Pullman French Toast with caramelized bananas, sorghum whipped cream
Beignets with coffee hot fudge, coffee froth
Skillet Cornbread
Biscuit with shopped honey butter
Located in Wicker Park and helmed by Mark Steuer, whose food I first experienced while he was at The Gage, it did not take much convincing to get my family to join me for the chef’s take on Lowcountry cuisine during Saturday brunch. Featuring a menu of both authentic and reinterpreted southern classics and served by a well trained staff led by a young man named Phil who, whether from the south or not, put on a show of true southern charm while presenting plate after plate of truly exquisite cuisine from the bustling, open kitchen.
Moving well past ‘traditional’ technique with immersion circulators and ISI-canisters evident amongst the stoves, ovens, and fryers the meal began with three appetizers – the cornbread moist and dense, the beignets perfect little pillows of sweetness, and the biscuit flaky and rife with butter even before adding more – before moving into a quintet of larger plates, each featuring excellent ingredients gussied up with modern technique to produce results well beyond what anyone would typically expect from the genre.
From the sous vide chicken thighs with subtly heated syrup to the toothsome Johnny cake bespeckled with not only apples, but toasted corn resembling the texture of corn nuts and onward to snappy shrimp over soft grits with a complex, smoky gravy the ‘deep south’ items I expected to be good were indeed excellent and looking at the items less traditionally ascribed to South Carolina both the custardy French Toast and (most of all) the aromatic mushrooms melded with a soft egg over bitter, charred chicory also proved to be impressive – all in all a great meal from start to finish and whether ‘authentic’ or not, a strong entry into the Windy City brunch scene.
Arugula Salad with Lobster, Beets, Japanese Pears, Blue Cheese
Cured Salmon, Bluefin, Red Grouper
Tomato Agadashi Tofu with Japanese Eggplant and Shishito Pepper
Squid, Squid Ink, Uni, Truffle, Quail Egg Yolk
Miso Mardinaded King Mackerel with Pickled Japanese Plum
Grilled Spaghetti Squash Dengaku with Dungeness Crab, Tempura Shrimp, Sweet Miso from Kyoto
Zucchini flower tempura stuffed with ama ebi with green tea salt
Steamed Black Cod with Mizuna, Enoki, and Shitake in kombu broth
Toro, Kampachi, Bonito, Kinmedai with homemade ginger
Blue Shrimp and Trigger Fish
Black Sesame Ice Cream
If there is anything I’ve learned about sushi restaurants over the years it is that if the chef offers an omakase and you have the time and the means it is most definitely in your best interest to put yourself in his/her hands and although I’ve had truly exemplary experiences at Taro and Kabuto, Shunji proved a whole different level when two friends and I opted to let chef Shunji Nakao prepare us a meal of both kitchen items and sashimi – ours the only table in the small restaurant that evening making this choice and thus rewarded with a number of truly unique and special items of which he seemed quite proud.
A former sushi-san at both Matsuhisa and Asanebo utilizing his longterm ties to source fish both fresh and exotic from both local and foreign markets but also well celebrated for his use of local vegetables in many dishes our night at 12244 West Pico ranged from sushi standards such as perfect fatty tuna and golden eye snapper to the esoteric with the presentation of wild caught Hawaiian Trigger; a fish I’ve never seen on a sushi menu but one I’d gladly see again…and yet while all of the fish quality was exquisite it was actually the kitchen courses that wowed the most.
Setting aside a truly bracing Milt Pudding whose creamy salinity prevented one of my co-diners from finishing his portion every single plate that followed was something to be experienced, explored, and savored – the sweet lobster meeting the bitter arugula head on with bleu cheese lending balance, the raw squid noodles silken on the tongue with egg yolk and uni a base note to intense truffle tones, and the tomato tofu one of the most impressive things I’ve tasted in 2013, the texture of tofu yet entirely tomato both in constituent and in flavor. Moving on to other flavors – both the spaghetti squash and the squash blossoms proved a starchy canvas to a duo of shrimp while both cooked fish, black cod and king mackerel, were lightly paired amongst the best preparations of either that I’ve ever tasted.
Admittedly having thus far avoided the temples of Masa or Urasawa, let alone Japan, with a bill arriving at a mere $100/pp before tax and tip I can only hope that Shunji continues to be just as it is – a truly unique omakase ‘destination’ in the least likely of spaces and at the least likely of prices.
frozen lime yogurt, graham crumble, toasted meringue
Happy to have visited Animal before California put an end to foie gras I knew it would only be a matter of time before I made it to Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook’s Son of a Gun and after lunch plans with a friend fell through on Monday I found myself only a few blocks away at Beverly Center and decided to make the walk, arriving at the restaurant only thirty minutes prior to the end of lunch service only to be welcomed like an old friend by the waiter who, for whatever reason, remembered me from my visit to Animal over a year prior.
Seated at the head of a long communal table in the center of the rustic, nautical themed room while music played above the din of a slowly diminishing lunch crowd I perused the daily options and after some debate decided to skip the daily offerings and instead mark my first visit with the restaurant’s four signature items, a seemingly safe approach met with mixed results.
Beginning first with what worked, both the $7 lobster roll and the $12 chicken sandwich would prove to be ‘best in category’ contenders – the chicken sandwich enormous, crisply fried, and impressively complimented by its condiments while the tiny lobster roll was perhaps a bit overpriced despite the impressive quality of the butter poached crustacean atop a brioche bun, yet worth it none the less – at least once. Far less wowing, the shrimp toast sandwich struck me as a nice concept, but in reality it was just far too greasy – both the toasts and the mayo offering a slick mouth feel that felt sloppy whle the sriracha’s heat made the shrimp largely undetectable.
Moving on to dessert, a $6 steal arrived in the form of a dollop of frozen yogurt over buttery streusel, alongside a smear of smoky meringue – the flavor of the dish something like smores meets key lime pie and entirely delicious. Probably a restaurant better suited for dinner and a larger party to allow for a broader range of sampling I cannot say I’d rush back to Son of a Gun considering the price-tag but at the same time I certainly would recommend it (save for the Shrimp Toast) as a good option for those who happen to be in the area.
Pad Kee Mao – Drunken noodles with short ribs, chile, basil, garlic
Hor Ab – Catfish Tamale with pork baked in banana leaf with chile and herbs
Nuoc Mam Chicken Wings with Rooster Sauce
Pork Satay Skewers bathed in condensed milk
Cold Sliced Pork
Som Tum Papaya Salad
Sticky Rice with Mango
Admitting up front that I do occasionally misplan (or overplan) my eating agenda I think it should go without saying that Thai food at 9:00pm after a 5-course prix fixe at Hatfield’s is a recipe for a difficult night’s sleep…and yet with that said, I don’t regret a single thing (aside from the restaurant being sold out of the Duck Larb) about a late night visit to Kris Yenbamroong’s Night + Market to put the finishing touches on my 33rd birthday – a meal equal parts good friends, good food, and expectedly indifferent service.
Technically a restaurant within a restaurant (or, rather, to the side of a restaurant) that has been generating raves ever since its inception, Night + Market is a bit of an anomaly in Los Angeles ethnic cuisine; it’s menu well culled and subject to the chef’s whim as opposed to the bevy of everyday choices – a fact that pairs admirably with a super casual vibe, chic location on Sunset, and a strong focus on authenticity to make the experience quite unique.
Designed with drinking in mind, myself deferring while my friends enjoyed a duo of Thai beers, our total selection of items at Night + Market consisted of seven plates and bearing in mind Celiac disease for one of us and a respect for my modest heat tolerance each of the dishes that arrived at our table proved to be quite excellent – only the cold sliced pork truly testing my tongue – and focusing on balance and quality of preparation as opposed to face-melting heat it became apparent very quickly why the space has garnered such respect.
Particularly fond of both the Hor Ab and the Pad Kee Mao it is only a matter of time before I return to Night + Market – though next time I’m calling in advance to be sure the Larb is available and making sure I either make it my first dinner or bring some antacids.
Croque Madame with Yellowtail Sashimi, Prosciutto, Sunny Side Quail Egg, Grilled Brioche
Pan Seared Diver Scallop with Saffron Vanilla Emulsion and Roasted Artichoke puree
Mustard Green and Ricotta Ravioli, Parsnip Puree, Cinnamon Banyuls Buerre Fondue
Coriander Crusted Monterey Bay Squid with Butternut Squash, Roasted Maitakes, Green Mole
Local Cod En Croute with Ginger Carrot Puree, Brown Butter Soy Longbeans
Pan Roasted Duck Breast with Roasted Sweet Potato Sticks, Apple Braised Red Cabbage, Scallion Puree
Wild Mushroom and Buckwheat Crepe with Creamy Oat Groats and Marinated Beets
Sugar and Spice Beignets with Venezuelan Chocolate Fondue and Earl Grey Milkshake
Caramel and Peanut Nougat Semifreddo with Bitter Chocolate Sorbet
With two sets of friends on different schedules I ended up enjoying two birthday dinners on March 10th – the first at Quinn Hatfield’s eponymous Los Angeles restaurant on Melrose. Having never visited the original location but finding the new space (save for the Michel Rostang-style glass partitioned kitchen) as well as the service to be somewhat sterile it was with good fortune that the food was anything but, all but one of our nine selected plates proving the Chef and his team very capable of extracting the best out of myriad local ingredients, often times with a degree of subtlety and nuance reserved for restaurants carrying a much higher price tag.
Selecting each item off the seasonal prix fixe, plus the restaurant’s signature take on the croque madame the flavors on display during our visit to Hatfields ran the gamut from hearty Mexican inspired mole to rich French cream sauces to vegetal “California Cuisine” vegetable purees with ease and utilizing all that the local waters and markets have to offer flavors were invariably bright, complex, and balance – the only downfall being the cod where too much ginger and soy tilted the flavors too far East, burying the quality of the perfectly cooked fish.
With savories strong and desserts from Quinn’s wife, Karen, expectedly excellent considering my visit to Sycamore Kitchen it’s a shame it took me so long to make it to Hatfields and although I tend to agree with some who consider the restaurant to be ‘safe,’ I also think there are some surprises to be found the couple’s cuisine – a balance that speaks to the restaurant’s longevity in a market where so many restaurants come and go depending on the most recent trend.
Barbequed Lobster with Soft Scrambled Eggs and Toast
Warm Apple Dumpling & Hook’s White Cheddar
Pecan Praline Pancakes, Maple Syrup, Butter
Located in the Palihotel on Melrose and full of the intentionally disheveled and chic it would be easy to overlook Brian Dunsmoor’s Hart and the Hunter as another trendy hotel restaurant focusing on a recent food fad – Southern Cuisine – but to do so would be quite foolish, in my opinion, because despite the mismatched chairs, shabby chic stylings, and rustic plating there was not a single item that touched the table during our nearly two hour brunch that wasn’t excellent.
Featuring Stumptown coffee (no drip, just espresso/cappuccino and its variants) and a tidy menu both savory and sweet including items ranging from a $19 lobster to $5 cornbread each item featured interesting variations on classic dishes with great ingredients and equally impressive execution; the shrimp and grits taking an earthy turn with a ragu of mushrooms while a BLT-inspired sandwich replaced pork with chicken skin, bringing down the brine with the combination of a creamy egg and fresh avocado.
From the perfect biscuits to warm, toothsome cornbread and onto a sweet, snappy lobster paired with eggs with as much butter as yolk before finishing with thin flapjacks thick with maple syrup and brown sugar alongside what was easily the best dumpling I’ve ever tasted, complete with melted sharp cheddar my simple suggestions for visiting The Hart and The Hunter is that you do it, take someone with you, and order as much as you can.
Confit half duck with fennel, garlic, pickled pear
The beef tongue schnitzel Baco with harissa, smoked aioli, pickle
The Toron Baco with oxtail hash, cheddar tater, horseradish yogurt
The Bacon and Egg Coca with tomato, ricotta, pecorino
Blistered Green Beans with tomato, fenugreek, basil
Spaghetti Squash with corn puree, brown butter, lime, breadcrumb
Sauteed Broccolini with pickled grapes, basil, mint, cabrales
Caesar Brussels sprouts with pecorino, anchovy, garlic
Seared Scallops with kabocha, baby kale, cardamom, chicken
Veal sweetbreads with semolina, charred tomato, kumquat
Waffle rilletes, duck, raclette, mustard
Fried chicken n’ biscuit with coleslaw, cheddar, yuzu chile
Yogurt panna cotta, candied pecan, meyer lemon, honey
Hazelnut chocolate cream with orange cream, hazelnuts, strawberry
Chocolate banana cake with peanut butter cream, banana custard, semifreddo
Caramel upside down cake with pineapple, hazelnut, semifreddo
Making what turned out to be a surprisingly long walk after the Kings game at Staples Center to recent downtown darling Baco Mercat to meet up with a quartet of folks for late night dining my very first site of the restaurant was a midget climbing a tree outside at the amusement of passers-by…my second was being told that our reserved table would not be ready for another “15 to 20” (in reality, thirty) minutes; so it goes sometimes in Los Angeles, and with food also following the pattern of many of the city’s trendiest spots much of what landed on our table over the next two hours would prove good, but wildly inconsistent.
With service that is efficient by necessity and a space so loud that yelling is at times mandatory our sampling of Baco consisted of a dozen plates and a quartet of desserts; many such as the green beans and Brussels Sprouts simply over-seasoned while the coca and scallops were cardboard and overcooked, respectively. Faring better, though slightly, both signature ‘bacos’ seemed to rely on heavy handed condiments to make up for sinewy, low quality meats.
Moving on to what worked, the kitchen showed a deft hand with both the broccolini and the squash, the later my favorite savory of the night, while both duck preparations were intelligent and well prepared, the confit an excellent balance of sweetness and aromatic tones that boldly met the fowl’s gaminess head on. Additionally taking on another trendy item with the sweetbreads I was admittedly shocked at how gently the gland was prepared having already tasted the rubbery scallops and despite using a lot of acid in both this and the fried chicken biscuit both dishes were unique takes on their respective ingredients that worked very well.
A mixed bag on the savories and atmosphere, desserts would actually prove to be the restaurant’s strong point – all four distinct and interesting, running the gamut from light, citrus panna cotta to dense chocolate cake, the hazelnut dish even managing the difficult task of making chocolate and orange work in a complimentary manner as opposed to the citrus overwhelming the coco and the pineapple upside down cake an absolute must order, the flavors surprisingly delicate with a light smoky note that tastes as though it is cooked over fire helping to tame the otherwise intense sweetness.
With some hits and some misses there is a part of me that definitely ‘gets’ the hype, because with careful ordering I’m sure one could have an excellent meal here – a statement reinforced by the fact that I did not personally select any of the dishes I felt failed while the rest of the group seemed to enjoy the items they selected, if not those I optioned for; a strong testament to using this as a tapas spot where sharing is an excellent plan provided your fellow diners share your palate…and tolerance for long waits and high decibels.
Chicken Faux Gras with Quince Gelee and Grapes, Gingerbread
Duck Rillettes with Toasted Bread, Pickles, and Mustard
Santa Barbara Uni with Braised Oxtail and Congee
Brioche Bread Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce
In a city where many restaurants present as much (or more) style as substance I had my suspicions the moment I entered the chic space that houses Le Ka and with waitresses as pretty as the space plus a bar scene where I heard a man espousing the reasons he prefers New Zealand to Australia to a duo of female bartenders I only hoped Jonathan Gold’s comments about the ‘faux gras’ would prove to be true…and while I was there, why not try a few other appetizers as well?
Featuring low lights, fancy cocktails, and an open kitchen plus service that is efficient if not necessarily informative the food during my pre-game visit would turn out to be a bit hit and miss; the chicken liver most certainly not foie gras, yet better than the average chicken liver using quince and grapes to mellow some of the harsh metallic tones while the duck rillets would actually prove much more interesting – smoky and moist with simple toasted bread as opposed to the overly spiced gingerbread.
Moving next to the ‘congee’ – you’d be wise to skip this overpriced and undersized mess, the rice not even as creamy as risotto, let alone porridge and the urchin just window dressing over the collagenous beef. Instead, save time and capacity for the bread pudding; a true ‘pudding’ with small croutons of bread swimming in a sauce that at first seems too sweet before showing layers of boozy and buttery complexity – a truly exquisite dessert that rivals Mozza’s budino for best dessert in the city.
Thick French toast with poached prunes and mascarpone and LAMill Coffee
Baked pancake with Meyer lemon custard
Brandade with tomato confit and toast
Moving up the coast from first-seating brunch at MBPost to last-seating brunch at Canele a day that had started out well continued to march on in grand fashion when I met another friend at the jammed packed restaurant finding a fifteen minute wait before we were seated at a snug two-top near the back. Having passed on the French bistro in the past but this time actively contacting them to see if, perhaps, a few items from the dinner menu could sneak their way into our brunch it turned out that in addition to this could indeed be done – a two course feast awaiting us as we spoke loudly above the din while drinking Americanos.
Starting savory and finishing sweet a first round of crunchy toasted bread paired with smoky jumbo shrimp in creamy cheese, pimento pepper, and grits arrived alongside a bowl of briny brandade resting atop sundried tomatoes; both minor tweaks on classic dishes and all the better for it with the shrimp taking on a slightly Korean flavor while the golden cod was not only brightened by the tomatoes, but also made textural, not unlike hash browns, with a butter golden oven finish.
Moving on to the sweets, both baked and essentially “souffled,” the dutch baby served in cast iron was light and restrained with the lemon and cream slowly melting over the dish and saturating it to a custard while the celebrated French Toast arrived as three massive slices that proved unexpectedly light both in texture and in sweetness; the prunes packing a slightly boozy touch over notes of cinnamon and the richness of the mascarpone. Another great brunch and excellent service in a city where both can sometimes prove elusive and right on the same block as Proof – definitely an area that should be on everyone’s culinary radar.
Bacon Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits with Maple Butter
Roasted Apple Hand Pies with Salted Caramel Sauce
Sticky Bun with Pecan and Brown Sugar
French Toast stuffed with ricotta, pink lady apples, candied walnuts
Pineapple lemon skillet cake with vanilla maple syrup
Truffle Honey Laced Fried Chicken with Kholrabi Slaw
Met by two friends for a brunch to kick off a day that had begun with a 3am wakeup call and drive from Phoenix and wouldn’t end until well after a midnight meal in downtown Los Angeles it would be hard for me to heap enough praise on MBPost to do the brunch justice.
Having been told by…pretty much everyone that the Buttermilk biscuits were the ‘must order’ of the menu all three of us were ready to judge and on a single bite the rumors were confirmed, and yet moving past the biscuits the real take-home message is that of the six items we ordered there wasn’t a single one that didn’t stand out as a ‘best in its class’ choice except perhaps the hand pies which, although good, simply weren’t quite as good as the rest.
From the beautiful location just feet from Manhattan Beach to the exemplary service, clean lined urban-chic space, wide-angle view kitchen, and exemplary food with copious coffee refills this self-described “social house” is unquestionably one of the best brunches in Southern California, and at least in my opinion, the United States.
When the Kings announced that my favorite goaltender of all time would be honored in a special ceremony the day before my 33rd birthday I bought tickets within seconds, later arranging a driving plan to accommodate bringing a friend to Manhattan Beach and an eating agenda aggressive as ever, the first stop en route to Manhattan beach being M+M Donuts in Anaheim, hope of the famous Warm Blueberry Cake Doughnut – and some other random doughnuts as well.
Arriving just after 6am to find the overnight line now dissipated we approached the window half-expecting them to be sold out as there were no blueberry to be seen but apparently making them fresh and subsequently storing them in a warmer we were told we were in luck – seven left; two for me and five for my friend to take to his buddies…and a quartet of disappointed folks arriving seconds after us to find only the ‘other’ donuts, including an excellent Old Fashioned Buttermilk and average Chocolate Frosted Chocolate Cake, Crumb Cake, and Apple Bearclaw options which I selected to round out my half dozen.
Moving on to the famous Blueberry Donut – the donut I’ve heard people say justifies a 90 minute wait – I’ll simply note that although I cannot say I’d wait an hour and a half for it I can say that it was the best blueberry donut I’ve ever tasted; a crisp sugary glaze overlying a loose cake structure packed with blueberry and butter flavor, some undoubtedly artificial, but delicious just the same.
With meals and meetups with friends intermingling, the next pastry-centric stop of the trip would be Bittersweet Treats in Pasadena, a space surprisingly convenient from brunch at Canele and although a bit ‘cutesy’ for my liking a rather nice experience where my friend and I had a chance to sample a half-dozen baked goods in addition to two frozen confections gifted to us by the young man at the counter; a tart and astoundingly pure Tangerine Sorbet plus the oft raved Salted Chocolate Ice Cream which I personally found to be too dense and too sticky – something like fudge moreso than ice cream.
Onward to the pastry, a pair of cupcakes featuring Red Velvet and Chocolate with Salted Caramel frosting were both light and balanced with mild (not overly sweet) flavor while a duo of cookies – Brown Butter and Chocolate Chip – were both crispy on the exterior and soft within, the brown butter particularly memorable with pudding soft pockets of sweetness amidst the crumbs. Bigger, and better, the staff recommended “Mom’s Magic Bar” featuring a base of chocolate cake topped with Coconut, Chocolate Chips, Almonds, and Caramel would prove excessive in the best of ways while the focus on salt continued on to the best item of the visit, a Salted Caramel Bundt Cake with a dense, poundcake structure swirled with liquid caramel – a simple reminder that milk, butter, flour, sugar, and salt are sometimes all you really need to make something wonderful.
Onward to my birthday, after a long run and far too many early calls from the east coast I started the day at Farmshop, a large market/restaurant already bustling with activity, where I was seated quickly at a large 2-top and presented a menu of savory and sweet items from the kitchen as well as a comprehensive list of choices from the bakery; seemingly an embarrassment of riches with some ordered for then and others for later.
Beginning first with a decent cup of LAMIll Coffee that was copiously refilled as I ate followed by an excellent whole wheat cherry scone and crisp, but unfortunately “over-frangipaned” almond croissiant it bears mention that if visiting Farmshop on a weekend you’d be best served to order a pastry as the kitchen is meticulous and slow – my French Toast arriving nearly 45 minutes after I placed my order and, although nicely complimented with blueberry marmalade, lemon curd, chopped pecans, zoe’s bacon, and crown maple syrup a less custardy than I’d prefer – the flavor and texture of the dish more reliant on the accoutrements than the actual treatment of the bread.
A decent breakfast, and enough to make me curious about the restaurant’s baked goods, a trio of items taken for later would present more mixed results – the Chocolate Hazelnut Danish quite delicate with shattering layers of pastry enveloping dense Nutella filling and the Chocolate mousse light and airy with a slick of salty caramel adding sweetness without being overwhelming. Less impressive, and actually most disappointing, the Chocolate Brioche Bread Pudding stood as a dense block of chocolate – more brownie than bread pudding – while the Anglaise, unfortunately served cool, was maximally sweet and minimally creamy, thus destroying any semblance of nuance and tilting the whole dessert towards something ‘clumsy’ as opposed to rustic.
Traveling later to Silverlake largely to wander the local arts and artisans scene I inevitably found myself at Sqirl at G&B for a quick bite and aside from the parking ticket I managed to acquire in my mere ten minutes at the small space I couldn’t have asked for better; a bottle of iced Perla Del Sur roasted by Heart and a thick slice of buttery brioche amply topped with Sqirl’s thick and aromatic Blueberry Rhubarb jam – the pair simple, perfect, and worth the trip to Silverlake all by themselves (though probably not the ticket, so be weary of signage.)
Killing time before my first of two birthday dinners the next stop of the trip, Susina Bakery, was largely to see if the oft raved Banana Cream Pie lived up to its praise and arriving late in the day I really should have stuck with the cakes and pies, yet curiosity got the best of me and I also opted for a disastrous Almond Croissant that was so wispy, doughy, and weakly flavored that it may as well have been from Burger King – the majority of it going to the pigeons. Moving next to the pie, much larger than expected and thus shared with a friend later in the day, it was a certainly a substantial improvement from the croissant featuring a crust that was at once flaky yet and substantial enough to stand up to the banana pudding, but at the same time I found the whipped cream to be somewhat overwhelming – a flavor more sugar-sweet than fruit-sweet, not something particularly bad, just not what I’d hoped for.
Waking up early after a rough night’s sleep following second dinner at Night + Market but powering through a long run I made the drive to meet friends at Stan’s Doughnuts in Westwood and taking a cue from the owners as to what was best we were treated to a half dozen doughnuts that were at once classic and unique, but most importantly fresh and warm from the fryer – three of them literally glazed as we stood there and the others pulled directly from the cooling racks as opposed to the case.
Beginning first with a tangy and crumbly buttermilk bar and the raised, glazed, and clever “Simpsons” doughnut Stan’s proved it could nail the classics before moving on to a pair of filled options – the Stevie and the Huell – featuring Peanut Butter & Banana and Peanut Butter & Chocolate, respectively, that were both densely packed with surprisingly high quality peanut butter and although not at all subtle, excellent for sharing.
Never one to pass on a fritter – particularly one mere minutes out of the hot oil – the ‘Crispy’Apple Fritter and Blueberry Fritter (equally crispy, though not described as such) would round out the sampling in excellent fashion, both full of fresh fruit and although expectedly greasy and heavily glazed not overly sweet, the apple particularly excellent with good cinnamon flavors providing a degree of complexity generally not expected to shine quite as strong in a fritter.
Proceeding to proper breakfast, now solo, Milo & Olive had received strong word of mouth amongst people I trust and coming from the team behind Huckleberry and Sweet Rose perhaps I entered the small Santa Monica restaurant with too high of expectations, but what I received during my visit largely proved to be underwhelming – the service slow and unresponsive and the prices high for what I received, particularly an almond croissant so thick with frangipane that it literally looked like it was ladled on “Biscuits and Gravy” style.
Moving past the croissant which my server did not even bother to inquire about when 3/4 of it returned to the kitchen unfinished, the Maple Walnut Sticky Bun proved a slight improvement, though the pastry itself was rather dry and thus highly dependent on the sweet and nutty topping while my savory selection of the signature “Cheesy Eggs with Super Cheesy Toast and La Quercia Prosciutto” was actually quite delicious, particularly the crisp and smoky bread beneath the bold and briny pork – an excellent counterpoint to the sweet sticky bun. While I remain confused as to how the team behind the excellent baked goods at Huckleberry could produce such mediocre pastry in its sister spot I’d certainly consider a return visit for the famous garlic knot, but only if I was in the area with additional dining plans to follow.
Finishing up the trip, a pair of stops after dinner en route back to Phoenix featured cookies and ice cream, the former at Diddy Riese where a single dollar nets three cookies – in my case Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin Walnut, and Cinnamon Sugar – all served warm and each quite good, the ever present line undoubtedly a result of quality and convenience as opposed to novelty or ultra high end ingredients. Sure there is nothing here you couldn’t make at home for less, but there is definitely something to be said for a variety of warm cookies without having to turn on the oven or bake by the dozen.
Last but not least, Saffron & Rose’s 35-year-old family owned and operated take on Persian Ice Cream was my last stop on the way out of town and eschewing oddities like cucumber, rose, or ginger and instead relying on my server to offer his suggestions my $4.75 tariff for 3 scoops provided the flavors of Pecan and Raisin, Caramel Chocolate, and Double Date – the first two quite subtle in flavor and not particularly interesting while the Double Date was actually quite delicious, the ice cream itself flavored like fresh dates with chunks of the dried fruit cut in for texture. Slow spun and hand packed with a sticky heaviness unlike most artisanal ice creams on the market today I gather that much of the hype surrounding Saffron & Rose is related to the novelty of the flavors, a selling point perhaps more significant in the 1980s-90s than during the current American artisanal ice cream renaissance.
Birch Financier with Quince Butter, Smoked Apple Leather
Dark Chocolate Truffle with Fig Leaf Ganache
Knowing full well that I would be paying a visit to Michelin 2* Atera during my upcoming visit to New York I felt it only appropriate that the final dinner of my trip to Matt Lightner’s prior home on SE Hawthorne, Castagna, a meal that prior to my arrival in Portland was undoubtedly my most anticipated of the trip and yet by the time the meal arrived a meal that I met with some trepidation, wondering how the city’s most expensive ‘fine dining’ establishment would stack up to the prior eight days of thoroughly impressive cuisine; a brief apprehension that new chef Justin Woodward and his team put to rest almost immediately.
Considered by many to be the finest example of molecular-technique meeting foraged Pacific Northwest flavors Castagna is one of those restaurants where much of what you might expect on entering the space is immediately challenged and with each twist, turn, and technique you feel confused and amused, educated and delighted that things you’d never expect to work not only do work, but wow – sous vide compressions adding substance to style, ISI-whip for more than just looks, and paco-jet for more than presentation. In some ways very “un-Portland,” this is food with beauty and brains behind the top quality ingredients and served in a serene room with white tablecloths it is cuisine that demands the same attention that the expert wait staff gives each diner all evening.
Beginning first with one of the more aromatic cocktails I’ve ever experienced and progressing quickly into a succession of seven small bites running the gamut from sweet to savory, light to unctuous, and crispy to creamy it does not take long to realize how much craft goes into each plate at Castagna; the buttermilk puff intensely perfumed with black truffles yet the onion soup restrained, the liver on rye tasting like something from a Jewish deli while the buckwheat cracker riffed on the traditional haute cuisine pairing of crème Fraiche and caviar with nice effect.
Moving through a few rounds of bread – a tender and nutty biscuit largely serving as a warm delivery mechanism for a smoked pork fat that reminded me of ‘Hungarian Turkey’ – the proper courses began delicate and dynamic – the crab picked moments prior and although muted in color a deft balance of sweet, bitter, and slightly sour on the tongue while the beet was bold with spice and earth aplenty as the protein acted largely as accent with a vegetal cool on the finish.
Moving through pungent leeks soup teaming with fresh seafood onward to perhaps the best piece of sturgeon I’ve ever tasted my favorite course arrived as the penultimate savory; a tender piece of pork that presented minimal resistance to both knife and tooth draped with earthy kohlrabi and paired with creamy sauce tinged with garlic and tempered brine; the end effect something familiar like my Grandfather’s pork steak and potatoes, but at the same time a revelation with the swine and sea marrying so smoothly.
Transitioning from a hefty slice of lightly prepared beef and expectedly tender oxtail into sweeter territory with delicate floral panna cotta what followed can only be described as my best experience with a grapefruit to this date, an ingredient I’m generally indifferent to overcoming its intrinsic sourness through the use of buttery cake and an aromatic piece of ‘glass’ to form a truly beautiful and memorable experience that has since made me reincorporate the humble grapefruit into my life.
Finishing the evening with a crispy pod of liquid chocolate which proved that, when done with finesse, cocoa and orange can work followed by the restaurant’s owner stopping by to say hello along with a (admittedly superfluous) branch bearing a trio of interesting mignardises I really cannot think of a meal that was more “Un-Portland” than that at Castagna, and yet I also can’t think of many recent ‘modernist’ meals that were more inspiring – it was a meal every bit as good as that at Chef Lightner’s 2* Atera and given the price difference all the more evidence that Chef Woodward is an adequate successor to Matthew in a dining scene that can compete with the best in the nation.
Kimchee, Bacon, Blue Cheese Bun / Yuzu Olives / Ojingoh – spicy soy sauce squid jerky / Tako – simmered octopus salad w/mulberry nomi-su ginger dressing / Cuttlefish Pickles / Peanut Sauce Jellyfish with edamame
Hamachi tataki – chopped spicy hamachi, cucumber, tobiko, crispy nori
Green-lip Mussel Souffle / Crab Claw in Soju Sauce
Sake Braised Beef over White Rice
Shiro miso – white miso soup w/fresh tofu & wakame
Orange Candy
If you’d have told me a few months prior that at some point in the future I’d be sitting at a bar having drank too much wearing a Speed Racer helmet next to a woman wearing bunny ears while eating jellyfish, listening to Korean punk music, and watching zombie slasher porn I’d have admittedly looked at you like you were growing a second head – and yet on the eighth evening of February, 2013 that is exactly what I was doing…and there is photographic evidence. Indeed, to some people the very concept of Tanuki may seem off-putting, and yet there I was after a truly beautiful meal at Roe entirely out of my element and thoroughly having a blast.
Stepping back for a second and looking at the night at Tanuki objectively I think I should note that the decision to visit was mine and mine alone; my friend from Portland having never been to the small space and also not as prone as myself to the concept of ‘second dinner,’ but having heard from others that it was an event not to be missed I knew the $15 tasting menu – yes, $15 for five courses – would at least be a good story to tell. What I didn’t know, however, was that the food would actually be quite good.
Beginning first with six items loosely defined as ‘bites,’ including the restaurant’s deliciously flaky kimchee, bacon, and bleu bun served alongside a variety of unique pickled, brined, and cured seafood preparations before progressing into more traditional flavors such as fresh hamachi with nori wrappers, briny mussels baked into a buttery puff pastry, and tender beef over rice I’m not sure whether it was my third drink of the evening, a yuzu and gin cocktail, or the simply the quality of the food in general but taking into account the cost I was more than a little impressed…and all the more so when I found out that only one person, chef/owner Janis Martin clad in a howling wolf’s head during 9:00pm “hat time,” was responsible for all of it.
A truly unique space in a truly unique city I think it should go without saying that Tanuki is not a spot for everyone, yet with that said it will invariably end up being one of my most memorable dining experiences of 2013 – and almost certainly the only one involving zombie slasher porn and a speed racer hat. Next visit – and unless they close up shop that will be sometime soon – I’m going for the $45 tasting and making a special request for the Santa Claus stocking hat. Pictures?
Returning to Portland and wanting to thank my host for her hospitality during my stay my penultimate dinner of the trip was a visit to Chef Trent Pierce’s restaurant-within-a-restaurant, Roe. Not particularly well known to travelers or locals, the small space located in the back of a ramen spot named Wafu, the concept behind Roe simply seemed too good to miss, a bargain prix fixe comprised of only locally caught/sourced/foraged fish and produce with techniques both Asian, French, and Modernist all on display – it was a meal with every chance to shine…and so it did.
Keeping in mind the restaurant’s location but substantially delayed by (rare) Portland traffic and thus arriving late my first impressions of Roe came from the front of house – each and every person from the man on the phone to the hostess to our waiters incredibly friendly and accommodating – and ushered to our table nearly 30 minutes after our reservation everything from then on flowed marvelously; wine pairings for my friend and a cocktail plus a glass of Chardonnay for myself working brilliantly with the elegant, fresh, and complex cuisine – each bite from the creamy quenelle of butter with various salts to the final bites of dark chocolate impressive in its own way.
Served in four courses with one additional item added on allowing us to sample ~75% of the night’s menu it is not often that I find myself unable to pinpoint a dish that was ‘best,’ but aside from the fact that my friend did not prefer the saline chips of olive served as garnish to her dessert there was not a single flaw or extraneous flavor in any of our nine plates; perhaps none finer in exemplifying Pierce’s skill than the ama ebi – fresh to the point of literally bursting on mastication with an intense sweetness carried by the creamy liver and ending with a citrus top note on the palate. Similarly, the snow crab, blue prawn, and octopus dishes all wowed with the use of citrus to balance and meld various proteins into a single plate while the quality of the Ora wowed even before it was plated; by far the best quality salmon I’ve ever tasted.
Progressing from raw to lightly cooked and onward to heavier preparations much like Le Bernardin or L2o both main courses would prove equally competent as those before them and using delicate butterfish as a backdrop to hefty earthen aromatics while somehow rendering pork belly ‘light’ through the use of acids and bitters before moving to desserts I stand convinced at this time that the cuisine at Roe is every bit on par with both of the aforementioned Michelin Stars and while the location may not be quite as refined as either it is only a matter of time before people start to take notice that, like much of Portland’s dining scene, Roe is an experience every bit as impressive as those in the ‘big city,’ but at one half the cost.
With the focus of the evening aural rather than oral delights I still had no intention of dining poorly before seeing Soundgarden and as such my decision to visit Lark was predicated by its early opening hour, relative proximity to the venue, and strong praise from trusted palates – the later something I questioned soon after my arrival as I found the restaurant empty save for two servers and the kitchen staff, my entire seventy minute visit essentially a two server to one diner experience leading to ample conversation about the restaurant, the food, the city, and music with a woman and her mother finally breaking up my privately catered experience just as the check arrived.
With a setting haute-bistro and service as exemplary as one would expect given the above caveats it was with some regret that I eschewed the nicely priced selection of sweet wines and sipped water to assure minimal interruption in my concert experience, particularly as much of what I ordered would have gone brilliantly with the $10 Tokaji or sweet Riesling but beginning with a toothsome house made baguette and rather disappointing butter the four savories and one sweet I ordered would all prove quite excellent, and none save for the $19 Foie Gras more than $14.
Allowing the kitchen to determine pacing and order the meal my first two plates of the evening arrived in relatively rapid succession – the first a dense and creamy block of Pleasant View Farm’s Foie Gras en terrine with a small dish of kumquat-vanilla preserves plus toasted brioche points and the second an inspired plate of warm roasted eel resting atop New Potato salad and tinged with saba; the liver expectedly nice but the later actually better as the eel’s smooth, goassamer finish layered well with the supple and earthy potatoes while the saba added its characteristic sweet acidity…the whole dish truly unique and, in my opinion, a reason in and of itself to recommend anyone who hasn’t been to visit Lark.
Flipping through Chef Sundstrom’s cookbook while I waited for my second course the chef stopped by for a brief moment to say hello and chat about his philosophy and promising that the next dish “should be really good” as they’d been out foraging for some of the ingredients just the day prior his words would prove true as the “Crispy Liberty Farm Duck Leg with Walnuts and Shaw Island Quince” was Parisian bistro quality while the “Half-Wild” mushrooms sautéed in garlic and olive oil with a touch of sea salt were truly outstanding; a simple preparation of top quality ingredients rich, supple, and incredibly aromatic.
Finishing off the evening with dessert and a cup of Café Vita coffee the sweets would prove every bit as bistrocentric as the savories as a fresh local Bartlett pear tarte tatin arrived drizzled in rum-spiked caramel and crowned with house made vanilla bean ice cream slowly melting over the hot, buttery pastry; a great end to a meal I’d originally planned around bigger things, but one than held its own in the ‘memorable’ category and definitely warrants a return if and when I have a larger group with whom to explore more of Sundstrom’s cuisine.
Another spot closed during my first visit to Seattle was Paseo; their legendary sandwiches attracting such large crowds that the team constructed a second location which, according to the man behind me in a line of five that had already formed before the restaurant unlocked its doors, had done little to stem the hour long waits I’d arrived fifteen minutes earlier to avoid.
Locally owned and operated but focused on Carribean themed sandwiches from three thousand miles away there is little to be said about Paseo that has not already been said and although the space is small while service is hurried everything in the space, from the line to the servers to the décor, works in controlled chaos…a theme that carries right over to the sandwiches which seem unnecessarily complicated but, at least in my limited experience with the “Caribbean Roast,” are actually harmonious in execution with a crispy baguette more than adequately holding up to supple marinaded pork shoulder, pickled jalapenos, crisp lettuce, sweet caramelized onions, and a slathering of cilantro tinged garlic aioli.
More than enough to share and on par with other legendary sandwiches across the United States including Roli Roti, Paesano’s, Hodad’s, Central Grocery, and Seattle’s own Salumi I cannot say that I’d wait a full hour for this sandwich (or any…though this is debatable for Roli or Paesano’s) I can say I’d get up and get in line early on any future visit to Seattle; ideally with more people in order to more widely sample the menu.
…considered by many to be the finest restaurant in the Pacific Northwest I’d originally planned to dine at Canlis with my family on 12/27/2011, a plan derailed (and detailed https://endoedibles.com/?p=1714) by the worst flight experience of my life and leaving me to make amends just over a year later when I added an extra day to the Seattle leg of my Soundgarden pilgrimage specifically to visit Peter Canlis’ midcentury dining room helmed by Eleven Madison Park alum Jason Franey.
Having heard wonderful things about the room, the service, and most of all the food I entered the hill-top restaurant just after eight o’clock and with free valet for my rental I entered the expansive dining room to find a duo of hostesses waiting, leading me through the room to what I would later learn was Peter Canlis’ personal table – a full view of the room, a wide angle vantage of the windows overlooking Lake Union, stories of visits by Clint Eastwood and former US Presidents, and even a house phone with direct line to the kitchen; a VIP table in a room full of VIPs, though I’d made no special efforts to receive such a thing.
Greeted by my server and discussing the tasting menu versus a la carte options and eventually settling on the later (the restaurant has since migrated to a prix fixe format) it would not be long before the night began with house-filtered water and a cocktail I’ll not soon forget; the $20 “French Foam” with Plymouth Gin, Briottet Crème de Cassis, and Drappier Champagne crowned with Lemon Sherbet a grown-up milkshake like no other and a surprisingly lovely pairing with a sizable amuse bouche of Parsnip Pear Veloute with olive oil gelee alongside a Candy Cap Mushroom sable with pear and candied orange.
Served a round (or three) of warm rolls, a duo of Milk and Honey and Black Olive Sea Salt, along with creamy local butter as I waited for my appetizer I watched the lights outside in the city below and within minutes smoked torchon of Foie Gras arrived along with beets in various preparations, chamomile foam and a side of chocolate-cinnamon swirl brioche. Creamy, rich, and satin smooth with flavors pickled, sweet, and smoky all accenting the plate this was a truly exquisite torchon preparation though the bread, a bit dense for my liking, could have done with less cinnamon.
Greeted briefly by Chef Jason when he presented my main course tableside we spoke briefly about Eleven Madison Park and he confirmed my assumption that what I was about to enjoy was indeed a tribute to something he had learned during his time there; the While Muscovy Duck (for two) returning to the kitchen to be carved and arriving shortly thereafter with the 14-day dry-aged breast rosy and moist beneath crackling skin and a thin ribbon of fat while the accoutrements left nothing to be desired; orange marmalade and poached prunes servicing the sweet tooth while parsnip purée and pearl onions provided balance, particularly in regard to the dense and meaty confit fritters rendered from the duck’s legs that, when considered with the rest, made Franey’s preparation perhaps better than that in New York.
At this point nicely sated from a long day of dining I notably showed some restraint in ordering one dessert as opposed to two, but unfortunately allowed my server to talk me into the “Mille-Feuille” in place of the signature Canlis soufflé – a mistake not in that the dessert was particularly unenjoyable, but in that it was not at all like the mille feuille I’d expected; the textures more like that of a milk chocolate, banana, caramel, and peanut butter ‘kit-kat’ alongside macaron shells, candies, and ice creams in similar flavors.
Declining coffee in favor of the check and watching the crowd slowly thin my last service of the evening featured an apple pie macaron and a pecan maple ‘bon bon,’ both nicely executed but the candy particularly memorable; a veritable one-bite chocolate pecan pie whose flavor I savored all the way to the parking lot where I found my car warmed, ready, and waiting as a steady drizzle came down – the only thing missing from the evening being a driver to take me back to the hotel…and perhaps that soufflé.
With Brandon Pettit’s highly touted pizzeria closed during my first visit to Seattle I’d made it a point to visit during this trip and with limited time in the Emerald City I eventually opted to shoehorn it in as a prequel to dinner at Canlis; the assumption being a 4:45 arrival for the 5:00pm opening would land me a seat and although there were indeed a few folks already in line as I arrived the plan worked perfectly – a seat at the bar where I could watch every action of the kitchen including baby pictures, dancing, and all kinds of staff/patron interaction when Molly Wizenberg arrived an hour later (to the delight of the self proclaimed “biggest fans” seated next to me.)
A small space, the bar and ovens in one room along with some retro-chic odds and ends while a small dining room sits to the right, Delancey is clearly a work of passion as Pettit tends to his self-built oven while good-natured staff tend to diners and the growing line of would-be diners. With a concise menu it did not take me long to order and taking a lead from my server I started the night with a housemade Strawberry “Shrub,” something I’d never tasted before but an item I’ve replicated at home many times since with the drinking vinegars underlying bright strawberries, light sweetness, and herbal notes that paired beautifully with the pizza.
Moving onward to the pie, when dining alone the Margherita is always my must order and opting for the classic topped with La Quercia Prosciutto I watched step-by-step as the pizzaiolo constructed the pie and expecting great things based on appearance alone I was not let down, the bubbly mozzarella and bright sauce beneath lightly draped pork and basil speaking for themselves while the crust was something breathtaking – a blistered cracker with tiny air pockets light with yeast over a nutty undertone that provided ample support for the toppings while remaining supple and airy within – a crust entirely unique and perhaps the best I’ve ever tasted.
Moving past the pizza – though if I did not have dinner plans for later I’d have likely ordered the White pie as well – Delancey further wowed in the sweets department with a Preserved Meyer Lemon Budino whose silky texture was dotted with salted candied pistachios, buttery shortbread, and anise tinged caramel alongside a signature Bittersweet Chocolate Chip Cookie with Gray Salt warm from the oven with chocolate still in the semi-solid state and the salt adding a touch of crunch – a great finish to an excellent meal and much like Great Lake, Lucali, or Bianco the sort of place that absolutely warrants the hour long waits for the pizza alone.
Clearly unable to experience as much of Seattle as I wanted with three square meals a day another dozen or so stops consisting of both sweets and savories would round out the schedule along with the Soundgarden Concert, Art Museum, EMP, and a lot of record store shopping – the first of these stops being Café Besalu, a bakery closed during my prior visit to the city and one that may as well have been closed this time as well given their odd policy on “only baking almond croissants on the weekend because they are so labor intensive” and instead serving overpriced Butter Croissants with a good shell structure but far too dense an interior to warrant a trip to Ballard. Call me crazy, but in my experience it seems that other bakeries both here and abroad are more than capable of baking better butter croissants AND almond croissants daily…
Continuing my travels through Ballard after coffee and thumbing through some vinyl my next stop would take me to “Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery,” though it was not the oft raved chocolate cakes that I had on my mind, but rather Autumn Martin’s slightly less highly acclaimed cookies…plus a cinnamon roll…and bread pudding (and if I didn’t have dual dinner plans I likely wouldn’t have stopped there.)
Cute, but with that decidedly rustic wood and brick feel prevalent throughout the Pacific Northwest, and featuring samples of various chocolates and dips plus everything from wine to coffee to ready-to-bake cakes and cookies my sampling of items from the former Canlis pastry chef began with the aforementioned cookies – one the amusing Bacon Oatmeal Raisin and the other a Salted Peanut Butter Cookie with Theo Milk Chocolate Chunks; the first all the evidence I needed that although it may have ‘jumped the shark,’ bacon can make anything better and the later tasting like fresh roasted peanuts and rich chocolate with a saline top note that begged for milk, or coffee.
Moving on to the made-to-order selections, more sweet-savory interplay arrived with the shockingly light Salted Caramel Potato Cinnamon Roll; the pastry a yeasty cloud shellacked with rich salty caramel and leaving most of this for the following morning (almost as excellent rewarmed) I turned my attention to the Bread Pudding, a custard soaked spice cake paired with fresh sautéed apples and pears dowsed with rich, sticky Maple clove Butterscotch and crowned with a melting ball of vanilla ice cream that served to smooth out the otherwise pronounced sweetness – a nearly perfect bread pudding that was simple in composition yet complex in flavor and nearly as much pudding as bread; by far the best dessert I had in Seattle (Canlis included) and a contender for my top five bread puddings, all time.
With a bit of time to waste as the rain came down I stopped at Fonte given its proximity to the Art Musem and a good experience on my last visit but unfortunately this time found the service to be rather rude as the barista barked at me that they “offered table service” if I wanted to stay and essentially refused to give me my Americano unless I took a seat and let her bring it to my table – strange policy, but fine – the coffee was good with a nice caramel top note and light acidity, but table service or not the young woman would have gotten a better tip if she’d have been a bit more friendly and simply let me drop it in the tip jar.
Speaking of killing time on a rainy day, another stop at Paul Allen’s beautifully renovated Cinerama as the rains came down harder than prior brought not only Zero Dark Thirty with perhaps the best sound system I’ve ever heard outside of ArcLight but also the best popcorn I’ve had in a decade – a chocolate, salt, and butter composition that literally permeates the air throughout the lobby and delivers as hot and crispy as opposed to thick and heavy given the fact that it is sprayed with a sort of glaze as opposed to being dipped in chocolate – at $3 for a small it is also quite filling, and in cinema terms a veritable bargain.
Next up, breakfast on day two was a three part affair beginning with the much praised Crumble and Flake and arriving early at Neil Robertson’s Capitol Hill location I was fortunate to find the shelves stocked, though lacking the canele (only made on weekend) thus relegating me to five other selections including three of the bakery’s signature items and two less raved options; all exemplary beginning with some crumble in the form of a moist and decadent “Heart of Darkness Cheweo” featuring dark cocoa cream filling a dense chocolate cookie followed by the crackling Irish Coffee Macaron formulated with a light Irish Whiskey shell surrounding True North Coffee ganache before moving on to a buttery brioche cinnamon roll unraveling in soft golden layers tinged with butter but not heavy in the least.
Moving onward to the flake, a still-warm butter croissant with shattering arcs of pastry surrounding yawning caverns of butter would prove the best in the Pacific Northwest by some degree while the restaurant’s signature kouign amann, an item often known to sell out within hours of opening, proved equal to any I’ve had stateside as the caramelized pastry crackled to the tooth yielding notes of butter and salt with each layer separating nicely with a similarly satisfying crunch followed by more butter, more salt, and more sweetness – a masterful version of the Breton classic worth the early morning pilgrimage.
Pre-breakfast complete and moving on to actual breakfast I next found myself meeting a friend at Tom Douglas’ Brave Horse Tavern and after circling the block half-a-dozen times to find parking we arrived to find the restaurant empty – seemingly literally until a young server emerged from the back to suggest we seat ourselves anywhere we like; a seat near the front seeming as good as any as the cavernous restaurant spread both left and right with hardwood floors, exposed brick walls, plus a well-stocked bar and kitchen on full display.
With menus present on the table and service essentially one-to-one it took mere moments to place our order and aside from a ruptured paper filter on the coffee machine leading to a heavily sedimented first cup of Starbucks Italian Roast (comped, along with refills) the breakfast was actually quite good with my friend opting for the Pretzel Banana Sandwich and myself selecting Cinnamon French Toast Pudding. Splitting both plates and passing on the leathery bacon (I’m told it was better than it looked) I started with the French Toast which was actually dense like a quick bread rather than a bread pudding but very nicely paired with griddled sweet apples and organic maple syrup that added a lot of sweetness, but also some balance to the rich bread. Moving on to the pretzel, crispy and salted with great chew surrounding sliced banana and cardamom spiked sweetened cream cheese, no complaints were echoed at all and I imagine those pretzels would be excellent on their own or with some cheese.
After a quick stop at Paseo where sandwiches were shared a visit to Mighty O Donuts for dessert proved requisite and finding the small, tidy shop still baking fresh after noon I was encouraged, my love of cake donuts and fritters rewarded four-fold as a batch of both were just ready to come off the cooling rack including the highly praised French Toast plus Organic Raspberry, Plain Glazed, and (after a short wait) the Apple Fritter.
Unbeknownst to me before entering the shop, Mighty O’s donuts are both organic and vegan while the shop, featuring reclaimed items, recycled t-shirts, and plenty of kitsch is so very “Seattle” and with friendly servers helping an ever present trickle of patrons I sat down at a small table with my friend to enjoy the donuts, each one surprisingly light with the French Toast tinged with maple and cinnamon while the fritter, virtually oil-free, was wonderfully flavored but in my opinion a bit less crispy than I’d have preferred. A nice place, particularly for the vegan/vegetarian sect, there are undoubtedly better donuts to be found in the Pacific Northwest, though perhaps none with better values or sourcing.
My last day in Seattle before heading back to Portland began like any other – a long run followed by pastry; a two-stop process beginning with Karen Krol’s pastries at Vietnamese Street Food locale, Ba Bar on 12th Avenue, at 7:00am just as the restaurant opened its doors. A large restaurant with an expected urban-chic interior and large dining room to the left that opens for breakfast at 8:00 the it was the pastry counter to the right that grabbed my attention – the “un-Besalu” presence of a Twice Baked Almond Croissant on a weekday and a rarely seen Brioche Bostock instantly grabbing my attention along with the Apricot Pistachio tart and Chocolate Nutella Macarons; a $10.50 total for what would turn out to be a steal given the quality – definitely a place I’d head back to for lunch or dinner next time I’m in town.
Beginning first with the Bostock and Croissant and saving the egg-custard-like tart and macaron for the car so as to avoid turning my clothing into a confectioner’s sugar mural the bostock would prove every bit as good as that at San Francisco’s Tartine with the eggy brioche dense and crisp, rich with almond and brightened up by light citrus, while the almond croissant was not-surprisingly still warm and although slightly more dense with frangipane than I tend to prefer, still crisp on the exterior with a supple center rich with butter.
Advancing to later in the day, after a (arguably) proper breakfast with a friend at The Original Bakery, I unwrapped the tart while driving along the I-5 only to find it crumbled and unset but undeterred I made the best of it and found the flavors to be quite delicate and balanced while the macaron proved to be slightly more dense in the shell than I’d have liked; a bit more chew than crackle, though the flavors were spot on and not overly sweet thanks to the dark cocoa in the shell balancing out the pure nutella center.
Having already mentioned “The Original Bakery,” a location in West Seattle that was close to my friend’s home and mostly along my route back to Portland, I was intrigued to find out that the restaurant had been around since the 1930s and after checking out the nearby ferry dock we sat down to a cup (or ten) of well made Café Vita light roast coffee and four of the classic bakery’s best items – at least according to the young girl behind the counter – plus two standards in a Buttermilk Bar and a Maple Bar; both good, but neither anything to write home about.
Amongst the recommended items we started with a peanut butter cookie that was dry and far more sugar and flour than peanut before moving on to more impressive selections as a stream of locals trickled in the door, each one placing a very similar order and making it quite obvious that at a bakery touting itself as classic the best items are those doted on by the locals and true to form the critically raved Friday-only Applesauce Donut was light, fluffy, and rich with apples and cinnamon while the Sourcream Nut Horn reminded me of something my Hungarian Grandmother would make each Christmas – nostalgia at best, though hers were better. Most impressively of the group, a Raspberry Almond Bear Claw with fresh raspberry puree and light cream cheese frosting drizzle was at once rustic and delicate, decadent and light. Perhaps not a ‘destination bakery’ but certainly a place worth checking out if in the area or looking for a stop between PDX and the Emerald City.
Peregion Beans, Hedgehogs, Spinach on Toast with Fried Egg
Gateau Basque with poached figs and toasted almonds
Buckwheat Canele with lemon curd
Salted Caramel
If one had to raise any complaint about Sitka & Spruce it would be just how self-aware of its “Seattleness” the restaurant is; the rustic location inside the Melrose Market, the stripped down interior with heavy woods and exposed brick, and an open kitchen where chopped wood, hanging pans and cutlery, and an open pantry provide the only decorations while Chef Dillon and his team lightly pair and prepare Northwest Ingredients into simple plates that cost more than they seemingly should – at least until you taste them and realize that no matter how uncomplicated the plates appear the ingredients are of the utmost quality while the preparation is that of a man who understands exactly what he is doing to show precisely how high that quality is.
Having missed out on the restaurant (along with Canlis) during my first visit to Seattle thanks to airline issues my first stop after driving from Portland would find me seated along the wall, starring out the window onto a rainy sidewalk while a polite and efficient server presented an $8.50 appetizer of yogurt and apples followed by a $16 entrée of beans, eggs, and mushrooms plus house made sourdough followed by a $5.50 Canele and $8.50 slice of butter cake with figs and almonds over the course of less than forty five minutes. Unassuming yet refined, ordinary but assertive, and above all incredibly fresh and delicious each and every plate worked beautifully, particularly the earthy beans and a superlative custard cake that paired beautifully with a rich Americano; comfort food in a comfortable setting as the chilly grey sky on the other side of the glass brooded on – the whole thing felt very “Seattle,” and I guess that’s the point.
