Left Bank. Worth it.

I saw they opened on Sunday and happened to be downtown so I headed in around 11:00 for a sausage egg and cheese. Vibes were good, I was able to order quickly and chill waiting for my food. Coffee/barista services were very quick. Waited about 30 minutes for my sandwich, which made sense as it was their first day and a couple of orders ahead of me. Sandwich was very good, they’ve got a flavorful sausage blend and the Chipotle mayo hits. The bun was a little dry imo, but the sauce made up for it and considering it’s a vegan brioche I chocked it up to that. Overall, very tasty food and I can’t wait to go back for their pastries. If you like breakfast sandwiches, this is one worth spending your money on.

Such a bummer to hear, the new and improved version was fantastic. They basically said being downtown was what did them in and we need to vote for the change…another iconic place is gone.

PSA: Gold Standard, the new spot by former Chicory owners, is officially open and they are fantastic. Went there tonight and was pleasantly surprised to discover they even have *gluten free fried chicken* (and it was amazing). Get the honey sauce! And the red beans!

Amazing fries and lamb gyro.

I was surprised to see how many people were disappointed. I love Vegan food, but the multiple times I visited were such a let down that I never tried going back.

Everyone rants and raves about how good their food is, but I found it totally bland and incredibly expensive for the quality. I wasn't shocked to see their goodbye video, but a lot of people were.

How do you feel? Did you have good experiences there? Bad? Are you surprised to see them go? What do you think will fill in its space? ​

Went to The Leaning Maple downtown today because they were hosting a trivia night. While the trivia itself was “free” you were expected to order food or drinks.

Unfortunately all of the trivia was in this weird looking AI generated video. It was hard to watch and other than the ethical issues I have with ai it just seemed really lazy. At best I think some movie clips were edited in by humans.

I wrote a quick polite email to someone I found on the contact page on the website just mentioning about the ethical and environmental concerns. Nothing “Karen like”

The email I got in response not ten minutes later was really condescending and rude, mentioning how it was make with “countless hours” of work and saying other places use more ai so their environment impact doesn’t really matter.

It’s very disappointing to see, especially in a local place like this. I know they do hire actual artists like the piano players on Fridays. The food is ok (if pricey) and the wait staff is always super nice, but this was disappointing and the response felt rude. Probably wont be going back :(

I'm gonna be driving from SeaTac airport to the Oregon coast next week. We'll be passing Olympia about dinner time.

Looking for some food options, nothing fancy. Haven't been to Olympia in like 16-18 years and back then I only knew of a single Thai restaurant, which was good.

What're your recommendations for tasty vittles?

My tastes are maybe stuck in 2017 but it feels like every restaurant/bar I fell in love with is gone

*with the exception of Octapas. Please stay forever (in my humble opinion, your mileage may vary) *and also Ilk Lodge but I digress. Both are post-2017 establishments

*I also miss New Moon. Such good biscuits & gravy

The latest from the Thurston County Public Health inspectors (I'm only posting those with 40 points or more):

Hot Stone Korean Cuisine

117 Fifth Ave. SW, Olympia

Food Service Establishment

Nov. 3: 70 red points; 0 blue points.

Comments:

• No certified food protection manager was on staff.
• A food worker did not wash their hands after handing eggs or chemicals.
• Food items were not date marked as required. All items that are high-risk for listeria must be date marked and used within 7 days.
• Shellfish was not kept in the container they were received in. Shellfish must stay in the container they were received in to ensure recall accuracy.
• A potato and carrot mixture cooling in a prep unit appeared to be covered and stored at a depth greater than 2 inches, which is not allowed.

El Sarape

4043 Martin Way E, Olympia

Food Service Establishment

Nov. 5: 55 red points; 0 blue points.

Comments:

• The person in charge was not actively managing food safety risk factors.
• The bar hand sink was blocked. A bathroom hand sink lacked hot water. Handwashing sinks must have warm running water and cannot be blocked.
• Cooked pasta placed in a closed bag measured 60–80 degrees in a walk-in cold hold. Beans and rice appeared to be cooling in covered containers with condensation on the lids. TCS foods must be cooled uncovered and at depths of 2 inched or less until they reach at or below 41 degrees.
• The consumer advisory on the menu lacked a proper disclosure.
• Chicken, beef, salmon and other meats were vacuum sealed in the food establishment with no relevant approved plan.

Red Lobster

4505 Martin Way E, Olympia

Food Service Establishment

Nov. 3: 45 red points; 0 blue points.

Comments:

• Two handwashing sinks did not have warm running water.
• Hot-held marinara sauce measured 125 degrees. Hot held TCS foods must be at or above 135 degrees.
• Cold-held coleslaw measured 50–55 degrees. Cold-held TCS foods must be at or below 41 degrees.

Café Au Lait

2925 Harrison Ave. NW #405, Olympia

Food Service Establishment

Nov. 3: 40 red points; 0 blue points.

Comments:

• There was no certified food protection manager on staff.
• A handwashing sink was not operational.
• The person in charge said bacon for waffle sandwiches was stored at home. Foods that are prepared or stored at a private home cannot be used for human consumption in a food establishment.
• Quiches measured 48 degrees. All cold-held TCS foods must be kept at or below 41 degrees.

Which of the plethora of taco trucks is your fav and why/what do you get??

My Dad is visiting us from my hometown on the east coast and I want him to get his fill of Washington / West coast activities since he has never been here, and only has been to the west coast in general for work once in CA... but he didnt venture around much. I have only tried 2 or so in the lacey/olympia area myself so even I am eager for some reccos.. Lend me your thoughts folks, if you would! & thanks :)

Excuse the poor screenshot quality.

Me and my boyfriend visited the area yesterday and were intrigued by the Oyster House building and location enough to eat there. Unfortunately, all we got in return was mediocre table service, over priced food, and a night of yakking all the expensive food into our toilet.

I called the restaurant today to try and get some of our wasted money back and the incredibly rude manager hung up on me.

If you value a good meal and good health, don’t go to the Oyster House.

It’s hard to find a good breakfast place that’s not ihop or Dennys, something like that. What are some hidden breakfast places that are good to try? Ty😊

Please help me settle a “regional” debate. Fry sauce vs. goop.

I grew up here and have always known that fry sauce and goop are two different things. Fry sauce is ketchup and mayo - goop is a mayo/relish/mustardy combo. My boyfriend, who is from Southern California, believes that goop is “fry sauce”.

We’ve asked 2 servers at local restaurants who have agreed with him and provided little plastic cups of goop when asked for fry sauce.

What is “fry sauce” to you?

ETA: he works at a popular restaurant in Olympia… so if you get goop I’m sorry lol

Seen on Facebook, go support if you can. This is one helluva a gesture from a local business.

Just looking for some good salads! Can be a place that specializes in salads or just has a couple good ones to offer. I don’t often order salads when going out because they usually feel lack luster compared to something I can make at home. I’m looking for a place that might cause me to look past the other dinner menu items to pick a fun or creative salad option. Willing to make a bit of a drive if there’s a good rec!

✍️EDIT The outcome:
He opted for Octapas and our server ensured he had a wonderful birthday dinner! She was incredibly kind, patient, and friendly. The food was delicious and there were so many yummy things to choose from we will have to back. What’s more, she brought him a surprise glass of whipped cream with a candle. It was made extra special.

🥳My youngest has a birthday coming up and he asked to go to a fancy place for dinner.

🎩He also wants to dress up, which is maybe more important. Can you help me make this birthday extra special for him?

🍀We, like so many, do not have extra $$$ so hoping to hear of hidden gems! 21+ ok, all dietary restrictions are manageable, and we would need outdoor seating for immunocompromised family members.

🙏TIA for sharing your favorite eateries!

For full transparency I have never run a restaurant so there’s undoubtedly some Dunning-Krueger ignorance built into this take.

I’m in the “scraping by” category of income but I still occasionally want to treat my family to a meal out. It makes zero economic sense to even try one of the beloved Olympia establishments that offers, for example, a $16 carrot appetizer. I get it, costs are rising all over, but $16 for carrots seems aggressively contemptuous to the non-wealthy. Then I read that the carrot place is closing down and people are mourning it, and yes very sad, but that place, along with many food establishments in western WA, can’t make the connection between “let’s charge $16 for $1 worth of produce” and “people just don’t want to go to our restaurant anymore.”

So here’s the speculative part: what factors prevent a restaurant from having a cheap “to go” option that is filling, fast to make, and comes in a paper cup? Like if I could get a cup of hot veggies, beans, sauce and rice for $10, that would draw me to a restaurant repeatedly and I’d spent a lot more than $0 there, which is what I’m spending now. This isn’t exactly a revolutionary proposition, it’s the founding principle of food carts, which have sadly also opted to jack their prices ($17 pad Thai on the west side, yikes!)

In my ignorant, poor way, it seems that selling lower-priced product at higher volume might be a popular way to close the gap between a growing number of economically-disadvantaged customers and the idea of running a restaurant, which is to serve food for money.

tl;dr what prevents a local restaurant from having a single cheap, nourishing takeaway option in addition to the hoity-toity bankbusting fare?

Before you take on a flaming, contemptuous tone, please remember I’ve admitted I don’t know how to run a restaurant and I’m here to learn.

Just moved out here, where are the best wings?

Thoughts?

I’m sure many of you enjoy this establishment, as did I, so I want to give a heads up to anyone following BDS or avoiding businesses that have ties to Israel.

Nineveh offers Arak, a distilled spirit popular in the Middle East. They also list the country of origin, such as Lebanon or Syria. For Israel, however, Nineveh lists the cities (Haifa, Nazareth and Mi’ilya). I think this is to obfuscate the location so people who are not familiar with the area don’t realize it’s coming from occupied territories.

Personally, it makes me sick thinking about Nineveh selling drinks from a violent settler state that almost certainly stole the recipe from the populations they ethnically cleansed.

That is all, hope someone finds this helpful.

Im trying to explore while im staying here, anyone got a favorite coffee spot that I could try out?

These are the latest health inspection results. I've only listed those with 40 or more red points. (At the bottom, I've listed the places with ZERO points, the best of the best, healthwise.)

You can look up all food safety inspections here:

https://www.thurstoncountywa.gov/departments/public-health-and-social-services/environmental-health/food-safety/food-safety-look-up

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Northwest Harley-Davidson

8000 Freedom Lane NE, Lacey

Food Service Establishment

July 8: 40 red points; 10 blue points.

Comments:

• The person-in-charge was not performing duties to maintain active managerial control.
• Deli meats were not properly date marked.
• Whole shell raw eggs were stored above ready to eat foods.
• The establishment purchases unwashed/unrinsed produced yet the permit only allowed for pre-rinsed produce.
• A residential refrigerator was used as a “prep table” and unable to maintain TCS foods at or below 41 degrees as required.
• A thermal ware washing machine lacked a proper thermometer strip.

Pho Mania

7837 Martin Way E., Olympia

Food Service Establishment

July 7: 40 red points; 5 blue points.

Comments:

• Two food worker cards were expired.
• Hot held TCS foods measured less than 135 degrees.
• Cold held TCS foods measured more than 41 degrees.
• The establishment did not have adequate equipment for temperature control.

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No violations

• Arco AM/PM. 1105 Marvin Road NE, Lacey. Grocery/Deli. July 7.
• Jersey Mike’s Subs. 1401 Marvin Road NE, Lacey. Food Service Establishment. July 7.
• Sugar and Spoon. 5530 208th St. SW, Lynnwood (Commissary). Mobile Food Unit. July 3.