Blue Heron

That reminds me... it's time to change our water filter. Thanks.

I apologize to briefly go off topic, but Steven, on the NW board we are discussing bacon, and the subject of Bacon of the Month Club came up. If you get a chance, can you tell us the name of your Bacon of the Month Club (is it the Grateful Palate?). I hope you remembered to suspend your service for while you are gone. On another note... if you run low on Momo's dog food by the time you get to Seattle & need to stock up, you can find it at Next to Nature in W. Seattle, or All the Best Pet Care stores in 3 locations in Seattle (they carry the Solid Gold products).

I'd help you eat it too. I wonder if that's the same bacon of the month club that Steven Shaw belongs to? mamster, so was the Bavarian Meat bacon smoky flavored, as described by Tom Douglas? or just kind of regular bacon flavored? I haven't had Whole Foods bacon yet. ps...I just noticed the Grateful Palate's club carries 2 of Hempler's bacons... their regular and their pepper bacon. I wonder if it's the same Hempler's from Bellingham, WA that we get at Admiral Thriftway ? edit: Hempler's is from Bellingham, WA.

I'm curious about what kind of water eGulleteers drink when they are home? Do you get bottled water delivered or maybe buy it at the grocery, or drink tap water or use tap w/ a filter? If you drink bottled water at home, do you prefer sparkling/frizzante or natural? Also for those that drink bottled water, does it have more to do with you like the taste of bottled water better, or do you have health concerns about your city water? Has Sept. 11 changed anyone's water drinking habits at all? Right now, I drink maybe 1/3 if the time sparkling bottled water (usually from Costco), 2/3 of the time tap water w/ Home Depot filter. For the first couple of months after Sept. 11, I drank only store bought (natural) water, but as time has passed I have gone back to my pre-Sept 11 water drinking habits. So, what kind of water do you drink at home, and why?

I vicariously enjoyed Anthony Bourdain's experience eating poisonous blowfish fugu on his foodTV series A Cook's Tour, as well as the book by the same name. He chose Nibiki restaurant in Tokyo to try it, run by chef/owner Kichiro Yoshida (whose father was the first licensed fugu chef in Japan). Bon, have you been there? They showed close ups of the carving, cleansing & preparations, as well as the disposal of remnants (held under lock & key, lest they fall into the wrong hands). He had the paper thin sashimi and hot pot as described by Bon, as well as batter-fried fugu. While tasty, he said fugu was rather bland. He also did not get any tingly feeling, which was a good thing. He also mentioned about 10 people in Japan die each year from eating fugu (I think from eating the liver).

Thanks, and exactly why I personally didn't eat the Verpa, although some in the club do (in small quantity, ie. 1 mushroom, boiled as per suggested, sliced, then sauteed). I took a small taste in my mouth and it was indeed delicious, but being the scaredy pants I am, I didn't swallow...but the flavor pleasantly lingered in my mouth. Still curious about the fiddlehead, though, and wonder what it tastes like. I like the name, too.

Out in the NW, we're also gearing up for morel season. This is our first year in the mushroom club, and I think it's 2-3 weeks until morels (I hope my back injury heals by then, as I don't want to miss out). In the meantime, we've been looking under local cottonwood trees (cottonwood 'mouse ears' are the tell tale sign for beginners like us) to find Verpa mushrooms. I'm afraid to eat them, as supposedly they don't agree with some people, but Mr. H & others enjoy them immensely. Are you finding any Verpas? Out here, the general location I think the group looks for morels is in areas that received forest fire last year. Do you find that to be the case as well? One sure way to get mushrooms is to join a mushroom club (Mycological Society), like B Edulis and us. It's not expensive, and includes outings and experts to help you identify. They also offer classes. I've never had fiddleheads, but they sound so intriguing. What do they taste like?

I looked up the address, because it is tricky to find. It's called Bavarian Meat Delicatessen, 1920 Pike Place Market. It's located towards the end of the market, and the side of the street opposite the Pig. It's near Saigon Restaurant. I don't recall an entry door facing the sidewalk, as one goes into the market interior and then turns left and enters through double wide glass doors to get to Bavarian Meats. It sounds (and is) a little confusing and hard to find, but you can always ask a vendor as you get closer. Thanks for the tip on FM bacon...sounds like a great deal and delicious as well!

Bacon...one of my favorite foods! I have to admit that I buy Oscar Meyer bacon now, ever since America's Test Kitchen tested several bacons and found Oscar Meyer to be superior (and we all know they are the experts, right, ha ha). The other 2 brands I buy are Fletchers and Hempler's. Hempler's is a good quality brand out of Bellingham, WA which is similar to Fletchers in flavor and looks. I buy them at the grocery store. I recently tasted some very delicious bacon in a dish at Dahlia Lounge (which I still need to post about). I was going to ask where they get their bacon, but looked in a Tom Douglas cookbook and found he uses a very smoky slab bacon from Bavarian Meats at the Pike Place Market. I also recall delicious bacon in his Etta's restaurant Spinach Pear Bacon Salad. The bacon was diced, so I'm not sure of the fat/meat ratio, but the flavor was wonderful. I've been to Bavarian Meats before for good sausages, liverwurst and other German items, but will check out their bacon next time. That's a great tip about the pancetta, I'll give it a try.

Thank you!

Thank you everyone for the great steak sandwich recommendations, and I hope to try every single one of them! Last week after my post, I went to Dahlia Lounge in search of their steak sandwich, but unfortunately, it was no longer on the menu (why does that keep happening to me?). When I get a chance, I will post food & menu pics and notes from my birthday lunch at Dahlia Lounge from last week (I got a free dessert, yeah!). In the meantime, for a quick steak sandwich fix, I roasted a sirloin beef roast and sliced it thinly and made french dip sandwiches from it. They were good!

As a followup to my previous post... If any of you get a hankerin' for some of that delicious FRESH sweet gulf shrimp (which includes the delicious Royal Reds as Steven described) or other seafood treats from Alabama Gulf Shores, I can recommend www.billys-seafood.com , out of Bon Secour, AL. My package arrived fast, fresh, well insulated and well packaged, and everything was DELICIOUS!

Wow! Having good friends in Gulf Shores, AL, I immediately had to jump down to see what you had to say about your Alabama coast experience. They've been trying to get us down there the last couple of years for a vacation, and hopefully we'll get there some day. A couple of months ago, she Fed Exxed us (next day) a huge package of fresh off the boat gulf shrimp, the best shrimp I have EVER had, and just as delicious as you described! She also shipped some blue crab w/recipe for her family's crab cakes and some delicious tasting white fish that we don't get fresh here in Seattle. I'm glad you had a good time on the Alabama coast! Thanks for the recipes, too! In addition to the great reading and photos, I always look forward to what recipe you will post next time

I read an article yesterday in the Seattle Times about whale meat, which included a photo of a couple of Japanese women tasting whale meat. The article included some statistics on how many Japanese eat whale, have eaten whale in the past, etc. While I don't agree with whale killing, I respect cultures that have the legal right to do so, such as our Washington State Makah Indian tribe, (I just wish they wouldn't). To view the article, Click here

Thank you for the pictures of Mario. In retrospect, I don't know how I could have missed his clogs

I've never looked at Mario's feet before, but I notice he's always in shorts and a pony tail, and I like him. From now on I'm looking at chef's feet to see what they are wearing! I did make a point to look at what shoes Tony Bourdain was wearing the night we met him, and he was wearing nice cowboy boots....wonder if he wears them in the kitchen? probably not. I was wearing my Merrell Jungle mocs that night (as usual!).

yeah, great. it's a good look. 'specially with clogs. I had never really heard of chef's clogs until eGullet (I learn the most amazing things on this site). Anyway, today I was reading the May issue of Food & Wine magazine, and was pleased to see on p. 96, famous restaurant architect David Rockwell (architect of Nobu, Monkey Bar, Emeril, & other restaurants) was singing the praises of my latest favorite shoe, the Merrell Jungle Moc. He gave a pair to chef Gray Kunz as a gift, saying he prefers them (with their rugged, cushioned soles) to chef's clogs. I can speak as someone who has a hard time finding comfortable shoes, these shoes are completely comfortable, and slip proof...great for walking or working on your feet. I practically live in my Jungle Mocs (when I'm not in sport shoes). www.nordstroms.com carry's them, and I see they have a lighter spring/summer mesh style out too (Merrell Equinox) that I'm also thinking of getting.

I've been in the mood for awhile for a good steak sandwich. Anyone know where I can get one? I would have had one at the Blue Onion Bistro when I went for lunch in Feb., but it's no longer on the menu. I had a good one a couple years back at a little restaurant on Vashon Island, whose name escapes me right now. Also used to get a Philly Cheesesteak at a place at Pike Place Market. I had an uninspired steak sand. at Rock Bottom Brewery, and have even had a couple at the foodcourt at So. Ctr. Mall (I really needed a steak sand. fix while shopping). However, now I'm over due for a good steak sandwich. The Dahlia menu has one that looks pretty good: Grilled flat iron steak sandwich with Manchego cheese and smoked paprika aioli $11. Cafe Campagne menu also sounds promising: Grilled Steak Sandwich $13.00 Served on campagne bread with bleu cheese aïoli, grilled Bermuda onions, and pommes frîtes. Has anyone tried either of these or have any recommendations where to get a good steak or philly cheesesteak sandwich in Seattle?

ok mamster....where was the sushi place? Mashiko? (where the sushi chef is really a sushi gal about age 22? Ha, you thought you could sneak this one in on the Japan board and not be spotted, eh? I'm curious now to hear where you went!

I'm probably the only one who still hasn't been, although I stopped by once when they were closed and pressed my face against the window to see inside. It looked really narrow & small. Is it a place one can go with someone and sit down for lunch, or is it basically take out? How many tables would you say are there? If it's small then is it best to go just after lunch ie. 1:30 pm or so to get a table? (ie. is it as small as Thai Tom in the U District?)

A couple more ideas for stuffed endive leaves: Hummus salad, made with home-made or store bought hummus (I use store bought) mixed with some finely diced (seeds removed) cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, chopped fresh mint leaves, and garnished with a few cilantro leaves. An even easier prep along the same line I recently had is hummus dip served with sliced red cabbage wedges cut into scoopable sized pieces in lieu of pita wedges (this tastes great together). Also a soft goat cheese mixed with chopped herbs goes nice in endive, as well as a spicy crab salad. Although I haven't tried this one, I would also think curry chicken salad or other chicken salad might work.

yes, he's hoping to get a liquor license as well as expand the menu. It will also be nice that he's putting in 5 or 6 tables, as he only had counter space before. I hope they don't remodel (Americanize) it so much that it loses the flavor of being a casual taqueria type of place. It looked like stepping into a little bit of Mexico last time as I entered through the side door.

The wooden tongs I have are glued at the joint and look like this: Toaster Tongs only mine are 8" x 1/2", and I just use them to retreive items from the toaster. I use my metal tongs (that can lock in closed position) for my other tong tasks. I also have some super long tongs for the grill, but don't really use them as I have better control with my other ones.

next to my stove I've got my salt, pepper mill, olive oil, starbucks logo looks like a coffee cup but is really a timer, ceramic rooster pitcher containing wooden spoons, spatulas, ladel, whisk, etc. Nearby are my wooden tongs for toast & bagels, immersion blender, pocket screw-pull & foil cutter (which I prefer to my rabbit lever-pull) and pizza wheel which I use a few times a week for quesadillas. Also I keep handy my gadget thingy I got in Switzerland that nicely removes the tops of my soft boiled eggs without making a mess.

col klink, thanks for the heads up about Taqueria Pancho Villa. As I recall, they weren't making burritos before the remodel (burritos are an American invention, aren't they?). They were basically serving tacos and seviche tostado, and some extra things on weekends. Have they expanded their menu? I thought the tacos were all pretty good (except for the tripas, which I would skip next time). I especially liked their taco al pastor. The day I went there, I was headed for either La Guadalupana or Mojito Cafe (in the same neighborhood), which ever I would find first. I first looked for Mojito and not finding it, headed up a little farther to La Guadalupana. On the way back, I finally spotted Mojito Cafe (Cuban), and also look forward to going there. Looking forward to your review!