the wannabe foodie's dreamland.

recently, i attended (by way of working at)seattle weekly's voracious tasting. this spectacular sold-out event was probably one of the coolest things this foodie has ever seen.

seattle weekly rents out the historic paramount theater and turns it into a tasting extravaganza that is bustling, elegant, and [most imporantly] DELICIOUS. the entire floor level of the theater is filled with tables offering tasty samplings from some of seattle's hottest restaurants and bars. tables this year included: bastille, luc, joule, emmer&rye, and toulouse petit, along with many other fine dining establishments. the floor was crowded with excited guests aiming to sample just about everything within their reach, most with a full wine glass conveniently clipped into their bamboo tasting plate as well as a few shot-sized cocktails from such buzzed-about bars as tavern law, liberty, and knee high stocking co.

the vibe in the room as absolutely amazing, and the guests were all getting one of the best food deals i have ever seen in my life. groupon, eat your heart out...these lucky diners were chowing down on treats from over 20 restaurants, drinks from more than 10 bars, and were drinking from a 100% open bar for only $35 general admission and $75 VIP (one hour earlier entry and a gift bag that held swag worth WELL over the cost of the ticket.) my mind was blown.

on top of all of this commotion, a treasure awaited the guests in the upper level of the theater lobby. this entire floor was set aside for DESSERTS. from a beautiful woman wearing a dress with dozens and dozens of cupcakes on each tier (from seattle cupcake staple trophy cupcakes), to made-to-order organic molten chocolate cakes with a choice of gourmet sauce toppings (from hot cakes confections), to miniature waffles topped with strawberry rhubarb compote and candied pistacios (from sweet iron waffles) there were sweets coming at me from every angle. and, let me tell you, i sampled every. single. one. my personal favorite dessert, a turtle (chocolate with caramel and pecan) flavored frozen custard from peaks frozen custard, led to an immediate visit within the week of the voracious tasting to share the wonder of frozen custard with others. you can bet there will be a blog to follow after i sample a few more of their constantly rotating signature flavors.

ok, i can tell i'm just upsetting those of you who either didn't know about the voracious tasting or were too silly to buy tickets this year. i don't want to upset you anymore, so i will just encourage you to keep your ears open for news of next year's tasting. this year's tasting was only the second annual, so i can assure you that it is just going to get better, and better, and better.

a musical meal.

photo is of me and my main squeeze enjoying some tunes and foods at the triple door.
have any of you ever ventured to see a concert at the triple door? well, if you haven't it's a one-of-a-kind viewing/dining/drinking/social experience. i never feel like i wasted my money after visiting the triple door as i sometimes do as i walk into the cold arms of the hotdog vendor's cart outside the showbox. why do i love thee, triple door??? let me count the ways.

1. reserved seating.
now, i know that a lot of the amazingness in the seattle music is spontaneity. which is why i enjoy a good old fashioned sardine packed crocodile cafe show just as much as the next guy in a flannel. but doesn't it get tiring trying not to bump into the sweaty guy next to you during every concert??? the triple door gives me the opportunity to relax, take a seat, and not have to worry about squirming my way back up to it if i (gasp!) must use the ladies room. and, for those of you who cringe at the idea of advanced purchase...you can always attend a non-sold-out show and enjoy the standing room. but, methinks if there's a table/seat available, you'll sit in it.

2. drink service.
the most annoying part about seeing a show at a bar is having to push your way to said bar in order to order. at the triple door, a nice chap or gal will swing by your table in an extremely timely fashion (i'd say once every 1/2-3/4 of a drink, depending on your swilling technique) to check and see if you'd like some more. then, this same delightful human will bring you your tab during the encore...before the lights come up. what, you ask??? you mean i don't have to stand in the ridiculous line of folks waiting to close their tab before i leave? no, my friend, it's taken care of. and guess what? you've spent about the same amount on your ticket as you would have at the moore, the showbox, and less than the paramount. kudos to you.

3. food while you wait.
this is where this whole 'food blog reviewing a venue' part comes in. if you're like me you are generally early for a concert. you want to have a decent place to view from, you love the hit/miss/jewel in the rough aspect of a supporting act, and you sometimes get a little bored waiting for the music to finally start. fear no more, because the triple door gives you the option to come in up to 2 hours before the show and eat a delicious meal prepared by nextdoor neighbor wild ginger. if you're not familiar with wild ginger, it's a pretty popular seattle asian-fusion place that seems to always have a tremendous wait for a table. vegetarian and fishless options are readily available on the menu and delivered directly to your spot in the triple door lounge while you and your companion(s) await some sweet sweet music.
the menu is definitely carnivore driven, but there are a few veg options (good luck to you if eggplant isn't your thing. but, then again, if your a vegetarian...being picky about your vegetables probably isn't a good plan). a personal favorite is the thai passion tofu, a tofu and eggplant mixture with a ton of kafir lime and basil leaves in a sweet/tangy soy sauce. i will admit, though, that this dish isn't one you'd like to make an entire meal of. so, hopefully you and your partners in concert dining can do like me and mine did and share a little bit of everything around the table. so, do like i do, and consult what everyone is getting. if you're lucky, it won't be that darn 'princess prawns' and seem to pass by on just about every waiter's tray. seafood is gross enough, thank you, i certainly don't need to look it in the eye.


special tip: a big, comfy, high backed booth can be reserved (for the same price as any other ticket in the house) when you have a group of four, along with the option to pre-pay for food when you purchase your ticket. so, think about getting a group together, going on a double date, or taking your parents and sibling out for a night of great music, comfy seating, drinks delivered to your table, and delicious asian fusion cuisine. even if a few notes fall flat, you'll still be happy you went.

fishless in bellingham!

this lovely saturday i decided to take a 24hour trip to bellingham to visit the fabulous k and sample some cuisine and lower priced drinks. now, i have become quite the creature of habit when it comes to visiting bellingham and tend to do pretty much the same thing every time i go up there. this time we did try a new spot for dinner though.
we took a walk in the beautiful sunshine (!) down to the chuckanut brewery and kitchen with our good friend gl. the place was adorable, there was live banjo music, and new beers for me to sample on tap. while the beer was good, the food wasn't nearly as delectable as i would have hoped. i had a goat cheese tart which was pretty good, but my cup of veggie soup tasted like luke warm pace picante sauce. mild pace picante sauce. not a good look. gl ordered some yam fries to share, which were not to the standard of my favorite yam fries in seattle at smith. while the aoli was really good and smokey, an aoli doesn't save a burnt soggy fry, good sir.
the night continued with tours through entirely too many bars to name or judge. one i did enjoy and would like to visit again on my next trip is uisce (pronounced ISH-KAH). it's a traditional irish (gaelic) pub with a killer atmosphere and a ridiculously comfy couch by the fire.
in the morning we nursed our hangovers with an old bellingham standby, the bagelry. this place has the best sourdough bagels EVER and is pretty much always packed. i always stick with the veggie sandwich with regular cream cheese on sourdough, which comes with tomato, onion, and a mountain of sprouts. there are millions of both schmear and bagel flavors, so the combinations are endless.
to round the day out, this ice cream conniseaur HAD to stop in at mallard ice cream. this place seriously rivals molly moon's and has WAY more flavors to choose from. i had a tough time deciding but had to eventually go with the earl grey, which was absolutely perfect! another favorite is the rose, which tastes like sweet rosewater and is super refreshing. mallard is so good, it is worth driving all the way to bellingham just to have some.

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.