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Mistral, Seattle, WA, tasted on September 25, 2004 — The other night Debbie and I ate at a local Seattle restaurant and realized that we still hadn't posted our description of our last meal there. Rather than wait any longer, that post is here right now. And to be honest, while it's taken awhile, I think it's worth the wait. Eating at Mistral over the last few years has been somewhat of an evolution. And even though we've only been there a handful of times, the evolution of the restaurant is quite clear. To be honest, things started out rocky way back when we first tried to eat at Mistral. That first visit and our second chance visit much later are documented in detail here. But since then we've eaten at Mistral twice, and it's now become a place we like to eat regularly. Let's get to the details.

I hate to characterize restaurants in some broad categorical way, but I do think a high level description of Mistral is not without its usefulness. Mistral is a cozy modern restaurant, tucked away on a downtown Seattle side street. The food is essentially modern French cooking. And strangely enough it reminds me mostly of French meals I had in London, Pied à Terre in particular. Think refined, minimalist French. Definitely not overly sauced like more classical French cooking. Fresh seasonal ingredients. Extensive tasting menus. Mistral offers three different tasting menus - The Market Menu, The Chef's Tasting Menu, and The Mistral Experience. That last one is the most expensive and of course, the most inclusive. So of course, that's what we got.

It had been two years since we'd eaten at Mistral. I hadn't quite remembered the inside, a little dark in a romatic way, quiet, and comfy. Clean lines. We started off with a half bottle of Champagne - Billecart Salmon Brute Rose. It had a lemony touch to it. The amuse followed quickly - Japanese Hamachi Tartare with Cucumber, Yogurt, and Dill. It had simple, clean, tart, and fresh flavors. Kind of a Greek touch to it.

Soup was next. Specifically the Matsutake Mushroom Soup with Seared Sea Scallop and Rosemary "Cloud" (cloud means foam/emulsion). The soup was thick and rich like a yummy mushroom shake. Believe me this is a good thing. The scallop had little bursts of Indian spice as well as little crystal salt spikes on the tongue. The soup was quite delicious, but what followed was I think the emblematic dish of the evening - Pacific Sablefish, Kohlrabi, Chanterelles and Vanilla.

Sablefish is another word for Black Cod. The Vanilla was a nice touch. The grapes were little sweet and sour jewels dotting the landscape. The fish was beautifully cooked with a perfectly crispy top. The brussel sprout cups were also crispy not to mention crunchy and delicious. Yum! I need to give some context for this dish. As I mentioned above, I've almost only tasted fish prepared like this in Europe. And Mistral is definitely the only place that prepares it like this in Seattle. Imagine a cube of perfectly flaky buttery fish bound to a square of crispy skin and dotted with a few select perfectly cooked vegetables. It's just a singular experience and Mistral does it well. The fish that followed, Alaskan Halibut, Lobster and Beansprout "Risotto", was good as well, but as Mary Alice put it, the first was "exciting".

Foie gras was next. Artisan Foie Gras, Passionfruit Jelly, and Crispy Apple. The apples were definitely crispy and extra thin. The foie was decently salty. The passionfruit jelly was super delicious. The foie could have been even crispier but the salt spikes and fruit acidity were a good combination.

The entrees showed up next. Two of us got the Breast of South Moulard Duck, Berber Spice, and Cauliflower, and the other two got the Rack of Oregon Lamb, Organic Chard, and Fingerling Potato Puree. Both the duck and the lamb were quite yummy each with consistently warm savory tones. The extra smooth wide flavor of the respective meat in each dish expands slowly in your mouth and feels uniform across your palate.

We wrapped things up with some good cheese not to mention ice cream and a bit of layered cake. The dessert was refined, deliberate, and good.

Two years ago we felt that if Mistral kept working at it, they could really become a destination we'd want to eat at repeatedly. They have. It's not only that the cuisine is unique in this area, it also happens to be quite good. And when we went back this past week, Mistral didn't disappoint.

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Surprisingly, Seattle is not the only place where you can eat Mistral's food. There's now a Mistral Bangkok. Neat.

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Vij's, Vancouver, Canada, tasted on March 17, 2005 — Awhile ago I started getting bummed about the state of food in Seattle. After a bit of back and forth with faithful tastingmenu readers, other bloggers, and various rankings of populations in major cities across the country and the planet, I had to concede that given its size, Seattle is pretty good when it comes to food. That said, I also must point out that when it comes to food I think I'm only really truly happy in a world class city like New York, Tokyo, or London. (I really do love living in Seattle, but it's simply not New York.) The diversity in those cities is pretty much incomparable. But one thought gave me hope. It's a bit of a drive, but if I consider Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver as one large metropolitan area (with a 6 hour drive from the top to the bottom) then I can feel like I am not quite so far away from a wide selection of high quality eating experiences. And Vancouver really does hold its own. Down the road I'll do a proper post on what Vancouver's all about. But in the meantime the main thing to know is that there is one restaurant in Vancouver that is mentioned every time anybody tells me about their experiences eating north of the border - Vij's.

Run by a husband and wife team - Vikram and Meeru - Vij's is quite simply the pre-eminent Indian culinary experience on the west coast. I have long said that when it comes to ethnic food I crave either homey authentic small ethnic hideaways, or I crave super refined but still authentic versions of a specific country's cuisine. Either makes me happy. The latter is pretty rare.  I count Hakkasan in London as one of the best examples I've ever seen of that archetype - refined dim sum and Hakka style Chinese food. Vij's is an excellent example of this archetype as well.

We got there early as they don't take reservations. We sat out by the fountain. Since we got there so early we got seated right after they opened. And while we got some yummy fried Indian snack delivered to the table, the waitresses (and Vikram himself) often take small snacks to the people standing in the nightly line to keep them happy while they wait for a table. Such a small touch, but it's so essential to making Vij's a memorable and welcoming experience. Almost everyone who went to dinner had already been to Vij's. As much as everyone else was looking forward to the meal and experiencing their favorites again, I felt intense pressure to catch up. So naturally, we ordered just about everything on the menu.

The meal passed in a blur. The appetizers included: Beef and Ginger Kebobs in Vij's Masala Curry; Winter Greens Grilled Butternut Squash, and Bacon in Cumin Seed Curry; Quail Cakes with Celeriac Puree; Lemon, Cayenne Pepper Marinated and Grilled Sablefish in Tomato-Yogurt Broth; Braised Goatmeat in Fennel, Kalonji and Indian Thyme Curry; and Grilled and Chickpeas in Green Onion Curry.

And only after that intense array of dishes did the entrees start showing up including: Pomegranate Glazed Specialty Chicken Breast with Coconut Onion Curry and Vegetable Rice Pilaf; Beef Short Ribs in Spicy Cinnamon and Red Wine Curry with Cauliflower and Honey Paranta; Duck Breast and Coconut-Green Chili Rice Pilaf in Lime Leaf Curry; Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Filled with Khoa and Potatoes in Porcini Cream Curry with Spiced Whole Almonds; and finally Wine Marinated Lamb Popsicles in Fenugreek Cream Curry.

I'm not entirely sure how to describe the array of bright, intense, and exciting flavors that oozed out of every nook and cranny of every bite served to us over the evening. The Lamb Popsicles, in many ways the iconic dish  of Vij's. The popsicles are chunks of lamb on a bone that's conveniently empty of meat at one end. The bright yellow sauce is simply unforgettable. A uniquely Indian herby aroma arises from a creamy and super tangy pool of goodness. The meat and sauce combine for the kind of dish that inspires extra effort gnawing at the bone, and surreptitious plate licking. Just about every dish at Vij's was like this. The rice perfectly cooked. The naan buttery, light, and flaky.

As good as the food was, the warm atmosphere, Vikram himself moving from table to table making sure each customer is happy, there were other key details of our visit to Vij's. Rangoli is the cafe/take-home market next door. Many of Vij's dishes (not to mention the spices to cook with) are available there.

There's one other interesting detail, when I snuck a peek at the kitchen I noticed the kitchen staff was all female. I think it's safe to say that if you look at restaurant kitchens almost anywhere in the world the vast majority are staffed almost entirely by men. Seeing women in the kitchen is not rare. But seeing a kitchen staffed with all women definitely is. This may or may not have something to do with the fact that Meeru (Vikram's wife) took on the role of managing the kitchen and creating the menus (according to the Vij's website). There are other examples where restaurants run by women staff almost entirely (or entirely) with women. While I won't assert that women in the kitchen necessarily make a difference, I think it's likely that there's a different dynamic in terms of the dynamics between the people making the food. And I do wonder if it's possible to recognize that different dynamic in the food.

Whatever the reason, a deep and passionate commitment to quality, consistency, and exciting flavor is resonant in every bite of every dish you'll have at Vij's. And when it comes to eating out, I really couldn't possibly ask for more.

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wd~50, New York, NY, tasted on March 5, 2005 — I want to take a short break from our Italy trip and document a couple of more recent meals that really stood out. The first meal is from my second visit to wd~50 in Manhattan. Before we get into the details of this meal, I think a short discourse on the current state of food and innovation is in order.

Here are some things I believe: a) good food requires focus, b) removing variables usually drives creativity and innovation, c) almost always, the best way to have focus and fewer variables means cooking food within a regional/traditional framework that's evolved over decades or centuries. And while I believe A and B are always true, I admit that there are exceptions to C. The exceptions essentially fall into two categories: 99.99% (or more) in this category are random restaurants that claim to have an eclectic mix with a little of everything when in fact they are just all over the place; a tiny fraction (the remainder) are considered the most cutting edge restaurants on the planet. These include: El Bulli, Fat Duck (for which I haven't yet posted my write-up), and wd~50. I have never eaten at the first, but I have eaten at Trio when the Chef was Grant Achatz who I believe was also cooking in this vein.

Staying focused and removing variables without cooking based on a traditional framework is only for the very talented. Because basically it means that a) there's nothing for the chef to rely on in terms of a basic value system. It also means that there's no obvious touchstone for the diner. Or more accurately in the case of these restaurants there are multiple touchstones. With Trio and Fat Duck not only was there a tour of different culinary traditions, but there was cleverness, humor, and sometimes shtick. Most of the time at these meals these elements were innovative, interesting, challenging, and enjoyable. But sometimes I admit they seemed overly clever, and honestly not something I'd really like to eat on a regular basis. The smoke geleé from Trio and the parsnip cereal (basically a box of frosted flakes made from parsnip, and served with a small pitcher of parsnip milk) from Fat Duck are cases in point. These are the exceptions and not the rule, and in both cases I really quite loved my meals at Trio and Fat Duck.

Some people put wd~50 in the same category of innovative cooking as the others. And certainly Wylie Dufresne's cooking is interesting, challenging, innovative, and enjoyable. But I separate him from the others. His innovation is never a lark. It's not that he has no sense of humor, it's just that cleverness isn't the right metric for his food. There are no combinations that seem only interesting to me; instead I'd want to eat each one again. And while you may not recognize the framework from which his food comes, that doesn't mean there isn't one. His food is reductionist and beautiful. Ingredients are combined in new and interesting ways not because they are trendy, uncommon, or clever, but because Dufresne believes they will taste great together. In fact, what I've found is that the "depth of field" in his dishes is relatively narrow, but perfect when in focus. What I mean is, it's always best to carefully assemble forkfuls that have little bits of every item on a plate as the ingredients are so carefully balanced that missing even one can result in a completely different experience. Luckily the number of ingredients on each plate are few, not to mention beautiful to behold. Is every dish a home run? No. But many of them are not only super successful but delivered in such a special and interesting way that they're unforgettable. I'm lucky enough to get to eat in New York 2-3 times a year, but I must confess that I probably think about (and crave) going back to wd~50 more than any restaurant I know of in New York City. And to be clear, I've been to quite a few restaurants in New York City. It's not that I didn't love the meals I had at those other innovative restaurants. I did. It's just that in a select group of restaurants that are trying to do something new, from my experience, the food at wd~50 is unique. Given how much I like to eat out, finding something truly one-of-a-kind is a singular pleasure for me. OK. Onto the meal.

Things started off with Sesame Flat Bread. It was super crispy, and very flavorful in a warm and unobtrusive way. Next up was Duck Breast, Beet Juice, and Olive Soil. It was warm, savory with the beet flavor foundation underneath and then olive on the finish. Definitely yummy. (I'm embarrassed to say that we ripped into this so quickly that I didn't get a picture until most of it was eaten. Oops!)

The next dish was Foie Gras, Grapefruit-Basil Crumble, and Nori Caramel. It was wild. This dish almost defied description. Inky nori caramel, bitter and thin seeps onto the plate from a disc-shaped cavity in center of perfect cylinder of foie gras pate. The key was to eat everything together in one bite to get the effect. The salty croutons and acidic grapefruit combined with the foie and nori filled your mouth with an explosive collection of flavors. Alone the pieces were unremarkable. Together the ingredients were simply exciting!

After the foie explosion we had Rainbow Trout, Pork Belly, Cider Meringue, and Miso Paper. This dish was a touch subtle for me except for the chip with its concentrated shoyu flavor. The meringue was like an apple cloud. I was excited to eat these two dishes, Michael and Anh were not thrilled by them. However, Debbie and Anh's brother agreed with me though.

Then the Beef Tongue, Fried Mayo, and Tomato Molasses arrived. This dish was simply beautiful. The cubes of fried mayo were still hot. Yes, fried mayo. I'm still not exactly sure you fry mayo but I'm glad they did. The tomato molasses had a really deep flavor. The super thin shavings of tongue tasted as great as they looked.

As I recount the meal I'm reminded of just how composed everything feels on every plate. The next dish was no exception - Spanish Mackerel, Smoked Banana, Juniper, and Pickled Parsley. I want to be clear, some might jump to the conclusion that these ingredients were put together here to be different. And there's no doubt that some chefs confuse being different with being interesting. All I can tell you is that it wasn't the difference that I walked away with after eating this dish, it was how the fish was like a awarm tasty tiny pillow that perfectly balanced with all the other flavors and textures in the dish including the crispy crispy puffed rice and the crunchy saba skin.

Next up was Slow Poached Egg, Parmesan Broth, and Tomato. It was certainly neat that the egg was poached for an hour at exactly 176 degrees to get it to this great soft-boiled state. But that's not why I loved this dish. The soup was a gorgeous and crystal clear with the absolute "chewy" essence of parmigiana reggiano. The egg in the soup gets split and leaks thick yolk throughout. The dish ends up being almost some form of almost an eggdrop soup with crunchy bits throughout. This dish was wildly superlative.

After the egg we were treated to Lamb Belly, Green Daikon, Black Bean, and Chocolate Powder. The lamb belly was super fatty and lamby but when combined with the smokey eggplant garlic flavors that came from the rest of the components the dish was simply excellent and well balanced.

Next up was the Braised Short Ribs, Smoked Flatiron Beef, Kimchee Spaetzle, and Papaya. This was one of the best dishes of beef I have ever had... ever. The rectangle of short rib had a crispy outside and a flaky inside and the flavor was fantastic - deep and dark in a good way. The combination with the savoriness of the spaetzle, the sweet tart of the papaya, and the (what I think was) dried kimchee's spicy qualities, was extraordinary. The addition of the flat iron beef took it over the top with its bright savory juiciness. I tore through it as this dish was a whirlwind of flavor. A juicy savory base filled with gentle bright sparks of acid and heat.

Dessert began with Raisin Consommé, Banana, and Rum Ice Cream. Even though Michael had not deigned to try the egg dish, I had to conquer my own fears and try this one filled with raisin. In retrospect, I shouldn't have been surprised that eating the ingredients separately instead of together yielded completely different tastes. The raisins really were not a factor until I ate a spoonful of the consommé alone that tasted raisiny (and as raisins go, it wasn't bad). But before that moment the consommé was like a tangy plum liqueur foundation for the bananas which were unusually bright. Quite good altogether.

The only dish that bore some resemblance to a dish we'd had the last time at wd~50 was the Carrot-Lime Ravioli with Coconut Tapioca. (I must have been so distracted during this meal as I spaced on this picture too, which is a shame because the ravioli were beautiful to behold.) The lime flavor was quite sweet in a good way. Anh loved the coconut tapioca. Altogether the dish was tart, crunchy, and even spicy. These are Anh's favorite qualities in food as well as (I think) in people.

The Tonka Bean Panna Cotta, with Chocolate Sorbet and Basil was like the Good Humor strawberry shortcake on a stick -  but chocolate. The cofee soil didn't bother me or Deb strangely enough. And the apricot added a special quality. Nice.

Winding these down were the Mulled Apple Cider, and the Ginger Cotton Candy. The cotton candy tasted traditional but with a subtle ginger fire on the finish. Michael had never had cotton candy at a restaurant. To close we had a bowl of Chocolate Curried Almonds. These were cold, cinnamony, and calmed down and rounded out our palates.

The combinations of ingredients we had were definitely new and interesting in many cases. Some people find some key experiences in life enjoyable early on and spend their days trying to repeat and perfect those experiences. To some extent I think everyone has some capacity for that. For Debbie I think it's pizza. For me (at least lately) it's Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwiches. But there are a subset of people in the world (I think) that also enjoy trying new things. And while new experiences only sometimes match up to old favorites, to a certain extent it's the journey itself that's exciting. Luckily, with wd~50 the journey and the destination are rewarding.

If you're not into trying new things, or if you are but have never eaten his food, it might be easy to dismiss it as a bunch of odd combinations. There was a time however when for each of us some ethnic food was an "odd" combination simply because we didn't grow up with it. And at least from my perspective, the food at wd~50 is anything but randomly thrown together. It's delicate, deliberate, composed, and exciting. The balance between the ingredients feels measured to the millimeter to me. And ultimately even though I deeply respect and appreciate the innovation and willingness to try new things, none of these are the why I enjoy eating so much at wd~50. The reason? The food tastes great.

Seven Second Delay, May 2, 2005 — In crafting the exciting food persona that is me, I carefully choose the venues in which I speak outside of this website. The current rule I employ is that I will only be interviewed by people that ask. I draw the line at appearing in articles or programs written or hosted by people who have no interest in me, my eating companions, and this website. After all, we must have standards.

Luckily, Evan Kleiman at KCRW lowered her standards a couple of weeks ago when she interviewed me for her show Good Food. I'm a big fan of radio, and her show seemed great. What I've heard since has made me a regular listener. Despite the fact that her show is broadcast across Southern California, you can (of course) hear it on the internet. The beauty is that (not of course) they make it available via podcast (downloadable MP3 syndicated through RSS). This is cool. Get it here (at the time of this post the "listen" link wasn't up. If it's not there when you click, check again later as it will be up soon).

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Evan and her friendly producer were smart enough to not interview me live on her show (who knows what I would say on the air) so there was a two-week delay between the interview at the local NPR studios and the airing of the show. Anyone who's a semi-attentive reader of this site has likely noticed that the delay between when we eat a meal and when it gets documented on this site. The delay has grown longer than a year. This seems bad to me. I feel like the value of the documentation goes down with the big deltas between when we actually ate the meal and when it gets written up.

I have two options for how to correct this, a) quit my job and start blogging full time, b) write less about less than memorable experiences. I've constructed this table to identify the pros and cons of each option:

As you've probably already concluded, Option A seems a little shortsighted. A real catalyst in the near-term but likely a showstopper for this entire site (and other things I enjoy such as shelter and transportation) at some date in the near future. So Option B is the only realistic possibility, though it has its own tradeoffs.

<RATIONALIZATION>Quality is about focus. And I feel that quality is suffering because I'm insisting on documenting just about every single meal I have out. And I have to wonder how many people really enjoy reading about meals that we didn't completely enjoy. I already don't publish pictures of food I ate that I didn't "like" or "love". It seems a natural progression to post less, or not much at all about those same meals. So, in an attempt to focus focus focus, we're going to spend more time on the good stuff, and less time on the bad stuff. </RATIONALIZATION>

I feel very lucky at how many people appear to check out this blog regularly. I'd really appreciate hearing from you on this issue. The comments link is to the left of this post. Hopefully you feel this is a good evolution of the site, but even if not (and maybe especially if not) I'd like to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

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Just in case you missed it, make sure to check out the last post on our meal at San Domenico in Imola, Italy. Definitely not a lesser eating experience.