The Daily Bite: Revel Revisited

http://www.evolutionprojects.com/images/made/Revel9_710_467_c1.jpg

Family Food Fest 2015 continued with an old favorite. Even though we have been to Revel several times, we keep going back because it is just that good.

We started off with the "Good Way to Start" (I know right? It doesn't make any sense!)
The Revel Grill Shack 2015 featured Hampshire Hogs from Jones Family Farm Lopez Island, WA. Specifically the cuts were the Sausage, Belly, and Ham. They were all delicious, but my favorite was the pork belly. It's bacon, but cooked on a grill. It's pretty much making something I didn't think could get better, better.

I was realizing as I was typing the first paragraph that we enjoyed a large number of dishes...so, I'm going to list them, as opposed to introducing every item with very similar but slightly different phrases such as "Then to our utmost delight, we had the...." and ''Next we were extra fortunate to have the opportunity to taste the...''

Lamb Salad (Corned Lamb, Mizuna, spicy nuoc cham)
This salad was extra tasty, but it was a bit too spicy for those in our group with softer palettes.

Shrimp Pancake (Shrimp Cake, Pea Vine, Pistachio, Preserved lemon)
While shrimp, pistachios and lemons are always going to be a winning combination, I liked the Pork Belly Pancake from previous visits more than the Shrimp Pancake. (Like I said, Pork Belly is bacon, but better)

Pork Dumpling (Moo Shu Pork, Wood Ear Mushroom, Hoisin)
These dumplings reminded me of how delicious good Asian food can be. I feel it appropriate to liken them to an explosion of savory, flavorful goodness.

Short Rib Dumpling (Short Rib, Pickled Shallot, Scallion)
These dumplings were also tasty, but not quite as good as the pork dumplings. Although, before we blame the Short Rib for this shortcoming, let it be noted the Short Rib Rice was one of my favorite dishes.

Short Rib Rice (w/egg yolk) (Short Rib, Sambal Daikon, Mustard Greens)
As asserted previously, this dish was tied for my favorite. Perhaps it was because there was more of the Short Rib to enjoy. Although credit should also be given to the Daikon and Greens which complemented the Short Rib masterfully.

Crab Noodle (Dungeness Crab, Seaweed Noodle, Spicy Red Curry, Crème fraiche)
This was my other favorite dish. The Dungeness Crab combined with the homemade noodles and curry had a hint of salt and sea that was mouthwateringly delicious.

The dessert dishes were inspired by Cinco de Mayo and featured a fun spin on Mexican drinks.
Horchata (Mochi Cake) (Caramelized Mochi Cake, Burnt Milk Ice Cream, Cinnamon Sauce, Drunken Figs, Forbidden Rice Puffs)
I particularly liked this dish because of the drunken figs (I love figs in any shape or state of drunkenness). However, even without the figs it would have been ¨magnífico¨.

Tascalate (Chocolate Mousse) (Achiote Chocolate Mousse, Pine Nut Crunch, Cornmeal Tart, Chipotle Caramel, Chicharones)
I must say, my love of figs is surpassed by my love of Chocolate, especially Chocolate with a bit of extra spice to it. As such, this delectable mousse took the proverbial cake in terms of dessert.

The Daily Bite: The Whale Wins

Family Food Fest 2014 ended with a bang thanks to the deliciousness supplied by "The Whale Wins"

***Spoilers***

According to remodelista.com, Erickson, the creator of "The Whale Wins", was inspired by a painting by American folk artist Mary Maguire depicting a whaling scene. Because of this, "The Whale Wins" can be seen as an homage to the ending of Moby Dick by Herman Melville. The whale does indeed win. It is actually quite a coincidence that I am currently working my way through Moby Dick. But that is a post for another day.

To kick off our fabulous meal, we started with Sea Wolf & Columbia City Bakery bread & butter. I usually try to avoid salt and butter, but let's be real, the salted butter and bread was simply amazing. For entrées, We ordered the Hama Hama roasted clams with polenta, greens, tomato broth, and shallots; the Smashed avocado toast with green garlic spiced butter, mizuna, and cilantro; and the special for the day, a pork sausage with artichoke hearts, carrots and baby lima beans. The sausage was delicious and the clams were delectable, (as was the sauce they were swimming in....in fact I very un-daintily used some remaining bread to soak up the sauce. Charming I know, but it was too good to waste!) Even with how good the clams were, My favorite would have to be the smashed avocado toast, which tasted piquant. I am still convinced it had a flavor in it similar to coconut korma, but my husband did not agree. I reminded him I am somewhat of a coconut korma connoisseur, as it is the dish I almost always get when ordering Indian food. He of course had to concede. 

Finally for our last entrée, we had scapes with salbixada sauce & clabrian chilies. They looked like food from a Dr. Seuss book! Scapes are actually the tops of garlic plants, which I had never had before. They were roasted to perfection and reminded me, flavor wise, of roasted pumpkin seeds. If I ever grow my own garlic, I am definitely going to use the tops! 


For dessert we each sampled a bit of Shirlee's brownie with crème anglaise; some yougurt pistachio cake with poached apriums; and some butter roasted zucchini bread with crème fraiche. They were all divine, but I would defiantly order the roasted zucchini bread again. Although, I would suggest taking it with a grain of salt. Seriously, they sprinkled some sea salt over the top and it highlighted the sweet flavors beautifully.

The Daily Bite: Revel Revisited

As part of Family Food Fest 2014 we returned to Revel. Ah Revel, still just as tasty as ever.

We ordered from the Summer Grill Shack Menu and got the "Enough to go around", which was delectable!

We also ordered the green papaya salad with summer greens, medjool dates and green curry vin. I had never tried green papaya, but it was rather tasty. It worked really well in the salad. We got shrimp & chinese sausage dumplings with asian mustard greens and lemon grass beef with cilantro noodles, yu choy and cripsy onions. My husband's favorite were the dumplings, but the lemon grass beef was also exceptionally appetizing. Even though we ordered it last time we were there, we got an old classic, the pork belly pancake with kimchi and bean sprouts. It was possibly more delicious then I remember.

For dessert we ordered the Pelé "The Black Pearl", Which came with Banana Semifreddo, passion fruit curd, coconut streusel, and chocolate pearls. It was really good, but my favorite was the other dessert dish.

The Beckham "Golden Balls",which had sticky toffee pudding, poached apple, chinese dates, and crème fraiche whip was especially scrumptious. I'm a sucker for toffee though.

The Daily Bite: Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery

Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery in Fremont put a whole new meaning to rich dark chocolate. 

I ordered the Dark Decadence, which has Theo dark chocolate, served with vanilla ice cream, salted caramel, and nib toffee. Even though it takes a little while for it be cooked, it is well worth the wait! It is especially good to have the ice cream because it is so hot, but you don't want to wait to eat it.

My father-in-law was kind enough to send us with a S'mores cube. It was tasty, but hard to eat! The marshmallow top stuck to everything, but the graham cracker crust crumbled apart. Still totally worth it though! I would defiantly have s'more! (Sorry, couldn't resist!)

The Daily Bite: Ravish

As part of Family Food Fest 2014, we went to Ravish. I actually heard about Ravish on Eastlake from my bank teller. I was asking her what plans she had for the weekend, and for her anniversary she was going to Ravish, as it was one of her favorite restaurants. It turned out to be an excellent recommendation, and the food was outstanding.

We started off with the grilled watermelon salad with pine nuts and feta cheese. What's not to love? I love watermelon ✓, pine nuts ✓, and feta cheese ✓!  For an appetizer, we also had the grilled artichoke, which was tasty, but hard to eat and there wasn't much heart to it. For entrées we ordered the seared halibut with raised rooftop greens and corn relish; the dungeness crab cake with Hill's applewood bacon, cypress grove chévre and dates in a balsamic reduction sauce; and finally, the Pancetta 3-Cheese Mac & Cheese with rosemary cheddar, parmesan, bleu cheese, crispy pancetta, bechamel, bread crumbs and truffle oil.

My husband loves crab cakes and mac & cheese, so he throughly enjoyed those dishes. The mac & cheese was my favorite. It did not disappoint! It had so many amazing flavors, not unlike a symphony, but for your mouth (is that weird? Nah, I'm going with it). It was defiantly a symphony for your mouth!

The Daily Bite: Serious Pie

My husband and I went to Serious Pie in South Lake Union for my birthday. Serious Pie is one of Tom Douglas' premier restaurants in Seattle and it was splendiferous. 

We ordered the roasted seasonal mushroom pizza with truffle cheese. Like many truffle infused delicacies, it was savory, salty and mouthwateringly delicious. All the pizzas are baked in a wood stove, which adds a subtle, albeit tasty, smoky flavor to the crust.

I also enjoyed some sorbet on the house as it was my birthday. Its was good, but I was mainly excited about the swirly candle! I'm sort of a child, but at least if I am going to have pizza and ice cream for my birthday, it was pizza and ice cream done exceptionally well! 

The Daily Bite: Green Leaf

The dishes at the Green Leaf Vietnamese Restaurant in the International District were incredible.

http://greenleaftaste.com/#!/our-menu/

We had Deep Fried Shrimp Rolls, Stir-Fried Curry Chicken and Deep Fried Squid. The Curry Chicken was possibly the best I have ever tasted, which is saying something because I am a connoisseur of curry chicken.

The Daily Bite: Pie

http://www.sweetandsavorypie.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pie-Fremont-Seattle-WA/165289150170021?id=165289150170021&sk=photos_stream

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pie-Fremont-Seattle-WA/165289150170021?id=165289150170021&sk=photos_stream

I enjoyed Key Lime Pie ad Berry Awesome Pie. My Husband had Key Lime and Macaroni and Cheese.

The Daily Bite: Sea Star

http://www.seattleite.com/food-porn-seastar-restaurant-and-raw-bar/

My Father-in-Law, my Husband and I enjoyed some sea food at the Seastar restaurant in South Lake Union. I had Alaskan Halibut with Morel Mushrooms, White and Green Asparagus, English Peas and Meyer Lemon Juice. It was good, but the Morel Mushrooms were divine.

http://growyourownmushrooms.net/moral-mushrooms/

At Fifty Dollars for 1/4th of a pound, Morels are an expensive treat. I made sure to savor them. 

The Daily Bite: Revel

My Father-in-Law treats us to dinner when he is in town and we have eaten at some amazing places. One of the first places we ate was Revel in Fremont.  The food was absolutely delicious. 

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/revel-seattle?select=ikiloUhnm08y-DVBhta6jA#wCfIFc7UV2_qO7qtHnzbZw

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/revel-seattle?select=ikiloUhnm08y-DVBhta6jA#FPzyWyZC2y0c6RLcXCYY9A

We had Enjoyed Crab and Seaweed Noodles in a Spicy Red Curry Sauce Topped with Creme Fraiche

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/revel-seattle?select=ikiloUhnm08y-DVBhta6jA#4wYqn8NbhcvfkF-rRs0Q_g

A Pork Belly, Kimchi and Bean Sprout Pancake

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/revel-seattle?select=ikiloUhnm08y-DVBhta6jA#kCdZvwr-SGwUfmvWwz5Quw

Short Rib Sambai Daikon and Mustard Greens with Rice and Egg Yolk

http://foodiesdilemma.com/2013/06/an-evening-at-revel.html

Pork, Cilantro, Hot Peanut Chili Oil Dumplings 

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/revel-seattle?select=ikiloUhnm08y-DVBhta6jA#B1oUBgnwVytqdR3FTjIlZg

Shrimp, Long Beans and Tamarind Vinaigrette Salad

For dessert we had Chocolate Malt Cake, with Blackberry, Orange Blossom and Creme Anglaise and A Rose Panna Cotta, with a Pistachio Macaroon with Pink Peppercorn Honey.

When we go again In the future, I would like to try the Lime Kaffir, Mango, Black Puff Rice, & Mint; the Dutch Baby with Apples and Cheese or a Kalbi Burger.

The Daily Bite: La Medusa

La Medusa in Columbia City was amazing. The subtle blend of flavors was extraordinary and delicious.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=568625909843420&set=a.192233144149367.45769.191564344216247&type=1&theater

Burrata is an italian cheese made from mozzarella and fresh cream with a unique flavor and soft texture. 

Saffron is the most expensive spice, as it is the tiny little rust colored bits you see in the flowers above. They all have to be plucked by hand! Crazy, but delicious.

For appetizers we enjoyed the Saffron Risotto Croquettes and Burrata salad. I then ordered the spaghetti with meatballs, which was the best spaghetti and meatballs I have ever had. Seriously, I think I may have cried a little. It was so beautiful.

The Spaghetti and Meatballs was actually featured in Seattle Magazine:

"Making the simple taste sublime is a trick best left to the pros—and the grandmas. The chefs at Columbia City’s La Medusa are the former, but this dish—with supple meatballs perched alongside al dente spaghetti dressed in a satisfying, bright, herby tomato sauce—proves there’s some grandma in there somewhere, too". 
http://www.seattlemag.com/article/best-pasta-dishes-local-italian-restaurants

Mediterranean Kitchen

http://trialx.com/i/2012/06/26/tahini-sauce-yummy-looking-and-delicious-tasting/

For my birthday lunch, my husband took me to the Mediterranean Kitchen in Bellevue Washington. It was the best gourmet middle eastern cuisine I have ever had! To start off we had pita bread dipped in butter garlic sauce. Then we both ordered the Lamb Shawarma (Lamb tenderloin marinated in a mixture of Mediterranean spices cooked with onions, green onions, red cabbage and tomatoes, topped with

 sauce). Seriously. Try it. It was amazing.

5 Spot

I actually ate at 5 Spot in Queen Anne a couple weeks ago.  One of my friends suggested it, as I had never been there before.  But it was amazing.  The restaurant chooses a theme every three months and the theme when my friend and I ate there was the Presidential Election.  They went all out, which included a giant Papier-mâché donkey being ridden by Big Bird.  I had the Marion Barry Cakes, which are marionberry sauced lemon-ricotta hot cakes topped with candied macadamia nuts.  Delicious.  The next time I go though, I will probably get the Cinnamon Swirl French Toast, which is more like a desert than breakfast.  It's cinnamon bread dipped in vanilla batter and served with caramel.  I highly recommend it.

Croque Monsieur et Escargot

Yesterday I stopped for a rather French dinner at Matthew's at Lakemont.  There is a Boar's Head deli inside and I had the most amazing baguette, Brie and ham sandwich along with a festive almond, raspberry and chocolate square ( it had a frosting spiderweb on top).  I realized the key to delicious Brie is to have it toasted over ham!  Like Raclette or Emmentaler it is so much better melted.

Quite serendipitously there was wine tasting at the same time.  While I did not have any of the wine, I did have escargot!  I even fished the meat out with a toothpick.  I realized the meat is a vehicle for the pesto and garlic the snail was smothered in.  It was an experience, but I won't be eating escargot again  I'll stick with Pencove mussels, they actually taste good.

http://boarshead.com/

Four Seas Restaurant

Tonight for fun, my husband and I had Chinese take-out from the Four Seas Restaurant in Seattle.  I literally have not had Chinese food for just about four years.  We ordered Pot Stickers, General Tso's Chicken, and Mongolian Beef.  The Pot Stickers were fried, not steamed, and they tasted really good.  The chicken and beef were really tasty too. However, it is not a light food and it is sodium rich.  If you love Chinese food, I would try it out.  I'll probably get Thai before I get Chinese again though.  Which reminds me, I need to scope out a good Thai place...

Cactus

http://cactusrestaurants.com/

Today for lunch my husband and I ate at Cactus in South Lake Union.

http://cactusrestaurants.com/

We originally tried a pulled pork tostadas from Cactus at the South Lake Union Block Party a couple weeks ago.  The tostadas we tried looked like the Ceviche Tostadas shown above, but they had yellow corn tortilla chips, guacamole and pulled pork.  Unfortunately, Cactus does not actually serve the food they served at the block party.  I was rather disappointed.  

http://cactusrestaurants.com/south-lake-union/

The Restaurant decor was amazing.  

http://cactusrestaurants.com/south-lake-union/

I particularly liked the custom rod iron.  

http://cactusrestaurants.com/south-lake-union/

And vibrant colors and light fixtures.

http://cactusrestaurants.com/

For my drink I had the Strawberry-Tamarind Lemonade.  It was tart, but I could taste the real strawberries.  For lunch I ordered the Butternut Squash Enchilada.  It had white corn tortillas, Jack and goat cheeses, spinach, roasted butternut squash, caramelized onions, mole rojo and guacamole.  The guacamole, butternut squash and mole rojo was tasty but sparse, so overall, the enchilada was bland.  I feel like the restaurant focused too much on the building and interior aesthetic and too little on the service and food.  My husband ordered the Blackened Chicken Tamales, and he didn't love them.  According to him, they had too much corn and not enough substance.  My husband and I won't be eating at Cactus again, unless we are only ordering guacamole, but even that is a bit pricey.