Spring Hill Restaurant - new-to-us restaurant in Seattle. We had an amazing meal and evening of delight at this establishment. The restaurant is in West Seattle – a nice change of pace for us – we generally eat on the other side of Elliot Bay. The restaurant looked nice from the exterior and felt warm and cozy as soon as we entered. We were efficiently ushered to our table at the front window. The décor was what we call Seattle modern – a nearly Scandinavian simplicity with a warmness that is somewhat difficult to put a finger on – chrome and mirrors on the wall, textured concrete flooring, very comfortable but simple chairs, no tablecloths but rather placemats, and light-wood tables. The lights were dimmed to what we consider to be the perfect level.
We started with their Duck Egg Yolk Raviolo with green sauce, duck ham and garlic chips. Wow! I’ll go back just to get more of this dish. The only thing that would have made it better would have been the inclusion of bread at the table to sop up the last bits of sauce! (Spring Hill offers bread and butter for $3. I’m not sure why but I’m willing to pay for bread in Europe, but not usually in the States). Next up was the Spruce Needle-Cured Moose with sour cream and crackers. The moose was delicious and delicate but completely overpowered by the cracker if eaten in one bite. I would suggest eating the two separately (as we did) to fully enjoy the dish. (The waiter said we were the third group who made the same recommendation so I have a feeling there will be an adjustment made to this dish.) We ordered the Crispy Veal Sweetbreads and enjoyed every bite. They were perfectly prepared. Next was their Lardo with chanterelle mushroom toast. Excellent! For the main course our group ordered the Sauteed Black Cod with smoked clam panzanella, olive oil sauce with parsley, and escarole. This was a wonderful combination of ingredients and the fish was perfectly cooked. Excellent! The Carlton’s Farm Pork with red garnet yam, local collards, sweet and sour cranberries, and pork croutons was anotherperfectly balanced, excellent dish. The Roasted Duck Breast with cabbage sausage, quinoa waffle, spaghetti squash, and ornage-maple mustard was yet another hit. Again, an great balance of flavors. The Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs with Anson Mills grits, brussels sprouts, and caper-lemon relish were extremely tender and the pan-reduction sauce was superb. Finally, the 1/2 Pound Beef Burger with house bacon, teleme, white cheddar, special sauce, and beef fat fries were perfectly cooked and tasty. To top it all off, our waiter was outstanding.
For dessert, we ordered the chocolate torte and the trio of ice creams. It was a perfect ending to a perfect meal.
Spring Hill – highly recommended!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Merende
This is a new restaurant in Tacoma that my husband heard about from one of his colleagues. It looked nice from the outside and we entered with enthusiasm. The restaurant has a long, narrow footprint that we generally find appealing. We were greeted at the door and picked a table in the back (away from possible door drafts?). Nice overall design of the space, but it seemed a bit cold, or austere. We decided the décor was good with the exception of the light-colored carpeting, and the Western-Steakhouse-style chairs. The lights needed to be dimmed a notch too. The tables were made of an attractive wood (species?) and when we asked our waiter about them he said the owner’s son had crafted them. Nice.
Our waiter was a charming fellow who did a nice job describing the specials. We started with some of their, “Small Bites” (merende is Italian for the small meal/snack between lunch and dinner - sort of the Italian equivalent of the British High Tea.)
First up was, Herbed Farro with roasted root vegetables, fresh oregano, and basil oil. We thought it was good, not great. Next was Sautéed Calamari Calabrase with hot peppers, garlic, and oregano. We enjoyed this dish. Finally, we had the Oven-Roasted Clams with white beans, tomatoes, lemon, red onions, dry cinzano, and butter. All but two of the clams had grit in them and the sauce just didn’t work. We gave the thumbs down to this dish.
For our main course we the ordered Tagliatelle with Ragu Alla Bolognese. Theirs was good and classic. Next we had their Papardelli with Lamb special. This dish was excellent. The sauce was complex and wipe-up-with-the-bread tasty! The final selection was their Hare and Mushroom Risotto with creamy goat cheese and carnaroli rice. This dish was completely overpowered by thyme, which was a shame since the mushrooms were excellent and the hare was delicately cooked.
We chose their Chianti Rufina Riserva and Primitivo Cantele Apulia to go with our dinner. They were both good choices.
For dessert we had the Orange Saffron Cake with
Franglico whipped crema and candied hazelnuts. It was a wonderful cake that needed some sort of sauce to keep it from tasting too dry. We also had their Caprese Torta - a chocolate, almond, flourless cake, with amaretto whipped cream and fresh berries. Another nice dessert (the berries were superb – but they came on the plate with the cake instead of the torta) that could have used something to add moisture – cinnamon gelato?
Overall this was a good, fun, dining experience. The restaurant has only been open for a few weeks and I think all of the dishes have great potential with minor adjustments. We plan to return to Merende.
Our waiter was a charming fellow who did a nice job describing the specials. We started with some of their, “Small Bites” (merende is Italian for the small meal/snack between lunch and dinner - sort of the Italian equivalent of the British High Tea.)
First up was, Herbed Farro with roasted root vegetables, fresh oregano, and basil oil. We thought it was good, not great. Next was Sautéed Calamari Calabrase with hot peppers, garlic, and oregano. We enjoyed this dish. Finally, we had the Oven-Roasted Clams with white beans, tomatoes, lemon, red onions, dry cinzano, and butter. All but two of the clams had grit in them and the sauce just didn’t work. We gave the thumbs down to this dish.
For our main course we the ordered Tagliatelle with Ragu Alla Bolognese. Theirs was good and classic. Next we had their Papardelli with Lamb special. This dish was excellent. The sauce was complex and wipe-up-with-the-bread tasty! The final selection was their Hare and Mushroom Risotto with creamy goat cheese and carnaroli rice. This dish was completely overpowered by thyme, which was a shame since the mushrooms were excellent and the hare was delicately cooked.
We chose their Chianti Rufina Riserva and Primitivo Cantele Apulia to go with our dinner. They were both good choices.
For dessert we had the Orange Saffron Cake with
Franglico whipped crema and candied hazelnuts. It was a wonderful cake that needed some sort of sauce to keep it from tasting too dry. We also had their Caprese Torta - a chocolate, almond, flourless cake, with amaretto whipped cream and fresh berries. Another nice dessert (the berries were superb – but they came on the plate with the cake instead of the torta) that could have used something to add moisture – cinnamon gelato?
Overall this was a good, fun, dining experience. The restaurant has only been open for a few weeks and I think all of the dishes have great potential with minor adjustments. We plan to return to Merende.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Portland Weekend
We left late Friday evening for our annual Christmas Shopping trip in Portland, Oregon. It is a three-hour drive straight down I-5 and we arrived around 11:00pm.
Breakfast December 20, 2008: On Saturday we woke, got ready, and walked down the street looking for a fun place for breakfast. We went up the street from our hotel to The Park Bistro. It’s a wonderful-looking café with large windows facing the street. When we entered we felt completely comfortable and had our choice of places to sit. We picked a table for four along the side wall – bench on the wall, two small but sturdy chairs on the other side. The barista greeted us and took our drink order. The coffees – cappuccino for me, mocha for son, Elliot, and dopio for my husband - came in white cups and saucers and all were deemed delicious. Other son, Zac, ordered a soda; Izzy’s root beer. It came in bottle with a glass to drink it from. Perfect. The menu had a nice variety of breakfast items. I chose the Mediterranean Frittata with a side of fruit. It arrived on a beautiful platter and I was pleasantly surprised that it was the perfect size for one person. Good flavors – the fruit consisted of two small slices of cantaloupe, two of green melon, two of orange, and a small bunch of grapes. I’d order it again without hesitation. When Elliot took his first bit of his Brioche French toast with Tuaca-spiced apples and Vermont maple syrup, he immediately exclaimed that it, “tastes like Christmas”. He was right – it did. Delicious! Zac ordered the Jack cheese and egg panini with roasted potatoes. Both the sandwich and the nicely browned potatoes on the side looked, and tasted delicious. Larry had the special from the blackboard, black bean and guacamole omelet with Jack cheese. He chose toast as his side. Again, the items were well prepared and tasty. We asked for water and it arrived in tall glasses with no ice. I was pleased since I had failed to ask for no ice and generally in the States it is added.
All in all it was a fabulous breakfast and we will certainly eat there again. Recommended.
Dinner December 20, 2008 Fratelli’s. Well, it had been snowing the entire day and when it came time to leave for our dinner reservations, it was still snowing – how festive! We walked from our hotel – The Paramount on Taylor Street - to the tram (several wonderfully-snowy blocks) and then waited at the tram stop for 5 minutes. The tram stops here have digital displays that tell you when the next tram will arrive. We hopped on the tram when it arrived and sat down for the ride to the Pearl District. We got off a stop early so we could shop at Sur La Table and Whole Foods before walking several blocks to the restaurant located in the Pearl District on Hoyt Street. We entered the restaurant and were guided to our table. Our water glasses were filled immediately and our server arrived with a smile. From that moment on, the evening was magical. We were all in good cheer, fat, fluffy flakes were falling out the window, the interior of the restaurant reminded us of some of our favorites spots in Europe, and our waitress felt like a friend. To top it off, the food was wonderful – all of it. We started with appetizers: chicken liver mousse crostini with house-made pickled vegetables; herbed farro with roasted red bell peppers, ricotta, and toasted pine nuts; eggplant caponata with smoked mozzarella and fennel crackers; salami; and their three varieties of bruschette – with shaved beef, mascarpone and truffle oil; cured salmon, olive tapenade, and allepo pepper aioli; and lentils, sage, and pecorino cheese. We drank a barbera-syrah blend recommended by our waitress. Yum! After casually consuming the antipasti we were ready for our next courses. Elliot decided to order gnocchi with duck confit and a fall grape sauce as his primi and the house-made pheasant sausage with dried cranberries, served with potato roesti and a roasted corn and hazelnut sauce. Larry also ordered a primi – his being the risotto with Gala apples and fennel salami followed by a secondi of grilled Cattail Creek leg of lamb with aged balsamic vinegar caramelized onions and pistachio ailade. Zac ordered their flat iron steak rubbed with cocoa powder and served with roasted winter squash and speck (medium rare), and I too skipped the primi and went straight for the secondi with their special that night of black cod that I can’t for the life of me remember the details of other than to say it was delicious and I was rather stingy with my ‘shared’ portions (we always taste each other’s food and generally share rather liberally around the table). We finished the evening with an apple tart with gelato and a chestnut mousse with another gelato. Needless to say, the food was fabulous and the entire evening magical. We’ve been to Fratelli’s in the past, and we plan on returning in the future! Highly recommended.
The Paramount Hotel: Our favorite place to stay in downtown Portland. Location, location, location. It's close to or within tram distance of everything we love about Portland. The lobby has recently been "re-decorated" and while the paintings are still the same, the new furniture in the lobby is not to our taste (looks like a cocaine-addicted decorator went wild). We much prefer the original, traditional furnishings that are hopefully in storage somewhere and will be returned to their proper place as soon as the current fog is lifted from the taste buds of the people in charge. Other than that, the rooms are nice and clean and well-furnished. There is a charge for internet service in the rooms.
We left early on Sunday (usually we stay until very late to take in one more nice meal before our Christmas Shopping Weekend is over) because the snow was predicted to turn into an ice storm farther north and create an ice rink out of interstate 5. We couldn't leave without visiting our favorite Portland wine shop however, and after a quick call to be sure they were open (many shops were closing because of the weather) we drove across the bridge to Great Wine Buys. Not only is Great Wine Buys a nice little store, but they offer a case of the month that we have found to be quite enjoyable and a way to expand our repertoire of interesting wines. This month's case featured several wines from Portugal that we are anxious to try.
Breakfast December 20, 2008: On Saturday we woke, got ready, and walked down the street looking for a fun place for breakfast. We went up the street from our hotel to The Park Bistro. It’s a wonderful-looking café with large windows facing the street. When we entered we felt completely comfortable and had our choice of places to sit. We picked a table for four along the side wall – bench on the wall, two small but sturdy chairs on the other side. The barista greeted us and took our drink order. The coffees – cappuccino for me, mocha for son, Elliot, and dopio for my husband - came in white cups and saucers and all were deemed delicious. Other son, Zac, ordered a soda; Izzy’s root beer. It came in bottle with a glass to drink it from. Perfect. The menu had a nice variety of breakfast items. I chose the Mediterranean Frittata with a side of fruit. It arrived on a beautiful platter and I was pleasantly surprised that it was the perfect size for one person. Good flavors – the fruit consisted of two small slices of cantaloupe, two of green melon, two of orange, and a small bunch of grapes. I’d order it again without hesitation. When Elliot took his first bit of his Brioche French toast with Tuaca-spiced apples and Vermont maple syrup, he immediately exclaimed that it, “tastes like Christmas”. He was right – it did. Delicious! Zac ordered the Jack cheese and egg panini with roasted potatoes. Both the sandwich and the nicely browned potatoes on the side looked, and tasted delicious. Larry had the special from the blackboard, black bean and guacamole omelet with Jack cheese. He chose toast as his side. Again, the items were well prepared and tasty. We asked for water and it arrived in tall glasses with no ice. I was pleased since I had failed to ask for no ice and generally in the States it is added.
All in all it was a fabulous breakfast and we will certainly eat there again. Recommended.
Dinner December 20, 2008 Fratelli’s. Well, it had been snowing the entire day and when it came time to leave for our dinner reservations, it was still snowing – how festive! We walked from our hotel – The Paramount on Taylor Street - to the tram (several wonderfully-snowy blocks) and then waited at the tram stop for 5 minutes. The tram stops here have digital displays that tell you when the next tram will arrive. We hopped on the tram when it arrived and sat down for the ride to the Pearl District. We got off a stop early so we could shop at Sur La Table and Whole Foods before walking several blocks to the restaurant located in the Pearl District on Hoyt Street. We entered the restaurant and were guided to our table. Our water glasses were filled immediately and our server arrived with a smile. From that moment on, the evening was magical. We were all in good cheer, fat, fluffy flakes were falling out the window, the interior of the restaurant reminded us of some of our favorites spots in Europe, and our waitress felt like a friend. To top it off, the food was wonderful – all of it. We started with appetizers: chicken liver mousse crostini with house-made pickled vegetables; herbed farro with roasted red bell peppers, ricotta, and toasted pine nuts; eggplant caponata with smoked mozzarella and fennel crackers; salami; and their three varieties of bruschette – with shaved beef, mascarpone and truffle oil; cured salmon, olive tapenade, and allepo pepper aioli; and lentils, sage, and pecorino cheese. We drank a barbera-syrah blend recommended by our waitress. Yum! After casually consuming the antipasti we were ready for our next courses. Elliot decided to order gnocchi with duck confit and a fall grape sauce as his primi and the house-made pheasant sausage with dried cranberries, served with potato roesti and a roasted corn and hazelnut sauce. Larry also ordered a primi – his being the risotto with Gala apples and fennel salami followed by a secondi of grilled Cattail Creek leg of lamb with aged balsamic vinegar caramelized onions and pistachio ailade. Zac ordered their flat iron steak rubbed with cocoa powder and served with roasted winter squash and speck (medium rare), and I too skipped the primi and went straight for the secondi with their special that night of black cod that I can’t for the life of me remember the details of other than to say it was delicious and I was rather stingy with my ‘shared’ portions (we always taste each other’s food and generally share rather liberally around the table). We finished the evening with an apple tart with gelato and a chestnut mousse with another gelato. Needless to say, the food was fabulous and the entire evening magical. We’ve been to Fratelli’s in the past, and we plan on returning in the future! Highly recommended.
The Paramount Hotel: Our favorite place to stay in downtown Portland. Location, location, location. It's close to or within tram distance of everything we love about Portland. The lobby has recently been "re-decorated" and while the paintings are still the same, the new furniture in the lobby is not to our taste (looks like a cocaine-addicted decorator went wild). We much prefer the original, traditional furnishings that are hopefully in storage somewhere and will be returned to their proper place as soon as the current fog is lifted from the taste buds of the people in charge. Other than that, the rooms are nice and clean and well-furnished. There is a charge for internet service in the rooms.
We left early on Sunday (usually we stay until very late to take in one more nice meal before our Christmas Shopping Weekend is over) because the snow was predicted to turn into an ice storm farther north and create an ice rink out of interstate 5. We couldn't leave without visiting our favorite Portland wine shop however, and after a quick call to be sure they were open (many shops were closing because of the weather) we drove across the bridge to Great Wine Buys. Not only is Great Wine Buys a nice little store, but they offer a case of the month that we have found to be quite enjoyable and a way to expand our repertoire of interesting wines. This month's case featured several wines from Portugal that we are anxious to try.
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