and well cooked.  We couldn't be sure they weren't frozen, but such is life.  The main issue with the burger was the meat was underseasoned.  Salt - Pepper.  Feel free to also add a little Garlic Powder, etc.

Overall, good but not great.  We were glad to have gone.  Crispy cheese, what a fantastic idea to create a unique burger experience around it!  Bravo!  Our party could have been a little nicer, and so could the host/first server.  For example, as we arrived (with a large group) the servers were unwilling to allow us to move together a few tables (with 3/4 of the space open).  They wanted us to sit near each other, but not connected or wait for at least 10-15 minutes.  Some quick subterfuge later and the tables were connected.  

This did not seem to be a problem for local high school kids around.  The staff seemed perfectly content to allow them to nurse their fries for 45 minutes or more and drop by to see what they needed.  It appeared we caught them between shifts though, as one less helpful waitress left, a new, more helpful waitress arrived.  Seemed they may have wanted us to wait because one waitress did not want to help a big party and end up with no tip.  I cannot say I completely agreed with how our group handled the situation, but the service from hosting to serving never was super impressive.  

The Squeeze Inn

545 Industrial Drive  

Galt, CA 95632
(209) 745-4313

3.5 of 5

Purple Cafe and Wine Bar

My wife and I decided to drop by Purple Cafe and Wine Bar in Bellevue, Washington for a quick bite to eat a few months ago.  I had eaten here once or twice before, and wanted to give my wife an opportunity to try her first risotto.  

Unfortunately, it was not a great first time for my wife.  The herb risotto was not creamy enough, and did not even taste as if it had been made with stock.  It was missing flavor, and the garlic came through with such a tang I doubt it was roasted off before being used.  Overall, I was sad (especially so since the picture turned out about as good as the risotto tasted).  


My wife loves calamari.  She liked this calamari, but did not love it.  She fell in love with their thick, spicy aioli.  It was just too bad that the calamari were greasy, and a little too chewy (overdone).

My wife's dinner, the BLTA was good.  She loved her fries, and the avocado was ripe and tasty.  The bacon was clearly of good quality, and the bread was fresh and inviting.

Then there was the lamb shank.  The arugula mashed potatoes were delicious.  Such a simple idea, and one I plan to implement at our home.  The dish, however, came out more room temperature than hot.  The jus had a great flavor, and the tapenade was cold.  It seemed that was not an accident, but it took an already under temp lamb shank and sapped what excess heat it had right out of it.  There was that, and the fact the tapenade had a sour note that I could not place, which either was an enzyme that reacted poorly with the jus or was just a bad olive or two.

The creme brûlée on the other hand was very good, and was clearly torched to order - the ONLY way to serve it.  

The waitstaff was not exactly bad, and not exactly good.  We did not order wine, and that clearly resulted in C-quality service.  Average, and the meal was average.  Unimpressive risotto, greasy calamari, cool lamb, it was not a good showing.  I have had some meals here that were better, and a special mushroom risotto was actually good.  I guess that means you cannot be certain how good the meal will be that you will receive on any given night.  Kitchen standards are important, and with so many restaurants out there, we will not be back.

Purple Cafe and Wine Bar
430 106th Avenue Northeast
Bellevue, WA 98004
(425) 502-6292
2.5 of 5

June

June was ranked one of the best new restaurants in Seattle a few years ago.  Assuming they had hammered out the kinks, my wife and I decided to give them a shot about eight months after opening.  Unfortunately, our experience was average, and given the reasonable (but above average) prices, we decided we probably would not return.  It appears despite their positive crowd-sourcing reviews, I was not the only one that thought it was average, because one year after opening - the restaurant closed.  Sad.

Here's our historic review, and maybe if the restauranteur decides to open another restaurant, they can take heed.  The booths were intimate and inviting, until you got up close and personal.  The material was light, and had stains (as seen above), and the flowers that were supposed to add ambiance were wilted.  That was sad, and I wasn't sure if I was supposed to view it as chic and ironic, or just lazy.

We started with the oysters.  They were good, but the onion was a little overpowering.  It was probably my own fault for ordering oysters in a non-oyster month, but in Seattle I figured we couldn't go wrong.  They were just ok.

Then we had the octopus appetizer.  The protein was excellently cooked, tender, but it was oversalted to the point were the food was nearly inedible.  My wife will attest that I like aggressively seasoned food, but this was too salty by any person's standards.  

The gnocchi came out and looked delicious.  It was a good dish, but the gnocchi were not evenly executed.  I have included a picture of one seared to perfection, exactly how they should be, and another that did not have the delicious outside crunch that it should have had.  The top picture shows the nice caramel color, the bottom shows others that are barely tinged with color.  Unfortunately, this was my wife's first experience with gnocchi and it did not leave her wanting more...

The pappardelle was good, with nice flavors, but nothing we could not make at home.  In addition, for pasta, the portion was a little skimpy.  

The bread pudding was very good, and the creme (sort of a burnt creme, flan offering) had a slight goat cheese flavor and was the best part of the evening (the hint of goat cheese)- excepting the over burnt flavor.  It was almost perfect, but instead had a little burnination pucker factor.  

Service was not slow, but the waiter was not particularly attentive.  It sort of kept with the average theme of the evening.  Too bad they closed, if they had tightened up their ship, it could have been a great neighborhood restaurant.  As to the Yelpers who loved it, it had the feel of a place that would be loved - fresh seasonal food and menu, aloof waitstaff, etc.  But, I bet the first bunch were comped appetizers and from that point forward it was a critical mass scenario...

June
Seattle, WA
CLOSED

3 of 5

Book Club Applesauce

My wife ate some very tasty homemade applesauce at a friend's home during her book club a few months ago. She raved about it, and dutifully got the recipe to make for Thanksgiving. Well, the applesauce was dynamite. Bravo wifey, friend, and book club.

The recipe:

Ingredients -
15-20 apples, any variety
Apple cider
Cinnamon sticks, mulling spices, vanilla bean (optional), orange slices (optional)

Cooking Instructions -
Peel, core and chop the apples into pieces. The variety doesn't matter, a mix is nice (more on this in a minute*). Throw the apples into a pot or crockpot with some apple cider. Use enough cider to cover about half of the apples. Add some sticks of cinnamon, mulling spices, vanilla beans (other complimentary spices also work). You can add cranberries, cherries, etc and these options add deliciosity. Orange slices work too. Simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, mashing the apples as they get softer until you get the consistency you like. This takes about 2 hours, but if you don't have that much time, just simmer the apples until they are soft, 1 hour and blend.

*When my wife made it, she added orange slices (removed before serving), used three types of apples (Fuji/Gala, Granny Smith, and Macintosh). She did not blend it and the tree types of apples added different, and enjoyable textures to the dish. I'm sure it would have been great blended too.

the american palate

my wife told me that the phrase "american palate" the other day (here) was offensive.  sorry.

i'd now like to undertake a little defense of the offensive.

here is a blurb from the washington post about an american in india, and americanizing indian flavors.  here's another article on how the american palate is shifting to more extremes from the wall street journal.  i'm going to attack this from an anecdotal perspective though.  let's play a game i played with my wife.  it's like a rorchach test with food.  i'm going to name a type of food, and then you think about its characteristics or classic flavors and elements of it.

italian.
thai.
indian.
mediterranean.
spanish.
korean.
mexican.
greek.
middle eastern.
japanese.
german.
chinese.
caribbean.
vietnamese.

american.

your responses probably went a little something like this:

italian.  tomatoes.  pasta.  olive oil.  basil.

thai.  curry.  peppers. basil.  peanuts. 

indian.  curry.  vegetables.  paneer (cheese).  naan.  spices.

mediterranean.  fish.  light.  herbaceous.  olive oil.

spanish.  yellow rice.  saffron.  small plates.  bell peppers.  

korean.  kim chi.  small vegetable sides.  bbq.  lettuce wraps.

mexican.  mole.  crumbly white cheese.  tortillas.  fresh salsa.  corn.

greek.  feta.  olives.  olive oil.  lamb.  yogurt.

middle eastern.  kabobs.  yellow rice.  lamb.  strong spices.

japanese.  noodles.  sushi.  fish.  gyoza/tempura.

german.  sausage.  mustard.  potatoes.  pork.

chinese.  noodles.  sauce.  rice.  stir fried food.

caribbean.  jerk spice.  spicy.  mangos.  seafood.

vietnamese.  fresh rolls.  vermicelli noodles.  fresh lettuce and herbs.  pho.

american.  grease.  sugar.  creame.  fat.  processed foods.  hamburgers.  fried foods.  corn/vegetable oil.

maybe you didn't think of all those things after reading the list of food from other countries.  maybe you wanted to say something like beef and corn and chili and bbq.  either way, it just doesn't look good for america.  heavy, fatty, gut busting foods in huge portions.  and just look at the transition that corn has undergone over the last hundred years or so.  now the field corn that is produced is so waxy and single strained and inedible so as to cause it's primary uses to become cheap feed for animals or a precursor to ethanol.  aka.  gas.

and what do we do to food ourselves in america?  we take something, like mexican, and we add heavier cheddar cheese.  we make things greasier.  like pizza vs its italian progenitor.  or more sugary and salty.  like our cakes and desserts.  we cut down on spice, generally, and add more butter or fry them, like sushi rolls, fried tempura style.  it's not to say that other countries do not fry things, japan themselves do have tempura and katzu, but somehow they have mastered creating light, fresh fried foods vs our heavy greasy offerings. 

new american is changing this.  the influx of so many immigrants and more authentic foods are altering the american palate.  slowly.  our desire for more extremes universally is also having an impact, but hopefully we'll resist the extremes and find more appreciation for fresh, light, authentic, tasty foods.  lots of genuine spices.  it's not bad if we use our american ingenuity and creativity in the kitchen, say to take the spices of indian food and put them into beef (verboten in india), or fusion (like a rather surprising japanese/brazilian restaurant i ate at in chicago).  time will tell if these trends will penetrate smaller markets and become as american as apple pie.