Nosh Pit

Poutine at the Coterie Room: Best in the City?

So we hear.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Oct 14, 2011 at 10:25AM 7 Comments

The poutine in question. Thanks to the generous Seattle Food Geek for the pic.

Poutine, it’s right up there with brunch as far as Seattle obsessions go.

Word from a trusty source says the kitchen at The Coterie Room is whipping up the best, most precise plate this city’s seen for some time. Curious, I called owner-chefs Brian McCracken and Dana Tough to learn more about it. Here, they break down their newfangled approach.

The fries They’re of the steak variety (larger, they allow optimal mopping of gravy without losing heft). They’re blanched and cooked a bit longer so as to stay crisper, then tossed in chives, salt, rosemary, and oil—lending “an herbaceous note to the potato.”

The gravy This, say McT, is the clincher. The sauce is rich with pork trotter and braised pork shoulder, and reduced to a consistency so exact it took them a week to perfect. (They wanted to ensure it coated the fries evenly rather than just sit on top.) “It’s almost like a demi-glace.”

The cheese Beecher’s. Breaded then fried and lightly salted. The result: a crispy outside, gooey inside.

The dressing An assortment of herbs and spices, lemon juice, oil, and salt and pepper makes for an herby and fragrant finish. They say the freshness helps nullify that uh-oh gut bomb sensation one often experiences post-poutine.

There you have it. Thoughts? Sound like the stuff of poutine legend? Think you’ve tasted Seattle’s best plate elsewhere?

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Tags: Food Finds, Food Trends in Seattle, Poutine

Just Eat It: Cheese Curds at Captain Blacks

Deep-fried deliciousness at the Capitol Hill bar with the curiously absent apostrophe.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Mar 21, 2011 at 10:39AM 1 Comments

Order and be happy: The cheese curds at Captain Blacks.

As Nosh Pit’s resident cheesehead (born-and-bred Wisconsinite, I am, and true to stereotypes, cheese is often on the mind), I’m going to go ahead and state a bold claim: Captain Blacks makes the most-gooey-most-delicious cheese curds out there.

At Capitol Hill’s nautical-themed Blacks, the curds come by the dozen or so; some are large (get out the fork), others you can toss in your mouth like popcorn shrimp. Curds really are hard to screw up—they’re deep-fried balls of cheese—so what sets apart Blacks’s Beecher’s balls? The batter.

Unlike at some joints where the batter is a thick, mozzarella-stick skin, the wise Captain goes for a just-so fry job, creating just enough satisfactory crunch—you still get that crackly sensation upon first bite. See those bubbly crevices where pockets of cheese are oozing out? Yeah, you don’t find that too often elsewhere. Pull one apart and the perfect dredge almost dissolves into the gloppy mass underneath.

That there dipping sauce is a Mexi-flavored one. It’s tasty way to up the richness even more (read: do partake).

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Tags: Capitol Hill, Cheap Eats, Food Finds

Taste of the Town: Greg Kucera

The ace curator proves his eye for the fine goes beyond the canvas.

Posted by: Hilary Meyerson on Mar 15, 2011 at 03:14PM 0 Comments

Greg Kucera grins at the thought of Le Pichet’s chicken liver mousse.

Starving artist? How about starving curator?

“When I first opened [the gallery], I didn’t have staff, so every morning for almost a year I would go to the old Cherry Street Deli and have three eggs, three strips of bacon, and three pancakes with lots of butter and honey to tide me over until dinner,” recalls Greg Kucera nearly three decades after launching his eponymous art gallery in downtown Seattle.

But it wasn’t eggs-bacon-pancakes and grumbling tummies for long: soon after its 1983 debut the gallery would ascend to local and national renown, and Kucera was on his way to chicken liver mousse and Neapolitan pies.

Vita, Stumptown, or Starbucks?
I’m a bad Seattleite. I never did drink coffee—saved the thousands of dollars over the years and spent it on art instead. I go to Caffe Vita in Pioneer Square, but only for the happy hour pizzas a few times a week.

Eat to live or live to eat?
Definitely live to eat. Copious amounts of food, thoughtfully prepared, voraciously eaten, rarely regretted.

Where do you take out-of-town guests to eat?
Poppy, Lark, Salumi, Cafe Lago, La Carta de Oaxaca, Wild Ginger, and The Ruins, now that they have a great new dinner chef.

What’s your guilty food pleasure?
Chicken liver mousse with French bread at Le Pichet.

Do you use recipes or wing it?
Wing it! Fly high most of the time, but occasionally bomb out when trying too hard. Some of our best meals are “What’s in the fridge?” kinds of meals. I love to read Cooks Illustrated for informational, how-to-do-it ideas but I often think that creative common sense trumps most recipe writing.

Are you or have you ever been a vegan?
Can’t even imagine all that I’d be giving up. It’s the cheese that I’d have the hardest time resisting.

What’s your desert-island condiment?
Hollandaise sauce! Buckets of it for all that wild boar and spear-caught fish.

Dessert or appetizer?
Appetizers, for sure. My sweet tooth isn’t that fierce but I can often make a meal out of small plates.

Three restaurants that sum up Seattle?
The warmth of the old Surrogate Hostess, the consistent comfort of Cafe Lago, the inventive clarity of Poppy. I’ve also been missing Labuznik. Nothing has taken its place for style and substance.

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Tags: Food Finds, Taste of the Town

Harbour Public House Is a Poutine Lover’s Paradise

Five varieties grace the menu.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Feb 22, 2011 at 09:01AM 3 Comments

Pig out on poutine at Harbour Public House.

Hey, poutine fiends. When you’re fried on Skillet, Steelhead Diner, Hattie’s Hat, et cetera, hop the Bainbridge ferry and head for Harbour Public House. The marina-side charmer is currently dedicating an entire portion of its menu to the Canadian classic/American obsession.

Type A’s can err on the safe side and order the traditional assemblage of fries, cheese curds, and gravy for $8.95; more experimental piggies can shell out a few bucks more and get silly with bacon, roasted chicken, zucchini and spinach, even mango salsa. Both will appreciate the generous slather of Mt. Townsend cheese.

Be warned: portions are ginormous.

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Tags: Food Finds, Bainbridge Island

Taste of the Town: Nicole Hardy

The local writer tells us where to find the best cheeseburger in Seattle.

Posted by: Hilary Meyerson on Feb 04, 2011 at 11:39AM 5 Comments

Nicole Hardy’s favorite way to burn calories? “Dancing.”

It’s been a whirlwind month for Nicole Hardy. Since her essay, “Single, Female, Mormon, Alone”, ran in the New York Times Modern Love column in early 2011, Hardy, the manager of Circa Neighborhood Grill and Alehouse and an active member of the Seattle Arts and Lecture program Writers in the Schools, has found herself to be a hot topic.

“My phone blew up immediately after—agents wanting to represent me, editors wanting to work with me on a book, notes of empathy from LDS members, Catholics, Baptists, Muslims, Orthodox Jews, Fundamentalist Christians, gay people, straight people, Planned Parenthood employees, atheists, and agnostics.”

Phew. Even so, Hardy squeezed in a call from us to talk Seatown eats.

Where do you take out-of-town guests to eat?
Seattle first-timers like to go to Pike Place Market—I love Maximilien, especially for brunch. Mae Phim Thai under the 99 onramp for something divey and delicious. And Circa Neighborhood Grill and Alehouse in West Seattle. Yes, I’ve worked there for almost 10 years, but I still love to go with guests. There’s a super cozy Cheers-ey feeling, and the best cheeseburger in town.

Vita, Stumptown, or Starbucks?
Stumptown, for sure. I came to coffee late in life and used to say I couldn’t tell good coffee from bad. Then I discovered Stumptown.

What’s your guilty food pleasure?
Quiche, a French 75, and the latest Vanity Fair for brunch at Spring Hill.

Do you use recipes or wing it?
I don’t really cook. I just show up at friends’ houses at opportune times and ask if they have snacks. I do make a magical eggnog that steals the show at holiday parties, but I’m not telling you my secrets.

Are you or have you ever been a vegan?
Carnivorous to the core.

What’s your desert-island condiment?
If there are eggs on this island, it’s green Tabasco.

Eat to live or live to eat?
Live to eat, unfortunately for my waistline in recent years. Working in the restaurant industry can get dangerous…you make friends with a lot of people who know just how good food can be. And then you find it (or make it) and eat it.

Three restaurants that sum up Seattle?
This question gives me anxiety.

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Tags: Food Finds, Taste of the Town

Just Eat It: Eltana’s Wood-Fired Bagels

The Packard Building corner occupant fills a hole in Capitol Hill’s food scene.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Jan 11, 2011 at 10:42AM 1 Comments

An Eltana bagel with red pepper and walnut spread, $4.25, and a Moroccan carrot salad, priced the same.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

An Eltana bagel with red pepper and walnut spread, $4.25, and a Moroccan carrot salad, priced the same.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Eltana’s spicy garlic cream smear on a sesame bagel.

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The wood-fire oven anchors Eltana on Capitol Hill. Flanking the wall to the left is a community crossword. A roll-up garage door at the front of the cafe will make Eltana a nice summertime joint.

Finally, a decent bagel place on the Hill!

Just shy of one month old, Eltana on Capitol Hill has steadily been rolling out its hand-rolled menu, the staple of which is Montreal style wood-fired bagels.

The bagels—choose from seven varieties—aren’t anything huge. One won’t sate Gulliver (read: don’t come starving), but on the flip side, it’s nice to venture back into the world sans that carbo-bomb heaviness most bagels slap on you.

Savory and sweet ingredient-forward spreads put the prices right around $4. Raise an eyebrow if you must, but know the toasty ring of dough and the novel schmears (eggplant pomegranate!) makes for a tasty way to start the day. Particularly delicious is the red pepper and walnut (that’s the spread above), as is the spicy garlic cream (second photo in the slideshow).

Rounding out the menu is Eastern Mediterranean street–style fare: a couple of salads (the Moroccan carrot is pictured here), soups like fava bean and vegetable lentil, and sweets. If you’ve got a five spot, you’ve got yourself one of these tasties. Coming soon are more substantive “mains.”

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Tags: New Seattle Restaurants, Capitol Hill, Cheap Eats, Food Finds, Bagels

Just Eat It: Chile Green Onion Ramen at Samurai Noodle

The tonkotsu may be the star, but this spicy bowl isn’t bad either.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Oct 19, 2010 at 12:39PM 0 Comments

Chile green onion ramen at Samurai Noodle.

When people talk about Samurai Noodle, they talk about the tonkotsu. A teeming bowl of long-simmered pork broth, tonkotsu is Japanese ramen cooked the way you want it—soft, medium, al dente. Nestled among the noodles is ultra-tender pork, green onion, and black mushrooms. You can get it out of two storefronts: one next to Uwajimaya, and the other on the Ave, the newer of the pair. Dine in and it’s $6.75; grab-and-go and it’s $4.95.

But enough about the tonk. Let’s talk up another item of note: the chile green onion bowl. This one’s made with a chicken broth, and like almost all Samurai servings is laden with pork. Bamboo supplants mushrooms, and a generous helping of onion wedges freshens up the mix. That blood-red broth is a good indicator of the kick that’s to come with each spoonful, but if the spicy sesame oil isn’t doing the job, red chile flakes await at the end of the table. (Note: water pitchers do not.) Either way, prudent taste bud softies will steer clear of this $8 dish.

Oh, and don’t forget to get sloppy—slurping the noodles is Japanese custom.

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Tags: University District, Cheap Eats, Food Finds, International District

Just Eat It: Shrimp Salad Sandwich
at On the Fly

Delicious, and only $6.50.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Oct 04, 2010 at 01:02PM 0 Comments

Like the other items at On the Fly, the shrimp salad sandwich is wallet-friendly.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Like the other items at On the Fly, the shrimp salad sandwich is wallet-friendly.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

The takeout counter is right around the corner from Flying Fish.

There are maybe 150 shrimpies cramming into that baguette there. They’re of the bay variety, and they’re lathered with just enough dill-flecked dressing to give the guys a splash of sprightliness. The lengthy bow of bread is a reminder that the sandwich, even with its $6.50 price tag, is meant to satisfy the most eager of eaters.

The other offerings at On the Fly —several more sandwiches, salads, make-at-home meals—are also priced to move and maintain the stamp of Chris Keff, whose Flying Fish is right around the corner. She debuted this grab-and-go offshoot maybe two months back.

Smart ones will get to On the Fly before the lunch hour floodgates open. Otherwise you and a friend may mosey there, both with your sights set on the shrimp sandwich, and upon arrival discover only one remains. And that’s just a bummer.

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Tags: South Lake Union, Food Finds, Lunch, Takeout

Taste of the Town: David Schomer

The Vivace guy is one heck of a cycler.

Posted by: Judy Naegeli on Sep 24, 2010 at 01:05PM 0 Comments

Vivace’s David Schomer

Since establishing Espresso Vivace in 1988, David Schomer has caught the attention of coffee lovers the world over. In the ‘90s he authored what’s become the bean gourmand’s bible, Espresso Coffee: Professional Techniques —“It sells in every country that can keep the lights on,” and is soon to be available in four languages—and this past summer, Schomer was in London speaking at the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe.

Here, Schomer talks Seattle’s other staple: food.

Favorite way to burn calories: Road cycling. I have done about 100 miles a week in and around Seattle since 1978.

Where do you take out-of-town guests to eat? I like to take people to Red Fin Sushi when the head chef, Katsuo, is working. Fish [there] tastes like candy. I think I could never fill up on it. I just eat until I’ve spent way too much.

What’s your guilty food pleasure? My favorite comfort food is meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

Are you or have you ever been a vegan? I’m not a good enough cook to be a vegan. And with my metabolism and all the cycling, I need a lot of protein.

What’s your desert-island condiment? Stone IPA.

Dessert or appetizer? A seasonal Japanese dessert made by Takara-san.

Three restaurants that sum up Seattle: Hmm, that’s tough… Pomodoro on Eastlake, Ivar’s on Lake Union (you must eat on the dock), and Rover’s. My god, what a pro and artist Chef Thierry Rautureau is!

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Tags: Food Finds, Taste of the Town

Finally, An Article About a 117-Year-Old Piece of Cheese

You want to know how stinky it is, don’t you?

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Sep 21, 2010 at 10:40AM 1 Comments

Cheese

“This is the story of a hundred-and-seventeen-year-old piece of cheese.” That’s the first line of Robert Sullivan’s recent Talk of the Town piece in the New Yorker. I read the article this morning with coffee, having selected that particular magazine because it was within reach.

The cheese came from Lithuania, its current owner inherited it from her Grandmother in 2009. “She flew down from New York to take possession. When she got to the house, the cheese was not in the box on the shelf in the closet where it usually resided—her aunt Linda had put it in the freezer. ‘I was a little freaked out about it,’ she said. The cheese flew back on a Delta flight to LaGuardia. It breezed through security, probably because it smells only when it is close to your face.”

Weirdly, in the time it took to write this very short post, the article became unavailable online. If you want to read the whole thing—and believe me, you do—it’s in the September 13 issue.

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Tags: Cheese, Food Finds, The New Yorker

Taste of the Town: Corky Luster

The Ballard Bee guy loves him some doughnuts and prosciutto (but not at the same time).

Posted by: Judy Naegeli on Sep 09, 2010 at 10:16AM 0 Comments

Ballard Bee Company’s Corky Luster tends to his “girls.” Photo courtesy ballardbeecompany.com.

Corky Luster, the man behind Ballard Bee Company, is gearing up for his busiest season of the year: “Fall is the time when all your efforts pay off (or not).” Soon he’ll be extracting honey from 60 hives he’s planted throughout the city—on local farms and in backyards, at Dish D’lish, the rooftop garden of Bastille —some of which he’ll then sell at retail outlets.

You can find the unfiltered end product at Delaurenti, Picnic, and a handful of other shops.

Vita, Stumptown, or Starbucks? Stumptown.

Favorite way to burn calories: Walking with my sweetheart and my dog on Fir Island.

Where do you take out-of-town guests to eat? Boat Street Café, Delancey, Kingfish Café.

Do you use recipes or wing it? Wing it, definitely. If I’m baking (which is rare), I will use the recipe, but otherwise I just glance at a recipe to get the general idea, then off I go.

What’s your guilty pleasure food? Okay, I am bad (there’s the guilt). Doughnuts. I can eat them breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Matter of fact, I might have one right now…

Are you or have you ever been a vegan? Yes, been there, done that. Moving to Italy brought me to my senses. (What was I thinking? How could I deny myself prosciutto?)

Dessert or appetizer? Hello… doughnuts.

Three restaurants that sum up Seattle: This is really difficult. There are so many great restaurants in the city and my neighborhood. But, to sum up: Canlis, Sun Ya (dim sum), and Skillet.

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Tags: Food Finds, Taste of the Town, Ballard

Taste of the Town: Katherine Anderson

Between jaunts to her Snoqualmie farm, the Marigold and Mint owner fills us in on her favorite foods.

Posted by: Judy Naegeli on Sep 02, 2010 at 09:27AM 0 Comments

Marigold and Mint’s Katherine Anderson.

When she’s not running the show at her newly minted shop Marigold and Mint, you can find Katherine Anderson at her other outpost: a several-acre farm on the Snoqualmie River. There she harvests the seasonal organic goods—herbs, produce, and flowers—that line the Melrose Market boutique.

While checking out the Melrose Market Street Festival, swing in to stop and smell the New Dawn roses—summer’s their season.

Vita, Stumptown, or Starbucks? Stumptown.

Favorite way to burn calories: Running as fast as I can.

Where do you take out-of-town guests to eat? Sitka and Spruce.

Do you use recipes or wing it? Recipes. My favorite cookbook is At Home in Provence by Patricia Wells.

What’s your guilty food pleasure? Ice cream at Tilt on Rainier Avenue.

Are you or have you ever been a vegan? Only for a week here or there.

What’s your desert-island condiment? Pepperoncini.

Dessert or appetizer? Appetizer.

Three restaurants that sum up Seattle: Spinasse, Canlis, and Dick’s.

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Tags: Capitol Hill, Food Finds, Taste of the Town, Melrose Market