Tis the Season for Asparagus!

Normally when I cook, most of my energy goes into the protein. It's all about coming up with different preparations, sauces, presentations, etc. And then I'll add on some white rice from the rice cooker and some steamed broccoli or something. But last night, I decided to do something different, and focus my energy on the "sides" so to speak. I had decided on the Asparagus Pesto with Tiny Potatoes and Pasta from the Tra Vigne Cookbook by Michael Chiarello. I figured it would give me the opportunity to try something new and take advantage of the fresh aspargus of the Spring.

Pesto is one of those flavors that I quite enjoy, but I've never taken the time to make it myself. Usually it's just been grabbing a package of Knorr's seasoning, adding some olive oil, and calling it good. So, I was excited to learn how to make it myself, and it turns out it's pretty darn easy. For the pesto, the prep consisted of simply chopping some basil and garlic, toasting some pine nuts, and cooking some asparagus. All of this is then thrown into a food processor and combined. Then I add in some olive oil slowly while it is processing to try and get to the consistency of mayo, then some parmesan cheese to finish it off. What resulted was a beautiful green, and delicious pesto. It probably took me a total of 15 minutes and most of that was waiting for the water to come to a boil.

But making the pesto was only the first part. The next step was to make the potatoes and pasta. Not that making potatoes and pasta is difficult. I wasn't able to find the tiny potatoes, so instead I used baby reds that I cut up into small pieces. I then boiled them, using my brand new Calphalon pot (so excited about my Calphalon cookware) and then sauteed them in some olive oil. This double cooking technique is something that has been pretty new for me, but something that really enhances the flavors. The pasta (from a box) was cooked in the asparagus water that had been salted, which really did add some additional flavor to the pasta. I mixed with a cup of the pesto, added some cheese, and was ready to go.

To accompany this beautiful pesto dish, I decided to do a very traditional Pacific Northwest protein, Sockeye Salmon. The preparation is one that I learned from a salmon cooking expert in Alaska.

You simply melt about a table spoon of butter over medium-high heat in a skillet. While the butter is melting, season the salmon with salt and pepper. Lay the piece of salmon in the butter and pour a little bit of water around the outside. This will create steam. Put the lid on the skillet, reduce the heat to medium-low, and let steam for about 5-7 minutes. At that time, remove it from the heat, but leave the lid on for about 3 more minutes. Then, open the lid, and serve. The times will vary depending on the thickness, and definitely takes some practice to get just right. There is a pretty fine line between beautifully cooked and overcooked. To finish the dish, I sauteed the remaining asparagus in a little bit of butter and olive oil, with some salt and pepper.

The overall meal turned out pretty good. I say pretty good because I was so focused on making sure that I got my pesto dish correct that I wasn't paying attention to the salmon and overcooked it by about 2-3 minutes. I actually feel a little embarassed because I've been cooking salmon this way for 3 or 4 years now, and totally blew it. It wasn't inedible, but it definitely wasn't the succulent salmon that I've made before. Oh well. The pesto was delicious (and I added it to the salmon for a little additional moisture), and I learned a valuable lesson; pay attention to everything that you are cooking.

Deck on Taqueria Tequila - Seattle Restaurant Review

Ah, Cinco de Mayo.  A day to commemorate the Mexican victory at the Battle of Puebla.  A holiday that is celebrated predominantly in the state of Puebla, and the U.S.  But I guess that makes perfect sense in a country that celebrates St. Patrick's Day for the Irish, Chinese New Year and of course Oktoberfest.  We Americans can't pass up the opportunity to celebrate a culture with food and libations.  So who am I to do any differently?  In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I put my work aside, and made my way to the nearest Mexican restaurante to tip my cup, and say Salud in the celebration of Mexican culture.

For me, the nearest establishment is the Taqueria Tequila in Greenwood.  I have lived in the area for going on 4 years now, driven by the Taqueria hundreds of times, and have yet to stop in.  Today, however, I made it a point to go, I no longer had any good excuses.  Plus, when I checked it out online, I saw some pretty good reviews.  So, after my run, I grabbed my computer and headed out to the Taqueria in search of food and drink.

Arriving at the Taqueria, I didn't find any parking.  I thought that this was a good sign, meaning that there were many people here (nothing worse than an empty Taqueria on Cinco de Mayo).  After parking up the street a little ways, I made my way in.  I found out that the Taqueria is divided into two parts, the main restaurant and the bar.  In the main restaurant, the tables were full, so I went next door to the bar where I found a seat.  While waiting for a bartender to reappear, I made some observations.  First, it was surprisingly quiet.  I would think at 7:30 on Cinco de Mayo, there would be a lot more people, or at least some loud mariachi music playing.  Second, there weren't that many people.  And third, considering how few people there were, it sure was taking a long time for me to get noticed and get a beer.  Finally, after about five minutes the bar tender noticed me and I was able to order my Dos Equis.  A couple minutes after that, two tables opened up, so I moved down from the bar to grab one.

After perusing the menu for a few minutes that was in no particular order (appetizers started at number 30), I decided I would start with a couple of the highly reviewed carnitas tacos as appetizers and go with the Plato Tequila for the main course.  I closed my menu and tried to get one of the two waitresses to notice me so I could place my order.

Once I was finally able to place my order, it didn't take long for the food to arrive...all at once.  Oh well, no big deal I thought.  The tacos were not that big, and everything would still be at least warm when I was ready to dive in.  So, I rearranged myself, and took a bite of the first carnitas taco.  I would say I was happy with the first bite.  The tacos were very simple, consisting of the pork, onion and cilantro in two corn tortillas (not sure why I got two tortillas).  The meat had a nice flavor to it, but wasn't super juicy, and combined with the two tortillas it was a little dry overall.  This was not something that was running down my arm juicy, that's for sure.  But, I did enjoy the tacos and thought that the meal was off to a pretty good start.  I quickly downed the second taco and got ready to dive into my Plato Tequila.

The Plato Tequila was a simple combination platter that consisted of carne asada, a chile relleno, and the traditional refried beans and rice that you get at so many family Mexican restaurants.  I also got some flour tortillas (though I'm pretty sure I ordered corn) that seemed to be store bought.  Anyway, the real driver in my decision was the chile relleno.  As I've gotten into more of my own cooking, and working through recipes from the likes of Bobby Flay and Rick Bayless, I've been using different chiles more often, and really acquiring a taste for them.  I was looking forward to seeing what they had done with the poblano chile, but first, I wanted to get a little sample of everything else.  I started with the rice and beans, and they were the same rice and beans I've had hundreds of times before.  A little bland, nothing super exciting, just kind of there.  So, I moved to the carne asada.  Again, it was ok, but nothing I haven't had before.  The sauce was good, but it was masking meat that was again a tad overcooked.  That left only the chile, which I was hoping would save the meal.  I cut into it, took my first bite, and was disappointed.  There was something off with the flavor of the chile.  I'm not sure if it had anything to do with them not roasting it or skinning it, or if it was just the quality of the chile, but the flavor was not good.  Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I took another couple of bites before I had to stop.  I just couldn't finish it.

After finishing my beer, I paid my check which came to $26, which just bummed me out even more.  For that price I could have bought all the ingredients I needed to make Enchiladas de Coloraditos again, or something else far more flavorful from Rick Bayless' cookbook.  The meal was a let down; a collection of slow service and bland food.  There wasn't a spice to be found in anything.

It took me four years to go here the first time, and it will probably be the last time.  Something like Gordito's far exceeded what I got tonight in terms of flavor and value.  Tacos Guaymas provides a similar type of food (maybe a bit better), but has always had a fun Cinco de Mayo atmosphere.  Maybe it's because I'm spoiled in that I was able to have truly authentic Mexican food at Frontera Grill so everything else is a bit of a let down.  But even if my expectation was what has become the slightly watered down "family-owned" Mexican that we find across the country in towns like Cheyenne, Wyoming, I would have been let down.


Final Verdict - 1.5 Stars

Deck's Chicken Cordon Bleu with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Like many people out there, we are often busy, and get home late.  That doesn't leave a lot of time to cook in general, and it tends to leave even less time for creativity.  Usually I default to something like steak or stroganoff (which are good), but last night I wanted to try something different.  So, taking some ideas that I had seen on some cooking shows, I came up with my version of a Chicken Cordon Bleu.  I don't know if that's the actual name, but I'm going to go with it.  The meal turned out delicious, so I figured rather than writing a story I would share the recipe so you could make it yourself.  It's my first attempt at this, so hopefully it goes well.

Deck's Chicken Cordon Bleu with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For Chicken

2 Bone-in Skin On Chicken Breasts

2 - 4 Pieces Pancetta (could substitute with Pancetta)

Cheese that melts easily (I used a Sheep's Milk Cheese)

1 egg for egg wash

2-3 Tbsp Butter

Italian Bread Crumbs

1-2 Tbsp EVOO

For Vinaigrette

3 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar

1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

1 Tbsp Honey

1/4 cup EVOO

1 Tbsp brown sugar

Salt and Pepper

Before getting started, preheat your oven to 350.

Step 1: The first step is to take the chicken breasts and remove the skin and bones.  The reason I usually buy bone-in, skin-on is because it tends to be cheaper and a little bit bigger than the boneless, skinless variety.  Also be sure after you remove the skin and bones you break the small tendon on the back.  It is especially important when you are cooking the breasts whole, as it keeps them from rolling up.

Step 2: After removing the skin and bone, you will need to pound the chicken flat.  To do this, place the chicken on a cutting board, cover with a piece of saran wrap, and pound out to about 1/4 of an inch.  Be careful not to pound them too thin as they will tear.

Step 3: Trim the chicken so they make nice rectangles which will be much easier to roll.  Then shave some thin slices of cheese to lay on the chicken breast.  Cover that with the pancetta, and then another layer of the cheese.  Keep the cheese layers thin so they will melt while cooking.  Then roll the chicken up as tight as possible.

Step 4: Make your egg wash.  Take the egg, put in a dish with 1-2 tablespoons of water and mix like you were making scrambled eggs.  

Step 5: Melt the butter in a dish, then add your breadcrumbs.  About 1/4 of a cup should be sufficient for the two chicken breasts.  Stir it up to make sure that the breadcrumbs absorb all of the melted butter.

Step 6: Coat the chicken in the egg wash, and then put it in the breadcrumbs.  Make sure to coat all of the sides of the chicken in the breadcrumbs.  Set the chicken breasts to the side.

Step 7: Add the 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil to an oven proof pan.  Heat over medium-high heat on the stove.  When the oil is hot, add the chicken rolls.  The idea is to just brown each side, probably about 30-45 seconds.  Turn so you brown all four sides.  This will help keep the outside crispy.  After you have done each side, make sure the opening is facing down to keep the rolls from unrolling, and put the entire pan in the pre-heated oven.  It will need to cook for about 10-12 minutes.

Step 8: While the chicken is baking, you can make the vinaigrette.  Simply put all of the ingredients into a bowl and whisk together.  Add more vinegar if you like that flavor, or more honey if you like it more mild.  If the sauce is too thick, you can thin by adding a little more olive oil.

Step 9: Remove the chicken from the oven and let sit for about 3-5 minutes.  Then cut it in half, drizzle some of the honey mustard vinaigrette over the top and serve.

Grillin' Seattle Style

Without a doubt, my favorite food is steak.  And, in my mind, there is no better way to cook it than on a grill.  But sometimes that can be challenging.  Our kitchen is on the second floor and the grill is in the back yard.  This means if I want to grill I either have to walk down the stairs through the hallway and the office to get to the back yard to man the grill, or we have to eat out on the back patio.  The first becomes challenging when I am cooking other things not on the grill and am running up and down the stairs.  The second is fine with one exception...we live in Seattle.  This means that for at least six to nine months out of the year, it is either dark, cold or rainy (and usually some combination of the 3) which are not ideal for eating outside.  

Up until tonight, when I wanted a steak I would either brave the elements and darkness to cook outside, or use a sort of double sided skillet/grill for the stove.  Cooking outdoors in inclement weather is not ideal because I don't want to track things into the house, and in the darkness it is difficult to see the food in order to check for doneness.  And with the skillet/grill plate, it took up two burners on the stove which made it challenging if I was cooking a couple of sides, and the temperature was difficult to maintain since there was always a part of it not directly on the heat.  Not to mention I couldn't put anything directly on it.  I made this mistake once and ended up using steel wool and scrubbing away the coating on the metal.  So, what was different about tonight?  Enter the Calphalon Grill Pan.

The Calphalon Grill Pan is fantastic.  It is small enough that I can place it on one burner, but large enough to accommodate plenty of meat as well as regulate the temperature.  It has the raised grill ridges, but is made of a non-stick surface that nicely releases the meat to flip without the need to heavily oil or spray the pan.  And, it allows me to grill my steaks inside, upstairs during inclement weather and darkness like I experienced tonight.  When we got this pan for our wedding, I had a feeling it was going to be the first thing that I tried.

Usually when I do a steak dinner, I like to keep things simple.  My preferred cut of meat is a rib eye, followed by a New York Strip.  I always buy my meat at Whole Foods because of the level of quality I know I'm going to get (though I bet if I searched enough I could find a butcher with even higher quality meat).  At Whole Foods they do a great job, cutting nice thick steaks that are well marbled and incredibly flavorful.  On most days I go with the "regular" steaks, but on days when I want to splurge I go with the dry-aged.  There is nothing like a dry-aged rib eye to put a smile on my face.  For dinner tonight, I opted for the New York Strip because they happened to be on special.  

In preparing my steaks, I don't do anything particularly special.  I first put on some Montreal Steak Seasoning (hands down the best I've used).  It is primarily sea salt and black peppercorns, with a little bit of garlic and other seasonings.  For Jennifer's steak I sprinkle it on and rub it in.  For mine, I add it much more liberally and press it down into the meat with the goal being to create a sort of crust when it is cooked.  It will be a little saltier and have a little more of a pepper kick.  Then I brushed a little bit of extra virgin olive oil on both sides (you can do the olive oil first and then the spices).  I put her steak on first as she likes it medium, and wait a little bit before adding mine.  One of the tricks to a great steak is to not move it around that much.  Put it on one side, let it cook, flip it, and let it cook.  Sometimes I'll do a quick flip just to put the cross grill marks on, but that's just for looks.  Then, take it out and let it rest for at least five minutes.  I learned this from watching multiple cooking shows and you do it for good reason.  By letting it rest, the juices stay in the meat, and it stays nice and moist while you eat it.  if you cut into a steak right away, the juices flow out, and then meat tends to dry out.

To accompany the steaks, I made some steamed white rice (Asian style in the rice cooker) and sauteed some sliced red pepper in olive oil, salt, pepper, and a splash of balsamic vinegar.  I also made up a honey dijon vinaigrette to accompany the steaks.  The thing is, we never used it because both of us prefer to just have a very well-cooked steak that doesn't need any type of steak sauce or anything.  In fact, if I'm putting steak sauce on a steak, someone screwed up. 

I am super excited about the Grill Pan.  I do still need to figure out how to maximize it a little bit more.  I don't think I got it quite hot enough, which led to Jennifer's steak being a little closer to medium rare, and mine a little closer to rare, though the came out much better than when I used the skillet/grill plate.  The amount of smoke generated was less than previous methods, and I was able to cook directly on the pan without the need for an aluminum foil liner.  Many more meals will definitely be cooked this way, at least until we get a couple of sunny afternoons.

Deck on Himalayan Kitchen - Honolulu Restaurant Review - REPOST

I'm reposting this blog due to some of the comments.  While I don't mind negative feedback to my writing, the blatant profanity is not necessary.  Please feel free to comment, just keep it clean.

Last night we were in Kaimuki again, debating on what we wanted to do for dinner. We started with Korean, then thought Italian, before I noticed a sign for the Himalayan Kitchen. I have come to really like Indian food, and thought that this would be something that we could all enjoy. So, we walked up the stairs, got a table for 6 and sat down to dinner.

The ambiance of the Himalayan Kitchen is good. There is some outdoor seating available, but for cooler nights, there is indoor as well. We were a little unfortunate in that we were caught right in the cross breeze, and my chair was sitting on a weekend floorboard that I thought could collapse at any minute. The waiter stopped by almost immediately and asked if we wanted an appetizer. We ordered both the Keema Naan (lamb) and the Himalayan Naan (chicken). He left without taking out drink orders, which I found a little odd.

After a few minutes a second server arrived. She asked if we were ready to order, which we were. We had decided to order a few dishes family style for the table. We were also able to finally place our drink order, a Sprite, 2 cups of Chai tea, and 2 waters. I had asked for a beer and was told it's a BYOB place. Not really a big deal, and one of the things that I do like about many Hawaiian restaurants. This is something to be aware of if you are dining out. I have yet to figure out how to identify these restaurants, but they do exist.

It wasn't much longer and our Naan arrived. With the stuffed naan was a green sauce which I thought was a mint chutney type sauce that I'm used to having. So, I grabbed a slice of the naan, dipped it into the sauce and took a bit. The first thing I noticed was that the sauce was cilantro based, rather than mint which threw me off a little. The second thing I noticed was that there was not much of a filling. The lamb naan seemed to have a little onion while the chicken one apparently had chicken and spinach in it, though I really couldn't discern either.

After we ate the naan, two of the drinks finally arrived. We were told at this point that they had run out of black tea, so were unable to make the second tea. I'm not sure how this happens in an Indian restaurant, especially with tea which does keep for more than a couple days. But, we let it go, and continued to have a pleasant conversation over waters awaiting our entrees.

For dinner, we had selected Saag Paneer, Chicken Curry, Chicken Bhuna, Lamb Biryani and some more plain naan. When the dishes arrived, we began dishing things out. After a few bites, I would say that we ended up going two for four. This isn't a bad day if you are playing baseball, but for dining out, it is kind of a bummer. On the positive side were the Chicken Bhuna and the Lamb Biryani. The Chicken Bhuna contained hearty amounts of shredded chicken in a nice garlic cream sauce. In the Lamb Biryani was a combination of lamb, peas, cashews and raisins in basmati rice. Both dishes were pretty good from a flavor standpoint and quite enjoyable. They were the dishes that once they made the rounds, I went back for seconds. My only complaint would have been that they skimped a bit on the lamb, and that the cashews were cooked a little too long so they lost all crunch.

On the negative side would be the Saag Paneer and the Chicken Curry. The Chicken Curry was pretty good from a flavor perspective, but was lacking in one ingredient; chicken. We had to cut a couple chunks in half just so everyone at the table could have a bit. And the curry was ok, with a little bit of a kick, but nothing that really wowed me. And the Saag Paneer just wasn't good, which was doubly bad because I had assured the table "You can't go wrong with Saag Paneer". It looked like totally pureed baby peas, and kind of tasted like it too. The cheese taste was totally lost, and the flavor was somewhere between bland and bitter, just not pleasant at all. Additionally, there was a little problem with the naan. It seemed like every bite I took had a really obvious burnt taste. And for a table of 5 adults, we were given a small bowl of rice that barely made it around the table once.

From a people perspective, the meal was quite good. We were able to spend time with friends and family that we have not seen in a while. From a food perspective, it just wasn't that great. Starting with understuffed naan and running out of black tea to a flavorless Saag Paneer and empty rice bowl, the food was underwhelming to say the least. I've had some really good Indian/Himalayan food, and this just wasn't it.

Final Verdict - 2 stars

An Attempt at Enchiladas de Coloraditos

It seems like it has been quite a long time since I have written a post about my cooking adventures.  With a week of vacation followed by work travel and guests, it was a whole lot of eating out; which was good for my food reviews.  But part of this blog is also about cooking for myself, learning techniques and all that jazz, so today I was finally able to get back at it.  And I figured I would dive back in by going big with the Rick Bayless Enchiladas de Coloradito.  

The thing about cooking from the Rick Bayless cookbook is that for me, the beginner chef, there are only two days I can tackle a recipe; Saturday and Sunday.  His recipes have many different steps that take a bit of time, and two or three hours can fly by before you even know it.  But, that's what makes it fun as well, to spend the entire time working on different components, seeing how things come together, and really expanding my cooking ability.  When I was deciding on the recipe to make this evening, this one jumped out at me for a couple reasons.  First, it was enchiladas, and who doesn't love enchiladas?  Second, it did not contain a lot of exotic ingredients so I knew I would be able to find them in Seattle without having to go to a specialty store.  And Third, while there were multiple steps, and it would take some time, nothing seemed too complex for me to handle at my current level of ability. 

After I returned home from my Sunday shopping trip, I pulled out all of the ingredients I would need and got to work.  The first step is to cook the pork shoulder by adding it to boiling water, and then lowering the temperature and letting it simmer with some aromatics like onion, marjoram and thyme.  While that's cooking, I started working on the ingredients for the sauce.  Boiling water was poured over some dried ancho chiles to help them reconstitute (after the seeds were removed).  I then added chopped onion, a little cinnamon, clove and black pepper, some canned tomatoes and bread to a blender.  When the chiles had soaked for half an hour, I put them in as well, and blended everything until smooth.  At this point I took a little taste of the sauce, and wasn't too excited.  The flavor was a little bitter, and I wasn't sure how it would come together.  But, there were still more steps to go, so I kept going, and added the sauce to some heated oil in a saute pan.  The goal is to fry and condense the sauce, another technique that I've never tried and one that I can't imagine attempting unless it is in a recipe like this.  After a few minutes, I added the saved water that the pork had cooked in, and set it to simmer for 45 minutes.  Right at the end of the time, I added a little bit of sugar and a dash of salt.

While the sauce was simmering, I went to work on the enchilada filling.  I started by taking the pork that had cooked earlier and shredded it.  I added that to a pan, along with some potato, onion and plantain.  I browned this for about ten minutes, and then added in a mixture of more tomatoes and one chile that I had left aside, and cooked this down to thicken.  All of this took right around 45 minutes, so I was finishing up just as the timer for the sauce went off.  

From there it was simple.  Put the filling into steamed tortillas (I ended up going half corn/half flour), then pour the sauce all over them.  I stuck in the oven for a couple of minutes, pulled them back out long enough to cover with some crumbled queso fresco, and put them back in for the cheese to begin to melt. After about five minutes, the enchiladas were good to go.  I put two on each plate, added a simple salad of spinach, peanuts, mandarin oranges and blue cheese with a Balsamic Vinaigrette, and dinner was complete.  

The final result was definitely good.  The flavors really came together nicely, providing a very flavorful meal that wasn't overly spicy and was actually surprisingly a little sweet.  I think this comes from the sugars being cooked out of the tomatoes, as well as the final dash of sugar at the end.  While the sauce was a lot of work, but was definitely worth it in the long run.  It is something that I think I can make again, and put over tortillas with different types of fillings for different meals throughout the day.  

This meal is one that I will definitely attempt again, though next time it will be better.  One mistake that I made was with the pork.  I didn't lower the temperature on the water soon enough, and cut the pieces a little too small so some of it was tough, and I ended up boiling off too much of the water.  Also, I forgot to get white bread, so had to settle for nine-grain sandwich loaf bread as a fill in.  And, I didn't get enough ancho chiles, so added a california chile to try and get enough.  Not to mention I don't have an appropriate colander yet (it's on the way).  But, through it all, I improvised and everything worked out.  Oh, and next time, I'll make sure the battery is charged in the camera so I can document the various steps along the way...

For this recipe, please refer to Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico, by Rick Bayless, or visit his website at www.rickbayless.com

Deck on Joule - Seattle Restaurant Review

One of the best things about having guests in town is that it is an excuse to go out to dinner and try a new place.  After a little bit of debate, and looking over some different menus, we decided to give Joule a shot, thinking the fusion of Korean, French and American was something unique.  Plus, with the two executive chefs being featured on Iron Chef America, there was no way we could go wrong.  So we pulled up the site, and made an 8:30 reservation.  The hope had been to go a little earlier, but given it was already Friday evening, we were glad to be able to get a table for 4 when we could.

As 8:30 approached, we were all hungry and ready for an amazing meal.  We made our way to Wallingford and walked into Joule right at 8:30.  Unfortunately, our table wasn't quite ready when we got there.  The hostess recommended that since it was going to be 15-20 minutes, we should go next door to the teahouse to wait since there wasn't a lot of room in the restaurant.  We were a little disappointed, but headed next door to wait for a few minutes.  After 20 minutes and a couple cups of tea, I walked back over to see if our table was ready.  I was told that it was, and so I went to get the other members of the party.  In that amount of time, our table was given away to people that had a reservation after us.  We then had to stand for another 5 minutes while a different table was cleared before we could sit.  This table was right in the middle of the restaurant, making it very loud, and difficult to hold a conversation, though it had a nice view of owners Seif Chirchi and Rachel Yang cooking in the kitchen.  Not exactly the start that I was expecting for a restaurant the caliber of Joule.

Given the fact that we were all very hungry now, and we had looked at the menu online already, we were ready to order...until we realized that the menu online and the menu at the table were different.  I was excited to try the duck breast entree and "mac and cheese" with black truffle side, but neither were available when we actually walked into the restaurant.  So, I quickly went back through the restaurant, and decided to go with the black cod.  We also got the whole branzino, lamb, and sides of green bean casserole and gnocchi.  After about 5 minutes, we decided to order a glass of wine, and after spending the next 3 minutes trying to flag down our waitress, we finally got her attention and ordered.  With food ordered, and wine on the way, we settled into a conversation, albeit a strained conversation due to the noise.

After a bit of time, we were starting to get restless.  Checking our watches we realized that it was 9:45, an hour and fifteen minutes after our original reservation, and we still had consumed nothing but water and a half glass of wine.  No bread or anything was brought to the table, and we hadn't thought to order a salad or soup (the only things that appeared to be appetizers on the menu).  Now we are a little upset to say the least, especially because there were people that came in after us that had already received food.

Finally, at 10 o'clock, the food started to come out, and we dove in, barely pausing long enough to take a couple pictures.  This is where the evening picked up a little bit.  The presentation of the food was gorgeous, and the smells rising up from the plate would have started our mouth-watering had we not already been salivating due to hunger.  I stuck my fork into the cod and watched a piece just slide off.  When I took a bite, I was definitely pleased.  The fish was perfectly cooked, nice and moist, almost buttery in texture.  It was accompanied by a chimichurri type sauce that blended very nicely.  From there, everything was kind of a blur as we passed around bites of food and practically inhaled dinner.  I tried a bite of the lamb which was good, though a tad overcooked (I prefer lamb at medium rare and it was bordering on medium well).  However, when you added the olive and pepper mixture, the flavors did blend very nicely, and improved it significantly.  The branzino was ok, a tad dry, even with the sauce that accompanied it.  The sides were delicious.  The green bean casserole was more of a soy bean, with shittake mushrooms that was quite flavorful, which is saying a lot coming from a person that normally picks mushrooms out of anything and everything.  And the gnocchi was light and flavorful, especially when you got a piece of bacon, or some bacon juices on it.

After about 20 minutes, all we had left were some scraps, having successfully polished off most everything that had been placed in front of us.  When the waitress came by to take the plates, we asked for the check immediately without looking at the dessert menu.  I'm sure the desserts would have been beautifully presented, but we'd already been there almost 2 hours and were anxious to get going.  Besides, Fainting Goat Gelato was four doors down, and we knew that would be delicious without the significant wait.  The check came and we paid, a very reasonable $110 for 4 people, and then headed out to get some gelato (the amaretto is now ranked right up there with Pistachio and Cinnamon...amazing!!)

Overall, the quality of the food and the presentation at Joule were great.  But, the experience is kind of like this post.  There is a long lead in with an empty table, followed by a quick dining experience, and then heading out the door to the best gelato in Seattle.  I definitely appreciate the time and effort that went into crafting each and every plate, but it would be nice to know that there is going to be significant time from the order to receipt of the food, and either provide bread, or strongly recommend an appetizer. This is a place I would definitely consider taking people, but I would want to be sure we weren't hungry, that we had time, and that we at least ordered some soup.



Final Verdict - 4 stars (I deducted about .25 stars for service).