Taking the week off and thinking about tri-tip

The Cured Ham is taking the week off of blogging.

However, this piece of meat has been on my mind lately...tri-tip. (BTW, Fresno Bites, nice pics from the weekend) This triangular piece of glorified sirloin has consumed much of my foodie thought time. Why does Fresno love it so much? When did I first eat this cut? Where was I? Who cooked it? How was it cooked? Who was I with? Is this cut nostalgic like Me N'Ed's regardless of quality? Why can't you get this cut at Fleming's or Ruth's Chris? Who invented liquid soap and why? (those old Cusack movies were far less serious than The Raven)

Anyway, enjoy the week.

Leftovers, Seattle

These are brief because I've eaten there several times or I just didn't have the energy to write a review on the whole meal at Lola that I wasn't too pleased with anyway, despite the fact I've been there a few times. The bathroom art at Harbour was funny.

Café Campagnia

A late afternoon lunch after I flew in of classic steak tartare on toast. Simple and lovely. A bonus of fennel quiche was so buttery and rich, I wish I had that over my plate of raw meat. I never seem to have a bad meal at the Cafe. I love this Seattle institution.

Harbour Public House

Stopped in for a couple pints and some oysters. Deep fried oyster sliders were good, nice fry job and the regular shucked oysters were tasty as well. As for pints, I know they were local, one was a porter and one was an IPA and they both went down without much trouble. They also had a dumb waiter that carried the food from the kitchen to the bar area based on some conveyer system that looked cool.

Lola

The grape leaf wrapped trout is a great idea, however, the grape leaf and skin was so heavily scorched it was unedible. The trout itself was good, but overcooked and nearly dry. The charmoula scented squid was good, but the fajita plate they served it on burnt the red onions they were served with. Service was rocky and inexperienced. One upside, we did try about 6 different wines before we settled on some Greek white.

Spur, Seattle

After a solid opening month experience at The Coterie Room several months ago, I have less than exemplary thoughts about McCracken and Tough’s restaurant next door, Spur.

While the meal was ok, I’m a little more critical of service elements. Sorry, no pictures, it was too dark, so instead I've added some pics of Pike's Place Market.

I don’t like attitude and I don’t care for aloof servers and staff based upon the fact that the restaurant seems to be busy all the time. I’m glad for the success of Spur and that it is a busy establishment.

When I’m instructed by the hostess to “go across the street to the bar and come back in 45 minutes” and I obey the instructions of the hostess and return promptly in 45 minutes to the reception, “oh, I thought you weren’t coming back…something will free up soon” attitude; I should have gone somewhere else. Too bad it’s 9:30 already and my options are limited.

Which leads me to ordering at the table. The sign on the door and website say open “5pm to Close”. Which, when we finally were finally seated was roughly 9:45; we asked how long the kitchen would be open. “As late as people are here, generally”.

 My response, “So no rush?”

“No rush”, says the server.

 Great.

Sounded good in theory, but practice was, he wanted us to order everything before 10pm, which is why he and the hostess came by the table 5 times in 10 minute period to ask if we were ready and if we’d like to get an order in. Perhaps they were simply being attentive, but my gut says it was motivated by a desire to close out asap.

Merguez with chickpeas and hummus (chickpeas were way too salty which I had sent back) but the merguez was good. The burger and fries were average. The fries weren’t fresh, they were cold when they arrived. The burger itself was good, and cooked medium rare as requested with the red onion jam similar to the sweet/sour flavor from Father’s Office in Santa Monica. The fries being stone cold were another indication that the kitchen really isn’t open “till Close”. I’d rather the restaurant simply state the kitchen closes at 10pm or 9:30 or has a limited menu at a certain time.

I hate that my last impression of Spur is cold French fries, when my first impression of Coterie was perfect chicharon. I guess I'm batting .500 with McCracken and Tough.

Local 360, Seattle

There was lots of eating and drinking on a weekend visit to Seattle. As the sun showered into the hotel room at 8:00am on Sunday morning, we called it quits at Rob Roy just 6 hours ago to a tasting of Japanese Scotch. We didn’t do a late night feeding after drinks, but we did walk by Local 360 on the way back to the hotel and I spied an early brunch of 8:00am. Not only is Local 360 open early, they have a favorite of mine on the menu…chicken fried steak. 

Normally, I’d reserve chicken fried steak for camping trips on the East Side of California, namely Highway 395, with my brother. Chicken fried steak isn’t light. It’s appropriate to eat chicken fried steak after hiking 10 miles and, in this case, drinking Japanese Scotch till 2am.

Local 360’s version of chicken fried steak is fairly classic, except for the sherry cream sauce with mushrooms. My two over easy eggs are cooked as requested. My cheesy, buttery grits are also plate licking good. The fry job on my steak is great, good seasoning and fairly tender beef. I’m happy and I’m stuffed. 

In terms of great breakfast meals, chicken fried steak is right up there with chilaquiles, perfect French pastry, blueberry pancakes, and ful. And I’d be happy to eat this meal again. Nothing like planning a breakfast at 2am on the way back to the hotel.

Hitchcock Deli, Bainbridge Island

Once again, the Pacific Northwest DOMINATES the Reuben / Pastrami sandwich scene here on the Left Coast. Veritible Quandary and Kenny and Zuke's are big favorites of mine in Portland.

I did the random walk onto Bainbridge Island with a stop earlier in the day at the only distillery on the island, Bainbridge Distillery). It was later in the day and it was snack time. There are choices on Bainbridge, but the one that stuck out to me was posted in large letters on the window, Charcuterie. As luck would have it, this deli is attached to Hitchcock, a restaurant on the foodie scene in the Seattle area. I was unaware that Hitchcock was a big deal, but evidently it has turned some heads, as many restaurants have, with its dedication to high quality proteins and seasonal produce.

As is my standard, the house smoked pastrami sandwich with melted cheese and seasoned red cabbage had to be my choice. There were two options for pastrami, regular and “Piled High”. I opted for the regular portion and it was more than satisfactory. The pastrami was delicious, the richness and hint of smoke went a step beyond other pastrami sandwiches. While the pastrami was not traditional, in that it was lightly smoked, it added a depth of flavor that I couldn’t get enough of. Lightly pickled red cabbage added more pop, more crunch than normal sour sauerkraut, but again, not traditional.

This is where I don’t mind an updated interpretation of a classic Reuben, when generally, I like a classic take. Care is taken with each ingredient, there’s a purpose to the combination, the final result achieves the balance in the original and is a complimentary to the original. 

Maybe next time, I’ll get a chance to eat at the main restaurant or at least, take home a half-pound of that pastrami.

Also, the picture of the perfectly pulled espresso is also from the deli. They have a hand-crafted Bosco espresso machine, both beautiful to look at and it makes wonderful espresso when pulled by someone who knows the subtlies and personality of the machine. Yes, Bosco machines have personality, just like a Ferrari does.