They were amazingly fresh even for Seattle, almost as good as the shrimp we had in Vietnam except that those were still moving when they hit the plate. Crunchy from a quick dip in the fryer, brightened by the shiso, topped with a srichacha foam and laid aside a spicy green mango salad—they were a perfect first bite.

It felt like we were the only customers at a sushi bar, with Dalis as our caretaker. He told us about his 10 month old boy at home, his Chinese-cambodian roots. And he kept offering us bites of this or that.

“You have to try an oyster. Shigoku are the best.”

They were clean, almost floral, like a swallow of sea water.

Dalis is more than just a friendly chef, he has a fiercely competitive side and it shows in his food. Everything was cooked perfectly, every crust a golden brown. As we peeked over the counter, watching his sous chef plate the golden beet gazpacho, we saw a small statue shaped to look like a globe. At the bottom was a quote: “Second place is the first loser.”

Perhaps a reminder that Spring Hill is just a few blocks away.

The two establishments could not be more different. Where Spring Hill is austere, Fresh Bistro is warm with soaring sea green ceilings and a floor stained to look like bamboo. In the dining room there’s a neighborly buzz, the owners greeting all the customers. The place was packed for its opening night, but you would hardly have known it. The air in the kitchen was calm as the staff carefully removed pans from the oven, and placed crabcakes in a line with dollops of sauce.

After a few moments, we had a taste of pork belly, rich with soy sauce and a dijon demi-glace and topped with soft pickled mustard seeds.

Then there were halibut cheeks, alongside a thai beet salad. The halibut was good, fresh as it should be, but the beet salad stole the show.

“Beets have the texture of green mango,” Dalis explained, as we exclaimed over the spicy salad.

But we forgot of all this when the lamb arrived. The chop had the char of the grill, the center a perfect medium rare with a topping of silky currant demi-glace that deftly countered the meatiness. Grits alongside added a down-home touch.

My halibut paled in comparison, but it wasn’t really fair. The halibut came over fava beans with a delicate white wine sauce. It was like Gwyneth Paltrow in a white linen dress trying to compete with Angelina Jolie in crushed velvet.

And truthfully the fava beans were inspired. Their vegetal toothsomeness worked well with the halibut, the flavors were earthy and soft.

After all of this, we couldn’t resist Dalis’ description of the crème brulee as “quiet strange.” Cobe cracked the shattery crust and took a bite, then his eyes widened.

“Basil!”

Topped with a tomato basil balsamic reduction, it was like a sweet caprese. It worked perfectly.

It was such a perfect night, I’m almost afraid to go back.

Cross your fingers.

………………………………………………………….
Fresh Bistro
(206) 935-3733
4725 42nd Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98116
www.herbanfeast.com/freshbistro/

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After hearing from cakespy that Cupcake Royale had changed their recipe, I decided to give them a second chance. It was cobe’s birthday, after all. And he loves red velvet.

The word is that Jody Hall of Cupcake Royale was so distressed about reports of dry cupcakes that she brought in the heavy hitter—Sue McCown of Coco la ti da—to futz with the recipe. The whole story is in Rebekah Denn’s smartly written prose here.

The end result is that after batches and batches of cupcakes, they have something that can last the day without getting dry. I put this to the test, arriving at 5pm just in time for “cupcake happyhour”—6 for the price of 3. Dangerous when you are a little pregnant lady.

I am obsessed with chocolate these days, so I got 2 each of the triple chocolate, red velvet, and the new chocolate scorcher which features Theo’s own ghost chili chocolate.

First off, definitely moister. In fact, really quite nice. I am a dense cake person, so I like my cake even moister than these were. A thicker crumb, if you will. But I would chalk that up to personal preference.

The flavors were charming. I loved the red velvet, with its touch of cinnamon sprinkles. The triple chocolate was almost too chocolatey, but to be fair I had it without milk—a rookie mistake. The chocolate scorcher had a buttery smooth frosting with just enough chili to give an edge.

I can safely say I would bring these cupcakes to a party. Especially since they look all pretty in their fancy box. Score one for research.

Next up: Yellow leaf and their infamous tomato soup cake

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Cupcake Royale
www.cupcakeroyale.com

Ballard

(206) 782-9557
2052 NW Market St
Seattle, WA 98107

West Seattle

(206) 932-2971
4556 California Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98116

Madrona

(206) 709-4497
1101 34th Ave
Seattle, WA 98122

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We didn’t expect to find a line out the door at 8:30 on a Friday night, but Circa is that kind of place. They just do comfort food so well.

After half an hour of waiting we flopped into a booth and ordered a few drinks. Their drink list is packed with local beers, and has some interesting wines by the glass. Their food, on the other hand, leans toward comfort mexican, and the mexican side is surprisingly well done. We’ve had some great chorizo here, not to mention “the Slacker”—a wanton mix of scrambled eggs, salsa, sour cream, green chiles and tortillas. Perfect hangover food.

Last friday I made the mistake of trying the muscovy duck, which was a bit much for them. It was a perfect medium rare, but the skin wasn’t crispy and the side of roasted green grapes didn’t quite match.

Cobe’s skirt steak, on the other hand was fabulous. Charred on the outside with a juicy center, it came with an asian bbq sauce, mashed potatoes and tender crisp asparagus. This is what they do well—comfort food. Their meatloaf is moist and bacon-wrapped, and they pull off an awesome burger. And damn do they fill up those plates.

I kept sneaking bites of Cobe’s steak, letting the juice drip onto the creamy mashed potatoes and adding in a bit of asparagus. Next time I’ll order better. That pork loin sounds mighty good.

………………………………………………………………………..
Circa
2605 California Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98116
www.circawestseattle.com
(206) 923-1102

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The Bohemian has only been open a few months now, started by two brothers from San Francisco. It has a cozy feel, a mix of antique lamps and asian wood. Listening to “Take the A Train” I felt the week melt away.

Perusing the drink menu, my spirits fell a little. They had a perfect scratch margarita, but their best tequila was cuervo gold. It was almost an insult.

The wine and beer menus were more disappointing. The only wines by the glass were on the low end, from $10 bottles. They were cheap at 5$ a glass, but I will happily pay a few extra dollars for a good glass of wine. And the beers on draft? Alaskan. Red Hook. In a town with so many good microbrews it’s a shame. No Boundary Bay? Or Mannys?

I ordered a glass of Washington Syrah and it was harsh, too fruity, untamed. I pouted. Cobe’s Longhammer was watery, almost flat.

We both pined for Circa.

Then the food came and our fears were silenced. At first glance the menu is a bit odd. It seems to be all appetizers and I swear olives are listed 10 times. Are they a secret black market for olives? There were olives with roasted garlic, and olives alongside roasted garlic, and tapenade. There is also a lot of cheese.

But if you search you’ll find they have real entrees. I wish they would separate out the entrees, make a “daily specials” sheet or something. They are surprisingly good.

First came the olives, and we started to understand the obsession with olives. These were really good olives. Bright green and juicy cerignolas, fresh tart kalamatas, dainty nicoise. The meatballs alongside were solid, not amazing, but well done and accented by roasted garlic or pomegrante molasses.

Then came the scallops. In all honesty, they were a bit cold, which is inexcusable as they take 5 minutes to cook. But they were still beautifully tender. And we were so busy fighting for every last bit of the farro risotto underneath we almost didn’t notice. Chewy and wheaty with a touch of cream and accents of carrot and sage–it was perfect. I haven’t had a side dish so perfect in a long time.

The endive salad impressed me even more. I love salad. I have made an art of salad– its simplicity, its lightness. But few people do it well. Theirs was impeccable. A mix of endive and radicchio which had lightness and crunch, set off by sweet grapes, pear vinegarette and the sharp rogue blue. And on occasion, a hazlenut. It was just perfectly balanced.

A few additions to the draft list and some fancier wines by the glass and I would be a happy camper. Oh and a bottle or two of high grade tequila wouldn’t hurt.

Bravo, bohemian. Hope to see you soon.

………………………………………………….
The Bohemian

3405 California Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98116
www.thebohemianseattle.com

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Not only have we been planning a wedding for 150, we somehow decided to have our whole family come to the house for a barbecue the night before (!). All of a sudden we’ve started noticing things…the half done fence in the front yard, the hallway we never finished painting, the tangle of blackberries that seem to grow every day.

So this past Sunday Cobe and I started tackling house projects. He spent the day working on the fence, I cut back the blackberries and painted the hallway. We worked till we lost the light and then we were starving. In his weakened state, I convinced Cobe to go to Spring Hill, this new restaurant at the junction. They serve till midnight. I might have left out the part about the chef coming from Dahlia Lounge.

So first a warning, Spring Hill is VERY new (as in, like 2 weeks) and like most places, they still have a few kinks to work out. They’re positioned conveniently next to the Seattle Fish Market, and the menu leans toward seafood, with the source of the fish listed on the side. Halibut from Alaska, trout from Idaho. They also have oysters, clams, mussels and what sounds like an amazing roasted pork rack (they were out the night we went).

It doesn’t look big from the outside, but inside it’s airy and calm. Lots of pine, good lighting, and modern lines. My pictures don’t do it justice (damn those iphones in low light).

But the food? As I said, there are some kinks. It was all very fresh, locally sourced. But it felt a bit like someone had made up the menu and not bothered to taste it afterwards. It sounded interesting, but the flavors didn’t blend well.

Roasted beets were contrasted with a vivid green basil olive oil and bosc pear, but they were undercooked and strangely raggedly cut, like a child had cut them.

Raw oysters were icy cold and served with a mild hops and shallot mignonette sauce. A bit on the small side though.

Cobe’s cedar plank salmon was cooked well, crispy on the outside with a perfectly moist interior, but it had little sauce and the accompanying vegetables (caramelized broccoli and gnocchi) didn’t add much. He also bemoaned the size to price ratio, something that will resonate with west seattlites.

And my trout? Well I do love trout, and this was very fresh, but trout can be a little bland on it’s own. It did come with a brown butter sauce, but I found it grainy and lacking much flavor. The dish also failed on the visual. With trout, artichokes, and spaetzle it was a play on white and beige.

We were still hungry after all that so we ordered dessert, a poached pear with olive oil cake and whipped cream that was truly wonderful, not too sweet, nicely balanced. The cheese plate along side didn’t wow us, but to be fair Cobe wouldn’t let me order the cheese the waiter described as “like Taleggio, a little funky” which of course sounded amazing. I was also bummed to find they were out of pinot noir, my favorite accompaniment to cheese.

“It was a crazy weekend,” the waiter said, “we’re out of tempranillo and pinot noir. All we have left are syrah and cabernet.”

As I’ve said, a few kinks. The price point is on the high end (the salmon was 29$, the trout 22$), but they don’t seem positioned to compete with Beato (have I told you about Beato?). The truth is they would be well served to have a bar menu to pull in both crowds. Or maybe a dinner menu and a late night menu.

Cobe’s main concern was the inclusion of Ranier Light on their beer list.

“Ranier light? Why do they think I am?”

……………………………………………………………
Spring Hill
http://www.springhillnorthwest.com/
4437 California Ave SW
(between Genesee St & Oregon St)
Seattle, WA 98116 (206) 935-1075

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