So I’m going to try something new for presenting restaurants and their fare. In the past I’ve focused on a fifty-fifty blend of commentary and photography in my reviews. But in talking to people in the real world about my website the common thread that I hear most often is how everyone loves the photographs. “Why not give the people what they want then,” I asked myself - hard core nudity. Uh, okay, not that; but how about more money shots of the food and less of the yakkity yak? Without further ado, I give you Lark.

Rosti Potatoes with Clabber Cream ($8.00). These potatoes were the disappointing portion of my dinner. Oh sure, they look golden brown and delicious but inside they were gummy and leaden. The exterior itself, instead of being crunchy crisp was more of a melted plastic-like hard shell.

Alaskan Spot Prawns and Bloomsdale Spinach ($17.00). I suggested that these little beauties be put on the regular menu full-time as they were but a special on the night I visited. But alas, seasonality is a harsh mistress and by the time some of you Seattle residents read this, the prawns will be gone. Oh how plump and juicy they were; spending just enough time in a pan to give them the slightest bit of browning yet allowing them to keep their sweet, moist interiors. Add to that the tart, Meyer lemon dressed spinach and you had a wonderful contrast of flavors and textures.

Another dip in the sea came in the form of Portuguese Sardines ($15.00). At this point I may have lost a good portion of you. If you’ve never had fresh sardines or if, like me, you’ve only ever eaten them from a can; then you don’t know what you’re missing. Meaty and moist there is a lot of fish on the hair thin bones of these sardines. Filleting at the table is a wee bit tricky as one doesn’t want to get too many bones per bite of fish, though the bones are thin enough that they can be eaten. Swirled in a bit of the semi-spicy chorizo oil the fish takes on a little pop that can easily be countered with the fresh taste of green chickpeas.

Just as I was about to burst out came my plate of Williamson Ranch Beef Tartare ($14.00). The raw egg was a bit off-putting for me but it was easily scraped to the side of the plate allowing me to carve off spoonfuls of tender, rich beef from the main round. Seasoned with cornichons, capers and Dijon mustard, there was just enough “extras” to give the tartare depth without distracting from what was truly important, the creamy raw beef.

As a finale I had to go for an order of Meyer Lemon Parfait. Like a thick silk pudding the “round” of parfait just barely held itself together. Pucker-y tart, my spoon slid through it like softened butter after piercing the surface of the lace cookie, which was little more than crystallized, caramelized sugar.

So I hope this form of review satisfies as much, if not more, than previous reviews. I tend to get writer’s block and that makes for a less than enjoyable experience, being pressured, when I think about reviewing a restaurant. But let’s hear from you Seattle. Tell me, after I’ve had a chance to write a few reviews such as this, whether you like or dislike the new format. My hope though, is that the reviews will come much more often with this new structure.

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An upscale 7-11. That would be an apt descriptor of Porcella Urban Market. On one side of the store you have dry good and a refrigerated section, just like 7-11, though the stock on those shelves is more of the imported variety. From pickled vegetables, to sweets, canned octopus and even escargot - this is where you go, in Bellevue, if you’re throwing a gourmet cocktail party and need last minute supplies. But it is the other side of the store that will interest most people. Again, like a 7-11, Porcella offers a selection of ready-to-eat items but unlike the ubiquitous corner store, the fare in Porcella’s display case is of a much higher quality. Cured meats, house-made sausage, roasted vegetables and various beasts and fowl are what one will find in a glass case that stretches over twenty feet long.

But it’s not what’s in the case or what’s on the shelf that brings me to Porcella. Unlike a 7-11, I come for the meals they cook up in their glass-walled, semi open air kitchen. The day of my visit, around lunch time, I made a selection from the list of sandwiches of a Warm Lamb Baguette ($11.00). The pressed baguette arrived layered with thin slices of slightly wild tasty, meaty bits of lamb. Slow cooked the meat was tender, juicy and easily enough bitten through with only the mere hint of fattiness to it. Dotted here and there within the sandwich were bits of melted cheese that, while fairly mild in flavor, reminded me of a fresh goat’s cheese. It was the olive and lemon relish that really helped to make the sandwich overall from becoming a heavy, leaden affair. Adding brightness and flavor contrasts, the relish takes the place of lettuce and tomato in cutting the heaviness of meat and cheese. Aside from the relish, or as a side to the relish (And the sandwich in general), my plate served with pickled vegetables that were restrained in their pickle-ishness but which still held a near fresh picked crunch. Of course what sandwich would be complete without chips? At Porcella they are referred to as frites or more accurately, truffled gaufrettes but whatever you call them you will eat them as though it was Crack-In-A-Bowl ™. Feathery, light, lacy and doily delicate are just a few words I can think to describe these little waffle cut jewels. I for one never fell victim to the whole truffle craze. You know, the one where everyone wanted truffle oil, truffle salt or truffled truffles in truffle sauce? I never really got it. It wasn’t quite my thing, however, in this application the truffle oil combined with salt and warm potato had an effect on me that prohibited me from eating just one (Sorry Lays!).

While I can’t see myself living in Bellevue, having to work there, near Porcella wouldn’t be too terrible of a proposal. Warm sandwiches, deli plates and a case full of prepared food to take home for dinner, what more could a person ask for? Slightly lower prices perhaps. At an average of ten dollars for a sandwich you’d have to live in Bellevue to be able to afford such extravagances on a daily basis. But if you are on the Eastside, shopping at the mall, working or buying a car, stop in for lunch or dinner. You’ll have the best convenience store meal of your life.

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I’m not Batman. Neither am I Superman or Spiderman. But I am an eating machine, a Robotic Gourmand, and that is my secret identity. Like a comic book hero, I too try to maintain my anonymity at, well, most costs; especially when it comes to favorable treatment. Yet with the number of restaurant reviews under my belt I still make freshmen mistakes from time to time. Like sitting under harsh, direct lighting for my pictures or being blatantly obvious with my photography and note taking. It was both of these goofs that were responsible for my uncovering my alter ego during a recent visit to Steelhead Diner.

In the case of Steelhead Diner, the word diner can be described as more an adjective than a noun. Certainly there is a feel, an undercurrent, of diner-like style to the decor and the menu but the restaurant is more than that. Bathed in mostly pastel-ish hues with views of Elliot Bay and oversized tied fishing flies the space conveys a message of calm and peace (much like that of fly fishing on a far flung river?) even during the most bustling of lunch rushes at this Seattle eatery. It’s this blend of styles, of feelings, that makes one’s visit initially intriguing, but it was the menu itself that really drew my interest.

My first experience with Steelhead’s menu was at the tail-end of lunch and started with a “Rich Boy” with Uli’s Hot Sausage ($9.95) and Poutine ($6.95). I learned in my discussions with Chef Kevin Davis about his time in the South and the diners he’d worked in the past, which made sense considering that the menu had a decidedly southern slant. Take, for instance, my “Rich Boy” sandwich. An obvious play on the “Po Boy” of Louisiana, that humble sandwich has been upgraded (perhaps even, kicked up a notch) to a delicate yet spicy sausage, grilled with crisp marks on the exterior but still maintaining a moist, meaty interior. Served on a soft, fresh baguette, the sandwich comes dressed with lettuce, tomato and pickle - a welcome bit of cool, crisp vegetable to douse the fire of spicy sausage and hot sauce aioli. I was a bit hesitant at first about the aioli, having tried my share of spicy mayonnaise in the past. But the sauce was lovely, smooth and creamy but hiding the surprise of a kick in the mouth that could easily send someone scrambling for a gulp of their beverage. While the sandwich came accompanied with fries I opted for the addition of poutine with its curds of fresh cheese melting and adhering the individual fries together, inviting one to pour the lovely, meaty gravy over the top. Spiked with bits of meat the gravy was very good. My only complaint was that it was a little on the thin side for my liking but then again I like for my gravy to be able to support small children on its surface.

Normally my lunch would end at there, a sandwich and fries. But no, I had to go for a lemony dessert - Lemon Pudding Cake ($7.95). Dense and filled with lemon flavor, the “sweet nothing” of a cake is a dream for those who enjoy the sweet/tart taste of lemon. Floating amongst a lemon pudding and garnished with mascarpone and paper thin lemon slices, it was almost too much. But it was a nice palate cleansing finish to a filling and satisfying meal.

While I will try harder in the future to keep my identity mask on it was fun to get the chance to talk with Kevin, to learn more about his restaurant, what went into the idea and how he was influenced. There is a definite undertone of “Southern” to the menu but it’s also a diner first and foremost; a diner that’s but a hop, skip and a jump away from the freshness of Pike Place Market. As the growing season starts back up and the menus start to change I can’t wait to see what else comes out of the small, cramped diner kitchen. It can be said for certain that I will be back.

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Most things are relative. Sure, there are some things that everyone can agree upon: the sky is blue, water is wet. But many things, like restaurants drives, are always subject to debate. Let’s take for instance my recent trip to Mercer Island. While some may see it as a fairly close drive, I would argue that it depends on why you are driving there. For as long as I’ve lived in Seattle, I’d yet to venture over and it had been on my list as a potential neighborhood to live in when I researched living arrangements, prior to my move here. But as it happens I recently bought a new car and what better excuse to drive it than to visit a new part of town and it just so happens, that right off the interstate, was Mercer Island’s business district and Bennett’s Pure Food Bistro.

I will admit I’ve arrived on the scene late when it comes to reviewing Bennett’s but I’ve heard good things about since its opening and I wondered if it was worth the hype. The restaurant itself is easy enough to find once one has exited off the interstate and made it into “downtown” Mercer Island. Tucked into the first floor retail space of a condo building Bennett’s has plenty of parking and can be seen easily from the street. Upon entering I was struck by a feeling of a cross between a Beecher’s Cheese store and an upscale restaurant. One can pick-up a container of this and that from the cold case in one room and in the other, sit for a glass of wine and a meal. It was the latter that I chose and was given a seat next to one of the large, outward facing windows.

My trip to Bennett’s was later in the day so I arrived towards the latter part of the brunch service. While I’d read some reviews myself about Bennett’s I was not quite sure what to expect of the menu. It was short was the first thing that struck me as I flipped it open. Breakfast type items reside down one side of the menu and sandwich-y and lunch-type entrees down the other. The focus here wasn’t on diversity yet was on usage of local Cascadian ingredients. For myself I opted for the Turkey Meatloaf ($10.50). It arrived in something of a jumble, they only item identifiable by itself being the salad. The meatloaf and the “latke” were nearly indiscernible from one another except for the fact that the meatloaf wore a stripe of tomato chutney. It was this chutney that was the highlight of the mild, conservatively spiced meatloaf. Sweet, slightly spicy and tangy are the best adjectives I can use for the condiment. Had the loaf been made of more flavorful stock, like pork and beef, the chutney may have disappeared into the background but instead it stood out along with the melted cheese and chunky, caramel sweet onions topping the meatloaf slices. As for its partner, the latke, I have the same indictments - not enough seasoning. It’s almost as if the kitchen doesn’t believe in the existence of salt. And instead of a finely shredded potato as the composition of the latke, it had been produced from thick bits of spud that somewhat reminded me of what was left over after peeling a potato. The salad though was good, the greens fresh and crisp and dressed just right. The vinaigrette was tangy and pucker-y, a nice balance to the herbal freshness of the leaves of salad.

While a trip to Mercer Island cannot be compared to a drive to Bellingham or even to Auburn, one has to ask them self, “Is Bennett’s worth the trip?” In my opinion, with all the additive free, organic produce, locally grown ingredient-centric restaurant options that most people in Seattle have, I’d say no. What I think of Bennett’s is that it’s a great option for those residents of Mercer Island. If you live there and want a restaurant that uses quality local ingredients, then Bennett’s Pure Food Bistro is for you. But for the rest of us in metro Seattle, there are places just as good or better.

2 comments