Tag Archives: american

Feb 10 2018

Escape – The Lake House

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Birthday celebration 2017 – needed a place on the Eastside that had inventive food, something more interesting. Jason Wilson’s Lake House of farmhouse inspired craft cooking in the middle of downtown Bellevue seemed to offer just that. It’s an airy, white-walled, spacious temple for locavores humming with the energy of shoppers newly energized by some retail therapy.

lakehouse - pesto pasta

housemade sarde shell pasta – foraged mushrooms, soft cooked egg, green garlic pesto. This is my favorite dish at The Lake House hands down. It’s an al-dente pasta, lovingly wrapped in clingy egg yolk with pesto and I swear a hint of truffle. Just pop these in your mouth, one at a time, and savor the chew, the silkiness, and the richness of this dish. Like carbonara moved up north in Italy.

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Aug 13 2017

Top Shelf – Butcher’s Table

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They say Butcher’s Table is the swankiest new steakhouse in town, with tasting flights of different grades or different cuts of beef. It’s trendy and it’s a bit of a extravagance, but if you’re going to have steak, you might was well go all out. We were celebrating a birthday afterall, so no expense was spared.  And that’s how I like it.

Butcher's Table - uni

uni – lardo, seeded bread, jalapeño. Considering that Butcher’s Table specializes in beef, this uni had a delicate sweetness and creaminess that paired well with the bread and the spice of the jalapeños. It’s always fun to see how uni is used outside of sushi and they did quite well with this fun bite of appetizer.

 

Butcher's Table - 4-cut tasting flight

If you wanted to know what the difference in cuts tastes like, this is how you do it. If you can’t taste the difference between the cuts, then your best bet is to get the cheapest cut and stick to it. This happens to be the 5-star tasting – filet, new York, cap of ribeye and eye of ribeye. All the pieces had a lovely beef flavor, the filet was the most tender (as expected), though none of them had any issues with gristle and chewiness. This is about as good as it gets.

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Nov 13 2016

Great [Again] – Young American Alehouse

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This post is as much about food as it is politics, as fair warning. I’ve had a hard time processing the results of the 2016 election and writing is cathartic to me.

It was election night. Nutkin and She-Nutkin and I met for dinner so that I could regale them with my tales from New Orleans (beignets, music, and history!).  I wanted to check out Young American Alehouse since it was in their neighborhood, and it was Maria Hines’ re-imagining of Golden Beetle. They had just opened three weeks ago. Golden Beetle was my favorite Mediterranean restaurant in Seattle, so I was sad to see the change, but I assume they had good reason for the change. Maybe the locals weren’t interested in the unrecognizable spices or the fancy small plates among the growing population of craft breweries springing up all over the neighborhood?

We were halfway through our entrees when She-Nutkin checked her phone for the election results. All we saw was a sea of red. A little bit of math told us that Hilary had lost the White House.  It was as if we had all swallowed rancid milk (or in this case, a rancid Cheeto) in our stomachs. What was supposed to be a celebration of our first woman for President, quickly became a shot to the gut with an instant reaction to throw up. This wasn’t supposed to happen.  How could someone who spews racist, misogynistic, and bigoted comments be elected as a leader in a country that once was a haven with freedom of persecution from race, creed, and religion? What fear has torn this country asunder to turn to hate? Continue reading »

Dec 2 2015

In My Belly – Beast (Portland)

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They call a new type of dining experience, sitting around a communal table in a tiny restaurant that seats only 24 people, served prix-fixe style, but really, it’s more like sitting down a table at home with family, except mom is a gourmet chef with a penchant for charcuterie and formage blanc. Welcome to the belly of Beast, where the dishes are playful and the service est compris (tip is included, European style). There are six dishes, with optional wine pairing, and it’s a journey from beginning to end.

Beast - scallop crudo

scallop crudo – with apple relish and dill and beet chips; this dish was perfectly balance for the delicateness of the scallop with the tang of the crispy apples and the crunchy earthiness of the beet chips; the beet chips surprised me the most, adding a subtle harmony to bring fruit and sea together. Even our resident non-sashimi eater enjoyed this dish and it was wonderfully executed.

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Feb 3 2015

Westward Ho! – Westward

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I believe that good food shouldn’t be saved for just special occasions, because every day should be a day to celebrate how wonderful life is. Which makes celebrating special occasions a little more difficult, but only because I need to figure out what the honoree would like best, rather than what I like best.  For my mom and dad’s anniversary (let’s say 30+) and my mom’s birthday combination dinner, we chose Westward for the following reasons:
–  middle eastern inspired, which my mom likes
– whole roasted trout – there’s nothing my dad enjoys more than a whole fish
– nominated as one of the top 10 restaurants by Bon Appetite magazine
– I’ve been there before, and it’s solid

westward - grilled halloumi cheese

grilled halloumi cheese – with arugula, cranberries, cashews; loved the combination of cheese with the tartness of cranberries, earthiness of nuts, spiciness of arugula, and tanginess of vinaigrette; you have to cut the cheese with a knife and it has a nice firm texture without being too rubbery

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Jan 25 2015

Mostly Sunny – Damn the Weather

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Kipnik and my friend from Japan wanted to place with good food and good drinks. Now, I don’t know much about drinks myself, but I do know good food and places they say are good for drinks. Damn The Weather, a craft cocktail bar in Pioneer Square fit the bill. So on a rainy Friday night, we found ourselves into a relatively small bar with golden light flooding the room. The chatter at a lively din, we had arrived just in time for happy hour.

Damn the Weather - Pimm's Cup

Pimm’s Cup – they’re known for their craft cocktails; I have no idea what makes a good cocktail, but my sister liked this one and it’s not as sweet as ones I’ve had in the past, more of a bite

damn the weather - pork sliders

pork sliders – flavorful, bite sized

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Nov 19 2014

From the Forge Came Heaven – Miller’s Guild

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A birthday celebration calls for something special, exceptional, and wholly memorable. I took t0e out for his birthday to Miller’s Guild without really knowing what we were getting into – only that they had a gigantic flaming grilled call the Infierno and that they specialized in meats. And what followed next, was jaw dropping, camera clicking, OMG inducing for a variety of reasons (how’s that for a sensationalist hook line?).

The chef, Jason Wilson, is probably better known for his fine dining establishment Crush, which is a solid place in my mind, but not on my recommendation list. Miller’s Guild is a restaurant built around a 9 foot flaming grill, and while it specializes in meat, the chef is top notch in all the other items beyond just meat.

miller's guild - 31oz prime rib

31 oz. prime rib – we came for meat, and they did not disappoint in that arena. 31 oz with the bone in of meat that came on a tree trunk sectional, brown sauce are drippings from all the meats on the grill (heavenly) and green sauce was horseradish-y with truffle oil; 31 oz. is impressive – it was also the smallest rib eye steak on their dry aged menu; and because it is such a large and thick cut of meat, parts of it were more well done than medium rare, especially near the tip of the bone, the meat has a sweetness to it, but it’s not the most tender or most flavorful steak you’ll ever have, but it is by far the most impressive chunk of meat you’ll ever be served. Still, a good steak.

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Sep 1 2014

They’ve got CHOPS! – Porkchop and Co.

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Where should I start with Porkchop and Co???  Nutkin and crew decided to go here for dinner on a whim, not really knowing what to expect as I had heard of it in passing, but hadn’t paid much attention to it. But I’m paying attention now.  With a name like Porkchop, they were going to have to have some good pork dishes and they did not disappoint.

We made a reservation for 8pm on Saturday night, but as it turns out, that wasn’t necessary as it was mostly empty. Their menu consisted mostly of small plates, sandwiches, a 3 course pris fix dinner, and pickled veggies. And a whole chicken that Nutkin and she-Nutkin debated ordering before we decided that we were going to order family style to try more things on the menu.  That was the smartest move we made.

pickles & kimchi - pickles, carrots, cauliflower, kimchi; sadly the pickles were a little limp and the kimchi doesn't have the punch of a Korean restaurants kimchi (it's less vinegary and spicy) but is probably a good choice for people who are unfamiliar with kimchi; the cauliflowers were the standout in this starter

pickles & kimchi – pickles, carrots, cauliflower, kimchi; sadly the pickles were a little limp and the kimchi doesn’t have the punch of a Korean restaurants kimchi (it’s less vinegary and spicy) but is probably a good choice for people who are unfamiliar with kimchi; the cauliflowers were the standout in this starter

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Jun 14 2014

A Good Life – Hi Life

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When Mr. Lo returns from Washington D.C., we always celebrate his return with good food and good friends.  It’s a Good Life. We were going to go to Brimmer & Heeltap, but the restaurant was too small for a party of 9 and wasn’t child friendly, so Nutkin moved us to Hi Life not too much further down the street.

I’ve been there for their friend chicken Sunday dinner, which at $15, is an amazing deal and most certainly a must-try!  I had not been there for other entrees, and I enjoyed the atmosphere and thought it was great for children and large groups.  Their build your own cookie for children’s dessert was so much fun!  They provide cookie dough and sprinkles and let the kids get to work.  It is truly an edible work of art!

high life - burger

burger

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Apr 4 2014

A Winner – The Whale Wins

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The month-long celebration of my birthday continues at the Whale Wins!  My friend and I had heard great things about this place and it is impossible to get a reservation here.  It’s small and tucked away, but it’s a neat space next to Joule with “hello” written in the lights above and the desserts prominently on display on the counter when you walk in.  A preview of dessert – what could be more exciting!  They had a pile of unruly looking pistachio meringues that you could take home for $3.50. They are a family style large plate restaurant – meaning you order as if you would small plates and share with the table.  There’s no real entrée on the menu, so pick all the things that interest you and you won’t go wrong.  We ordered 5 plates plus dessert and it was very filling, but not uncomfortably so.

whale wins - kale salad

kale salad – kale with their 7 minute egg, potatos, cooked fennel, and aioli; it could have used a little lemon to brighten it up a bit, but overall, quite delicious for kale, which wasn’t tough or chewy at all.

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