thelastsupper

True dat. It will be interesting to see what happens when Sundstrom is freed from the constraints of designing his menu with hotel clientele in mind (however chic). How exciting! On 15th somewhere maybe? The old Jack's Bistro space?

It's called Earth & Ocean, and I think it's good. About 6 months ago I had some very good squab stuffed with foie gras and chestnuts. The pastry chef, Sue Cowns, makes some gorgeous desserts. You will hear mixed things about it, but it's probably one of the two good downtown hotel restaurants we have left. I agree with MsRamsey. I've had bad experiences here in the past, but two recent trips seemed to show an increased effort in pulling together the front and back of the house. The flavors were much improved, seasoning spot on and complexities balanced. I had a grilled ling cod wrapped in grape leaves with grapes, baby potatoes and verjus that was particularly wonderful. Clever (grapes coming in three forms) and delicious, a remarkable texture to the fish, which picked up a smokiness from the grill, yet remained very moist, protected from drying out by the grape leaf. Quite smart and well executed. An octopus salad was also well done, properly dressed, delicate salad greens with small bits of grilled octopus. Actually Sue McCown's desserts have been the only continual disappointment to me. Her dishes are "clever" and even "sassy," but the kind of "fun" with dessert that comes with quotation marks makes me cringe. I find her dishes to be too style based, a lot of sugar work and gimmicky stuff, tuiles in cool shapes, etc. That's all impressive pastry work, I suppose, but all that I've eaten (save her sorbets) have been too sweet. Sticky-sweet. Stuff that makes you want to brush your teeth immediately, or rush to drink some coffee to even it out. The Cherry Crackle Pop, for instance, was good in a few of its basic elements, namely the crust of the tart and the creme fraiche sorbet, but killed with an enormous amount of powdered sugar over the top and a filling whose sweetness overrode even the tartness of the dried cherries baked inside. And the dining room staff seems to be much improved, thankfully. The first time I went, a busser was chewing gum the whole time with the exceptional languidness of a giraffe.

I believe he worked at Nell's for quite awhile (as sous chef?). Before that?

Has the Library Bistro closed? And does anyone know when Union is supposed to open (in the old Marcha et al. space)?

Well, I know mamster and Laurie had an off meal at Le Gourmand, but it is one of my top places to go in the city, hands down.

I've heard that the downstairs restaurant has slipped a bit. I ate at the café upstairs awhile ago and was blown away. Folk got soul. Amazing Boudin Blanc. And fresh fruit for dessert . . . definitelynot something you could get from your supermarket. . . and if you don't like it, order something else (at least upstairs).

Forget the papers, unless you see an ad of a place you really like. Make a good resumé, have it clean, proofread etc. Make a list of the places that you really like to eat, call to find out when the chef will be there. Hand your resumé/cover letter to him or her personally. Explain your situation if you have time. Expect to be grilled and/or laughed off the premises at a lot of the places you go to. You will do whatever they have open and do it gladly. Although if a place seems iffy, don't do it. It will seriously pay off for you down the road if your first job is a good place-- one that pushes you into good work habits and is instructive about your product/cuisine. Do your research. Read reviews, know what's on the menu, where the chef has cooked. If none of the places that are on your list call you back, follow up. If still nothing, start up a list of your second-tier restaurants. Before you are offered a job, most places will have you trail, which means work a night without pay. Basically you will be doing small prep projects for people until service begins. Do these jobs as quickly and efficiently as you can, but if you don't understand something, ask first. It will save you (and them) much hassle. During service you usually observe/assist with one station for most of the night. Try to taste what they food that they put out. Ask lots of questions, but if they get busy, get out of the way unless they ask you to help. Keep an eye on the other stations as well, to get a sense of how the kitchen works, who gets slammed when, etc. Check out the walk-in: Organized? Scuzzy? Cooking professionally is WAY different than cooking at home. Even parties don't give you an idea of the very particular set of skills you need. Try not to let stress get to you. Learn and nail your station. Be as neat as you can. Clean up messes as they happen. Taste everything. Figure out how the chef seasons food. Read. Try to move and plate food as quickly as you can. Understand what is going on beyond your station. Ask questions. Express your ambition.

Went there Tuesday. It's good. Soups and Sandwiches, with an expanded menu soon to come.

There's a new lunch spot on Fremont Avenue called Persimmon, sorta kitty corner to Paseo (daring!), and while they both serve sandwiches, they really are at opposite ends of the spectrum. The menu is sandwiches and salads. I had a BLT, which is just about my favorite kind of sandwich in the world, and was really happy with it. Nice bread, well toasted. Good tomato and lettuce. Niman Ranch bacon was spot on. The person who put it together actually seemed to care that everything was right, like a sandwich you'd make for yourself. You get a choice of sides with your sandwich. I got a canellini and geen bean salad. It was good, not as highly seasoned as I'd like, but otherwise good. My partner had a grilled cheese (pressed in an Italian panini grill) which was made with tomato, (I think Walla Walla sweets too) and some jambon for an extra buck. I didn't actually taste it, but he said it was damn satisfying. He had a BLT salad as his side, made with Mache, bacon, tomato and avocado, which he seemed to enjoy as well. The atmosphere is funky and a bit bizarre: deep yellow, orange and red paint, art deco touches here and there, good art on the walls, nice silverware and cups. Check out the clown paintings on the way to the bathroom. Amusing and horribly disturbing. The owner is really friendly. Their hours are somewhat limited only 11-2. I got there at 1:40 though and it was pretty packed. Apparently they hope to expand hours to 6 or 7 pm in September along with some dinner items, roasted chicken and more. In my head it's joined Paseo, Mojito Cafe and the Taquería on Lake City Way as worth a lunch trek up north (from Capitol Hill).

Yes, I made the stock extra rich with this in mind. It has good flavor. I was going to garnish with a brunoise of nectarine. We'll see. It sounds tasty to me. So, when ladling the consommé through the hole in your raft, does one just forget about the bit of stock towards the end? Or strain it and use as normal stock for another day? Thanks for the suggestions so far!

Call me perverse, but I'm going to attempt to make consommé tomorrow. I've read numerous texts on it and it seems sorta easy-- though I've heard that it can be difficult from actual people. I have a squab stock. Does anyone have any tips on making a good consommé? Anything to avoid doing? What do y'all use in your raft? Thanks in advance!

Yes, I was responding to the question posed. It seems like BG has done some preliminary research and was interested in two specific areas. Sheesh. I never feel lonely or uncomfortable when I dine solo as I love people watching, but you seemed to push that you may feel uncomfortable dining by yourself in certain situations. I don't know how gregarious you are and you just might find a group of folk to chat it up with-- but I wouldn't count on it. Just pessimist me, I suppose. I would agree with vserna that Madrid is a good place to reconsider, particularly if you only have a week to spare. Flitting from city to city every couple days is not my idea of understanding a region or of comfortable traveling, particularly if you aren't driving.

Yeah, Sant Celoni is easy to get to by train, a fairly short ride from Barcelona. We stayed overnight in the Hotel Suisse about a block away from El Racó, 80 Euros, the most we spent on a hotel the whole month and a half-- but we figured it was the right occasion, cool, white marble everywhere. Don't rule out the south though, it gets overlooked on this board. I remember Andalucía much more fondly than Catalunya, if not necessarily for food reasons. Maybe that's why it's not discussed. Bigger (more "important?") meals up north (maybe) but plenty of room to play, explore and taste down south. And ah! the morcilla in Córdoba!

It depends on what you want. You will be able to find really good food wherever you go. If you are looking for a top-end "Bulliexperience" type restaurant, obviously Barcelona/Catalunya or the Pais Vasco would suit you better. Unless you are going to make a pilgrimage to a certain restaurant, I'd figure out which is more pressing for you to check out: the Alhambra, Mezquita in Córdoba etc. vs. Gaudí, Tápies in Barcelona or the Guggenheim. . . Two very different experiences, but equally enjoyable (for me at least). Can you make plans to choose one with the intention of going again to the other? Lots of people on the board, myself included, have enjoyed El Racó de Can Fabes in Sant Celoni. I can imagine how the staff would pamper a solo diner. Come to think of it going tapeando might be somewhat awkward by yourself as it's such a social activity . . . and most of my best eating experiences in the south have been standing around drinking, long conversations. Barcelona is full of "tradition and historical sights" by the way.

I went here for the first time last night. It immediately jumped to onto my top five restaurants in Seattle. Not only was the food delicious and authentic for the most part, but the manner of eating was spot on Spain. Made me homesick. We had: 1. smoked sea bass (clean flavor, nice appetite starter); 2. a revuelto of chorizo, potatoes and green garlic (the most beautiful scrambled eggs, perfectly executed and seasoned); 3. txistorra (a thin pork sausage, grilled, slightly piquant); 4. morcilla with piquillo peppers (exactly right, blood sausage is just about the best friend a guy could hope for); 5. a plate of seared duck breast with a cherry-armagnac sauce (markedly more "French" to me in technique, but still seasoned very well, a balanced dish, nice to see duck breast that was cooked past medium-rare). Dessert was strawberry ice cream for me, and a chocolate-olive oil-red wine cake for my partner. The cake didn't blow me away (but then I'm not a great lover of cake), though the texture was surprisingly light andstill quite chocolatey. The ice cream had a great strawberry flavor and nice texture (I found little bits of frozen fatty cream throughout, but I didn't care much). Even coffee was good. The have the idea of single, focused plates down exactly right. A great way of eating in my opinion. My big complaint with Tango's idea of "tapeando" is their insistence of having all these flavor and textural contrasts on each plate. Harvest Vine rocks and makes me want to cry (in a good way, on the inside).

The alchohol will prevent any bacteria from forming so long as the fruit is completely covered. I made raspberry ratafia for a chef I used to work for . . . we'd usually let the berries cure till Christmas, right when you're craving some fresh fruit. Or try cherries in grappa. The longer they sit, the better . . .

Ah, so you went the aggro route first. Check out Madeleine Kamman and Alice Waters also (if you haven't already). Quite a bit different than Julia/Jacques. You can never read too much. The "Culinaria" series published by Konemann is a very good primer for various European Countries and their respective cuisines/culinary histories. It can also help you narrow down where you want to go regionally. I use the "Italy" and "Spain" volumes often, very helpful stuff. By all means spend some time in wine country-- wherever you end up.

Apparently the new place in the Avenue One/Cha Bar space is to be The Fire & Ice Lounge. Maybe they will have Pat Benatar on a permanent loop.

You will probably be able to eat better (everyday stuff) in Italy than in France. It's hard to get a good meal in France without blowing the bank unless you know exactly where to go. Italy (actually, I should just say Tuscany, since I've only been there), you can pop in almost anywhere, seemingly and have a pretty astounding meal. Just use your good judgement and avoid the menus in 4 languages. I think in general, the flavors are cleaner in Italy --> the fava bean that tastes most like a fava bean etc. I'm not sure I'd push El Bulli as a must for a first trip to Europe, especially if you only have enough cash for one big meal. El Racó de Can Fabes would be my suggestion, it's also fairly close to Barcelona if you end up in the area. I think Barcelona is a good place to get both high end and lower end food that really opens your eyes to freshness of product and cleanness of flavor. Where did you want to go in France? I'd focus on a few regions rather than flitting all over with a rail pass. Also, skip the cooking lessons. You can get that kind of training here. Just eat what you wouldn't normally eat--> taste everything, pay attention to regional specialties. Do a lot of research on the culinary traditions of where it is you are going. Take notes, observe. Drink lots of wine. Also beer.

I heard that the Thai Restaurant in the old Avenue One space is on its way out or gone already. There's going to be another fine dining (?) place moving in next. I agree with you Ms. R. Simply Paradise WAS vile. (But only once) Edit: Adding in disgust.

It's true, Granada is not an especially fascinating culinary locale. Particularly during the summer when pizza and bad paella abound in bright laminated menus. Avoid restaurants on the plazas for the most part. La Botana is sort of funky, with fairly interesting food and a nice wine by the glass selection-- cous cous, curries and other non-traditional food . . . Chikito is solid, good traditional food, nothing jaw dropping. Avoid El Carmen de San Miguel. Used to be interesting and tasty, but now is poorly executed Adriá worship. For little bites (nighttime) and great atmosphere, try El Puerto del Vino at the very end of the bars on the Paseo de los Tristes. Great staff there, lots of fun. Wander around the Albaicín and you should encounter some good stuff too. I remember a beautiful leg of kid at Bar Aliatar, perfect with a cañita or three underneath the open sky. Also wander around the Moorish Quarter for some nice teahouses and chwarma.

Lissome (and others), Rueda Verdejo, Mantel Blanco, 2001 It's one of my most pleasant recent wine discoveries. Crisp, dry, citrus-y, grapefruit-y. Remarkably refreshing and well balanced. It likes to be drunk with food even more than just sipped, but either way it's damn good.

Clos La Coutale is a representative wine of Cahors. Quite good and inexpensive, it is pretty widely available to boot. Tasty with Cassoulet. The thought of eating Cassoulet seems awful right now though.

I recently tasted a Meritage out of Chateau St. Michelle. It was fairly different than many Washington State Wines I've tasted before, more intensely tannic and layered. It seemed to need quite a bit of time to mellow out. I was surprised to see a Washington Winery use the Meritage designation. Are there many outside of California that people are aware of?

Yes, I just collect the tops, 3-4 leaves. The lower leaves are pretty stringy. I find it easier to steam rather than boil them, just until they wilt and turn a vibrant green. Make soup!! It will make you cry.