Addiction

I get addicted to certain breakfast foods and eat them daily until I never want to have it again. It's what gets me out of bed in the morning. Currently I am obsessed with this combo: 

Eltana everything bagel

Whole Foods lemon hummus

Sliced radish

Minced chives

Pepper

I first had a bagel with hummus and radish in Portland at the Taste Bud food truck but have since perfected it (added pepper and chives). I like to eat this with coffee, yogurt, berries, and a green juice. Healthy and satisfying start to your day.

Vif Panini

Photo Credit: Seattle Magazine

I absolutely love Vif, the new cafe and wine bar on Fremont Ave. I love going there with a friend for lunch and a glass of wine, going alone to work and get coffee and treats, or grabbing delicious take out when I don't have energy to cook. They also have a great wine selection so it's hard to get out of there without grabbing a good bottle for the stash. 

I had this panini there one day and loved it so much that I've been making it at home. 


Vif Panini

Soppressata
Gruyere
Mama Lil's Peppers (I like the spicy ones)
Good bread

Assemble, brush with olive oil and grill on a panini press.

Vancouver, B.C.

I'm a huge fan of Vancouver, B.C. Every time I go, I like it even more. It's a beautiful city with an international feel, tons of great food and shopping, outdoor activities, and more. If you haven't had a weekend getaway to Vancouver, now is your chance. Perfect time of year to go!

It's roughly 3 hours from Seattle, depending on the border wait. You can apply for a Nexus Pass and then you zip past any long border lines.
Highlights of the trip were...

Vij's
Dinner at Vij's is always a treat and always memorable. It's always fascinating to see the line that forms before doors open. It's fun to chat with the other die-hards who sit for an hour, rain or shine, to get in. We ordered a ton of food and everything was great.

Rangoli
We hit Vij's sister restaurant the next day for lunch. It's no Vij's, but it did not disappoint either. The food was fantastic. We liked one dish so much that we ordered two to go for dinner that night. I also loaded up on spices for myself and for gifts, and some naan and rice from the refrigerated section. I cooked from Vij's cookbook that week and had my own piece of Vij's with the rice and naan. It made the homemade chicken curry that much better.

Hawksworth
We had a lovely brunch at Hawksworth. I felt like I was in Europe because of the international vibe at brunch. The food was fantastic. My husband and I also went to the Hawksworth bar one night for cocktails which we thoroughly enjoyed. Lots of great cocktail creations.

Grouse Mountain
We took the Skyride to the top of Grouse Mountain. We watched the grizzly bears, the lumberjack show and the zip-liners as they screamed and whizzed by. The kids loved it.

Granville Island
We took a water taxi to Granville Island. The kids loved the water taxi. I loved the view from the water and checking out all the cool architecture and condos. Vancouver is so pretty and I loved that vantage point.

Siegel's
We heard from Seattle's Eltana owners that Siegel's Bagels was worth checking out. I thought they were a great recommendation among all the tourist traps at the Granville Island market. I loved the bagel with black pepper cream cheese that my husband ordered. He always orders better than me. It's so annoying.

Stanley Park
You could spend days enjoying Stanley Park. There is so much to do there. There are play areas, a public pool that looks great for kids, a small water park (no water slides, just sprinklers and games), a rose garden, train ride (kinda lame), horse drawn tour, aquarium, bike path and more. We love spending time at Stanley Park.

Things we wanted to do but ran out of time:

Chinese Garden
We did not make it to the Chinese Garden but I will make sure to visit next trip. I love Seattle's Japanese Garden so I've got to see Vancouver's Chinese Garden.

Food Cart Fest
We didn't make it but I was dying to go. The Food Cart Fest ends September 2nd so hurry and go now!

We hit a few other restaurants that we read about on these lists from Vancouver Magazine and have a few more tagged for our next visit. I definitely want to hit Vij's new Railway Express when we return. Can't wait to go back.

From Vancouver Magazine... (Thanks Ali for the links!)

Best New Restaurant 2012

Vancouver Restaurant Awards 2012

Portland Induces Extreme Gluttony (and my longest post ever)

“Eventually, mercifully, the waitress pried the spoons out of our hands and took the dessert stuff away, and we were able to stumble zombielike out into the night.”  ― Bill Bryson

 

 

If only we were so lucky. We just kept eating.

 

A few months ago I went to Portland with some friends. We had a five and a half hour dinner at my friends new restaurant (more on that shortly) and went to three restaurants the next night for three rounds of dinner. It was gluttony at it's finest. It was gluttony insanity. But, we had 4 amazing dinners and 2 amazing brunches to show for it, filled with way too much Rosé and lots of laughs. And a few rounds of Journey karaoke thrown in to round out the absurdity of the night. The point is - Portland is fun, and full of great food!

 

Night of Gluttony #1

 

My friends Jen and Ken opened a new seafood-sensation restaurant called Riffle NW so that was our first stop in town. That's a lie. First stop was Clyde Common for some delicious drinks. But the most important stop was Riffle NW. I am not a writer or a reviewer so I will keep it simple... I loved it! The restaurant had such great energy, an amazing menu selection that made it impossible to decide what to order, delicious food, an open kitchen which I adore, cool decor with tricks up their sleeves, and the best cocktail of my life - the Riffle Collins with Gin, Lemon, Lime, Celery, Absinthe, Salt. So good that I had a few too many but I pulled it together until we closed down the joint.

 

The food was amazing. Highlights for me personally were the yellowtail tuna with green goddess dressing, the gnocchi with roasted tomatoes, the crab roll on a homemade brioche roll, the late night cheddar and bacon grilled cheese, and the lamb with mint sauce. Oh holy heaven, it was all so good!

Salmon carpaccio = beautiful

Crab roll = amazing!

   

 

Morning of Gluttony #1

 

We woke up the next morning and vowed never to eat again. We were so full. We sat and drank a cup of coffee for nearly two hours hoping to buy time so we'd get hungry again and could go eat. For brunch, my friend Jen recommended Irving Street Kitchen. We ordered the lemon poppy seed cake for a starter which I loooooooved and I had the best brunch dish of my life... the Moroccan poached eggs with grilled garlic rubbed toast. Amazing.

 

Night of Gluttony #2

First stop: Ox

 

Great meal, great cocktails, great fun watching the guys at the kick-ass grill.

 

Highlights were the kale salad with strawberries, fried chickpeas and feta ranch dressing, the veggie empanada and the grilled artichoke.

 

The cool grill...

Ox martini - hilarious presentation

Second stop: Biwa

 

Great fun but my least favorite of the weekend. I would order differently next time. The romen noodles with the egg looked amazing but it was recommended that we not order that since we were headed to Portland's most famous restaurant, Le Pigeon, next and needed some space in the old bellies. Highlight there was the fried kimchi and the yellowtail hamachi. My friends all loved this restaurant. Worth a trip back.

 

Third stop: Le Pigeon

 

We were so excited to get a seat at the counter because you are looking right into the kitchen. You can see every move the chefs make. That alone was fun. We started with goeduck and rabbit something or other that I didn't eat. We also ordered a hamburger as an appetizer (because that's the crazy shit people do when they eat three dinners in one night). I haven't had a burger in years, and I have been known to proclaim that "I will never eat a burger again" but come on, it's Le Pigeon. So I ate every last nibble of my quarter of a burger and the accompanying blue cheese salad. It was insanely good. I might only eat burgers there from now on. From there, the Rosé was really kicking in so I can't totally remember what entrees anyone else ordered but I got the cavatelli which was absolutely delicious. By the end, I had not even one centimeter of room left in my stomach, large intestine, small intestine, or esophagus. I did not eat the teeniest chocolate that Le Pigeon offered. I did not order a drink at the next bar. There literally... was... no... room....

I walked it off for a few minutes and I was back - vodka in one hand and a mic in the other, ready for some karoke. Man, Portland is fun!

Le Pigeon burger

Morning of Gluttony #2

 

Once again we woke up full, but not too hungover thanks to the 600lbs of food we consumed. Jen and Ken took us to one of their most favorite restaurants in Portland for brunch called Ned Ludd. I can see why. This place is fantastic. If you want to read a creative description of the restaurant, google for some reviews because I don't have the words or skills to describe it. That said, I fell in love with it. Every inch of it was cluttered with stuff but in such a sweet way. The patio and the bathroom were equally cool and different. The food was fantastic. Highlights for me were the blueberry muffin and the grilled pork and rapini dish.

 

All said and done that was worth every second, every cent, and every calorie. If you can get your butt to Portland for a food frenzy, I highly recommend it. We didn't even make it to all the restaurants we wanted to try. There are so many more great ones on our list (Pok Pok, Nostrano, Grüner, and more).

And if you are a food lover and are traveling somewhere with too many restaurants to pack in, I highly recommend the multiple dinner idea. It was so fun and delicious, and great to mix up the scenery, seating, crowd, and conversation. 
 

Happiness is....

Delancey!

I told my husband we could go anywhere he wanted for Father's Day.  Usually this is his chance to get Chinese food since I normally veto it but his #1 request was Delancey. I couldn't have been more thrilled. To mix it up I tried the Romana, a favorite from long ago. I ordered it without anchovies and added sheeps milk feta. Perfection. I'm counting the days until I can get back for it. As usual, hubby ordered the sausage and couldn't be happier. A perfect meal to celebrate Father's Day.

Romana - my way

Tomato sauce
Garlic
Anchovy
Kalamata olive
Chile oil
Oregano
+ Sheeps milk feta

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New Seattle Obsession

This weekend I returned to Columbia City Bakery after not being there for a few years. It wasn't that I didn't like it the first time - it's just a million miles from my house. We tried a half dozen things and it was all delicious but I went especially crazy for the strawberry rhubarb danish. So much so that I convinced hubby to go back two days later. They have a huge selection of pastries, desserts, fresh bread, pre-made sandwiches, quiche, tortas and more. Worth a trip for a delicious breakfast or to stock up for a picnic at Seward Park.

Le Déjeuner à Le Pichet

There's not much better than lunch or brunch at Le Pichet. It's a lovely little French cafe that serves consistently good food. My friend Maria and I went there for a long-overdue lunch and as usual, enjoyed every last bite.

My Le Pichet stables are:

OEufs plats, jambon et fromage
Quiche du jour
Salade verte
Pommes frites

We opted to vear from our normal path though and ordered a few new things....

Salade aux pois-chiches marinées, thon, artichauts et olives noires
“Italian tuna conserve tossed with marinated chickpeas, baby artichokes, Niçoise olives and rosemary-red wine vinaigrette”
 
Les tartines (we ordered half of each and chose a prosciutto-style ham from the charcuterie board for that half)
"Open-faced sandwich on country bread with mustard, cornichons and your choice from the charcuterie board or with warm chère, butter and cornichons”

Everything was delicious. And while it's never quite the same at home, I did think it would be an easy meal to re-create. If you get some fresh bread and good quality goat cheese or prosciutto you could easily make the open faced sandwiches. And here's the simple salad...

Salade aux pois-chiches marinées, thon, artichauts et olives noires

Italian tuna (buy great quality tuna from somewhere like Delaurenti)
Nicoise olives
Artichoke hearts (you can get great ones from Delaurenti's deli case)
Garbanzo beans
Fresh parsley

Dressing

Red wine vinegar
Lemon juice
Dijon mustard
Shallot
Garlic
Anchovy
Rosemary

I called the restaurant to find out what was in the dressing. They didn't give me quantities so just play around with it. It was on the creamier side I'm sure due to the dijon and anchovies.

Recommended Reading

A few interesting articles you might enjoy...


The Flight From Conversation


Amazon Leaps Into High End of the Fashion Pool


Culinary Force Behind Vij’s, Is Opening a Seattle Restaurant


A Working Mom Defends the 'Lululemon Stay-at-Home Mother'


To Heal, First Eat


Arsenic in Our Chicken?



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A Slice of My Life

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My husband asked where I wanted to go for our anniversary dinner in a few weeks. Dumb question. Delancey of course. I think he meant somewhere a little more fancy and formal given the holiday but I say nonsense. It is, sadly, closed from May 7-15 so no such luck (and heads up to anyone venturing that way).

Moving on, Delancey is offering kale as a topping, available to add to any of their pizzas. We ordered a white pie with kale and preserved meyer lemon and a Brooklyn with kale. Both were delicious. Who knew kale could be such a fantastic pizza topping. And of course, don't ever forget to order the sausage pizza with spicy pickled peppers added. It's glorious!
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Seattle Food Tour

A friend asked for some recommendations of good places to hit in Seattle so I whipped up this list. Thought I would share in case you're out and about this weekend, looking for good grub. I included my favorite menu items as well.

Breakfast
- Cafe Besalu
- Honore
- Cafe Flora (Rancho Colorado Scramble with cheesy grits and extra beans)
- Eltana (everything bagel with spicy garlic or salt bagel with hummus)

Lunch
- Dot's Delicatessen (BLT with fries)
- Matt's in the Market (great sandwiches)
- Thrive (Buddha Bowl)
- Chaco Canyon (lentil burger, side salad, black bean chili with brown rice)
- The Other Coast (Rajun Cajun)

Dinner
- Delancey (Jersey Salad, sausage pizza + spicy pickled peppers or White Pie + sausage and preserved meyer lemon)
- Cantinetta (die for their pastas)
- Golden Beetle (love everything I've ever had there)
- Dinette (crazy for their toasts, salads and pastas)
- Joule (just had an insane dinner there)

Coffee
- Volunteer Park Cafe (love their cookies too)
- Caffe Fiore

Smoothies or Juice
- Healeo (Skin Detox, Pure Simple Health, smoothie with coconut, almonds, and dates)

Happy eating!.
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The Coast with the Most

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From Sunset's Best in the West to Bon Appetite's The Coast with the Most.

Check out Bon Appetits's three-day travel itinerary from Seattle to Vancouver.

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What Our Heart Desires

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 Photo Credit: The Soho

The pizza at Delancey rocks my world visit after visit. My husband and I love it so much that we battle traffic to make the 20-30 minute drive, wait in line in the cold until it opens, and panic the entire meal that our kids are going to melt and disrupt other customers. But, we do it again and again because the pizza is worth all that madness.
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This last time we ordered the sausage pizza with the additional topping of spicy pickled peppers. It was AMAZING, with a capital A-M-A-Z-I-N and G! We also got the white pie adding sausage and preserved lemon which is a fave combo of mine. Starting with a Jersey salad is a must, as is ending with a salted chocolate chip cookie. Pizza and wine in the middle for the perfect meal.
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Golden Beetle

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My friend Marly and I took a cooking class from Maria Hines, owner of Golden Beetle. The food was great and the recipes approachable. Within days I tried all the recipes at home and loved them. To round out the week, of course I needed to revisit her restaurant and have the recipes as they are truly meant to be served (down to the homemade flatbread and every other perfected ingredient). Once again I had a great meal there. I really enjoy her menu and creations. It's also a good menu for those wanting to eat vegetarian or pescatarian. So many great options that it's hard to decide what to get. Here's what we settled on.

Vino
Vega Murillo Verdejo, Rueda, Spain ’09

Starters
Wood Fired Flat Bread
Muhammara Dip - walnut, pomegranate molasses, extra virgin olive oil

Salad
Baby Spinach Salad - apple, kasseri cheese, sumac vinaigrette

Small Plates
Toasted Couscous - preserved lemon, sultana, celery
Grilled Halloumi Cheese - roasted beet, arugula, herb vinaigrette
Spanakopita - baby spinach, feta, phyllo
Roasted Cauliflower - currants, caraway, turmeric
Lamb Kibbeh Meatballs - lamb, date sauce, grilled eggplant

Dessert
Turkish Baklava

I might not get the lamb meatballs again only because I'm eating less meat so I want things that really leave an impression (like her lamb tagine did on my last visit). Everything else was incredible.

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I'm So Over This Trend

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This is a hilarious mini-article about "Small Plates".

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Best BLT in the City

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photo credit: Eater

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I went back and it's official... I'm giving Dot's the rating of "Best BLT in Seattle". Their fries (with some aioli for dipping) are pretty fantastic too and my husband loved his pork sandwich. But boy oh boy, that BLT was good!
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Run, Don't Walk

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Plum Danish on the bottom

Get your booty over to Cafe Besalu pronto for a Plum Danish with Frangipane. It is heaven on earth. They will be closed for part (or all) of the holiday weekend and they won't be making the plum danish for that much longer (they stop in early December) so the time to go is now. I'm leaving in 5 minutes and my mouth is already watering. You can even load up for tomorrow because they are delicious second day as well.

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Mozza at Home

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Photo credit: Under Ground Food

Mario Batali's Pizzeria Mozza serves some of the best pizza I've ever had. On my last visit I ordered a pizza called the Pizza Alla Benno with speck, pineapple, jalapeno, mozzarella and tomato sauce. It was such a great combination of flavors - spicy, salty and sweet atop their great crust and sauce.

I've been craving that pizza lately. Since I won't be getting the real deal anytime soon, I decided to re-create it. Mine was not nearly as good as Mozzas, obviously, but it was still a really great homemade pizza.


C's Pizza Alla Benno
Inspired by Pizzeria Mozza
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Pizza dough, homemade or store-bought (I use Whole Foods)
Pizza sauce, homemade or store-bought (I use Muir Glen organic sauce)
Shredded mozzarella
Mozzarella balls
Prosciutto slices
Pineapple, cut into chunks or sliced into thin rounds
Jalapeno, sliced thin

Plus flour for rolling out the dough and corn meal so it doesn't stick to your cooking surface.

Click here to reference basic directions for cooking in the oven and click here for directions cooking on the grill.

Looking for Lunch: Dot's Delicatessen

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I'm a sandwich lover so when my friend Jen suggested Dot's Delicatessen in Fremont, saying they had a great BLT, I was in. And she was right, they do make a great BLT, and fries too!  

I also bought a dozen eggs and some house-made kielbasa for breakfast burritos tomorrow. What a great little deli for dine-in, take-out or good quality meats to prepare later.

Read more about the deli from The Stranger here.

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Recipe of the Day: Nancy's Chopped Salad at Pizzeria Mozza

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I was in LA this weekend and was lucky enough to hit Pizzeria Mozza for lunch one day. As always, it was delicious. My husband and I love Nancy's Chopped Salad so I'm going to make it this week. Click here for the recipe via the LA Times.   .

Everybody's Talking About It

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More great press for The Willows Inn on Lummi Island. I've been lucky enough to go and the presentation is the prettiest and most creative I've ever seen.

What's the Next Big Restaurant?

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