Mistral Tonight!

[Schielke]

Tonight, my girlfriend and I will be celebrating our two year anniversary by going to Mistral.

I plan on bringing my digital camera tonight and taking some notes if I can. A report will be soon to follow.

We are bringing a bottle of 1999 Plumpjack Estate Cabernet that Katie got me as a gift.

Should be fun!

Ben

[mamster]

I can't wait to see the snaps.

[Schielke]

Well here is the executive summary.

Everything was awesome, I had an amazing time, you all have to go.

I have posted the pics on Imagestation, please forgive the ultra-poor quality of some of them. I turned off the flash when there were other diners present as to not disturb them. This resulted in nearly every picture looking the same. I feel bad for not doing justice to how the food looked, so keep that in mind when checking them out.

I did however, manage to get a couple decent ones while it was still light and after everybody else left. yay!

Here ya go! Click for pics

I will post a full review later on today when I get some time.

[Suvir Saran]

Here ya go! Click for pics

I will post a full review later on today when I get some time.

Thanks for sharing the pics..

Look forward to reading your review.

[girl chow]

Hahaha, I love the pic of the dessert followed by the pic of the empty dessert plate. Were those marks on the plate caused by your tongue? :)

Can't wait to read the report. The only thing stopping me from eating at Mistral is my current dining budget. I'm on a banh mi budget right now, but I look forward to returning to a Mistral budget when my house remodeling project is complete next month (or October, doh!).

[Schielke]

Hahaha, I love the pic of the dessert followed by the pic of the empty dessert plate. Were those marks on the plate caused by your tongue? :)

Can't wait to read the report. The only thing stopping me from eating at Mistral is my current dining budget. I'm on a banh mi budget right now, but I look forward to returning to a Mistral budget when my house remodeling project is complete next month (or October, doh!).

Heh heh heh, had the tounge been involved, the plate would have looked like it was just washed.

I understand completely about the budget considerations...my sugarmamma Katie paid for us this time. Thanks babe!

Good luck on the remodel, sounds fun...and scary, ahhh!

Ben

[nightscotsman]

Wow, I know I'll be making a reservation soon.

By the way, I took the liberty of cleaning up a couple of the photos for you. Only 2 came out OK, the others were just too dark to salvage.

When you do your write up can you please let us know what the other dessert selections where like (if you can remeber)?

Thanks!

[Schielke]

Wow, I know I'll be making a reservation soon.

By the way, I took the liberty of cleaning up a couple of the photos for you. Only 2 came out OK, the others were just too dark to salvage.

When you do your write up can you please let us know what the other dessert selections where like (if you can remeber)?

Thanks!

Hey, not too shabby! I was thinking about doing something like that, but I figured they were too dark.

Thanks!

I will outline the dessert we had in the review for sure. They dont have selections for dessert, rather it is part of the tasting menu. The chef can customize the menu to your tastes/allergies as well. For example, you may not like chocolate (gasp!), so instead you might get a creme brulee or the like.

I am still working on the review when I get little bits of time today, so it should be up in a little while.

I cant wait for your review!

Ben

[Schielke]

Mistral Review

I had another amazing experience at Mistral last night. Chef William and his staff did a wonderful job and I can’t speak highly enough of them. I have posted some pictures of the evening that you can reference by clicking the link in my previous post in this thread. Please note that since I did not want to disturb other diners, I turned off my flash so many of the pictures came out very, very poor. Because of this, I have to say a word about the presentation for many of the dishes. Clean, slightly contemporary, wonderful judicious use of color, always approachable.

Ok, enough chit chat

Katie and I arrived a few minutes early for our 8:00 reservation and we were greeted at the door and quickly shown to our table. I asked our waiter for change so I could go pay for parking and he graciously asked us to be seated while he took care of it and then brought my change back. Our table was a lovely one in the corner by the window with a great view of the whole dining room.

We started the wine service by decanting the Plumpjack, which was very necessary. Shortly after, we ordered the Seven Course Chef's Tasting Menu. We started to taste the wine while we waited. It was starting to open up nicely and develop its fruit.

Amuse Bouche- Lobster, cucumber, mango, shaved fennel and baby watercress in cucumber water.

This was a very nice playful dish that really did wake up our tastebuds. The fresh herbs in the cucumber water added a nice dimension. The lobster was perfectly cooked, it's subtle sweetness played nicely with the sweetness of the mango against the fresh taste of cucumber.

Seared Diver Scallop in tomato/lemongrass consume' with baby heirloom tomatoes

This was one of the best dishes of the night, the consume' had a very clean intense flavor that matched perfectly with the buttery sweetness of the scallop. The scallop used in this dish was the best scallop I have ever eaten. It had a perfect tenderness and sweetness that was offset by the seared crust and the tiny bits of salt on top. The addition of lemongrass to the consume' took everything to another level. This was Katie's favorite dish.

Olive oil poached prawns over pinenuts, eggplant, and red bell pepper

The prawns acted more as a textural component and background for this dish. They provided a wonderful smooth sweet/buttery background for the smokey eggplant base. I sometimes have a distaste for smoky flavors and I was worried about the eggplant (I hated it as a kid), but Chef William controlled the flavors and balanced the smokiness so well that I am now an eggplant convert! I loved this dish and it went even better with the jamminess of the wine. There was also a drizzle of basil sauce and bell pepper reduction, which added a bright element to the dish.

Sturgeon with roasted carrot puree and shaved asparagus

I had never had sturgeon before and I was immediately impressed with the firmness of this fish. It exhibited a texture unlike any other fish I have had. The texture combined with its rich flavor was only highlighted by the earthy sweetness of the carrot puree. The asparagus shavings were a lovely addition.

Rack of lamb with fingerling potato puree, fava beans, and lentils

This dish acted as a solid base for the entire meal. The use of the lentils in this dish resulted in an amazing earthy flavor that highlighted the flavor of the lamb. One of my (and Katie's) favorite items, the potato puree, was included in this dish. The creamy texture was a refreshing sidenote to the dish and helped bridge the gap between the earthiness of the lentils and the lightness of the fava beans.

Cheese Course

You will have to forgive my lack of memory at this point. In my hazy state of bliss I forgot the names of the cheeses that we had. I do remember eating an incredible bleu cheese that I need to go get more of. We also had a cow's tripple cream that was a shade too gamey for my tastes, and a semi-firm cows cheese that was good. Katie had a goat's milk cheese that had milk from both the morning milking and the evening milking, which resulted in two layers of different texture and flavor.

Very interesting!

I will take this time to say that the bread at Mistral is outsourced from Macrina bakery down the street. The bread is so good, I love it. Katie loves it even more.

Dessert Bonus!

We got a special dessert from Saroyah (pardon my spelling please!) one of William's assistants and budding dessert chef. It was a melon soup (I don’t recall the type) with raspberry sorbet, strawberry sorbet, and watermelon sorbet. This was such a great refresher after the cheese course. The watermelon sorbet was flat out beautiful. I also loved the whole raspberries in the sorbet.

Molten Chocolate Genoise with fresh berries and lavender ice cream

This is such a great finisher. It eases you into a state of bliss that is only attainable through its consumption. The rich molten center is a chocolate addict's dream. The lavender ice cream has a lightness that works very well with the chocolate and the berries. It is difficult to describe.

The Bill

Two Chef's Tasting Menus ($75 x 2) = $150

Corkage Fee $25

Tax $16

Total = $191 before tip

The tip brings it to a bit over $200 for the evening, but whenever I leave Mistral, I feel like I stole something.

Conclusion

This meal will go down in my book as one of the best to date...if not the best. I am so happy that I know about Mistral and I already can't wait until I get to go back. My thoughts were summed up by something I

overheard another patron saying: "He prepares food exactly the way it should taste". I think that is the largest compliment any chef could get.

Enjoy.

Ben

[tighe]

...my sugarmamma Katie paid for us this time. Thanks babe!

Does this mean that you are a kept man?? If only we were all so lucky....

Sounds like a great meal. I've been wanting to go there for a long time. Thanks for the reivew!

[Schielke]

...my sugarmamma Katie paid for us this time. Thanks babe!

Does this mean that you are a kept man?? If only we were all so lucky....

Sounds like a great meal. I've been wanting to go there for a long time. Thanks for the reivew!

Kept...on a short leash!

I keep telling her she needs to start paying my rent!

Ben

[girl chow]

Thanks for such an eloquent description of dinner!! What a fantastic experience. I've always liked the idea of a tasting menu. Too bad Mistral doesn't have a bargain tasting menu at lunch ;P

Has anyone else ever eaten at Mistral?

[mamster]

I haven't, but I want to go on the basis of that review. Thanks, Ben!

[Schielke]

Actually, on Saturdays he does lunch for something like $30

Yay!!

And also during the fall, he does cooking classes that include lunch for $50

Ben

[Schielke]

Ill find out when he starts to do some cooking classes again in the fall and post it here. Perhaps it could be a get together thing. wheeeee!

Ben

[girl chow]

Please do!

[Blue Heron]

Yesterday I called Mistral to see if they will be open next Monday (which they won't be), but I had a very nice talk with Chef/Owner William Belickis who just happened to take my call (I didn't know it was him though until the end of the call when I asked who he was). He's such a nice fellow and during the course of our conversation he mentioned that he likes to read eGullet! (He also gave me permission to mention that). I hope he will be persuaded to post on eGullet sometimes instead of just read.

Thanks Ben for the great review of your meal & pics, and Mistral is at the top of the list of places I want to go.

[Schielke]

This weekend, Katie suprised me with a dinner at Mistral on Friday evening to celebrate our engagement. Needless to say I was excited!

I arrived downtown to pick up Katie a little early so we parked and walked around Belltown before our reservation. We made a pit-stop for a drink at Cascadia's Bar. The drinks were pretty good and fairly cheap for Happy Hour. We saw many of the $1 mini-burgers go by to hungry diners, but passed since we had bigger fish to fry.

We wandered back to Mistral to make our 7:00 reservation. We were greeted as we came in and shown to a great table at the corner window.

We started the evening with a glass of champagne.

Unfourtanetly, I did not take any pictures since it was a romantic event and my camera is still broken...whichever comes first.

Amuse- Maine Lobster, mango, fennel, proscuitto

One of the best Amuse dishes yet, the fat in the proscuitto cut the acidity of the other ingredients perfectly and added a great saltiness to the sweet lobster and mango. The fennel made it an even lighter dish due to its fragrance.

Sweet Corn soup, scallop wrapped in phylo tube, carrot-orange foam

Katie and I agreed that this was the best of the night and one of William's best dishes ever. A scallop was wrapped in a long tube of phylo so that it would be at the bottom of the tube and empty space filled the rest of the tube. The tube assembly was brushed with french salted butter (fluer de sel salted butter) and seared until crisp. This was placed in a bowl and surrounded with the sweet corn soup. The empty space in the tube was filled with the carrot-orange foam.

Everything in this dish was hitting on all cylinders. The soup had that great mild sweetness of fresh corn, yet did not overwhelm with a heavy mouthfeel so typical of corn soups. The scallop was just barely cooked through and was so very tender and sweet, which was only enhanced by the subtle foam. The phylo tube added a perfect texture contrast and just the right amount of saltiness from the butter. This was a killer dish. Katie and I even toasted the dish and thought about ordering three more identical dishes to complete our meal.

Striped Bass, pole beans, black olive puree, parsley jelly

Perfectly seared fish over a ragout of pole beans tossed with small cubes of parsley jelly. The olive puree was next to the ragout to mix in as you wanted. This dish was a good transition from the previous scallop dish, it had many different texture elements in the dish that were punctuated by pockets of flavor from the jelly and the olive puree. A great transition.

Oremus, Tokaji-Aszu, 5 Putonyos- This wine is a similar profile to sauternes, but made in hungary. It had an amazing aroma that was subtle, yet very present. I could have drank it all night. It was a perfect match for the foie gras.

Seared Foie Gras w/ pineapple syrup and white peaches

Great crust on the outside and a perfect medium-rare on the inside. It was accompanied by an impossibly refined pineapple syrup and super fresh white peaches. Lovely.

Hirsch Vineyard- Littorai- I am pretty sure this was the California Pinot we had, but I don't remember exactly. Either way, it was a fabulous wine.

Sumac Dusted Lamb, fingerling potato puree, roasted squash and onions

I love the sumac in this dish. The potato puree was amazing as always and the roasted vegetables put a great earthiness into the dish. Sigh, I love William's lamb.

Cheese Service

I was getting drunk at this point and dropped the ball on remembering the cheese. It was great though.

Molten Chocolate Cake w/ Strawberry sorbet, Vanilla Ice Cream, coffee Ice Cream

The same kick ass chocolate cake paired with some top notch ice-creams and sorbet. Katie fell in love with the strawberry sorbet and the vanilla ice cream was the best I had ever had. It was such an intense vanilla flavor. And not to leave the coffee ice cream out, it was quite good as well.

Once again, Mistral put out a fan-tas-tic meal. Each trip seems to get better and better. The food is incredible, the service is great, and I always leave perfectly content. If they are reading this, I want to say thanks again for a great evening to everybody at Mistral!

Ben

[mamster]

Now I want to get engaged too!

I'm making Trader Joe's rack of lamb tonight. Since Laurie and I have never been to Mistral, I will serve it up and say, "Yeah, I hear this is better than that guy Chef William can make," and she'll be like, "Uh-huh."

[Schielke]

Well how did the lamb turn out? Did you sumac it up? Did laurie believe you for a second?

When are you going to get to Mistral?

And if memory serves me correctly, Malarkey owes us a review as well.

[mamster]

I'm the sumac daddy, but I'm no chef.

The TJ's lamb was not nearly as good as the Costco rack of lamb, and I think the price is about the same. It was fatty and the chine bone wasn't completely removed, so I had to use the cleaver to cut it into chops. Stick with the Costco.

[Schielke]

Random Mistral update, they seem to be in the middle of redoing their Web Site. They seem to have a new Chef de Cuisine or at least an official one now. More interesting is an official Dining Room Manager. It seems as if Chef William is looking to up the ante a bit.

I think I will be going soon with Katie so I will hopefully report back shortly.

Ben

[Foodie-Girl]

I think I will be going soon with Katie so I will hopefully report back shortly.

Ben

Green with envy !

[Schielke]

Reservations are set for Friday! Yay!

[Schielke]

More details to follow, but I'll just go ahead and say my meal was kickin' rad!!!!

Ben

Edited August 21, 2004 by Schielke (log)