Day 3.75: Wednesday (addendum)

So, Laura and I went shopping in the International District. And (because it will make most of you laugh, since I never buy clothes) I splurged on two stunning Chinese silk outfits. I felt I could justify it because: 1) I never buy clothes. In the past eight months, I have been clothes shopping exactly one time, and on that occasion I spent less than $15 to buy three clearance items. And 2) after losing several pounds last fall, only one of my nine formal dresses still fits me, so I felt that it was an appropriate time to pick up some new dressy clothes.

And besides that, they were neat and I really wanted them. :)

Then, in the interest of making the new clothes NOT fit, we went to dinner. Laura had specified “international” as her general food preference, given the location of our hotel, and Dad found a listing for a place called Bonzai Asian Pub and Bistro. As Dad pointed out, it was hard to get more international (or multicultural) than that, so we headed there for dinner.

If it weren't 3,000 miles away from home, this place would be my new favorite restaurant. I'm going to plug it shamelessly, so if you ever find yourself in Seattle you can eat there too. :)

The restaurant is very quirky/trendy, with open brick and ductwork, but also with very '80s-modern designs painted on the walls and bizarre glass light fixtures hanging over the bar and tables. Hanging on the brick wall immediately next to the entrance are a trio of four-foot-tall images of Chocolate Misu from Bakuretsu Hunters (I'm guessing ADV doesn't know about these, just like that stir-fry restaurant near Chicago that has Iria from Zeiram the Animation painted in next to Mao Tse Tung). The chairs are brushed steel, of a design caught halfway between Frank Lloyd Wright and Fritz Lang. One picture of Chocolate's sister, Tira Misu, is hanging on the back wall. (No Carrot or Marron or Gateau, though. Apparently it's not an equal-opportunity establishment...)

The menu is a complete anomaly... they serve everything from traditional Japanese fare (various types of rice and fish dishes) to bizarre multi-culti concoctions (Bonzai Nachos, which includes wontons, teriyaki chicken, jalapeno peppers, pico de gallo, and more odd contributions). The restaurant is known for its kabocha (pumpkin) soup, which was surprisingly tasty.

Laura went with an ahi tuna dish with garlic and wasabi, which was excellent; I had a delicious king salmon steak. There were also fried kabocha wedges (YUM – didn't know you could fry pumpkin, but it's good!), very crisp asparagus, grilled shiitake mushrooms in sauce, and a bowl of salted soybean pods that you could pop in your mouth if you happened to run out of food (not likely).

We're not really sure what bonzai is supposed to mean, though. I suggested that it was a corruption of banzai (Japanese for “forever,” or “hooray”). I'm hoping it doesn't have anything to do with bonsai, which, in addition to being a type of small garden tree, can also mean “mediocrity.”

Of course, Dad said that “bonzai” was just the result of an American dub getting it wrong, as usual. :D