richards1052

I don't want to be too much of a stickler, but the issue with your foie gras tells me the service wasn't impeccable. As I think you said or at least implied, you'd think a restaurant of the stellar reputation of Rover's would anticipate the needs of diners & take care of splitting the order in the kitchen for you so it would make it to your plate in a nice neat presentation (instead of the messy version you partook after splitting it yourself). A great restaurant knows to do this & Rover's should too.

Starbucks is fine if you like bitter, overroasted beans. I detest their coffee.

Thanks for understanding my feelings after Rover's service made me feel so underwhelmed. As for you good question above--I don't know anyone on Rover's staff & I've never met Thierry. I believe (though I'm not positive) that the waiter who mixed up the courses WAS the maitre d' that night. Thierry never came to our table either time so I didn't feel there was an opportunity to say anything. I have felt the urge several times since these incidents to call the restaurant & ask to speak to him & possibly I will after yr. encouragement.

Forget about Mutual Fish. I've tried it & I buy all my fish from Pure Fish. An added bonus for me is that the shop has been in a local Sephardic Jewish family since it was founded in the 1910s I believe. They came here from Mediterranean fishing communities (can't remember if it was Rhodes or Turkey). To watch the gleamingly fresh fish like the purple tuna in the case is a real treat. You know you're getting fresh when you shop there. My only quibble with Pure Fish (& this is true of almost all fishmongers) is that they don't seem aware or to care about fish origins. Why don't fish folk do more research on this & tell the story to their customers? I think little signs accompanying the fish display which tell where & when fish were caught would not only be helpful, but would encourage sales. I once asked them about swordfish (at least I think it was that species) they were offering because I'd heard that most was caught illegally & stocks were severely depleted. They were sure it was harvested legally, but a forum member here said there is almost no legal catch & that this was probably impossible. I'd like fishmongers to tell customers what they do to ensure that they're trying to lessen the diminishment of fish stocks around the world. Probably most of them are doing nothing & that's a shame. I guess I could give up fish (I've stopped buying the swordfish), but it seems cruel to give up such a wonderful pleasure..

I love Queen Anne Thritway's French Roast house brand. It's very rich & strong & wonderful.

Boy, have I had a diff. experience w. Rover's service than you!! For my first meal there (celebrating my birthday) we ordered the 5 course & the waiter forgot to bring the fish. After serving the meat course, we asked why we hadn't received the fish course & he said we had!!! Imagine the lunacy of doubting that we knew what we'd eaten. For 20 minutes I stewed over what I saw as an unpardonable service error before he finally brought over a lovely & prob. very expensive dessert wine. A very nice gesture, but too late for my taste. We then ate there a 2nd time & the waiter looked at me like I was from Mars when I told him that I wanted to order the 5 course but to order an entre from the 7 course (I offered to pay extra for this benefit). "But monsieur, we do not do that here." Not an exact quote but pretty close. Also, we watched a parade of restaurant glitterati including chef, sommelier, etc. traipse dutifully to the next table where a well heeled older customer was dining with his trophy wife. As for us, we were chopped liver. I didn't expect the royal treatment. But I felt I was out in the cold in so many ways after that meal. And guess what, I've never been back. I'm not saying Rover's food isn't great or that it doesn't deserve its accolades (food wise at least). But the overall quality of my dining experience there has been piss poor, especially considering that great restaurants (IMO) are measured not just by food quality, but by how well they meet the expectations (& that includes service) of their customers. My blog post about Rover's is at http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_ol...s_seattle_.html

When I first moved here in '98 & asked a work colleague (who was French-American & a foodie) where to shop at the Mkt. she replied "Sosio's." Their produce is uniformly excellent & they also stock some rare & unusual items like wild mushroom varieties. In summer, I abandon Sosio's temporarily because Farmer's Mkt. produce is superior to anything at Pike Pl. My only slight quibble with Sosio's is they are slaves of their produce distributor. If he can get something they might stock it. Otherwise, they're not willing to do much unusual to stock something you might want which they don't already carry. I've asked them to carry Satsuma yams (after eating them at Flying Fish) and Oro blanco grapefruits (the sweetest grapefruits I've ever tasted). No dice.

I can't say that I've ever tried Essential's chocolates, but I can't imagine they'd be anywhere near Fran's quality. I HAVE had Essential's breads & they're creditable breads, but not nearly of the quality of Dahlia Bakery's ficelle or Tallgrass's hominy. I view Essential as a B+ on the food scale, while I view Fran's as an A+. On a different subject, remember when Fran's provided a free truffle sample to anyone who asked? That was divine. As for the lemon ice cream, I haven't actually bought the cookbook yet so I don't know. I'm guessing that her cookbook will focus on what she produces that she can distribute nationally. I wouldn't think she'd focus on ice cream since she only makes that here in Seattle. But I hope I'm wrong about that.

Today, I stopped in to visit Fran's Chocolates in University Village. Fran Bigelow produces not only some of the best chocolates in the world, she also creates some of the finest ice cream I've ever enjoyed. Before we go on, I have to invoke Stendahl's famous dictum about ice cream: "Ah, such a pity it isn't a sin!" Spoken like a true Catholic and a true Frenchman. And obviously, as much an ice cream devotee as I am. FIf you live in Seattle and have never enjoyed Fran's confections, you must. Even if you don't live in Seattle, you can enjoy her mail order confection (alas, no ice creams though!). Now, Fran's come out with her own chocolate cookbook, Pure Chocolate, which I heartily recommend.Everything that Fran produces is impeccable and delicious. But here are some of my personal favorites: Tahitian Vanilla ice cream Chocolats de chocolats ice cream Turbinado Burnt Sugar ice cream Dark chocolate truffles Chocolate espresso torte The Seattle Times' Pacific Magazine has done a Fran Bigelow profile with some fine photos. She's been written up in a New York Times food section blurb (but I think they've missed out in not featuring her food in an article) and food mags like Food & Wine & sells at Neimanmarcus.com (why in heaven's name am I shilling for them?). So the snooty wealthy can enjoy her as well. This is not just Seattle's best, but some of the world's best! This post first appeared in my blog: http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_ol..._worlds_be.html

The New York TImes writes today about an anonymous federal bureaucrat who has proposed new federal guidelines which would endanger wild NW salmon & encourage increased timber harvesting by counting factory-raised salmon in the count. I've written a post at my blog on this subject, Washington State Says "Hands Off Our Salmon," Mr. Bush!. Hope you'll take a look.

I wouldn't say the service is stellar, though it's serviceable. There were two waiters, one male & one female. They had that young, slightly distant, taciturn 'Capitol Hill attitude' (sorry if anyone takes offense at my generalization). I don't know if I'd call it slightly supercilious or what. I definitely wouldn't call it solicitous, which is what you like in a fine restaurant. While the waitress gave us good food recommendations when we asked, she didn't reallly take much time to listen carefully to me or respond in any detail. During meal transitions when we wanted to order our main courses and dessert the waiters were desultory. I don't like waiters who see you looking at them & pretend they don't see you. It was a bit like that at Monsoon. That being said, I'm from New York & I have less patience for this sort of 'stuff' than most Seattleites I know so perhaps I'm being somewhat harder on them than your average diner would be.

YOur Mom hasn't tasted the extraordinary potatoes offered at the U District & Columbia City Farmer's Mkts. I've grown German butterballs in my backyard & think they're fine. I wouldn't describe them as "gluey" but I do notice a texture that could be described that way. To me, the potatoes are moist & delicious. To another, I guess they might be called "gluey."

To those of you who maintain your own herb & veggie gardens, remember that this weekend is the Arboretum Fdn's Spring Plant Sale at Sand Pt. Naval Air Station. There's a great selection of heirloom tomatoes and many other veggies & herbs plus thousands of other wonderful plant offerings.

Last Tuesday night, my family was recuperating from two hard blows--a burglary/break-in the previous night and news that a medical lab had erroneously told my wife that she'd miscarried (when she hadn't). We all thought it was time to get away from the house for a nice, easy, delicious meal in the neighborhood. I suggested Monsoon. My wife felt that our less than adverturesome three year old wouldn't find much to eat there. But I persisted because I had a hankering for their cozy, informal cuisine. We've been eating at Monsoon almost since it opened. But a few years ago we found that they weren't changing their menu often enough and that if you ate there too often enough you could become quite jaded with the offerings. Monsoon is a Capitol Hill restaurant owned by Sophie and Eric Banh. While StarChefs.com describes the cuisine as "Vietnamese," I think I'd call it Southeast Asia meets the Pacific Northwest. In 2002, Bon Appetit named it among the nation's Best Neigborhood Restaurants. Check out this link for two of the Banh's recipes. So last night we returned after an absence of many months and the menu is not only new (from the last time we were there), but it shines. While several old standbys remain on the menu, much of it is new. We ordered asparagus soup with enoki & lobster. It came in a slightly viscous broth that was delicious. The lobster meat was wonderfully tender. We ordered soft noodles with wild mushrooms, green onion & duck egg. Another wonderful dish. The scallops over crunchy wild rice risotto were quite fine. My favorite style of scallop preparation is to saute them over very high heat. While they'd been prepared this way, they were then doused with a sauce which, while very tasty, caused the scallops to lose that crisp, slightly crunchy exterior texture that is so wonderful. The sticky wild rice risotto is a preparation I've never seen before and it was quite good. For dessert, I ordered bannana cake which was soaked in butter and perhaps a liqueur as well. It had a dark, slightly crusty exterior that gave it an unusual flavor. With such a potentially banal dish as this, one needs to change it to relieve its ordinariness and the Banhs have done this well. There are many other dessert offerings which are new to me which I'll have to return to savor. I asked the waitress for a recommendation of a white wine and she suggested the Albert Mann Alsatian Pinot Blanc and it did not disappoint. It had a pleasing yellow gold glow and was smooth, complex, and neither too dry nor too sweet. Our meal made us feel as if we'd become reacquainted with an old friend we hadn't seen for years. Monsoon Restaurant 615 19th Avenue East Seattle, WA 98112 206.325.2111

I didn't think you sounded defensive & I appreciate your steering me away from the meats & towards the pastas. We'll have to try again sometime. As for Fish's comment about the bread: I certainly honor & respect his concerns about kashrut & understand why pork fat in the bread distressed him. I don't judge a restaurant solely by its bread & I think it's a bit unfair to steer people away from it solely for that reason (even if it did cause you to violate kashrut). Fish acts as if the La Spiga staff deliberately lied to him & committed some kind of intentional deception. That seems extreme.

I read some very favorable comments in this thread about La Spiga and read here with interest that on his last visit to Seattle for his Food Network show Ciao America, Mario Batali had featured Salumi, Pike Place Market and Osteria La Spiga. I drive by La Spiga every time I travel downtown, but I've never eaten there. Because I believe that Seattle has (with a few exceptions) a great paucity of fine Italian trattorias, I decided to give it a try. After eating there recently, I'd say that it fits squarely in the category of the decent, but not spectacular Seattle Italian restaurant tradition. I ordered venison stew with creamed polenta. I'm always excited when I see game on a restarant menu and I'm also a sucker for polenta, one of my favorite grains. But I was disappointed this night. The stew was bland and relatively tasteless. It seemed to be unseasoned or so lightly seasoned as to not make a difference. The polenta had a nice creamy texture but also seemed less than stellar. The waiter recommended an espresso tiramisu-like dessert. I'm always leery of tiramisu on a menu because it's probably the most commonplace (and therefore boring) dessert served in restaurants today. But he spoke highly of it and I thought I'd trust him. And it was good, quite good. But it was still tiramisu and didn't rise above it's tiramisuness. The night we sampled La Spiga, they featured a jazz duo with a trumpter playing Miles Davis tunes. They were quite good and added a nice touch to the dining experience. I've enjoyed Il Terrazo Carmine and Sostanza (a great neighborhood place in Madison Park). I can't say I've found much else Italian that's set my heart and mouth on fire. I haven't yet tried Tulio or Assiago, which others here have recommended..

You're dead on. I'm amazed that the good Seattle fishmongers like Mutual & Pure Fish don't do more to explain what they sell, where it comes from, authenticate that the catch is caught legally, etc. As you say, they should feel a responsibility to both educate customers & be accountable to them regarding what they sell. It's really short sighted & irresponsible. I have to admit I bought a piece at Pure Foods (based on the counterman's bogus explanation). It was very good. But not worth adding to the endangeredness of this species. Won't buy it again.

I hope some ichthyologist is reading this or some foodie who knows a lot about fish... Went today to my favorite Seattle fishmonger, Pure Food at the Market. Did you know that two (I think) Sephardic families founded this place in the early 20th century? They came right off the boat from the Mediterranean (where many Jews made their living from the sea). I'm an Ashkenazi Jew originally from NYC. So the idea of Jews fishing or peddling fish fresh off the boat is quite amazing to me. Anyway, my real topic of conversation is endangered fish species: which ones sold here in Seattle are endangered and is there any sure way to tell or know whether what you're buying is endangered &/or was caught legally? Specifically, Pure Fish had a beautifully gleaming white piece of Chilean Sea Bass in the display case. I asked the counterman (it's taken me over a yr. to get up the courage to ask this question since I love their shop & don't want to be seen as a troublemaking customer): I've read that CSB is really the Patagonian Toothfish and is extremely endangered and that most of it caught is illegal. He answered that this fish was a real Chilean Sea Bass & not the Patagonian Toothfish. When I thought about it the explanation seemed either dead on correct; or completely bogus. Who could tell? Can anyone enlighten me (& us) more on the subject.

Thanks for the heads up about avatars being disabled. You'd think that somehwere on the avatar page there'd be a message to that effect...is that too much to ask or expect? I just wasted 45 mins. figuring out how to upload it. Now the image is uploaded with nowhere to go as it were. O well, roll with it.

Thanks for the heads up. I've converted the file & now it works! BTW, now can anyone tell me why the avatar which I've successfully uploaded to my Profile at this site does not display when I post a msg.? I've sized the avatar file correctly & it's below the file size limit as well.

Can anyone figure out why this bmp image wouldn't display properly? I tried using the IMG feature above & using the img src code. Neither is working. Will it not display bmp files here?

In a recent thread we were extolling the virtues of Salumi as a great lunch place. I also love the Gallery Cafe at the Frye Museum. The prices are incredibly moderate and the food amazingly good. Though it is off the beaten path (unless you live nearby).

I think your reviews would be read by a large audience here. So I'd publish them here. But what I'd really like to do is to encourage, inspire some local entrepreneur/restauranteur type to open a regional Mexcian restaurant that would be as good as say Harvest Vine. BTW, for a little neighborhood takeout dive I liked Villa Victoria. I didn't say it was great, but I liked it. Anyone know if/when/where she'll resume operation?

My tops would be: Le Pichet Place Pigalle Chez Shea Flying Fish Salumi (lunch) Dahlia Lounge Cafe Campagne or Restaurant Campagne (depending if you wanted a full meal or bistro fare) I haven't eaten at Mistral or Cafe Juanita but hear they're fabulous. There used to be a restaurant in Belltown called Arcadia which from the cafe window & looking at the menu looked great. But I can't find it at Zagat.com & don't know if it's still there.

I wasn't saying your review was wrong nor that you needed to justify it. I completely agree with your take on Gitano's (well, perhaps I'd rate it a tiny notch or 2 higher, but that's not enough to redeem it or make it worth trying again). I merely wanted to make that pt. about judging restaurants on 'normal' days rather than holidays. I've learned this lesson through horrible experience (as you have too I'm gathering).