Ask Seattle A Question
Questions are no longer being accepted in this category. You can read previous questions and answers below.
Best of 2010: Cooking and Cocktails
Category_default

Best of 2010: Cooking and Cocktails

It's been a long and tasty year for Seattlites. We've seen dozens of restaurants open, and a ton more close. Farmers markets have flourished and shoppers have eagerly rushed to grab up the best seasonal ingredients. And we've gotten drunk--very, very drunk--on some pretty fantastic cocktails. As the year comes to an end, let's do a little run down of the best of the yea...

Answers in Best of 2010: Cooking and Cocktails
Favorites Latest
  • Follow 1
    Tell the truth: what were you glad went away this year?
    Nose_small

    I'm going to have to say Avila. I know that other people had good experiences there (Bethany Jean Clement wrote a glowing review of it, Jesse Smith recommended it to me whole-heartedly) but I thought it was terrible. It might have just been a bad night for them, but it made me think it was like The Emperor's New Restaurant. I felt like I was eating in a completely different restaurant than they had described. Every other recommendation I've received from both Bethany (via The Stranger) and Jesse thrilled me. Until Avila. I couldn't get over the fact that it smelled of hot fish garbage and everything we were served was the worst thing I had ever eaten. The young radish soup with spruce tips and bone marrow beignets was a disaster: a pinkish, somewhat cold, nearly flavorless bowl of thin liquid unaided by the 1980s-throwback green flecks of spruce sprinkled on top. The beignets were soggy and uninteresting, as though they had been made by a young cook who didn't understand the proper temperature for fryer oil, or how to add flavor to dough. Another dish, the smoked salmon strudel was akin to Aunt Edna's Salmon Surprise and consisted of dense, dry salmon encased in an overly-doughy wrapper. There was some sad dill sauce on the plate and cold, melon baller-balled balls of new potato. The whole thing was rather depressing. And although the server emphasized that everything was made in-house, which is admirable in theory, I think he should've been advised to taste the disastrous bresaola before laying claim to its creation. Their challah was nice though.

    Julia Wayne answered in Best of 2010: Cooking and Cocktails about 1 year ago
    Answer, comment & read 6 more answers »
  • Follow 1
    What was the best plate of pasta you had this year?
    Michaelnatkin_small

    Oh, well, this is a slam dunk. Spinasse's pasta is not just best-of-breed in Seattle but world class. The tajarin in particular is rich with egg yolks, thin, and incredibly elastic. I'd eat it with a sauce of brake dust if that was the only choice.

    Michael @ Herbivoracious.com answered in Best of 2010: Cooking and Cocktails about 1 year ago
    Answer, comment & read 6 more answers »
  • Follow 1
    Best restaurants for dessert?
    Becky_small

    Tilikum Place Cafe has a pastry chef turning out some marvelous desserts - creative ice creams, tarts, custards, cookies or whatever whim inspires him that day.

    My favorite is their orange semolina cake topped with... (I'm salivating with the memory) a most unusual mini tart-sweet salad of fennel and citrus. The cake was sweet like honey and a bit bitter from the citrus rind. It was bitter in a good bitter way, not like the bad bitter way of, for example, my grandmother when I decided not to go to medical school, but I digress. There were crunchy things on the cake - crunchy things that I obviously can't quite remember clearly, except for their texture which balanced the lusciousness of the cake.

    Not sure if the orange semolina cake is on their menu right now, but if it isn't and you ask real nice, I bet they'd put it back on their menu.

    Chef Reinvented answered in Best of 2010: Cooking and Cocktails about 1 year ago
    Answer, comment & read 8 more answers »
  • Follow 1
    What dining/food trend would you like to see go away?
    Chick_small

    I saw Marion Nestle talk at UW this fall, and someone asked her if she had to pick between more calories or chemicals in food, which would she pick? And she answered chemicals because obesity is a bigger problem.

    And it was such a startling answer in light of current focus on whole organic foods that it got me thinking.

    I am glad we have a focus on whole, local and sustainable foods...but I feel like along with it - and what I call the Butter and Bacon Exclaiming - has come a sort of "If you're concerned about calories and fat, you're an uptight buzzkill" pervasive attitude.

    So I'd just like to see that loosened up a bit. It's understandable that we're still living out the backlash against the low-fatness of the 80's/90's, but I feel like it's gone to an extreme that is maybe a little irresponsible.

    There's nothing wrong with occasional indulgence, but there's also no reason for the food community to have this sort of macho/dismissive attitude towards those who are careful about calories/fat/salt, etc.

    FreshPickedSeattle answered in Best of 2010: Cooking and Cocktails about 1 year ago
    Answer, comment & read 10 more answers »
  • Follow 1
    What was your favorite new restaurant this year?
    Mugshot_small

    This year was epic for new restaurants. Among my favorite new restaurants are Staple & Fancy, The Walrus & the Carpenter, BlueAcre, The Book Bindery, Lecosho, Luc, Bisato, The Independent Pizzeria and Tamura, and the reincarnations of Marjorie and Sitka & Spruce.

    The 1-2 punch of Staple & Fancy and The Walrus & The Carpenter at The Kolstrand Building redefine Ballard as a restaurant destination. The restaurants are adjacent to each other but their cuisines are distinctive. Ethan Stowell at Staple & Fancy exemplifies rustic yet luxurious Italian cuisine. Renee Erickson at The Walrus & The Carpenter heightens the oyster experience with a French bistro accent.

    BlueAcre is another new restaurant that puts oysters on a pedestal (on an ice-filled dish, mind you). Their care to presenting clean flavors from local ingredients stretches to the other seafood dishes. BlueAcre is the temple of seafood that has been missing from Downtown Seattle.

    The Book Bindery is an assault on the senses; sight, taste and smell. The dining room designed by general manager Patric Gabre-Kidan is as elegant as the dishes plated by chef Shaun McCrain. The booze program leaves me scratching my head at times, though.

    Matt Jahnke's latest venture, Lecosho, builds on his first restaurant, the eponymous Matt's in the Market. Lecosho is only two blocks from Matt's but far in the distance in Jahnke's rear-view mirror. From the finesse-driven seafood dishes that made Jahnke famous at Matt's to the bolder meaty dishes, the kitchen delivers a rich palate of flavors. The experienced front of house team has been delivering crisp service from day one as if they had been opened since, well, 1996 when Jahnke opened Matt's.

    Chef Thierry Reautureau pays as much attention to detail, balance and flavor to his food at Luc as he does at Rover's, the finest of fine dining destinations in Seattle. The fare is much more casual, however. In other words, guests can enjoy cuisine by one of the best chefs in the region at more affordable prices.

    Marjorie moved from Belltown to Capitol Hill. The warm and friendly Donna Moodie sets the mood in the dining room. Chef Kylen McCarthy and his team heighten the senses with their innovative cuisine.

    Matt Dillon cooks the same dishes with clean flavors, a deft touch with seasoning and obsessive attention to sourcing the appropriate ingredients. Now he presents his food in the warm confines of Melrose Market.

    The facelift to the more casual Bisato from the white linens Lampreia has seemingly relaxed chef/owner Scott Carsberg. His creativeness and intensity for consistent execution are still in high gear.

    Though mere months old Tamura is giving the competition a run for the title of best sushi in Seattle to restaurants that have been opened for decades.

    The Independent Pizzeria is as unassuming and distant as its name suggests. Located on the very west edge of Madison Park, this tiny pizzeria pumps out crispy thin crust pizzas.

    CorkDorkForkDork answered in Best of 2010: Cooking and Cocktails about 1 year ago
    Answer, comment & read 12 more answers »
  • Follow 1
    What is the best dim sum in Seattle?
    Flaming_arrow_small

    I don't generally like dim sum--mainly because I won't eat evil/gross farmed shrimp and it seems like that means my choices are cut by about half. But, I like my friends, and they all like to go out for dim sum. I've settled on NW Tofu as my favorite place--19th and Jackson. It's plain inside, cash only, very cheap, everything's made to order, and it's in a tofu factory, so everything you can order with tofu is excellent. They also serve lots of pork choices; it's not a straight vegetarian place as has been reported occasionally. Their salt and pepper tofu is especially great, but there's a whole page of all sorts of dumplings, buns and rolls and most all of 'em are fresh and very tasty.

    Brunch at Monsoon comes in second. It's a bit pricey compared to some of the ID dim sum places, but the quality is great and my friends can get dim sum while I get the one of the best bowls of pho in town.

    Jill Lightner answered in Best of 2010: Cooking and Cocktails about 1 year ago
    Answer, comment & read 5 more answers »
Questions in Best of 2010: Cooking and Cocktails
Latest Most Followed Unanswered
Recent Comments in Best of 2010: Cooking and Cocktails