So Easy Souffles

Image: http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/pcccooks/classes/detail.php?id=62

At this point, the souffle is the only culinary delicacy left for you to master, right? Time to address the hole in your education. Both sweet and savory concoctions are on the class menu: a simple cheese souffle, polenta souffle with fennel and chevre, a chocolate roulade with vanilla whipped cream, and a chilled lemon soufflé with raspberry sauce.

$40. Wednesday, April 2, 6:30-9:00 p.m.

Greenlake PCC
7504 Aurora Ave. N.
Seattle, WA 98103
525-3586

For more foodie events, visit Food Files, here.

Topics: Culinary Classes

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All U Can Eat: Basghetti-n-Meatballs!

My column this Wednesday is about Sicily's hot, juicy red wine, Nero d'Avola. If you don't have any dinner plans tonight, the best Nero d'Avola pairing in town happens on Monday nights at Calamity Jane's in Georgetown...

All You Can Eat Spaghetti, for $7.54. Add meatballs for $1.14 each (pork AND beef, so tender!), and a bottle of Villa Tonino Nero d'Avola for an extra $15. Now that's Italian, but Calamity Jane's doesn't just offer tongue-in-cheek kitsch food. This place specializes in regional, roadside standbys, including that homey, endangered concept: the nightly dinner special. Those of us from the Midwest are suckers for theme nights at the family tavern. Pop in here on a Monday, Wednesday (meatloaf) or Friday (NY steak), and you will be too.

Topics: Eats report

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The Drive to Olympia Is About to Get Shorter...

...for West Seattleites, as Olympia Pizza & Pasta is soon to open in the spot formerly and briefly occupied by Pacino's Coffee smack in the middle of Delridge's dodgiest stretch, where people and pit bulls occasionally get shot (although nowhere near as often as they did 15 years ago). It'll be interesting to see what sort of emphasis Olympia's owners place on dine-in service in this compact storefront, but its mere presence should be a boon to delivery-starved South Delridge and Westwood residents who continue to be redlined by Pagliacci.

Topics: Openings

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Soak It Up: The Moxie M.O.

Moxie's Frangelico French Toast, $11. (Photo: Bill Molloy)

The evidence: Moxie, 530 First Ave N., 283-6614. Brunch served Sat.-Sun. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Blood-alcohol content: Zero on a bright and sunny Saturday morning, with a half-dozen ruddy college types milling around the front door before 10 o’clock opening. Nobody’s even smoking. A healthy crew.

Staff sobriety: Did we come here to ask personal questions? Do we even care? Not so long as the coffee is poured with a steady hand. And it is. The police are not called.

The rap sheet: The LQA is a tough, scummy hood when the sun comes up. Until last month, local brunch standbys were Ozzie’s, where the sidewalk is ankle-deep in cigarette butts and hardened gum, and Peso’s, which is more hygienic but always smells of tequila and Axe body spray. Moxie is the new addition to the brunch lineup, already a class act compared to these neighborhood hooligans.

Continue reading "Soak It Up: The Moxie M.O."

Topics: Soak It Up

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Another Belltown wine bar?

Near the corner of 1st and Blanchard, Superspy Seely has spotted Cellars, a new presumably wine-centric "restaurant and lounge" where Jai Thai used to be. With a sign that screams early 90s and a poster out front promising steaks, seafood, pasta, and a wine list with more! than! 100! bottles!, I'm not sure it takes a Sherlock to guess where Cellars will fit in the ever-expanding continuum of Seattle wine bistros.

Or wait, is it a martini bar? Who knows? I don't. Anyone know when it's slated to open?

Topics: News

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First Call: Marjorie

Photo by Peter Mumford

Where: Marjorie
2331 Second Ave
Seattle WA 98121
206.441.9842

On the corner of Second and Battery, this Belltown restaurant is quiet on an early Tuesday evening. We have the bar, and the bartender, pretty much all to ourselves. During the summer, the courtyard tables crowd with people wanting to sip their cocktails outside, with the wait staff far too busy doing laps on the cobblestones to chat.

Barkeep: Rene

How long have you been bartending?
Five months, but I've in restaurants for thirteen years, all over the place, front of the house, back of the house, everywhere.

If you were off work right now, what would you have to drink?
Well, I'd be packing, so I'd want something lighter. I'm moving from an apartment into a new condo. So I'd have a beer. I like a dark beer, but I don't want something too rich and chocolaty. Something not too heavy.

Drink of choice: Hale's Wee Heavy Winter Ale
Wheat Heavy?
No, — that happens a lot — it's Wee Heavy. W-E-E. Not like the video game.
Another bartender pokes his head around the corner: It's lighter version of a dark Scottish beer: wee.

Rene doesn't have too much more to say about the beer (he's off fetching us happy hour snacks: a $3 cheese plate and $3 edemame) but my drinking companion does. He describes it this way: It's the Scottish answer to the German Dopplebok: a sweet strong lager. This beer doesn't have the sour rye taste of so many Irish red or amber ales you get: the true Scottish winter ale doesn't taste of rye. The Wee Heavy is a good example of its style. It's malty, mollassesy, kinda chewy, not too heavily hopped, and stronger in alcohol.

Rene: It's the last of our winter ales. We're just about the switch out the tap. But on a day like today...

He's right, of course. At the end of March, the lamb is not in the weather but on your Easter table. I find the Wee Heavy is about halfway to the heft of a Guinness, with a sweet finish. A block over on nearby First Ave, cherry trees are abloom, but the air is raw, and at this tiny six-seater bar, this winter ale is just about perfect.

Topics: First Call

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Farm-Loving Corporations, Nanofoods, and Other Food News

For some local food news first, the Seattle Times' now-former critic, Nancy Leson, smiles for the camera and launches her new blog. Since we’re in disclosure mode, I too must confess that someone finally caught me on film.

Once Bitten... by Steve Boggan (UK Guardian): Nanofood is the new cloning. Why would the public have a problem with it?

In Trial Run, Chipotle Heads to the Farm by Jane Black (Washington Post): How a fast-food chain paired up with an organic famer famous for his eat-local ethics to put ethical carnitas in its burritos.

Wal-Mart Move Tipping Point for Non-Hormone Milk by Janet McFarland (Toronto Globe & Mail): Wal-Mart, Safeway, and Kroger are all going rBST-free with their store-brand milk. Hormone manufacturer Monsanto's stock price doesn't seem to be affected. Bonus link: Toronto has the best-named wine columnist ever.

Can Sips at Home Prevent Binges? by Eric Asimov (NY Times): The Times' wine columnist calls up a few scientists to determine whether or not he should give his sons tastes of wine. Their responses give me some clue why my short-term memory has never been the same since the little project I took on as a high-school student in Belgium.

And last, Philadelphia discovers that Rachel Ray is not coming to the city to film her own travel program.

Topics: The Food Section

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I Ate This: Foon, Fried Rice and Tofu Pudding

What: Shrimp Foon, Fried Rice, Tofu Pudding and Green Onion Pancakes

Where:Northwest Tofu, 1913 S Jackson St

Cost:$17.35

Official Tasting Notes: Though there's just one little convenience store separating the often touted Moonlight (thanks in large part to it's vegan friendly "meat" lumps that permeate the menu), Northwest Tofu seems to get overlooked, at least within the ID dabbling hipster contingent. Though it seems their primary biz is making tofu and selling to local groceries and the like, they've also got a sit-down restaurant with an extensive (tofu heavy, natch) menu.

Be warned- they're cash only, so we traipsed over to the convenience store and purchased a bag of Cracklins, spicy pork skins (delicious) in order to get cash back before placing our to-go order of:
Mushroom Foon: As ID dabbling "hipsters", we were unenlightened as to what this "foon" might be, and ended up getting not mushroom, but shrimp in the end, which was a-ok with me. When opened, the medium sized styro container held an ample portion of gigantic, wide and wavery rice noodl-y strands, with little salty shrimps nestled between their folds. The noodles were chewy and delicious, with the shrimp providing just enough flavor to make it interesting.

Fried Rice: This was the largest and by far heaviest container- and held within it the best fried rice I have ever eaten, rife with vegetables (shredded carrots, generous slices of shitake mushrooms, tofu chunks, soy beans), the small grain rice, sticking together in delectable clumps of just salty enough flavor.

Tofu Pudding: A gigantic tub of the sweet tofu pudding (they also have a salty variety) set us back just $2, and was quite wobbly and definitely tasted like gelatinous sweetened tofu. Not too sweet, and definitely innoffensive, but a few bites was enough.

Green Onion Pancakes: These crisply fried delights were cut into triangles, and provided the perfect vehicle for delivering the rice and foon to mouth- with all their savory, greasy goodness.

All in all, the under appreciated place is well-worth giving some love, so the next time Moonlight calls your name, give it's nearest neighbor a shot- but if you're vegan or veg, just make sure to clearly enunciate when ordering.

Topics: I Ate This

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Course Alert: Chinese Take-Out From Home

Image: http://letsvisitasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/chinese_takeout.jpg

If you're ready to try your hand at crafting dishes more often eaten out of a box than from your own kitchen, consider this class, tomorrow night: Wednesday, March 26, 6:30-9:30 p.m.

The menu includes a roster of take-out favorites: egg flower soup, pot stickers and accompanying dipping sauce, shrimp toast, orange-flavor chicken, and Ma Po Do Fu (stir-fried bean curd with pork).

Cook's World, 2900 N.E. Blakeley St., 528-8192
$60.

Topics: Culinary Classes

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Seattle's Most Useful Food Blog

There are more restaurants in the International District than I can count, and without relying on recommendations, it's hard to get a sense of which ones are worth eating at and which ones I should never enter.

Which is why MSG150 is brilliant. A group of what I'm guessing are coworkers, led by the blog's founders, Adam, Emmett, and Geary, are systematically prowling a 16-block stretch of the International District, lunching, reporting, rating, and photographing. Their rules include:

1. We will eat at all establishments whose primary source of income is food. This excludes coffee shops, total dive bars, and scary marts, but everything else is on the list.

4. We will eat at restaurants in a predetermined order. However, if the next restaurant cannot accommodate us when we show up, we will skip it for that day and come back to it on the next outing.

6. No jokes about being hungry again at 3 pm, unless you are offering to buy snacks.

So far, the group numbers up to 11 people, and every diner reports on his or her experience. MSG150 has the two qualities required of a truly useful blog: It is thorough, as well as fearless.

The site can be a bit unwieldy with so many reviews and pictures, and so far it's not searchable by name but by month and by rating — 1 to 5 chopsticks; so far Jade Garden has scored the highest rating at 4.6. However, you can search for the restaurant by name at urbanspoon.com, and if MSG150 has written about the place it will appear in the "Blog Posts about X" section.

I am now a devoted follower.

Topics: Blogwatch

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Seasoned Seattle

Today is the web launch for Seasoned Seattle, the latest in The Emerald City’s rash of month-long restaurant specials. Joining Dine Around Seattle, the deal on now (disclosure: the Weekly has
been a media sponsor of the event), and New Urban Eats, the promotion that runs in May, Seasoned Seattle will squeeze in between the two, offering special discounts throughout April at a big handful of long-established, classic Seattle joints, like Elliot Oyster House, Shucker’s, and the newly-remodeled 13 Coins. (All participants opened in or before 1988.)

I appreciate creative advertising. In fact, I think more restaurants should hop on the bandwagon, so Seattle has a different restaurant special running every month of the year. (Don’t you think some of them are beginning to feel left out?)

To that end, I have some suggestions: For June, how about a deal that gives diners with stuttering problems a bit of a break? Participants in Spit It Out, Seattle would include only spots with one-syllable names: Crush, Lark, Joule, Tilth, Crave, Pair, Qube, Quinn’s, Taste, Verve, etc. July could be Embarrass the Animals month, sponsored by diners who hate the Sierra Club; participants could include Barking Frog, Flying Fish, and Stumbling Goat. For August, we’d focus on places with cute or highly obnoxious spellings like Fresh Flours, What The Pho?, and Olive You, and for September, we could do a restaurant promo for elderly eaters, where old women could eat for half price at restaurants with geriatric ladies’ names, like Lola, Betty, Vera’s, and Opal.

Just an idea.

Click here for all the details on Seasoned Seattle.

Topics: Events

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What to do with all those hardboiled Easter eggs?

Image: www.mrbreakfast.com/images/g_70.jpg

Well, if you can bear to crack them — and this might involve some delicate negotiations among the artistes around your kitchen table — consider deviled eggs with an Indian kick.

After you've piped the standard mayo-mustard-yolk combo into the halved whites, sprinkle with kosher salt, and dribble a dot or two of Indian pickle onto the yolk.

Yes, it does take a little getting used to, this intense stuff, containing two less-than-common spices redolent with mineral flavor: asafoetida and fenugreek. Top with cilantro.

To find Indian pickle, check out The Souk, in Pike Place Market (click on "Manzoor Junejo, Owner of The Souk").

Topics: Cook This

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A Problem to Chew On

The PI reports that sea squirts—who have the cutest sea creature name ever—have invaded Puget Sound. Perhaps Bada Sushi can help.

Topics: News

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The yellow Peep chick: Nowhere to be found

Every year, in honor of my mother, I purchase one box of yellow chick Peeps. It was our special guilty pleasure around Easter time, and when I went away to Europe in high school, sure enough, at Easter a package arrived.

OK, who am I kidding? I buy two boxes. No more than three. And always yellow, the color whose chemical coating tastes the least bitter.

But this year I waited too late, and on Easter everywhere I checked — Walgreen's, Safeway, Bartell's — was out of Peeps. "We sold out two days ago," the woman at my local Walgreen's said. This morning, on the way to work, I finally found some blue, green, pink, and purple chicks at the Bartell's on 3rd Ave. (They're now half-price, by the way.) No yellow.

I blame it all on Peeps art.

People seem to be buying up all the Peeps in America to make dioramas out of. This has been going on for quite some time, but has steamrolled into annual competitions at newspapers like the Seattle Times, the the Baltimore Sun, and even the venerable Washington Post. Not to mention the hundreds of Peeps projects linked to on websites such as this one.

At this point, what percentage of the marshmallow products are actually eaten by humans?

People, why can't you just let a Peep be a Peep?

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Wanna Buy the Alki Homestead?

This one-of-a-kind log cabin restaurant a block from the beach is up for sale, reports the West Seattle Herald. The sellers are committed to transferring it to someone who's committed to upholding the Homestead's all-you-can-eat fried chicken tradition, so don't even think about turning it into a vegan discoteque.

Topics: News

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Maneki, Local Chefs Make the Beard Award Finals

The final nominations for the 2008 James Beard Awards have been announced, and many Seattle restaurants are on the list.

Maneki was nominated for (or awarded — I'm not sure yet) one of the Beard Foundation's annual "America's Classics" awards. As the judges write, "With a rich history that stretches over a century — it has been around through both world wars, Japanese internment, and has even seen one of its former dishwashers become the Prime Minister of Japan — Maneki is the only surviving restaurant from Seattle’s once-bustling Japantown. Comfort food dishes like agedashi tofu and takoyaki share the menu with sushi and sashimi, satisfying homesick Japanese locals and introducing a new generation to traditional Japanese cooking."

Tom Douglas has been nominated for the "Outstanding Restaurateur" award.

The Canlis family has been nominated for "Outstanding Service."

In the Pacific Northwest Best Chef category, Seattle chefs won four of the top five slots: Maria Hines (Tilth), Holly Smith (Café Juanita), Ethan Stowell (Union), and Jason Wilson (Crush).

Congratulations to all and good luck at the ceremonies, which take place June 6 in New York! These awards are very much deserved.

Congratulations also to local food writer Sara Dickerman for her Slate article on movie portrayals of chefs, and a special woo-hoo! to my old colleague Eliza Strickland, whose SF Weekly expose on the California Culinary Academy should be read by every prospective cooking-school student.

Topics: Restaurant Buzz

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Never Bring Prosciutto to a Ham Fight

The thing I love about this story? I can picture it so clearly in my head. I think I might even have had a dream about it once.

Eats Owner Foils Grab from the Boston Herald online

This story's got everything, a message, a hero, and a ham. Two, in fact. Happy Easter!

Topics: News

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Stan's Drive-In, R.I.P.

The Rainier Ave. institution is all boarded up, says Bottomtipper Jim Schier. Stan's is where I had my last training meal meal (a double bacon cheeseburger) before the Wedgwood Broiler's 72-ounce sirloin challenge. Old-school drive-ins in Seattle are a dinosaur, man. Bummer. The Bottomfeeder curse continues.

Topics: Bottomfeeder

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Adieu Herban Pottery, Ola Herban Feast

Wowwy wow wow. Anyone getting married anytime soon, or planning an otherwise large engagement or shindig? Have I got the venue for you.

The 3200 1st Avenue South space that has been Herban Pottery and Patio for the last oh so many years is being taken by a different Herban, Herban Feast of West Seattle, the catering company you may have seen hanging out at the West Seattle Farmers Market on Sundays.

The 12,000 square foot giant barn of a room is a gorgeous example of how to preserve an old space while also conveying a warm, modern, environmentally friendly design. Exposed beams have a sealant protecting them, but still allow the old chipped paint to show through. The space also has little offshoots that will make excellent bar and lounge spaces. Word has it that the kitchen will go in back, under the expansive windows, and be open enough so as not to take away from the grandness of the the space.

Herban Feast takes over the building as of April 1st. Ooooeeeee, I've got half a mind to get married again just for kicks. I can only imagine the catfights that will ensue over Saturdays in August, 08 and 09.

For more information: Herban Feast in SODO

Topics: Restaurant Buzz

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Soak It Up: The Dish

Apothecary: Dish Cafe, 4358 Leary Way NW, 782-9985, Tue.-Sat. 7 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.

Time of Entry: Saturday mid-morning

Level of Hangover (1-10 scale, with 10 being a paralyzing head-thumper): 4. Last night was one of those alcothons, a lot of drinking but spread out over a long period of time and interrupted at regular intervals by walking or food. So we weren't exactly in top form, but the headache was minimal. (Though after watching the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special the night before, we were experiencing a whole different kind of pain.)

Level of waitstaff hangover Things move fast at this very popular, but wee diner. So if they're a little under the weather, the service doesn't show it. Though a few puffy, dark-rimmed eyes look like they could have used a little more sleep.

Continue reading "Soak It Up: The Dish"

Topics: Soak It Up

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Mistral to Close, Undergo Metamorphosis, Reemerge as Giant Lunar Moth

The Seattle Magazine food blog reported yesterday that Mistral is closing at the end of March. The four-star restaurant, which just was named one of the world's top 100 destination restaurants in a new guide (link to come when I get back to the office), had just made Seattle mag's top 10 for the year, with a photo spread and all, and the issue was already in print when food editor Allison Schiff learned from owner William Belickis that he was shutting down.

That sucks for everyone.

However, Rebekah Denn over at the P-I has followed up on the magazine's post and reports on her blog that Belickis is replacing Mistral with a massive dining complex — 4,000 square feet, five dining areas, five different restaurant concepts — and that he already has the financial backers to make it happen.

Topics: Restaurant Buzz

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How Will You Spend Your 103 Cents This Evening?

Ivar Haglundwould like you to spend it on a cup of his chowder. Today only, the McDonalds of seafood is offering the snack for $1.03. Since I find the chowder to be the only edible item on their menu (and yes, I love Big Macs), this offer is a wee bit tempting.

Press release after the jump.

Continue reading "How Will You Spend Your 103 Cents This Evening?"

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You, Too, Can Be (at) McLeod

As someone who grew up outside of Chicago and had a pop who was Vice Poobah (sp?) of the Moose Lodge, I am all into the concept of a members only, or members benefit club. Not in the Spitzer way, but definitely in the McLeod Residence way. A community built on the principal of good company and cheap drinks.

Starting tomorrow, McLeod Residence will open to the public six nights a week (Tue-Sun, 6pm to 2am). Now everyone can enjoy this enhanced art space that goes a few steps beyond gallery and maybe a slight jag to the left from your normal bar or social club. Members will still get the benefit of cheaper drinks and special admission prices to events, but now everyone can enjoy the fantastic art that rolls through this space on a regular basis.

Enjoy DJs this Friday and Saturday, and karaoke on Sunday. But if you want to check out the space, I'd almost say wait until next weekend, when McLeod Residence will hold quite an art opening featuring the always fascinating Diana Falchuk (now, with frosting!), and skatedecks curated by the cute and Schmancy Kristen Rask.

McLeod Residence
2209 Second Avenue, upstairs
Lounge: Tuesday-Sunday 6:00pm to 2:00am
Art gallery: Thursday-Saturday 12:00noon to 6:00pm
www.mcleodresidence.com

Topics: Boozamahol

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SSCC's Northwest Wine Academy's Spring Barrel Tasting

Image: http://thestorm.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/wine350.jpg

SSCC's four-year-old Northwest Wine Academy hosts its second barrel tasting, opening its casks to the public for an early sipping. A few notable wines available include a 2005 cabernet sauvignon, a 2006 barrel-fermented chardonnay, a 2006 petit verdot (a grape found in Bordeaux blends) and a 2007 Riesling, as well as a sneak peek at future vintages. The academy is located in SSCC's Wine & Welding Building.

South Seattle Community College
Samples are free, served with cheese; bottles of previous vintages will be for sale.
Friday, March 21, 4:00-7:00 p.m. & Saturday, March 22, 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Topics: Events

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First Call: Tigertail

Left to Right: Monti and Martinson of Tigertail

Drinking Establishment: Tigertail. 704 NW 65th St., 781-TAIL, www.tigertailbar.com

Bartender: Aislinn Martinson

Pick Your Poison: Alright! I'm gonna make you a Harvey Wallbanger. These things remind me of being a kid in Alaska.

What Goes In It? Vodka, Galliano, and Orange Juice. And sometimes I use a little bit of blood orange, if they're in season.

Why's It Remind You of Alaska? I grew up in this little fishing village called Dutch Harbor. Every time we'd get our quarterly report cards in school, my mom would make us a drink if we did well. On the weekends, that is.

Dutch Harbor, eh? It was a 10 to 1 male-female ratio. Like they said 'The odds are good, but the goods are odd!

How'd You Get Your Foot In Tigertail's Door? I moved down here about two months ago and had a friend who was working here. She told (co-owner) Tim (Hayes) I needed a job.

Do You Miss Alaska? Oh yeah. I'm gonna move back eventually. I've lived in Seattle before and moved back. I move all over the place. But I love Seattle, though. I love how warm it is. I like how hot everyone is, too. Not everyone's dressed in their Carhartt's and flannel like up there. I burned my long johns as soon as I got here!

What Song Goes Best With A Harvey Wallbanger? Oh, I gotta ask (cook) Marta (Monti) this one. Marta? What song goes best with a Harvey Wallbanger?

Marta: The Milwaukee Brewer's "Roll Out the Barrell"

Trivia: The Harvey Wallbanger was originated in 1965 in California, but made even more famous by the 1982 Milwaukee Brewer's baseball team, who won the American League pennant under manager Harvey Kuenn...hence, the team was dubbed "Harvey's Wallbangers" Marta Monti also went to high school with children of the Violent Femmes. No, I did not bring up Jeffrey Dahmer.

Topics: First Call

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I Ate This: Mystery dishes at Yea's Wok

What: Something off the Chinese menu

Where: Yea's Wok, 6969 Coal Creek Pkwy SE, Newcastle, 425-644-5546.

How much? Somewhere in between $10 and $14 (couldn't read the receipt)

Would I order it again? Oh, yes.

Official tasting notes: For two years now I've been hearing about the Taiwanese food at Yea's Wok, a strip-mall restaurant close to Factoria. When I drove up, though, the sign said it served Szechuan, Hunan, and Mandarin (read: Chinese-American) cuisines. I took a buzzer from the host — apparently, the waits can be long — and picked up the English menu. Barely any Taiwanese dishes, but lots of the beef with broccoli/Hunan chicken kind. I asked the host whether the Chinese menu was different. "Oh, yes," she replied. Was there a translation? "No. But maybe you can get the waiter to help you with it."

Luckily, our waiter did help us out, selling us on the classic three-cup chicken (cooked in soy, rice wine, and sesame oil, with ginger and basil), which was great, and this dish above, tofu strips tossed with mustard greens, fresh soybeans, and mushrooms. I didn't realize until it arrived that I had eaten the dish a number of times before in the Bay Area, and Yea's version had the best balance of pungent greens, silky tofu, and meaty mushrooms of any I've tried.

Our server also sold us on one dish that you can find on the English menu: clams in black bean sauce, pictured above. (Well, the waiter first brought us clams in basil, which we sent back, and then they reappeared 60 seconds later with most of the basil leaves picked out and some fermented black beans tossed in — they were still so tasty, though, I had no right to complain.)

All in all, a good meal, but I'm baffled: After being in business for more than a decade, Yea's Wok's bilingual staff can't write up one page translating its Taiwanese specialties into English? It's not just for white people. I've gone out to dinner with a number of second-generation Americans who, even if they understand Mandarin or Cantonese, can't read Chinese characters that well.

Grumble, grumble. If you know of any other top-secret dishes I should be ordering when I go back to Yea's Wok, clue me in.

Topics: I Ate This

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Pioneer's Pioneer Not Happy About SPUD Sale

Pioneer Organics founder Ronny Bell is not happy about the recent sale of his health food delivery service to Canadian rival SPUD. In particular, he's frustrated with his (now former) business partner, Michael Knight. You can read what Bell has to say about essentially losing custody of his 11-year-old boy after the jump, but here's a little taste: "As many of you know I had been in a long protracted process to end my professional relationship with my (former) business partner, Michael Knight. For two years i tried to end our relationship in a way that honored the work he put forth towards making Pioneer a success, while at the same time not allowing my passion for Pioneer to be leveraged so much that if I met his demands I would have been forced to take Pioneer Organics to places that were not comfortable to me. Unfortunately I wasn't able to do so."

Continue reading "Pioneer's Pioneer Not Happy About SPUD Sale"

Topics: News

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Jelly Beans, Wheat Prices, and Other Food News

Today's food sections offer a few life lessons:

In Pursuit of the God Shot by Tim Hayward (UK Guardian). Life lesson: Do not spend 1,000 pounds on home espresso devices, or pay too much attention to coffee geeks on the Internet.

Care for Body, Spirit by Colette Jenkins (Akron Beacon Journal, via the Food Times). Life lesson: After-service doughnuts do not make for healthy church goers. Kick-boxing classes do.

The Fat Pack Wonders if the Party’s Over by Kim Severson (NY Times). Life lesson: Eating too much in the name of extreme gourmandism makes you fat. This apparently comes as a surprise to some prominent gourmands.

In other, more serious news:

Soaring Wheat Costs Mean Higher Costs at Bakeries by Karen Gaudette (Seattle Times): Local bakers are fretting about food costs. The New York Times says the problem is actually global. And just to complicate matters, this little fungus is hitting Africa and Iran.

In other, not-so-serious news:

The Secret Life of Jelly Beans by Russ Parsons (LA Times). How the Turks invented America's favorite Easter treat.

A Raucous Crawl Through Vancouver Izakayas by Lessley Anderson (Chow): A guide to Japanese pubs, in case you're heading north in the next few months. If you're sticking around town, check out these two izakayas.

And in NSFW news (well, only if you have a really prudish boss):

Wal-Mart pulls turgid fun straws from its shelves after the mother of a three-year-old complains. (Thanks, Grinder).

Topics: The Food Section

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Skillet fries up a few more

Skillet Street Food, the mobile bistro/media darling that opened on Seattle's streets last summer (or fall, or winter, or whenever the city's permitting department finally came to terms with the idea of a moving restaurant), is expanding. Soon, if things go as planned. Skillet's owners hope their first permanent location (with seats! and a sign!), in the old Aristocrats spot on 4th avenue, will be open in May, when the stadiums heat up again. Imagine: Poutine and garlic fries at the same time. Now that's what I call double-fisting.

They'll also have a Capitol Hill location opening April 7th, behind the Photographic Center Northwest, and are looking for a place in Fremont. (If you work for Adobe, that's a hint.)

Probably a good idea to check Skillet's calendar before heading out.

Topics: News

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Wine Dinner at Crush: Alter-Eno

Image: https://www.internationalsommelier.com/images/isg-top-grapes.jpg

A vocabulary lesson might be in order to unpack this event title: First, enology is the study of wine, Oeno being the Greek goddess of wine. In this series of wine dinners, the "alter-eno" (a play on alter ego) is a second, less expected wine pairing.

Studying together for diplomas from the International Sommelier Guild, the wine stewards at Crush(Chris Tanghe) and Monsoon (James Lechner) have teamed up to create this monthly dinner series, which will alternate between the two restaurants.

Each meal will encompass five or six courses, and the stewards will match both a traditional and an alternate wine to each course. This month's dinner at Crush features Kumomoto oysters with verjus foam, foie gras carpaccio, and buttermilk sweetbreads with lobster sauce. The wines range from an Australian muskateller to a Capellano barolo, with many (many) more.

Crush
2319 E. Madison St.
Seattle, WA 98112
(206) 302-7874

Wednesday, March 19
7 p.m.
$125, excluding tax and gratuity
Monsoon hosts the second dinner on April 23.

Topics: Events

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Unclear on the Concept Alert

A press release for these Love the Planet cookies just arrived. I cannot even comment.

Oh, wait, yes I can: Fifty-five dollars for a tin. Plus shipping, of course — $17 to have it flown to your house overnight.

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Quinn's Wild Boar Sloppy Joes

Dear Wild Boar: Thank-you for existing.
Dear Quinn's: Thank-you for doing such wonderful things with said boar.

I've always been a big fan of the wild boar ragu at Volterra, and the best meal I've had in my life involved wild boar and bottomless glasses of Valpolicella in Siena, Italy. Though the term "gastropub" sort of sets off my bullshit-o-meter, when I heard about wild boar sloppy joes at Quinn's on Capitol Hill, I was damn curious.

Unexpectedly, I had the chance to finally try one last night at Showbox SODO, where the Sound Bite exhibition was taking place. Put together by Cafe Vita and other members of the Seattle Restaurant association, the event was a smart mix of live music and exceptional food, brought together as a benefit for the Vera Project and ProStart. Only bands whose members work in restaurants were allowed to submit demos for consideration, and blessedly, the musicians selected happen to work at places like the Palace Kitchen, Tavolta, El Gaucho, and Via Tribunali.

Continue reading "Quinn's Wild Boar Sloppy Joes"

Topics: I Ate This

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Festival Alert: The Real Champagnes of Beer

This weekend brings one of the most cherished of all beer dates in the Seattle area, the Washington Beer Commission's 2008 Cask Beer Festival. Though there are more and more opportunities to taste cask beer at pubs all around Seattle, nothing compares to Cask Fest.

Cask beer is personality plus. After fermenting, the beer is transferred to cask with all its flotsam and jetsam. This sediment further develops the beer and gives it a soft, natural carbonation. (More on cask beer HERE, along with a mini round up of last year's fest). If you've found yourself intrigued by really good wine, or geek out over hand made cheese, or tried a beer this year that made you stop and think: Go check this festival out. It'll make a beer lover out of anyone.

Off the top of my head, breezing down the list, make sure you don't miss: Big Time Brewing's Mere Mortal, Scuttlebutt's 10 Below, Schooner Exact's 3 Grid IPA, and Water Street's Mayor McPrior's Irish Stout. And anything Scotch Ale. I've sampled the dark chocolate beast that is the 9lb Porter from Georgetown Brewing already this year out of cask. It is so choice.

WABL 2008 Cask Beer Festival
Saturday, March 22nd, 2008

Seattle Center Fisher Pavilion, 305 Harrison Street
Session 1: 12-4pm, Session 2: 6-10pm
(one ticket required for each session)

$40 at door/$35 advance
All you need to know at www.washingtonbeer.com

Topics: Beer

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The Tap Project: Drink Up

Did you know a child dies from thirst (or water-related disease) about every 15 seconds? Or that lack of clean water is the second-largest killer of kids under 5?

I didn't. And honestly, I'm not that nice a person, so when Sally Struthers types get all uppity about people suffering, I'm not always that sympathetic. But I got a nice, cold glass of clean water right here next to me, like you probably do, and I didn't think a blink about filling it up. My guess is you didn't either.

Last year, a grassroots initiative called the Tap Project was born in New York, where it raised about $100,000 by asking the city's restaurant patrons to donate $1 to the Tap Project for the tap water they normally get for free during the week leading up to World Water Day (always March 22). The money is funneled to UNICEF, where each buck means 40 days' worth of clean water for a kid somewhere.

Tap Project Seattle launches this week, which means you can get in on the action, too.

One of the 100-plus participating Seattle restaurants must be near you. Go. Eat out. Drink lots of water, and pay for it.

Topics: Events

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Just Say Cheese

Last week, my buddy and I had the opportunity to be "Cheese Makers for a Day" at Beecher's Cheese in The Pike Place Market. We arrived just shy of 7:30am Saturday morning. Dressed in rubber boots, apron and hair net, we yearned to know more about the mystery behind the squeak of a cheese curd.

We were greeted by instructor and three year "Big Cheese" veteran; Blaine. Before entering the production facility, the theme to Lavern & Shirley cycled through my brain- but this was no Shotz Beer brewery! Cheese making has a certain hip factor to it. If I was going to be gawked at like a zoo animal for the market passersby, it was better that I was making cheese than fudge or kettle corn.

Upon our arrival, Blaine had just taken delivery of several thousand gallons of milk. A large hose was fed through a small opening in the building and connected to the truck. Milk was then pumped in through a hose into a large storage tank that heated the milk to a higher temperature; completing the pasteurization process. The pasteurized milk was then pumped into a large trough that could double as the city's largest stainless steel jacuzzi. Live cultures and rennet were added to the milk as the cooking temperature was raised. Stainless steel rakes, pulled by hand, were used to stir everything together. After about thirty minutes of the liquid setting, we pulled two cutting devices evenly through the trough, leaving a constancy of yogurt or tofu suspended in water. The "cutting the cheese" comments weren't as funny to the other staff, as they were to the two greenhorns; who seemed to be easily entertained throughout the day. Another thirty minutes passed and we were back to stirring and breaking up what looked to be a watery cottage cheese consistency. The mixture was transferred by hose to another nearby trough where the water was drained and the curding process began. By hand, we divided the cheese into two sections. As the water continued to drain, the curds began to shrink and stick together. We cut the cheese mass into smaller, workable sections so each segment could be flipped and stacked allowing more water to be released from the cheese. Much of the day was spent watching a clock and knowing when to stir, cut or turn. A large machine was wheeled into the room, as our slabs of cheese were fed into what I can only describe as a "cheese chipper" that cut the cheese into smaller pieces. Salt was added (29 pounds of it) and mixed throughout. This was now a finished cheese curd. We were each given a bag and told to take as much as we wanted (and a week later, I'm still eating cheese curds). Blaine explained to us to leave the curds out of the fridge for a few days and they would stay rubbery and squeaky. Refrigerating them will case the curds to bind together.

The final step was filling each mold with curds - called Hooping. Each of the molds were stacked six or seven high and 60 pounds of pressure squeezed the remaining water out of the cheese. The cheese is pressed 24 hour period before the rounds are removed, vacuum sealed and put in cold storage for one year. The result - Beecher's Flagship White Cheddar.

Topics: Cook This

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$13: The Loft

I was going to write several hundred words about The Loft in Ballard this morning, but Brian Barr beat me to the punch here. What I can add to Bri's fondness for the gorgeous, former-machine-shop space and shuffleboard is that the happy hour sliders and quesadillas certainly do the trick, and with March Madness upon us, Ballardites will not be hurting for screens, what with this sports bar and the always reliable Bad Albert's across the street. If there's a negative to the Loft, it's that the space can get a little bridge and tunnel turbo over the weekend, acting as a sort of reservoir for King's and Matador overspill up the road. But that's nobody's fault, really; and it keeps Hattie's and Hazlewood pure as the mountain rain.

Topics: 13 Dollars

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Friday night: I'm on the radio.

I'm walking down to KOMO 1000 News Radio this afternoon to do a "Friday Night Bites" segment with Julien Perry at 5:15 p.m. So if you're stuck in your car, check it out.

Topics: Shameless Plugs

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Course Alert: Feed Your Garden

Image: http://www.denvergov.org/recoth/LearntoCompostClasses/tabid/425855/Default.aspx

In “From Garden to Kitchen & Back Again!”� Molbak’s instructors will teach you how to cultivate healthy soil. This two-part series focuses first on good growing conditions, and second on growing foodstuffs, with a lesson in feeding your garden: composting, that is.

Saturday, March 15
11 a.m. ”� noon
1 p.m. ”� 2 p.m.
Molbak’s
13625 NE 175th St.
Woodinville, WA 98072
(425) 483-5000
Free.

For more foodie events, look here.

Topics: Events

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Temple of the Douchebags

There was a time when the Viper Room was cool, about the same time waffle tees, flannels and shorts became de rigeur. It's now most famous for a drug death, and the once hot (now not) mess that is the Pussycat Dolls. And since it's no longer owned by Johnny Depp, why would anyone care about this over the hill L.A. club? Because it's now owned by Hard Rock Cafe spawn Harry Morton, he of the TexMex chain (cringe) Pink Taco(/cringe). Harry wants to franchise the Viper Room, and his (cringe) Pink Tacos(/cringe) can't be far behind. Possible locations include Seattle and Bellevue.

Do we really need a Viper Room? Isn't that Don Johnson place on the Hill token enough for the Seattle douche contingent?

Topics: Restaurant Buzz

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Eat for Good: A Benefit Dinner to End Human Trafficking

Photo by Jess Thomson.

Orchestrated by 18 year old Bothell high school student Alexa Shaich for her senior project, this benefit dinner is being held to raise awareness of the issue of human trafficking. The meal will be catered by the good folks at Skillet Street (hope for their burgers and frites; poutine pictured above) as well as Catering by Avenue, and Twelve Baskets Catering, all of whom have donated their services to this event.

Funds will go to The International Justice Mission, a human rights organization that works to ensure justice for victims of slavery and sexual exploitation.

Friday March 14, 7-9 p.m.
Eastside Foursquare Lodge
14520 100th Ave. NE Bothell, WA 98011

$25 donation to The International Justice Mission.

Topics: Events

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First Call: Oliver's Twist

Drinking Establishment: Oliver's Twist, 6822 Greenwood Ave. N., 706-MORE, PHINNEY RIDGE.

Bartender: Kim

Oliver's Twist is a surprisingly stylish spot located in bustling downtown Phinney Ridge (just up the street from Red Mill). It’s a great stop for a cocktail if you’re in the neighborhood. The Dickensian promise on the sign outside reads “Food + Drinks + MORE.”�

Kim, the weekday bartender, is explaining to me that on weekends Twist is packed, but as it is, half the seats are full anyway at 6:00 on a Wednesday evening. The vibe is after-work unwind.

If you could have a drink right now what’d it be? It’s actually not on the menu, it’s called El Fiebre, which is Spanish for ... the fever I guess. It’s actually also my favorite drink to make.

What’s in it? We soak a habanero pepper in our house vodka for a shift. Then we put red peppers in there for about a week. Then I add elderflower syrup to balance things out.

How long have you lived in Seattle? Eleven years. I made the move from Hawaii.

So what made you go ‘You know, gee, I want to move from Paradise to one of the most rain-soaked places on Earth?’ Well at the time I didn’t have a choice, the military, but after Paradise Seattle is pretty nice as far as cities go.

My thoughts on the drink: The Fiebre was good, I’m a sucker for habaneros, but I was dying a little bit from the heat, and the garlic popcorn, while delicious, wasn’t helping my thirst.

Kim also recommends the Vesper martini, straight out of Casino Royale, to balance things out. I admit to not having the stones to order a Bond martini before. He recommends the Crater Lake vodka, apparently distilled TEN times through volcanic rock and evened out with Lillet. It’s as smooth as any spy would require. I’m feeling Bond.

How long have you worked here? Three weeks, though I’ve been bartending for a year. You know, I was in the Times once. As a barista. I was manager of Café Fiore like ten years ago.

(I was twelve ten years ago... starting to feel less Bond.) I guess if you can pour a shot of espresso you can pour a shot. Yeah, sometimes being a bartender can be a little more high pressure.

How’d you get this gig? I’m friends with Dan (Twist’s master, and the former chef at Carmelita’s who struck out on his own.) I just like the way that Dan and his wife run things here. Things like buying only fresh juices. It’s the way I would run things.

Topics: First Call

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Top Chef Starts Tonight

Top Chef contestants: Good palates, better skin

Just to make sure you didn't change your routine, one week after Project Runway ended, Bravo is starting up the fourth season of Top Chef, which will air every Wednesday night at 10pm. This season starts off in Chicago, and Bravo has scoured the kitchens of New York and San Francisco for the prettiest chefs in the business. According to the Seattle Times, contestant Zoi Antonitsas is a native Seattleite who made her bones at the Dahlia Lounge.

Because nothing's more passe than cheering on the Sonics with your bros, Faire Gallery Cafe, on E. Olive at Bellevue, is hosting a Top Chef viewing party every Wednesday throughout the season so you can get into drunken fistfights with some stranger over Spike vs. Nikki's knife skills. Faire is offering $13.50 champagne bottles — though I'm not sure why cheap sparkling wine is appropriate for TV watching — and other specials. Post in the comments if you know of other bars hosting viewing parties.

Topics: Food TV

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Cheap Eats, Traveling Abattoirs, and Other Food News

Food news stories from around the country:

Lessons From Dario Cecchini, the World’s Most Famous Butcher by Russ Parsons (LA Times): Tuscan butcher who influenced Armandino Batali and Bill Buford comes to Los Angeles and charms the hocks off the Times' star food writer.

Chefs’ Blogs - Even Sharper Than Their Knives by Regina Schrambling (LA Times): I feel a little dirty linking to two LA Times stories today, but the section's great today. Schrambling writes about chefs who blog, citing Brasa's Tamara Murphy as a trend pioneer for her 2006 Life of a Pig blog.

Another Layer of Enjoyment by Greg Kitsock (Washington Post): Black and Tans are not the only beer cocktail in your local brewpub's repertoire.

Organic Milk Option at Starbucks Never Caught On by Mateusz Perkowski (Capital Press): Northwest farming newspaper tracks Starbucks' decision to drop organic milk — apparently, customers only care that it's hormone-free.

How to Be a Foodie Without Breaking the Bank by Novella Carpenter (SF Chronicle): How does a single mother living on $1200 a month maintain her gourmet lifestyle? Shopping at Grocery Outlet, gardening in her back yard, and Dumpster diving.

Local Meat Locally Inspected by CR Roberts (Tacoma News-Tribune, via Ethicurian): Instead of trucking their cattle to Oregon, Western Washington ranchers and small-scale farmers raise money to start up a traveling abattoir service.

Bonus Link: Extreme Eating for the Wii (Chow): A competitive eating video game is set to launch in May. I hereby challenge Aimee Curl to a duel — I’ll buy the game if you host the party.

Topics: The Food Section

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Make of Your Stomach a Warehouse

(Title: Armandino Batali quoting Angelo Pellegrini)

Last night's Seattle Weekly Food Awards reception, held at Volterra's new restaurant-adjacent private event space, saw a room full of those who have and will make future awards possible. Roger Downey made a great point when speaking about Sustainability Award winner Mark Musick, that biggest stars aren't often the ones with the heftiest PR budget, but the ones who quietly knit a strong bond between consumers and farmers, food and eaters, restaurateurs and local ingredients. The quiet successes of the attendees in the room are directly responsible for the large successes and general notoriety enjoyed today by Seattle's restaurant scene and its elevated profile amid the national dining culture.

Continue reading "Make of Your Stomach a Warehouse"

Topics: Events

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Northwest Vegan Table Spring Wine Dinners

Image: http://www.hillsidequickie.com/

Not to be outdone by the many prix fixe specials which abound this month, Hillside Quickie's Cafe is offering a special promotion every Thursday in March. You can sample any one of their new dinner dishes plus a glass of red or white wine for a mere $15. A few of the menu options include: Southern Fried Chanterelle Sietan Steak with thyme mashed potatoes, and sandwiches like Purple Haze, a smoked tempeh and eggplant burger.

As our own Jonathan Kauffman put it "The cooks, like me, believe that tofu has flavor, especially when it's Jamaican spiced, and that a BBQ smoked-seitan burger is not a feeble attempt at re-creating ground beef but a chewy, sauce-sopping joy in itself, especially when you get a mouthful of the sweet-and-sour caramelized red onions it's topped with. "

$15 plus tax and gratuity.

March 13, 20 & 27
5:00-9:00 p.m.

Hillside Quickie's Cafe
324 15th Ave E.
Seattle, WA 98112
(206) 325-6429

Topics: Events

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ISO Esther Chen

I went to Twice Sold Tales on E. John this weekend to check out the moving sale — right now the discount is 30 percent, which means it's a good time to look for back-catalog cookbooks. I noticed a couple of spiral-bound Chinese cookbooks that Esther Chen, who apparently started a cooking school in Seattle in 1964, self-published in 1976. I picked one up to see what passed as Chinese food in Seattle in 1976. Holy #$^#$.

I opened the Introductory Traditional Chinese Regional Cuisine to a page with a recipe for pig's feet with black vinegar, and then spent a few minutes skimming the 70-page introduction section, which describes ingredients like fish maw and ginko nuts and includes recipes that I've never seen before. The third volume in the series — couldn't find volume two — is devoted to southern (Canton) and eastern (Shanghai/Nanjing) foods.

The cookbooks were a fantastic find (especially for $8.50), and seem way before their time. I mean, the Cultural Revolution was just ending in 1976, and at the time I doubt that many people in China were getting to eat the dishes she was writing about. Does anyone know who Esther Chen is and if she's still around? If you took one of her courses, or if you have volume two and can help me complete the set, give me a shout.

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I Ate This: Tokara

What: A box of wagashi (Japanese confections)
Where: Tokara, 6208 Phinney Ave. N., 784-0226
When: Yesterday, during Tokara's monthly touryanse (open house, held the 10th of each month)
How much: $10
Would I eat there again? Yes

Official Tasting Notes:
Tokara's "open house" isn't quite that. The door is unlocked, sure, but Tokara is primarily a wholesale operation (selling to places like Floating Leaves, Fresh Flours, Panama Tea House, and Neptune Coffee), so there's no real retail area, and there are no kitchen tours. Still, when I met owner Chika Togashi in the modest, tatami-lined living room of her little real estate office-turned-confectionery on Phinney Ridge, I couldn't have felt more at home. Or more like I'd traveled to Japan. The kitchen behind her was stacked with bamboo steamers and sieves, papers and powders, an entirely different artillery than what I've seen in most patisserie or candy-making kitchens. I looked outside to make sure I hadn't fallen down a rabbit hole: just three Japanese women, drinking sencha on a red blanket in the middle of a Zen garden.

I'd called ahead to arrange the purchase of three small wagashi, the Kyoto-style sweets that gain momentum in Japan this time of year, when the cherry trees blossom. When I padded in (my shoes sort of jumped off at the door), she handed me a box carefully packed with what I'd ordered, but I was surprised not to see sakura mochi, the sticky, bean-filled rice flour treats imbued with the flavor of the cherry leaves that surround them. When I asked, she brought out a tin packed with them, and offered me one with a cup of sencha, on the house.

What I like most about Japanese sweets is that I never have any idea what the hell is going on inside. Biting into one is like playing ingredient roulette. In this case, there was less variation - three of the four I tried were filled with azuki bean paste of varying textures.

Continue reading "I Ate This: Tokara"

Topics: I Ate This

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Horse Heaven Wine Makers Featured at Tasting

Have you sipped a glass of Horse Heaven recently? If you have, you'll know the name is apt, for grapes as well as steeds. Representatives from the