Best of the City 2009
The Global Edition
Edited by Jessica VoelkerWith contribution from Eric Scigliano, Kathryn Robinson, Karen Quinn, Matthew Halverson, Alex Girma, James Ross Gardner, Kelley Frodel, Laura Cassidy, and Steve Wiecking
Tajarin Pasta
Redmond native Justin Neidermeyer learned pasta in the hills of Barbaresco under the tutelage of a pasta-making master named Cinto. Cinto taught him the secrets to superrich egg-yolk pasta dough—how to hang it in sheets to dry, then cut it by hand into strands resembling fettuccine, only, impossibly, both stronger and more delicate. When you see it on the menu at Neidermeyer’s restaurant CASCINA SPINASSE, order it: Draped in ragù or sagey butter, it may be the most memorable pasta experience this side of Italia. Cascina Spinasse, 1531 14th Ave E, Capitol Hill, 206-251-7673; www.spinasse.com
Ethiopian Restaurant
Abiy Assefa first moved from Addis Ababa to Seattle to help his sister operate Queen Sheba on Capitol Hill. When it came time to open his own place, HABESHA, he went for high design. The results—brick wall, backlit bar, color-splashed African art—bear a slick sophistication missing from the mainstays of Cherry Street’s “Little Ethiopia.” Even better: delectable lamb tibs and Ethiopia’s customary extravagance of vegetable dishes. A vegetarian combo plus a meat dish provide sumptuous dining for two…for days. Habesha Ethiopian Restaurant, 1809 Minor Ave, Belltown, 206-624-0801; www.habeshaseattle.com
Senegalese Mafé
In Jacques Sarr’s homeland of Senegal, cooking is women’s work. So when his mother taught him how to prepare her best recipes, she did so in secret. In Seattle, however, the secret is out. Sarr first opened Afrikando, which thrived in Belltown until he decamped for Africa, returning and reopening last December in a funky, fabric-draped Hillman City storefront called AFRIKANDO AFRIKANDO. Order the stunning mafé: a spicy peanut stew that’s served with vegetables—ragged hunks of yam and carrot and other roots—over jasmine rice. Afrikando Afrikando, 5903 Rainier Ave S, Hillman City, 206-497-1801; www.afrikandoafrikando.com
Moroccan Tagine
Seattle celeb chef Tom Douglas took a hundred kinds of heat when he opened LOLA, a tribute to the Hellenic homeland of his wife Jackie’s family. “Not authentically Greek,” snorted naysayers—not realizing that Douglas actually set out to evoke the pan-Mediterranean meals of modern Athens. Meals like his extraordinary Moroccan tagines: stews braised in clay pots with conical lids to allow liquids to drain back in. There are several variations, but hope for the one with the moist strands of goat meat simmering in a sticky braise of dates and caramelized shallots. Lola, 2000 Fourth Ave, Downtown, 206-441-1430; www.tomdouglas.com
Greek Taverna
Dinner at PANOS KLEFTIKO TAVERNA feels more like a lively dinner party among good friends than a restaurant—and not just because owner Panayotes “Panos” Marinos won’t take reservations. For $25 per person, the real-deal Greek impresario will set you up with what amounts to a pan-Hellenic feast, full of grape leaves and roast lamb and plenty more, just the way they eat it in Greece. Panos Kleftiko Taverna, 815 Fifth Ave N, Lower Queen Anne, 206-301-0393; www.panoskleftiko.com
Turkish Appetizers
The specialty at BISTRO TURKUAZ, an understatedly elegant red storefront in Madrona, is acuka, where roasted red peppers, walnuts, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil come together in a lush spread for warm pita—but all the appetizers are sumptuous, as are the hearty casseroles on the entrée sheet. The food will be prepped by owner Ugur Oskay with help from her sons and served by her charming daughter, lending Turkuaz the kind of family warmth that feeds diners on another level entirely. Bistro Turkuaz, 1114 34th Ave, Madrona, 206-324-3039; www.bistroturkuaz.com
Lebanese Restaurant
A trained Beiruti chef, Hussein Khazaal landed in Seattle in 1974, launching PHOENICIA at the West Seattle Junction. It drew faraway fans, but the neighborhood never seemed to take to it. Looking for inspiration, Hussein closed shop to travel the old Phoenician trade routes—Lebanon, Italy, the Maghreb, West Africa—seeking “exotic recipes, new spices, new things to bring the taste back.” He returned and reopened on Queen Anne, but was forced to close again in 1993 due to a building teardown. Today, at Phoenecia’s third iteration on Alki, Khazaal still rules the front of the house and the kitchen, where he creates deeply personal dishes that are rooted in his homeland—lamb on pilaf; Dungeness crab and mussels in saffron, lemon, and ginger cream sauce. Phoenecia at Alki, 2716 Alki Ave SW, West Seattle, 206-935-6550
Afghan Eggplant
Wali Khairzada, the son of Afghan bankers, was studying at NYU in the 1970s when the coup back home froze his father’s assets and totally derailed his future. So Khairzada enrolled in community college and moved to Seattle, whose mountains reminded him of home. Today at his Wallingford restaurant, KABUL, he serves up fragrant badenjan burani, a tomatoey preparation of eggplant that brings vivid new meaning to the much-cliché expression “melt in your mouth.” Kabul Afghan Cuisine, 2301 N 45th St, Wallingford, 206-545-9000; www.kabulrestaurant.com
Parisian Café
It’s packed at midnight. Vogue and The Economist are on the news rack; football (the kind where they use their feet) is on the tube. The bartender—very talented; don’t call him a mixologist—is artfully concocting a little Lillet number while the kitchen is whipping up casse croutes of pork rillettes and oeufs mayonnaise with cornichons. CAFÉ PRESSE feels so very much like those ever-so-difficult-to-replicate corner cafés in Paris—not so much a destination as a way to while away a lazy afternoon or a misspent evening. Café Presse, 1117 12th Ave, Capitol Hill, 206-709-7674; www.cafepresseseattle.com
Next: Where to fix it, clean it, cut it, cook it
Published: July 2009
Loved learning about the international sports: hurling, aussie rules f’ball….awesome piece.
We LOVE Jae Hun Kim’s Tae Kwon Do Studio! Ms. Perrin’s an awesome instructor who teaches the kids patience, respect and confidence. Can’t wait to see the whole troop marching in the Wallingford Kiddies Parade this weekend.
To volunteer for the Japanese Lantern Floating Ceremony, please contact: fhthvolunteers@gmail.com
We have volunteer slots from 10 am to Midnight for whatever length of time you may give, especially during the set-up process!
Your help is invaluble to our success!
Thanks
your information is valuable for us thanks.
North Vancouver Florist