What Would Alix Do has moved!

You may have wondered why you haven't seen much from me lately... Turns out it's because I've been busy in my new neighborhood, sprucing up the place and getting ready for you to visit me there.

Come find What Would Alix Do at www.alixcompton.com under the WWAD tab, and check out recent posts on The Tin Table, Cantinetta and my adventures at Burning Beast.

Oh, and a favor to ask: In my migration from Blogspot to WordPress I've lost my original email subscription, so please take a minute to re-subscribe to new blog posts, or subscribe for the first time if you haven't yet. (Really? Not yet??)

Thanks, all!

Alix

Mindful eating DOES include Ginger Chocolate Chip Bars

I’ve been lucky, food-wise. I didn’t have any food allergies growing up, and don’t seem to have developed any as an adult. Just the usual stuff about getting older and being more careful about what I eat -- the results of a recent cholesterol test suggest that perhaps I be a bit more restrained on my intake of pork belly and foie gras -- but otherwise I’ve been able to amble quite happily through all kinds of eating. I haven’t had to structure my choices around shouldn’t or can’t; more likely it’s “I tried the tripe pho and it just really wasn’t my thing.”

Interesting, then, that within the last several weeks I’ve been spending time with two people for whom gluten intolerance is a real issue. My first thought was: Horrors! No bread or pasta? (and as a big baker…) No baked goods!? My first reaction was shouldn’t and can’t, when really it just means thinking a little bit more about what you’re eating -- not a bad thing for any of us. That might include seeking out restaurants with good wheat-free options, and as you might expect this is a task that I plan to embrace with great enthusiasm. Already we’ve had a great meal from the gluten-free menu at Tango on lower Capitol Hill. And I was impressed to learn, during dinner at Volterra in Ballard, that they have started making gluten-free pasta and you just need to let them know when making your reservation that you’re interested in said pasta. I also hear tell of a fantastic little spot in Greenwood called Wheatless in Seattle, though I have yet to check it out…

With my gluten antennae firmly in place, last week I moved to a more advanced level of food awareness when I, along with my visiting mother, moved in with my nieces for the week. I knew that the youngest had recently been put on a diet that excluded the broad categories of gluten and dairy, but when I arrived and read through the list of can’ts there were also things like onion and garlic. So I went back through the recipes I had carefully amassed to see what could work with these new restrictions and sure enough, I had to shift my thinking once again. It’s good for me, this business of eating mindfully. Or at least mindfully in a way that doesn’t just include appreciating fresh ingredients and careful preparation, but also the specific components of each meal.


I am pleased to report that this meal of marinated flank steak, roasted asparagus and red potatoes that look suspiciously Yukon Gold-y was a big hit, and was delicious (if I do say so myself) while meeting all dietary requirements. Luckily the hectic schedules of two very busy girls meant that someone else preparing the food was sometimes the better option, so the chicken teriyaki at Himitsu and gluten- and dairy-free pizza from Garlic Jim’s also figured prominently in my week.

Remember my initial reaction and the horror at no longer being able to bake if gluten-restricted? I had been doing some research over the last few weeks, reading about all of the ways to replace wheat flour in various recipes. While I may eventually make my own flour mixture, for the moment I’m using Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour with great results. One square of these Ginger Chocolate Chip Bars is about all my youngest niece can have for the moment, until dairy is less of an issue, but the successful substitution of the non-wheat-y flour means that they are good to go for the gluten intolerant of the world. And quite delicious, if I do say so myself.

Ginger Chocolate Chip Bars

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/4 cups Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350°. Use cooking spray to coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and line it with 2 crisscrossed pieces of parchment paper, leaving an overhang on all sides. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat to combine. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 55 minutes. Cool completely in the pan, then cut into 32 bars.

[Thanks to Real Simple for the original, wheat-y version of this recipe]

Columbia City: Lottie’s Lounge & Full Tilt Ice Cream

There isn’t anything fancy about Lottie’s Lounge, but being there for one recent happy hour did make me a little sad that I don’t live in Columbia City and thus probably won’t be making it my regular hangout. My neighborhood tour guide for the evening told me that Lottie’s had experienced a revamp not too long ago, and they seem to have struck the right balance of casual and accessible, while being warm and inviting. I'm a fan of the exposed brick wall juxtaposed with another that’s a sort of pumpkin orange, and black and white prints that echo the black and white checkerboard floor. The old timey fixtures over the bar and restaurant space and super-friendly bartender and server make it the kind of place that you want to hang out for a while.

Luckily, the price point at Lottie’s makes that entirely doable. And yes, that is a bloody mary you see in the photo, just the right thing to go along with their slightly upscale selection of sandwiches. That evening we sampled the B.A.T. with crispy smoked bacon, arugula, tomato and garlic-shallot-sage butter, and the Roast Beef Dip with melted provolone and grilled onions, served with mushroom au jus for dipping. You know how the wrong bread can really kill a sandwich? The good news is that the opposite is equally true, and it was the mini baguettes from neighbor Columbia City Bakery that really puts these over the top.

I’d heard about Full Tilt Ice Cream, that funky shop with locations in White Center, Columbia City and the U-District, for a little while now. But it wasn’t until I was at a friend’s party where one of the owners of Full Tilt also happened to be in attendance and happened to have brought some fantastic ice cream, that I really thought about making a trip there.

How fortuitous, then, that even after a bloody mary or two and a couple of great sandwiches, my CC tour guide was up for a walk down the street to Full Tilt. The salted caramel ice cream was fantastic -- dare I say maybe even better than Molly Moon’s -- but it’s the super-casual vibe of the place that makes it so fun. I mean, great ice cream and classic video games like Ms. Pac Man? Who wouldn’t love that?

It’s my party, and I’ll charge if I want to?

Dear Alix,

My birthday is just around the corner and I need to come up with a plan. Since it generally falls on or near Memorial Day I tend keep it low key as many people leave town; small groups over to my apartment for drinks, meet friends out at the bar, nothing major.

This year I have come up with something a little more fun. I would like to host a dinner party for about 20 guests.

The party would start with a cocktail reception in my apartment and then move across the hall to a vacant unit for a seated dinner. I would rent the necessary tables and chairs and set up, what I believe to be a great dining room with minimal decor that would allow for maximum impact. Being that I am in the event planning business I have access to discounts on most items, including a great caterer, rentals, and wine and I am positive it would be a great party.

So here is my question: Is it appropriate to ask my invited guests to bring $30 per person to subsidize the costs of this party? I would love to be able to pay for this all on my own, but being 26, going on 27, and in the event industry, my pockets are not that deep!

$30 for your thoughts,

- Penny-less Planner

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Dear Penny-less Planner,

Ooh, that’s a tough one, and I know whereof you speak: That desire to throw a fabulous party, if only you had the cash to make it spectacular.

The only catch is that really, you can’t ask your friends to pay to attend your birthday party. Unless you put a bit of a twist on it, of course…

How about making it a fundraiser instead, where you donate all proceeds from the dinner to a particular cause or charitable organization? In inviting your 20 favorite people, you could explain that you want to spend your birthday with them, have the chance to throw a great party, and benefit a worthy cause all at the same time. Perhaps you could let them know that in lieu of a birthday gift the suggested donation for the evening is $40, but if they felt inclined they might give more. And depending on the selected organization you might even have a thematic décor element present itself. Zebra-print table runner in honor of the Woodland Park Zoo?

If all goes well, you’ve covered your costs and you have at least $200 to donate to a good cause. Maybe you really can have your cake and eat it, too.

Happy early birthday, and good luck!

Modern dance gets personal

You know those times when you haven’t traveled far from home, yet you experience something far afield from your everyday? One of those for me is the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe. Although I grew up going to the Spokane version, I guess I just hadn’t been to a fair in quite a long while because it all seemed very foreign. Amazing that just a hop, skip and a jump from my usual urban Seattle life were blue-ribbon canned vegetables, pot bellied pig races, deep fried Snickers bars and towering carnival rides. I love that this kind of thing is easily accessible and exists so close to me, if only for a couple of weeks a year.

I had another one of those experiences lately when I got to be a part of a sliver of a new work by much-acclaimed local contemporary dancer, KT Niehoff. You might recognize her name as co-founder and former director of the newly relocated Velocity Dance Center, or as Artistic Director of now 12-year-old collaborative troupe of dance professionals, Lingo. It’s through Lingo’s newest project, A Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light, that I had a recent and very personal look into the world of contemporary dance. Glimmer, as described on her website:

“In 2006, KT began investigating the relationship between audience and artist with the primary goal of creating a more tangible intimacy between the two. This search has led her to seek out more potent environments that ask the performer and the witness to confront each other as unique individuals who bring to the exchange their personal histories and desires. A Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light, in all its forms, is an outcropping of this search.”

Cool, huh? Especially once you learn about all of the facets of the project: a culminating performance at ACT Theatre; for those same ACT performances, pre-show (!) cocktails with a cast member; dancers as kinetic sculptures throughout the Seattle Art Museum; and something titled One Performer/One Recipient/Many Locations. It’s that last piece in which I got to participate and let me tell you, really hit the mark on the tangible intimacy described above.

In a nutshell, the Glimmer cast was tasked with creating 30 solos for individuals, to be custom-made based on interactions with each person and performed in public locations throughout the city. The process began with a questionnaire -- things like sweet or savory? what items are currently in your pocket? what is the last thing you lost? what is a Seattle location you love? -- followed by more detailed conversations to really get a sense of the person. My friend was the one who sent in the questionnaire and got to experience this whole process, and I was lucky enough to be invited along to the performance.

And the performance? Wow. It turned out that Glimmer cast member Kelly Sullivan invited us into her home for the experience, yet another step in that intimacy for which the project was striving, I thought. Her dancing was powerful, vulnerable, beautiful and spot-on given my friend’s reaction as the solo finished. I was grateful to have been included in something so unique and magical, and again, amazed that this whole world of dance exists all around me. It just happens to be a community that I’m not very familiar with, that I don’t plug into on a regular basis.

If you didn’t luck into participating in the one-to-one performances, or seeing the dancers at SAM, you still have the chance to experience the project at the culminating performance of A Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light at ACT through May 15. Can’t wait to see what this piece of the project will look like…

One of the surprising and wonderful outcomes of Kelly’s performance was that we got to meet her boyfriend, Eli Rosenblatt, a very talented artist in his own right. Eli played the guitar as Kelly danced, and the two of them together were absolutely lovely -- and I thought that even before we were treated to tea and breakfast and great conversation. It turns out that Eli has quite a schedule of performances of his own, and I’m excited to add these to my plans to see Glimmer at ACT. Find out more about Eli and his music on his Monarch Duo website, and hear him this Wednesday night at Nectar in Fremont.

Who knew that such great connections could come out of one interaction? KT Niehoff, I suspect.

Ravish

From the moment I stepped off Eastlake Ave and through the door at Ravish I was in a better mood. It probably helped that I was there on a rare gorgeous spring afternoon, but I suspect that the brightly painted green mismatched chairs with their orange and red patterned seats and complementary-hued glassybabies would be cheery on the dreariest of days. The flat gray tables, railing separating the bar from the restaurant and the bar itself contrast nicely with all of this brightness, and the sparkly, jangly chandeliers and fixtures over the bar are happily whimsical. I mean really -- how could you be in bad mood in such a place?

Happy hour at Ravish is a hit for me -- so much so that I returned within a week, in fact. I willingly admit that I’m a creature of habit, and in the realm of cocktails I typically (lately) default to a gin martini or sometimes a Manhattan. The fine folks at Ravish offer a happy hour cocktail of the day, though, which I quite enjoyed on both occasions, especially the Dark & Stormy on my second visit.

I’m lucky to have good friends who are willing to try lots of different things, let me eat off their plates and allow me to embarrass them with frequent photos of said plates. Thus it only took a couple of trips to Ravish to try a fair number of the happy hour food offerings, all quite reasonably priced. One of my favorites of the bunch was a more sophisticated version of pigs in a blanket. It was likely due in large part to my weakness for puff pastry, but I loved ‘em. The salad with grapes, apples and cinnamon’d pecans was lovely, as was the maple ham, apple and French brie panini.

We had the artisan spreads trio on both occasions, probably because it’s such a crowd-pleaser basket of breads and crackers served with three delicious spreads: tapenade, goat cheese and the last a combination of red pepper, sundried tomatoes and pine nuts. Another item that made a second appearance because I insisted on it until my friend caved and then was glad she did were the flank steak satay skewers. Tender, perfectly-cooked cubes of beef paired with a slightly sweet sauce. Fantastic!

After looking at the non-happy hour menu, two items I can’t wait to try: Cajun meatloaf sliders with caramelized onions and spicy ketchup on a brioche bun and pancetta three cheese mac and cheese with rosemary cheddar, parmesan and blue cheese topped with breadcrumbs and a truffle oil drizzle.

I’ve long been a fan of Ravish’s parent company, caterer Ravishing Radish, and how exciting that now we have another avenue via which to sample their excellent food. I also noted that their space is available for private parties, and of course I immediately added Ravish to my list of private event spaces, a select few of which you can find here. Now, what sunny, happy event can I bring to this great little space?

Seattle Restaurant Week: Joule

Joule, a sweet little restaurant situated smack in the center of Wallingford, is one of those restaurants that I’ve wanted to try for a while. Its Korean-French menu sounded especially interesting, and I loved that it was a neighborhood spot run by a couple, Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, who had done great things at the now closed Coupage in Madrona. So when I saw that Joule was on the list of participants in Seattle Restaurant Week I made my reservation that instant and decided I could figure out later who would be joining me. And not at all surprisingly, the reservation went from two, to three, to four once word was out.

Joule is a delightfully inviting space, with a counter-front of wainscoting painted a warm yellow that’s a little sunnier than mustard and the perfect contrast to the chocolate brown ceilings and benches, and dark wood floor. The art definitely hints toward the Asian influences to come in the food, as do the drink offerings. I was a fan of the Parisian Sake, and in fact it seemed to me the ideal way to start the meal as it blended both Asian and French elements: Kurosawa sake, St. Germain and grapefruit.

When I first went to Joule’s website I was struck by the beautiful diversity of color, and as the food arrived the other night I thought exactly the same thing. My mother always told me that people eat with their eyes as well and taught me that variation in color and texture is a critical factor in how the food tastes; Joule clearly implements this lesson on a grand scale. (I will say, though, that our Thanksgiving meal is generally exempted from this rule, with its overabundance of smooth, creamy brown-hued foods, brightened by a dollop of cranberries or the occasional brussels sprout. But only if there is room on the plate after the turkey, and mashed potatoes, and stuffing, of course.)

My first of two favorites from the list of starters was the smoked tofu with honshimegi mushroom confit and soy truffle vinaigrette. Smoky and incredibly flavorful, all beautifully presented in this lovely rectangular dish. The second was the spicy beef soup with leek, daikon and crème fraiche, quite spicy and reminiscent of the flavors of traditional kimchi.



The three options for entrée were all quite different, with steak, cannelloni and black cod. Something for everyone, I say! I especially enjoyed the steak bavette, done in a sweet kalbi marinade and served alongside grilled spring onion kimchi and green garlic chimichurri. Perfectly cooked steak with that nicely zesty addition of chimichurri. The rum current sauce of the spicy caramelized black cod sweetened the already-buttery cod, and the watercress and pickled fennel were a nice contrast in taste and texture.



For dessert it was this gorgeous coconut panna cotta served in a rhubarb soup with lime tuile and this deceptively simple-looking condensed milk pound cake with coffee crème anglaise and chocolate Chantilly. That last is a little bit like a super-dense mousse with intense chocolate flavor, and described by one of my friends at the table as “dreamy.” Really.



Having the chance to eat at a restaurant like Joule is exactly what Seattle Restaurant Week is all about, and I’m so glad to have done it. And I really felt as though this meal was entirely representative of the fantastic food they serve all the time, and I just happened to luck into a really great deal. Can’t wait to return!

Seattle Restaurant Week: Bin on the Lake

If Mistral Kitchen was less than I suspect it could be for a non-Seattle Restaurant Week experience, then Kirkland’s Bin on the Lake is certainly the opposite. Located in the Woodmark Hotel, I didn’t know much about the restaurant when I picked it off the list for dinner, and as a result didn’t have especially high expectations. But start to finish, they did a great job of making me feel as though they were excited to have us there and prepared to show off what the restaurant could do. It’s not that the interior was especially stunning -- the stunning happens just outside, with the beautiful view of Lake Washington -- or that the food was particularly inventive, but it was a good, solid experience.

From the three course menu, we started with appetizers of Dungeness crab fritters and beef brisket sliders. The fritters were served with butternut squash and a smear of jalapeno honey, and I thought that they were terrifically crisp and crab-flavorful. The sliders weren’t quite as successful for me -- the overly sweet sauce reminded me of childhood visits to the local Longhorn Barbecue -- but I loved the crispy shallots and mini brioche bun.


From there it was on to an entrée of pork tenderloin on a bed to-die-for crispy spätzle and apple cream, with some leafy greens and golden raisins sprinkled throughout.


Although I generally don’t order a chicken breast when out and about, this one came recommended by our server and turned out be an excellent choice. The chicken itself was cooked beautifully, and arrived atop a stack of brussels sprout and bacon hash, and Beecher’s white cheddar grits, all drizzled with a nicely tart mustard vinaigrette.


We finished the meal with a tasty duo of chocolate mousse with Grand Marnier-soaked strawberries, and espresso bread pudding with accompanying dots of lemon caramel. I’ve been thinking about this, and surely one of the reasons I like things like Seattle Restaurant Week and Dine Around Seattle is that I’m “made” to eat dessert. As one of three courses, one wouldn’t want dessert to feel left out by being refused, would one?

Seattle Restaurant Week: Mistral Kitchen

Yay for Seattle Restaurant Week! From April 18-29 (apparently “Seattle Restaurant 10 Days” didn’t have quite the same ring), Sundays through Thursdays, you have the chance to pay $25 for three courses (or $15 for lunch at some) at 100+ restaurants around the area. It’s an excellent excuse to get out and try one of the restaurants you’ve been dying to check out, and I applaud all of those that committed to participating.

The only catch -- and I’ve thought this about Dine Around Seattle and similar dining promotions as well -- is that they create an unnatural construct for restaurants and patrons alike. The former are (mostly) held to a set menu for the length of the promo which may be a challenge to design depending on their usual price point and likely an increased number of patrons, and the latter expect that the meal they have is representative of the restaurant even though all of these other issues are at play. It makes me cringe a little bit thinking of all of these potential new dining patrons flocking to restaurants they might fall in love with under normal circumstances, but that might not show well under these sorts of “promotional” conditions.

With all of this in mind I embarked on my first reservation for Seattle Restaurant Week, Tuesday lunch at Mistral Kitchen. The new venture from star chef William Belickis, the former chef/owner of Belltown’s Mistral, is slightly more accessible than its especially upscale predecessor but I suspect is not the venue for everyone. It’s on the first floor of a fantastic wedge of a building, with long lines of windows on two sides, one of them fronting Westlake Ave. The rough hewn tabletops add warmth to the otherwise industrial vibe of the interior, with its concrete floors, abundance of heavy metals and modern furnishings and fixtures. The main dining room and bar area are adjacent to a much warmer, cushier small dining room, the “chef’s table” area where William Belickis displays his considerable talents as well as a couple of little nooks perfect for small groups of cocktails-sippers.

We started with a nicely peppery salad of arugula, fennel, pecorino, lemon and olive oil. From there we both chose for the main course the roasted pork chop with farro, glazed asparagus and saba. The farro was a touch firm for my taste, but the pork chop was nicely done, likely a challenge when churning out so many portions for hungry and harried lunchtime crowds.

The dessert was this sweet little milk chocolate coriander ice cream sandwich with a dollop of apricot compote. The coriander was entirely undetectable until I had a bite of ice cream sans sandwich and concentrated really really hard, but quite complementary to the meal all the same.



Although I love that Seattle Restaurant Week brought me to Mistral, which I might not have otherwise tried, I can’t help but think that I didn’t have the real Mistral experience. Maybe dinner would be different, or maybe this is designed to whet my appetite for more. I’m not entirely convinced, though, when there are so many other good restaurants to sample. Onward with SRW…

Santé

Step 1: Get in your car. Step 2: Drive east. Way east. Step 3: Screech to a halt in downtown Spokane in front of Santé, the year-and-a-half old restaurant and charcuterie attached to Auntie’s Bookstore. Auntie’s is Spokane’s fantastic independent bookstore, kindred spirit to Elliott Bay in Seattle and Powell’s in Portland. Perhaps there is a trend of talented restaurateurs running bookstore-attached cafes -- see Tamara Murphy in Elliott Bay’s former lower level space -- and if so, Chef/Owner Jeremy Hansen is an excellent example of this trend on the east side of the state.

From an interior perspective, it’s more upscale than other bookstore cafes I’ve seen. Though there aren’t a huge number of tables, the open ceiling and big windows that look onto West Main Street give the room a terrific spaciousness. The white wainscoting on two walls and dark, shiny floor contrast nicely, as do the substantial, very un-modern chairs and the distinctly modern menu. The space is well-proportioned and comfortable, but clearly much of the action is taking place out of sight.

It’s late on a Thursday night and Hansen is all energy and enthusiasm, excited to talk about his plans for Santé. He and his relatively large team will continue to produce great food out of what is a tiny kitchen for such a varied menu, while expanding into other areas of the building as the restaurant offerings evolve. The newest of these is a recently-finished space in the basement, now ground zero for their house-cured charcuterie and soon to become the same for cheese and bread production. For all of the restaurants that aspire to make everything in-house, Santé gives them a run for their money. Next up is an herb garden on the rooftop, I’ve no doubt.

The first thing that appeared at the table that evening was an amuse-bouche, literally something that “entertains the mouth,” a single bite of some bit of wonderful that arrives unbidden from the chef. This particular version was a thin crisp of toast with apple jelly, goat cheese and a blackberry gracing the top. Just enough to get the palate ready for more.

Next came the crespella, a goat cheese and leek stuffed crêpe with tomato confit and basil gastrique. The tomato arrived intact rather than confited, which was perfectly fine with me, and the gastrique was sweet and basil-y and the perfect accompaniment to the goat cheese and crêpe.

The charcuterie plate was a rather substantial offering of salami, chicken terrine, brie, cornichons, baguette and two house-made mustards, my favorite of which was the marjoram. But for me the star of the plate was the duck prosciutto, immensely flavorful and gorgeously un-lean.

The true cod had a lovely sear on the top and was falling-apart tender and much more flavorful than I might have expected from this particular fish. No doubt it helped that the cod was paired with the creamiest root vegetable risotto, spinach, onion and beurre fondue. I’m guessing that last is a bit like beurre blanc only creamier, which likely gave the risotto the texture I loved so much. The balsamic reduction around the rim of the plate and plum and walnut chutney lent a bit of sweetness, contrasting with the salt of the gaufrette (a thinly waffled potato crisp) placed atop the dish.

We finished with this caramel apple crème brulée, paired with a granny smith apple sorbet. As with everything else we had that evening dessert was beautifully presented, but the chunks of fruit overwhelmed the crème brulée and the accompanying sorbet seemed an unnecessary addition when quite lacking in flavor. In my opinion, the only misstep in an otherwise fantastic meal.

Santé also looks to have a knock-out brunch menu, and I already have my eye on a couple of items: the duck hash (duck confit, foie gras butter, potatoes, onion, white sauce, duck egg, baguette) and the phyllo and house paneer (house-made paneer, date and walnut chutney, tofu, watercress, red wine gastrique). They’re also doing all kinds of interesting events worth checking out, including 15, a 15-course (nope, that’s not a typo) extravaganza complete with participating wineries, all benefitting Ronald McDonald House Charities of Spokane.

Clearly it’s not just Chef Hansen and the talented team in the back of the house who do great work at Santé. Kudos to our server, Eric, who did a fantastic job of pointing us toward menu items we might not have otherwise tried. He was knowledgeable, helpful and fun -- three things I very much appreciate in someone walking me through a meal. With this kind of phenomenal food and service, and engaging community events, it looks like a bright food future for Santé, without a doubt.

Naked City Brewery & Taphouse

I like a good brewery as much as the next person, as evidenced by plenty of quality time spent at the Jolly Roger Taproom in Ballard and the Hilltop Ale House on Queen Anne and its brethren around the city. So I was looking forward to trying out Naked City Brewery & Taphouse in Greenwood, after hearing good things about the atmosphere and food.

The atmosphere is pretty standard brewery interior. A distinct beer motif (what else would you expect?), though the huge expanse of wall running the length of the space does provide a nice surface for rotating artist exhibitions. Big, long bar with an impressive array of beers, one of which was the best amber I’ve had in ages. Maybe ever.

Though for a restaurant that proclaims “local, organic, sustainable” on its menu and thus must think quite a bit about the food it serves, the two items we had were oddly lackluster. The Aurorable sliders listed all of these yummy-sounded ingredients (Italian bresaola with beer-braised onions, Beecher’s Select smoked flagship cheese and garlic olive oil infusion) but the bread overwhelmed what might have been an interesting interior. And maybe I have unreasonably gooey expectations for my Reuben, but their version was decidedly dressing-sparse and not particularly flavorful. Even though the grass-fed pastrami, swiss cheese, Skagit Valley sauerkraut and thousand island dressing all sounded so promising when read aloud.

For sure, I’d return to Naked City if I found myself in Greenwood in need of a beer, I just wouldn’t have high expectations for knock-out pub grub. For a fantastic amber? Most definitely.

Quick party turnaround

Hey Alix,

I am hoping you can help me with something:

We are having somewhat of a last minute “big wig” dinner on our boat for a group of eleven this Thursday! The higher ups from a large corporation are coming in from all over the nation -- including Hawaii -- for this occasion. I am thinking finger food and cocktails along with our tour. We have hired a captain but feel like we don’t need catering staff. Looking for Northwest-y food, artfully displayed.

Help!!!

- Happy Boater

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Dear Happy Boater,

A small event two days from now, and you want the party to have a Northwest flair? Here are a couple of options:

1. If you’re looking for easy, my first suggestion would be to call caterer Madres Kitchen and see if they can get something together this quickly. They are great -- two mothers own it (hence the name) -- and they are terrific to work with. They can likely put together lovely platters that they simply drop off, rather than having to hang around and be "cater-y."

2. Or, if you're up for a little bit of assembly and a little bit of cooking, how about the Whole Foods route? Their prepared food section would have a bunch of good options, including outstanding crab cakes if you have access to an oven. A quick bake and some bottled sauce, and you’re all set. Chicken and vegetable skewers can be done slightly in advance, so that you’re not slaving over the grill and trying to be hostess with the mostess at the same time. Add a couple of salads from that same section, maybe a shrimp something and whatever orzo variety they have on hand.

Elsewhere in the store, pick up packaged lox, cream cheese, capers and sliced tomato, along with thin rye toasts; such a Northwest kind of thing to serve. A cheese plate with a selection of two to three always helps to round out heavy hors d’oeuvres; Mt. Townsend’s Seastack is one of my favorites.

3. As for beverages, how about St. Germaine gin and tonics, made with gin from Spokane’s own Dry Fly Distilling. You might also want some beers on hand, and perhaps at the same Whole Foods you’ll be able to find some local options. Two of my personal favorites are made locally in Georgetown, Georgetown Brewing Company’s Manny’s Pale Ale and Baron Brewing Company’s Baron Pilsner.

4. For dessert, how about a tray of artfully broken up bars from Theo Chocolate or Fran's salted caramels -- both available at Whole Foods, I'm nearly certain. Add a couple of small bowls of different berries (strawberries and blueberries, say) and you're set.

Lark

I’ve spent plenty of time at adjacent sibling Licorous, but somehow I’ve never made it to Lark until recently. Man, was I missing out! Terrific, fabulous and I can’t wait to go back to try more.

The interior feels a bit like an upscale barn, with distressed wood floors and tables that tend toward the dark side. The light, creamy walls contrast with all this dark wood and similarly-hued exposed beams, lightening up the place while keeping it warm and inviting. The color block paintings on the walls, cylindrical light fixtures with thick wood bands at the top and bottom and sheer moveable curtains that hang on tracks from the ceiling complete the space.

Times have changed and now nettles aren’t just something to avoid being scratched by… When foraged from the wilds of wherever they are just as prickly as you would expect, but apparently when cooked the prickly portion falls away and becomes entirely edible and occasionally even delicious. After hearing all of this I excited to see wild nettle soup on Lark’s menu and anxious to try it. Their version has basil fed snails and garlic and was utterly creamy, but I’m told is completely vegan with no cream in sight. Impressive.

It’s impossible to pick a favorite dish of the night, but the Bluebird Grain Farms farro with trumpet mushrooms and garlic confit comes close for me. Served in this tiny skillet, the nicely firm and perfectly seasoned farro has a dash mascarpone folded in at the last minute then garnished with paper thin strips of fried garlic.

The carpaccio of yellowtail with preserved lemons and slivers of green olives was light and citrusy and rivals my favorite escolar crudo at How to Cook a Wolf. The Mishima Ranch steak tartare with raw quail egg was magnificent, and I’m fairly certain that I took more than my fair share of this particular dish. The only aspect I didn’t love was the onion crackers, which were terrific on their own but I thought a bit too substantial to accompany the steak tartare.

Our last savory, the leg of venison, was poached, chilled then roasted to order and served with a choucroute of red cabbage and roasted root vegetables. Cooked to perfection and blissfully un-gamey.



Somehow after all of this, we managed to sample two desserts. The rustic rhubarb crostata was dense without being too sweet, even with the white chocolate sorbetto, with a nice bit of crunch courtesy of the almonds.


The Theo dark chocolate pave was a veritable slab of chocolate, again offset with nuts but this time in toasted pistachio form, and accompanied by a dollop of coconut sorbet and a thin crisp of cookie. I loved the different textures here, perfectly paired even if I wasn’t such a fan of the dark dessert on the dark plate.

Sometimes I visit a new restaurant and think OK, I’ve had everything on the menu I’m interested in trying. But at Lark, I’m anxious to get back and sample everything I missed, before they make a seasonal shift to a new menu. An excellent sign, I think!

Out with Txori, in with Pintxo

Holy bad timing, Batman! Just when I finally make it to Txori after months of passing by its Second Ave location, I read on Seattle Metropolitan’s Nosh Pit blog that it’s departing the scene on April 19.

The good news is that newcomer Pintxo will be moving into the space and maintaining much of the interior and the overall menu direction of Txori. Sounds to me like there is another visit on the horizon, post-April 23…

Txori

I’m a sucker for open kitchens, which is a good thing given that along with small plates they seem to be the trend of the moment. I like that an open kitchen seems to foster a better connection between the talented chefs who prepare the fabulous food, and we diners who consume it. Less of an us and them approach, I guess.

The one at Txori, the Belltown sibling of Madison Park’s Harvest Vine, charmed me instantly: A narrow open strip of kitchen that runs the length of the skinny entry space, just room enough for seats at the bar and three tall tables against the wall. This particular version of the open kitchen includes the kind of counter top display case you might see more usually at a sushi bar, but this one is stocked with meats and cheeses. The open concept extends into the shelves that run the length of the space, moving from big canisters of grains and spices, to dishes, to liquor, as the space transitions to match those various uses. And of course, a big rolling library ladder moves across the entire area and gives the staff access to all of those tall shelves.

The space opens up a little as you make your way toward the back, but only enough to accommodate four more tall squares and a scant eight shorter squares for dining tables. The interior is all browns and grays: weathered wood floor, big metal light fixtures overhanging the bar, metal stools that reminded both of us -- independently -- of high school chemistry lab, tabletops that blend both in a faux-grainy shiny finish. The accent color here is red, and through the red framed window-pane doors near the back I event spied a petite patio with lights strung across the top of the narrow space and heat lamps to take the edge off a chilly evening.

We started with two cocktails, the Cava de Flores (Elderflower liqueur, rose cava and orange) and the Nido Rojo (Hendricks gin, triple sec, Peychaud’s bitters and Patraxaran, a Spanish liqueur). The Cava de Flores was good but didn’t pack enough of a punch for me; the Nido Rojo was tasty enough to have a second time. A little sweet, but immensely drinkable.

The menu is divided into Pintxos Frios (small plates cold or really, room temperature), Pintxos Calientes (small plates hot) and Raciones (larger plates). The first thing we tried is pictured here and was one of the best, the Cana de Cabra: goat cheese, apple and caramelized onion on a thick slice of bread. From there on to Pa Amb Tomaquet: jamon Serrano, tomato and garlic on toasted bread. Simple and delicious. Next it was the Brandada con Huevo Frito y Setas: salt cod and potato pureed into a mousse, layered onto a slice of bread with oyster mushrooms and topped with a fried egg. Salty and perfectly stacked. Vegetables made an appearance in the Coliflor: roasted cauliflower with confited onions. (Who knew that was even a word?) Yum, and just the right amount of tender. Finally, another potato mousse in the Pato Confitatdo, a duck confit.

Everything that we tried was interesting and delicious, and clearly very thoughtfully constructed. And I love the interior and could easily see myself dropping by to meet friends for a drink and a nibble on the way home from work. It seemed a tiny bit pricey given the size of the plates, but going in with the right expectation I highly encourage a visit to Txori.



[Photo of Txori’s interior courtesy of fromtherightbank]

Ka Won

If there is one kind of Asian cuisine that’s readily available in the Seattle area, that has been sorely under-explored by me, it’s Korean. Until a recent visit to Ka Won on Highway 99 in Lynnwood, it had been years since I’d had Korean food and so I was thrilled when a friend suggested this outing. Good thing that she’s quite familiar with the place, as I would have had a hard time finding it hidden around the corner in a rather nondescript strip mall.

Many people -- like me, I confess -- associate Korean food with grilled meats and Ka Won does a fantastic job with this style. Many of the tables in the restaurant have the grill built into the surface, helpful when you’re trying to manage this army of small dishes. We ordered the Ka Won Deungshini for two, four large fillets of beef sirloin with mushrooms, garlic and onions, all intended to go on the grill. Thankfully the meal also comes with industrial shears for cutting the meat into more manageable pieces, key to slightly more ladylike consumption of an entire hunk of meat.

What makes Ka Won so good, though, is their impressive array of banchan, or side dishes. Here is a shot taken of the other end of the table, which I’m afraid doesn’t entirely capture all of the plates, bowls and containers involved.

A couple of varieties of kimchee, of course, the variously pickled and spiced items that most of us think of as representatively Korean. Taro root, firm and a little sweet, and tofu in chili oil with green onions dusted over the top. Similar to the Japanese style, a hard-pressed omelet of green onion and a meaty something, maybe with a bit of mayo. A dab of especially creamy potato salad, which was the perfect cool and bland counterpoint to many of the other items on the table.

I’m generally very food adventurous, but months spent in Japan taught me that I wasn’t such a fan of the tiny, salty fishies whose eyes stare up at you, and this preference seems not to have changed since I last tried them 15 years ago. The feast of steak-accompaniments was capped off with the most enormous plate of salad with a delicious rice vinegar dressing, which somehow the two of us managed to devour.

I’ve long known that my favorite style of eating involves multiple small items shared among friends, which is why I love tapas, dim sum and Ethiopian, just to name a few indigenously presented in this manner. Seeing that all sorts of restaurants are on the small plate bandwagon, I couldn’t be happier. Korean barbecue fills this bill for sure, and now that I know where to get some of the best around, I’ll look forward to a return visit up Aurora to Ka Won.

Breakfast joints

Dear Alix,

Help! I’ve worn a path to my same old breakfast spots and need some suggestions for other places to try. No specific area of town in mind…

Thanks in advance!
Molly

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Molly,

Ah, the never-ending search for a good breakfast that doesn’t also come with a line out the door. On occasion the line is worth it, but more often than not I think there are plenty of places that will fill the bill and don’t require a long wait.

By no means a comprehensive list, but some of my favorites:

Oddfellows - It’s not fancy food or a particularly extensive breakfast menu, but they have some interesting options and I like the big, open interior. Also, you get to soak up some of the hipster Capitol Hill vibe along with your latte.

Hangar Cafe - Situated in an old house a little bit off the Georgetown strip, Hangar Café has fantastic sweet and savory crepes. If you’re not up for the trip to Georgetown, sibling Citizen Coffee in Queen Anne has a similar menu with a totally different interior vibe.

Café Soleil - Talk about no lines! I’ve never had to wait for a table at this sunny, corner spot in Madrona, and they serve good, solid American breakfast. Curiously, the menu turns to Ethiopian for dinner, something I definitely need to check out.

Vera’s - If it’s a dive-y, diner-y experience that you that you’re looking for, Vera’s in Ballard is a good bet, as is The Shanty in lower Queen Anne. Country fried steak? Yum.

Le Pichet - If you like the French-y version of breakfast, and I do, Le Pichet downtown on First Ave just east of Pike Place Market is one of my favorites. Whenever I go, no matter weekday or weekend morning, it’s always fun and bustling and somehow cozy all at the same time.

Verve - I just went to this Columbia City wine bar for the first time, and I said it then and will say it again that my breakfast was one of the best I've had in the city. Sunny, happy atmosphere and absolutely delicious, interesting food. Great combo, no?

Volterra - One of the best in the upscale brunch category. If savory herb bread pudding topped with two eggs, asparagus tips and smoked Gouda cream isn’t enough to get you to Ballard, I don’t know what is.

Bakery Nouveau - Although there are several fantastic bakeries in the city, West Seattle’s Bakery Nouveau is worth the drive for a breakfast of the quiche-y and pastry-y variety.

Eat, drink and be merry: Queen Anne

Last Friday night I had the chance to do a bit of a pub crawl in my own ‘hood, the perfect proximity to home for an end-of-a-long-week outing. Here are a few tidbits about that evening and the neighborhood in general, in the spirit of my occasional series on interesting neighborhoods to check out.

First stop was Flow Lounge, in the former Opal Bistro space at the corner of Queen Anne Ave and Boston. I hadn’t yet checked it out, something to do with my own private rebellion at the fact that there was no menu posted outside and thus nothing that beckoned me inside. Good thing to have been brought there, though, because it’s a neighborhood spot I could see returning to. I wouldn’t call the food exceptional, but the interior is upscale comfortable and the service is fantastic. We were there just under the wire for happy hour, and had the house salad (perfectly good, though unremarkable), garlic fries (utterly lacking in garlic), panko prawns (breaded goodness) and the mini cheeseburger (the one pictured here). It was delicious, without a doubt, and the best nibble I tried at Flow. My only gripe is that this petite slider-sized cheeseburger was $6, which seemed out of sync with the rest of the happy hour menu. I mean, c’mon!

From there, it was a short trip around the corner to How to Cook a Wolf. Although I love the food there and have raved about both menu and interior, on this particular visit we were there just to soak up some of the latter and enjoy a beverage. Glasses of Syrah and Montepulciano, and a Hendricks martini, and we were on our way to the next location.

The evening ended at Betty, sibling to Queen Anne neighbor, Crow, and somewhere I’ve not been for a while. We headed straight to the back bar and had the most delicious Manhattans and a to-die-for spring risotto. Jill, bartender extraordinaire, surprised us with this lovely salted caramel and almond tart, graced with a sour cherry compote and a dollop of mascarpone. Salty, sweet and utterly delicious.

Last but not least, remember the empty space on the corner of Queen Anne Ave and Blaine I wrote about in a recent post? On Friday night we walked past and discovered that it’s going to be a ’Zaw location, the bake-at-home pizza chain that has been springing up around town. Is it just me, or does Seattle feel like it’s pizza crazy all of the sudden? For a roundup of the best check out the March issue of Seattle Metropolitan and their Pizza Smackdown, where they do a good job of breaking down the different styles and coming up with a best-in-show for each.

Verve Wine Bar & Cellar

You wouldn’t necessarily stumble on Verve, as it’s a bit hidden just off Ferdinand and adjacent to its own parking lot, though in the heart of Columbia City. Maybe I’ve been spending too much time on Capitol Hill, but I experienced a stab of joy when I realized that there was an actual parking lot available to patrons of Verve. And that’s after I parked a half block away in the big public lot that charges one glorious dollar for two hours of parking.

The fabulous Picnic in Phinney first introduced me to the idea of great food served in and amongst an excellent selection of retail wine, and Verve does this concept proud. The interior is simple and bright, featuring lots of blond wood and big, rectangular light fixtures that make great use of fine wire mesh. A low, curving wall of seating separates the dining area from the bar and racks of wine, creating a well-defined space for each.

Brunch is a new endeavor for Verve, and I’ll say right now that the two things we tried were so good we can’t wait to come back for more. First was (Chef) Garrett’s Bacon and Eggs with pork belly, two eggs any style, hashbrowns and salad, and the photo you saw at the top of the post. That’s the pork belly peeking out from under the eggs, an offering that seems to be on menus all over town and in my opinion done quite well at restaurant siblings Spur and Tavern Law. This version was braised and grilled, the right preparation for breakfast as pork belly is incredibly rich and could easily overwhelm the rest of the flavors on the plate. The salad significantly notched up the “brunch” quotient of the meal and was the perfect light counterpoint to the pork and buttery, crisp-on-the-outside hashbrowns.

This gorgeous number is the Polenta Cake and Eggs, though the polenta and Andouille sausage, as well as hashbrowns, are hiding under the two soft-fried eggs. The slightly spicy roasted tomato sauce was perfect for the polenta and sausage, and that sauce along with the cherry tomatoes made for a visually delicious meal. The only question I had was why the three cubes of mozzarella cheese atop the eggs, which didn’t add much to the flavor profile of the dish. With or without, this is one of the best meals I’ve had at brunch, hands downs.

That “more” I mentioned earlier, the items for which we would gladly return? Here are three: Duck 2-Ways Benedict (duck confit, poached duck eggs, Meyer lemon-tarragon hollandaise), Prawns and Grits (mascarpone grits, grilled Alaska spot prawns, roasted shallot gravy, poached egg) and the Brie Croque Monsieur (grilled thinly-sliced ham, organic brie and tart Granny Smith apple dipped in French toast batter, garlic aioli). Also, I hear that the bright interior also translates well into the evening hours, when the menu turns to smaller plates like Grilled Baby Artichokes and Sardinian Flatbread and Olives, and larger plates like Lobster Risotto with Fennel and Muscovy Duck Breast.

This fabulousness at Verve is all good and well, but where was I when Columbia City was busy getting interesting? Sure, I’ve been here before and had great food at Kallaloo, Geraldine’s Counter, Columbia City Bakery and La Medusa. On this last visit to the neighborhood I even managed to tear myself away from food for long enough to swing by Gather Consignment and score a cool new ring. But all of the sudden it seems like everywhere I turn there are all sorts of places I want to check out. Stay tuned, because future trips (and future posts) will likely involve Full Tilt for ice cream that rivals Molly Moon’s, I’m told, Wabi Sabi for sushi and Lottie’s Lounge for their revamped menu with all kinds of good stuff. CC, here I come…

Taberna del Alabardero

The interior of Belltown’s Taberna del Alabardero isn’t all that different from its days as Cascadia. Big windows that look out on to First Ave, and a reasonably large section of the reasonably large restaurant devoted to bar space. Though the much-beloved Alpine Martini is no longer on the menu, I was pleased to see that happy hour is still done very well at this location.

Given that Alabardero is all about Spanish tapas, it seemed fitting to start with sangria. And at $14 a pitcher for either the red or white variety, also fittingly well-priced. Light, a little sweet, and way too easy to drink more that my allotted one glass. Also on the happy hour beverage list were an Alabardero Lager, a selection of wine and Tinto de Verano, white wine with a dash of Sprite (aka Spanish white wine spritzer?).

On a couple of visits last week I did a pretty good job of working my way through many of the offerings on the happy hour menu. The Tortilla de Patata is indeed the traditional potato omelet as described, while the Mini Hamburgesa de Cordero (lamb and Mahon cheese slider with french fries) seemed like the kind of slider plate you might see in many places around town these days. The Coca Catalana, the flatbread pictured here, had a great combination of roasted eggplant, onion, red and green peppers and was nicely salty on the first occasion but definitely lacked same on the second.

The Serrano ham and Manchego cheese plate was straightforwardly delicious, though the $8 price seemed a little skewed when compared with other items on the menu. I was a big fan of Cazuela de Gambas al Pil-Pil, the sautéed shrimp in a broth of cayenne, olive oil and garlic, perfect for bread-dipping. The Croquetas de Jamon y Pollo, Iberico ham and chicken croquettes, are a deliciously fried guilty pleasure.

The most interesting dish, and my favorite of the bunch, was the Carpaccio de Vierias. I’ve had carpaccio in many forms, but never of the scallop variety. This is a very thinly sliced scallop placed over a creamy cauliflower puree and topped with scallion-infused oil and flying fish roe. Lovely, and delicately delicious.

The food at Alabardero was very good and the service fantastic, but they totally sealed the deal on my last visit by bringing out an enormous pan and serving samples of their house chicken and chorizo paella to everyone in the bar. This is a great happy hour alternative to other more “Belltown-y” options, and well worth a stop by to check out the sangria, the tapas and maybe even paella -- if you’re lucky.