cupcakequeen

gosh, i think you could take a 5-month old practically anywhere! vio's is definitely good, especially for older kids that are running around. there aren't alot of places in the u-district that i'd recommend. palace kitchen, downtown. quinn's on capitol hill. steelhead diner & cafe campagne in the pike place market. greenleaf for vietnamese food in the international district. it might be a little tight downstairs, but upstairs would be nice.

i went to the soft opening of Olivar last night. The space looks great. Food was awesome. I think this is going to be so nice to have in the neighborhood. Everything was very reasonably priced. We tried the croquetas with garlic aioli-very assertive aioli, a really decadent pork appetizer, loin, i think, stuffed with prosciutto and cheese with some roasted cauliflower. sooo good! grilled salmon with a wonderful bearnaise sauce & interesting chickpea frites. oh, that bearnaise, i could eat it by the gallon! and a perfectly cooked rabbit (big portion!) with papparadelle. all the desserts looked great, but we got a super-silky lavender creme brulee. i can't wait to go back!

i just made some jam and as i was ladling it into jars, i noticed some of the pectin had settled to the bottom in clear lumps. any way to fix this? or why it occured? if it was any other sort of jelly, i'd probably strain it, but not with cherries!!!!!

most of the restaurants in town get theirs from macrina. columbia city makes them too, but i'm not sure how many you'd have to order because they don't do them regularly. both are brioche slider buns.

has anyone heard anything about this place? when's it supposed to open?

i've searched through the multitude of marshmallow posts, but has anyone tried making a marshmallow base that you could load into an ISI gourmet whip...that could still be torched? just a basic meringue recipe? i haven't tried meringues in it yet. THanks!

i ate at boom noodle. pretty average. samurai is much better, cheaper & you can get straight up pork broth (crack soup). they were out of gyoza, but during the middle of our lunch, the delivery driver brought hand truck after hand truck of frozen Ajinomoto dumplings, and various other ready-made frozen goodies. it was just kind of a bummer to see. especially with their prices. a salmon tataki appetizer was good, seasoned perfectly. fried chicken appetizer was okay. bottled katsu sauce, on-the-bone pieces were juicy & good, the boneless nuggets were dry. also, i ordered a apple-shiso juice & they juiced it directly into the glass they served to me, complete with the unappetizing head of brown foam that most people know to pour off. i know it's a division of Blue C and i shouldn't hold much hope, but i was still disappointed.

i just wanted to say that while i don't agee with ONE stranger critic's reviews (constantly bad-mouthing new restaurants before they've had a chance to get settled, air of superiority); ANOTHER reviewer is Asian, reviews out-of-the-way places & i really enjoy her writing. and i feel like they clearly chose the wrong person to send to chiso kappo.

i heard a rumor that Union has changed the menu over to all Italian like Tavolata. Any truth to that? Rocky?

lloyd's rocket has been shuttered for a couple days & has a for-sale sign.

Continental Store on Roosevelt in the U-District might have some interesting things. Da Pino in Columbia City isn't close, but worth visiting. Also, Bella Cosa and Whole Foods carry Fra'Mani. Yummy.

has anyone tried growing fava beans around here? they grew aggressively when i first planted them. i got flowers, some of them have nice pods, a week away from harvesting, others have tiny pods, but most of the plants are yellowing and dying before the pods are ripe. i've been giving them a general vegetable fertilizer and keeping them watered. any ideas?

Quinn's - from the folks at Restaurant Zoe. Excellent. ← yes, i just saw the article in the p.i.this morning!

does anyone know anything about the 'gastropub' opening on 10th and Pike?

i thought linda took over the lease for that space.

I don't know if anyone's noted it: des amis next to caffe vita on the hill has a big sign up for Bimbo's Burritos and Booze.

True. It's just that I think sous-vide is a gateway technique, kind of like marijuana is a gateway drug. Like so many other terms that get thrown around 'molecular gastronomy' is poorly defined. ← when i was at wd-50, we used the vacuum bag technique for things other than cooking...i guess i can't give away any secrets, but definitely molecular gastronomy. plus, what's more food science-y than immersion circulators???

harvest vine does some amazing things. they've been experimenting with liquid nitrogen, foams, powders, caviars. the majority of it isn't on the menu. if you sit at the bar and get to know the cooks, though, they'll make you something special.

cafe presse posted their liquor license application (yay!) and green papaya on pine is papered up, "remodeling and re-opening in june with a new menu". did anyone ever try that place?

what about after hours hangouts? i want to go to bourbon and branch, but i'd like to hit some divey spots, too. where do industry people go? those are always the best kept secrets. any japantown hidden gems?

Town hall is all about the scene, the food doesn't merit a visit. Nopa is good mostly because it's open late, SF shuts down early and nopa is one of the few places at that level that will still feed you at midnight. Citizen cake is overrated, everything they serve is really pretty but none of it tastes as good as it looks. Tartine is very good for morning buns and bread pudding - I find their croissants to be consistently overcooked - if it merits a visit depends on your tolerance for the line that often extends down the block on weekend mornings. BiRite creamery is worth a visit if for no other reason than to try the salted caramel ice cream. I had an incredible lamb heart tartare at Incanto the other night, it along with the roast lamb neck are worth a trip from Seattle. Another good option in SF is the Dining Room at the Ritz. In the north bay, The Generals Daughter is fantastic and Sonoma is a great place to wander around for a bit before dinner. La Toque in Rutherford is also excellent. For Japanese knives there is an outpost of Le Sanctuaire in SF - call them and see if you can stop by. ← thank you for all of your suggestions! i'm sad i only have a few days to spend. lamb neck and heart tartare are EXACTLY what i'm looking for. yay! and p.s. to the TFL poster, Ad Hoc and Bouchon did NOT exist before French Laundry.

What are the must see/eat/do/buy in SF and napa for a serious foodie/chef? I'm taking a short trip-the first 4 days of June. I'm trying to wrangle a reservation at the French Laundry. I already have plans for slanted door, cyrus, and range,town hall and/or nopa. plans to visit citizen cake and tartine. spending saturday at the ferry terminal market. what else? any good knife shops? (i love japanese knives.) thanks!

like the sign says, stumptoWn. which we are getting shortly near cafe presse. and, i guess, is being served at Liberty on 15th ave on the hill. how does it compare to seattle's local stuff?

article in the p.i. today: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/food/309521_eat30.html

best birthday party ever!!!!!! the new rancho bravo is good. and the one on the edge of columbia city. good luck, i'd love to hear how this works out.