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Oh boy, a challenge. Where have you eaten them in Seattle? Can we hope someone will come up with a good version? They sell them at Gelatiamo, but I don't recall trying them. Otherwise, Remo's or DeL's, neither of which I would expect something decent. That leaves restaurants? I saw a recipe in Batali's Holiday Cookbook that I was skimming through yesterday, but don't recall what he used. Yours, with orange and chocolate sounds good to me.

Is it a ribbed glass canister like the one on my original inheritance from 1949? Congratulations.

Childless here. Happy to have a childhood where dining out was a regular event. I believe (memory may be faulty) that the 3 kids were well behaved in the restaurants. We knew these were special events, we were taught respect. Spent a lot of time in Las Vegas, when it was still an adult environment - and went to the shows to see Sammy Davis Jr, Dean Martin, Carol Channing, Juliet Prowse, etc. The staff usually gave us great seats (and service), we dressed up (far more than I ever do these days) and ate from the full menu. Same with dinners close to home. So, I've never understood the contemporary child in restaurant syndrome with tantrums, toys, etc. I am always impressed with the adult who takes the squirming child outside for a break, or asks for their meal to be packed up to go, when they realize the kid isn't going to settle down. And even more impressed when someone from the restaurant offers to take the child into a back room to be entertained so that the adults can eat a meal in peace. But a parent, I can imagine, might have mixed feelings about that. I know children who have managed to be good diners from very early on. I know parents who chose not to take their kids to nice restaurants since the kids don't sit still. I don't think it is necessary to ban children from restaurants, but I think it is reasonable to have a written policy on what to do if any diner is disruptive, which would cover children as well as drunks, fighters, and others.

Not to fight - just trying to understand - are you referring to the Upper East and West sides, as Pan suggested? The lower East side was home to immigrants from Eastern Europe without a nickel to their name, garment workers, sweatshops, shift sleeping, and tenaments - at least for the first generations like my grandfather. This is well documented by Jacob Riis and others. Who knew those classes in Urban American History would come in handy someday? Back to bagels, please. Wish I had some to compare.

That was one non-kosher meal, but what a treat! So were these friends non-tech geek, or non-food geek? And is that a compliment or not? I'm going out to find the NV Francois Chidaine Brut Methode Traditionale, Montlouis.

clementine bellinis - mix with sparkling wine (prosecco is a good choice.)

Got: Box of Leonides Chocolates (they are Belgian - I didn't think they were great.) Other gifts arriving for New Years - will probably include something food related. Gave: Tom Douglas's Seattle Kitchen - cookbook, autographed - and set of 3 "Rub with Love"s. Home made sweet and spicy mixed nuts, from the Macrina Bakery and Cafe Cookbook I gave to myself in October. Drinks and appetizers at Cascadia's bar - this was also a got, as the bartender bought us a "Raquel Welch" - an icy chocolate concoction served in a matini glass. C'est tout.

With all the talk about U.S. - the topic is "outside of Italy". The new Gourmet makes it sound like Toronto does a mighty fine job with Italian cuisine. Speak up our Northern neighbors!

Lovely, light brunch. Tasty chive biscuits, hash (corned beef or veg with greens), omlettes, salads, sandwiches. Sunday only. Closed on Mondays. Beer/wine license application posted in the window. Dinner items to start soon...

and it looks like lunch is doing good business.

I was going to wait for LEdlund to try it before posting, but here goes: 4 ½ hours later… Had a great time. Cocktails, wine – something red and Italian. Appetizers for the table includes scallops with orange pepper sauce, spiedini of bread, mozzarella and white anchovies (skewered and grilled?), and grilled escarole salad (I want a plate of that for myself.) Pasta course – a taste of each of: the light and fluffy ricotta gnocchi, the trofie (hand made in Italy) with a slightly sweet veal sugo, and the house made pasta with spicy lobster sauce. Would have licked the plate for any and all (funny how you resist the temptation in company.) Entrees – split the duck and the rib chop (that went home with me…) The duck was great – the leg confit was salty but moist, still quite plump and very tender. The loin wasn’t really crispy, but a little crackly napped by a luscious sauce with just a hint of dried fruit. The corona beans were grand and toothsome. The chop, good flavors, but still basically a big ol’ slab of beef. Sides for the table included amazing whipped potatoes – ah the wonders of pine nuts!, spaghetti squash (eh, why bother), and faro – a bit bland for me, and beets. Had this part of the ordering been in my hands, I would have selected the other 4 dishes – or at least some changes would have been in order. Dessert – I did get a taste of 3, no digestive for me…the chocolate semifreddo was the best, and excellent in its own right. There were a couple of musicians playing guitar and mandolin. The noise level was a bit high – the place was crowded and we were right by the open kitchen, by choice. Hadn’t been in Flemings, but I understand the wood ceiling was theirs, as well as most of the dark wood paneling. So, please notice: The new bar with the very cool blue glow, the mosaic tile top and great bar roll, and the remarkable matching of the carpet where the two colors meet – a big curve. The renovated restrooms – very handsome. The custom wood tables in the dining room – they are reclaimed redwood from casks and barrels. The groovy wall dividing the main dining room from the private dining on the West side – towards 2nd Avenue. There are probably other details I’m forgetting, but that’s what I liked. (Disclosure – associated with the designers of this place, though I wasn’t involved.)

Yeah, I noticed that recently - it's that dueling piano bar place.

oh yeah, we got some of these in the office. The truffles are particularly good.

Essential will be, once their operation is in full operation. They bought the original Red Hook brewery building (was a trolley barn?) to create a chocolate factory - bean to candy. I believe they plan to be substantially organic as well.

Can't find a web site for Essential, but here are three others in Seattle: http://www.heavenly-chocolates.com/ http://www.franschocolates.com/ http://dilettante.com/

not yet...

Dinner at what hour? If you are too early for a uptown seafood house, you might try the International District. Or a hotel. Or the waterfront.

Are there no Californians able to chime in with some comparable Italian restaurants? They can't all be on the East Coast. Where do places like Oliveto (Berkeley) or Delfina (San Francisco) rank? (I can't say, as I haven't been to either.)

Yes, people buy these - the steak houses continue to do great business. Some people I've spoken to (like a native of Italy) prefer steak when they eat out - so they go for these. Others, justify it by trading off their overtime hours for the splurge. And some, well, money just isn't an issue. I'm not much for eating slabs of beef, but I had one of the filets last year at the Tacoma El Gaucho. It was unlike any steak I've ever eaten. My Mom loved filet, so it was not uncommon in our house way back when. I'd say it is the difference between the best sushi and what you find at a supermarket. A single piece for $4 or a six pack for $4. The math is similar, but it depends on what you value. The rest of the prices at these places aren't that out of line with the rest of the high end restaurants we discuss, are they? Oh - and thanks for the menu suggestions - duck seems to be leading the pack...despite the fruit pairing (!) - actually, that sounds pretty good to me.

Yeah, good thing I'm not paying. Hey, it's brought to you by the same people as El Gaucho. Those are dry aged steaks and all that jazz. FYI, there is a bar menu with small plates, and smallish prices.

They've been open for dinner since the beginning of the month - and no posts. We're going later this week - what should I order? dinner menu (and forget it - I'm not having sweetbreads.)

Put Lark on your list for your next trip!

All quite true, but it's inaccurate to describe the birth of the Slow Food movement in such a way as to imply that its motives were commercial. I know Carlo Petrini well enough to be certain that he was out to save a range of artisanal foods which were (and are) genuinely threatened. Sorry John, didn't mean to disparage Slow Food. I'm thrilled it happened. I just thought it unfair to suggest that the US had no proponents of open-pollinated species and other artisanal foods prior to the Italian born Slow Food movement. There are many people who are interested in preserving biodiversity for many different reasons - Slow Food has just enticed the consumer culture better than other factions. And I see I am hijacking another thread, pardon me.

Must have been the site of the first egullet gathering. My Mom, a friend and her Mom, and I ate there almost every time we went to SCP...those days ended about 30 years ago. Time flies, thanks for the memories.

A bit "food centric". Gardeners have been saving seed from "heirloom" plants for, well, for longer than the US has been a country. (Still so young.) Vegetable gardeners as opposed to agribusiness, have grown, shared, cultured, and promoted species biodiversity and food sustainability long before the Slow Food movement came to exist. It just took quaint marketing to put this in front of people with more money than sense and to create a market large enough and wealthy enough to interest business.