Harvest Vine is without doubt, my favorite restaurant in Seattle. From the very first time I came here, on a whim to try something different, to all the times I’ve come here for my birthday and to celebrate a host of other occasions, it has never disappointed. I remember the first time, sitting at the kitchen bar watching the Joey work his magic and Jose strolling in and just playing with ingredients for fun and serving them to the lucky few at the bar. I was spellbound by the way the flavors come together, the inventiveness of each plate, and the parade of dishes we would try and hope that we had room for more. Though the kitchen has evolved over the years with brunch and a new chef, Harvest Vine is what made me fall in love with tapas. On this night, my birthday night, my Black Knight dined here and I fell in love all over again.
beet carpaccio – paper thin slices of pickled beets sprinkled with salt, garlic, and floating in olive oil; they were a little heavy handed with the olive oil and a little inconsistent with the salt as it was in clumps causing some slices to be much too salty
jamon iberico bellota – the nutty fat just melts in your mouth with the richness of the pork – this is one special jamon that makes you want to lick the bits of melted fat off the plate; we only ordered 1 oz., but I was originally thinking we needed 2 or 3, but we seriously thought about ordering it for dessert as well. Note, it’s $20/oz.
scallops – with a saffron pine nut risotto; the scallops were well cooked, but sadly not sweet (not sure where the scallops came from, but they needed a little help), the risotto however, I could have just eaten the rice and done without the scallops – the nuttiness and the creaminess plus a flair of the exotic is simply amazing and dressed with chimichurri
wrapped lamb shank – a luscious lamb shank that falls apart once you cut open the crunchy shell (similar to an eggroll shell, but slightly thicker and crunchy all the way through) accompanied by roasted root vegetables and jus; the texture, the taste were all perfect – I couldn’t ask for a better way to prepare a lamb shank!
foie gras – served with apple sauce, one of my favorites dishes here that I’ve probably ordered every time I’ve been here and it always makes me want more, perfectly seared to a buttery jello and balanced with the sweetness from the applesauce; if only I could have one more bite!
pear tart – with mascarpone, not too sweet with slices of pears on a deliciously cakey tart
almond cake – dense almond cake, not too sweet, perfect if you’re planning on eating two desserts like we did!
The Jamon Iberico Bellota is like a dream – the nutty flavor of the paper thin slices melting on your tongue – you don’t get dreams like this very often. It’s a must try for any lover of cured meats. Second best, the foie gras – cooked and balanced perfectly as always. They didn’t change the preparation from the previous times, but I might be sad if they did. And of course, since it was my birthday, I had two desserts. That’s my idea of a happily ever.