Is Tea Hotter Than Coffee in Seattle?

That's what the LA Times is insinuating here, with a nice plug for Miro on Ballard Ave.

Topics: Tea

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It's Just a Bill, Yes It's Only a Bill, But...

At the end of last year, Washington State gained its first licensed distillery, Dry Fly. It didn't take a genius to smell a Hooch Rush on the horizon. Now that someone's finally broken the 80 proof barrier, many interested parties lie in wait to bottle the next hot spirit. Rusty Figgins, wine guy extraordinaire, has an operation waiting for licensing approval, and XXX marks spots in both Woodinville and Ballard for future gin mills. So many people now have many different interests in a wee little bill on our Capital Hill concerning craft distilleries. Bill 6496 seeks to further define what will be a Washington State craft distillery and also grants distilleries certain rights enjoyed by breweries and wineries, namely 1 and 2 below. The bill has already made it through the House, now it just needs to make it through the Senate.

Continue reading "It's Just a Bill, Yes It's Only a Bill, But..."

Topics: Boozamahol

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Tour de Chocolat!

Image: http://current.com/items/84956251_your_gut_craves_chocolate_no_really

As Easter Bunnies begin to populate storefront windows, a person's mind might turn to chocolate. (But you want the good stuff.) And you say you've always wanted to tour a chocolate factory? (See Below.)

Well, here's your chance.

Chocolate Box hosts a bus tour of Seattle's best chocolatiers, the shop's critically acclaimed, local confection suppliers. You'll begin at Chocolate Box for a history lesson on chocolate, with an introduction to Fiori Chocolatiers. Afterwards, you'll venture onto Theo Chocolate (in Fremont), and to Madison Park's Oh! Chocolate. From there you'll head to Fran's Chocolate, in Capitol Hill. The tour will return to Chocolate Box to sample drinking chocolate, concocted by Chocolat Vitale.

You'll sample the wares along the way, in some places witnessing the making of the candy, and at others, getting a chance to make your own confections. A two and a half, to three hour
tour, every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday during the month of March.

$65, including a goodie bag and souvenir.
8:30 a.m.
Chocolate Box, 108 Pine Street, close to the Pike Place Market
(206) 443-3900

Topics: Events

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More Coops for Your Back Yard

Photo: Seattle Urban Farm Company

So Brad Hole, an urban chicken farmer who often posts on Voracious, read my post about the Eglu and had another suggestion: The Seattle Urban Farm Company, which helps people install and maintain organic gardens, also builds backyard chicken coops.

I emailed owner Colin McCrate to learn more, and he wrote back, "All of our coops end up being pretty different. We have built stand-alone coops, built them into existing decks and garages, and put together chicken tractors." Given the custom construction, the coops are more expensive than the Eglu — $800 to $1,500 — but they're all local. And not molded plastic. Colin did note that farmers market eggs are now costing $6/dozen, which might change my calculations of how long it would take for the Eglu to pay for itself. Considering the rising cost of corn and the possibility of accelerated depreciation when the baby boomers retire, let's bring that number down to 315.23 years, shall we?

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Weird White Chestnut

I received an email from Ron Irvine, owner of Vashon Winery, in regards to my article two weeks ago about unique Puget Sound whites. He had this little nugget about Chasselas, the international grape of fondue:

I had a woman call the winery wanting to purchase the Chasselas Dore for a fondue dinner. She was quite excited to know that she didn't have to go to Switzerland to get the wine. Did you know that Chasselas may be one of the oldest grapes known to mankind? It is usually differentiated as Vitis vinifera orientalis (or occidental), I forget. But it is thought to have emanated from the Lebanon Valley or Eygpt. It is also one of the most planted grapes in France, and is similar to our Thompson Seedless as it is used as a table grape there.

Topics: wine

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Home Depot Serving Food?

What: Camion Taco Truck
Where: 11616 Aurora Avenue North (Home Depot)
When: Today at Lunch
How much? $7.50
Would I eat there again? Yes, even if I did dine from the trunk of my car.

Well, not really but in the adjacent parking lot to Aurora Avenue Home Depot (Bitter Lake), a new taco truck called Camion has set up shop. I stumbled upon the Mexican 5th Wheel on my third trip to Home Depot over the weekend. You can't miss the hand written neon poster board taped to a tree on your way out of the parking lot that reads; "Homemade Tamales". Camion's menu has my favorite Triple Threat - Tortas, Tacos and Tamales. I was told that the last tamale had just sold but more would be ready in two hours. Without my regular laundry list of items to pick up at Home Depot, I didn't have two hours to kill. I opted for the Mexican Plate which came with a choice of meat (pork carnitas for me), avocado, black beans, grilled jalapenos and green onions, salsa fresca, rice and tortillas. There were a couple of chairs on either end of the truck for seating.

I chose to eat out of the trunk of my car (though the chair view from the bluff overlooking the Home Depot nursery looked nice.) The pork was moist and full of flavor. The grilled jalapenos and onions melted in my mouth with each bite.

Take a lunch break from your next home project. You won't be sorry.

Topics: I Ate This

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Prefab Housing for Poultry

You've got another six weeks to register for Seattle Tilth's popular City Chickens 101 class, but if your burning desire to make cheese scrambles with still-warm eggs collected from a nest of hay every morning can't wait, I present to you: the Eglu.

Made in Iowa by a company called Omlet USA, the Eglu offers prefab living for two to four hens (the company says the optimal yard size for the Eglu is 20 by 30 feet). Offered in green, red, orange, fuschia, and blue, it costs $495, or $515 with two chickens, plus shipping. Yes, that means it would take approximately 732.5 years to recoup your investment in fresh eggs, but some of us have no practical building skills to make our own from Home Depot scraps. Besides, (live) chickens offer fertilizer, feathers for craft projects, and most of all, companionship. Who can put a price on that?

(Thanks to Jo Robinson for the link.)

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First Call: Hooverville

Photos by Peter Mumford and Adriana Grant

Where: Hooverville
1721 1st Ave S
Seattle, WA 98134
(206) 264-2428

This SoDo bar takes its name from the shantytown that occupied its space (and many more that populated the country) during the Great Depression, named for (and blamed on) President Hoover.

This two-year-old spot has the look and feel of a place that's been around much longer. With peanut shells on the floor and a smiling yellow lab wandering behind the bar, this place has got an ease to it that makes it hard not to like. Tall barstools crowd the bar, while booths fill the room and the front windows, which appropriately enough, have bars on them. At 5:15 on a Wednesday evening, the place is pleasantly crowded.

Barkeep: Shannon

How long have you been here? I've been here for a year, but I've been bartending for 6.

Where we you before? I was in San Diego and New York, upstate New York. Lotta kids. Lotta fake breasts and fake tans. I have never seen so much silicon in my life.

In San Diego? No, in Saratoga Springs. But I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, so I am happy to be back. It's my favorite bar I ever worked at, my favorite hands down. Everyone knows each other.

What would you have, if you had a drink right now? A Mandarin and soda, or a beer. I'm boring, what can I tell you?

Drink of choice: Guinness. She pours half a pint from the tap, and returns to pour the other half.

From the bartender's friend (who wants a peek at my camera, he tells me, so he can tease Shannon about the photo): A Guinness is classic.

Shannon: Guinness is good for you.

I'm a bit intimidated by this tall gorgeous pint of stout, with its velvety head. This is a fat beer, a lot to put down. At first sip (complex, molassesy) I like the dark stuff more than I remember. And frankly, it seems just the right beer to have at this place.

With an unpretentious, just off-work crowd (literally, suits and Carharts), and an over-the-top extrovert for a bartender, I'll be back.

Topics: First Call

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Guinness; The Best Head - At Home

Who doesn't love a good pint of Guinness? A creamy velvet foam top followed by a gulp of chocolaty stout. Everyone knows that a pint just tastes better when it's been slowly poured from a nitrogen tap at an Irish Bar. A few years ago, Guinness introduced the "surge" can that came with an internal widget that sounded more like you were shaking a can of spray paint than pouring a beer. The surge can was ok but still nothing like the real thing. While picking up lunch at Ballard's Treehouse Bar & Grill the other day, the owner showed me the latest gadget the marketing geniuses at Guinness recently introduced; The Guinness Surger. The Surger (what looks like a hybrid coffee cup warmer from the 80's) requires just a couple of steps beyond just pouring your pint from a can, but the results are remarkable. Once your pint has been poured, place a small amount of water into the reservoir base of the unit. Place pint of Guinness into base of and hit the button. Watch the vibration of sound waves travel up from the bottom of the pint, leaving you with the perfect meringue head without leaving your house!

Just don't try The Surger with your bottle of Stella like these clowns did!

Topics: Beer

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Good (Food) News and Bad (Food) News

Well, it's another Wednesday morning, and the nation's newsmakers have been busy in their little hives exuding food news for us to digest. First, sorry about the cranky tone. I have a sinus infection that just won't die:

Coast to Coast, Restaurants That Count by Frank Bruni (NY Times): Apologies to all my coworkers, but I've come to loathe our tendency in Seattle to jump up and wave our hands around every time the NYT mentions our fair city. Yet here I am, pointing you to its restaurant critic's new feature on 10 restaurants outside Metropolis that "matter," because his first installment includes Tilth. (Congratulations, Maria!)

Chef Scott Simpson Returns to His First Love”�Comfort Food by Nancy Leson (Seattle Times): So for some local news, a profile of the chef behind Ballard's upcoming Lunchbox Laboratory.

Big Foot by Michael Specter (New Yorker): Speaking of local, this week's New Yorker has a long piece questioning the whole "food miles" rationale for buying local. Two notes: A) I'm posting this because it's free online right now and you'll be hearing about it for the next few weeks, but I haven't read it — that's my bus activity today. B) I wonder if this isn't just a longer, better written recap of a piece the Financial Times ran 18 months ago.

Harkin: 2002 Farm Bill Extension Most Likely Outcome by Peter Shinn (Brownfield, thanks to Ethicurian): One of the sticking points to passing the 2007 Farm Bill is that George "I'm no lame duck" Bush is threatening a veto.

I Really Hope You Said Fork by Alexandra Gill (Globe & Mail, thanks to Chow): No, you're not just getting older. Restaurants are getting louder.

Last, I leave you with a mention of new heights in food processing. On Oscar night a friend and I were agog at an ad for Freschetta PizzAmore, a frozen pizza that comes presliced, because frozen pizza isn't enough of a convenience food. Then I find a post on Serious Eats reportin that Kraft is coming up with a bagel already spread with cream cheese.

UPDATE: Just finished the New Yorker piece, and the food miles discussion was only a small part of it. And man, have reforestation projects moved to the top of my charitable giving list.

Topics: The Food Section

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Street Food Part 1: Southeast Asia Menu

Image: http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/vn_street_food.jpg

Art of the Table hosts their Weekend Supper Club, exploring four courses that one might find on the streets of Southeast Asia.

The menu features wild prawn summer rolls, Vietnamese spring rolls with carrot-daikon slaw, chicken satay with peanut sauce and spicy cucumber salad, pho' bo (Vietnamese beef noodle soup), and for dessert, fried bananas.

Sourced using local ingredients, these dinners are served family style, at communal tables to encourage conversation with your neighbors.

Thursday, February 28 - Saturday, March 1
7:30-10:30 p.m.
$48 prix fixe menu.

Art of the Table
1054 North 39th Street
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 282-0942

Topics: Events

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Free Coffee! Tonight!

From the Caffe Vita website:

In celebration of the consistent flavor and superior quality of our coffee and our highly skilled baristas, all Caffe Vita locations are offering complimentary coffee and espresso drinks on Tuesday, February 26, between 5:30pm and 8:30pm.

I think it's sort of funny that there's nothing in there about customer appreciation, but whatever. Free.

Topics: Events

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I Ate This: Grilled (-ish) Cheese (-ish) Sandwich

What: Classic grilled-cheese panini

Where: Macy's La Brea Bakery, corner of Third Ave. and Pine

Cost: $5.95

Official Tasting Notes: Oh, I know it's not fair to compare this gruyere panini at Macy's new co-branded cafe to the one I tasted at La Brea Bakery founder Nancy Silverton's grilled-cheese nights at Campanile in Los Angeles. Silverton, one of the West Coast's pioneering artisanal bakers, used to be married to Campanile chef Mark Peel, and many years ago the two concocted a Thursday-night tradition that endures to this day (check the special menus section). Even the simplest of Silverton's cheese sandwiches could make you moan, and you weren't sure whether you were overcome by nostalgia or hedonism.

In 2001, Silverton sold the La Brea Bakery to IAWS Group, an Irish corporation that has brought her breads to supermarkets around the United States, UK, and Ireland. IGSW, which also owns Otis Spunkmeyer, has now partnered with Macy's to bring a La Brea (-esque) Bakery to downtown Seattle.

The "fresh-baked" bread comes from half-baked loaves that are finished off in what former Weekly food editor Roger Downey calls "a tin can" of an oven. My glamour shot above makes the panini look almost sexy, but it's nothing compared to the photo I ate it under, in which the butter on the bread glistened and flecks of whole-grain mustard marked the line where cheese and bread melded. Across the picture is a food-erotica quote from Silverton about how much she loves biting into a grilled cheese sandwich, with its "strange and stringy afterlife of melted cheese." She must not have been referring to the waxy, still half-solid slices of "gruyere" in mine, which seemed to only have ever existed in the afterlife. No butter on the bread = no nostalgia, hedonism, moaning, or, indeed, pleasure.

This ham and cheese sandwich, with arugula and a caramelized onion jam, was much, much tastier — something I'd actually pay $6.50 for. I also picked up a fresh-baked baguette, which I'm pretty sure was more than a few hours old. Good compared to Safeway's, but in a town as blessed with great baguettes as ours, why shop for California bread at a department store?

Topics: I Ate This

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Course Alert: Simply Serafina

Image: http://www.serafinaseattle.com/menus/lunch.html

A cooking lesson with Serafina's John Neumark. If this cozy, romantic spot is one of your long-time favorites, consider this class an opportunity to take some of that mood home with you. The menu includes cauliflower and potato soup, puttanesca con tonno fresca (spicy pasta with seasoned fresh tuna), smoked duck breast with lentils, and profiteroles (filled pastry with bittersweet chocolate). With wine-pairings.

$50, includes $5 for wine tasting.
Wednesday, February 27, 6:30-9 p.m. Redmond PCC
Wednesday, April 9, 6:30-9 p.m. Issaquah PCC

Topics: Culinary Classes

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El Rey Del Taco: Making Me Lazier, Happier

Right down the street from my house, a new taco truck has parked, El Rey del Taco. I still haven't figured out their hours, but I can vouch for the tortas at lunchtime.

The truck is across from Home Depot on Sylvan Way SW, the road that winds down from 35th through the cemetary, next to the Tug and the Vietnamese cultural center. Thank you El Rey, for helping me shrink my carbon footprint. I'll still make the trip to El Rincon south of White Center...

Topics: Al Fresco

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13 Dollars: Many Mini Burgers

Where: Cascadia happy hour

What will $13 get you? Five miniburgers (sliders in White Castle parlance) with the fixin's but no cheese at $2.50 a pop. Two steak, two salmon, and one veggie if you need a little variety. The pretax total is $12.50 so I decided it counted, but grab the change in your ashtray before you head in as the actual ticket is $13.68. And of course there's the matter of the tip. In fact if you're playing the $13 game by the rules, you should probably go with four.

Recommend? If you've got two, each coming with your own $13, definitely. You can split the cost and tack on one of the refreshingly crisp Alpine Martini's ($5.50 at happy hour.)

A couple of notes: The Cascadia happy hour, the only time I've ever been to the restaurant, skews a little more to show than substance. The fries come in this adorable little cone, the burgers are just too precious and taste far better than the greasy pucks they serve at White Castle (for you midwesterners out there). But it's a little on the pricey side if you're actually trying to feed yourself and a friend on a tight budget. Add a slice of cheese to your three bite burger and your bill goes up by $2. Want onions? It's another dollar and pretty soon you might as well shell out and get the real deal somewhere else.

But the colors inside are warm, the acoustics keep it from getting too loud and if you're getting to know someone over a couple of bites and a strong drink, the teeny-tiny size of your food gives you an automatic conversation piece. "They're so little!" "I know, right?"

OK you might need a little more than that to keep the chit-chat rolling, but that's what those stiff martinis are for.

Topics: 13 Dollars

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West Seattle Market Goes Year-Round

News Flash: The West Seattle Farmers' Market is now open year-round, Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Click here to see the current "Ripe 'n' Ready" report. Available this weekend: goat chops.

Topics: News

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Two Local Purveyors of Dairy Featured in The New York Times

Image: http://www.goldenglencreamery.com/

Pike Place Market Creamery and See Breeze Farms both appear in the Dining In section's feature story, The Dairies Are Half-Pint, but the Flavor Isn't, here.

The story, which discusses the growing demand for delicious, high-quality, less-processed dairy products, includes a brief interview with Nancy Nipples of Pike Place Dairy (and a photo of her shop, decorated in black and white bovine print, tucked inside the market), as well as an image of Vashon Island's See Breeze Farms.

A few of the independent Washington dairies (and some of their most notable wares) available in the Pike Place Market Creamery:

Golden Glen: unhomogenized milk and cream in glass bottles
Sea Breeze: raw whole milk
Fresh Breeze: organic milk
Saint John's Creamery: raw goat milk
Three Greek Gods: Greek yogurt
Mother's Choice: butter
Wilcox Farms: pints of chocolate milk, sour cream, cottage cheese
Norman Brook Farms (which is now owned by Smith Brothers Farms, in Kent): milk, half and half, and cream

Topics: News

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Course Alert: Simply Ming - Soups and Dumplings

Image: http://ming.com/simplyming/index.html

In a class designed by TV chef Ming Tsai for Sur La Table, you'll have the opportunity to prepare and sample recipes from all three of his cookbooks.

The menu features a range of dim sum compatible items, from Thai-spiced mussel soup with leeks and carrot spaghetti, to Ming's pho, smoky turkey shumai (steamed dumplings) in pea broth, and finally home made pot stickers.

$69
Monday, February 25
6:30 p.m.

Kirkland Sur La Table
90 Central Way
Kirkland, WA 98033
(425) 827-5541

Topics: Culinary Classes

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Now Open on James Street: Marcela's Cookery

Nepotism Alert: Marcela's Cookery, an eponymous New Orleans-influenced restaurant at 106 James St. that's owned by SW Production Manager Claudia Johns' sister, is open for business. Today, looking to scratch a Muffaletta sandwich itch that's been driving me mad since the Virginia Inn closed for renovations, I ventured there for lunch. Only I ultimately declined to scratch — the encrusted pork chop special sounded too good to pass up. And it was. Let's hope this restaurant is able to make a go of it on a tough stretch of P. Square pavement that never seems to get its fair share of foot traffic. The food is certainly up to snuff, and Cajun cuisine in Seattle isn't exactly readily available.

Topics: News

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New Girl in South Park: Loretta's

Piles of old records rotating through a vintage record player, low ceilings, wood on all flat surfaces, and an Airstream parked out on the patio.... those are my bullet points for Scott Horrell's new bar and steak house in South Park, Loretta's.

The music alone will make you want to stay all night (or, er, day in my case). The menu is still expanding (she's only five days old), and includes your choice of burgers and steaks, in many sizes. Both categories feature a "tavern" version. The $3 Tavern Burger is a smaller portion of burger, not slider small but saucer sized and dressed with thousand and pickles. The Tavern Steak is a smaller portion of steak, or as the staff calls it, "just enough," about six ounces. The price is just right: $13. Add a fully loaded baked potato for $4. Loretta's also will serve Ribeyes and New Yorks.

The place has the feel of some idyllic grandpa's basement cross pollinated with a roadside tavern. If ever a place deserved the word cozy, Loretta's does. On tap you'll find Olympia, Roger's pilsner, and of course 9lb Porter (the honorific beer of Loretta's brother, the 9lb Hammer).

Loretta's
8617 14th Avenue S., South Park
open for lunch, dinner, and late night

**Look in the food section next week for a little more on things to do in South Park when you're thirsty....

Topics: Restaurant Buzz

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Juno opens in May

A hundred years ago, a bunch of Seattleites who struck it rich in the Klondike gold rush formed The Arctic Club, a social organization for men with ties to Alaska. A few years later, they commissioned a fancy "clubhouse" down on 3rd Avenue, rimmed the building with walrus head sculptures, and threw in some swanky Alaskan marble and a stained glassed dome on the top floor that’s said to mimic the Northern Lights. Little Alaska, in Seattle.

In May, the building is reopening (with a face lift) as The Arctic Club Hotel, complete with a 134-seat restaurant called Juno, and a bar dubbed The Polar Bar. (The website actually says the bar is “the perfect place to break the ice or just chill.”�)

Named for the goddess of health, hearth, and home (and a play on Juneau, Alaska), Juno will serve up eco-friendly ingredients from local purveyors, with a menu that chases the seasons. Executive chef Thomas Kollasch will be whipping up goodies that bridge classic hotel cuisine with Seattle’s love for local, creative fare. For dinner, think chickpea custard with morel cream and tarragon, or espresso- and coriander-crusted filet mignons. For breakfast, there’ll be champagne-apple crepes and the predicted house favorite, Amaretto biscuits doused with a gravy made with Isernio’s chorizo. They’ll also have a full-on tea-tasting menu.

Wait, is that power breakfast I smell?

Juno at The Arctic Club Hotel, 700 3rd Avenue at Cherry Street, 340-0340, DOWNTOWN.
Opening in May

Topics: News

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Woodinville Half-Day Wine Tour

Image: http://www.bonvivanttours.com/tour_description.html#woodinville

A half-day tour in which you get to tipple, and be chauffeured about the wineries of Woodinville. A guided, mini-tour with stops at a series of both better-known, and less known wineries, from Chateau Ste. Michelle to small, family owned operations. Lunch (which is not included in the fee) will take place at a winery or restaurant along the way.

Many dates available, including Sunday, February 24
11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
$65 + tax per person; ($59 + tax for four or more)

Pick-up/return at Jack Cellars
8016 15th Avenue N.E.
Seattle, WA 98115

Bon Vivant Wine Tours
(206) 437-1298

Topics: Events

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Course Alert: Spice Route-Best of Malaysia

Image: http://importfood.com/saso0801.html

Dish It Up hosts chef Christine Arokiasamy for a hands-on lesson in Malaysian-spiced delicacies. The menu features dishes including saffron orange pilaf, stir fried greens with mustard seed, shrimp in tangy chili sambal (an Indonesian hot red pepper sauce), and chicken stir-fry with sweet Asian basil and chiles. A little culinary heat, this cold season, perhaps?

Wednesday, February 20
6-8:30 p.m.
$70.

Dish It Up!
2425 33rd Ave West
206-281-7800

Topics: Culinary Classes

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Local Talent: Cookus Interruptus

If the Food Network's getting too damn perky and perfect for you, check out Cookus Interruptus, a new Seattle-based online cooking show that focuses on organic, healthy whole foods. It's filmed in a regular-looking kitchen, which is a breath of fresh air for those of us who just haven't gotten to installing that Wolf range, and the lines between on- and off-air are pretty blurry.

The first portion of each short segment (the "cookus" part, one would assume) can seem a little ho-hum and overeducational, but I appreciate the little daggers of dry humor (or frank ridiculousness) that sneak their way in when, say, the hostess's husband walks in to find a strainer for straining the lumps out of his house paint (hence the "interruptus" part). Check it out.

Topics: News

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Soak it Up: 22 Doors

22 Doors' Exotic Mushroom and Goat Cheese Omelet + requisite beverage pairing.

Soak Station of Choice: 22 Doors, 324-6406, 405 15th Ave. E., CAPITOL HILL

Time of Entry: noon

Level of Hangover: Low, due to the need for recovering from that nasty crud that’s been going around. Still, brunch needed to soak up a different breed of toxins.

Waitstaff's Level of Hangover: Waitstaff was chipper, but the cooks were feuding, apparently. One sheepish busboy informed us that's why there was no brunch special on this particular Saturday. Perhaps raw nerves due to too much fun the night before.

Prescriptions: Extra friendly staff. And you don't have to wait. (Seriously.) Brunch on Capitol Hill and you sit immediately. Your hangover loves that. There’s a small, but soak-friendly selection of goodies like buttermilk pancakes, served with real maple syrup, an 'exotic' mushroom and goat cheese omelet, complete with chevre and creme fraiche, and the Croque Madame. If your hangover is calling for more of a post-breakfast fix, fear not— 22 Doors also has grilled cheese, a crab melt, BLT, burger or veggie burger, all served with (thank God) salty, greasy fries.

My companion, up from PDX, enjoying one "toothsome" bloody mary.

Hair of the Dog: 22 Doors has your number on this one— a clever menu item, "The Barbs of Rover," includes two pancakes, two slices of bacon, two eggs and a mimosa or bloody from the bar.

Success of the Soak: The place filled up around 1 p.m. but never got so busy that we felt rushed to leave. Good thing 'cause we needed at least an hour to sip down those bloody marys, for they were giant, spicy and filled with veggies. And the food did the trick too. The Croque Madame, which was served open face on a slice of grainy Essential Baking Co. bread, may have been nontraditional, but it was tasty. And my companion's omelet, the one with the goat cheese and mushrooms, was full of flavor without being too rich. We stumbled out into the drizzly afternoon with just the right combination of starch, grease and vodka to make the body feel better be it beleaguered by the night before, or the common cold.

Topics: Soak It Up

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Last-Minute Valentine's Day Dinner

All right. It's five o'clock. No one's going to get naked if you can't come up with a Valentine's dinner in two hours. It's time for desperate measures.

And Pagliacci's is there for you. Free artichoke hearts. Free! On any pizza! For you! Of course, artichoke hearts look like this:

Not this:

But you'll have to improvise. If you really want something that looks more like this:

...then Papa Murphy's is selling heart-shaped pepperoni pizzas. Only today! A special-edition pizza has to count for something.

Good luck.

Topics: Valentine's Eats

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Michael Pollan Wants You to Cook

Michael Pollan packed 'em in at Town Hall last night. Pollan, whose new book, In Defense of Food, was the top selling nonfiction title for January, according to The New York Times, appeared in conversation with KUOW's Steve Scher. Scher began the talk by apologizing for his cold. Pollan replied, "Eat food. You'll be alright." (They reprised a lot of their conversation this morning on the radio, here.)

To anyone who's read Pollan's book, this statement might sound like an enormous soft-pedaling of the manifesto Pollan was in town to explicate, a seven word near-haiku: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

And yet by the time the questions rolled around, it was clear that this simple-sounding tag line was really a call for a change of lifestyle. Really, it's about cooking. It's about the taking the time to shop for whole foods, and to cook them up yourself. To make meals at home. To Seattleites in love with their farmers markets, this may not sound like a radical cultural shift, but for those who eat many of their meals out of a box (or out, period, depending of course on the politics of your restaurant), this is a grand suggestion.

In response to a question about the Food network, Pollan replied, "We have turned cooking into a spectator sport. It's not something part of everyday life, but we watch it for entertainment. What pornography does to sex, cooking shows do to cooking. Just think about that. Later, maybe."

Earlier, Pollan had been arguing (to paraphrase): The food industry has convinced us that we cannot cook, that we don't have time to cook, and that cooking is really hard.

One woman sounded desperate, asking Pollan what to do with those strange vegetables at the farmers market. And he laughed, saying, "You can teach yourself to cook. It's really not that hard. Get some garlic and olive oil. You can cook anything."

Pollan advocates for creating a food culture in a country that has never had one. One of the latter questioners brought up Slow Food. "The Slow Food movement is an Italian idea," Pollan responded. "It's hedonistic." Pollan is joking, sort of. Spending many hours to craft a meal, and to savor it with your friends and family is simply not an efficient use of time. It is about pleasure, and about community. About creating a culture around food. "Slow Food really has much bigger game," Pollan announced "It's not just about food, it's about the Western fast life."

Topics: News

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How to: Creme Brulee

Image: http://www.fragranceoilheaven.com/BakeryScents.html

Literally translated as "burnt cream", creme brulee is, for many, a favorite restaurant indulgence.

This two hour morning class promises to teach you how to make it — caramelized sugar topping an all — at home. And this creamy, custardy dessert will be prepared three ways: classic, raspberry and almandine. Also on the menu creme brulee French Toast.

10 a.m.-noon.
$25
Saturday, February 16
Salud, Bellevue Whole Foods

Topics: Culinary Classes

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First Call: Don't Get Too Attached At Palace Kitchen

Watering Hole: Palace Kitchen

Barkeep: Sue Burns: dog-lover, house-remodeler, traveler

Pick your (not quite favorite but pretty good) poison: French 76

As a friend and I shelled pistachios at the bar, she lamented her former favorite Palace Kitchen drink, some liquor and ginger number. The last time she'd been, it was no longer available. "I almost cried."

When Burns returned with my French 76 she set it down with a caveat: "I couldn't make you my favorite drink that we used to make here."

My friend perked up: "Was it the ginger one?"

Burns replied, no, her fave had been a gin and rosemary number. "I'm not a gin drinker and that was fantastic," she explained.

So between my drinking buddy and the bartender, we were already onto our third choice, which made me a little leery. The 76 begins with limes, triple sec and vodka, all mulled together. The lime was a new one for me, a little lighter than lemon, less summer than mint. It made for a smooth citrus that wasn't overly sweet. She topped it with a splash of Prosecco—an Italian sparkling wine—and an orange twist. I didn't totally dig the bubbles of the cocktail in Palace Kitchen's dark red, decor. I'm more a fizzy, boozy beverages should be consumed at outdoor brunch kind of girl. But if Burns' drink is any indication, I may need to get over that.

The lime took well to the tuna appetizer that came with a healthy dose of some spicy sauce I can't pronounce and didn't find on the online menu I went back to for reference. There's a reason you drink margaritas with chips and salsa. Between the mulled limes and the heat in our starter, the overall effect was like a really fancy version of that. Just don't let it become your absolute favorite drink, it might not be there next time.

Topics: First Call

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Spanish Wine Tasting

Image: balmar.com

The BalMar hosts wine tasting of five small, artisanal, Spanish wineries. A few selections from the tasting list include: Avinyo Cava Brut NV, Xarmant Txocolina 2006, Ostatu Rioja Crianza 2003, and Rotlan Torra Priorat Reserva 2001. Spanish-influenced appetizers accompany the wines: pacilla peppers stuffed with veggie paella, chorizo stew, and churros with dulce de leche.

Monday, February 18th, from 6-8 p.m.
Pre-register by 2/15 at www.thebalmar.com.
$20.

BalMar
5449 Ballard Ave. NW
Seattle, WA 98107

Topics: Culinary Classes

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Soak It Up: Newport Bay

Apothecary: Newport Bay, 425-827-2722, 10426 Northrup Wy., KIRKLAND

Time of Entry: Noonish Sunday, after Mass at Holy Family Kirkland, which is KING-5 weatherman Jeff Renner's parish. The priest there delivered a sermon about football and the devil. He also asked the congregation to buck up for a multi-million dollar capital campaign.

Level of Hangover (1-10 scale, with 10 being a paralyzing head-thumper): 2. I didn't drink Saturday night on account of the fact that I feel like I owe it to my grandparents not to be hungover in their presence, but there was still some residual grogginess from a Friday night spent watching my uncle's band at the Little Red Hen.

How hungover does waitstaff look? Not at all. What we've got here are God-fearing young suburbanites serving God-fearing old suburbanites.

Prescriptions: Strawberry Belgian Waffle, eggs, bacon, smoked salmon benedict, southwest chicken omelette, breakfast buffet appeteasers and dessert (free with any of the aforementioned entrees).

Hair of the Dog: All-you-can-drink champagne at $3 per bottomless glass.

Success of the Soak: My grandparents are old. Really old. At Newport Bay, they fit right in. Situated off 520 near Lake Washington's northeastern shore, Newport Bay, with its flat, sprawling floor plan, inoffensive decor, and white wicker chairs, looks as though it's been airlifted from Boca Raton. While the service is friendly and attentive, the pace of the establishment fits the crowd: slow. That's not a slight; Newport Bay is set up so you won't want to leave.

If you so desired, you could ride that bottomless champagne deal all the way to Hammered Heights, just as you could ride the complimentary before-and-after fruit 'n pastry buffet all the way to Couch Potatosville. Such one-and-done gluttony is sort of the point at Newport Bay, just as it should be the point of any proper brunch, a special meal that, as strictly defined, is in short supply 'round these parts. So, too, are nonagenarians — but not at Newport Bay.

Topics: Soak It Up

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Cafe Flora vs. Chaco Canyon Cafe

If your vegan/vegetarian beau has been particularly picky regarding your shared eating out experience, there are two great vegan/vegetarian restaurants going head to head for your Valentine’s Day patronage, both hosting dinners with price fixe vegan menus exotic enough to leave both of you satisfied even if one of you IS a dirty, dirty carnivore. Here’s the match-up:

In a seemingly wanton act of one-upmanship over Cafe Flora, the Chaco Canyon Cafe has secured the moral high ground by offering not only a vegan menu but also a RAW vegan menu for its price fixe Valentine’s Day dinner. However, the Cafe Flora seems to have the capitalist (though conspicuously conscientious) competitive advantage with its irresistible offering of exotic vegan truffle four packs, boxed for take home at just $7. You can get “a quartet of truffles in mint julep, orange cappuccino, ghost chile, and nibby gianduja (“zhahn-DOO-ya,”�sweet cocoa nibs with hazelnut).”� You’d be hard pressed to choose between the vegan price fixe menus. Chaco is offering an entre of creamy portobella mushroom and leek risotto with oven-roasted balsamic red beets, toasted pine nuts, and lightly marinated asparagus spears. Flora’s entre has the ominously-named forbidden rice crepe, black rice layered with purple yam, tatsoi, asparagus, and curry-cocunut sauce. What’s a love struck vegan to do?

Topics: Vegan/Vegetarian

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Washington vs. The World!

Image: http://sevencolors.org/images/photo/original/globe_west.jpg

Seattle Wine Society hosts this round up, (TONIGHT) comparing side by side tastings of Washington wines, with those from France, Argentina, and Italy. On the menu: Riesling, Sangiovese, Malbec, and Syrahs. One and a half ounce pours of each. They suggest you bring a pair of wine glasses, for the parallel tastings.

7 p.m., February 13
$38.

St. Demetrios Cultural Center
2100 Boyer Ave. East, Seattle
206-706-3771

Topics: Events

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Seattle's Cupcake Crawl

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Oh, people, this is so embarrassing for Seattle. New York has one, of course. Chicago has one, too. But as far as I can tell, no one’s mapped our city’s cupcake crawl. (Yes, that's it. Pub crawl. With cupcakes.) And given the proliferation of cupcake shops in the area (there’s even one in downtown Tacoma!), I think it’s high time.

If your Valentine’s Day fantasies run more along the lines of reading cupcake porn over at CakeSpy and biting into a freshie (or if you’re just too young to drink), gather ‘round. Here’s how a cupcake crawl works:

First, find a group of people you can depend on to eat their weight in cake. Be sure to designate a driver. Because really, doesn’t someone need to remain responsible and alert after all that frosting?

Next, make a map. Any self-respecting cupcake lover could hit Trophy and Cupcake Royale and New York Cupcakes on their lunch hour, but there are more options than you might think. Places like Columbia City Bakery and Dahlia Bakery might also come up big. And c’mon. The Erotic Bakery? Now that I think about it, what two cupcakes don't look like boobs?

Plan your route according to neighborhood, adding in stops at less dedicated cupcake purveyors, those have crumbled under the benefits of the economies of scope (such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Safeway, etc.), so you have a better reason to appreciate why you pay more for a great cupcake. And to be sure to keep an open mind.

Then just buckle up.

Click here (or on the map above) for a good guide to places in Seattle that sell cupcakes. Let me know who I forgot (or if you know of an existing map), and come back to tell us where you went, and what you liked best.

(Full disclosure: Maggie Dutton, who writes for Seattle Weekly, also works for Trophy.)

Topics: Valentine's Eats

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Bellying Up For Valentine's Day

If you don't have a reservation at your favorite restaurant, count yourself down but not out.

Have you ever considered sitting at the bar? Do you know how lonely we bartenders get on Valentine's Day? Maybe you don't care, but let me put it another way. All the servers are running like chickens with their heads cut off trying to make sure everyone has the Most. Special. Night. Ever! The bartender is only a pit stop. And this is what works to your advantage on February 14th. When you sit at a table, you are not in control. You are at the whim of the server. And on an amateur night like Valentine's Day, anything can happen. When you sit at the bar, you are in control, and you can stay as long as you want. Your server is right in front of you at all times.

The bartender will be too busy to interrupt any canoodling, but very appreciative you chose to sit with him. I used to style the hell out of people who sat at my bar on V-Day, Extra bonus: Bar food is usually sharable finger food, which is far sexier than single servings for all.

If I may air my own personal laundry, my hubbie and I have been carrying on the bar versus table argument for eight glorious years. Even if he is completely wrong, I see his point. If one is spending a good chunk of change, one wants to feel taken care of, special. Your own table feels more special than a bar stool. He likes his own space and doesn't want to sit next to anyone. Me, I'll ignore you. Sitting at a table eating the same set menu as every other two-top in the room, getting treated the same as every other two people in the room, has never felt special to me.

But best of all, sitting at the bar better let's you invade your date's personal space, no pesky table between you and yours. It promotes knee knocking, thigh squeezing, and leaning in reeeeeal close. Don't worry about the bartender, he won't eavesdrop....much.

For your clandestine consideration:

- The cramped (in a good way) boite of Sambar
- The pitch black "where are your hands!" room of El Gaucho
- Food that'll get you sharing and moaning at Carmine's
- Suggestive matrimonial backdrop of Betty

Topics: Boozamahol and Valentine's Eats

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Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate, and Other Food News

O Happy, Happy Valentine's Day! Not surprisingly, this week a food editor's fancy turns to thoughts of chocolate.

Dark May Be King, but Milk Chocolate Makes a Move by Julia Moskin (NY Times): Yup, it's coming back in fashion — finally — and the NYT gives Theo a nod. Bonus link: My favorite dark milk chocolate is the weirdly gorgeous Chocolate Bonnat Java.

Like Water for Chocolate by Andreas Viestad (Washington Post): I'm really looking forward to reading this new monthly series in the Post, which takes the lessons of molecular gastronomy and applies them to the home kitchen. Here, the author makes a mousse using only chocolate and water.

Bonus Valentine's link: Nancy Leson has a go at Valentine's dinners, to which I say . . . ditto.

Oatmeal Like You’ve Never Had Before by Sara Bir (Star Tribune): Maybe this is only interesting to me because I've been eating steel-cut oats for breakfast lately. 'Course, if you're afraid of making them yourself, Trader Joe's sells packets of frozen oatmeal, to which I say . . . ew.

The Cruelest Cuts (Charlotte Observer, thanks to Ethicurean): The Charlotte Observer is running a six-part investigative feature on the dangers hidden in the Carolinas' poultry industry, which mostly hires illegal immigrants. The editor compares the plight of this new subclass to that of slaves, extra-strong language in the South. Do read this. Don’t read it on an empty stomach.

Second Careers in Food...That Failed by Emily Matchar (Chow): All I have to say is . . . yup.

The Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dog: So Good It’s Illegal by Daniel Hernandez (LA Weekly): If you've ever gotten drunk in Los Angeles, chances are good you've tried to sober up with a bacon-wrapped hot dog. Yet recently, health inspectors have been throwing licensed vendors in jail for selling LA's unique late-night treat.

UPDATE: In the same chocolate vein, Jess just sent me this review of eco-chocolates over at Grist. In this tasting, Theo didn't do too well...

Topics: The Food Section

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I Ate This: Delicious Soup!

What: A bowl of delicious soup, an apple, and a roll for lunch.

Where: M Street Grocery, 801 Madison, 254-0805. 7 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.

When: Yesterday, after walking downtown from Virginia Mason, I popped in this cute neighborhood grocery for a comforting little bite. Twice before I've been drawn in by the bright colors, fresh-looking produce, and wide soup selection. My previous bowls were a so-so clam chowder and a mind-bogglingly good red pepper/curry/chicken concoction. Today: cream of chicken with wild rice—or more specifically, "a buttery herb-scented veloute with onion, celery, carrot, cabbage, and long grain wild rice." The choices I passed up: Louisiana red beans and rice, cream of broccoli, Wisconsin cheddar, Manhattan-style fish stew. I wondered what "Manhattan-style" meant, and while half of the ingredients were chopped off the placard, I could read "tomato, black cod, salmon..." Hmm. Two of them were 'Truesoups' brand, the rest 'M Street' brand.

Price: $4.99 for 16 oz. With my Cameo apple and roll...ok, and a bag of chips...the total was $8.01.

Official tasting notes: My cream of chicken soup was indeed buttery and herb-scented. Also bouyant. It had a pleasing thickness, if not very much chicken. In short, it fulfilled its soup-like duty of making me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I would highly recommend this sunny grocery and its myriad soups if you're walking down Madison and need to pick up some grub. Or if you're on the way home and need a great bottle of wine, some olives, a veggie samosa, what have you... They've got all the frou-frou stuff you might find elsewhere, minus any distinct feeling of an overbearing 'high-end' or 'organic' gameplan. It's just a bunch of stuff you might want in a really cute store. Which is a reaction they probably paid some interior designers good money to generate. How do I love thee, M Street Grocery...Let me count the soups.

Topics: I Ate This

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Candy? Or fruit?

Has anyone tried the Grapple, the apple infused with as much artificial grape flavor as a pack of BubbleYum? It creeps me out. But so does this Ambrosia apple, which I bought yesterday at Madison Market, having never tasted one before.

I mean, it's organic. The label says so. And the Internet says the fruit is an all-natural genetic variation discovered on a farm in British Columbia. But to me, this crisp, practically acid-free apple tastes like bubble gum ice cream. I couldn't eat another bite. Ergo: Kids should love it.

Bonus question: Ever eaten a Rambo apple? It should sue Stallone for copyright infringement.

Topics: Eats report

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Course Alert: A Culinary Trip To Vietnam

Image: http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2006/10/27/vietnam300,0.jpg

Vietnamese cuisine expresses a clear French influence, melding traditional Asian stand-bys like fish, rice, and noodles into more nuanced dishes, creating a cuisine that many consider highly sophisticated.

Chef Suzanne Hunter will tell stories of her own travels to Vietnam with TV chef Jacques Pépin, while leading this hands-on class. The menu includes such restaurant favorites as: salad rolls with shrimp, nuoc cham and peanut dipping sauces; shredded cabbage and chicken salad, firecracker prawns, and-on the sweeter side- coconut rice with mango.

Tuesday — tonight— February 12, 7-10 p.m. (Space still available.)
Bon Vivant Cooking School
For exact location call (206) 525-7537.
$78.

Topics: Culinary Classes

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New Sushi in the UD

Village Sushi
4741 12th Ave NE (between 47th and 50th)
206-985-6870
Lunch: 11:30 am - 2 pm, Tues. - Fri.
Dinner: 5 pm - 9:30 pm, Tues. - Sun.
Future website: www.villagesushiseattle.com

Three weeks ago, a new little sushi spot replaced Tibet First, the little Tibetan place in the University District that closed down because it couldn't find the right chef. Village Sushi will serve up the obvious, plus traditional Japanese favorites, including noodles, salads, and teriyaki. Sounds like the 45-seat joint exceeds the Ave's price standards (the manager told me guest checks average $15 to $20 per person) but hopefully that means the sushi itself will top other UD options, as well.

Dinner reservations accepted.

Topics: News

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Love, Tapas, and Ta-Ta's

As Adriana reported a few posts down, there are a multitude of kitchens offering special, romantic dinners this week—and my pick for Thursday's absolute best bet is below. If I wasn't stealing my girlfriend away from her boyfriend for the opening night of Mame, this is where I'd be:

Palace Kitchen (a Tom Douglas joint that to me, feels warm and not targeted to a particular demographic) is hosting "A Latin Love Feast," where the entertainment on offer is as caliente as the food. Sez the kitchen's press people:

"We'll be dishing up delicious flights of Spanish tapas for you to linger over (with a special sweet from Dahlia Pastry Chef Garrett Melkonian) while being entertained by the glitter, glamour and old fashioned naughty fun of a classic burlesque show. This evening of cabaret features the big beats of Symphonic Ka-Boom! Starring two internationally renowned burlesque dancers Miss Indigo Blue and Vienna La Rouge with Babette la Fave and the sweet ingénue Belle Cozette. The lush colorful costumes, vintage glitz and gritty jazz to melodious standards should help get you in the mood.

Show

Doors open at 7PM for cocktails and dinner
The performance runs from 8:30PM to 10:00PM.

Ticket price is a seductive $105 (plus gratuity and tax) per person and includes entertainment, 3 flights of tapas, dessert, and 1 drink. There will be a cash bar available all evening. Tickets are nonrefundable!" Tix available here.

Sez I:

Go, go, go! Tapas—bite-sized combinations of flavors and textures which must be eaten with your hands—are always sexy, and the evening's performers are the creme de la creme of the local burlesque scene. If you or your date are new to burlesque, this is glitziest, classiest, randiest introduction you could get. And whether you've had five glasses of bubbly or one, you'll go home inspired to try out a bump-and-grind of your own.

Topics: Valentine's Eats

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New Orleans Restaurant Opens in Pioneer Square

Marcela’s Cookery
106 James Street
206-223-0042
Lunch: 11-2:30 Mon.-Fri.
Dinner: 5-9 Mon.-Wed., 5-10 Thur-Sat.

Today, Marcela Fuenzalida and Anthony McDonald opened Marcela's Cookery in the old Pastiamo space (disclosure: Fuenzalida's sister is the Weekly's production manager). They're specializing in "authentic New Orleans cuisine." McDonald says, "We were going to make the theme 'inspired New Orleans,' but then I went to a few restaurants [that served New Orleans cuisine] and I was personally insulted that they would represent a jambalaya as jambalaya." The gauntlet, apparently, has been thrown.

McDonald was in the restaurant industry in New Orleans for 25 years before Katrina hit, but he had worked as a waiter, not a cook, until after the hurricane, when he first cooked on oil rigs in the Gulf and then followed his sister to Seattle in search of work. The couple are serving po' boys, muffaletta sandwiches, red beans and rice, and jambalaya at lunch, and at dinner they're going white-tablecloth with dishes like crab-stuffed shrimp, file gumbo, and bananas Foster, flambeed tableside.

Topics: Restaurant Buzz

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Love to Drink: Bottoms Up!

Love it. Hate it. Valentine’s Day is for drinking and your friendly neighborhood multi-national liquor distributor knows it. Big booze has fired out various cocktail ‘o love recipes. But what should I—whether single and cynical or starry-eyed and smitten—be downing in honor of the patron saint of bad poetry, expensive sorry-I-cheated-on-you-at-the-company-holiday-party jewelry, and of course, lovers.

Here’s the breakdown:

You didn’t know love before you met him two months ago:
Courtesy of Elliot’s Oyster House, the French Kiss Classique.
1 ounce Pearl vodka
1 ounce Chambord raspberry liqueur
1/2 ounce white creme de cacao
1/2 oz. Cream
Whipped cream
It’s all creamy and smooth, with a hint of raspberry. Plus if you make it yourself, you’ll have that extra whipped cream to um, celebrate, after drinks.

Home taking care of your sweetie who picked up that bug that’s been going around:
Get your vitamins and get drunk enough to sleep through her stuffed up snoring. Nutrisoda (think fizzy vitamin water) has your Heart’s Delight.
2 parts Radiant Nutrisoda
2 parts vodka
1 part orange juice
1 part cranberry juice
Garnish with heart-shaped strawberry
Not sure where you can get yourself a guaranteed heart-shaped strawberry but the smart money says it won’t be organic so QFC's probably your best bet there.

Single and don’t care:
Friends arrive at 7 to decorate pink cupcakes and watch When Harry Met Sally. GranGala calls this one Cupid’s Potion, but with that much fruit and no chocolate, it’s more single and proud of it than cuddle up for some lovin’.
2 oz Stoli Ohranj Vodka
1/2 oz GranGala Triple Orange Liqueur
1/2 oz Fresh Lime Juice
1 oz Fresh Blood Orange Juice
Blood Orange Slice for Garnish

Drowning your “I can’t believe he broke up with me on Feb. 13”� sorrows:
Don Julio wants me to tell you that this is actually the single and fabulous drink (see above), but tequila has always made more a little more surly than festive so it seemed most appropriate for this category. And no PR firms sent a recipe in for getting a cheap bottle of whiskey, throwing away all the photos of the two of you together, and watching Fatal Attraction. So here’s the Mint Chocolate Tequila Martini.
1 ounce Tequila Don Julio Blanco
1 1/2 ounces white cacao (white cocoa)
Dash mint liqueur
Shredded coconut
Best served chilled—like the cold heart of the bastard that broke yours.

Topics: Valentine's Eats

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