Fall Rumblings #1: Anchovies & Olives

That's right...it's Seattle Restaurant Week again! *Happy Dance* *Joy Shimmy* For those new to the blog, Ann and I did a series of posts last spring, critiquing five restaurants. We intend on doing the same this fall, with another five restaurants:

1. Anchovies & Olives
2. Poppy
3. Joule
4. Mistral Kitchen
5. The Georgian

First up is Anchovies & Olives, Ethan Stowell's Capitol Hill haunt that specializes in...wait for it...Italian seafood dishes. Bet you didn't see that coming. But it's not your typical Seattle seafood restaurant. You won't find pan-seared salmon with {insert green vegetable} and {insert yellow-white starch}. These are off-the-beaten-path entrees that take advantage of the bountiful seasonal options of the Pacific Northwest. Hamachi. Mackerel. Geoduck. This is comfort food that's outside your comfort zone.

  

First


Escolar Crudo



Both of us: Escolar Crudo w/ Fennel, Lime and Avocado. Named by GQ magazine as one of the 5 best dishes in America. Great starter. Stowell's starters are always enjoyable (my favorite is Hamachi with lime, avocado and serrano), and this is no exception. The escolar has just a hint of fishy odor, is soft and buttery, and goes very well with the smooth avocado puree and freshness of lime and fennel. A-

Second


Risotto



Ann: Risotto w/ Uni Butter and Geoduck. Risotto was creamy and cooked to a perfect consistency but the important parts were a) the Uni butter sauce and b) geoduck (which I hope you're pronouncing 'gooey-duck' in your head and not 'gee-oh duck', you amateur). What was this magical uni stuff? As I expected an uni sauce to taste like, it was sharp, pungent and slightly seafood fishy - in a good way. Oh and the b) chewy pieces of geoduck scattered throughout added some texture and balance but wasn't too obnoxious since risotto is about the rice and sauce. It was oh so fatty and delicious. B+





Gnocchetti



Nick: Gnocchetti w/ Bacon, Chantrellles & Cabbage. Love gnocchetti! It's my new favorite pasta. Little, open gnocchi that resemble grubs. I know that's not an appetizing analogy, but this is my blog, so DEAL WITH IT. Savory bacon lardons and chewy chantrelles bring it all together. If there was one thing I would change, it would be slightly more cabbage. It needed slightly more ruffage, and maybe a touch of earthy pecarino shaved on top. B



Third

Ann: Chocolate cake with caramel sauce. Deep and dense, and overwhelming. Food coma-inducing. Decadent cake like this is always amazing, but I really made a mistake of going with back-to-back rich dishes (risotto then cake). Be forewarned: ending a rich fall meal with a heavyweight dessert can be hazardous to your waistline. Your pants will find themselves magically becoming unbuttoned when you finally settle in on the couch (where I am as I write this). B



Nick: Vanilla Panna Cotta w/ Huckleberries. Huckleberries are one of my favorites. I first discovered them in an ice cream on the way to Smith Rock for some rock climbing, about 15 years ago. Anyway you can infuse them in a dessert, I'm there. Light and fluffy panna cotta is a perfect delivery vehicle after a rich and savory entree. B+

 

On a lighter (and what ultimately was an intensely dense) note, Chris went with ice cream with almond cookie for desert. We each sunk our spoons into the mounds. It was like digging into room temperature butter. It looked like vanilla bean ice cream, but felt like the creamiest gelato ever. We put it our mouths. Oh mama. It was creamier, thicker, and richer than we imagined. Our eyes bugged. We stared at each other in astonishment. Had we just had the most creamalicious gelato ever designed by man? No sooner had we began opining on what we had just experienced, our waitress ran over with another bowl of ice cream with cookie. We looked at her and pointed at the first bowl. She nodded, and simply said "yeah, we're sorry...we gave you marscarpone." Whoa...What?! Yes, vanilla bean marscarpone cheese. Not much more to say than, holy shit, that is a gut-bomb. We occasionally snuck in bites of it, just to remind our taste buds, and stomachs, of what not to have on a regular, or even a rare, basis.





The Aftermath (The offending marscarpone in the center) 





Restaurant Week!

F*ck Yeah!

What I'm eating right now...

caramelized pear & gorgonzola ravioli. sausage, shallot & dill cream sauce. chervil sprigs.

Top Chef Season 7 Finale

Hey loyal blog-followers! All seven of you...

We're back for the finale of Top Chef Season 7, with a live blog from Casa de Morrison. In addition to the live blog, we're making din-din for Beth, Ann and myself. On the menu is potato gnocchi with spring veggies and sauteed mushrooms. It's a pretty straightforward recipe from TC finalist Ed that you can find here.

I've been in the mood for seasonal pasta dishes lately, and even though this is a springtime dish, the heavy gnocchi and rich oyster and shitake mushrooms give it a weighty autumnal flavor. We opened a Dundee Hills 2006 Pinot Noir and started cooking. Ann and I prepped the mushrooms, blanched and shocked the sugar and snow peas and asparagus tips, and then made a garlic infused oil that we'd use to sear the gnocchi.

So...mistakes: I skimped for packaged gnocchi. I don't have the time or experience to make gnocchi by hand although that will be an experiment for a rainy Sunday. Packaged gnocchi is just not the same.

We also didn't have the right pan to sear the gnocchi for that crisp edge. And the veggies, while crisp and cooked perfectly, lacked the necessary seasoning. I needed to be a little more liberal with the salt and pepper as well as other spices. Other than those oversights, I think it's a solid dish that just about anyone can whip up in 30 minutes.

We began to speculate on what would happen in the Finale while watching the replays and giving Beth a recap of what had happened during the season as well as a characterization of the chefs.

So, before we get right into the TC finale, here is the final product. Comments?







Top Chef Finale: LiveBlog

Last week, we saw Kelly get the axe, despite the fact that all chefs performed admirably. In fact, all of them made really great food; Kelly's simply wasn't great enough. Too bad...I really like Kelly. She was certainly the strongest female competitor, and I knew it from the first episode. She also held it together better than her male competitors (Angelo's weepy fits, Kevin's hyper-aggressiveness, Ed's grudges).

The episode begins with a recap of the finalists, giving us a glimpse of their varied personalities.

Padma and her publicity orbs inform Ed, Kevin and Angelo that they will come back and draw knives for the final. The final four-courser is a little different this year:
1st: vegetable
2nd: fish
3rd: mystery protein that Ripert and Tom will choose (Tom threatens them with monkey)
4th: dessert

But the knives are for the sous. Hung, Michael Voltaggio and Elan, winners for TC Seasons 4, 6, 2 (respectively). Ann is squealing in delight when Michael comes on the screen. She has a major crush on last season's winner, which I largely ignore.

Cut to the next morning, and Angelo is sick in bed. Queue the 'Whhhaaa Whaaaa' horns. Angelo has by far been portrayed in the most negative light throughout the season. He's kind of opened himself up to that criticism but there's no denying his talent. We'll go ahead to call a moratorium of the Angelo dissing for now. Although he did admit having crabs on national television, for which there is no coming back from.

Tom and Eric show up with the mystery proteins and fish. There's cuttlefish, red rullet, cockles, and slipper lobster. And the proteins are pork belly and duck.

Angelo relays to Hung over the phone that they're going to do a duck and foie gras marshmallow...Wow! Sounds amazing. Hung continues to do the work of two chefs and would probably take any of our season's finalist blindfolded.

Kevin announces his menu. The standouts are cuttlefish "noddles" and the Singapore Sling panna cotta. Impressive. Ed's menu has a duo of duck, and sticky toffee cake. This should be interested.

Angelo is miraculously better. He better bring it, because Kevin and Ed are bringing out their big guns. Wants to show the judges what he can do "under the circumstances." Well, Angelo...I'm afraid that's not gonna cut it. If you've learned anything, the judges don't take those extraneous issues into account. They look at the food like anyone would at a restaurant...they don't care if the chef has a fever.

Susan Finegar sighting!! Ripert! David Chang (of Momofuko fame)! Celebrity chefs have invaded Southeast Asia.

Aside: Ed is becoming a bit of a douche. I know that he's a self-admitted "sarcastic guy" and has had a "bit of a 'tude" but he's now now crossed the Rubicon into super-douche territory. Be humble and gracious. Everyone on TC deserves to be there, but don't spend every waking moment on camera tearing down your opponent. Angelo, on the other hand, who started out with a huge ego, has gotten progressively sweeter and more endearing. Go figure.

The judges are effusive in their praise for the chef's menus, especially the desserts. One of them calls Kevin's frozen Singapore Sling the "new national dessert." And David calls Ed's sticky toffee cake a "F*ck you."

Judging time!!

They start with Angelo's second course...

They do take issue with his cherry shooter as a palate cleanser, citing that it coated their mouths. The marshmallow though seems to be well-received.

Kevin's veggie terrine could have used a little spiciness. He noted that he removed the seeds from the peppers, which accounts for this lack in impact. His 2nd, the cuttlefish noodles with slipper lobster on top looked like it really delivered. The 3rd, duck a la orange, was cooked well. And they all really enjoyed the Singapore Sling dessert.

Ed seemed to fall short the most, out of the three. The corn & fried cockles was well-received, but everything else seemed to be slightly lackluster, in light of what he's been doing lately. The fish wasn't a standout, the duo of duck was the weakest of the 3rds, and Tom took issue with his dessert as well. It's not looking good for Cotton.

Angelo appears to have executed his dishes, despite him being on the shelf during prep. The foie gras marshmallow was definitely the stretch dish, and overall it succeeded, but the fish course was really well conceived and implemented. The mushroom pork belly handmade noodle opener was also strong.

OK! Here we go...

Tom heaps on the praise, citing that the chef that took the biggest risks that also delivered the best meal would win.

And...

It's Kevin! Yay!! I definitely thought Kevin's menu was the strongest and it appears he made it happen, Cap'n! Hurray!! Ed and Angelo are gracious in defeat. Kevin has really been the darkhorse since about halfway. Somedays he really brings it; somedays his dishes fall well short of the others. I felt the same way about my girl Ashley Merriman last season. She could have easily made it to the final. Or gone home the first few episodes. Ed and Angelo, in all likelihood, are better chefs. Kelly probably is too. But Kevin was stood out when it counted the most. He wanted it more than they did too. He's trying to establish himself, whereas Angelo and Ed are already entrenched at their respective establishments.

And with that, we're done. Here's to one the weakest overall seasons of TC, with one of the strongest finales. Looking forward to TC9!! Cheers.

Epic Sasquatch Hunt 2010

We know, we know… We've been heavy on the food and light on the music. Also, we have a backlog of blogs to get through. Here it goes...

The elusive Sasquatch had been spotted. Not deep in the woods leaving giant footprints in the murky mud but over the Cascade mountain range to the winding mighty Columbia gorge. The 2010 Sasquatch hunt was insane.

For those of you not in the know, Sasquatch Music Festival is a three day long music festival that is held at the scenic Columbia river Gorge amphitheater during Memorial Day weekend. Amazing music with crazy people at one of the loveliest concert venues on earth? Score. http://sasquatchfestival.com/

It was so much fun and jam-packed with experiences, I can hardly remember what I had seen without the aid of photos and videos. OK Go? I had almost forgotten that I had seen them on the mainstage and sang along to their songs. Some of what happened during this year's festival stays at the festival but I broke down this year's Quatchie search into themes of items I can divulge:

Music of little yetis

Yes, it's us

This year's Sasquatch lineup lacked something it had from other years. Sure, Sasquatch has always supported up and coming indie bands or cult favorites but there usually are a few headliner bands. This year's Sasquatch lacked a classic headliner band accustomed to playing the large arenas and stadiums - no Nine Inch Nails, the Cure, Beck, Modest Mouse, Kings of Leon or the Beastie Boys. I loved the lineup at this year's event but I must admit I missed the huge stadium rock bands to look forward to in the evening and some bands had issues translating their small venue sound to the mainstage at the Gorge which should make the very last high hippie on the topmost edge of the lawn rock out. Regardless, the musical experience was still different and fun.

Day One

The first band we had rushed to see was Minus the Bear. We missed out on the first 30 minutes but those long-haired scruffy boys were great as always with an easygoing vibe.
I think I am a bigger fan of OK Go after seeing their creative music videos - this rube goldberg machine one is a favorite: In all honest, these guys are as fun and energetic live as they are in their videos. Their lead singer was enthusiastic and charming - even leaping into the masses for some crowd surfing, cracking jokes and instigating some serious audience participation. Not only did everyone sing along to 'This too shall pass' - even us sunbathing folk up on the lawn - but they got the crew with stuff animal hats to do a little crazy dance.

Bubbles at Sunset

The National also rocked in a much more subtle way as the sun was going down - they were a perfect 'sit on the grass and enjoy the sunset' band. The low baritone droll and steady beats made for a good cool down band before Vampire Weekend came out with their upbeat emo music.

BTW Deadmau5? Trippy.

Day Two

Istanbul? Or Constantinople? They Might Be Giants aren't the new, hot, young indie band anymore - they are, how shall we say, seasoned. But they still rock with plenty of fun, irreverent dancey music - oldies mixed in with newer songs. The crowd was an interesting mix of young and old (many geeks old enough to be their parents) but everyone had a good time.

Rocking out to Kid Cudi

A revelation of this year's Sasquatch - the crushable lead singer. Ok I'm known to be a tad more than a little boy crazy. A guy who can sing? Be still my heart. Kid Cudi was not only hot, but he was entertaining and connected well to the audience. His set list was a good mix of chill surrealistic pieces and more energetic songs that showcased his unusual style and gravely voice. Kid Cudi was definitely the biggest show of the day at that point in time; the crowd amassed after They Might Be Giants to enjoy Kid Cudi's hazy soundscapes.

I only caught a bit of The xx from a beer garden but I enjoy the play of male and female vocals. Complementary and sometimes dueling but sort of brit-pop-sexy music. The kind that you'd enjoy in a Topshop boutique.

Pavement was perhaps the single worst band I had seen all weekend long. They are barely worth mentioning except the fact that they started out strong with their 90's hit, "Cut Your Hair" which was a cock tease. I was left with blue balls. They were so bad in fact that I left in the middle and didn't care that Massive Attack was on next. My friend Jeff and I fled to watch some Public Enemy and dance in the rumpus room. Public Enemy was surprisingly great but they took the opportunity to get political and took it to the edge. Come on Chuck D, we're all politically opinionated and don't mind a sprinkling of it here and there but step off of the soapbox after 10 minutes please.

The rumpus room not only was a contained rave but it was full of nice people whom we gave glow bracelets to. Hey, we share!

Day Three

Day three was a beautiful day of strange weather - as if the weather Gods had done as much drugs as many of the concertgoers had and was reacting. It was warm and the brightest and sunniest it had been in a while with periods of warm sprays of rain periodically to cool off the sunburned and tanned masses.

We loved us some Passion Pit which turned out to be more fun, energetic and infectious than expected. A large crowd amassed for She & Him and there was a resounding agreement of how lovely Zoey Deschanel was. In fact, there is no way they would be on the main stage if it weren't for her popularity amongst both men and women. They were sweet-sounding like a combination of an indie band from Portland and a 1960's church-approved jingle band but otherwise not main stage material.

Band of Horses? Meh. For some reason, I don't dig them that much and don't think they translate well to big spaces. I got myself a snack and a catnap with the boys at that time.

Nick, Steve and I hoofed it back down to MGMT at Sunset and prepared ourselves for another dance-filled show. I hadn't realized how adorable the lead singer was (again, crushable singer) and despite the crowd getting really into the music and dancing up a storm, the band seemed to be going through the motions. Yes, they were energetic and gave some choice shout outs and we all can't help but gyrate to "Electric Feel" and "Kids" but they did not have the same authentic, emotional connection that some of the other bands did.

The Nice Canadian

The prevailing theme of the trip has been the nice Canuck. Not only do they say "about" in a funny way and really do say "eh" more than Rihanna does in Umbrella-ella-ella but they were the genuinely friendly and nice people of Sasquatch in contrast to the un-friendly and eyebrow raising American dick.

Nice and crazy Canadians with crazy animal hats

My friend Jeff and I tested this as we decided to wander after Pavement's horrible show. We walked up to random people and asked for hi fives, asked questions on their favorite acts of the day, handed out free glow necklaces. The ONLY people who reciprocated the hi fives, talked to us and generally gave us more than a dirty, exasperated look were Canadians. The Canadians camped out next to us and generously offered to share their beer, liquor and, ahem herbal refreshments. They chatted with us, asked us which acts we were excited to see, wanted to know if we wanted to walk with them, play flip cup with them, have breakfast with them, sit around with them, etc. (There were four sets of Canadians immediately around our area and they all did this.) I don't think the Americans camped around us even introduced themselves to us and promptly ignored everything we did.

To all of the Canadians out there: We love you. Come party with us next year.

To the Americans: Stay home and make room for us to party with the Canadians.

Dance Dance!

Everyone loves to dance but Sasquatch has subsequently gotten dancier with the times. I don't think there was much dancing the first Sasquatch I went to (was it 2005?) but now it has become an all out dance party from the campgrounds to the inner sanctum itself. I suppose that why Sasquatch even added a dance AND comedy tent.

Also, I think new bands are less afraid to be 'pure' in terms of their musical styles and have allowed their many influences and passions to come through, including dance. Rock bands have embraced some hip-shaking beats and rappers have incorporated not only guitar solos and rock elements but electronica.

Last year, our friends camped next to a group of nice Canadians who had an amazing soundsystem so we started last year's premier campground rave (complete with fog machine, lasers and lights to our delight). This year, we were determined to find the same group and party with them again - we lovingly referred to them as the 'real Canadians'. This year's Sasquatch was no different - except that we didn't originate the rave this year since it was already tried and true and more than an urban myth.

We danced like crazy on the second night there - we were dancing all night long with glow bracelets and necklaces like raving teenagers, feeling very happy and content until the campground security had to break it up to enforce quiet hours.

Games

Group games are fun. Especially if they involve a little alcohol. At our campsite, we played tons of 'circle of death' with a few deck of cards, which we surmised to be less fun once we realized that Anna was cheating and drinking only juice. We also played a lot of beer pong and flip cup with friendly Canadian neighbors. We had a massive flip cup tournament at one point, mostly with PBR and Coors. I have no idea if anyone really kept track of winning and losing teams - it was just all fun.

The Canadians are forced to drink

The epic Olympic battle of Americans vs. Canadians started when the Canadians challenged our boys to a beer pong duel - upping the challenge by suggesting instead of beer, a few select cups should have vodka in them as a surprise. The Americans prevailed although it certainly was a tough battle.

All in all, this was a fantastic exploration of music and people. We enjoyed ourselves immensely and can't wait to search for Sasquatch again and party with the Canadians.

Fresh Fish: Top Chef 7 - Episode 5

It's been a few episodes since we last covered the latest season of Top Chef. But in all honesty, the first 5-6 episodes are all about "trimming the fat." The fat being the lesser cheftestants: John with the dreads, Jacqueline with the sugar, Tracey with the flannel butchness, Lynne with the cat lady butchness, and Arnold with whatever is the complete opposite of butchness. If those allusions leave you scratching your head, I highly recommend the entertaining recaps on Serious Eats blog.

- So let's jump right in, on episode 5, where Angelo just said he'd like "to extract" something from Tenesha. Little too desperate, my friend. Trying to play Yoda, AND compete against her will only equal disaster. Also, she's boring. Desperation is a stinky cologne. Ed and Tiffany seem simpatico in the non-annoying way. Take note, Angelo.

- Quickfire time, where the cheftestants have been asked to create a dish using...CRAB! Yay! I love the mystery protein, Iron Chef-esque challenge! And I just made a delicious spaghetti with crab, mint and jalapeno. Patrick OConnell is the guest judge, so James Beard-winning, 5 star chef that I've never heard of that looks like an aged Chuckie, clad in J.Crew. Love all the bluecrabs crawling around.

- Whoa, did Angelo just admit he had crabs on national TV? Wow, you're a lucky girl, Tenesha.
- Kevin is doing a chowder. Ed is doing some sort of Asian influenced concoction. Tim is keepin it real, Maryland style. Crabcakes and football!! That's how Maryland does it! This should definitely provide some recipes for me to try in the near future.

- Ed's jumbo lump crab looks tasty. Angelo's looks tiny. Temesha's crab chowder looks pretty boring. Amanda's dish is aggressive and Padma gives her a "wow." A pungent "wow"...well, that's what happens when you use juniper. Kenny's dish looks solid, again. Kevin, Amanda and Andrea on the bottom. Ed, Kenny and Angelo on top. God, talk slower, Chuckie...

- Ed wins his first Quickfire. "I feel like I'm coming out of my shell a little bit." Oh snap...a crab joke, Ed? Guess not.

- Elimination challenge will be taking them to a farm, cooking for 40 chefs and farmers, family style. 6 dishes are being made. Angelo and Kenny are competing for alpha male role, and everyone else is just rolling their eyes. These guys really don't get along too well...just a big clusterf*ck of a group.

- Quick aside: The rest of Bravo's lineup is a giant shit sandwich.

- Getting to like Kelly. Likin' Kelly Liken. Although her restaurant, Restaurant Kelly Liken, could really use a new name. Probably the most attractive female on the show, although Amanda cleans up better.

- Lot of Temesha in this episode so far. Usually a tell-tale sign that that person is gonna be sent home.

- Asher Farms. They get there and it's a variety of proteins and veggies, and the cooking space is pretty spartan. This would stress the shit out of me. Kenny is making sweet & sour eggplant. Kevin doing a cauliflower couscous. Wow. Stephen is doing a salad, and states he "wants to see how many ingredients he can get in there." Oh buddy...bad idea.

- Angelo "made love to his duck." That duck now has crabs.

- Couscous overboard! Kevin is gambling with doing over the couscous with broccoli. Ballsy, dog.

-Tim is doing a moussaline. Didn't that doom Jacqueline earlier this season? Note to chefs...no more moussalines! Kelly risking it all, doing a safe sounding dessert of strawberry rhubarb crisp. Yes, doing extra an extra dish usually hurts you more than helps you, but that dish sounds pretty benign...I'm guessing she'll be fine.

-Halfway point of the episode. Editing looks like it could be Temesha or Tim. I think we're also seeing the strongest chefs emerge. Angelo and Kenny have been there since the beginning, but Ed, Andrea, Kelly and Tiffany seem to be taking steps forward. Stephen and Tim are regressing. Amanda, Alex and Kevin are all over the place. The last five don't seem like they have the stuff to stick it out for the entire season. We shall see...

- Kenny is sauntering around in a fuzzy grey robe and a glass of red, basically being the smoothest smoothy of the group.

- Judges are eating family style, and a long outdoor table in Northern Virginia. They are not liking much. Kenny's curry, Angelo's duck and Andrea & Kelly's dishes are standing out. They thump on the rest of the lot.

- Eric and this red-headed Patrick guy are completely plastic. Too much makeup.

- Kenny, Kevin, Kelly and Andrea in the winner's circle. Kevin's couscous v.2 was a fortuitous accident for him. Padma gives Kenny props on his curry.  Kenny pulls out the win with the sweet & sour eggplant!

- Losers are Tim, Amanda and Stephen. Oooh, Padma rips them. Tim defends his moussaline, but Tom isn't having it. Stephen's salad bowl get's a cheesey poetic diss from Patrick. He clearly wants to watch himself on TV lately. Tom just cuts right to it. Tom just rules. Amanda looks constantly shell-shocked, especially after getting an "amateurish" comment from the judges.

- Stephen is overthinking his dishes. Amanda is underthinking them. Tim simply put forth a pretty lackluster effort. All three could get the hook, but my money is on Tim. Knowing Tom and Eric, they'd rather send home the superior chef that falls flat on their face than a weaker chef that misexecuted a component of their dish.

- Decision time. Tom gives a pretty eloquent synopsis of what the chefs didn't accomplished. And it's Tim. Ouch. Going out on turnips and potatoes. He's taking it very well though. He's not a whiner, and keeps his head.

- Preview of next week...Oooh, the cheftestants are going to be judging each other's dishes. Wow, if this doesn't cause internal strife in the townhome, I don't know what will!

Rumblings #6: Union

Our final Seattle Restaurant Week stop was Union, a few blocks from Pike Place Market. We wanted to choose an Ethan Stowell restaurant before the end of the week. For me, he's one of the premier chefs in Seattle...my generation's version of Tom Douglas.

Union is, or was, the oldest of his four restaurants, the one that established Stowell's reputation as a Northwest cuisine practitioner that infuses Italian influences into many of the dishes. Little did we know that Stowell would announce that Union would be shuttered in less than a month after our visit. Probably a combination of high downtown rent + difficult parking lead to its closing, or the fact that Stowell restaurants have taken a decidedly neighborhoodie approach.

As for his other restaurants, I had been to Tavolata and gorged myself on gnocchi. I've chowed down on carpaccios and crudos at How To Cook A Wolf. Each experience had been positive, so Union seemed to be a safe and potentially satisfying last stop.

Our party of five was seated on a relatively quiet Thursday, the very last night of Restaurant Week. As we cruised by the kitchen pass, I spotted none other than the man himself, Ethan Stowell cooking on the line. Ethan and his sous were both rockin' their traditional striped headbands. We were highly encouraged by this...that the chef overseeing four restaurants just happened to be manning ours the night we choose to visit. After a round of red wine, we moved on to the first course:

1st
Pea Soup w/ olive tapenade (her)
Pork Terrine w/ salad (him) 

Ann's soup was light and fresh, with distinct Italian flavors. The island of olive tapenade gave the soup a great texture and added a great dimension.

As for my pork terrine...I was a little underwhelmed. It was slightly stringy, like carnitas, but was lukewarm. It definitely had a strong piggy flavor, but I would prefer my terrine to have a distinct layered look and taste.

2nd
Seared halibut over spring beans (her)
Gnocchi w/ lamb ragu & mint (him)

Ann had her third piece of halibut in 2 weeks, and while still not up to the level she had at Rover's, Union's halibut was superior to what we saw at Avila. The flaky fish rested on top of a bed of beans, radishes, and other spring herbs and veggies that gave a great fresh texture. As for the halibut, the sear was a little heavy.

My gnocchi was soft and dense but the ragu just hit the wrong note. It was a lamb ragu with mint. Mint is tough. It's best executed in light dishes like a Canlis Salad. In a heavy meat sauce, on top of a heavy pasta, the mint ragu wasn't enhancing...it was distracting. I ended up having terrible indigestion immediately afterwards too. Not fond memories of that course.



3rd
Pecan tart w/ coffee ice cream (both)

Highlight of our evening...again. Our desserts, which truthfully is our least favorite course of meals, was generally the strongest offering at the restaurants that we visited. This sugary sweet pecan tart was a southern throwback, and definitely gave us a strong finish to a pretty average meal. The coffee ice cream was deep and sharp, yet mellowed the nutty sugarbomb that was the tart.

Overall, Union stood up to the other restuarants that we visited during the week. But for a variety of reasons, fell short in terms of what I was hoping for. The plating was average, and some of the courses did not have the type of flavor and texture I've come to expect from Stowell's haunts. We look forward to visiting Anchioves & Olives and having one of the five best dishes of 2010, and also Stowell's latest venture: Staple & Fancy Mercantile (which doesn't exactly roll trippingly off the tongue).