Schielke

Nero, I can understand the disappointment. Thanks Bill! I think we are going to end up there about a week or so after easter so perhaps some festivities will be winding down. So what is the driving scene like in Italy? I have heard that it is nuts in the busy cities, but what are roadtrips like out on the highways? Should I watch some Mad Max movies before I go to get primed? Ben

This is creepy, I just installed an under counter light fixture this weekend...

Craig, thanks for the great reply! I will do some research on the places you mentioned and come back with more questions.

Hey everybody, I am just starting to plan a trip to Italy and France for my honeymoon in mid April. I would love to use the vast knowledge of the well traveled here on eGullet to help make this vacation a success! Disclaimer: I have been to Germany, but know virtually nothing about France or Italy. Here are the known details: Who: Myself and Katie (wife to be) What: Honeymoon trip Where: Northern Italy and France with an emphasis on Northern Italy When: Mid-April Why: Because Katie has never been to Europe and we have an excuse to go Duration: Ideally 14 days, depending on budget. Budget: Not too sure yet, but we are not high rollers Other Details: I am almost positive that we do not want to do a tour group thing, the idea makes my skin crawl. We like to check out the sights, but are not super crazy about it. A nice hike would be a fun diversion though. We want to find some great food on the trip and plan on having two high end dinners (one in france and one in italy) while we are there. Katie supposedly has family in northern italy (Villa Minozzo) that we would like to visit for part of the trip. Preliminary Questions: 1. As far as France goes, I don't have to make it to Paris since it is quite the trip. Are there any great ** or *** restaurants of note in southern france that might make a good 2 day trip? 2. What is the best and most inexpensive way to get around between cities and attractions in northern italy? 3. How much a night should I plan on spending for a hotel room. We don't require very posh surroundings, but something clean and liveable is a must. 4. What are the best resources for preparing for this kind of trip? 5. What are some of the Can't Miss things (food or otherwise) in Northern Italy? Thanks in advance for your help! Ben

I dont think the product is as time sensitive as something breaded. It will, however lose some of the magic that makes the deep fried turkey popular. BBQ is a good comparison, a brisket hot off the smoker is a completely different product than one that has cooled down.

This weekend, Katie suprised me with a dinner at Mistral on Friday evening to celebrate our engagement. Needless to say I was excited! I arrived downtown to pick up Katie a little early so we parked and walked around Belltown before our reservation. We made a pit-stop for a drink at Cascadia's Bar. The drinks were pretty good and fairly cheap for Happy Hour. We saw many of the $1 mini-burgers go by to hungry diners, but passed since we had bigger fish to fry. We wandered back to Mistral to make our 7:00 reservation. We were greeted as we came in and shown to a great table at the corner window. We started the evening with a glass of champagne. Unfourtanetly, I did not take any pictures since it was a romantic event and my camera is still broken...whichever comes first. Amuse- Maine Lobster, mango, fennel, proscuitto One of the best Amuse dishes yet, the fat in the proscuitto cut the acidity of the other ingredients perfectly and added a great saltiness to the sweet lobster and mango. The fennel made it an even lighter dish due to its fragrance. Sweet Corn soup, scallop wrapped in phylo tube, carrot-orange foam Katie and I agreed that this was the best of the night and one of William's best dishes ever. A scallop was wrapped in a long tube of phylo so that it would be at the bottom of the tube and empty space filled the rest of the tube. The tube assembly was brushed with french salted butter (fluer de sel salted butter) and seared until crisp. This was placed in a bowl and surrounded with the sweet corn soup. The empty space in the tube was filled with the carrot-orange foam. Everything in this dish was hitting on all cylinders. The soup had that great mild sweetness of fresh corn, yet did not overwhelm with a heavy mouthfeel so typical of corn soups. The scallop was just barely cooked through and was so very tender and sweet, which was only enhanced by the subtle foam. The phylo tube added a perfect texture contrast and just the right amount of saltiness from the butter. This was a killer dish. Katie and I even toasted the dish and thought about ordering three more identical dishes to complete our meal. Striped Bass, pole beans, black olive puree, parsley jelly Perfectly seared fish over a ragout of pole beans tossed with small cubes of parsley jelly. The olive puree was next to the ragout to mix in as you wanted. This dish was a good transition from the previous scallop dish, it had many different texture elements in the dish that were punctuated by pockets of flavor from the jelly and the olive puree. A great transition. Oremus, Tokaji-Aszu, 5 Putonyos- This wine is a similar profile to sauternes, but made in hungary. It had an amazing aroma that was subtle, yet very present. I could have drank it all night. It was a perfect match for the foie gras. Seared Foie Gras w/ pineapple syrup and white peaches Great crust on the outside and a perfect medium-rare on the inside. It was accompanied by an impossibly refined pineapple syrup and super fresh white peaches. Lovely. Hirsch Vineyard- Littorai- I am pretty sure this was the California Pinot we had, but I don't remember exactly. Either way, it was a fabulous wine. Sumac Dusted Lamb, fingerling potato puree, roasted squash and onions I love the sumac in this dish. The potato puree was amazing as always and the roasted vegetables put a great earthiness into the dish. Sigh, I love William's lamb. Cheese Service I was getting drunk at this point and dropped the ball on remembering the cheese. It was great though. Molten Chocolate Cake w/ Strawberry sorbet, Vanilla Ice Cream, coffee Ice Cream The same kick ass chocolate cake paired with some top notch ice-creams and sorbet. Katie fell in love with the strawberry sorbet and the vanilla ice cream was the best I had ever had. It was such an intense vanilla flavor. And not to leave the coffee ice cream out, it was quite good as well. Once again, Mistral put out a fan-tas-tic meal. Each trip seems to get better and better. The food is incredible, the service is great, and I always leave perfectly content. If they are reading this, I want to say thanks again for a great evening to everybody at Mistral! Ben

I was thinking a cider even might be nice. Klink introduced me to the Woodchuck granny apple cider...which does indeed rock. Ben

Does anybody know a good source of high quality Keg Beer in Seattle? I still have a ton of tasting to do (poor me ), but I think I will need 1 whole or 2 pony kegs of top quality beer for my reception. Where should I start with this? I am thinking bottleworks might be a good start, or perhaps checking with The Taphouse in Bellevue (supposedly upwards of 140 beers on tap). Also, any recs for a easy to drink, yet flavorful beer? I am thinking of doing one heavier Amber style such as Blue Heron and then one Lighter easier drinking beer that is not piss water. Ben

Mamster's phenomenon of a dense urban core with very few chains in my opinion is because of parking availability. Most chain restaurant consumers are driving from the suburbs or other nearby areas and don't want to pay 8-12 bucks for parking while they wait 1-2 hrs for a table and then another hour to eat.

I have had pretty good food at most of the major chains and in a pinch on travel they are just fine. Todai, however, can {expletive deleted} my {expletive deleted}! Ben

Todai... Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

Never had it, but I see it all the time in German groceries.

Last night I spilled a glass of water directly on my crotch. I think it was laser guided.

Yeah, unfourtanetly those spaces are a weee bit too pricey. The chinese room does look cook, but it couldn't fit us. Ravishing Radish looked very nice yesterday, but I am not sure how much more affordable that option is compared with some of the other ones we are looking at. It does look like they have a strong commitment to good food though. Ben

I am going to go check out Ravishing Radish today after work. The owner seemed nice when I spoke with her on the phone. Let's hope their policies are affordable.

More general space info: We would like a place with either a view or a very nice interior. Hopefully the location would serve as a ceremony site as well. It will have to be indoor considering the time of year. We took a peek at "The Canal" in Ballard yesterday (it used to be Hiram's at the Locks) and it looks nice from the outside. Any thoughts on this place? We got our info packet on the Ruins the other day...holy jebus! They are out to milk ya! 2k for location fee, 35-60 pp, no servers included, and 12-20 pp for alcohol.

Thanks everybody. We are planning on the weekend of March 20th sometime. Not sure about Sat or Sun wedding... It will be roughly 160-170 peeps, but maybe fewer depending on loss. And Tighe, if we need linens, I know who to call. Ben

Hey all, If you have not read my bio recently, I come back from the Oregon coast an engaged man. Now we have the task of planning a wedding. yay! Any suggestions for catering outfits or reception sites that an eGulleter would approve of? We like the Lake Union Cafe so far... has anybody had an experience with them? Thanks again!!! Ben

I think my tivo will catch this tonight. Does anybody know when the other ones will re-air? Ben

I too tried it last night and was nicely suprised. It is much better than the coke version. This is a rare occurance indeed. Ben

An Indian friend of mine claims that the best beverage to match with Indian food is Coca-Cola.

This is my main use for Starbucks. When I am on the road it is typically to smaller towns or suburbs or larger ones and Starbucks is the only game around. Ditto for the airports. I also dont have to pay for it with my own money. Ben

About 12' x 7' of standing space. The room including counters is about 14' x 11' Much better than my old apt: 5' x 3' ugh

For a large chain, they put out a good product and have very good service. For a coffee shop, they put out a mediocre product and have very good service.

Stop! you are making me hungry! I wanna go!!! whaaaaahhhh