tsquare

Story is, my Dad was one of these - in the Catskills, circa 1935. Wish I knew the name of the "establishment." And we always had seltzer from a spritz bottle growing up.

Brasa has a deal for 8 or more dinners - $25 for food, $15 for matched wines. I can't seem to find any info on line - you'd have to call them for specifics and to verify the price.

Seattle is back into cycles of doom and gloom rain alternating with strong winds and sunshine. If you don't like the weather, wait ten minutes. Despite this, my sugar snap peas are about two inches tall - planted seeds in late February. Sweet peas are following behind. Ate the overwintering broccoli, pulled out the bolted chinese greens but am letting the arugula go to seed. Raspberry and blueberries are unfurling their leaves. Tarragon and loveage are bright and beautiful. I may have killed the fig last fall . Strolled the garden center last weekend and picked up vegetable seeds - multi-color beets and chards, and assorted other stuff. Time to get those beds ready!

Yea yea yeah. Best cooked straight up for breakfast. Also good in pasta sauces, drapped over a chicken for roasting, or most recently, in a big pot of cranberry bean and farro soup. Armandino used to coat it with (too much) spice - was it nutmeg? - but my last purchase was better balanced. trillium - your idea of "near" is similar to mine - walkers beware - it's a fair hike. At least 13 blocks - and not Portland, OR's little ones.

Portage Bay Cafe also has Joe's special on the weekend.

The things I do for egullet. Finally tried La Vita e Bella for pizza. (Oops, hijacking the thread to one for pizza in general.) That was one fine pizza. Nicely crisp and slightly charred crust, lightly topped with tomato sauce, marcapone, proscuitto do parma, parmesean, and after cooking, fresh argula. The nuttiness of the argula added a wonderful depth to the flavors. Cold for breakfast - not as good, but still better than any I've had in a long time. Long wine list, lots by the glass. Someone else can comment on the quality, I'm not knowlegeable enough. Very Italian. Very sweet service. I liked seeing the older woman stretching the dough and making the pizzas, entertaining the young boy (either the son of staff or a customer being entertained while the parents got a little break...)

Do you recall that they are part of Starbuck's line these days? Not that you can't like them anyway. Do they get their gelato from Gelatiamo? Gelatiamo uses Torrefazione, I think. Switched from Illy some time back.

Fatten up ducks. Or make strata.

Don't know Ryan, but Derek at Zoe has created some tasty drinks. I don't think he works with KC. edit to add - bartenders are doing interesting combos at Cascadia and Troiani in Seattle too.

Fish Club at the waterfront Marriott has an oven I think is wood fired, but not sure if they are making pizza. They only had flatbread when I went, but I think they are making Todd English's signature fig, procuitto, gorgonzola pizzas now. Brasa has a wood fired oven, their flavors are limited and atypical. GRAPE PIZZA, GOAT’S CHEESE, CABRALES, WALNUTS 10. PIZZA, ROASTED TOMATO SAUCE, CHORIZO, GREEN OLIVES 11 (on the bar menu - remember these are half priced 5-7 pm with beverage purchase.) Il Fornaio has pretty good pizza and a wood fired oven. All things considered. Good to remember mid afternoon on the weekend if you are downtown and nothing is open.

Must depend on the day - yesterday the coffee had substantial flavor. Not sticky at all. The raspberry was a little drier, but not crumbly. I agree that they seem a bit pricey, but there is a fair amount of labor invovled in them, I'd guess. Probably a good cookie to learn to bake, like biscotti. I seem to recall a single flavor at Dahlia too. But only the other macaroon - coconut, appears on the web-site.

Le Panier also has raspberry, today. I liked the coffee one.

Le Panier in the Pike Place Market has them in at least 5 flavors - chocolate, vanilla, mocha, lemon, and pistachio, so far. edit - maybe Essential Bakery too?

I took in the $12.50 lunch at Earth and Ocean. Same menu as dinner with smaller portions. Stuffed anyway. They gave me an extra taste of creamy lucious sunchoke soup with my meal. Their bread is a basic french, but with a moist dough, slightly sweet. Salad was shaved fennel and watercress with flash fried capers. These are salty and addictive. Main was a slightly chewy rare hanger steak over grits and onions with a red wine sauce, and some broccoli rabe. Very good. Dessert - 3 smallish housemade fig stuffed shortbreads with dried cherry compote, two sauces, and a small pastry cup filled with a ball of lemon sorbet. Made me wish I had gotten there for the menu they served the first half of the month. Such a deal!

And here in Seattle, you can stroll in the Pike Place Market to "Le Panier, Very French Bakery" and buy chocolate, mocha, vanilla, or pistachio macaroons. Lovely.

North end of the market, behind the funky ice cream parlor. Near Emmett Watsons. Across from the german deli. Not far from the original Starbucks. (and the tasty, cheap mex to go deli.)

Do. Definitely freshly prepared food. And many self-published cookbooks for sale. I miss Lucy's, but this fills a different niche. Good swimming angel, salmon, shrimp, tasty curry. Nice people. They owned Lemongrass Grill at Greenlake, also the quickly departed Harborside (?) - at 98 Union. Said the biz was fine for summer, but the winter was just too long to survive in that location. Judy Lew and Chef Rut.

Yes. It was in the news last month.

If you are ever in Seattle, go to Le Pichet. I watched them make iced mochas for the cooks this morning - exactly what you wrote, except they make their own chocolate sauce to mix into the espresso. And they use Vivace espresso - a local premium roaster. And only whole milk. Don't ask for non-fat, low-fat, rice or soy. Don't have any, never (?) will.

There is no way I can compete with the recommendations of Miguel. I guess now I want to go back and try all those places. In the Algarve, I was fortunate to not have to do any research as I was in the hands of two experienced Portuguese diners. Most of our meals were quite traditional, but I would go out of my way to go to the oceanside cafe near Cacela Velha, if I could find it (sorry, no name), Casa Paixanito, near Loule, and Restaurante Sitio do Forno on the cliffs at Pontal - though the food here was pretty simple, the location is remarkably scenic. I would like to go back and spend more time in the North and also spend some first time along the eastern border - the fortifications / mountain towns / historic places. And along the coast south of Lisbon. I'd also eat suckling pig in Mealhada! And go back and spend at least one night at Bucasso (sp?) Palace and wander slowly through the forest. When I was there, I had a couple of hours between buses, with no back-up plan. I just about ran through the place, trying to see most of it. It was slightly foggy and cool, almost ghostly. I had the amazing experience of feeling that if I were to disappear into this forest and never return, it would be an okay way to go. Not somber, but released.

Steve, I'm glad to read your report saying you like the discipline of cooking. I was thinking about your earlier posts and wondered if you actually like the work/art of it or just thought it a safe vocation. Since you found this site, and from some of your other posts, I thought you must have some love for it. Also glad to hear that chef is trying to assist in placement - when I went to a sorry tech school a million years ago, it was my two instructors who connected me with a good placement (whole different field) and got me out of the program in record time. Have you tried talking with cooks/chefs in local restaurants "networking"? You catch them on off hours, or if you can spot them, when they are eating - not necessarily in their own place. I've never chatted with them in hopes of finding a job, but I've talked to a bunch over the years. It may seem crazy, and I haven't used it as a resource for many years so I don't know if they would be helpful, but the State Unemployment office used to have employment assistance too. They may have job listings, or connections - if you catch the right person and impress them, they might go out of their way to help. It's a pretty thankless job, and when they have an opportuniity to actually help someone succeed, it is rewarding for them. (This insight comes from listening/observing my Mom almost a million years ago.)

Oh yeah, let's not forget Beecher's for grilled cheese!

You might check out my report from last April. The most memorable meals were the lunches of oysters, cockles, and fish eaten by the water's edge on the terrace at the East and West edges of the Algarve. Sun, salt, waves...of course, it helped that we walked for hours each morning to work up those appetites!

It's the battlefield mentality of chefs - they think a younger body will last on the line longer, forgetting the stability, skill, and experience etc that you might bring. Also, they may be threatened by the idea of working with someone fresh out of school who is older than them. Hey, women (and the rare man) face this going back into the work force after staying home and taking care of babies. Welcome to the world of the deluded. If you think the chefs would be more responsive than the screeners - why not try the places with chefs as owners? Crazy smaller businesses with no benefits, but it's a start. Farestart places a lot of recently trained people into the food industry - while they are geared for a targeted population, have you tried asking them if they can help (and keep you from being out on the street)? And what about your school - don't they have a way to help with placements? Any good tech should. (On this, I am speaking from experience from a long time ago.) I'm not trying to make you mad - though I have a knack for it at times. I do wonder if you come across in person as strong as you do on-line? Confidence is one thing, aggression is a whole different game. Anyway, I'm sure the egullet community will look forward to hearing of your success soon.

When times are tough, they can afford to be picky about who they choose. When the opposite happens, they take anyone. Hang in there - restaurants appear to be getting busy again. You may have to work in a place you might not eat, just to get experience. And, well, age does matter, but there will be someone who can get past it.