25 for $25

[BastilaShan]

Does Union have a website?

Also, does their $25 menu apply to Fridays?

Thanks

[tighe]

Does Union have a website?

Also, does their $25 menu apply to Fridays?

Thanks

The Union website consists of a front page only at this point.

I was told at the restaurant that the $25 menu was going to be only Sun-Thurs, but might be expanded to the weekends depending on how business was going.

[tighe]

Scrat and I went to Union last night for the tasting menu, just tremendous. I can't imagine a better dining deal anywhere. The only course that was the same as Malarkey's menu was the duck, which just about brought me to tears! Amazingly, the restaurant wasn't full. I may blow my entire dining budge for the year this month.

Edited March 5, 2004 by tighe (log)

[tsquare]

is "budge" budget or bulge?

[tighe]

is "budge" budget or bulge?

I think I have the "bulge" covered already, so it must be "budget." Thanks for checking, definately wouldn't want to create any confusion....

[vengroff]

I was at Union both Tuesday and Friday evenings this week. The $25 March Madness tasting Sun-Thu is quite possibly the most insane restaurant value I have ever heard of. Their tasting menu should be priced at $65-70, but they routinely run it for $40-48. With this deal it's $25. Food cost alone has got to put them in the red.

One hint on the wine list: Flip to the half-bottle section in the back and you can pair great selections course by course even if your party is small. Don't miss the St. Innocent Pinot Noir.

[tighe]

I was at Union both Tuesday and Friday evenings this week. The $25 March Madness tasting Sun-Thu is quite possibly the most insane restaurant value I have ever heard of. Their tasting menu should be priced at $65-70, but they routinely run it for $40-48. With this deal it's $25. Food cost alone has got to put them in the red.

One hint on the wine list: Flip to the half-bottle section in the back and you can pair great selections course by course even if your party is small. Don't miss the St. Innocent Pinot Noir.

In the article in the Times, the chef basically acknowledged it was a money-loser for them. His reasoning seems to be that its better to lose money while introducing people to the restaurant, rather than lose money because the place is empty. I think he's probably right. I concur that it is "the most insane restaurant value ever."

I'm going back on Thursday and will have to take a look at the half-bottles.

[agnolottigirl]

We're going Wednesday. Thanks for the tip on half-bottles, vengroff.

[girl chow]

One hint on the wine list: Flip to the half-bottle section in the back and you can pair great selections course by course even if your party is small.  Don't miss the St. Innocent Pinot Noir.

Shoooooot! Wish I had seen your post Vengroff before dinner at Union last night. We never made it to the half bottle section, but we were fairly pleased with our wine rec.

Dinner was a real treat. One thing I really appreciated is that the service unfolded just as it should: they brought us food, we ate food, they took plates, they brought us new flatware, more plates arrive, we eat food, they take plates away (there were three people involved in this process). The pacing was fairly well executed. They weren't very busy, so I can't say how this process might work on a Friday night. I wish our waiter could answer more of our questions, but at least he went to the kitchen for the answers (he kept saying, "the menu changes so much, we can't keep up." Fair enough).

Funny enough, Ye-Ye Girl and The Dude were at Union last night too! And they were seated right next to us. Small world, eh?

Here is the tasting menu from last night (Ye-Ye Girl, please post more details, I'm sure I'm missing things here):

amuse: beet salad. Interesting, but not good if you're not a beet person. I liked, Mr. Girlchow did not.

soup: chilled watercress with just a light drop of lemon creme fraiche and a Canadian Stellar Bay oyster on top. Lovely.

fish: grilled smoked salmon with avocado cream that was divine and velvety and a shaved fennel salad with a vinaigrette that was just far too tart for the dish.

more fish: monkfish with a white bean puree and an anchovy and olive tapenade. The textures and flavors of this dish were perfect.

now for some duck: muscovy duck breast with cardamom dusted oyster mushrooms and a port reduction. Yum, yum, freakin' yum. This was my favorite course. I want to pay someone to make duck in my kitchen for me every night that tastes this good.

stinky cheese course: a really stinky blue that was just yummy (made from raw cow's milk! yeah!) with a frisee salad and pomegranates. Hmmm. Don't like those little red seeds. Never have.

sorbet: Pink Lady sorbet and an apple compote. The apple flavor was concentrated by like 5,000 percent yum yum yum. It was like an apple bomb.

yummy stuff at end: a profiterole with malted vanilla ice cream and a bittersweet chocolate sauce. Nice finish.

A few other notes: the butter was plugra, the bread was Essential (the currant/almond bread with the cheese was fabulous, and we liked the rye). All sorbets and ice creams are made in house.

For $25, this is a screaming bargain. The regular menu also seems a steal. How are they going to make any money?

[cheeseandchocolate]

A friend and I are going to Union for the "screaming bargain" tonight. Girlchow et al., thanks for your detailed reviews--we can't wait to try it ourselves! One question: I'll be racing to get downtown after classes in time for our 7pm reservation, and I'm wondering if Union has valet parking. I don't think I'll have the necessary 30 minutes to drive around downtown looking for street parking, and if I'm going to pay for parking, it might be nice to treat myself. Ahhh, a girl's got to celebrate the end of the quarter, after all.

[MsRamsey]

I'm mostly sure they don't have have valet parking.

[tighe]

A friend and I are going to Union for the "screaming bargain" tonight. Girlchow et al., thanks for your detailed reviews--we can't wait to try it ourselves! One question: I'll be racing to get downtown after classes in time for our 7pm reservation, and I'm wondering if Union has valet parking. I don't think I'll have the necessary 30 minutes to drive around downtown looking for street parking, and if I'm going to pay for parking, it might be nice to treat myself. Ahhh, a girl's got to celebrate the end of the quarter, after all.

They have valet, it costs $8. If you want to save a few bucks, there's a garage just east of the restaurant on the same block and another kitty-corner, to the south-west. I think they both charge $5 at night.

[ScorchedPalate]

SeaCrotty and I are going to Union tonight, too, at 7:30. :) I'm pretty sure I remember there being valet parking there, but you can always park in the Pike Place Market garage (enter off Western and take the elevator up to the street level -- PM me if you need more detailed directions).

[cheeseandchocolate]

Thanks!

[MsRamsey]

Good to know, since we're going tomorrow night!

[syd-vicious]

Boy, talk about being right under one's nose - I work four floors above Union and haven't taken advantage of their new deal yet - can't wait. I'd love to meet all the folks on the 25th, if only by way of stopping by for drinks in the bar and looking for the big table of eGulleteers.

Edited March 9, 2004 by syd-vicious (log)

[cheeseandchocolate]

Now THAT was a spectacular meal. Last night the $25 menu at Union consisted of:

An amuse of several paper-thin slices of beet, placed atop a couple sprigs of some sort of leafy green (ScorchedPalate, can you help here?) and dressed with fruity olive oil and a good little sprinkling of crunchy salt

Two Stellar Bay oysters with Meyer lemon and Casa Brina olive oil: I can't comment on these, since I don't eat oysters. (I know, I know.) But anyway, my friend happily ate both hers and mine.

Watercress soup with a quenelle of smoked-salmon mousse: This was absolutely delicious. The soup was wonderfully smooth and just warm, and the mousse was just this side of cool, sitting atop a tiny little raft of crouton. The temperature and flavor contrasts were really spot on for me in this one.

Seared ahi tuna with seaweed salad and soy vinaigrette: Although I don't get so excited about seared ahi tuna in restaurants these days, this was pretty spectacular. They'd taken a small triangle of filet and seared it on the bottom, so that when it was presented, the top was still perfectly deep pink, sprinkled with aforementioned crunchy salt. The seaweed salad underneath it was no different than I've had in sushi restaurants, but no complaints here. That tuna was exquisite.

Muscovy duck with celery-root puree and port reduction: This was the highlight of the evening. Three little slices of duck breast fanned on top of a small mound of celery root puree, with a slighly-sweet deep-burgundy port reduction surrounding it. Each slice of duck breast had, over the top of the meaty portion, a little crown of fat, which was at once melty and crispy . We were really, really quiet while we ate this. That duck was exquisite.

Bleu de Gex with frisee and almonds: A delicious, creamy raw cow's milk blue with a little-bit-too-small tangle of frisee, served with raisin-pecan (I think it was pecan?) bread. Really, really tasty.

Wild blueberry sorbet with creme fraiche: To steal a phrase from Girl Chow, this was a blueberry bomb. It was so deeply blueberry-y, so dark purple and smooth. And the little teensy weensy (maybe too teensy weensy) bit of creme fraiche underneath it was a wonderful contrast.

Jasmine tea and lime parfait: A little upside-down custard resembling an unmolded pot de creme, sitting atop slices of some fruit I couldn't identify. Had I not known from the menu that the flavor was jasmine tea and lime, I'm not sure I would have been able to place it, but it was really delicious nonetheless.

Not having a whole lot in the wallet, we each had only one glass of wine--the Goisot sauvignon blanc from Chablis, which was excellent and got us though to the tuna course. Our waiter, who also happened to be the wine director Reinier, was extremely knowledgeable and courteous--and this was even BEFORE he spontaneously brought us two glasses of Muscat Beaumes de Venise, on the house, with dessert. Oh, and the bread they serve is indeed excellent, a detail that makes a big difference to me.

We were, to say the least, extremely happy with our evening.

[Really Nice!]

We went last night (10th). The menu was very similar from the previous night as posted by cheeseandchocolate.

I called at 4PM to make a reservation for two at 6:30. I was told the earliest we could get in was 8:30. That was too late. We decided to walk in and see if we could get something anyway. At 6:05 we walked in and were told they were booked for the night. About half the tables were empty. We were told we could grab a table in the bar and be served dinner there.

We started with a split of Puligny-Montrachet 1er (Premier) Cru Sylvian Langourenan "la Garenne", a very nice chardonnay that will do very well [read: no oak] with the first four courses. $38.

Our Amuse Bouche was beets with shaved fennel and red wine vinaigrette and evo. The beets were thinly sliced and very narrow in circumference. It could have been sliced on a truffle slicer. I suspect the fennel was blanched to remove the strong licorice flavor as it was very subtle. It was also held in French buttah, but the waiter didn't know what brand.

Speaking of buttah, the Burgundy wine matched quite well to the buttah we had with our bread. I don't think I've ever noticed or thought of a buttah matching a wine. It was... well... really nice! <drink>

We also had the Stellar Bay oysters with Meyer lemon and Casa Brina EVO This olive oil is very good; not grassy, very fresh. The oysters had a bit of parsley on top. It was tangy, clean, and seasoned just right as my mouth began to salivate afterwards. He achieved just the right effect.

Our soup was Watercress with Wolffish Brandade and shaved Oregon Truffles. A brandade is dish from Provence that is a mixture of salt cod, olive oil, garlic, milk and cream. In this case he substituted Wolffish for the salt cod. It was served as a quenelle in the dish. The truffles looked like shaved chocolate.

Next came Roasted Casco Bay Cod with avocado cream and basil. This was yummy. I have fallen out of favor with fish over the past couple of years. I just don't like it anymore. However, this is the second time I've had fish here and both times (four dishes) it was spectacular. I told Kriste that I have to try making that avocado cream. I would have licked the plate if she'd had let me.

We then ordered a split of Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir 2000, $39. This is good pinot, made the way it's supposed to be; light, aromatic, something that light can shine through.

Our duck dish was Muscovy duck breast with young onions, port reduction, and cardamom dust. cheeseandchocolate did a good job describing this dish. The young onions were also held in buttah and did well by spreading the flavors around our tongues. There was a bit of fleur de sel sprinkled between the onion and the duck. The port reduction was clear and bright, and it's obvious that it's a real reduction, not some sauce thickened up with cornstarch as some places I've seen. The cardamom dust was not there to add flavor. It was used as an aromatic as it was sprinkled around the perimeter of the dish; basically, it was plate graffiti, but it heightened the nostrils a bit. Good choice to match with the duck and quite clever too.

Our cheese plate was also Bleu de Gex with Frisée and Almonds. It too was served with raisin bread and much to my surprise, Kriste actually ate it. This was one of two items she ate tonight, which she absolutely abhors. The other was the beets. The blue cheese was wonderful with the raisins in the bread; sharp contrasts playing against each other, yet neither one out performing the other.

Next we had Grapefruit Sorbet with crème fraîche. At first this seemed one dimensional if not empty. But hidden inside this flavor profile is the crème fraîche, which is fat, and again it acts as a carrier of flavors to your taste buds and holds them there. In this case it was grapefruit. After about three seconds the flavor disappears and you think, "Hmm..." Then after about seven seconds it reappears and lingers there for 10, 15, 20 seconds. This is incredible.

We finished with Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with baked seckle pear. A very good way to end the dinner.

Dinner for two with two half bottles and tax came to $140. We finished at 7:50PM.

One thing I haven't seen in this post is the other half of the menu. For those of you looking beyond March, here it is. This has subtle changes on a daily basis as well.

First

Mixed garden greens with toasted almonds, goat cheese, red wine vinaigrette $8

Rabbit rillettes with frisée, bacon, toasted brioche $9

Foie gras terrine with port poached cherries $15

Stellar bay oysters with red wine dressing, fresh horseradish $10

Second

Baby turnip soup with soft poached duck egg $9

Roasted wolffish with braised manila clams, shaved fennel $12

Pork tenderloin with grainy mustard, celery root remoulade $10

Sautéed foie gras with shaved oregon truffles, oyster mushrooms, saba $15

Entrees

Seared ahi tuna with roasted artichokes, basil, baby carrots $18

Grilled hanger steak with fingerling potatoes, roasted onions, and red wine shallot sauce $17

Roasted sturgeon with brussels sprouts and bacon $18

Roasted muscovy duck breast with parsley root purée, port reduction $18

[agnolottigirl]

Ha! We were there early last night (5:30 reservation) as well. No point in rehashing the entire menu, but it was a lovely meal. Not sure I could pick a favorite course, but luckily, I didn't have to.

This time, we sat toward the back of the dining room and found the space to be very comfortable; I think our earlier impression of coldness was based on sitting in the bar by the window on a cold night. (Check out the painting of the woman with leaves on the way to the restrooms.)

Neither of us is a big beet-eater, but the amuse was perfect: just enough edge to get the juices flowing. Oysters were great--briny and cold, with the lemon adding just a bit of citrusy zing. Watercress soup had a fresh, green note that primed the appetite, and the brandade was creamier than other versions I've had. The cod was extremely fresh and perfectly cooked. The duck was delicious (again); the whiff of cardamom complemented the port reduction and the bed of sweet, silky onions. The cheese course (frisee with balsamic, Bleu de Gex, sultana-pecan bread) pretty much brought tears to our eyes. (Do NOT skip this bread!) Sorbet was a nice wakeup (mm! grapefruit!), and the panna cotta offered a creamy, satisfying finish to the meal.

Throughout, the freshness and quality of the ingredients was impressive, as was the interplay of textures in each course. It was, in Mr. Agnolotti's words, "a party for your mouth." And as to flavor--well, does anybody still have any questions about whether Chef Stowell and his team know what tastes good?

We bought a half-bottle of the Domaine Drouhin pinot noir. (We were going to try the St Innocent on vengroff's recommendation, but they were out of it. Just as well--the Drouhin, which we'd had before, is excellent.)

We were (primarily) waited on by Terry, who supplied spot-on wine recommendations for the latter courses. We tried the Andrew Rich late harvest Gewurtstraminer with the cheese course (really a fantastic pairing) and a Hyverniere Muscadet with the sorbet and panna cotta.

I'm glad March is one of the 31-day months!

[little ms foodie]

Hello there! I'm new and have been lurking and reading for a few weeks now. I want to thank you all for bringing this Union deal to my attention. A friend and I were in Union in Jan. just for cocktails and a few bites and it was fantastic. Now with this deal we have reservations next Tuesday! I can't wait!

I also want to say that I try many of the restaurants each time the 25 for $25 comes around. So far my vote for best this time is Wild Ginger. Ate there on Monday and could not finish all the food. They have 4 courses- appetizer, veggie, main and dessert. The chicken on the bone and the pepper scallops were out of this world! Fantastic!!

[LEdlund]

Welcome little ms foodie!

[ScorchedPalate]

An amuse of several paper-thin slices of beet, placed atop a couple sprigs of some sort of leafy green (ScorchedPalate, can you help here?) and dressed with fruity olive oil and a good little sprinkling of crunchy salt

Ours was Japanese mustard green (aka mizuna) but I overheard them telling people later in the night that it was shaved fennel. Sounds like you also had the mizuna.

We started with a split of Puligny-Montrachet 1er (Premier) Cru Sylvian Langourenan "la Garenne", a very nice chardonnay that will do very well [read: no oak] with the first four courses. $38.

We bought a half-bottle of the Domaine Drouhin pinot noir. (We were going to try the St Innocent on vengroff's recommendation, but they were out of it. Just as well--the Drouhin, which we'd had before, is excellent.)

We had these two half bottles the previous night! Thanks for saving me the trouble of typing (and validating my wine-pairing expertise).

~A

[seacrotty]

ScorchedPalate and I really enjoyed our dinner on the 10th -- ya gotta love spending more on wine than you do on food.

I was especially impressed by the attention to texture throughout the meal. For instance, the crunchy bits of salt on the otherwise completely Japanese-style ahi tuna and seaweed salad were a revelation. Also, the textures of the watercress soup and salmon mousse were perfectly balanced, the former thicker than you'd expect and the latter creamier and smoother than you could imagine. Where they mingled, it was nearly impossible to tell one from from the other (other than by flavor, of course).

Now, just because this thread has been such a Union love-fest, I'll play the heretic critic <devilish grin>...

1) Ask for a table away from a window. They absolutely radiate cold.

2) The blueberry sorbet was a "something" bomb, but not, IMHO, blueberry. I don't know where y'all buy your blueberries, but mine don't come that tart. Paired with the creme fraiche, the whole dessert was a party of sour.

And finally, an anecdote. Our waiter was just a bit behind all night -- we sat for some time waiting to put in our order, our wine would arrive just after the food that we'd ordered it for, he got the first bottle wrong...not big stuff. He knew it was happening and apologized profusely toward the end of the meal, explaining that he had one of the local food critics at another table and implying that things weren't going as smoothly as they should. I certainly believed that he was having a rough night when I saw how his hands were shaking while he refilled our wine glasses!

Still, a wonderful night by any estimation -- we can't wait to return!

c

[ScorchedPalate]

Now, just because this thread has been such a Union love-fest, I'll play the heretic critic <devilish grin>...

1) Ask for a table away from a window. They absolutely radiate cold.

This is the second time we've sat in a window (not merely by a window, but inside an alcove of glass). I absolutely froze my tail off both times. Now, I 'get' the modern aesthetic they're going for here, but the building's architecture is odd enough -- and the exposure chilly enough -- that they have got to get themselves some window treatments to warm the place up, literally and figuratively.

2) The blueberry sorbet was a "something" bomb, but not, IMHO, blueberry. I don't know where y'all buy your blueberries, but mine don't come that tart.  Paired with the creme fraiche, the whole dessert was a party of sour.

I disagree. I thought the sorbet was sweet enough to handle the slight sour, and the creme fraiche brought a nice bit of creamy dairy to the dish.

Luckily, Cam and I are perfectly happy to have separate opinions where tasty food is concerned. :)

~A

[tighe]

1) Ask for a table away from a window. They absolutely radiate cold.

This is the second time we've sat in a window (not merely by a window, but inside an alcove of glass). I absolutely froze my tail off both times. Now, I 'get' the modern aesthetic they're going for here, but the building's architecture is odd enough -- and the exposure chilly enough -- that they have got to get themselves some window treatments to warm the place up, literally and figuratively.

Agreed on the window seats at Union, too chilly this time of year. I'm also not a big fan of their round tables. Somehow they feel too big with a group of 4 or less.

Luckily, Cam and I are perfectly happy to have separate opinions where tasty food is concerned. :)

In other words, you're fine with Cam hanging onto his misguided opinions about some foods?