SeaGal

Ms. Ramsey, Portage Bay Cafe is our favorite breakfast place. Besides the super pancake bar, they really do some incredible omelettes. And the coffee is always first rate as well. ← I also like Portage Bay. Just had brunch recently with a bunch of friends. They put us in the back room and let us sit and chat after our meal as long as we liked, with coffee and water refills. (We, of course, tipped well for this). The food was really good and the portions quite large. It was my first time there and I'll definitely go back for more. Jan

Yes, yes, breakfast! Also the Oeufs Plat are really wonderful. I also sometimes have cheese for breakfast--odd, but very good. We must try them for dinner sometime. Jan

I've been meaning to try this place forever, since we only live about 5 blocks away, and this thread finally made me do it. Went there last night with my husband and got almost the last table available (around 7:10). It's a tiny space, even the small bar seating was filled. The service was homey and friendly. The meal was quite good. We shared a vegetable antipasto which had various marinated vegetables, all cooked just right--especially liked the little puddle of carmelized onions. We were given servicable bread with a bowl of olive oil that should have been better quality. It wasn't bad, just not very flavorful. My husband had the hot meatball and sausage sandwich and it was great--I really liked the meatballs and would order them with pasta next time. It came with pasta salad which included some of the marinated veggies from the verdura plate. I had one of the specials from the board they bring around. (I wish they wouldn't do this, since I can never remember everything after they leave--why not either post the board where I can read it, or just print up a daily sheet?). Anyway, I had tortellini with broccoli rabe and sun-dried tomatoes. This dish was very good in a rustic way. A bit heavy on the oil for my taste, but the bitter broccoli played nicely against the cheesey pasta and the sweetness of the tomatoes. I usually don't care for sun-dried tomatoes, but these had been treated well and were tender and tasty. The tortellini were very good, too--I also don't usually order these, either, but the brocolli rabe I love, so I chose the whole dish based on one ingredient. I would order this again. For dessert we had a nice, rich vanilla ice cream with amarena cherries. I'd never tried these before, but the sweetness of the cherries was just the right match for the creamy ice cream. My husband had a glass of Montepulciano de Abruzzo and I had a glass of a special wine that was a Pinot Grigio/Chardonnay blend, which I forgot to get info on. Both were decent wines and were priced at around 5.00 per glass I think. I think for a neighborhood place, this was a really good meal and we'll go back. The only thing on the menu I didn't like, was that all the standard pasta sauces (marinara, meat sauce etc.) are served on a pasta of the day, which when we went in was farfalle. I'd prefer spaghetti with my marinara and meatballs, or a choice. But, it's a really tiny space, so I can see why they'd limit the choices. We'll definitely be going back. I probably wouldn't drive here from across town, but it's right in my back yard, so I consider myself lucky. Jan *edited to correct silly spelling

Made a batch of fassolada (Greek bean with vegetable soup) last night. Let it sit overnight with the ham bone in it. Heated it up tonight and pureed some of the mixture to thicken it. Added some olive oil and herbs (savory and thyme) at the last minute. Served it with a cabbage salad with parsley, green onions, greek olives, feta, lemon and olive oil. Fried up some frozen chappatis and that was dinner. Kind of a mishmash, but I didn't want to run to the store late in the day.

I often need (and welcome) help with the wine list, and yet do not consider myself an idiot, blithering or otherwise.

Tonight's meal was an attempt to make up, in advance, for the coming indulgences of the weekend. It was quite tasty and hopefully a few nights eating like this will stave off the holiday pudgies Sturgeon filets, rubbed with evoo, lemon, oregano, cumin and s&p; pan fried and finished in the oven till just done, but still juicy. Puy lentils cooked according to an old Jacques Pepin recipe (Today's Gourmet Cookbook). Lentils simmered with onion, garlic,salt and bay leaves until tender, then dressed with olive oil, dijon mustard and garlic and tabassco sauce and pepper. Steamed broccolini with lemon Salad of mesclun, fennel, pickled red onion, yellow beets, fuyu persimmon and toasted pecans in a light raspberry vinagrette Mineral water with lime Jan

This sounds wonderful and well thought out. A suggestion for the vegetables would be to skip the green salad (I find them awkward with buffets as the salad takes up so much plate space). Instead, you could offer a couple of cold vegetable salads, for instance, green beans in a mustard vinagrette and a roasted root vegetable salad (or warm roasted root vegetables drizzled with evoo and balsamic vinegar, if you have the warming space). Of course, you could do these and still have the green salad too. Another nice salad is sliced cucumbers and onions with fresh dill, either in sour cream dressing or with vinegar/sugar. Another possiblity is a savory sweet potato gratin. I made one recently with cream and chipotles and it held up well for several hours, both in the oven at low temp and sitting out on the counter for an hour. Whatever you do, enjoy your holiday! Jan

I have a feeling that the only breakfast places open on Christmas morning would be restaurants in hotels--esp those that do room service for hotels. Unfortunately, I've not spent any time in Seattle hotels, but maybe others have and could give guidance? Jan

What an interesting blog--love the cheesemaking info. As a fellow Seattleite and gyros lover, I'd love to know the name of the Crown Hill gyros place? Really nice pictures of the market...I love it in the early mornings just as it's starting to rev up for the day. No crowds Blog on! Jan

Please sign up SeaGuy as well. Could we shoot for 7:00 or 7:30 instead of 8:00? What do others think? Traditional Taiwanese sounds great. Thanks again! Jan

Thursdays in January are good for me. Thank you so much for organizing this.

Sounds like fun to me depending on the schedule--things are already filling up fast during the holidays-yipes! I've been wanting to try this place since I heard about it, but haven't gotten around to it. Jan

First of all, I love the cat and the martinis--he does look intent on them Second, I absolutely adore goat cheese for breakfast too--your photo makes me want to go out and get some. I also love your cups and saucers. Looks like you might have a collection of them. Third, I haven't been to Oceanaire yet, but when's the last time you saw a relish tray like that? Very retro. Too bad the food wasn't better. Unfortunately, I'm going out of town for a week, so I'll miss the rest of your "real-time" blogging, but I'll look forward to reading it all when I get back. Have a great week! Jan

Oh how funny! I just met you last night and here you are blogging. Sure enjoyed chatting at the Bourdain dinner and am really looking forward to reading this blog. Nice pictures of Salumi. Got to go get some tomorrow Jan

SeaGuy and I had a great time, enjoyed the food and chatting with all the eGulleters that showed up. Sounds like things heated up after we left, what with kisses and thighs etc Thanks to all the organizers and to Tony for being so generous with his time spent at our table. Jan

Well, this thread just solved my "what's for dinner tonight" query. Too busy to cook, so Pagliacci it is!! Love that Luigi 1/2 South Philly and 1/2 Prosciutto Primo (and I'm going to ask for extra done crust this time, cause the only quibble I ever have is with delivery, the crust in the center is a bit soggy. Jan

I'll spill Enjoy! Eunny ← Thanks so much--I think it'd be a great Thanksgiving side dish. Jan

Things I do in the kitchen that drive him crazy: -Use the garlic press (only when I'm in a hurry, honest ) and leave it out to get dry and hardened -Make a huge mess for him to clean up (which he always does, bless him) -Forget to turn off burners/oven when I'm finished -Leave ingredients out after using them (obviously, I'm not the tidiest cook, but I'm trying to be better ) Things he does in the kitchen that drive me crazy: -Follows behind me, tidying, saying "are you done with this?", "do you want this burner on still?" (It's great that he cleans up, but not while I'm cooking!) -Can't find anything in the frig -Leaves the filtered water pitcher empty so I have to fill it -makes room for stuff in the frig by shoving other things further back -doesn't rinse gooey stuff off silverware before putting in dishwasher, resulting in stained, stainless utensils -sometimes cuts up his pasta when I'm not looking Other than that, we do fine, 'cause I cook and he has no interest in cooking, but is more than willing to eat anything I cook and clean up afterwards. I guess that's why we've lasted 24 years Jan

Mmmmm. I'd love to try this gratin. Would you be willing to tell all? Jan

I started with Marcella Hazen's recipe and then riffed a little, but not too much: pancetta (would love to try guanciale, but not sure where to get it in Seattle--will have to find out) sprinkle of dried red chiles (not traditional, I know, but I like it) garlic (she says to just brown cloves and remove, but I like garlic so I chop it and leave it in) Eggs (I use 3 for a box of pasta) parmigiano reggiano pecorino romano bit of chopped parsley lots of cracked pepper The egg yolk in ravioli sounds wonderful. Jan

Homemade mac and cheese: baked sharp cheddar and bechamel-type laced with pepper jack cheese and velveeta (I know, it's horrid, but it makes the mac and cheese velvety and creamy), fresh garlic and fresh butter soaked bread crumbs. on top. Rotisserie chicken Steamed broccolini with EVOO, lemon juice and kosher salt Green leaf lettuce w/ green onions, hearts of palm, fennel, cucumber, lemon juice and EVOO. Jan

Possibly the 23rd would work for me.

My husband and I have Bourdain reservations at 6:30pm at the eGullet table. Really looking forward to this! Jan

This is sooooo beautiful. Avocado this way is one of my favorite treats also. I've enjoyed reading your posts on the Dinner thread and am really looking forward to this blog. Thanks for sharing with us! Jan

This week would work for me too. Jan