girl chow

Cool -- I love harvest reports. I am going to harvest my first zucchini squash tonight -- woohooo! I saw it peeking under the leaves last night. It's a small one, about four inches, but the flower is still full and attached, so that's what's for dinner tonight. AND I have lots of big, green fruit on my heirlooms (and all my other tomato plants), but no ripening yet. My pumpkins are going nuts. Bumper crop? I hope so. I cannot believe this, but I have somehow managed to grow a beautiful basil plant. This is the first time I've grown a basil plant that didn't look like it was going to die at any moment. I think the trick is that I'm growing it indoors?

Here's what I posted about our visit to SeeSound in early May (right after it opened) Here's the actual link for full disclosure. My post from May about SeeSound and its menu: "....It's true, the food is provided by Mistral. We were still full from our Cascadia calamari and sliders, but the menu looked good from Saturday: Moroccan style quail with preserved lemon couscous, $12; an assortment of artisinal cheeses, $8; caesar salad, $8; Sicilian style pizza, $8; sashimi grade tuna with oil cured olives and potato salad, $8. Also, some sweets and a few nibbles. We sampled the comp flatbread with the chili oil. Had the bartender, Karen, not been so damn cool, we might have bolted from the place because it is pretty sterile .. concrete floors, high ceilings and white pillars and low-slung furniture that is much more comfortable than it appears. Karen is a bartender with a good sense for balanced drinks. Several drinks were unusual and unexpected combinations .. like jaegermeister and absolut mandarin... and vanilla stoli and Rose's lime juice... all we sampled were pretty tasty."

Ha! That is a really terrific story. I am going to have my will changed so that the library gets my massive collection of menus when I kick off. For now, the menus will remain in my file cabinet, just in case there is an eGullet inquiry that needs answering. heh.

SWEET!!

Agreed. If newcomers want good, solid dining or cooking information, they should at least play nice. All I saw in this thread were a bunch of eGers trying to be helpful and providing decent advice. Geesh. Personally, I cook everything in lard. heh heh heh

Alexandria's on 2nd opens 7/15. They're billing it as "upscale" southern cuisine with "signature cocktails." Chef is Michael Franklin. Sounds familiar. I had heard that the guy who is opening the place also owns a restaurant by the same name in Cleveland. Would love to see a first bite report of this place.

Egads!! What a great source for information. I so have to go check out the library's menu collection (I bet mine is better, hahaha). Thanks for the tip.

Would you believe I *still* have a copy of the menu from the opening of Cascadia? (I am the Queen of useless (mostly) restaurant information). The prices at Cascadia then vs. now is actually territory we've covered in other older Cascadia threads, but I thought I'd revisit it in the interest of the current thread. The prices were absolutely higher when Cascadia opened in July 1999, but not out of the sky too high. Prices then: Wild & Gathered Menu: $90 for tasting menu. Or, priced separately on the Wild & Gathered menu: $8 white truffle potato soup; $11 for baked halibut cheeks w/morels; $9.50 for honey smoked barbecued quail; $30 for wild grass and herb baked partridge w/potato puree or $28 for wile king salmon on cedar fronds w/brandied cherry sauce The Season Menu: $65 for tasting menu. Prices for separate dishes on that menu: $7 for Yakima valley soft fruit salad, $15 for chilled dungeness crab salad; $8.75 for vine ripened tomato w/goat cheese salad; $8 for manilla clams/PC mussels; $21 for summer eggplant ravioli w/glazed veggies and sweet basil broth and $25 for herb roasted free-range chicken w/potatoe cheese tart and mixed bean salad From the Market Menu: $72 for the tasting menu. Or priced separately; $7.50 farmers select lettuce w/herb vinegars, $11 for free range chicken terrine and spot prawns, $8 for Cascadia grown vegetables w/golden beef emulsion; $27 for skillet roasted rockfish, dungeness crab steak and sweet corn/heirloom tomato compote; $29 for grilled WA beefsteak w/summer squash, sweet onions and tarragon beef reduction. Decidedly Northwest Menu: $85 for tasting menu. Or priced separately: $6.50 baby spinache and marinated bean curd salad; $18 fresh raw Cascadia region oysters w/Yellowstone caviar, apples and mustard seedlings; $12 for King salmon 'two ways'; $10.50 soup in a can; $23 for roasted rack fo Oregon rabbit w/crisp yearling salmon and herbed pan juices; $34 for rosemary basted lamb lion with grilled apples, garlic straw fries and pinot noir glaze PRICES NOW: Entrees are $23-$40; starters are $6-$18. Seems like those prices have remained constant since opening. The 7-course tasting menus are slightly lower, $65-$80 (and a $50 vegetarian meal). What has changed is the addition of the $25 3-course meals, which I think was a great move to hit all pricing points. Also, the bar menu is cheaper and in some ways better from when Cascadia opened. link to Cascadia's current tasting menu By the way, I have the opening menus from Brasa and Waterfront (ahem, useless, but my theory is someday a restaurant museum will open and I will graciously donate them for display).

In the interest of eGullet research, I went to Sazerac last night and had some very decent and very reasonably priced happy hour eats. Between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., everything on the bar menu is $4. Regular prices are about $6-$12, so for some items, it's a real bargain. The gumbo with housemade andouille sausage was decent, but not as good as when Kevin Davis used to cook at Sazerac. Their pizzas, which we really liked, were also $4, a considerable savings from their $11-$13 prices. We ordered the "simple" pizzas (I think that's what they were called) and they were tasty, although the center was a tad soggy from topping glop and overload. No complaints about the toppings: fresh mozz, fresh basil and some really nice tomatoes. The sweet potato chips with buttermilk blue cheese dressing were nothing special (actually, stale), so skip those. Also on the $4 HH menu (but we didn't sample): Fried catfish, pulled pork sliders, andouille sausage, etc.

I don't know if there was consensus at our Cascadia bar outing in early May, but I think we all had a good time (probably more to do with the company than the eats, of course... MsRamsey and LEdlund and their hubbies are so delightful to swill booze with). The food at Cascadia during happy hour is very well priced and good for noshing while drinking, but it sure didn't match Brasa's happy hour menu for imagination or execution. I'd still put Brasa at the top of the list. In fact, I haven't been to a happy hour yet that I would say tops what Brasa offers. One last thing... like Cam, I thought the drinks at Cascadia were *really* good. The alpine martini that Anita described was what we swilled. I loved 'em. The drink starts out chilly and vodka-y.. then, as the douglas fir sorbet melts, you get this sweetness and gin-y flavor. It's a different drink from beginning to end. Very clever. I also saw some pretty darn cool looking cocktails served at the tables around us... I think one was a mojito style cocktail with a popsicle in it. Too cool.

I just was reading this thread and wondered how many newcomers we have here like OTB who aren't familiar with all the markets in the surrounding communities outside Seattle. Because I am the official queen of mostly useless resources on this board, I thought I'd share my monster list of farmers markets that I've been compiling for a few years. To revisit the old farmers market thread, here's the actual link: farmers market thread And for those of you who are just TOO LAZY to point and click on a link, here is my most current list (make sure to call in advance because days and hours change frequently for markets): SOUTH END Kent: downtown Kent at the municipal lot at Smith Street, from Fourth Avenue to Second Avenue. Open June 5, Saturdays, 9-3 Maple Valley: fruit/veggie stand, Maple Valley Highway and 214th Street. Open now. Daily 9-7. Renton: Renton Piazza at S. 3rd & Burnett. runs Tuesdays 3-7, 425-226-4560 NEW THIS YEAR!!: Federal Way: In the Sears parking lot of the SeaTac Mall (err, Federal Way Commons, whatever) at 320th and Pacific Highway South. runs Saturdays 9-2. 253-261-8157 Burien: Fourth Ave around 152nd, downtown Burien. runs Thursdays, 11-6. EAST Bellevue: Pace Fruit Stand, 2380 Bellevue Way S.E.. Open now, daily 9-7. Redmond: 7730 Leary Way, Redmond. runs Saturdays, 9-3, 425-556-0636. www.redmondsaturdaymarket.homestead.com. Woodinville: 13205 N.E. 175th St., Woodinville. runs Saturdays, 425-485-1042. SOON TO OPEN?? SUBJECT TO PERMITS: Bellevue, Presbyterian Church at 1717 Bellevue Way N.E., supposed to open June 17 ?? and run Thursdays, 11-3. 425-454-8474 Bothell: Country Village, 23730 Bothell-Everett Hwy, Bothell. runs Fridays, 10-3, 425-483-2250. www.countryvillagebothell.com. Kirkland: Park Lane East in downtown Kirkland. runs Wednesdays, 11-6, 425-485-1042, www.kirklanddowntown.org. Issaquah: Pickering Barn, 1730 10th Ave. N.W., runs Saturdays, 9-2, 425-837-3311, www.ci.issaquah.wa.us. NEW THIS YEAR!! Carnation: Tolt Avenue and Bird Street. runs Tuesdays, 3-7, 425-788-3089, www.ci.carnation.wa.us/farmersmarket. North Bend: North Bend Senior Center, 411 Main Ave. S., (exit 31 off of I-90). runs Saturdays, 9-1, 425-888-3434 SEATTLE Ballard: Ballard Avenue. yearround, Sundays, 10-4, 206-781-6776, www.fremontmarket.com. Fremont: located at North 34th near the Aurora Bridge. yearround, Sundays, 10-5, 206-781-6776, www.fremontmarket.com. (go to www.seattlefarmersmarkets.org. for info on W. Seattle, Columbia City, Magnolia, Lake City and U-Dist markets, they're managed by the same place): West Seattle: located at the corner of Alaska and 44th Street Southwest at the Alaska Junction. runs Sundays, 10-2. Columbia City: Columbia Plaza, 4801 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle. runs Wednesdays, 3-7 Magnolia: Magnolia Community Center, 2550 34th Ave. W., Seattle. runs Saturdays, 10-2 Lake City: Northeast 127th and 30th Northeast, Seattle. runs Thursdays, 3-7. U-Dist: Northeast 50th Street at “The Ave.” runs Saturdays, 9-2. White Center: runs Saturdays 10-2. Located at 98th Street, between 15th and 16th S.W. 206-694-1082 Vashon Island: Saturdays and Wednesdays 9-1, located near Bank Road and Vashon Highway S.W. 206-567-4548. TACOMA/PIERCE/WAY THE HECK SOUTH Puyallup: , Pioneer Park Pavillion, 330 S. Meridian St. runs Saturdays, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (and Thursdays later summer) www.puyallupmainstreet.com/farmersmarket.html. T.H.E. Farmers Market, University Place: 3501 Bridgeport Way, runs Saturdays, 9-2, www.thefarmersmarket.us. Tacoma Proctor: North 27th Street at Proctor, runs Saturdays, 9-2, www.proctorfarmersmarket.com. Downtown Tacoma: located between Ninth and 11th Streets on Broadway, Tacoma. runs Thursdays, 9-2, www.tacomafarmersmarket.com.

Oh man. That's unfortunate. I really liked that place. Thanks so much for the update. Is that place next door still a weird, crazy Greek joint? It's been some time since I've been there (maybe a year?), but that's one of the most fun dining experiences I've had in Redmond. Flaming cheese, dancing Greek waiters and belly dancing are all at the top of my list for fun dining.

And, here is another link to Eastside eats I have probably started or contributed to at least a dozen Eastside restaurant threads (search under Bellevue, Redmond, Issaquah and Kirkland and then type in my name and it should give you more results)

Yes! Wild Wheat in Kent is great for kids. It's so loud in there, nobody would hear a tantrum!! They have a smoked chicken salad on the menu that is divine. I can't say enough about their tomato soup. Did you know the owners used to own a bakery in Greenwood? They fled south after they had kids and opened up shop in Kent. Other Kent places that are very family friendly: Paolo's on the Kent East Hill, located just north of the intersection of 240th and 108th S.E. Paolo's is a great little Italian joint and you might just see the owner's kids while you're in there. The food is several steps above a red sauce Italian joint. The chef formerly cooked at Saleh al Lago (now Nell's). Spiro's, across the street from Wild Wheat, also is a nice place for kids (loud and Greek). There is a Vietnamese restaurant on the east side of Meeker that is so good for kids (they will actually come into the dining room and entertain your children while you try to enjoy your food). AND my ultimate south county find for kids: Spunky Monkey in Auburn. It's on Auburn Way South, next to Safeway. Spunky Monkey is loud, funny and has board games on virtually every table. They have smoothies that are perfect for a kid palate. Very kid friendly menu: sandwiches, pizza, yada yada. On a grownup note: they make some pretty good cocktails considering this is an Auburn joint. That's great news to hear about Lark and Harvest Vine, but I'll have to wait until my child stops his current spitting-and-shrieking-like-a-monkey phase, which some eGulleters, ahem, have unfortunately witnessed. It's not pretty.

This is a tricky one. I really agree with you and think your approach is realistic. As a mom of a toddler, I want to introduce my child to the restaurant dining experience at a young age, but I don't want to "teach" my kid the rules of dining at the expense of other diners (nobody wants their dining experience ruined). How we can get around that is by doing exactly what you've already done -- get there early before other diners start to arrive and leave well in advance of your child's bedtime. Yeah, it may mean you're eating dinner at 5 p.m., but at least you'll be able to enjoy your meal without disturbing the other diners. Every new parent (including me) will relay the horror story of stopping in at a sit-down restaurant to get something to eat at 7:30 p.m. Yikes. A few better Seattle places that have been kid friendly in my experience: Restaurant Zoe. Twice while dining there, Zoe herself, the child of Chef/Owner Scott, was there dining in the restaurant. There were a handful of other kids there both times I dined there, although I was childless at the time. From what I saw, they were treated really well. Eva. I've seen little kids in there at least once and they weren't treated like second-class citizens. Also, I think that ethnic restaurants, while perhaps not an upscale experience, often will provide an excellent meal in an extremely family-friendly environment. Thai restaurants everywhere welcome kids, and Vietnamese, Indian, etc. Eating at ethnic joints may not be as luxurious as you'd like your dining experiences to be, but as a parent, you have to accept that your kid has limitations on what they can tolerate .... and a two-hour dinner at Lark or Harvest Vine is out of the reach of virtually every child younger than 12. Hope this has helped, although I didn't give you a lot of specific restaurants where you can dine w/a kid. I'd give you more, but they're mostly in the South End/Tacoma where I'm sure you probably don't spend much time (but let me know if you do and I will post them). Oh! A few strategies we use when dining w/kid (you probably already employ these... or feel free to disregard this advice if you think it's a crock, but this has worked for us): Order their food immediately when you sit down before you order your food (I don't even look at the menu, I just ask the server what's good for kids). If the restaurant doesn't have color crayons, bring your own (and a book is a good idea too). With any luck, their food will arrive before your main dishes (don't even think about getting an appetizer, are you nuts?). ALWAYS order the kid a dessert when your main course arrives (by this time, they should be done with their food). Dessert (a shake or ice cream is good, takes a long time to eat) will keep them busy while you try to enjoy your entree. If they start to scream or become little monsters, threaten to leave the restaurant AND follow through on that threat. It may mean a crappy experience and you won't enjoy yourself, but if you show them you mean business, they may be less likely to throw that tantrum the next time. All we have to do is tell our son: "We're leaving" and he usually hops down from the light fixture or stops flinging french fries at the next table. Hope this commentary helps!

Do it. You don't even have to call him or tell him your name, you can always send a short note to let him know that this really bothered you. I've done that before. If diners don't call/write when they have unsatisfactory experiences with the serving staff, how is the restaurant ever going to know that they've got a dud on staff? Lauren, I didn't know that you had to split your foie gras, that seemed like that might be a messy job. The cheese plate wasn't difficult to split up, but I agree it would have been nice if they split it for us in the kitchen. I seem to remember Jan and Kathy2 having to split one of their shared courses, as well. Hmmmm...

Oh yes, egads, the things you see in the ID (or any hole-in-the-wall grubby place). One summer afternoon, Mr. Girl Chow and I were walking down just off of Sixth and Jackson and we saw this guy selling fried chicken wings out of a cardboard box. The box was just sitting out in the sun, bugs flying all around. I couldn't believe people were buying chicken from that guy, but I guess they were *only* a quarter each! Bargain! Argh. We walked by him a few hours later and he was *still* there with his nasty box of chicken. Scary as hell. Compared to that scary dude and his box of chicken, Kau Kau is a pristine dining experience.

The restaurant isn't all that dirty, but it's not all that clean either. It's never been nasty enough to scare me away from that fantastic bbq pork though. I've always thought the ribs weren't up to par. I think everything they serve pales in comparison to the juicy bbq pork though.

OTB, I know you're in my neck of the woods, so I thought I'd pipe in with a very decent Pierce County coffee roaster. They're Martin Henry coffee and are well known in the South Sound region for their quality beans. I very infrequently drink anything caffeinated anymore (I'm a wuss), but when I was a coffee drinker, Martin Henry always hit the spot. They sell organic/shade-grown coffees and feature a decent selection of unique blends. Their major store is actually in Puyallup, on River Road, which is about 3-4 minutes off of I-5. Quick directions: From Gig Harbor, Take 16 East across the bridge and get onto I-5 heading North. Right after the Tacoma Dome, you'll see the "Puyallup/SR 167" exit on your right, take that exit. The exit will curve sharply and you'll want to stay to your left and veer to the left through the light at the curve. Follow for about 1 mile. Martin Henry will be on your right at 1114 River Road. Their number: 253-848-3110. Other Pierce County food trivia: Powerhouse Brewery in Puyallup serves a "Roated Porter" made with Martin Henry espresso. Divine with a sinful chocolate dessert. edit: typo queen

Richard, your experience should be a glaring example for all chefs/restaurant owners that fantastic, or piss poor, service can make or break a fine dining experience. Even if the food is dead-on perfect, I end up leaving annoyed if the service is terrible like that, unless, of course, it's a mid-level restaurant with mid-level aspirations. At a restaurant the caliber of Rover's, I would expect nothing less than doting service -- and that's exactly what we got last Friday. I do have a few questions for you: did you make any after-the-fact comments to Thierry or anyone else about your experience? If so, what was said/done to make ammends, if anything? And, if you didn't tell him about your experience, why didn't you feel the need to?

Absolutely, those servers were a finely tuned ensemble. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed our server and table assistant quietly talking about the next course immediately after they presented our first course. Our table assistant basically stood at attention in the corner, waiting to clear our dishes and refill our water glasses. He was very adept at melting into the background, but surfacing just when he was needed, unobtrusively. There was a lot of thought and effort put into the flow of our meal. It was a really exquisite thing to watch. I wonder what their training program must be like there.

We managed to have a fantastic time at lunch, which was just as delightful as I thought it would be. (Anyone else, please post your thoughts). Thanks to everyone for making that a really decadent afternoon. It was definitely a dilettante's lunch hour -- I think we started at noon and left at 3 p.m.? Probably about the same duration as a Salumi lunch, right? The lunch menu was quite extensive, with the three-course tasting menu for $35 and then a selection of appetizers and entrees that was quite long and very well priced. Several of us duplicated our orders because there were simply just a few standouts that *had* to be sampled. Namely, the Hudson Valley foie gras appetizer with maui pineapple and a vinegar glace ($17). For entrees, I think four of seven got the Moulard duck breast with English peas, artichoke and a rosemary sauce ($18). A sucker for sea bass, I went with that. It came with spinach, orzo and a wonderful bacon and thyme vinaigrette ($18). It was superb. I thought my cheese plate at the end of the meal ($12) was a perfect finish. It came with five cheeses -- three were cow's milk and two were goat's milk, including the excellent Quillascut goat cheese with the ash rind -- and a tangle of greens with a really nice assortment of spicy-sweet nuts. I looked around at everyone else eating the opera cake, though, and it made me wish I could eat more. There were other desserts, a vanilla panna cotta and an ice cream selection, but I don't think anyone ordered those. The wine was flowing and the service excellent. Thierry Rautureau came out at the end of the meal and we had a nice conversation with him (we had to plug eGullet, of course). His wife, who was the hostess for the afternoon, spent some time chatting us up and she was just a sweetheart. The service was stunning, really an example of what every restaurant should aspire to provide. Here's a look at the rest of the menu, just in case you were wondering. The menu changes daily, so you may not find these items on the menu, of course, but this will provide an idea of what type of food to expect if you haven't eaten at Rover's before: Appetizers/Salads/Starters House cured seabass with a radish salad, asian pear and rice vinegar ($10) Green asparagus salad with a cauliflower panna cotta and a turmeric infusion ($9) Walla Walla sweet onion tart with garden greens and a sherry vinaigrette ($10) Mussels and clams mariniere style with toasted bread and a garlic aioli ($9)... I ordered this as a starter and it was FANTASTIC, the garlic aioli was spot-on perfect Grilled Eastern Washington green asparagus with a lemon mousseline ($8) Salade Lyonnaise with frisee, organic poached egg and duck prosciutto ($11), (I ordered this as a first course and it was just wonderful. I think LEdlund also ordered this. The duck prosciutto was so rich and the egg was so creamy... it was just fantastic contrasted with the acidity of the tart vinaigrette... a really nice job with flavor/texture. How come my lyonnaise never tastes like this at home?) Roasted beet and cauliflower salad with herbed couscous and an arugula dressing ($9, $17, entree size) Feuillete of Morel mushrooms, fava beans and English peas with a curried onion sauce ($10) Organic scrambled egg with a lime creme fraiche and a white sturgeon caviar ($20) The aforementioned Hudson Valley foie gras ($17) Martini of lobster with cucumber, Chopin vodka and white sturgeon caviar ($18) Entrees, etc. Alaskan Halibut with tomato confit, oyster mushroom and green lentils ($19) The aforementioned sea bass ($18) and moulard duck breast ($18) Braised Oregon lamb shank with morels, carrots and a Moroccan olive sauce ($19). I think two people got this and it just smelled fantastic. Three course lunch, $35 Included: The cured sea bass app The braised lamb shank Opera cake with hazelnut and a caramel sauce (You could substitute other apps and entrees for this, which I think some people did) Cheese/dessert Aforementioned cheese assortment ($12) Vanilla panna cotta with almond tuile and a pomegranate coulis ($8) Opera cake ($9) sorbet/ice cream of the day ($8) I'm definitely going back.

I'd love to check out this place for lunch, but in a few weeks. Anyone care to join me on Wed. June 16 or Thurs. June 17 for lunch? I'd do something sooner, but I've got too many food things going the next few weeks. I'm all about the salmon gravlax! Oh yeah. Matthew, how big is the restaurant? Are there tables sufficient to hold four or more? Or is it absolutely hole-in-wall status?

Thanks for the reminder MsRamsey -- and ditto on the credit card thing, let me know ASAP if you can't make it! LMF, my apologies! We've already got a wait list for the lunch, but I will add you on it. I'll PM you with details on how we can communicate offboard if someone bails and we need an alternate. I'm thinking someone else needs to organize a lunch at Rover's... of course, feel free to do so after we eat there and provide you all with the gory details

Thanks for the review -- that just bumped them up my list a little higher. Yum.