Best of 2009: Part I
What was your best trip in 2009?
The best trip was our only true trip of the year - our belated honeymoon in Seattle. Whether it was visiting our koumbaro, Stan, making discoveries in Seattle's great local food scene, or visiting outlying areas full of scenic beauty, we had an absolute blast.
Restaurant moment. Share the best restaurant experience you had this year. Who was there? What made it amazing? What taste stands out in your mind?
As I mentioned, out honeymoon in Seattle was full of food adventures. In fact, we structured the entire trip around restaurants, bakeries, and coffee shops we wanted to investigate. We had a delicious meal at Mediterranean Kitchen in Bellevue, which we luckily picked on a whim one on of the few evenings of the trip we didn't have a planned place to eat. We found El Diablo, a great little Latin coffee joint in the Queen Anne neighborhood that serves an excellent Cortadito.
But my favorite of the trip is impossible to pick, so I'll name four excellent local eateries anyone bound for Seattle must visit: Mike's Chili Parlor, Paseo, Slim's Last Chance Chili Shack, and Salumi. Two excellent chili places in Seattle? You'd better believe it. Mike's is the kind of dive that has been in the family for a long, long time and attracts a faithful crowd of regulars who sit at the bar and talk with Mike, the owner, as he cooks on an open line of absolutely ancient stoves and ovens. Mike's an extremely hospitable Greek guy who serves a great portion of chili, whether you get it in the bowl, on a dog, on a burger, or on fries, or in my case, on both the burger and the fries. Turns out koritsimou and Mike have a mutual acquaintance, the previous priest at her church in Chicago. It was pretty clear that made us like long-lost family to Mike, who talked with us for quite a while (the regulars naturally joined in) and took a picture with us in front of his place when we headed out:
Slim's has a different vibe than Mike's - younger, still up-and-coming, in a rougher neighborhood down by the airport. Oh, and it's pretty clearly a biker hang out, which means you know the chili is going to be pretty good. koritsimou got a good bowl of Texas red, but my chili verde with smoked pork shoulder was beyond good. The barkeep suggested I get it with mac & cheese, a suggestion I happily took. When I got the bowl, I wondered where the mac & cheese was. Figuring it wasn't ready yet, I was a few bites in before I found it, underneath the chili and imbuing the entire dish with delicious cheesy goodness and an occasional bit of soft pasta texture from the noodles. The barkeep's beer recommendations were great, too. When we got there in the early afternoon we practically had the place to ourselves, but I can see it being very busy and loud with laughing, biker music, and loud pipes just outside the door in the evenings.
Paseo serves Cuban sandwiches that simply have to be eaten to be believed. Because the Ballard location had outside-only seating and it was a bit rainy, we got ours to go and took them back to our hotel, a distance of twenty miles or so. The sandwiches weren't particularly hot when we got back, but even warm they blew us away. The sandwiches come with aioli , fresh cilantro, pickled jalapeños, romaine lettuce, and caramelized onions. The onions and aioli were the best I've ever had on a sandwich, and the meat - Cuban-style pork, grilled or roasted - was succulent due to the marinade and very attentive cooking. My mouth is watering as I write this.
Finally, Salumi. There is really little I need to say about Salumi. It's owned by Mario Batali's dad. He makes the best Italian charcuterie in the United States, including any place you care to name, including (yes, I'm going to say this) in New York. You sit at communal tables because it's tiny. I've been in tinier restaurants, but not ones where they were curing meat on-site. The line stretches outside the door and down the entire block. I do not kid:
We got there very early hoping to be the first ones in the door. I was happy:
We had an incredible lunch of fresh figs, prosciutto, and sandwiches of various meats, serenaded with provolone, onions, and green peppers. A regular, who sat at the same table as us, gave us bites of his meal, including his tuna and white bean salad and his mole salami sandwich.
I might look serious in that photo, but I promise it was only because the tastiness had fractured my ability to smile on command.
So, there you go - four great places to eat in Seattle, and the best food I've had in a restaurant all year.
Article. What's an article that you read that blew you away? That you shared with all your friends. That you Delicious'd and reference throughout the year.
Given my love for Google Reader, I read a lot of articles in a year. That said, I'm not sure I can pick just one. This will probably surprise my liberal friends who likely think of me as a moderately hard core conservative, but the articles I most consistently look forward to reading are those written by Chris Hedges and Robert Scheer for Truthdig. I have more Scheer and Hedges articles starred in my Reader than any other writer, including Andrew Sullivan, who equally intelligent and easily further to the right than Hedges or Scheer, but somehow more of a chore to read.
What book - fiction or non - touched you? Where were you when you read it? Have you bought and given away multiple copies?
I've read a couple of excellent memoirs written by soldiers in the past semester, one from the Civil War, and one from the American intervention in the Russian Civil War. I wouldn't give away copies of them because I'm not sure anyone else would be interested, but they were both very compelling reads. I'm looking forward to more self-directed reading over the break.
Night out. Did you have a night out with friends or a loved one that rocked your world? Who was there? What was the highlight of the night?
koritsimou and I had a great evening out celebrating our anniversary. We went out to the best restaurant in town for a wonderful meal, which was made all the more special because the restaurant took the time to really take care of us with attentive service and very delicious food. I still have phantom tastes of the roasted pumpkin spaetzle and caramelized squash that accompanied my entree of duck breast and duck confit. The meal set the perfect tone for ending of our first year of marriage and the ever-deepening love we have for one another.
The best trip was our only true trip of the year - our belated honeymoon in Seattle. Whether it was visiting our koumbaro, Stan, making discoveries in Seattle's great local food scene, or visiting outlying areas full of scenic beauty, we had an absolute blast.
Restaurant moment. Share the best restaurant experience you had this year. Who was there? What made it amazing? What taste stands out in your mind?
As I mentioned, out honeymoon in Seattle was full of food adventures. In fact, we structured the entire trip around restaurants, bakeries, and coffee shops we wanted to investigate. We had a delicious meal at Mediterranean Kitchen in Bellevue, which we luckily picked on a whim one on of the few evenings of the trip we didn't have a planned place to eat. We found El Diablo, a great little Latin coffee joint in the Queen Anne neighborhood that serves an excellent Cortadito.
But my favorite of the trip is impossible to pick, so I'll name four excellent local eateries anyone bound for Seattle must visit: Mike's Chili Parlor, Paseo, Slim's Last Chance Chili Shack, and Salumi. Two excellent chili places in Seattle? You'd better believe it. Mike's is the kind of dive that has been in the family for a long, long time and attracts a faithful crowd of regulars who sit at the bar and talk with Mike, the owner, as he cooks on an open line of absolutely ancient stoves and ovens. Mike's an extremely hospitable Greek guy who serves a great portion of chili, whether you get it in the bowl, on a dog, on a burger, or on fries, or in my case, on both the burger and the fries. Turns out koritsimou and Mike have a mutual acquaintance, the previous priest at her church in Chicago. It was pretty clear that made us like long-lost family to Mike, who talked with us for quite a while (the regulars naturally joined in) and took a picture with us in front of his place when we headed out:
Slim's has a different vibe than Mike's - younger, still up-and-coming, in a rougher neighborhood down by the airport. Oh, and it's pretty clearly a biker hang out, which means you know the chili is going to be pretty good. koritsimou got a good bowl of Texas red, but my chili verde with smoked pork shoulder was beyond good. The barkeep suggested I get it with mac & cheese, a suggestion I happily took. When I got the bowl, I wondered where the mac & cheese was. Figuring it wasn't ready yet, I was a few bites in before I found it, underneath the chili and imbuing the entire dish with delicious cheesy goodness and an occasional bit of soft pasta texture from the noodles. The barkeep's beer recommendations were great, too. When we got there in the early afternoon we practically had the place to ourselves, but I can see it being very busy and loud with laughing, biker music, and loud pipes just outside the door in the evenings.
Paseo serves Cuban sandwiches that simply have to be eaten to be believed. Because the Ballard location had outside-only seating and it was a bit rainy, we got ours to go and took them back to our hotel, a distance of twenty miles or so. The sandwiches weren't particularly hot when we got back, but even warm they blew us away. The sandwiches come with aioli , fresh cilantro, pickled jalapeños, romaine lettuce, and caramelized onions. The onions and aioli were the best I've ever had on a sandwich, and the meat - Cuban-style pork, grilled or roasted - was succulent due to the marinade and very attentive cooking. My mouth is watering as I write this.
Finally, Salumi. There is really little I need to say about Salumi. It's owned by Mario Batali's dad. He makes the best Italian charcuterie in the United States, including any place you care to name, including (yes, I'm going to say this) in New York. You sit at communal tables because it's tiny. I've been in tinier restaurants, but not ones where they were curing meat on-site. The line stretches outside the door and down the entire block. I do not kid:
We got there very early hoping to be the first ones in the door. I was happy:
We had an incredible lunch of fresh figs, prosciutto, and sandwiches of various meats, serenaded with provolone, onions, and green peppers. A regular, who sat at the same table as us, gave us bites of his meal, including his tuna and white bean salad and his mole salami sandwich.
I might look serious in that photo, but I promise it was only because the tastiness had fractured my ability to smile on command.
So, there you go - four great places to eat in Seattle, and the best food I've had in a restaurant all year.
Article. What's an article that you read that blew you away? That you shared with all your friends. That you Delicious'd and reference throughout the year.
Given my love for Google Reader, I read a lot of articles in a year. That said, I'm not sure I can pick just one. This will probably surprise my liberal friends who likely think of me as a moderately hard core conservative, but the articles I most consistently look forward to reading are those written by Chris Hedges and Robert Scheer for Truthdig. I have more Scheer and Hedges articles starred in my Reader than any other writer, including Andrew Sullivan, who equally intelligent and easily further to the right than Hedges or Scheer, but somehow more of a chore to read.
What book - fiction or non - touched you? Where were you when you read it? Have you bought and given away multiple copies?
I've read a couple of excellent memoirs written by soldiers in the past semester, one from the Civil War, and one from the American intervention in the Russian Civil War. I wouldn't give away copies of them because I'm not sure anyone else would be interested, but they were both very compelling reads. I'm looking forward to more self-directed reading over the break.
Night out. Did you have a night out with friends or a loved one that rocked your world? Who was there? What was the highlight of the night?
koritsimou and I had a great evening out celebrating our anniversary. We went out to the best restaurant in town for a wonderful meal, which was made all the more special because the restaurant took the time to really take care of us with attentive service and very delicious food. I still have phantom tastes of the roasted pumpkin spaetzle and caramelized squash that accompanied my entree of duck breast and duck confit. The meal set the perfect tone for ending of our first year of marriage and the ever-deepening love we have for one another.