malarkey

ohhhh I can't wait to check it out.

dang! I am so pitifully behind! hell, I still haven't been to Monsoon. Maybe I shouldn't admit that on eG. crap. Love it that this is late night. I might be able to hit it then.

oh really? well that's one thing I was wondering... glad to hear he's still there. maybe I need to go back

when this place first opened, they had some stellar food. I remember a vegetable cassoulet that was totally knocked out. I remember a salmon dish with braised greens and garlic mashers that made me want to come back the next day and have it again. And there were various other dishes I had in the beginning that were really quite good. Homey comfort food type good, but with a creative edge. They seems to have lost that, even before the sale. I haven't been there since the sale so can't comment on it currently. Just thought I'd wax poetic about its delish beginnings!

boy! me neither! I seemed to remember some negative reviews of Seastar, but I guess I never read through the whole thread. I was with Mr & Mrs Toast at Seastar and my feelings are pretty much the same. The food was good, the service was good, the prices are a titch high. and there were a few things I tasted that I thought were damn good. so there ya go. They must have (or had) some inconsistency problems. They were fairly busy for a Tuesday night, too. but my overall feeling is that I would return.

I'd be up for HotPot on the 7th! Put me on the list...

Yes, Philip Mihalski at Nell's on Greenlake.

I think my favorite dish was the gnocchi with porcini. There was a LOT of porcini offered in this dish, nice big chunks. Just fantastic. Especially since I got xtra porcini from the non-mushroom eaters in the crowd !! Next would have to be the veal & quail. The flavors in these were absolutely wonderful. And we got the last of the mole salami, which is stunningly good.

The maple cake, no doubt. Excellent with a caffe latte.

The folks at Bottleworks are going to be opening a Flemish Café called "Brouwer's" by the end of the year, they are guessing around December (good god can I wait that long?!) It will be in Fremont. Here's an excerpt from their newsletter: It is called Brouwer's Café, a Flemish Grand Café located at the center of the Universe, (35th & Phinney in Fremont) a unique restaurant with over forty taps, two hundred bottled beers, wine (yes, I said it) as well as a definitive list of spirits from the house aperitif to the after dinner scotch or grappa. Brouwer’s Café will offer it all, from mid-morning coffee and jazz to late night live music, pomme frites and beer. Brouwer’s menu will offer the regions finest seasonal selections from mussels in hop court bullion to mouth watering kaas croquettes.

...Besalu also has the BEST croissants in town. And don't forget to try the ginger biscuits too. YUM These are good suggestions. Fremont and Ballard are both loaded with good cheap eats. But you should head to the ID for your asian fix & the ultimate in cheap eats, the bahn mi sammies.

A "busty" chardonnay?? LOL

This makes me indescribably happy. ====================== Bottleworks Newsletter June 2004 Edition 1710 North 45th St. Suite #3, Seattle, WA 98103 Hours: Sun-Mon 12-7, Tue-Wed 11-8, Thu-Sat 11-9 Telephone: (206).633.BIER (2437) Fax: (206).632.1057 Email: newsletter@bottleworks.com It all started with three coolers and a couch . . . Many of you have been coming to Bottleworks for years and remember our humble beginnings. We would like to thank you for your patronage by welcoming you to be our first guest at our new location. It is called Brouwer's Café, a Flemish Grand Café located at the center of the Universe, ( 35th & Phinney in Fremont) a unique restaurant with over forty taps, two hundred bottled beers, wine (yes, I said it) as well as a definitive list of spirits from the house aperitif to the after dinner scotch or grappa. Brouwer’s Café will offer it all, from mid-morning coffee and jazz to late night live music, pomme frites and beer. Brouwer’s menu will offer the regions finest seasonal selections from mussels in hop court bullion to mouth watering kaas croquettes. Due to open by year’s end (Dec.?), Bottleworks will keep you up to speed on the development and e.t.a. In other news, Bottleworks continues to bring in the beers and here they are in no particular order. - De Zwarte Ruiter Mestreechs aajt - an oak aged Dutch sour brown blended with dry pils, is dat weird ? - ‘T Smisje BB Bourgondier - a complex dark Belgian beer, with fruity esters and a crisp hop smaak - Harmon Brewery (Tacoma) Brown’s Point ESB -hint of rye malt, with a pleasant bitterness. - Harmon Brewery Point Defiance IPA - a caramely malt profile with a floral hop character. - Lagunitas XS Ale - gives the finger to low carb fanatics, otherwise, a bitter amber ale. - Dogfish Head Aprihop Ale - 7% IPA brewed with fresh apricots. - Bear Republic from Healdsburg, CA. We’ve waited for years to get these beers! - XP Pale Ale a smooth pale ale with a big hop profile from Cascade and Centennial hops. - Racer 5 IPA . . . Go Go Go a bigger version of the Xceptional Pale Ale - Red Rocket Ale, a bottle conditioned Scottish Amber Ale with an aggressive hop flavor, of course. - Hop Rod Rye, a strong ale with big hops and 18% rye in the malt bill - Big Bear Black Stout, a hearty stout with a caramel sweetness also in stock we have these summer releases. . . - Alaskan Summer Ale - Eel River- Pale, Amber, IPA, Porter - Elk Rock IPA, from Oregon - Sierra Nevada Summerfest Coming Soon. . . - Bison Beers from Ca. - Also J.W. Lees Harvest Ale will be available in a four varieties of oak aged vintages. Bottleworks June Tasting Schedule 6/16 Specialty Beer Services (Brain Child) 6/23 Dick’s Brewery 6/30 Pike Brewery Summer Brewfest Father’s Day weekend at St. Edwards Park will be this June 18th - 20th. Tickets are available at Bottleworks for $18 or $20 at the door. Find out all the details at www.washingtonbrewfest.com See You There ! Seattle International Beer Festival is July 30th at the Seattle Center. Over 100 beers from around the globe- find out more at www.seattlebeerfest.com All About Beer Magazine is hosting a Brew Cruise this Summer. This seven night journey aboard the Hubbard Glacier takes place from July 30th - August 6th. Check it out at www.magichappens.com The Great Canadian Beer Festival is Sept 11th & 12th in Victoria B.C. This is a great, fun festival. Book your rooms early. Tickets will be available at Bottleworks. www.gcbf.com Cheers from Vern, Bonney, Kevin , Tom , Danter, and Bill the dog

Oh lordy.. that was the deal of the century, wasn't it?! What year? ..no, don't tell me, I might cry...

I'm with you on the no ketchup *bleah* but I generally don't do ketchup on anything. The "tourist" thing also included going to Independance Hall, the Liberty Bell, City Tavern, (where I had another lovely Yard's ale, before being caught in a downpour) etc etc & blah blah. I'm not saying it disparagingly, by any means. Hey, I like being a tourist.

ah, El Ranchito.. Used to be fabulous, but last time I was there, it was less than fabulous. Surely there are other wonderful places around Yakima. There's a strong and thriving Mexican population there. They gotta EAT!!

I must admit I'm not inspired to check this place out. Why they ever thought lowering the oven temperature was the "right thing" to do is beyond me. Temperature is *critical* to getting it right.

well I didn't do THAT great at taking pix either, but here goes for the whole trip.... Dinner at ¡Pasión! - did the Chef's Menu, of course . Amuse: Wild Boar Ham, Melon Salad, and chile garlic lime sauce; Ceviche: Big Eye Tuna, coconut, Ginger and chile sauce (this was incredible); App: crab meat stuffed zucchini flower, morels, salsa limón (this was a fabulous dish that would have been elevated to perfect if they'd used fresh morels instead of dried, as it was, it was still the best dish of the whole chef's menu and I ain't complaining that loudly); salad: heirloom tomato, wild asparagus and baby arugula, spanish aged sherry and raisin vinaigrette; entree: pan roasted prawns, hearts of palm, bananas and red curry cashew sauce (for as delish as this sounded it was fairly bland); dessert: frozen peach soufflé, apricot rosemary sauce, peach escabeche; Petit Fours: banana, chocolate tres leches truffles. We also did the flight of wines that go with, but unfortunately I failed to take notes about them so can't mention them here. Things were getting a little blurry by the end of the meal but I do seem to recall a dessert wine and the petit fours I don't remember at all LOL To make sure that I didn't become any more coherent the next day, I was taken on THE TOUR and treated to a session of the NBI Live. The pic that Rich posted is early on when we were still behaving and just before our breakfast of cheesesteaks at Geno's. this, however, is Malarkey about 5 beers into the Tour: ...with Scoats probably thinking "who the hell is this chick?!" The crew totally responsible for my irresponsibility hanging outside of the Grey Lodge... from L to R: Rich Pawlak, Dave aka Bluebomber, Lew Bryson aka Beerfly, Scoats (owner of the GL) and Mike Gates aka Beerhuntor. A few notables: A beer called Alba Pine Scots Ale, brewed with spruce tips in the mix. It didn't really taste piney though, but it did taste sorta juniper-ish and very berry like and just wonderful. Yard's American Pale Ale, Nodding Head's 3C Extreme, (er, pretty much everything at NH) Bell's Two Hearted Ale, Bell's Double Cream Stout (wow). It was really great to be able to sample so many brews I don't normally have access to. Many thanks to Rich who was the designated driver for the day, no simple feat with that rowdy bunch, and special thanks to Lew Bryson who came out to join us for a couple even though he was under the gun with a book deadline. Thanks to Dave for the nifty shirt from Lancaster Brewing and the bottle of Milk Stout (which was tasty) and most importantly, for sharing his FABULOUS homebrewed IPA, which was totally knocked out. And last but not least, thanks to Mike Gates for just being who he is It was really great ya'll took the time to drag me all over the place and keep me fed and yes, I obeyed Rich by drinking all the water he put in front of me.. well most of it. it did help the next day... ..Along with a much needed and very restorative brunch at Rouge. It was JUST what the doctor ordered. After the bread, the scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, chives and gooey melted brie and 2 champagne cocktails I was good to go again. That night we had dinner at Fork (one of the ONLY places open on Mem Day) and it was indeed lovely. Had a wonderful salad which was Branch Creek Farm lettuce & micro celery with a perfectly balanced vinagrette of olive oil and lemon juice. This was so simple but just fantastic. this feast also included grilled sardines w/ warm fennel salad & pine nuts, duck confit (YES!) striped bass with salpicôn sauce tomatoes & asparagus w/braised saffron potatoes, chimichurri hanger steak with aioli, sautéed swiss chard and yucca frites, and dessert was a passion fruit crème brulée with berries. Wines, once again, I failed to note. I let the waiter pick and I wasn't disappointed Great place, I really liked it. One of the things that I adored was Bonté, and their gaufres chaud. Oh My God, Seattle needs one of these. These were exact duplicates of what I had in Paris and have longed for ever since. Did the tourist thing and went to Reading Terminal Market. Where I had to indulge myself with another cheesesteak this time one from Rick's. The guy there told me american cheese is the way to go (does this make anyone gnash their teeth?!) I liked it, but liked the one at Geno's better. While there I picked up bread from Metropolitan Bakery and a few other goodies. This place is very much like our own Pike Place Market in Seattle. It even has hams for the camera LOL (the guys at Rocco's) My GF Leslie and I having dinner at Caribou. We're shifting into high party gear now. Stuffed pork loin with garlic mashers, moules frites and a brioche bread pudding with caramel sauce that knocked our socks OFF. I'm a sucker for good bread pudding and this one was stellar. Trips to DiBruno's on 18th (missed you both times I was there Lisa!) got us hot sopressata, catalan olives, saucisson sec, stuffed cherry peppers, and various cheeses for the road (how nice to let d'Affinois melt in the sun and then spread it like butter...) Then, off to the show. We put on quite a spread for Grand Prix night at Devon, good enough to get invited back next year We had champagne, truffled duck liver pâté, rosemary bread, chive crackers, salmon pâté, several kinds of olives, all kinds of cheeses, crab cakes, and MORE. In New Hope/Lambertville we dined at Manon with our hosts and a couple of old friends... among the goodies were duck with lentils, shrimp with avocado sauce, steamed mussels and a lovely chocolate cake with caramel sauce. Also eaten locally: Lilly's on the Canal (quiche, sammies & frites) Gerenser's Ice Cream - African Violet with cherries & chocolate chips, I was apprehensive about this combo but this was fantastic ice cream. They were out of the rose petal And last but certainly not least, before hopping on my plane, a trip to Tacconelli's with Rich (who, incidently, confided to me that not only can he eat pizza non-stop, but that he might have trouble choosing between pizza and... well, you know) *whew* what a week. crikey, this is a goddam novel! It was awesome. Love your city. Love your state. Thanks for everything!

Its sorta like champagne, goes with a LOT of things. My suggestion? Frites I've had it with caviar, and that worked. It was the classic set up, caviar, blini, creme fraiche. It would be fabulous with breakfast too In fact.. it would be really great with breakfast in bed.

Metropolitan Market on Queen Anne: King for 24.99/lb and Sockeye for 19.99/lb

I want to thank you ALL for your fabulous suggestions. The week is filling up fast and I just talked with my friend Leslie and she has plans for us Tuesday night, and then we leave the next day for the horse show. Hopefully I'll catch everyone next time I'm in town p.s.: I hope ya'll watch the Belmont on the 5th. That's a PA bred horse threatening to win the Triple Crown, you know !

I've cooked them only a few times. They are tricky to get right. I think pan fried is the way to go, as the one time I got them right they were awesome. Need to have just the right temp, and they will be crispy and yummy. mushy doesn't work

very interesting. I can see some of these working. I worry about a strong malty profile clashing with the richness of the foie. I wonder if you could do a reduction sauce using one of these... This could be a fun experiment.

Wow. Mind sharing the whole menu with us??

NOT Ephemere?! <gloom despair and agony>