ScorchedPalate

You know, I think I acquired this nasty habit in San Fran, where I was routinely refused copies of menus (usually with a curt explanation that these items were proprietary -- yeah, like I am going to open a place with the same menu tomorrow). I am also wary of the kind of "tacky tourist" treatment that Girl Chow mentioned, which has happened to me in the past (though not in Seattle), or the converse... where they think you want to go back and meet the chef and join his permanent fan club just because you asked for a copy of the menu. ~A

Hahaha. You realize now that at every eGullet event we attend together, I will expect that you will hijack a menu for me too. Or I'll just hijack one and make copies. Or give it to you once I write it up. ~Sticky Fingers (fka Scorched Palate)

I often ask, but sometimes I just sneak the paper menu insert into my purse. ~A

Dinner at Assagio last night: First of all, it wasn't a screaming deal. We figured we wouldn't have spent much more ordering off the non-25/25 menu (unless you go for the filet or osso buco), given that we rarely need two full desserts. But they did have an enormous selection of choices... easily half of the regular menu. Starters: Cam had Calamari (usually 7.95), which were described as "sautéed in marina sauce." The end result was more like marinara soup with calamari in it. I had the Caprese (7.95): tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, basil. OK, ok... shame on *me* for ordering tomatoes in March, but shame on *them* for offering it as part of a seasonal menu. The tomatoes weren't just cardboardy and mealy, they had green seeds. Ew. The mozzerella was servicable, and the pesto spooned on top of the stack was very nice. Mains: I had the Pappardelle Bolognese (14.95); Cam had the Gnocchi Gorgonzola (also 14.95). My pasta was very over-sauced (they probably could have dressed another plate of pappardelle with my excess) and rather unappetizingly plopped on the plate, but it tasted wonderful. It was a perfect bolognese. Cam's gnocchi were light and fluffy, but they were overwhelmed in sauce: it really was like a bowl of gorgonzola soup with a handful of gnocchi in it. Ick, ick, ick. Dessert: We had hazelnut gelato and tiramisu (no dessert prices were shown on the regular menu); other choices were panna cotta, other flavors of gelato including pistachio and chocolate, and an assortment of biscotti. The gelato had a great hazelnut flavor, but was way too hard for gelato -- more like non-premium ice cream that had been sitting too long in the freezer. Cam had ordered a latte, so I doused my gelato with a few spoonfuls of that, which improved it immensely. The tiramisu was fine... a little light on the rum/marsala and espresso elements, and not much mascarpone flavor to speak of... really more like lightly-dipped spongecake layered with whipped cream and dusted with cocoa. A sort of post-modern riff on tiramisu, I guess. Service was distant but workmanlike; no complaints. Our waiter recommended a nice Chianti Classico to go with our meal ('00 Castello di Bossi, $40). The setting was, for lack of a better description, pretty chewed on. It was neither downtown-slick nor neighborhood-cozy. The tuscan-washed walls were nicked and gouged in many places, and the chair rail was banged up. The female servers all tended to gaggle by the wine sideboard on the way to the restrooms, making you feel like you were interrupting them to use the facilities. Once you got into the ladies' room, the sense of tattiness was further reinforced: dark black stains in the toilet bowls, a couple of expanses of unpainted wall (looks like a built-in trashcan and a paper towel dispenser have been removed but they'd never found the spare paint). The flower arrangements throughout the restaurant hadn't had their murky water changed in a couple of days; the one in the restroom looked like it had been at least a week. Overall, Assagio gave the impression of a formerly nice restaurant in a downward slide to tourist trap hell. The bolognese was lovely, and I'm glad I had it, but I won't be going back. ~Anita

Cam forgets to mention that said waitron also made a special trip to our table to inform our friend that the empty bowl she'd brought earlier was for his paella's mussel shells. (Gosh, we thought it was a fingerbowl... or for sharing!) She treated us like ignorant cheapskates the whole night, despite the fact that we were made rezzies, dressed well, and ordered plenty of wine. I guess 25 for $25 brings out the worst in some diners, but sheesh... I wanted to leave her a bad tip, but all I kept thinking was "well, then she'll have her impressions of us validated." Ugh. ~A

Of course! The more, the merrier. I think 6:30 would be the earliest Cam and I could get there, too. ~A

I think LEdlund took home a copy of the menu for transcription. But I've actually got two 25/$25-related questions for the assembled: 1) This one came up last night at dinner, and I thought it would make a nice sub-thread. Purely for the sake of argument: Given that there are 23 weeknights (Sun-Thur) this year in March, which of two the participants would you choose to avoid if you were trying to eat out every night of the promotion? (And yes, since Union isn't officially participating, I guess you'd have to lose 3 of the 'real' places.) Here's the list, so you don't have to scroll up. 2) Back to reality: I've got a hankerin' for Italian. Given that we've never been to any of the three, would you recommend Assaggio, Tulio, or Serafina? (I've already gotten a pretty firm wave-off on Vivanda...) ~A

Sounds yummy! I may have to make a trek in the name of investigative science. Does it have a name? (I suppose it's the only tortilla factory on that intersection ) ~A

Wood-fired pizza field trip? Oh yeah!

"Seattle nice" -- meaning men pass unnoticed in jeans and nice sweater, would be more comfy in chinos and a nice shirt, and might be considered a little overdressed in a suit. The times we have been there, I have seen people in all of the above, though. We usually dress just a touch nicer than our normal workwear when we're going out to dinner, and we were comfortable that way all three times we've been. If the chef's table is the one right near the pass, we should be fine, temperature-wise, but for all other diners I recommend wearing or bringing a jacket or sweater that you're comfortable eating in, in case you get seated in one of the meatlocker-esque window alcoves.

Changing venues sounds like a cool idea, Laurel. Next time, we can even start a new thread. Seven Stars sounds good. Cam and I went there a couple weeks after our last eG hotpot dinner, and it was great. We ordered off the regular menu (that is, no hotpot) and impressed the owner by eating a dish that she tried to warn us off of: "very spicy Chinese dish!" It was closing time and she sent us home with tons of extra food, in addition to our leftovers. ~Anita

OK, based on posts here and PMs, it looks like the best night will be Tuesday, April 6. I'll call ahead and let the restaurant know that we're coming once it gets a little closer to the date, but there are two looming questions: 1) Anyone else want to come? So far we're seven: - ScorchedPalate & SeaCrotty - Ms. Ramsey - LEdlund - SeaGal - Laurel & Joe 2) Shall we return to Lo Sichuan, or venture across the way to Seven Stars Pepper? ~Anita <edited to add Laurel & Joe>

OK, based on posts here and PMs, it looks like the best night will be Tuesday, April 6. I'll call and get us a table a little closer to the date, but there are two looming questions: 1) Anyone else want to come? ScorchedPalate SeaCrotty Ms. Ramsey LEdlund

The way you do it, IMHO, is hold open a certain percentage of tables for walk-in guests. If you really want to make it feel spontaneous and devil-may-care, then set aside just 1 or 2 tables for parties who *choose* to make reservations. That way, if people want to plan ahead, they have that option. Can you imagine if you were driving to Lark from a long way away, and arrived only to discover that every 2-top was booked for the next 90-120 minutes? Would you wait? I doubt it. FWIW, I am *still* peeved about our visit to Lark and the (mis)treatment we received -- and that was 2 months ago. Having at least a few tables available for reservations might 'cost' them something in terms of staff effort, but it would save them from all the negative publicity they're getting. I figure I've told at least a dozen people of my displeasure, not including the 1,188 pairs of eyes who (at last count) have accessed this thread. As they say in the biz: "You can't buy publicity like that." A bit of tact and grace would have gone a long way toward solving the problem. But so would a reservations book. ~Anita

Rats! We'll miss you.

Well, if we went on Sunday, you'd have time to slim back down by Wednesday. Of course, if we go on Thursday, then we're not 'wasting' a 25-for-25 night. (I said that in jest, but now I am thinking that maybe we -should- plan to go the following week. How's Wednesday the 7th work for everyone?)

Ok, so we have one W/TH vote, and one S/M/T vote. Anyone else have a preference before I flip a coin? ~A

Given that it's been more than a month, I think we're pushing the boundaries of "often" if we don't do this again soon. Anyone up for "Lo Sichuan: The Hot Pot Sequel"? Or shall we venture across the street for Seven Stars Pepper this time? Cam is out of town for a week starting Wednesday (eating at St. John with our eG buddies in London, on the flimsy pretense of visiting his newborn niece) but we could do any night Sunday through Thursday the week of March 28. ~Anita

I've been there twice; once about 2 months ago and once last week (midweek). The place wasn't busy either time, and the service was 'fine' -- that is, about what I expect from a thai restaurant. Neither time was my food very good, though. I had a hard time seeing what all the hype was about. Special green curry, tom kha gai, a forgettable 'specialty' noodle dish the first time; tom yam goong, pad thai, and cottonfish salad the second time. Nothing was great, and a few dishes had such a bad balance (salty, sweet, sour, hot) that they were downright bad. We solved some of the problems with nam pla prik, but since our 3-star dishes were borderline inedibly hot (even for two confirmed chileheads) that wasn't a panacea. For my money, there are much better thai restaurants in the area, at least on the Seattle side of the lake. ~A

OK, the URL tags aren't working today... Here's a link to a PI store about Tom Douglas' new restaurant, tentatively called Table Wine, in the Hotel Andra.

In other words, you're fine with Cam hanging onto his misguided opinions about some foods? Heh, yep! And he is tolerant of my biases, too, which include an unnatural affection for dried coconut, which he terms "pencil shavings." Speaking of which, I had the ever-glorious coconut cream pie tonight at Etta's. We basically split the 25/$25 menu's three courses, and added on other things that were too good to pass up, to make (at least) two meals' worth of food. The 25/$25 meal also included perfectly-prepped Etta's "rub-with-love" salmon, which was served with southern-style greens, and a cornbread pudding that was decadent enough to actually deserved the name. Cam had the oysters (only two, but perfect as always, chez Douglas) as his starter. Alternate options were iceberg wedge with bleu (starter), Alaskan snapper (main), and cherry sorbet (dessert). Considering that the salmon alone goes for $24, I think we got our money's worth. ~Anita

I'm gonna fall back on this example yet again, just because I have the "laundry ticket" sitting on my desk right now. We spent $395.42 for two people -- including two full-bottle wine pairings and service -- at the French Laundry for food that was not only technically perfect but also witty, interesting, and capable of changing the way you felt about certain foodstuffs. And it was served with care (and without drama) by professional servers who obviously enjoyed being a part of such a unique experience. So, no, I don't think that that we should expect a lot less from Canlis, or any other restaurant that sets itself up (by virtue of its prices and marketing) as a paragon of dining. ~Anita

This is the second time we've sat in a window (not merely by a window, but inside an alcove of glass). I absolutely froze my tail off both times. Now, I 'get' the modern aesthetic they're going for here, but the building's architecture is odd enough -- and the exposure chilly enough -- that they have got to get themselves some window treatments to warm the place up, literally and figuratively. I disagree. I thought the sorbet was sweet enough to handle the slight sour, and the creme fraiche brought a nice bit of creamy dairy to the dish. Luckily, Cam and I are perfectly happy to have separate opinions where tasty food is concerned. :) ~A

Would you happen to have a phone number, or know how late they're open tonight? 206/322-5460, but there was no answer whenI just called. I also managed to dig this up: Taste of the Town 2/18 I'm not sure how I missed it the first time around...

Ours was Japanese mustard green (aka mizuna) but I overheard them telling people later in the night that it was shaved fennel. Sounds like you also had the mizuna. We had these two half bottles the previous night! Thanks for saving me the trouble of typing (and validating my wine-pairing expertise). ~A