Posts Tagged ‘Seattle’

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I had the recent privilege of attending a “Farmhouse Dinner,” a sort of underground dinner club hosted by a Seattle-area farmer and prepared by a local chef.  Underground dinner clubs are neither new nor rare in Seattle, but I will remember (and rave about) this meal until I’m old and senile. 

Usually terms like locally grown, organic, hormone-free, hell, even fresh have a distant, intangible relationship with the foods we normally eat.  When I stand in front of a pile of organic grapes at Whole Foods, I’m not necessarily moved by the extra care and attention paid to the grapes in order to earn that badge of superiority.  But, when you eat a meal knowing that all of its components were grown, raised, picked or slaughtered within a triangle bell’s ring from the dining room… there is a tangible relationship. 

Anyone could, presumably, go to the farmer’s market and grab a dinner’s worth of locally grown ingredients and invite some guests over – I’d even recommend it.  But that is child’s play compared to the dinners served at the farm.  Literally everything except salt, pepper, flour, coffee beans and wine came directly from the farm.  Everything.  That includes butter, cheese, pancetta, pickles, chilies, and of course all the meat and vegetables you can shake a fork at.  And if you’ve ever doubted that freshness makes a difference, I hope you get an invitation.

We ate 10 or so courses, beginning with thin crust, wood oven fired pizzas eaten casually with a glass of wine as the evening’s guests arrived.  We moved to the table to enjoy a divine beef broth and pea soup.  Next we tasted thinly-shaved pigs heart with pickled shallots, braised ox tail, tomato jam, fresh pickles, and an assortment of homemade cheeses.  Then there were several vegetable courses: the freshest, most vibrant carrots I’ve ever seen, a slaw of brussels sprouts and roasted peppers, and a superb roasted squash.  The main courses (yes, there were multiple) included handmade pasta with braised lamb shoulder and what I declare to be the best roast beef I’ve ever tasted.  I guess it helps when the guy cooking the beef knew the cow personally.

So, what’s the message here, that we should slaughter our own cows and only eat carrots that we’ve personally removed from the ground?  Of course not.  For most of us, its infeasible – both economically, and practically.  However, if you have the opportunity to experience the staggering impact of really fresh ingredients in a place where you are one degree of freedom away from the person who grew your food, don’t let it pass you by.  I guarantee it will be an meal to remember!

Fran’s, the beloved, family-owned chocolate shop has opened their third location just below the Four Season’s hotel in downtown Seattle.  The new store, situated directly across the street from the Seattle Art Museum, hopes to attract some of the area’s foot traffic.  Chocolate, after all, is not always a premeditated purchase. 

I had a chance to chat with Fran about the store and the Seattle chocolate business in general.  It’s easy to tell why Fran’s customers adore her – now a grandmother, Fran exudes such warmth that, just for a minute, I forgot she wasn’t my grandmother!  For the past 26 years, she has been pursuing her passion for perfection, a theme that is especially prevalent in Seattle artisans.  The business is run by her daughter (CEO) and her son (Chocolatier), who was recently invited by the Valrhona company to make his own blend of chocolate for the store. 

The first thing you’ll notice when you enter the new Seattle location is an absolutely giant pointillist portrait hanging on the wall. The subject is Fran’s granddaughter, but it is the medium of this image that is fascinating.  The picture is actually a life-size photograph of a collection of chocolate truffles, ranging from dark to white.  Mmmm, chocolate pixels… That’s good geek food!

Fran’s Chocolates
1325 1st Avenue at Union Street
Seattle, WA 98101 
www.franschocolates.com

Have you ever walked into a place and immediately felt like you’d found what you’ve always been looking for?  That’s how I feel about  Bricco della Regina Anna (or “Bricco” for short).  Bricco is a restaurant and wine bar located on the main drag of upper Queen Anne, on a sleepy block that’s also home to Betty, Chocopolis, and the boarded-up shell of the former Queen Anne hardware store.  The best thing about this location?  I can walk to it!  But don’t let that color my review – being within my promenade-radius is not a requirement for a great eatery.

A freestanding ledge loosely segregates Bricco’s dining room between dinner guests and passers-by who have stopped in for a glass of wine.  The latter group is quite fortunate: the wine list, carefully selected by Wine Director Andrew Bresnik, is formidable.  This isn’t surprising, given that the back wall of the dining room is a window to their walk-in wine cellar.  But if you don’t know your Semillon from your Chardonnay, don’t fret.  The wait staff is not only helpful and knowledgeable, but non-judgmental – if you can swallow your ego long enough to ask for a recommendation, you won’t be disappointed.

It’s more than just the wine that keeps me coming back to Bricco, though.  For starters, the first page of their menu lists only cheese and salumi.  In my opinion, this should have been the 11th commandment.  The rest of the menu is composed of frequently-changing, à la carte salads, panini and entreés ($4 to approx. $18).  Though the menu is small, everything is exquisitely executed.  Chef and owner Kevin Erickson has hit a bulls eye with his balance of traditional and inventive bistro fare.  And most of the dishes are so rich and beautifully presented that I feel nether guilty nor hungry when the meal is over.  A few of my personal favorites: smoked trout salad with roasted beets and crème fraîche ($12), smoked salmon bruschetta ($4), and lamb sliders (pictured bottom left).

I’d recommend leaving room for dessert, too.  Bricco’s roasted pears with huckleberry honey, aged balsamic vinegar and mascarpone is heavenly.  Throw in a glass of port, and you’ve just enjoyed the kind of leisurely decompression that’s normally reserved for European poets.

Contrary to rumors that the restaurant was up for sale, the folks behind Bricco are actually expanding its horizons.  Starting soon, Bricco will feature a full alcohol bar, complete with the sophisticated libations Seattleites have come to expect from expert mixologists.  The owners are also opening Moshi Moshi Sushi (name unconfirmed) in Ballard.  If they manage to create the same restaurant charisma as they’ve done with Bricco, I’ll be first in line, chopsticks in hand!

[photo (clockwise from upper left): cheese and salumi platter, beef tenderloin, lamb sliders, Nutella panini]

  
Imagine, if you will, an art museum restaurant.  Make the image in your head very vivid, very detailed.  In fact, close your eyes and picture this restaurant…  (OK, open your eyes now so you can keep reading.)  Now, imagine the sterile, lifeless walls of that restaurant covered with vibrant Seattle artwork.  Those heat lamps you’re picturing in the kitchen?  Replace them with pans of slowly roasting, locally-raised pork shoulders.  The cafeteria-inspired, cavernous dining room?  Swap it for about an upscale, inviting decor with a first-class bar and a wall full of Pacific Northwest wine.  Now you’re just barely starting to get the picture of TASTE, the Seattle Art Museum’s bold, revitalized restaurant.

On a recent visit to TASTE, I was very impressed with not only the atmosphere and the quality of the food, but also the karmic value of my dinner.  In the last two years, TASTE has managed to source 69% of its ingredients from local farmers, infusing over $1M back into family-owned farms.  Particularly relevant to today’s economy, TASTE’s dedication to supporting small and local farms is commendable.

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I had the recent pleasure of dining at Crémant, a captivating, authentic French bistro in Madrona.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, I plan to eat my last meal on Earth in a French bistro.  To me, the rich decadence of traditional bistro fare is a reminder that you’re alive.  Though most cardiologists agree that joie de vivre and fois gras become mutually exclusive after a few consecutive evenings, the French still manage to outlive us by 5-10 years, n’est pas?

Given my vigor for all dishes French, my recent visit to Crémant hit the spot.  In a day and age when Americans are so insecure of their own culture that they’ll only eat “Freedom Fries”, my faith in humanity is restored when witnessing chef/owner Scott Emerick’s faithful execution of the most unabashedly French dishes that have existed since Louis XIV.  For example, the Foie Gras Salade Royal ($14, pictured above)is an increasing rarity among restaurants and gourmet food shops, but its inclusion on the menu signals a steadfast allegiance to everything good about French cuisine.  Furthermore, this particular foie gras had a noticeably fresh flavor and texture that paired well with the sweet crunch of the pistachios and green beans.

My personal favorite dish was the Os à Moelle Rôti ($12, pictured above), three roasted marrow bones served with a pile of salt and a small spoon.  Again, I commend the chef for his inclusion of this staple.  I would gladly return for lunch and order several more plates.

Unfortunately, there were a few negatives to the meal as well.  Besides the foie gras and marrow bones, which were plated with generous pinch of sel gris, there was a prevailing undersaltedness to many of the dishes, including the pork rillette, salt cod and potato puree, and braised pork shoulder.  And, although the wine list at Crémant is fine enough to make an Alsatian blush (little wine humor), my glass of red was served about 10° too cold, which is a shame when your wine list includes $140 Burgundies.  If these critiques seem picky, that’s because they are.  There is a clear attention to detail and an adherence to the French culinary attitude of perfection at Crémant, so these small, correctable mistakes stood out even more.

I will gladly return to Crémant, hopefully before the eve of my death.  I wonder if they’ll accept my prescription for bone marrow?

 
If you haven’t heard the term “umami” before, I recommend making a reservation at Capitol Hill’s Boom Noodle.  Umami is a Japanese word that describes the fifth taste sensation (the others are salty, sour, bitter and Dopey), usually associated with Asian flavors.  Like charisma, umami is hard to describe, but you’ll know it when you see it – or in this case, taste it.

Take for example, the Sizzling Toban Beef ($8.50 on the small plates menu, pictured above).  I was very impressed with the depth of flavors that emerged from this simple preparation.  Had the plate not been hot enough to fry an egg, I probably would have licked it clean.

The main course dishes were also quite enjoyable.  I was pleased with my Cha Su Pork Fried Rice ($10.50) and pleasantly surprised by the generous portions of both the rice and soup entrees.  If you’re an impatient eater, you may want to bring a fork – the chopsticks-only approach to rice eating is an acquired skill, and requires persistence.

However, it is the atmosphere, more than the cuisine, that defines Boom Noodle’s identity among Seattle’s Americ-Asian eateries.  In the most pierced and inked corridor of Capitol Hill, the restaurant stands out as clean and precise, like a Japanese IKEA with good food.  The conspicuous arrangement of tables and communal bar top strikes me as un-accidental: people are here to be seen.  And what a scene it is.  The whole place is loud and energetic, with Capitol Hill’s walking works of urban art studding the sparse decor.  If you’re looking for a hole in the wall, you’ve come to the wrong place.  But, if you’re looking for a great modern import of Japan’s richest flavors in a lively setting, I’d highly recommend Boom Noodle.

photo credit: Boom Noodle