Our news partners at the Seattle Times visited Madrona restaurant June for the weekly Happy Hour column this week, and came away raving about Chef Vuong Loc’s pickled beef tongue sandwich.
Brined, braised and grilled to a smoky finish. Spread with a rich aioli on a grilled baguette. Tasted like a hanger steak, only tender, better.
The sandwich is $5 during happy hour, Monday-Friday from 5-7 p.m. Other menu items praised were the spaetzle and the rabbit rillette.
Having personally sampled the beef tongue sandwich, we can tell you the hype is legit – even if you’re not the sort of person who’s into offal or out-of-the-ordinary meats, you’ll likely be swayed by Loc’s preparation.
Have you tried the beef tongue at June, or other items at happy hour? What did you think of it?
We stopped in at June for Happy Hour tonight. Two of us had the tongue, and two had cheeseburgers. Both sandwiches were incredible. The tongue had a strong beefy flavor with nice brine overtones, almost like a very beefy and less salty corned beef. The cheeseburgers were also very tasty with high end beef and loaded with cheesey goodness.
We also had some squash tempura and grilled yams, both with an outstanding aioli.
Wines were $5 a glass for their happy hour wines, but beers were more pricey ($6-$12), and the selection was pretty sparse.
Overall it’s a great happy hour for food, but a little more limited for drinks. We’ll definitely be back!
I have not personally tried the restaurant but have heard from 3 different friends that the food was not good. I am interested in other thoughts on this blog. I have heard the food is way over done with sodium. I hope this is not the case for others as I really want a quality restaurant in the hood. Thoughts?
There is only one way to find out for sure. Get up from the computer and go find out for yourself.
It’s the second time I’ve been there (had breakfast the week they opened). Both times the food has been excellent, and not overly salty in my opinion.
I’ve tried them for HH and also had the beef tongue sandwich. Both that and the cheeseburger were great — nice red wine pour for $5 at happy hour, and tasty small plates.
I never thought overly salty. I would definitely go again.
Thanks for the reviews Dr. Ink and CDgal. We will give it a shot and look forward to posting a review.
Kevin – Do you have anything of value to add or do you just sit behind your computer and takes cheap shots?