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Eat, drink, and be merry: Queen Anne

March 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Last Friday night I had the chance to do a bit of a pub crawl in my own ‘hood, the perfect proximity to home for an end-of-a-long-week outing. Here are a few tidbits about that evening and the neighborhood in general, in the spirit of my occasional series on interesting neighborhoods to check out.

First stop was Flow Lounge, in the former Opal Bistro space at the corner of Queen Anne Ave and Boston. I hadn’t yet checked it out, something to do with my own private rebellion at the fact that there was no menu posted outside and thus nothing that beckoned me inside. Good thing to have been brought there, though, because it’s a neighborhood spot I could see returning to. I wouldn’t call the food exceptional, but the interior is upscale comfortable and the service is fantastic. We were there just under the wire for happy hour, and had the house salad (perfectly good, though unremarkable), garlic fries (utterly lacking in garlic), panko prawns (breaded goodness) and the mini cheeseburger (the one pictured here). It was delicious, without a doubt, and the best nibble I tried at Flow. My only gripe is that this petite slider-sized cheeseburger was $6, which seemed out of sync with the rest of the happy hour menu. I mean, c’mon!

From there, it was a short trip around the corner to How to Cook a Wolf. Although I love the food there and have raved about both menu and interior, on this particular visit we were there just to soak up some of the latter and enjoy a beverage. Glasses of Syrah and Montepulciano, and a Hendricks martini, and we were on our way to the next location.

The evening ended at Betty, sibling to Queen Anne neighbor, Crow, and somewhere I’ve not been for a while. We headed straight to the back bar and had the most delicious Manhattans and a to-die-for spring risotto. Jill, bartender extraordinaire, surprised us with this lovely salted caramel and almond tart, graced with a sour cherry compote and a dollop of mascarpone. Salty, sweet and utterly delicious.

Last but not least, remember the empty space on the corner of Queen Anne Ave and Blaine I wrote about in a recent post? On Friday night we walked past and discovered that it’s going to be a ’Zaw location, the bake-at-home pizza chain that has been springing up around town. Is it just me, or does Seattle feel like it’s pizza crazy all of the sudden? For a roundup of the best check out the March issue of Seattle Metropolitan and their Pizza Smackdown, where they do a good job of breaking down the different styles and coming up with a best-in-show for each.

Twitt
Filed Under: eat, drink, and be merry, restaurants and bars

Eat, drink, and be merry: Phinney, Ravenna, Ballard

September 16, 2009 By 1 Comment

Welcome to another installment in my occasional series on interesting neighborhoods to check out, and my recommendations on where to sample the local food and drink.

Phinney

  • Plan your tour of Phinney for a Thursday night so that you can start at Picnic’s (pictured above) weekly wine tasting. For a mere $8 you’ll get the chance to sample some terrific wine as well as a selection of the meats, cheeses and other nibbles straight from the pantry of this fantastic eat in/take out neighborhood spot.
  • Continue on to Oliver’s Twist for a Parish Boy (cognac, St. Germain, fernet-branca and lemon bitters ) and small plates like the Mt. Townsend Seastack cheese, bacon compote, brioche crouton and orange marmalade.
  • Take a u-turn from the upscale and march down the block to El Chupacabra. Go for the kitschy “Mexican baroque” décor (as I’ve heard it described) and stay for margaritas in tall tumblers and several rounds of pool.

    • Ravenna

  • Frank’s Oyster House & Champagne Parlor is the sort of place where you want to settle in and stay for a while, and I encourage you to do just that. Maybe it’s the small scale of the bar, all of the warm wood or the excellent service, but I can’t think of a better place to start your night.
  • I feel a little like I’m cheating as Frank’s and Pair are owned by the same couple, but it’s such a great combination that I couldn’t resist. Pair is a sweet little neighborhood restaurant that happens to have fantastic food like the smoked pork belly with a farro and spring onion salad, wilted chard and ginger-mustard gastrique. I mean, come on!
  • For dessert check out Peaks Frozen Custard, working hard to teach Seattleites the joys of this Midwest staple.

    • Ballard

  • Start your evening with drinks in the bar at Volterra, with a White Peach Thyme Bellini or maybe the Nocciola Manhattan if you’re feeling a little sturdier.
  • Just up the street from Volterra is La Carta de Oaxaca, with to-die-for black chile mole and my favorite, molotes (potatoes and beef sausage wrapped in fried homemade tortillas with guacamole, hot sauce and Oaxaqueno cheese). No matter that the line is always out the door; just order up a margarita and settle in for the wait.
  • Another small plate option, though likely to be just as busy, is Ocho. Come here for fantastic Spanish tapas like seared sea scallops with an English pea purée, Serrano ham and lemon vinaigrette, and stay for a very well-poured San Miguel (gin, St. Germain and rhubarb bitters). Can you tell? I love the St. Germain.
  • If you’re still standing after all of this good food and drink, make your way to King’s Hardware and play a few games of skee ball while you ponder the use of taxidermy as décor.

    • [Photo of Picnic courtesy of BUILD LLC]

    Twitt
    Filed Under: ask alix, eat, drink, and be merry, restaurants and bars

    Eat, drink, and be merry: Wallingford, Belltown, Capitol Hill

    March 20, 2009 By 2 Comments

    You know it: That panic you feel when your friends say, “Why don’t you decide where we’re going on Friday night,” or you’re plotting out a big date and are stuck for ideas on where to go to look knowledgeable/hip/interesting. I’m a big fan of Urbanspoon for restaurant info and reviews, but sometimes you just want someone to tell you where you should go.

    I’m all about deciding what neighborhood you’re in the mood for on a particular evening, as much as what kind of food or vibe of a restaurant or bar. (Side note: If you like reading about neighborhoods check out Build LLC’s “Better Know a Neighborhood” section on their blog. I love that they delve into the cool design – and other – elements of select areas around the city.) Accordingly, I’ve broken down my suggestions below into neighborhood categories, and included a few other helpful tidbits. I’ll be back in future posts to offer new suggestions, so stay tuned.

    Want to play cool kid in Wallingford?

  • Rancho Bravo taco truck (how more of-the-moment do you get than the taco truck?)
  • Ice cream at Molly Moon’s (the salted caramel ice cream makes my taste buds do a little jig)
  • Al’s Tavern for pool and Rainier on tap (divey dive of the best kind)

    • The traditional Belltown vibe:

  • Drinks at Branzino (clubby goodness)
  • Tavolata (the lamb ragu is fantastic; this is my favorite of Ethan Stowell’s restaurants)
  • Dessert at Restaurant Zoe (the citrus vanilla creme caramel is to die for, though starting there with a drink and an app of the fresh ricotta gnudi isn’t a bad idea either)

    • Or maybe you’re in the mood for Belltown, but not the usual scene:

  • Drinks at Cyclops (good beer and always-interesting art on the walls)
  • Rendezvous (it’s true – they serve food)
  • Shorty’s for Coors Light bottles (and pinball, of course)

    • Going for the foodie end of Capitol Hill:

  • Drinks at Licorous (we already know that I love it there)
  • Osteria la Spiga (the open, modern interior is a perfect compliment to the food)
  • Café Presse (go for coffee and seriously hipster atmosphere before heading over to…)
  • Dancing at the Century Ballroom
    • Twitt
    Filed Under: ask alix, eat, drink, and be merry, restaurants and bars