Eat, Play, Run

Bellevue: John Howie

Bacon tempura. Deep fried bacon. 'Nuff said.

Capitol Hill: Anchovies and Olives

 When GQ magazine called Anchovies and Olives the fifth best new restaurant in the country in 2009, I made it a priority to visit it the first chance I had. Located in a nondescript Capitol Hill building, the vibe has a serious New York feel. It's a little small, the tables are a little too close together, and the chatter is a little too loud. I loved it.

In all, we ordered four dishes, plus dessert. The first dish to arrive was soft boiled eggs topped with anchovies. The eggs were perfectly cooked... just hard enough to keep their form, yet soft enough to run down my chin. The anchovies did what anchovies do best, adding a salty/fishy flavor to the eggs. These were a real treat. Thankfully my friend only ate two of them, leaving me with four.

 Our next dish was a simple plate of prosciutto. I'm not going to wax on too much about the prosciutto. It was very good, with ample fat (this is a good thing). Thinly sliced, it was an appetizer.

 Our first 'main' course was potato gnocchi with pork and cauliflower. I much prefer ricotta gnocchi to potato, but it was fine. The pork was cooked in a style reminiscent of kalua pork. It was shredded, with a nice smoky/salty flavor, and very tender. Together, the sweetness of the cauliflower and saltiness of the pork mixed well with neutral flavor of the gnocchi.

We ended with probably the best dish of the night, the seafood risotto. This dish had so much flavor it made me break out in a giant smile on the first bite. The risotto was nice and tender, without being overcooked. The seafood was chopped small and did not overpower the dish at all. It's a very plate, and very good.

For dessert, we had a "molten" chocolate cake. It was good, but not great. Would've been nice to end the meal a little better. But, the four dishes that preceded it were excellent. I won't hesitate to eat here again.

Capitol Hill: Poppy

 One year after being told I needed to eat here, I finally ate at Poppy. It didn't disappoint!

My friend and each ordered the Large Thali. As you can see from the picture, the Large Thali is a lot of food.

Dishes ranged from celery root and chestnut soup to mushroom risotto to quail to shrimp. Veggie dishes included beets, cabbage and blood oranges.

Of the dishes, the quail was mind-blowing. Just wish it was bigger. Why do those birds have to be so damn small? The risotto was also delicious, while the beets were some of the best I've ever had (though not as good as the beets from Lupa, my favorite NY restaurant).

2009 Sushi and Sake Fest

My aunt and uncle invited me to sit at their table at the Sushi and Sake Fest, held at the downtown Seattle Westin. It's an annual event in support of the educational work of Densho: the Japanese American Legacy Project.

Participating restaurants included Flo, Hiroshi's, Kappo Chiso, Kozue, Mashiko, Miyabi, Nishino, Rice 'n Roll, Seastar, and Sushi Zen.

Mashiko provide the three appetizers served before the doors to the "sushi room" were opened, and they were fantastic. First up was asparagus with roasted black sesame sauce and shaved bonito. Next was slow braised beef short rib. Finally there was smoked salmon roulades, a salmon mousse wrapped with smoked salmon topped with Yuzu Tobiko and Shiso.

As for the sushi, I'll just post some pictures. All you can eat sushi and having the discipline to write down what you're eating and from where just doesn't work. It was gluttony at its best. Hence, I can't remember which photo belongs to which restaurant, but the I thought the photos themselves were kind of pretty. Enjoy...

 

New York: Blue Hill New York

This past summer, I visited the Stone Barns, home of the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agricuture and the world famous restaurant Blue Hill at Stone Barns. The farm was beautiful with livestock and gardens. What I didn't do was eat there.

Fast forward to a recent trip to New York. My friend made a reservation to Blue Hill in the Village. This Blue Hill gets all of its food from the farm, so it's still very fresh.

Here are the foods we sampled, with a brief description:

Seems weird, but the highlight of the meal was probably the "This Morning's Farm Fresh Egg"... an egg served over mushroom and lamb quarters. I don't like eggs all that much. But, wow, this was so good.

This dish was simply titled "Fall Fruits and Vegetables." And, uh, that's what it was. Obviously, it was fresh. But, it was 90% veggies, and personally, I'm more of a fruit guy.

These are called Jerusalem Artichokes. But, as a root vegetable, they share more in common with potatoes than artichokes. They're a little crunchier and sweeter than potatoes.

Anzela ordered the "Klaas Marten's Emmer and Quinoa"... basically, chicken served two ways over butternut squash and pancetta. I liked this one quite a bit, probably more than Anzela.

For my main course, I had the Stone Barns Berkshire Pig. I know you're shocked I went with the pork. The pork was served over a bed of "Last Chance" string beans, curry and tomatoes. The pork was delicious, but I was less of a fan of the bed of veggies. The curry was very subtle.

For dessert we ordered a caramel apple. This was a seriously deconstructed caramel apple. The caramel in the form of a salted caramel sauce, the apple was served three ways, a terrine, dried chips and diced. I really loved how all the flavors came together. A fancy pants dessert, to be sure.

Marcela's Creole Cookery

Walking to Sound Running in downtown Seattle, I passed a colorful restaurant called Marcela's Creole Cookery. In front, they had a tiny table set up with a menu for people to peruse as they walked towards or away from Pioneer Square. The menu immediately grabbed me, and I knew I'd be back after my errand at Sound Running.

When I returned, I was greeted by a gracious hostess/server/possible co-owner and took a table. The music was fun zydeco, and though I was the only one in the joint, it seemed festive. Soon after I arrived, more people came in. It's the kind of place where tables just start talking to each other.

Anthony, fresh New Orleans, greeted me and called me by name the rest of the lunch. Oh, what lunch it was.

The muffaletta was out of this world. The best I've ever had. Though, I've never had it in New Orleans, so take that with a grain of salt. I don't like green olives, so I'm not sure why I loved the sandwich so much. But the generous helpings of ham, salami and cheese certainly didn't hurt. I ordered a quarter sandwich and was thoroughly stuffed. It was HUGE.

I also wanted to try the crawfish pie, so I ordered the two pie appetizer. Make an "OK" sign, then look at the hole your thumb and forefinger make. That's about how big eat pie is. So they're small, but they're quite wonderful. The crust is buttery and has a nice crumble. The middle is crawfish goodness. Really, really good.

I want to return every weekend until I've tried everything on the menu. The folks that run the restaurant are unbelievably friendly. I can't recommend Marcela's Creole Cookery enough. It's located on James between 1st and 2nd, in Pioneer Square.

New York: Bill's Bar and Burger

I've heard so much about Bill's Bar and Burger over the past month, it was a given that I would drop by on my trip to New York. On consecutive days, I had ate burgers for lunch at Shake Shack, DB Bistro Moderne and finally, Bill's.

Maybe it wasn't fair visiting Bill's after having two of my favorite burgers in the world, but I was mildly disappointed with the Bill's burger. It wasn't a bad burger. The $6 was well spent, but it wasn't the game-changer I had been expecting.

The burger is very reminiscent of Corner Bistro. The meat is very fresh and tastes homemade. Meaning it's good, pure ground beef. I don't think it's a mixture of meats. It appears to be just ground beef.

Where it differs from Corner Bistro is the way the burger is actually prepared. I asked if I should order it medium or medium-rare, and the server said that because of the way the make them, they're all pretty much medium. They smash the burger against the grill, flattening the patty. I'm not sure of the physics behind it, but somehow smashing the patty doesn't chase all the juices away.

The bun is rather boring. I don't mind American cheese, but I do wish it was melted.

Overall, not bad, but not great either. However, if you're in the Meatpacking District and craving a burger, this one kicks the crap out of Pop Burger.

Brooks Outlet Store

One of the big advantages to living in Seattle is the proximity to the Brooks outlet store in Bothell. As a big fan of both Brooks apparel and shoes, it's bargain city, baby.

They recently received a shipment of Brooks Adrenaline 9's, so I went up today to see if they had my rather common size, 10 D. It would be fantastic if they would answer the phones so I didn't have to drive 30 minutes to find out, but whatever. I suppose it's good business to make me go there, since if I went that far and they didn't have my size, I'd have to buy something on principle.

Today though, I hit gold. I walked out of there with four pairs of new shoes at $69 a pair. This is a savings of $35 a pair! With these four pairs and two I had already purchased, I may be able to make it all the way through 2010 without having to buy any running shoes. Though, if I decide to do another marathon, then I definitely won't make it on six pairs of shoes.

Anyway, hurrah for me! And hurrah for the Brooks outlet store!

DB Bistro Moderne: Best Burger Ever

I've seen a million burgers, and I've rocked them all. And this burger, the Original DB Burger, is flat out the best burger I've ever eaten.

It's a sirloin burger stuffed with braised short ribs and foie gras, served on a parmesan bun. I ordered it medium, which was perfect.

The burger is drip-down-your-arms-as-you-bite juicy. The flavor is real nice. The short ribs and foie gras bring good flavor and texture.

The burger is served with fantastic french fries. Nice and crisp on the outside and smooth and light in the middle.

Obviously, I truly loved this hamburger. Oh, did I mention it was $33? Seriously, it's worth every penny.

Honeycrisp Apples

I was in QFC last night getting my fruit for the week when I came across these Honeycrisp Apples. I had never heard of them, but they priced at $2.99 a pound. Apples are kind of heavy, so I was a little leery. But, the description said they were crisp and sweet, so I bought three of them.

Wow.

They are really good. They're as crisp as a Granny Smith, yet sweet like a Red Delicious. The texture is a little weird, almost like honeycombs, but that's not a bad thing.

I'm not sure where these Honeycrisp Apples have been all my life, but I have a new fruit obsession.

[EDIT: I orginally had the name of these apples wrong!]