Marteau Absinthe

November 8th was the official release date of the new absinthe produced by House Spirits. My friend picked up a bottle for me that weekend but I still haven't opened it. I did finally open my bottle of Krogstad Aquavit and I've found that I very much enjoy a small glass in the evening.

House Spirits Distillery

Several weekends ago my friends and I embarked on our second annual "Why don't we live in a beach house?!?" beach house trip to Oregon. This year was a huge departure from the style of our previous trip in that we actually planned ahead. Rather than scramble for a place to stay when we arrived at Newport we booked our beach house months in advance. It was a beauty of a house that could sleep 15 and included two kitchens and a jacuzzi. The plan for our weekend trip: days on the beach, evenings in the hot tub, and as many brewery and distillery visits as we could cram in.

The party consisted of three veterans from the 2007 trip and eleven friends of ours from various social circles. As one of the original three it was partially my responsibility to make sure it would be a memorable trip. My friend Jon is well organized and a very strong planner so we let him take the reins but I was left with the important decision of which distillery to visit besides Rogue.

The decision came down to either House or Integrity Spirits. Integrity just entered the absinthe market with a new product called Trillium but House makes the Aviation Gin that I know and love. I finally settled on House Spirits. The tour was easily arranged by email and Matt (in charge of tours) was very communicative and flexible. Tours are available almost every day by appointment unless they happen to be out of town.

When we arrived Matt brought us all in to the distillery and began his spiel. We were given a very informative talk about the history of House Spirits as well as background information on vodka, gin, and aquavit. We experienced a little thrill of excitement when we were allowed to stick our fingers in a stream of gin still going through the distilling process. My friends (including a homebrewer and biochemist) had a ton of questions and he answered all of them well.

When we were finished assailing Matt with questions he led us to another part of the distillery to talk about future products. House Spirits has a rye whiskey in the works that will be aged 8-9 years and they plan to release what they are calling an "apothecary line." They will be bottling their small-batch and one-off products and making them available in 350ml bottles. He also enticed us with a description of their custom whiskey program. The $4900 price tag seemed high until he mentioned that a barrel yields at least 100 750ml bottles. We all have some ability at mental arithmetic so the changes in expressions when we realized that perhaps we could make this work were almost instantaneous.

After the tour Matt led us in to the Spirit & Cocktail Boutique where we sampled the Medeyoff Vodka, Aviation Gin, Krogstad Aquavit, and Marteau Absinthe. The absinthe was tasted first neat, than with water added, and finally with a little simple syrup. Imagine our disappointment to discover that it was not yet available for purchase! Not one of us would presume to be call our self knowledgeable regarding absinthe but it was a pleasure to drink.

We were at the distillery for an hour and a half or so and we all had a fantastic time. All of their products are excellent and I'm excited to see what is in store for the future!

What's for dinner?

I enjoy cooking but I can be incredibly cheap and easily intimidated by recipes. Anything I make with regularity will be very simple to make and only require 2 or 3 ingredients that are not already stocked in the pantry. I thought I'd share my favorite finds from other blogs.

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter
This ridiculously simple sauce is always a hit. I like to make it in a large skillet so it reduces more quickly and I "chop" the tomatoes in the pan with kitchen shears.
http://orangette.blogspot.com/2007/09/start-with-tomato-sauce.html

Simple Rosemary Roast Beef
I usually skip the rosemary and use this to make beef dip sandwiches. A friend turned me on to "Better Than Bouillon" beef base. The combination tastes way better than you think it should!
http://jessthomson.wordpress.com/2007/11/08/

Pasta Carbonara
What's not to love! My only complaint is that separating the egg requires extra dishes. When I'm on a Carbonara kick I'll end up eating this for breakfast a lot.
http://www.thepauperedchef.com/2007/03/pasta_carbonara.html


English Cucumber Sandwiches
I was originally inspired to make them by "The Importance of Being Earnest" and later they were a big hit at our "Four Ingredients in 20 Minutes" cooking contest.
http://www.thepauperedchef.com/2006/02/cucumber_sandwi.html

May

An old friend of mine is back in town this week while he prepares to move from Korea to Hawaii. Although he's very dear to me he's not particularly reliable so I was surprised to receive a call from him inviting me to meet up for dinner. I was fresh out of the gym when I received the details and arrived at the restaurant a good twenty minutes after the rest of the party.

My dinner companions had just finished consuming their appetizer but had decided not to order dinner without me. I ordered a pint and quickly scanned the menu in hopes of minimizing the wait before food would finally arrive. I didn't have to wait long for my beer but the waitress managed to disappear before we could ask her about ordering. It was becoming evident that this dinner would drag on.

I like the people I was dining with but they are very awkward to converse with. We had all worked together at my last job but one of them was my boss - particularly disliked by my coworkers. The rest of the party consisted of her husband, my friend, and his brother. I met my friend through a role-playing game and his brother is by far the shyest person I have ever met. The food could not arrive fast enough - and they really made us wait. It was a good twenty-five minutes before we saw a plate which is not a reasonable wait for a Thai restaurant.

I allowed myself to order the Phad Thai - for purpose of comparison. I like to challenge myself to try new things but I have certain weaknesses. May's Phad Thai wins high marks for presentation. My dish arrived covered in banana leaf which the waitress peeled to the side. She spooned some chili flakes and sugar on to the noodles and tossed them for me. The other person who ordered Phad Thai was merely told to watch and copy her moves. As far as taste, it was acceptable. It wasn't too slimy, or too saucy, and ketchup didn't appear to be an ingredient. The downfall is they charge $14, almost twice what I'd normally expect to pay. For that price I'd expect to be blown away.

By the time we finished my friends had been there for two hours - and only about a quarter of that time was spent with food in front of us. The waitress was clearly trying to rush us out the door before some of our table had finished eating. We weren't exactly taking our sweet time!

Sushi Maki

I believe that in order to properly appreciate a piece of sushi it should be consumed in one bite. There are several reasons for my distaste with over sized rolls:

a) You have to spend extra time getting just the right grip so you don't drop it while trying to bite through it
b) The piece of sushi may fall to pieces, possibly in your lap
c) It is unlikely that you will be able to evenly distribute the various components of the roll with your bite, therefore you will not experience the flavors as intended

I decided to give Sushi Maki a chance anyway. Sushi Maki should just rename all of their rolls "Godzilla Roll." My friend and I ordered 3 rolls and ended up taking an entire roll home. I foolishly attempted to fit a whole piece of the Volcano Roll in my mouth and had to work on it for the next five minutes. Thank goodness my friend was too nice to take a photo!

The sushi itself just wasn't memorable. It didn't satisfy my sushi craving so I felt like I hadn't even eaten sushi. I can't even think of anything to say about it except it was huge and cheap.

Sushi Maki clearly isn't the right restaurant for me but I do know many people who will love it. $5-7 for a roll big enough to be a meal has a lot of mass appeal.

Spur Gastropub

I've been curious about the reincarnation of the old Mistral space so when I heard that Spur Gastropub was holding a soft opening last Friday I immediately made plans with my sister to be the first ones in the door. I like to beat the bar crowds so I can actually chat with my bartenders.

For the soft launch every customer was asked to fill out a comment sheet in exchange for receiving a free cocktail and appetizer. We chose the Slow Poached Butterfish and Free Range Chicken Confit for our appetizers and finished with the Pistachio Financiers for dessert. If you don't care for the taste and texture of raw fish (like my sister) the slow poach preparation is probably not ideal. I enjoyed it and thought that it paired perfectly with the peas and morels. The Chicken Confit was a hit with both of us. The skin was crispy and flavorful and the meat was tender and fell easily off the bones.

My sister had marked the confit as her favorite dish prematurely and scratched it off immediately after her first taste of dessert. A warm pistachio cake with foie gras ice cream atop olive oil powder and a cute little elderflower liqueur and lillet gelee. It was perfection.

Kevin, who will be tending bar on Fridays and Sundays, knows our drinking habits well and easily guided us to drinks he knew we'd enjoy. My sister ordered La Rocia, a drink reminiscent of sangria made with tequila, red wine, and stone fruit and topped with a red wine foam. She's the one who hasn't developed a taste for liquor and she loved it. I am partial to drinks with a base of rye whiskey so The Foreigner was an easy choice. The drink was of the same vein as my usual cocktails of choice (Sazeracs & Torontos) but with variations of herbal/fruity qualities that I found pleasing.

A really nice touch was the house made corn nuts. I'm praying that these are complimentary with every visit! They were delicious and we devoured them voraciously.


http://spurseattle.com/
Daily: 5pm - 2am

New distillery opening in WA!

As usual my excitement is a little premature but today I came across rumblings of a new source for local spirits. Pacific Distillery is a micro-distillery based in Woodinville with plans for a premium gin on the market in October and their flagship product, absinthe, available around December of this year. They will be using traditional distilling methods and you can take a peek at their beautiful handmade copper alembic still on their blog. As of this month distilleries in WA state are allowed to conduct tours and offer product sampling so you can bet I'll be making a trip to Woodinville later this year!

Check out their blog at http://pacificdistillery.blogspot.com/

Kress IGA

The supermarket has been open for a few weeks now and I'm very pleased with it. The store is very reminiscent of the supermarkets all over Europe. It's on a much smaller scale than what we're used to here but they still manage to pack in all the essentials and top it off with a great beer and wine department. The price premium for location is manageable and the IGA brand is competitive to generic brands in other supermarkets.

One of the highlights of the store is the selection of local products. They have baked goods from Dahlia Bakery and Boulangerie Nantaise, doughnuts from Mighty O, pasta from Sorrentino, and more. Many of these vendors are selling their product outside of their own stores for the first time.

I was concerned at first about lines since a small grocery has to focus on volume of customers rather than volume of product sales but since the first week it hasn't been an issue at all. In fact I'm a little concerned that the store won't be sustainable. The storefront is tiny and easy to miss. I've spoken with people who live or work within a few blocks who had no idea the store was open yet - several weeks after the actual opening. If you haven't been yet please check it out!

Kress IGA Supermarket
1423 Third Avenue
7am-10pm

Kress IGA Supermarket

I'm the kind of person who radiates my emotions and all day I've been brimming with excitement. Tomorrow is the grand opening of the Kress IGA supermarket in downtown Seattle. I understand if my elation seems a little misplaced but I live a very urban lifestyle - i.e. carless - and I don't often remember to hit up the Pike Place Market before it closes. And the new market satisfies all my little romantic notions of what an urban supermarket can be. Every day local vendors from the area will walk over a day's worth of freshly baked goods and flowers. Once I figure out the delivery schedule don't be surprised if I'm first in line for a freshly walked baguette!

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/367253_kressiga17.html?source=mypi

Spokane Gin

I can't pretend to any real knowledge of liquor but when I heard about a new distillery opening in Spokane - the first full commercial distillery in Washington State since prohibition - I got excited. I'm a sucker for locally produced goods. I tried in vain to get my hands on a bottle of the Dry Fly gin when it was first distributed near the end of last year but it wasn't until March that I came across a bottle in stock at the Queen Anne liquor store. Batch #5 suckas. The liquor is brewed from local wheat and infused with juniper, coriander, lavender, mint, dried apples and hops. I'm no expert but Sun Liquor has been spoiling me with their cocktails for awhile now and this makes one tasty gin & tonic. 

Banh Cuon Tan Dinh

After a work lunch of unplanned leisure, I like to offer my services for a banh mi run.  Vietnamese sandwiches are easy on wallet and the coders can work through their lunch and free themselves from any guilt remaining from yesterday's two hour excursion.

There is a perfectly serviceable Vietnamese restaurant less than ten minutes walk away but they charge the outrageous price of $3.25 for their sandwiches. Fewer than ten years ago I was purchasing these sandwiches for less than half that price at a small shop in my parents' neighborhood so naturally I can not bring myself to pay such an exorbitant amount even taking inflation in to account. Instead I hop on the bus for a 45 minute round trip visit to the Little Saigon neighborhood. There are a number of shops within a two block radius all offering near identical versions of my beloved BBQ pork banh mi.

Which brings me to my provider of choice - Banh Cuon Tan Dinh. There isn't much that banh mi dealers can do to distinguish themselves. They tend to have the atmosphere of a convenience store with a large display of unfamiliar ready-made food items for a quickie lunch stop. Banh Cuon has yet to serve me a stale loaf, they accept credit cards, the counter guy is friendly and helpful, and the menu is entirely in Vietnamese. The sandwiches are $2.25 and it's located on a side street so it doesn't get the traffic of its competitors. I've chosen it as my favorite and you should eat there too.

Here goes...

I love to eat. I think about food, talk about food, and take pictures of my food. I make the people around me hungry. The reason I'm writing here is I've realized I don't have the ability to talk about food the way I would like. I lack vocabulary and perception. I am an adventurous eater and I think I know what tastes good but I'm not very good at explaining why. My hope is that writing about what I eat will help me learn how to verbalize my dining experiences and maybe even make eating more pleasurable.