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

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.