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Saturday, November 24, 2007Sha Ra Ku Mono
Epicurious, EvolvingHave you been to epicurious.com lately? Not only does it give people access to the recipes you’d find in Gourmet & Bon Appetit, but it also allows you to submit--yes, submit--recipes into the epicurious database or into your own private recipe box. Yay! Goodbye, drawers stuffing with torn-out sheets from magazines, hello electronic recipe repository that allows me to upload my own stuff and share it with friends or the wider universe (in accordance, of course, with prevailing copyright laws). Now, that’s cool! And the interesting thing is that I’m not going to cancel my subscriptions to Saveur, Bon Appetit, Gourmet, or Eating Well. And I’m not going to stop buying new cookbooks. What I am going to do is flip through my monthly magazines and drool over pretty pictures with my laptop by my side, and I’m going to add the recipes I love most to my epicurious recipe box for future reference. I’m sensing the need for a dedicated iMac in the kitchen ... Friday, November 23, 2007Map, SchmapA longer post is on its way, but I just got word that one of my photos from our last Germany trip was included in Schamp’s interactive guide to Berlin. The image is from Refugium, a lovely restaurant in what was formerly East Berlin and the only place that honey P. and I have ever found the wonderful and terribly limited red wines from the Ahr Valley. Yay! Monday, November 12, 2007Mixed experiences at Steelhead DinerI’d read about Steelhead Diner recently: it’s started to get noticed by the food press. And I had a report from Voltaire, who said that the mussels were fantastic. So imagine my delight when I found that I could book a table at Steelhead on OpenTable for my first night in Seattle. [Aside: why doesn’t every restaurant use OpenTable? It’s the ultimate in self-service and I love it.]
The location of Steelhead is phenomenal: it’s a block from Pike Place Market, which is one of the best markets in America. Not only is Pike Place a great market, but despite the yuppification of much of the Seattle waterfront, the market is still pretty gritty. I can imagine that locals have a lot of gripes about it, but the market retains much of the same ambiance it had when I first visited in the early 1980s. I can still get a great bowl of pho at Saigon Restaurant and a lot of the buildings haven’t been prettied up too much.
Entering the restaurant, you walk into a large, warm and inviting room that feels cozy despite large windows on two walls. It’s not a completely open kitchen, but you can see the action behind the line. Tables, a few stools in front of the kitchen, a large communal counter between the kitchen and the bar. Friendly staff, and a lot of bustle: but it all feels really comfortable and inviting. One of the first things I noticed was the wine list. All from the Northwest, mostly Washington and Oregon. Which means some of my favorite varietals, crisp pinot gris and pinot blancs--and pinot noir, which I much prefer to cabernet or merlot. A nice selection of wines by the glass, a good beer list including many local brews. Two tasty breads--a seeded whole grain loaf was the better of the two--with butter sprinkled with salt and surrounded by a dab of olive oil with herbs. And the menu! “Too bad I can’t order everything!” was my first thought. As it was, I did pretty well. I started with a mesclun salad. I’m really fussy about lettuce: there are few things I dislike more at dinner than picking icky brown, wilted pieces of lettuce out of an $8.00 salad. But not at Steelhead, where the lettuce was absolutely pristine and lightly dressed, a nice mix of tender and pungent greens. For dinner, grilled rabbit over a risotto made with farro. Now, I love rabbit and if it’s on the menu, I’ll usually order it. Rabbit is so lean that it can often dry out in cooking, but this was a revelation. Toothsome and moist, it was nicely grilled with some blackened, crispy edges. By far the best rabbit I’ve ever eaten. The farro was cooked until it was soft and came accompanied with a rich brown gravy. I might have complained that there was too much gravy, but it was so good I didn’t have time. I wanted to sop every last bit of it. My colleague Kim ordered fish and chips and it looked beautiful, the fish crispy and lightly breaded. We laughed at the name of this dish--it was made with a locally brewed ale called Kilt Lifters. And great chips! Aside from superb food, the service couldn’t have been better. Our server, Jessie, was friendly without being fawning. She was clearly enthusiastic about the food she was serving, and, while she was busy, she knew how to pay attention to us. The rest of the serving staff was terrific, too: no sooner did we set a half-full glass of water on the table than it was filled up. This was a real plus: I hate having to ask for water. All in all, in Zagat terms, I’d give Steelhead that night a 25 for the food and 25 for service. So good that I canceled a reservation at another restaurant to return my second night in town. This time, my reaction was a bit more mixed. I was seated at the broad communal counter. I liked watching the action behind the line--observing six or seven cooks going at it during dinner rush, dancing around each other, is a sight to behold. I was hoping that no one would sit across from me, but I was disappointed. I’m not much into conversing with people I don’t know--and I didn’t want anyone spoiling my view. But a couple sat down and began talking with me. To my surprise and delight, we began a pleasant conversation that ranged from nursing to Second Life to boomerang throwing. It was a pleasant way to spend the evening, one of those delightful serendipitous travel experiences that everyone should have. This time, though the food was still good, service was much rougher. Maybe my server this night was busier than the night before, or maybe he wasn’t as experienced, but there were little glitches. It took a long time for my salad--a wonderful combination of grilled quail over bitter greens dressed with a warm pancetta-based dressing--to come up. And while I was still in the middle of the dish--and deep in conversation with my new-found friends--my entree arrived. Oops: I sent it back (there wasn’t room on the counter for both dishes, even if I had wanted them at the same time). My salad finished, I awaited my entree. And though I had finished my wine, no one showed up to ask me if I wanted another glass until my dinner arrived. Then the rush to find my waiter (oh: THERE he is!) and ask him to pour another glass for me before my fish gets cold, or I eat most of it. My entree, a lovely piece of halibut dressed with an olive dressing topped with lightly toasted breadcrumbs and served over a cauliflower puree with truffle oil--was slightly overcooked, but the flavors in the dish were perfect together. With this dish I drank a glass of Owen Roe pinot noir--and it was a perfect combination. I’m losing my sweet tooth, but I’d seen the desserts coming out of the kitchen and they looked (and sounded!) wonderful. Imagine a four-layer chocolate cake with coconut and alumonds and coconut ice cream. At 12:30 p.m. I’d jump on it, but not at night. I chose the Ligurian lemon cake and wasn’t disappointed: slightly acidic, just sweet enough, with a lemon curd and some mascarpone to smooth things out. I’m thinking now of all the other good things on Steelhead’s menu. I wanted to try the mussels (Voltaire loved them), but other things beckoned. Or how about the hominy cakes? A Kurobuta pork porterhouse? Or the rabbit again. And again. I’d eat just about anything the Diner had on offer. And I’d go back tomorrow if I weren’t on the other side of the country. Though I’d ask for Jessie, since she seems to be able to handle a lot of guests, make service seem effortless, and time the food (and wine orders!) so the meal just flows. Sunday, November 11, 2007First-Frost Hash
The morning sky is a dull, dark grey--a nesting grey. Today’s comfort-food breakfast, First-Frost Hash, using some of the potatoes, onions, and apples from our CSA box. I’ve recently rediscovered my cast-iron skillet, a perfect pan for this stovetop-to-broiler-to--table dish. Accompanying pictures on Flickr ...
- 6 slices of thick-cut bacon, diced
1. Saute bacon in skillet over medium heat until the pieces are crisp and brown. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside. Drain most of the rendered fat, keeping roughly two tablespoons in the pan.
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