tom douglas lunch date.

for some reason, when people talk about seattle dining you hear dahlia lounge consistently peppered through conversation. this is why, today, my bestie g and i checked it out for a quick lunch. i did see that the dinner menu was more extensive and showed a bit more variety, but i was happy with the opportunity to check out the place i've heard so much about.
really, what dahlia boils down to is flavor. it's simple food, served on simple plates, and with simple garnishes. the flavor, however, is anything but simple. tom douglas, isn't a famous seattle restaurateur by accident. the complexity in even the simplest dishes is what keeps dahlia lounge, and douglas's other seattle restaurants on the tips of everyone's tongues.
now, dahlia is currently participating in the month-long march event dine around seattle, which showcases 30-something restaurants offering 3 course prix fixe dinner menus for $30, with many others serving a similar $15 lunch. g and i could not resist partaking in the great deal and enjoying a 3-course lunch!
the special lunch menu offered a spring greens salad, tomato soup with croutons, or albacore poke for appetizers, a beecher's grilled cheese, pork hum bao, or pan-seared chilled albacore for entrees, and lychee sorbet, coconut cream pie, or a vanilla bean eclair for dessert. i am a big sucker for grilled cheese and tomato soup, and this definitely put what i craft to at home to shame! the tomato soup was fresh, textured, and perfectly seasoned, and the beecher's cheese oozed from the rustic potato bread like some sort of cheese-lover's art form. g had the salad to start which was large, deliciously dressed, but pretty plain overall. for entree she tried the pork hum bao. it was served with steamed gai lan [chinese kale] and sticky rice.
for dessert, we couldn't try two different things because we were both already in love with the lychee sorbet before we even tasted it. and we were not disappointed when it arrived with an amazing sesame ginger sauce on top. the lychee flavor was true to life, and the not-too-sweet dessert left us feeling light, refreshed, and fully satisfied with our dahlia lounge experience.