A few weeks ago, I joined a group of fellow food-photo enthusiasts on a little trip to the West Seattle farmer’s market. Although quite small, the market is still going full steam with gorgeous harvest produce… apples and onions every which way you turned, pumpkins galore, and of course, with the cool wet whether, more wild mushrooms. I can’t seem to get enough of them these days. This trip, in addition to stocking up on some more chanterelles, I also picked up a beautiful matsutake. And when I say a, I really mean it… I just got one. At $50 per pound, I couldn’t afford much more than one, and it cost me $5. The good news is that with these babies, a little goes a very long way. From that one mushroom, I made two different small dishes and still had a little bit left over.
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Is it fair to say a cafe is hidden if it’s on the main strip of one of the main suburbs in Seattle? Probably not. But, if you don’t know about Kahili Coffee and you are a Seattle area east-sider or a west-sider killing a few hours, say waiting to pick your daughter up from school, you should. It’s one of the few spots in the Kirkland, Bellevue and Redmond area that serves up artisanal coffee, and does it in one of the more comfortable and friendly locations out there. Suede-y cushy couches and chairs invite you to get cozy and settle in for a good stay. Wireless access is free (if you ask for the code when you make a purchase) and strong. Seating is more than plentiful, with power easily and freely accessible throughout the cafe. And people of all ages stop in to meet with friends, or just grab a drink to go. There’s even a fire for those particularly wet and chilly days. Of course, atmosphere is only part of the equation. The coffee has to be good too. And Kahili offers up a fine cup from their Zoka roasted Kona beans. They foam milk beautifully, and the couple of lattes I’ve had so far have been perfectly pulled. At night, Kahili also serves liquor, making it a nice after dinner spot for a glass of wine or some booze in your coffee.

Seattle offers all kinds of other great little coffee bars tucked away into neighborhoods that are worth a visit. If you don’t mind doing a bit of exploring, try these spots:

Lighthouse Cafe, about a half mile from the Seattle Zoo. Lighthouse is a fantastic micro-roaster that supplies beans to many coffee shops in the Seattle area. Their own cafe is a treat to visit.
Cafe Besalu, downtown Ballard a few blocks off the main drag. Besalu serves great Lighthouse coffee, but it’s the pastries that make this place special.
All City Coffee in Georgetown. There is also an All City tucked away between Pioneer Square and the ID, but this one has a certain industrial area cool.
Caffe Dharwin on the north tip of Capital Hill. This tiny, tiny shop serves up great Cafe Vita shots and local pastries.

Also published on Well Fed Network’s A Nice Cuppa

Technorati Tags: ANiceCuppa, Cafe, Coffee, espresso, Food

It all started out innocently enough. A quick drink at Liberty, the new couch filled lounge and sushi restaurant up on the 15th area of Capital Hill, was just a preamble to a simple dinner at Costal Kitchen or 22 Doors. But as we sipped our cocktails and munched on a little sushi appetizer, we were inspired. There were several other places we hadn’t tried, and more untried drinks and nibblies for tasting at the restaurants we do frequent… why not turn it into a pub crawl, or perhaps more accurately, a tasting menu of 15th. A drink and an appetizer at each place… Liberty, HopVine, Costal Kitchen, 22 Doors, Kozak’s and the grand finally, the Canterbury (where we’d perhaps, just skip the food). (more…)

6015 Phinney Ave. N
Seattle, WA 98103
206-297-3300
http://www.freshfloursseattle.com/

I had driven by Fresh Flours quite a few times intending to go in, and finally had the right opportunity last week to pick up a quick lunch for my daughter and myself. I was a little worried as the fresh case of pastries was running low, and the selection was a bit smaller than I had hoped. They were out of most of the panini’s and only a few muffins remained. At first I took this as a bad sign, only later realizing that the case was probably full earlier in the day (I was there at around 3:00), and the food is so good, people actually come in and eat it all. (more…)

If you find yourself on Queen Anne in need of a good cup and some free wireless, I have a place for you. Caff?ɬ© Zingaro, right across from Larry’s Market. My daughter has been taking acting classes at the Seattle Children’s Theater for the past few weeks, and so I’ve found myself with 4 to 5 hours every afternoon in Queen Anne. We’re trying to be good and take public transportation, and it’s not quite enough time for me to take the bus home again after dropping her off.

So, I stumbled into Caff?ɬ© Zingaro only to find a great blend of tunes, perfect WEP-Free wireless, plenty of power outlets, a decent latte, comfy chairs and couches and some mighty nice pastries including Mighty-O doughnuts (mmm. Chocolate and chocolate). It’s been a great place to chill and crank through a bunch of my online-to-do list.

127 Mercer St
Seattle, WA 98109-4009
(206) 352-2861
http://www.caffezingaro.com/

Hours:
Monday - Thursday (7 am - 8 pm)
Friday & Saturday (7 am - 11 pm)
Sunday (8 am - 8 pm)

Technorati Tags: Cafe, Coffee, espresso, Food, Latte, Tips

Sitka & Spruce
2238 Eastlake Ave. E.
Seattle, WA 98112
Website: http://www.sitkaandspruce.com/ (not much there yet)

There are so many things that I loved about this restaurant that I hardly know where to begin. I love the unpretentious nature of this tiny and upscale yet casual cafe tucked into a rundown stripmall. I loved the light pouring in through the huge mull-covered windows and bouncing around off of the brilliant lime green walls. I loved that each dish, of the few seasonally selected options handwritten on a small chalkboard propped in the corner, could be ordered full sized, or in smaller sizes for sharing. I loved the vinyl turntable cranking out cool east-coast jazz followed by earthy-zen ambience. I loved that you could see what was going on in the kitchen, and chat with the chef about the nights dishes. I loved that the wine came in little Italian-style wine glasses, homey instead of fine. I love that it’s only a bit further than a mile from my house, much more convenient than Matt Dillion’s previous haunts Stumbling Goat or Herbfarm.

But, more to the point, I loved the food: Bufala mozzerella with a fragrant lemon/olive oil and slightly thick pastry dough crackers, garnished with beautiful lavender edible flowers; Grilled octopus, perfectly charred and moist without being chewy on a light and creamy bed of polenta; A side of grilled asparagus, well-charred and packed with flavor; Moist, delicate and perfect salmon with a spring-green stinging nettle and sliced tender young bamboo shoot partner; and finally, succulent venison medallions and a grilled raddichio that was so balsamicy-delicious I didn’t want to stop eating it.

There were only two problems with my dinner at Sitka and Spruce. First, that I didn’t have a bigger stomach to get to try their desserts. And Second that I forgot to bring my camera to take photos of this amazing food. The good news, is that I’ll have plenty of opportunities to try again.

BTW - in case you are curious, the Sitka Spruce is one of the largest of the spruce tree family. Next time I plan on finding out why they gave the restaurant that name.

UPDATE: Sitka & Spruce is now open for espresso (Yay!) and lunches! Check out the write-up from espresso guru extraordinaire, Tonx.

Technorati Tags: Food, Restaurant, Review, Seattle

A couple of weeks ago, my husband took me to Whidbey Island for my birthday… we stayed at the Inn at Langley, which has gorgeous views of Puget Sound as well as one of the most well known restaurants in the area (which goes by the same name). Saturday night, we completely indulged in an amazing meal at the Inn with a couple of our friends to celebrate. It’s one of the restaurants around Seattle I’ve wanted to try for several years now, particularly after reading Hillel’s review on Tasting Menu.

Chef Matt Costello starts each meal with a short discussion on eating locally, and walking through the night’s 6-course tasting menu detailing where each of the main ingredients comes from and how the flavors are intended to interact. You then get to watch has he, and his team, prepare your meal in the open kitchen that fills about half of the room. The food starts to come and wow. What an amazing meal.
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1207 S. Jackson St, Suite 211
Seattle, WA 98144
206-568-6446
Open Everyday, 11am to 10:30pm

Sometimes, it’s great to be wrong.

I’ve been in Seattle about 9 or so years now, and have eaten out well over half of those days. I was pretty much convinced that there was no great Chinese cuisine in the city. There were good ones, but I hadn’t been to one that came close to those in New York or San Francisco. Clearly, that’s because I’ve been living in a hole, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.
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1215 Pine St.
Seattle, WA 98101
206-621-7941

There are some good Italian restaurants in Seattle. Not great ones. But good ones. Tonight, I’m adding a new one to my list. Machiavelli is tiny and busy, but the food is inexpensive ($30 for two of us) and quite good. On a Tuesday night at 7:30, we only had to wait about 5 minutes (they don’t take reservations) for a table, but the place was full the entire time we were there. Service was quick and friendly, and we were given lots of bread as we were waiting for our food. Starting with the Caeser which was a bit heavy on the dressing but still a nice blend of creamy and fragrant. We got the anchovies on top and they were packed with salty goodness. For our mains, we split the gnocchi in a buttery tomato basil sauce and the veal milanese. The gnocchi were soft with just enough of bite. The milanese was topped with a creamy lemon sauce, which on first glance seemed like a bad idea. However, rather than making the dish soggy, it nicely complemented the crisp breading on the veal. The milanese also came with a small dish of pasta (or a choice of vegetable) in a garlicy marinara. All in all, this little spot might be becoming my favorite Italian joint in Seattle.

Technorati Tags: Food, Restaurant, Review, Seattle

2901 E. Madison Street
Seattle, WA 98112
Phone: 206.325.9100
http://www.cafeflora.com/

I have been meaning to try Cafe Flora for years but like many restaurants on my “must try” list, I just hadn’t made it. Too many of my favorites just got in the way, and being strictly vegetarian cuisine, it’s not a place that particularly inspires my husband. This week (after the stop at City Peoples for the chocolates and other goodies), my daughter and I gave it a try for lunch. We sat in the atrium, which was comfortably warm, a nice contrast to the freezing drizzle outside. The whole atmosphere was cozy without being dark, earthy without being granola. After a making a tough choice on the menu (there were too many things I wanted to try), we ordered the Quesadilla Verde to share as well as the French Dip (with a mondo portobello mushroom) and yam fries for Cole and a warm pear and Stilton Blue cheese salad for me. The waitress quickly brought us bread, cute little herb rolls that I wished had been warm but were still nice. These were quickly followed by our quesadilla which was perfectly drenched in lime cr?ɬ�me fraiche. Inside the crisp tortillas was a mash of yam and jack cheese, with a gorgeous tomatilla salsa verde perched on top. The whole warm combination hit all the key tasting points - a little spicy, a little sweet, a little salty and a little pungent. Cole graciously let me eat 3/4 of it… I could have ordered another one. I did restrain myself from licking the last bits of cr?ɬ�me fraiche from the plate.

Our mains arrived soon after we demolished the quesadilla. Cole’s sandwich was enormous, with a seed-crusted french bread and a satiny, beefy portobello mushroom. I tried a bite dipped in the accompanying broth, and by taste I would never have guessed it was vegetarian. The yam fries were a bit on the soft side, but excellently seasoned. My pear salad was tasty, although didn’t live up to the quesadilla. The cheese was heavenly, but the pears a little limp and the roasted chestnuts lackluster. Despite this, I did enjoy the meal, and would definitely go back for lunch again.

One other plus about Cafe Flora - they have a cookbook, so you can learn to make the quesadilla at home. Perhaps, I’ll do that instead…

“Cafe Flora Cookbook” (Catherine Geier, Carol Brown)

Technorati Tags: Food, Restaurant, Review, Seattle