Pinxtos and Pointe Shoes

Not last Friday but the Friday before, I asked C to go to the ballet with me. The Pacific Northwest Ballet was nearing the end of their run of Swan Lake and so off we flew to see swans in formation and daring duels. The ballet was good -- certainly not their best performance, but entertaining nonetheless.

Our deal was that C was to take care of dinner beforehand (though really I made her sit through a stodgy ballet AND made her pay for dinner, so really who got the better end of that deal?). She suggested Andaluca for their small plates (pinxtos/tapas). Tapas is really a perfect pre-show option since its no fun being full in a theater. There are pinxtos/tapas joints sprining up all over Seattle, but Andaluca has been around for a while. (The last time I had tapas, I was in San Francisco with Mrs. Mikey at the legendary Cha Cha Cha and what I mostly remember is not ordering shark but having a lot of fun. About a year later, I was back home in Montana and the horse shoer was talking about visiting San Francisco and going to Cha Cha Cha -- I would never have guessed he had it in him!)

It was quiet at Andaluca early on a Friday night (later we learned that evil road construction was most likely to blame). I had studied the menu intently beforehand and peppered C with my selections which she graciously agreed to. Our first two courses were really interesting and savory. The first, a potato croquette, was light and well seasoned with a crisp outside and not too oily. The second was a lamb meatball which was actually an egg coated with lamb mixture. The egg was perfectly cooked and served sliced in half beautifully. The meat was enhanced by the richness of the egg yolk, but since we each got half, it wasn't overwhelming.

Our second round (courses 3 and 4) were both quite yellow (and unfortunately my photography of that course was a little blurry despite only having 2 glasses of Cedar Green Sauvignon Blanc under my belt...thats C's delicious Granacha in the first picture.) During the second course, I first tried a heavily spiced chicken skewer with Marcona almonds which was tender and salty. The second bite was a small serving of the paella alongside a fat prawn. Each of us thought both the chicken and the paella were salty, but since we ate them in the reverse order, neither of us felt the same about the second thing we ate. Saffron and Tumeric were wealthy in the second round and though wonderful, I would say that round was probably our least favorite.

The last 3 dishes came out together and included dolmas, a paquette filled with guava and creamy cheese, and a cauliflower gratin. The dolmas were delicious, though I have never liked dolmas as much as I would like to and this time was no exception. The paquette, however, was a revelation -- rich, salty, and sweet inside a nice crunchy phyllo pastry. The gratin was the surprise of the night. I had been reading about a cauliflower gratin somewhere else that week and thought to myself, "wow, what a waste of ingredients just to eat cauliflower" but seeing it again on the menu made me think that maybe folks were onto something. It was amazing -- perfectly spiced and creamy served with crunchy bread.

Though we ran out of time for dessert, I am sure it would have been fabulous. I am totally sold on the pinxtos way of grazing through a menu and will definitely visit Andaluca again soon.

Chez Lounge

When I was very little, I was afraid of sleeping alone. My grandparents had a wonderful piece of furniture in their room that I was allowed to sleep on...a cream and green chaise lounge. Naturally, though I don't own one today, it remains one of my favorite pieces of furniture. That is why when we bounced our Friday heels up the stairs to the third floor of the corner Pike Place Market Building...above the butcher and the ice cream shop and several vegetable vendors...I had high hopes for such a cleverly named cafe.

Chez Lounge is a pun based derivative of Chez Shea, a longtime market venue previously only available for dinner. In a time when most restaurants are cutting back hours, its nice to see more choices available. C suggested that we take advantage of one of the Thirty for Thirty promotions. G and J met up with us over a raggedy half hour where we sat sipping wine and overlooking the painted pigs on the roof of the main market building. Gradually the intimate space filled up, and though small, the tables aren't particularly crammed together and the high ceilings did not amplify noise as I thought they might. We wereprobably the loudest people there.

For $15 (not much of a splurge before wine -- which we all had), Chez Lounge offered a 3 course prix fixe menu that catered to meaters and veggies alike. G and I started with a wonderful butter lettuce salad with perfectly candied and slightly salty walnuts (so often nuts are candied to the point of being painful to eat). J tried the creamy broccoli rabe soup and C started with the salmon mousse. The mousse was a tad salmony to be honest, but we helped C finish it anyways, and really that was probably the only low point of the meal. For the second course, we all had something different. I tried the artichoke gratin, G braved the boulliabase, J went for the burger, while C tried the grilled three cheese sandwich with greens. The boulliabase looked delicious, but I just have issues with sea shells in my soup (say that 10 times fast). I parceled out pieces of gratin and tried a hunk of C's delicious cheese sandwich. I think on the right day with a steaming bowl of tomato soup, it would be just the ticket.


But much like a fairy tale princess, I had to suddenly abandon the pursuit of the third course and high tail it back to the office for a meeting that was suddenly just 10 minutes away. I stuck C with my bill and scurried down the street as fast as my little heels would carry me. Breathlessly I sat down three minutes early onlly to be told that I was late as they wanted to start 5 minutes early....Ahh, the best laid plans. In short, Chez Lounge was delicious and a wonderful space. The service was pleasant, but not overbearing...with just enough eyebrow wagging to keep one in line, but not enough to feel intimidated. This is the way French food -- European lunches, should feel. I may have been late, but as I ran down the street feeling warm and relaxed, I thought to myself, "It was worth it."

Holiday Premieres...Seattle Four Seasons & ART Restaurant

Tis the season and all that so an industrious group of pioneers (ok just three of us) set out all the way across the street to try the new Four Seasons restaurant for lunch. All of the reviews that I have seen thus far have been for dinner and so I was really curious about the lunch experience which was quite a bit different.

The first thing that G, C, and I noticed was that the space was nothing like what we expected -- nothing like a typical Four Seasons. The space during the day is spectacularly open, large, and so bright that you hardly notice the pulsating light blocks surrounding the counter and bar that seem to have offended several reviewers. The space was also filled with ladies who lunch -- not a plus or a minus, just an observation. G must have been one of the only men in the place. But it WAS filled which is wonderful in these sorrowful times for the restaurant biz.

Onto the food... the gimmick, if you will, at ART is incorporating your own personal artistry into the food. The counter menu invites you to sample raw, cured, or warm items and combine them with a long list of sauces. These items are then served with paintbrushes with which you can apply said sauces. Though this idea seems whimsical and wonderful, the implementation was somehow lacking. Ordering was cumbersome (default suggestions would have been welcome) and service of said items was harried...even though we had a four top for three people, space became limited. G and C both had fancy-pants chicken club sandwiches and I had a 'TV Tray' lunch (above) featuring small portions of protein (seared ahi for me), fries, soup, and dessert on a four spot plate. Our server was sweet, but nervous and my food came out decidedly lukewarm and G & C's plates looked a little empty honestly. Note in the picture that the restaurant was using crinkle cups by Robert Brandt which really is art.

We'll be back, I'm sure. The kinks in service timing and coreography will be worked out and perhaps my confidence with the paintbrushes will be bolstered somehow. It seems like an even better place for a glass of wine in the evening. And then there's one last part of the whole experience -- stopping by Fran's Chocolates in the lobby for a little dessert on the way back to the office. I had a mocha and one of C's hazlenut crunch truffles and a wonderful time.

Seattle's Best Mac and Cheese

After the lobster macaroni and cheese at Purple in downtown Seattle, I thought I had found Mac and Cheese perfection. And its still some damn fine Mac and Cheese. I also have to say on a personal note that anyone who puts tomatoes in their Mac and Cheese is also great by me. Before I moved to Seattle, I thought I was crazy for that habit, but it comes that way in several establishments here such as the Icon Grill (who also makes a very good baked Mac and Cheese with a side of melty cheese in a pitcher.)

But sorry Purple and Icon, you lose. On the recommendation of the wonderful staff at 94 Stewart in Pike Place Market, I had the best Mac and Cheese I have ever eaten. Come visit, I will take you there and we can have some together. I have no idea how she gets so much flavor in a cheese sauce. This particular visit was a lunch visit, but the food has been consistent during subsequent visits. Our Irish friend asked what the big deal about Mac and Cheese was at nice restaurants in America and I reiterated that its actually really tough to do correctly. 94 Stewart nails it.

I heart my CSA basket

We are so lucky in Seattle to have a large year-round public market and an above average community relationship with local growers. At our house, we have been members of a Community Supported Agriculture program from several local farms over the years. This year, we are receiving produce (on Wednesdays for 22 weeks) from Tiny's Organics in Wenatchee, Washington.

Participating in a CSA has done several things for us. First, it has taught us about so many different foods that we didn't know about or how to prepare and has widened our horizons in a big way. As we are both from the northern to central "midwest" we were pretty familiar with the starch and meat equation but not with the tremendous variety. I had no idea what sorrel or mizuna was four years ago. Secondly, it has taught us to value fresh, local ingredients. Chef Beef's father is a farmer in Ohio, so we have mixed feelings about swearing allegiance to the organic movement, however, we believe heavily in the local food movement for the simple facts that it supports the local economy and tastes a lot better.

Thirdly, it has vastly increased our vegetable consumption (which was not terrible before). There was a time when Chef Beef could not have imagined eating only vegetables for dinner. This year's basket is also relatively fruit heavy. I have no talent for canning or preserving, but I have pawned off an awful lot of fruit crisp this summer from pluot crisp to apple crisp.

Pike Place market itself provides produce throughout the year in addition to local butchers, cheese crafters, arts, dairies, food vendors and flowers...(for the decoration-ally challenged).

Weekly Lunch Splurge -- Steelhead Diner

Lest you worry that I will only be a one note blogger, I introduce a new feature: Weekly Lunch Splurge. I will tell confess where I ate a brilliant lunch this week as opposed to a smushy sandwich from the cafeteria upstairs or questionable noodles from up the street.

Given my love of weird food, odd combinations, and utter devotion to carbohydrates despite their relatively unfashionable reputation, the Steelhead Diner in Pike's Place Market is the place to eat lunch.

Typically I try to be somewhat budget conscious during the week, but when I want to spend $25+ on lunch (which I do maybe once a week) I try to do it somewhere fun and different. Yesterday, I sampled the heirloom tomato/pesto/and hand pulled mozzarella (from neighboring partner Beecher's cheese) and a side of potato latkes. First, its amazing you can get a side of potato latkes because they are not exactly common Seattle restaurant fare. It was a great lunch and accompanied by a cold glass of blackberry lemonade. I don't know what was up with the pineapples. They were everywhere.

I highly recommend getting in on the heirloom tomato crop while they are fresh. Spend the extra money and eat them fresh...you'll see tomatoes in a new light.