2008 November | Degustation Nation

Monthly Archive for November, 2008

T-Town Supper Club: A Night In Sicily

Published

on November 25, 2008

in Family & friends, Foodie and T-Town Supper Club

. 6 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, we had the inaugural dinner of the T-Town Supper Club. The T-Town Supper Club consists of 15 people sharing a common bond: the bond of the unpretentious foodie. Our first dinner of course had a theme, and since my lady T and I hosted, what better than a nod to T’s heritage: A Night In Sicily. For the uninitiated, Sicilian cuisine is a wild mix of cultures: Italian, North African, Greek, Norman, and Arabian. All of these different civilizations invaded and occupied the island of Sicily at one time or another (sometimes simultaneously!). And the traditional foods of Sicily combine the best of all of these cultures into one big, bold pot of sauce. Our mission: to provide a list of key ingredients that each guest would volunteer to incorporate in a traditional Sicilian dish. The list was as follows: almond, anchovy, artichoke, capers, cinnamon, clove, eggplant, fennel, fig, lemon, mussels, olive, blood orange, orange blossom, pecorino, pine nut, pistachio, raisin, saffron, squash, squid, swordfish, tomato, tuna and of course the unanimous group favorite garlic! Each guest committed to using three or more of the key ingredients in a dish that they in turn brought to the dinner party. The night’s menu was as follows:

Apertivo: Prosecco, Blood Orange Margaritas with Fresh Basil
Antipasti: Bruschetta with Anchovy-Fennel Butter & Roasted Peppers
Antipasti: Citrus-marinated Shrimp with Capers & Olives, Herbed Flatbread
Primi: Mussels in Tomato-wine Sauce
Primi: Pasta with Artichokes, Raisins and Cauliflower, Saffron Sauce
Primi: Calamari with Garlic, Herbs and Preserved Lemon
Secondo: Bracciole of Beef
Contorno: Eggplant with Capers and Mint
Dolce: Cassata (Cake that takes 3 days to make)
Digestivo: Moscato di Asti, Rosolio di Pistachio

Citrus Marinated Shrimp

Pasta with Saffron

Mussels Roberto

Bracciole

Cassata

The entire experience took about 4 hours. Everyone arrived on time (we have a very responsible bunch here) and we were off to a nice start with our Apertivo of Prosecco and Rob’s Blood Orange/Basil Margaritas. Antipasto was sampled casually; the remainder of the courses were served formally at the dinner tables. Additionally, most people brought at least one bottle of wine, so we had an amazing variety of wines, most of them of Sicilian origin. All of the courses were very big on flavors, which of course is the Sicilian tradition! The real standout of the evening though was the mussels - they were absolutely fantastic. Every last drop of sauce was sopped up with warm bread. All in all it was a most excellent dinner party, with the grand finale of Sara’s Cassata cake. Yes, this cake took 3 days to make - a most involved process - but the effort was well worth it. Bellissima! As they say in Italy, “Abbiamo mangiato molto bene!” - we have eaten very well!

Menudo - Breakfast of Champions

Published

John

on November 23, 2008

in Foodie and Places we dig

. 2 Comments

I gotta’ tell ya’, there’s nothing I love more on a Saturday than having an authentic, non-gringo-ized Mexican meal. My lady T and I always go to Tacoma’s finest Mexican restaurant, Vuelve a la Vida. She is addicted to the Ceviche Cameron, a fabulously lime-infused mixture of shrimp, tomatoes, onion and cilantro. We get it by the 1/2 pound, accompanied by a stack of crisp tostadas.

1/2 Pound of Heaven

A few bites of Ceviche were nice to get my appetite tuned-up for my main course, a bowl of Menudo. This stuff is the real deal, no holds barred kick-ass soup just like Grandma used to make (yes, I grew up on the stuff). The main ingredients are Honeycomb Tripe (lining of a cows stomach), Hominy and a Pata de Vaca (cows foot). No, there is not a hoof sticking up out of the bowl - that part has been removed. It is more like an ankle bone.

A Steaming Bowl of Goodness

What this all boils down to is a lot of very gelatinous meat. Certainly not for everyone - but it is one of the simple pleasures of life that I indulge in occasionally.

Accompanied by a plate of fresh chopped onion, cilantro and lime wedges for garnish. This is the quintessential Mexican cure-all: hangover, cold, flu, etc. A bowl of Medudo with a cold Mexican beer can be a fabulous experience; it just makes you feel good all over!

So, next time you feel a little peaked, under the weather, grouchy, hung over, or just plain crappy, get down to Vuelve a la Vida and have a steaming bowl of Menudo. It’s better than vitamin C - it’s Vitamin M! Tell them Juanito sent you.

Vuelve a la Vida is located at 5310 Pacific Ave, Tacoma. Look for the sign with the happy octopus on it.

Beer Geekin’ Night is a Comin’!

Published

John

on November 17, 2008

in Beer, wine & spirits and Places we dig

. 2 Comments

Howdy kids! Yes, it’s true, the Park Way Tavern’s annual “Honey, The Park Way Ruined Thanksgiving” pre-holiday tune up is nearly upon us. What better way to spend the night before our national day of gluttony than by prepping your belly with a major beer-induced bloating. And, by spending time with a bunch of fellow beer geeks who are probably much better company than the dysfunctional family members you may be forced to hang with the next day.

Our Beloved PW

Featuring a veritable cornucopia of ales, here is what you have to look forward to for this year’s line up:

Maritime Jolly Roger 2007

Sierra Celebration 2007

Great Divide Hibernation 2007

Sierra Harvest 2007

Rogue Old Crustacean

Deschutes Abyss

Allagash Curieux 2007

New Belgium Abbey Grand Cru

Moylans Hopsickle Imperial IPA

Russian River Salvation

Deschutes Nitro Jubelale

Boundary Bay Cask Cabin Fever

Samichlaus

And More…… not to mention Pliny The Elder on the Randall!!!!!

Get yer’ asses down to the PW on Wednesday, November 26^th, from 5 pm to 2 am!

Dinner at Spring Hill in West Seattle

Published

John

on November 10, 2008

in Beer, wine & spirits, Family & friends, Foodie and Places we dig

. 3 Comments

Saturday was a good day, for several reasons. First, I was able to spend the majority of the day tripping around downtown Seattle with my lady T and her mom Sandi. Sandi was visiting from Denver, so good eats were in order as killer grub is hard to find in the Rocky Mountains, leaving my poor mother in law deprived. Second, we were lucky enough to score a reservation at West Seattle’s latest dining hot spot, Spring Hill. Located on the 4400 block of California Ave SW, Spring Hill was easy to find. We had read about this place in a magazine that we subscribe to called “Northwest Palate” (which if you haven’t checked out, it is packed with good stuff – highly recommended). It sounded intriguing: a cool new foodie haven owned and operated by former Dahlia Lounge chef Mark Fuller and his wife Marjorie. Having eaten at Dahlia in the past, we knew of Fuller’s handiwork in the kitchen and have always been impressed. I mean, this is the cat who helped Tom Douglas throw some whoop-ass down on Morimoto to win Iron Chef. The man is no culinary slouch.

Chef Mark Fuller in Action

We had an early reservation at 5:45, were greeted by the charming Mrs. Fuller and seated at a nice 4 top with a great view of the kitchen. Nearly every seat in the house has a view of the action. It was a blast watching Fuller oversee the line as we waited between courses. He watched over the line with the calm of a Zen-Master as his crew moved amongst each other with precision and grace.

This place has lots of small plates, so we had to begin with several to whet our appetites. We started with a round of The Bubbly, along with some Kumamoto and Kusshi oysters which were served with a Cascade Hop Mignonette. Being hoppy beer lovers, bathing oysters in a hoppy bath made us very happy indeed. We also sampled the Citrus Cured King Clam with Lemon Peel Relish. It was like Ceviche made with a King Clam. It was an explosion of flavors - the sea, bright citrus, and a bit of spice - incredible.

The wine list was impressive and featured one of our all time favorite Pinot Noirs, Cameron Arley’s Leap. Now we needed something to go with our bottle of Pinot. We tried the Razor Clam Sausage, Roasted Beet Salad, Duck Egg Yolk Raviolo and Veal Sweetbreads. All were absolutely amazing – the Clam Sausage was a mixture of Pork, Razor Clams and herbs, all caramelized to perfection and served on a bed of dressed greens. The Beet Salad was adorned with Asian pear, smoked hazelnuts, Rogue bleu cheese and basil. The raviolo was topped with duck ham and garlic chips. The scene-stealer was the sweetbreads, though, served with a trio of dipping sauces: BBQ, Honey Mustard, and Ranch. I was in heaven (read: organ meat freak).

Of course, we had to have another bottle of that wine (according to our server, Andrea, they were the last 2 bottles). Next we tried the Wood Grilled Prawns with grits, shrimp gravy, poached egg and Chanterelle mushrooms. Plus, Beef Steak Hot and Cold, which was comprised of a mound of beef tartare and grilled rib eye. We were doing some serious eating here! We had some wine left, so we had to get another round of the Razor Clam Sausage and another Duck Egg Raviolo….. hey, what can you do, ya’ gotta’ have something to wash down! After 3 hours or so of foodie bliss, we’d had enough. We never got around to sampling any of the entrée sizes dishes. They had some great sounding plates, from pasta to duck to burgers to short ribs. Check out the full menu here: menu

For dessert we tried some frozen treats, a scoop of Buttered and Salted Popcorn ice cream, and a scoop of Fruit Sorbet. The popcorn ice cream was insane – it tasted just like buttered popcorn. All accompanied by Gran Marnier for me and hot tea for the ladies.

All in all, we were quite impressed. You just don’t come across this level of creativity all that often. Service was top-notch. Food was out of this world, and the execution was flawless. Next time you want to try something exciting, I urge you to check out Spring Hill, you’ll be glad you did.