tighe

I definitely sympathize with your situation, I moved down this way from Capital Hill a few years ago and went through withdrawls for a while. If you learn what's around and can appreciate it on its own terms, I think the area has a lot to offer though. Some addresses: Filiberto's Italian Restaurant 144th & Des Moines Wy S Seattle, WA 98168 (206) 248-1944 Wayne's Fruits & Vegetables 144 SW 152d Burien, WA 98166 - 2306 (206) 988-1996 (seafood & meat next door)

Actually, White Center is north of Burien, but yes, there is some good Mexican food there. Taqueria Rinconsito has a restaurant in Burien and I think their food is quite good and authentic. For Italian, I like Filiberto's on Des Moines Mem Drive a lot. Southern Italian, red-sauce style, but done well. Homogenous grocery stores? Maybe no Larry's (there is one in Tukwila) or Whole Foods, but there is Trader Joe's, Wayne's and any number of small produce stands that are anything but homogenous.

I asked about Ethiopian restaurants a while back and got some good responses. Unfortunately I haven't actually gotten myself to any of them yet.

Eat before you go......

Last time we were in town, we had a great meal at L'Emotion in Western Van. For the quality and level of refinement of the food, I thought that $C45 for their 4-course menu was an outstanding value. Frankly, I'm very surprised this place hasn't gotten more play here on the Vacouver/BC forum.

I noticed today that Cayenne in the Silver Cloud on Broadway has scrapped the 'south of the border' theme. A few original items have been retained, but the menu now includes such Mexican favorites as chicken penne alfredo, meatloaf with gravy, grilled herb chicken and french dip. So now its just a complete hodge-podge without any unifying theme. Doesn't Bourdain have something in KC about desparate reworkings of the menu being a sure sign that a restaurant is in serious trouble? Sort of sad considering they've had one of the most agressive advertising campaigns I've ever seen for a restaurant in Seattle.

Gleaned from the site whose name shall not be spoken.... 727 Pine is closing and Ruth's Chris is moving into the space. Kind of an ignominious end to a restaurant that debuted with so much promise and hype.

Which implies that a 11% increase in the minimum wage is actually a 15% increase to the employer, plus ou moin. Ouch. I'm also all for anyone expressing dissenting points of view about any statements I've made.

Don't mean to completely hijack this thread, but while we're talking about Ms. Mikula, is her current restaurant restaurant, Flora, well thought of?

I'm certainly no expert, but from what little I know, analyzing the French labor market is fraught with hazards because it is distorted by myriad regulations and subsidies. Correct me if I'm wrong, but France has many regulations that make it exceedingly difficult to lay off workers and employ part-timers. This seems like it would be particularly brutal in the restaurant business. In a well-functioning market, a shortage of workers would raise wages (likely making minimum wages unnecessary, BTW) which would attract more workers to the industry from lower-paying jobs. If the problem is really that there's a shortage of well qualified workers, then, in my opinion, it would be better for government to subsidise training/education, but my guess is that already happens in France to great extent. Reducing benefits to the (voluntarily) unemployed would also help.

What's the usual turnaround time for Bladesmith?

Question: I believe I heard/read at some point that family enterprises were exempt from minimum wage/maximum work time regulations in France and that this is why there were so many small restaurants and hotels run my husband/wife teams, sometimes with other family help. True? Obviously these kinds of places wouldn't be impacted by the changes discussed here.

Impossible to say what the net effect of the two would be on employment levels/prices in the French restaurant industry without some empirical analysis over time. Heartless economists like myself typcially believe that minimum wage increases are a bad idea because they decrease employment and increase prices, but government wage subsidies would have the opposite effect theoretically. What can be said is that administering the minimum wage regulation and the subsidies at least doubles the administrative inefficiency and the government could achieve the same outcome by simply eliminating the minimum wage and making transfer payments to restaurant workers.

Recording anecdotal information on how restaurants adapt to these changes will be very interesting, only sorry that I won't be able to contribute. If the data were available, there is potential for a fascinating empirical paper on how these changes impact prices, employment, etc. Two, two, two sources of economic inefficiency for the price of one! A great case study for the next time I teach principles of micro....

It was shortly after. When I arrived, I was dissapointed to see that she was no longer the chef since she was mentioned in all the sources that led me to select it. As it turned out though, I couldn't have been happier with the meal. What is the general consensus locally about whether the change was for better or worse?

In the 7th (just north of the 14th), I loved Les Olivades. It's a Provencal restaurant offering very bright, fresh tasting cuisine. One reason I suggest it, other than the food, is that I found it to have a more refined feel and ambiance compared to other similarly priced restaurants I visited. We had the 5-course "Discovery Menu" which was 50 Euros each plus wine. They also have a 3-course menu for 32 Euros.

How much do they charge?

Great seafood in a casual atmo has got to be Matt's in the Market. There's been plenty of discussion of it if you do a quick search. If you're more interested in the "fish house" kind of experience, you could consider McCormick & Schmick's, Elliott's or Waterfront. I have also had some good meals at Ponti.

Note to self....schedule more dinners with people who don't want their foie gras course!

Guess I should have been more encouraging about Brasserie Margaux. I don't believe you would have found the food "dull" at least and their breakfasts are excellent.

I think Brasserie Margaux in the Warwick would be a good place to go. As a hotel restaurant, they're used to people with kids and the food is very good.

My favorite example of this happened to my wife and I at Campagne about 10 years ago. We ordered pate for our appetizer and for some reason our server took it upon themselves to explain to use what pate was, just to make sure we knew what we were getting. I've never been back.

I'm a whore for braised meats all year round, but it only gets worse in the fall and winter.

There are 3 or 4 halal groceries on just north of Hwy 518 on Pac Hwy South and I've seen goat in two of them that I remember. Maybe Col Klink can chime in since I ate smoked goat at his house one time before he moved....

Don't know about the wooden box part, but I think that smoked salmon always makes a great gift. My current favorite is the dry smoked version sold at Pure Food Fish in the Market. In a pinch, Portlock isn't bad either. What about Market Spice tea?