FlavBlog

Normally, I avoid hot dogs after a childhood full of eating them all to often. However, when Po Dog popped up in Capitol Hill recently and we had menus stacked at our apartment entrance, we were enticed.  Po Dog’s funky minimalist decor breathes hip and the menu features about 12 dogs plus usually one special of the day. For sides, they have homemade potato chips, string french fries, and deep fried pickles. On our first visit we ordered the “Dub T Dog”,  “Deep Fried Danger Dog”, and the fried pickles. Each dog sits inside a soft slightly toasted brioche bun. While each dog stood well on it’s own, we both felt each dog was lacking something. The Dub T concept is accurate, (-I love potato chips on my ham and cheese sandwiches-) but the chips only added a crunchy texture with little added flavor. Perhaps, they should have used their homemade chips or chips with flavored salt and vinegar for adding extra punch. The Deep Fried Danger Dog screams excitement by being fried. It is topped with the mildly spicy chili sauce and soft but slightly sweet onions adds more dimension. I missed the pepper bacon flavor and didn’t get the crunchy texture of the dog I expected from being fried. The deep fried pickles came out a bit late, but they were as Michael remembered them from his college days when he’d devour them at a local diner in Omaha, NE called Goldbergs. On another visit I had the Mac‘N’cheese dog. The Tillamook cheesy elbow macaroni overflowed an otherwise standard dog. Overall both experiences were good, inexpensive options, and the young atmosphere only adds the potential of the place. For the price point and potential for more creativity we are likely to return.

However, going to Po Dog has us wishing for other hot dog venues that have simply stole our taste buds: 1) Japadog in Vancouver, BC and 2) Hot Doug’s in Chicago (click here for slide show via Saveur) long before Po Dog came on the scene. One can really not go wrong with any hotdog at Japadog. Yet the Oroshi remains my gold standard for gourmet hot dogs. It has a pork Bratwurst, grated diakon, green onion and a special soy sauce. Japadog serves the brat sliced so you have the perfect amount of meat, veggie, and sauce in each and every bite. My mouth waters as I write and Japadog is a must stop whether you are traveling to or through Vancouver.

Michael hit Hot Doug’s on a recent trip to Chicago and waited in the 30+ minute line to try some of Doug’s creations. These dogs are truly outstanding in their creativity. Michael’s favorite from the trip was a hot dog that had truffled aoli, fois gras, and sel gris on top.  The line is long and they only take cash, but if you are in Chi-town, Hot Doug’s is an absolute must for at least one visit, maybe two.

Po Dog would benefit from adding some higher end condiments to their dogs for added creativity and enhanced flavor. They don’t need Fois gras on them, but perhaps some more Seattle local specialty elements to really stamp them as unique. Rumor has it that Po Dog is doing well, as they are opening up a 2nd restaurant in the U-District. The UW students are likely to enjoy the variety and options of Seattle’s only (that I know of) creative hot dog joint.

Po Dog

1009 E Union St

Seattle, WA 98122

(206)-325-6055

Hrs: Mon-Thurs 11am-12am | Fri-Sat 11am-2:30am | Sun 11am-10pm

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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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…