Olympia restaurants

We'll be visiting our son at school in Olympia next weekend. He seems a little dubious as to the quality of the restaurants in the area, but he's on a student budget. Any suggestions for where we can take him for a few meals, and perhaps have a breakfast out ourselves?

[rcallner]

OH, and forgot to mention - there's a new bakery close to the Phoenix Inn on Capitol Way, the Bread Peddlar. Soups, sandwiches, truly fine French bread, simple and high quality.

[rcallner]

Heya-welcome to Olympia and hello Oly people. There are more nice places to eat than we're mentioning so far...like now there are lots of places that do Pho, but I still think the walking away best is Capital Market on Harrison on the west side, also the best and freshest/cheapest spring rolls (not fried). For a good Italian dinner prepared by real Italians, Basilico on Capital Way, make reservations. For really tasty Korean food - be adventurous - hole in the wall on Martin Way past the Tanglewilde subdivision called the Seoul. 30 minutes out of town toward McCleary on the Kennedy/Creek Rd., the Ranch BBQ Kitchen, floor to ceiling with prizes won at honest-by-god southern BBQ competitions, featured on Food Channel. And also half hour out of town - also world-reputed, in Shelton, of all places, Xinh's seafood restaurant, kickin' Vietnamese/NW fusion with wonderful Asian or PNW dishes like great pan-fried oysters, and tremendous desserts, including the perfectly pitched lemon mousse. There are a few places here to make a foodie happy.....

[yummers]

I agree that Cap Market wins the pho laurels, although, to be honest, none of the pho joints in Olympia have the rich, complex stocks that make great pho great. As for Thai, every year or two it should be repeated: the best Thai food in Olympia is not downtown but in Lacy. Last I tried (which was this past summer), the two best were the Chili Pepper next to the Lacy post office and Bangkok next to Freddy Meijer's. But again, these places are not competitive with the best spots in Seattle or Portland. Not ambitious but solid execution.

I haven't tried Seoul but now will have to. Love Korean food.

The BBQ joint mentioned above does a very good job of smoking its meats. Lots of rich, smoky flavor and minimal dryness. Unfortunately, the sauce is bland and the sides are forgettable. I think that these folks could be great if they could bring the rest of the pieces together. The joint is packed, however; don't expect to be seated with half an hour if you go at prime time.

Basilico I've tried twice and was highly underwhelmed. This was another typical Olympia experience: a restaurant presents you with a mouth-watering menu, charges city prices and then fails to execute. If they've gotten their act together since the rains came, my hat goes off to them. Otherwise, the Olympia Rule of Thumb still applies: eat the simple stuff.

And, yes, Xinh's is the real deal. It's worth the trip, as is La Tarasca in Centralia.

[rcallner]

The trick for Basilico is talk with the owner and ask him (whichever of the two you get) what's good tonight. I've done so twice and had really brilliant pasta dishes.

[hooyeah]

Rosey's is a great restaurant near the westside co-op. They use locally grown organic foods.

I think your son is right - the food in Oly is SERIOUSLY lacking.

We've lived here five years now - and remain completely unimpressed, frustrated, and not-too-happy.

Welcome to Olympia! Is your son a "Greener" or a St. Martin's student? I hope he is enjoying his stay in Oly. It is a student friendly town.

If I only had one weekend in Olympia, and I wanted to eat well, I would stay at the Phoenix Inn located in downtown Olympia near the saltwater front boardwalk (Percival's Landing) and the Olympia Farmer's Market. The Phoenix Inn does not have a restaurant on the premises (they do serve a big continental breakfast, though), but it so close to so many good places to eat and stroll and enjoy Olympia that it is a great spot to stay. When I have out of towners, I always book them a room there.

There is a sweet little wine store across the street in one direction and Gardner's Restaurant just to the South - both worth visiting. Batdorf and Bronson's coffee place is very, very good coffee - and it is also about a block and a half away. You can walk into town and have a distinctly Olympia experience by having breakfast at "Otto's" or "The Spar". Take your pick. At Otto's you have the green, hippie experience with great food and a long wait and at The Spar you have the old time Olympia crowd with acceptable food and occasionally a long wait (definitely on Sunday mornings). Both clientele are starting to meld into the other...so read the menus and decide for yourself.

But best of all, two short blocks from the hotel is the Olympia Farmer's Market, and it is open Thursday through Sunday from 10am to 3pm. Several of the food vendors are open at 9am for breakfast. Recently my beloved and I had breakfast there. I chose the vendor with the belgian waffles piled high with fresh blueberries, strawberries and raspberries, and he picked the "Dinghy" for an omelette with perfectly cooked oysters, spinach, onions, and cheese. They also serve a dungeness crab eggs benedict, or you can have crabcakes for breakfast. You can also go to the Market for a great lunch - I like the chinese chicken salad made with shredded chicken, basil, cabbage and cilantro at the asian noodle place, but the meatball sandwich at Carlotta's Pasta Wagon is seriously divine. Or, you can just have the dungeness crabcakes and a piece of seared tuna with coleslaw. If you are a Bratwurst or bockwurst fan, go to the German Wagon vendor, or then there is the curry place, the taco truck...and the bakeries are in the market...

Within close walking distance of the hotel is a reasonably nice waterfront restaurant, Anthony's Homeport. There are four or five "Anthony's" in the Pacific Northwest, but they do what they do well with seafood, salads and chowder. You could also walk downtown to the Water Street Cafe, but be sure and read the menu at Gardner's to see if you are tempted to have dinner there.

I hope you enjoy the time with your son. I was very fortunate that my daughter chose a college within an hour's drive of home, but I went to Evergreen about a billion years ago from my hometown of St.Louis and I would have loved it if my parents had written ahead to scout out the good eats!

I will second Oly Jane's remarks. Although I sometimes say negative things about Olympia food, the market is very nice (and for breakfast too), and otherwise the trick is to order simple foods -- which fits in with your idea of keeping the price down. So stay away from the high end (Cielo Blue, Water St., etc.) and eat fish burgers, Thai stir-fries and noodle dishes, etc. Nice local beers to be had on tap too! Enjoy our town.

Thanks to you both.
My son is a Greener (although being from the Berkeley area he's not crazy about having a "name"). This is the first year he's been in Olympia in the summer. He transferred after his first semester at a college in Santa Fe that he was ill suited for. He loves Evergreen! The result is that we (his parents) haven't really had the requisite parent visit until now. I must have had some good sense ,as I already booked the Phoenix Inn. I'll take all suggestions quite seriously. My son is very interested in making cooking his profession some day.
Now.. our last night will be in Seattle at the Hotel Andra- a Sunday. We'll be having dinner with friends who live in Seattle. Should I try to talk them into Cafe Juanita? Somewhere else? They aren't the "chowhounds" we are...

Another good spot, especially for breakfast, that is near Evergreen is "The Place" off of Hwy 101 and Mud Bay Road. Although every time I go the decor seems to get a little cuter (in a country sense) and the price has gone up a bit, it's still worth checking out. The hangtown fry or chorizo dishes are good.