mamster

My TJ's in Seattle carries a couple of Chocovic bars, including one mostly-criollo Venezuelan bar which is excellent. My other favorite bar at Joe's is the Valrhona Le Noir Amer 71%. That's all I know off the top of my head.

I stopped in at El Mercado Latino yesterday and they said they'd have it this summer. I didn't realize it was so seasonal.

Tyler, I hadn't even thought about it. So I'll try Pike Place, Uwajimaya, and Burien in that order as necessary.

I've looked there but I admit I haven't actually asked. I'll do so next week.

I have an herb store? Panosmex, I would be too nervous to use wild herbs. tighe, I would be too nervous to go to Burien. Just kidding. I'll check it out.

I've been on a Mexican food kick lately, and a lot of recipes call for fresh epazote. I don't remember coming across it for sale. Any ideas where to look? I'm pretty sure they don't have it at either of the Latin groceries at Pike Place Market. Thanks!

Bruce, I'm delighted to hear that. I haven't made one of those in too long. Hmm, no plans for breakfast tomorrow... Matthew

If it's what I think you mean, I'm sure it has a Chinese name, but I've always just heard it called "fried noodle cake" or "crispy noodle cake".

I went to the new Vivace this morning. Good news: it's open, and the coffee is just as good as any other Vivace location. Bad news: the wine idea didn't work out, although they will have bottled beer.

I just fell off my chair.

Hey, Vince. I know you would never miss a chop-busting opportunity. I think you're probably right about the soup, but it was impossible to evaluate it in any context other than the rest of the stuff I had at Green Leaf, most of which is rather more subtle and balanced than at an average Vietnamese restaurant, but there's still plenty of fish sauce, chiles, and so on. It's hard to back off from that and consider the very mild duck soup on its own merits, considerable though they may be.

Vivace's opening a wine bar? Awesome.

Well, he did say he wants to work to get kids off drugs. And smashing a wine bar is of course an important part of that goal. And bistro. Can't forget the bistro. Did anyone catch in Nancy's column in today's Times that John Sundstrom wants to call his new Lark adjunct "Licorous"? Think that one will pass muster? edit: I just typed "adjunk" instead of "adjunct." Wow.

HULK SMASH WINE BAR. AND BISTRO.

That's funny. I was sent to review Treasure Thai a couple years ago and found it unreviewable--definitely in the bottom quarter of Thai food I've had in town, and no reason to write a negative review, either. Every time I've gone past it since, I've said, "I can't believe that place is still in business."

It will be at Broadway on Thursdays again, I'm betting, since that is seasonal slice day. Jason, I can't remember if I've asked you this before, but is there any chance the pepper confetti primo will come back? I miss that like I miss my homies.

Laurie and I had dinner at Fork last night, and it was absolutely great. We really had to strain to come up with anything to complain about. The bread basket had some good seeded dinner rolls and some great chive-cheddar biscuits. They offered us more biscuits, and we had to refuse, or we would have made dinner out of biscuits. We had the special appetizer, a gelee of duck confit, foie gras, and granny smith apple on toast points with frisee salad. Perfect, although we could have used a little extra toast. It's really hard to choose an entree at Fork. I finally went with the Prawn Pot au Feu. Good choice. It was a healthy portion of large shrimp hanging out in a rich lobster-shrimp broth with savoy cabbage and other vegetables. Chef Scott has a real way with vegetables. The cabbage was the perfect flavorful sauce delivery vehicle. Laurie had the fish and chips, which I'm sure she'll tell you about, but I'll spoil and say that her vegetables were even better: a circle of smooth celeriac puree topped with crunchy potato home fries, fried in duck fat. For dessert, I couldn't pass up the chocolate lava cake with chocolate-chipotle ice cream. The cake was standard, although I always like this cake. The ice cream was special, a slow burn in the back of the throat. My only issue with the dessert is that the cake is so chocolate that it sort of erases the chocolate flavor in the ice cream. Try the ice cream first. Fork doesn't feel like a two-week-old restaurant. The service exudes confidence, and our food came out fast but not too fast. The thing I liked most about Fork, and I'll probably expand on this in a blog post, is that it's simultaneously a serious restaurant and a casual one. The food the work of a chef: layers of flavor, concentrated sauces, and playful menu descriptions. Because of the restaurant's location and because Scott is a casual sort of guy, you can wear jeans to fork or take an important date there or both. The portion sizes are just right (I was a little nervous about this, since the BOB was known for gutbusting plates). So was the price: about $75 for the two of us, including tip. (We don't drink much.) Scott is a friend of ours, but obviously, if I hadn't enjoyed my meal, I'd tell him--and you. But I can't wait to go back to Fork.

I don't exactly have the inside scoop on Belle Epicurean, but I can tell you two things: 1. After going a couple of rounds with the market boards, their stand is going to be in the market proper, across from Delaurenti, duking it out with the donuts. 2. The croissants aren't supposed to be blackened, and they promised me they're fixing the problem.

Cafe on the Ave is not that new, but it's a huge improvement. Free wireless, Macrina pastries and cookies, and drinks that are still cheap but much more carefully made. I think they bought some new furniture, too.

I like reheated NY-style pizza, especially reheated in a cast-iron skillet. But this is a little off-topic. As for Seattle pizza, I can't speak to the authenticity of any particular place, but I think the Primavera pie at Via Tribunali (with arugula and parmesan) is a superb pizza in the Neapolitan style. Like tsquare, I went to Tutta Bella once and it was okay, but I haven't felt the need to go back. That Primavera, I think about that almost every day.

I suppose Le Fournil is the closest thing, but I think Belle Epicurean has a much cleaner and more hard-edged design. It's taking the same idea and going all the way with it.

Iris and I, long regulars at the Belle Epicurean farmers market stand, have been down the bakery twice now, with side trips to the Teddy Bear Suite at the Fairmont. The pastries have been discussed quite a bit, although they have an expanded dessert selection. What's most striking about the place is that it looks like no other bakery in Seattle. It looks European-serious, with tile floors, marble tables, and a big glass case. It resembles Le Pichet more than it does any other bakery, but if anything it's even more of a formal design than Le Pichet. I love it. Expect to hear more from me about Belle Epicurean in the Times soon.

The Texan at Red Line seriously rocks. It's a hot, pressed sandwich with roast beef, cheddar, red onions (I think that's right), and horseradish, served with chipotle au jus. Whoever was asking about a great French Dip, this certainly is one, albeit nontraditional. Other than that, I second Paseo's Midnight Cuban and Salumi's Porchetta. Seattle is somehow blessed with more than its share of great pork sandwiches.

Sadly, the Capitol Hill Internet Cafe is no more. Those were good sandwiches, and also Laurie and I went there to check email (at their old location) when we were first apartment hunting in Seattle. So what's your new #8?

Iris and I had some shroom primo last week and it was great, although her favorite slice is Veggie Veggie Combo. Jason, when's pear primo due?