MsRamsey

There's something about The Georgian that puzzles me. How can they be a hotel restaurant, yet close on Sunday and Monday?

I'll be right over!

Padma Lakshmi (you did say "personalities"). I had never heard of her until I saw her India episode of "My Country, My Kitchen" or "Planet Food" (can't remember). I particularly remember the guy who cooked a giant biryani in a pit. He sealed the vessel with dough to trap in the steam. That was very cool. She has a relaxed way about her, and you could tell she was having a great time (and not in a Rachel Ray "That RAWKS!" kind of way). That made her show enjoyable to watch. Plus, she's hot.

Yes. Please see page 3 of this thread, where you will also find the current week's menu.

Hung Far Lo (Portland, OR) Pharmacy (London) Thai Ho (Seattle) The Slaughtered Lamb ("American Werewolf in London")

Thanks for the link, BH. However, if one cannot see it using Windows 98 or 2000, browsing with Mozilla or Internet Explorer, I can only think it's a problem on their end.

Not for me they don't, not for ANY of the restaurants. Oh well.

I am just not seeing them. Where should I be looking? Help?

Ben, I had the suckling pig dish. It's basically a ragout (or similar to paella without the rice) with a heavy paprika sauce. Too many strong flavors fighting for top billing. The suckling pig itself was very tender, but was overpowered. Tasty yes, but not a cohesive dish. Next!

-BRASA- Twenty Five for $25 menu THIS WEEK (they apparently will change the entrees and dessert every week, but appetizers will remain the same): APPETIZERS Curried Mussels, Coconut, Cilantro Pumpkin Polenta, White Truffle Oil, Reggiano Wild Salad, Sherry Shallot Vinaigrette With Goat's Cheese or Cabrales Soup ENTREES Roast Suckling Pig, Chorizo, Clams, Paprika, Bay Scented Potato Ono, Clams, Chorizo, Tomatoes, Saffron Potatoes, Wilted Spinach Petite Fillet, Haricots Vert, Potato Puree, Bordelaise, Cabrales Gnocchi, Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic, Thyme, Reggiano Lamb Curry, House-Made Panir Cheese, Potatoes, Mint Yogurt, Flatbread DESSERT Caramel Profiteroles

Dulces Latin Bistro has been open since 1992. The chef is Julie Guerrero, who attended Seattle Central’s culinary school. Carlos Kainz, her husband, runs the front of the house. There is a separate cigar room and a 900-bottle wine collection. We had reservations and were seated immediately at a good table next to the window. The room is warmly lit and welcoming, the tables set with white linen and sparkling Reidel stemware. Dulces has a full bar along with their giant list of wines and ports. We both started with a margarita (the waiter’s suggestion), which was yummy and much better than most. The bread was cold and the typical crusty sourdough variety, too thinly sliced to show it off very well. It also didn’t seem very fresh. You are expected to dip the bread into chipotle oil, and a bottle lives at each table. Prawns al la Diabla -- Mexican prawns sautéed in butter with a combination of dried chilies and a hint of orange: This appetizer was okay. There were 5 smallish prawns, which makes it difficult to divide between two people. I didn’t taste a “hint of orange.” I would order a different app next time. Cream of Asparagus Soup / Salad: It is worth noting that Dulces offers a choice of soup or salad with dinner. The soup was quite light, brothy, and subtle for a “cream” soup. Dulces does justice to vegetables, and I liked the silky texture of the soup and how well they brought out the asparagus flavor. The salad is very simple -- stacked dark green lettuce and a couple of tomato slices. Chiles Rellenos -- Poblano chiles dusted with cornmeal, stuffed with Montrachet and manchego cheeses. Served with chipotle cream sauce: These aren’t “dusted with cornmeal.” They are definitely dunked in a batter (which is fine by me). The batter is crunchy, but I could not detect much seasoning. The combination of the chili, cheeses, and sauce were rich, spicy and smoky. The accompanying broccoli and snow peas were steamed perfectly and bursting with flavor. Blackened Ono: This was one of the two specials that night, and Andrew ordered it. When serving the dish, the waiter admitted that he had made a flub in not describing the ono as being served rare. Luckily, we much preferred it that way, and the waiter was quite relieved. This was a very tall and generous piece of fish. I had not been very interested in it because it has been likened to swordfish (which I don’t like), but I was pleasantly surprised at how great this was. We had a half-bottle of Steele Syrah (California), which was delicious and hearty. Dulces offers a large variety of half-bottles. I was impressed when I noticed a waiter decanting a bottle of red for another couple. Desserts: After dinner, a waiter automatically brings the tray out to your table. He points to each dessert with a little pen light as he describes it, which made me snicker. I can’t remember them all, but I do remember: crème brulee (of course of course) with some Ibarra chocolate sauce spooned on top; chocolate “decadence” cake (that name just induces eye-rolling anymore); a flourless apricot cake (which frankly looked like an old potato pancake and didn’t appeal at all); and lemon tart with meringue. Also offered were several gelatos and profiteroles. I ordered the profiteroles, but the description was poorly phrased as to be misleading. There were three profiteroles, which I was led to believe (and which I specifically stated I wanted) were filled with caramel gelato. Instead, only one was filled with the gelato, and was the most delicious. The other two were filled with somewhat gluey pastry cream. Also, the profiteroles were definitely stale. I’ve had far superior profiteroles made at home by my friend Bryan, even after his had been sitting in the freezer for weeks! Andrew’s crème brulee was okay, but I thought it was too dense and too big. I don't mean to convey that the desserts are awful. They're just quite clumsy and need some work. A restaurant named Dulces should have really good desserts. Also, I have to wonder about dessert tray philosophy. If a restaurant has chosen this method of selling desserts (and it does work), shouldn’t the desserts be refreshed every so often? Everything looks desiccated after a few hours and then it just looks tacky. I think it's just better to automatically hand out a small dessert menu. Two margaritas, one appetizer, two entrees (soup or salad included), one half-bottle of wine ($18), and two desserts: $100 excluding tip. In general, we liked Dulces Latin Bistro and would go back. On the up side, the atmosphere is very romantic and the service friendly. The food was generally quite good. It’s worth noting that it’s unusual for a nice neighborhood bistro to offer soup or salad with dinner. Also, they offer half-orders of their entrees, a great way to try many things in one sitting. The choice of wines is enormous. The wine list is extremely well organized, with gobs of reasonably priced wines (plus the half-bottles, which many restaurants do not offer). On the down side, the dinner service was too rushed! For such a romantic restaurant, we would have been much happier with a more leisurely pace. This was by far Andrew's biggest complaint. Madrona is not a neighborhood where you eat dinner before a show and need to hurry. They couldn’t have been worried about turning tables because the restaurant was only two-thirds full the entire time. No one was lining up to get in. I note again that the desserts NEED WORK. (Someone like Nightscotsman needs to put them on the straight and narrow, yo.) Dulces Latin Bistro 1430 34th Ave. Seattle, WA 206-322-5453 http://www.dulceslatinbistro.com/

I had to go to a rehearsal in Madrona on Saturday afternoon. Since I absolutely never find myself in Madrona, I decided we would eat dinner there if I could find an interesting place. I decided on Dulces Latin Bistro because I had read many glowing articles about it. Before Andrew met up with me, I enjoyed walking along Madrona’s tiny business district on 34th Avenue. It has an artist's colony feel to it. I stopped at Villa Victoria and chatted with the owner, Naomi Andrade Smith. Villa Victoria is a walk-up window serving take-out Mexican food made with great skill and heart. I believe catering is a large part of their business. Chef Naomi was the subject of a Pacific Northwest Magazine cover story on 02/09/03. The food in the display case was gorgeous. Since I had reservations at Dulces and will be back in Madrona at least twice in the near future, I bought just a small tub to take home of some slow-cooked pork. It was cut into cubes and in a thick reddish-brown sauce, very smoky (possibly containing chipotle?). Other offerings in the display case were marinated, grilled chicken on skewers, grilled tofu adobo on skewers, chipotle-rubbed chicken thighs, and tubs of guacamole and several types of homemade salsa. Behind Chef Naomi was a beautiful platter of shrimp that had just been made. I strongly urge everyone to get to Villa Victoria for take-out when you don’t feel like cooking dinner. I’m trying to justify throwing a party so that she can cater it! There are several other restaurants on 34th that I’d like to know something about: Supreme (interior is sparse, urban, and trendy; menu looked alright), St. Clouds (I believe Mamster wrote something about this recently, but I can’t find evidence of it; they present a lot of live jazz/folk/bluegrass), and Café Soleil (tiny, pretty, and homey-looking, but unfortunately empty on a Saturday night). It's worth taking a peek inside the purple laundromat. Madrona Auto is a great moderne stucco structure. I wonder how it escaped Seattle's penchant for tearing down cool buildings. I met Andrew at the Madrona Eatery & Ale House before making our way to Dulces. This place serves good microbrews, wine, pizza, and other meat and fish dishes. It’s a friendly, welcoming place that boasts a nice fireplace. Madrona Eatery (always hated the word “eatery”) & Ale House actually caters to people with children, and the parents who would really like just to get out of the house and have a cold one. Andrew remarked that only in Chinese restaurants had he seen so many children welcomed. I think it’s great that there’s a non-chain/non-fast food place like this for parents to take their kids. A funny quote from “Waiting for Guffman” kept nagging unkindly at me: “We don’t associate with creative types. We have a Scrabble club. We associate with people with babies.” However, if I ever have kids, you can bet I will be frequenting this place. Villa Victoria 1123 34th Ave. Seattle, WA http://www.villavictoriacatering.com/default.htm Madrona Eatery & Ale House 1138 34th Ave. Seattle, WA

From the James Beard Foundation site: "'Everybody who eats here wants to go home and have sex,' says restaurateur Jerry Kleiner of his latest creation, Opera, in the South Loop." Apparently the restaurant has "private dining nooks" in "former storage vaults."

Probably was a good teaching opportunity!

I posted on Waterfront in November's 25.

Sure! Propose a couple of dates and places and see if anyone bites.

Delusional.

That link worked. Thanks!

I recently met my first raw-fooder in Berkeley. She looked just like I pictured they would (young white chick with nasty dreds)!! I loved the article. Washington Post link does not work. Is there any other way to read Wolke's article? Kathy

It sounds great. I am sold! Did you get to meet with the pastry chef, or have any plans to do so?

One nitpick I have with TJ's is their lack of plastic bags. Um, it's Seattle, it's raining, and I'm on foot. I guess I should just try to remember to take my own bag.

Seawakim, to add to your list: We went to Marco's Supperclub (Belltown) in December for hubby's birthday. It was our first time there and we will definitely go back. It's a small, somewhat dark place with good atmosphere. The food was all very well prepared, and we were very happy with our excellent waitress. I think I had Bistro Steak and Andrew had a venison special. I was excited about the Fried Sage Leaves appetizer, but they really don't taste like sage or much of anything else. I'd skip them. Here's a menu from Amazon's beta menu site: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00...ant=TFCV#reader Marco's Supperclub 2510 First Ave. Seattle, WA 98121 206-441-7801

girlchow, if you had to choose one event, which one would it be? My gut reaction says Taste of the Nation on April 1, since it's a charity event. The photos of past Taste of Washington makes it look overcrowded, and the April 1 event is being held at a more pleasant venue. I hope the folks in charge of the Seattle Taste of the Nation event will put in some more work on their website. It's very difficult to tell what exactly is happening at the event, and most of the site, if you can get to it, is in LATIN. Weird.

Has anyone been to the Taste Washington event? It's coming up. http://www.washingtonwine.org/wwc/default....ction=tastewash

I completely disagree with you on Glo's food. They only do breakfast, and I think it's a notch above most places. Even their scrambled eggs are more delicious than anywhere else. I'd like to know how they do that! It's practically across the street from me and I've been there many times in the last 6 years. THAT SAID, if you don't go very early in the morning, you're out of luck. I think it's insane how long people will wait to eat there when yes, El Greco, is right up the street. I'm sure there are people who have a 3- to 4-hour breakfast experience at Glo's on Sunday. El Greco has well-crafted, classy breakfasts. They don't believe in the giant farmer breakfast. You will be sated but not stuffed when you leave. The service is just okay, certainly not stellar, and always has been. They have very good coffee.