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.

vietnomnomnom.

this friday marked the 23rd anniversary of my lovely roomie m's birth! to celebrate, we put a wonderful group together and ventured to the highly recommended tamarind tree in the international district.
everyone seemed to have heard of this place but me...but i was excited to sample some vietnamese cuisine--as all i have had in the past is pho [which is always a win]. now, when i say that this place is tucked away, i really mean it. we had to poke our heads into a little 99cent shop to even figure out how to get there. upon arrival, however, it was definitely worth the hunt. take my advice, fellow foodies, when you make a reservation at the tamarind tree [and you should make one, especially on a weekend] try to do so on the patio. the covered area bosts a beautiful waterfall, lush bamboo and greenery, and is heated if need be. on this sunny friday evening, i couldn't ask for a better ambiance.
please, if you are a fan of cocktails--get a list. between the 10 of us we had lemongrass, kumquat, tamarind, and green tea martinis as well as a juicy pineapple mojito. the boys all manned up and had tsingtao--but i could see the hidden looks of envy as us girls swilled equal parts strong, fruity, and unique cocktails.
for starters, we split up some chicken satay and some amazing spring rolls. if i would have had it my way, i probably would have sat and munched on the spring rolls all meal. they were deliciously paired with peanut sauce, and sizably portioned. i, however, had to perform a minor ricepaper surgery on mine in order to extract a silly prawn. my neighboor in dining, the lovely roomie a, was happy to take it on.
now, i didn't get to sample every dish, but raves came all around for the coconut curry prawns and chili beef lemongrass. i sampled a new food, however, and went with the lotus root salad. at first, the lotus root was tangy, acidic, and a really intriguing flavor. but, after 3 or 4 pieces, i grew weary and found my chopsticks wandering to far away plates...
the star appeared to be roomie a's tamarind tree crepe. with the appearance of a large omlette or oversized taco and served with a pho-like platter of mint, lettuce and other greenery, the dish was daunting. the combination of a rice batter and coconut milk shell with the fillings of bean sprout, shiitake mushrooms, and mung beans was completely delictable. and while a had the dish riddled with sea creatures, i will probably opt for the vegetarian version on my next trip to the tamarind tree.
dessert was a personal sized ginger mousse with a candle in it especially for the birthday girl. i [of course] snuck a more-than-tiny nibble, and it was pretty perfect. i can't wait for my next visit!

spur saves the day.

this post is a little late...probably because i really wanted to sit and think of the words that would do spur the proper justice.
now, maybe it was because avila's service had just stomped on my heart so any good treatment was about to look monumental by comparison...but methinks spur may have been the most enjoyable dining experience to date. the great company of my companion, the fabulous gb wasn't so bad either!
nestled in belltown between 1st and 2nd, spur is home to imaginative, well-thought-out dishes, and even more intriguing cocktails. gb and i both started our meals off with delicious creations. both the cocktail and the entree menus rotate monthly, and your friendly server will kindly recommend you the best cocktail for your tastes. for gb and i, it was the addition of elderflower liqueur that urged us to try the persephone and the empress.
the trip to spur was my round two for restaurant week, and i was delighted to partake in another 3-course tasting menu for only $25. i was absolutely floored by my appetizer--a smoked cauliflower soup with aged parmesan. poured from a tiny ceramic pitcher into a large art piece of a bowl--the soup was smokey, deeply-flavorful, and resonant of a taste of grandma's cooking. how could i pass that up?
my entree was a short-rib over a parmesan potato mash. gb snuck a taste of the potatoes on my recommendation and proclaimed "this mash is giving plain mashed potatoes the culinary middle finger right now!" i couldn't have agreed more. the portioning was delicate and perfect.
finally for dessert [of course] i had a rhubarb tart with vanilla bean ice cream. now, we've discussed my adoration of rhubarb before, haven't we? and this dessert was no different. i'm pretty sure that rhubarb makes everything better, and spur topped off my perfect dinner with a delightful dessert.
to finish it all off, i can't even begin to commend the service. the staff was friendly, accessible, professional, and really fun to dine around. i would highly recommend dinner and drinks at spur. the menu rotates, so my perfect meal probably won't always be available. however, i can't even imagine spur making something sub-par. so eat, drink, be merry, and have a great time at spur!