col klink

SG, I am so sorry this happened to you. I will make sure that nobody I know befalls the same and I'm horrified that your trip to our beloved Pacific Northwest has been soiled in such a fashion. The Herbfarm has just created an insane amount of ill will through their actions and everyone I know or don't know and asks me about the Herbfarm will hear of their business practices.

Finally went back to Musashi's today for lunch, what a bargain! Batgrrrl needed sushi and who am I to say no? If y'all don't know, Musashi is on the corner of 14th and 45th in the Wallingford part of Seattle. It's a tiny little place with tiny little menu. So tiny they don't have a deep fryer, or at least they don't use their deep fryer for anything with sushi. We were extremely lucky today as we were seated in less than five minutes! We arrived about a quarter after one and the place was full. Often times I've waited up to a half hour to get a seat. Our first order included a yellow tail roll (all rolls were 6 pieces), a smoked salmon roll, 2 scallop nigiri, 2 unagi nigiri and 2 ama ebi, the sweet shrimp. Both rolls were acceptable and I gave preferences to the smoked salmon and both were ridulously cheap at $2.60 a roll. The nigiri pieces were all generous and of decent quality. I enjoyed the salmon and the shrimp shrimp but the scallops were cut up (because they were bay scallops more than likely) and placed in one of those nori wrapper cylinders with a rice base except this one had too much rice. However, they were topped with some tasty flying fish roe. The unagi was all right, it was warm and succulent but there were a couple of bones that I don't think they could do much about. The second round included a spicy tuna roll (which is not on the menu) and single nigiri pieces of surf clam, saba (mackerel), smoked salmon, perch and hamachi, all of which were quite tasty and I'd order again. One of the neat things about these second order nigiri is that the kitchen knew it was for a table of two and sliced the awkward pieces in two for us. The awkward pieces being the saba, surf clam and the perch all of which were tied down to the rice with a little nori wrapper. The spicy tuna roll was all right but I should note that it's different from other rolls from other sushi joints in that the spice they used I coudln't identify, most places use Siracha or a Chinese chili garlic sauce. The surf clam and the perch were decent. I'd never tried perch before but it was almost identical to the red snapper I've purchased from Uwajimaya. I should note that the perch is not a crowd favorite as it was served at a rather cold temperature meaning it came right out of the frige, not that that detracted from the experience. I liked these nigiri quite fine, but simply adored the smoked salmon and the saba. Although the menu indicated that the smoked salmon wasn't raw, it certainly wasn't cooked and it had nice amount of smokiness, I was quite pleased with it. There is one caveat to the mackerel however, it was pickled! If you've ever had pickled herring, you know the flavor, but the saba nigiri (and the menu mentions that it's pickled) was a treat to eat! It wasn't as pickly as your standard herring from a jar, but the taste was certainly there. I believe pickling the mackerel is an excellent idea. Mackerel is a very oily fish and consequently has a strong flavor. Mashiko's over in West Seattle like to serve their saba raw but they serve it with chiso which cuts through the fattiness. Pickling provides the same amount of acidity (well a little more really) and the two are a beautiful match. Musashi also has a pair of women in kitchen preparing the sushi which brings my total of women sushi chef joints to two! A buddy of mine recently went to Musashi's and stated that he wasn't really impressed with the quality. Now I'd agree that the quality isn't that of Mashiko's but is still better than most sushi joints. So how much did two filling courses of sushi AND two bottles of sake cost? $31 plus tip! I just don't go done there enough. Oh, a week and a half ago I went down to Azuma in the ID on a Friday night just before 8 in hopes of *finally* catching that place when they're busy and they were dead! I really feal bad for the owner and his family, they put out a decent product with a lot of variety at a pretty decent price and I've never been there when they've had more than two or three other parties.

Welcome Kiz! I'm very happy that you were able to experience Mashiko's as it is my favorite restaurant in Seattle and I believe one of the best sushi restaurants on the West coast. Mamster, congratulations on your first visit to Mashiko's, I wish I could visit Mashiko's for the first time again. I'm very jealous about the uni and the ankimo, the last time I went they still weren't in season! And I'm not surprised that you didn't like the uni, it can be a challenge to get used to it. How was it served? The time I had it at Mashiko's it was simply divine, clean and pure and served on a bed of sliced squid that looked like noodles in one of those nori cups with a base of rice. The differences in texture was just something I'd never experienced before. Damn that was good. Likewise, how was the ankimo served?

Arggghh, I think I should've gone with you guys. The Pack lost to the Vikings, but it seems that no matter how good the Pack is, they always loose in the Metrodome. Arggghh. However, I went to a new Packer bar over in Ballard, right next door to a male strip club! The food was much better than the place in Bellevue I usually go to. I ordered the "Packer Rush," 2 eggs (sunny side up in my case), hashbrowns and 2 brats. Mm, mm, good!

I was planning on ditching the Pack but I remembered that it's my brother's birthday! I can't think of anything better than celibrating a Packer victory with family, especially on his birthday. Hopefully the Pack won't relent to the stats that say they don't do well on turf and they remember the fact that the Vikings are only 2 and 7. They have to win! The Super Bowl is on the line!!! Sorry folks, the Colonel won't be able to make it.

Click here. This is page four of the October potluck. About a quarter of the way down NSM mentions what he's bringing, but it's more about the amazing cake. Actually, as I read it, he just describes the prunes, which were also fantastic. There's pictures on page 6 if y'all are wonderin' what we Pac NW'ers look like. NSM, did you ever post a recipe for the prunes? They were great!

I agree, you should post a diary. If we get enough of them, I'm sure we can get our own little section on the site!

Unfortunately, the Packer game isn't televised on Q13, they're airing the Saints-Falcons game thus I need to go to the Packers bar to watch it. But don't worry, after the Pack when the Super Bowl, nearly every one of their games will be televised ALL OVER THE US!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!! And I will be able to tivo it as suggested. OR . . . Since I know that the Pack will slaughter the Vikings, I suppose I can go to dim sum without too much worry. Hmm, I'll double check with my brother. In the meantime, what do you call a Minnesota Viking with a Super Bowl Ring? A thief!

I'm really sorry to hear that Nighscotsman. It's been really tough out here in Seattle, I've been out of work since mid-June. It's really cool for the first month or so, but at the 5 and 6 month mark you start getting a little cabin fever. If you'd like, I can help you cut in line up front at the unemployment office.

Oh dear . . . Too many emotions going around, not enough emoticons . . .

I'm glad to see that you've retired your meat-eating pants Schielke. Those were disturbing.

I'm afraid that no matter how flexible you are Schielke that you won't be able to change the time the Packers play the Vikings and consequently the time my brother and I watch the game. I guess I'm not a party peeps.

I hope I don't have to report this to one of the moderators.

Nightscotsman, I'll be your guinea pig any time.

Last week I smoked up another leg of lamb with basically the same marinade. For some reason, I added mustard to the marinade, a habit I guess. So that made the sauce difficult to separate so instead of letting it sit and waiting for it to separate, I just threw it on the stove and started reducing. Every once in a while I'd throw it in the fat separator and after a while, eventually all of the olive oil was removed. I reduced it almost to a thick paste before I added about two cups of heavy cream. I reduced that by a half and I had a nice, not necessarily thick, but certainly thicker than my previous sauce. When it hit the plate, it didn't immediately run to the corners but stayed nicely in place. I was quite happy with it. Thanks again Malawry!

Tried a new pho place today. Although I first went to Than Brothers, they weren't quite open yet at 10 so this was the perfect opportunity to try a different one. First drove up to Pho of Aurora, but they were close as was the Pho joint on the corner of 99 and 145th. But Pho Hoa was open. Not a bad place, same general options as Than Brothers but a little pricier. A small bowl runs $5.25 and a large $5.75. One cool thing about Pho Hoa is that you can make your own like mixing meat balls and steak. Their broth isn't as complex as Than Bros and of course you don't get the cream puff but it's still gets rid of the pho shakes. They also serve a number of different vermicelli dishes and terryaki dishes so if someone the party isn't into pho, they're covered. Of course basil, bean sprouts, lime and sliced jalepenos come with it but the amount of basil is about half of what you get at Than Bros. I would concider going back, though it would probably coincide with a trip to Central Market, a 1/4 mile further up on 99.

FINE! Dirty doesn't adequately denote my feelings. I feel used, is that better? Mmmmm, kosher kitties.

I feel dirty.

Thread drift! Thread drift!!! You're usurping your own thread with kitty pictures! Tsk, tsk. :ashamed:

I could just as easily make some blood pudding sausage and smoke it. Then all I'd have to do is insert the wooden stick. Then we could dip 'em in cornmeal batter and fry 'em! We'd have corn pudding dog pops!

Yeah bacon! Heyjude's bacon was of an artisnal variety from Whole Foods, pre-cut but from the deli. A very fine, exceptional bacon. I'm going to be making these for Thanksgiving!

You may want to pick up some cheap ketchup and mustard dispensers and use them as pastry tubes to better fill the cups. Of course all of this is done before smoking them.

Not with dairy products, they tend to curdle at high temperatures.

First make the standard chocolate Jello pudding. Then get medium pork casings (or the next size up, they're both good), stuff and twist every 6 inches. Let them drain overnite and smoke them the next day for an hour at 225 degrees F. Separate all links and insert wooden handles in each link. Place in vacuum bags, seal and set in freezer. Should have the best puddin' pops you ever had in three to four hours.

Sorry. I'm making red beans and rice (with a little homemade kielbasa too) for the Sopranos.