Romance & holidays

Comparative Studies

Jonesin' for a steak

This is just your run of the mill whiney post. I'm sure half an hour after posting I will be on to something else, forgetting that I have a whiney streak in me today. What you see above is my bacon cheeseburger with homemade potato chips. It's just not the same. It's not the same as walking into some restaurant with ambient lighting, being guided to an open and usually inviting table and being asked to please take a seat. It's not the same as someone coming around, just out of the blue, to fill your water glass. It's not the same as the basket of bread with honey-butter being delivered to the table just because. This bacon cheeseburger with homemade potato chips is not the rib eye steak I am craving right now. It is not the massive house salad or side of green beans, or baked potato or any of it. This homemade bacon cheeseburger with potato chips is not even McD's where one just drives up to a light up board, talks to a screen and then drives around to another window where one gets handed the most heavenly smelling paper bag.

This homemade bacon cheeseburger isn't even on a bun - although I like the dark sweet whole grain stuff better anyway. I am jonesin' to not eat at home. I am craving almost any restaurant. The funniest thing is, I can't bring myself to go do it. Cash is available. Time is available. I've been out driving twice today thinking about eating and haven't stopped anywhere except the grocery to pick up the burger. I've definitely got issues.

(The photo is to remind me I've got nothing whine about)

Great restaurants of Seattle

Twice in one year. I am so enjoying this year. Twice in one year I get to enjoy fantastic food at great restaurants here in Seattle. In April I had the pleasure of heading over to Capitol Hill and dining at Poppy's restaurant. Already last night I was able to go to Tilth in the Wallingford neighborhood. I promise I am not spoilt yet. It certainly has been an exceptional year.

Tilth is owned by chef, Maria Hines. Maria was named this year's James Beard's Chef of the year for the Northwest. She has been running Tilth since 2006 and last year made NYTimes top 10 best new restaurants in the nation. She's got a great crew too. As we were standing looking into the kitchen at the end of our meal all the sudden the whole crew stopped their activity and smiled and waved at us all at once. There's a show stopper for you!

Let's go back to the beginning of the meal and our waitress, Sherri. She's got it going on because she let us know we can have "half orders" and that way we can try more things on the menu. Excellent plan of attack. My dining partner - yep, my son - has an inside scoop on this particular restaurant. He's been eyeing some dishes waiting for the opportunity to try them out. We each ordered two "half-orders" from the menu and ate off each other's plates as if we were related (oh that's right, never mind). We were still proper diners. We used our forks in the proper order and kept our napkins in our laps. What more do you want?

Beautiful Plate of Tuna, baby carrots and chive spaetzle

please note: napkin on lap

We enjoyed the Tuna (oh, the tuna...and the chive speatzle under it was light a refreshing and perfect to look at as well as to eat). We had Sweetbread - something I've never had before (wow, almost a light liver, as in pate, but not - I'll stop now). We had Balsamic glazed chicken - succulent and the corn puree accompaniment was the sweetest corn I ever remember eating. Is it because these things are organic? There was a lightness, nothing muddled about the flavors.

But, the thing I wonder I will always remember from this visit to Tilth is that I ate mussels and not only liked them...I want to go back for more. Mussles with dill and cilantro - what a vibrant flavor combination! I can taste it just thinking about it. It was good, damn good.

This Mussels thing is an amazing wonder in that I have never liked anything that vaguely resembles an oyster. Anything bivalvular had me looking at the other side of a menu. This aversion, I'm sure, started at Christmas Eve, the dreaded Christmas Eve Oyster Stew. Before I even started school I remember watching either my mom or my aunt or my grandma making oyster stew on Christmas Eve. Each of them would be going on and on about how good it is and our Swedish heritage and this will get passed down for generations (oops, sorry). I would be standing on a chair at the counter watching the oysters and the milk and the butter, salt & pepper going into the pot. I still want to gag at the smell of that. I can't help but wonder if a bad batch of oysters showed up one year and that was the "formative" year for me and oysters.

We can't say that my taste buds have finally grown up. I had the opportunity to try Cockles this year and, nope, they are as icky as oysters. Just smaller. These mussels at Tilth were good because they were cooked well. I wouldn't have thought to put dill and cilantro together. This is a spectacular burst of flavors. I suppose that's why I'm not the chef.

My son knows how to pick 'em. He makes a great dinner partner too. Espresso! Finish your night out with espresso, and the deserts (strawberry sconey thingy and a chocolate decadent scrumptious thick cake with creme and...the best....)!