mamster

Name of Establishment 88 Deli Address 1043 S. Jackson St, Seattle, WA 98104 Date/Time Closed August 13, 2002, 3:30 PM Reason Operating without approved Food Service Establishment Plan Status CLOSED Date/Time Reopened ... (as yet unknown)

I think uni is one of the most challenging foods out there. I've talked about it with Seattle's two lead restaurant critics, and one doesn't like it at all and the other took twenty years to appreciate it. I've tried it a couple of times and it feels like a mouthful of pond scum, but I'll keep at it (especially when I'm in Tokyo this fall), secure in the knowledge that there is pleasure to be had in there somewhere.

I stand by my love of Bertolli Marinara With Burgundy Wine. It's nice and tart, good pasta-coating texture, and makes a nice base for improvisation. I haven't found any other jarred sauce I like, and I do often make my own, but we always keep the Bertolli on hand.

I can't wait to see the snaps.

I made a reservation at the Shinagawa Prince, but I'm going to ask around a little more about hotels. I've been wary of doing a ryokan because I don't want to be trapped into the kaiseki dinner; would they be offended if I didn't take dinner at the inn?

It sounds like your version of the roast chicken was rather different form ours. Our was served on plates with an armagnac cream sauce and, if I remember right, sauteed fennel. I suppose they change up the sauce and presentation every couple of months. Yours sounds great, too. If you can do better, let me know what time to be at your house.

I've gotten pretty wary about ordering fried things after I ordered a "mixed seafood tempura" at a non-Japanese restaurant and got a soggy (heavy batter, oil not hot enough) plate of grease. I'll certainly still get tempura or tonkatsu at actual Japanese restaurants, and I'll try the fries anywhere, but the whole fried entree almost always sounds better than it is. I'm surprised no one (including Jinmyo) has mentioned dessert. If I've had a mediocre meal, I don't expect dessert to be any better; if I've had a good meal, I don't want to ruin it with a bad dessert. A lot of restaurants that turn out respectable savory food can't make a dessert to save their lives.

Can I just mention that I wrote a song about the service at Starbucks? http://www.mamster.net/ratcm/audio/barista.mp3 Thanks. I accept tips.

Cabrales, royal Thai food is largely a matter of presentation--intricately carved vegetable garnishes and the like. And since democracy in Thailand, the royal recipes have seeped into the general food culture osmotically. Thai food in Thailand is absolutely one of the greatest joys of my life: the hundreds of dishes, the depth of flavor, the surety of finding a good meal on the most unpromising street. I could see someone finding Thai food busy and overseasoned, but that is not the way my mouth works. Three things stand out to me as different between Thai food in Thailand and the West. First, there is a considerably greater breadth of dishes in Thailand. I can think of half a dozen things offhand that I've never seen on a Thai menu in the U.S. Second, the balance of seasonings is done with much greater care over there. It's rare to get a dish that's overly sweet (this happens to me all the time in the U.S.); you do have to get use to the lavish use of fish sauce. Which leads to the third point: better ingredients. Thai food is built on fresh ingredients, and many of them don't travel well, or are grown outside of Thailand but not to the same effect. I haven't been to Lotus of Siam, but if you're planning a special trip, consider going to Bangkok instead--I'm sure Lotus is good, but Bangkok is a blast.

I've never told you how much I enjoy these, ngatti--chefs posting and taking questions about their menus is one of the coolest and most unique features of eGullet. Tell me more about that foie and shrimp app--it sounds like an incredible combo if you've pulled it off. What goes into the sauce?

Laurie and I tried to go for lunch today, but they were closed. I'm hoping they're on vacation, although there was no sign to that effect. I think they're usually open 9-6. We ended up at Buu Dien for lunch, and it has more atmosphere and better drinks, but with the exception of the roast chicken, none of the sandwiches lived up to 88 quality in my view. Seattle Deli, it appears, has moved into snazzy new digs on the west side of 12th. We were afraid of missing the bus so we didn't stop in. Also, there are lights on and people at work inside the Malay Satay Hut, but it's still coming soon.

I don't like white chocolate, but I had a dark chocolate Kit Kat and liked it; it was as much better than the regular Kit Kat as the Milky Way Midnight is than the regular Milky Way.

David-- I live in Seattle and become inflamed with jealousy every time I come up to Vancouver. We have some pretty good restaurants here in Seattle, but nothing like the breadth and quality you've got up there. So why is Vancouver such a great restaurant city despite its relatively small size? Is there anything Seattle could crib, short of luring you and Feenie and the rest down here on some kind of Microsoft-funded stipend?

Okay, I'm waving the celery in the air, but I still do care. Help please! Also, the roof is on fire. Soba, there's probably no heroin in the celery dish at GSI, but it's an incredibly addictive food--I can easily polish off a whole portion, and it's like 90% celery. And HOT.

Jinmyo, you raise an interesting point, probably worthy of an XXL thread all its own. I'll start it on General. edit: I did it

All of these are good suggestions, but I'm particularly drawn to the celery salad. I forgot about that salad they serve at Grand Sichuan International with the celery and the hot oil and the heroin (there must be some reason I always eat so much of it). Jinmyo's version sounds great, too. And I'll try the dicing and freezing, too. I just mentioned to Laurie that I started this thread and she said, "Just buy a can of cheez whiz and presto, instant hors d'oeuvres."

I often buy a whole bunch of celery for a recipe that requires a single rib. What should I do with the rest? I can only eat so much celery and peanut butter. Once I made a celery gratin, and it was pretty boring. I never have this problem with onions and carrots, partly because they're sold in smaller units and partly because they seem to be a lot more versatile. Thoughts?

BH, you're a smart cookie. I was sitting here racking my brain and thinking, "I don't want to let my user down, but I have no idea where to get cheap brisket." But of course!

I believe that; however, Laurie and I used to go to this Indian restaurant in New York that served naan stuffed with cheddar cheese, onions, and green peppers. It was great.

Well, you get the buffet plus an entree, but neither one is worth mentioning.

That was one looooong article about Mario. It makes Mario sound like kind of a nut, albeit a nut who can really cook. The biographical information is interspersed with bits about the writer staging at Babbo, and it could have been two separate articles, although I see why they did it this way.

They have packaged clarified butter at my local chain supermarket. It's insanely expensive. Do it at home or go to an Indian grocery.

I had brunch at the Edgewater recently and it was distinctly mediocre--variety over quality, lots of overcooking, and in general the usual sins that make brunch buffets a trying experience.

May this thread never die. "As in any basketball game, there is a starting five of well rounded basketball players. What we found at NBA City was a starting five of well rounded appetizers. From the Chicken Wraps to the Stuffed Quesadilla, no player, oh we mean appetizer will be less than an all-star." The allegory is THICK, thick like a stuffed quesadilla (stuffed with cheese, I'm guessing).

I usually buy diced. You can crush them with the food mill or leave them chunky, and they certainly don't taste any different than the whole ones. Whole tomatoes are, of course, invaluable for oven-drying.