Get Thee to Your Farmers' Market

Photo from Neighborhood Farmers' Market Alliance

Note for the calendar: Seattle's farmers' markets are roaring to life. Here's a cheat sheet for your fridge, with opening dates for the markets run by the Seattle Neighborhood Farmers' Market Association:

TODAY, APRIL 30: Columbia City (Wednesdays, 3pm - 7pm, through Oct 22)
4801 Rainier Ave S, at S Edmonds

MAY 11: Broadway (Sundays, 11am - 3pm, through Nov 23)
10th Ave E and E Thomas, behind the Broadway B of A on Capitol Hill

MAY 16: Phinney Ridge (Fridays, 3pm - 7pm, through Oct 3)
67th and Phinney Ave N, in the lower lot of the Phinney Neighborhood Center

JUNE 5: Lake City (Thursdays, 3pm - 7pm, through Oct 4)
NE 125th and 28th NE, next to the Library off Lake City Way

JUNE 7: Magnolia (Saturdays, 10am - 2pm, through Oct 25)
Next to the Magnolia Community Center at 2550 34th Ave W

The year-round markets are of course already open:

University District (Saturdays, 9am - 2pm)
Corner of 50th and University Way NE, in the University Heights lot

West Seattle (Sundays, 10am - 2pm)
California Ave SW & SW Alaska, in the heart of the Junction

The Ballard Market (my personal favorite) is also open year-round on Sundays (from 10 to 3 in the summer), but the phone info for its sibling markets (Wallingford, Queen Anne, and Madison/Madrona) is a little strange. Queen Anne seems to open for sure on June 19th, but the others . . . The primary recording on the info line says Wallingford and Madison/Madrona open May 14th and 16th respectively, but a recording further into the system says they open the 21st and 23rd. (The website says Wallingford opens the 16th.)

Can anyone verify opening dates for the Seattle Farmers Market Association markets? I'm getting radio silence.

Topics: Produce

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Tully's Wants Your Ideas, Too

It's not quite the same as the Starbucks customer suggestion site, but Tully's wants to hear your wackiest, most high-maintenance drink orders. If, despite being obnoxiously long, it also tastes surprisingly good they'll kick you a $100 gift certificate.

Seattleite Dan Godfrey won with this doozy: "Veinte, iced, two percent, quad ristretto, split-shot 'Cookies and Creme' mint mocha. Go easy on the ice with 1 3/4 packets of Equal, no whip, topped with velvety, bone-dry foam and a dash of cinnamon." Hope this guy tips well.

Winners are selected once a week through June at which point PEMCO, an insurance company, will donate $10,000 to Children's Hospital in the names of all the winners. I'm not sure how PEMCO and Tully's got hooked up for this, but you can enter here.

Topics: Coffee

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Cheese, Cheese, Cheese

You know the Seattle Cheese Festival is coming. You could do what you did last year, and wander like a lost goat through the crowd of other pushy cheese fiends. Or, you could forego that junior high instinct to shove as much dairy into your gullet as possible in the least amount of time, and actually learn something.

Behind the tastings and the (slightly anticlimactic) rolling of the truckles, you’ll find the Seattle Cheese Festival’s educational side.

Ever wonder what gives Northwest cheese its own unique terroir? Take a class from world-renowned cheese expert Jeffrey Roberts. Want to learn more about affinage, the art of caring for and aging cheese, and deciding when it’s stinky enough to eat? Sign up for a seminar with Peter Dixon, another big cheese of cheese, and one of the guys who helped get Estrella off the ground. Wonder what barriers cheesemakers face when trying to get their products to market? Attend a panel where reps from Mt. Townsend Creamery, Herve Mons Affineur Company, and DeLaurenti will walk you through what it takes to get the goods off the farm.

The classes are $50 or less, and based on my experiences last year, well worth it. Plus, you get to rub shoulders with the biggest names in cheese.

For a full seminar listing, see the Festival’s website.
Seattle Cheese Festival, May 16 to 18, Pike Place Market.

Topics: Culinary Classes

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Hops, Scotch...Tequila?

Aw, go with it. This weekend marks the 2nd Annual Hopscotch Spring Beer & Scotch Festival ...now, with tequila! Over 50 beers, along with an optional scotch and tequila tasting, make for one great weekend. A little peek at what you can expect...

Kona's Wailua Wheat is a lip smacking surprise, and don't miss the Lagunitas Lucky 13 (14, actually) or the Dogfish Head Aprihop. And if you haven't tried the Lazy Boy Porter yet, add it to your dance card here. I'm gunning for the Laughing Buddha Beers, one of which uses Pandan leaves. There will also be a taste of the second annual Reunion beer, an organic Red Rye whose proceeds go toward Myeloma and Bone Cancer research (more on the cause HERE). All in all, the line up is quite varied.

The tequila tasting may not fit in with the name, but six tasters totaling a snifter's worth of top shelf agave for $15 bucks extra is a cheap way to try high end tequila (including the 1942 Don Julio). The Scotch tasting is $10, and for a mere $30, you can plug into a scotch tasting seminar with a Master of Scotch, and 11-1/4 tastings of some really amazing stuff. Never got scotch? Oh you will after that little class. I did the class last year, and I can vouch for the selection and the easy way in which the information is imparted by the Master.


Hopscotch Spring Beer & Scotch Festival
Fremont Studios (155 N. 35th Street)
Friday - 5pm to midnight
Saturday - 1pm to midnight
$20 ADVANCED general admission, $25 at the door
(includes cup and 6 beer tastes)
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the website.

Topics: Events

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The Only Wine Competition You Ever Need Pay Attention To

Anthony’s HomePort in Seattle was one of three final judging stations for this year’s Oyster Wine Competition, and our very own, the lovely Miss Adriana Grant was one of 40 judges who went through the daunting task of narrowing the field. From the release:

"Preliminary Judging at Anthony’s HomePort at Shilsole Bay in Seattle, five veteran Preliminary Judges consumed 1200 Kumamoto oysters in narrowing the contenders to 44 semi-finalists and then to 20 finalists. The finalists were judged, again with oysters, by 12-14 judge panels in the three cities."

This is one of the best white wine competitions because judges actually eat along with the tasting, a true test of the pairing.Taylor Shellfish Farms of Shelton, WA. sponsored the competition which is organized by man of the sea and all around nice guy Jon Rowley... and now your 2008 Oyster Award wines... (cue the Alan Parsons Project)...!!....

Amity Vineyards 06 Pinot Blanc (OR)
Chateau Ste. Michelle 06 Columbia Valley Sauvignon Blanc (WA)
Clayhouse Vineyard 06 Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
Clos du Bois Winery 06 Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
Covey Run Winery 06 Fume Blanc (WA)
Dry Creek Vineyard 06 Sonoma County Fume Blanc (CA)
Girard Winery 06 Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
Kathryn Kennedy Winery 07 Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
Robledo Family Winery 06 Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
Simi 06 Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
Van Duzer Vineyards 07 Pinot Gris (OR)
Willamette Valley Vineyards 07 Pinot Gris (OR)

I second that Amity Pinot Blanc. Get past the awful county fair label and you’ll find some unbelievable wine (at an equally say wha? price). Covey Run Fume Blanc is consistently one of the best buys you’ll ever find on your grocery store’s shelves, and when the hell is the Northwest going to start respecting the white grapes and realize that the future is see through? Huh? We should own this!

The coolest thing about this competition is that practically all of the winners are under $20, and most are closer to $15. (Except the Kathryn Kennedy, but good bloody luck finding that one). The wines are for the most part readily available allowing immediate, local validation of the results.

So tell us, Adriana... how many kumomotos did it take for you to make up your mind? (And what was your personal favorite??)

Topics: wine

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$13 at Mexico

Photo courtesy of EatAtMexico.com.

Where: Mexico, Pacific Place
When: Lunch
What Does $13 Get Ya? A tequila chicken Caesar ($12.99). Hit up your neighbor for help with tax + tip.
Recommended: I can't imagine I'll return.

I can find all kinds of great reasons to hit up the most corporate of chain restaurants: Service at Applebee's is always spot on; the Royal Red Robin burger is a thing of beauty that has never been equaled (yes, the one with the egg); and at an over-crowded music festival, seeking refuge in an abandoned TGI Friday's had its perks. And they all have one thing in common: They get you in an out better than the rest. For some people, that's a turn-off. For me, it's comforting. 'Cause, let's face it, we're not bellying up to the Chili's bar for the atmosphere.

This is why it astounds me that Pacific Place's Mexico, the epitome of U.S.-mall cuisine, had such a hard time dealing with my party of 9ish recently for lunch. A new friend of mine has a knack for curating lunches downtown for yuppies like myself, mixing it up with friends and a couple fresh faces. While Mexico ain't making any tourist books, it's perfect for our purposes: lunch, conversation, and fewer drinks than we'd like. Why it took nearly 90 minutes for us to accomplish this feat is beyond me. I take that back, I've got a pretty good idea where 20 minutes went: fumbling with, and settling the check. You're a glossy business lunch target. We can't possibly be the first group to ask you to split up a check. And, really, did that burrito really have to come out so much later than those tacos?

On the food side of the coin, I was satisfied with my salad at first (even if they forget to hold the tortilla strips). But, here we are, at 4 o'clock, and I'll be damned if my happy hour appetite isn't in overdrive. Oh, well, what do you expect for $13? I can answer that: more than what Mexico is capable of.

Topics: 13 Dollars

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Ponti Seafood Grill French Wine Dinner

Image: pontigrill.com

A six-course meal, focusing on Northwest seafood and produce, with each course paired to a French wine. Hosted by executive chef Josh Green and wine steward Darrell Statema, the menu includes arctic King crab nori medallions, beet and horseradish cured gravlax, morel risotto and English pea puree, and to finish, apple tart tatin.

Wednesday, April 30, 6:30 p.m.
$125 plus tax and tip. Reservations required.
Ponti Seafood Grill3014 3rd Ave N., Seattle
(206) 284-3000

Topics: Events

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Soak It Up: Geraldine's Counter

Apothecary: Geraldine's Counter, 4872 Rainer Ave. S., 723-2080 COLUMBIA CITY

Entry Time: 10 a.m. Saturday

Level of Hangover: (1-10 scale 10 being a paralyzing head thumper): Thankfully, the marathon binges from college are long gone but gone, but unfortunately, so is my tolerance for alcohol. I wouldn’t categorize last night as a bender, but three different social functions took their toll. I’d give it a three.

Level of Waitstaff Hangover: Everyone seems to be pretty cheerful here and the place is packed. Despite the customers, nobody’s getting grumpy and although a few eyes are a bit on the puffy side, I’d guess that most of the staff probably stayed home last night.

Prescriptions: The bacon egg and arugula sandwich lacks the necessary grease to sop up any remaining alcohol — surprising for a dish that contains both aioli and bacon. This place seems to cater more towards people who are looking for a peaceful mid morning start to the day, not boozy stumblers still battling last night’s demons. That being said, the hash browns, a hangover staple, are some of the best I’ve ever had in a restaurant.

My companions enjoyed their dishes as well although Jake’s opinion doesn’t really count: He’s on the wagon and had lunch at 10 a.m. — a BLT. Brett on the other hand, who can’t even find the wagon, went with the hangover staple: biscuits, gravy, eggs over medium, hash browns, bacon on the side and coffee. Lots of coffee. Brett’s scientific in his critique: “Eggs are over medium — which is difficult to find in a restaurant — and the hashbrowns were crunchy. Usually you just get hash," he said.

Hair of the dog: Coffee as soon as you sit down. That’s important. I was tempted to swipe a Bloody Mary as it passed us on a waiter’s platter because it looked incredible. Unfortunately, I had plans Saturday that probably wouldn’t have gone through with alcohol in my system. It’s in the mental notes though, and next time I have to sop up a mid morning headache, I’ll remember that Bloody Mary.

Success of the Soak: Pretty good. The portions were large but not stupid and the staff was friendly but left us alone. The wait, however, was about a half hour and the prices are a little stiff. Not bad overall, and I’ll be back. Saturday morning breakfast is one of my absolute favorite parts of the week and a couple of hours later, I felt whole again. It was a beautiful day, a Saturday and I had few plans for the weekend. Overall, a great start.

Topics: Soak It Up

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Not So Grand Opening: Hebberoy and Fish Fry Are Here

Customers take a peek at their food as it's served for the first time at the Fish Fry.

It may not be famous Frites, but its fries and sauces are on par with the former favorite Capitol Hill drunken destination. Nestled between Nuemo’s and Moe Bar, Pike Street Fish Fry even shares the old Frites location.

But the comparisons stop there. The interior of the seriously tiny former Nuemo’s box office has been revamped with red lighting, new hard wood, shiny appliances, and standing tables.

The overall concept has changed considerably from the snack stop the space once held, thanks to the creativity of new Seattleite Michael Hebberoy. Fish Fry offers street food that constitutes a meal, for one. I left full after enjoying a grilled steak sandwich on a French roll ($8) and, of course, a large basket of fabulously fattening fries ($4).

Continue reading "Not So Grand Opening: Hebberoy and Fish Fry Are Here"

Topics: News and Restaurant Buzz

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100 Favorite Restaurants: Too Many Places to Check Off

Yeah, I'm loathe to admit it, now I've got a super long list of places I've never been to. Restaurants that I simply must visit.

From a place you might not expect to occupy a "handsome, high-ceilinged, industrial-chic space" to an establishment where you'll know to "prepare for the hostess' you-should-know-better look" if you show up sans reservation.

Learn about the "two menu essentials" at a certain well-loved veggie spot.

Discover what "first bite brought on a swoon" and which "line out front of this gas-station taco truck most resembles the one outside a boxing ring."

Curious to find a sushi bar staff "wicked with knife and sake" and which young place "has already become the kind of neighborhood watering hole that's easy to make a habit of"? You know you are.

To get the lowdown on many (many) more dining spots that might just earn a coveted place on your to-do list, check out our fat restaurant issue. It's good eating.

Topics: News

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Extreme Gardening Workshop: How to Grow a 500lb. Pumpkin!

http://pumpkinmania.blogspot.com/search/label/World%27s%20Heaviest%20Pumpkin

A class for those who want to brag, come October, that they’ve got the biggest squash around. Led by Stuart Shim of the Pumpkinmania! Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off and Contest, this workshop will provide full instructions on the proper care and feeding of potential contest-winning cultivars. All participants walk away with an envelope of Atlantic Giant pumpkin seeds.

Saturday, April 26, 11a.m.-noon
Molbak’s
13625 NE 175th St.
Woodinville, WA 98072
(425) 483-5000

For more foodie events, check here.

Topics: Events

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Anita's Crepes, for reals

Anita's Crepes, the sweet-smelling snack stand popular at local farmers' markets (and responsible for most of the Nutella stains on my clothing), is growing permanent roots in Ballard. Anita Ross, the CIA-trained pastry chef behind the griddles, envisions her new Leary Avenue spot as something like a coffee shop in the morning, with BOSCO espresso and a Frenchie market mood (lots of fresh flowers, zinc countertops, etc.). The breakfast and lunch menus will be akin to what she offers at markets now, plus perhaps some beignets. She'll have a full liquor license for dinner service, when she'll use that French Laundry training (and hire a dinner chef) to do something a little less crepe-centric and a little more "haute." (She mentioned foie gras.)

The place will be tiny, just a little slot of a spot squeezed between The Dish and a new bar by the guys behind The Great Nabob. She'll start with 9 tables, plus a few more outside.

But no worries. She'll still be at the markets.

Anita's Crepes, 4350 NW Leary Ave., BALLARD. Opening early summer.

Topics: Openings

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New Orleans: Tourists Giving Back, Farther To Go

some things are exactly the same...

Last week, I attended the International Association of Culinary Professionals conference in New Orleans, my favorite city. My last visit to NOLA was pre-hurricane, and I was curious to get a general sense of the city’s recovery. The Garden District, downtown, and French Quarter give the impression that all is fine, but these neighborhoods sit on high ground, and weren’t as effected devastated as areas like the Lower Ninth Ward.

Small signs of squelched prosperity are all around. An empty upscale bakery that looks like it was vacated in the night stands just near one of the city’s top restaurants. I’m warned from a few of my go to places, as they’ve changed hands in the last few years. Rue Royal’s galleries and boutiques have many lonely, empty spaces peppered in between them, and I can actually get a sunny table at Café du Monde in the afternoon. Everywhere you stand in the French Quarter, “For Rent”� and “For Sale”� signs surround you, even on Brad and Angie’s block. I asked everyone I met about the city’s recovery, and at first I was afraid I’d get the “everything’s all better”� gloss over, me being a tourist and all. I was really surprised how open and honest everyone was with me, though I don’t know why. This is New Orleans and the people are incredible here.

Continue reading "New Orleans: Tourists Giving Back, Farther To Go"

Topics: Events

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First Call: Childhood Flashback at the W

Electric Blue... and delicious.

Bartender: Leslee McCreight

Location: The W Hotel, 1112 Fourth Ave.

Drink of Choice: Blue Crush

What's in it? Muddled lemon, Blue Curacao, a spoonful of sugar and a healthy dose of Stoli Blueberi Vodka.

Something about this takes me back to summer vacation and my banana-seat bike. That's because it tastes like a Popsicle, but not too sweet.

That's it! One of those Big Stick Popsicles that changes color as you eat it, only with alcohol. Delicious. Yeah I like to experiment, play with different flavors. That's the fun part of the job.
(Apparently McCreight likes to play with colors too. Looking around the swanky couch-lined lobby, the drinks coming from the bar are not just blue, but pink and green too. But with names like Dangerous Liaison, Passion Play and Sexy Beast, something tells me they're not supposed to conjure child's play.)

Insider Tip: The Blue Crush isn't on the menu yet, though it's likely to be next month. Impress your friends and get down to the W and order one— while it's still a secret.

Topics: First Call

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Where the Smoking Ban Stinks. Literally.

Back in the 90's, before Ballard Ave. really popped, the Smoke Shop was one of three bars on the northern tip of the strip that catered almost exclusively to Deadliest Catch, all-day drunk, pack-a-day types. One of the three, the Sunset, looked nothing like it does today. It was just a dingy tavern with ripped plastic chairs and cheap drafts. The other, the Vasa Grill, had a porthole window that allowed drinkers to gaze longingly at Ballard's industrial Puget Sound shoreline. Now the Vasa is the People's Pub, where my brother likes the french fries.

So today, the Smoke Shop is all that remains, the lone reminder of Ballard Ave's crusty past. The matronly evening bartender is sweet as rhubarb pie, the clientele is more diverse than you might imagine, and any bar that stays open from 6 a.m.-2 a.m. is a winner, period. But here's the one thing that annoys me about the Smoke Shop: you can't smoke cigarettes in the bar. Granted, you can no longer smoke cigarettes anywhere indoors in Seattle anymore, but at the Smoke Shop, where people once smoked more cigarettes per capita than in perhaps any other bar in the city (it's called the Smoke Shop, for crying out loud), the post-band, residual smell is that of a wet dog. I'd just as soon have two lit cigarettes shoved in my nostrils. At least that scent, while not exactly pleasant, is predictable, familiar and somewhat tolerable. Not so the wet dog odor, and there's nothing much anyone can do about it — except repeal the smoking ban on a site-specific basis.

I'm only half-kidding here. While I'll admit that, as a non-smoker, I'd much rather walk into a smoke-free establishment than one where people are lighting up with vigor, I always considered it part of the drinker's contract that walking into a bar meant walking into a place where people would be smoking. I didn't always like it, but I lived with it, because the pros typically outweighed the cons at most of the bars I'd go into. And now, walking into a place like the Smoke Shop, the County Line, the Nite Lite, the Rimrock, the Hurricane, or the 5-Point doesn't feel quite right without the waft of nicotine in the air, never mind the funk. Is there a way places like these can be granted some sort of special license, for legacy's sake? I doubt it, but it'd be a lot cooler if there were.

Topics: Libation

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How to Make Seattle's Best Swedish Meatball

Gunnar and Birgitta Wallin's kottbullar was declared the city's best of the Swedish delicacy with a recipe that relied on excellence of form rather than fancy extras. Here's how they do it (with all those European hectogram and deciliter measurements converted to ease the culinary experience.)

You will need:
* A little less than a pound of beef ground together with just under a quarter pound of pork
* 2 to 3 boiled and cooled potatoes
* 1to 2 egg yolks
* A little less than 1/2 cup bread crumbs
* About 1 cup water (the Wallin's use Perrier, and they didn't have the only recipe that preferred carbonated water to the stuff from the tap, not sure why it's better, but they take those meatballs seriously so I'm inclined to go with it.)
* 2/3 cup cream
* 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt
* A dash of white pepper or paprika
* A pinch of all spice (dashes are bigger than pinches, both less than a quarter teaspoon)
* 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons shredded yellow onion or 2 tablespoons chopped butter-cooked yellow or red onion

Here's how you do it:
Place the bread crumbs in a bowl, add the water and set it aside. In another bowl, mash the potatoes and mix with the ground beef and pork mix. Add the egg yolks and some of the salt and spices. Work the mix while adding the bread and water a little at a time. Pour cream until you get the right consistency—something with meatball potential—and season with the onion and additional spice as needed. Roll into balls and fry.

In the words of the Wallins: "Voila! You have just created the tastiest meatball in the civilized world."

Topics: Cook This

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Bama-Tini vs. Clin-Tini

The problem: You just can't get enough of the Democratic primary. You watch and you read all hours of the day, but can't kick the habit long enough to, say, grab a drink with friends.

The solution: Two martinis from Tini Bigs that let you continue the discussion right through the part of the day your friends relish as politics-free. When you order a Bama-Tini or a Clin-Tini, your vote goes up for whichever candidate you choose.

The drinks themselves?

From a recent press release:

In order to ensure absolute impartiality, these martinis are the exact same recipe (Tuaca, Finlandia Vodka, cranberry juice and a touch of sweet and sour) offered at the same price ($9), with two different names. What it’s called when ordered determines how votes are tallied on the large chalkboard mounted over the bar: One drink = one vote.

As it stands now, Obama is in the lead by 14 “votes.”� Only time will tell how accurately the “Tini tally”� reflects the delegate count when the Democratic Convention rolls around in August.

Tini Bigs, 100 Denny Way, 284-0931, BELLTOWN.

Topics: Events

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Bringing the French Quarter to Queen Anne

Brian Hutmacher, the man behind Lower Queen Anne's favorite place to eat off a hangover, Peso's, is taking over Choy's space and the dry cleaner next door to open a New Orleans-themed eatery likely to be called Toulouse Petite—or maybe just Toulouse. "I haven't decided yet," he says.

Hutmacher filed for a liquor license yesterday but has to wait on the dry cleaning business to vacate before construction can begin. He hopes to open for business on Oct. 1, but expects it may be closer to the end of the year.

Topics: Openings

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Who's ditching Clover?

When I learned that Starbucks recently acquired Ballard-based Coffee Equipment Company, makers of the Clover, the $11,000 drip machine featured in The New York Times earlier this year, I was bummed. Does the mermaid have to buy everything?

Maybe there's a silver lining, I thought later. Maybe good, honest, hard-working folks all around the world will get (what is undoubtedly, in my mind) a better cup of coffee. And maybe they deserve it, even if they're setting foot in a store I (personally) avoid like the Plague.

Surfing around, I just learned that Stumptown, an early Clover distributor, is actually pulling the machines from the two stores that own them, to stick it to the man. In their position, I'd probably do the same.

Problem is, I happen to love my local Clover, and will be mighty pissed if the SBUX God complex effectively strips me of my new favorite cup.

Anyone know whether Aster (or others) will be ditching their Clovers?

Topics: News

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$13 at The Dray

Where: The Dray
708 NW 65th Street, in Ballard
(206) 453-4527

When: Yesterday, 5:30ish p.m. (They're open 9 a.m.-close, daily.)

This still-new place in upper Ballard is cozy, with walls covered in oiled wood panels, a few booths, and a handful of stools at the bar. It's got soccer on the flat screen, but the sound's off, so it's not too much of a sports bar. There's an espresso machine situated on a corner of the bar itself (they serve Stumptown), though at this hour, the pulling of strong drinks involves more beer than coffee.

Official Tasting Notes: The proprietor recommended Baron's seasonal Helles-Bock, brewed during the winter for spring drinking, amongst an array of many more local (Maritime, Snoqualmie Falls) and a few international selections, like the Belgian amber van Steerberge.

There's quite a crowd of tabs behind the bar, but you wouldn't know they served food unless you asked. The beer (a clean, malty bock with a sweet finish) was tastier than the sandwich, which was a little dry.

What does $13 get you?
A very nice, local beer, and a simple grilled cheese sandwich with a mess of mesclun greens in a peppery dressing.

$4.75 pint plus
$7.75 grilled cheese
= $12.50 plus an (officially) very stingy tip squeaks in at $13.

Except of course, I might want to go back.

Topics: 13 Dollars

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Nell's Chef Tribute Dinner Honors Elizabeth David

James Beard referred to Elizabeth David (1913-92) as "the greatest food writer we have." David has been credited with bringing French, Italian, and Mediterranean cuisines to England. She penned many books in her adventure-filled life, always providing a cultural context for the recipes. Tonight's six-course menu leans French, featuring escargot, white bean and sorrel soup, oxtails with black olives, and lemon brown-sugar cake with brown-bread ice cream.

Nell's Restaurant
6804 E. Green Lake Dr. N.
Seattle, WA 98115

Wednesday, April 23, 6:15 p.m.
$80, plus tax and tip.
For reservations, call (206) 524-4044 or visit here.

Topics: Events

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Early Returns: The Remodeled Virginia Inn

The new Virginia Inn looks about the same as the old Virginia Inn, except it's now twice as big and has a full kitchen. The Muffaletta sandwich, which ranks among my very favorite sandwiches of any ilk in town, seemed to have twice as much meat in it, and the potato chips were fresh-baked instead of Tim's Cascades. Muy bien.

But much to my chagrin, I still waited fucking forever for my sandwich. Granted the place was hopping and they just restarted lunch service, but still — isn't this what the expanded kitchen was supposed to help solve? Anyhoo, my chagrin turned to contentment when, acknowledging my unusually long wait, the bartender comped my sandwich without my asking for such consideration. This is about the only way to turn such a frown upside down, and the bartender handled it perfectly (and was tipped handsomely for his concession). Because of him, I'll be back for more Muff. Repeatedly.

Topics: Eats report

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Yerba Mate: Not Just for Hippies Anymore

Yerba Mate has come a long way, baby. It seems like just a few years ago it was just a weird fringe health nut beverage, drunk out of a gourd with a silver straw (I'm sure Uptight Seattleite would say he's been drinking it for years). There's one beverage that could just make yerba mate a star: the Yerba Mate Latte. (I can't say this phrase without doing it in Kramer's voice.)

Cafe au mate is probably the better term. This drink is equal parts steeped mate and foamed milk, but I think soy milk tastes more appropriate and adds a natural sweetness. Whenever I've tried mate, I can't get past the fact that it dries out my entire tongue. With tea, you usually just feel the tannin in the back of the mouth, but with mate, it can feel and taste like someone just scraped your tongue with green-tea soaked bark. Not pleasant. The soy milk counters that texture and tones down mate's decidedly twiggy flavor. Remedy Teas is the best place to experiment, as you're sure to get a drink that's just right. They also have different blends of mate, if you want to ease yourself into the beverage (two words: cocoa mate).

Why would you want to? Mate is vitamin and anti-oxidant rrrrich. On the caffeine richter scale, mate is somewhere between black tea and coffee, but typically, mate is much gentler on the stomach. Mate allegedly also provides this boost of caffeinated beverages, without the backlash—no coffee shakes or heart racing or digestive distress.

Companies like Guayaki market various forms of mate, both loose leaf and premade beverages sold in Snapple sized jars. Guayai also has a pretty comprehensive dish on yerba mate on their website. I've found their cold mate beverage doesn't quite give me the same physical response as something steeped fresh, though. Pixie has a spiced mate concentrate, sold alongside their chai mix in tetra pack. This is a great way to take advantage of mate's health benefits, while disguising its barkiness by a little bit of sugar, and if you're a chai drinker you'll love it. Cafes and groceries all around town are adding mate in at least one of these forms to the roster.

I'm trying to go all yerba all week next week, to see if I can see a difference in it's effects. But, historical ceremony aside, you still won't see me drinking it out of a cockamamie gourd.

Topics: Tea

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Sample Skagit River Ranch Barbecue at U District Market

Image:skagitriverranch.com

If you're more of a barbeque fan than an arugula raab aficionado, this is a good weekend to stop by the U District market. Skagit River Ranch is grilling up pasture-raised beef and pork for you to sample (if you miss it, they'll be offering barbeque samples next Saturday as well).

As for arugula raab, these sweet, flowering greens will no doubt continue to crowd the stands. Also on the tables this week: rhubarb, Brussels sprouts, and garlic chives, the first green shoots of the garlic plant.

University District Farmers Market
N.E. 50th St. & University Way N.E.
Saturday, April 21, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Saturday, April 26, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

For more foodie events this weekend, check out Food Files.

Topics: Events

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"One Man, One Cow, One Planet"

How To Save the World, a new film that chronicles a couple's journey through India teaching biodynamic farming (and doubles as a crash course in biodynamics, if you're unfamiliar), is showing at noon on Saturday at UW's Henry Art Gallery.

You can get FREE tickets by emailing barrylia@comcast.net with your phone number.

How To Save the World
12 p.m., Saturday April 19th
The Henry Art Gallery, 15th Ave. NE & NE 41st St., UNIVERSITY DISTRICT.

Topics: Events

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First Call: Julia's

Establishment Julia’s on Broadway

Bartender Luke Grobe

Pick your poison! How about a Hurricane? Vodka, gin, rum tripe sec, 151, amaretto... I give it to people who come in here and say"Get me fucked up."

So this is your favorite drink? I drink martinis and scotch. Straight alcohol. But those aren't very creative to make... Can I taste yours?

Um, sure. I guess.

[Grobe grabs a straw, samples the Hurricane, and nods approvingly.]

Are you from Seattle? I moved here from Moscow.

You're from Russia? (question courtesy of drunk guy at the end of the bar) That would have been a lot cooler. I left because it was Moscow, Idaho. I was in school at the time, studying psychology.

Bartenders, psychologists — same thing, aren't they? They’re close enough.

Topics: First Call

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I Ate This: Messy Veggie at Bella Cosa

Where: Bella Cosa Foods, WALLINGFORD
When: April 4th, 12:47pm
How much: $6.95
Would you eat it again: I will, and I have

Bella Cosa is a deli and cafe right on 45th in the heart of Wallingford. With a small but stellar gourmet cheese and meat selection, and a well-chosen gaggle of olives, tapanades, sauces, cookies, and other sundries to go along with every selection.

If you ever find yourself in Wallingford at lunchtime, stop in to Bella Cosa for their veggie sandwich with mozzarella and don't skip on the dressing. Veggie sandwiches rarely deliver the carnal pleasure of a meaty hoagie, but this one is a knock out. Roasted tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, eggplant & mushrooms (!!) fresh mozzarella on Macrina Ciabatta, finished on the panini grill. Oooeeee!

The veggies are cooked enough to not slide around and slip out of the bread, but not so cooked that the smoosh into some amorphous veggie goo. The mozzarella is choice and generously provided, and the dressing makes it all a delicious mess. This is the kind of sandwich you hunch over, the kind that laughs at you for the futile use of your napkin in between bites. Bonus: Bella Cosa not only sells wine, but offers a red and white by the glass everyday; they've got a small seating area in the back. SO maybe don't be in such a hurry....

Bella Cosa Foods
1711 N. 45th Street
www.bellacosafoods.com
Tue-Fri 11am-7pm, Sat 11am-6pm, Sun 12:30-5pm

Topics: I Ate This

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Why Fuchsia Dunlop Is My Hero

Since her first Sichuan cookbook came out several years ago, Fuchsia Dunlop has been a particular hero of mine, on par with Paula Wolfert and David Thompson — part anthropologist, part gourmet. Not only is Land of Plenty easy to cook from, but it explains the culinary theory behind spicy, fragrant Sichuan cuisine — how complex flavors are created, how ingredients should be sliced and steamed and fried — with a level of detail that before was only available to people who can read Chinese.

Last week, Norton published Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper, Dunlop's memoir of her travels in China. These days I read food books for education, not escape, so I'm not a big fan of culinary memoirs, particularly when they're chick lit plus recipes. But Dunlop's story is much more than a few reminiscences about peppers she'd chopped interspersed with literary gasps of delight. She was the first Western student to study at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine back in the mid-1990s, flouting bureaucracy and convention to do so, and tells about her adventures hitchhiking around Tibet and pestering street-snack stall owners in Chengdu to let her train with them. The part that's rocking my world right now is the section I'm reading on how she overcame her deep, practically unconscious Western likes and dislikes about the textures of foods and learned to appreciate texture as the Chinese do:

Chinese chefs and gourmets talk often about kou gan, or 'mouthfeel.' Certain textures are especially prized. Cui, for example, denotes a particular quality of crispness that is found in fresh crunchy vegetables, blanched pig's kidneys, and goose intestines ... Cui crispness offers resistance to the teeth, but finally yields, cleanly, with a pleasant snappy feeling. It is different from su, which is the dry, fragile, fall-apart crispness of deep-fried duck skin or taro dumplings. Some foods, like the skin of a barbecued suckling pig, can be described as su cui because they offer both types of crispness, simultaneously.

If you want to express the springy elasticity of a squid ball, you might refer to its tan xing, which also describes the bouncy aspect of ... sea cucumber texture ... Nen is the tenderness of just-cooked fish or meat, or the fresh suppleness of very young pea shoots; hua the smooth slipperiness of 'velveted' slices of chicken. Another lovely texture word is shuang, which evokes a refreshing, bright, slippery, cool sensation in the mouth: one might use it for certain starch jellies soused in vinegar and chilli oil.

Sorry if the words goose intestines and blanched pig's kidney turn your stomach (her loving description of eating cracked rabbit heads still makes me cringe). What's great about this book is that she doesn't pooh-pooh our nausea — she just eventually moved beyond it. For me, reading this section is like touring a contemporary art museum with an art historian who can explain all the cultural references and theoretical underpinnings of the works on display.

It even makes me hungry for some cui dry-cooked pork intestines.

Topics: Books

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Soak It Up: Smarty Pants

Apothecary: Smarty Pants, 6017 Airport Way S., 762-4777 GEORGETOWN

Time of Entry: Saturday, 10:30 a.m.

Level of Hangover (1-10 scale, with 10 being a paralyzing head-thumper): 8. My companion and I got destroyed watching the Dusty 45s at the Tractor the previous night, a predictably boozy excursion that was preceded by a predictably boozy excursion to the Salmon Bay Eagles, which was preceded by yet another predictably boozy happy hour at SamBar. Keep smilin', keep shinin' — that's what Fridays are for.

Level of waitstaff hangover 6, with a margin of error of two points either way. Georgetownites all seem to be: (a) in their thirties, (b) perpetually haggard, and (c) very functional, very heavy drinkers. So there aren't really any sore thumbs.

Prescriptions: Smarty Pants is a sports bar. Not just any sports bar, but a sports bar that regularly telecasts motorcyle racing on a gigantic, retractable screen in its dining room. And that's it: no baseball, no basketball, no football — just motorcycle racing. So suffice it to say, they dance to the beat of their own drummer here, with a Southwestern-influenced menu that follows suit. Witness the Tex Hex: a bed of chili topped with scrambled eggs, sour cream, cheese and jalapenos. Or the Troublemaker Pile-Up: grilled chicken and onions topped with Monterey Jack and bacon, and served over scrambled eggs and hash browns. By comparison, the dish I ordered, Eggs in a Basket (eggs fried into the center of toast, with beans and 'browns on the side), was downright traditional. But still, I've yet to see it on another menu other than my mother's when I was six, and biting into this mashed-up-based-up plate of nostalgia transported me back to a place in my life when alcohol wasn't a consideration.

Hair of the Dog: While this wonderful little establishment is the birthplace of the Bacon Martini (exactly as hideous and hilarious as it sounds), best to treat your queasy stomach to the old standby: the Bloody Mary. Here, with all the veggies and seasoning they add to the Vodka and tomato juice, it's like a meal unto itself — or at least a helpful, delicious appetizer.

Success of the Soak: Duh: Awesome. This is a restaurant-bar run by drinkers for drinkers. It's a Saturday morning match made in heaven.

Topics: Soak It Up

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Pimp your life to the Food Network

From my inbox this morning:

FOOD NETWORK IS LOOKING FOR AMAZING STORIES FOR A GROUNDBREAKING NEW SERIES!!!

Do you or someone you know have an amazing food related story to tell? Do you know someone who has gone from being homeless to the owner of their own restaurant, makes pop art out of pineapples, or eats nothing but peanuts? Do you know someone who is battling food fears or phobias? Has food helped to cure an illness, changed the course of your life, or helped to inspire you in some dramatic way? We are looking for all types of stories even those that are odd or humorous to feature on and upcoming series for the Food Network.

Casting is underway, so Email a brief description of your story with your contact information and picture of yourself ASAP to michaelraptis@alroker.com or call 646.723.9848 to be considered for the show.

Topics: Food TV

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Recipe Plagiarism, Celebrity Wines, and Other Food News

Been caught stealing

Some mornings it takes me hours to come up with a few stories to compile for you, and other weeks, I'm overwhelmed with interesting bits. Today's Food Section leads with a scandal:

David Weiner of the Huffington Post has caught Cindy McCain stealing Giada de Laurentiis’ recipes and presenting them as “family favorites.”� Update: intern falls on sword, saves McCain's presidential run.

One Cook, Thousands of Seders by Julia Moskin (NY Times): Well, it's Passover season, and America's food sections are filled with Pesach recipes. The Times profiles cookbook author Susie Fishbein, who “would rather be the kosher Rachael Ray than the kosher Martha Stewart.”� Not surprisingly, today her Kosher by Design is ranked #435 on Amazon's best-selling list. Bonus link: macaroons!

The Washington Post is proving itself Pulitzer-worthy this week by becoming the source for stories on rising food costs. Today, the paper’s restaurant critic, Tom Sietsema, writes about high-end restaurants dispensing with foie gras and recycling chive tips (though, um, many four-star chefs have long been famous for their parsimony). Earlier this week, the Post ran a great piece, picked up by the Seattle Times, on how chain restaurants are secretly downsizing portions. After trying to make my way through a hubcap-sized platter of chicken Madeira at the Cheesecake Factory, I'm saving my outrage for Maria Glod's story about how high food costs are forcing school lunch programs to downgrade the healthfulness of their lunches.

Onions That Don’t Bite Back by Andreas Vierstad (Washington Post): I just have to plug this great monthly series on everyday food science. Sorry for the heavy dose of Washington Post — I swear I'm not brown-nosing anyone.

UN Calls for Farming Revolution (BBC thanks to Food Times): Unesco releases the results of a three-year research project and advocates for organics to become the next "green revolution." Monsanto’s stock prices are still not affected.

One more reason that Mick Jagger is the antichrist, and not the one he always aspired to be. (However, I'm going to need to get a hold of this new product. Yeee-aaaayy-ahh!)

Topics: The Food Section

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Our Jess on the Radio

Credit: Washington Dept of Fish & Wildlife

Voracious regular Jess Thomson will be on KUOW's Sound Focus today at approximately 2:50 p.m. to talk about what to cook with your razor clams, since the spring season has just begun. Having gone razor-clamming with Jess last winter, I can attest that not only is she a great cook but a crack digger. (I, on the other hand, caught five in two hours.)

You can listen to the live webcast here.

Topics: Shameless Plugs

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New on Phinney: Picnic

Co-owners Jenny and Anson Klock are about to start the build-out on a "food and wine boutique" called Picnic, slated to open in late summer 2008. Located on Phinney Ridge, Jenny says their upscale prepared foods will be a take-out alternative to the sort of wholesome, mostly-organic fare found nearby at Stumbling Goat and Oliver's Twist. They'll have everything you'd need for a picnic, of course (cheese, salumi, olives, and wine from boutique regional vintners), as well as a case full of dinner options like fresh pasta, entrees, and side dishes.

Anson, who cooked at now-defunct Cassis on Capitol Hill, and then for two years under Jason Wilson when the latter first launched Crush, will focus on housemade charcuterie, turning out fresh pates, rilettes, and sausages for folks to take home.

If all goes well, Jenny said they may do communal dinners, as well.

Picnic will anchor the northeast corner of the new Fini condos on Phinney Ridge. There will also be a coffee/dessert shop in the building, which (judging by the signs on the windows) will offer Frenchie favorites like clafoutis, madeleines, and Grand Marnier souffles. Anyone have a name?

Topics: Openings

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Just Spotted: Bistro Turkuaz

The old Mazaran

I just drove by the space in Madrona last occupied by Bistro Mazaran, a quirky French cafe that closed five days after my review came out, then reopened, then reclosed...and then I stopped keeping track. The sign painted on the window now says "Bistro Turkuaz." A second sign promises that it will open soon.

As I type, I'm saying a little prayer that the owners are going to really make this a real Turkish restaurant with hot and cold meze, kebabs, stews, and pilafs, and not a "Mediterranean" restaurant serving overcooked pastas and too much garlic.

Let me know if you know anything...

BISTRO TURKUAZ
1114 34th Ave. (at Union)
324-3039

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Open Season on CSAs

The summer growing season is coming, and if you want to get in on a community-sponsored agriculture program this year, you'd better sign up soon. Puget Sound Fresh has just released its 2008 CSA directory [PDF], a four-page guide to Washington farms with subscriber programs. Here are the farms that deliver to Seattle and have websites. They all say they're taking applications; no word on who's full up on subscribers and who's not:

Boistfort Valley Farm (starts in June)

Dog Mountain Farm (summer series begins May 11)

Full Circle Farm (year-round service)

Growing Washington's Local Choice Food Box (begins in June; half- and full-size boxes available)

Helsing Junction Farm (starts June 19; regular and large boxes available)

Jubilee Biodynamic Farm (summer season begins mid June; service mostly on-farm pickup in Carnation)

Lake Cavanaugh Farm (begins June 4; pickup locations in Wallingford and Mt. Baker)

Local Roots Farm (begins early June)

Oxbow Farm (begins June 10)

Seattle Market Gardens (begins May 23/24; small and large boxes available) — Seattle's only in-city CSA

Tiny's Organics (begins June 22)

Tolt River Farm (begins June 16; pickup at Magnolia Farmers Market only)

Whistling Train Farm (begins June; small and large shares available)

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24-Hour Dining Will Return to Denny & First

...and this time perhaps it will bear a closer relation to "dining" than at the late and unlamented Minnie's. A sign on the door of the corner building indicates a new 24-hour diner called WHYM is going to open. A call in to the Whym Diner in New York's Hell's Kitchen indicates there's no connection.

UPDATE: Whym is being opened by the owners of Hurricane Cafe, Neil and Bridget Scott. Ms. Scott tells me the plan is for food that's a little more upscale than at the Hurricane (chipotle aoli on the burgers, that kind of thing) but still basic comfort food. The Scotts are planning to move the restaurant entrance off the corner, and onto First Ave., so that the dining room isn't bisected by incoming traffic.They're planning to open in late May or early June, after a major cleanup—not surprisingly, for anyone who set foot in Minnie's, Ms. Scott says the place "is in really bad shape."

Topics: News

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Caprice Communal Dinner

These intimate communal dinners (limited to 24 guests) offer a bit of seasonal goodness in a very social setting. The menu will feature produce from the Ballard and U District farmers markets and troll-caught wild halibut from Washington-based Wilson Fish, but the rest of the meal is as yet undetermined.

"The idea is that you don't really know what the menu will be," explains chef Anne Catherine. "I go to the market and decide on Saturday what's available and how I am going to prepare it . . . The halibut will probably be pan-fried or poached, and I’m hoping to find asparagus or fiddle head ferns. Ninety percent of the ingredients are from farmers markets and the remaining 10 percent are from Washington State." Since the chef summers in Alaska, this will be her last Seattle dinner until September.

Sunday, April 20, 7:00 p.m.
Call 371-2886 for the specific location (hint: it's in the Roosevelt neighborhood).

Topics: Events

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Zippy's Gets Ready to Grind the Beef

There's a new burger place, Zippy's, set to open on 16th and Holden in West Seattle's Highland Park neighborhood, kitty corner to the 7-11, across the street from the fire station, and next to Sea Mart where a teriyaki place once was. I popped into Sea Mart the other day to buy a two liter bottle of Coke, and asked the owner what was going on next door. He said that Zippy's planned on opening by the end of April, but that deadline could push into May, and that the new burger joint will not use frozen patties — i.e., all handcrafted burgers. Sounds great, most notably since West Seattle, for all its culinary virtues (especially when White Center is annexed, for convenience sake), doesn't have anything resembling a Red Mill, Dick's, or Kidd Valley, although Smokey's Char-Broiled on 128th and 1st never disappoints those willing to head a bit further south.

Topics: Openings

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Cheese 101: Introduction to Artisan Cheese

Image: beechershandmadecheese.com

In this class, experts from Beecher's Handmade Cheese will school budding or full-fledged cheese-aholics in the history of the artisan cheese-making process. They'll also teach you how to recognize different types of cheese and offer a range of American artisan cheeses for tasting. There'll be wine pairings as well.

Beecher's Handmade Cheese class location
104 Pike St., No. 200 (one block from the Beecher's shop in Pike Place Market)

Wednesday, April 16, 6:30-9 p.m.
Wednesday, May 14, 6:30-9 p.m.
Wednesday, June 11, 6:30-9 p.m.

$50, 21 and over only.

(206) 322-1644 x25

Topics: Culinary Classes

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Brian Carter Cellars Winemaker Dinner at Troiani Ristorante Italiano

Woodinville winemaker Brian Carter visits Troiani for a dinner paired with his European-style blends. The five-course menu includes quail stuffed with peaches and apricots and "spring forest floor pot pie" with morel mushrooms, fiddlehead ferns, and spring turnips. For dessert, panna cotta with honey and Marcona almonds will be served with Apex Late Harvest Semillon.

Wednesday, April 16, 6:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m.

Troiani Ristorante Italiano
1001 Third Avenue, downtown Seattle
(206) 624-4060

$99, excluding tax and tip.

Topics: Events

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Saveur Cooks Authentic French Cuisine at Bon Vivant

Collaborating with the ne plus ultra of food porn, Saveur Magazine, Bon Vivant offers a four-hour long immersion in the lessons of French cuisine, from country fare to more avant-garde bistro delicacies. You'll learn how French cuisine became the one to copy.

For specific address, call (206)525-7537.
Bon Vivant School of Cooking

$78, includes recipe booklet, Saveur tote bag, and a year's subscription to the magazine.
Saturday, April 12, 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

For more foodie events this weekend and beyond, check out Food Files.

Topics: Events

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New Ballard Bar Opening Tonight: The Dray

Image: www.thedray.com

Callings itself "a very good cafe and bottle shop in Ballard", this new venue will celebrate its grand opening tonight. Next door to Tigertail, the Dray has been open since Saturday night. Tonight, they make it official.

Jamie Butler, who runs the place with Travis Eaton, told me about their new place.

We're modeling the place after a European cafe. We'll open at 9 a.m., and we'll be open to families all day. After 9 p.m. It'll be more of an adult place. It's a cozy space, with a woody interior.

It's coffee, sandwiches, and beer. Stumptown coffee. Really good coffee. We'll offer a simple fresh eats style menu: five sandwiches. Local, organic as much as we can.

I'm a huge soccer fan, so we'll be showing all the games. They play early. People can come in and watch anytime, and they don't have to feel like they have to booze it up.

I'm interested in craft beer. We'll have a really good beer: local beers, but also a good selection of international beers, hard to find stuff. We'll rotate the taps and the sandwiches. I want people to come in and find a new thing every time.

The opening is tonight (Friday, April 11) beginning at 8 p.m.
The Dray
708 NW 65th Street, in Ballard
(206) 453-4527

Open 9 a.m.-close, daily.

Topics: News

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Soak It Up: Eggs Cetera

The Texas Omelet with all the fixings.

Rehab Center: Eggs Cetera's Blue Star Cafe and Pub, 4512 Stone Way N., 548-0345. Brunch served Saturday and Sunday all day.

Self-committal time: 11:24 a.m.

Addict Intake area and time: Tolerable for a busy Sunday morn, and there was free coffee where you say goodbye to family.

Last Relapse: I'll be of age in 292 days...and let's just leave it at that.

The wait staff's last relapse: Given that this eatery is less than two miles from UW's Frat Row, the young servers' last relapse had to have been last night. In fact, with the bar already open, they could have started before I even arrived. Everyone I came in contact with had to be nursing a hangover. It must have hurt so bad even to hear their own voice, given that I probably heard a grand total of 20 words between the hostess, waitress, and bus girl. (How do you manage to take an order by just grunting "Hi?") You could practically smell last night's alcohol in the air—or is that the eggs?

Continue reading "Soak It Up: Eggs Cetera"

Topics: Soak It Up

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He Said Beer, She Said Wine

As part of the "Authors at the Top" series, Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head brewery, puts his mettle against co-author Marnie Old, wine studies director of New York's French Culinary Institute.

The two engage in a lively wine versus beer food sampling, offering small plates tastings to challenge your culinary assumptions about what pairs best with what. This event is a gustatory reenactment of the debate taking place in their book, titled, appropriately enough: He Said Beer,