jbonne

on a generally related topic: airport food. lots of airlines are getting rid of food on domestic flights, but JetBlue's long-standing policy of that has really blossomed the food offerings at their JFK hub since last i was there. i was amazed this weekend to see how much variety was available (with, it appears, a new food court on the way), including a sushi bar that offered not-bad maki, a decent wakame salad and pretty good wines by the glass. there's also a new deli selling sandwiches, frittatas, salads and lots of dry goods, plus small cans of Sofia blanc de blancs (we brought on one of those) and, inexplicably, even steak sauce. we already had pizza from Lombardi's and leftover bagels, so we were well stocked, but the whole thing made for the best meal flight i've had in a while. it just made me even sadder to return to the north terminal at SEA, where the best we had was Cinnabon, Burger King and an airport bar serving California chardonnay so flabby and oaky i described it as tasting like a "f***ing lumberyard." then there's JBLU's blue potato chips. little touch, but such a thoughtful one. and, allegedly, they'll serve you your own wine if you carry it aboard. next time, i'm bringing a screwcapped bottle of Argyle pinot noir and fully intend to test that theory out.

i imagine the cash cow days were before the Australians (to say nothing of Senor Shaw) undercut the old parameters of the value market. not saying there isn't money to be made off Woodbridge nowadays, but it seems like the value-wine sector is rather crowded, especially for a company that intends to hack off its luxury division. on the lifestyle/luxury terminology lambasted above, i don't think it's Mondavi alone using it. these are terms that seem to be making inroads throughout the industry, for better or worse. sounds like Orwellian mumblespeak to me, though i do see their point. no one wants to feel like a rube for drinking $8 merlot.

all of that is bizarre. if they're acting that way, sounds like they need to straighten out their hosting situation, and quick. [insert my standard rant about no-reservations policies.]

as well as the inverse: how many diners who complete the Zagat survey have managed to eat at Per Se?

the sample size issue cuts both ways: most reviews are composed from tiny representations of the overall dining populace in a given city. but it also is composed from diners who self-selected to dine at a given establishment. Zagat may have gotten just 100 ratings for Per Se, but how many people out of the dining universe in NYC have actually eaten at Per Se? given the proportionate universe of Zagat respondents to the overall dining populace, is that an unrepresentative sample? probably not, i'd argue. but by that same system, somewhere like Nobu is going to get extra credit because it has a high number of diners to rate it -- especially as Zagat expands its survey universe to include a greater number of less-experienced foodies. to that extent, it *does* increasingly function as a democracy. i'm sure that when you broaden the dining universe from hard-core diners to the whole damn tri-state area, Nobu seems like a pretty good option. in which case, the hell with democracy: i'm not sure i want dining advice from people who'd also dig the Cheesecake Factory. in fact, i think the 1-3 system (it's actually a 0-3 system, and i've given zeroes before) is one of Zagat's biggest flaws. not only has it moved toward an average of 20 -- with the 20-23 range offering wildly divergent quality levels -- but it's another move toward the, um, dumbening of the system. the moment i've eaten in a place, i know exactly whether it's a 24 or a 26: having to choose between a 2 and a 3 diminishes the validity of my input. i suppose Zagat might reply that my comments are really what counts, not the score -- but that's also what the 100-point wine reviewers say.

also worth noting that at least one U.S. winemaker is playing with appasimento. Gino Cuneo is experimenting with a recioto (originally intended as a dry Amarone-style wine, but had too much residual sugar, as i recall) that, from early indicators, is coming along gorgeously. not sure if anyone's attempted it in CA.

and this is standard policy for Zagat -- their top lists are, i believe, always compiled only using restaurants that get a high number of entries. can be sliced either way: they're preventing ballot-stuffing, or they're barring little-known gems from shining. (given the hoardes that are likely to descend, that may not be such a tragedy.) i'm shocked by Nobu -- though i haven't eaten there in over four years. when last i did, i was amazed by how much of a nosedive it had taken. either it's made a miraculous recovery, or it's a sign of what i'll call the "Wild Ginger effect." Wild Ginger, for those not familiar with Seattle, is a wildly popular New Asian palace that serves some decent satays and a lot of passable fusion -- though that popularity is stronger among tourists and the Northwest equivalent of the B&T crowd. it's also a perennial No. 1 pick in Seattle Zagat, which i always took less as a sign of its intrinsic quality than an indicator of its popularity among not-quite-foodies. ultimately, this signaled to me that Zagat's rating system -- in Seattle, at least -- had fallen off the wagon. while i'm really hoping the Nobu thing isn't an indicator of a spreading Wild Ginger effect, i suspect it is.

i think i'm responsible for one of the wildly ranging stories, so i'll chip in an abbreviated two cents. (i have every intention of committing to the Web a fuller assessment when i have a free moment.) after just one visit, i think i can confidently say that Scott Carsberg is brilliantly talented, and Lampreia shows Seattle's true potential for food greatness. like so many others, the stories of moody chef antics and bizarre service kept us from making reservations sooner -- though it's been on my list forever, and i now regret not having made the visit years ago. Carsberg's dishes are both brilliant and delectable, a rare combination these days. i'm utterly sick of extravagancies that don't actually feed me and delight my palate, but the items at Lampreia are masterpieces of well-chosen taste. the appetizer tart with shaved salads and zucchini pesto (more or less detailed in the latest profile of Carsberg in the NYT, which -- tellingly, i think -- seems to have devoted more print to Lampreia than most of the local media) is a perfect selection of balanced tastes. the fact that such attention is paid to a veggie starter was an immediate sign to me that we were in the hands of a master. even when an item didn't quite gel -- the pineapple ravioli were a bit tricky to consume -- the care and attention to detail pleased me. (those are ravioli *made out of pineapple flesh*, btw, not out of pasta.) and taste clearly rules the day. an element of our cheese course -- a simple hunk of Pecorino, presumably broiler-softened on a cedar plank and drizzled with white truffle honey -- may be one of the most divine things i can recall eating. at that moment, i felt we were paying not for Carsberg's elaborate preparatory talents but his sublime understanding of taste. that, more than anything, is why i like giving chefs my money. as for service, it was a tad formal, but also marks perhaps the second time i've witnessed proper European service in Seattle, right down to the petit fours at meal's end, the use of tableside trays to present food and the fact that no plate was brought until we were quite ready and primed. forks were placed upside down, so they could easily be picked up for European-style usage. our server was able to pinpoint the genesis of most of the Italian cheeses we selected. perhaps most important, he didn't flinch when we indicated we wanted to order several intermezzos rather than go straight into an entree. this, for those worried about cost, is a wonderful way to explore some of the best innovations on the menu. it also gave us latitude to have a full cheese course and dessert, including an extraordinary glass of Montbazillac. we felt just about full after that, no entree needed. another note on prices: the apple tasting menu, essentially outlined in Carsberg's new e-cookbook, is $68 for at least six courses, including foie gras and an entree. that strikes me as eminently reasonable. (we're now hatching plans to return for the tasting menu.) the wine list was well-balanced, too. We found a Giuseppe Cortese 1998 Barbaresco Rabaja that was an absolute bargain. My only wish is that they decanted it -- a '98 could use a bit of time to breathe -- and that they weren't quite so quick to refill our glasses. in a brief stop by our table, Carsberg was charming and even a bit sheepish -- in no way helped by my gushing at how much we were enjoying ourselves. not only does Lampreia wipe away nearly every one of its Seattle counterparts, i'd argue it's a world-class restaurant. we kept comparing it to a recent meal at a Michelin two-star in France. Lampreia blew it out of the water.

i've almost nothing but praise for Dandelion. they're doing beautiful, simple food that isn't trying to be more than what it is. portions are impressive, especially given the very modest prices. my halibut served on a bed of white beans was the perfect balance of simple and complex -- the right number of tastes, with a focus on the flavor of the fish. the other dishes were similarly focused, bringing forward a few tastes and letting excellent ingredients speak for themselves. the only lackluster-seeming option was a penne entree that, no surprise, wasn't getting much play the evening we were in. my one frustration was a rather lackluster plate of organic greens that was just fine for a salad, but could have used dolling up with some nuts or fruit. the optional blue cheese wasn't really what i wanted to spruce up what otherwise is a $6 plate of unadorned greens. i adore the layout of the open kitchen, which is no big thing itself, but the intimate (read: small) layout allows you to see the precise preparation steps and chat with Carol (i assume it was Carol) as she cooks. she even happily overheard me mention her Global knife sitting nearby. they also were able to seat four of us, as a walk-in, at the bar with no wait on a Sunday night. (my only complaint about this is that my bar seat near the door exposed me to a heck of a draft on a chilly October night, which further weakened my resistance to the head cold that was quickly settling upon me. since they opened in the spring, i figure they haven't had a full winter in that space, so this is something they may need to address with a heater/fan/whatever. but it's a minor issue.) and we were very happy with their wine list, which like the whole place is compact but focused. a well-known local wine merchant was in there for dinner at the same time, which i took as a good sign they would have a well-picked selection -- and that's just what they've got. our bottle of Graves was a perfect match for a good chunk of the menu items, and they've done well to balance NW and international options. definitely a winner.

the sukiyaki recipe in the P-I is absolutely divine, though we had to toy around a good bit with the broth to mellow out the saltiness -- mostly by adding a bit of water, a lot more sake and a bit of rice vinegar. the taste of the matsutakes comes shining through, and the yam noodles (which absorb the broth flavor) are a perfect counterpoint. we prefaced that with some simply grilled matsutake slices -- basically an excuse to use up the stems -- with a bit of salt and a simplified ponzu dipping sauce. again, the flavor and aroma of the mushrooms comes shining through. less certainly seems to be more in these preparations ...

on the North Seattle end, i'll put a bid in for http://seattle.citysearch.com/review/10791231/ on Roosevelt just north of 65th. there's always something interesting on their menu beyond the usual masalas and vindaloos (tamarind lamb chops come to mind) and i quite enjoyed their lunch buffet, too. will also endorse Mayuri in Overlake, should one happen to be hunting such things on the Eastside. and i've noted some of the other Eastside candidates to try one of these days. having been spoiled by five years living just down the road from Jackson Heights, in New York, i've been largely stymied to find a worthy regular source. but i'm always hopeful i've just overlooked the perfect place.

a key point that Pollan almost managed to get to (but didn't exactly arrive at) is that the French -- western European, more broadly -- view eating not merely as a sensory pleasure but one that is to be shared communally. not wholly, of course: when i was in Paris a couple weeks ago, the front page of Le Monde had a piece on French eating habits that essentially lamented the "Americanization" of everyday French cuisine -- instant rice, bagged veggies, eating on-the-go. but the French also cherished their weekend meals as a source of pleasure. outside the halls of eGullet, there seems to be remarkably little joy among Americans in meal-taking. i'd wager most workplaces offer neither the time nor the accomodations to allow workers to sit and linger over a real (i.e., non-bagged) lunch and a real conversation. schedules have essentially minimized the opportunity for legitimate dinners, either preparing or partaking. that's all as a baseline, *before* you add in paranoia over food safety, carbs, fat, calories, allergies, &c., all the things that make us even more miserable to chow down. the lack of a communal dining experience also happens to be a near-guarantee that we're going to consume more calories. quite simply, it's harder to stuff your face quite so much if you're in the middle of a conversation. in essence, we'd have no time to enjoy our food even if it *wasn't* a source of anxiety. when you add the anxiety factors back in, they simply magnify our already-grim view of eating as a fueling stop and little else. no surprise we're miserable about food. well, not *we*, but ...

quite. there's been a couple efforts up here in WA, which are interesting -- but all structure and color, and not much fun to drink. i think i enjoyed it best when i poured it into a glass of something else. that malbec sounds darn tasty, though.

do they handle room service for the Andra? that'd be one big step above what i've come to accept for room service.

diverging slightly from the food/service issues, wondering if anyone knows what's up with this: Three months ago, Miss Leach, a spring graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., landed a job in the kitchen at Lola's, a new Greek restaurant in downtown Seattle. "She was so excited to get started in her field," her father said. About two weeks ago she fell ill with what seemed to be typical flulike symptoms, and she was hospitalized when her condition quickly worsened. She died at University of Washington Medical Center last Wednesday (Sept. 8) of heart failure, believed to have been caused by an undetermined virus. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/obit...achobit15m.html

out of curiosity, what happens in years when the PV isn't needed? does it go into other folks' Bordeaux blends? bulked out? have they ever contemplated a single-varietal bottling? private stash? "pay no attention to that barrel behind the curtain ... "

true, though i thought Nancy Leson must've been huffing glue when she wrote that. seemed an unwarrantedly upbeat review, given she detected at least some of the problems i noticed. weird. now i wonder whether breakfast is Lola's forte, or whether the casual expectations for a breakfast meal -- and the abundance of baked goods -- helps them clear the bar a bit better than they might for other meals. sorta like how Coastal Kitchen (and its brethren) usually dials in a decent brunch, yet it's been years since i enjoyed one of their dinner menus. even their chef salad sorta fell off the hobby horse a couple years ago. everyone has different expectations about where they eat and what they expect. (that's the only reason New York's Nobu can still bank on its name. eight letter word starting with T and ending with "ists.") if the world shared my pickiness about dining establishments, 90 percent of the restaurants out there would be out of business.

no huge surprise, sadly. i always thought the bar had promise, but my experiences in the dining room were underwhelming. one of the worst steaks i've had in a long time, and it was labeled as Kobe (dubiously) and over $40, as i recall. after that, i resolved not to eat in the dining room again. [edit: after looking over their menu, the beef was in fact $48. and their morel soup was salty and underflavored, which was equally sad.] i did like the wine list, and the oven up front always made me think more was possible.

myself, i really dug the pork belly with the octopus, but the rest of it sounds about on par. interestingly, i asked an acquaintance at another TD restaurant what the heck was up with the service at Lola. the acquaintance just shot a knowing look. sounds like there's some staffing woes afoot. based on a recent lunch at Tulio, i'd say Tom isn't the only one facing that problem.

mercifully, there's ways to avoid eating on the ferry, vs. starving. and to avoid the ferry altogether. myself, i say they should hand out fishing poles when folks come aboard.

a bit of nice news just popped into my inbox: Thierry "has been named a Chevalier de l’Ordre du Merite Agricole in recognition of his contribution to the French gastronomic arts," according to the release. very nice feather in the, well, hat. also says the cookbook is slated for next year. as the above graf notes, Thierry is a chef of the first magnitude. i've always been very happy with my meals at Rover's, the service is impeccable, the wine list is broad and reasonable. the lunch option sounds wonderful, though i've yet to be able to sneak off on a Friday and enjoy it. however, i've always held a slight belief that the prix fixe prices are a tad on the high end for Seattle. (i seriously believe that for the Herbfarm, but that's another issue.) the 5-course seems generally reasonable, if a bit on the high end, but when you start to creep up past $125, it feels to me less about the food and more about the fact there are a lot (though not as many as in the past) of Microsoftie types with money to burn at places exactly like Rover's. with Nathan Myhrvold and Dick Brass dining there, there's good reason i've heard it called the "Microsoft cafeteria" more than once. this all came back up yesterday as i read Frank Bruni's review of Per Se. with their 9-course meal topping out at $150, i had to wonder: can four stars in Seattle command the same price range as four stars in Manhattan? i honestly don't know the answer, but i'll speculate that if nothing else, rent in Madison Valley is somewhat less than in Columbus Circle. begging the question: what's an appropriate high-end tasting menu cost in Seattle? Mistral seems to have found a comfort zone (still have yet to go there, sadly) and i've never felt Cascadia was out of line. but above $100, i start to get real itchy. anyone else?

not to indulge in too much it-could-be-worseism from south of the border, but at least you get fed on your ferries: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/commuter_u..._release_id=226 though i'm beginning to view this as i do JetBlue: better to starve us with dignity than insult us with a bad facsimile of actual food.

it's been a long while, but i used to come home after a night on the town, turn on my VCR (well before Tivo) and watch "Iron Chef" reruns. this was an inspiration, and not always a good one. among the highlights: -countless sage-and-saltine frittatas -pan-fried mango -impromptu saganaki, complete with an ouzo finish

have to admit i'm struggling to think of ingredients available only in OR/WA and not at least southern BC, or vice versa. (while i've been known to occasionally traffic in duck prosciutto, i'm ignoring our Yanks' lack of access to the amazing cured meats available in the Granville market.) Alaska would certainly get its own designation, though there's a lot of seafoodish overlap. and other differences, including some mongo vegetables. Tofino, well, maybe that's like the Vatican -- a city-state unto itself. would love to see someone attempt to perform an adequate splitting of hairs between New American and New (or Modern) Canadian. as for Traditional American (non-regional), i don't know that we have much to crow about. Velveeta, maybe.

Carla -- thanks for the kind and detailed response. as it happens, i noticed Lago on the list of "Dinner at 8" restaurants, made reservations and will be in soon enough. sadly, we're headed in tonight, so don't know that i'll see you. but i'm hoping to be back in again soon enough. just a couple small clarifications on my original comments, so no one gets the wrong idea. the pronounciation thing wasn't at Lago. (i won't name the restaurant, but i'll just say: Belltown.) don't recall the kitchen ever being slow. at least not unreasonably slow, given the level of prep. it sounds like my experience was an aberration, and perhaps well in the past. look forward to coming back, since there's a paucity of really good Italian in Seattle and i really value each good restaurant that's around ...