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May 01 Ivanhoe Premium Reserver Shiraz 2001Last night we drank the last of the Ivanhoe Premium Reserver Shiraz 2001. A couple years back I found this powerful Hunter Valley Shiraz (very different from the South Australia Shiraz which most Americans are used to drinking). The original 'punch' of the wine had receded to be replaced by a sophisticated 'Hunter' taste which went perfectly with my nice rare BBQ'd steak.
When I'm back in the Hunter next I'll be sure to drop in to Ivanhoe and try their latest vintage. April 26 Mixtura Take 2Myself, Ellie and another couple (Shelly & Chris) went to Mixtura on Saturday night. It was our second time and the first time for Shelly & Chris. I went with a couple of tapas followed by the lamb shank main and the chocolate cake thing for dessert (all washed down with pisco sours). Ellie opted for a very similar strategy (with the big south american steak and an eclectic mix of caipirhnas and martinis). Shelly & Chris went with the all out Tapas approach as we did at our first outing to Mixtura.
Overall: Mixtura continues to excel - providing extremely good value food and service. It is clearly becoming the restaurant on the eastside. I'd love to invest $$ in it. April 15 Spirit of Washington Dinner TrainToday I had lunch on the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train with Ellie and another couple (Ben & Caroline). Let's get straight down to business:
What is it: A converted passenger train that runs from Renton to Woodinville and back. It is not a steam train and therefore lacks any sense of antiquated charm. It stops at Columbia Winery in Woodinville where you can sample some of region's less charming vintages.
Service: Amusingly pleasant. The manual bill calculation (POS anyone?!?!) and the strange pre-calculated tip was tolerable only for it's quaint obsolescence.
Presentation: The cutlery was filthy. Caroline's plate had a tomato sauce stain (hopefully it was sauce). The martinis were served in a small old fashioned glass (barbarians).
Price: $50/head for food & train ride + we spent another + $17.50 each on drinks. Drink markup was pretty reasonable.
Experience: Shitty. Boring train ride with all the scenic wonder of a drive up the 405. Oh wait - it pretty much followed the 405 the whole freaking way.
Verdict: Not even worth it for tourists. April 09 Am I girl for liking Midori?Midori Daquiri: 50ml White Rum, 20ml lime juice, 1 barspoon of fine sugar and 20 ml of Midori. Shake over ice and server in a chilled cocktail glass?
It's given me a nice buzz (on my empty stomach) which is making me almost forget about my $3K USD tax bill... April 02 TosoniEllie and I tried out Tosoni last night (I went there a few years back with work - but my memory of the place is a little hazy). It's primarily an Italian restaurant but the owner (Walter) hails from southern Austria near the Italian border so there is an interesting 'natural' fusion of cuisine. For appetizers I went for the calamari while the seafood heavy nature of the selection steered Ellie towards the spicy sausages. Mains were a hard choice (so much tempting game meat) but I took on the Pheasant with Ellie being adventurous with some Venison (with a special chocolate/espresso game sauce). Wine was outstanding with Stonestreet Cav-Sav 2000. We also indulged in more than a couple of samples (Atalon Cab-Sav and the Mondavi IM Chardonnay... which was a great match with the calamari).
No room for dessert - but it was the classic european favourites (cake, creme brulee, tiramisu and sorbet). Coffee was good (Illy) with a nice rich brown crema on my espresso.
Overall it was excellent and I highly recommend it. February 27 Cosmo and LemonI substituted Lemon Juice for Lime Juice in a Cosmopolitian tonight. Bad choice. Bad choice indeed. February 25 Cocktail House ListWe are maintaining a 'house list' of popular cocktails we are making.
Beverly Hills 2 oz Triple Sec, 1 oz Brandy, ½ oz Kahlua Combine in shaker with ice. Serve in Cocktail Glass.
Brandy Alexander 3 parts Brandy, 3 parts Crème de Cacao, 3 parts Crème Combine in shaker with ice. Serve in Cocktail Glass.
Caipirinha 50 ml Cachaça, 1 Lime, 2 Brown Sugar Cubes Cut Lime in eight pieces and squeeze juice into an Old Fashioned Glass. Muddle the Lime pieces and Sugar in the Glass. Add Ice and Cachaça.
Cosmopolitan 2 oz Vodka, 1 oz Triple Sec, 1 oz Cranberry Juice, ½ oz Lime Juice Combine in shaker with ice. Serve in Cocktail Glass.
Cock Sucking Cowboy 2 parts Butterscotch Schnapps, 1 part Baileys Layer Baileys over the Butterscotch Schnapps in a Shot Glass.
Daiquiri 50 ml Rum, 12.5 ml Lime Juice, 2 bar spoons Sugar Syrup (or 1 tsp Sugar) Combine in shaker with ice. Serve in Cocktail Glass.
Lost Credit Card 1 ½ oz Midori, 1 oz White Rum, 1 oz Lemon Juice, ½ oz Triplesec Combine in shaker with ice. Serve in Cocktail Glass.
Margarita 3 oz Gold Tequila, 1 oz Triple Sec, 2 oz Lime Juice Combine in shaker with ice. Serve in Cocktail Glass.
Mojito 2 oz Gold Rum, Mint, 1 tsp Fine Sugar, 1 oz Lime Juice, Soda Water Mix well in a Highball Glass. Ensure Mint is bruised. Top with Soda Water.
Neutron Bomb 1 part Butterscotch Schnapps, 1 part Baileys, 1 part Kahlua Layer Baileys over the Butterscotch Schnapps in a Shot Glass and then carefully pour the Kahlua and allow it to sink to the bottom.
New CocktailHere is a 'new' cocktail I 'invented' last weekend.
Lost Credit Card 1 ½ oz Midori, 1 oz White Rum, 1 oz Lemon Juice, ½ oz Triplesec Combine in shaker with ice. Serve in Cocktail Glass.
February 20 Weekend Wine ReportWe picked up some new wines from Fred Meyer on the weekend (we had a gift card - normally Larry's Market is my wine merchant of choice). Penfolds St Henri 2000 (a steal at $27), a couple of Penfolds 407's, L'Ecole No. 41, Leasingham Bin 61 Shiraz 2002 and a Kiona Late Harvest Riesling (from the Yakima Valley).
On Saturday night we devoured the Leasingham. A very pleasing wine which released it's blackberry flavours after a bit of air. A sharp reminder that we have been drinking too much cheap wine.
On Sunday we had the Kiona. Matched with it were two dessert courses: berries (straw, black and rasp) with a white chocolate sauce and a Roquefort style cows milk. The Kiona was a little too spritzy for my liking but still value for money at $12 for 375 ml.
In other news I made a margarita with Midori in it. It was terrible. February 13 Wine vs CocktailsI'm still shunning Wine. Our collection of Cocktail recipes, bartools and ingredients is still fascinating me. Enjoying Wine is all about self-education (knowing what you like and when to drink it) and luck. Cocktails are so much more interactive. You can adjust your recipe, share recipes and the range of tastes is more varied. With a small bar you can create so much more variety of tastes than small cellar of wine. You also don't have to commit to drinking a bottle over 1-3 days once opened. FondueEllie and I headed over to Alex and Kate's for a traditional European fondue (just the right mix of swiss cheese and kirsch). I must confess I had not experienced Fondue before in my young and inexperienced life. The addition of the kirsch and wine into the cheese was initially quite startling to my taste buds. After a couple of pieces I could see the advantages of alcoholising this cheesy food! I also admired Kate's discipline by sticking only to bread for dipping. There is something blatantly wrong about dipping vegetables and meat into cheese. January 24 Beverly HillsBeverly Hills:
4 Parts Cointreau or Triple Sec (what is the difference really?)
2 Parts Brandy/Cognac (I wasted some VSOP Courvoisier. I really need to buy some cheap brandy)
1 Part Kahlua
Mix together in shaker with ice and serve in cocktail glass.
Note to self: must by some Cachaca. January 21 MixturaLast night Ellie, Ben, Caroline and I checked out Mixtura. It's a new 'new-andean' restaurant in Kirkland. We opted for a tapas style dinner with cocktails and were extremely impressed. Service was a little shakey - but I can forgive that with any new restaurant. The popularity of the place (it was packed) was probably unexpected. I can safely say that Mixtura is the best restaurant on the eastside - maybe even all of Seattle. All four of us were in complete agreement: price, atmosphere, food quality, drink quality and menu were all excellent. January 17 Margaritas!Alex and Kate dropped over for a quick drink last night. I had practiced my Margarita the night before and it was 'average' but my effot this time was much better. My first thought was that I had not enough lime juice and that I had overloaded the shaker (200ml Tequila, 100 mls Cointreau, Juice of Two Limes + Ice). I pleased with the final product and shall move on to something different (and continue to refine my martini of course). January 14 22 DoorsEllie and I lunched at 22 Doors today. It's a stylish American style cafe/bar in Capitol Hill. I opted for the sweet potato panckages and Ellie went for the vegetarian omelet. Since it was 1:00pm I paired the pancakes with a Pisoni (is beer with breakfast food bad?). 22 Doors definitely worth trying and make sure you have a coffee before/afterwards at Victrola next door!
In other news: our cocktail making 'hobby' is going strong. The black russian I just made went straight to my head. I have these self indulgent dreams of a triumphant return to Sydney as a master chef/bartender/barista/sommelier. Bartender is probably the only attainable goal (or a sommelier at a family restaurant). January 08 Café CampagneEllie and I dined at Café Campagne for lunch today. We had an aborted attempt at dining there last saturday but for some reason Seattle restaurants like to close in the afternoon on New Years Eve. Campagne rates very high on location (Post Alley adjacent to Pike Place), atmosphere (if it wasn't for the American voices you could be in Paris .... wait .... Paris is full of Americans) and food! Ellie went for their lamb burger (I have had this previously and it is fantabulous) and I had the omelet. The menu is a 'quite French' so be prepared to leave your American comfort zone just a little (don't worry it's not that exotic).
Before lunch we had intended to drop by Victrola but the crappy parking pushed us down the hill to Vivace. Now I must declare that I have a love/hate relationship with Vivace. They probably have the most superior roast available in Seattle but their barista technique is very unreliable. Victrola on the other hand has an excellent roast (but Vivace's is still better) but a far more reliable pour. I went for a straight shot of Vivace's Dolce roast today and wasn't disappointed. A reminder that espresso can be much more than the liquid faeces found at Starbucks. December 24 Cafe VictrolaI took a quick break from spec writing this morning to check out Cafe Victrola in Capitol Hill. Erik F had bought some of their coffee at another store and reckoned it was better than Vivace's roast. I decided to head to the source and try the coffee and the coffee making.
The ambiance was nice with a comfortable cafe feel. The other patrons were hip and sophisticated with just the right mix of the hip, the funky parents, yuppies and aging queens. The roast is certainly milder than Vivaces but the brewing is far better. I also admired the consistent quality of the latte art which the baristas were producing.
Verdict: Definitely going back there! December 22 Wine Dork vs Wine Geekvia the Fermentation blog
TOP TEN WAYS TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A WINE GEEK AND WINE DORK
1. A dork will make you feel uncomfortable. They are supercilious, punctilious, and from my point of view, just plain supersillious. A geek, however, will make you feel comfortable, and value your opinion of his wines. 2. A dork holds his glass by the base, or with his fingers curled sensuously around the body of the glass. A geek grabs his glass by the stem and just sticks his nose in. All business. 3. Geeks love sweet wine and the women who drink them. Always keep a bottle on hand for the sensual possibilities. A dork does not keep sweet wine or palate deadening spices in his kitchen. 4. Dorks love to mention Bordeaux and Burgundy. Geeks speak and kiss French. 5. Dorks spend as much as possible for large bottles at auction, hoping for the ultimate photo opp. Geeks barter, trade, and wheedle for wine, but always seem to have plenty on hand. 6. Dorks will ask, "How long will this wine cellar?" Geeks will age a wine only as long as necessary to make it drinkable. They have been known to pick up old bottles and hold them up to the light, shaking the sediment around, and saying, "Do you think I can drink this now?" 7. In a restaurant, dorks will swizzle wine loudly through their teeth before taking the first swallow. Geeks never do this on a first date, because they know if you laugh, the wine will come out your nose. 8. Dorks will order food, then a wine to match. Geeks order wine, and a totally unrelated food. They're always surprised by how well food and wine go together. 9. Dorks follow numerical wine ratings and place their bets accordingly. Geeks are the hecklers of the wine world, and can often be overheard saying, "That wine got an 87? Geesh, I woulda given it a 91. 92?!? How did that wine rate? Are we sure that's not the judge's age??" 10. Dorks have a proper cellar for their wine collection, with temperature controls, and chairs for their guests. Geeks and winemakers use their cellars for "production stuff," and store their personal selections in the garage, between the kayak and the workbench. December 04 Café CampagneWent to Café Campagne today for lunch with Alistair (a PTY expat). It certainly lived up to its reputation - great menu, strong wine list (choice, price and quality), nice atmosphere and good service. Definitely 'the' place for Sunday brunch at Pike Place. When Ellie is back in town I suspect we will be returning!
BTW: We grabbed espresso at Vivace on the way there. Now I know that I said I wouldn't go back (I've said it a few times actually). Well this time: the dolce was perfect. It's about bloody time but it's good to know there is one place in town where I can indulge in a proper coffee. |
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