get with it, girl.

ok, so i've seriously been the worst blogger in history lately. i've tried lots of foods, none of them fish, and not written about a single one. while sitting at home on a friday night i'm trying to think of something delicious that i've eaten in the past month or so to write about.

then it comes to me!

have you been to nettletown???
because you totally should go. come to think of it, i should totally go again. and again and again.

when i first arrived i couldn't quite figure out what the overall "point" of nettletown was. the location looks better suited for a laundromat. the menu is a mish-mash of all sorts of cuisines and offerings, the decor looks like it could potentially be the children's section of a library (see above photo), and the waitress was adorably dressed in a hand sewn, hand embroidered apron. it didn't really seem to come together until i looked at the menu. underneath the name of the restaurant it just says simply: yummy food. and that's really what we want, isn't it. yummy food. who cares about the way stuff looks and if it all goes together? that fluff is just fall back for non-yummy food, as far as i'm concerned.

so, let's get down to business. what yummy fishless nibbles did i indulge in? on recommendation of the friend who referred me to nettletown in the first place, i tried the knoepfli, a swiss noodley/bready/dumplingy type treat with leeks, cabbage, and herbs. i also added a perfectly poached egg to the top (if you've been paying attention, friend, you know that this gal can't say no to a poached egg). you can also add bacon or bratwurst if you're into that sorta thing. i was really impressed with how addictively delicious my plate of food was. it didn't look like fine dining, but by golly was it tasty. i found the dish just buttery enough, and could have handled even MORE poached egg. i even packed up the second half of it to take home and it made an absolutely perfect breakfast before work the next morning. yum.

my partner in crime for the evening, the lovely e, had the nettletown noodles with tofu. the noodles were good, and the broth was good...but nothing i haven't tasted before. the tofu was the star of this dish, it was rich and had lots and lots of flavor. i would definitely recommend the knoepfli over the noodles if you want to get your carb on at nettletown.

the most interesting part of the meal for me was our starter, which e and i split. chef christina choi (the mastermind behing nettletown) has a background in foraging, and a lot of the veg used at nettletown is foraged. needless to say, e and i had to try the foraged vegetable pickles which rotate based on what's available in the woods. pretty cool. our offering during our visit included sea beans (tiny, skinny, and crunchy) and fiddleheads (asparagus like, twisty, and tart). we got wayyyy more veggies that we thought we would for $3 and were definitely impressed by the quality. come on! you can't even get a hotdog for $3 these days! let alone some delicious pickled foraged ferns. a steal to say the least.

nettletown didn't deliver on dessert for me, though. i'm not one to say no to a dessert, but unless the menu has changed since my visit, you're better off stepping into the mini mart next door for a snickers or something. the options were granola (whaaaaaa?) cookies and milk (meh) or this silly little cup of weirdness called "mile high berry crunch pie". now, lemme tell you about this deceitful dessert. first of all, mile high it is not. it is approximately 4 inches high. second, it is certainly not a pie. at all. more like a flash frozen yogurt parfait layered with nutty, brown sugary, crumbly bits. thirdly, it's kinda gross. according to our waitress (who i could sense kinda agreed with me) it is a family recipe of choi's and either you love it or you hate it. mark two down for hate, please.

all in all, if you skip dessert (or, better yet head to molly moon's or peak's frozen custard for an ice cream nightcap) you'll really enjoy your time at nettletown. it's extremely unique, affordable, and delicious and boasts a really friendly staff. i'm definitely going to make a trip back for one of the piled high baguette sandwiches i saw being devoured at the table next to me!

simple, comfortable, and friendly.

these are words that could describe lots of things. a living room, perhaps. a neighborhood bar or coffee house. maybe even the giant, reliable station wagon that your grandma drove when you were a kid. these words, however, don't often come together so harmoniously for upscale diners. restaurants can be stiff, pretentious, or even boring...and everyone who has worked in the service industry knows that each and every interaction with a patron can tip the scale in one direction or the other. restaurateurs are always trying to toe the line between simple and sophisticated, between friendly and overzealous. i've just had my first experience where these descriptors came together seamlessly, and i'm happy to recommend stumbling goat bistro to all of you.

first off, the service was impeccable. when my mama and i arrived about 5 minutes early for our 6:45pm reservation we were greeted by a dressed down woman with a cute pair of horn rimmed glasses. she let us know that they had planned to seat us in a middle table (and gestured toward it) but asked if would we like to wait about 3 minutes as the couple cleared out of the window table? DUH. it doesn't take a food critic to know that everyone wants to sit by the window at any restaurant...even denny's! so we thanked her flexibility and kindly waited for the window table, which was wiped down and re-watered and ready for us in the 3 minutes promised. it felt good that she had gone above and beyond to make our dining experience delightful.

this visit took place during dine around seattle, so my mom and i were both definitely going to order from the prix fixe prepared menu. we were checking it out when our super friendly waiter (dressed to my liking in a blue floral button-down) let us know that there were specials for the night that were included on the dine around seattle menu. in my experience, this has never happened before. if anything, a waiter will inform you that they are not making the dish that you read about online and salivated over and are instead making another dish (which i'm sure is just as good, but has none of the build-up!). in this case, our waiter shared with us a whole other option for each course...leading me to change my mind about what i had intended to order. keep in mind, most other restaurants offer 3 choices for each course standard and stumbling goat was already offering 4-5. i was giddy with the choices and high on options. always a good start to a meal.

you know what else is a good start to a meal? COCKTAILS! and my mama and i love to try different one's when we go out to eat together. this time i had a muddled basil and pomegranate number that was nice and strong but not too sweet. my mom had a blood orange and grapefruit vodka cocktail that was super strong and tangy to boot. these were sipping drinks, and lasted both of us through our entire meal.

appetizers came out quickly, delivered to us by someone other than our waiter, who was equally friendly. we both went with soups. my mama (the vegetarian) had the cream of parsnip soup (which went amazing with the left over bread on the table) and i had a corona bean and pork jowl soup that was one of the specials for the day. my soup was rich and hearty but didn't feel to heavy. it came with a little cheesy biscuit on the side which i would have loved to see more of!

we both went with vegetarian options so that we could preform our favorite dining act: the mid-meal plate switch. mom had the vegetarian heirloom bean cassoulet and i had the truffle risotto (another special!). a cassoulet is a rich stew or casserole that is typically some combination of beans and meats. it is a french dish that is generally slow cooked. i get the impression that it's totally peasant food. but, peasant food is commonly nutritious and delicious. my mom's cassoulet came with beans (mostly chickpeas) and veggies galore. it was hearty and gave the impression of slow cooking. my risotto was plate licking fabulous. i don't normally order risottos because there is only one thing to eat on your plate...but it just sounded so good i couldn't pass it up. i was thrilled with the texture, delighted by the subtle truffle flavor, and my mom was super happy when it came time for plate switching!

for our dessert course we were stuffed full, but ready to go for it with our desserts. this is another point i will commend stumbling goat on. sometimes, restaurants give you such ridiculous portions you can't even think about really enjoying your dessert. this was not the case. we were satiated, but not past the point of indulging in something sweet. i had the brown sugar panna cotta with rhubarb compote. you may remember from previous posts that if you put rhubarb on something i will order it. this was no different and i was really happy with my choice. the brown sugar flavors came through, but were a supporting act to the star of the rhubarb. bravo. the cocoa nib brownie with fresh mint ice cream that arrived on my mother's plate was super average in looks, but definitely not in taste!! the cocoa nibs were peppered through the brownie, giving it fun texture and great crunch. the mint ice cream tasted nothing like that bright green mint chocolate chip you get at the grocery store. it was like biting into a sprig of fresh mint, and was very refreshing with the chocolate. all and all, we were happy with our choices and would love to return to stumbling goat again soon!!!

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.