Seattle Magazine Restaurant Roundup

[mmmFood]

So, I just got a copy of the brand-spanking-new Seattle Magazine restaurant issue (April 2006). All in all, I'm impressed. I agree with them on many accounts, with a few minor quibbles. The restaurants I'm familiar with seem accurately represented--I think I could give this issue to a friend or visitor and think that they wouldn't be steered completely wrong! I don't get the feeling in the least that this is advertising-driven--I think this is honest reviewing and recommending. With that in mind, I wonder about checking out some of the restaurants mentioned that I'm not familiar with. This roundup is worth checking out.

BUT, and a big one here....

CREMANT--to quote from the review: "In February, Scott...opened Cremant, a charming restaurant that has infused the main Madrona retail/restaurant strip with a much-needed dose of rustic French classicism. The dishes served here are traditional yet creative and exceptionally prepared (albeit rich). Order the cassoulet with Tarbais beans, pork, lamb, pork sausage and duck confit or the moules mariniere, mussels with white wine and parsley.... We can't wait to see the awards Emerick, now on his own, will rack up in the future."

While all of this may indeed prove to be accurate, Cremant finally opened, after a delay, A LITTLE OVER A WEEK AGO. I fully expect this restaurant to be great, as many of you probably do to.

So, here are my thoughts on this specific review, which is not attributed to any of the four writers of this issue's restaurant roundup:

Either the writer of this review never actually ate at the restaurant and came up with the entire thing based on the chef's excellent reputation and maybe a tour of the space before it was open,

OR

the writer ate at a pre-opening party or similar junket and based the review on a special occasion dinner prepared for food media and VIPs that does not have much to do with an actual retail meal that you and I could purchase there,

OR

they ate at the restaurant on opening day and then in a mad dash of holding the presses, got this review into the magazine at the last second and had it printed and in my lap one week later. In doing this mad dash they forgot to correct the part about opening in February and didn't give the place time to iron out opening kinks. I think this mad dash is impossible in the world of magazine publishing which tends to work a couple months in advance.

OR

something else happened here that someone will straighten out quickly.

Am I wrong?

Thoughts on the quality of the reviews?

Thoughts on the Cremant thing?

[little ms foodie]

things I thought were funny (and timely!) Veil being named the most over hyped restaurant. We had dinner there with other eG friends and although the meal was good it was overhyped and overpriced.

I have to dig thru the articles cause there were some other things I thought were funny and true!

[SeAAttle]

things I thought were funny (and timely!) Veil being named the most over hyped restaurant. We had dinner there with other eG friends and although the meal was good it was overhyped and overpriced.

I agree completely. We went once and found the service ok but uninformed, the food good but not great, and the prices much too high.

[mmmFood]

things I thought were funny (and timely!) Veil being named the most over hyped restaurant. We had dinner there with other eG friends and although the meal was good it was overhyped and overpriced.

I have to dig thru the articles cause there were some other things I thought were funny and true!

←

Good example--We had one meal at Veil and decided that there were many other places in town where we will choose to spend our money instead. It's just not nearly good enough for the money they are charging. Although the restaurant looks great from the inside, it is cramped and the food is just not near the money they are charging. I'm also not into the "be seen scene", so that angle is lost on me. I was happy to see the magazine bring up Veil in this context--it adds significantly to my impression that these are actually unbiased restaurant reviews and listings.

[cupcakequeen]

what other restaurants got awards? i don't have a subscription and i'm dying to know!!!!

[winegeek]

Here is the link.

[cookingclassjunkie]

Actually, the link posted was for the 2005 winners. The 2006 winners hasn't been posted to the Seattle Magazine website yet. I will try and scan it in and post for you. The issue is out on the newstands now too.

[winegeek]

Actually, the link posted was for the 2005 winners.  The 2006 winners hasn't been posted to the Seattle Magazine website yet.  I will try and scan it in and post for you.  The issue is out on the newstands now too.

←

:unsure: OOPS, Sorry!

[LEdlund]

While all of this may indeed prove to be accurate, Cremant finally opened, after a delay, A LITTLE OVER A WEEK AGO.  I fully expect this restaurant to be great, as many of you probably do to.

←

I hadn't even clicked on that. I had noticed that, when writing about the Sonics, they said something like, "at press time the Sonics had just fired Bob Weiss" and thinking, wow, how long ago did they have to send this issue to press?

[wonderbread]

I used to work at a regional glossy magazine like Seattle mag and our lead time was 3 months. So we would have put the March 2006 issue to bed in December 2005. It would have been impossible to rush something into the magazine the week before it hit news stands.

Edited March 28, 2006 by wonderbread (log)

[Vancitygirl]

Is there anywhere in Vancouver one can buy Seattle Magazine?

[Mrs.Jenner]

I live near Cremant and some of the pieces I have read about the place say the food is incredible. I am keen to go. I am pregnant so I can't eat certain things at the moment which absolutely drives me insane at times. I have this whole fantasy about when the baby is born I am going to eat my weight in unpasteurized cheeses, barely cooked meat and drink a whole lot of wine. But back to Cremant I looked at their menu http://www.cremantseattle.com/menu.pdf and it looks so seductive and equally cozy.

[cupcakequeen]

i went to cremant last night. it was fabulous! i love the way the pate and terrines are served in little glass canning jars. the poached foie is delicious. the roquefort pate and the chicken liver mousse were excellent.

we also had:

charcuterie plate: blood sausage and tongue, jambon, saussion sec

rillettes

bone marrow, which i can't get enough of.

poulet

mussels

onion soup

halibut (overcooked)

hangar steak

cassoulet

cognac au chocolat

creme brulee-outstanding!

i would go there again and again for the appetizers. the mains weren't as strong.

[Bruce Burger]

I was there on Friday. The cassoulet was excellent. My friend said the bone marrow was, too, but there was even less of it than the tiny amount you'd expect. The chocolate mousse was unusually heavy and coarse, a cross between mousse and barely melted chocolate, topped by a huge dollop of whipped cream, but once I got used to the consistency, I enjoyed the intense, obviously high-quality chocolate taste.

Service was decent but extremely slow. They seemed understaffed for a full dining room.

[tsquare]

Okay Cremant goers - how about a separate thread? I'll start it (though I haven't been)- but let's move on...