Cafe Campagne

I have told you about honey's weakness for duck, but I forgot to mention mine. Not only would I order foie gras at EVERY place (yes, I know that traditional foie gras is goose liver, though most, if not all, foie gras served in the US are duck livers =P) , my knees would go weak at the mention of duck too. So when I found out that Cafe Campagne, my favorite happy hour place, was offering the Twenty Buck Duck deal last month, I knew we had to go.

Hubby shared Soup du Jour ($6), a spiced carrot soup, with J. It was creamy and well seasoned. Hubby thoroughly enjoyed it, he didn’t even detect the ginger flavor that he dispises. However, cumin and ginger, such spices are more suited for matured taste buds, instead of a 6-year-old.

My Twenty Buck Duck started with Oeuf de Canard Poché. A poached duck egg sat on two thick potato slices deep fried in duck fat, with duck jus. I'm not big on runny yolk mixed into the dish, but I have to admit that it makes things better. Individual component wise, it was really bland despite the fact that the egg was flawlessly poached, the potatoes were perfectly fried. J, however, preferred this and ditched his soup.

My entreé, the Confit d'Cuisse de Canard, was a flavorful Muscovy duck hen leg confit with the skin beautifully pan fried to crispiness. Now, as much as I love duck, I often hesitate on ordering since I've had more than my share of dried out tough legs, and gamy breasts. I vaguely remember (I must be getting old and forgetful now =) visiting the Campagne restaurant upstairs during the Duck offer last year, and feeling disappointed. That's when Campagne dropped off of my favorite restaurants list. However, this time, Campagne has certainly rectified itself, even though the leg was completely intact, it was so tender that the meat fell apart at the lightest touch. The surrounding puy lentil ragout, studded with finely diced carrots, onions, and bacon, was wonderfully savory. Even the escarole pieces, soaked with the juice, was delightful. As picky as I am, I have nothing to complain about this dish! =)

Hubby's Steak Frites ($23) was roasted to a nice medium pink. It was served with garlic sautéed escarole (a little too garlicky for our liking), and crispy pommes fries. The star of the dish though, at least to me, was the Roquefort butter accompaniment. The smooth butter not only mellowed out the salty and tangy Roquefort cheese, it also made it lighter with a hint of sweetness. It was so good that even though I was already satiated with all that duck and lentils, I still couldn't help myself but smearing a thick layer of this on a large piece of bread. Yummmm!

Now, if only they have more dairy-free offerings, this would be the perfect place for us. (Yes, I know I'm greedy, but a girl can dream, can't she? ;)

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

ART's Second Chance

When we had the unsatisfying lunch at ART back in March, I vowed to steer clear of the place. However, I swayed when I saw the reviews on yelp, and decided to give it a second chance. J didn't have school on Veteran's day, so off the two of us went.

Like most hotel restaurants, ART knows how to take care of kids. As soon as we sat down, J was offered a small dish of fresh fruit which he chowed down in record time. (He was really fascinated with the wire place mats. =) It was even more promising when the bread wasn’t as hard and dry as last time.

The TV trays were probably very badly received in March that ART changed their format this time to a true 3-course meal. Planning on sharing everything with J, I ordered Crispy Calamari ($8) with chipotle aioli from the regular menu. The calamari was well cooked - tender inside with crunchy batter. It didn't even need the aioli. The aioli was smooth and creamy, with only the slightest punch that even a kid would love.

Our 3-course started with the Escarole Caesar topped with white anchovies and foccacia croutons. The salad was just OK. While the anchovies weren't really fishy, for some unexplainable reason, the salad was.

J decided on our entree - Grilled Herbed Quail. It sat on top of braised greens and Medjool date brioche stuffing, drizzled with pomegranate sauce. The quail was nicely done. But it was SO small that it should only be called an appetizer.

The Maple Cheesecake with a walnut bacon shortbread crust wasn’t exactly to my liking. Luckily it was only a bite size pyramid that I didn't consume much unnecessary calories. =P

Even though this lunch still didn't impress me, it was certainly a huge improvement from the March offerings. I think they have potential to be great. I'm also hoping that their regular entrees are more fulfilling. =) Whatever ART lacks, it excels in taking care of the junior patrons. J was offered a cotton candy that made him ecstatic.

ART Restaurant and Bar
99 Union Street (Four Seasons Hotel), Seattle, WA 98101
(206)749-7070

Palisade, Revisited

November came and went. For most people, November is synonymous with Thanksgiving. Well, yes, but to me, more importantly, it meant Dine Around Seattle month.

Couple of weeks ago, we celebrated J's birthday. After having those wonderful lunches at Palisade in March, I wanted to share my find with the family. I wanted to declare Palisade as my favorite restaurant.

The evening started wonderfully. Palisade seems to be THE place for celebrations. There were many tables with rose pedals and cards, including ours. A little detail like that made J's evening, and warmed our hearts.

The bread was exactly the same as before, and as good as I remembered. I ordered the butter lettuce salad again, and hubby had the made-to-order shellfish chowder. Consistency is a good thing, but it could get a little boring. The salad was almost exactly the same as last time. Hubby's chowder was rich and creamy with lumps of Dungeness crabmeat and shrimp.

Back in March, I recommended Palisade to a friend. When she went for dinner, she also got the butter lettuce salad and the sirloin. My lunch salad had one prawn, and her dinner one had more. At dinnertime, the sirloin was really a surf and turf dish paired with prawns. So I was slightly surprised that my salad was exactly like my previous lunches - with just one prawn - only sloppier presentation. Were they trying to reduce cost?

When our entrees came, my suspicion was confirmed. Hubby's sirloin was the only protein on the plate, accompanied by asparagus, chanterelle mushroom pieces and potato galette. While the steak was cooked to a perfect medium, it was too peppery for hubby. The potato was a bit dry.

My crab cakes were quite disappointing. The two cakes were only average with mild seasoning. The escarole watercress salad with lemon vinaigrette was underwhelming. And the sweet corn succotash was extremely bland. The only tasty component of the whole dish was the sweet and sour plum butter sauce! I should have chosen the third option - King salmon.

The kids' teriyaki steak bites weren’t bad, but that’s all they were - teriyaki for kids!

I can't say that the dinner was disastrous since our Chocolate "Lovers" Cakes were as sinful as I remembered. However, as a whole, it fell short of my expectations. Even though, $30 is still a very attractive price for a three-course meal at Palisade, both the quality and quantity were either on par or below my $15 lunches.

Did they just cut cost on dinners? Or was lunch always a better value? With all these questions, I made a point to go back to Palisade for lunch during the last week of November.

As usual, I ordered the butter lettuce salad and the sirloin. The salad had no prawns at all now! The julienned pear was all wet and limp, not crisp at all. I would pin that to some over-ripe pears, and not hold it against Palisade though. My sirloin was not very peppery, and almost exactly the same as our dinner. Maybe it was slightly smaller, I couldn't tell. The chanterelle mushrooms were much better.

On this particular day, service was so slow, I had to get dessert to go. Wanting to try something other than the chocolate cake, I got the Pineapple Bread Pudding made with vanilla custard brioche, caramelized vanilla bean Maui gold pineapple and maple rum anglaise. By the time, I had the bread pudding, it was all cold. It was still good, but the chocolate cake would have been much better.

Other than the missing prawn, the only thing they cut down during lunch service was the bread. So yes, lunch is the way to go. Even though, the meal wasn't as spectacular as it was in March, I'd reckon that Palisade still serves one of the best, if not THE best, Dine Around Seattle lunches. It's just unfortunate that I no longer feel that I could declare it as my favorite restaurant. Oh well, the search is on!

Palisade Waterfront Restaurant
2601 W Marina Pl, Seattle, WA 98199
(206) 285-1000

Bin on the Lake Revisited

Everyone with kids would know that eating out with those little munchkins can be quite an ordeal. For us with kids with allergies, it's even worse. On top of that, I enjoy cooking so much these days, I don't even notice when we haven't gone out for a long time. So from time to time, J would ask when we'd go out to eat. Since we enjoyed Bin on the Lake so much last time, we decided to pay another visit over the weekend.

We arrived early so there wasn't any other table occupied, but a few people enjoying the happy hour at the bar. We sat at the same table as last time. The most surprising thing is our waitress still remembers us, and what we ordered, etc. Talk about a good memory! That was 5 months ago!

I'm not sure if they changed utensils or that I simply didn't pay much attention last time, but Bin on the Lake is using Wedgewood silverware now. I suppose that contributes to the price tag too. =)

The Macrina potato rolls are just as fluffy as I remembered. The kids shared chicken fingers with fries ($8) and beef brisket sliders ($10). The chicken fingers and fries were crispy. The barbecue beef brisket was tender and sweet with crispy shallots served on mini brioche, they were good but I'm not sure if they were worth 5 bucks a pop.

This being hubby's duck destination, it's no surprise that the duck breast ($30) is what he got. The menu said that today's duck confit was accompanied by leeks, watercress, and cherry and sweet onion relish. I didn't see any sweet onion or even the relish for that matter. From the picture, it looked like the duck was topped with some string fries. (I didn't have any.) The kids and hubby devoured the duck as expected. I thought it was only mediocre. Being a sauce lover, I found this one very disappointing. The cherries were delicious though.

I went with the halibut ($29). (Hmm, this might be a new tradition now, duck for hubby, fish for me. =) The halibut steak was cooked to perfection - juicy and tender interior with a golden crispy crust. It sat on a large ravioli filled with salty pancetta and sweet caramelized onion, topped with a sunny side up egg. Individual component wise, the fish was too bland, and the ravioli filling was on the salty side. But if you take a bite with some runny egg yolk, a little fish, and a bit of ravioli, the total is definitely greater than the sum. It was smooth, tender and meaty all at the same time. Combined with the fish and egg, the saltiness and spiciness (see all those red chili oil on the ravioli and the pea vines) all mellowed down. As tasty as this was, I prefer the sea bass last time. If I could replace the celery root ravioli with today's pancetta, it would be perfect.

Overall, I think Bin on the Lake has great potential. While it's a little over priced, if you take into consideration of the beautiful view of Lake Washington, it's all justifiable.

Bin on the Lake
1270 Carillon Pt, Kirkland, WA 98033
(425) 803-5595

Nijo, and Chanterelles

My schedule has been a little crazy since school started that I haven't gone into Seattle for awhile. With the blue sky, I got a little restless, and hopped on the bus for lunch at Nijo Sushi Bar & Grill since I have a groupon.

I arrived just after 1 o'clock, the place still had quite a few tables occupied. I sat at the bar (so I could see what the sushi chefs were doing), and asked for tea and ordered chirashi as soon as the waitress came by. I like to order chirashi when trying out a sushi place since you get to sample a number of fish, check out their rice, AND it's normally a much better deal than ordering nigiri. Unfortunately, THIS chirashi was NOT one of those. For $17, you get only 7 pieces of fish, plus 1 piece of shrimp and 1 piece of tamago (I know it looked like 2 in the picture - it was cut in half). There was no ikura, nor tobiko. They didn't even sprinkle toasted seaweeds. While they were stingy with the fish, they weren't with the rice. So in theory, you can get filled up with this. *sigh* Luckily the fish tasted fresh, but the cut was very uneven, some super thin, and some even torn.

I finished my chirashi in despair, and while I was there, one sushi chef skinned and filleted 3 fish. This is might be an indication of the freshness, however, it's certainly not appetizing to look at. What's even more shocking was when I saw the other sushi chef took out a store bought grilled eel, opened the package, put a small piece in the oven, and served to the customer a few minutes later. I suppose I never paid enough attention before. But when I order unagi, I always assumed that the place made their own eel. If everyone just used store bought ones, then the mark ups on unagi such as unagi don are astronomically outrageous.

Nijo might be a place for drinks, but definitely not a place for authentic Japanese food. The whole time I was there, there was no Japanese people; other than me and a table of older Chinese women, there weren't even any other Asians. I also noticed that even though it was only lunch, most people were drinking. One table had so much to drink, they got quite rowdy.

Unlike most Asian places, my tea wasn't complimentary. I guess after witnessing the kind of profit they make on grilled eel, I wasn't so surprised about the $2 charge for tea. Hey, at least I got a whole carafe. (If you can't tell, I was being sarcastic.) Even with the groupon, it was still overpriced. I would never go back again.

To walk off my disappointment, I went up the back ally into Pike Place Market. I know absolutely nothing about gardening and planting that my herbs are barely alive. So obviously I had no clue about different mushroom seasons. When I saw the normally 20 some dollar a pound Chanterelles selling for $7.50, I thought I hit the jackpot, and had to ask for a bagful.

Later, when I enjoyed the sauteed Chanterelle and fig salad for dinner, the day was all good again.

Nijo Sushi Bar and Grill
83 Spring St, Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 340-8880

Happy Hour Recap

With a raining July 4th and Labor Day, summer was gone before it even started. I suppose it would be too much to ask a perfect summer like last year. Without the blue sky and warm air, it felt like the months went by without us going into Seattle for those weekend activities, or sitting on some patio enjoying happy hour fare. Now, I look back, it seemed that I only sneak in a couple of happy hours myself, and a couple with J. And me being such a procrastinator, I didn't even to write them up. I guess now is as good as any time to sum up the summer.

Last year, I read up bunch of reviews before going to the Stone House. I still remember many reviews mentioned that they had a fabulous happy hour. So one day, when I ran errands till 4 something without any lunch, I stopped by for a much needed refuel. Unfortunately, compared to the info online, the selection had gone down, and the price had gone up. But no matter, I was so starving I could eat a cow, so I got the spinach and fig salad, and the red Thai coconut curry mussels. The sweet fig and vinaigrette combination might be obvious, but you can't deny that they compliment each other perfectly. Texture wise, the salad was a little underwhelming. It would have been perfect if it was topped with some crunchy nuts, such as candied pecans or sorts. The mussels were delicious. The coconut curry was quite spicy but almost addictive. I only wish I had more bread to soak it all up. =)

Even though we live close to downtown Bellevue, I only went to Palomino twice. Palomino also raised their price a little bit. The Cranberry Mojito is just as fabulous as my favorite Candied Apple Drop, sweet but not syrupy, perfect for me! The Grilled Wild Mushroom Salad was as mouthwatering as I remembered. The flatbreads and pizzas, whether it was Wild Mushroom, Cured Ham, and Goat Cheese flatbread, or the Uli’s Italian Sausage and Mushroom pizza (no picture) were crispy and savory. (Hmm, I just realized that I only chose items with mushrooms.) The Palomino chef unequivocally knows his mushroom. It was consistently flawlessly cooked. The best part about enjoying happy hour at Palomino is that it’s also offered on the patio. So even if you have a child, you don’t have to give up the opportunities to treat yourself.

I wish there were more to write about. Hopefully next summer will be exciting.

Stonehouse
16244 Cleveland St, Redmond, WA 98052
(425) 558-5625

Palomino Bellevue
610 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004
(425)455-7600

Mobatta

Summer is over, but J's school doesn't start until the 8th. Since we didn't go into Seattle very much this summer, the two of us went on the bus for a little lunch "date" in the city.

I bought a few Groupon deals awhile ago, one being the La Crêperie Voilà, and another being Mobatta. I didn't want to spend too much time figuring out where to go (not a very good "date", was I?), so it was time to use a Groupon. Mobatta is located in the Pioneer Square area. It shares the door with a Mediterranean fast food place. The space is clean, simple and very open. They have 4 tables and a long bar area, definitely enough for a quick bite. The price is on par with other creperies. I used my $12 groupon, and was both pleasantly surprised, AND had a little sticker shock. Most places use the Groupon value towards the after tax sum, but Mobatta deducts from the pre-tax. So our Salmon & Egg Tartine ($5.99) and Strawberry CheeseCrepe ($5.99) were free! Yippy! Now, comes the sticker shock. When I ask for a cup of tap water, I expect it to be free. Not the case here, my two EcoSafe cups cost me 54¢ (including 4¢ tax). Be fore-warned, if you are coming here.

The salmon and egg crêpe was much more substantial and cheaper than the salmon one at La Crêperie Voilà. I was happy with the amount of egg and smoked salmon. But there wasn't too much Mozzarella, and the Hollandaise sauce was on the bland side. Thanks to the smoked salmon, the taste was balanced. The crêpe itself was slightly overcooked. It was still acceptable, I suppose. The strawberry crêpe was a bit monotone, just sweet. I didn't pay enough attention when I got it, but by the time we finished the salmon and egg tartine, the cheese cake filling was all runny. The Graham cracker and brown sugar only made it taste gritty. They also didn’t use fresh strawberries. This is one that could be skipped.

I don't think I'd vist again, but if I had to choose between Mobatta and La Crêperie Voilà, or if there was a really good deal, I’d still go.

Mobatta Crêpes To-Go
719 2nd Ave (between Cherry St & Columbia St), Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 801-0251

Wild Wheat Bakery, Cafe & Restaurant

Last week, while a few women and I were waiting for our crêpes at La Crêperie Voilà, we started talking about eateries in Kent. I was particularly interested since I never knew where to go when shopping at 99 Ranch or IKEA. (I know that Kent isn’t that far from Bellevue. But my world is so pathetically confined that I rarely drive that far.) As the Kent resident listed all the choices, one place stood out - Wild Wheat Bakery. I was sold when she mentioned the lamb burger served on a house made roll.

So today, after a few errands and a trip to 99 Ranch, I made a detour to Kent. After a wet July 4th, summer finally came. The sun was shining, everybody was out about. I got to Wild Wheat around 11:45, the place was still mostly empty. I was expecting a tiny little cutesy cafe. But what I saw was a much bigger and very open space. “Restaurant” would be much more fitting than “bakery” or “cafe”. The decor was very casual with mustard yellow walls and maroon ceiling. The art collection was a bit random, some abstract, some landscape posters.

Service was really quick. The rolls came probably within a minute of my sitting down. However, the taste fell short. They were cold and chewy. I don’t think I’m very picky when it comes to bread. All I need is for them to be warm and fluffy. I don’t care for the struggle when pulling off pieces.

The lamb burger came with fries. The fries were perfect, hot and crispy. But the burger didn’t live up that standard. Both the Mediterranean spice and cucumber dill salsa were used so sparsely that I couldn’t really taste any. To me, lamb is one meat that has to be seasoned. Cumin does wonders to lamb. My burger could definitely use some!

This was probably THE fastest sit-down meal I’ve ever had - I left the place by 12:10. As I was leaving, the place was all packed, and more people were still filing in. Wild Wheat is obviously very popular, which is rather puzzling to me. I mean the food isn’t terrible, but it isn’t any good either. And the price! $10+, for any sandwich or burger, is too much for a place like this. Oh well, if I ever pass by downtown Kent, I might give it another try, but it’s not worth a trip by itself.

(If you are curious about the crêpes at La Crêperie Voilà, well, to be honest, I was quite disappointed there too. I ordered a savory one - smoked wild salmon lox with creme fraiche and spinach, and a dessert one of sweet chestnut spread. The salmon one was bland, and insubstantial. The chestnut spread one wasn’t anything special either. I had my first crêpes at Crêpes A Go Go in Berkeley back in college. The savory crêpes are so much bigger, tastier, AND cheaper! And the nutella crêpes! I still miss those days!)

Wild Wheat Bakery, Cafe & Restaurant
202 First Ave S (Gowe Street), Kent, WA 98032
(253) 856-8919

La Crêperie Voilà
707 Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 447-2737

21 Central

Couple of days ago, I was caught off-guard when J said "When are we going to a restaurant, we haven't gone out to eat for a long time?" So I had to plan something quickly. (I know it sounds silly that we have to plan something as simple as going out to eat. We are not spontaneous, people!)

We were very lucky that it turned out to be a nice day. (The weather this year has been strange. It was really nice till early May, then all of a sudden, spring retreated and we are in winter.) We went to downtown Kirkland so the kids can play around after dinner. I've been meaning to try 21 Central Steakhouse, and today is as good as any.

We arrived early. There were only 2 parties. The place seemed small for a steakhouse with its big booth, and bar area. Though, it was nice and quiet.

Hubby and I don't really drink much. Normally we just share a glass of wine when dining out. A white one at that. (Usually not Chardonnay. Yes, we have not acquired the taste for red wine yet.) Today, we chose a glass of Jo Vina Pinot Gris. It was poured into probably a red Bordeaux glass. Some wine purist would probably say that this wouldn't complement the wine. However, we didn't care - we were just thrilled that it was THE biggest glass of wine we've ever had.

My fresh Chilean Seabass was stuffed with bay shrimp and fresh mozzarella, coated with herbed bread crumbs, then pan fried and served with Champagne butter sauce. The fish was very tender, the breading thin and crispy. The shrimp and mozzarella stuffing was a little bland, and not really necessary. The sauce didn't do much for the fish either. A simpler preparation would probably have been able to better emphasize the natural richness and sweetness of the fish. Nevertheless, the fish was still very delicious. The linguine was nicely done, but a little greasy, which is often the case at restaurants.

Hubby got Top Sirloin, a Prime 12 oz cut. The steak to cooked to the perfect pink. The baked potato was huge, accompanied by your choices of green onion, sour cream, etc. and REAL bacon pieces. We also got sauteed fresh vegetables and their "21" fries for everyone to share. The vegetables were just OK. The fries were great, and portion was so generous! (See that picture? That's only half of the fries!)

Overall, I think the food was pretty decent. We'll probably try it again even though the price was a little high.

21 Central Steakhouse
21 Central Way (Market Street), Kirkland, WA 98033
(425) 822-1515

Bin on the Lake

We celebrated our anniversary over the weekend. I can't believe it's been 7 years already! Time really flies (whether you are having fun or not ;). Last time we went to the restaurant in the Woodmark hotel, it was still called Waters. (I know! It's been awhile! Well, when you have kids, especially the ones with food allergies, you can't go out as much as you used to, or as much as you'd like.) Anyways, we didn't know what to expect of Bin on the Lake, which was probably a good start since I tend to have my expectations way high, and set myself up to be disappointed. (I wasn't even impressed with French Laundry! After trying to get reservations for 3 years, you can imagine my anticipation.)

I'm sure all you parents out there know that the kids love to fill up on bread. So I always pay special attention to these yeast creations. At Bin on the Lake, we were served potato rolls and sourdough. The sourdoughs, with sesame, poppy seeds, and fennel seeds, were airy and chewy. But I prefer the fluffy potato rolls.

I got the sea bass, and hubby had the duck. My sea bass was perfectly tender and moist with a golden crust, topped with some micro greens, sitting on a bed of spinach atop one GIANT celery root ravioli the size of a toast. It sat in a pool of carrot butter sauce, that might not be the most appealing to look at, but was totally delicious! I didn't really care for the celery root ravioli. But the rest of the dish, mmmmmm, was mouthwateringly delightful. Hubby's duck, equally titillating, was cooked to just slightly pink, fanned out on coco nib and tart cherry farro, accompanied by a squash and red pepper crépinette. The duck with a little smoked duck demi was, without question, perfect. However, what surprised me was the farro. It's a little embarrassing, but I have to admit that I'd never had farro before, especially this combination with coco and cherry. It was eye-opening. The kids were supposed to share a plate of Mini Beach Burgers, but they preferred our sea bass and duck much more. Who could blame them! The duck disappeared so quickly that the waitress, being the super affable woman she is, comped us a whole extra plate of duck with arugula salad with craisin, and candied walnut in cranberry vinaigrette. The meaty, savory duck, bitter arugula and sweet cranberry make this a perfect entree salad. The duck, of course, was devoured within minutes AGAIN.

Now, I knew hubby loved duck. Back in 2008, I took him to Beijing for the Olympics. The most famous dish from Beijing has got to be the Peking duck. (I might be biased, but the roasted Cantonese style ducks you get at Chinese restaurants don't even come close.) So, without hesitation, we went for some duck the day we arrived. It was love at first bite for him, he was totally hooked. After that, we went back every other day. Towards the end, the waiter would greet us with "you again". =) My uncle even joked that hubby would start quacking like a duck if we stayed for another month! What I didn't know was that hubby thought that he wouldn't order ducks anymore in the States. (You have to admit the duck breast has a gamy taste in most restaurants.) However, after those two plates of duck, he changed his mind - he would always order duck at Bin on the Lake from now on. I also didn't know that my kids love duck so much. It's time to take them to Beijing. ;)

We enjoyed our dinner with a bottle of Erotica Riesling. Even though it wasn't a romantic candlelight dinner with just the two of us. It was still pretty close to a perfect dinner.

Bin on the Lake
1270 Carillon Pt, Kirkland, WA 98033
(425) 803-5595

Palisade

I didn't have a chance to try Palisade during Dine Around Seattle. Fortunately, they offered the same choices for the Seattle Restaurant Week. Palisade is situated on Elliot Bay, with a curved glass window overlooking Seattle, Bainbridge island, and Vashon island, there isn't a single table that doesn't have a spectacular view.

I think I have finally gotten the hang of dining alone. I no longer feel awkward, I can relax, bring something to read, enjoy the delicious food while taking in the view. In fact, I enjoyed my lunch at the Palisade so much, I went back a week later. This could be bad for my waist line though.

The bread bowl contained three types of freshly baked goodies, namely a multigrain bread with sunflower seed, a mini personal sized baguette loaf, and a rosemary buttery bun. They were all good, but I'm not big on hard crusts, and the multigrain's crust was just a midge too hard for me. The rosemary bun, on the other hand, was to die for. (Oh, the aroma, I'm drooling now.) And the black lava sea salt on top of the butter was heavenly. Gotta go get a jar of that stuff!

For the salad starter, I chose the Butter Lettuce with Rogue River Blue Cheese both times. The baby bibb lettuce was studded with crumbled blue cheese, smoked hazelnuts, crispy julienned pear with one guava wood smoked butter poached colossal prawn sitting on top. The refreshing lettuce, creamy yet not heavy dressing, along with the toasty hazelnuts, grape tomatoes, and sweet pear created a perfect harmony. I also noticed a more prominent smoke flavor the second time.

The first time I couldn't quite decide between the seafood sliders and the sirloin steak, in the end the sliders won since my waitress told me it was so popular that it often sold out. The three sliders were Maine lobster "BLT" with crisp pancetta, house smoked salmon with caper cream cheese, and Alaskan King crab salad with avocado, roasted pepper aioli and crisp watercress. All served on fluffy brioche buns. The accompanying butter lettuce and red cabbage salad with diced cantaloupe, honeydew, and pineapple, while refreshing, couldn't quite live up to the salad appetizer. The salmon slider had big chunks of nicely smoked salmon, and some pickled red onions. However, I found the cream cheese a bit too heavy. I couldn't taste the caper flavor in it. Some caper pieces would have been nice to cut through the cream. The crab salad was smooth, with the bitterness of the watercress, and a tint of spiciness from the aioli, it didn't disappoint. My favorite of the three, however, was the lobster BLT. The lobster perfectly tender, pancetta crisp but not dry, with just the right amount of mayonnaise. Though it wasn't a lobster roll, it was pretty close to a perfect lobster sandwich.

I LOVE chocolate. There is no doubt about THAT! So when there is a dessert called "Chocolate Lovers", no way would I let it pass. The Palisade Chocolate "Lovers" Cake is a rich, decadent chocolate mousse cake with shaved white chocolate, plated with fresh raspberries, chocolate hazelnut ice cream, and mini raspberry bittersweet chocolate truffles. This was truly a very substantial (as you can see from the picture) and divine dessert. I loved every part of it. I never quite got on the bandwagon of pairing chocolate with sea salts. So if I had to be nit-picky about this dessert, it would be that there were just a tad too much sea salt on the truffles. (Oh, and one more disappointing thing, even though I had 2 truffles during my first visit, there was only 1 the second time.)

On top of the marvelous food, the service was friendly, attentive without being overbearing. Palisade certainly hit the ball out of the park on these promotions. I had such a gratifying time that I went back a week later to satiate my immense curiosity about the Wagyu Sirloin. The "Snake River Farm" Wagyu sirloin was char grilled in the special over-under broiler, brushed with housemade steak butter, served on roasted fingerling potatoes with grilled green and white asparagus. Of course, like everything else, the potatoes and asparagus were perfect too. But they weren't the star of the dish. The steak took the lead as anticipated, flavorful and juicy, being cooked to the perfect tenderness, sat unassumingly on the potatoes, dominated the plate. I didn't think I could finish that big a piece of meat, but somehow, I couldn't stop myself, one bite after another, everything vanished. The plating, however, was a little lacking. All the food was crammed in one section, left half of the white plate startlingly bare. The server also didn't wipe that empty half clean, left some streaks of sauce residues.

One other thing I had to complain was the absence of a butter knife. The diners were expected to use the same knife for their salads and entrees as buttering their bread. Granted, it's a very small thing, but it's one of those little details that could make a great dining experience into a fantastic one. Still, I left the restaurant in a culinary bliss.

Palisade Waterfront Restaurant
2601 W Marina Pl, Seattle, WA 98199
(206) 285-1000

Il Bistro

D turned 3! Initially, I wanted to go to Maximilien (one of our favorite places) to celebrate, but couldn't get a reservation at the time we wanted. So we thought we'd try out Il Bistro that's also located at Pike Place Market.

We got Bruschetta al Pomodoro and 2 orders of Antipasto Misto from their Restaurant Week selections. The Bruschetta, topping grilled Tuscan bread with vine ripened tomatoes, garlic, basil and olive oil, wasn't as flavorful as I'd like, but it was refreshing. The Antipasto Misto was very small. The selection of Italian meats only included 1 thin piece each of salami and hot capicola, the cheese selection was just as limited with only 1 piece of mozzarella and 1 slice of muenster. That could hardly be called a "selection", if not counting the small pieces of marinated vegetables of olives, asparagus, bell peppers, mushrooms, and garlic.

Hubby had Filetto del Maiale Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Rustic Potatoes and a Bing Cherry-Port Demi Glace. I often found pork tenderloin to be a bit bland, but the cherry demi glace was nice. The limited few cherries were gobbled down by the kids faster than you can say "cherry". My grilled salmon with lemon herb farro and basil butter was very tender and buttery. Even J who didn't like salmon agreed it was good. (Yes, it's very possible that my kids might grow up as food snobs. When J was 3, he told his daycare that he liked crab cakes and lobster bisque. In his Sunday school, he said his favorite food was sushi. But most of the other kids didn't even know what sushi was. =)

My Torta Cioccolato Flourless Chocolate-Espresso Tort with Raspberry Coulis and Sweetened Mascarpone was definitely definitely decadent! Unfortunately, it was very small, only a sliver. Hubby's pear sorbet was overflowing with the Asian pear fragrance.

Overall, I'd say the meal was OK. But that wasn't good enough to make it a special occasion place.

Il Bistro
93 Pike St (First Avenue), Seattle, WA 98101
(206)682-3049

Wild Ginger (Bellevue)

Hubby and I had a lunch date today at Wild Ginger in Bravern. I remember years ago when Wild Ginger first opened in Seattle, it was so popular, it took me awhile to get the reservation. However, when I tried the place, it wasn't bad or anything, I just didn't understand the hype. Last weekend, hubby, the kids, and I stopped by Wild Ginger for happy hour, I was pleasantly surprised. That raised my expectation of Wild Ginger again.

We started with a Hanoi spring roll and a marinated pork skewer. The spring roll was supposed to be crispy, filled with crab, shrimp and pork, bean thread noodles, wood ear mushroom, carrot and jicama. The outside was crispy, sure, how many deep fried things are not?! But the inside, it was all mushy. I couldn't taste anything distinctively. The Vietnamese dipping sauce was OK, but nothing that could save the spring roll. The Snake River farms Kurobuta pork satay was a little bland and a bit overcooked. It was rather tough to eat. What a shame! It also had no sauce, aren't most satays served with a peanut sauce or something?! The Cambodian cabbage salad along side of the pork skewer was probably the best part of our appetizers with the red and green cabbage, carrots, cilantro, and peanuts in a refreshing dressing.

My Phoenix and Dragon, a prawns and scallops green curry with lime leaves and lemongrass, was just average. Hubby's Beef Rendang, the brisket was supposedly slow cooked in a coconut reduction and the meat was supposed to be able to melt in your mouth. The carrots and potatoes were just fine, but the meat was nowhere near "melt in your mouth". This dish was, again, like an average home cooked meal. The only upside of the two dishes was the green beans, they were cooked perfectly al dente.

We got one order of Chinese Almond Cookies, and one Rolled Truffle Duo. The almond cookies were very plain cookies with one almond in the center. And the two truffles, one bittersweet chocolate rolled in walnuts, one cardamom milk chocolate rolled in shredded coconut, they were good, but small and not as decadent as some others I've had.

I was thoroughly disappointed. It felt like Wild Ginger simply picked a few items from their menu that would add up to $15, so that they could participate in the Seattle Restaurant Week, they weren't trying to impress the diners. Similar to ART, I couldn't taste their sincerity or devotion in the food. If you'd like to go to Wild Ginger, their happy hour offers much better food at much better price.

Wild Ginger
11020 NE 6th St. Ste 90, Bellevue, WA 98004
(425)495-8889