an afternoon in fremont....

me and my sweetheart had plans to take the tour at theo chocolate factory, but before eating as much chocoloate as we wanted, we figured maybe some real food was in order....

we hit up baguette box, a place that serves some of the usual lunch staples, but mostly is famous for its sandwiches. similar to vietnamese sandwiches, these sandwiches satisfied my hunger for fresh ingredients and flavor in a way that few vietnamese sandwich shops in seattle have.

i ordered the pork shoulder, which was spectacularly tender, complimented by red wine sauce, red onion, and red peppers. key to the execution of the sandwhich was the bread: a le panier baguette. sometimes i crave a crustier baguetter for dipping and eating, but the fluffier bread that le panier offers is perfect for soaking up the sauce of my sandwhich, and helped the sandwich to mealt in my mouth (which it did).

oh yeah, theo chocolate was good too.

more eggplant!

since my trip to turkey this summer, i have been pretty much in love with eggplant. so happy i found the blog almostturkishrecipes.blogspot.com. i've been pretty happy with all the recipes i've tried from that site, and keeping me from missing turkey too much.

the other day i made an eggplant stew with lentils, a couple tomatoes, three chilies, fresh mint, onion, garlic, and pomegranate molasses. i used japanese eggplant, since the recipe called for narrow eggplant. great with some rice and yoghurt. my mother doesn't usually like eggplant, but she liked this dish!

best omelette.

i made the best omelette the other day. it was part influenced by stuff in the fridge, part influenced by Frank's Produce. I sauteed some minced shallot in butter, and then added crimini mushroom, chanterelle mushroom, a little anaheim pepper, and some other local green pepper. while veggies were cooking, i grated some cheddar, and cracked eggs. i stirred fresh sage and thyme in with the eggs. yum!

Lola

it's easy to take tom douglas for granted here in seattle, he's such an omniscient brand. however, i was curious about the food at lola, after a couple visits for drinks. my recent trip to turkey also made me curious about what passes for mediterranean fare here in seattle. i ended up quite pleased with the results....

i started my meal with their house red (don't quite remember the blend, i think it was made by chinook winery). i ended splitting a carafe of it with my father, so i definately enjoyed it. we had a garlic spread with pita (so good, drizzled with olive oil), and a chicken and a pork skewer. the pork had a honey harissa glaze, which did not disappoint.

for dinner, we ended up sharing two of the meze. 1) heirloom tomatoe salad with aragula. the heirlooms were perfect, and i enjoyed the dressing which had basil in it. one of the better salads ive had in a restaraunt. we also had mantı, a lamb ravioli with yoghurt, one of the dishes iate in turkey. this was different from the more basic turkish version, but really good. satisfied my mantı craving.

for dessert, we had baklava with pistachio ice cream. really good ice cream, the baklava was not quite up to gülluoğlu standards, but neyise. i left satisfied, but curious about the rest of the menu. next time.....

farther east

i am far from being tired of "turkish food", but a little variety is always pleasant. and when this variety takes the form of uighur manti and noodles, tant mieux. the restaurant we went to was located pretty close to sülemaniye camii, in the courtyard of a mosque. apparently there is a cultural institution dedicated to preserving uighur culture, a mission which i am now fully behind. the old man in the kitchen basically told us what we were getting, so we just sat in the courtyard (we were the only ones there) and waited for the magic to happen.

this really adorable, shy kid with glasses waited on us. first we each had a plate of what seemed like udon noodles, with veggies and meat. pretty tasty. then came the dumplings......i loooove dumplings. the only thing better than delciious things are delicious things wrapped in more carbs. these dumplings had some kind of meat in it, i was too blissed out.

after waddling around eminönu, looking at mosques, the caffeine craving hit hard. we stopped at a place off istiqlal, known for its thick coffee. i mean, look at the sludge in that cup. i drank it, and was a better person for it.

turkey! meat!

im in turkey for the first time, and as such, am taking note of all my food experiences. first of all, awesome yoghurt and yoghurty drinks. ive been going to a pastane for breakfast and eating bread with tomatoe and cheese, and drinking either turkish or nescafe. sometimes you just gotta get on the nescafe train.

went to a near restaurant for dinner, and had adana kebab. it was awesome. it was basically a meat stick with interesting spices and flavors, red onions on the side, roasted veggies, parsley, and kind of a rice or bulgur pilaf. next time, i promise to take some pictures!

Dairy, Oddfellows

i used to drink a lot of milk, but not so much anymore. however, the goat milk in my fridge was intriguing to me, so i decided to try it. definately more into that than the cow milk. its got a little sour taste, but creamier. the label claims its easier to digest. hopefully this proves to be the case. 

i went to oddfellows cafe the other day, to grab a pre-show drink and bite to eat. i ordered their aviation cocktail (named after aviation gin). it was a strange gray color, and i found the taste somewhat non-descript=(. my food was better, thankfully. i had pork with sautteed mushrooms. Definately the filling and flavorful dish i needed before a show, and the mushrooms were of an interesting variety. 

new restaraunt outing!

in my quest to visit every french restaurant in seattle ever, i decided to hit up place pigalle in the pike place market. i took my man there for his birthday, and though it was a little spendy, i thought it was totally worth it.
its a cute little place, with a great view of the water. i started off with a cocktail, and an appetizer of warm bitter greens, all of which was satisfactory. the main course, however, was really what made the meal. i had soy glazed duck, which came with fingerling potatoes. every bite was sheer joy. i enjoyed a delicious glass of syrah as i inhaled my duck.
for dessert, we shared a creme brulee, and the server brought us complimentary liqeur. yum!

steak!

mentioning julia child might bring to mind complicated recipes with long lists of ingredients, but she has some simpler recipes which are also delicious. 

I sauteed a pound of steak in olive oil and butter on the stove, and then placed in the oven to cook more (it was really thick). after draining meat fat from the pan, i added more butter (!) and a large shallot that i had minced. once the shallot was nice and transclusent, i added 1/2 cup of the red i was drinking (which happened to be a tasty malbec) and simmered that shit down. off heat, i stirred in another dollop butter and chopped parsley, salt, and pepper. I drizzled that on my steak and roasted veggies, drank more malbec, and felt pretty good about life. 

thanks julia!

back to cafe presse

i love those chill sunday evenings at restaurants....anyways, my habeeb and i split a chicken liver appetizer, which we spread on baguette with cherry compote and mustard. 

i ordered a salad with pear, endive(?), blue cheese, and......beets (my winter favorite)! it was pretty refreshing, and tasty. among the many beet salads i've had this winter, pretty far up there. 

we shared a piche of les hexagonales touraine, which was all right, but not the best thing ever. 

i've been eating a lot of exciting stuff lately....

a friend and i cooked goulash from my william sonoma soup book, it was pretty awesome. i only put 2 potatoes in, as the recipe suggested, but i probably could have used more....i am anxious to try this recipe with tomatoe paste, and noodles. 

i also enjoyed some homemade fries and an exceptionally tasty cote du rhone with this meal. 

it's no great secret that i love le pichet. i talk about it quite frequently and openly. but my love might have increased since my last visit. 

yesterday's dinner at le pichet started with a gin/vermouth/framboise cocktail (just the right amount of sweet). me and my habeeb shared a duck liver, pear, beet, endive, radichio salad. it was delicious, a wonderful assortment of textures and flavors. 

i moved onto wine, not sure what it was, but the waitress selected a full-bodied red wine to accompany my steak. I enjoyed the wine, and the steak.....perfectly cooked, on a cream sauce, with brussel sprouts and frites. it might be the best steak that i've ever had in a restaraunt. 

its always worth saving room for dessert at le pichet, especially for their house made ice creams. the prune-armignac ice cream was a tasty novelty, and my pear brandy finished the meal off well. 

of course, there are always the chocolate madeleines which come with the bill....

in all my time of going to palace kitchen, i was unaware of their happy hour. now, however, i am aware. and let it be known, $3 glasses of sangria are to be had. always a refreshing and fruity treat, it did not disappoint. for food, my dad and i had chicken wings, a pork sandwich, and a beet salad. the sauce on the chicken wings demands bread to soak it up. the pork sandwich, also tasty. the beet salad.... was lacking in the usual greens that accompany it in other seasons, but still good.