Bruce Burger

I just got a notice, probably like many of you, that said: Important Update We're reaching out to let you know that Finecooking.com will no longer be available after September 15. To make sure you get to keep all your favorite recipes from your recipe box, please follow the instructions below. The link is actually https://www.finecooking.com/article/finecooking-com-is-shutting-down-how-to-save-your-recipes-before-july-31 which suggests that they had originally planned to shut it down on July 31. I'm surprised no one is willing to pay enough to preserve the site. Oh well -- glad it will live in the archive described in this thread. (I also have my own archive of favorite recipes and hardcopies of most issues.)

Lark's food is far better than Canlis's. Canlis has a more formal atmosphere which I don't like, though some do. For great food in a more elegant atmosphere than Lark -- and also to be able to make reservations -- I suggest Rover's (modern French) or Crush (Northwest / modern American / whatever). Both are fabulous. Rover's is a little more traditional -- but not stuffy -- while Crush is more hip.

Thanks, Tri2Cook! Now I want to try the Ritz Cracker Ice Cream as well. I'm pretty sure the Pretzel Ice Cream I had was smooth, so pureeing seems to be the way to go. I'll experiment with/without the sour cream and eggs and report back on my findings.

I want to make pretzel ice cream like I had at Momofuku Ko. Elsewhere on the web I find that WD-50 recommends using Snyder's pretzels, so that's a start. Unfortunately I can't remember the texture of the ice cream I had, just that I loved it. How finely should I crush the pretzels? Should I steep them in the milk/cream mixture, add them at the start of churning, or add them at the end of churning? Should I add anything else to a standard sweet cream base? Any other suggestions?

We had a fabulous dinner there a few months ago. I loved the menu, everything was delicious, and the serve and atmosphere was excellent as well. It may be a bit corporate but it didn't seem to suffer from that!

We had our first meal there a few weeks ago. It was superb. Everything was made just perfectly.

How about smoked eel? I had it once in London and loved it; I can't even find it to mail-order in the states, let alone buy in person in Seattle.

Speaking of Queen Anne, has anyone tried Calva Cafe, the tiny sushi/Chinese/espresso/bubble tea place where Pat's espresso used to be? The menu has a fairly extensive sushi list plus a couple fozen Chinese standards. I've yet to try it, but the people are friendly and a friend said the food looked good.

I had a frustrating experience when I called Marazul yesterday to make reservations for a party of 4 on Friday at 6pm. They don't take reservations except for parties of 8 or more! I asked why and was first given BS about how this is their policy. When I asked why it's their policy, he said "We cater to large groups." He quickly realized this sounded bad and continued, "We want smaller parties too, but we don't take reservations for them." I mentioned that the recent Seattle Times review said "Reservations recommended" and he said "Unfortunately they didn't say what size groups can make reservations." I mentioned that very few hotel restaurants refuse to take reservations and their policy made it hard for people to plan on eating before a show at the Paramount; he had no real reply. (I realize that Marazul may technically not be a hotel restaurant, but it's close.) Most surprisingly, when I asked for the manager so I could register my distaste for this policy, he said he was the manager! I can tolerate policies like this at quirky, chef-owned places like Lark and Sitka & Spruce, though I don't like it there, either (and go less than I otherwise would). We frequent restaurant patrons need to complain before this consumer-unfriendly policy spreads. In our case, since we're dining at 6pm, I suspect we'll be OK, but I've already got a bad feeling about Marazul's attitude.

How reliable is that report? I can't imagine any restaurant paying $10,000 for a recipe. I can imagine paying that much, or more, to a restaurant consultant to design a menu that fits a particular restaurant.

I'm headed to Breck, where I've been many times but not for a few years. What's new and delicious (or old and still delicious)? Any cuisine, any price, but we care much more about food than elegant atmosphere (but elegant is fine if the food is great). And even if it's not one of your top picks ... what's the best sushi? I promise a report when I return. Thanks!

The counter has always been the cool place to sit at Matt's in the Market, and I assume it will still be so when Matt's reopens after expanding.

FareStart, the nonprofit that trains homeless men and women to become cooks, opened for lunch today in its new location at 7th & Virginia. It's actually a soft opening; the official grand opening is Feb 5, but anyone can go there now. The space is gorgeous, the menu is the same diverse but mostly American fare as before, the food was delicious, and it was cool to be able to see the students working in the kitchen. The new building also has 3 private dining rooms for meetings, parties, etc. And the increased space will allow them to double the number of students they train. They're open M-F for lunch and Thursday nights for guest chef dinners. Here's the Guest Chef calendar; reservations are recommended for dinner (the first two are sold out) but not needed for lunch. Full disclosure: I'm a volunteer for this worthy organization.

A couple of years ago I found cacao nibs at the Metropolitan Market in upper Queen Anne. I haven't checked since.

It was Firefly and then Lumette (not to be confused with the excellent Lumiere in Vancouver!). The new place looks elegant and the menu very interesting. It says it's a mix of regional Italian cuisine, branching out from the Sicilian focus of their other restaurants.