kiliki

I love them for their Belgian Beers. It's just a bit further than I'd care to walk except maybe on some summer night when I had all the time in the world.

Okay, I'm jumping the gun a little posting this but I am excited that new restaurants are coming to my Greenwood/Phinney neighboorhood (which I think is quite short of having good dining options...) Stumbling Goat has put in a new cocktail bar! They are ready to go and just waiting for the liquor board okay. This is exciting because the only cocktail bar I can currently walk to is the Baranof. In the old Stalk Exchange place will be a Latin/Mexican restaurant with outdoor seating! And a liquor license! There is a description taped to the door. Something like "in the style of the best of San Francisco's Mission district..." To me that means cheap good Mexican but they are calling it Nuevo Latino or something. And, next door to that, where the "Ovations" store is, will be an Italian place. That is the word from the Greenwood Chamber, but I don't know anything else.

But beware-there's no sign on the door.

I think I learned on this very board that Jack's Fish Spot (in the Market) was the only vendor there that cooked their own crabs, so since I work downtown, that is where I get mine. Once they were on sale at Ballard Market, and I asked if they cooked them there, and they said, "sometimes, not today." I guess before I bought one anywhere I'd ask this question. It seems like they wouldn't be as fresh if the vendor was getting them in already cooked.

Ina Garten's Lemon Meringue Tart (in Barefoot in Paris) is one of the best lemon desserts I've made in a while. It seems like most lemon pies use cornstarch, which tastes really, really bad to me, but hers relies on eggs only for thickening. Also, her meringue is silky (as opposed to foamy), which I love If substituting meyer lemons for "regular," can anyone give advice on adjusting sugar amounts?

A related question-Can I halve a souffle recipe?

Chocolati IS pretty nice and comfy on the inside. The chocolates aren't bad but they aren't, say, Fran's. Still, they have a rack you can tie your dog to if you are just out for a walk and need a sweet.

For my fellow downtown workers...I just tried a new Vietnamese place at 3rd and Marion-in that food court-called Cafe Pho. Menu looked great, even the ambiance was better than average for a downtown order at the counter kind of place. But alas. The salad rolls (filled mostly with warm iceberg lettuce! ) and chicken vermacelli noodle bowl I just had were both no good. People did seem to be enjoying the pho, though.

I'd say the Met-it has always struck me as a very masculine place.

Wow, PCL, that is so elaborate and so different than my camping dining! On the rare occasions that I car camp (I usually backpack, but that is a whole other food discussion), it is not in developed campsites with running water, fire pits and the like. Very often, in places I go, fires are not allowed due to omnipresent fire danger. So, it becomes all about what takes little effort to clean up, and what I can make over my one burner stove. So I like to fill up the cooler with things like good salami, cheeses, pickled things, cold noodle/couscous salads made at home, bread, fruit salads, hard boiled eggs, milk, and granola, tea, and coffee-none of which makes a big mess (since I don't have enough water to properly clean dishes). Even on the rare occasions when I do go where I could cook more elaborately, I don't want to spend the time I could be hiking/swimming/generally enjoying the outdoors, etc, cooking and cleaning up, so I still bring the prepared foods.

I like russets and yukon golds best, but really, we're talking potatoes fried in fat-I don't think you can go wrong no matter what variety you use (I even use the waxy varieties if that's all I have).

I'm a hash brown fiend-I probably make them 3 times a week. Hash browns made with cooked potatoes taste wrong to me, and they don't have that nice shredded texture-they tend to get too mushy. Use raw grated potato, rinse in a colander until the water runs clear (to get the starch off so they don't stick), and use a HEAVY non stick (ie all clad or le crueset) or well seasoned cast iron pan to fry. Using a light non stick pan won't allow them to brown properly. Sometimes I add onions, and I always fry in canola because I don't like the taste of olive oil on my browns. Be sure to salt well and, like others said, wait until they are brown on the first side before flipping them once to brown on the other side.

Yes the Wingdome at the top of my street (N. 79th at Greenwood) is still going strong, sending the smell of deep fried throughout the neighborhood...

They're at Whole Foods, too, as are heirloom navels.

We ended up paying at the register, too, after finally getting the bill, since no one ever came to take the credit card. We hadn't seen anyone else do it and the woman up there apologized, so I guess the servers are supposed to take care of that.

Anyone else eaten here? The recent P-I review got me really excited about the place, despite the negative remarks, since I love Vietnamese but wasn't in love with any of Seattle's Vietnamese restaurants (yes, there are some good ones, but none with the ideal combination of good prices, quality, and atmosphere). The food was terrific. Our group had beef short ribs, fresh prawn spring rolls, pork spring rolls, "special steamed roll" (ground marinated pork and mushrooms in a rice paper wrapper, served with bean sprouts, prawns, grilled pork, herbs and fish dipping sauce), green beans with tofu, grilled prawn vermacelli noodle bowl, and vegetable rice noodle soup, and all were great (I didn't know how I was supposed to eat the special steamed rolls, however). The limeade type drinks were also delicious. The space is comfortable, nicely decorated with a neat fireplace. Prices are incredibly cheap. Service was ABYSMAL. The five of us had to pass around one menu because that is all they had (even though we didn't see many other tables with menus). One entree came before the appetizers. About 20 minutes elapsed between the delivery of the first entree and the last-they all came at 5 minute intervals (can anyone explain this? At thai restaurants I've also experienced this staggared arrival-how can anyone think it's appropriate?). Water was requested but never came. Lime drinks took about 15 minutes. Once the food was delivered no one ever came back to our table. We would have liked dessert but no one asked, and it was such an ordeal to get the check we thought we should take the opportunity to pay and leave while we were still young. But, the food was so good, and such a great deal, I will go back and hope that service improves.

Perfect. Thank you.

What size souffle dishes-both individual and large-are most commonly used in recipes? I would like to buy just one size of each. Or, can I use any size pan as long as I don't over/underfill it? Also, if I buy individual tart pans, do I need to buy the kind with a removable bottom, or are the little guys easier to get out of their pans than a large tart?

"Sharables?" People SAY that? Ugh.

No negative associations here either. I've known too many organic growers that grew such terrific quality products and cared tremendously about the health of their land and their workers to think, as some do, that the organic label is some kind of ruse. There's a lot of sentiment here that the public is being hoodwinked into thinking that organic produce tastes better and is healthier (ie has more nutrients), but I don't think this is the case with most people. I used to work at a natural food market that sold mostly organic produce, and people bought these products for four reasons: 1) They objected to consuming pesticides/fungicides which may or may not cause them harm, 2) They were concerned about (well documented) environmental effects of pesticides on wildlife, birds, fish, groundwater, etc, 3) They were concerned about the (again, well documented) effects of pesticides on agricultural workers-it was a social justice issue for many people, and 4) As organic growers were often smaller and local, and people wanted to support family/sustainable farms.

An early xmas present from my boyfriend of a huge box of Parisian macarons from Fauchon, carried on the plane on someone's lap from Paris to San Francisco, and then on someone else's lap from SF to Seattle. How he worked that out is a long story but I am in HEAVEN.

This time of year drives me nuts too. I do look forward to persimmons and pomegrantates, so that is one bright spot. Tsquare, I've been getting persimmons at the Greenlake PCC. Last year I got some fabulous oranges labeled "heirloom navels" at Uwajimaya-they were the best oranges I've had in years. As most of the citrus I've bought this year hasn't been very good (So many watery satsumas!), I keep meaning to see if Uwajimaya has these again.

The pasta with butter and truffles is one of my favorite restaurant dishes. Love love love it. But, I do like very simple pastas, I can see how someone might think it a bit plain.

I too thought oysters were "icky" when I first tried them, but then the oddest thing kept happening-I started craving them. So I'd order them a new way, and still would be a little grossed out, but sure enough, later on I'd crave them again. So gradually I acquired a taste for them-esp. the bbq'd oysters you find near Tomales Bay, CA, where I briefly lived. Still don't really relish them raw, though.

A friend of mine was just RAVING about Pioneer Organics. I'd probably do one of these services if I didn't live within walking distance of PCC and working distance of Pike Place Market.