My friend, Emily, invited me over to a soft opening of Bang Bar in West Seattle a couple of days ago. She has been talking about this place opening up for a couple of months now and I have been really excited since I heard the keywords: Thai Food, West Seattle, and California Avenue.
I did a little more research about Bang Bar and found out that Chef Jahn worked at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel (very awesome) and ran her own restaurant in Thailand. She is now working with owners Sudarat (Aom) Tiacharoenwat and Kay Fuengarom in order to bring thai food with a modernist flair to West Seattle. The modernist flair being their European inspired plating but the food keeps its Thai food traditions (old meets new as my chef at school would say).
The food I tried at the soft opening consisted of smaller bites of their larger plates and each one exploded with a ton of flavor…..so damn good. I can’t wait to go back and check it out. You should check it out when it opens this Friday (June 10th!).
The opening of this restaurant on Capitol Hill in Seattle is very exciting for me. A lot of my friends in the Seattle culinary scene are now working at this restaurant which opens today, but before I introduce you to them let’s take a step back.
Two years ago I checked out Skillet Street Food’s airstream trailer (click) and I was high fiving my tongue with their duck confit. I loved their trail blazing street food movement which two years later it seems that everyone is opening a street food truck for all the wrong reasons, “it would be cool, I like to cook, and I hate my job now so why not invest a bunch of money in the hopes of making money, being my own boss, and getting into this whole food thing” (I have more money than brains!). Problem is is that most people don’t realize how much hard work goes into running a street food truck, making it successful, then being able to save money and open a restaurant. Josh Henderson figured it out and made some damn fine food along the way (shout out to the Marination Mobile, another mobile food trucker to open their own brick & mortar).
Chef Henderson in his new digs.
To open his restaurant chef Henderson scouted some heavy hitters to come work for him. One of them being my former chef de cuisine at Blueacre, chef Brian O’ Connor.
Chef Brian is one of the people that has been instrumental in my career in learning how to cook. He taught me how to fire food properly and always pushed me to do more with myself even when I thought I was pushing myself as hard as I could. He’s always been supportive of my weird food and can always bring me back down to earth when I get too confident with my abilities. He’s amazing and is a major reason that I’ll be dining at Skillet as much as I can.
A little video of the kitchen and dining area.
(Chef Seth Richardson wearing his “Eye of the Tiger” bandana, you know it’s gonna be a good day when you see that)
Next up in the chefstravaganza at Skillet is Seth Richardson, the sous chef and comfort food master. I always had a blast at Blueacre when Seth would make family meal. He would take something classic and traditional then give it his comfort food twist, we’ll get to that in a minute.
Mindy and I had a chance to check out Skillet a few days before it opened. Here is a video of the view from where we sat, because I do things like that.
First up, we decided to split the kale caesar salad.
It’s served with boquerones, buttered croutons, parmesan, and creamy dressing. The boquerones are amazing when paired with just about anything but in this salad they make it explode and it will probably be the first time you’re ever excited about eating an all kale salad. So good.
Next up, their ultimate grilled cheese
Three cheese (brie, cheddar, and American) with bacon jam, on brioche, with fries. Cheesy goodness and definitely appropriate for an appetizer because why the hell not??? You deserve it.
For entrees Mindy ordered Chef Brian’s own meatloaf.
Made with duroc pork, local beef, bacon, onions, special seasonings, and glazed with ketchup-demi (Seth’s genius addition), mashed potatoes, and vegetables (which happened to be delicious grilled asparagus). Mindy made it about half way before surrendering to the awesomeness but the best thing about meatloaf is it tastes even better when it’s heated up again so it was her lunch the next day (2 days of being awesome with meatloaf in your belly!).
I chose chef Seth’s pot roast special for my entree.
Braised local beef, potatoes, celery and carrots, served with rustic grilled bread for dipping. So damn good I wanted to jump back behind the line and give Seth a hug……I did anyway but you might want to do that too once you eat this. It’s the Wednesday night special on the menu so definitely make plans to visit this pot roast.
While we were eating a secret dish showed up to our table. A little bit of our worlds crashing together and a tribute to our times working together but with that Skillet sensation flair.
I’m not even going to tell you what this is. What you should do is just print out the picture, take it to Skillet, and ask chef Brian to make it for you. Trust me on this one.
Get out to Skillet as soon as you can. The prices on their menu will definitely make sure this place is busy all the time and the quality of food they’re putting out will definitely make you come back. Check out their site (click).
Mindy and I had a date night the other night at Fresh Bistro. We have both been extremely busy and it has been a while since we had a chance to just sit and relax so we went to one of our favorite restaurants in Seattle (Spur is the other, just in case you’re wondering). We love Fresh Bistro, it’s our go-to place whether it’s for Brunch, Lunch, Dinner, or a late-night happy hour session. Since we live in West Seattle it’s convenient for us to go to it but I truly believe it’s one of Seattle most underrated restaurants and after these pictures you’ll see why.
I made a reservation at the chef’s table and I was told that Robroy Chalmers (General Manager) and Chef Luke Kolpin (Sous chef) would be preparing some special food fare for us. You can see our first course above which started the multi-course food extravaganza…..underneath the flower is some fried pea shells which were absolutely delicious along with the entire soup itself….those crunchy pea shells, genius (you’re gonna hear that a lot in this post).
Next up was the Brie en Croute.
Lovely melted and gooey brie paired with huckleberry and wrapped in luscious baked pastry served with honey comb, almonds, and rosemary crackers. Oh yes.
Next up, a special salad from chef Luke.
Sous vide egg yolk, potato chips, asparagus tips, creme fraiche, watercress, and pickled onion. Again, genius.
Next up, Seared sous vide tender beef loin
with a cauliflower puree, fava beans, mushrooms, and edible flowers.
Next up, Oysters
with Champagne mignonnette and shallot caviar. The shallot caviar and mignonnette added a nice bright flavor to the already delicious oysters.
Next up, Halibut!
Hello spring!!!!! Absolute stunner of a dish with smoked ham shank, ragout of spring peas, crispy potatoes, perfectly seared halibut, watercress, and peas. So perfect and the addition of smoked ham shank to halibut….awesome.
Next up, Salmon.
Seared skin on salmon with wilted spinach, seared sous vide egg, flowers, herbs, and I don’t remember what the sauce was but it was f’ing delicious. This whole dish was spectacular (really running out of words in the thesaurus instead of saying awesome when it comes to this dinner….awesome x 1000!)
Finally, dessert. Mindy was stuffed at this point but when it came around she found room and she fell in love.
Condensed milk ice cream, biscotti, flowers, and shiso. Mindy was again in her happy place after this one. This was truly one of the best dinners I’ve ever had and I really think you should make your way out to Fresh Bistro in West Seattle. Amazing food, always.
Thanks again to Chef Dalis Chea, Chef Luke Colpin, Robroy Chalmers, and the rest of the Fresh Bistro crew (Sal!) for an amazing dinner and for all of the other great dining experiences we’ve had there (Loco Moco, Bibimbap, Pig Roasts, Late night bento box!, halibut cheeks, ramp cakes, banh mi sliders, and the specially concocted cocktails by Sal).
Someone asked me if the food is always like this (after seeing these pictures on Facebook) and I responded, “yes, that’s why I always go back so many times”.
The chef/owner of Quinn’s (best poutine I’ve ever had…..foie gras poutine…..it’s life changing) opened up a burger place in Fremont called Uneeda Burger which is now home to my favorite burger in Seattle (not kidding). That picture above is of their medi-terra burger. It’s a lamb burger with tempura lemon, charred peppers, onions, manchego, arugula, and cilantro. That is a whole lot of awesome and I think you should go, try it out for yourself, then we can high five each other and talk about how great it is.
Uneeda Burger (they don’t have a website yet….otherwise I would link to it)
There’s a new burger in town and it’s dope (cheesy and corny line to intro. a restaurant….mmmmm cheese and corn…..what?…..focus Eric, focus).
I’ve been in a little burger craze lately. It has a lot to do with wanting to save money for my trip but it also has more to do with I know in about a year I won’t have access to really amazing burgers (“Eric, where are you going?!?!?!?! Somewhere far away…..), but that’s ok because a place like Dope Burger which is new to the Belltown scene definitely has a dope burger (well, not actually a dope burger which would probably be like the most perfect thing duuuuuuuuuude….you put like a burger….fries….chili….a whole pizza….in a bun and like oh wow……duuuuude awesome) that I’m really excited about. I’ve been there three times in the past two weeks and I’m hooked on their Dope Delux (calm down spell check…that’s how they spell it) because it’s $6.75 and it’s f’ing great. Lot’s o’ meat, some cheese, and that sauce……ohhhhh that sauce (if you know me then you know I’m all about sauces and their “dope sauce” is damn good).
Dope burger has quickly become another great go-to burger place for me. Thanks to chef Brian for suggesting this place to me and I’ll be back….he lives a couple of blocks away and he owes me some Eric time (Yes, I am sending you this link and forcing you to not only read my blog but to also hang out with me…..guilt trip!!!!!!!!!!!).
There is a new restaurant in West Seattle to check out. The reason I was there is that it offers brunch on the weekends. That’s a pretty important time to eat for me because it’s the only chance of the week that I get to sit down with Mindy for a meal. This quarter I don’t have a day off or evening off so when it comes to searching for a place to eat on the weekend they better offer brunch….not breakfast, that’s too early……brunch is perfect!
Avalon is a new restaurant located in West Seattle in the old Cafe Revo spot about 40 steps away from the Luna Park Cafe. Chef Deborah Breuler has opened up a nice and comfortable restaurant that will be sure to bring in the Eric and Mindy brunch show more often.
Mimosa, Bloody Mary, and a menu please
Mindy had the biscuits with chorizo gravy and egg.
I had the short rib hash with egg and let me just say that this is one of the best ways to start a day. Corned beef and hash? That’s so pre-Avalon. Short rib and hash………yes please!
We’ll be back for sure, I love short ribs and that chorizo gravy was very good. I can’t wait to check out what they have for dinner in a few months!
This is the only way you will find me shopping at a mall.
Seafood City in Tukwila has been open for a few months now and I can’t get enough of it. It’s a super clean grocery store inside of Southcenter Mall with a great selection of ingredients focusing on Philippine Cuisine.
You’ll find tons of seafood (of course), meat, and other great things like a chicaron wall!
I found a sauce called banana sauce that I’ve never tried before and it was 2/$1.00 so why not!
I think that will throw a nice curveball into another sauce of mine so it was definitely a nice discovery. There are so many other things to check out there. My favorite thing is to pick up some prepared food and eat it in their food court. Lumpia! Lechon Kawali! So much good stuff and really inexpensive!
If you ever find your way down to Southcenter then be sure to make your first stop at Seafood City.
Hey look, it’s my parents. They were in town for about a month so things have been a little quiet here on the blog but that doesn’t mean we weren’t up to a bunch of cool things.
In that picture we were eating brunch at Cafe Flora. I had originally intended us to eat brunch at Luc but I was off by a day….that happens a lot these days. It’s ok though because brunch was delicious and Mindy had this Pear and Chevre French Toast that was to die for.
Making the rounds with my parents I took them to Salumi which is where I take anyone that likes to have great food….all….the….time. It’s funny how big a contrast there is between Cafe Flora (vegetarian restaurant) and Salumi (capital of cured meats) but if you’re gonna hang out with me prepare to go on a culinary journey/leave full.
We had a few sandwiches and I dreamed about one day having my own curing room so I could eat my dinner in (between) piece(s of salami).
The week after that we went to brunch at Blueacre where Chef Kevin pulled out all the stops for us. Oysters, Oysters AAC, Ritzy Ling Cod, Gumbo, and so much more. My dad loves the clam chowder. I know, it’s something really basic and simple but when it’s pulled off to perfection every time it’s like my dad said, “I could eat this every day and be happy”.
Somewhere in between that it was Mindy’s birthday which is a day after my dad’s. We had two different parties with one being at 88 keys and the other being at Teatro Zinzanni.
I got to 88 keys after work and the party was still going strong.
A few days after that I started getting ready for Thanksgiving and well, things got off to a rough start. SnOMG happened and the city was pretty much shut down. We went on Gobble Quest (click) and then I rocked Thanksgiving dinner (click). Everything turned out better than expected.
Martita Chin Time!!!
That’s my mom’s dog that they brought with them from Puerto Rico. The dog speaks two languages. “Bark!” ”¡El Bark!”
When it came to Christmas Mindy and I purchased a nice gift for my parents. We went to brunch at Art Restaurant across the street from the Seattle Art Museum then we met up with the director of the Seattle Art Museum, Derrick Cartwright, and where he explained how they were able to bring the exhibit to Seattle. After the presentation we went across the street to visit the Picasso exhibit and it was life changing for me.
Christmas came around and instead of cooking a bunch of food at the house I threw a curveball into the normal plans and said, “Hey, lets just go around the International District and see what we can find”.
We went to Jade Garden for dim sum.
We saw Martita Chin hanging out so we snapped a picture.
Then I went over and bought some meat from the window then took it home and made a stir-fry with it.
A few days later I had a dinner party and invited a few friends over. I live in a tiny home and I invited about 20 people over……everyone came except for 2 people so it was packed…but that’s ok! I had enough food to go around and it was a chance for my parents to see how crazy I have actually become.
Denise from Wasabi Prime (click) snapped these pictures to which I am very thankful for because I didn’t have a chance to even look at a camera. I knocked out 22 items that night and my dad helped me with dishes while Mindy and my mom mingled with friends.
New Year’s Eve came and I was working so the family headed over to Blueacre with our friends Brad and Kristie. I cooked up an Angry 2 1/2 lb. Lobster for them and brought it to the table for them. Wow, I hate working front of house
On the last night that my parents were here I decided to do a seafood extravaganza. When I used to travel to Puerto Rico when I was a little kid my grandpa would cover a table with newspaper and my mom would sit and eat blue shell crab for hours. I’m here to take the torch with a little help from my dungeness friends.
Kusshi Oysters with a cilantro/preserved lemon mignonette.
King Crab Leg, New York Steak, Robuchon Potatoes, Wilted Spinach, Fig-Demi
I pinch.
Well, that’s how it came to a close. It was awesome having my parents here and I wish they could stay but they have to take care of my grandma’s in Puerto Rico. It’s probably better that way since I didn’t really have that much time to spend with them being busy as I am these days. It’s only going to get crazier but I’m just happy I had time to a little more time with them than I usually do.
Mindy and I went out last weekend to Revel. I’ve been waiting for this place to open and originally had an invite to attend a soft opening for it but I had to work so instead of whining and crying about it Mindy and I went out for lunch on the weekend. We walked in and we were the first ones there at 11AM and I immediately fell in love with the set up of the restaurant.
IT’S OPEN!! I love that. If I were to open a restaurant then this is the way I would want it to be. When we arrived chef Chirchi gave us a tour of the restaurant and showed us the patio space that Eric and Mindy will be spending some time at this summer and also showed us the bar that is attached to Revel called Quoin.
I can stay here for hours bouncing between the restaurant, bar, and patio! Another great thing that is coming down the pipeline for Revel is that they will be serving brunch in January so that is another reason for the Rivera’s to get out there…..we love brunch!
Let’s eat!
First up was the corned lamb, arugula, and nuoc cham. I’ve never had corned lamb before and it completely blows the doors off of corned beef. Corned lamb….where have you been all my life? Oh, in this salad…..right.
This is the pork belly pancake. This makes all other pancakes unequal. I can’t believe I’ve eaten other pancakes in my life and nobody ever put pork belly in it instead of trying to put a thousand toppings of fruit and whipped cream on them. Pork Belly Pancake……
Speaking of toppings… These condiments rocked my socks off. I wanted to take them home with me but instead I went home and tried to duplicate them at my house….pretty close but definitely worth going back to Revel to taste the master recipe of these great condiments!
These are the dumplings you are looking for. Chorizo, jicama, and cilantro dumplings. A nice little sear then steam, then eat, and a little bath with those condiments I was talking about earlier……yes please thank you!
This is the five spiced duck balls with lacinato kale and smoked chili. Sorry for the blurry pics on this post, my cell phone camera was having a hard time capturing the awesomeness of this meal.
All of these dishes were fantastic but this was my favorite. Short rib with sambal daikon, mustard green, egg, and sticky rice. I could eat this every day and be a happy man. Add a little kick of spice (to the condiments!) and I’ll high five you a few times and tell you how awesome it is.
“Mindy, how is it?” See, she’s happy At this point we really couldn’t eat anymore but then the server told us about ice cream sandwiches…..if you ever turn down ice cream sandwiches then we can’t be friends……plain and simple. Make ice cream sandwiches like this and I’ll be your friend forever! Chocolate chip cookie, chili, and caramel!
About a month ago I went to Pintxo to check out their assault on the world of tapas. They’re a newer restaurant in Seattle in the Belltown area that has my attention. I’ve heard good things from friends so I finally made my way to check it out.
First up on the menu for me was a meat and cheese platter.
Next up was the bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese.
Finally, the show stopper. If you ever go to this restaurant then order this…..order it twice….order it a thousand more times.
Quail eggs on toast with serrano ham and chorizo. Helllllllllllloooooooooooooo! So incredibly good.
I was invited to go check out a media dinner at Palisade in Seattle. I haven’t been to Palisade in nearly 8 years…I think the last time I was there for a mother’s day dinner which is usually the reason people go to Palisade. However, things have changed a bit there and there’s a new chef in town (Chris Bryant) so I went down there to check it out!
First course was the salad you see above which was part of a three course menu that runs during lunch that costs $15. Yes, that’s right…..3 courses for $15!
Next up was a chef’s selection of fish with an asiago-parmesan crust served with wild mushroom quinoa, asparagus, tomato relish, and lemon butter sauce.
Finally was a trio of creme brulee which came in vanilla, chocolate, and grand marnier. I’m a huge fan of creme brulee and each one of them was fantastic.
I really don’t understand how they can put these three courses together for $15 but I think it’s worth getting down there and checking it out for yourself…..it’s a steal! If you have family and friends then this is the place to take them for this holiday season because you probably went past your budget for presents so just feeling like you got a great deal sounds/tastes good right now
About a month ago I checked out Farm Boat (forgot I was writing this post then I had to run out the door….one month later, here we are!). Farm Boat is a farmer’s market on a boat that travels up and down the Puget Sound (rhyming) and drops off lovely produce and culinary delights to the new South Lake Union Park. At the time of checking it out I was on my way to work and didn’t have time to buy anything but the produce looked great and I intend to make it back before they close up on the 23rd of December. They have CSA’s and will have an expanded route in the future but for now check them out at their South Lake Union park location on Thursday’s from 11:00AM-3:00PM
Pioneer Square is under a culinary revival right now. The last few restaurants that have opened their doors have been great, Delicatus and Tat’s Deli. Pioneer Square is such a beautiful part of Seattle…..I realize not a lot of people think that way that live here but I have always been drawn to it. My mom used to work in that area back in the 90′s and my dad would usually park in the middle of nowhere so we could go to Mariners games and not have to worry about paying a billion dollars for parking. These days I’m about 3/4 of a mile away from there when I’m at school so it’s a nice walk to places like these to get some great food action. While there really hasn’t been much in that area over the past few years places like Delicatus, Tat’s, Salumi, and more have been attracting people back to Pioneer Square or as I called it in a previous post “Deli Square”.
Built Burger is a new burger place that makes the burger the star (I’m a big fan of that CLICK). They don’t overload with you a ton of condiments or ingredients on the burger in order to hide the quality of the almighty beef. The restaurant itself is small so when lunch time comes around run don’t walk!
I tried the Supreme Pastrami burger (pictured above with awesome cellphone camera picture) when I was there and it was very good. I can’t wait to try the Pinnacle Bacon Bleu or the other specials they have available (Chanterelle burger, Patty Melt, and a Hot Wing burger) . Oh, I’ll be back for more!!
A dream kitchen, a dream restaurant, a dream is reality at Sitka & Spruce.
This is what I want the kitchen in my home to look like one day…it might even be the same set up I would like in my restaurant but I’m nowhere near having a custom home kitchen or a restaurant of my own so I will be adopting a spot at the communal table at Sitka & Spruce so I can dream about those days in the future. This restaurant did something for me that I can’t quite put into words.
The second Mindy and I walked into Sitka & Spruce it felt like we were walking into someone’s kitchen….a really nice kitchen that could someday be ours in our home the next time we try that whole mess We looked around and noticed the little shelves, records, antique sink, nice and shiny stove that is the same one I use at work but newer and shinier, I explained how awesome those French cast-iron pans were to Mindy, and there was so much more. It’s a small spot with approximate space for 35-40 diners but it still felt like we were relaxing at someone’s home….no rush, just relax, and talk with Mindy…..we get to do that about once or twice a week and we usually play catch up but this time we just marveled in the idea of this restaurant…..this could be the direction we take one day…..we’ll see….. but first, let’s see how amazing chefs throw it down!
(Camera phone pictures)
Food time! We went for brunch and after this incredible meal I can’t wait to check out dinner one day!
We started with this dish.
This is the Halibut Lox with thinly sliced radish, dill, and olive oil with a little salt and pepper. Very simple and absolutely incredible.
Next up was the creamed potatoes with poached egg and sorrel
Yes please….everyday and always….thank you. The topper for me on this one is that they use the previous day’s menu as a replacement for a doily…..genius.
Finally, the prosciutto with marinated feta was incredible when paired with the Columbia City Bakery bread. All three dishes worked amazingly well with a glass of champagne and the company of the lovely Mindy.
I had some time before class today so I decided to walk around a bit and to my surprise/delight I saw the Where Ya At Matt? food truck hanging out in Belltown near my school. There are a lot of great things about this truck and my favorite thing about it is the cuisine…..Creole Soul Food. I used to live in Louisiana so any chance I have to eat this type of cuisine I run towards it (I work at Blueacre and Chef Kevin is from Louisiana….I ran towards the restaurant to work there!).
Things that get me excited no matter how full/hungry/awake/asleep I am……. Gumbo, Jambalaya, Po Boy, Red Beans & Rice, and so much more….. I heard there was a food truck in Seattle called Where Ya At Matt? that served all these things and when I walked around the corner and saw it I was so happy. On the menu was one of my favorite sandwiches of all time, the muffuletta. This sandwich rocks because of the meats and olives…I’ve eaten them down in Shreveport, Natchitoches, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans many times and I drool when I see the word muffuletta (I wear a muffuletta bib sometimes….it’s embarrassing but I rarely have to use it…but now that I know that this food truck serves it I’ll have to order some more). Look at this thing and drool with me!!!
I have a feeling in a few weeks I’ll be stalking this truck on a regular basis when my parents come into town, they love creole cuisine just as much as I do so we’ll all be asking “WHERE YA AT MATT?!?!??!”
Here is their contact information so you can find them for yourself, try the muffuletta!:
My friend, Emily, invited me over to a soft opening of Bang Bar in West Seattle a couple of days ago. She has been talking about this place opening up for a couple of months now and I have been really excited since I heard the keywords: Thai Food, West Seattle, and California Avenue.
