Best Restaurants On Bainbridge Island, Washington State #cbias #ThrowbackThursday #Travel #BestRestaurants

#ThrowbackThursday This post was originally written in 2013.

Seattle is a very beautiful city, filled with many fabulous restaurants loved by locals and tourists alike.  But just thirty five minutes and a gorgeous ferry ride away, is a special place where I lived for twelve years, called Bainbridge Island.

If you are visiting or live in the Seattle area, I highly recommend you take a trip to this charming island. I have put together a list of some of my favorite restaurants to eat at, and this list is by no means complete, but I have eaten at all of the restaurants on the list, and can honestly say that I have enjoyed each of my visits there.

All of the Bainbridge Island restaurants are walking distance from the ferry terminal, so there is no need to bring your car to the island. Whether you are looking for a fine meal, a homey breakfast, a delicious organic salad, fish and chips, or just a sandwich, you are sure to find it at one of these great restaurants.

Pegasus Coffee House - 131 Parfitt Way SW Bainbridge Island, Wa.  (206) 842-6725

Don't let the name coffee house fool you, because Pegasus is so much more than that. Besides selling the best tasting coffee around, they are a great place for lunch or dinner, too.
Fresh, local, and organic  foods are used to make some of the most delicious salads, sandwiches, soups, and heartier fare available on the Island. Relax with a cocktail or glass of wine while listening to Northwest inspired live music, on many nights.

Pegasus is a wonderful place to come to no matter what time of the day you choose.

Café Nola - 101 Winslow Way East   Bainbridge Island, Wa.  (206) 842-3822

Café Nola is the place to come to if you want to experience a European style café offering eclectic and Northwest inspired cuisine.

It is a little on the expensive side, but I love coming here for a special lunch or dinner. On a beautiful day, it's really a treat to sit out on the patio, or at night, the interior of the restaurant takes on a romantic glow from the candlelight. They offer classic cocktails, an extensive wine list, and a full bar. The desserts are delicious, and it's wonderful to come here if you are looking for a truly lovely dining experience.


Streamliner Diner -  397 Winslow Way East  Bainbridge Island, Wa.  (206) 842-8595

As you walk up the hill from the ferry terminal, and turn onto the main street of Winslow Way, you will see an Island favorite of many years, the Streamliner Diner.

Breakfasts are legendary here, and the restaurant is a welcoming combination of homey and hip. Eggs, bacon, potatoes, pancakes, omelets, and more, are cooked in the open kitchen, and it's always fun to sit at the counter and watch your own breakfast being cooked. The food is delicious, and sure to please.
Streamliner Diner is also open for lunch, and limited dinner hours.

Spice Route Cuisine Of India - 403 Madison Ave. N  Bainbridge Island, Wa.  (206) 780-3545

If you love great Indian food, you will certainly enjoy eating here. The ambiance is very casual, and the service attentive.
The proportions are generous, and I have shared one meal at lunch time with my daughter, and it was plenty. The prices are reasonable, and take-out is available. The lamb curry is a favorite, and so are the garlic, or spinach naan, which is very fluffy and delicious.

Fork and Spoon - 120 Madrone Lane  Bainbridge Island, Wa.  (206) 842- 3675

If you are looking for a casual and delicious lunch, then Fork and Spoon is the place to go.
This is a cute little restaurant where you order at the counter, and then your food is brought out to you. On a good weather day, sitting in the outdoor patio is a nice choice.
From delicious sandwiches, soups, quiche, chopped salads, and more, you are sure to find something you will love. The Reuben Sandwich, soups, and chopped salads are a personal favorite. Beer and wine are also available.


Harbour Public House - 231 Parfitt Way SW  Bainbridge Island, Wa.  (206) 842- 0969

This 21 and over Pub and restaurant, is a great place to have a cold beer on a hot day. The building is an old 1881 house that has been turned into a very charming space. The sunny and spacious deck has a lovely view of the harbor and is a great place to enjoy your lunch or dinner.
The food here is quite delicious, using very high quality ingredients, and much of it is grown locally.
It is definitely a large step above the usual bar menu. With burgers, salads, seafood, chicken, and more, there is plenty to choose from. And of course the beer and wine selection is fabulous.

Doc's Marina Grill - 403 Madison Ave. South  Bainbridge Island, Wa.  (206) 842-8339

Doc's is located right on the waterfront, and has a great view of the harbor and all the boats there. There is a large patio for summer dining.
My family and I have been coming to Doc's since they opened in 2003, and always enjoy the warm and welcoming atmosphere. The restaurant caters to locals and tourists , and you may meet your neighbor there, or someone from across the globe.
Northwest cuisine and seafood are their specialties, along with burgers, fish and chips, pasta dishes and more. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served, and there is a  bar area with a TV for watching sports.


The Four Swallows - 481 Madison Ave. North  Bainbridge Island, Wa.  (206) 842-3397

If you are looking for a lovely and magical night of dining, there is no better place on the island than The Four Swallows.

Located in a large and beautiful old house, this restaurant is perfect for a birthday, anniversary, or special occasion dinner. Serving fine Northwest cuisine, and some of the most delicious seafood dishes around, the wait staff are welcoming and efficient. The restaurant offers a wonderful selection of Washington State wines, and the desserts are to die for.


San Carlos Restaurant - 279 Madison Ave. North  Bainbridge Island, Wa.  (206) 842- 1999

The San Carlos has been run by the same family since it opened almost twenty years ago. If an islander wants delicious Mexican food, this is where they will come. With a very extensive menu, featuring specialty beef, pork, and chicken dishes, there is also plenty of seafood dishes to choose from, including my favorite, crabmeat enchiladas.

With seven different kinds of margaritas to choose from, including The Santa Fe, The Lemon Drop, and The Prickly Pear, I always enjoy coming to The San Carlos.



*I was not compensated in any way for this blog post or restaurant recommendations. All opinions are strictly my own.
I am participating in a restaurant blog hop with other members of the Social Fabric Community.

Hard Rock Cafe San Francisco 2016 World Burger Tour Review #worldburgertour

*The information, gift card, gift pack and giveaway have been provided to me by Hard Rock International.

This year for Mother's Day we decided to drive to San Francisco to celebrate. I LOVE the city, the food, the people, the houses and the ocean. Each time we go to San Francisco we stop at Pier 39 to eat and shop. This time we decided to eat at Hard Rock Cafe San Francisco. The first thing my son loved was the giant guitar that stands outside the entrance of the restaurant, we had to take a classic tourist picture of course. The gift shop is the first thing you walk into as you go into the restaurant, they have so many great items and even a Bob Marley life like figure.

Once you are in the restaurant the place has so much to see. The priceless items that decorate the walls are amazing! The wait staff encourages everyone to walk around and look at the memorabilia and other patrons are very nice if you want a pic of something cool near their seating area. There was even a guy going around making animal balloons, of course we had to have him make my son one.

The menu has so many great burgers on it! I had a hard time deciding which one to select. My mother in law went with the Legendary Burger and I had the World Burger Tour Seattle Java Lava Burger to celebrate my own Mother who lives in Seattle area. The Java Lava is amazing! It has a very unique flavor from the espresso rub that I loved. It was a juicy burger with crispy onions, bacon and even a fried jalapeno.

The wait staff was amazing too! We were seated by the kitchen which for me is a treat. I like hearing the kitchen bustling, seeing and smelling all the great food passing by us as we wait for our own. Our server Matt was super kind, he fixed an issue we had right away, checked on us often, made recommendations and even giggled with us as my son ordered two things off the menu. My son could not decide on a meal so I let him get both, he picked a bit from each and we took the rest to go.

We had a wonderful experience of good food, great location and amazing staff. We stopped in the gift shop to get my son a Hard Rock Guitar plate like the one his meal was served on. He loves that plate and has me serve his lunch on it daily. I bought myself a Hard Rock coffee mug with pictures of San Francisco on it so I can be reminded of the great Mother's Day I had there.

With full bellies and smiles on our faces we left Pier 39 and headed to the beach to make sand castles and jump in the waves. I highly recommend eating at the Hard Rock Cafe in San Francisco, its good food and a fun environment. I told a couple I met at my work who was visiting from Australia to check out the Hard Rock Cafe since they had plans to go to San Francisco the next day. Hopefully they will grab a World Tour Burger too!

The limited-time World Burger Tour menu is available Sunday, May 1 through Thursday, June 30, 2016. Hurry to a Hard Rock Cafe near you to try these legendary burgers! I made a reservation using the Open Table App, it was super easy and I recommend reservations in the upcoming summer months since it is a busy time for Pier 39.

Pier Market Restaurant in San Francisco CA Pier 39 Review

When I think of San Francisco I always think of awesome seafood. I love fish and clam chowder and the restaurants at Pier 39 are some of the best on the waterfront. For Valentines or any special occasion Pier Market Restaurant is a great place to visit. They have one of the best views of the ocean and harbor that we have been to on Pier 39. We have been to over 3/4 of the restaurants they have on Pier 39 and this is one of my favorites.

The view is beautiful and the food is delicious.The pictures I took of our lobsters and steak dinners were not good enough to truly show how divine they were. The pictures above are from the website and it looks just like it did on our plates. You can read the full menu on their website here. Our waitress was nice. She seemed a bit confused by my mother in law requesting certain things being and not being in her food. But my she has lupus so she has to watch what she eats. They were nice enough to bring my son french fries as soon as we ordered so he would stay seated, she must know its a kid trick in a restaurant to give them fries lol. We ordered the clam chowder for our appetizer and wow it was good. Perfect flavoring with the right amount of clams to potatoes ratio. My son even liked it and he can be picky about trying new things. The steaks were awesome. We ordered them well done and they were still full of flavor and juicy.

For this occasion we went for my son's birthday. We let him open one of his presents at the dinner table. He thought it was great to be able to have good food and presents! A couple sitting across from us were also celebrating a birthday. When the husband saw our lobster dinner arrive at our table he quickly called over his waitress and upgraded he and his wife's dinner to what we were having. It was fun to see someone influenced by what we having enough to change their order to make the night extra special for his wife.  I thought the restaurant knew is was my sons birthday but after dinner the bill came and not a cake I realized they had no clue lol. I wish I would have let them know since we watched the couple next to us get a birthday song and a piece of cake. My son LOVES cake and the attention of everyone singing to him.

The management staff was super nice and made sure we had a good time and took home our leftovers. There wasn't much though, just my sons food. It was all way to good not to eat it right then and their.

We really liked that Pier Market is family owned for over 30 years. Its a wonderful place to eat fresh seafood with a casual setting. Great for Valentines, Birthdays, Anniversaries and they will let you host an event there. The view is a huge reason I would like to go back there again. We went at night so we saw the harbor with all the lights lining the sky. I would love to go for a lunch in the summer to be able to see the Golden Gate bridge while enjoy some more of the delicious clam chowder.

*I was not paid for our review. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others. I was a guest of Pier Market Restaurant for my meal for my family from the PR company that represents them.

Boston Market Holiday Meals Review

In my house we have been Boston Market Fans for over 15 years! My husband introduced me to the restaurant. Prior to that I had never heard of the place. We have many great memories of eating their food. Some of our first few dates we would get food from there and go to the river or park to have a picnic. I love their Chicken Tortilla Soup, its addictive its so good. All these years later we are still eating there.

The first Thanksgiving my son was born he was only a little over a week old and there was no way I was going to cook a Thanksgiving dinner. We ordered a Boston Market Holiday Meal that year and oh my was it good! Their Pecan Pie is delicious. All the traditional items were included the meal. The following year for Thanksgiving we made all the tradition items at home but when it was time to eat my turkey was not cooked all the way and its was getting late! I was so upset that I messed up the most important part of the dinner. I was trying to go all out making it special for my son. Thankfully I remembered Boston Market was open late that day and I drove as fast as I could (of course within the speed limit lol I so did not want a ticket on top of a under cooked turkey!) When got there they was only 20 minutes until closing and I got all the Turkey I needed. Plus it was already sliced and came with gravy! That year Boston Market saved Thanksgiving from being a side dish only dinner.

This year I decided I want to enjoy Thanksgiving of watching the parade, playing with my son and just relaxing. I did not want to stress over cooking or under cooking in my case and the huge clean up involved with the Turkey Dinner. We did not know exactly what we would order from Boston Market this year. We did not know how many people were coming over or if everyone would be going to another family members home.

It ended up being only 4 of us and we purchased a Turkey Dinner Family Meal from Boston Market. It was perfect for us. Just enough to have a great Thanksgiving Meal. My mother in law brought over a few side dishes and some home made turkey she made. The funny part was her turkey remained untouched and her sides got cold! We all agreed the Boston Market food was way better than the food she made. She commented next year she will bring MORE Boston Market to add to ours.

One of my favorite items from Boston Market is the Creamed Spinach. Its amazing! No matter how many times I try to duplicate it or try it made from someone else its never the same. Their Turkey is soooo good. Its cooked perfectly and fork cutting soft. The corn bread is a classic item from there and in the shape of little mini loafs, too cute!

The Corn bread went so fast there was only a few left when I had a chance to take a picture!

Each of us had a plate full of delicious food

This year for the December Holidays you and your family should try Boston Market Family Meals as an option for a stress free holiday dinner. Boston Market is also great as a day after or before meal for family and friends gathered at your home so you can have a simple solution to feeding everyone quality food that taste great!

At Boston Market Restaurants you can get a $5 Gift Card for purchasing a $25 Gift Card from now until Jan. 31, 2012. The offer is not available for online purchases.

 You can learn more about Boston Market and when they have sales and coupons. You can follow them on Twitter and be a Fan on Facebook.


*I was not paid for our review. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others. I was provided a gift card for my meal from the PR company that represents them.

Olive Garden Review and Giveaway

Whenever my girlfriends and I talk about getting together for dinner or an occasion the conversation usually leads to the Olive Garden. We have had many events, birthdays and even one of my baby showers there. Also when my husband I are talking date night I seem to bring up how yummy the Olive Garden is and we usually end up there. With the Olive Garden you know that you are going to get bread sticks with your choice of soup or salad with your entree. How could you go wrong? Recently the Olive Garden has brought back the Never Ending Pasta Bowl that has a total of 42 combinations between the pastas and sauces, that's 7 pastas and 6 sauces!!




For only $8.95 you get the Never Ending Pasta Bowl (aka all you can eat) with unlimited salad and bread sticks. We just had to check it out and boy were we in food heaven!! We brought the boys along because JJ's favorite anything is pasta, he would eat it every meal if I let him. To start off we chowed down on some bread sticks and salad. YUM.






The first pasta bowl I ordered was the Penne pasta with Five Cheese Marinara and it was amazing! I loved the sauce so much I was dipping my bread stick in it just to make sure I did not leave any sauce or cheese behind. Cheese, cheese and more cheese please!!!






My husband ordered the Penne pasta with Roasted Mushroom Parmesan with Sun-Dried Tomatoes. He is a mushroom lover so this was right up his alley. He said that the mushrooms were great and it gave the dish a lot of flavor.





For our next bowl we changed it up and this time my husband ordered the Fettuccine noodles with Pizzaiola Meat Sauce. It was pretty good, classic he says.



I picked the Fettuccine noodles with Alfredo sauce, again another classic that you know you can't go wrong with. It was pretty good but after my Five Cheese Marinara not much else compared, but still really tasty.






We enjoyed our meals and the experience. Everyone is always so nice at the Olive Garden, so along with the great food you always get great service. To show everyone just how much we enjoyed ourselves here is a picture of me scarfing down my food and because I posted this one of myself I am putting one up of the husband too!! Haha Oh and JJ at the end cause he loves the Olive Garden too!!!





GIVEAWAY

 

Win a $25 Gift Card to Olive Garden

To Enter This Giveaway: 

Visit the Olive Garden website and tell me what Never Ending Pasta combo you would like to try.

My favorite is the Penne pasta with Five Cheese Marinara!

*Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address if its not public in your Google account*

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry. If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on. 

-Follow Olive Garden on Twitter +1 
-Like Olive Garden on Facebook +1

-Follow Frugal Family Tree on GFC ( right hand side) +2

-Like our new fan page on Facebook Frugal Family Tree +1

-Follow FrugalFamTree on Twitter +1

-Share this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook using the Share Button at the bottom on this post. +1 
for each share you do. (can be done once a day) This means you have the chance to get 2 extra entries a day.

-Add our button to your blog and leave a link of where it is located +5 (right hand side) 

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts September 12, 2011 and ends on September 24, 2011 at midnight PST.  Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provide a gift card to Olive Garden for free by the company or PR firm representing them. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others.

Four Seasons Seattle Art Restaurant Larry Gets Lost In Seattle Menu Review

On Sunday we spent the day in our favorite city, Seattle and while we were there we went to the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences for Brunch. Now I know what you may be thinking, you took two small children to the Four Seasons for Brunch? Have you lost your mind? You might be thinking the Four Seasons is pretty fancy and luxurious place to take your children to for brunch, I know I used to. I guess I thought that the Four Seasons was a place for the executive type and with two little boys we do not fit that bill! I was so wrong.

(Here we are outside of the hotel, on the streets of Seattle)

The Four Seasons Hotel has collaborated with John Skewes, the creator and illustrator of the successful Larry Gets Lost™ picture book series to create a creative kids menu. Remember in March when we did the book review for Larry Gets Lost in Seattle? We love Larry and when we heard the news that the Art Restaurant and Lounge loves him as much as we do, we were dying to check it out!


When we were seated the first thing we noticed was the set up for the boys. They each had a fresh bowl of fruit, a cup of water in a cute cup and a berry smoothie with a straw! I have to give the Four Seasons credit, they know how to start a meal off right for kids :) As you can see the smoothies were a HUGE hit!


The place mats had Larry and Pete on them and the menus were just like the book but with coloring activities as well. JJ and Baby L were "reading" their menus like good little boys.




Larry's Menu for Kids had a lot to choose from but as soon as JJ heard pasta that was it. He knew what he wanted. On top of pasta being his favorite meal, the pasta was in the shape of the Space Needle, a tourist spot in Seattle that he learned about from reading Larry Gets Lost in Seattle. Perfect. For Baby L we ordered the PB and J sandwich, another perfect choice for a 1 year old.

(Here are the Space Needle Noodles with cheese!)

(Baby L's PB and J, look how cute they cut off the crust!)

(JJ and I after his meal arrived, he was so excited!)

For brunch I had a sausage skillet and my husband had an omelet, both very tasty but I guess this is about the kids right? The boys both ate up their food and were perfect gentlemen, well except Baby L may have been ready to go as soon as he was done. But all and all the boys were very good. A lot of that was do to the wait staff. Everyone was so nice to us. This is our cute and super sweet waitress Tamara, she was so good talking to JJ and really made him feel special.

(Our server,Tamara presented JJ with a Jones Soda that featured Pete and Larry. Awesome)

(We love Larry!)

Part of our little outing was to celebrate my birthday as well. So for the occasion we ordered the Space Needle Sundae from the Larry's Sweet Stuff off the kids menu. They were not joking when they said it was a Space Needle Sundae. The giant Space Needle was made out of shortbread cookie, with Apple cotton candy around the Needle to represent fog, and inside was chocolate and vanilla ice cream. YUM!!! We shared/devoured it. What a clever way to incorporate the beautiful city we were in.

As you can see JJ LOVED it!

To be honest at first I was a little apprehensive about taking two small boys to the Four Seasons Restaurant even though they do have a kids menu. I thought for sure we would be booted out of their for even thinking about dining there! Haha I was so wrong. Not only does the lobby have a really cool fire place when you walk into the lobby, the restaurant has beautiful views of the city, the staff is amazing, you really do feel welcome there. I loved everything about our experience. I would bring my children back here any time knowing that we are always welcome. Thank you to the Four Seasons Seattle and the Art Restaurant for making this experience great for my family and for letting us know that even though we have small children, we can still go to a "fancy" restaurant and enjoy ourselves. 
 

*We were guest of the Four Seasons and Art restaurant for the Larry Gets Lost in Seattle Menu promotion. We were not paid for our review. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others. We were provided a meal from the PR company that represents them.