johnnyblegs
Member Profile
Stopped in to check out the menu & talked to the Chef. Their official first day was yesterday. Have the usual fare - burgers, steaks, fish, pizzas and a happy hour (3-6) that includes nachos, wings, etc.
Their website seems to be under construction. http://www.highstrikegrill.com/
Has anyone checked them out yet?
Jiggers
Member Profile
Telling us were they are would be A good place to start..
jiggers..they're at the West Seattle Bowling...took over from the Chinese restaurant there.
johnnyblegs
Member Profile
Sorry Jiggers. I forgot I am one of the few that can see the progress from my front porch.
To start...It's the new restaurant that replaced Terrace West at the bowling alley. No more fries that taste like egg rolls.
Thanks for the heads up, Johnny. I saw some chefs the other day, just outside of the kitchen door on Oregon taking a smoke break. So I figured they were either open or getting close.
Actually, I'm more excited that a certain talented local baker's goodies (Evil brownies, bacon shortbread, Bacon joys) have re-appeared at a certain "under new management" local butcher shop. Of course I had to purchase one of each the other day and I wasn't sorry. Everything was even better than I remembered. I dig the new packaging too.
johnnyblegs...I thought the fries there (at the old place) very interesting - lol...I always wondered if they ever changed the oil..
johnnyblegs
Member Profile
Thank you Christopher. It feels good to be back.
It's a little off of this topic and I'm usually not one to toot my own horn but I was real excited to see this the other day... http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/voracious/2010/09/bjs_at_the_swinery.php
HunterG
Member Profile
Wow, BJ's at The Swinery....
is that why they are up for "Best of Western Washington?"
Mr. Legs...congratulations on the business. Hope it has a long, profitable life :)
we just had dinner at Highstrike tonight. it's great! try the home made potato chips instead of the fries. we split the Seattle Dog, which is an all beef dog, cream cheese and caramelized onions. We also split the NY dog, brat style, sauerkraut, onions and brown mustard. all really good. friends got the burgers and they also looked great! this is all really bowling-friendly food and SO much better than the Chinese food that was there before.
oh yeah, and for all you bacon freaks here, they have a BLT Dog. :)
HelperMonkey...thanks for the review. Will make watching my friend bowl in league all that much better...except...can't have salt or cured meats :(
but ..I can play around with burgers, I'm bettin' ;-)
Jiggers
Member Profile
In response to post #5. I hope they are washing their hands of that cigarette stench before they prepare your food. Nothing like a big red flag to see cooks, bartenders and wait staff chimnying away outside only to make you wonder how sanitary conditions really are. I know for A fact that half the time the food comes out, it barely gets A health code passing grade which isn't good enough. I guess you take the risks of this when you go out.
Jiggers..
are smokers the new pariahs?
all food handlers are required to wash their hands..
not just smokers.
culinary arts are one of the more stressful occupations... you show me a great kitchen where someone isn't huddled out back finishing a cigarette ...
johnnyblegs..
can't wait to sample your product.
that alone is enough to get me back in the door of the swinery.
Job, you are correct, ours IS a rather difficult profession. As one of the few non-cigarette smoking cooks in Seattle, I just LOVE getting paid for working my whole shift while my co-workers wait for every free moment to rush outside and smoke. So while I am cleaning the line and preparing for the next push, they're outside hacking down a couple of cigs. It can be so bad that I have actually taken to proclaiming my non-smoking status as a valuable asset in a kitchen. I don't spend my whole shift focusing on my next opportunity for a ciggie.
Jiggers, most cooks I have worked with, the overwhelming majority in fact, are obsessive about hand-washing and gloving up.
Some of us actually take pride in our profession; in the kitchen burns and cuts are routine, there are numerous repetitive and mind-numbing tasks we perform to ensure a uniform dish from the first to the last meal. Every customer thinks they are the only ones in the restaurant, every server agrees with them. There is NO speed that is fast enough, and you simply can't start skipping steps to get things out faster.
It isn't a job many could or would do for more than a few days or years; to make a career out of it takes quite a bit of dedication, the hours are long and the pay is lousy. I do it because I love the work, don't have dependents, and was in the Army, so I have socialized, government provided health-care at the VA, so am not trapped in an unsatisfying job just for the benefits.
How many Americans get to say that?
celeste17
Member Profile
Johnny-
You must live near me. I live on the corner of 40th and Genesee. I have been watching the construction every day going by there to and from home.
I to worked in the food industry for many years and watched my co-workers disappear for cigarette breaks while I hold down the fort. It was a bit maddining at times because all of a sudden you would be busy and they were somewhere else. they really hated rainy and snowy days for smoking! I am no longer in the food industry but know if I have to I could always get a job somewhere.
Seriously, Christopher? You have to hijack this thread with more plugs for the Swinery??? Now I know you are in cahoots with them.
I've always wondered how people in the culinary profession can smoke so much and still have enough of a palate. I suppose that if you are working a line long enough, cranking out the same menu, then you can get away with not having to continually taste what you're cooking. But it seems like chefs who really need to maintain their capacity to taste delicate, subtle flavors would be dulling some of the finer tasting capacity. Maybe the body adjusts somehow.
dawsonct...
pity them... sectioning their days off so they get that next smoke. i do.
smoking is no longer a socializing habit.. with so few people smoking these days it more often isolates than socializes.
christopherboffoli...
it might surprise you to learn that smoking does not seem to affect some palettes.
Are theirs that much better to begin with? I have always wondered.
johnnyblegs
Member Profile
voodoo - There is no cahoots with anyone. And if you're gonna blame someone blame me. I shouldn't have posted a link to the Weekly review. But in all fairness, he was raving about Sugar & Salt Kitchen, not the Swinery.
johnnyblegs
i am glad you posted the link..
thanks.
website's up (sort of)
Mea culpa. As you were, then.
johnnyblegs...
you are dangerous to my health.
i brought the chocolate chip bacon cookies home and they are gone.. good thing i had one in the car on the way home since hubby couldn't resist them:)
the bacon joys suffered a similar fate even though i hid them and didn't share:(
i want to thank you for being the catalyst that helped me to rediscover the swinery.
clearly.. i can't go in there too often since i seem to have no self control... but thanks to you will be shopping there again.
we tried dinner at the Highstrike again tonight. Again, delicious! We split the Highstrike Salad, one of the personal pizzas and the BLAST - bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado & sprouts. really good, all around. apparently they are thinking of opening for lunch sometime soon as well.
..WOW.. this place is sooooo good! i went and ate there on halloween. i got thier highstrike burger and it must have been six to seven inches tall, cooked to a perfect medium and ohhh so good. the server was very nice and energetic. when i walked by one of the cooks in the hallway he was very polite. i am glad to see that there is a burger and steaks place within walking distance of my house. i didnt see any smokers but when i looked in the back door the kitchen looks very clean.
redblack
Member Profile
vrbal: smokers?
you mean like the addicted people; or like the slow-cooking thingies?
ciggaretts.
i like the place alot.
squareeyes
Member Profile
Was looking for an inexpensive place for dinner late-ish yesterday (9pm). Highstrike really fit the bill. I had the New York dog (sauerkraut, truly delicious caramelized onions, brown mustard) and BF had the BLAST (BLT + avacado & sprouts). Both came with choice of fries or homemade chips. We chose the chips and they were great. Reasonably priced beer and wine, very good food, good service -- this is going into rotation!
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