…but what about American women that spend the better part of a day in European-style bistros? My friend took me out for lunch today as thanks for filling in for him at work while he is on sabbatical in India next month. I can’t wait until I get my sabbatical and people have to cover for me (4 more years)! We went to Le Pichet, a little French restaurant near the market, and, since it was probably the last nice day in Seattle for a long time, we took the opportunity to sit outside. We split a bowl of spiced almonds and a small baguette with butter. I had the arugula and green bean salad with nicoise olives and baked toast with goat cheese and sliced tomatoes. It was lovely. Please don’t hate me but I tried a pea-sized portion of my friend’s foie gras just to see what all the fuss is about. I’m sure the real foodies out there are shocked that I’ve never actually tried foie gras. It tasted just as I expected…like fatty meat or meaty fat. Not worth it in my opinion but, as a non meat-eater, my opinion probably doesn’t count for much. I’m just glad I didn’t love it. I’ll break my no meat rule occasionally for a slice of bacon but I think I would have a major moral dilemma on my hands if I started craving foie gras. We finished lunch by splitting a walnut tart with warm cream and dried cherries that were soaked in some kind of delicious booze.

Tonight, Robert and I branched out of our normal routine and tried a newish restaurant in the neighborhood called Dinette. It specializes in toast! It was very romantic inside with dim lighting and yellowed walls and perfectly unmatched dinnerware. The menu is European, mainly French and Italian, and is divided into toast, snacks, bowls (usually handmade pasta or gnocchi) and plates (an ever-changing menu of entrees.) We split a carafe of the house red wine and started off with the gorgonzola dulce toast: thickly-sliced toast which was grilled and smothered with gorgonzola spread, balsamic syrup and walnuts. It was an unexpectedly large serving and easily could have been an entree. I didn’t think we would be able to finish it, especially for two people that don’t eat a lot of dairy, but we did. We then split the butter lettuce salad which was topped with crispy-fried serrano ham (again, breaking the no meat rule! This is terrible.) The ham tasted like the little crispy bits around the outside of a fried egg. For our entree, we split the chanterelle risotto, which was fantastic! I could never make risotto this good. It was perfectly al dente. It was so rich, I swear it must have had meat in it but, I double-checked the chalkboard, and it didn’t mention anything. I love that the waitress made no fuss over the fact that we wanted to split one dinner; she just gave us a each a spoon and put the bowl in the middle of table for us to share. Very casual. As we were sitting there finishing our delectable risotto and drinking the last of our wine, George Jones started playing gently over the speakers. I could have been sitting in a sidewalk cafe somewhere in Europe or drunkenly closing out the bar in Montana. Either way, it was perfect!

It was my friend’s birthday today so we went for an extended lunch at Cafe Bengodi, a cute little Italian restaurant in Pioneer Square. It was a beautiful day so we sat outside (it’s so nice when you actually get to sit outside in Seattle!) We started off with the Caprese Salad which I liked even though I don’t normally like tomatoes. Maybe I’m finally growing up. We also had garlic bread which was really good. The thick, crusty bread was smothered with roasted garlic, parmesan cheese and parsley. For my lunch, I ordered the Pasta Vongole (clams) which was great. The clams were tiny and delectable and the pasta was bathed in a garlicky butter sauce. I know that I will stink of garlic during our hike tomorrow which I’m not looking forward to. It was worth it though. We ended the meal with tiramisu which was good and boozy.

This evening, Robert and I had to get gas so, since we were already in the car, we decided to drive somewhere for dinner. Shocking, I know, we actually went somewhere not within walking distance! We headed down to Malay Satay Hut in the international district, about a mile or so away from our apartment. We always hear great things about the place but never seem to make it there. It’s in a cramped little strip mall but is actually very clean and airy inside. The menu is quite lengthy, featuring helpful photos for many of the dishes. We started with the Roti Canai, which had been recommended in a couple of reviews online. It consists of homemade roti bread that has been lightly fried and it is served with a thick, hearty potato curry for dipping. For our main course, we had the Jumbo Prawns in Chili Sauce. They really were jumbo, too. Huge. The prawns were halved and served in the shell which presented some challenges for those of us that are less than skilled with chopsticks. The sauce was good but a bit on the sweet side for me. We also shared an order of Kang Kung Bechalan which is swamp spinach stir-fried with shrimp paste. It was nice and flavorful without being overpowering. I found a couple of cardamom pods in mine which was unexpected but certainly reflects the Indian influence in Malaysian cuisine. It was a good dinner and it was fun to try some completely new dishes. I really want to go back with a bigger group of people so that we can try more items. Robert and I just have to remember that, even though it is outside our bubble, it does exist and is good and therefore, we should go back. Next time we go, I swear I am going to try the avocado shake!

Tomorrow we are heading up to the Greenwood neighborhood for the 14th Annual Greenwood Classic Car and Rod Show. It has become a family tradition since my parents live right near there. There are lots of really cool old cars (and some ugly ones) so it’s pretty fun. There are live bands and food booths selling hot dogs, Polish dogs, kettle corn, and fresh cherries. But, instead of the food booths, we will be stopping by the 74th Street Alehouse for lunch and a beer. This is some of the best pub food in Seattle. They consistently produce top quality sandwiches and salads and have great rotating specials. And they have a big selection of beers on tap. My parents go there at least once a week and we’re so jealous. My dad really likes the gumbo. In fact, it is famous! You can order the very same 74th Street Gumbo at Moon Time in Couer d’Alene and The Elk in Spokane. The only drawback there – no fries! But the excellent fish tacos, featuring whatever fish is fresh that day, more than makes up for it.

Speaking of fries, we met up with our friend Tim last weekend at the Park Pub (also in the Greenwood area) and they did have fries on the menu. They were a little on the soggy side but were coated in a nice, spicy seasoning. It was a cool pub, very laid back and not at all crowded (but, in a good way, not in a creepy way.) Other places that I like in the Greenwood neighborhood include Gorditos (monstrous, “healthy” burritos), Georgia’s Greek Deli (a casual Greek restaurant and deli with live music on the weekends), and Red Mill burgers (meat and veggie burgers which you can order plain or, my favorite, with cheese and roasted green chilies.)

I’ve been on a mission recently to add more whole grains to my diet; several weeks ago I decided that I would try a new grain each week. I’d be like the Tony Bourdain of grains, trying anything and everything. OK, so trying a grain isn’t all that adventurous but I have always had this prejudice against grains (other than rice, of course, which I eat all the time.) Because whole grains are so healthy, I have always assumed they must have the taste and texture of rabbit food. I know I shouldn’t feel that way but, I do. So my mission would be to find a grain that gets me to overcome my prejudice and, if I’m very lucky, one that I might even consider eating nearly as often as rice.

A couple of weeks ago, I bought some organic quinoa from Trader Joe’s and made a salad of quinoa, black beans, corn and bell pepper in a lime-cilantro vinaigrette. Quinoa is an ancient grain from the Andes; it is very high in protein and amino acids. My salad was very good. The quinoa was surprisingly light (very un-rabbit food like), making it an ideal substitute for rice. The next week, I made tabbouleh using bulgur, a form of quick-cooking whole wheat. It wasn’t bad but the bulgur could have been a bit softer. I might try using it in a recipe where it is actually cooked rather than steeped as in the tabbouleh. I’ve seen recipes for bulgur pilafs or even chili with bulgur. Last night, Robert and I went to 22 Doors and I ordered the farro “risotto.” It was made with Bluebird Farm’s Farro, caramelized fennel, walnuts and golden raisins and was topped with pea vines and ricotta salata. Farro is a form of wheat and it is used a lot in Italian cooking. It was pretty tasty but they gave me a huge serving and, after a while, it began to feel very heavy and started to taste like, you guessed it, rabbit food. But, I actually think the grain itself was much better than that dish and I would really like to try using it in something at home. It was crunchy and very nutty in flavor and I could see it being good in a pilaf or salad. There are a couple of recipes for farro in Lynn Rosetto Caspar’s “The Italian Country Table” that I might need to check out. So, although none of these grains has completely blown me away, I do feel like I have found a couple of new foods that I would be willing to experiment more with and ultimately incorporate into my cooking. If any of you have recipes for whole grains that you love, please let me know.

Tomorrow is my birthday! Although I’m not particularly sentimental when it comes to my birthday, I do like to squeeze in as much celebration (in other words, eating) as possible. Why not, right? Robert refers to this as my birthday “week” and it officially kicked off last Wednesday when his gift to me arrived via UPS.

On Friday, my friend took me out for lunch at Tulio. We were given fresh foccacia bread and olive oil to snack on while we perused the menu. I had the springtime risotto which was made with fresh peas and baby carrots and topped with pea vines and saffron cream. It was buttery and delicious and I can’t believe I managed to eat the whole thing. My friend had the asparagus soup and the spicy orrechiette with sausage, rapini and tomato sauce. Then, because I apparently needed more to eat, we split the pistachio semifreddo for dessert! Semifreddo is a partially frozen cream. It was really, really good. I was pretty much useless at work after that.

Last night was the celebration with the family. I selected El Greco for the event. Robert and I love their brunch but had never been there for dinner. We started off with a bunch of appetizers: complimentary olives and bread, baked idiazabal cheese with crostini, pears and serrano ham (delicious!), grilled asparagus with a sauce that I didn’t catch (also delicious), grilled baby octopus (chewy but not horrible) and sweet potato fries (crisp and sweet!). They also gave us a free serving of that evening’s appetizer special which was a puff pastry with cheese and spiced strawberries. It seemed more like a dessert than an appetizer but it was tasty and I’ll eat anything with strawberries. I won’t describe each of the entrees but here is a quick rundown of what was ordered: my mom had the clam linguine, my dad had the daily risotto (which had meat but, since they make it to order, you can order it vegetarian or even ask for other vegetables – good to know for the future), my brother had the salmon special, my brother-in-law had the duck, Robert had the Greek lamb burger and my sister and I split the bread salad and the crispy penne. The crispy penne is comprised of penne that has been cooked and then fried until, well, crispy. It is topped with a spicy tomato sauce with eggplant, capers, olives and tons of garlic. A good helping of ricotta salata garnished the dish. It was a big hit. It’s no wonder the website calls the crispy penne a local favorite. After all that great food and a couple of glasses of pinot grigio, I was a happy camper!

We have a “buddy” system at my job – every time a person is hired they are assigned a buddy who will take them out to lunch on their first day and answer any questions they may have. Today, I was a buddy for the first time. I might not have done a very good job answering their questions but I think I did a good job on lunch. Since the firm was buying, I decided to spend a little more than usual so we went to Sazerac in the Hotel Monaco. It is sort of cajun/comfort food and, although it’s not outrageously expensive for lunch, it is certainly more than I would normally spend for a regular workday meal.

First, we were given a basket of homemade bread that was made with cornmeal but wasn’t as dense as regular cornbread. It was a bit dry but very tasty (especially with butter.) Then came my salad which was crisp and peppery but overdressed for my taste. My buddy had the white pizza which was made with mozzarella, chevre, fontina and red chile flakes with an olive oil base. I didn’t try it, but she said it was really good. For my entree, I ordered the handmade ricotta dumplings which were served in a spicy tomato broth with favas and arugula. This was topped with a crispy parmesan tuile (like a cracker.) It was pretty darn good. The perfect food for a rainy day in Seattle. I would easily consider going back there for that dish on a special occasion, such as a birthday lunch. We had really good service (which hardly ever happens when you are me) and, as an added bonus because I hate making phone calls, they have easy online reservations.

Hey everybody. I posted a few new recipes on my website and just wanted to let you all know. The first, Frittata di Riso (Frittata with Rice), is one I’ve been making since I first learned to cook. I don’t know why I haven’t gotten around to putting it up until now because I make it often. This is one of the few times I use fake meat, vegetarian sausage, but it works really well in this frittata which can be served for breakfast or dinner. The recipe also calls for sweet onion, red bell pepper and fresh basil. You may have noticed that the recipe for Poppy Seed Noodles that used to be on my site back in the early days disappeared at some point. I had taken it down for some minor modifications but now it is back and better than ever! Browned cabbage and onions, crunchy poppy seeds and sour cream and cottage cheese are tossed with wide egg noodles in this rich, Eastern European casserole. Finally, a recipe for Vegetarian Pho. Yes, it may sound like an oxymoron to pho traditionalists but why should vegetarians have to forgo digging into a bowl of delicious anise and cinnamon scented broth and rice noodles just because they don’t eat beef? This soup is really all about the garnishes anyway – fresh basil, mint, bean sprouts, lime, and chili sauce – yum!

In other food news, we went back to 22 Doors last night and had a good dinner again. I’m not obsessed with this place or anything but it is nice to finally have a quality restaurant so nearby. I had the spicy tomato soup with grilled taleggio cheese sandwiches and a side of broccoli raab with bread crumbs and garlic. Upscale kid’s food if such a thing can even exist!

Robert and I go to a lot of pubs and I oftentimes find myself ordering a salad and side of fries as my dinner. I stole the idea from my sister. It may sound odd or perhaps even gluttonous to have an entire order of fried potatoes as my dinner but it’s really hard to go to a pub and pass up the fries and sometimes I don’t want to order a whole veggie burger just to get my fries fix. The Elysian Brewery, a few blocks from my apartment, has really good fries. They make two kinds: “fatties” which are like jo jo’s and “skinnies” which are crisp and delicious. I can make it about a quarter of the way through a serving of “fatties” before becoming too full to continue so I usually go for the “skinnies” which, for some reason, I can keep eating long after I’ve become full. Fries at the Garage are hit or miss depending on whether they are served hot or not. A few years ago, we had great fries at the Canterbury. They were crispy crinkle-cut fries sprinkled with kosher salt but, when we went back, they had changed to regular fries and they were not as good. Tonight, we went to a new-ish restaurant in our neighborhood called 22 Doors. They make these great shoestring fries. According to the website, their fries are made with “essence of truffle” and, indeed, they did have a slight mushroom aroma to them. In a good way.

A word of caution: if you take my cue and begin ordering fries-for-dinner, be sure to make your intentions known, especially in large groups. One time, the waitress set my fries down in the middle of a table full of people and, when I slid the plate over directly in front of me, I received many nasty looks and one very mean comment for my selfishness in not sharing with the group.

This weekend we went to visit some friends in Portland so we decided to make Burgerville our lunch spot on the way down. I had been wanting to eat there ever since I heard about it on NPR’s “The Splendid Table” but, since it only has locations in southern WA and northern Oregon, I hadn’t had the chance. At first glance, it seems like your typical fast food burger joint but Burgerville uses lots of local, fresh ingredients, many of which are organic! They also just switched over to using wind power which is pretty cool. I had the breaded halibut sandwich which was just OK but my fries were wonderfully crispy and flavorful. The true highlight, however, was the mountain huckleberry shake. It was absolutely delicious and had tons of little huckleberry pieces in it that I could chew on! Robert had a burger featuring 100% Oregon beef and Tillamook cheddar cheese. Burgerville also has really cool packaging and nicer-than-average employees. I may need to find an excuse to go back when the sweet potato fries and hazelnut shake are in season!

Last night we met up with our friends at a Turkish restaurant in West Seattle called Ephesus. I’m still not quite ready for Greek food so I was hoping Turkish food would be just different enough. The menu seemed to be a bit more Middle-Eastern, less Mediterranean which worked out perfectly for me. We started with the Ephesus plate: hummus, eggplant spread and yogurt dip served with flatbread. The flatbreads are made to order so they come out all warm and delicious. We also split the mushroom appetizer which was fantastic. The mushrooms were very simply prepared but had a surprising amount of flavor. Next came the salad which I was prepared to pick at because the menu said it was served with – you guessed it – feta and tomatoes. Fortunately for me, there were very few tomatoes and only a hint of crumbled feta. My entree was the Isgara: char-grilled fish. I wouldn’t say there was much char but it was a delicious piece of grilled salmon anyway. It was served with lemony rice pilaf and a ton of steamed broccoli, cauliflower and snap peas. It’s pretty rare in restaurants these days to be served such a large amount of veggies so that was a nice surprise. I tasted a bit of my friend’s claypot shrimp with potatoes and tomatoes and that was pretty darn good too. Robert really liked his lamb kabob. It was all delicious!

I forgot to put a link to our Greece photos up here last week so here they are:
Page 1: Athens and Santorini
Page 2: Naxos and Syros