I'm busy stuffing my face

So sorry I haven't posted in a while! Between moving and the Holidays I haven't had a spare second. Not to worry though, I will be back after the New Year with all new reviews and even some Vlogs (thanks to my awesome new HD recorder).

I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday and have a safe New Years Eve.

Artisanal Revisted

I took four years of French in high school and college and I can't speak a word of it. Perhaps it's my bitterness about those wasted years pouring over textbooks, that I never developed a taste for French cuisine. Maybe it's because I spent 6 years of my young adult life as a vegetarian (It was a dark time in my life, I don't want to talk about it). Whatever the reason, I have not remained silent about my dislike of all foods French.

Some may argue this next statement, but I can totally admit when I am wrong. Boy oh boy, was I wrong. A few posts back I wrote about a wonderful dinner I experienced at the pre opening of Artisanal Brasserie in Bellevue. While there were a few service hiccups, I was flabbergasted on how I had gone my whole life not appreciating this type of cuisine. It was as if I had tasted bacon for the first time. Since that night, Artisanal has opened it's doors and I have been (un)patiently waiting to return.

It happened to be Brooks' birthday the other night and we figured there was no better way to celebrate it than by an all out fancy schmancy dinner at Artisanal with his parents. The fact that we could drink all the French wine we wanted and then crawl the two blocks home was just an added bonus.

Our server was friendly and knew the specials inside and out. The menu had changed some since pre opening and he was happy to go over everything and point out the really great items. We toasted to Brooks's birthday with some champagne while the sommelier chose a bottle of wine for us.

Starting of the dinner we had three amuse bouche; the tempura cheese, marinated olives, and gougeres. The marinated olives where exactly what you would expect and just a little bit of spice. The tempura cheese was quite a presentation with long, thin wooden sticks in a wooden board, topped off with small cubes of deep fried Comte cheese. They were good but my favorite is still the gougeres. Small, fluffy, cheesy balls of warm pastry dough. I would happily let these things make me fat.

Following our amuse bouche, a wonderful plate of charcuterie and cheese arrived. Coppa, Speck, Soppressata, and Prosciutto lined one side of a rustic board while the other half had five or six different cheeses. They ranged from very mild to "wow that's a lot of mold" strong. I am a meat and cheese person so this is by far my favorite thing on the menu. I can't even imagine how many nights I will spend here in the future just ordering this and a glass of wine.

By this time we had been enjoying ourselves for almost two hours, how very European of us. We decided we should probably order our entrees or risk spending the night. I really did want to expand my horizons and order something new but I just loved the risotto so much last time I was there I had to get it again...sorry. Brooks ordered the halibut, his mom ordered the chicken cooked under a brick, and his dad got the scallops. I think we did pretty well for ourselves.

Starting off with my risotto, I could not have remembered it tasting any better. The presentation was quite original also, as the risotto was stuffed inside a hollowed out Walla Walla onion. While it did look very pretty, the size of the onion did not allow for much risotto inside it. Had I not already stuffed myself with meat and cheese I might of felt a little slighted.

In all honesty, I was super selfish and lunged for Brooks' halibut as soon as it was set on the table...before he even had a chance to pick up his fork. Sorry Brooks. It was moist and crispy in all the right places. There is something about a perfect piece of white fish that gets me every time.

I believe the real hit of the table though was the scallops. Large and juicy, they were covered in the most divine blood orange sauce and sat atop a cauliflower puree of sorts. Brooks' dad said they were the best he has ever had. The best I've ever had is debatable, but these were definitely contenders.

Finally, the chicken cooked under a brick, which sadly I did not have an opportunity to taste. Sorry, but there is only so much room in my stomach, and dessert was up next. Priorities. Everyone else at the table agreed that it was wonderful though, and judging by the fact the table of four next to me all ordered it, I think it would be a safe bet.

As our entrees were cleared and dessert wine dropped off at the table (for the love of my liver, no more boozeeee!!!), we each ordered our desserts. I of course ordered the Le Cirque creme brulee. We also ordered the beingets, the profiteroles, and the Artisanal cheesecake. Since I was beyond full, I allowed the others to sample my creme brulee and they all agreed that it is the best they have ever had. The profiteroles were also fantastic as we substituted the regular ice cream for salted caramel. The beingets were light and fluffy and the compote was awesome. I did not try the cheesecake as I despise cheesecake. I want to vomit just typing cheesecake. No matter, I think three desserts is enough for one person.

Four hours after we started, we waved our white napkins in the air and unbuttoned the top button of our pants. I kind of like it when I'm wrong (sometimes).

Tweet Tweet

Well a good morning to everyone! I hope I am not the only one who was forced out of bed before dawn today....

Anyways, I just wanted to let everyone know that as of last night I finally got with the times and added Meaty Air to the wonderful world that is Twitter. Now I can do real time reviews and finally have somewhere to put all the poor quality cell phone pics I take of really yummy food. So look forward to that.

Please don't make me look like a friendless loser. Go follow me on Twitter.

The List

As a Concierge, not a day goes by where I am not asked "Where should I eat tonight?" Uhmm, a restaurant? Ok, I don't ever say that...I like my job and would like to keep it for the forseeable future...but if I ever change my mind, that will be my response. I also look forward to telling someone to "Google it." Again, it will never happen...but these are the things I fantasize about. Back to the point of this post: Where to eat. In attempt to make your life easy, here is a handy dandy list of where to go, and why you should go there*. You are welcome.

Restaurant Zoe: Chef and Owner Scott Staples does New American comfort food very well. I love this restaurant because it's unstuffy and knows how to braise a good short rib.

Crush: New American cusine in a craftsman home. The food and the atmosphere is oh so chic. I feel like I get cool points every time I dine there. Also, Chef Jason Wilson is still one of my favorite Chefs.

Spinasse: I love pasta and Spinasse is by far the best I have EVER had. Words can not describe how truly amazing this restaurant is.

List: From the same owner of Barolo, Leo Varchetta knows how to make a trendy restaurant. There was a time where you could find me here almost three times a week.I think Brooks and I survived solely on a bottle of white, truffle gnocchi, and the sea bass for months.

Taberna Del Alabadero: If you love/never have had paella, you must go here immediately. Also, their Sangria is to die for.

Ka Won BBQ: It's quite a drive to get to, but well worth it. The only Korean BBQ place I know of that serves black pork bacon, and a salad that is worth the trip alone.

Serious Pie: The BEST pizza ever. That's all.

Portage Bay Cafe: By far my absolute favorite place for breakfast/brunch. I live no where near the U-district but will happily make the drive for the Phil's breakfast. This place is quite amazing.

Salumi: Mario Batali's dad is cooler than Mario. Yeah I said it...and anyone who has ever been to Salumi would agree. Always a long line and you have to get there early or they will run out of what you want.

Artisanal Brasserie: This is the restaurant that made me like French food. Celebrity Chef Terrence Brennan is creating something special in this restaurant. The sister restaurant Artisanal Table (next door to Artisanal Brasserie) is also worth a visit.


Well there you have it, some of my favorites. I'm tired now and this post felt like work. If you want other options....Google it.




*Please don't send me hate mail about me forgetting a restaurant or having one you think is tired/passé....this is my list, not yours.

....and They're Always Glad You Came

Ok you can stop singing the Cheers theme song now. Thank you.

When you eat out a lot (and I do), you always have your no-brainer restaurant. The type of place that you naturally gravitate towards when you just want to be satisfied. A place you keep going back to, time and again, because you know you'll leave full and happy. Now, I know I'm going to lose a few of you on this next sentence, but please bear with me, I can explain. I have one of those places, and it is El Gaucho.

Still with me? Ok good, let's proceed. Throughout my tenure as a Concierge, I have had the opportunity to sample a vast amount of restaurants in Seattle and the Eastside, and have loved quite a few of them. Restaurant Zoe, for example, is a truly wonderful restaurant. However I have only been twice. Spinasse? Exceptional pasta...I've been back three times. Countless other restaurants, I have have had wonderful dining experiences, and yet when I am hungry I don't feel the pull of my stomach to these places. What is it about El Gaucho that keeps me coming back for countless visits?

First off, El Gaucho is still one of my favorite places for a special occasion, budget busting type of blow out. But have you been for happy hour? I know I probably alienated a few readers when I initially said this was my go-to restaurant. "Not everyone can drop $300 on one dinner every week..." I can hear them say. Yeah well, neither can I. In all honesty, I've only eaten in the dining room a few times. My usual spot is at the bar. During happy hour, when bar food is half off.

A few nights back, a girlfriend of mine and I strolled into the Bellevue location and ordered five entrees and four drinks off the happy hour menu. Yes we had to pull two tables together, and yes we got the craziest stares from servers and patrons alike. We even ordered two steak sandwiches to take home for later..yeah we are hardcore like that. We rolled ourselves out of the restaurant paying under $100 total, which is amazing considering the sheer amount of items ordered.

Perhaps my love of El Gaucho is one of convenience, as they are open late and have a location close to work in Seattle, and one close to home in Bellevue. Perhaps it's one of quality, as you get consistantly good food, regardless of it being happy hour or not. Or, perhaps, it's because no matter when I go there, be it for happy hour or for a fancy dinner, they are always genuinly happy to have the business.

So, if you are ever in El Gaucho and see a brunette with two tables full of food, make sure you say hi to me...and pull up a table.

Let's just pretend this whole thing never happened...

Ventana in Belltown opened recently and I have heard some wonderful things from many people. So naturally when I found myself in Seattle with a little over an hour to kill after getting Brooks a haircut at Steven Barrett Salon (plug for Erich, he does incredible work, seriously) and before heading to The Paramount for a showing of August:Osage County, I found myself on Ventana's doorstep.

The restaurant itself was completely empty, and the bar had about 20 people in it. The 20 people looked to be part of the same group as they all were sampling yummy looking snacks laid out on one of the long bar tops. Taking a seat at one of the empty tables in the bar, we were quickly greeted by our server with food and drink menus. It took all of 3 seconds for me to see they had a Bakon Vodka bloody mary and excitedly order it. Brooks settled on his old standby, a Negro Modelo.

Not wanting to risk being late for curtain, we also gave the server our food orders. Everything on the menu looked appetizing, from the b.l.t with pork belly, to the spare ribs, and the beef toungue raviolo. I asked the server how the marrow bones were prepared, to which I got a blank stare and a reply of "they have parmesan and a salad." uhmm, ok, that does not even come close to answering my question, but thanks...? Deciding the bones might be too rich of an entree before heading into a 3 hour show, I chose the halibut which seemed a safe alternative. Brooks ordered the b.l.t. on my request, how can you say no to pork belly?

The prices were very reasonable also, with the most expensive item being $16 for a New York Strip Steak. Brooks, a restaurant manager, even commented that they must not be making any money on food as the prices were scary cheap. Thinking they must be making this up in drink costs, I checked the cocktail menu, and surprisingly the bloody mary was the most expensive, at $10.

Almost 15 minutes later we had yet to recieve our drinks. Odd, considering there were two bartenders, a manager, and a server. I waiting a while longer, and finally, after almost 20 minutes our server arrived with my bloody mary... and Brooks' cucumber margarita (?!). In all honesty, the margarita was quite delicious, but I still can not figure out how she heard cucumber margarita from Negro Modelo. Not a big deal, she left it for us to enjoy while she went to get the correct drink. Five minutes later she had not returned. She must of gone to the Modelo brewery to get a fresh one. If the bar or restaurant had been busy, I would of understood the long wait, but honestly, it wasn't even close. I must say though, the bloody mary is quite possibly the best one I have ever had. Bakon Vodka, and a bacon salt rim. Yes please.

After what seemed like a lifetime, she returned with the beer and our entrees followed shortly after. Brooks' b.l.t looked amazing. My mouth waters when I think about the fries it came with...mmmm. And my halibut...wait...this isnt halibut...it's bone marrow. Uhmm. Without even an apology the server whisks away the bone marrow (which by the way, looks delicious!!!!) and says she'll get me a halibut. Now I am sitting entree-less while Brooks' gets to enjoy his b.l.t. Awesome.

A few minutes later our server reemerges from the kitchen with a plate. I am eagerly awaiting this halibut, if it as half as good as the b.l.t all is forgiven. To my surprise, sitting on the plate is not a moist piece of halibut, but a lone piece of bacon. Excuse me? "This is supposed to go into your drink" she says as she plops the piece of bacon into my, now almost completely gone, bloody mary. Again, excuse me? Where was this when I got my drink almost 20 minutes ago???

We have now been sitting at this place for almost an hour. I am starting to hope they are fishing my halibut out of the sound, because there is no possible way they could still be cooking it. Sure enough, out comes the halibut, and it couldn't be more dry. I think if I blew hard enough, the entire thing would flake off and float away. By this point Brooks has polished off the last of his b.l.t and is now grazing on the fries. Great.

I don't even care at this point, if we hang around any longer we are going to be sitting in the lobby like late losers for act I. I inhale the remainding piece of halibut jerky and flag down our server to get the check. As she is dropping off our bill she says "sorry it is so noisy in here".....uhm, how about sorry for messing up both the drink and food order? Or better yet, why don't you remove the offending halibut from the bill? Nope.

We pay and get the heck out of there, laughing at the comedy of errors that was our dinner at Ventana. It was truly a shame, because the food, with the execption of the halibut, was fabulous. I want to erase this dinner from my memory and try again. I want a dining mulligan.



"When I was a small boy, my father told me never to recommend a church or a woman to anyone. And I have found it wise never to recommend a restaurant either. Something always goes wrong with the cheese soufflé." -Edmund G Love

Can you keep a secret?

"I feel like I just walked into a ride at Disneyland." This pretty much sums up my first impression of Capitol Hills's newest speakeasy, Tavern Law. It's a theme bar; albeit a very pretty theme bar. A long curved wooden bar top flanked by shelves of faux books and a backdrop of old fashioned looking bottles. Attractive men in vests with gold pocket watches alongside pin curled girls with long skirts serve up old fashioned sounding drinks like Plum Dandy and Old Cuban. A very period looking plasma flat screen plays silent movies while the trendy Capitol Hill patrons lounge in the leather booths. A mix of top 40 and hip hop is piped through the speakers.

Along the back wall is an inconspicuous telephone. People walk in, head straight to the phone and pick it up. A few moments later a wooden door opens the they disappear up a flight of stairs. More about that later.

I took the only open seat in the place (impressive considering it was 4pm on a Tuesday), one of the leather topped stools that run the length of the bar. The menu was six pages of cocktails and one page of food. Having no clue what any of the drinks were (Monkey Gland? Pike and Pine? Hu?!) I asked the bartender what he suggested. Like a pro, instead of spurting out a rehearsed list of cocktails, he asked questions. What do I usually drink? Do I prefer sweet, sour, or spice? On and on. After the interrogation, he settled on a ginger beer. Non alcoholic (commence laughing). I have to admit, I really (really) like ginger beer and was thoroughly impressed when that ended up being his suggestion for me. Not wanting to give him too easy an out, I had him make a few cocktails on the menu. I can't recall what their names were, and definitely couldn't name any of their 500 ingredients (egg whites perhaps? Plum vodka maybe?). What I can say is that each and every one was made with precision, care, and just the slightest hint of experimentation. Very impressive.

The food came out a little while afterwards; pork belly, risotto, and oysters. I immediately started with the pork belly. It was well....dry, and disappointing. I ended up giving it to Brooks after two bites. He'll eat anything. I washed the taste of the pork down and tried again. The risotto evoked the exact opposite reaction that the pork belly did. I found myself taking larger and larger bites in order to eat it all before Brooks got to it. It was fantastic. I would go back there in a heartbeat for a ginger beer and this risotto. Finally it was onto the oysters. These weren't just oysters, they were oysters on steroids. We are talking size of my fist, deep fried goodness. Could they of been a little crispier? Sure. Did their size more than make up for that? Absolutely.

After watching several groups of people make their way through the wooden door, I became intrigued. Chatting up the bartender I discover that there is a "secret" bar upstairs that is only accessed via the phone next to the door. You pick up the phone and if there is space upstairs, the door opens. He said that pretty soon only those "who know people" will be able to access the room, but currently it's an open door policy; if there is room, you're in. Interesting.

As you make your way up the stairs, framed black and white nudie pictures line the walls. The stairs creak underfoot as if they had been there for a hundred years. At the top of the stairs you are greeted by a small room full of antique upholstered sofas, crystal chandeliers, and swanky 1920's music. The plain drink glasses from downstairs have been replaced by antique crystal glasses (purchased off ebay, according to the bartender). I much prefer this room...I mean if you are going to do theme, why not go all the way.

I make my way back down the rickety stairs, past the nudie pics, through the not so secret door, and back out onto the street, leaving the roaring twenties behind me. Flat screens and all.