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When I told Don that I was headed to LA for Thanksgiving, he gave a list of his favorite food stops. A couple of them are very close to Helene’s place in Westwood, including Bombay Café.

Bombay Café is a nouveau Indian restaurant (it’s to Indian as El Camino is to Mexican). But they did stock the classic Indian brews, including a large Taj Mahal for my brother-in-law:

There were far too many good looking dishes on the menu to choose from, but since there were four of us we managed a reasonable initial sampling. We opted for one familiar dish that the entire Lavoie family enjoys: Saag Paneer. Bombay Café makes their paneer in-house, and it is notably fresh. The spinach was piping hot, a little sweet, and satisfied my spinach craving. That being said, it wasn’t overly distinctive and could have used a bit more spice.

The highlight of the meal for me was the Chicken Frankie. Frankies are supposedly a popular Indian street food (we haven’t made it to the sub-continent yet, so will have to wait for personal verification).  I can say that the one at Bombay Café was awesome — a dark masala sauce wrapped in a chapati “burrito” form.

I had never heard of white poppy seeds, and so couldn’t pass up the Goan Shrimp Curry (served in a puree of white poppy seeds, coconut and cilantro). It was Helene’s favorite of the pack, and my second favorite after the Frankie. If you like coconut, shrimp, and Indian food then you should definitely get the Goan.

We were deciding on one of the two eggplant dishes, and asked our server who recommended the Eggplant Deva (Japanese eggplant layered with fennel-laced tomato sauce and garlic-ginger infused yogurt). She said it was her favorite dish on the menu. It was good, but next time I’ll try the Baingan Bharta, as I just couldn’t shake the fact that it tasted very much like a pizza with an eggplant crust.

Overall a very enjoyable experience — good food, good beer, good family fun 🙂

Bombay Café
12021 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 473-3388

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On Olive Way just east of I-5 was arguably the most distinctive coffee shop on Capitol Hill: Coffee Messiah. This institution closed its doors in January, 2006. We were taking bets on what (if anything) would replace the Messiah. We all lost, as none of us considered an all-vegetarian Asian-fusion noodle bar (with a complete suite of faux meat). It was about a year later that Capitol Hill was introduced to In the Bowl.

The restaurant was completely madeover from its dark, Jesus-portrait laden past, the walls repainted mango, and opened up as much as possible given the narrow locale. The waitstaff are very friendly and they do a brisk take-out business as well as offering some tightly packed tables for dining in. I’ve been to In the Bowl four times now, and while it has always been busy a table or two was available. Perhaps that’s because your food arrives almost instantly (our dining experience tonight was 30 minutes all-up).

The menu is very tongue-in-cheek. It’s setup as a set of “episodes” (beverages episode, starter episode, stir fried episode, etc). There are items like “You Are So Beautiful” and “Go Green with The Beans”. Tonight we had a repeat of our inaugural meal: Tokyo Noodle and Basil Basil. Both with tofu and 3 stars of spiciness (I haven’t managed to psych myself up for the fake meats yet).

Tokyo Noodle is an udon noodle, with honey-ginger teriyaki sauce, stir fried with mushrooms, onions, and bok choy. It has an undertone of sweetness along with a nice punch of spice. The udon noodles are a nice chewy host for the sauce.

Basil Basil is my personal favorite so far. This stir-fried episode features mushrooms, green beans, onions, and peppers in a chili-garlic sauce. Oh, and lots of basil of course 🙂 The brown rice at In the Bowl is not your common wimpy, mushy brown rice. This rice has flavor and a little bit of body.

Overall In the Bowl has stepped up to the plate and more than filled the void left by Coffee Messiah’s departure. So far, I’d rank it above any of the Asian options that Broadway has to offer. I’m excited to continue my way through the scenes of each “episode”. And if the constant stream of people is any indication, I’m not the only one.

In The Bowl
1554 E. Olive Way
Seattle, WA 98102
206-568-2343

Wed-Mon: 12:00PM-10:00PM (Lunch and Dinner)

Tonight we were wondering what to do with some green beans, and after a little web searching Lauren discovered this gem of a recipe for Szechuan Green Beans.

We sidestepped the whole dutch oven aspect of the recipe, and just pan fried the green beans + some tofu (didn’t have any chicken handy). And since we were lucky enough to have all the ingredients in hand (other than a quick cashew for peanuts substitution), dinner was ready in about 15 minutes. Yum!

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Last night, Lauren and I planned to have a low-key night of home cooking and play around with my new toy. But at around 7:30 I got a call from Mike, asking "do you want to go out to a nice dinner tonight?" It’s a rare treat to have Mike and Erin free for an evening sans children, so we instantly updated our evening plans and quickly scored a reservation at Coupage for 8:30. Thank you OpenTable 🙂

I had been meaning to come back to Coupage since our fantastic inaugural meal this past spring. It’s located on the main drag of Madrona (34th Ave), right across the street from the Madrona Ale House. While waiting for our table we hung out at the bar with Kevin, the friendly bartender who offered us a variety of wines to sample. He also updated us on the latest changes to the menu (which is slightly different then what you’ll find online). At his recommendation we started with the arugula salad that was served with golden and red beets, and a toasted sesame goat cheese that I am still savoring the memory of. If you go to Coupage before the menu changes again, this is a fantastic opener. Mike and Erin’s buttered lettuce salad with toasted hazelnuts and pecorino cheese was also quite tasty, but I preferred our choice 🙂

For the main course, I got to sample four entrees (the joy of having friends that embrace roving forks). Actually, it was five dishes in total, since the waiter misheard "scallop" for Mike’s porkchop. The chef/owner, Thomas Hurley, came by to apologize for the mishap and insisted that Mike enjoy the extra scallops on the house while they prepared his pork so that he wouldn’t be left without a plate of food in front of him. Thomas is very, very nice and genuinely cares not only about his food preparations, but also about his diners’ enjoyment. And he does a great job satisfying both of those goals.

The seared sea scallops were thick and crispy on top just as I love them prepared, and given the bonus order on the table I got to enjoy more than my fair share of buttery shellfish goodness.

The halibut was another solid offering, cooked perfectly to a silky texture and seared lightly on top. Served atop a simple, yet surprisingly delightful mix of mushrooms, corn, and peas.

The Coupage burger. It has foie gras. It is $28 and worth every penny. It’s made from ground short ribs, which means that you can get a burger that’s a little crispy on the outside, and super juicy and bright red on the inside. It may be the best burger in Seattle (though Mike argues that the foie gras gives it an unfair advantage). It’s so good that even Gio, who normally eats muy rapido, savors every single bite. If you are not a vegetarian/aquatarian/chickitarian then you have to try this burger. It will blow you away.

Mike’s porkchop arrived about halfway through our main course. According to Kevin, the pigs come from Idaho, are over 350 pounds, and I quote "I’ve had a lot of pork in my day, and this is the best pork chop I’ve ever had." And it didn’t disappoint. Even though we had filled up on scallops and burgers and halibut, we still picked the porkchop clean.

All in all Coupage is one of my favorite new restaurants in Seattle, an east of Madison alternative to Zoe and Eva.

UPDATE (August, 2008): Unfortunately Coupage has recently closed. However, the original chefs (and supposed inventors of the foie gras burger) Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi have opened Joule in Wallingford which I’ll be checking out soon.

Coupage
1404 34th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98112
206-322-1974

Daily: 5:00PM-late (Dinner)
Sun: 10:00AM-2:00PM (Brunch)

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Due to the magic of registries, Lauren and I received a bunch of cookbooks for our wedding. So far my favorite one of the bunch is The Herbal Kitchen. It’s written by Jerry Traunfeld (executive chef of The Herbfarm), and it is his “what I cook at home” cookbook.

I really like the abundance of of pictures in this book. Personally I get extra inspiration out of a preview on the final product. And, as promised, the recipe execution is more accessible then The Herbfarm Cookbook. We made 3 dishes for guests last night (popcorn chickpeas, cherry tomato, melon, and mint salad, and penne with walnut pesto and eggplant). All of them required minimal prep and tasted fantastic. There’s also a fun beverages section (we had Rosemary gin and tonics). Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

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The first time I tried to have dinner at Tamarind Tree was last November. I had never even seen the place, but multiple friends were raving about the food. It was a Saturday night, and we snaked our way through the traffic jam of a parking lot on the northwest corner of 12th and Jackson. Tucked away in the back corner of the rundown-looking shopping center was the entrance. Inside was the sound of a waterfall, a tastefully warm interior, and a more upscale feeling than your average Vietnamese restaurant (while remaining unpretentious).

Tamarind Tree doesn’t take reservations, and the wait that night was quoted at around an hour. We made a hasty exit (Mark was ravenous already), and I forgot about Tamarind Tree for a few months.

Fast forward to mid-June. Lauren‘s boss recommended Tamarind Tree and gave her the tip that if there’s a wait you should just enjoy their specialty cocktails in the interim. Out we went to celebrate Kavita‘s MBA graduation, on a Friday night this time with call-ahead estimated wait of 20 minutes. It wound up being very quick (maybe 10 minutes) and we followed Karim’s advice to sample the cocktail menu. Turns out that Tamarind Tree makes a fantastic pineapple mojito! We had an enjoyable meal, finishing with an amazing Thit gà xào xa ot (a.k.a. “chili chicken”). The tender chicken was bursting with flavor; spicy hints of chili pepper and lemongrass layered in with the onions.

Tonight Lauren and I returned to Tamarind Tree for a second graduation celebration (a bit of a tradition being established this summer it seems), this time to celebrate DeAnn’s release from the shackles of UW grad school. A slightly longer wait, but it gave us time for DeAnn to experience the pineapple mojito…

And raspberry mojito…

And continue with a guava martini over dinner 🙂

I was able to steal a sip of all drinks ordered, and while the pineapple mojito is still my favorite on their list, the raspberry mojito (with fresh raspberries), pomegranate martini, and guava martinis were no slackers. I didn’t care for the kumquat martini, though I hear it’s the most popular drink on the menu so YMMV.

Tonight we sampled an array of vegetarian options, starting with shitake and eggplant satays. I’m a sucker for good mushrooms, and these did not disappoint. A common issue with shitake preparations is that they will emerge rubbery and undercooked. Not here, where the marinated, grilled morsels in front of us were even better than the menu description:

Next up were the very tasty tamarind tree rolls (also offered with your choice of meat). served with roasted peanuts for a nice crunch, they were the best Vietnamese spring roll that I’ve had in Seattle to date.

Tamarind Tree has an enormous menu, and I’ve only scratched the surface of it (I will remedy that over the next year). With such flavorful food, friendly staff, chic zen ambience, and just about every dish under $10 it’s a wonder the waits aren’t even longer!

Tamarind Tree
1036 South Jackson Street, Suite A
Seattle, Washington 98116
206-860-1404

Daily 10:00AM-10:00PM (Lunch and Dinner)

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I’ll be honest, after 8 years of Capitol Hill living I’m pretty much done with on-Broadway dining. There are a few exceptions though. One is Galerias on the north end. Another is Piroshki on Broadway.

Located across from Dick’s burgers, Piroshki on Broadway is great for a quick snack. They make omelettes for breakfast and pirogies for lunch, but their bread & butter (actually bread & filling of your choice) is the piroshkies. Their spelling however is inconsistent. If you’ll notice, the sign is “PIROSHKY”, but the menu and interior signage has “PIROSHKI”. You make the call.

The piroshki I always crave is the Spinach, Mushroom and Cheese. They are mixed together in garlic which provides a nice counterbalance to the slightly-sweet bun.

If you are one of those anti-mushroom types, the Smoked Turkey and Cheese is also pretty tasty. Russian fast food at its finest!

UPDATE (May, 2009): Piroshki on Broadway has lost their space due to construction of the Capitol Hill light rail station. There is a rumor that the owner still serves russian food at Swedish on First Hill.

Piroshki on Broadway
128 Broadway East
Seattle, WA 98102
206-322-2820

Mon-Sat: 7:30AM-10:00PM
Sun: 8:00AM-8:00PM

After 15 “official” trips to Thai Tom over the past year, we have a winner!

The inaugural event included all 16 dishes in the name of science. Next year will only include “Division A” (the top 8 dishes). Stay tuned for initial seeding and matchups….

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Tucked away in Madison Park, around the corner from the madness of Cactus, lies a charming Italian restaurant names Sostanza. I’ve had a number of memorable experiences here over the years, including a celebration of my condo purchase. Last night I discovered that the restaurant is not quite as small as I thought. While I had always dined downstairs in range of the fireplace and dimly-lit atmosphere reminiscent of Quattro of Whistler, this time we were seated upstairs. Upstairs lay a bar,about 10 tables, and a few tables on the balcony that are in hot demand during the summer months (the entire level overlooks Lake Washington and the Cascades).

We began the evening with a bottle of Valpolicella and an Eggplant Napolean. I’ve now had both Valpolicellas on Sotanza’s current wine list and have heartily enjoyed them both. This one had strong fruits, but did not overwhelm any of the pastas. As for the Napolean, I can tell you that Buffalo mozzarella + fresh tomatoes + grilled eggplant + olive oil + pesto == tasty appetizer. A solid execution and an enjoyable beginning to our meal.

Sostanza is deservedly well-known for their house-made pastas. Lauren’s seafood capellini was a delightful mix of grilled scallops, prawns, and al dente capallini in a light garlic-cream sauce. The cream sauce wasn’t too thick, and the prawns were good and meaty. The scallops were a little wimpy, though certainly passable.

I couldn’t resist the option of papardelle and truffle oil that was listed on the specials menu. I can still vividly remember a similar dish I had there years ago and my mouth watered at the memory. But while the papardelle was as delicious as I remembered and the wild mushrooms paired well with the truffle oil, there was an unnecessary addition of cannelloni beans which were little more than filler. Overall it was an enjoyable pasta, but I couldn’t help but think that it was missing a little something (perhaps some goat cheese would have helped or I should have opted for even more parmesan).

Our friend Ming heartily enjoyed his Saltimbocca. I stole a bite, and the veal was tender and the fresh sage was a nice touch.

For dessert we indulged in the warm mixed berry cobbler — blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries fresh out of the oven and topped with house-made vanilla gelato. The cobbler was tasty and enormous (easily filled all four of us). I also appreciated the fact that the kitchen did not skimp on the gelato, a common failing at restaurants these days.

Overall Sostanza provided another fond evening for my memories. A fine location for both 1-1 romantic dates as well as larger celebrations.

Sostanza Trattoria
1927 43rd Avenue East
Seattle, WA 98112
206-324-9701

Mon-Sat: 5:30PM-9:30PM (Dinner only)
Closed Mondays from October to March

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Tonight Lauren and I indulged ourselves with massages at Ananda Spa (which is deserving of its own space for a review). Across the patio of the Northwest Work Lofts from Ananda Spa is the Boat Street Café. It turns out that the name comes from when the café was located on Boat Street (they were forced to relocate when that building was torn down). The food always smelled fantastic, and we often thought of stopping by for a post-massage meal. Tonight (at long last) we were able to check it out.

The menu is French-inspired, as is the café’s ambience — slate tables, fresh flowers, and minimalist touches. The very friendly waitress brought us some fresh bread to start off the meal. Yes this is a common occurrence, but the fresh mini-baguette that came straight from the oven to our table was worth calling out. I was tempted to make a meal of the baguette and butter…

But I needed to save room for the Black Cod with Pickled Peppers. Rich, silky, and buttery, the cod was matched well with the peppers and onions. Very tasty, but not meant for those looking for “lighter fare”.

Our other entree took advance notice (“30 minutes from oven to table” according to the waitress): Leek and Goat Cheese Flan. It was worth the wait, though one look at the overflowing dish that could feed a small family and I knew what we’d be having for breakfast tomorrow 🙂 This souffle contained a relatively mild goat cheese, and a fluffy texture overlaying the leeks and onions.

Overall the food was very good, and the waitstaff very pleasant. Given the richness of the cuisine however, it would be a difficult place to frequent more than once a month or so. Lunch did look like a more casual, order from the counter-based affair. I’ll report back when we have a chance to check that out!

Boat Street Café
3131 Western Ave., Suite 301
Seattle, WA 98121
206-632-4602

Tues-Sat: 11:00AM-2:00PM, 5:00PM-10:00PM (Lunch and Dinner)