Blue Heron

Can't remember if I posted this before, but the space where Liberty Deli was (across from the statue) on Alki Beach will re-open as the Celtic Swell, an Irish Pub and restaurant. Also... As reported in the Pike Place email newsletter I received today: (and if anyone has been to, please let us know how it is!)... Now Open: Soul Food Stop Hankering for some down-home Southern cooking' Head to the Pike Place Market's newest business, Soul Food Stop, located in the Economy Arcade near the newsstand. This take-out stand is one of the few places downtown where you can get tasty Southern fare like smothered chicken or pork chops. Other entrees include red beans and rice, black-eye peas and rice, gumbo and BBQ beef or pull-pork sandwiches. Each entree comes with your choice of two side dishes: mustard greens, yams, corn bread, potato salad or baked beans. If you get the "Combo" deal, you get your choice of drink and cookie in addition to the two side dishes. Save room for desserts. They include pies--sweet potato, pecan, lemon cream, banana cream--and peach cobbler. Soul Food Stop is another proud example of the Pike Place Market's commitment to encourage small, start-up, family-owned shops, a rarity these days in our mall culture. Owned by the Tymony family, Soul Food Stop is open daily, 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

yes, I know it's not an "r" month (May), but I couldn't resist picking up another dozen fresh Stellar Bay oysters from Lam Seafood in Little Saigon today, after a pretty good (not great) lunch at Seven Stars Pepper. I ate a half dozen on the half shell tonight... very yummy, and lots of juice in the shell as they are sold in tanks, not sitting atop ice like some grocery stores where they get dried out. There were 9 dozen more in the tank (along with others such as Kumamoto, Kusshi, Gold Creek, with what looked to be another big basketful of Stellar Bays (in the green bags by the dozen) ready to go in. $6.49/doz.

The defunct Liberty Deli space on Alki beach, W. Seattle, is going to re-open as the Celtic Swell, a pub/grill I think. I have no idea when it will open, but if they are smart it will be sooner than later.

heyjude, I found your review on Seastar from last year : Seastar reviews including heyjude's

This was exactly my experience with the 2 macaroons I bought at Admiral Metropolitan market awhile back, and why I wasn't impressed nor would buy them again. Like you remarked, they didn't taste fresh and they were dried out, crackly, crumbly, with a dense chewy sticky filling. Blech.

After an excellent lunch at Seven Stars Pepper at 12th & Jackson today we rounded the corner back to our car and stopped in LAM Seafood market (on the block behind SSP) to check it out, and discovered they had Stellar Bay Oysters in their oyster tanks. I bought a dozen ($6.49) for dinner tonight. They also carry Kumamoto ($8.49/doz), Kusshi and 1 or 2 add'l types. There were only 6 bags (1 doz. each) or so of (Crystal) Stellar Bay oysters in the tank, so I would call first before making a special trip. I can't wait for dinner tonight... LAM Seafood 1221 South King St. Seattle, WA 98144 206-720-0969

Local cookbook author and food editor Cynthia Nims chose Jak's as her favorite place to get a steak in Seattle on Evening Magazine's Best of the Northwest this evening. A couple of Jak's steaks are Prime, and for the quality, very reasonably priced. (other restaurants getting a favorite mention by the trio of Cynthia Nims, Tom Douglas, and Hsiao-Ching Chou (Seattle PI food writer) ... favorite Italian: Cafe Juanita; Favorite Chinese: Seven Stars Pepper; Favorite Mexican: La Carta de Oaxaca, Favorite Cheap place w/ decent food: Wellington. Kingfish Cafe was also mentioned as a favorite.)

Has anyone been to Tosoni's in Bellevue lately? I haven't been in a couple of years, but it would be one of my first picks for fine dining in Bellevue. Once you get past the idea of it being located in a strip mall, (which is convenient for parking however), when you step inside you are treated to European style charm, it's atmosphere is cozy, and they serve great food. As the linked review below mentions, "Tosoni's in Bellevue has a European-influenced menu that leans toward meat and game, but there's usually pasta, risotto and seafood as well." Tosoni's Restaurant 14320 NE 20th ST. Bellevue, WA (425) 644-1668

Thanks for this detailed report, lala. I like Jak's too. It's *the* place to go for steak in W. Seattle... good and very reasonable for the quality and amount. I order my steak on the rare side of MR, and they turn out just great. Last time I went they still weren't taking reservations, and this place can get busy, so we tend to go early. I'm also a fan of Lee's (for Asian cuisine) too, and Mashiko's sushi/Japanese cuisine is also on this street!

I LOVE those crispy onions on Brasa's bar menu. Sometimes I like fried onion rings even MORE than fries!

SeaGal, I was also at Cafe Campagne for Easter brunch! I wish I would have seen you ... and I also had the Oeufs en Meurette w/frites! We were there at noon. Yes, those frites at Cafe Campagne were really delicious, and so good dipped in the red wine-fois gras sauce. A great accompaniment. Frites also come with the lamb burger.

Fries have always been one of my favorite snacks. What is the difference between French Fries and Belgian Frites? I must get up to Capital Hill to try the frites that Laurie writes about. Thanks for the heads up Laurie! I wish I could recommend some good fries in Seattle, but I can't really, as they are hit and miss. Dicks fries are a treat, albeit a bit too limp & greasy but that is part of their charm, and I like McDonald's fries (eek), and they are consistant. I think the thinner shoestring types taste better than fat cut ones that are a bit too potatoey/starchy. I love my fries sprinkled with salt, and dipped in tarter sauce, or sometimes ketchup. hmm.. the roasted red pepper chipotle sauce sounds good!

I was wondering what the hell happened. I ate at Spuds a few weeks ago and it sucked. don't remember that from 10 years ago-->it was good back then! at least I thought so... I will say Spuds officially sucks now. We went to the Alki beach location today as I had a 2 for 1 coupon that I couldn't resist, and got an order of fish n chips and fried prawns n chips. The breading on both the fish and prawns (a kind of cornmeal breading) was bland and tasteless as in it tasted kind of stale, and the breading was undercooked in spots (yucky). The fish wasn't very flavorful either. The prawns I ended up picking half of the breading off, which made them redeemable. They were large in size, which was nice. I thought the tarter sauce was ok (I didn't detect any dill), but the tub of ketchup had separated and needed stirring to blend. The fries were adequate, but some were slightly underdone. I usually go to Sunfish on Alki out of habit & convenience, but the 1 time I had fish n chips at Chinooks I liked it. When my step sister and I had fish n chips at Jack's at the Pike Place Market 1 1/2 years or so ago, we both thought they were too greasy.

I checked while I was in Uwajimaya today, and their Penn Cove Oysters are not the Stellar Bay variety. They had a good selections of other live varieties including Olympia, Kumamoto, Penn Cove, Pacific, Kusshi, Willapa Bay, and maybe others whose name I am not recalling.

I had an enjoyable $12.50 pre-fixe lunch at Wild Ginger yesterday. Crispy Spring Roll (pork filled) wrapped w/lettuce leaf and bean sprouts served w/ Vietnamese dipping sauce - outstanding Coconut Rice w/ Curry Chicken (Chinese Straits style chicken and coconut rice steamed in a banana leaf)-beautifully presented w/ their famous Szechwan style green beans along side that I love. - Very good if slightly oily, huge portion and I took half home. Coconut Gelato - excellent if you like coconut, which I do. Served at the perfect temperature it was filled with lots of bits of coconut in it. Hubby had: Barbeque Sol (2 fantastic small savory flaky pastries filled with sweet barbeque meat, pork I think- major yum) Thai Beef Salad (Flank steak grilled, sliced, and topped on watercress, lettuce w/ shallots and mint in a spicy fish sauce dressing) w/ side dish of Baby Bok Choy- very good Coconut Gelato (other choices include Mango Sorbet, Ginger Ice Cream) The other entree choice which we didn't try was: Pork Curry Nonya Style w/ Snap Peas - Snake River pork w/ lemongrass, tumeric, lime leaf slow cooked in a house made coconut curry. Other starters choices which we didn't try: Vegetable Roll, Chicken Pot Sticker The place was packed (we sat at the bar). Business is good there. edit to add: In the past there have been reports and I've also rec'd service that was on the cool or brusque side. I'm happy to report there was none of that yesterday. Even though the place was busy, we were greeted and seated by a hostess immediately, and our waitress could not have been more friendly, smiling, and helpful, and at the same time not obtrusive about it. And on the way out a different hostess, also busy, went out of her way to catch our attention to say goodbye, thank us and wish us a good day with a genuine smile.

For good food & beer I give a thumbs up to the Celtic Bayou Brewpub & Far West Ireland Brewing Company in Redmond. Some friends and I stopped there for lunch and IPA recently after a walk in Marymore Park and I was pleasantly surprised. The front area was a little noisy, so we sat in the back next to the fireplace where it was quiet and cozy. In addition to regular pub food (which I didn't try) they have remarkably good Cajun food. I really liked the Etouffe w/ Crawfish. malarkey, is that in your neck of the woods? ... have you been there and can you confirm or did I hit it on one good day? Celtic Bayou Brewpub & Far West Ireland Brewing Company 7281 W. Lake Sammamish Pkwy. Redmond, WA 98052 (about a minute's drive from from Marymore Park) (425)869-5933 I used to like going to Redhook out in Woodinville, but have not been in about a year. Anybody been there recently who can comment on it?

Des Moines, WA also has a tortilla factory that makes really great super thin fresh corn tortillas (just the way I like them). I bought a big bag last weekend for $1.50 in White Center at a Mexican (combo) restaurant/market (the name escapes me, but they have the colorful tropical bird motif booths). This was after I had a yummy pupusa at the El Salvadorean bakery first.

Metropolitan Market (Admiral Thriftway) has been making a big deal about their carrying French Macaroons now, but frankly the two I tried (chocolate, raspberry) I didn't care for. I don't know what they are supposed to taste like, but they were dry and crumbly, and fragmented into all kinds of bits of pieces when I would take a bite. or impossible to cut or break one half to share. Is this normal?

Last evening's $25 dinner at Union... Celery Root Foam, served in a demitasse - this light foam packed a wonderful intense & fresh flavor, and was outstandingly delicious. Thumbs up! Stellar Bay Oysters with Casa Brina Olive Oil and Meyer Lemon - 2 small oysters on the half shell served icey cold, I liked these a lot. Carrot Soup with Guinea Hen and Leek Salad - the standout here was the flavorful shreds of Guinea Hen that were served on top of the soup. I would have loved a plate of that Guinea Hen! Yum. The vinegar in the leek salad was slightly distracting to me, however, and the carrot soup mainly served as a foil to enjoy that wonderful Guinea Hen. Seared Ahi Tuna with Avocado Puree and Blood Orange - Seared crisply on the outside with just a little sea salt, and then unctuously tender rare on the inside, this was excellent, and paired well with the puree/guacamole type sauce underneath it w/blood orange puree surrounding the avocado puree. 30 Day Dry Aged Beef Loin with Oyster Mushrooms and Red Wine Sauce - Maximum amounts of mmmmms and yums around the table as we ate these thin slices of (med rare I think?) beef that were fanned over perfectly cooked mushrooms and excellent saucing, too. Blue De Gex Raw Cow's Milk Blue with Frisee Salad - very good, but didn't knock my socks off. Served w/ thin sliced current walnut bread. The frisee was good. Green Apple Sorbet with Creme Fraiche - disappointing. Not much flavor here. Chocolate Mousse with Brandied Whipped Cream - not too sweet, just the way we all like it and a nice way to end a terrific meal. We drank a Willamette Pinot Noir with our dinner, which was tasty. *note - Unfortunately I won't be able to make it to Thursday's group dinner here. Have fun guys! Also, last night as we were arriving we had some added entertainment with the 8 story building right across the street being knocked down. Once the restaurant even shook a bit! Fortunately the engineers have organized it so the building pieces fall in that contained area. :)

Neil, congratulations! Lucky Bellagio and lucky Las Vegas to get you. Hope to see you sometime either in Vegas or back in Seattle.

If you visit Mashiko's website at www.sushiwhore.com, don't forget to sign up to be on their mailing list. A few days ago I rec'd an email from them that included the following offer: "For every 3 like items you buy, you will get 1 free. (i.e. 3 rolls & 1 roll free, 3 dinner entrees & 4 entree free, 3 beers and 1 beer free, etc.) Fine Print: Free item must be of equal or lesser value. Offer good Sunday through Thursday during the month of February and March. Please bring a print out of this email..." Sounds like a good time to grab 3 of your buddies and head to Mashiko's!

Thank you for that great report. How long (time frame) did your kaiseki dinner at Mashiko last? Also, did the courses flow evenly or was there any waiting between courses?

What a deal! Thx for the scoop girlchow . I would love to come too! I'm in for 1.

I agree, unfortunately. It tasted of perhaps a better quality bottled or jarred dressing, but had that artificial twang to it. I was with a group and didn't want to draw attention to my disatisfaction, however. Their fresh oysters on the half shell menu looked great and was huge. Also, they are known for their yummy fresh cracked dungeness crab, which a visitor really can never go wrong with ordering. We ate in the dining room, and service was good. View was wonderful! We had a window table.

I had a less than stellar lunch at Elliott's today. First problem I noticed after I sat down was the scent of bleach. (I like a sanitized table, but hate the scent of bleach while I'm eating). My Caesar Salad was very poor...tired looking lettuce overly dressed, 1 crouton and not even a good quality one at that, and a glob of shaved domestic tasting parmesan stuck together sitting on top. My Curried Saffron Mussels were swimming in a thick yellow oily liquid that barely tasted of Curry or anything. On the positive side, the one fried oyster I sampled of one of my dining companions was excellent. I also sampled a bite of someone's Smoked Chicken Penne and it was pretty good. Perhaps I just ordered the wrong things today.