Sailing – Bateau

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I haven’t quite kept up with the food scene in Seattle recently, perhaps too many days of eating out in Bend has dampened my quest for seeking out new restaurants – too much of a good thing I guess.  So I was quite happy when Neptune chose a relatively newcomer to the scene, from celebrated chef Rene Erickson, that focuses on meat. Now, I do adore Rene Erickson’s Whale Wins and I have designs to visit her donut shop, General Porpoise, but her latest openings of Bateau and Bar Melusine were not on my radar.

We each did a tasting menu with a shared wine pairing between us, and the waitress helpfully suggested that we insert a steak before dessert. We took her advice as the cuts of meat listed on the chalkboard above our heads spoke the specialty of the restaurant, and we wanted to make sure we didn’t miss out on the meat.

bateau - steak tartare

steak tartare – with stone ground mustard, citrus zest, and horseradish cream quenelle; had a great beef flavor and had all the dressings of a prime rib with a twist of citrus zest to brighten and balance the dish

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Chef’s Choice – Sushi Kashiba

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Shiro is a legend in Seattle, and Shiro’s is a testament to his talent with its following hardcore nigiri fanatics. I’d say that the thing that stands out the most about Shiro’s is the perfectly made roll of sushi rice. It stays together, has the perfect amount of hardness, and has just enough mirin to make it interesting. So with Shiro’s new restaurant, Sushi Kashiba, it was no surprise to see that the rice was still perfect. And now he gets to choose the cuts of fish and design the omakase menu.

For $95, there’s 11 pieces of nigiri plus two rolls, miso, and tamago. The fish will be whatever is freshest that day, but these are all extremely fresh pieces of fish, with an oh toro and a salmon belly to boot. The fattiness of the tuna and the flavor of the salmon make you realize how flavorful fresh fish can be! The eel was a highlight for our family, the most tender and flavorful they had ever had. I also heard raves about the sweet shrimp, but I do not like sweet shrimp, so I convey their compliments. I do question why there was a spicy tuna roll in the omakase, but maybe it’s a popular request?

sushi Kashiba - omakasi 1

Omakasi 1 – one of these is a oh toro and all that’s matters

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