Really Nice!

Any idea why this is?

We recently discovered Kalamar wines. It's run by a guy who has an annual production of about 500 cases (split between merlot and syrah) in his three-car garage. The grapes come from Yakima Valley in Washington. I'd say it's on par with DeLille's D2 or Mathews Red. Out of 120+ Washington State Merlots evaluated last year, the 2000 Kalamar Merlot was awarded 4th place by Wine Press Northwest.

Was in Kirkland Costco on Saturday where they had whole CRS sockeyes for $6.99 a pound. I'm guessing they weighed somewhere around 6-8 pounds.

I stopped by there once for a weekend on the way back from a Napa Valley trip in September 2002. The number one reason for me was to see Witness Tree, but they were closed due to remodling. (Call 888-478-8766 to see if they're open.) We liked Elk Cove if for no other reason than the view. Sokol Blosser: Good Evolution #9 and Riesling. Duck Pond Cellars: Has a good Cabernet Franc that they make in the Colombia Valley. The Oregon Wine Tasting Room (503-843-3787) is a good place to go for tasting many different wines without having to drive to the different wineries. Rex Hill Vineyards is another place with a great view of the valley and a warm, friendly atmosphere considering the tasting room is a barn.

I wonder if this is just to make it easier to get a thin slice? Here's some stuff from my culinary notes from a few years back. There are two main contaminating issues here: bacteria and toxins. For bacteria, remember that fish are a cold water species, even in the tropics. The bacteria they carry are acclimated to that colder temperature, just like the bacteria on cows are acclimated to the average cow's temperature of 101.5F. Most people don't realize this but animals carry completely different bacteria from each other, and a lot of it has to do with the temperature of the environment. The difference between a bacteria thriving at 60F on a fish and being stored at 40F is not much compared to the bacteria thriving on a cow (whose normal body temperature is 101.5) and being stored at 40F. The bacteria on fish are more likely to survive and thrive with a 20 degree temperature difference than the 60+ degree temperature difference with meat. This is why fish spoils more quickly than meat. Bacteria does not die when it is frozen or even boiled. It develops an outer layer to protect it. At this point it becomes a spore. When a habitable environment returns, it sheds the layer and goes back to reproducing to make more bacteria. The other main contaminating issue is toxin. Toxin is the waste product of a microorganism. It remains in the fish/meat even when the microorganism is killed by cooking, drying or freezing. No matter what, once a toxin is there, it's always there. Biological contaminations occur due to time-temperature abuse. Since fish is the topic of discussion, I'll use that as the example. The longer you store fish, or the longer it takes to transport it, the more opportunities there are for temperature fluctuations. Therefore, the more opportunitities for toxins like listeria, ciguatera, and scombroid poisoning to develop. As for salmon and sea bass, possible illnesses from time-temperature abuse include listeria, which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections (listeriosis) in young children, elderly people, pregnant women, and others with weakened immune systems. In other fish, you can get other contaminations such as: Ciguatera, which occurs in tropical reef fish such as grouper and snapper. It accumulates in the fishes tissue after they have eaten smaller fish that munched on a certain species of algae. Ciguatera poisoning symptoms include: vomiting, itching, nausea, dizziness, temporary blindness... Scromboid poisoning, which comes from tuna, mackerel, bluefish, and swordfish. After a period of time, the fish produce the toxin, histamine. Symptoms of scromboid poisoning include: sweating, bitter taste in the mouth, dizziness, nausea, headache, facial rash, and diarrhea.

I love those little 375s. They go very well with an intimate dinner for two especially if you want to serve more than one wine style. I have had very good luck with these, except from one producer: the 1996 Allegrini Amarone. Of the two bottles I've opened so far (I still have four to go ) it is nothing but pure sludge. I have poured this stuff through three separate coffee filters yet when I swirl it around in the glass you can still see the 'sludge.' I'm guessing they were getting close to the bottom of the barrel when they filled these. I'm finding that more wine shops here in Seattle are offering more 375s this year. I don't know if this is a local trend or if the importers are getting some deals, but I've recently added to my collection: '00 Durfot Vinens '00 Saint Pierre '99 Clerc Milon '99 Pavie Macquin '00 Ferrand Latique '99 E. Guigal Brune et Blonde '99 Mouton Rothshild I even got in on a couple of '02 Lafite Rothschild. I figure by the time it's really ready around 2030, I'll have one foot very close to the grave so a 375 will be about all I can handle in one evening.

I live to leave the shell on because I think the meat retains more moisture. But this could just be a perception thing. I have purchased shrimp at Larry's that was deveined and still had the shell on. If you're going to do it, you'll need a very sharp knife or a RONCO Shrimp Butler®.

Man, this was good! I decided to add some capers to the fennel and what a match that was! The two played off each other really well. And the wine cut right through the oil and fat in the salmon. The wine was a New Zealand Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough) 2003. It was such a lovely dinner that I think we'll do it again tonight.

Damn, I was going to say that!

Well, being an authority on all things Really Nice!™ I would say err, umm, uhh... Salty's on Alki for the view or The Georgian Room for the "ladies who lunch" approach.

I'm hoping they come down too especially when you ask for half a pound and he puts 3/4 pound on the scale and starts to wrap it up. I told him that I asked for half a pound and he just shrugged his shoulders. I should have walked away, dang it! Anyway, I went to Franks and bought some fennel. I'll caramelize it to sweeten it a bit and serve it as a side. I'll pan roast the salmon with a little dill, lemon oil, freshly cracked pepper and maybe some Hawaiian sea salt. I'm thinking cat wee will go well with this so I'll serve it with a bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

he might have been talking about Sockeye, rather than King. Did he say? Stopped in this morning on my way to work. All they have at the moment is King, $27.99 a pound.

he might have been talking about Sockeye, rather than King. Did he say?

Stopped by Pure Foods Fish Market in the market this morning on the way to work. The guy there says they'll have CRS by 10 A.M. today. I asked how much per pound and he shrugged his shoulders and said about $18 to $20 a pound. I suspect it'll be more. Yes, I'll buy and eat CRS at the same time someone else is eating Mrs. Paul's Fish Sticks. I'll dine at The French Laundry while someone is dining at McDonalds. And I'll drink Lafite Rothschild while someone is drinking Charles Shaw. But then, I too eat Mrs. Paul's Fish Sticks, dine at McDonalds, and drink Charles Shaw... to me it's all a matter of what you want when you want it (food cognition).

I just came back from a stroll in the market and the signs are saying they'll have it on Tuesday, no price indicated yet.

Yup, it wouldn't fit in the moving van.

Damn, I knew I shouldn't have sold the place!

If you were to get into the business, and you had enough funding to do it right, what kind of restaurant would you open where everyone would say, "Finally! Seattle has x-style/type restaurant!"

I'll disagree with this for $400 Alex. Transportation of fine ingredients alone can sometimes double or triple the cost of an item. Before I found Seattle Caviar on Eastlake, I used to have my foie gras shipped to me from out of state. It had to be shipped overnight in special packaging and that cost about $50 for a 1.5 pound foie. Another example is restaurants in Chicago or Jacksonville who want to get on the Copper River salmon bandwagon will need to have it shipped overnight if it's going to qualify as a 'fine ingredient'. This explains why it's about $10 a pound after the first week of availability here in Seattle and $30 a pound at Dominick’s or Jewel in Chicago. There are many regional ingredients that require special handling, and people who live out of a region and want that regional ingredient fresh are going to have to pay for it In addition, labor costs fluctuate around the country. Some areas require minimum wage for servers, other areas allow restaurants to pay their servers $2 or $3 an hour with expectation that tips will make up the difference. Restaurants paying higher wages need to get that money from its customers. There are many things that can add to the cost of a plate simply because of a restaurant's location, IMHO.

My favorite Eastside Mexican joint is: Frida's Mexican Restaurant 3226 132nd St SE Bothell, WA 98012-5666 Phone: (425) 357-8606 It's the best Mexican food I've been able to find here. A bit of a drive up north past where 5 and 405 meet, but dinner for two with two drinks usually comes in under $40 including tip, so for us it was worth it.

Maybe he should have held a naming contest.

Quite true, and I wouldn't want them too! I'm there for the food first, wine second. Other places I'm quite happy to have a menu designed around a wine flight, especially in a wine region. But at The French Laundry, the food presented that evening is the pinnacle of the entire trip to the region. [For me at least.]

In March 2001, we had dinner at La Toque the night after a dinner at The French Laundry. Unfortunately our experience was a bit of a let down. Our reservation was for 7 P.M. but we had to wait in the bar for an hour to get our table. Along the wall off the entrance there's a window to the kitchen and we could see the staff was deep in the weeds. Long story short, it turns out that wine critic Hugh Johnson was at the restaurant that night. His presence threw off the front and back of the house. After he left the service level picked up. To be fair, I'm sure it deserves all the credit and raves it's receiving, and for a first time in Napa it should be a good choice. We just picked the wrong night. And for $350 it was an expensive wrong night. If you're going to be there a few days, you might also want to try Bouchon and Bouchon Bakery, Bistro Jeanty, and Pere Jeanty. They're all on Washington Street in Yountville. BTW, melkor, The French Laundry pairs their dishes to the wines if you ask. I've been there four times and each time they've paired a different wine to each dish or a different wine to every two or three dishes.

Sorry to bring up an out-dated topic, but Pete's Wine Shop in Bellevue is selling the 750ml size of Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir for $31.99. It's the best price I've seen around.

Le Pichet...