reesek
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Posts posted by reesek
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home for new years - absolutely had to go to zaytinya. we got there at 11:30 on friday, and were the second table seated. i live in seattle and i *wish* we had a restaurant that had it together even 1/3 as much. ambiance? gorgeous - my bf and i were totally enamored of the space. and noted the recurring shapes throughout the settings, decor, bread - we loved that. even the hot tea was amazingly good.
3 of us had:
fava puree with capers, & red onions. i loved the texture of this - almost like a yellow split pea i've had at ethiopian restaurants. the mildness of the capers was a nice surprise - lovely.
olives - i know, kind of a throwaway - unless you're into olives. i love them - these were exquisite.
carrot & apricot fritters - ethereal. my sister had advised these - before we were even done, my friend was suggesting we get more. very light, sweet from carrot and apricot, but still savory. the coating is so light they're hardly even fritters - greaseless
sauteed squid with spinach - delicious! tender squid and spinach, simple, garlicky and devoured quickly
scallops with dill - insane. so good - best thing we had. perfectly seared scallops, lovely creamy dill yogurt sauce - not complex, not especially turkish - definitely more fusion, but unquestionably delicious.
salmon with sesame & pomegranate - not exciting. maybe it was atlantic salmon which can't compare to pacific salmon, but i thought this was underseasoned and bland
borek - my friend is quite a fan of turkish restaurants and was excited to have the borek. she said it wasn't nearly as good as others she's had - i thought this wasn't good either - is the cheese supposed to melt entirely? it was kind of like a cheese straw. i envisioned something more substantive
mushrooms with shallots and cheese - i skimmed off the heavy and unnecessary layer of cheese to reveal a dish of juicy, tender, and very flavorful shiitakes and oyster mushrooms. yum!
dessert was macerated medjool dates, olive oil ice cream, and what i think was pistachio custard and crumbled orange semolina cake - easily one of the best desserts i've ever had - i will dream about it.
one question - the pomegranate that's served with the olive oil - my friend insisted that it was also oil, but i'm convinced it was reduced juice...are either of us right?
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alex,
if i wasn't already in love, i'd have to hunt you down. they have cola cao!! they have (cheap) piquillo peppers! i pay $9 for a tiny jar of piquillos in seattle. i've got the mantecados and the rest in my cart. i'm ecstatic!
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that recipe was just so awesome - almost exactly like the conversation i had in spain with the baker...very vague. i read a recipe online that used olive oil...and another that just called for "oil." my guess is that i'd want a very light olive oil - nothing extra virgin or strongly flavored. when i was in spain the general cuisine (the kind of food cooked in spanish homes) was very modest - i can't imagine them using anything but a big old can of olive oil...
where did you get the mantecados? i'm so spainsick for them right now!
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it is a crime to fill the shells before serving! come to think of it, the deli i used to get them had them in the case, but i think those were just for display - they always filled them fresh.
la medusa in columbia city makes an ok one (or they used to) - get it without the fruit.
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mantecados! you rock, alex. i looked on google for a recipe - this is what i came up with...
"A kilo is taken from good fat of pig. To him another sweet wine is added a liter of moscato wine either, mixing or with the fat. Soon flour is added to him (all the one that absorbs the preparation, that usually is around a kilo).
It is kneaded and it stretched, leaving it of a thickness of a centimeter or more. Rectangles are cut and it is placed them in a enmantecada plate. The kitchen during about fifteen minutes to hot furnace, and removing them from the furnace (already gilded) goes through impalpable sugar.
They are let cool, and as they are for not berthing itself, it is possible to be kept like other masitas droughts."
maybe i was better off not knowing about the kilo of lard...not to mention that hot kitchen furnace i just had replaced...i swear they used butter at this bakery - i'll keep hunting.
rk
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this is kind of a long shot - but you are all the most amazing resources...i was in spain for a year about 8 years ago. i lived in seville and am dreaming about cookies made there. they were holiday cookies - but they could have just as easily been easter as christmas cookies. i can't remember. they were very simple and came in just a few flavors (i remember loving the cinnamon) i bought them at a little corner bakery across the street from the cathedral. they looked like flat bottomed eggs and had absolutely no browning whatsoever. the texture was uniform - creamy sand. i remember asking a proprietress for the recipe and she just looked at me like i was crazy - i am almost positive however, that she told me that there were only 4 ingredients. (flour, sugar, butter, eggs??) i think the name starts with an "m" - they are butter cookies - so maybe a variation of mantequilla?
i'd love a recipe - these ladies didn't use cookie molds - how did they get the shape? what should the dough look like?
many thanks in advance.
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hal - they are awful here! sloppy and insipid without any of the richness of home (DC for me). i really can't offer help except to say that i sympathize. and i suspect you want a recipe with at least some marscapone - i think the texture here is too grainy. did you get the shells at di laurenti or boracchinis? i've found that boracchini's can be stale sometimes.
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oysters - shallot/tabscao mignionette - our first at home - yum.
seared scallops with cranberry buerre rouge, (slightly) crispy polenta triangles made with sundried tomato, garlic & chevre, watercress with orange segments & chive oil.
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Do they die young?
hee hee!!
maybe...i've never liked the Met - it's weird. el gaucho is very retro cool - you/anyone can do sooo well there sharing an awesome caesar salad and bananas foster.
at least i imagine so. i've never actually had the moxie to do it.
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i've always wanted to tell people what to eat...
or ala the splendid table give someone ingredients to cook with...i'm a sucker for spanish anchovies, so i'd definitely have those. otherwise - grilled calamari sounds potentially delicious or disasterous...if i ate meat - i'd be all over the duck...as i don't - i'd be curious about...hmm - nothing. i might have 3 apps or the lobster pasta.
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i think saito and nishino are my favorites, but i've had great meals at shiki as well as blue C and i love sushi.
i guess that while i think the experience at the sushi bar should be better in some ways - i definitely don't want to go somewhere that punishes me for takeout. if restaurants don't want to do takeout, that's ok too - but if you're going to offer it, i think it should be just what i'd get if i sit at a table. if he/she wants to be especially generous when i'm at the sushi bar - that's great, but i think it's fair to expect the same food.
with respect to price/quality/serving size/ambiance it's a balance. saito and nishino are my favorites because i think they offer the best balance. for all i know they're both more expensive. i just obviously end up feeling more satisfied and/or more welcome somehow.
as an aside - i feel like it's an admission of poor taste that i like i love sushi and blue C. i'm admitting it anyway. the hamachi kama at blue c is so good.
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i really enjoyed your review of tojo's klink...it sounds to me like the omakase experience varies widely depending on many factors. i did love the tojo's special tuna - (i was there in march 2001) and still remember it for introducing me to glorious shisho leaf (no over-wasabiing) but who knows if i was there on a good night!?
i went to mashiko last night - i was feeling guilty...i got carryout and they charged me for, but forgot to include my scallop nigiri. they called (but left no message) to let me know. it's not a big deal but it's slightly annoying. i'm sure i could go back today/the next time and let them know but i wouldn't...
maybe i'm a pig (ok - i'm definitely a pig) but i think they're chintzy with the nigiri for the price. there's a lot of debate out there about slabs of fish vs thin ribbons and mashiko's fish is little (and definitely littler still when ordered to go).
on the quality side - hamachi and fresh salmon were amazing. mackerel was ok, maguro was flavorless, rolls not that good...(the atomic was yummy - but i think that was the sriracha)
what am i missing at mashiko? i'm willing to try pretty much anything...
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hmm - maybe i wasn't clear (sorry about that)
freaky was our waiter - i know him vaguely. he doesn't work there anymore i don't think. he was trying to be helpful (read - invasive) and insisted we have baby octopi as part of the omakase - they were cold, red and rubbery...exactly like a child's toy. i thought the omakase was totally reasonable price-wise, but now all i can think of are those baby octopi.
the only other omakase experience i've ever had was at Tojo in vancouver and it was a revelation - i didn't think mashiko was as good - but it's not a fair comparison (i was on vacation in vancouver, the view was amazing...)
i'd be willing to try it again - maybe an outing sometime?
when i described mashiko as pricey i should have (again) been clearer. i guess because i'm not crazy about their nori - (i think it's chewy) i tend to avoid maki rather than blending maki and nigiri which is what i usually do. i end up ordering all nigiri instead...and since i eat um...a lot of nigiri it's more expensive than what i'd normally spend.
hope that clarifies...i am going to have to order out for dinner at mashiko now...
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i haven't read the other responses about mashiko but i go there fairly often and have some suggestions/warnings...
1) the menu is huge
2) the miso is "country miso" and has cabbage and other ingredients in it. i am not a fan
3) i've been disappointed with omakase there - but then, i knew the waiter and he is kind of a freak so that may have had something to do with it
4) sit at the sushi bar if you can - the chefs are very good - the specials are excellent.
5) (see 1) be open to trying lots of things - the best way to approach mashiko is to not be married to toro or any one thing but to truly go with what's fresh.
6) it's on the pricey side, but worth it.
7) excellent nutty green tea, good sake selection
8) it gets crowded and the service is generally pretty bad though well-intentioned. try to avoid going at 7pm as there's only a tiny vestibule to wait in.
enjoy! i've had excellent special dishes - the agedashi tofu is the best i've had and they have a nice (though tame) variety of fish - lots of striped bass.
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the one very predictable characteristic i've found at ethiopian places here is glacial service. this is NOT the "quick bite before a movie" option. but berbere makes it all worth while
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tighe -
eithiopian is addictive when good - disappointing when bad.
i've had both in seattle - sadly, sometimes at the same restaurant! i'm a vegetarian so my knowledge is slightly limited...i ate meat at kokeb, but that's gone now. things to try...good lentils are lovely and creamy yet spicy - bad ones are hard...we go to Laibela at MLK and Cherry - Meskel / Mesob ? is re-opening down the block soon - supposed to be great. Laibela is very good - unless the food is cold. i love good ethiopian enough to persevere - the injera at Laibela is very good. spongy yes, but not tasteless - sourdough was a good descriptor...i love the collards and any lentil...yum. i've been wanting to try blue nile.
also - fascica in columbia city - went once - good food - appalling bathroom. can't go back after seeing that...irrational? maybe - but i can't do it.
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i think the neighborhood is ripe for a place like lark - the parking lot is a major bonus too. it's a short walk from the (smoky but) adorable 1200 - great spot for an after dinner glass of wine. (sigh) i used to walk there all the time until moving across the west seattle bridge.
Good Diner in DC?
in D.C. & DelMarVa: Dining
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steak and egg on wisconsin if it's still there, SS tastee (did you know that if you drink enough coffee you'll actually make yourself sick? i spent half of high school there) excellent greasy spoon fare.
and parkway - even if it is a deli, not a diner, still fits the bill. i fly 3000 miles once a year for their potato pancakes. the hashed browns this last visit (new years eve day) were almost pureed in the middle, but it was still tasty (get them extra crispy) the bacon (extra crisp) has kept my dad returning for almost 30 years.