Recently in Dining Out Category

First with the good.

Molly Moon's opened up a location in Capitol Hill. Between Molly's excellent ice cream, the ice cream lady (Half Pint) at the farmer's market, and my own ice cream making experiments, I can only think, thank goodness boot camp and long runs started up.

And, it looks like a real cheese shop may be opening in Capitol Hill. The rumored location is about a 15 minute walk from my house, near Quinn's, the taqueria, Molly Moon's, Cafe Presse, and I'm pretty sure, close to the soon-to-be-opened Cupcake Royale new location. I think Capitol Hill is turning into a little gourmet grotto.

A real cheese shop - a la the cheese shop I would hit in the Marina after acupuncture in San Francisco - is going to be a very excellent addition in Cap Hill, and by extension, my life. Currently, the best cheese selection is at Whole Foods in Eastlake. Cosa Bella in Wallingford was good, but limited, and now that they've changed owners, I haven't been back since the close out sale. QFC and Trader Joe's have doable, but not inspirational selections.

And now for the not so good.

Thai Siam closed. I think many of us have a go to Thai place, and Siam was mine. The people were always friendly, the food was always dependable and delicious. I bought takeout from Siam the night I decided to live at the Park Rose Terrace and in Cap Hill, and I've picked up take out after each move in Cap Hill. Good food memories. Farewell.

PS - Jan, you have to visit, and soon. Mollie Moon's has delicious salted licorice ice cream!

Ok, so this blog should have been written about three weeks ago. But it's a tough one; writing about a foodie's dream is not easy. I tried for witty, I tried for intelligent, I tried for humorous, and nothing worked. So...you are getting this entry, which tries to do the meal justice. If you were present and I missed any details, feel free to add to the comments.

In just a few words, the Herb Farm was amazing, a meal that just about equaled the French Laundry, Michael Minna and De Kas. I had heard the stories, and the Herb Farm delivered. The quality of food, the combination of ingredients, the "you don't even know the servers are serving you" experience, the atmosphere, one of the best wine pairings I have ever experienced. And, the monthly theme - truffles - had me salivating two weeks before the dinner. My only complaint: the décor is more country than suits my taste, but really, it's ok.

The Herb Farm serves a set 9-course meal every night. The food changes with the season, and the chefs take great pride in using local ingredients. Really, it's a formula for success. So, knowing that, read on for my descriptions of the meal and the details, the very important details:

Arrival: Socialization in the waiting room, with wine or a pinot noir champagne (which I chose, because I love pinot noir and think that its use in champagne is absolutely brilliant) and spiced cider for the non-drinkers. I should also point out that they do well by the non-drinkers, pairing infused juices and teas with the meal.

On the New Tide: A Kumomoto oyster pan-fried with a dusting of cornmeal, served with aioli studded with char roe. The roe were good sized, and when bit, spurted a fabulous brine flavor in my mouth. It's also worth noting that this is the second time I've had char (the first was in Sweden last April), both times with colleague Char. Coincidence or conspiracy, I'm not sure which. A small bowl was filled bite-sized scallops,similar to ceviche, with leeks and a few slices of white truffle. And, a piece of flatbread with wild mushrooms, winter savory and pancetta. A glass of Capitello Oregon Brut was served along with, infused with juniper simple syrup (my other choice was bay simple syrup). Schelley's Opinion: I love, love, love oysters on the half shell, so was only slightly disappointed that the oyster was cooked. But, it was all delicious, and I have to admit, the spurt of briney char roe with the silky, slightly sweet aioli was a delightful surprise. And well, scallops any way is always a good thing, especially with leeks and a bite of truffle. (Sadly, the picture only shows the cup, not the scallops inside).

Crab Nebula: Ravioli's stuffed with Dungeness crab, salsify and mustard greens, topped with a delicious cream sauce and more white truffles. The wine was a tender 2007 Love and Squalor Riesling from Eola Hills in Oregon. Schelley's Opinion: This course marked the first time that I really got the wine and food pairings - for some reason, it worked like no other that I've had in the past. And the ravioli was delicate and rich and delicious. I could have had seconds...but I knew more was coming my way.

Chicken and its Egg: Shredded chicken was molded in a circle, wrapped with spinach and topped with a poached egg. A few spoonfuls of bonito truffle broth accompanied; the broth had flakes of truffle and perfectly cubed pumpkin. The wine, a 2007 Ponzi Vineyards Arneis from Willamette Valley. Schelley's Opinion: The egg was amazing - the yolk was bright yellow and creamy and rich. The egg came from a real chicken, one that spent its life happily poking around the dirt for bites and mites and bugs and other delicious chickeney things, running around, squawking and having fun with roosters. And the spinach and dashi broth were delicious. Sadly, the chicken just didn't impress me, but I think it had nothing to do with the quality, rather, my well-documented "meh" opinion of chicken. (The first picture is before I broke open the egg, the second shows off the bright yellow yolk).

In the Belly of the Pig: The pork belly was cooked for 18 hours, a very fine length of time in my opinion. The generous slice of pork was veined with fat, which may sound disgusting to a few of you, but was really, truly an out of world experience (I'm not sure why the pork is out of focus, but if you look closely, the fat is there). This came from a pig that was allowed to get fat, not the super engineered lean pork we get today. A few other tidbits accompanied the pork, including savoy cabbage, squash, potato and black truffle. Really, this dish incorporated so many of my favorite things. the biggest surprise: a glass of 2006 Mannina Cellars Sangiovese from Walla Walla. Schelley's Opinion: My FAVORITE course. Ok, you are probably thinking - a sangiovese with pork? Yeah, I was skeptical too, until I tasted and discovered that the flavors worked very, very well. Seriously, they could have stopped the dinner right there and served me another helping or two of the pork belly. Although, on second thought, I'm glad that they didn't because next we had...

Duck, Duck, Goose!: Three creations looked up at me from the plate. First, a chunk of succulent duck breast with shallot marmalade. Second, a pave (fancy French word for square) of duck confit with a pickled Montmorency cherry. And third, a little cannoli-type pastry filled with goose liver and duck tongues (!) and topped with foie gras froth and rested over a bed of black truffle-parsnip fondue. Schelley's Opinion: My second favorite course, despite the liver. Both iterations of the duck were rich and succulent and all that I want when I eat duck. The paired wine, a 2005 L'Herbe Sauvage Pinot Noir, Grapes of Wrath Cuvee from Oregon was perfect. I took a bite of the duck confit with the pickled cherry, then a sip of the wine, and I kid you not, the flavors danced in my mouth. And about the goose - I am not a fan of liver, but found the taste slightly muted by the foie gras. And, the truffle-parsnip fondue was simply delightful, creamy and rich and a nice contrast to the liver. As for the goose tongues, well, luckily, they were chopped up and mixed with the liver, so I really couldn't taste. I have a feeling that they served as filler (much like oysters in Ed's Thanksgiving stuffing). And I can't rave enough about how perfectly matched the wine was to the food. Plus, foie gras...mmm...foie gras.(I'm not quite sure how the picture ended up so art deco. Hmmm)

Say Cheese: Ahhh, the cheese course. A healthy chunk of Mt. Townsend Trailhead Cow's Milk Tomme. The creamy, grassy flavor of the cheese was offset perfectly by the nice crust. And if you don't eat the cheese crust, you are missing out (yes, that means all of you who scoop the brie cream and leave the crust. Eat the entire piece, dammit). A nice piece of poached endive and pair and sprinkled with pine nuts, all folded in truffled vinaigrette, went very well with the cheese. Wine was a 2005 Bella Vallee Pinot Noir port. Schelley's Opinion: I wish I had a slice of that cheese right now. And, really, as you're nearing the end of the meal, what is better than a glass of port with the cheese? (Look at the picture and note the carefully placed greenery on top of the "salad". The kitchen is open, and we watched the sous chef carefully choose and plate the best pieces).

Beet Sorbet with Straw: Just as billed, beet sorbet with "straw", a parmesan cracker. Oh, plus mascarpone and chestnut-truffle puree. I swear there was some chocolate on the plate, but considering the food and wine, things may be just a tiny bit blurry. Schelley's Opinion: Despite knowing that beets are sweet (beet sugar, beet syrup, etc.), this dish didn't really fly. I still ate, but I really think I prefer my beets with a tangy, non-sweet dressing. (Sorry, the picture was too sorry to post).

Chocolate and Truffles: Our second dessert was a delicious bittersweet chocolate and star anise milk chocolate terrine and a scoop of truffle ice cream nestled on a bed of malted-gianduija sauce (also known as hazelnut and chocolate, one of the best flavor combinations ever). Around this time, a bottle of 2004 Feather Cabernet was opened...which I happily drank way past the end of dinner. Schelley's Opinion: Um yeah, not sure what else I can say here. I loved the combination of bittersweet chocolate and star anise milk chocolate - I would have never paired the flavors - and was delighted that they worked so well. And the ice cream with gianduija sauce, I could only describe as truffle ice cream, already delicious, and a confection quite similar to Nutella, but much, much better. And the wine...well, I found my new favorite wine. It was rich and complex and full of oak and everything and more than I could ever want in a Cabernet. A few days later, I asked the wine guy at QFC to see if they had Feather, and after he laughed at me, told me that it's fairly rare and if I find any I "should snap it up".

A Selection of Small Treats: We shared little plates of confections. Bay-fig shortbread, Alaskan sea salt caramels (different from Fran's, just as delicious), and three types of truffles: dark chocolate cognac, pink peppercorn white chocolate and smoked tea milk chocolate. A tiny dessert glass of 2007 Bonny Doon Late Harvest Roussane accompanied, although I have to say that as delicious as I know the wine must have been, I'd had a lot to drink, and really, my attention was completely focused on the Feather Cabernet. Schelley's Opinion: Not much more to add at this point.

A Few Last Notes: In order to get to the bathroom, I had to make my way through the well-stocked wine cellar. A few bottles of Opus One caught my eye, and I wondered, what would happen if I took one? Of course, I decided against, but that one example does illustrate the Herb Farms' amazing wine cellar, if the Opus One is out for the taking and they stock the hard to find Feather, what else lurks? On a related topic, after reading about the food and wine, you are probably wondering how I felt the next day. Well, it was a rough day. Pete gave me a ride (my car was in Redmond), making a few snarky comments about my appearance and speech difficulties (he still had to listen to a long description of the meal, so payback was joyful). I may have moaned out loud a few times (sorry Char!) and definitely took advantage of the comped Office Advil. I felt mildly better when a colleague who also attended replied to my email at 4:30 with the statement "I'm surprised that I can even write an email at 4:30." I didn't admit to him that at 3:00, it took me 30 minutes to write the single paragraph email.

And that, friends, is the Herb Farm. Perhaps not my best or most eloquent blog, but this was a tough one to write. I apologize for the overuse of words such as "amazing" and "fabulous", and especially, I apologize for the pictures - the lighting was bad and there are some limits to my food photo skills. If you want to see and experience the Herb Farm in person, well, you'll have to visit. And yes, Nilay, I'm talking to you.

A few weeks ago, I got to bust out of the cold and drear of Seattle and head to LA for a quick trip. Two notable food moments: La Salsa, a Cali taqueria chain, where I ate tacos and sat outside; and airline food. Why write about airline food? Because Virgin Air America rocks.

Look at the picture below - it's a fruit and cheese box lunch. Yes, that's fresh fruit. Yes, that cheese is not an overly processed piece of who knows what preservatives its' filled with wrapped in plastic cheese attempting to pass as cheese. For $7, I had generous hunks of cheddar, brie and manchego. A bunch of grapes. Walnuts. Dried apricots. Delicious.

I should note that not only was the food tasty, but the service was impeccable and friendly, the planes were clean (as in scrubbed regularly), they even had Method soap in the bathrooms. I hope that Virgin survives, because it's a damn fine airline. I can't wait to fly them again, and for the first time in years, my airline choice is not made in an attempt to maintain status.

And, to clear up any misconceptions, I absolutely do not mind paying for airplane food. My objections are really about the high price of mediocre food. Seriously, give me decent, non-processed food that warrants the cost.

PS: While I was slaving over a hot stove, cooking an absolutely fabulous dinner, my dinner guest inserted these lines into entry: BTW - My friend Pete totally rocks. There isn't a better friend out there.. Hmmph.

I've always said that street food is tasty, tasty, tasty, a point proven correct once again during a trip to Mexico. Pictured below is my favorite meal of the trip, found at one of the food stalls that dotted Merida's central square. Sadly, I forget the name of this dish, but what matters is that it was delicious. A crispy tortilla stuffed with a bit of cheese, then topped with marinated grilled steak, cheese, pickled onions and a bit of spicy tomato-based sauce. Delicious, I tell you, delicious.

The marquesita was my second favorite food, also bought from a street vendor. The pictures doesn't quite do it justice, but imagine something similar to a waffle cone cooked in front of you, then sprinkled with grated Gouda cheese and rolled up. Non-savory marquesitas used nutella (my favorite food to eat with a spoon), caramel and/or some type of sweetened condensed milk.

Ceviche is fairly common in the Yucatan - definitely a different taste than the Panamanian (especially the Panamian, which absolutely bursts with enough citrus to cause some puckering), Peruvian and Brazilian types of ceviche that I've feasted on in the past. There was also some sauteed squid, some plantains, some tacos, chorizo, bacon, eggs and potatoes for breakfast, a salbute (may be the wrong name, but soft tortilla smeared with beans and topped with marinated steak, iceburg lettuce and pickled onion) and lots of delicious, delicious black beans. Oh, and all washed down with margaritas and/or beer, because it was vacation.

Among other tidbits about the trip: bribing the policia; some long, very long, road trips in the about ready to fall apart rental car (and especially, holding our breath each time we went over a tope, a huge speed bump capable of causing serious damage); lounging by the pool; exploring Mayan ruins at Chichin Itza and Dzibilchaltun; getting chased by dogs while jogging; and accidentally making margaritas with rum instead of tequila. Finally, my favorite moment of the entire trip - swimming in the cenote at Dzibilchaltun. I can be found in the very center of the picture, with a smile on my face.

For some reason, going on a two week business trip for the second half of October seemed like a good idea a month before I booked hotels and flights and vendors and a conference. The day before I left, well, it suddenly wasn't a good idea. Fourteen days, seven beds, three cities and two towns later, I arrived home. Despite the length, it was a good trip. A very interesting conference, time with family on both coasts (East Coast was already written about, at least the cake part), and after nearly a year, finally returning to San Francisco (the March trip doesn't count due to illness) and seeing friends whom I hadn't seen in about a year.

Culinary highlights, just for all of you:

Francine Bistro, Camden, Maine: Camden is a cute little town in Maine along some sort of body of water, where we attended a conference. I found Francine Bistro on Yelp, and we loved so much the first time, we returned a second night. Absolutely delicious, including the spinach soup, duck and multi-colored beet salad with grated apple and the most amazing lemon-based dressing I have ever tasted. My lemon salad dressings are always acidic - which I love - but I would LOVE to know how to make a non-acidic, lemony and sweet lemony dressing. The second part of Camden of note was the Blue Harbor House, a bed and breakfast with absolutely scrumptious breakfasts. Day one: poached pears with ginger and vanilla cream and blueberry pancakes with coconut butter and maple syrup. Day two: poached fruit with vanilla yogurt and egg and tomato omelet with Irish soda bread. Day three: poached fruit with vanilla yogurt and French toast brulee, cubes of French toast baked with a cinnamon syrup.

Grotto, Boston: Good, old-fashioned Italian food. My colleague ordered a heaping plate of delicious spaghetti and meatballs, and Tracy won the award for the prettiest plated dish, risotto in a pumpkin.

The Temple Bar, Boston: Delicious, delicious, delicious food. My ahi poke on a rice cake was delightful and just what I needed.

The Berkshire, Denver: A flight of bacon. I really have nothing else to say except for if you're in Denver, hit the Berkshire for the flight of bacon. I also found my new favorite line stenciled on the wall: "Temptation, libation...and a bacon station".

The Tamale Stand, Denver: Sadly, my favorite tamale vendor in Denver was sold out of tamales both mornings. Can you believe that someone came and bought all three dozen of his tamales at one time? Bitch, I say, bitch. Ahem. However, that did give me the perfect opportunity to try his burritos. At most taquerias, his would be considered "chico" sized, which gave me the perfect excuse for two samples at a time. Egg and chorizo, bean and beef and bean and chile - what else would you ever want for breakfast?

Pizzeria Delfina, San Francisco: Pizzeria Delfina moved in to Pac Heights, and Carrie and I went on Halloween. Slightly different atmosphere than the place I love in the Mission, but still just as delicious. We started with their radicchio salad, enjoyed a bite of our neighbors' fennel salad (hey, it pays to be friendly) and then enjoyed the clam pie and the margharita pie. The leftovers the next day were just as delicious.

Suppenkuche, San Francisco. Delicious German food, as always. After a German charcuterie platter, I feasted on sausages, spaetzle and purple sauerkraut. It was also a birthday celebration, back in my former hood.

Slanted Door, San Francisco: I met Mom and Dad at the Ferry Building, and we decided to try the Slanted Door for dinner. I have to say - I was pleasantly surprised, I had always heard mixed things about the upscale Vietnamese place. Before going for dinner, I had only had drinks and oysters, all delicious...and dinner was just as delicious. We started with oysters (like any Olhava would pass up oysters) and spring rolls, then scallops cooked in a clay pot in some sort of soy and oyster sauce and ginger deliciousness, a perfectly brined and grilled pork chop, sautéed spinach and delicious, delicious eggplant. I should note, the Manhattan was quite tasty. The only bad thing about our meal - the service. Not sure what was going on, but considering the price and reputation, I really expected better.

Bourbon & Branch, San Francisco: The San Francisco speakeasy, requiring either a reservation or a password, or both. We had the password, and "luckily", they had three bar seats for us. Little do they know that the bar is always my favorite seat, and in this case, it was fascinating watching the bartenders in action. Drinks were definitely worth the cost of admission: the autumn Manhattan (it tasted like fall, and let's leave it at that), and the Black Manhattan, made with bourbon and a shot of Averna (yeah Averna, my new favorite appertif).

The Chocolate Box offers the Tour de Chocolate, a whirlwind tour of Seattle's best and finest chocolate shops. And, like most foodie tours, samples are highly encouraged for on the go consumption or to enjoy later at home. My spoils are pictured below.

As for the tour, we started at the Chocolate Box, for a quick education in chocolate and flight of Fiori's dark chocolate. If you're a dark chocolate fan, I recommend Fiori's dark chocolate. Next, an airporter size van transported us to Theo Chocolate in Fremont, the only Seattle chocolatier to produce from start-to-finish, or in chocolate speak, from cacoa bean to consumable piece of chocolate. I'm now a big fan of their cocoa nibs and the Jane Goodall line. Fran's Chocolate in the University Village was our next stop, where we drank Fran's delicious hot chocolate, a few truffles and my favorite, the sea salt caramel. Plus a new sea salt caramel trick - upside down, allowing the salt to hit your tongue. This is also the point in the tour where I started to get a chocolated out, although I persevered. Another fun fact: Fran's production facility is in Cap Hill! From Fran's, we went to Oh! Chocolate, where we learned to temper chocolate, which is the process of cooling melted chocolate by spreading with your hands, then dipping various foodstuff in the chocolate. Licking your fingers at the end was highly encouraged and practiced all around. We ended up back at the Chocolate Box, for an amazing cup of European sipping hot chocolate. Imagine the best chocolate bar you've ever imagined melted, in a cup, with a dollop of heavy whipped cream. Yes.

My only advice for the chocolate tour: eat a good breakfast; the tour is morning only (something about having a cleaner palette) and if you're an early morning gym person like I am, the typical yogurt and granola breakfast isn't going to sustain you. Even though I stopped with the chocolate, I had some serious sugar issues - made worse by the bites of coconut cream pie and donuts at Dahlia - and my system went completely off kilter. It was still worth it.

Hands down, Quinn's is one of my favorite Seattle restaurants. It's just not that it's located within a 15 minute walk of my house, or that the bar cranks out excellent drinks and has an impressive beer menu, or that the wait staff is friendly, cool and crush-worthy, but also, most importantly, the food is amazing. Wait, that's amazing as in a-MA-zing. As in, not one bad meal in the probably 15 times I've dined since it opened last October.

Quinn's calls itself a gastropub, which means that the traditional pub food is there, but elevated to another level. Rarebit? That's served as a warm pretzel with a complex cheese sauce. Salad, yes, but spiced up with new ingredients; my favorite is the bread salad, with fennel, radishes, olives, cucumbers, lettuce and of course, grilled bread. Hamburger...wagyu beef with a pile of delicious fries. Meat, in the form of braised oxtails with gnocchi. Foul, duck confit. Bangers and mash, elevated to a housemade sausage with lentils. Fish, in the form of scallops. Braised eel. Oh, and the list continues...

A few weeks ago, I ended up at Quinns three times in one week, once with my brother, once with Gabe, Jess, Lisa and Tracy, and once again with Lisa, plus Andy, as they helped me snap out of a blue funk with good food and drink. It was an excellent weeklong adventure...Along the way, I snapped a picture of the salad and savory cheesecake, with fresh raspberries and a raspberry dressing. Oh, delicious. The photo looks delicious, the taste is even better.

BTW, I met the head chef in the bathroom line. A Boston Southie, polite enough to want me to cut ahead of him in line. "No," I insisted. "You are feeding all of us. I can't go ahead of you."