Part 1 of Edible Seattle.
Immediately upon arrival in Seattle, we head straight to Ballard to La Carta de Oaxaca for a late lunch. The cuisine here is that of Oaxaca, the city and state often referred to as the culinary capital of Mexico. If I ever go to Mexico, this is the version of it I'll be interested in. Enjoy your beach resorts, this is my idea of the ultimate Mexican vacation.
This family restaurant feels confident. You won't find any pinatas and sombreros in this Mexican eatery. You enter into a fresh, monochromatic room with an artistic yet still rustic feel. Every inch of wall space is covered with a collection of black and white photography of Oaxaca. White washed wainscoting and simple clapboard tables make the perfect complement to the red brick walls. The decor is so relaxed it seems unintentional. This place does what it does well, so it doesn't need to convince you that you are in a Mexican restaurant with the usual decor. Upon entering the first thing you notice is the women at a griddle and the incredible smell of just cooked corn tortillas and spices in the air. There are a handful of young male servers- extremely efficient and friendly. Everything here is made from scratch, including the thin, incredibly
corn-y tortillas, such a revelation to most of us who will rarely have
the opportunity to try a fresh masa corn tortilla. Beside the bar a line of rustic bowls filled with a variety of fresh made salsas, thin, authentic and brimming with flavours, filled often.
We start with a house made Agua fresca- a cold drink made from fruit or herbs, lightly sweetened- this one made of hibiscus flowers and is a gorgeous deep crimson. Just the right sweetness and acidity to go alongside a basket of warm, crispy, handmade tortillas chips and a bowl of unadulterated guacamole- simple avocado a hint of cilantro, chile and lime. Simple perfection! Did I mention the fresh made tortilla chips?
When the chicken tamales come to the table they demand attention. A large, leathery, brown envelope of banana leaves looks unassuming. With anticipation, we carefully unwrap it. Steam escapes, carrying all these complex aromas. Our mouths water. Forget the camera! Gotta eat! Inside is a dumpling of sorts. A moist mixture of masa, steamed chicken and their famous mole (a destination dish alone) make this dish unforgettable. While I'll admit this is the first tamale I've ever eaten, so I am no expert, but I'm fairly confident that this is as good as it gets. Perfectly cooked black beans are the perfect accompaniment. This as a must try here.
Many of us grew up thinking tacos were a much different dish than the photo below and what a shame. A bigger shame is the number of people that will live their lives not knowing what a real taco is. Well, let me tell you. This is IT! Thin, subtle, fresh white corn tortillas warmed, topped with chunks of moist barbecued spiced pork and restrained sprinkling of fresh chopped cilantro and onions. Topped off with a couple of their glorious salsas and I am so very happy....
Pacing ourselves just a bit we head downtown for an evening of very different experiences. Our first stop is Belltown tapas bar, Txori. Basque tapas to be exact. This is part of the team that owns extremely popular Harvest Vine another great Seattle restaurant. This snug hoppin' little tapas bar serves traditional tapas which means each order is really only 2 bites. Their menu is diverse and there is something for everyone. We enjoyed a Spanish Kir cocktail with a few little bites as a great pre dinner snack. The menu has simple plates of olives or more interesting chorizo and chocolate combinations along with assorted cheeses and a number of hot dishes such as beautiful crunchy spiced chickpeas and little meatballs. This is the perfect place to grab one of their inventive cocktails or Spanish wine and a few bites at any time of day, but especially late at night.
Next stop, Serious Pie! We first visited Serious Pie 2 weeks after it opened in 2006 and we've been talking about it ever since. Owned by Seattle restaurant guru, Tom Douglas, the name of this place says it all. It's a small room with communal bar height tables which contribute to the lively neighborly feel and an open view of the wood fire oven. The menu consists of a small selection of perfectly crafted pies from my favourite Wild Mushroom with Truffle Cheese to the classic Margeurita that includes buffalo milk mozzarella and San Marzana tomatoes (the best of the best) as well as offerings with arugula and egg and even clams. To make decisions difficult there is always a special or two to choose from. Luckily this is perfect sharing food so go with a group. A varied and affordable Italian wine list rounds out a few well done salads, but I usually leave room for the main event. These pies usually do not feature a tomato sauce base, usually only have about 3 ingredients which are all of utmost quality and is NOT loaded with cheese. In fact some have none at all. The crust is thin, chewy and crunchy all at the same time, perfectly charred by the wood oven and so much flavour from a long cold fermentation process. Each pie comes fresh from the oven with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkling of course salt. If this doesn't sound like pizza to you, come to be enlightened. And don't expect to say much to your date when the food comes. Its hard to concentrate on anything but the amazing taste of this pizza once its steaming in front of you.
To top the evening off, we headed back to Belltown to The Local Vine for a nightcap. Welcomed with a striking floor to ceiling library style wine rack, the large room full of leather couches and movable stools encourages lounging with a great glass of wine. Their wine list is diverse, well represented and organized by adjectives such as "Spicy", "Statuesque" and "Bombshell". This establishes a modern, casual approach take on wine which suits the mood of this place. Symbols on the menu that notate local, organic, critics choice, favourites and female wine makers help guide you. Everything on the menu is available by the glass or bottle and you can even take a bottle home with you when you leave, which is genius to me. The servers were casual yet knowledgeable and very sure of themselves. This place was comfortable and refined all the the same time.
There's a confident hipness in much of Seattle. Belltown is dotted with fabulous restaurants and bars that don't seem uber trendy and aimed at one customer. Seattle seems like the really cool kid at school that isn't trying too hard to be cool, he just is.
After spending a good amount of time in Paris over the years, I have had the opportunity to enjoy what I consider to be probably the best croissants in the world. Ya, that's a bold statement, but I stand behind it. The problem with tasting the best of anything is that it makes it harder to be satisfied with the things you enjoyed before that moment. And then there was Cafe Besalu.
Situated off the beaten track in Ballard, beside one of the cities many fine wild yeast bread bakeries, this sweet, inviting little bakery specializing in fresh baked French pastries, puffy brioche and gorgeous quiches, is a Seattle gem. We arrived before 10am to find a line snaking through the small interior, amazed at the cheerful mood of all the people in line. We snagged a seat and dug our teeth into just from the oven warm, buttery, chocolaty pillows of heaven. A close up shows layer upon layer of crispy shattering pastry, generous bittersweet chocolate and the most flavourful, soft, still warm, buttery, yeasty goodness. Have I conveyed how much I enjoyed these? They haunt me still.
Of course, the proper French breakfast accompaniment, a perfect Cafe au Lait. We also just had to have one of their beautiful looking leek quiches. It was soft, fluffy and delicate with a crisp buttery crust. The lightest quiche I've ever come across. Their small case is filled with just from the oven brioche, savoury and regular croissants, danishes, cinnamon twists, fruit tarts, each more splendid than the last. Get here early, leave understanding the art of Viennoiserie.
Once in awhile you visit a restaurant that just "gets it". You go in with a vague recommendation, a glowing review, a tidbit of information that drives you to make that reservation and show up on time and then from the moment you sit down you are treated to a meal, an experience, that changes how you feel about dining out and restaurants in general.
This happened to us at Tilth, the 3 year old Wallingford restaurant just outside of downtown Seattle. Chef Maria Hines pays extreme attention to the local food movement which has lead to a rare (for restaurants) Certified Organic status. The menu is filled with local producers and is a great way to get acquainted with what is available in Washington state at any time of the year, which apparently is plenty! The fact that it pays proper attention to vegetables makes this a great restaurant for vegetarian and non vegetarian alike.
We walked into the green character-home restaurant on a busy street to an airy room full of pretty jadeite green chairs and simple place settings of woven place mats and a single candle. The room is modest in size but feels larger due to strategically spaced dividers than offer privacy and a feeling of a larger room. Service was flawless and our young server was attentive and engaging even in the full busy Saturday night room. His knowlege of wine left us with a renewed appreciate for Oregon Pinot Noir and his quiet attentiveness was admirable.
A small plates format made it possible for us to try several exceptional dishes, each one a battle for our taste buds to find a favourite. A truffled cauliflower flan with a sumptuous Meyer lemon cream gave the humble cauliflower a starring role and was quite easily the best preparation of cauliflower I've ever encountered. Another highlight included a smokey heirloom bean cassoulet which included perfectly cooked heirloom dried beans and smokey wild mushrooms, perhaps more flavourful than most of the meat based dishes of the same name. A gentle clam chowder tasted bold of local manilla clams with a complimentary celeriac flavour and who could resist the generous mini duck burgers on their housemade petite buns filled with flavourful ground duck meat and served with the teeniest potato chips you've ever seen. Of course there was also simply perfect salmon tartar and the most succulent Sous Vide Sablefish...I'm overwhelmed by all the taste memories. Each dish celebrated the main ingredient while adding other ingrediens and preparations to to simply complement it. To round things out a plate of 5 glorious, full flavoured, cheeses, all from western Washington. This is the kind of restaurant that not only serves really tasty food, its a restaurant that represents where it is located and honours that. Tilth is definatly one worth repeating.
Of course, you simply must do brunch in Seattle. The number of restaurants that do interesting brunch menus is astounding. Everyone seems to be open for brunch so there's lots of places and spaces to choose from. The Boat Street Cafe is another fresh simple restaurant that does simple food really really well. Tucked away below street level the interior features white painted brick walls, crisp white tablecloths and contrasting dark would chairs. A pleasing atmosphere to enjoy any number of inventive, well crafted egg dishes such as bake eggs, savoury bread puddings and cornmeal custard pancakes. From what I could see this place couldn't disappoint and I'm assuming that any other meal wouldn't disappoint as well. Be sure to treat yourself to one of their many brunch champagne cocktails.
Of course, what trip to Seattle is complete without a good cup of coffee. While I'm a passionate tea drinker, I know than when you are in Italy or Seattle, you drink coffee. After getting a recommendation from some locals we headed over to Seattle Coffee Works where apparently William Shatner takes his cuppa. Well if its good enough for Captain Kirk its good enough for his fellow Canadians. We recharged with an excellently crafted coffee, no paper cups or pumpkin lattes, just really good beans.
I think this photo speaks for itself. Well made doughnuts, interesting flavours in two level room with floor to ceiling bookcases that seems more suited to a full service restaurant than a doughnut joint. Top Pot Doughnuts is great place to take a break and appreciate a real doughnut.
Thank you, Seattle. You never disappoint.
Special thanks to my best dining partner, DG, who lets me drag him around filling his tiny belly, with only the smallest "but I'm full" whimper.
