Every now and then, Spencer and I make the pilgrimage across the bridge to Bellevue, Washington, to see a movie, make a wine run at Pete’s, or do some serious shopping at Bellevue Square. The luxurious Lincoln Square Theater offers the most comfortable seats and some of the best screens in the Seattle area, so a coupla Saturdays ago, we fled Seattle to go see “Brideshead Revisited,” eat lunch at Trader Vic’s, and restock the wine cellar at Pete’s. 

Whole strolling to our luncheon destination, we noticed that Manzana Rotisserie Grill, where we’d enjoyed a perfectly prepared Asian Chicken Salad during our most recent Bellevue adventure, had morphed into Palomino, part of the nationwide chain whose other outpost is in downtown Seattle in City Centre (U.S. Bank Center). As the tables turn. . .

Once seated at Trader Vic’s in the Tiki Bar, we felt as though we’d been washed ashore on a South Seas Island as we sipped Tropical Fruit Iced Tea and shoveled into salads composed of Blackened Ahi Tuna, Cucumber, Sugar-Snap Pea, Crispy Won Tons, and Sesame-Soy Dressing for me and Crab Cakes, Spinach, Avocado, Papaya, Oranges, Red Onion, and Chili Mango Dressing for Spencer.  

If we’d been hungrier, we might have opted for Trader Vic’s famous Bongo Bongo Soup (cream of spinach soup with oysters) or the Cosmo Tidbits for two (barbecue pork spareribs, crab rangoons, crispy Gulf prawns, and cha siu pork). In our younger days, we used to call this the Pupu Platter. 

If we’d have been thirstier (and not driving), we would definitely have tried the Taste of the Islands Sampler, which includes tastes of four Mai Tais–Original, Vodka, Lillikoi, and Mandarin, a veritable bargain at just 12 bucks. Mahalo!