I don’t typically take people out with me when I do a review. Oh sure, I’m willing to “scope out” a restaurant before hand with a friend or two but when it comes to the actual review, I prefer going commando (And not in the way you are thinking). It’s nothing against other people I just feel more relaxed when I can sit and scribble notes and not have to worry about whether or not I’m keeping a person entertained. But when the time came to review Harvest Vine, I knew that I had to invite someone along with me. The reason for this change in my M.O. is due to the way that food is served at Harvest Vine. You see, being a tapas restaurant, many of the dishes would arrive as small plates of this or that. Left on my own I most likely would have sampled two or three menu offerings and called it a night; with my friend C in tow, I could easily double that.

We started dinner off somewhat late, for me, by arriving at 6pm. I highly recommend an early dinner when visiting Harvest Vine as most Seattle residents prefer to sup closer to the seven-ish mark. Since we arrived early we only had to contend with one other table (Actually at the bar) downstairs in the main dining area. More closely resembling a basement the dining room was decorated with olive green paint, exposed wood tables and the ends of wine casks poking out from strategic points along the wall. All this gave the space a warm, cozy nook feel. Our waitress poured our waters after presenting us with our paper menus. Taller than wide, they are printed each day as the menu changes with the seasons and the local availability of ingredients. For our Tuesday night dinner we began with a tomato salad.

Ensalada de Tomate ($8.00) to be exact. A square dish arrived packed with trimmed and halved petite tomatoes. I hesitate to call them cherry tomatoes because of the wide variety of sizes. While there were no large “slicer” tomatoes there were plenty of tiny grape tomatoes along with plum and cherry sized fruits. Like a jewel box the tomatoes glistened with a flavorful and fruity olive oil. Scooping a few tomatoes onto my plate I stabbed at them with fork, greedily stuffing them into my mouth. Each size of tomato held its own flavor secret from tangy to mild to sweet. Adding to the flavor profile was a sprinkling of a fresh herb and garlic mixture.

At the same time the tomatoes arrived our second dish of the night also appeared, Plato Jamon Serrano ($11.00). Serrano ham is usually one of my favorites when going to a tapas restaurant, really any restaurant for that matter. I love the concentrated, salty, heady flavor of the air cured ham from Spain. Unfortunately the ham slices we received were akin to paper and not in the good way of its sliced thickness. Overly dry and lacking in flavor, I ate my fair share of the served “plato” but I didn’t relish it as much as I have in the past at other establishments. One saving grace for it was a quick dip in the leftover olive oil from the tomatoes and then stuffing it into a small slice of the provided baguette.

Our next selection was a beautifully presented Espinacas a la Catalina ($6.75). If you have to eat your vegetables I know of no better way than this dish. Consisting of a small column of spinach that had been sautéed with pine nuts and golden raisins there was a faint smoky aroma that drifted up off the plate when it was sat before us. That smokiness continued with the first bite. At first a little hard to place it was after a review of the menu that the mellow, caramelized flavor of sautéed garlic immediately made itself clear. The spinach itself had been cooked to a very tender consistency and its natural sugars complemented by the addition of the golden raisins.

Somewhat late arrivals, course-wise, were our two cheeses: Nevat and Montcayol ($3.75/oz each). The Nevat was a goat cheese that had the typical goat tang and grassiness but also had a bit of graininess that I, personally, found a bit odd. A nice flavor, and perhaps something I’d spread on a cracker, but not a cheese that I would likely seek out on my own. The Montcayol was unique in its own way as well. This cheese was a cow’s milk cheese and had the soft, creamy consistency of butter. The surprise though was found in the first bite of this mild queso - peppercorns. While not overly abundant I did find that every bit of the cheese that I took a bite of held the warm, sparkly heat of freshly cracked pepper. “What a great combination,” I thought to myself.

Moving on our main selection of warm tapas we were presented with Ventreska Vanilla ($12.00). The vanilla came in the way of a unique sauce that dotted the plate that supported a good sized (For tapas) portion of tuna belly. Seared to a deep brown on the outside I initially mistook the lines on the meat for grill indentations. It was upon further inspection on my plate that revealed that the tuna belly is much like the belly muscle from beef, uniquely grouped and all running in a similar direction. The flavor was something similar to beef as well, not fishy in the least but hearty and meaty. This meaty flavor was tempered though but a light, sweet overtone of vanilla. While my companion mopped up extra sauce from the plate I struggled to identify each of the flavors. There was an herbal note similar to pesto along with a hint of citrus but for the life of me I could not place each of the individual flavors. Suffice to say the dish as a whole was well balanced and great tasting.

The tuna belly was not to be our only fish dish (At the end of the evening we realized we’d only ordered pescado and vegetables, for the most part. Healthy but not very adventuresome); we also dined on Perca con Trufas Negras ($18.00). Nearly entree sized this piece of black sea bass arrived wearing a beautiful golden brown dinner jacket. The exterior of the fish was quite crisp and flavorful while the inside remained moist with a hint of ocean freshness. It was interesting to contrast the flavors of the tuna, which were much more like a red meat, to the mild, subtle flavors of the sea bass. Presented on the plate along with the portion of fish were braised fennel and a black truffle, potato puree. I felt the fennel had been cooked a little too long as it had lost much of its crunch and signature liquorice flavor. While it kept some of the sweetness for which it’s known I felt that pulling it from the stove a few minutes sooner would have proved it to be a much better accompaniment to the fish. The potato puree, however, with its buttery richness was a nice contrast to the mild, white fleshed fish.

Last on the list, although it had not been delivered last, was an order of Vainas Salteadas ($7.50). Green beans, topped with a tomato sauce, are what this dish consisted of. Being larger garden beans as opposed to French haricot verts, these beans were substantial and cooked to a happy median between crunchy and overdone and limp. The tomato sauce that topped them was slightly piquant and creamy in texture similar in some ways to a thick tomato soup. While I found this dish acceptable, C was less than impressed with them.

I cannot lie; dinner at Harvest Vine is quite pricey. If you are looking for bar snacks (Which traditionally tapas are) at bar snack prices then one would do well to look elsewhere. The specialization at Harvest Vine is taking fresh ingredients, locally available in Seattle and transforming them with culinary prowess into bites suitable for combining into a sharable dinner. Last night’s visit to this tiny Seattle outpost of Spanish cuisine was only my second but each time, with a menu that changes daily, there has been offerings that impressed and satisfied.

As regular readers of my reviews will most likely have noticed, the frequency of my posts has declined over the past couple of months. Reviewing an average of three restaurants per week can be a bit draining; to the mind and the pocketbook. So I have decided to tweak my format some. Reviews will now be one or two per week and the commentary will be reined in to focus less on a rambling opening (So far I’m not keeping to my word on this post) and more so on the food. More pictures and descriptions of the plates, that’s a good thing right? So to kick off this new format I stopped by The Jones on Roosevelt Way for dinner recently.

A large-ish space, The Jones is comprised of two main sections (Three if you count the outdoor dining patios), one being the bar area to the right and the second, dining on the left. The indoor space is large and while there are plenty of large West-facing windows it seemed a bit dark to me. That of course may be due to the use of dark woods for the furnishings and claret colored paint for the walls. But I was shown to a seat and began browsing the menu which was also broken down into two main sections.

Since I had arrived prior to the start of the dinner service I picked a starter for myself off of the Happy Hour menu, Manila Clams with Bacon ($6.00). The tiny clams were fresh and sweet, each plump morsel packed with nice ocean brininess. The texture of the clam meat was buttery without a hint of being rubbery that you can sometimes get with shellfish. The dish came with two fairly standard hunks of bread, buttery, faintly garlicky; it had a nice grilled texture that held up well to repeated dunks into the clam broth that gathered at the bottom of the bowl. As for the bacon I was a bit disappointed that there was not more of it. The two or three pieces I did find were smoky but since they had drifted to the bottom of the bowl they had lost any crunch they might have held. A few more crumbles of extra crisp bacon to top this all off would have added much more depth and flavor than the small mound of softened onion strings that found their way onto the dish.

By the time I had polished off the clams it was time for the dinner service to begin (5:00pm). Having had the menu in my mitts for nearly thirty minutes since my initial arrival I knew right away what I wanted when my waitress came by to take my order. It was to be an “All Sea” dinner this night as I ordered the Halibut ($20.00). The plate had me drooling the moment it arrived with its simple, almost classical presentation. The plate was composed of just four elements: fish, vegetable, potato and sauce; so it was easy to get to the various parts of the entree that I wanted. I started with a bit of the halibut with its crisp golden brown edges and tender, flakey interior. The meat was slightly sweet and very juicy, a sign of the high heat, quick cooking technique that allows fish to have a dual texture of crisp and moist. Adding another layer of depth to the halibut was a light, buttery lemon sauce speckled with bits of fresh thyme. The rich and velvet-y sauce was punctuated with the sweet-tart goodness of fresh lemon juice that replaces a typical lemon wedge served aside fish. The addition of thyme, with its herbal note, helped to bring all the elements down to earth. While the sides could be considered fairly standard, green beans and potatoes, they were far from it. Fresh and with a nice snap the beans tasted as if they had just moments before been picked out of some back garden close by. Earth-y and vegetal they reminded me of a childhood summer when I grew beans and tomatoes in my backyard in Florida. The red skinned potatoes held a bit of a secret all their own. While nicely seasoned on the outside they were just barely cooked inside. Instead of finding mushy flesh inside I was treated to potato with a bit of resistance but with a buttery, creamy mouth feel. Dredged through some of the sauce these potatoes went fast, which made me sad as I found myself wanting to eat more of them.

For the ending to my dining experience I decided upon the Lemon Pound Cake ($5.00). The cake came presented as two small wedges with a scoop of cherry ice cream. I have to admit I’m not a fair judge when it comes to cake. Having always had more of a preference to pie I may not be the best person to decide where this cake stands but as far as flavor is concerned, one could definitely tell this was lemon. The texture was somewhat spongy and dense with little, moist doughy pockets here and there. It had been set against a scoop of cherry ice cream that, had I not been told it was cheery, could just as easily have passed for colored vanilla. Perhaps to make up for the lack of flavor in the ice cream the bowl had been dotted with fresh, chopped cherries. These were nice, plump and juicy with just a hint of sweetness; too bad they hadn’t been incorporated into the rest of the ice cream ingredients to give it a punch of flavor.

While the beginning and ends of my meal were only good to fair, the main course is what really wowed me. I am often asked why I eat out so often when I myself know how to cook. Part of the answer is the desire to be waited on; another part is that I don’t have to clean-up afterwards. But I think the best answer came when the owner Scott called me out as a reviewer of his restaurant. As we discussed the halibut and its crispy brown edges he informed me that, “the home cook just can’t get the same temperatures (Ed - Or sometimes same equipment) as the restaurateur”. It is that equipment, the temperatures and the knowledge of a professional chef that, in combination, provide an excellent dinner experience. One that I’m willing to pay for again and again.

After a long weekend away from Seattle, camping on the Oregon coast, I found myself Monday evening confronted with the task of unpacking my camp bag. As I pulled back the zipper on my dirty laundry I was confronted with the aromatic evidence of two nights of outdoor fires - wood smoke. While some may have immediately rushed said articles of clothing off to the washing machine, I inhaled deeply and drifted back to those cool evenings out of doors, with fragrant smoke wafting up from a burning hardwood fire. At once I started drooling. “Why”, you might ask? Well, to me, that smoky aroma reminds of nothing as sublime as barbeque and that fact that my clothes smelled like tasty barbeque made me want to drizzle on some sauce and stack them between two buns and go to town. But no, I held back for I was going to turn this smoky longing into a review of Steel Pig BBQ on Aurora Avenue in Queen Anne.

While I haven’t dared to venture far for barbeque in Seattle, having found one shop that does it well, there was no need to look further, I decided to expand my horizons and try the shop I saw so many times on my way into downtown. Having waited out Monday night and all day Tuesday I decided to head straight for the Steel Pig BBQ restaurant right after work. The restaurant of course was deserted as it was only 5pm upon my arrival. They have a walk up counter where one places their order. With two guys behind the counter, one on the phone, you’d expect an order to be placed quickly, not so much. Turns out the second guy had to wait for the first one to finish taking a call-in order before taking my order - strike one. Once my order had been placed my dinner was served up very quickly and I walked over to one of a few available tables.

It was a pig plate I ordered, the regular Killer Ribs meal (Regular - $8.50, Large - $12.00). In addition to two ribs of the regular meal I also received corn bread and a choice of side. My decision was for the black eyed peas and rice, strike two. The peas were over-cooked, mushy and flavorless. More like brown bean paste, while it wasn’t great, it was actually a highlight of the meal. The rice was tough and chewy, like it had sat out all afternoon and the corn bread was sweet and sticky. For those of you not from the south, corn bread should not have the texture and taste of sweet cake. It should be crumbly, slightly dry and savory. But of course let’s not forget what I came here for - smoky pork BBQ. Good barbeque is a subtle dance between dry, fat rendered rib meat and succulent, juicy, porky goodness. With just the right amount of smoking and slow cooking ribs should be fall off the bone tender but have the toothsomeness of morning cooked bacon. Steel Pig BBQ had none of that. What they had was fall off the bone, fatty pork spare ribs. They were juicy alright but from the unrendered fat of these near meatless rib bones. As for the smoky aroma and flavor that urged me to get barbeque in the first place? Missing in action. In my opinion these ribs had never seen a smoky chamber but had instead been cooked in a medium range oven. How this passes for barbeque is anyone’s guess - strike three!

After picking at my plate, taking a bite or two of corn bread and finishing off my bean mush I shuffled out of the restaurant, head hanging low and hunger still gnawing at my belly. My smoky clothes had teased me into wanting tasty ‘que but instead I was left bland pork and sides. It’s no wonder they are located next to one of Seattle’s tourist destinations, they are the only ones who’d eat this and think it was good (With the exception of Southerners). The Steel Pig can be sure of one thing, I will never be back but you shouldn’t feel bad for me; because on my way home I stopped off at Bourbon & Barbeque Grill for a tasty, smoky pork sandwich and boy was it good.

After a week of hamburgers I was indeed ready for a change. Actually there are a few changes coming to this site. One of which you’ll see immediately and the others will be released gradually. The biggest change will be a throttling back of the number of weekly reviews from three to four per week to around one or two. While I’ll still be eating out most every night it’s much more relaxing to know that I don’t have to take notes on everything that’s going on around me. I can concentrate on enjoying my meal and relaxing. It was this relaxing that I found myself doing at Dandelion last night for dinner.

Set amongst the shop fronts just North of Market Street on 24th Avenue in Ballard, Dandelion is subtle in its public presence. There are no fancy signs, no tables set-up out front for sidewalk dining, no lights or neon. The interior is just as simply stated as the exterior. Butter yellow walls, hardwood floors, a banquette and an open kitchen area might remind a person of visiting a private home instead of an establishment dedicated to serving food for profit. The courteous staff was quick and attentive, always appearing with a smile on their faces. I was directed to choose any seat I liked since there was only one other occupied table when I arrived.

My original plans had been to just stop in for a quick bite since my day had been long and tiring yet, upon browsing the menu, I decided to start off with the Heirloom Tomato and Mozzarella Salad ($9.00). More of a tomato and cheese plate than salad what arrived were thick slices of red and green heirloom tomatoes and planks of fresh mozzarella cheese, both drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The tomatoes were firm and juicy with a wonderful sweet tart taste, especially the green tomatoes. The mozzarella was nice but lacked the buttery quality that I’ve experienced with some fresh mozzarellas I’ve tasted lately. It was almost so mild as to get lost in the background notes of tomato and balsamic vinegar. It was this balsamic and its sweet/sour, syrupy notes that enhanced those very same flavors in the tomato. Topping off everything were strands of freshly chopped basil.

For the main course I decided on the Half Roasted Chicken ($17.00). My expectations were for simply made, pan roasted chicken. Similar to a chicken I’d make for myself there’d be a golden, crispy skin with juicy, tender meat just below. I smelled my order before I saw it, its fragrance filling the dining area. It was after the chicken was placed before me that I received my surprise. You see, when I went to cut into the skin it crackled like finely blown glass. I couldn’t believe how crispy the outside had gotten. As I sliced off a generous portion of chicken for my first bite I got a second surprise, there were fresh herbs tucked in under the skin of the breast portion. A mixture of rosemary and thyme melded with the steam from the meat and wafted up to tease my senses. And the herbs effects were not limited merely to olfactory either as their flavors and essences had permeated the tender and juicy meat of this yard bird. The dark meat portions were equally tender and flavorful although they did not get the same herb treatment as the white meat. It did, however, possess the same crackling good skin. Upon further investigation (and continued tasting) it appeared that the skin had been coated in a fine salt. When tasted alone, the skin was almost too salty but when combined with a juicy bit of chicken meat it turned into just the right amount of seasoning. As sides the chicken was also presented with creamy, buttery whipped potatoes and chard that had been minimally cooked. While I’m much more used to greens that have had their entire crunch removed in the process of cooking, the ones I dined on still maintained a nice crunch. The potatoes, while good, really could have used a little something extra, maybe a nice pan sauce from the cooking of the chicken.

It’s funny how a restaurant, a good meal particularly, can alter a person’s mood. While I was a bit tired, wound-up and on edge when I left for dinner; upon leaving I felt like I was floating on a cloud. I think I’ve said this many times of restaurants in Seattle, those who cook simply are some of the best. There’s no need to include hundreds of ingredients in the creation of a single meal. Pick a few things, cook them properly and the dinner will take care of itself. In my opinion Dandelion has a good grasp on this concept. It’s for this reason that I will find myself returning for future dinners.

To wrap-up Burger Week I chose a restaurant that has been serving hamburgers to Seattle for fourteen years, though they’ve only had a permanent structure for the past year. For those who are familiar with the fairs and festivals of the area you may already know of Ballard Brothers Burgers. A staple of carnivals the two owners of the hamburger cart parlayed their expertise into a fixed structure on 15th Street in Ballard, painted it red and began selling their burgers on a daily basis.

Unfortunately they do very little in the way of advertising, except to the local high school, so most people don’t know they exist. And there may be a reason for that. While providing a burger to eat while you walk around the fair, with a beer in one hand, ride tickets stuffed in your pockets and the general chaos that accompanies such public gatherings, is one thing, can they truly provide a sandwich that would be worth leaving home specifically for? Well, I was going to find out.

The menu is pretty straight forward at Ballard Brothers, made up mostly of sandwiches: hamburgers, salmon burgers and chicken sandwiches. All come with fries and tax included, so the price you see is the price you pay. While unable to find a double patty, bacon topped cheeseburger I did settle on the single Bacon Cheeseburger ($6.50). The one-third pound patty was made to order as I placed my order on a grill just behind the cash register. After paying I took a seat at the short counter opposite the register. Seating is limited, only six chairs indoors, several picnic tables out front and that’s it. My lunch came fairly quickly, a basket heaped with fries topped with my paper wrapped burger. The bacon cheeseburger looked far better than some of my more recent hamburger meals but how was the taste? It was a bit of a letdown. The beef was not quite beefy but was juicy and cooked just to doneness. The bacon too was a bit bland on the flavor it did, however, have some nice crunchiness to it; not as much as I’d like but still better than the chewy, rubbery texture I’ve experienced lately. The cheese was nice but not the menu stated cheddar but instead, American cheese. What did make the so-so burger a little better were the fresh vegetable toppings. Sliced tomato that was neither too thin nor thickly sliced behemoths and crunchy, cool lettuce made the sandwich seem almost homemade. Then there was the pickle relish sauce. I call it this because it was a relish but with something more to give it zing. While normally I would think this would be weird it actually complemented the burger quite well. This is more than what can be said for the fries. They were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the interior but without a hint of potato flavor.

So how would I rate this hamburger stand? Well, they market to high school aged kids and fair goers, if that gives you a hint of how their product stands. While good for walking around and enjoying a carnival-like atmosphere, in the day-to-day burger world the flavors just aren’t there. I will say though that they don’t have the worst hamburger I’ve had this week. So again you ask, “What’s my ranking for Ballard Brothers?” This is how I’d rank the hamburger joints of Burger Week:

1) Red Mill
2) Blue Moon Burgers
3) Ballard Brothers Burgers
4) Daly’s Drive-In
5) Burgermaster