the classy vegetarian.

my lovely mama and i celebrated her birthday at the greenwood vegetarian eatery carmelita. mama is a vegetarian, and i am a recovering vegetarian, so the swanky little place was right up our alley. aside from minor parking difficulties, the evening was amazing, and the food was even more spectacular than i might have imagined.
now, mama's birthday is a special holiday, so we really went off and tried a ton of stuff. eating on a budget is usually my rule of thumb, but that definitely goes aside to celebrate her! we started with an appetizer of a port-poached pear with goat cheese sorbet and a green salad with candied walnuts. it was a borderline dessert, but absolutely delicious. the pear was named in the menu as a jerzy boyz pear, which i felt suprised i'd never heard of. but after some research, i learned that jerzy boyz is the name of the farm of origin of the pears, not a specific variety. [for more info on jerzy boyz organic apple and pear farm click here]. the table next to us ordered the enviable beet carpaccio, which i will definitely order next time.
as for entrees, i had the absolutely irresistible root vegetable pot pie--served in a ramekin with a warm side salad of greens with hazelnuts and marinated hedgehog mushrooms. the pot pie had a rich, mushroom-y base and featured carrots, potatoes, and turnips. the crust on top was perfectly flaky and the overall result was ultra-comforting and addictive. i could barely stop eating long enough to try my mom's dish on the other side of the table. thank goodness i did, because her purple rice and green onion cake was completely spectacular. served with sugar-pie pumpkin mash and a phenomenal cashew sauce, the dish had the hearty complexity that one typically misses in vegetarian dishes. the giant man to our right looked over and said "i'll have what she's having," when harry met sally style.
now, it being a celebration, we certainly ordered dessert. we didn't even split it. we got TWO. first, mom's pick, the carrot cake [sans raisins, much to her excitement] topped with fennel ice cream (!) and candied fennel seed. the cake was not-too-sweet, and the ice cream was the star of the dish. my choice was the special, a passion-fruit and goat cheese creme brulee that was topped with minced pickled rhubarb. YUM. the brulee was super rich, extremely complex in flavor, and with the perfect bruleed sugar crunch on top.
my mom is seriously already planning on what she might order when we go back, which will definitely happen in the not-too-distant future. and we might just have to take a gallon of that fennel ice cream home with us!

hot date?

might i suggest serafina??? eastlake's own modern italian osteria and enoteca [literally translated...a place where someone can host you and serve you wine...my living room, anyone?] is cozy, intimate, and super-inviting. my partner in crime for the evening, manfriend b, and i really enjoyed the decor, ambiance, and [most importantly!] food at serafina.
now, i believe on a weekend it might be a pretty good idea to make a reservation, because on a sunday night at about 8:30 we were lucky enough to happen upon the last available table. a LARGE group of individuals were celebrating a birthday, and they were definitely out of place. serafina seems like more of a one on one or two on two type of location...which is why i would suggest it for a hot date, hot double date, or a great catching up time with one or a couple friends.
now, i always and will always judge an italian restaurant immediately by their bread. honestly, major points are lost with lack of bread. thankfully, serafina hooked us up with some delicious rustic crusty bread and herb/garlic infused olive oil. along with blog-approved bread, serafina also boasts a freaking intimidating wine list. the waitstaff is unbelievably knowledgeable [or convincingly appear so] but i still opted for a cocktail. usually a beer girl, i couldn't turn down the elisir della fiore, which combined gin, elderflower liquor,and fresh lemon juice with a splash of proseco. it was just as "seductive" as the menu had promised.
ok, onto entrees! i had the pollo arrosoto, which paired a near-perfectly roasted chicken breast with roasted butternut squash, pancetta, and brussels sprouts with a pistacio jus. now, this chicken which once boasted the breast i received must have been quite buxom, because my portion could only be described as hearty. hello, doggy bag! i was disappointed to find that the promised brussels sprouts, a personal favorite, were just a few scattered leaves within the squash and pancetta mixture. however, all brussels sprouts aside, i enjoyed my dish. b had the restaurant's signature dish, which featured eggplant crusted with parmesan and wrapped around ricotta in a manicotti-like fashion. the dish was also served with capellini pasta and went by the name melanzane alla serafina. it was really good as well, but did appear very wimpy next to my buxom chicken breast.
the dessert menu was quite impressive, but we forewent in favor of cocktails (!). however, i eagerly await another occasion where i can sample what serafina has to offer my sweet tooth.

u district lunching for beginners.

i seriously do not have enough praise for the little piece of heaven right on portage bay by the name of agua verde. you may remeber seeing the cafe & kayak rental location on an episode of rachael ray's $40 a day, back before she had the CBS daytime talk show.
don't let the water-inspired name fool you, agua verde IS a fish-lover's delight, but also a fish-hater's friend. vegetarian, chicken, and pork options abound on this colorful, creative, and tasty menu.
at lunchtime the place can get pretty busy. however, the dual ordering system offers a streetcart-esque window for those on the go (typically on bike)and those who care to dine-in order and pay up front right at the entrance. time is saved by bussing one's own table, retrieving one's own water, and helping oneself to the delicious salsa bar. i like this autonomous system, and it seems to work very well for the table turnover at agua.
now, on to deliciousity! this visit, i partook in the "tacos boniato"--3 corn tortillas topped with marinated yams, sauteed peppers and onions, cojita cheese and a flavorful avacado cream sauce. lunch orders come with chips and your choice of 3-4 housemade salsas. my favorite is the sweet and cilantro-y salsa verde, but all are very delicious.
my counterpart, my lovely roomie a, is not of the fishless folk and had the "tacos bacalao" which features alaskan cod in a coconut beer batter with shredded cabbage and the same avacado sauce that highlighted my yam tacos. the crispy fried texture of the cod almost made me want to have a bite (!), but i refrained, knowing i wouldn't like what lay underneath the juicy shell.
i can't wait, and i'm sure won't wait...for another quick lunchtime visit to try the portobello or pollo tacos, or the enticing mango quesadilla!

geburtstag.

to celebrate a friends birthday, a large group headed to feierabend to partake in some most delicious german beers. brought to you by the folks who created die bier stube and prost, the south lake union bar is a great place for beer lovers to meet, speak loudly, and question the music selection.

my all-time favorite beer, paulaner salvator, is on tap at all 4 locations, and i have a hard time venturing away from the creamy goodness. i had a .5L, and then proceded to sip on a lighter old standard and ordered a full liter of bitburger. yum! other recommendations include the spaten oktoberfest, a close second. as far as i'm concerned, if i'm not microbrewing, the beer had better be german...because no one does it better.

the first.

to start what i hope is a very long and enticing adventure with seattle food, i ventured mere blocks from my house to Hudson. having only stopped in for their amazing local beer selection, i'd decided it was time to try what the gastropub had to offer. [if you're not familiar with a gastropub...read here...it may just be my favorite type of food!]

my partner in crime for the evening, the lovely J, and I approached on foot with empty tummies and we were not disappointed!

i grappled with enjoying a more traditional pub meal [house-made beet and kale veggie burger with salad] but landed on the ricotta gnocchi. with red wine mushroom ragout, toasted pine nuts, and a shaved brussel sprout salad to top, i really couldn't turn it down. it arrived much smaller than i had anticipated, but when i bit into the first gnocchi, i saw it was brilliant portioning. much more would have been too filling. although, i found my dish to be void of pinenuts (!) the shaved sprouts were a great compliment to heavy gnocchi, and my favorite mushrooms (enoki-the kind with the little heads and long stems) were in full force with some shiitakes in the sauce. all in all, there were definitely no leftovers to take home.

J's dish was the pasta pancetta, with wide noodles, salumi pancetta, foraged mushrooms, spinach, walnuts, and a ridiculously rich cream sauce. all this was spiked with some parmesiano-reggiano. there was a clean plate on her end as well.

the star of the night, as is usual with me, was the dessert. banana beignets with a freaking ridiculous dulce de leche sauce on top. in J's words, it was with great restraint that we didn't pick up the plate and lick it.

in the beginning.

as a flagrant hater of all things from the sea, it is occasionally difficult for me to eat as well as i should in the emerald city. trust me, i know that this is where the "good" seafood comes from. i've been told many times that my distaste comes from having eaten "bad" seafood in the past. this is not the case.

to my palate, all seafood tastes like salt and dirt. not much else. i know i am not alone in this quest for amazing non-seafood in seattle.

i'm not here to be a food critic, i hardly have the training, experience, or culinary knowledge for that. i am simply a lover of all things edible, here to share all the delectable and less-than-delectable experiences i have in seattle restaurants (dessert included, please!).