Seattle – Pink Salt

I’d read about Pink Salt birthday and after an average experience at Ancora in Vancouver in September was hoping that this Peruvian restaurant would be better. We were pleasantly surprised at how good each dish was, lots of flavor going on that complemented each other rather than one overpowering the rest.
I started the day by working off all the calories from Taneda and to work up an appetite by doing one of the harder day hikes in the region. Mailbox Peak is rather infamous but it’s been tamed when they built a much easier trail that uses switchbacks instead of basically going straight up. Visibility was pretty good the whole way up but of course at the peak the fog had rolled in so couldn’t see Seattle/Bellevue.

It was hard to pick a favorite from the meal but we’d both have to go with the duck solely because of the fried rice, the duck was also perfectly cooked. The flavor of the calamari was incredible, not just bland breading and had some heat, and I liked how it was lightly coated but think it was cooked in below temp oil since it they were greasy and the breading was falling off. The presentation of the steak kebabs was rather bland but doesn’t really matter once gets in your mouth. The ice cream was so think almost wanted a steak knife to cut through it, really nice ending to the meal. We’ll be going back but it’s like going to Siberia being in such a remote part of Seattle.

Solterito Salad: choclo, edamame, tomato, red onion, micro cilantro, queso fresco

Anticucho: Beef tenderloin, smoked panca chili oil, choclo, salsa chalaca, aji carretillero

Grilled Octopus: huacatay chimichurri, lime juice, salsa chalaca, plantain

Calamari Fritto: secret rub

Duck Breast: fried rice

Caramel and Pink Salt Tuffle

Chocolate Pisco Ice Cream Sandwich

Seattle – Taneda Sushi

It’s been a few months since K and went to Taneda for her birthday. I was able to snag a solo spot a few weeks ago and didn’t feel bad since her schedule wasn’t free. Prices have risen 25% to $125 a person but it’s still an insanely good deal especially considering got A5 twice during the meal. The bowl of lightly seared A5 trimmings with uni and salmon roe was a little bowl of heaven, however the little cooked in broth A5 was lacking flavor that comes with cooking meat on a fire or hot surface to get that sweet, sweet Maillard reaction going and I would’ve preferred the seared nigri like we had in June. Other highlights were the uni and amaebi, tuna cheek and fried tuna. I got a slightly different sake pairing than the other guests, maybe because chef recognized me and wanted to serve something different, in any case it went down easy and a little too quickly but still managed to make it last through the meal. Hopefully we can snag a reservation for two, or four since K’s friends want to join.

Tamago Tofu: snow crab

Can I Have All of This????

Hirame from Tokyo Bay: shiso

Hirame (foot?) marinated in kombu

Dashi: clouds ear mushroom, amaebi

Kampachi: aged six days

Aji roll

Uni, Shimaaji, Maguro, Chutoro, Hotatte

Awabi (abalone): abalone liver sauce

Saba: traditional Kansai preparation

Amaebi and Uni (heaven on a plate)

Fried Maguro with cucumber aioli, sake, black cod, fig tempura, edemame scallop dumpling

Maguro

Chutoro

Otoro

Hoho Niku (tuna cheek): daikon plum sauce

A5: briefly cooked, mushroom, peanut sauce

Winter Hamachi: aged six days

Uni, Smoked A5, Salmon Roe (heaven in a bowl)

Scallop & Shrimp tempura roll

Anago

Chopped Tuna Hand Roll

Tamago: shrimp paste, scallop

Persimmon Mousse: red bean paste

Seattle – Paju

K and I went with two friends, one is Korean, to this relatively new Korean spot in town after talking about Korean wings for a while. We had originally planned to go to a chain place that’s got really good wings but when this article dropped we made the decision to go here instead. We weren’t disappointed in spite of very poor service that can be partly attributed to the glowing Times review. The bulgogi and the soy garlic Kfc were our favorites along with the asparagus. One of my friends who was at Adana said the asparagus was very good and he wasn’t wrong and the breading was more like what you’d find on okra than tempura. K isn’t a huge fan of mushroom and really liked that dish but caveat “I love anything with cheese” should be taken into account. Overall a great meal and hopefully the service improves.
Our next outing might to be a Mexican-Korean joint nearby…

Soy Garlic Kfc

Chili Kfc

Crispy Asparagus: Korean botttarga aioli, orange, seaweed powder

Paju Fried Rice: kimchi, bacon, squid ink, smoked quail egg

Truffle Bulgogi: crispy quinoa, scallion, enoki

Beoseot (mushroom): seasonal mushroom, white kimchi, truffle aioli

Paju Crispy Pancake: seafood mix, perilla leaves, bonito flakes

Corn Pudding

Panna Cotta

Seattle – Adana

For November’s dinner club we went to this lovely Japanese restaurant that does mini kaiseki meals in three, five or seven courses. Adana started at Naka and was more traditional kaiseki at a higher price point but was unfortunately not well received because of the cost and length of the meal. As much as Seattle has evolved and “grown up” since I moved here in 2006 there are a dearth of fine dining places you can find in places like NY, SF, LA or Chicago. In some ways I’m thankful, it forces chefs to create amazing meals within a more constrained budget and you end up with gems like Adana.

We were always going to have the seven course and jumped at the chance for the A5 they just got at $25 extra per person. The amount you see below was for all four of us and was double the size I was expecting, we each got four slices that melted in your mouth and I loved how they were overly salted just to make the fat taste that much more luxurious. All the seafood was cooked perfectly and I can’t definitely say which one I liked best as they were all super memorable. The uni was most subtle than most and added a hint of ocean taste to the tuna and salmon row. While the crab was cold it was infused with dashi broth and the snapper had super crisp skin and tender meat that paired well with the puffed rice. I could’ve eaten a whole bowl of the tempura, it was so light it was almost like eating a savory cotton candy. The rice dish to cap the meal was enormous and we probably could’ve taken it down but I wanted K to try since she wasn’t with us. I steamed it this morning and topped with fried eggs.

Yuzu gummy candy

Dashi broth: black cod, daikon

Tuna sashimi: uni, salmon roe

Crab: mung beans

Red Snapper: puffed rice, turnip, nori

Honeydew and Shiso Sorbet

Japanese A5: mushroom, herbs

Hedgehog Tempura: chipotle sauce

Duck Meatball Rice: eggs, pepper

Pandan Pistachio Tart

Seattle – Eden Hill Provisions 2x

A friend I met when I lived in NYC was in town for work from Nashville and spent the weekend with us. He loved our Saturday breakfast at EHP so much that he asked to go back on Sunday and went straight to lunch ordering the Big Max sans cheese. Much like Eden Hill chef Max changes the menu frequently and about half was new since my first trip for breakfast, thankfully the menu didn’t change overnight and I was able to get the other dish that I was eyeing on Saturday. We split the pancake with peanut butter and banana on Saturday while my buddy ate the whole thing himself on Sunday since he was “good” and didn’t have french fries with his burger. The grapefruit as the healthiest thing we ate and while it was very tasty I wished the kitchen cut out all the flesh for us or at least send a curved knife to make it easier for my to do. I had the fried chicken and waffle and it was fantastic lightly fried chicken and a deeply flavored waffle, my friend said he’s never found a chicken and waffle that he liked and said this was the best. His crab benedict was super cute having a few small crab cakes rather than lump crab just placed on top of the English muffin. Sunday’s chicken fried steak was average, I was hoping the breading would be similar to the chicken but it was a bit greasy and didn’t stick well to the steak. Still enjoyed and since I really liked the serano hot sauce that Max suggested he sent me home with a bottle.

Pancake: caramelized banana, peanut butter meringue

Grapefruit Brulee: chantilly cream, sparkling sugar

Dungeness Crab Cake Benedict: sauce choron, fall tomato jam, English muffin, frisee

Friend Chicken & Buttermilk Waffle: malted blueberry syrup, lemon chile butter

Big Max: dry aged chuck, cured pork fat, caramelized onions, secret sauce, smoked gouda, challah

Chicken Fried Steak: smashed yukons, wagyu beef fat gravy, fried eggs

Seattle – Staple & Fancy

We’ve dined here many times for their chef’s menu and it’s really one of the best deals in Seattle. For $60 each get all you see below which is far too much food anyone should attempt to eat inside two hours. Like any Ethan Stowell restaurant the pasta is incredible but it’s the range of appetizers and mains that sets S&F apart from its siblings. The seven appetizers come fast and furious and the fried oysters are always a highlight. Any of ESR’s versions of pasta with anchovies is immediately a favorite, it’s never quite as good when I make it at home, and while the gnocchi were tender little pillows I felt that the ragu had too much lemon in it. Duck and salmon were great but not the medium rare I’d prefer but one of our friends liked her meat cooked to death so she appreciated the extra cooking. The amaretto cake was very nice and while the sorbet was good felt a bit like the kitchen was taking the easy route to finish off the meal.

Porchetta

Hamachi Crudo

Celery Root Soup

Smoked Salmon Bruschetta

Fried Oysters

Mozzarella – apple jam

Salad – walnuts, blue cheese

Beef Ragu Gnocchi

Anchovy Strozzapreti

Duck – mushrooms, parsnip

Grilled Salmon – cauliflower

Amaretto Cake

Lemon Sorbet – shortcake