Mr. Lucky

Thanks -this sounds promising. I'll post back if it's good!

No, I don't, but I sure wish I did! My very first Caesar salad was in Mexico City in 1970. It was made and served tableside. I've found, with very few exceptions, that the only way to get it right is to make it myself. Once, several decades ago (probably ), I had a perfect Caesar salad at Belltown Billiards. I just checked, and they still have it on their menu. I won't guarantee it's what you're looking for, though. SusieQ ← Thanks for the suggestion. I make a great one, but was hoping to go out for a celebratory lunch. I'm a little on the fence about BB. Seems too good to be true that they'd make a better than decent caesar.

Does anyone know of a Seattle restaurant besides El Gaucho that makes a real (coddled egg, anchovies, Worcestershire sauce, fresh lemon) Caesar salad? I'm tired of those pre-made, goopy dressing, "Caesar's" most restaurants serve.

Thanks, Westville is now on my calendar as a must-visit restaurants.

Hi, I've had a massive craving for butterscotch pudding all summer. I looked everywhere in my neck of the woods (Pacific Northwest) with no luck. And, I attempted to make it by scratch -which was a disaster. I'll be in Manhattan in late Sept. and thought if butterscotch pudding could be found anywhere -it would be in NYC. Suggestions??? I won't have time to go to Brooklyn, but can get around Manhattan fairly easily. Thanks

For Pizza the only place to go is Old School Pizzaria on Franklin between 4th and State. In my opinion, it's the best, most authentic New York style pizza in Washington. I lived in Olympia from 1971 - 1999 and can say that it's no place to eat out. On the plus side most people are really good and interesting cooks. So dinner parties were always an occasion. Best coffee in the NW: Batdorf and Branson. I still only buy my coffee from there. Trinacria (sp?) is good, but is a bit tiresome as your only choice. This isn't their fault, it's Olympia's. Steer clear of Falls Terrace unless they've changed hands recently. They were your standard "turf and surf" place that my parents went to for every anniversary. I think everyone's parents did the same thing.

I live in Columbia City and have visited Tutta Bella on 3 occasions. The third will be my last. The place has no soul and the food has been mediocre each time. Frankly it freaks me out that my neighborhood is very diverse ethnically, financially, and age-wise. And yet all you seen in Tutta Bella are upper-middle class white people. I say open a pizza joint that makes everyone feel welcome. Bring on the $1.50 slice! PS: Not only should anchovies not be “optional”. You shouldn’t have to pay $1 for someone to place 4 anchovies on top of lettuce. Anchovies should be in the dressing or it’s not a Caesar salad. If people don't want anchovies they can order a green salad.

Jones BBQ has opened another location in Columbia City.

I never go out to eat on Valentine's Day. The restaurants are packed, the staff is harried, and the food tends to be average -often the menus are set so that the maximum number of people can be fed in the shortest amount of time. It's what I call "amateur night". Plus the idea of having a shared experience with leagues of strangers who go out to a nice restaurant once a year is not my idea of a fine dining experience. You're better off going out the week before or after Valentines Day. It’s definitely more romantic. Last year we held a brunch for friends that was lovely. If I remember correctly we had blood-orange mimosas, homemade brioche with fresh preserves, fruit salad, Niman Ranch bacon (for those meat eaters!) quiche, and we sent guests home with beautiful petit fours.

The Southern Kitchen - Tacoma's best kept secret. Breakfast menu includes a dish called Hog Heaven. Every pork product you can think of as well as pancakes and eggs. Lunch and dinner meals start with a corn cake the size of a plate which is then buttered and salted by most customers. Standard southern fare done the proper unhealthy way FRIED. Wash it all down with ice tea that will rot your teeth on the spot. I would not eat there more than once a month out of fear of a heart attack but it is well worth the risk everyonce in a while.

Our resolution last year was the same as yours this year. We decided that if we went out it would only be to a new or favorite restaurant with excellent attention to food and the dining experience or to the other extreme -taco trucks, Catfish Corner, Guaymas. No more mid-level restaurants that end up costing nearly as much as a great restaurant just because they're there. It's a waste of time and money! We followed through very successfully on this "resolution" and visited many new restaurants (Rover's, Lampreia, Oceanaire, Matt's, Lola's, La Louisiana, etc.) and old favorites (Harvest Vine, Essential Bakery, Dahlia Lounge, Maximilien's). Our resolution this is year is to keep to last year's commitment. Happy eating!

That's what we're having, too! Last year on 30 December I went all over town looking for blackeyed peas, and all the stores were out! I finally thought, on New Year's Day, to try the 23rd and Jackson (Seattle) Red Apple, and they had big display bins in the middle of the aisle, filled with bags and bags of blackeyed peas. ← We live in Columbia City and last year we couldn't find black-eyed peas in any of the local stores either. It was actually humurous to see these perfectely, fully stocked shelves with one section completely empty. It hit us to try the West Seattle Metropolitan Market and they were fully stocked. So, that's where we went this year. A terrific place to get greens (mustard and collard) is McPherson's vegetable market on Beacon Hill at 15th. They're always stocked and are incredibly cheap. You can often find great deals on lemons and limes (8 for dollar versus 59 cents a piece) too.

Oops! Here's the recipe for pad thai. wok might be the implement of choice in restaurants and the old country, but a large 12-inch skillet (nonstick makes cleanup easy) is more practical for home cooks. Although pad thai cooks very quickly, the ingredient list is long, and everything must be prepared and within easy reach at the stovetop when you begin cooking. For maximum efficiency, use the time during which the tamarind and noodles soak to prepare the other ingredients. Tofu is a good and common addition to pad thai. If you like, add 4 ounces of extra-firm tofu or pressed tofu (available in Asian markets) cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 cup) to the noodles along with the bean sprouts. Serves 4 as a main dish 2 tablespoons tamarind paste or substitute 3/4 cup water (boiling) 3 tablespoons fish sauce 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 4 tablespoons peanut oil or vegetable oil 8 ounces dried rice stick noodles about 1/8 inch wide (the width of linguine) 2 large eggs 1/4 teaspoon table salt 12 ounces medium shrimp (31/35 count), peeled and deveined, if desired 3 cloves of garlic , pressed through garlic press or minced (1 tablespoon) 1 medium shallot , minced (about 3 tablespoons) 2 tablespoons dried shrimp , chopped fine (optional) 2 tablespoons Thai salted preserved radish (optional) 6 tablespoons roasted unsalted peanuts , chopped 3 cups bean sprouts (6 ounces) 5 medium scallions , green parts only, sliced thin on sharp bias 1/4 cup cilantro, fresh (optional) lime wedges 1. Rehydrate tamarind paste in boiling water. Stir fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, cayenne, and 2 tablespoons oil into tamarind liquid and set aside. 2. Cover rice sticks with hot tap water in large bowl; soak until softened, pliable, and limp but not fully tender, about 20 minutes. Drain noodles and set aside. Beat eggs and 1/8 teaspoon salt in small bowl; set aside. 3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet (preferably nonstick) over high heat until just beginning to smoke, about 2 minutes. Add shrimp and sprinkle with remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt; cook, tossing occasionally, until shrimp are opaque and browned about the edges, about 3 minutes. Transfer shrimp to plate and set aside. 4. Off heat, add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet and swirl to coat; add garlic and shallot, set skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until light golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes; add eggs to skillet and stir vigorously with wooden spoon until scrambled and barely moist, about 20 seconds. Add noodles, dried shrimp, and salted radish (if using) to eggs; toss with 2 wooden spoons to combine. Pour fish sauce mixture over noodles, increase heat to high, and cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are evenly coated. Scatter 1/4 cup peanuts, bean sprouts, all but 1/4 cup scallions, and cooked shrimp over noodles; continue to cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are tender, about 2 1/2 minutes (if not yet tender add 2 tablespoons water to skillet and continue to cook until tender). 5. Transfer noodles to serving platter, sprinkle with remaining scallions, 2 tablespoons peanuts, and cilantro; serve immediately, passing lime wedges separately.

The holidays aren't over yet and neither is the eating. Tonight we are having pad thai made from the Cook's Illustrated receipe (see recipe below). I'm very much looking forward to this as it's the best I've ever had. I won't even order pad thai in restaurants any more as it all tastes so lackluster in comparison. Tommorrow we'll make hoppin' john, mustard greens, and corn bread. We've been doing this for the last few New Year's days and I would have to say that overall, my luck has been pretty good. Happy New Year.

Thank you all for your support. It's heartening to know that I'm not the only person who thought this was odd. I think I will drop the chef/owner a note. I do hope that Seattle chefs and restaurateurs are savvy enough to read eGullet -it's such a great, honest forum. I agree about the not going out to buy some "interim" champagne or sparkling wine. A trip to Esquin wouldn't seem out of the question. My next eating adventure will be in Las Vegas and I hope it's a good one.

To celebrate her new job a friend and I had dinner at Lampreia (my new job was celebrated at Rovers). The food was excellent. If I had to, I would choose Lampreia over Rovers. The flavors are more layered and distinctive, where as Rovers seems to be more about the rich sauces. Ideally I will never be asked to make that choice as both are so good. That said, the Lampreia experience was a little sour. When we showed up at the restaurant we were very lively and joyous. We told our waiter that this was a celebration and we wanted champagne. Our server informed us that they were out of champagne and had been since Christmas Eve. We were extremely disappointed as champagne is a favorite of both of ours. (While eating an amazing dinner at Kong Hans Kaelder in Copenhagen in November we went through 3 bottles between the two of us.) We kidded the waiter that we would be happy to go around the corner and buy our own bottle and bring it in. After nursing our disappointment a bit, we settled down to eat. We talked about ordering the tasting menu, but after nearly a week of non-stop holiday eating we both settled on ordering ala carte. We started with the delicious tiered salad tart which had a base of thinly sliced avocado, a rosemary tart, a mix of greens, and some purple potatoes. I’m not doing the salad justice, but it was perfect. My next course was the King Crab rolled up in tart apple slices. This was truly a perfect dish. I’m all about flavors and texture and this was amazing. The apple slices were so thin that the normal crunch of an apple was erased. Instead the texture and the taste of the apple melded perfectly with the crab. I think I spent ½ an hour savoring this dish. My companion had the pink raviolis. I can’t remember much about them, but she scooped ‘em fast! My final dinner course was the bass in porcini sauce. Again, another excellent dish –the richest in flavor. I couldn’t quite finish it and reluctantly left a bit on my dish. My friend and the #1 uni with an eggplant puree. She is an experienced tuna eater having spent many years in Japan and uncountable hours in sushi restaurants. She is not easily impressed, but this dish swayed her. Next we each ordered a cheese. The details elude me, but one was a warm pecorino (I think) with honey and white truffle sauce served on a cedar plank. The other dish was a wine infused sheep’s cheese. I loved them both, but preferred the wind infused cheese slightly. It was sublime. While eating our cheeses we noticed that two tables had been served champagne. I posited that they must have reserved the wine when they made their reservation to ensure that they got a good bottle. When our waiter came by to take away our cheese plates I asked him if he would advise us to order champagne ahead next time we make a reservation. He looked confused and said, “We have bottles of champagne, just not champagne by the glass”. We were shocked and said that we had had every intention of buying at least one if not two bottles to go with our dinner. It was bad enough to be told at the beginning of the meal that there was no champagne, but it was worse to realize that it was assumed that we (or anyone) would not be purchasing a bottle. It really left both of us in a funk that definitely affected our perception of the meal. That said, we did order dessert and tried to talk ourselves out of being bummed. I half expected that the server or management would send each of us a conciliatory glass of champagne with their apologies, but none appeared. To his credit, the server was very sorry and a bit embarrassed that he had made the mistake. This makes me think that the fact that he did not go the “extra mile” is a management issue. The staff is probably not encouraged to be more than sufficiently courteous. Certainly when it comes to service, Rovers beats out Lampreia by a mile. We finished off our desserts (lemon tart for me –good, but not exceptional and chocolate dumplings in a white chocolate sauce for my friend which she said were a wonder), had coffee and the petit fours (exceptional) and left having never re-captured our initial exuberance due to the champagne mix-up. All in all, the food is remarkable and worth every penny (at $200 with tip I thought it was cheap), but the experience was a bit of a downer.

We kept the Christmas dinner very simple. The day started with aebelskiver (a danish ball-shaped "pancake") with cranberry preserves. We used my Oma's recipe which calls for buttermilk. We didn't have any buttermilk, so we substituted organic egg nog and it was delicious. A new recipe was created. Instead of cooking a traditional dinner we put together an elaborate anti-pasta selection, a selection of cheeses, and made macaroini & cheese. We ordered tarts and petit fours from a new local bakery called Sugar Delights (set to open in West Seattle in March). If you want to order desserts I strongly recommend Sugar Delights (http://sugardelights.com). The quality is the best I've had in Seattle in a long, long time and the desserts are lovely. Happy holidays from Mr. Lucky

Try heading up Jackson or King until you get to 12th. The markets in this area always seem to be pretty busy and look like they might have what you are looking for. The one on the corner of 12th and King looks to be the most popular. I would advise you park on the street as there are always tons of cars trying to get into the lot that has a very limited number of spaces.

I settled on Maximilien and was 100% pleased with the choice. We had a window table and it was a beautiful, sunny afternoon. The service was excellent -charming and yet unobtrusive at all the right times. The food and atmosphere were perfect for my brother and his girlfriend as anything "fancy" would have struck the wrong note. My brother had what he considered to be the best Alfredo with Grilled Chicken dish he's every had. His girlfriend was pleasantly overwhelmed by her huge bowl of Moules au Roquefort. I hade the Vegetarian Tarte Flambee and it was delicious. The portions were very generous despite the claim that they were lunch size. I think that the dinner portions must be for two! We chose not to finish our entrees to save room for dessert. We ordered the warm chocolate cake and the profiteroles. Normally I won't order a warm chocolate cake because very, very few restaurants do it well. I had a feeling after the excellent meal that Maximilien would be the rare exception and I was proven correct. The crumb was perfect and you would taste a nice overlay of cocoa instead the normally too-rich chocolate flavor that imbues most versions of this dessert. The profiteroles were excellent too -but paled compared to the cake. Again, thanks for the recommendation!

Thank you everyone for the great suggestions. It's clearly off to Pike's Place for us!

Hello, I'm looking for restaurant recommendations for lunch this Saturday. I'm taking my brother out (who lives in restaurant-desolate Olympia) for his birthday and wanted to take him to Union or Dahlia Lounge or something of that caliber. No one seems to serve lunch on Saturdays. To add to the issue, my brother doesn't like fish or seafood! So, the restaurant needs to have some good meat dishes. Any recommendations? Cheers, Mr. Lucky

The recent Stranger (OCT 7th issue) has a bit in the "In Other News" section about Guppy's shutting down on Oct. 16th because the landlord has chosen to rent the space to Ovio.

I would love to get my hands on some whitefish salad (mmmm salty). Anyone know if its possible to get in the seattle area?