The month of May has been a really difficult month school-wise because of all of my IB testing and AP testing; however, Tyler and I have made it through and always found time to explore new restaurants and indulge our taste buds with amazing food. We were spending a sunny afternoon in Kirkland (one of our favorite small cities) and after a long day of school, we decided to check out somewhere new. There are plenty of unique resturants, all with very different cuisines. You name it and Kirkland has it: Mexican, American, Thai, Chinese, Sushi, Vietnamese, and cafes. So..we were in the mood for Thai, a usual craving, so we decided to try a restaurant called Lai Thai. We knew that this place was authentic because of the friendly Taiwanese staff. Thankfully it was a beautiful day so we were lucky enough to be seated outside. After reading the menu we decided on ordering a spicy tofu dish and Tylers favorite...pad thai! Expecting just the average pad thai dish, we were pleasantly surprised with a much fresher dish with the same essentials. This unique pad thai definitely made this place stick out. On the other hand the spicy tofu was a bit of a let down because it wasn't as spicy as I had hoped. Even though we ordered both dishes with a spicyness level of 2 stars, it could have been much hotter. But, all in all we were satisfied with the food and experience, allowing us to be ready to brave the rest of the week.
Yesterday was the last day of testing this year, so it was decided a little celebration had to occur. We weighed through our options and decided on going to an all-time favorite...the Lunchbox Laboratory, or as I like to call it, burger paradise. This place is located in Bellevue, with a location in Seattle, and is absolutely amazing! Walking into the restaurant, we were greeted by old memorabilia and collectable lunchboxes. Although its decor is great, we really went there for the food! It's got so many unique items on the menu, from appetizers, sides, drinks, burgers to their delicious shakes. We had been here a few months previous to this and it was calling us back. The first time we came here Tyler ordered the insane Burger of the Gods (smothered in blue cheese, Gorgonzola and onions), while I ordered the Mediterranean Marvel (lamb burger with heaps of feta onions and basil pesto mayo) in addition, we split a Reeses Peanut Butter
Shake...mmm. Since we had such interesting burgers last time, and were pleasantly satisfied, we decided to go for something unique again. Tyler was looking at the experiments menu (the small menu that changes every week!) and decided on ordering the Avocado Rancher. Both of us have a strange love of avocados so this burger was very tempting; it was a simple beef patty, with avocado ranch spread and bacon. On the other hand, since I haven't eaten meat in so long i decided on a bean burger. So, I ordered the Upstate New Yorker, which consisted of the bean burger patty, Monterey jack cheese, lunchbox onions, Super Gorgonzola spread and buffalo ketchup. The burgers were irresistible. We also decided to order a Boston Creme Donut Shake, but I think they accidentally gave us a Banana Creme Pie Shake...good thing we like bananas! In addition, the meals are accompanied with a side of fries, Tyler had sweet potato, and I had regular skinny fries. We were so full after the main event, but we still were able to finish off all the fries. Lunchbox Laboratory has a collection of different salts at every table, so we enjoyed trying all the different flavors on our fries (cinnamon, BBQ, bacon hickory, rosemary, garlic, and more!). I would highly recommend visiting this unique restaurant if you are in the area!
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| From the outside |
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| Banana creme pie shake |
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| Avocado Rancher in front, Upstate New Yorker in back |
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| Upstate New Yorker |
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Thank you for reading!!
Hannah and Tyler
