UPDATE!

Many times when one visits a restaurant for lunch, which a person has patronized for dinner, you find that the menu is a mirror of the dinner offerings. Oh sure, there will be the addition of a burger or chicken sandwich; perhaps even a lunch salad. But mostly the comparisons between the afternoon and evening meals will be pretty even. One exception to this rule was Sitka & Spruce. While it may not be totally fair to categorize the offers from this tiny Eastlake restaurant with other establishments, since their menu is constantly changing, a lot of my opinion was based too upon the atmosphere versus their dinner service.

Once through the door a person is still greeted with muted chartreuse walls, simple, modernist decor and milky, filtered light from the West facing windows. What is different is the ambiance. It’s a much more relaxed environment, even once the lunch rush begins in earnest. While the menu is still handwritten on the blackboard by the door, orders are placed, and paid for, at the standing counter; dishes are self-bussed. The crowd on my particular visit was made up of moms and individuals waiting for lunch companions; people engrossed in quiet conversations, newspapers or tending their children. This is in comparison to a livelier, more boisterous and curious dinner crowd. I’d learned from my first visit to Sitka & Spruce that the best time to arrive is early, as soon as they open, to get a good seat and, in the case of my lunch, so as to take advantage of all menu offerings before they sell out.

I ordered three items off the menu; the first being Creamy Root Vegetable Soup ($6.00). The bowl arrived filled halfway with an olive oil drizzled, bisque colored soup; crostini served on the side in place of crackers. With a consistency of slightly whipped heavy cream the soup was thick, almost a porridge. The taste was that of celery, potato and perhaps rutabaga, very light and slightly sweet. My thinking is that the sweetness came from nutmeg as it had that twinge of spicy, exotic flavor. This was a great medium for dipping chunks of torn crostini, the soup coating each bite-sized morsel with rich, slightly starchy, goodness.

As I made my way through the soup out came a plate of Tartine of Anchoas, Celery Confit & Meyer Lemon ($7.00). This was a totally different turn from the soup. Briny, oily and lemony all at once I could have eaten plate after plate of this one menu item. Devoid of the fishiness found in most anchovies these fish filets were moist, tender and tasted of clean salt water. The contrast was the slightly crunchy, just cooked through julienne of celery; a welcome textural crunch. This celery had been combined with minced Meyer lemon, to add brightness, and olive oil for a rich, floral note. All of this was served atop slices of fresh baguette. In contrast to the bread served with my soup this bread had been toasted bringing out nutty flavor of the wheat along with added flavor from the grill.

My final selection of the afternoon was to be a sandwich that Sitka & Spruce only had four orders of total, Organic Tri Tip Sandwich, Olives & Piquil Rouille ($8.50). Once again served on the same tasty baguette the sandwich arrived with bits of char grilled beef protruding from the sides of the bread. Served rare the tri tip was flavorful with a bit of chewiness to it. Just warmed trough the pink center was moist in contrast to the crunchy bits of charred exterior that flecked the sliced pieces. Dressed with flat leaf parsley and an herbal sauce made primarily of olive oil gave the sandwich richness along with the added benefit of the oil softening the chewy baguette. It’s a somewhat messy sandwich, with olive oil dripping from either end, but one which could easily fill someone all by itself.

While I thought that dinner when I last visited Sitka & Spruce was good, lunch far surpassed my expectations. Unfortunately it’s only served four days a week, Tuesday through Friday, and from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. If they could open for lunch on the weekend I could easily see my way to making the short trip to Eastlake at least once per week. The best part is that I can count on a changing menu and something new to try on nearly every visit. A menu that will offer variety regardless of whether I’ve dined with them in the past day or the past month.

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June 15th, 2006

So far in my time in Seattle I have eaten at some fairly diminutive restaurants. I know, for those of you who’ve spent time reading my reviews it seems like every other week I’m in some new, small restaurant space. But imagine if you will someone opening their dining room up to a group of twenty strangers for dinner. If you can picture that, and picture this person’s dining room was in a strip mall, you’d get an idea of what seating is like at Sitka & Spruce.

Open for only a couple of months, I underestimated the drawing power of this little eatery tucked back off the road on Eastlake Avenue. While my arrival at 5:40 PM was early for dinner it was too late to grab an individual table to myself. As I walked through the door I saw that roughly two thirds of the seats were taken and if I wanted to eat, I was going to have to share space at the large, central communal table. Before I go any further let me just say that if you are adverse to sharing a table with strangers, arrive early or plan to visit after they’ve been open a while. With what I saw of this restaurant’s popularity your chances of having to sit side-by-side with a stranger are quite high.

There were no menus at Sitka & Spruce to peruse. Instead there was a centrally placed chalkboard with a list of about ten to twelve items on it. Fairly straight forward I ordered the Roasted Sockeye with Beets ($22.00) and Rainbow Chard ($7.00). I was informed that each selection comes in two sizes, a small and a large, depending on whether or not you wanted a meal to yourself or to share your selection with the group as pseudo tapas. Since I was by myself I chose to get the large portion of salmon and the small portion of chard to constitute my meal. As it turns out the kitchen prepares their dishes to the chef’s whimsy. So whatever happens to finish cooking first is what is brought out to your table. For me it was the small order of Rainbow Chard. Petite chopped and lightly sautéed the leaves of the chard were tender and buttery but hid a unique flavor. For a second it escaped me and then I hit upon what it was, vinegar. Almost as though the chard had been given the wilted spinach salad treatment, it came dressed with a slightly bitter, sour white vinegar pucker. Not too far over the line but just enough to give contrast to the rich, buttery taste if its quick sauté.

The Sockeye came resting upon a pedestal of more chard and bright, fuchsia beets. The beets were sweet and fork tender having been cooked with shallots and olives. An interesting preparation technique that I noted as one I never would have thought of. The natural sugars of fresh beets intermingling with soft, fatty olive created an interesting flavor that reminded me of, well, of pepperoni. Don’t ask, it just did. But the simple preparation was not limited to beets, the salmon itself was nicely sautéed on the outside but still a moist, translucent orange on the inside. With only a bit of dill draped across the top the natural, mild flavor of this filet was readily apparent. While the menu described the dish as coming with golden fennel I have to admit I was at a loss to find it. That is unless what I thought was radish was actually the fennel. But if it were fennel it would be the spiciest fennel I’ve yet to taste. Nevertheless, my dinner was very good in its use of simple, “pantry available” ingredients. And I guess that’s the overall vibe I got from Sitka & Spruce, homemade. The timing, ingredients and atmosphere; they all contributed to a feeling of not being at a restaurant.

To end my evening I chose the Cheese Plate ($6.50). A room temperature slice of blue cheese, a balsamic macerated strawberry and sweet crackers arrived on a small plate. The crackers were an interesting combination of savory shortbread, sugary coating, chopped nuts and anise flavoring. Topped with a bit of the salty, musky blue cheese the crackers provided a great counterpoint to the cheese’s creamy richness with its sweet, lingering licorice flavor. Balance that with a fresh, cool strawberry sitting in slightly tart and syrupy balsamic vinegar. A nice ending to a well prepared meal.

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Where have I been? What am I up to? What’s happened to me? Where are the restaurant reviews? Those are probably some of the questions that inquiring minds have been asking about my disappearance. Well, the long answer short is “changes”. The holidays last year brought about a hiatus from restaurant reviews but my planned return in January was interrupted by a condo purchase. Yes, I am the proud owner of my own domicile on Capitol Hill. But that wasn’t to be the only change. Shortly after closing on my new home, I was laid-off from my job. That was a little bit less of a surprise but still a wrench in my ointment; mixaphorically speaking. Less than a week after being told to hit the street by my ex-employer I was able to secure gainful employment with a firm that was within walking distance of my new home. With all that crises and stress cleansed from system I felt emptiness. An emptiness that could only be filled with food; what better way to fill that space then by including it in a review. So as I strolled around my new neighborhood today I remembered a new restaurant opening I’d heard about back around New Year’s Day - Volunteer Park Cafe & Marketplace.

While a bit more of a walk than I expected from my home near Denny and Olive, it was enough to get the blood flowing and really stoke the appetite. Once at the cafe I was reminded of the Fremont location of Essential Baking Company. Open and airy with cramped crew quarters behind the counter. The counter itself made up of a cash register and the pastry case; behind which was the Panini grill and chef’s work station. A line had formed before I arrived but was quickly dispersed by the quick order taking of the staff. Once I had my order placed I sought out somewhere to sit. While seating was plentiful the choice spots on the banquettes near the windows were at a premium. I instead had to opt for a more public spot in the middle of the dining area. While my order was quick to be taken, it took a while for my food to come up once it was done. If you are looking for a quick meal stick with a salad or something from the pastry case. But soon my name was called and grabbed my two plates. I told you I had a void to fill.

My first plate was a Roast Beef and Caramelized Onion Panini ($7.95). The large slices of peasant bread were pressed thin and crunchy with golden brown grill marks. Inside, the sandwich was packed with extremely thin slices of tender roast beef. My first bite was filled with beefy juiciness and gooey Gorgonzola cheese. Salty and meaty the sandwich had an undertone of brininess from an olive tapenade that spiked the filling of my Panini. In addition to meat, cheese and olives the sandwich as made more complex with the addition of caramelized onions sweetened by slow cooking in sherry. For a simple Panini sandwich there was a lot going on between these two slices of bread.

The second part of my lunch was a Phyllo Mushroom Tart ($6.95) and like its sandwich compatriot it was complex in its make-up. At first I was a little concerned with the pile of greens that obscured most of the tart. I ordered a savory pastry of mushrooms and here I have something in front of me that resembles a bowl of salad. Though I would later come to appreciate the fresh, wild complement of these well dressed greens, I rather would have preferred having half as much served to me. The mushrooms themselves, once I’d excavated them, were somewhat unremarkable. Shitake and, perhaps, cremini mushrooms they’d been cooked with various herbs and were quite substantial and meaty but not cooked near long enough to break them down into the intensely flavor morsels they could be. No, most of the flavor came from the combination of the warm, fresh chevre, caramelized onions and buttery, yet like and crispy phyllo. This foundation proved to be very rich and almost too much but, as I mentioned above, there was the lovely green arugula salad. With their fresh-picked, wild countenance lightening the overall experience of the tart I welcomed each forkful, dotted with onion, cheese and mushroom.

Is the Volunteer Park Cafe & Marketplace a destination restaurant? In my opinion, no. I say this because I feel that you can get similar quality and menu items at many cafes around the Seattle area. I will, however, recommend that if you are out for a sunny (or even cloudy) stroll in Volunteer Park that you take a short side trip to the cafe to imbibe in a soda, coffee, tea or even a beer or wine along with a little something to nosh from their menu.

Looking back on my past few reviews I seem to have taken an easier road in reviewing sandwiches and quick lunchtime fare. While lunch is an important meal my hope is to bring you all more reviews; especially dinner reviews. So with so much behind me I look forward to spending more quality time eating out and at the keyboard of my computer.

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Of all the things that can make or break the success of a restaurant the biggest, and most apparent to potential diners, are photos of the food served within said restaurant’s walls. Think back to the last time you were walking past a sketchy Chinese restaurant that had faded pictures of menu items pasted to their street facing windows. The flaking, sun-baked images of beef, chicken and vegetables, turned slightly moldy from the effects of condensation forming between glass and paper. None of this screams, “Delicious cuisine inside”. More times than not I turn away from those places. So it was with Cocorico Patisserie in Kirkland. Before my first visit, a couple of weeks ago, I always shied away because the pictures that hung in the window of the sandwiches they served were poorly lit, off-colored and old looking. Again, not something one equates with quality eats. Of course what’s the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”?

It took a co-worker’s weeklong Cocorico binge to wise me up to the potential in this strip mall lunch spot. Every day he would come down and ask if anyone wanted to join him. A few people agreed but my bias, based upon the photos in the window, kept me from agreeing. “Not today”, I’d say; while deep inside I was saying, “Or ever, yuck”. But one day I found myself, crippled by hunger pains, standing outside their doors. Once inside I was confronted with a blend of deli/pastry counter sandwich shop and French tea room: with claret colored curtains, wrought iron patio furniture, upholstered seating and plastic statuary. Behind the counter, pasted to the wall, are more of the same poorly photographed sandwich imagery; this time serving as the menu. One thing is for sure, Cocorico serves a wide variety of International sandwiches. If you are looking for something sandwich-like from a particular country, it is likely that you’ll find it in picture form on the menu of this restaurant’s back wall.

My choice for lunch I decided would be something less than exotic, something that would be hard to get wrong - Southern Pot Roast Sandwich ($4.99). While I’m not exactly sure what makes a pot roast from the south different from say, its Northern cousin. I can say that my sandwich contained the definitive essence of what a pot roast should be - tender, moist pieces of beef that have been cooked to the point where it literally falls apart in strands. Loaded with great beefy flavor it was also rich, tasting as if it had been bathing in gravy for an hour. Each pot roast sandwich comes with one’s choice of sauce: barbeque, teriyaki or horseradish. I’m of the belief that no beef dish is complete without the addition of horseradish, so that was my choice. The sandwich came dressed with lettuce, tomato and pickle. This last little bit, the pickle, is something which I wouldn’t normally request on a sandwich of this sort. But somehow it works, the brininess mixes with the richness of the meat and the spark of horseradish. I’d like to say it makes something of a tartar sauce but that’s not quite right. All of this was stuffed inside a freshly made demi-French roll of decent size. Unfortunately all you get with your sandwich order is a sandwich only; no chips or drink or dessert. There is dessert available in their large pastry case but the availability and variety can be spotty at times.

All-in-all Cocorico makes a good lunch and I look forward to trying many of the other sandwiches offered via faded photos. Of course lunch is the only time you can stop in as they are only open from 10:30 to 3:00, Monday through Friday. While this makes for significantly reduced opportunities for most people’s repast, if you work in the Totem Lake area, it adds one more selection to my list of nearby “out of the office” lunch spots. I may even offer some of my own sandwich shots to be used in the place of their current imagery.

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Lunch; to me it is the most important meal of the day. Oh sure, there are those that claim that breakfast is actually the most important but these are people who’d happily live on eggs, bacon and granola - or “light fare” as I like to call it. Okay, so breakfast does have its merits and there are many good ones out there but I’m not an egg person and I don’t typically get my appetite until at least 10 A.M. For me there is nothing better than sitting down for a mini-dinner at the mid-point of the day. When I worked in Fremont there were wide ranging choices for the midday repast, both within easy walking and driving distance. But for the past year I’ve been working in the suburbia that is North Kirkland and have been relegated to fast food, a run to the local grocery store or a seat at a national feed-bag spot - or so it seemed initially.

As I began to explore more and more of the area around my company’s office complex I started noticing little spots that held, at least potentially, promise. While proximity is still the biggest issue (A good many of these places aren’t within quick walking distance) I’ve decided to see what a short drive could accomplish in the way of a tasty meal. My first stop was at AA Sushi, a kaiten sushi restaurant that reminded me of the sushi lunches I used to enjoy at Blue C Sushi in Fremont. I’m not sure if the owners are former employees of Blue C, ex-partners or just piggy backing off of Blue C’s success by opening a shop in Kirkland but upon walking into the restaurant I noticed similarities that ran deeper than just the moving conveyor belt. For one, the space tries to be industrial chic. Unfortunately they fail to pull this off and the feeling is just cold, like that of a warehouse. Brightly colored art, wall treatments and even the chairs along either end of the belt mimic elements that are found in the kaiten sushi restaurant on the other side of Lake Washington.

But I didn’t come for the ambiance, I only have an hour for lunch and I was starving. “What are they offering on the belt,” I asked myself. For those who are new to conveyor belt sushi I will give a brief explanation. The chef or chefs prepare the sushi at a central location, plating each item on one of three or four different color plates. The colors of the plates represent a price so the more expensive sushi will be on one color while cheaper fare are on others. At AA Sushi the pricing for the plate colors are as follows: Green/$1.50, Yellow/$2.00, Blue/$2.50 and Red/$3.00. My first plate was Yam Tempura Roll ($1.50). The crispy fried tempura batter held tight to the inner roll filling of yam. Providing a nice crunch to a baked potato like texture though did not help the lack of flavor in the yam. This roll could have easily been flavorless expect for the rice. As you continue to read you will see how often I mention the rice. Cooked just right, so that it wasn’t crunchy or mushy, the rice was well seasoned with vinegar giving it a light sweetness that provided some flavor, and as you’ll see, enhanced the flavor of other plates.

My next plate was Salmon Nigiri ($3.00). The fish slices were long and wide but their thickness was relatively thin. Providing this much surface area allowed these two pieces of sushi to be creamy and buttery without a hint of stringy-ness. It also helped that the fish as very fresh and quite flavorful. A bit sweet in its own right the raw salmon had just enough fat content that it almost melted in the mouth.

As I was licking my fingers from the last of the salmon nigiri I spotted what I would later determine was a Kirkland Roll ($3.00). I was a little confused at first because a menu I had read described the Kirkland roll as having spicy tuna along with the tempura shrimp while the roll I choose substituted cucumber for said spicy tuna. But after a quick inquiry I was told it was something new that was being tried for the Kirkland roll. I’m actually glad the substitution was made. While the tempura shrimp was fresh tasting, slightly salty sweet and crunchy the real punch to the roll came from the generous layer of spicy chili sauce that sat atop each slice. The flavors did a little dance on my tongue as I used my chopsticks to tweeze bite after bite into my mouth. Sweet, spicy, chewy and crunchy all had their role in the flavor profile of what I think was the best roll I tried at AA Sushi. And I was thankful for the sweet, not just from the shrimp but also from the rice. That sweetness helped to quell the fire that the chili sauce started.

After such a bold choice of plates I turned to something a little tamer, Scallop Nigiri ($2.00). As with the salmon nigiri the scallop was of very good quality. Firm but not dry the scallop was creamy, sweet and fresh. Most times scallops lose a lot of their texture if they are frozen after being caught but based upon what I ate, the sushi chef must have been at the docks early that morning.

Since I missed out on spicy tuna in the Kirkland roll I decided, as a final plate, on a Spicy Tuna Roll ($2.50). One thing that I will say for this place, when they say spicy, they mean it. This is a shame in this case because the spicy sauce totally obliterates the taste of the tuna in the roll. All I could discern was chili sauce, cucumber and that strangely sweet sushi rice. If I had to do it again, I’d go for the tuna nigiri instead.

So with a little over ten dollars worth of sushi in my belly I paid my check and made the dash back to work. While AA Sushi is far from the best in the Seattle area, for a quick sushi lunch it’s not terrible. My main suggestion to anyone going would be to stick with the nigiri as the quality of their raw fish is well above average and be careful of rolls that include spicy sauce. That’s like playing with dynamite that sauce is.

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While some may not think that three restaurants qualify as an in-depth review of pizza delivery for my so-called Delivery Pizza Week, I challenge anyone to eat five pizzas over a six day time period and not get tired of cheese and sauce. I’m sure there are some people here in Seattle who could easily eat pizza every day of the week but dear reader; I’m not one of them. So I decided upon one more restaurant that was within my zone of delivery, Pudge Bros. Pizza. For an overall ranking of all three pizza places; scroll down the page.

I called in for the New York, New York ($10.99/Small [10″], $13.99/Medium [12″], $17.99/Large [14″], $21.99/Xtra-Large [18″]) to keep this tasting simple. With a short list of just four toppings I was reminded of a sausage grinder when I placed my order. In fact, when the pizza arrived, the sausage consisted of sliced link Italian sausage. Mild in pork flavor but juicy and bursting with fennel and spices the meat could easily have stood on its own. The vegetables were julienne thin, retained their crunch and were amply provided. An extra cheesy pie, the thick layer of creamy, mild mozzarella tended to not want to separate from other slices, pulling cheese and toppings away from its neighbors. Sauced liberally, the tomato base tasted of canned tomato paste. Though zesty and slightly spicy it was overly thick and a little off-putting. As for the crust, it suffered from Jekyll & Hyde syndrome. Near the center it was soggy and doughy while out closer to the edge it was lightly crispy with a slightly chewy, pillow-like interior - close to perfect for me. It was just a shame the whole crust couldn’t have had that texture.

So what have I learned during Delivery Pizza Week (Our “Delivery Pizza Week and a Half” if you will)? Here is my breakdown of the three local pizza deliveries I sampled, in recommended order:

1) Pudge Bros. Pizza, Pagliacci Pizza (Tie)
This was a tough one as both places had positives and negatives. Pudge brothers had soggy crust closer to the center of the pie while the “butt-end” had what I consider to be very good crust - crunchy exterior, pillow-y interior and a slight chew to it without my feeling as though I’m chewy bubble gum. The toppings were plentiful and fresh while the sauce tasted canned. The cheese was creamy and slightly sweet as what I’d expect mozzarella to be though it was a tad stringy. Pagliacci’s cheese on the other hand, to me, was a negative. With a splotchy texture and overly nutty flavor it just wasn’t what I think of when I imagine pizza cheese. But on the plus side, the crust was pretty good and I think it could easily stand up against shops like Via Tribunali and Tutta Bella. Likewise the sauce was fresh, a little sweet, a little tart, like I’d expect from restaurant pizza. Between these two I think an individual can find something that they’d enjoy in the way of delivery pizza. In the end, I felt they both came in neck-and-neck.

2) Zeeks Pizza
The pizza from Zeeks has been re-classified in my book as a good stand-by. From pale, meek dough to ho-hum toppings and an expensive price tag, this is a spot that I would call if the delivery times are long for one of the above two.

There are a lot of options when it comes to pizza delivery in Seattle. From national and local chains to mom and pops, everyone has their favorites that they are loyal to. Hopefully this past week has been helpful in making a decision on where to turn for a pizza, delivered to one’s home, which straddles the line between artisan-style pizzeria and fast food chain. The truest answer to what to order, pizza-wise, is to ask yourself what you are looking for. Is it great, crisp crust, complex sauce or mild, fresh mozzarella? If the answer is that all three need to be perfect, you may need to go to a sit-down restaurant. But if you’ve open to two out of three, and you want the convenience of eating your pie in track pants and a ratty t-shirt, then there are delivery options awaiting you.

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