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Daily news for Seattle's Ballard neighborhood |
InterbayGirl
offlineMember
Over the weekend, husband and I decided to hit up RoRo's (in the former Zesto's building) for lunch. We didn't even make it to the door when we could tell the lights were out and chairs still up on the tables. As we were left, I spotted a sign on the door noting that they were Out Of Business. I wasn't able to get a closer look as we were in the car and the light just turned green.
Anyone got the scoop of what happened (other than the obvious of them closing)?
PaytonKemp-AlleyOop
offlineMember
Hmmm, kind of not surprised. I'm a fan of the Wallingford location but this one was expensive, and on purpose because its across from BHS. I only went the first week and the menu was downgraded and sides were extra
Curtis
offlineMember
I went twice and saw absolutely no correlation to the other locations. Love the one on Stone Way. Mediocre food with poor service...disappointing as I live so close!
InterbayGirl
offlineMember
Sadly, I'm not terribly surprised either. Always seemed pretty empty the few times we went.
I thought the BBQ stuff was fine, not great but not bad. Here's the funny thing, what I really liked was their patty melt; lots of grilled onions and gooey cheese on thick rye bread.
Mondoman
offlineMember
One of the local restaurant review blogs I read recently (maybe the Stranger's?) had some snarky comments about how although Ballard has become a foodie mecca, that's not true for BBQ. This was based on RoRo Ballard being inexplicably worse than its other incarnations, and the BBQ place on NW 56th & 17th being somewhat hit and miss. Of course, there is other BBQ in Ballard which is claimed to be better, but nothing of the caliber of something like Paseo or Walrus and Carpenter or La Carta de Oaxaca.
Compass Rose
offlineMember
Wow. That was quick.
Isn't Bitteroot considered pretty good for a NW barbecue joint?
Wow, my kid ate there Friday. It is/was popular with the BHS crowd, although I'd bet they are not big spenders.
Ernie
offlineMember
Went there once, in the spring. It was alright, but not good enough to draw me back since. Ballard is a competitive area for resturants!
phoo
onlineMember
They also set up shop just 5 blocks from another well established BBQ place. I seem to get more for my money at Smokin' Pete's than at RoRo's.
ricecloudnine
offlineMember
Their BBQ quality went down as soon as they opened the new locations. Instead of making the BBQ on site, they now use a central location and ship it to their restaurants where they reheat it. How they could think this was a good idea, I'm not sure. Led me to stop eating there after having the "new" BBQ. Just not good.
SmartsyArtsy
offlineMember
And now El Comino is opening up. Sounds like a great idea to me!
MidWest
offlineMember
El Camion Adentro! Muy Bien!
:-)
Ernie
offlineMember
This is the best news ever. I just ate an El Camion burrito an hour ago.... Yum.
Very good news, although it derails my son's plan to induce the "Pita Pit" chain to open up shop there, which I thought was a great idea. http://www.pitapitusa.com/main.php?page=29
SeaSpider
offlineMember
If El Camion can't make this location work then they need to tear the building down and give up all hope of using that corner as a restaurant space.
BuffaloHawk
onlineMember
Damn !! The menu looks pretty tasty. I am looking forward to a new spot for breakfast.
Compass Rose
offlineMember
I am so happy to hear they are finally opening a sit-down joint. Yippee! Their food is amazing.
phoo
onlineMember
How long do I have to wait?
Lou98107
offlineMember
Phoo, I heard they wanted to open by the end of December. I hope they make it, their food is pretty good! Although I hope they speed things up if they want high schoolers to eat there at lunch. It often takes quite awhile at both the Ballard and Home Depot food trucks.
Now I'm craving some chicken, pork and beef tacos with cilantro, radish, and one of their green sauces...
Compass Rose
offlineMember
Lou, you're right; they're not exactly fast with putting out the food.
I'm craving their fish tacos with chipotle salsa. Mmmmm.
phoo
onlineMember
Lou: Sweet! I recently dined at an El Camion and it was good, if a bit messy because the dish I chose tended to leak out of the food container. I look forward to trying other dishes.
phoo
onlineMember
Is it here yet, is it here yet?
pixlpete
offlineMember
We tried RoRo, the place in wallingford was good, the new dead one, not so much. El Camion, bring it on!
BuffaloHawk
onlineMember
I was just talking about the new joint opening this month last night. I was going to do a drive by and see if phoo had a tent set up in the parking lot.
gracie
offlineMember
Hawk - I actually did go by it last night - doesn't look like they have really done anything. Windows are covered. And no, no Phoo tent!
Norge
offlineMember
They are going to need to hire some people other than high school kids if they want to make a go of it. The kids that worked RoRo's couldn't have cared less if someone wanted to place an order. Went once, never went back.
Cheese
offlineMember
That is a great point Norge. I go back to places where they want my business - from the cashier to the cook. There are young people (high school age) working at my favorite burger spot but they are engaged and therefore I go back.
It is usually the national chain restaurants that have this problem - I would eat at some of them (I know, I know) but I've had so many off putting experiences with the "couldn't care less" attitude that I just write them off.
BuffaloHawk
onlineMember
Any new info on the opening? I drove by this morning and the windows are papered but the outside still looks like RoRo's and the sign is still up.
Curtis
offlineMember
Noticed the paper's off the windows and the interior appears to be painted/redecorated...can't be long now!
phoo
onlineMember
Thanks, Curtis! I hope they post something soon about when they are supposed to open. I've been waiting too long.
BuffaloHawk
onlineMember
phoo
I was expecting a response from you:)I E-mailed them at the end of last month but got a pretty generic reply with no opening time frame.
Gnomie
offlineMember
Walked by tonight and yes the paper is indeed removed from the winders. They posted a small sign that says opening 2/not telling/13.
Gnomie
offlineMember
Tomorrow 2/7/13
BuffaloHawk
onlineMember
I wonder if phoo camped out?
leftcoastsuit
offlineMember
Anyone know if the truck near Mud Bay will also remain open? Will it move? The website just says "Coming soon: El Camion Adentro" in reference to the former Zesto's location but says nothing about the original Ballard truck moving.
Anyway, I imagine the new location and the truck are too close to operate smoothly without eating into each other's business. I could see them moving the truck to SLU, Cap Hill, or maybe the U-District? I'm all in favor of El Camion spreading the wealth. I get a little anxious whenever I'm more than a 5-minute drive from their wonderful tacos/salsa anyway.
phoo
onlineMember
After a very long walk, I dropped by El Camion today. I had my heart set on the shrimp ceviche and after all that exercise, I couldn't stomach anything heavier. They didn't have it.
PlantLover
offlineMember
Check out the front page. It says they are opening tonight at the old RoRo location.
phoo
onlineMember
They are already open. I hope the folks who work there get a chance to taste the menu. They had no clue what "lighter fare" might be, pointing to one of the giant plates of food instead. I'm going to assume this will get better with time.
plasticbags
offlineMember
We went today and it was just as delicious as the Mud Bay location. And a whole lot warmer. The menu didn't look too different but I'll admit I was only concerned with whether or not they had the gorditas- which they did.
gracie
offlineMember
Does anyone know if it cash only (like Paseos - which is open again) or if you can use a credit or debit card? Serviche is sounding really good.
SeaSpider
offlineMember
The trucks take plastic so I'd assume Ardento would as well.
BuffaloHawk
onlineMember
I was going to stop in after dropping my kid of yesterday but couldn't make it past Gordito's. That place was packed yesterday afternoon around 4:30pm.
Curtis
offlineMember
We paid with plastic...credit or debit, I don't recall.
gracie
offlineMember
I stopped at the truck on way home. All set for shrimp ceviche. All sold out. Okay, soup. All sold out. So I ordered Arroz con Pollo. It says it's two pieces of chicken simmered in sauce, with rice and grilled vegetables. When I got home the container was full of rice. It was like chicken fried rice with small pieces of chicken throughout. No veggies except onions & couple pieces of green pepper. I'm thinking maybe got wrong thing. It was good but not like Arroz con Pollo I've had before.
I'm determined to get their ceviche. I haven't had it since I was in Tahiti. Told the guy who was showing me around I ate anything but raw fish. He ordered ceviche, which I had never heard of. Served in a coconut & it was fantastic. Later he told me it wasn't technically raw because the lime sort of cooks it. He was so GORGEOUS and I was getting a mini-crush on him until I found out he was totally gay. Darn. But man was he easy on the eyes!!!
AliKelSea
offlineMember
We stopped in on Sat night, no beer or wine on the menu, so we left.
Oly
offlineMember
I stopped by the Copper Gate yesterday, they didn't have Mexican food so I left.
shelley
offlineMember
Gracie, "Arroz con Pollo" means "Rice with Chicken"
gracie
offlineMember
shelley - I know that. But this wasn't like a typical Arroz con Pollo so figured I got the wrong thing. Still good but just not what I expected. Hopefully will get the ceviche or the posole (soup) with a fish taco.
phoo
onlineMember
gracie - I have to wonder about the ceviche. They had none when I was there. So either it is super popular and sells out in the morning (I was there in the afternoon), or they don't really carry but still have it on the menu.
Speaking which, a friend of mine wondered if ceviche could successfully be done with shrimp because they are gooey inside, rather than fleshy. This hadn't occurred to me, so I wondered what cooks thought.
BuffaloHawk
onlineMember
You made a straight guy in Tahiti catch the ghey after one date?
Curtis
offlineMember
You can make ceviche with shrimp...it's dee-lish!
Careful BH, it might be something in the ceviche!
gracie
offlineMember
Yeah, Buff - what Curtis said!!! And it wasn't a "date" - actually our telephone repair guy heard I was going to Tahiti & Hawaii for three weeks. His fiance was in Tahiti. She hooked me up with him to show me the island, lunch. I called her afterwards saying what a good looking guy he was & she laid it on me - he played for the other team. What a waste.
And Buff - no man has ever switched over after being with me - so there *EG*
Curtis
offlineMember
Really Gracie?..."What a waste"...really? Guess that depends on which "team" your playin' on!
Pretty good experience at the new restaurant tonight. Ordering was a little slow -- they seemed to be training the new order-taker. But after that the food came promptly. Burrito was good and very generous. Tacos were yummy and seemed a little larger than the truck version. Sauces were tasty. Posole tasted great but came WAY too hot -- I could not even begin eating it until my companions were almost finished eating -- and the meat in it was pretty fatty.
The place was crowded so hopefully they are doing a good business overall. The new decor is nice for fast food, but the lighting sucks. The outdoor patio looks like a fun hangout when the weather warms up. Looks like they are planning a bar in the south room by the patio.
Although I can't give an A+ given these few snags we encountered, overall it was a great cheap dining experience and we will be back. The basic lunch at BHS is $3.00 for students, which is the same cost as two tacos at El Camion. I bet they tempt plenty of students to eat there.
phoo
onlineMember
I'd like to hear from anyone who has had the shrimp ceviche at this particular location, not the carts. I am suspicious about whether it is ever available. If it is, I'll keep trying. :)
Angeline - plenty of students do eat there. Lunch was in full swing when I walked by one day and the place was packed, complete with a line. Maybe they are responsible for the shrimp ceviche being sold out. ;)
gracie
offlineMember
Curtis, I thought about that what a waste thing. I meant for women wanting him as a boyfriend.For men it was quite a catch. My apologies for misspeaking.
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