kiliki

I'm pretty sure that a smorgasbord is actually a buffet style spread of Scandinavian foods-meats and other dishes-but that Americans have long misused the word. I'm still thinking about the name "Soup Plantation." What a terrible name for a restaurant-the images it conjures! Why would soup be made on a plantation? Do slaves make the soup? Isn't it too hot on the plantation to want soup? Perhaps Soup Plantation only offers cold soups. I'm going to be thinking about that one for a while.

What a great thread-I took advantage of ridiculously cheap airfare on SAS and am going next week, but I'm a grad student and don't have too much to spend. If anyone else has recommendations, esp. in the 7th, I'd love to hear them.

For those that like Jamie Oliver, do you actually make any of his stuff? He seems like a likeable guy, but all those fish and cheese cassroles? Eeew. Same with Paula (forget the last name-the southern lady)-she seems so nice, but good god, the stuff she makes.

Ditto! Anthony Boudoin is my favorite.

Here are some casual, ethnic places, if you're in the mood for that (I think your cousin should at least know about these places): Osteria La Spiga-Italian Seven Stars Pepper-Szechuan Malay Satay Hut-Malaysian Coliman-Mexican (it's out of the way, considerably south of downtown, but worth the drive) India Bistro

That Olive Garden post made me laugh. My previous worst restaurant, also courtesy of my sister, was Olive Garden.

Oh, no, I was hoping the bitterness would wear off but it doesn't look like it will.

I have a sister who has an inexplicable love for chain restaurants, and every year she has a birthday party at a restaurant of her choice. Her choices are usually bad, though it is her birthday and I of course do not complain (to her). Last weekend we hit a new low: The Melting Pot I spent almost $60 (with a little wine) for sad precut veggies and bread, bland cheese fondue, little chunks of farmed salmon and chicken, and hideous dipping sauces. I am very bitter. And the place was PACKED. I know it was in Bellevue but c'mon, eastsiders, there is better. I mean, they don't even need chefs!! Why does it cost so much?!? Does anyone else have people in their lives that drag them to places like this?

City Kitchens just had a huge 50% off Le Crueset sale. There is an online store with great Le Crueset prices: http://www.caplanduval.com/lec1.html

I have a recipe, published in the Seattle Times, for La Spiga's piadina. It calls for vegetable shortening, not lard.

With the chips you get all you can eat salsa from the salsa bar, and, they are all terrific. I agree the portions are small but so are the prices-everything is only $5-$9.

I've heard of a place in Paris that serves nothing but steak, has hourly seatings, and is wildly popular. I'm fascinated by the very idea of a single menu item and hourly turnover. Can anyone give me the name and address, and is it any good?

Like others have said, most people consider King (also called Chinook) the best. The commercial fishery is in Alaska and is highly regulated, so there aren't the enviro issues that some other fish have. People either love the Copper River King Salmon or can't stand it-I don't like it (especially at the prices it goes for-$18.99/lb. last year!). It is too oily tasting, in my opinion. A lot of people here in Seattle consider most of the hype a (successful) marketing strategy, but some people seem to genuinely love it. I actually like Sockeye just as well as King. Coho is fine, Pink is tolerable, and Chum is no good. These last three aren't widely available in stores. Atlantic salmon (which is farmed-there is no commercial fishery left due to overfishing/habitat loss) tastes like cardboard, not to mention the enviro issues that come with fish farming. It's a mass produced corporate product-the Wonder bread of fish. Not at all worth the cheap price.

A couple people have suggested grilling or broiling them until they pop open. I've never had any luck with this-most of the time they don't pop open until they overcook. I complained about this recently to the oyster grower at the farmer's market where I buy the oysters and he looked at me like I was nuts for trying this. He told me that yeah, a few might pop, but others might explode as the heat builds up inside, and the rest would just be overcooked.

Marcella's lemon chicken used to be my favorite but these days I'm partial to the Cook's Illustrated butterflying/high heat version, in which you brine, butterfly, stuff a compound butter (I like their chipotle/garlic/lime/honey butter) and roast the chicken at 500 degrees. Best crispy skin EVER. Although recently I made Lynn Rosetto Kaspar's balsemic/pancetta roast chicken (from The Italian Country Table) and it was delicous.

A place that my midwestern parents like is Chinook's at Fisherman's Terminal. This serves as a good comprimise place for my family get-togethers-everyone, even the meat and potatoes folks-can find something they like here. The seafood is done well, and it is all pretty "safe" for those who like some seafood but aren't too adventurous. Good sized portions, good service (last family dinner, they comped desserts for our party of 8 because we waited about 40 minutes for a table, though we hadn't complained), reasonable prices, easy parking, a nice view of the fishing boats and Salmon Bay. It's not touristy, and you can buy fish off the fishing boats or from the fish market there if you want something for the next night's dinner, which might be kind of a neat thing for the midwestern visitors to experience. Chinooks

Someone suggested the Front Street Ale House on San Juan for beer-that is fine, but don't eat there. The food is abysmal.

Has anyone else noticed a decline in quality at Burrito Loco? I was a regular for years and it was consistantly delicious, but my past two visits (in the last year or so) have been really unremarkable. Nothing, down to both salsas that come with chips (they were watery and bland), was as good as it used to be. I am hoping I just got unlucky twice.