FlavBlog

In Seattle there has been a lot of hype about pizza places the last several years,  and Portland also has  absolutely excellent options in Apizza Scholls and Ken’s Artisan Pizza. While we feel that many of these offerings are quite delicious, they all seem to lack something. It seems that no one place in the Northwest has the pizza that has it all but this isn’t to say, that there should be a place that can make a “perfect pizza”.  Some pizza joints have excellent crust, some creative toppings, or really tasty sauce.  And then, there is the debate about the different types of crust: thick, thin, pan, chewy, crunchy, slightly burned, or flaky.  In Capitol Hill, we tend to like Via Tribunali, especially for their delicious calzonne, which comes slightly charred on top, bubbled up, and packed full with goodies.  We really enjoy the salads a Tutta Bella, although we feel that the pizza doesn’t have the quite the same quality it had before they decided to franchise the place throughout Seattle.

A newer place, which has generated considerable buzz in the food world of Seattle is Delancey, over in Ballard [Rebekah Denn’s post here].  Delancey is fantastic!  It really lives up to the hype, but it is in my view a “gourmet pizza place.” What do I mean, by this…read on.  The toppings and the crust at Delancey are arguably the very best the city has to offer.  However, there seems to be some debate in this regard.  Some people in the Seattle blogosphere feel that Flying Squirrel Pizza in the Seward Park neighborhood can compete with Delancey for the best pizza in Seattle so we decided it was time to see what this Flying Squirrel pie was all about.

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Finding an interesting and original place to eat in the heart of the Seattle’s downtown shopping proves difficult for us. There is an overwhelming amount of sub par Thai, chain steak houses, sushi, or burger joint options, most of which are overpriced and unsatisfying. This explains why we watched with heightened anticipation the final construction touches on the Olive 8 Hyatt  hotel/condo living with Urbane Restaurant and Bar. As we would walk by and peer through the large glass windows our excitement increased. We regularly attend the MET opera Live in HD at AMC Pacific Place 11 for the encore performances during a week night and need a quick dinner prior to 6:30 or 7 PM show. After exhausting our efforts on Capitol Hill restaurant locations we visited Urbane prior to the MET’s Les contes d’Hoffmann performance. Visually, the restaurant is extremely pleasing with sharp clean lines, contemporary serving ware, and a spacious seating area. On first glance the happy hour menu and dinner menu looked creative, satiating, and very affordable. A large pint of  micro-draft beer at $3 is the best value. We ordered a couple items on the happy hour menu and one second course plating from the dinner menu. Read more…

In the summer of 2006, Robin and I were fortunate to travel East to China for a 3 1/2 week trip of backpacking adventure.  We traveled to big cities (Beijing and Shanghai), visited iconic sights (Terracotta warriors in Xian), and traveled to the country-side.  One of our favorite stops on this trip was to the Chinese province of Sìchuān (四川, meaning = 4 circuits of rivers). During this visit, we stayed in the province’s capitol Chengdu, hiked the Buddhist holy mountain Emei Shan, and visited WuLong- home of the Panda.

Located in southwest China, the Sìchuān province is most famous for their distinct food.  It is often characterized by locals and natives alike as being spicy, hot, fresh, and fragrant.  Some of the best, most interesting food we had in China was while we visited the Sìchuān region.  A few months ago Jonathan Kauffman (formerly of Seattle Weekly) reviewed “Spiced” restaurant in Bellevue.  His review brought us back to our travels in 2006, and had us yearning to try Spiced.

When you walk into Spiced you are greeted by a friendly woman and a full case of specialized cold items.  The selection was daunting, but we managed to narrow the choices down to seaweed, cucumbers, and shaved pork ears.  The seaweed was chilled nicely, slightly crunchy and a bit spicy.  The cucumber dish was refreshing, and the pork ears is a delicate mix of sweet and salty.

We decided to order 2 main dishes and a vegetable side.  The menu, like at most chinese restaurants is huge. But based on the reviews, we had heard it was best to select from the “Chef’s Special” and/or Casserole section.  We ordered the Lamb Dry Pot, the Chong Ching Chicken fried cubes, and the chinese celery with chinese vegetables.

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This past Sunday, we finally managed to go for breakfast at the Swedish Cultural Center.  We had been hearing great things from Seattle locals about their “Pancake Breakfast” which is offered the first Sunday of each month (8:30am-1:30pm).  We were hosted by Robin’s friend (co-worker) and her husband, who is 100% Swedish.  It was great to attend the event with them, because they are active members of the Cultural Center and we were able to tour the facilities and learn more about Sweden, which we will be visiting this upcoming summer of 2010!

When we arrived there was a very large line comprised of people of all ages. young urbanites, families, and older members.  There was a band playing traditional Swedish music on a stage, and several folks dressed in more traditional Swedish clothing were dancing on the ballroom floor.  [I'm not sure how they were doing all that bouncing up and down after eating all that food, but I guess that's part of being a Swede].  The tickets for adults cost $8 which gets you 2 full helpings if you have the room.

After waiting a while in line, you arrive at the serving table where you are greeted by Swedish folks who load you up with goodies.  You have 1 ticket for the first round, and a different colored ticket for the seconds.  Be sure you pay attention to your ticket colors!  They start loading the plate with the pancake, made from scratch from a generations old recipe.  The Swedish pancake is lighter and spongy, nothing like an American version, but it more robust than a crepe.  Then they slather a huge dollop of rich lingonberry sauce on top, followed by an even larger dollop of thick homemade whipped cream.  And then you get a slab of salty ham which goes perfectly with all that sugary goodness.  You also have the option of milk, juice, or “Swedish coffee”  (fairly similar to any other tasty Euro variety you’ve might have had).

Afterwords you navigate the maze of tables to find a spot to sit, careful not to spill or tip your plate among all the little ones running around, or the folks engaged in conversations.  We found a table near the window with a beautiful view of Lake Union and the Cascades.  The food is traditional, in the best kind of way.  It doesn’t challenge you, but it satisfies your morning craving, and feels real.  The Lingonberry sauce is worth the trip!  We didn’t go back for seconds, because the first round was more the enough, although now that I’ve been, I’d save room for more the next time.    All in all, we really enjoyed  the event, the company, the music, the food, the family fare…it was all so European in a refreshing way.  We left the breakfast and took a tour of the Cultural Center, which I should mention has all kinds of food and other traditional events lined up in the coming days, weeks, and months…including a smörgåsbord meal and St. Lucia celebration.

Swedish Cultural Center

1920 Dexter Ave. N.

Seattle, WA 98109

(206) 283-1090

On September 2nd  (we’re a bit behind on our blog posts) we went to Art of the Table for another “supper club” dinner.   We had been to a previous beer dinner with our friends Kye and Eric, and I was blown away by the beer pairings, and more importantly both Robin and Kye who don’t usually drink some of these more rich types of beers, became fascinated at the potential of beer and food pairing.  As soon as we heard another beer dinner was planned we locked in reservations.  Dustin Ronspies (the chef) and Laurie O’Donnell hosted us, alongside the passionate beer aficionado Matt Younts for what amounted to another fascinating exploration of beer and food pairing.

We started by opening up with Cider Aspall which was served with a crostini containing peach, Estrella Family Creamery’s Wynochee River Blue. The crisp yet rounded dry cider was like having a glass of sparkling to open a meal, with the peach and blue cheese on the crostini the pairing was perfect.

Next, we had a salad with frisee, arugula, chanterelles, sweet corn, tomme, pancetta and a basil puree.  This was paired nicely with a Boulevard Saison.   I’ve mentioned before that Boulevard is making some great speciality beer these days, and the Saison Matt brought was a Batch #1, and contains the famous Brettanomyces yeast.  This yeast is sometimes considered a terrible consequence of contamination, except in traditional belgian styles or Lambic variations.  This slightly spicy, bready, funky Saison from Kansas City paired quite well with the salad, the fatty saltiness of the pancetta, and earthy chanterelles in the salad.

Trout with bitter greens and smoked tomato puree

The third course was trout served with hazelnut basil, smoked tomato jam (one of the highlights of the meal to me), and bitter greens.  The crispy trout and smoked tomato jam had the great sweet, salty, smokey combo, that was a joy in each bite.  The pairing was Hair of the Dog (Portland, OR) Ruth Pale Ale.  A pale malty ale with honey, with grassy vegetal notes.  The beer did a nice job of letting the complexity of the dish shine.

What might have been the best, or near best beer of the evening was Pliney the Elder (RussianRiver),which is one of the most highly coveted beers in the US (A+ on BeerAdvocate, and nearly every other source gives it top marks).  Dustin made us both smile with this dish, which didn’t contain fancy ingredients but was creative, and has inspired Robin and I to look at Chicken wings in a way different way than finger licking andwatching football.  Dustin served the wings confit, with curry powder, cilantro cream, on top of a polenta cake with chipotle chile, and topped with frisee.  The dish had some heat, but the cream added a nice balance, and the beer really unified the flavors.  Pliney the Elder is simply an outstanding beer in every regard.  Any serious beer drinker who hasn’t tasted this beer, should seek it out ASAP!  It contains a beautifully floral hopped aroma, with a bit of citrus coming through.  Initially it tastes much like an IPA but it is balanced so effectively with maltiness, so perfectly, that even those who pucker with a bitter IPA will smile after a gulp.  (We took some home with us, because, I wanted a whole bottle for Robin and I, to try again).  GO BUY SOME, if you can find it! Read more…