Oink, oink, oink...

One of my best friends, F, came in town for a wedding. Since all my activities revolve around food, I suggested that we take the bus into Seattle, do some shopping, then have an early dinner at my favorite happy hour spot in the city - Cafe Campagne. Oh, did I mention I love the public transportation system now? I used to hate BART in the Bay Area. But taking the bus in Bellevue is so convenient. A few stops, I'd be in downtown Seattle. No parking; I can hop on the bus anywhere I want. How do you beat that?

After a quick lunch at Dog in the Park, some shopping, and a white chocolate geleto at Chocolate Box, we made our way to Cafe Campagne. We started with happy hour food and ordered my "usual" pork and chicken liver pâté sandwiches, petite lamb burgers d'agneau with balsamic onions and aïoli, and Comté with house-made tomato preserve. The sandwiches and burgers were as savory as they always had been. I love the gougère they were served, so buttery and fluffy. The Comté was nice and mild. The tomato preserve was very fruity and sweet, with a little warm tomato fragrance on your tongue afterwards. It was very good, but the date confiture they used to serve was even better. Yummy, my mouth is watering just thinking of it. Unfortunately, the wines I tasted were just OK.

When dinner time rolled around, we were half full already, so we opted to share the 3-course French 101 prix-fixe. The current focus was regional food of Lyon. We started with Assiette de Crudite - a salad with carrot, beef steak tomatoes, marinated beets, leeks in vinaigrette, and celeriac remoulade. Each individual ingredient had its own little corner on the plate. Everything tasted OK, but it was only as good as the parts since there wasn't anything that brought all the components together. The entree Petit Sale Aux Lentilles was a braised, brined pork hock served on a Puy lentil ragout. For those faint of heart, this would not be your dish. You could still see that it was part of a pig's leg. And for those health conscious eaters, this wouldn't be for you either. The hock was still intact with the bones, skin and fat. However, for me, this dish stole my heart. It was the epitome of country cooking. The flavor was so straight forward, no delicate sauce, no fancy plating. The lentil was perfectly cooked, rich with the juice from the hock. I felt all warm and fuzzy inside that when I closed my eyes, I felt as if I were eating in someone's cottage. There was so much of it too, we barely finished half of it. After such a rich dish, the dessert was a light and refreshing peach sorbet - Sorbet a la Peche. (Doesn't everything sound better in French even if I can't pronounce a word of it? =) It was good I suppose, but not very memorable.

As the night drew in, we walked away again with very satisfied stomachs. Till next time, Cafe Campagne!

Cafe Campagne
1600 Post Alley (between Pine St & Stewart St), Seattle, WA 98101
(206)728-2233