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(SEA) Tom's new restaurant

lala
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lala

lala

Posted
Posted

Mr. Douglas is opening a Greek restaurant.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/food...39_taste28.html

Interesting...

“"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

"It's the same thing," he said.”

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  • 2 months later...
LaurieA-B

LaurieA-B

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Iris and I went down to Dahlia Bakery this morning and checked out the menu at Lola, as it's across the street. The breakfast does sound enticing; most notably, besides those items mentioned by tsquare, the fresh doughnuts with mascarpone and jam. I had these for dessert at the Dahlia once and they are fab-u-lous. Anyone been for lunch or dinner yet? There seemed to be many skewered items.

Mr. Douglas himself was eating breakfast there this morning, sitting at the bar watching TV--so I guess the breakfast is indeed delicious.

Hungry Monkey May 2009
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lemony

lemony

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a trusted friend of mine ate there last week and had nothing but praise for the new spot. yay tom douglas! i've never had a bad meal at any of his spots and am even a devotee of his packaged salmon rub for home use. now, if i could figure out how to make that pie....

lemony

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tsquare

tsquare

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I went opening night (?)

The Greek salad was tasty, enough for two to share with a good 4-6 oz of feta, lots of cukes, tomatoes, olives, and onions.

Also had the lamb skewers. I liked these, but was a bit put off by the "tomato" as mentioned on the menu. I pictured this as fresh tomato and it was canned (according to the server.) This had a ketchupy flavor to me. Then again, when I've cooked from Greek recipes, I think that is something I haven't liked - the sweetish tomato paste tone to many dishes.

A nice enough glass of Greek red wine.

Awesome goat cheese pie - a light yet dense cheesecake, with orange caramel and fresh strawberries.

I wish I had been far more adventuresome in my choices.

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tighe

tighe

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tsquare, do you get the sense that Lola is going for authentic Greek or more of an American spin on Greek classics? If you've ever been to Porta, is the food comparable style-wise?

Most women don't seem to know how much flour to use so it gets so thick you have to chop it off the plate with a knife and it tastes like wallpaper paste....Just why cream sauce is bitched up so often is an all-time mytery to me, because it's so easy to make and can be used as the basis for such a variety of really delicious food.

- Victor Bergeron, Trader Vic's Book of Food & Drink, 1946

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lala

lala

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(I) am even a devotee of his packaged salmon rub for home use.

lemony

I like the rubs, too. They're a good, fast seasoning when you want to make a quick dinner and don't have the time to put your own stuff together. I really like the steak rub - the spiciness compliments the richness of the meat. It's also great sprinkled over oven baked potato slices.

“"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

"It's the same thing," he said.”

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tsquare

tsquare

Posted
Posted
tsquare, do you get the sense that Lola is going for authentic Greek or more of an American spin on Greek classics? If you've ever been to Porta, is the food comparable style-wise?

Haven't been to Porta.

Haven't been to Greece.

Can't answer with any authority - but I'd guess there is some adaptation going on - due to sourcing and such, but striving for "real".

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sequim

sequim

Posted
Posted

Well he did say in the article linked above the following:

"We'll be playing with Greek food," says Douglas, describing the cuisine at his proposed 100-seat restaurant and bar. Here, he says, "We'll be mingling Northwest products in the Greek style..."

Sounds like Greek-fusion to me! :smile:

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tighe

tighe

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Lola's menus are now posted at http://www.tomdouglas.com/.

Looks tasty. It's interesting that they're specifying a Greek influence because the menu looks to me like it includes more of a broad Eastern Med flavor palate.

[WARNING: statement coming where I try to sound more authoritative than I am]

For example, I don't think harissa or tajines are typical of Greek cuisine and some of thei dishes seem very Turkish (granted there are many similiarites between Greek and Turkish food). Appears that they're applying flavors and techniques from there to local ingredients, rather than going for strictly authentic. Done well it could produce some really excellent results.

Most women don't seem to know how much flour to use so it gets so thick you have to chop it off the plate with a knife and it tastes like wallpaper paste....Just why cream sauce is bitched up so often is an all-time mytery to me, because it's so easy to make and can be used as the basis for such a variety of really delicious food.

- Victor Bergeron, Trader Vic's Book of Food & Drink, 1946

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malarkey

malarkey

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had dinner at Lola tonight. Had two dips with the fresh pita: skordalia and tzatziki. The skordalia ROCKS. tzatziki is pretty damn tasty too.

Had the greek salad, lovely. Big ole hunk of tasty feta on top. heirloom toms, seedless (english) cukes. Had the Egg-Lemon soup. Not thick like a traditional avgolomono, and no rice, but peapods, dill and a couple of meatballs. Great soup. You can taste the (very good not canned) chicken broth its made with, hint of lemon, a bit of olive oil drizzled on top. Had two skewers, the lamb and the shrimp. Liked the shrimp the best of the two. The lamb was ok, but not really exciting. I expected bigger chunks, rare inside. Didn't get that. hrmph!

Had the short ribs with harissa and preserved lemon. Wowowowowow. Here's the deal: chewy, tough, fatty. But the flavor? Outstanding. BUT this comes with the caveat that I'm a harissa junkie. Between the harissa and the preserved lemon, I'm hearing the angels sing.

Dessert: Had the Lola take on doughnuts. No bag shaken at the table ala Dahlia. Just brought to you hot out of the fryer, with gooey honey drizzled over the top, nestled in some ground pistachios. Oh My God. At this point, I died and went to heaven. I'd go back just for these. In my pajamas. barefoot in the snow. LOL :laugh:

Born Free, Now Expensive

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lala

lala

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I just had lunch at Lola. While there are definately service issues (took 15 minutes for our waiter to even acknowledge us, and we got there at noon, and were the 5th table seated), the food was good.

We split the 6 dip starter, to try everything. I enjoyed the feta (nice feta kick), tzatziki (refreshing), baba ganouj, and roasted red pepper, but wasn't enamored of the carrot or the skordalia (boring). I got the feeling that the pantry cook had a too - timid palate for what should be bright mediterranean flavors.

My companion got the pork skewer and I got the lamb. The Pork was a little spicy and while the lamb was delicious, there were quite a few gristly pieces (cooked pink, yet chewy...). The accompanying greek salad was tasty, with heirloom tomatoes and a very nice feta, but again, the flavors were a little shy.

The room did fill up, so that by the time we left at 1:00, they were full, with several big parties (and I do mean Par-tays). Problem is, there is not a single soft surface in the place, so the noise level was very high.

All in all, I'd go again, at dinner to try more menu items - hopefully it'll be quieter then!

“"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

"It's the same thing," he said.”

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BetsyinKY

BetsyinKY

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Hooray for Scorched Palate and many thanks for posting the link to that coconut cream pie recipe. I have been dreaming about that pie since April! I can't wait to see if I can recreate it. javascript:emoticon(':biggrin:')

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jbonne

jbonne

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will report back after dinner tomorrow night. have heard nothing but praise.

granted, five years in a Greek neighborhood in Queens has left me with a pretty high bar to clear. but i do have a fond place in my heart for Palace Kitchen, so i'm very eager to see how TD has interpreted the Adriatic.

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lala

lala

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Posted (edited)

Problem is, there is not a single soft surface in the place, so the noise level was very high.

Except for miles of soft leather booths.

....which didn't do a damn thing to absorb the very high noise level.

Edited by lala (log)

“"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

"It's the same thing," he said.”

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sequim

sequim

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Three of us went for lunch on Friday and really enjoyed ourselves. I love the decor and those soft black leather seats. We got there at 11:30 and stayed for about an hour and a half, not noticing any problem with noise. Our waitress was prompt and friendly, but somewhat clueless about the wine. Luckily she allowed us to do some tasting before. I tasted the greek white and it had a hint of mold, yikes. The other fellow tasted the greek red and felt it had been open too long. So he opted for the Felicitades (sp) red which he liked and I think I had a DiStefano Sauv Blanc that was just fine.

To start we had two of the pitas, the roasted eggplant and the carrot. The carrot was okay, nothing outstanding but the eggplant was really delicious, especially with the touch of sea salt on the pita. I had the greek salad so I would have room for dessert and it was tasty. I loved the olives, although later I was burping the cukes....too bad they weren't burpless! My fellow companions had the squid kebob and chicken kebob with smashed potatoes skin-on and enjoyed them. The squid looked especially good and had enough spice/heat to satisfy Mr. Spicy. :biggrin:

Then, on to dessert. Two of us ordered the goat cheese pie and it was a four star rave. I don't like cheeselike but this was not as heavy and with a vanilla flavor. You had to have a bite of pie, some strawberry and the caramel in every bite!

When we left the place was pretty full, but again, didn't notice anything high decibel. I think Tom has a winner and I need to go back soon and try some of the kebobs.

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lala

lala

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Posted (edited)

....again, as I said, there were several large parties when I was there...I can only report my experience. These large parties were lined up against a wall, seated in regular chairs, not leather booths, and every word they shrieked bounced against that wall and out into the room. I know that quite often, large groups go to lunch for a party, and this happened when I ate there. I just wanted to warn people about the fact that this restaurant is not designed to absorb the noise from this type of situation.

It's not going to keep me from going again, although I would hope that the service would improve, and the pantry cook would season things better.

Edited by lala (log)

“"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

"It's the same thing," he said.”

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