Besides coffee, Seattle-ites seem to love the South East Asian cuisine. The ubiquitous Vietnamese pho joints and Thai restaurants provide excellent cheap eats for cheapskates like myself. As always, some are better than others, so here are the ones that are worth every lemongrass and basil.

Pho Cyclo , 406 Broadway East, Capitol Hill, has a very basic menu of pho, rice, and noodle dishes. Add an order of spring rolls to any of the entrees, and wash it down with a Vietnamese iced coffee to stuff yourself silly.

Than Brothers Restaurant, multiple locations, is a family-run chain of bare-bones pho only restaurants. Seat yourself, then choose between chicken, beef, or veggies to top off your bowl. If you opt for beef, you get to choose again from a long list of edible cow parts that include Vietnamese specialties like tendon and tripe. Pho’ Shizzle!

Kwanjai Thai, 469 North 36th Street, Fremont, is near the end of the main drag or North 36th Street in Fremont. It’s housed inside, well… a house. You might even feel like you’re a guest at the house. The menu is the usual pad thai, pad see ew. Seafood items are market prices so expect to pay more for those. For about $10, you’ll have a decent meal and plenty of cash leftover for a pint or 2 at the many nearby bars.

[photo by: Federico Mena-Quintero]

I admit it. I made my way downtown, walked down Pine Street to seek out that Public Market market sign. Not for nothing, it’s a great piece of typography. Having snapped the requisite photo, I went inside to have a look-see. The place is nothing more than a tourist stop as there were more tsotchkes shops selling tourist junk than grocery stands. Was there anyone there actually buying fish for dinner? We made our way out and went to seek out the first Starbucks across the way. I don’t hate Starbucks, but it was pretty interesting to see the place where their world domination started. The queue was outrageous so I skipped out on trying the Pike Place blend. Taking Lonely Planet up on a recommendation, we hit Pirotsky & Pirotsky to for a yummy mozzarella and broccoli pastry. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t filling either. In search of more food, we hit the corner cheese joint Beechers Cheese for their $5.75 flagship jack cheese sandwich made of jack cheese, tomatos, and Beecher’s spread. It was extra small, but the flavor was ginormous, and the best tasting grilled cheese I’ve ever had.

[Beechers' Handmade Cheese, 1600 Pike Place, Seattle]

Here are some pics from the Peter Bjorn and John show at Webster Hall last night. Opening the show were Au Revoir Simone, and Fujiya and Miyagi. Enjoy and find out why PBJ must be stopped!