Hidden away back in the depths of the Alley, a two-story retail complex on Broadway, is a little Korean restaurant called Kimchi Bistro. Despite the fact that Robert and I end up at the Alley at least once a weekend, either for sushi at Hana or dinner or brunch at El Greco, we have never been to Kimchi Bistro. It’s very well hidden so that could be part of the reason. More likely, however, it is because I know next to nothing about Korean food. I know that there is kimchi, which I have liked the few times I’ve had it, and lots of beef, which I don’t eat. In keeping with my goal to try some new restaurants this year, we finally decided to head out to Kimchi Bistro for dinner.

Kimchi Bistro is a pretty small restaurant, consisting of a single room with about 10 tables and a tiny loft which may or may not contain more seating (I didn’t check.) Being tucked in the back of the Alley, it doesn’t have any access to windows. But, what it lacks in natural light, the owners have made up for by installing lots of back lit screens and pretty, light colored wood. There is very little art up on the walls. Overall, it’s a pretty plain but warm atmosphere. What stands out most is that every seat is covered by a funny Kimchi Bistro seat cover.

As I expected, the menu contains lots of meat. Most of the rice bowls and soups are made with beef and, of course, there is the famous Korean BBQ. Luckily for me, there is a decent number of seafood options and one or two veggie choices as well. The menu offers a nice selection of Korean classics. There are a handful of appetizers, including a pah jun (seafood pancake) that gets rave reviews from folks on the internets. Soups, bi bim bap (rice bowls), grilled items and other entrees complete the menu. They are currently getting a liquor license so, even though beer was listed on the menu, we weren’t able to order any yet.

Robert opted for the Dohl Soht which is vegetables, beef and egg over rice served in a hot stone pot. I ordered the Vegetable Soon Doo Boo, a spicy soft tofu soup. What came to our table first was a huge sampling of dishes known collectively as banchan. Banchan are flavorful side dishes that are traditionally served with every Korean meal. Kimchi is the most famous of these, but there are many others as I was just in the process of finding out. I love little side dishes so I was really excited about this. We had cabbage kimchi, radish kimchi, shiitaake mushrooms, shredded cabbage with sesame oil and soy and several other interesting items.

My soup arrived next, bubbling feverishly in its hot pot. Soon Doo Boo is made with curds of soft tofu, egg and vegetables, all served in a spicy red broth. I ordered mine medium and it was still pretty spicy. I may try “spicy” next time, although that could be pushing it (they also have an “extra spicy” option for the truly hard core among us.) Robert’s meal also came to the table sizzling away, the freshly cracked egg on top cooking as we watched. The lady who brought it out asked if he had ever had this dish before. He said “no” so she proceeded to show him the correct way to stir all of the ingredients together. She stirred for what seemed like an extremely long time. According to the menu, there are some sort of health benefits that are derived from stirring the meal around in the hot pot. Something about charged ions and chi. I think the health benefits really just come from the exercise you get while stirring for so long.

Robert and I both really enjoyed our meals. Kimchi Bistro will definitely become another one of our neighborhood regulars. On top of the fact that the food is delicious and perfect for our many rainy evenings, the ladies who own the place are extremely friendly and our bill for the evening came to a mere $18! Kimchi Bistro is located at 219 Broadway E. in the Alley. It is open from 11-9 Monday through Saturday and 3-9 on Sundays.

I was really struggling to come up with something to make for this week’s winesday. My problem lately is that, while I really want to try some new red wines, every time I think of a food that I’m craving, it is a better match with white wine. This makes sense since my diet consists mainly of seafood and veggies with a heavy emphasis on Asian cuisine. I don’t eat red meat or much cheese, both of which are ideal matches with red wines. As I was mulling over the possibility of making yet another pizza or tomato sauce based dinner, my mom called to enthusiastically report about a great new dish that she had tried: Baked Polenta with Mushrooms and Gorgonzola. Hey, hearty mushrooms and strong cheese…now, that sounds like a perfect match for a nice red wine. How serendipitous!

In this easy dish, polenta is mixed with cream cheese and gorgonzola cheese making it super creamy. It is then topped with sauteed mushrooms and more gorgonzola and baked in the oven until the cheese on top is melted. It was completely delicious. Someone is always claiming that this or that is comfort food, but this really was the ultimate in comfort food. The earthy mushrooms add a nice contrasting flavor and texture. And the cheese…well, maybe it’s because I don’t eat cheese very often but it was just so darn good. I served the polenta with garlicky rapini and spicy Cascioppo Brothers Italian sausage for Robert.

To go with my polenta, I picked up a bottle of Bric Dei Banditi 2000 Barbera d’Asti. Barbera hails from the Piedmont region of Italy. Sadly for it, Barbera is most well-known for playing second fiddle to the more famous Barolo and Barbaresco wines from that area. Whereas Barolo is something to be saved for a special occasion, Barbera has long been thought of as generic table wine. More recently, however, it is starting earn some well-deserved attention and respect. The Bric Dei Banditi Barbera was deep and fruity without a lot of tannins. While not nearly as acidic as a Chianti, it still had enough acid to pair well with food. The slight smokiness in this wine went exceptionally well with the gorgonzola in the polenta. Very tasty!

A more appropriate title for this post would be “Drinking Out” because I didn’t actually do any dining when I met friends for happy hour at Vessel yesterday. I meant to. I was just so caught up in reading the fantastic cocktail menu that I never made it to the page with the food offerings. That’s OK; Vessel isn’t really known for it’s food anyway. They’re all about the cocktails instead. They take their cocktails seriously at Vessel, and the artistry and attention to detail that the bartender’s put into every drink rivals anything that the chefs could have cooked up for me to eat.

Vessel is a relatively new bar located in the historic 1926 Skinner Building right next door to the 5th Avenue Theater in downtown Seattle. The first thing you notice upon entering Vessel is that it is super chic. Lots of metal and bright, slightly harsh colors give it a very modern look. A glowing chartreuse staircase is the most striking feature. Upstairs you will find a red-walled lounge area sparsely populated with sofas and lounge chairs. Downstairs is the bar and the main seating area. Seating consists of 6 or 7 tiny tables squeezed together into an even tinier space. If you are claustrophobic, you might just want to sit at the bar instead. Otherwise, you will probably end up knocking elbows with those sitting at the table next to you. It’s not exactly the warmest of places, but since when has super chic ever been equated with warm and friendly? Fortunately, it wasn’t too busy when I arrived so I didn’t have to uncomfortably squeeze my way into a table. And, although my jeans and hoodie look surely wouldn’t cut it at night, the happy hour crowd was more of a mixed bag of hipsters, office workers and older ladies taking a break from shopping. In other words, I only felt mildly out of place when I walked in.

Once I was seated, the waitress promptly brought me a menu and a large glass of cucumber-infused water. The menu features 8 or 9 pages of specialty cocktails, liquors, wines and beer and one page of food. It is the cocktail specials that really set Vessel apart from other bars. Many are originals, and, for those that are not, the menu cites the name of the creator as well as the location and date if known (some date back to the 1700’s!) Bitters has a huge presence on the menu as do some of the lesser used liquors such as Benedictine and Chartreuse. Things that you should know about Vessel’s cocktails: Each drink will cost you a whopping $10. This may seem steep until you factor in that each cocktail consists of a hefty 3-ounce pour. And, all are expertly prepared and beautifully presented. In addition to cocktails, Vessel specializes in ice. They have different types of ice for different drinks. Sometimes it’s hand-cracked ice, sometimes it is a single sphere of super-dense, slow-melting ice. I mean really, who wouldn’t want to pay $10 for super-dense ice alone?

I started out with Vessel’s signature cocktail, the Vessel 75, which is a blend of bourbon, simple syrup, Peychaud’s bitters and orange zest. Topped with a delicious, airy maple foam, it was a very impressive cocktail indeed. I’m not much of a bourbon drinker but this was perfect. Lightly sweetened and aromatic. The wide strip of orange peel even had a very cute star hole-punched out of it. I spent a long time savoring this cocktail; it was worth every penny. I followed this up with the Bramble: citrus and juniper infused vodka, blackberry liqueur, lemon and seltzer. It was served in a tall glass with plenty of beautiful crushed ice. The Bramble was good but not nearly as complex or unique as the Vessel 75.

If you are someone who loves a good cocktail, you will love Vessel. Likewise, if you are a fan of hip scenes and designer furniture, you will also love Vessel. I happen to hate modern furniture and would certainly never qualify as hip, but I enjoyed myself at Vessel nonetheless. 6 ounces of liquor probably had something to do with that. I’ll just have to remember to trade in the sneakers for a pair of strappy heels next time! Vessel is located on 5th Avenue between Union and University. It opens at 11 AM Monday through Friday and 4 PM Saturday and Sunday. Happy hour runs from 4 to 6 every day.

For this week’s winesday, I decided to make another recipe from Tom Douglas’ Seattle Kitchen: Kasu Zuke Black Cod. This is a very traditional Japanese dish in which black cod is steeped for several days in a kasu marinade and then broiled or grilled. Kasu, also called sake lees, is the sediment left behind after making sake. It is a rather unattractive looking pale paste but it has a nice, fermented sake aroma to it. It is available in Asian markets (hint: after walking around Uwajimaya twice, I finally found it over by the fish; this makes sense as kasu is used most commonly as a marinade for seafood.)

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the black cod that I needed for this dish so I bought salmon instead. Although it has a stronger flavor, salmon is recommended as a good substitute in this recipe because both types of fish are similarly high in oil. The important thing about making this dish is to plan ahead since it has to marinate for two days. Once the fish is in the marinade, however, most of the work is done. When you are ready to eat, simply give the fish a quick turn on the grill or under the broiler. The sugar in the marinade causes the fish to get nice and caramelized and that, or some other alchemic process, makes the skin turn extra crispy and delicious. This is a very rich and flavorful dish so I would suggest serving smallish portions. I served my salmon with wasabi mashed potatoes and asparagus.

Tom Douglas recommends serving this dish with sake (obviously) or a Washington Semillon. I selected L’Ecole No. 41 2005 Semillon, not just because of the cute child’s drawing of a schoolhouse on the label (L’Ecole means “the school” in French,) but also because L’Ecole has always gotten really good reviews for their wines, including the Semillon. The 2005 Semillon wine is very rich and complex in flavor. Descriptions of this wine include “honeyed fruit,” “figs, “caramel,” and “pear.” With minimal oak, it reminded me of the Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs from Australia and New Zealand. The caramely, fruity flavor and richness of the wine matched very well with the salmon.

Click here for Tom’s recipe for Kasu Zuke Black Cod (it’s way down at the bottom of the page and there is some crucial information missing. It should say 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup mirin or sake.) Or, if you’re feeling lazy, you can sometimes find pre-marinated black cod in Asian markets, including Seattle’s own Mutual Fish.

Rhubarb. It’s a strange one. It’s a vegetable, but it’s nearly always used as a fruit. It doesn’t really taste good unless you add lots of sugar. And here’s the real kicker: it’s leaves are poisonous! It certainly makes you wonder why anyone ever bothered with it in the first place. But, luckily for us, they did. For those that may be unfamiliar with it, rhubarb is a vegetable with giant green leaves and long, shiny red stalks (Robert calls it “disco celery.”) It is usually used in desserts, most commonly pies. It is often combined with other fruits, being especially good with strawberries. Although, it is less popular than it once was, rhubarb is slowly starting to make a comeback. Restaurant chefs are beginning to find creative uses for it, using it in soups or making it into chutneys to serve with game and poultry. Some are even touting it as another “superfood” along with blueberries and pomegranates.

For me, rhubarb will always bring back memories of childhood. My mom had a rhubarb plant growing in our backyard and she used to make really great rhubarb pies. She also frequently made rhubarb muffins. I hadn’t thought about my mom’s rhubarb muffins in ages until one day, about a month ago, when I was listening to a podcast about spring vegetables and they mentioned rhubarb. I immediately started craving rhubarb muffins. I asked my mom for the recipe and made them this morning for breakfast. The muffins were delicious, just as I remembered. The tartness of the rhubarb is balanced by a sweet, crumbly cinnamon-sugar topping. And, the little flecks of pink scattered throughout the muffins are so pretty. I served them with a red chard and goat cheese omelet and roasted root vegetables as a little welcome to spring.

Click here for the recipe»

A couple of weeks ago, for my brother’s birthday, my family and I decided to head down to the Kingfish Cafe for some delicious soul food. Kingfish was opened in 1997 by sisters Leslie and Laurie Coaston. Since the day it opened, it has been wildly popular, with lines out the door nearly every night. A word of warning: they don’t take reservations so the wait can sometimes be huge. If you are impatient, like me, your best bet is to get there early. We arrived ten minutes before opening and a line was already beginning to form.

Kingfish is tucked away on a shady street in the quieter section of Capitol Hill. The cafe is understated in its decor but in a very appealing way. It has tall ceilings and big windows which let in a lot of light (when there is light in Seattle, that is.) Large, framed black and white photographs of the Coaston’s relatives line the walls.

The menu at Kingfish features soul food favorites. Although everything sounded good, I finally settled on the crab cake entree for my dinner: three crab cakes with aioli, a roasted yam, and a side of succotash. My mom ordered the fried catfish which was served with spicy grits and collard greens. Robert got the fried chicken, my dad had red beans and rice with andouille sausage, and my brother ordered the gumbo. Everything was simply delicious. The yam was so soft and buttery; even the skin on it was amazingly tender. How on earth do you make a yam skin tender? And, the next day, I actually found myself craving succotash. I never thought I could be this crazy about lima beans.

There are a couple of things that Kingfish does that I really appreciate. One, the menu offers lots of variety but is not so huge as to be overwhelming. Two, most of the entrees come with some sort of vegetable side dish. I hate it when you are forced to order a salad in a restaurant just to get some kind of vegetable with your meal. Three, the prices are completely reasonable. My crab cake dinner, which was a pretty good sized portion, came to just over $12. My dad’s beans and rice were only $11. Now, if they would only start taking reservations so I wouldn’t have to stress about wait times, it would be the perfect restaurant! Kingfish is located on the corner of 19th Avenue and Mercer Street.

Midway through our vacation in Zancudo, we decided to go out for dinner at La Puerta Negra. La Puerta Negra is an Italian restaurant owned by Alberto, who originally hails from Genoa. Alberto is a little crazy. You’ll usually find him with a cigarette dangling from the side of his mouth and his wild, black hair tied back in a ponytail. Alberto drives a very loud 4-wheeler up and down the beach a couple of times a day. He’s also extremely friendly and fun to talk to. We met Alberto our first day in town because, besides being a restaurant, La Puerta Negra is the closest place in town to buy a six pack of beer.

After a short stroll down the beach at sunset, we arrived at La Puerta Negra. Although it hadn’t looked like much during the day, the restaurant was utterly charming at night. As is the case with the other restaurants in Zancudo, the seating was all outdoors. The dining area consisted of a few cute wooden tables and benches, nicely decorated with white tablecloths and flowers. Funky plants and strings of Christmas lights added to the ambiance.

As I was walking in, I passed by a large basil garden so I couldn’t resist ordering pesto pasta for my dinner. Robert had the pasta arrabiata, which is pasta with spicy red sauce. Both entrees came with a pretty salad and Alberto’s homemade bread. Our waiter didn’t know much English, but spoke an interesting Italian-Spanish hybrid instead. Ordering food from him wasn’t difficult but, asking if we could buy a loaf of bread to take with us proved to be a bit more of a challenge. Somehow, between Robert’s limited Spanish and the small amount of Italian that I could recall from college, we were finally able to explain what we wanted. Our waiter, after brief consultation with somebody in the kitchen, was able to tell us that the bread was “integral” or “not white” (no problem!) and that he would have to get it from his girlfriend’s house next door (hmmm….okay.) After all of this, what we ended up getting was a perfect little loaf of really good grainy bread, just what we were looking for. I used it to make a delicious French Toast the next morning, which I served with peanut butter and honey.

On our last day in town, we had to swing by La Puerta Negra once again to return our empty beer bottles. There, we caught Alberto in the middle of making pasta dough. We hung out with him in the kitchen for a while, sharing ravioli recipes and talking about our trip. Yep, just hanging out in the kitchen at La Puerta Negra. How very Rachel Ray of us.