Seattle Restaurant Week: Do the math, get a babysitter

From now until Saturday, May 2, it’s Seattle Restaurant Week. Well, OK, it's two weeks. It’s time to put on some pants, hard or soft, and try something new.

On a recent episode of “Seattle Eats,” a podcast by KUOW about the Seattle food scene and the best things to eat in it, I spoke with Harry Cheadle about where to eat for Seattle Restaurant Week.

Cheadle has been writing about the Seattle food scene for years. He writes reports on labor disputes in the industry and celebrity-chef empires crumbling.

But his versatility extends to pieces about the best tasting cuisine around town and the people whole make the dishes delicious.

Cheadle said going out is a great way to experience another culture or get a chance to taste home.

“Restaurants can be gateways to other cultures and kind of expand your horizons,” he said.

Cheadle has a knack for finding great deals for restaurants. He crunched the numbers for Seattle Restaurant Week so that you don’t have to.

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Up first on Cheadle’s list is Gold Coast Kitchen.

Gold Coast Kitchen is snuck between a dive bar and apartments across from several hospitals on Boren Avenue in First Hill.

The menu features Ghanaian and Liberian cuisine. You’ll find dishes like fish pepper soup, whole grilled branzino with plantain and sauteed bell peppers, and goat peanut soup studded with okra.

Before Restaurant Week, I had seen Gold Coast Kitchen, passing by it on my way somewhere else, and even waved to people I knew inside who were eating, working, or a combination thereof. I’ve parked a Lime glider just a few feet away. I’ve taken long breaks from karaoke, lingering in clouds of secondhand smoke outside the neighboring dive bar.

But I had never eaten there.

What better time to try it than Restaurant Week?

During Restaurant Week, you can find menu deals for $20, $35, or $65 (sometimes $65 for two people). And these might be restaurants that are typically $150.

It’s a time of year that encourages people to celebrate by trying something new for a fraction of the price.

"You might not like everything," Cheadle said. "I always order things on a menu that I haven't seen on any other menus."

This advice also works on his 4-year-old.

Gold Coast Kitchen has two Seattle Restaurant Week menus. A two-course lunch menu for $20 and a three-course dinner menu for $35.

The special menus include lots of chicken or palm-based stews served with rice or fufu, beef hand pies with cilantro aioli, coconut sugar dusted fried dough and a seasonal ice cream like papaya. They also serve palm wine.

Cheadle doesn’t drink and so living completely vicariously through him was not possible. He told me I should finally go and to try the palm wine and tell him how it was.

The palm wine is juicy and buttery. It's like rambutan or comice pears liquified. There's this slight alcoholic kick, kind of like the first week of kombucha or a shrub.

After trying an assortment of the Restaurant Week menu, what stuck with me most was the chicken stew with smooth, slightly sticky fufu, beef hand pies with a flaky crust, and the papaya ice cream.

Fufu is a pounded starch dish. It’s typically made with pounded cassava and plantain. It's springy and tacky. When you eat stews, you pinch a bit and scoop up your soup or stew, swallowing it all like a dumpling.

Cheadle says it's like mashed potatoes except you eat it with your hands.

And it’s not just the food that’s exciting during Restaurant Week; it’s also the atmosphere… the vibe.

All the restaurants in the Seattle area seem livelier, crowded, and jovial, which Cheadle said is typical for this time of year.

“I’ve found there's a different energy it feels like it should feel all the time,” he said.

With over 200 restaurants participating, how do you decide where to go? What price points work for parents or DINKs alike (dual income no kids)?

If you're a DINK or a single person with a high income, you might try several restaurants during this time. But parents might need to be more selective, Cheadle said.

But he said he thinks Restaurant Week is a good excuse to figure it out. And to save you time, Cheadle gave an assortment of good deals and menus to try.

It can be exciting to try something new during this time of year.

Peel off the moss after the rain, do the math, get a babysitter and celebrate the other most wonderful time of year – Seattle Restaurant Week!

Harry Cheadle’s picks for Restaurant Week:

• Gold Coast Ghal Kitchen, on First Hill, serves Liberian and Ghanaian dishes. During Restaurant Week they have a $20 two-course lunch menu and a $35 three-course menu.
• Kilig, in Filipino town (aka International District), serves modern twists on Filipino classics. During restaurant week they have a $35 three-course menu.
• Kokkaku, in Wallingford, is a Japanese steakhouse that serves other Japanese cuisine. During Restaurant Week they have $35, $50, $65 dinner menu options.
• Jude’s Old Town, in Rainier Beach, serves Cajun/Creole cuisine and craft cocktails. During Restaurant Week it has a $35 lunch menu and a $65 dinner-for-two menu.

All Seattle Restaurant Week menus are subject to change.

Seattle Eats is a podcast by KUOW about the Seattle food scene and the best things to eat in it. These episodes showcase interviews from critics, chefs, and others in the food industry about our region. You can join the conversation, too. What’s your go-to spot? Send us an email at seattleeats@kuow.org, or leave us a voicemail at 206-543-851.