When i got to Seattle, there were three things i wanted to do. No it wasn't to go up the space needle, or take a ferry boat, or visit Mount Rainier. It was to try the made to order doughnuts at Lola, the sandwiches at Salumi and the Russian pies at Piroshky Piroshky. People plan their vacation according to sights, I plan my vacation according to taste aka food. That is just who I am. That is how much I love food.
Hence for the first post, I am going to talk about the first and most important meal of the day, breakfast.
Breakfast is a big thing in the US. After all, it is served throughout the day at many diners and is enjoyed by many, whether it is that maple syrup covered pancakes, or that massive heap of hash brown that takes up half the plate.
I found out about Lola from "The Best Thing I Ever Ate", a new series that just started on the Food Network. That show should be rated R. It is food porn. Watching the Food Network celebrities eating their favorite dishes according to the theme of the episode is just pure pleasure and torture at the same time. On the "totally fried" episode, the celebrities showed their favorite fried food. Bobby Flay talked about the french fries from Balthazar (New York), Guy Fieri talked about this interesting dish called Mofongo from Benny's Seafood (Miami), and Giada talked about the made to order doughnuts from Tom Douglas's Lola in Seattle.
Watching Giada cook and eat is pretty much like watching Nigella Lawson do her show, except without the smooth and sexy accent. In other words, they both manage to make food look sexy. When Giada was biting into the soft square cut doughnuts, I could feel an erection coming. It had nothing to do with Giada of course. It was all about the doughnuts and its apricot and vanilla dip. This is why i call it food porn.
Anyway, i was excited to experience it for myself. After doing some research on the restaurant's website and on yelp, i found out that the best time to visit Lola is for breakfast. Not only is the breakfast supposedly one of the best in Seattle, there is no need for reservations or waiting in line.
So on the last day in Seattle, my two friends, Sarah Ngu and Joan Collison, woke up early with me to try this restaurant I have been talking about since we arrived. We were seated right away and immediately we knew what we wanted. We ordered the made to order doughnuts, the Lola breakfast and pancakes. We waited in excitement. After all, each dish was about $14 which is a huge price to pay for breakfast so it better be good.
I can't remember how long it took for the dishes to be served but i remember how great yet so simple it looked.
I couldn't wait to dive into the food. It just looked sooo good. I immediately went for the doughnuts and MAN were they good... It was amazing how soft and fresh tasting these doughnuts were. The cinnamon sugar coating made it all the better. It wasn't greasy at all. On the contrary, it felt light and satisfying. The apricot and vanilla dips that came along with it complemented the doughnuts so well. The apricot is sweet and sour, full of fruity flavor. I wasn't really a big fan of this dip, however i couldn't get enough of the vanilla dip. The vanilla was fresh and smooth. The flavor wasn't too strong and creamy like you get in an ice cream, but it wasn't light and watery as well. It was just right. Hence, the combination of the soft dough with the cinnamon sugar coating and a dip of the vanilla was probably one of the most divine experience i ever had.
Now for the other dishes. The Lola Breakfast came with toast, eggs, smashed potatoes and bacons. Joan went for the toast first and she was going on about how amazing the toasts were and how it was the best bread she ever had. I wasn't really paying much attention because i was in the state of happiness from the doughnuts. After being done with my doughnuts, i went for the toast too. And they were good. Real good. It was crispy and was a mouth full of flavors from the herbs and olive oil and butter on it. The next thing i went for for the smashed potatoes. I read about them on Yelp and was excited to try it even though Im not a big fan of potatoes. I took a bite into it and became so confused. So so confused. I could not understand how a simple potato could taste so good! It was crispy on the outside coated with fried speckled herbs like Oregano and basil i think, yet perfectly cooked and smooth on the inside. The cripyness probably meant it was deep fried but it couldn't be! It was not at all greasy and the potato taste more like it was boiled and baked to achieve such a great texture. But it couldn't be because the skin was too crispy and tasty! See my confusion? This potato is pure genius! Tom Douglas is a pure genius! Again i state that i am not a big fan of potato. I have never finished a baked potato on my own. But if this was on my plate everyday, you will never see any leftovers. The eggs were perfectly cooked, sunny side up as we asked for. Unfortunately the bacons were not as good as the other things on the plate. It was just normal crispy bacons. Nothing special.
And the last dish, the pancakes. 3 golden brown panckes served with maple sausages, syrup and the same dips used for the doughnuts. I was least excited to try this. It just looked so normal. Just 3 pancakes and 2 sausages. I guess the sausages can be amazing, but i mean how good can a pancake be anyway. I hate to say this but my favorite pancake is probably from Mcdonalds. Why? Because it is the most consistent. It taste the same everytime, and you will never get it too dry or too floury or too runny or too sticky or too chewy. I guess iHop has better pancakes but i've only tried it once and i guess it was good too.
So i cut out a piece, poured some maple syrup on it, and put it into my mouth. I was a little surprised at how slighty mushy it was on first bite. At first i thought it was undercooked. Then the flavors started to come in. The warm mushy texture combined with this sweet "burnt custard" taste filled my mouth and O M G. IT. WAS. AMAZING. You are probably thinking, "Dude. Seriously. How good can a pancake be. It's just a pancake."
I don't know how to explain it to you. It looks just like a normal pancake, but it tastes OUT OF THE WORLD. I don't know what they put in there. It kinda has a similar taste to my favorite Cannelés Bordelais, a french pastry. And every bite was just a warm and fuzzy feeling that causes the problems of the world around you to disappear. Even Joan, who doesn't like pancakes, could not believe what she was tasting. All three of us were totally into it. And i swear they put something like crack in it or something. It taste sooo good that it gave you a high feeling, and it was so addictive. I couldn't stop eating it. I was so sad that my one piece was gone in like seconds. Joan left a quarter of a piece for last on her plate, which was horrible because both Sarah and I kept staring at it, hoping that she will offer it to us. After a few minutes, I gave up and confronted Joan about her last piece.
Me: Are you going to eat that? Because if you aren't, I sure want it!
Joan: I'm saving the best for the last.
Me: That's torturing us! You cant just leave it there!
Joan: Fine. You can have some.
Score! Like i said, there is some drug in it. Even now, i can't stop thinking about it. I seriously need to seek treatment. I need to get more of it!
There is no doubt in my mind that the best breakfast i ever had in my life is at Lola. Although the bacon and the sausages were not up to standard compared to the other dishes, the doughnuts, the potatoes and the pancakes should not be missed for the world. I declare the breakfast @ Lola one of the must try places before you die. It is seriously that good. And I am not going to lie, because of Tom Douglas, i have just added Seattle as one of my potential homes in the future.
Breakfast @ Lola
2000 4th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98121
206-441-1430
www.tomdouglas.com
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