Chef in da House with Chef Big John
Friday night I attended a small dinner/wine tasting that has been dubbed "Chef in da House" by the host, David LeClaire. For those of you active in wine tastings and events in the Seattle area, even if you don’t know David the chances are very good that you’ve attended an event he’s organized. If you’ve recently attended the Rose Revival or plan to attend the Pasa Robles tasting next Monday, those are his events.
Periodically he hosts a wine tasting at his home and invites a chef to cook dinner. There is a fee but it basically covers just the cost of the materials. I think this was the second or third version of Chef in da House, and when I noticed the Chef for this evening was Chef Big John Caudill I immediately sent in my reservation!
I used to regularly attend Thursday night wine tastings at Seattle Cellars with my friend, L. During that time we got to know all of the staff at the store. Over time I learned who had tastes similar to mine and came to rely on them for recommendations and information. At that time Big John was working at Seattle Cellars and he was someone I always counted on. Over the years I got to know him and his wife, who also regularly attended, pretty well. In fact, I got to know the whole family as his sister also worked at Seattle Cellars! They’ve been to parties at my house, I’ve been to their parties but a couple years ago they moved east of the mountains and so our interaction has been limited to fortuitous meetings, mostly at wine events.
Seattle Cellars sponsors wine dinners and special events in addition to the Thursday night tastings. In those days they often partnered with The Painted Table, the now closed restaurant that was in the Alexis Hotel. David was the wine director and ran many promotions at the restaurant and that was how I got to know him. Both men have since gone on to other adventures, Big John having graduated from culinary school, now runs his own catering and events company and, as previously mentioned, David has his wine events company. So I was looking forward to this dinner that was also a bit of a blast from the past.
Friday night was a very warm night in Seattle. When I arrived at the house Chef Big John and his wife, Kimberly, were already busy in the hot kitchen and had been for a few hours, having spent the early part of the day shopping at The Market. David was opening chilled white wines to start our tasting. Some of the tastings he does are pretty formal, where he takes you through bottle by bottle, but this was going to be more informal – lots of choices and up to each person to pick what looked good to them and talk to him about it, if they wished. He gave us the ground rules and started pouring.
Since the kitchen was right in the heart of things, this was also an informal cooking class. There were too many of us to watch every step of every process, but people were free to come and go as they desired, spending some time in the kitchen, watching and listening to the ongoing dialog or asking questions about something, helping out if they wished, then wandering out to the living room or deck to sip some wine and cool off.
In the meantime, Big John and Kimberly were working on the first offering, Chevre dipped in Herbs de Provence, then baked on (toasted) crostini until warmed and slightly melted. The mixture of herbs with the cheese was wonderful. The fragrant rosemary and lavender with the tart Chevre was rich, yet not overwhelming. A perfect bite to start the night. They plated up 20+ portions, guests helped get them distributed and everyone was soon happily munching.
Next up was Wilted Greens with Lardon sprinkled with crumbled Goat Cheese. This dish included three types of greens: Frisee; Escarole; and Arugula. Each was prepared separately, as they have different sautéing requirements, and then combined. Both the Frisee and the Escarole were sautéed in the rendered fat from the Lardon. The Arugula was not cooked but was blended in with the first two which provided enough heat to wilt it. The greens were plated, topped with crispy lardon and a little crumbled goat cheese added for good measure. The combination of greens was great and, personally, I am all for warm lardon rendering being used as dressing!
I am sad to say that for the next course I was spending my time cooling off outdoors and so I do not have a single picture of this lovely, lovely plate. :-( But I can tell you how good it was and what was in it! The star was duck, specifically, Confit (cooked in its own fat) of duck leg over Salade Americanes (the French version of Waldorf). Granny Smith apples, toasted walnuts, celeriac and freshly made mayo were combined into a refreshing contrast to the richness of the duck. The celeriac was a nice little surprise in the salad – along with the apples there was a great juicy, crispness in every bite. Now by this time I’m feeling pretty happy but we were not yet done!
Next up was lamb. Lamp chops were trimmed and frenched then marinated in olive oil, rosemary and garlic. Lots of garlic! The racks were pan-roasted, finished in the oven, then cut into individual chops. Also on the plate were: blanched asparagus, that had been oiled and seasoned and then roasted in the oven to warm through; and mushrooms marinated in extremely good olive oil and vinegar, tarragon, salt and pepper and then sautéed until tender. (These can either be served cold or at room temperature.) I loved the tang the vinegar gave to the mushrooms. And the lamb, well it was perfectly cooked and tender.
At the beginning of the evening we had been warned that dessert most likely wasn’t going to turn out as originally planned. On the menu was chocolate pot de creme. With the heat of the day, the heat of the kitchen, the refrigerator full of wine (even the reds were spending a little time in the refrigerator as the temperature was over 80 F that evening…) the proper cooling and setting most likely wouldn’t happen. But we were promised one of the best cold mochas in it’s place! :-) And that’s exactly what we got. Lovely, rich, velvety- smooth, drinkable chocolate. I didn’t hear anyone complaining that we had to sip it from a cup instead of eat it with a spoon!
Throughout the evening guests mingled and met, talked about the wine and the food, helped out when they wanted to, poured wine for each other, sat on the deck, exchanged contact information, and just generally had a great time. It was a fun group of people and I’m sure I’ll be seeing many of them at other events around town.
Both David and Big John are available to help you plan an event of your own, or you can sign up for David’s email newsletter to hear about the latest public events he’s working on.
Chef Big John Caudill
kingcrabclaw@aol.com
Tasting Washington
Wine & Food Excursions
509-949-7022
David LeClaire
winelover99@comcast.net
Wine Events and Promotions
206-526-1992
To sign up for David’s newsletter send him an email
EoMEoTE#7 – The Limerick Edition
It’s End of Month Eggs on Toast,
Created by Jeanne, the talented host
This month a limerick
Will do the trick
To explain your entry and culinary post
What came to mind was a Monte Cristo
But with a twist, ala the Fool’s Bistro
Bread, eggs, chicken and cheese
Add something savory, to please –
Stack ‘em up on the grill, then eat the little feast-o.
Don’t worry! I really don’t plan on subjecting you to my (extremely) limited poetry skills any more than necessary! But today it was necessary… Several month’s ago Jeanne at Cook Sister! started another food blogging event titled, “End of Month Eggs on Toast Extravaganza” or, as it is affectionately known, EoMEoTE.
I stumbled across this event two or three months ago but haven’t been coordinated enough to participate. It seemed this holiday weekend (in the US) was a good time to get involved. “But why the limerick?”, you ask. Well, that’s the rule for this month – not just an entry involving eggs and toast (or a starchy carbohydrate of some kind) but a limerick to boot!
As my little rhyme indicates I had been thinking something along the lines of but not exactly a Monte Cristo sandwich. I love Monte Cristos but I didn’t want to do all the crust trimming and wrapping and chilling that makes a good one. Plus, I wanted to be able to use some of the things I had in the fridge – many from Saturday’s trip to the Farmers’ Market. So I came up with a plan that is actually more like eggs in toast but I think it will still qualify! :-)
The Fool’s Monte Cristo
1 egg
1 – 2 Tbsp milk
Freshly grated nutmeg
Break egg into shallow bowl, just wide enough to lay a piece of bread completely flat. Lightly beat the egg, then add the milk and grate a little nutmeg into the mixture. Mix. Set aside.
8 thin slices of day-old coarse white bread (I used a small loaf, each sandwich is only about 6 bites)
Thinly sliced Rosemary Romao Cheese
Thinly sliced Swiss Cheese
Thinly sliced Provolone Cheese
Thinly sliced grilled chicken (I marinated mine in Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce and then grilled it on the BBQ)
Thick sliced bacon, fried until crispy and cut in half
1 “Green” red onion, thinly sliced (Any young or green onion will do)
1 grilled, seeded and peeled banana pepper, thinly sliced into 1/2 rounds
Lemon basil leaves
1 tsp. butter
Several small sprigs of fresh rosemary
Additional Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce or raspberry jam.
Assemble all ingredients listed above. You should have enough to make one single layer of each ingredient on each of the four sandwiches. Feel free to use just one type of cheese for all three layers, or substitute turkey for the chicken, another herb for the basil – really just pull together whatever sounds good to you. The one key is to ensure you have cheese between each layer of “other” ingredients so that the filling will get all melted together and won’t fall apart.
Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles when dropped into the pan. Melt just enough butter to lightly grease the pan.
Dip each piece of bread into the egg mixture. Turn it over and dip again – you want to make sure that the egg slightly soaks the bread. Place in the pan and repeat with all remaining slices.
When the bread has browned turn over 4 of the pieces. Quickly assemble your sandwich on the browned side of the pieces. Put a layer of the Rosemary Romao, followed by the chicken and lemon basil, followed by the Provolone, followed by some onion, pepper and a slice of bacon, then finish off with a slice of the Swiss cheese. Next, turn the remaining 4 slices of bread onto the top of the stack with the browned side of the bread on the cheese. The uncooked side will be facing out.
If desired, place a piece of foil over the sandwiches and place a heavy object to weigh them down, such as a cast iron frying pan, on top of the foil. (Or just use a panini pan.) When the bread has browned on the bottom, remove the pan and foil and very carefully flip the sandwiches over. This is when they are most vulnerable as the cheese will not be fully melted so they won’t completely stick together. Put the foil and weight back on the sandwiches, until the bottom side has browned.
Remove from pan, place on plates. Garnish plates with a fresh rosemary sprig or two and a bit of jam or sauce. Serve additional jam or sauce on the side. I placed a frilled toothpick in each sandwich but it’s really not necessary, unless your cheese to other ingredient ratio is too low.
Now eat ’em up!
Thai Dragon Pepper
Look at this cute little baby pepper! When it grows up it will be able to knock your socks off but right now it looks so harmless. There’s another one, too. It’s still hidden under the dried bloom just to the right of the first one.
Last year I grew Cayenne peppers and they were amazingly prolific! I liked the name of these Thai Dragons, though, and thought I’d try them this year. With a name like that is there any doubt about how hot they will be? It looks like they are off and running and will produce lots and lots, by the number of blooms I’m seeing. I also have a Banana Pepper plant (mild) and an Anaheim Chili plant (also hot). They are both growing well but are just starting to bloom, so no peppers yet.
Rosemary-Mint Wine Jelly
My entry for IMBB was good but a little sweeter than I wanted and the herbs weren’t quite as assertive as I would have liked. But the idea was good. So this morning I made a few changes and came up with something much more to my liking!
Wine jelly can be used a number of ways – limited pretty much only by your imagination. The most "traditional" way to use it is with a soft cheese on a cracker or baguette. It’s also good as a glaze or accompaniment for meats, or added as a thin layer on a savory tea sandwich.
As I mentioned in the earlier post I have never used a water-bath for jam, but I’ve included the information in case you would like to.
ROSEMARY MINT WINE JELLY
1 1/2 cups firmly packed fresh mint leaves
2 cups fresh rosemary leaves
3 large cloves garlic
2 cups dry white wine
3 cups sugar
a 3-ounce pouch liquid pectin
In a food processor or blender blend together the mint, rosemary, garlic and 1 cup of the wine until the herbs are chopped fine. (You may need to add another dash of wine if the blender bogs down.)
Transfer the mixture to a bowl. In a small saucepan bring the remaining 1 cup wine to a boil, add it to the herb mixture, and let the herb mixture stand, covered, for 45 minutes. (Today I actually let it stand about 3 hours, but I think anything over 45 minutes would be fine.)
Strain the herb mixture through a sieve lined with several layers of rinsed and squeezed cheesecloth set over a large measuring cup. When the liquid has drained through, gather the corners of the cheesecloth together and then twist the resulting ball to extract enough liquid to make 2 cups. If you are a little short add more wine to make 2 cups.
Transfer the liquid to a kettle, stirring in the sugar until combined well, and bring the mixture to a rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in the pectin quickly, bring the mixture again to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly, and boil it, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
Remove the kettle from the heat, skim off any foam with a large spoon, and ladle the mixture immediately into 4 sterilized 1/2-pint Mason-type jars, filling the jars to within 1/8 inch of the tops. Wipe the rims with a dampened cloth and seal the jars with the lids. Invert the jars for 5 minutes and turn them upright. (Instead of being inverted, the jars may be put in a water bath canner or on a rack set in a deep kettle. Add enough hot water to the canner or kettle to cover the jars by 1 to 2 inches and bring it to a boil. Process the jars, covered, for 5 minutes, transfer them with tongs to a rack, and let them cool completely.)
Store the jars in a cool, dark place.
Makes four 1/2-pint jars.
Update May 31: I hate when this happens! I was so excited about the taste coming out right, that I wrote my post before realizing that the changes I made affected the jelling process. Dang it! So this "jelly" turns out more like a thick "syrup". Which might be okay depending on how you plan to use it. I’m currently heating one jar to see how it reduces. It will work, it just takes a little time as you want to use low heat. Alternatively, you could reduce the wine to 1 3/4 cup and I’m sure that would allow it to set up properly, too. So sorry! ~ B
Dine & Dish #2: Queens of Cuisine
Dine and Dish is a new event created by Sarah at The Delicious Life. Most of the food blog events have to do cooking or creating. Sarah thought it would be nice to have one that was about dining out. And so Dine and Dish was born.
I missed the inaugural event last month and for no good reason except that I was too cavalier about the whole thing. So this month when the theme was announced I made a plan! The theme, Queen of Cuisine, requires that you eat at an establishment owned by a woman or featuring a woman chef. If I hadn’t just eaten at Café Juanita, that might have been my choice of locations. But having just been there I turned my sight to two other local favorites, Brasa and The Flying Fish. Both of these places are owned by the women who also head up the kitchen. I hadn’t been to either of them for some time so I thought I’d do my own version of a progressive dinner.
R and I were planned to meet at Flying Fish at 4:30, hoping to get in ahead of the after work crowd. It can get pretty crowded in the bar – there are about a dozen seats. Well, it was a great idea, except that I forgot to check their hours and it turns out they don’t open until 5:00. :-( R got there first and left me a vmail so we both wandered around a bit and then reconvened at 5:00.
Flying Fish opened in Seattle 10 years ago – in fact they are currently celebrating their anniversary. Christine Keff is the owner and chef. In 1999 she won the James Beard award for best chef in the Pacific Northwest/Hawaii. She and the restaurant have received many accolades and awards over the years. There was a special dinner going on the night we were there and it looked like it was going to be tons of fun! Many other local chefs had gathered at Flying Fish and were all making one course of a special anniversary dinner.
At 5:00, I got there a little ahead of Rosanne and as it was a very nice day, I started to scoot past the hostess station and out to the sidewalk seating when a look from the hostess made me pause. I’ve had cocktails and light bites out there many times and it didn’t occur to me that they had changed their policy, so I said, "I’m just heading out to the sidewalk, is that okay?" Her reply, "No." Nothing else just no! I was so taken aback! We exchanged a couple other sentences, I won’t go into detail, but then I made my way to the bar itself, still at little unsettled by that rather rude "No".
I decided to start with ice tea while figuring out my order. R arrived and ordered a glass of wine and then we made our selections from the menu. Flying Fish divides its menu by Small Plates, Large Plates and Platters. We ordered from the Small Plates menu. Since this was the first stop on our progressive tour we chose the Organic Tomato and Arugula salad and Ahi Tuna Poke.
Our food arrived and looked delicious! But there was something odd about the salad… Instead of arugula it was made with spinach! Now we both like spinach but we wondered what was up. We asked the bartender who checked with the kitchen. On returning he said the misinformation was probably his fault – the switch was one of those things that would have been covered at the pre-opening meeting but he wasn’t paying attention. Hmmm. Not a very good explanation but we’ll have to take it. The salad was still good although the blue cheese was not very assertive. With the arugula being spicy that would make sense, but with the spinach it was just sort of lost. The dressing was excellent! It was fennel vinaigrette and the salad was perfectly dressed – neither too much or too little dressing. Each spinach leaf was covered but not soggy so that you really got the taste of the dressing without squelching the underlying taste of the salad.
The star of the night, though, was the Ahi Tuna Poke. Oh my, this was good! The base of the tower is a chuka salad. Sitting on top of the salad is wonderful, fresh diced ahi tuna lightly seasoned with a soy sesame sauce. The tower is capped with a generous handful of fried wonton strips.
I feel so lucky to live in a city where fish and seafood are readily available, supremely fresh and treated in such wonderful ways by the local chefs. This combination was really extraordinary.
We finished our meal and left with a bit of mixed feelings. Flying Fish still lives up to its reputation for great food but my experience with the hostess and the lack of attention to detail by the bartender make me a little sad. I would not ever have been able to imagine either of those things happening in the past. Because of all my great experiences at Flying Fish I believe this was just an odd combination of events. I will definitely go back again and soon.
We then walked the three or four blocks to Brasa. We made our way into the dimly lit lounge and found a couple places at the bar. We were a bit surrounded by a large group sitting at several tables near the bar so we had to kind of squeeze in.
Brasa has been part of the Seattle dining scene since early 1999. It is owned by Tamara Murphy, chef and Brian Hill, general manager. In 1990 nominated for the James Beard Foundation’s Rising Star Chef of the Year Award, Tamara was one of four finalists for chefs under thirty years of age. She continued to receive nominations from the James Beard Foundation, and in 1995 was named the Best Chef of the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii. In addition, Food and Wine Magazine dubbed her one of the Ten Best New Chefs in America. Brasa has also received many commendations.
Brasa has a Happy Hour and I was looking forward to seeing what was on this menu. Since this was our second stop of the evening our choices here would be more of the entrée variety. But first things first! We took a look at the specialty drink menu and ordered a couple of interesting sounding offerings. R ordered the Capri, a combination of Campari, vodka and fresh ruby grapefruit juice. I ordered a Purple Haze, made with vodka, loganberry liqueur and fresh lime.
The Happy Hour menu is the regular bar menu but everything is half-price. This is a really great deal!
While waiting for our cocktails we poured over the menu drooling over the various choices. We limited our selections to three sandwiches: the Lamb Burger with Frites; the Moroccan Steak sandwich; and a Pork Sandwich. We whittled that down to two and then enlisted the bartender’s help in making our final selection, the Lamb Burger.
Our cocktails arrived and were really beautiful – especially mine. The bartender had been right on when I asked her if the Purple Haze would be sweet – I thought it might be with the loganberry liqueur – and she said no. In fact, it was a bit on the tart side with the lime floating on the top. Although I should have mixed the layers, the drink was so gorgeous as served that I instead tried to sip through the lime to the lower layer to preserve the beauty for as long as possible.
We savored our cocktails while waiting for our burger. And wait we did. Remember the large party I mentioned? Well, their order went into the kitchen just before ours so we waited for quite some time. In fact, I finally asked about it and that’s when I found out about the large order. It would have been nice if the bartender had mentioned this to us without having to ask but other than that she was pretty much a perfect bartender.
The good news is that the wait was worth it! Our burger arrived, we split it and bit into a tasty, juicy, perfectly cooked (medium-rare) burger. 
Besides the lamb, there were seasoned field greens, garlic aioli, tomato and feta cheese (melted into the burger) on the bun. Along side were pickles, crispy frites and ketchup upon request.
The burger was really, really good! The melted feta added a nice tang, the garlic aioli perfectly complemented the lamb and I liked the idea of dressed greens on the bun. It added a nice little twist to the flavor combinations.
I think this happy hour deal has got to be one of the best in town. I will be back here very soon to try one of the other sandwiches or perhaps another of the many offerings. Maybe I’ll make it my goal to try one of everything! There certainly are enough choices to keep me coming back for some time!
Flying Fish
2234 First Avenue
Seattle
206-728-8595
Brasa Restaurant
2107 Third Avenue
Seattle
(206) 728-4220
Happy Hour 5:00 – 7:00
U-District Farmers’ Market
Dahlak
Last week E sent an email to me and a couple others asking about "getting some folks together to try the new Eritrean restaurant on Rainier Ave South just south of I-90".
I was in! Then someone asked what is "Eritrean"? I had to admit that I hadn’t known either but right after I accepted I did a little research. Eritrea is a country in East Africa. Back in 1952 it was awarded to Ethiopia and was eventually annexed to Ethiopia. For 30 years the Eritreans tried to regain their independence and that finally happened in 1991. But, as with many of these things, it hasn’t been an easy road and there is currently a U.N. peacekeeping operation that monitors a 25 km strip between the two countries until a final border can be established.
Eritrea is shoe-horned in between Ethiopia and Sudan, with much of its border running along the Red Sea. Dahlak is an archipelago off the Eritrea coast. Although officially belonging to Eritrea, other countries, especially Yemen, would like to claim the islands as their own. Because of this, the beautiful and pristine islands can be very dangerous. Although they are used for recreation some areas are filled with mines so you must be extremely careful when in the islands.
Now that last bit of information was provided by the third person at dinner, RA, who is Eritrean! It was so great to have her guide us through the dinner and provide all kinds of information and background on the country and customs. I learned so much last night! Welcome to Seattle, RA!
But you want to know more about the restaurant and the meal, don’t you? Okay, the first thing I need to say is don’t let the exterior scare you. It’s not much to look at, not bad just not necessarily the type of place that draws you in at first glance. But once inside you’ll see the (very large!) space is neat and clean and it smells of incense, which RA explained is used in many rituals. We were seated, brought menus and asked if we’d like coffee. RA suggested we try the coffee; it would be very good, she told us. So we each ordered coffee. What was served to us was the beautiful cup you see at the top of this page. The coffee was fragrant, strong and heavily sugared. It was really wonderful. We were discussing the flavor and RA told us that most of the time, places roast their own beans over the stove and we guessed that was exactly what made these tiny cups of coffee so satisfying.
Next, we spent quite a bit of time reviewing the menu – wanting to try a bit of everything, not wanting to miss anything but having a hard time deciding how to fit it all in. We finally settled on: the meat combination which included Kelwa Beghie, Alicha Beghie, and Zelzil Tebsie; the Vegetable Combination, which I forgot to record what all was included but you can see much of it in the photo above; and Derho Fitfit, one of RA’s favorite dishes. This photo does not do the meal justice! The colors were so vibrant and everything was impeccably fresh and well prepared.
The porous, sponge-like item in the photo is Injera Bread, the mainstay bread of the Eritreans. It is much like a crepe but a little spongier. It is used in a number of ways – on its own, mixed into dishes, as the liner on the platter and as the "utensil" to scoop up your meal. You take a small bit of the bread, hold it between thumb and forefinger and then pinch whatever you’d like to eat into it. As I’ve mentioned before I like meals that I get to participate in and this was perfect, as I decided what to pinch and whether to have it on its own or to add a bit of something else.
The food was really good! Unfortunately, we were busy talking and laughing and so I didn’t learn which name belonged with which dish but I liked them all. Two of the meat dishes were lamb, one spicier than the other, and the third was beef. All of the meat was tender and cooked in the most wonderful sauces. The vegetables were cooked until tender but still a bit crisp. Even the okra was good. :-)
We ate until we were stuffed and still had a lot of food remaining. E boxed it up to take home to share with BR. We were all amazed to see how the time had flown by! We had arrived shortly after 7:00 and it was after 9:30 when we left. You know what they say about time and having fun!
Besides the coffee and our meal, E had a soft drink and RA also had fragrant tea. With all of that our meal (before tip) was under $15 each! This is really a great bargain! And Dahlak passed E’s cleanliness test all around, he told us when he returned from the restroom… What more can you ask for? Great and interesting food, nice people (which I forgot to mention until now – the people were very friendly and wonderful), a clean and tidy place and all at a pretty tiny cost.
It’s a little hard to see from the road, as it sits at the back of the parking lot. The sign above is the one on the road. The sign to the right is on the building itself. The easiest thing is to look for the Oberto outlet store – Dahlak is on the south side of that building.
Dahlak Eritrean Cuisine
2007 South State St (Ranier & State)
Seattle
(206) 860-0400
Heaven
Deep scarlet strawberries, warmed by the morning sun. Picked, rinsed, consumed! Sweet. Juicy. Summer in your mouth.
Sorry – no pictures… I just couldn’t wait that long! :-)
Coqktail Club – Claudio’s (& The Matador)
(Why Cocktail is spelled Coqktail.)
We had a little mix up in our scheduling for this month, so instead of meeting at Del Rey’s as I said we would be, we instead met at Claudio’s in Fremont.
There were just four of us for this meeting, which worked out well as Claudio’s bar is a bit on the small side – just half a dozen seats along the bar and a few more at a ledge along the wall. However, before we settled in the bar we started outside. They have a couple tables on the sidewalk to the side of the building and they also have a covered deck, with heater and the ability to have TV. The flooring on the deck is a bit scary – it seems it was built with the supports rather far apart. The good news is that the deck was built about 6" above the parking lot, so even if someone goes through the flooring, the most serious damage will probably be the embarrassment!
I guess we were all in a lazy summer mode: R started with a Margarita on the rocks, no salt; JB had a G & T; I had a Mandarin and Tonic. R said her Margarita was a bit strong but was impressed that fresh lime had been squeezed for it. JB and I had such basic drinks that there wasn’t too much to say about them. Even though we were the only ones out on the little covered deck area, the bartender, Amy, was really good at coming out to check on us – this was no small task, as it involved steps, a short walk and then the entry to those bouncing boards! We decided to give her a break, though, and told her we’d come in when we needed something. She appreciated that but also would have been fine making the trek out to us. I like that sort of attitude!
The wind picked up and so for round II we decided to go into the bar. JB ordered an Irish Coffee (in place of his normal Spanish Coffee) in celebration of Victoria Day. R stayed with the Margarita and I switched to a Crater Lake Martini with a twist. About this time JH joined us and he started off with a Margarita, too. By that time R had pronounced that this was "a really great Margarita" . I had chosen the Crater Lake, partly to be true to my home state but mostly because I really like the clean taste of it. My twist was a little troublesome and we gave Amy a really bad time as she tried valiantly to curl it into shape but it just wasn’t going to get there. I told her to just plop it in – it’s going to taste the same but I appreciated the effort!
The next round was where it all got more interesting as we asked Amy what she’d recommend. Her first suggestion was a "Dirty Sanchez", a house drink made with Starbucks Liqueur, Cuevo, Triple Sec and a dash of cinnamon – sort of like a cold, all alcohol Mexican Coffee. With the tequila in it I couldn’t taste it :-( but all who did pronounced it quite nice! JH ended the night with a Vanilla Lemondrop – your basic lemon drop but made with Absolut Vanil. It was very good!
About that time we asked the cook if he was Claudio (he’d been hanging out in the bar with us, as the place was pretty dead. Unfortunately, I don’t remember what he said his name is but he pointed to a red container on the shelf with the vodka and said that was Claudio! Well, I’m not sure why but none of us thought to ask the story of exactly who owned the place now and why Claudio was hanging out in the bar. We were happy to see, however, that the lid was taped in place to avoid any spillage! And he was placed next to the Vox which, apparently, was his favorite.
I really liked this place and would definitely return! The people are really great and Amy is a real stickler for making her cocktails from scratch – I like that in a bartender! We didn’t eat anything while we were there but a couple steaks did get grilled for others and they sure smelled good…
By this time we were in need of a little bite and so we reassembled at The Matador in Ballard. We got there for the second happy hour of the evening and between the four of us devoured several fish tacos and some chicken wings. Yum! The place was packed (and this was at 10:30); we had to worm our way into bar seats but once in place we were happy as clams! It was a fine end to a great "meeting".
Claudio’s
4332 Leary Way NW
Seattle
(206) 706-3117
The Matador
2221 NW Market
Seattle (Ballard)
(206) 297-2855
Memorial Day Events
Memorial Weekend is almost here! Hard to believe this unofficial start to summer is so close! While making your weekend plans there area a few activities you may want to keep in mind:
Folklife
Folklife offers a plethora of experiences packed into the 3-day weekend: music; food; crafts; people watching. There’s something for everyone! There are downloadable schedules on their site so you can (pretend to) plan your day. I always find it’s best to just go with whatever catches my attention.
NORTHWEST FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL 2005
May 27-30, 11 am-11 pm
Seattle Center · Rain or Shine!
Free
Pike Place Street Fair
Two days of crafts, food and entertainment in Pike Place Market. Held on Sunday and Monday but don’t expect to see the normal vendors. Sometimes they are open but mostly they take a well-deserved couple of days off.
Pike Place Market Street Festival
Sunday – Monday, May 29 – 30, 11 am – 7 pm
between Virginia and Pike St., west of 1st Avenue
Free
Chelan Valley Wine Tasting Festival
I’ve never been to this festival but it looks like a good reason to take a little drive east of the mountains!
Wine Tasting and Festival
May 28th & 29th
Sat: Noon to 6:00pm, Sun: Noon to 5:00 pm
At the Lone Pine Fruit and Espresso Stand
23041 Hwy 97 Orondo, WA
Memorial Weekend in the Wine Country (Willamette Valley)
Many of the Willamette Valley wineries will be open special hours or hosting special events over the weekend. More than 100 wineries are open to the public from 11 AM to 5 PM all three days of the weekend. Many of these wineries are not open at any other time during the year. Festivities include tasting of new releases and older vintages, barrel tastings, specialty foods and sales of limited quantity wines. Some wineries have live music and some charge a tasting fee. Winemakers and owners will personally greet their guests.
For the full list of what is happening when, see the website.
Culinary Fool 