Harvest Vine

[Schielke]

I had a great meal at Harvest Vine this weekend.

A good friend of mine and I were moping around my place while Katie was off galavanting around for a batchelorette party. We decided that a top notch dinner was in order and decided on Harvest Vine. After our hour + wait (we went to the park and played on the swings), we were led to the new downstairs area. It is a room about the same size as the upstairs and has space for about 20-25 people. There is one large family style table that we were seated at.

After pouring over the many mouthwatering sounding dishes on the menu, we talked with our very capable waiter Fernando and he agreed to hook us up with a "tasting menu" of sorts where he would pick the dishes. Fernando assured us that the meal would be wonderful and bounded up the stairs to construct our meal.

Cold Selections

Selection of Olives-

I am still getting used to olives (did not eat them as a kid), but I am growing to like them. The selection was three types: Small green ones a little bigger than a pea that had a nice mellow flavor, Medium black that had a smooth steady saltiness, and Large green ones that were a litte harsher. I favored the black ones.

Smoked Sea Bass with Squid Ink, EVOO, and caramelized onions-

A nice platter of cold smoked sea bass that fernando said they do in house. It was a nice mellow smokiness that went well with the delicate taste of the fish. The squid ink was very interesting, it tasted very light and savory.

Parma Ham 2+ years-

Fernando advised us that this parma ham was special in that regular hams are cured for 6 months, but this one went for 2+ years. It had a very nice concentrated flavor of intense meatiness. The fat was very smooth and the texture consistent. Very very good. I did wish, however, that they would have sliced it even thinner.

Sardine Filets with EVOO and Black Olive Tapenade-

A platter of small sardine filets with good peppery EVOO drizzled everywhere and small piles of tapenade on each filet. I ate these on some toast and they were fabulous. Fishy tasting, but in the good way. The olive oil and the tapenade did a neat kind of "salt" and "pepper" thing.

Hot Selections

Green Beans with Tomato-Garlic sauce-

Really flavorful small green beans sauteed and topped with a slightly sweet garlic-tomato sauce.

Chorizo Sausage sauteed with Garlic and Cider-

The Chorizo sausage was so very good. It was a little tougher than regular sausages, but it appeared to be the style. I did enjoy it's toughness. It was nicely spicy, without being too assertive. I meant to ask if it was made in-house, but more dishes came and I forgot.

Chickpeas with Tomato-Cumin gravy-

This one bordered on Indian style. The chickpeas were cooked very well and had a slight backbone to them, but were still tender. They were covered in a slightly smoky tomato-cumin gravy that I loved.

Braised Octopus with roasted potatoes-

I did not know octopus could be this tender. It had such a great texture and was fun when you got some of the little suction cups in a bite. The roasted potatoes were ok, but made even better when dipped in one of the many sauces on the various dishes at the table. This was a great example of spanish style octopus.

Lamb Chops with Potato Gratin-

Expertly grilled chops over a little ple of the tastiest damn potatoes. The chops were a nice medium rare high quality lamb. Both of us ended up cleaning and re-cleaning the bones trying to get that last bit of flavor from them. The potatoes were as a gratin should be. More than the sum of their parts. Top notch.

Seared Foie Gras with caramelized pumpkin-

Fernando came by and told us we had one more dish coming and it was his favorite on the entire menu. He assured us that we would love it. Within minutes he returned with a plate foie that shall rival all other foie. Crispy, salt studded exterior, smooth just-melting interior and a nicely balanced sweet sauce (reduced port perhaps) with small pieces of caramelized pumpkin. Simply Excellent. A bonus was that my dining companion had never had foie gras before and was suitably introduced to the pleasures of goose fat.

By this point we were nicely stuffed and unfourtanetly did not have room for dessert. Fernando apologized for not including it in our meal, but we were so happy by then that we did not care. The only lapse in service at this point was getting out. It was almost as if they did not want us to leave. We were long finished with our food and obviously waiting for the check, but none came. I think we waited about 20 min to get it and then it took a long time for them to pick up the credit card. I took nearly 40 min to get out of there! My friend made a comment that the place hates to let you in (long wait) and hates to let you leave.

Besides this inconvienence, the meal was spectacular and again I highly reccommend that everybody who has the means visit Harvest Vine soon.

Ben

[tsquare]

sounds so good - care to share the approximate cost of this feast?

[tighe]

Damn!, where's the 'drool' smilie when you need it? I still say we need to do a eG event there some time in the not too distant future....

[col klink]

Does this work for you? It does for me.

[tighe]

or....

[MsRamsey]

Thanks for the write-up, Ben.

Does the large family style table take up the whole room? If not, how many does that table seat?

[Schielke]

The meal was for two people who were amply stuffed at the end. Before tax and tip it was $100.

The table downstairs took up about half of the room and I would say that it could fit about 14 people.

Mmmmm Harvest Vine

[tsquare]

I finally made it to Harvest Vine a couple of weeks ago. I'm not sure if my expectations were just too high or what, but I didn't love it!

I had a nice (small) crab and truffle salad that looked very smart and gave me a good hit of fresh truffle. A glass of spanish sparkling wine to go with.

On to a red "old vines" wine to accompany the salt cod and potato stuffed red peppers in a soft chili sauce. I thought this was awfully bland.

Next, the best of the bunch, 3 small cubes of venison over oyster mushrooms. I liked the "wildness" combination of this dish.

Had the chocolate dessert torte with walnut ice cream - and liked it alot.

Not sure what was missing...watching from the counter, seemed like the main cooking techniques involve a quick cooking with lots of olive oil (both cooked and poured over the final dish), salt and pepper...maybe this is just too much like home?

[malarkey]

Went to dinner last night at Harvest Vine. Here's what we had:

Grilled sardines with lemon - I love fresh sardines, especially grilled. yes you can eat the bones, and my dinner compatriot bravely ate the head ;-)

Piquillo peppers filled with a mousse of potatoes and salt cod - great dish, I loved this one. (piquillo peppers taste to me like pimiento peppers)

Chorizo sausage and potatoes scrambled with egg - really great flavors, I loved this, the chorizo was fabulous.

Soft shell crab pan-fried with a splash of sherry vinegar - another really great dish that was over in only one bite :-(

pan-seared rice-blood sausage with piquillo pepper - great stuff, dark dark sausage, also with those great peppers.

warm salad of partridge with spring morels and corn - this was really tasty too, how can you go wrong with morels. the partridge was all dark meat.

idiazabal lana - an aged smoked sheep milk cheese - a great only semi-stinky cheese.

and... flan. really excellent flan, too ;-) I wanted to lick the plate but then I'm as big on caramel as some people are on chocolate...

all with a bottle of Priorato red wine.

I loved it. this place has a great feel, and the chef & staff are very warm and welcoming. It is small though, and very popular, so waits can be long. we waited for ~20 minutes for a spot at the wine bar and it was only wednesday night. good for them!

[halland]

I think that it says something about the quality of Harvest Vine that Jacques Pepin chose to eat there his one night in Seattle.

I've also seen Tom Douglas and the chef from Rovers eating there as well.

Always, always eat where the chefs eat!

Hal

[SparrowsFall]

What you guys said (except T Square). I think HV is one of the best reasons to live in Seattle. Not a bit surprised to hear Tom and Thierry eat there.

Haven't heard mention of the wine list here. It's like somebody spent twenty years collecting obscure Portugese, Spanish, and SW French wines, then put his cellar on sale at pretty reasonable prices. (That is, in fact, about what happened.) An astounding selection of wines you've have never heard of, many with utterly unpronounceable names that begin with "Xt."

The waits are legendary. I have a business appointment in that neck every month or two, and I always arrange it for end of day around 4:30 so I can wander into HV and sidle up to the bar. Eating dinner at this hour is, I acknowledge, contrary to all civilized behavior, but I make an exception for Harvest Vine.

[col klink]

Batgrrrl and I took our minister and his wife out to HV tonight for damn tasty meal. Not everything was stellar but the foie gras was out of this f*#&^ing world. There was a crunch of sea salt on the seared exterior and it was served with carmelized pumpkin. WOW.

The fresh sardines were very tasty as was the fresh organic tomatoes with evoo, garlic and sea salt. Batgrrrl liked the roasted eggplant but I was indifferent. There was plenty more (9 courses plus two pretty intesting desserts) but I don't have the time right now to write everything up. Lukcily I stole the menu and will be able to eventually, perhaps sometime after the wedding?

[SparrowsFall]

Scheilke:

>I think we waited about 20 min to get it and then it took a

>long time for them to pick up the credit card. I took nearly

>40 min to get out of there!

A truly European experience. Those guys get everything right.

[col klink]

We were seated immediately and didn't have any problems getting out. However, it was a Thursday night.

[thelastsupper]

I went here for the first time last night. It immediately jumped to onto my top five restaurants in Seattle.

Not only was the food delicious and authentic for the most part, but the manner of eating was spot on Spain. Made me homesick.

We had:

1. smoked sea bass (clean flavor, nice appetite starter);

2. a revuelto of chorizo, potatoes and green garlic (the most beautiful scrambled eggs, perfectly executed and seasoned);

3. txistorra (a thin pork sausage, grilled, slightly piquant);

4. morcilla with piquillo peppers (exactly right, blood sausage is just about the best friend a guy could hope for);

5. a plate of seared duck breast with a cherry-armagnac sauce (markedly more "French" to me in technique, but still seasoned very well, a balanced dish, nice to see duck breast that was cooked past medium-rare).

Dessert was strawberry ice cream for me, and a chocolate-olive oil-red wine cake for my partner. The cake didn't blow me away (but then I'm not a great lover of cake), though the texture was surprisingly light andstill quite chocolatey. The ice cream had a great strawberry flavor and nice texture (I found little bits of frozen fatty cream throughout, but I didn't care much). Even coffee was good.

The have the idea of single, focused plates down exactly right. A great way of eating in my opinion. My big complaint with Tango's idea of "tapeando" is their insistence of having all these flavor and textural contrasts on each plate. Harvest Vine rocks and makes me want to cry (in a good way, on the inside).

[Schielke]

Stop! you are making me hungry!

I wanna go!!! whaaaaahhhh

[Coop]

For me the Harvest Vine is the only can't miss restaurant in Seattle. Those salt cod and potato filled peppers almost tempt me to drive to Seattle as soon as I can.

I think you have to really make an effort though to enjoy this place (that effort is repaid). Get there early (4pm) on a saturday, let the owner or his sous chef guide you through the menu. Get used to the cramped room and never go with a group of more then 4.

The night we went in November the owner and his wife were at wedding and the service was spotty but everything else was great.

[greenfield]

I live in New York, and anytime I am in Seattle I make sure I go to Harvest Vine. It is arguably one of the best restaurants in the country. The flavor and variety of dishes is amazing, and their execution is simply incredible. It is the kind of restaurant you can sit at for hours eating dish after dish.

Not only is the food excellent, but also the wine list is amazing. I have never had nor seen as many Spanish wines as there are at Harvest Vine. I have enjoyed both their dinner wines and their dessert wines. My only regret is that I didn't write them all down as I was drinking them--drinking a lot of wine seems to make you forget what wines you have been drinking for some strange reason.

My favorite dishes include the aforementioned stuffed peppers, the cured tuna, the chorizo (without the eggs), and the fried peppers. That being said, I can't say I have had anything that didn't make me happy. The menu changes quite frequently, so you won't see the same item every day. (I once has fried stuffed squash blossoms that were fantastic.) The wait staff knows the food and wine well; they can make good recommendations. I think the best seats in the house are at the counter in front of the kitchen staff.

Harvest Vine is one of several reasons why I would like to move to Seattle. I wish I could find a restaurant in New York City that was like it.

[Roger McShane]

I have to agree that HV is one of the jewels of Seattle (along with Le Pichet).

I am an occasional, but regular visitor to Seattle (April and recently in August). I usually spend two weeks in the city. This time i tried Hv and was blown away by the quality of the food. I won't go on about it because the posts above do it justice.

I would just add that it is a great place to sample the Rias Baixas Albarino wines. These are absolute gems and go perfectly with the food.

We had no problem getting in at around 6:30 pm after a short wait.

[Blue Heron]

Hubby and I had a fantastic meal at Harvest Vine today (Saturday). We arrived just after 4pm for an early bite and to get a seat at the bar, but we actually could have gotten there anytime before 5:30PM and been ok. But by 6pm all of a sudden the restaurant was completely full and there was a line.

I loved this meal and can't wait to go back. This is what we had...

Rillete of rabbit w/ black mission figs

This was good, but the least adored dish of the night. Served with thinly sliced grilled bread and fanned slices of black mission figs on the side, the rilletes were fine, but a little bland and not nearly as good as the more flavorful and delicous rabbit pate we recently had at Le Gourmand. In retrospect I should have asked for a sprinkle of coarse salt on top which might have brought the flavor out a bit more for me.

Pimento de Piquillo Relleno de Brandada

One of their signature dishes, a pair of piquillo peppers filled with a mousse of potatoes and salt cod, and served with a yummy red sauce. I already have a reserve at the library for the cookbook that one of our PNW members recommended which contains a version of this recipe. I can't wait to try it at home. This was the one dish I absolutely wanted to try after hearing my step mom describe a similar dish she sampled in Spain last year and she served me a variation of at home. Hubby and I loved this dish very much. The flavors all came together wonderfully, the sweetness of the red peppers with the creaminess of the potato and then then ending with the flavor of the fish on the tongue. Yum. We also enjoyed mopping up every drop of the sauce with our bread.

Pan Seared Onion-Blood Sausage w/ Piquillo Pepper

Since I am planning to head to The Spanish Table to pick up some cans/jars of Piquillo peppers (to make the stuffed peppers) I was anxious to try another dish with these yummy peppers. The fellow sitting next to me had recommended this blood sausage dish as well. Hubby and I both thought it was a great dish, and much different than the blood sausage hubby has had growing up in Switzerland. It was sliced into pieces before searing and had a very firm texture. It was almost charred on the edges, but not burnt, and delicious with the piquillo pepper.

Grilled Venison over Oyster Mushrooms

This dish surpised me (in a positive way). Hubby ordered it and I, not being a venison fan, was expecting dry overcooked venison (like stew meat). Wrong!! These 3 large medallions were the most succulent, juicy, Med-Rare deliciously seasoned pieces of red meat you could imagine. I could not even believe I was eating venison it was so good. I have also never tasted Oyster Mushrooms prepared as good as these were. A great dish.

Pan Seared Duck Liver with Carmelized Pumpkin

The best dish of the night. Thank you to those who have recommended this dish on eG, as this was my other must have dish due to the great recs. You were right... this stuff is fantastic. The carmelized pumpkin was a surprise. It is not your orange squashy tasting pumpkin, but rather thinly sliced, very firm almost crunchy fanned pieces of purple pumpkin flesh (I asked if it was beet and it was confirmed that it was indeed pumpkin). The carmelization flavor hinted of maple syrup, but anyway, a sliver of that on top of a piece of bread and topped with the warm seared fois and it was sheer heaven. Hubby also loved this dish best, too.

We drank a bottle of Spanish red wine (don't remember the name, but it was medium-full bodied and recommended by the waitress and very good).

The price for the 5 dishes including the $29 bottle of wine and tax (before tip) came to $93.18 for the 2 of us.

edit: As a footnote I should say that service was exemplary, however we also experienced a delay as Shielke mentioned in his first post, about getting out of there. When she asked if we would like dessert and we said no thank you as we were full, and had finished our wine, I thought that was the cue for her to bring us the bill. No. It didn't come. After at least 15 min and still no bill, we made a point then to ask for it, at which time it came and we were able to pay and leave. I think perhaps they are just not wanting to appear to be rude by bringing the bill before you actually ask for it and don't pick up on cues that you are ready to leave so in this case you must be straightforward that you are ready to leave!

Edited September 21, 2003 by Blue Heron (log)

[Philip]

Kaixo!

I just came across this discussion about the Harvest Vine and would like to add that it is quite possibly the best pintxos (tapas) bar/restaurant you'll find anywhere in the country and comparable to some of the best in the Basque country. One of the things that sets the HV apart from other Spanish/Basque style restaurants, besides their dedication, is that Chef Joseba insists all of the ingredients be authentic and as fresh, and organic, as possible, importing what he can from the Basque country and Navarra.

Joseba trained under Juan Mari Arzak, the renowned chef and owner of Restaurant Arzak, and Maestro Jose Juan Castillo of Restaurante Casa Nicolasa, both in San Sebastián. He has also worked with chef Adoni Luis Aduriz, the 32-year-old culinary wizard of Restaurante Mugaritz recently featured in the New York Times Magazine. These are some of the best chefs in the Basque country.

A side note for those who might be interested. Joseba is arranging a gastronomic tour of the Basque country for next April which will include cooking demonstrations at Restaurante Casa Nicolasa, Zallo Barri in Gernika and Restaurante Marixa in Laguardia, the medieval walled village in the Rioja Alavesa wine region of the Basque country. It will also include lunch at Restaurante Mugaritz, Restaurante Eneperi in Bakio and Restaurante Zortziko in Bilbao.

[richards1052]

Sorry to go on like this in such an adulatory vein, but my wife & I discovered Harvest Vine back when it was about 15 seats & you could get a counter seat much of the time. Back then, the chefs knew you so well that they remembered what you had when you were last there!! Alas, it's not quite so anymore. But the magic's in the food & it is remarkable. Defnitely one of my Seattle faves.

A few caveats though: get yourself on 'the waiting list,' give 'em your cell, & go somewhere close by for 30-60 mins. Otherwise, you might not get in (unless you're willing to wait in their line for that amt. of time). Eat at the counter if at all possible. Sitting at a table at Harvest Vine is to miss the wonderful cooking & banter that comes out of the kitchen grill from the cooks.

On most nights, Harvest Vine is superb. But there is the odd off night when the dishes don't quite gel. But that's OK, even the great ones get it wrong some of the time.

While I don't know Spanish wines too well & am certainly no expert on wines in general, it seems to me that ordering wines by the glass here often guarantees wine from a bottle which has been open to the air too long. Or perhaps Spanish wine is naturally very tannic & brash (a style I'm not wild about).

Visit my blog for a fuller review: Harvest Vine: Tapas in Style!

[ScorchedPalate]

Hi all:

Since we're now in escrow on our Madison Valley house, we figured it was a good time to finally brave the crowds at Harvest Vine. (It'll be the closest restaurant to our house, can you believe our luck!?!)

We were not disappointed. We came in around 7:15 and put our name on the list, with our cell number. We walked around the neighborhood a bit, and then had cocktails at Gitano down the block (which is hurting big-time.... there were 6 people in the bar, all apparently waiting for tables at HV, and 2 tables full in the dining room, at 7:30). At 7:45 the phone rang and we went back to HV, and were offered two stools at the short end of the bar... sweeet!

We chose an assortment of items with a little help from the waitress, as well as a nice half-bottle of Spanish red that was very drinkable. (Sorry, I didn't take the name.)

We started with the Ensalada de Pollo Ahumado (salad of house-smoked young hen with tomatoes and organic boiled egg, $12). It was drizzled with smoked-paprika oil...mmm! In addition to slices of soft-boiled eggs, there were also some potato slices, a couple of chilled roasted peppers, and a lovely assortment of sliced smoked chicken.

Next we had Besugo del Golfo (filet of red snapper over a shellfish sauce, $11). My husband said the sauce was like licking a reef, in a good way. The filet was perfectly done, with crispy, well-salted skin.

At the suggestion of the waitress, we ordered Morcilla con Piquillo (pan-seared onion-blood sausage with piquillo pepper, $8). It had an earthy, offal-y essence and tasted faintly of allspice.

Up next was an order of Champiñones al Crema de Jerez (button mushrooms sauteed with garlic and finished with cream sherry, $8). We loved watching them make this dish, and had the chance to observe the process many times over -- it seemed to be the must-have dish. It was a near-perfect example of this traditional tapas standby, perhaps a little too salty and not quite garlicky enough.

Our last savory course was a cheese board; we chose the Idiazabal Natural (aged sheep's milk cheese, $3.75/1oz) and Le Bleu de Basque (cow's milk blue, also $3.75/1oz). Both were excellent specimens. My husband also ordered a tawny port, which we both enjoyed.

After dinner we shared a perfectly executed espresso flan -- featuring a thin layer of bittersweet chocolate on the bottom and topped with thin orange caramel. I also tried a Cafe Bon Bon, a shot of espresso with a layer of condensed milk at the bottom of the cup.

All totaled we spent under $93.72 for food, wine, coffee, and dessert (not including tip). Truly amazing value -- I can see why this is a perennial eG favorite. It's easily the best restaurant in its weight class in Seattle, and I'd go so far as to say one of the top five overall.

[edited for minor grammar tweak]

Edited November 7, 2003 by ScorchedPalate (log)

[richards1052]

Next we had Besugo del Golfo (filet of red snapper over a shellfish sauce, $11). My husband said the sauce was like licking a reef, in a good way.    The filet was perfectly done, with crispy, well-salted skin.

It's easily the best restaurant in it's weight class in Seattle, and I'd go so far as to say one of the top five overall.

"Licking a reef"--A memorable comment!

I too would agree with your ranking.

[Coop]

I would be interested in knowing which 5 places in Seattle are better or equal. The meal we had there a year ago ranks as the best meal I've ever eaten in Seattle. As we are returning this month I would be interested in your top 5's.