I never really gave much thought to organic produce and free-range meats before moving to Seattle. Sure there were a few organic grocers and a Whole Foods but with a combination of inconvenient locations and high prices, I found it easier to shop at my local chain market. As I started to discover my new hometown I began to see stores that carried organic and free-range items everywhere. And not just specialty markets either, take a look at your local Safeway or QFC. Initially I was just happy to have this kind of access to quality, pesticide free produce and humanely raised meats. But as more and more of the consciousness of Seattle sank into me, I began to seek out restaurants where I could continue to eat in a similar manner as when I was home. This is not to say that I’ll only eat organic foods raised within 100 miles of my house. I mean, look at hamburger week. When it comes to food I’ll eat what tastes good where it’s prepared the best but I still try to keep my eye open for restaurants that combine good kitchen skills with quality ingredients. It just so happened that I heard about Tilth this past weekend and the potential of those two qualifications meeting under its roof.

And quite literally Tilth had a roof, the roof of a house. Nearly hidden if you don’t know what to look for, or aren’t paying attention, Tilth is located inside a converted house on 45th Avenue in Wallingford. The “front lawn” has been converted into a wooden deck for warm weather dining but I walked across that and up the stairs as it was much too blustery an evening for outdoor dining. As I approached the door I was a tad bit confused as to if the restaurant were open or not. Except for a small, flag-like sign, high on a pole by the front fence there was little in the way of markings as to hours, menu or if they were even open. So I took a chance and pushed my way through the front door into an empty dining room and the glances of the staff from the open kitchen, I was the first one there.

They were fortunately open and I was able to be seated quickly. Inside the restaurant, once seated, I got the feeling of being early for a dinner party at someone’s home. Which is understandable as this WAS once someone’s home. Unlike being in a private residence for a party though I had someone who was willing to wait on me, and service was very good. Quick with water and drinks, making a bit of conversation and willing to explain certain menu items my waiter helped to add to a feeling of welcome that the open dining room imparted.

To begin, I had the Grass Fed Steak Tartare ($7.00/small, $14.00/large) which arrived quickly, arranged with toast points on a white plate. Pulling apart the mini cylinder that was the tartare I saw that the beef was loosely composed with capers and diced red pepper, all of which was held together by what looked like an aioli dressing. The first bite was cool, slightly chewy and somewhat tart/tangy from the briny capers. For my tastes there was a bit too much filler in contrast to the actual chopped beef which had a nice combination of smaller bits and larger half-bite sized chunks. Unfortunately the flavor was so mild that it was overcome by the lemony, slightly egg-y dressing and powerful flavor of caper and cornichon.

With the small tasting of the steak tartare out of the way I was eager to move on to the entree sized order of Balsamic Glazed Alaskan Sablefish ($13.00/small, $24.00/large). The skin of the fish was dark and looked extra crispy. My expectation when I cut into it was for crackling skin and moist, flakey meat. The skin was crispy and the meat moist but a bit too much so. Almost as though the fish had spent too little time in the oven roasting, the interior of filet was nearly raw. I’m not squeamish when it comes to raw fish, I enjoy sashimi more than anything else at a sushi bar, but sushi has been cut to showcase the best of the fish without being tough or stringy. This was not the case with my Sablefish as it took considerable sawing on my part to divide a reasonably large piece of fish into bite sized pieces. At one point I nearly gave up on the fish and focused my attentions to the small, hidden pile of cucumber slices tucked just under the filet. The lemon cucumber was warm and sliced so thin it almost could have passed for writing paper. It had a mild cucumber flavor with just the barest lingering hint of lemon, almost as though you’d eaten a slice of cucumber and washed it down with a drink of lemon-spiked water.

Maybe this was a bad night; I don’t want to condemn Tilth just yet. I think it’s a great idea, a restaurant that focuses on organic ingredients, presented in both tasting portions and entree sized plates. But the flavors seemed off, the fish was underdone and the food, in general, just seemed rushed. If this happens with just a couple of tables present what happens later in the evening, when more guests arrive (And they were arriving by the time I’d left - the number of seated tables had tripled)? As I state above, I’m always looking for a place that will combine good kitchen skill with organic ingredients, and I’m not crossing Tilth off the list just yet, but for now, it’ll take a back seat to other restaurants in Seattle. At least until they can get the kitchen running smoothly.

It’s nice to have preconceptions shattered. As someone who should really enter every dining experience with an open mind, I often find myself rolling my eyes or snickering at a particular restaurant or a person’s recommendation to me. It was on this very site, after a scathing review of Steel Pig BBQ, that it was suggested I visit Smokin’ Pete’s BBQ. Sure, this is another Northwest, Seattle-fied barbeque joint and while I haven’t presented a written review of all the barbeque I’ve eaten since moving to Seattle, I have eaten at nearly every ‘que joint I could find - with a few exceptions. Smokin’ Pete’s BBQ was one of the exceptions.

Not much to look at and somewhat hidden on NW 65th Street, just North and East of the main Ballard business district, I likely never would have found outpost to smoky meats had it not been for the suggestion. From the outside the building looks like most any other store front but it’s when you actually pull into their small parking lot and exit your vehicle that you realize that there’s something more to this place. That something more is the faint tinge of wood smoke in the air. Once inside, though not powerful enough to infuse one’s clothing, you are hit with a generous nose-full of the same smokiness. The dining room is large but you walk up to the counter (The cash register more specifically) and place your order off a laminated menu that sits on the counter. As you peruse the offerings you can also look into two glass cases filled with salads, sides and, most importantly, slow smoked meats. “But which of the tempting looking offerings should I get,” I asked myself.

I went the simple route, a time tested item that should be easy to get right, the Slow Joe Pork Sandwich ($6.95). The menu described it coming on a hoagie roll but I thought it was more like a section of French loaf. Whatever it was exactly it had been grilled, not griddled, but grilled so it had slightly bitter, smoky char lines running across the width of the inside of the two halves. This grilling gave the bread a good crunch that held up to the moist, smoke perfumed chopped pork that lounged in the bread’s embrace. Unlike some barbeque, pulled pork sandwiches being specifically what I have in mind here, the meat was minimally sauced, which is how it should be. You should be able to taste the meat and see the reddish pink tinting that is imparted from long, low smoke cooking. The two options of sauce are original and hot, I opted for hot. The sauce was a tomato-y sauce based on chili powder but had enough kick to make my tongue jump but not so much that my eyes were watering. It’s good to not that there are also squeeze bottles of sauce on the table from more original and hot sauces, to a sweet/spicy Thai sauce and, my favorite, a Carolina sour sauce which is a near perfect replication of North Carolina vinegar based sauce. Each bite of my sandwich was tender, meaty and moist from the falling apart chunks of pork, a bit of the fat and collagen from the cooking speckling the plate as it dripped from the sandwich to my hands and then the plate. Be sure to pick up napkins before sitting down as you will get messy. In a little cup, as a side, came crunchy, cool coleslaw. While it was drier than many people will like; I preferred the minimal application of dressing on this slaw, there was just enough to moisten the shredded salad and remind me that I wasn’t just eating raw cabbage. And this was a great topping to the smoky, meatiness of the pork inside the sandwich.

While Smokin’ Pete’s BBQ may not be 100% true Southern barbeque it is close enough to it that I can add another restaurant to my list of ‘que craving quellers. An added plus is the price. For under $10 a person can get a sandwich, side and a drink for lunch. While there are many fast food restaurants where you can get food cheaper for a midday repast, it’s unlikely you’ll find any as good.

It is so rare that I get to be one of the first to check out a restaurant. Blame this on the fact that I don’t buy or read Seattle print newspapers but instead get my news from their online versions. So, typically, by the time I get to a new restaurant everyone and their brother has heard of, and reviewed, the life out of it. But this time I happened upon The Station Bistro on the night of its grand opening, and while I already had dinner plans I vowed to return on my first free night to check them out. That night turned out to be two days later.

Originally I had found The Station Bistro just by driving up Leary Avenue and noticing that the old service station was looking in better shape than it had been in years. While I love modern design and architecture there is something satisfying about seeing an old, abandoned building, one whose use was very opposite its future intended use, transformed from something of an eyesore into a functional member of the neighborhood. The sign painted on the door states the open hours as 4 PM to 2 AM, seven days a week but when I arrived at 4:30 I was asked to return in about twenty minutes. The staff is small and I could see they were busily trying to prep the restaurant from their late night the previous evening. A few times around the block taking pictures of the warm Fall evening was enough. As I strode back towards the awkwardly angled corner I could smell the savory aromas that the breeze had picked up from the kitchen and absconded with down the sidewalk.

Inside the space is hip and cool, both figuratively and literally. First the glass, roll-up garage doors were open to the elements, allowing free wandering breezes to mingle with the diners. As for literally, all the horizontal surfaces were a charcoal black, the table tops made up of slate of the color (Bits of chalk are provided for your dinner drawing pleasure), while most walls were a medium grey. The exception was the burnt crimson wall behind the bar. The menu was abbreviated; a letter sized sheet of paper folded in half, food on one side, wines on the other.

From the short menu I ordered Russian Steak Dumplings ($9.00) and Herbed Mushroom Risotto ($9.00). The dumplings consisted of bite sized bits of filet, wrapped in dough and floated in a shallow pool of beefy broth. With a dollop of crème fraiche and some chili sauce streaks the presentation itself was spare, clean and modern. It was with the first few bites that I realized the chef had intended something much more complex than what the look lent itself to. The steak was tender and each dumpling cut in half easily. Inside, studding the dough’s interior were bits of cracked, black pepper adding heat and bite to the steak bits while at the same time the crème fraiche, sticking to the outside of the dumplings, added cooling, creamy richness. As I was eating I thought to myself, “This is sort of like beef stroganoff”, and that is exactly what it was like. A much more modern version to be sure but the steak in the place of ground beef or stew meat, the dumplings where noodles would be, crème fraiche instead of sour cream and a broth that, when allowed to blend with the crème fraiche, was beefy, rich and creamy. But I will warn you that this dish can be messy. If you haven’t speared your dumpling just so, and it falls back into the broth, expect to splash yourself and anyone who’s nearby - be forewarned!

The risotto was a little on the unexpected side. While the menu had described something that I thought would be spiked with mushrooms, I instead got a bowl of risotto that was studded with oven roasted vegetables. Large chunks of cauliflower, butternut squash and whole Brussels sprouts blanketed the surface of a rich, cheesy risotto. The first bite was filled with roasted garlic flavor and coated in grated parmesan cheese. As a matter of fact, nearly everything was covered in the finely grated cheese. The vegetables found themselves attacked so that I could get to more bites of the star of the bowl. But they had their own claim to fame. The cauliflower was lightly browned on the edges but cooked just so to bring out their natural sugars, the butternut squash, much like its name was smooth and buttery rich and the Brussels sprouts were mild without a hint of the bitterness you sometimes get from poor preparation. It was after eating past these vegetable toppings that I had realized my mistake; I had allowed the risotto to cool down too much. With the roll-up doors half-way up and a slight chill in the air my creamy, buttery risotto turned more into a leaden, clumpy mass. So if you decide on this dish, eat it first and quickly if the doors are open.

Something to keep in mind with The Station Bistro, the dishes I saw were presented in smaller servings. Like many restaurants, The Station Bistro is participating in the trend towards a variety of small plates that are intended to be shared amongst friends. But don’t let that deter you from dining, like me, solo. A meat dish and a starch or vegetable dish are enough to make a meal for one. Think of the menu at The Station Bistro as something akin to a happy hour menu. One that you browse for tasty treats, of which these are, and nice wines to share with friends or indulge in alone, as you watch the traffic pass by on Leary Avenue.

UPDATE!

After two poor showings involving steaks I had decided not to revisit two of Chow Foods network of Seattle restaurants - Coastal Kitchen and The Hi-Life. But I realize that things change, from people to places, and that I should try, once again, to find something positive about the food from at least one of these places. Since The Hi-Life is closer to me than Capitol Hill’s Coastal Kitchen I decided upon dinner at that Chow Foods location.

First let me start by saying that, “The service, even upon entering, was far superior to that of my first review”. I was greeted immediately upon entering and shown right to a table. Within minutes my server had arrived to walk me through recent changes to the menu. Not only had the service improved but The Hi-Life was now offering tapas. Kind of strange as I had always felt their menu was more Mediterranean inspired and less Southern European/Basque-ish but I was happy to see that they were willing to mix up their offerings a bit.

So for dinner I decided to try one of their ’small bites’ as well as a menu item which I felt would be fairly easy to prepare well. I asked for both to arrive at the same time; the Prawns Adobo ($8.50) came on a small, square-ish dish and the Wild Mushroom Pizza ($10.00) on a dinner plate all to itself. I sampled one of the three presented prawns first and was immediately disappointed. Just trying to cut one in half was like sawing through a rubber chew toy. Dry and stringy the shrimp were far too over-cooked and despite coming with a smoky, spicy adobo sauce there was little that was overcoming the lack of flavor from the prawns or the silver dollar sized, polenta corn cakes. Pushing the small plate away I drew closer the dinner plate that let off a heady aroma of freshly chopped herbs and cheese. Piled with mushrooms from cremini to button and oyster I’d say the pizza was less wild and a little milder but still had good flavor. The combination of mushroom and fresh thyme, combined with a savory tomato sauce with just a hint of sweetness was just about right. My only suggestion would be to add a hint of red pepper flakes to the sauce. As for the crust, I had a love-hate affair with it. One side was nicely cooked; crispy and slightly charred on top with little black spots on the underside from where it rested in the oven but the other side was pallid and tasted of raw dough. If I had to venture a guess I’d say that my pizza had to jockey for space in the oven and didn’t get a full share of heat. This also led to part of the pizza being somewhat soggy. However, this was really the only major drawback. The sauce and mushroom toppings were good, as mentioned, and he cheese was creamy and smooth and kept to a conservative amount so as to not overpower the other flavors.

There are yet still other menu items to try at The Hi-Life but I’m still wary of the quality. ‘Chow Foods’ is really imprinting on my mind the idea of chow as low quality food; much like that from a military mess hall or some chuck wagon on the range. I understand the desire to have a network of restaurants, to have a business that caters to as many tastes as possible, in an effort to stay in business and make a profit but at what cost? So far, in my admittedly limited experiences with Chow Foods restaurants, the cost is the quality of the food and that’s a shame. Attention to detail and quality ingredients could make The Hi-Life great, but as it stands I can only suggest the pizza. Of course there are other places to get a great pizza pie aren’t there?

June 6th, 2006

After a near sleepless night I was finally able to plod my way through the day to dinner. Upon arriving home and weighing my options of darting downtown, searching for a parking spot and sitting down at one of the “hot” restaurants on my list or making a quick local jaunt to one of my stand-bys I decided on the latter. In this way, at least was my hope, I’d get a decent meal and be home in short order to get to bed and catch-up on some sleep. The stand-by in this particular instance happened to be one of the Chow Foods restaurants. Its name is The Hi-Life in Ballard.

Something should have set off alarm bells early-on when I stepped through the door and waited nearly ten minutes before I was seated. For a moment or two I actually felt a “go away” kind of vibe as many of the staff looked in my direction but none budged to help me save for a lone server who came to my rescue. Whether he was acting apologetic or it was truly his nature he put forth his best foot and provided me with friendly, courteous service. But service can be spotty in many places in Seattle and I was just thankful to be off my feet with the prospect of food on its way.

To start I ordered the House Greens Salad ($5.50) with blue cheese dressing. The greens consisted of whole leaf butter lettuce interspersed with shreds of purple cabbage and petrified brown bread croutons. I possibly could have overlooked the stone-like bread in the salad had it been made fresh and the dressing been a more subtle, less vinegary concoction. As it was most of the blue cheese flavor was hidden and the mild butter lettuce was completely overpowered.

Oh well, on to the main course, a 10 Oz. Flat Iron Steak ($17.50). “This is just what I need to help perk me up.” I thought, “Red meat!” The steak arrived dark and handsome on a generous helping of somewhat limp fries, a dab of maitre d’ butter slowly melting on its surface. I found the thick-end, made a few well-placed incisions and drooled slightly at the still red, juicy, medium-rare interior. In went the bite of steak; one, two, three chews. And then it hit me, a weird livery taste. Surely this wasn’t right. Maybe I got part of the steak that was up against something else on the grill? I repeated the above steps. To my shock that bite and all remaining bites held the same off-tasting liver flavor. Now I’ve had flat iron steaks before and I don’t remember their flavor being like this. I tried the fries, hoping maybe something splashed on the food from the kitchen. Nope, the fries didn’t taste livery - they were just stale and over-cooked. Not that any of this was totally repulsive and actually, when combined bite of fries with a bite of steak, the dish was edible enough but just not what I was expecting.

This though was not the first time that Chow Foods disappointed me with their steak offering. Those of you who’ve been with me for a while may remember a short time ago when I reviewed Coastal Kitchen and the disappointing steak during that outing. It seems like Chow Foods is missing something when it comes to their beef offerings. Perhaps it’s their supply chain; maybe the meat is just old or perhaps just poor quality. One thing I know for sure as I finish this report and prepare for bed; steak is off the menu at a Chow Foods joint!

UPDATE!

I awoke to a cold drizzle this morning. As I pulled myself from slumber and made my way out the door and to the gym I began thinking about what to do for lunch. Maybe seven A.M. is too early for some people to be thinking about their midday fare but I’m also not most people. While I had more than a few places in mind none of them really felt right for the way the sky hung low and let loose with a mixture of slow drizzle and quick, pelting rain. It was only after returning home from my workout, and reviewing this site, that I remembered a place I had reviewed back during the heat of Summer, a bar that I had committed to returning to once the weather turned cool again. Yes, Feierabend and its German cuisine, along with a stein of beer, should provide the necessary carbs to help me keep warm today. Now the countdown until noon begins.

As during my first visit the bar was empty when I arrived so I had no trouble in finding somewhere to sit. While one would expect this would mean quick service as it turned out one would be wrong. It seemed to take forever just to get a beer delivered to my table and my simple lunch of a sandwich and salad took even longer. The level of service, in my mind, seemed to have evaporated from my previous visit and now that I had my lunch set before me, I was wondering if the food’s level of quality had suffered a similar set back.

I had decided upon the Bratwurst Sandwich mit Pommes Frittes ($8.00) and Gurken Salat ($4.00). I stabbed at the salad first, coming back with a forkful of thinly sliced, crunchy cucumber rounds. Upon the first bite I knew I had a Jekyll and Hyde on my hands. While the dressing of sour cream and dill was tasty it was spottily applied to the cucumber slices, some being nicely coated and others just dry, raw vegetable slices. As I got closer to the bottom of the plate I gave up on the “salat” altogether as the dressing turned from thick and creamy into a watery mess that drowned out the few sprigs sad, wilted lettuce that acted as a foundation for this offering.

As I turned my sights to the sandwich I was hoping for a little more care from the kitchen. The sandwich that sat on my plate was interesting in that it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Thinking I’d be getting something that looked more like a glorified hotdog than what was there; I was surprised by the hearty slice of French loaf, its heft and substance being greatly appreciated in a few minutes hence. The drawback to such a large piece of bread though was that the meat of the sandwich, a mild tasting bratwurst link, was swallowed up and nearly lost. But first things first, I had to close this monstrosity and get it up to my mouth for a bite. Piled high with slightly sweet sauerkraut and topped off with enough German mustard and curry ketchup to drown a small horse I had a hard time keeping my hands clean. As the sauce toppings oozed from the top of the sandwich onto my fingers half of the split bratwurst slid from the bread onto the plate. I would be this half of a link that would give me a taste of bratwurst as most all I got from the sandwich was sauerkraut and blend of the mustard and ketchup sauces. If it seems as though I’m spending a lot of time on the condiments and not much on the rest of the sandwich, well there’s a reason. I found, overall, that the sandwich lacked any real flavor to make it anything more than just stomach filler for an afternoon of beer drinking.

My hopes were high that, as time passed, the newly opened German pub with the tiny exposed kitchen would settle in and provide some hearty fare to go along with large steins of flavorful German beers. The concept is a good one, the menu offerings fairly impressive but where they fail is in the execution from the kitchen. Yes, it is a bar this is true, however, I can’t help but wonder what kind of meals could be enjoyed by the bar’s patron’s with a little more attention to detail by the staff. Maybe in a few months I’ll have the desire to return to Feierabend for round three but for now I’ll get my German meals elsewhere.

June 18th, 2006

I won’t typically review the culinary offering of bars. For one, when I decide to go to a bar, it’s with adult beverage consumption in mind, not a culinary repast. Secondly, when I think of bar food I think little nibbles. Don’t get me wrong, many bars, taverns, pubs, etc in Seattle have great food offerings. But I can think of few that I’d visit in order to have a full meal. That is until I heard about a spot in an overlooked area of South Lake Union dubbed Cascadia. While “German pub” is not a terribly unique theme in the Seattle metropolitan area the combination of location and portion sizes on the menu peaked my interest in Feierabend. So off I went.

I stopped by Feierabend a little after 1 PM to find most of the bar empty. People were gathered at this table and that, in groups of one and twos, some watching the final World Cup match of the day, some just enjoying a beer. I sidled up to the counter overlooking the petite, open-air kitchen. It was nice to see the cooks at work.

While an appetizer is not something one normally starts with at a bar, after perusing the list of available small bites, I decided to mark my visit with a full meal. Catching my eye was the Semmelknodel mit Pilzrahmsobe ($6.00) and while I had no idea how to pronounce it, the waitress was more than happy to except my pointing and grunting for the “bread dumpling”. Instead of the standard ball or lump that one thinks of with most dumplings what arrived were actually small disks of sliced bread-y goodness. Studding each disk were bits of crispy, smoky bacon and mild, diced garlic. Arranged four to a plate the rounds of dumpling were topped with dark brown mushroom gravy that held little quartered button mushrooms and diced, smoked pork. This last ingredient gave a strong, smoky, cured flavor to the gravy that was not unpleasant. Sautéed in butter the rounds had a barely perceptible crispness on their exterior yet remained moist and delicate inside. The flavor overall reminded me of Thanksgiving stuffing, rolled into a log, sliced and then sautéed.

Not simply satisfied with small bites I also ordered Jagerschnitzel in Pilzsobe mit Spatzle und RotKohl ($13.00). The most expensive item on Feierabend’s menu arrived filling the plate. A large pallard of pork loin languished on tender spatzel, draped with the same mushroom sauce as the dumplings. Only a quarter of an inch thick the pork was tender and juicy, the provided steak knife not really needed to cut the monster into bite-sized portions. The gravy added extra meatiness to the cutlet and underneath lived a peppery crust that had a voice that would speak out from beneath the other flavors here and there. The included spatzel started out nice, buttery and cheesy. But words of caution: Eat them quickly otherwise the cheese seizes up and turns the serving into a hard, rubbery mess. A nice counterpoint to buttery and peppery was the red cabbage. Slightly pickled it gave a nice sweet and sour note to the meal with undertones of fresh dill.

Located on the ground floor of a new apartment building on Yale Street, Feierabend has little in the way of exterior promotion. In fact, I passed them twice before noticing the tiny, hanging sign outside their door. While I’ve never given much thought to the “Cascadia” neighborhood, simply using it as a corridor from one neighborhood to the next, it’s good to see places like Feierabend taking a chance. As the neighborhood grows and more people make the area a destination I can the German fare of this apartment dwelling pub taking off. Though I will give this caveat; the food is filling, substantial and more suited to the ten months that aren’t Summer in Seattle.