South Seattle: Cheap Eating with Blue Scholars

"Slick Watts" music director Jordan Nicholson, MC Geo, DJ Sabzi and Me

In the Blue Scholars music video "Slick watts" the hip hop duo give shout outs to some of their favorite places to eat around Seattle. Dick's Drive in on Cap Hill. Pizza Ragazzi in the U District. Original Philly's in South Seattle.






As University of Washington students, and as musicians, they've learned how to stretch the dollar and find what Sabzi calls a sweet spot. That same spot I keep searching for: where the food tastes great but you never feel like you've spent too much money.

Here are three more sweet spots from Blue Scholars

1. Inays in Beacon Hill
2503 Beacon Ave S Seattle, WA
98144
Phone number (206) 325-5692

"Well it IS still technically morning right now, " says MC Geo. " and what we Filipinos love to do is basically have all day dishes --dinner dishes, lunch dishes--throw an egg on top of it and call it breakfast."

For $7.75 you can have either tapsilog. That's beef. Longsilog ( sausage) or Tosilog ( with pork).

"So that's the "Silog" part of it." says Geo. "Filipino for egg."

Uncle Ernie has been serving up down home Filipino cooking for more than ten years. And his meals hit the spot.

"It's a high protein breakfast." says Sabzi." Give me that energy for the day."

On Friday nights things can get a little more saucy here.

"Friday nights, word is they have a crazy drag show." says Sabzi "We haven't had a chance to see it ourselves yet but some of our friends have recommended it to us."

Seven blocks down Beacon Avenue we visit another Blue Scholars sweet spot

2. El Quetzal
3209 Beacon Ave S
Seattle, WA 98144
  Phone number (206) 329-2970

They've been serving Mexican City cuisine since 2004.

"All the sauces they make here are fresh", says Geo. " Best one in Seattle. Got a kick to it. They're not afraid of putting some spices up in their stuff."

 

While Sabzi orders the skirt steak huarache,  a $9 pre Columbian traditional dish, Geo orders another $9 meal : torta gignates--a sausage and egg sandwich. The dude must like eggs.

"Never had it before." says Geo."This is my first time having it and I'm gonna get this the next time and probably the time after that too."

 

I got the fish tacos. Tiny apple slices add a zing.


3. Pho Bac , the little red boat in the International District, is our final stop.
1314 S Jackson St (between S 12th Ave & S 14th Ave)
Seattle, WA 98144
(206) 323-4387

 

"Established in 1982: The first pho in Seattle" says Sabzi who has become a pho expert over the years.

 

Sabzi takes a moment to teach me a few lessons:
"What makes pho is the broth which takes about a day to make at least so there's a giant vat of broth in the back and then whatever you order they take the raw ingredients throw it in the bowl bring it right to you. its very fast very cheap."

A small bowl costs $6.50 and it's not that small.

"I'm actually suddenly really hungry for this." announces Geo.
"Yeah me too." says Sabzi.

 

Sabzi has a few more lessons to share:

"If you're gonna get pho, the word 'pho' better be in the name of the restaurant and you want to get it at a place where it's the only thing on the menu. Also, keep your broth and contents at an even level cuz drinking the broth is just as important."

 

This is great pho, but after three meals for lunch I have to quit. Geo finishes the whole bowl.

"It's just that good." he says.

So there you have it: a study in Cheap Eats from our very well versed, and very full experts.

"They don't call us scholars for nothing."

Renton Cheap Eats : Heaven Sent Fried Chicken

        At Heaven Sent Fried Chicken in Renton you can meet the man who makes the world's best fried chicken. Just ask Oprah.
     "Oh yeah man!" says Ezell Stephens. "She had my chicken two night in a row... and once she got back to Chicago, she wanted it again for her birthday so she flew me out. And it's been Oprah's fried chicken ever since.

   The chicken may be Oprah's but the recipe belongs to Ezell Stephens. And even though he's been frying chicken for 40 years, Ezell is still having fun.

  "When you're the best at what you do, it's never boring. Never."

The past few years have actually been anything but boring.

 After legal battles with his former business partners and his ex-wife, Ezell had to give up the name of his famed Seattle chicken chain: Ezell's. So this high priest of poultry came up with a new name.

"It's a true name." says Ezell, who is wearing his "God is Good All the Time" t-shirt and a cross around his neck.. "It's not a made up name."

The name is Heaven Sent.

" Did you notice it's just got baptized?" Ezell says as we watch him soaking the chicken."Just baptized that chicken man. Heaven Sent: you gotta baptize it" Ezell laughs. ( And it's an infectious laugh).

The name has changed. The recipe has not. That's what draws regular customers like James Pryor who knows all about what went down between Ezell the chicken chain and Ezell the man.

"Since the whole thing went down I kinda picked a side and came here for the original." Pryor says.
"And any regrets?" I ask
 "Absolutely not. That's why I'm here today."

  We were kind of surprised Ezell let us into the kitchen where we could see him seasoning the spicy chicken with flour and what was probably cayenne. Wasn't he worried somebody who knows a lot about food would be able to figure out what his ingredients were?

"Some of the people will know WHAT it is,  but not what it IS." Ezell laughs.

I don't know if this is a secret but Ezell deep fries dark meat for 19 minutes and white meat for just 16. I would have thought it was the other way around.

"Everyone comes in here saying 'Wow your white meat is not dry like everywhere else where it's dry."

 So here's what the world's best fried chicken looks like. It's incredibly crunchy on the outside but when you peel away the top what you get is  succulent on the inside. If it's not the best chicken in the world, it's at least the best chicken in MY world. Bread rolls are light and tasty. The Sweet Potato Pie is another Oprah favorite. You can also get the award winning Faygo soda here. You'll probably want your order to go but there's a nice park across the street.


Extra hint: You want a fresh batch if possible. Check to see what Ezell's doing in the kitchen.

Heaven Sent Fried Chicken
509 S 3rd St Renton, WA 98057
(425) 917-3000
7 days a week, 10 AM to 9 PM

There are also locations in the Lake City neighborhood of Seattle, Rainier Avenue in Columbia City and in Everett but every time I visit the Renton eatery Ezell is there.

Heaven Sent Fried Chicken.com
Evening Magazine story

Tacoma Cheap Eats : MSM Deli

On the outside MSM deli looks like just another one of Tacoma's Sixth Avenue convenience store. That's because it is a convenience store. But on the inside, you'll find the fast and frenetic hands of the talented sandwich artists who give MSM its name.

"MSM stands for Magical Sandwich Makers", says owner Jamal Muthala .
"So if I eat a sandwich here," I ask. " I'll magically turn into what?"
"You turn into a happy customer. That's for sure."

I haven't come alone. This food blogging business is a tough one to learn so I've asked Adrienne Vernon of Tacoma Foodie fame to show me around.

"The sandwiches are huge." Adrienne says." I can only eat half so my husband and I usually split one. And the quality of the ingredients is really second to none."

You really do get a lot for your money. The sandwich above is considered a half order and costs just $3.67.
That's the kind of price that will make you believe in magic.

"These sandwiches are so magical, it's like elves made them" quips Adrienne.

  This is a Mike's Deluxe. It's piled high with everything imaginable on a nine inch roll and costs $6.99. No wonder lines usually run out the door. That's why Jamal gave us his magical tip:

"Call ahead! I can't stress that enough!" says Jamal. " Sometimes we'll have a half hour wait if you just walk through the door."

Postscript: From the man himself I hear KING 5's Jesse Jones was one of MSM's best customers when he lived in Tacoma.

Extra hint: MSM deli offers a great selection of beer. Also, if you're a pickle guy ( I'm not), you're in for a treat!

MSM Deli
2260 Sixth Avenue
Tacoma WA (map)
(253) 272-4812

MSMDeli.com
Evening Magazine story

Olympia Cheap Eats: Eastside Big Tom

You may think everybody in the Washington State capital , Olympia,  just likes to throw money around. Well, not at lunchtime. When it comes to their own money, people around here like to get their dollar's worth.

Eastside Big Tom, the state's oldest drive through restaurant, has been around since the mid 1940's. The original building was an old barber shop. Somehow they've figured out how to shoehorn seven employees into the space of a one car garage.

And it's a busy garage.

"Michael's in the way!" Someone is yelling. " Michael's in the way!"

It's Michael Fritsch, Big Tom's owner, who compulsively plays with all menu items not considered classics.

"Everything I look at I ask myself: can it go into the deep fryer? Can it go into a milkshake?" Michael says . His dad bought the place in 1969 and still runs the grill every now and then.

They make all kinds of shakes here. On my first visit, the shake of the month was made with Captain Crunch's Crunch Berries.

"It's one of the few shakes we actually have to serve with a spoon as well as a straw." Michael says.

My 10 year old daughter says her root beer shake was "the best thing in the world". I'd argue the blackberry shake was even better. A small shake runs $3.77 but will fill you up. The classic burger is the Big Tom, which consists of two patties, two slices of cheese, goop, pickle, onion, lettuce and tomato is $5.82. Strange prices, right? Michael says his dad comes up with the prices based on a special calculus only he understands.

"We're not the cheapest place on the planet, " says Michael. " But people come here knowing if they came here in the 40's, 50's , 60's all the way up to now, the food tastes the same. Year after year after year."

Something else that hasn't changed: the goop. You get a splash of the stuff with every burger. It's messy but it's a good messy.

"Goop is mayonnaise, salad dressing, sweet pickle relish and mustard."

Wait! Did Michael just give me the secret recipe?

"It's not a secret. It used to be a secret."

In Olympia, nothing stays secret for long.

Eastside Big Tom
2023 East 4th Avenue, Olympia, WA 98506 (at Frederick St SE, ) map
360-357-4852
 Seven days, 10:30 a.m. – 8 p.m.

eastsidebigtom.com
Evening Magazine story