Ray’s Boathouse

Duwardo and I had a special celebration and we decided to take our celebration to Ray’s Boathouse. They made a point to put us by the window, so we had a great view of the water…unfortunately it was dark by then and we didn’t get to see much of the water….it was still nice though.

We started out the evening with grilled octopus, chorizo and potatoes, and a heirloom tomato consomme. I really liked the tomato consomme because it tasted like tomato soup without being super heavy. I had the pan-seared duck breast and it was delicious…I think the best duck I’ve ever had. Duwardo had the shortrib, and it was pretty good too. I liked the duck better. We ended the night with a bourbon nut tart and a pomegranate creme brulee. The creme brulee was sooooooooooooooo good. Duwardo seemed to really like the nut tart.

We also had a great bottle of wine suggested to us by the sommelier. We ordered the 2003 Sineann Pinot Noir. Very helpful sommelier, and a great suggestion.

Overall, it was such a great dinner.

Ray’s Boathouse, 6049 Seaview Ave NW, Seattle, WA

Thai of Wedgwood

We finally decided to try this place, as we pass it all the time. We really weren’t expecting much from this place, it always seems empty and the only time we saw people going in and out were when they were picking up take out food…so we opted to go for take out too. We got 5 dishes: pad see ew with chicken, rama tofu, garlic pork, green curry, and pineapple fried rice.

We were all pleasantly surprised by the food. It’s certainly not the greatest thai food I’ve had…no where near that, but it certainly wasn’t horrible food either. I didn’t care for the garlic pork too much, and that’s my favorite dish. The rama tofu, however, was really good, and the pad see ew was pretty good too. I didn’t really touch the green curry, but I heard it was a bit spicy (we ordered 1-2 stars out of 5). The pineapple fried rice was pretty decent too.

Overall, it’s not somewhere I would seek out to indulge a thai food craving. I think I would only go there if I didn’t want to go super far and didn’t feel like cooking (and in all honesty, that doesn’t happen too often). As a result, I’m going to have to say: Not recommended.

Thai of Wedgwood, 7520 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA

Orrapin

We spent a rainy Sunday afternoon at Orrapin for a late lunch, early dinner.  Orrapin is probably my favorite Thai place in Seattle (there’s also a great restaurant in Banbridge Island as well!).

I usually order the garlic pepper pork, because that’s one of my favorite dishes…and mind you, the garlic pepper pork at Orrapin is delicious.  However, I opted for something different and went for the pad thai with fried tofu this time.  I’m usually not a big fan of pad thai as some restaurants make it too peanuty…so I wasn’t sure what to expect here.  I was very happy when I got my meal though…I think this may be the best pad thai I’ve ever had.  It didn’t feel too greasy, too peanuty, too heavy…it was just right.

Duwardo ordered the pineapple fried rice, and he appeared to enjoy his dish as well.  We brought home the leftovers and they were quickly devoured later that evening…so that is always a good sign!  (I also don’t tend to bring home leftovers or eat leftovers, so the fact that I wanted to eat this is a good sign!)

The only complaint I’ve heard about this place is that the curries are a bit thin and brothy, and not as hearty..however everyone said that the flavors were still rich and great.

I like this place, and this is where I go when I need a thai food fix.

Orrapin, 10 Boston, Seattle, WA

Tutta Bella

Last night a group of us decided to try Tutta Bella, the first certified authentic Neapolitan pizza in the Northwest. We figured with the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana certification, we couldn’t go wrong.

It was soooo yummy and brought be back to the days of walking around Italy and just munching on pizza. Each pizza is about 11 inches in diameter, so it’s either a small meal for two (get a salad to share as well, if you’re going to share the pizza) or a very large meal for one.

We started the evening with 2 salads, the insalata di cesare (Caesar Salad) and the Tutta Bella Mista (House salad). I only ate the mista, and it was delicious!!!

The table ordered the Regina Margherita (tomota and basil), Prosciuto e Rucula (proscuito and argula with shaved parmigano reggiano, Campania (chicken sausage, kalamata olives, garlic, chili flakes, and fresh basil), and the Mediterrenea (mushrooms, eggplant, fresh basil, kalamata olives and goat cheese). I only tasted the margherita and the prosciutto pizzas, and both were excellent. The margherita was my favorite though of the two. I heard from others at the table that the other pizzas were also great. (Sitting at the table everyone, but one had been to Italy and were talking about how it reminded them of Italy…additionally we had to Italians in the group who were well versed in Italian food and they gave their stamp of approval as well.) My only complaint was that the pizzas weren’t as crispy at the bottom as I’m usually used to…it was a bit doughy or soggy, but the flavors and everything else were great!

We also ordered a bottle of the Coltibuono “Cetamura” Chianti. It was milder than other chiantis that I’ve had, and I thought it went very well with the pizzas.

Overall a great meal shared between friends…make reservations when you go though!

Tutta Bella, 4411 Stone Way, Seattle, WA

Wine Wednesday 11.08.2006

Cullin Hills 2004 Columbia Valley Syrah. Cullin Hills Winery and Des Voigne Cellars are two of Woodinville’s upstart “Warehouse Wineries.” Two brothers, Derek and Darren Des Voigne, each run their own winery in the same industrial park location (along with at least 4 other wineries) . They even share a tasting room, so it’s hard not to evaluate their wines together. Not surprisingly, they produce similar wines, mostly reds. They are young, fun and out-going, which reflects in their wine. They are also semi-competitive, but we enjoyed offerings from both, especially their Syrahs. If we had to pick a winner, though, it would be the Cullin Hills 2004 Columbia Valley Syrah. Light, and characteristically spicy, but very smooth and aromatic. They are (both) worth a try and a visit!

Next Wine Wednesday: Red Sky of Woodinville, WA

Monsoon

I’ve been trying to figure out how to post about this restaurant…so here is my attempt.

I am a very strong advocate for traditional, authentic, Vietnamese food. I usually am deterred by any sort of Vietnamese fusion food, so with that disclaimer said, here goes my review of this restaurant.

I received some great reviews from friends, and even editorial reviews, about this place. I was pretty excited about going, and then I realized it was a fusion place.

We had 5 of us at the table and decided to order the drunken crispy chicken with yu-choy, caramelized idaho catfish claypot with fresh coconut juice, green onions and thai chilies, stir fried snap peas, spicy tomato tofu, and a noodle stir fry.

The chicken dish was a bit sweet, and the pieces should have been cut a bit smaller, but overall pretty good. I thought the yu-choy in the sauce was really good. The catfish claypot dish was great, sans the fact that it was a bit too spicy. The snap peas were a great flavor and probably the overall favorite out of everyone at the table. The tofu was just ok…I wouldn’t say it was extraordinary. The flavors were nice, but it’s a pretty simple dish. The noodle stir fry was ok as well. Some people at the table really liked it, I thought it was just ok…also not superb at all.

We opted to get dessert, and if you’re there, I urge you to get the lychee muscat ice cream. DELICIOUS! We also got the banana cake with coconut sauce, and I thought it was ok…but I guess the others at the table really liked it as well. I may be biased here because my mom makes the banana cake and I know it’s a fairly simple recipe and not worth the $5 they were charging everyone. But I will pay the money for the lychee muscat ice cream…oh yummy!

I think the portions were a bit small, even though they claim to be a family style meal. I don’t think I walked away feeling the same type of contentment at being full as I usually walk away from other Asian restaurants.

I’m still torn as to whether or not to recommend this restuarant. I think the flavors were pretty good, but I don’t know if I would call it “authentic” in any way. There were a few “authentic” dishes, but not enough to call it an authentic Vietnamese restaurant. Yes, the claim to be fusion as well…but I guess I can’t see how a restaurant can be authentic and fusion at the same time. I do give them credit, the flavors were good and the food was fresh.
I do wish we had tried some wine there, I read in Food & Wine magazine that this was one of the 50 wine menus to try in the US.

I guess when it comes down to it…do I see myself going back to this restaurant? I would only go back to this restaurant if someone else suggested it and really wanted to go, but I don’t think I would suggest it myself…

**UPDATE**

Duwardo and I went there for a pre-Valentine’s dinner and it was SUPERB.  We ordered the special of bbq pork stir-fried with chinese green mustards.  That was really good, the pork was tasty and lean.  We also ordered the snap peas with oyster mushrooms and the braised beef shortribs.  The shortribs was delicious.  It was like a deconstructed pho dish.  The flavors of pho were all there.  The shortribs were cooked to perfection.  It was just delicious!!!  Duwardo and I could not get enough of it.   The snap peas were great too, except they really need to learn to take the string off of the top of the peas.  Basic stuff my mom taught me and it really doesn’t take that much time and would make a huge difference in my enjoyment.

The best part was the bottle of wine we got.  We ordered the Hamacher 2002 pinot noir.  YUMMY!  It paired nicely with both the bbq pork and the shortribs.  This trip we took has certainly changed my mind about this place and I am more than happy to tell others to come here now.

Slight complaints though: Waitress was a bit unhelpful and for such a great wine list, I’d like a sommelier or someone with knowledge to help us a bit more.  Also, MORE RICE.  I felt like we kept having to ask to get our rice bowl re-filled because it just wasn’t that much.

Monsoon,

Chinoise

Duwardo and I decided we were in the mood for some sushi or Asian food. We had intended to go to this sushi restaurant that our friends had recommended, but when we drove by we saw a long line in front of the restaurant. We opted to go elsewhere, and found Chinoise down the street.

I remember having read about this restaurant (a chain of 3 restaurants in Queen Anne, Madison, and Wallingford, we went to the one on Wallingford) in my Best of Seattle book. We walked into the restaurant and looked at the menus and were a bit skeptical. The restaurant is a sushi bar and Asian Grill. The menu had different dishes from every Asian country: pho, soba, stir fry, pad thai, etc. We didn’t know what to pick because we figured there was such a wide variety that maybe they did not specialize in anything in particular.

I ordered the Buddhist tofu stir fry. Duwardo ordered the Chinese Lomein. Our food came out pretty quickly, and we were pleasantly surprised. Everything was delicious and had great flavor. We originally thought that the prices were a bit high, but the portions were huge, that we thought it was definitely worth it.

We opted against trying the sushi because that was a bit expensive, but we may still go back and try it.

Overall a great find and I’m very glad we stumbled across it that night!

Chinoise, 1618 N. 45th St, Seattle, WA

Wine Wednesday 11.01.2006

2003 Napa Valley Estate Merlot, White Hall Lane Winery, Napa Valley, CA, $25 (MetroMarket). A couple months ago I was looking for red to pair with some New York strip steaks I was making that evening. Since it was a special night, I decided to fork out the $25 for the 2003 White Hall Lane Estate Merlot. Can’t go wrong with estate, right? Yup, at least in this case. The wine, the steaks and the evening were perfect. The Merlot was very well balanced, not too overwhelming and full yet mellow at its height. The wine with steaks and my signature herb potatoes were harmonious. Recommended.

We are also looking into trying the 2003 Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. It has very high reviews. I’m excited to get my hands on a bottle, and confident that we will be able to recommend the entire line from White Hall Lane. Stay tuned.

Next Wine Wednesday: Cullin Hills and Des Voigne of Woodinville, WA.