Coming to Seattle for 4 Days

[Coop]

My wife and I and another couple are making our thrice annual trip to Seattle for golf, food and wine. We ususally eat at least one meal at Le Pichet and one at either Campagne or Cafe Campagne.

When we came down in May this year we had a great time at the Purple Wine Bar across from the Olympic and will probably return there for one meal. I would be interested in hearing people's opinion on some of the other possibilities. We will be staying at the Hotel 1000 and are pretty good drinkers so driving is out.

So what do people think of:

Cafe Beato

Cremant

Ethan Stowell's Italian place

Volterra

I would also be interested in other suggestions.

Edited September 17, 2007 by Coop (log)

[TheAlchemist]

Mistral 1st and Blanchard I believe

Harvest Vine or Lark as well

[Coop]

Mistral 1st and Blanchard I believe

Harvest Vine or Lark as well

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Last time we were at the Harvest Vine it sucked. The food was fine but the service was comedic. They couldn't find the wine we ordered, charged us for food we never recieved and generally let us sit un-attended for large periods. Odd because we were there trying to spend money. Managed to spend $500+ for 4 people even without the bottle of Clos Magador.

Mistral may be a little too formal for this trip. I think Lark may be a possibility. Jonathan Sundstrom's food interests me. A lunch at Earth and Ocean a few years ago was quite good.

Edited September 17, 2007 by Coop (log)

[tighe]

Can I be an ass and ask why you would want to eat at Pichet and/or Campagne when you have Mistral (among others) in your hometown? The meal I had there last weekend was in an entirely different class than any French restaurant I've been to in Seattle.

If you're staying in Hotel 1000, it might be worth giving BOKA a whirl, they're breaking in a new chef and the reviews have been somewhat mixed, but you'd only have to worry about finding your way back to your room.

I would definitely take Tavolata (Ethan's place) over Volterra, though both are good.

I've heard consistently good things about Beato, but haven't gotten there yet.

[Ling]

Someone I know had an excellent meal at Beato last week, although the diner knew the chef or cook in the kitchen so I don't know if her experience was out of the ordinary.

I would suggest Lark or Sitka and Spruce. It's been a year since I've eaten at Harvest Vine but I did love my meal there.

Cocktails at Zig Zag or Sambar might be a good idea as well.

I thought the food at Cremant was pretty decent. Excellent frites, and I like the steak tartare and the pork belly as well.

I like the room at Tavolata. The food is reliable and very reasonably priced.

[Coop]

Can I be an ass and ask why you would want to eat at Pichet and/or Campagne when you have Mistral (among others) in your hometown

tighe, I have had good and mediocre meals at Mistral in Vancouver. The last time was at a private dinner and everything went well until the mains which were very poor. Other times everything was very nice.

We ate at BOKA last time and found it decent. The macaroni with lobster and the mini burgers were very nice washed down with a bottle of Felsina Chianti Classico. The main courses were a bit poorly done and the service was a bit amatuer. I'm sure we will eat breakfast or lunch there at least once.

Ling, thank you. I'm glad you like Cremant because I was leaning that way. If we go anywhere for cocktails it would probably be Vessel, now that I know it's really a bar and not a department store window.

[tighe]

Can I be an ass and ask why you would want to eat at Pichet and/or Campagne when you have Mistral (among others) in your hometown

tighe, I have had good and mediocre meals at Mistral in Vancouver. The last time was at a private dinner and everything went well until the mains which were very poor. Other times everything was very nice.

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Interestingly, I would characterize my experiences with Campagne and, to a lesser extent, Pichet in almost exactly the same way.

I'm beginning to think there's some phenomena where restaurants not in one's hometown just seem better.

[maftoul]

We've had wonderful food and service at Cremant and Lark. They are totally different experiences, you could eat at one place one night and the other the next and not feel redundant at all.

[little ms foodie]

my dinner a couple of weeks ago at Lark was perhaps the best I have had there to date. I would absolutely go there and have cocktails next door at Licorous while you wait.

Since you've been to Le Pichet in the past why not try their new restaurant Cafe Presse??

I would not go to Purple with so many fabulous places in town- Union, Tavolata, Sitka & Spruce, all come to mind. I also like Volterra, Lola, Palace Kitchen....

drinks at Vessel in addition to Zig Zag are wonderful!

have fun!

[scarlett]

Besides my usual haunts (Union, Green Leaf, Volunteer Park Cafe)...a few of my more satisfying meals of late have been:

Brunch at Sitka & Spruce (Saturday & Sunday from 10-2. Multiple dishes are served buffet-style on the counter while they prepare an egg dish option made to order. Delish.)

Lunch at Saint Germain(the tartines are great...and the endive salad is hauntingly delicious)

Lunch or dinner at Kingfish Cafe (I'm torn between many favorites here, but I'm especially smitten with their salads)

My recent meal at Cafe Presse was completely forgetable. Not bad--just not good, either. It was food, that's it. Nothing more, nothing less.

8 of us had dinner at Beato this spring. We ended up ordering nearly the entire menu and unfortunately, a snag in the service found almost all the dishes arriving at our table at the same time. I only mention it because we didn't get much of a chance to linger over each of the dishes and they were more or less a blur in my memory. I do remember the food was good and while they rotate the menu somewhat, if you get a chance to order the chicken liver pate, do. I've *still* got it on my mind.

However, I'd say the best reason to go to Beato is to make a trip to Bakery Nouveau...also on California in West Seattle. Grab a few goodies for dessert (and if they have a twice-baked almond croissant, do yourself a favor and grab that too! OMG.)

Have a great trip!

[Coop]

[quote=tighe

I'm beginning to think there's some phenomena where restaurants not in one's hometown just seem better.

Very true.

As for Purple, we went there in May with no reservations, the place was full and they had no reason to do anything but turn us away. They however gave us the best table in the place, right in the corner window and treated us like VIPs. The wine list there is fairly decent and the food was better then we had the night before at BOKA. Besides the two wives loved it there.

[Ling]

Vessel is a great choice! They had a drink on there I loved called the Widow's Kiss a few months ago, but it wasn't on there the last time I went.

scarlett's recommendation of Kingfish is a good choice too, since I don't think there's a restaurant like it in Vancouver. I like the cod/crabcakes, the hushpuppies, and the potato salad is good too. I didn't care too much for their famous fried chicken, though.

[kieran]

I agree with tighe that I'd take Tavolata over Volterra, but frankly I'd still take Osteria la Spiga over both of them!

La Carta de Oaxaca!

[Coop]

I agree with tighe that I'd take Tavolata over Volterra, but frankly I'd still take Osteria la Spiga over both of them!

I have been to La Spiga and loved it. I hear they have a new location. Is that true?

BTW I had a great lunch a few weeks ago at Serafina. That's twice now. Am I alone on this one?

[tighe]

I have been to La Spiga and loved it. I hear they have a new location. Is that true?

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Yes, much bigger, quite hip. Food is still great, but I haven't reconciled myself to the loss of intimacy and warmth compared to the original location.

[little ms foodie]

BTW I had a great lunch a few weeks ago at Serafina. That's twice now. Am I alone on this one?

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no we eat at Serafina quite often but mainly dinner and we really need to get back for brunch!

Also has anyone mentioned Crush? I have had some very nice meals there.