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I think a marketing consultant needs to get the word out to Vietnamese restauranteurs that adopting 'Saigon' as part of their name may not always be the best strategic move.... Just from Qwestdex, I count at least 18 restaurants and delis with 'Saigon' in the name in Seattle.

Cafe Paloma is fantastic, or at least it was when I went. I'm kind of a Turkish food freak, and I think it's probably the best quality mezze in town. One thing to know is that the servings are quite small, so if you're the kind of person that wants to get a lot of food for your money, you'll be dissapointed. Another good place for Turkish food in general is Ephesus in West Seattle. Great hummus and kababs. Porta on Eastlake is a Greek place that also has top quality mezze. Some Greeks and Turks don't like to admit it, but there's a lot of commonality in their cuisines and much of what Porta serves could easily appear on the menu of a Turkish restaurant as well.

Perhaps not someone on the street, but if you could find a family-run Indian restaurant, I would bet they'd be willing to give you some informal lessons. The chef/owner at a Turkish place near me has offered, a number of times, to teach me how to make certain dishes I like.

This is quite a stretch I know, BUT.... the ferry from Cozumel to the mainland goes to Playa del Carmen, where I had a couple remarkable meals at a restaurant called Yaxche earlier this year. I wrote up my experiences here.

I watched the DVD of Bend it... last night. There's a really entertaining special feature on the disc of the movie's director making aloo gobi with her mother and aunt looking on. As you might imagine, both have plenty of commentary on what the director should be doing differently. Whether or not the potatoes should be peeled was a particularly contentious issue. The aloo gobi itself looks really good and I think I'll take a crack at it sometime soon.

Bux, what is this post in response to exactly? It almost looks like you're anticipating people ripping this place, or the owner, before it's actually happened?

The one day I spent in Brittany this September convinced me that its a place I'd like to spend an extended period of time in. Beautiful coastline and countryside with lots of interesting local food products, castles and interesting historic towns. If being in a wine-producing region is a priority, then obviously it wouldn't fit the bill.

Poached from the web site who's name shall not be spoken.... Apparently Figaro Bistro near Seattle Center is no more. I went a couple times a few years ago and liked their style of basic French food and the prices seemed emminently reasonable. With other good, fairly priced options for French classics, probably not too surprising they couldn't stay in business though.

Of the places I ate in Paris during my September trip, the one that I think would be best for solo dining is Les Olivades in the 7th. It specializes in Provencal style food and offers a calm, warm ambiance. If you're looking for a 'high-energy' place though, then this probably isn't it. You can see a brief review of Les Olivades here. I checked, and they do serve dinner on Saturday evenings.

Had dinner at La Spiga tonight and enjoyed a remarkable pasta dish. Tagliatelle made from chesnut flour, tossed with sauteed Italian sausage, chickpeas and spinach. Unlike many 'flavored' pastas, with this one the chestnut flavor came through clearly.

When I was in Paris in September, I had a fantastic dinner at Le Pre Catelan in the Bois de Bologne. I understand that they do a pretty extavegant Sunday brunch there as well, I think Patricia Wells talks about it in her book. Frankly, I can't imagine a better setting for an elegant brunch.

The food at The Calcutta Grill at The Golf Club at Newcastle is pretty good and you can't beat the view, not that it matters this time of year. I don't think there's much other than chain restaurants at Factoria proper.

Yes No Many Only the good die young....

My new favorite expression: "I'm all over that like MsRamsey on duck confit!...."

Holy crap! That's one expensive menu, especially for an Italian restaurant. I'm not usually one to get sticker shock, but I wonder if they can really make that work here in Sea-town. Anxiously awaiting any reviews....

After leaving a holiday party hungry this weekend (obviously not the eG get-together), scrat and I stopped into Lark for a bite. I would echo tsquare’s sentiments that this place is serving fantastic food and is a great addition to the Seattle restaurant scene. The particulars of our meal: Roasted beets in a tangerine oil - if one likes beets to begin with, which I do, the essences of the flavor was nicely accented by the oil and what I believe were bits of tangerine zest. Mussels with bacon, shallots and apple - the best thing we had, one of the best mussel dishes I’ve ever had for that matter. My problem with most mussel dishes in restaurants, is that there’s simply not enough ‘stuff’ to really affect the flavor of the dish. Not so here, plenty of bacon, etc. to have some with every bite. The mussels were served in this ingenious pot made by Staub that is made to facilitate dipping and given how good the sauce/broth was, not sopping it up with the bread would have been criminal. One note, part of Lark’s theme, if you will, is that nearly everything is served in/on a Staub cast iron pot, dish, etc. Pommes de terre Robuchon - a reincarnation of Joel Robuchon’s famous mashed potatos. Being the unabashed name-dropper that I am, I mentioned to the server that we had been to Robuchon’s restaurant in September. The chef actually brought the potatoes out to us and we talked Robuchon and Paris briefly. Alas, I have to say these didn’t measure up to the original. Robuchon manages to remove any trace of glueyness from his potatoes and Lark’s don’t quite manage it. Good, but not exceptional. Braised shortribs with chanterelles- shortribs seem to be the new ‘seared ahi’ on restaurant menus, I’ve seen them at just about every nicer place I’ve been in the last 6 months. Lark’s have the meltingly tender and richly flavored quality that I crave but rarely find. Using the drippings on the potatoes took the whole thing to the next level. Foie gras terrine with fig preserves - this was unnecessary given how full I felt, but it was foie gras after all. The flavor was very good, but the texture didn’t have that homogenous buttery smoothness that I like. Perhaps this was intentional and ultimately it wasn’t a big issue. The preserves were outstanding, strips of fig that were more intensely ‘figgy’ rather than sweet. The service was excellent, relaxed, but still efficient and attentive. My critiques would be that the wines by the glass list is fairly weak and I hope they will build it up to at least offer one option of each of the major varietals. There were only three red options, a Cab, a Zin and a blend. I had the blend, which was OK. The music choices were a little odd, often too raucous for what is otherwise a serene environment. Maybe I’m just getting old. When we left the restaurant, it was about ¼ full and already getting somewhat loud. None of these would make me hesitate, even slightly, to go back. From time to time, we’ve discussed/debated here why/if Seattle falls short of other cities in terms of the quality of restaurants at the top end. So here the question I’ve been pondering since going to Lark, “is the revolution upon us?” With Union and Lark opening at the same time, and both being so much better than most places in town (IMO at least), is this the leap forward that some of us have been hoping/waiting for?

That's one of the most positive reviews I've ever seen Nancy write. I'm very happy for the restaurant.

Ethan's background has been discussed some on the other Union thread. He's worked at a number of the better places in town including Painted Table, Lampreia and Nell's.

I'm pretty sure this has been linked somwhere here before, but by far the best resource I've found on this issue is Seafood Watch's web site. I don't believe that there is any such beast as the "real" Chilean sea bass. My understanding is that the name Chilean sea bass was a marketing choice because Patagonian toothfish didn't make consumers' mouths water.

I think your perception of Mashiko is fundamentally different from most others here that have gone a number of times. I think it would help me, at least, to know what other sushi places in town you like as well or better. In particular, if there are places that you feel are more generous with the amounts they serve at approximately the same or better quality/value level, I'd love to know where they are. My main reference for example is Nishino. For nigiri, I think you can make a solid argument that Nishino is better quality-wise, but the pieces of fish certainly are smaller and the prices are higher, therefore I think Mashiko offer's better overall value. That's just my opinion.

They do, but it doesn't guarantee you immediate seating, just a spot at the top of the waiting list. That's my experiece at least.

Every time I have the omakase at Mashiko, I feel guilty that I didn't pay more for it.

There's been a lot written about Mashiko here. It's a bona fide PNW eG favorite. Here's a link to the major Mashiko thread, but there's other stuff out there.

Thanks for the review "poster formerly known as ...." These are the times when I have to remind myself of my experiences at places like Babbo and the Joel Palmer House, restaurants that so many people love, but for me barely reached mediocre. One thing I took from your comments is that some of the service foibles we experienced on a slow night, worsened considerably under the pressure of a busier evening. Not terribly surprising I guess, but not good either. I'm also wondering if the food quality suffered under pressure. That would be unfortunate and wouldn't bode well for the long-term viability of the restaurant. Hopefully it was just one of those off-nights.

Paper is off the windows at Lark and the woman washing them said that they'd be open for business on Friday. The interior appears very minimalist but not unattractive.