kiliki

The new cocktail lounge at Stumbling Goat (the "Enchantress") is open. It is tiny-5 barstools and three two tops that were occupied by diners. But, it was a perfectly nice place to get a cocktail and a dessert. The bartender said they had a late night (10-12) bar menu and specials.

Does anyone have any opinions about fireslate (countertops)?

I hoped someone would say that! And yeah, patina, "character," that's all fine with me-that's one reason I think it will fit in with the house-but visible stains and scratches are not okay. I will try to get some samples.

That sounds exactly like the Ballard Farmers Market right now. I saw the man at the Les Fromages booth cut a cheese sample for a man, another for a woman with him, and without hesitating, one for their golden retriever. Nice.

We spent Saturday going to showrooms. It is still hard to find a countertop that will fit our little 1908 Seattle bungalow-so many of the options, like tile and granite, even the honed kind, just don't "go." From the pictures I've seen (no one had it on display), soapstone might fit in nicely, but one salesman really badmouthed it-he said it stains super easily, that red wine and tea will destroy it. That was the first I'd heard this criticism (and I realize no surface is perfect, but I don't want one that stains THAT easily). Can anyone comment on this?

Artichokes. They take 10-15 minutes in a pressure cooker-it's great.

Those pictures are amazing. I am going to make that soup-Thanks for the recipe. Vietnamese is probably my favorite type of food though I rarely make it because you can get such inexpensive delicious Vietnamese food here in Seattle.

On last night's This Old House they talked about how great these new engineered wood floors are. The finish lasts for 25 years. I think any other wood would look odd with our fir floors, though, and we have dog and cat bowls that do spill quite frequently. This is GREAT, you guys. It's interesting to see how many people love natural linoleum-I wasn't crazy about it at first but am warming up to it. It sure sounds practical and, importantly, comfortable to stand on. Thanks and keep the suggestions coming.

We're starting to plan a major kitchen remodel, and while I have some very definite ideas about other aspects of the kitchen, the mr. and I are both having a hard time choosing countertops and floors. I've read through a bunch of archived remodeling threads here, but I'd like to know more about what countertops and floor people either love or wish they'd never installed. I know the pros and cons according to the brochures, but I'd love to hear firsthand experiences. I'd especially like to know if anyones installed any "green" products (ie Richlite counters or cork tile floors). The floors in the rest of the house are 100 y.o. honey colored fir, so any wood floor for the kitchen won't work.

How could I have forgotten Chinook's? It's been a family comprimise spot for years. Thanks. Also thanks for the Anthony's happy hour tip...Ray's doesn't let you sit outside for happy hour so it's nice to know Anthony's does.

There's some great ideas in this thread-thanks, everyone.

It's pissing me off. too. I mean, why does the Pink Door have to be so mediocre? Why does Azteca have that big space at Shilshole? Why are all those south Lake Union restaurants bad chains? etc etc. I love Matt's but unfortunately some of my pickier friends may not find something they will eat on that small menu. I wonder if Lowell's or the Athenian are okay for breakfast.

So I'm having a number of friends and relatives visit this summer; most are from the midwest and none are "foodies." I'm planning ahead and trying to think of the best waterfront or view spots to take them. I'm especially trying to think of moderately priced places as I can't afford to treat everyone everytime and don't want to take friends someplace they can't afford (ie Ray's Boathouse). So far I have come up with Ray's Cafe, which doesn't blow me away (it will be fine for my friends, though) but is reasonably priced and has that great deck. I read a decent review of the Bluwater at Leschi, so that sounds like an option. But what else? I hear Elliott's is only good for the oysters. I've never been too impressed with Anthony's but maybe their cafe at Bell St. is good? Is there still that little cafe under Palisade that serves decent breakfasts and lunch? And what about places in the Market like Lowell's or the Athenian? I've always heard they were not good but it's been a while.

Maybe this isn't news anymore-I don't know when it happened-but in case others didn't know, Roxy's is now on 36th in Fremont. The friends who I recently dragged around NYC's Lower East Side to gaze lovingly at the pickle stores tipped me off to the fact that Roxy's moved there and that they make their own pickles.

I had my first NYC pizza over the weekend. I was not expecting to like it that much, since I love the neapolitan style, but I was blown away by how good it all was. Even slices from random places in touristy areas were absolutely delicious.

We recently bought both an Amana easy reach and a washer from Direct Buying Service. We'd identified models we wanted, called around, and they had the best price both times. Everything else with them was great-the transaction, delivery, and the guy who did the paperwork was an Elvis impersonator.

Just had a cheese slice from Zagi's...I really didn't like it. Wayy too much cheese and it had been sitting too long. These things I could tell but I got it anyway because the other choices had a whole bunch of stuff on them and I don't like my pizza with tons of toppings. The whole pies people were eating in the restaurant looked good.

Cafe Yarmarka in the Pike Place Market-that is the place behind Sisters that was mentioned above. I go there for lunch when I need a creamy doughy fix. They have other menu items that look good as well but I always go for the pierogis since they are terrible frozen and a pain (though delicious) to make.

We took a group of 6 friends to Seven Stars the other night-none had ever been-and everyone was blown away. They loved every single dish we ordered, esp. our favorite, the Szechuan crab. Brad, I too like to randomly order dishes there-my latest delicious discovery is the hot pepper shredded potatoes. I'm going to NYC later this week and have planned a meal at a highly recommended Szechuan place (Grand Sichuan International). I've never made it a point to seek out Szechuan food when I travel so I'm interested to see how it compares to my Seattle favorite.

Thanks for the review. My mom got me an Entertainment Book for Christmas, and the Madison Park Cafe is one of those restaurants in there that I've wondered about.

I had the pizza at the Ballard Farmer's Market and thought it was good, though wayyyy heavy on the fresh oregano (which of course could be left off)...so maybe that is why they said they would be taking winter off.

Thanks for that post! I just called them to see if we are in their delivery area, and we are-they go all the way east to Aurora Ave!

The ice cream is somewhat mousse-y when I've not chilled the liquid for as long as I'm supposed to before adding it to the machine, but then the flavors don't seem as intense. I've never looked into adding stablizers. I kinda figure that I won't be able to duplicate it exactly-I only have a $60 Krups machine, which works great for most of my purposes (I've been making the best blood orange-tangerine sorbet lately!), but I figure that Fran's is working with a much better machine than I can afford.

I've been trying to duplicate their lemon ice cream. The stuff I'm making is good, but not the same.

Slightly related note...anyone else see Tom Douglas judge the "Iron Composer" competition-the musicians spoof on the Iron Chef-at the Crocodile a couple Thursdays ago? Lots of fun.