On Memorial Day, we eschewed the traditional family barbecue and met with Betty Ann and Louie Richmond, of Richmond Public Relations fame, for a movie at the Seattle International Film Festival, followed by dinner at The Signature. The Signature has taken the space of Moxie, a popular pre-theater/concert/movie resto in lower Queen Anne that closed due to changes in the chefs’ family situations.

Family is a big part of The Signature’s zeitgeist as well: Tony Ly and his brothers and sisters created the restaurant to honor his mother’s “signature” dishes (get it?). Although we ordered what seemed a reasonable amount of food off the menu, the ever-hospitable Tony kept supplementing our choices with some of his own favorites such as the yummy Vietnamese Chicken Baquette shown below in all its toothsome glory. 

The Vietnamese Crepe, one of my all-time favorite dishes, was redolent of coconut milk (a brilliant taste accent!) and perfectly cooked–crispy on the outside and with a creamy interior. I love this way of playing with my food when I eat by wrapping the crepe inside lettuce leaves with fresh thai basil and cilantro. Refreshing and healthy!

Although I don’t eat beef, the Rare Beef Noodle Soup, the ever-popular Vietnamese Pho, was hearty and could have been a meal in itself. All the Pho dishes come with a side of fresh bean sprouts, basil, lime, cilantro, and green onion for seasoning to taste. 

The Signature offers comfortable inside seating with a fireplace, plush pillows for the wooden banquettes, and a friendly bartender who’s a holdover from Moxie. On warm summer evenings like we’ve been having lately (karmic payback for our snowy winter?), there’s a narrow outdoor seating area with just one row of tables. These are sure to get snapped up as summer continues, as will the many memorable signature dishes at The Signature. 

We often eat at food palaces, places with multi-course tasting menus and pages-long wine lists. And that can be loads of fun.

But sometimes we just want to roll up our sleeves, stroll outside our condominium building without a reservation or a definite restaurant in mind, and end up wherever our hearts (and stomachs) lead us.

Which is just what happened one evening as we headed up First Avenue and took a quick detour up to Second. It was early for us (5:30), especially early for a Saturday night and we were delighted to see that Txori, the sister restaurant to Harvest Vine, had a table or two available. 

We quickly ordered a handful of appetizers, including the three shown above: Stuffed Squid in Its Ink; Clams with White Beans, Garlic, and Parsley; and Braised Chicken with a Piquillo Pepper and Button Mushroom. 

Not quite sated, we added two specials of the day–a bowl of Lentil Soup and an order of Eggplant with a Tomato Sauce and Anchovy.

Several glasses of wine, ranging from a Brut Rosé Cava (dry and good!) to Fuente del Conde 2006 Rosé to Protos Roble 2006 Ribera del Duero, paired perfectly with the savory food. And our sweet tooths were sated with a mini slice of cheescake–just two bites apiece–and perfect!

From his days at Palisade to his gutsy opening of the seafood-centric Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar on Seattle’s Eastside when the restaurants on that side of the lake were a crap shoot, we’ve loved chef John Howie’s cooking. 

Now, glad to report he’s opened a Seattle location of Seastar in Paul Allen’s swanky new multi-use development that includes a stylish Pan Pacific Hotel and Whole Foods Market. We are are glad to say that Howie’s new venture is clicking along on all four cylinders after being open just shy of one month, as you would expect from a chef and restaurateur of Howie’s caliber.

Here’s a photo of the lovely Putaportiwon’s Calamari Poppers. Our server warned us these ahi tuna-stuffed calamari tubes were hot and they were (a bit too much for my taste, but my hot-mouthed hubby loved ‘em). Red and green grape slices and a bed of zesty slaw moderated the heat and made for a pretty plate presentation on this very generously sized appetizer.  

I enjoyed the Sushi Sampler for my entrée, along with an extra roll called the Super Dave, glistening slices of salmon and bright green avocado on the outside of the roll with Dungeness crab in the middle.

Here’s the lovely Caesar Salad. Note the miniature starfish whose tentacles are fashioned out of anchovy slices astride the Parmesan crisp!

Spencer’s entree, Hazelnut Grilled Rainbow Trout, was an architectural wonder as well as a good value. Pieces of Clear Springs Idaho boneless rainbow trout hovered above a mound of wild rice-barley-wheat-berry pilaf. I also love the asparagus “spokes” that were both tasty and beautiful.

Our dessert choice–Coconut Cream Pie–could easily have fed four people. We ate as much as we could, then brought the leftovers home for the next evening. It easily surpassed Tom Douglas’s signature Triple Coconut Pie, but don’t tell Tom. That being said, nobody has ever topped my mother-in-law in the Coconut Cream Pie category. Bobbie Sue made hers with Jell-O pudding and pie filling (that she prepared like pie filling so it would be thicker), then enhanced it with coconut flavoring and at least a stick of melted butter and several egg yolks. The egg whites were whipped to stiff peaks, fluffed over the filling, and baked until golden brown and chewy like the perfect toasted marshmallow. 

Seastar Seattle’s stellar wine list has all the hallmarks of Seastar Bellevue sommelier Eric Liedholm. It boasts intriguing wines by the glass from our region and around the world, a theme that carries over into the wines by the bottle.

In these tough economic times, it’s both brave and perhaps a bit daft for a seasoned restaurateur to open a 150-seat restaurant. Hats off to John Howie for offering up a bit of glamourous chic to the youngish crowd enjoying the vibe on the Saturday night we dined at Seastar Seattle. 

We’ve loved Joule, the atmospheric neighborhood resto in Wallingford on 45th Street since our very first visit, and glad to report that things are still running like clockwork. 

Here are two of the appetizers we enjoyed immensely on our latest visit–Shrimp and Edamame Potstickers (left) and Kimchi and Rice Fritters in Spicy Tomato Sauce. The Whole Dourade was also outstanding, served with Sweet-and-Sour Eggplant and Almond Piccata, as was the Octopus with Fingerlings and Smoked Chili Broth. 

We’re thrilled that chef/co-owner Rachel Yang has been nominated as a semifinalist in the Rising Young Chef category in the 2009 James Beard Foundation Awards! Finalists will be announced on March 23. 

Although it’s been open (to rave reviews, we might add) since last October, between our travels and all the snow that hit Seattle over the holidays, we didn’t make it up Queen Anne hill to try How to Cook a Wolf until early January. We’ve long been a champion of Seattle über-chef Ethan Stowell, who with business partner Patrick Gabre-Kidan and wife Angela, is building a restaurant empire in Seattle à la the-chef-with-the-Midas-touch himself, Tom Douglas. 

First off, the 40-seat-space is as warm, inviting, and contemporary as has been widely reported. With beautiful blonde paneling wrapping from floor to ceiling, my first reaction was that I was dining in a hollowed-out pine tree! An elegant hammered copper band runs just above eye level, while the bar bustles with activity. 

The place attracts all ages and somehow makes everyone seem hip. We ate our way through a majority of the menu, beginning with the Hamachi Crudo, gently sauced with creamy lime, and sprinkled with chili flake that packed a real punch. Seared Escolar, a meaty, oily fish similar to marlin or swordfish, was Spencer’s fave. It was lightly seared and served with celery slices and tops, chopped Taggiasca olives, and blood-orange segments that perfectly offset the richness of the fish. Seared Albacore was another star of the evening, the ruby-red center of the fish glistening and tender, accompanied by sautéed cauliflower florets, golden raisins, and pine nuts and white-bean purée. 

Two salads shone–Roasted Beets in a creamy orange vinaigrette with parsley and red endive and Frisée Salad with green apple slices and crunchy pistachios. 

From the Pasta section of the menu, we opted for the Tagliatelli with Clams, Garlic, and Chiles, a simple dish we’ve tried and enjoyed several times at one of chef Ethan’s sister restaurants, Tavolàta and Union. It held up to our fond memories, but we were so stuffed from sampling all the “small” plates that we took more than half of the generous portion home for later enjoyment (mixed into a seafood stew the next evening).

We look forward to welcoming this dynamic trio’s fourth venture, Anchovies & Olives, which just opened upon Capitol Hill. And this time around, we promise to try it sooner rather than later.  

In early December we made our first foray to Springhill in West Seattle, the creation of owners Mark Fuller, a Tom Douglas alum who serves as chef, and his wife, Marjorie, who handles the front of the house. Yes, they charge for bread here, as many people (and restaurant critics) have complained, but three bucks for three such feather-light, hot-from-the-oven rolls is a bargain. My husband (who is trying to follow a relatively low-carb diet) fretted all evening because I let him eat only one!

I’m working on an article entitled, “Chef and Their Eggs,” for the Easter issue of The Seattle Times Pacific Northwest magazine, so have been quite interested to see what’s “eggy” on the menus about town. I wasn’t disappointed at Springhill, where chef Mark and crew offered Duck Egg Yolk Raviolo, a single large raviolo made with duck-egg yolks, filled with mascarpone, sauced with yellow (beurre blanc-style) sauce and green oil (basil?), and garnished with duck ham (keeping with the duck-y theme) and garlic chips. Here’s a photo:

Roasted Mussels was another outstanding discovery. . .roasted in their own juice, they were the essence of mussels, and therefore, perhaps the best mussel dish served in the Northwest, certainly the best I’ve had the pleasure to enjoy. Here they are:

Just to gild the lily, as if Wood-Grilled Prawns with Creamy Grits (give me anything with grits!) wasn’t decadent enough, chef Mark added a poached egg, shrimp gravy, and chanterelles. There is the shrimp dish on the left, below. 

By the time I’d eaten large portions of all of the above, my Butter Lettuce Salad (right, above) seemed an afterthought, but even it was thoughtfully prepared with pale-green lettuce leaves, tender herbs, disks of baby radish, Parmesan and a citrus dressing. 

The restaurant is contemporary, long and narrow, slightly New York-y in feel. You’ll find a mix of ages (skewing young–20s, 30s) and lifestyles (a lesbian couple at the bar, four tops with young straight couples out for the evening, two tops of older folks like us) represented here. The open kitchen buzzes with activity and the maple panels make for a pleasant din in the dining room so that the space is loud in a good way. Simple place settings and stainless-steel cutlery keep things casual, although the food is anything but, since it is so creatively and carefully prepared. 

The wine list is a winner, with an Oregon State sparkler I’d never even heard of, but thoroughly recommend: Capitello Wines Non-Vintage Brut ($12). The Wallace Brook 2007 Chardonnay from the Willamette Valley ($9) was another winner, not overly oaked and so plenty food-friendly. With the roasted mussels and his Rainbow Trout with Brown Butter, Pan-Fried Pumpkin Cakes, Toasted Hazelnuts with Parsley (another winning dish), my hubby sipped O’Reilly’s 2007 Pinot Noir, also from Oregon ($12). Here’s the trout:

We’ll be back for more. . .chef Mark’s Shellfish Sampler (half a Dungeness crab, a dozen oysters, six prawns, and a king clam with lemon-peel relish) or his Alder-Smoked Oysters or his Handmade Tagliatelle with Wild Mushrooms, Delicata Squash, Chard, and Parmesan. And, of course, we’ll do our best to save room for dessert.

Now, if Mark and Marjorie would just open a downtown branch of Springhill so we didn’t have to drive across the West Seattle bridge to get there, this place would be just about perfect. 

We’ve always been big proponents of the 30 for $30 program held in Seattle in the months of March and November to help pump up the local restaurant economy. In November, we were wowed by Barolo Ristorante’s, the Dahlia Lounge’s, and Eva’s three-course menus.

Here’s the Dahlia White Salad, fluffy with frisée, cucumber, parmesan, truffle oil, and lemon. 

And here’s the Pan-Roasted Idaho Trout with Newaukum Valley Farms Potatoes, Apple Sauce, Celery Lead, and Brown-Butter Vinaigrette. It paired perfectly with a glass of Felsner 2007 Grüner Veltliner. 

And finally, dessert. Rustic Apple Tart with Spiced Maple Syrup and Honey Ice Cream!

Meanwhile, Eva offered apples in one of its first-course offerings: a refreshing Cameo Apple Salad with Blue Cheese, Cress, Toasted Hazelnuts, and Roasted-Shallot Vinaigrette. 

And here’s the Seared Rare Albacore Tuna with Moroccan Caponata and French Green Lentil & Rice Pilaf, an entrée I enjoyed immensely.

And the piece de resistance, the Eva Trio, which included Milk Chocolate Pudding, Pumpkin Crumble Cheesecake, and Apple-Walnut Cake with Maple Frosting.

We can hardly wait until March. . .

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we joined two wild-and-crazy friends for a movie at the Harvard Exit (Slumdog MIllionaire–highly recommended–Spencer and I both gave it four out of five stars) followed by dinner at Jerry Traunfeld’s (former, long-time chef at The Herbfarm) new restaurant, Poppy. The place has been open several months, and while we were embarrassed that this was our first foray, I really prefer to give new restaurants some time to work out the kinks. And glad to report, we weren’t disappointed.

The space along Broadway atop Capitol Hill is clicking along with good energy, big crowds (reservations are a must on Friday and Saturday nights), and assured (and gracious) service. Not least of all is the very creative menu and inspired wine pairings, as well as cocktails and wines by the glass or bottle.

To start, we began with the Eggplant Fries with Sea Salt & Honey, the perfect combo of pillow-soft, thinly sliced eggplant drizzled with honey and sprinkled with sea salt. I’m not sure how Jerry makes this dish–perhaps similar to Pommes Frites where the potatoes are fried once, allowed to drain, then fried again just before serving (?). Anyway, however they are made, they are totally addictive.

All four of us opted for the Thali of the day, which was titled, “A Thali After the Holiday” ($32). In inspired twists on traditional Thanksgiving offerings, it included Potato, Leek, and Taggia Olive Soup; Rosemary-Ginger Yams with Spiced Coconut and a divine fillo-wrapped Cranberry “Cigar;” and Mushroom Marjoram Bread Pudding–yum. Salads included a refreshing Persimmon, Fennel, and Chervil Salad; Shaved Cauliflower with Buddha Hand (not sure what that was, but it added an intriguing flavor sensation); and Fennel Lemon Pickle. Five-Seed Kale was the seasonal veggie, while the large British Columbia Scallop with Vanilla Parsnip Purée and Saffron Cider Sauce (topped with gently fried shallot rings) was my favorite protein on the plate. Quail from the Tandoor was perfectly cooked–flavorfully spiced and moist–and rested on a rich, yet bright Pomegranate Walnut Sauce. 

If we’d wanted to go entirely vegetarian, or simply trade out one or two of the dishes, substitutions of a Leek Blintz with Chestnuts and Porcini or Swiss Chard and Chanterelle Gratin were available. 

There was also A Smali After the Holiday, choice of one dish served with soup, cauliflower, yams, pickle, bread pudding, and the cigar ($22). 

The neat thing (literally and figuratively) about eating in the Thali style (eight or nine small dishes on a large platter–it originated in India, which is where chef Jerry discovered it about a year ago) is that everyone gets his or her own large platter with all the dishes. No sharing à la the recent wave of “small plates,” “tapas,” “pintxos,” “mezes,” or whatever else you want to call them. No accidental stabbing of hands or slicing of fingers as everyone at the table tries to snatch a tiny bite of the Lilliputan-sized dish before it is all gone. No more going home half-starved because you never get enough to eat. Dining Thali-style is a revelation!

Two Sweet Thalis for Two allowed our party of four to taste through almost all of pastry chef Dana Cree’s (former Veil and The Ruins) incredible dessert delights. The little kid in me loved the Malted Milk Chocolate Ice Cream with a rich fudge sauce, while the adult side swooned over the Pear and Sour Cherry Crumble with Blue Cheese Ice Cream (chef Jerry’s fave dessert–an exquisite melding of sweet and savory). Like the main-dish Thali, the Sweet Thali included interesting side dishes to nibble and sip: Pear Rosemary Soup, Chocolate Caramel Truffle, Coconut Haystack (like the best coconut macaroon you’ve ever tasted!), and Spiced Toffee Cashews.

There’s even a Thali Wine Flight ($14) that included a nicely dry but flavorful French Chablis, A to Z 2007 Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley, and Alexandria Nicole Quarry Butte Red, a red blend from the Columbia Valley. Our server encouraged us to try each of the wines with the different dishes–there were no set pairings or “right” or “wrong”–which took the pressure off and added to the sense of discovery and fun during the meal.

After a glass of Andrew Rich Late-Harvest Gewürzt for me, and a final pour of the Oregon Pinot or the red blend for my fellow diners, we were amazed to see it was 11 o’clock, and we’d passed a very pleasant two-plus hours tasting through Poppy’s outstanding offerings. We also all agreed that dining Thali-style at such reasonable prices in a contemporary, yet warm, urban setting will have the crowds, and us, clamoring for more, and often!

Poppy

622 Broadway East at Roy

Seattle, WA  98102

206.324.1108

We recently enjoyed a media dinner at the newest location of Racha Thai & Asian Kitchen, located in the updated Westfield Southcenter in Tukwila, Washington. General manager Punya Tipyasothi, our old friend and manager Plutthiphong (Sprite) Srigrarom, and Chef Lek have created a menu filled with eye-catching and flavor-packed dishes from Thailand and other southeast-Asian countries. 

Here’s the Crispy Whole Fish–pompano the night we dined–served with Tamarind-Sriracha Sauce, Fried Ginger, and Hot Basil. Boy, was it good!

Other dishes we enjoyed were the Seven-Spice Calamari  Sticks (deep-fried, lightly breaded squid steaks with a Mae Ploy sauce) and the Asian Duck Salad (mixed baby greens with snow peas and water chestnuts and a generous sprinkling of cooked duck meat, all lightly dressed with rice vinegar). 

Dessert didn’t disappoint. Here is the gorgeous sampler plate, which included Ginger Crème Brulee, Green Tea Tiramisu, Mango Cobbler, and Banana Chocolate Cake.

And here’s the new restaurant’s stunning interior. 

I say forget the shopping, and bring on the eating, at the new Westfield Southcenter. 

To celebrate our autumn birthdays (which are within 11 days of each other), Spencer and I selected Canlis for our joint celebration. While the meal didn’t live up to our memories of Canlis’s glory days under our friend and fellow Pacific Northwest food writer Greg Atkinson (we missed the Mrs. C Salad, Greg’s wonderful way with fresh vegetables, and the dishes–such as the Caesar Salad–that used to be prepared tableside), a few of our choices still proved to be classics.

Here is Spencer’s New York Pepper Steak, served medium-rare as requested with Truffle Fries and a half bottle of Ridge (California) Zinfandel. 

And luckily, Canlis still serves their Grand Marnier Soufflé, a labor-intensive, tough-to-time dessert with a side of Crème Anglaise. 

General Manager Mark Canlis also sent over Canlis’s seasonal dessert offering: Concord Grape Sorbet and Pinenut Polenta Cake, which is definitely worthy of becoming one of the restaurant’s “new” classics.