reesek

i love this place! not only do i get to speak in spanglish in a small sexy room (though i *wish* they had an ante-room - it gets cold - even in back). it feels great in that space. cosmopolitan, but intimate. a great spot to catch up with an old friend, flirt with a new one, or fall in love all over again. old friend and i had the $30 bottle of recommended wine. so good we each had another glass. i had forgotten how reasonable the wine is there... started with boquerones - white anchovies drunken goat and picon then moved to scallops - these are insane. insane!!! 3 massive specimens. seared and salted expertly and served on an oozing mound of onion confit. holy crap those were good. artichoke bottoms with ham. there was a slight gravyish aspect to the sauce that i didn't adore, but was ok. besides i love artichokes and rarely eat them. 2 servings of venison on lentils. though we probably liked the scallops the best, this was so good with the wine, we didn't resist. the serving was 2 nice seared chunks on a bed of lentils cooked with ham and carrots. the lentils tasted just like beef stew to me - very good and the venison was impeccable... rare, juicy, flavorful, tender and still crusty outside. dessert was a perfect espresso and a dish of salt caramel ice cream. it was salty, but good. i think i might have liked it even better if it had been more intensely caramel flavored... but still very nice. other menu items...roast boar with potatoes and apples, octopus with potatoes, monfish with rice and piquillo sauce, some sort of brandade (i think) calamari, white asparagus with jamon serrano, a foie dish and duck confit with potatoes. other desserts included espresso flan, a fig and date tart with caramel, a warm chocolate cake and a grape sorbet.

i ate there. once.

le gourmet, your flavor combinations are so interesting - where do you get your inspiration? are any of these dishes regional/traditional? if so - to where? are you a trained chef? how often do you make such elaborate meals? </interrogation> welcome, by the way

hillvalley, thanks for noticing i bet your version was better than mine! last night i roasted some sausages and made a gratin with white beans, sauteed mushrooms and onion confit. shredded brussels with vinegar on the side to soak up the fat. K Vineyards "House Red" has a very childish label, but is absolutely fantastic for the $10.

exactly!...the dinner thread invariably comes up jaymes - thank you! you've just improved my life. note to self - read directions.

taint good the growl and gristle - a dog pound & butcher. their slogan - "a real meat market..." and if JC's new venture is a nightclub...liquor in the front, poker in the rear.

i couldn't agree more. a le pichet-type place is perfect. small, urban and just right to help create that little bubble around your table. not sure why i'm drawing a blank, but are there other spots (ok - matt's) that have a similar feel? (is this a new thread?)

woodburner, i do that for my version of potato pancakes (which is actually much like fifi's browns - just in small, roundish quanities). i think it removes any potential gumminess to do it that way.

english shelling peas. they are unbelievably better than what you can buy fresh. i also love growing hot peppers and all kinds of tomatoes. i think cherry tomatoes are the sweetest - and definitely very prolific! i'd plant a meyer lemon tree too...and artichokes and definitely onions and leeks. i have a little alium section of my garden with cippolini onions that i wipe off and eat raw. they're so sweet. i'm jealous that you can berries to grow. the squirrels ate all of ours.

i also far prefer fresh...fresh water chestnuts are a revelation. i also love all fresh mushrooms...but am not generally crazy for dried <ducks head> but i think canned vegetables can add texture even when the flavor needs to be enhanced (or covered up) edit: abbreviation

jen, your blog is very inspirational. plus you make totally british looking roasties (like my bf's mom...who's also in sacrametho!) it's so helpful to see photos of portion sizes etc. congratulations on all of your success so far, and on keeping food fun and interesting. i think it's so cool that you see the challenge of making healthy, delicious food as a positive one rather than as a series of restrictions. i would definitely drink all my flex points

mandarin oranges and canned pineapple rock. how else would you make ambrosia? canned bamboo shoots and water chestnuts straw mushrooms and baby corn for thai soups. i do like canned mushrooms on greasy pizza. i use a lot of canned beans. white beans for my white bean dip, jarred chick peas and cannelini for tuna salads or roasted chick peas piquillo peppers are only available canned and they're my favorite i use a lot of broth from cans (or boxes usually since it's unsalted). i like to add some veg and simmer to tart it up a bit, but i'm not super disciplined...i don't prep a ton of stocks in advance. i think the packaged stuff is pretty decent. certainly tomatoes, etc - and i've also fallen for tubes of tomato paste - rather than the can which always molds before i can finish it. good topic...reminds me that i need to make corn pudding.

oh i want recipes for all this stuff...andie - i'm on my way...right after i swing by chufi's. whew. i love this topic. my cooking is seasonal too, so in addition to whatever else i feel like serving you, in spring you'd get my fresh pea soup with mint and crab in summer you'd get caprese salad featuring tomatoes and basil from my garden or a fresh raviolo with the same in fall you'd be served a plum or apple crisp with fruit from our trees in winter you'd eat my onions and thyme. but no matter what, you keep asking me to make potato pancakes...vegans, the lactose intolerant and carnivores alike clamor for my original horseradish tofu sauce as an accompaniment, but i might also serve them with herby creme fraiche and smoked salmon.

yum! any menu preview? rocky - thanks so much for putting this together...i'm looking forward to meeting so many gulleteers in one fell swoop!

ellen, this is fabulous. the white water terrace is spectacular. can you tell us a bit more about it? do the locals divert the water for crops...are there animals that seem to favor them? between this ongoing blog and monica's photo journal of india i feel vicariously cosmopolitan today!!

in short - it depends. here in seattle, we pay for what we use. i pay what feels like a small fortune for a garbage can the size of my thumb. if we want a larger one, we'll have to pay more. i have a friend in dallas, texas however, who pays nothing for trash removal, and can even leave massive things out for trash collectors (matresses, etc) whereas we need to go to the local "dump" where we pay dearly for the space we're about to use. on the plus side - seattle waste management encourages and partly subsidizes composting.

<bump> based on tanabutler's ringing endorsement and sick amounts of other factor-based-research, (budget, location, timing etc) - i've got a reservation at RNM on friday evening. has anyone been lately - can you offer a recommendation? many thanks! i'm also hoping to hit ferry market on saturday. if at all possible, i'll disappear into the hog whatever oyster place, but i'll be with family. is there another (potentially squalling child-friendly) place in that area you'd suggest for lunch/brunch? thanks! edited because i was wondering why no one had replied to my query. so i reread it and realized that i cleverly avoided mentioning WHERE i was going. so i added it and bolded it. now, hopefully - someone who has been can weigh in. apologies for being a dingbat.

i've had mixed luck at circa in WS. once it was overdone, once good. no pickles though, which is big let down.

della, i think so...on sunday. i slow roasted a 3lb butt - pulled it, skimmed the fat off the broth (and rendered down the rest of the fat from the pork that hadn't rendered) and fried hunks of the braised pork in it's own fat. was i close? what is the top layer that extraMSG got on his photographed carnitas? should i not have been so scrupulous in my fat removal/rendering? the meat ended up juicy, carmelized in parts and lovely, but not golden crisp like in EMSG's photo...della - do you (or anyone else out there) have tips? thanks

lmf - just saw this - thanks for posting the pictures. just as anita said...it looks like a big unsliced hunk of bacon. but fresh, right - not cured in any way? it's a lovely looking piece of meat. where is it from? i'm wondering if any one who's also had the pork belly at lark (or made it as a star dish rather than an accompaniment) can help me out with the preparation. i remember not liking the abundant fat, but loooving the tender meat. is belly usually braised? wendy's looks much leaner than what i was served at lark...did mine need sit ups or is er...plumpness encouraged in pork belly?

ceviche from "resaca" in guayaquil, ecuador. my birthday dinner at lark in seattle small plates in london somewhere in the theater district anniversary dinner at union in seattle my first palace kitchen (seattle) hamburger after renouncing 5 years of vegetarianism. falafel from "world's best falafel" in paris. eaten while perched on a narrow stone ledge in front of an apartment building. all eaten with my favorite person in the world.

wonderful! i'm in. there are too few places in seattle (as far as i'm aware) that even allow doneness to be self-determined...even elliot bay brewery - makers of a decent burger have to go into the flat category because they won't cook it to spec. is this to be gourmet only? (defined as burgers ordered to desired doneness)?

i ended up making chili last night instead of lentil soup. i had a bunch of left over pulled pork and it was late so i went with a quick simmer of canned kidneys, some of the lovely pork jelly, guajillo and chipotle chili powders, a roasted pasilla and a can of diced tomatoes. (plus some sweated onion and garlic.) a resounding success. i brought some with me for lunch. is it 12 yet?

It's bad form for someone to take your plate while you're STILL CHEWING your last bite. That happens a lot! ← yes yes!! the worst. the vulture server! also usually found swooping down to take my credit card before my hand has left the check.

i was there once as a (fish eating) vegetarian. not much there for me to eat. overcooked salmon, couscous and salad as i recall. i was there with a large group who had the full monty meal thing. the salad was delicious, but, as i recall, was a puree - leaving the one relatively simple thing to eat with ones fingers nearly impossible. i wouldn't go back.