It seems almost surreal that I am writing this Ode to Chez Shea, the über-romantic and sexy restaurant in the Pike Place Market, rather than the totally glowing Resto Review entitled, Chez Shea Shines Anew, that I had originally intended.

When SeattlePI.com announced last Wednesday, April 18, that the 30-year-old stalwart in the Market was closing its doors. . .to be replaced by a coffee company, no less (just what Seattle needs is another coffee shop. . .not!), I was heartbroken.

For over the 22 years we’ve lived in Seattle, we’ve dined there many times. Original owner Sandy Shea gave me a recipe for my very first Pike Place Market Cookbook. And then-chef Peter Morrison shared his Oysters Chez Shea recipe for my original Pike Place Public Market Seafood Cookbook. We had our favorite oh-so-French female server there and have known Lotta Hashimura, the general manager, for years.

If I had been able to write my review, I would have raved about the classically prepared Escargots, pictured above. Pure garlicky, buttery bliss in a single bite.

Or the absolutely decadent Prawns Barcelona. More garlic, crispy kale, sherry, and more butter. . .but also crunchy toasted almond flakes. And such a generous serving!

A lovely bottle of Meursault (French Chardonnay) paired perfectly with both dishes and was served at exactly the right temperature (not too cold, as is often the case with white wines in restaurants).

A bite of salad to pep up the taste buds again. This one included Anjou pear, orange segments, toasted Marcona almonds, and a sprinkling of fresh goat cheese for saltiness and tang. Don’t forget the Tangerine Vinaigrette!

This Dungeness Crab Salad is one of the most simply perfect things I’ve tasted in months–the freshest crab meat interspersed with green mango, wild watercress, paper-thin radishes, citrus segments, kaffir lime leaf, and Asian herbs, including cilantro and the magic ingredient–shiso–a Japanese leaf that has minty/menthol-y/astringent flavors, and that I love. This one was lightly tossed with Honey-Lime Vinaigrette. Perfect!

Chilean Sea Bass with darling baby zucchini and just the right amount of Saffron-Tomato Sauce. . and a beguiling ring of Parsley Oil.

Spencer’s Rack of Lamb Persillade aligned with military precision and sauced in a Rosemary Jus. . .

RIP and thanks for the memories, Chez Shea.

While many people who read Northwest Notes regularly might not believe it, Spencer and I are aficionados of The Cheesecake Factory in downtown Seattle and often enjoy Saturday or Sunday lunches there while we are downtown running errands or going to the nearby Meridian or Pacific Place movie theaters.

A few Saturdays ago, we were pleased to discover the popular chain restaurant now offers a Skinnylicious menu, described as “a collection of fresh and delicious menu options with lower calories and signature rich taste. Skinnylicious redefines low-calorie flavor in The Cheesecake Factory tradition.”

Intrigued, especially since we have recently adopted “la vida low-carb” (the low-carb lifestyle), we were pleased to find not only Skinnylicious Small Plates & Appetizers (all under 490 calories), Salads (590), Specialties (590), Fresh-Baked Flatbreads (490), and even Skinny Cocktails (150 calories or less).

Here is the Beets with Goat Cheese small plate I enjoyed, although I turned it into a main-dish salad by adding a piece of grilled salmon.

Spencer adored his B.B.Q. Chicken–charbroiled chicken breast (three of them pounded thinly) served with green beans and corn succotash. (While the corn succotash is probably not the most low-carb item, a guy has to splurge every now and then!)

We’ll be back to try the Chicken Lettuce Wrap Tacos (butter lettuce leaves filled with grilled chicken and your choice of Asian, Mexican, or Mediterranean accompaniments) or the Skinnylicious Asian Chicken or Herb-Crusted Salmon Salads, perhaps even accompanied by a Skinny Margarita or Red Sangria.

Now, if they could just figure out how to make the cheesecakes and tortes Skinnylicious, too!

Over Christmas week, we spent four days in the Napa Valley and four days in Carmel. Carmel is our spiritual home, a place we often dream of living in, but sadly, could never afford.

Anyway, it is so fun to visit. And whenever we are there, we have our favorite restos we frequent time and again.

One of those is Grasing’s, chef-owned and operated and a favorite among locals and visitors alike with a great menu. We always begin with Kurt’s Crab-Stuffed Artichoke with Lemon Aïoli. It’s a taste of California that can’t be beat!

Next comes the chef’s signature California Red Abalone Doré. It’s served in the beautiful shells with a generous amount of both shellfish and salad. YUM!

This year marked our 30th wedding anniversary, so once our server found out, she gifted us with an Eggnog Crème Brülée. Since eggnog is one of my favorite flavors, and pudding is one of Spencer’s favorite foods, we were both in dessert heaven!

Another Carmel restaurant we’re always drawn to is La Bicyclette. You get a three-course meal ranging in price from 29 to 45 dollars and each dinner includes the same first and second course (Persimmon Tart Tatin with Midnight Moon Fondue and Chicken-Orzo Soup the evening we were there), plus the diner’s choice among four entrées (Pan-Roasted Filet Mignon with Foie Gras Wellington and Asparagus, Slow-Roasted Lamb Roulade, Smoked Serrano Honey-Lacquered Bobwhite Quail, or Pan-Seared Scallops, for example). You can also order à la carte items from the regular menu; dessert is extra, and worth it (more on that below).

Here are La Bicyclette’s amazing Escargots (ordered à la carte so we could stay somewhat on our low-carb lifestyle). What set these apart was the addition of chopped hazelnuts and bread crumbs along with the garlic-y good drawn butter. Ooh-la-la!

Scallops were fresh-off-the-boat, large, and perfectly cooked to still rare in the middle. Root veggies and asparagus, plus a parsnip purée and Chimay Beer sauce rounded out an extraordinary dish.

Dessert is a Chocolate Mousse made for sharing. Not only is it the perfect consistency but there is a generous sprinkling of chopped white, milk, and dark chocolate atop. Talk about gilding the lily!

At Pèpe’s Little Napoli, an Italian restaurant right across the street from La Bicyclette, Spencer and I enjoyed a unique appetizer–Meatballs on a Stick!

For lunch, we make a point to go to Forge in the Forest because (even in late December) we can often sit outside (if it isn’t rainy or windy) and stay warm (thanks to numerous heat lamps that stud the patio).

I always opt for the Balsamic-Grilled Castroville Artichoke with a Wholegrain Mustard Dip (not unlike a very rich aïoli). Artichoke heart is one of my favorite things in the world, that interesting cross between potato and asparagus.

Other places we like to eat in Carmel include A.W. Shucks Cocktail & Oyster Bar, Christopher’s, and Andre’s Bouchée. So many restos, so little time, alas.

From the sublime food in Carmel, here’s the Jack Daniel’s Chicken we had at the San Francisco Airport at TGI Friday’s. It was the best option for people such as us trying to live the low-carb lifestyle (especially after enjoying several desserts, as outlined above!). And actually, it wasn’t too bad, especially since we got to choose our own sides (two veggies). But I always wonder why a food city such as SF doesn’t have better restaurants at its international airport?

Over Christmas week, Spencer and I spent four days in Napa and four days in Carmel, California. It was a glorious time for beach walking, restaurant hopping, picnics centered around wine and cheese, and just being together.

Here are our dining highlights and fondest food-related memories from Napa. In a subsequent post, I’ll cover our best dishes from Carmel, so please stay tuned.

Bouchon Petit Plateau, a seafood tower comprising half a lobster, eight oysters, four shrimp, four clams, and eight mussels. Yes, this was my entrée, and yes, I did manage to eat each and every bite all by myself!

I must admit that I am not an expert when it comes to Korean cuisine.

I tested two recipes for my original Pike Place Market Cookbook that were submitted by Deluxe Barbecue, an old-time business has long-since been supplanted by a sushi place.

And everyone who’s a foodie knows about the nation’s national dish and passion–kimchi–fermented cabbage that comes in many different styles and variations.

But last month, when Spencer and I needed to make a Uwajimaya run for green tea and sake, we stopped off in the food court for lunch.

Shilla at Uwajimaya caught my eye, not only because I suspected it was an outpost of the venerable downtown Seattle Shilla, but because it was a step up from the pre-cooked, hot-table food offered elsewhere at the busy food court.

Shilla at Uwajimaya owner Ike Lee

Cooking to order, à la minute, Shilla’s owner Ike Lee told me he is a former owner of the original downtown Shilla. He’s an affable and faintly hucksterish (in a good way) sort of guy. It’s immediately apparent that he owns the place and he thrives on making his customers happy.

I happily settled in with the Tofu Soup with Seafood.

“Take the soup with a small bite of rice first,” Lee advised. “Koreans have a more spicy palate than Americans, so you need the rice to mellow the soup.”

Good advice, as the soup was pleasingly, warmingly, meltingly spiced.

Here is Spencer’s Spicy Chicken, which he asked for “extra-spicy,” so I could hardly even sample it!

Entrées came with brown or white rice, kimchi, and a chopped romaine salad with a light soy-sauce dressing.

We got out of there for less than $20 and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Thanks, Ike!

A couple of months ago, Rhonda May, an esteemed editor friend of mine from Vancouver, British Columbia, told me she was planning a trip to Seattle and asked if we could meet up for a drink.

Rhonda publishes CityFood Magazine and website, and I’ve written articles on the Seattle dining scene for her in the past and regard her highly.

Unfortunately, we were already slated to be outta town that weekend, so I had to take a pass.

But when she asked for a few pointers, I composed a quick list, which I share with you today in case you’re in search of reliable places to take family and friends for holiday outings, or just places you might want to try yourself for a drink or a meal.

1. Be sure to wander around the Melrose Market and the Taylor Shellfish facility up on Capitol Hill. Lots of people like the resto Sitka & Spruce there–I’m not so much of a fan so you can decide for yourself.

2. In the same ‘hood are many of Seattle’s new, trendy restos. A particular fave is Cascina Spinasse for its Tajarin (thin, handcut noodles with sage and butter or meat ragu).

Skillet Diner is also always packed but we haven’t tried it yet.

Anchovies and Olives is one of Ethan Stowell’s four restos. I’d opt for Staple & Fancy (his Ballard neighborhood resto) cuz you can also have a look at Walrus & Carpenter which is right next door.

3. Ballard is also a “hot” resto neighborhood. Maria Hines (Tilth) has her new Golden Beetle there. We also enjoy Joule and Revel (newer than Joule–upscale street food) in the Wallingford and Fremont ‘hoods (same two owners), respectively.

4. Still like Steelhead Diner in the Pike Place Market or chef Kevin Davis’s newer resto Blueacre Seafood more uptown near Pacific Place shopping mall–reminds me of Vancouver restos because it’s big and cool.

5. Lecosho on the Harbor Steps has one of my all-time fave dishes, Grilled Octopus with Garbanzo Beans. Salads are excellent, too. Good happy-hour values (and HH is VERY hot right now).

6. Lots happening in the new South Lake Union area–you can take the South Lake Union Transit (SLUT!)–street car–to get there and walk all around. Tom Douglas has five restos there (!) and Chris Keff relocated her long-running Flying Fish there from Belltown, which is more of a bar than resto scene lately (and more dangerous as a result, sadly). Seastar is also known for its good seafood and excellent wine list. The Whole Foods Market there is huge and an anchor of the ‘hood.

7. The Eastside has lots of clones of downtown Sea restos and has really grown up A LOT in the past few years. At The Bravern you’ll find John Howie Steaks (Howie owns Seastar and there’s one of those on the Eastside as well) and the gorgeous second location of Wild Ginger, always reliable. Nearby is a location of El Gaucho (steakhouse), Joey’s, Palomino, Cheesecake Factory, ‘Z Tejas, etc.

Happy Holiday Eating and Drinking to one and all!

We were out in Woodinville picking up some wine a couple of Saturdays ago and happened in to the Purple Cafe & Wine Bar location there for a late lunch.

We have had inconsistent experiences with the Purple downtown, but decided to see what one of its  Eastside outposts might offer.

We were very happy with two salads we tried.

Purple Roasted Beets Salad, with Grilled Salmon, included multi-colored beets, generous knobs of Laura Chenel chèvre (goat’s-milk cheese), orange segments, toasted pistachios, and a honking-big piece of perfectly cooked (rare in the middle) salmon was my lucky choice. Orange-balsamic vinaigrette was the perfect light dressing, and arrived on the side, as requested.

Spencer did just as well with his Purple Chop Salad with Blackened Salmon astride. It comprised romaine hearts, bacon, avocado, garbanzos, roasted red bell pepper, blue cheese, and red onion tossed in balsamic vinaigrette.

The following Saturday we unabashedly ate lunch at the Purple downtown, where their winning ways with salad continued as SJ ordered another Purple Chop Salad and I tried the Apple, Walnut, Stilton Salad, again topped with a lovely piece of grilled salmon.

At $9 to $10 for half salads (which is plenty for most people), $12 for full sizes, plus $4 if you add pulled chicken, $6 for prawns or marinated flank steak, and $7 for grilled salmon or a crab cake, Purple in its various iterations offers a plethora of toothsome and carefully-cooked main-dish salads to appeal to almost any appetite.

The Cranberry Chicken Salad with grilled chicken, bacon, almonds, scallions, celery, apples, dried cranberries, parmigiano-reggiano, and cranberry-dijon vinaigrette would be particularly festive this time of the year.

We arrived in Québec City right on time at 8 a.m. and were excited to have an entire day to spend there before returning to the Eurodam for one last dinner prior to disembarkation the next day.

We had scheduled a shore excursion that included a 1 1/2-hour walking tour of the Old Town and a tasting of Québec wines at an atmospheric pub during the afternoon.

So we were on our own all morning, and after several hours of window shopping, we decided to eat lunch al fresco at a famous Old Town restaurant–Le Lapin Sauté–where the patio dining area overlooked a pumpkin-filled plaza.

Here’s the homey interior of Le Lapin Sauté, clearly being enjoyed by locals and tourists alike.

Our Planked Salmon Salads were among the best dishes on the entire trip!  The salmon had a light maple glaze and the greens were very fresh and clean. I’m not usually much of a fennel fan, but the layer of pickled fennel was surprisingly refreshing and formed a fitting contrast to the lovely fatty salmon.

I had a glass of Québec Vidal, a light white varietal that smells and tastes slightly of apples. As you might imagine (since it is so cold with such a short growing season in this new wine-growing region) it was a bit thin with there wasn’t much of a finish.

Québec winemakers might do better to stick to their famous ice wine and hard cider. There were more than half a dozen hard ciders on the menu!

One of my favorite things to do when we are traveling far and wide is to sample the local specialty foods and drink.

And during the third port call of our Fall Foliage cruise this fall, we did just that in the northern Maine town of Bar Harbor.

The weather was gray and damp/cold, just the way we like it. I don’t think I have ever seen so many moose- and blueberry-themed items in my life at all the little souvenir shops scattered throughout the town.

The fact that four other big cruise ships were in port the same day as us didn’t help. We felt overrun by fellow cruisers!

Our first encounter with local cuisine was of the beverage variety. We enjoyed sipping and sharing a bottle of Old Soaker Bar Harbor Blueberry Soda.

The soda wasn’t too sweet and tasted of natural, not synthetic fruit. Spencer said it reminded him of the Grapette sodas he enjoyed as a child.

We bought our bottle of pop at the oldest continuously operating grocery store in Bar Harbor.

With 110 years under its belt, J. H. Butterfield Co., purveyor of fancy food, wine, and beer, was located at 152 Main Street.

In addition to blueberry soda, the venerable store featured all sorts of ale, wine, turnovers, muffins, maple products, and local and imported cheeses. We enjoyed sampling the big wedge of Grafton Village Cheese Extra-Sharp Cheddar Cheese and even back to the boat with a small wedge for late-night nibbling.

Located on the ferry dock in Bar Harbor, Grumpy’s Bakery’s window tempted with other local specialties–freshly baked blueberry pie and muffins and apple cider.

But after a couple hours of sightseeing and shopping, we wanted something more substantial, so headed over to the wildly popular (lines out the door) Stewman’s Lobster Pound at 123 Eden Street and 35 West Streeet.

There I discovered that a lobster pound is “a place where live lobsters are cooked outdoors in wood-fired lobster pots. The centerpiece of any shore dinner, a freshly steamed lobster is beyond perfection accompanied by clams, mussels, corn on the cob, and a baked potato.”

And the restaurant is justly proud since President Obama ate there last summer.

We’d been eating a lot (this, after all, was a cruise!), so I opted instead for an authentic Lobster Roll–lobster salad on a toasted brioche-style bun with cole slaw and a pickle.

Frankly, I found this New England delicacy kind of underwhelming. I did much better the day before in Gloucester, Massachusetts, with with my steamed “lobsta.”

But Spencer gave me bites of his Fish ‘n Chips platter so I didn’t starve. And we felt very sanctimonious when we passed up a slice of good-looking blueberry pie à la mode for dessert.

Here’s another repost of one of my favorite blogs from the last couple of years. I love the Hipstamatic app and Rachel and Sief’s food, so this is a match made in heaven.

Here’s how I use the Hipstamatic app in food photography. . .

We were out in the car and so finally had the opportunity to try Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi’s new place in Fremont, Revel, a few Sundays ago.

It was around 7 p.m. and the place wasn’t yet packed (around 8 p.m., the tasting bar was packed and the place was hoppin’) so, even without a reservation, we were lucky enough to snag a table for two.

With a vivid painting of Michael Jackson peering down from above, we quickly ordered a glass of  nonvintage Vinho Verde, a delightful Portuguese Rosé with more than a touch of frizzante (me) and a microbrew (SJ) as those two offerings seemed like the perfect pairing for the resto’s upscale street food.

Now you know I love to shoot with my iPhone4, using both the phone’s default camera and the cool Hipstamatic app, which mimics the old plastic cameras from the 1960s, and ’70s.

So above is the regular shot of the yummy condiments that came with out first dish, the amazing Shrimp, Edamame, and Mint Pancake.

And here’s the Hipstamatic–much more dramatic–even the bamboo tabletop is an important element in the photo’s composition.

Here’s the yummy cake normally. . .

And through the eye of one of the Hipstamatic lenses, the Kadot.

The Albacore Tuna, Fennel Kimchi, and Escarole Rice Bowl shot with the iPhone4 camera. . .

And with the Hipstamatic. Note how this app jumps around the field of vision, so that even my knee and the menu come into view.

Spencer’s Short-Rib, Shallot, and Scallion Dumplings with a normal lens. . .

And Hipstamatic style.

For dessert? Revel’s yummy Ginger Jujube Cake with Cardamom Buttercream and Salt+Pepper Caramel regular. . .

And looking slightly sinister (like a gaping smile) using the Hipstamatic.

Happy to report the food was as much fun to eat as it was to photograph. Price points are amazingly low for the quality and quantity of the food. Our total bill with two glasses of wine, two beers, the above-mentioned dishes, plus tip was $88.

Leftovers made welcome additions to a once-in-a-lifetime seafood stew the next day.