The unexpected find is a rare thing in this world, where it seems all great things have been TikToked by folks more savvy, more persistent than me. But dining out is not about this type of rat race.

Luckily, I find there are still many surprises in every neighborhood: underrated dishes that become my new favorites, ones that tell a chef’s origin story, or a dog cafe with surprisingly good human food. It’s a reminder as we restaurant and bar hop this summer to disconnect and research less, eat where the hunger takes you, order things you don’t know, and you might be the one discovering something new. 

Something New about this Beef Stew

With great regret, I put off visiting Angkor Wok. Admittedly, I visited other more talked-about restaurants that piqued my curiosity. Occasionally I walked by the restaurant while in the neighborhood, with memories of the last restaurant in the space before, and I was skeptical. The name also gave me pause. Is this another Asian restaurant that claims to make it all? A conveyor belt sushi, popcorn chicken, chow mien, and chop suey joint? So I waited. 

A Cambodian friend of mine flew up from Los Angeles to try the dishes at Angkor Wok — dishes he says you’re hard pressed to find elsewhere. Alex Lim, a former cook at Sophon and chef behind local Khmer food pop-up Quiet Child, gave a shoutout to Angkor Wok’s ma-chu kreung lemongrass beef stew on an Instagram post, and I knew I couldn’t wait any longer. If other restaurants were to serve this stew, they may dumb it down with only beef, but Angkor Wok’s version has the promised trifecta of beef, tripe, and intestines, giving a great variety of textures and beefy flavor that stands up to the light, herbaceous broth, which I ladled generously over rice. 

The Hottest Chicken in Korea

Chef Heong Soon Park (owner of Chan, MEET Korean BBQ, and more) might be the least talked about restaurateur making big waves in this city. The latest in his arsenal, Gol Mok Korean Market Bar, which he opened in Chef Shota Nakajima’s former Taku space.

Gol Mok specializes in Korean street food that transports you to a rowdy alley eatery in Seoul. While assorted kimbaps might be an expected part of such a menu, the unexpected heavy hitter is its take on the spicy mala chicken. Be forewarned and get your drink orders in first — it’s regarded as one of the hottest dishes in Korea. As I write this, Gol Mok has completed its soft opening and prepares to open officially on July 2. 

A Waffle to Match the Woofles

As a dog owner, I anticipated the opening of Seattle’s first dog-centric cafe, Coby’s Cafe: a cafe and indoor playspace where dogs can run off leash and enjoy special drinks and food made just for them. Sure, I would order a drink to pass the time, even get a set of rainbow-colored mini waffles (adorably called “woofles”) for my pup, but not expecting much in terms of human food, I ate a little beforehand. 

Turns out the menu not only offers waffles for dogs, but ones for humans. The pandan waffle served hot off the iron and rich with a sweet pandan-vanilla scent, is a treat I would fight my dog for. Owner Mary Wu told me that the cafe uses a locally made mix from Dragonfly Kitchen, founded by the same owners of Phin Vietnamese Coffee & Etc. It prepares the waffles to order on its commercial Belgian waffle maker, giving the waffles a uniformly crisp exterior. The waffle itself is made to have a pleasant mochi-like chew reminiscent of the Vietnamese pandan honeycomb cake. I ordered a strawberry matcha latte, another surprisingly great beverage that exceeded my expectations of a dog cafe. I didn’t know what to expect with a dog cafe really, but I was happy as a dog with two tails to be proven wrong.

The Intersection of Culinary Identity

Pioneer Square bar Dead Line is a glitzy mix of Gatsby-Art Deco interior with Latin American food. The bar’s namesake was (perhaps controversially) known as the historical designation of the intersection of Yesler Way and First Ave South, which separated the city between the wealthy residents of the north and the poorer residents of the south. On its menu, Chef Simon Pantet’s borghetti braised pork arepas with coffee liquor, achiote aioli, Oaxaca cheese, avocado and mezcal-pickled pear bears the culinary intersections of his life. 

“It’s the first arepa I put on the menu at Dead Line and immediately, it became the top-selling item. I was adopted in Colombia, where the arepas are from, but never was raised there. However, it is my take on it and it makes this dish very personal to me and identifies me as a chef,” says Pantet. 

While other items on the Dead Line menu may switch based on Pantet’s creative whims, this particular item is here to stay — at least for as long as he is around, he clarifies. You won’t be surprised that the dish is there, but you’ll be surprised by its wild mix of flavors and how it all comes together in one bite.

Shoyu Order this Pie? You Should. 

Nestled in the shiny new Northlake Commons development is The Wayland Mill, a new Japanese-Americana cafe by the team behind Saint Bread. Owner Yasuaki Saito introduces a cafe menu fusing cozy Japanese breakfast and Americana classics. The all-star team includes Ellary Collins of Boot Scootin’ Bread, who along with making what I think are the best canelés in the city, has developed a line up of successful pies for the opening. 

For summer, the peanut butter shoyu pie is an ice box pie inspired by pastry chef Natasha Picowicz’s peanut butter shoyu cookie, built on a chocolate sable black sesame crust. The candied black sesame peanut garnish is what takes the… pie. The team admittedly makes extra to snack on all day. 

Tiffany Ran is a writer and the chef behind Babalio Taiwanese Pop-Up, a Taiwanese food pop-up, and the food editor of TaiwaneseAmerica.org. Much of her food exploration includes jumping between catering, restaurants, and the pop-up world. Her writing has been featured in Vice Munchies, Lucky Peach, Goldthread, JoySauce, Northwest Asian Weekly, and more.