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All the parents we know have given us the same advice: “watch movies and go out to dinner as much as you can before the baby arrives.” Given that Lauren and I watch at most a few movies each year, we’ve been focusing on the other half of the guidance. Tonight we took advantage of our beautiful July 4th weekend weather and took a walk down to Luc.

Luc is the casual bistro that Thierry Rautureau (of Rover’s fame) opened last May, while we were away on our sabbatical. There is a long, narrow dining room surrounding a large bar along with seasonal patio dining. While I liked the indoor space a lot, we couldn’t pass up an outdoor table with weather like today’s.

Suli, our waiter, was very warm, friendly, and knowledgeable. At his suggestion I started with a glass of rosé and a cup of bing cherry gazpacho. It was a great summer-time pairing. The gazpacho was amazing – a smooth mix of cherry tomatoes, cucumber, celery, garlic, chilies, and bing cherries. And it did go quite well with the rosé.

Based on recommendations I’ve been meaning to try Luc’s burger, but tonight that was not meant to be. I think it was a combination of the heat and the description of the day’s special, but I wound up ordering the Neah Bay salmon, which was pan seared and served on a bed of orecchiette and English peas, topped with a spinach sauce. I was very happy with my choice. The salmon was perfectly cooked; pink on the inside, crispy on the outside, and just enough salt to bring out the salmon’s full flavor. The spinach sauce and orecchiette made for a great pairing, and overall it was the best fish dish I’ve had in quite some time.

Lauren ordered the crab sandwich, which was simple but delicious. The local crab was mixed with a little lemon and served on rustic sourdough bread.

We didn’t have any room left for dessert tonight, but we’ll do so next time. We had a great time at Luc, and I can’t believe we waited this long to try it out. We’ll try and return at least once more before the baby is due.

Neah Bay salmon, orecchiette, spinach sauce

 
Local crab sandwich, preserved lemon aioli

Luc
2800 E. Madison 
Seattle, WA 98112
206-328-6645

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Last night Dan and Leslie introduced us to Revel, which opened in Fremont last December. Revel is the latest endeavor of Rachel Wang and Seif Chirchi, the chefs who left Coupage a few years back to start Joule. The theme at Revel is Korean street food, but not your typical bulgogi fare. This is chic, upscale Korean, like our friend Karen.

The menu is organized into six sections: salad, pancake, dumpling, rice, noodle, and ice cream sandwich. Between the four of us (including Dan’s extra-healthy appetite) we were able to sample about half the menu, as well as the daily special.

Chef Rachel at work in the open kitchen

We started our meal with a few drinks. Leslie ordered a greyhound, and about 10 minutes later our waitress returned with her drink, apologetically telling us that the delay is because her bartender accidentally made a grapefruit martini (with citron infused vodka). When we commented that this mistake sounded tasty to us, the waitress brought it to us compliments of the house, one of many nice touches by the staff. Lauren partook of the house-made sodas, enjoying her spicy ginger beverage. My glass of pinot was just ok – I’ll stick with mixed drinks next time.

The ladies with their drinks

Our food arrived progressively. First came the salads, which were divine. The spinach salad was a simple mix of fresh greens, sunchoke, and raisins with a mildly sweet miso vinaigrette. I’d never tried corned lamb before, but it made for an excellent combination with mizuna greens and fish sauce.

Next came the dumplings and pancake. The earl grey dumplings were dreamy. The noodles were a perfect chewiness and the ricotta/raisin filling had a soft sweetness that was addictive. By contrast, the pancake was blasé. I’m sure we got an iron boost from the kale, but overall the dish, while attractive, was also fairly bland.

We also enjoyed the special of the day – a whole grilled chicken with spring onions and enoki mushroom ragout. The chicken was moist and had absorbed the mushroom flavor well.

Our last dish was a bowl of noodles, tinged green with coriander and served with large, perfectly grilled gulf shrimp. The whole dish tasted very fresh; soft noodles with crunchy shrimp and vegetables. I quite enjoyed the noodles, and it would have been a large enough dish to satisfy my hunger if I was dining solo.

I’ve never been to Korea, but I bet you won’t find albacore tuna/fennel kimchi/escarole rice bowls on the streets of Seoul. However, I don’t think the clientele are here for the authenticity. Revel’s inventive, tasty small plates are drawing quite a crowd, with the main room already filling up when we arrived at 5:30. Lauren and I will return soon for another round of the salads and the earl grey dumplings;  we’ll make sure to save room and try the ice cream sandwiches.

Mizuna salad with corned lamb, spicy nuoc cham

Spinach salad with sunchoke, miso vinaigrette

Earl grey ricotta, golden raisin, candied pecan dumplings

Kale, walnut, arugula, pecorino-romano pancake

Coriander noodles with white gulf shrimp and cilantro pistou

Chicken with mushrooms and spring onions

Revel
403 N 36th St
Seattle, WA 98103
206-547-2040

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I’ve been meaning to write about Poppy for a few years now. After taking shelter at home all day from the snowpocalypse we took a long walk down to Broadway and I committed to following up with a review tonight.

Poppy opened in Fall 2008, after Jerry Traunfeld left his 20 year post at the Herbfarm (and its $250/person dining tab) to open a more casual restaurant in Capitol Hill. It took us a few months to make our first visit, after listening to Gio rave about his perpetual (almost weekly) dinners there. Once we did though, I was hooked.

The food at Poppy centers around the concept of a thali. Contrary to the Indian curries + rice on aluminum tray (or banana leaf), Poppy’s thalis are a Pacific Northwest-inspired assortment. They usually include a soup, a few salads, a pickle, naan, and one or two larger “mains” (both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options). Lauren and I have found it best to split a thali, which leaves us some room for an appetizer and/or a dessert (both worthwhile).

The appetizer list has a few mainstays, including one of our favorites, eggplant fries with honey. Lauren normally hates honey, but cannot refuse these fries. Sometimes we recognize items we’ve make from the Herbal Kitchen (which Jerry will sign for you if purchased at Poppy).

For the thali, Poppy is very flexible about letting you mix and match between entrees, sides, etc. in order to fully customize your plate. If available, the scallops and black cod are both amazing, and they do a great job with yams and mushrooms. Here are some of what you might get if you are lucky:

 
Full (10 item) vegetarian thali (clockwise from top):
  nigella-poppy naan 
  goat cheese blintzes with chestnut and chanterelles
  triple celery salad (celery root, celery stalk, celery seeds) 
  persimmon, radicchio, and citron salad
  local black truffle, leek, and sunchoke risotto
  cauliflower, sesame and fennel soup 
  wild mushroom-marjoram bread pudding
  nigella-poppy naan 
  center-left – brussels sprouts with crisp shallot
  center-right – gingered burdock pickle
  (hidden behind naan) – fingerlings with lavender and mint

 
Alaskan scallops with pork belly and vanilla-thyme quince

 
A thali for chilly nights (Jan 2009, clockwise from top):
  four-seed chickpea salad
  carrot soup with start anise and cinnamon
  black cod with beet-wasabi sauce and burdock  
  Yukon gold potatoes and cashews with clove and cardamom
  yam and sesame fritter 
  Berkshire pork ribs with pear, parsnip, and sunchoke
  spot shrimp, endive, and grapefruit salad
  center-top – lemon fennel pickle
  center – cauliflower gratin
  (not pictured) – nigella naan

A thali for December sun (2008, clockwise from top):
  five-seed kale
  mushroom marjoram bread pudding 
  quail from the tandoor with pomegranate walnut sauce  
  shaved cauliflower salad with Buddha hand 
  persimmon, fennel, and chervil salad
  chestnut soup with cardamom, vanilla, and bay
  spot shrimp and fingerlings in garlic almond sauce
  center-left – satsuma mustard pickle
  center-right – rosemary-ginger yams with spiced coconut, cranberry cigar

Tonight we had room for one last bite. Usually we opt for Poppy’s house-made ice cream, which is the best on the Hill (sorry Molly), but given the chill outside we opted for chocolate. The torte is petite in size, but quite rich and satisfying.

Chocolate caramel torte with orange peel and cocoa nib crunch

Lauren enjoying dessert

It’s great to have a restaurant of this caliber on the Hill. I’ve taken a number of guests there for the unique presentation, rotating menu, Northwest flair, and fun setting. We still haven’t managed to get there for happy hour, but I’ve heard rave reviews on that as well.

Poppy
622 Broadway E (at Roy)
Seattle, WA 98102
206-324-1108

Tu-Th, Sun: 5:30PM-10:00PM (Dinner)
Fri-Sat: 5:30PM-11:00PM (Dinner)
Bar menu for an extra hour each day

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Le Fournil is a little French bakery and sandwich shop located under the I-5 bridge (and just south of the U-bridge). We’ve made a number of trips to U-Village since moving into our new house, and each time we passed Le Fournil we would wonder why we didn’t time the trip appropriately for a lunch stop. Today we avoided that mistake, and boy was it delicious.

My go to at Le Fournil is their “lunch special”, which includes a sandwich, drink (coffee or juice), and a pastry for just more than the price of a sandwich.  The sandwiches are served on their house-baked baguettes, and are primarily classic French choices like camembert or ham and cheese. Today we had tuna (one of my favorites), made with some light herbs and spices.

The hardest decision at Le Fournil is which pastry to get (the only wrong answer here is to abstain). When we took our friend Shivani here, she found the mille-feuille orgasmic. The croissants are flaky and perfectly buttery, but today we were drawn to the fruit tart section of the case and chose the lemon tart. Perfect if you’re in the mood for the tartness of lemon, it was a sizable portion (though of course we finished it all).

As this special is available as early as 7AM, I’ve also been known to stop in on the way to work and enjoy freshly-squeezed orange juice and an almond croissant (with a sandwich for later). If you are craving a little taste of Paris, get yourself over to the Montlake cut and linger over a meal at Le Fournil, you won’t regret it!

Enjoying the lunch special: latte, tuna sandwich, and lemon tart

A large selection of goodies, from peach tarts to mille-feuilles

Le Fournil
3230 Eastlake Ave E (just south of the University Bridge)
Seattle, WA 98102
206-326-0287

Tue-Sat 7:00AM-6:00PM, Sunday 8:00AM-3:00PM