In the main area of my local ferry terminal, two billboards (part of the rapidly increasing volume of advertising there). I was amused at how much smarter the Snickers billboard is than the Starbucks effort. Snickers manages to reinforce brand creatively, and to have at-a-glance impact. Starbucks asks you to read, and it doesn't say anything another brand of coffee couldn't say (switch out the name). The tone tries to have personality, but the personality of the Snickers brand is much clearer and more engaging.
Old people and young people have different ideas about what goes on their half of the pizza. After it came out of the oven, everyone was happy.
The weekend was spectacularly sparkly, kicked off with a divine dinner at Chez Shea and closed with the 9-year-old's wanderings leading to the discovery of a homegrown John Denver Tribute Concert at the bottom of the hill. No, I didn't go.
(Wrinkles flies in the ointment: Stupidly missed the fabulous annual Hyla Chili Cookoff with its middle school carnival, and Bloedel Reserve too busy to get a reservation to stroll.)
Gorgeous day
Perfect setting
Jalapenos with the crudo
Perfectly dressed
It's all about the snail butter
Dessert!
Ignore the tax forms!
— A
"A West Coast invention variously credited to eating establishments in
San Francisco and Seattle, this careful arrangement of, at minimum,
crab, lettuce, hard-boiled egg and pink "Louis dressing," cropped up
around the start of the 20th century to showcase the Pacific
Northwest's favorite crab, the mighty, the marvelous Dungeness."
Richard made a version for us with a spiced-up dressing (yay) that ended up being enough for 7 luncheon guests, who were not in attendance (Hence the TV remote control). It was delicious, though, and styled in a less-creepy fashion that that shown in the PI (above). That picture reminds me a little of those restaurants whose signs feature pigs in chef's coats carrying trays of roast ham.
After a long break — sorry about that, folks — I'm back with a very serious issue with which I need help. Richard made us a scallop lunch today and plated it two different ways. Can you believe that?!
It's like Who Wore It Better all over again.
Please vote and let your voice be heard by at least 7 people!!!
We love Top Chef. So much so that we found ourselves enjoying the following quick[fire] snack the other day:
Deconstructed Nachos!
Ingredients: Doritos, Tillamook Cheddar slab.
Thanks to his father, Walter Thompson, 9, of Bainbridge Island now knows how to open a bottle of wine, offer a taste while displaying the bottle, and dispense a sommelier pour of 3 ounces. And cook a steak perfectly à point.
— Abigail
Luckily, Jordan did take a picture this year.
— Abigail
Our traditional Thanksgiving cassoulet (has it been ten years now?) was great this year, based on a new recipe Richard found which called for bone removal and tomatoes, two unexpected innovations. I got carried away and didn't take a picture of the final, finished result as I usually do, and in fact I have just three pictures of the day.
A few random notes: Besides the cassoulet, my favorite flavor was the Fran's salted caramels Pat brought. I love that they are a tidy, small-size. Beautiful, delicious, interesting. And, in the cheeses, apple, and salami picture, the little dish in the front is Dessert Masala that had been intended for my Indian custard which didn't set and had to be left off the menu. Missing are little bowls of balsamic cioppolini onion jam and saba from Modena which we put out later to complement the cheeses.
— Abigail
Anyone who's visited us in the past year or so will recognize many of the activities included in the New York Times' 36 Hours in Seattle. It's a good round-up of fun things to do.
The dining choices were as sensitive as the activity recommendations, selecting neighborhood haunts that are easy to get to and fairly central, as well as a flashy market-view restaurant that happens also to be a longstanding locals in-the-know favorite: Matt's in the Market. It used to have just 23 seats, so you had to be pretty judicious about not trumpeting its praises, if you ever wanted to eat there again. It was exclusive but neither pricey nor precious.
That's one of the really neat things about the Pike Place Market: It's a co-op or nonprofit or whatever (just the facts here!), so the cold arm of capitalist commerce is kept at bay and restaurants don't have to be mega-sized million-dollar enterprises to pay for the water view locations that are so fun.
In terms of dining, the Times also mentioned Quinn's Pub, which I've enjoyed visiting on two occasions, and Café Presse, among our top three destinations when we're dining in town. Who doesn't love a cold half chicken with mayo and a salad?
— Abigail
Update: replaced the photo with this one of Jordan taken on November 26th at Matt's, proving the point that it's the place to be. He and Pat took my recommendation to have dinner at Lark and loved it as much as I do.
Were waiting in my kitchen the other evening when I got home: CSA delivery and a bar restock (Mmmm, Campari!)
CHOW revels in the wonders of the food-centric responses to the important caught-in-an-elevator-without-the-30-secret-service-guys question that's on everyone's minds:
...and they make it very entertaining. Follow the links!
— Abigail
I really try to enjoy life visually, empirically, and intellectually
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