Sushi Wave

You know, I was all set to say Sushi Wave was average.  I had been there fore a lackluster lunch service, and had some Chicken Jalapeño, some Teriyaki Salmon, Spicy Scallop sushi roll, and a Blue Georgia roll.  In a word, everything was pretty average.

Because Sushi Wave is the favorite place of a few close friends, I gave it another shot.  That time, I ordered a Cool Spring roll and Lollipop roll.  Here are the pics:

These pictures are worth a thousand words.  Craftily put together, delicious balance of flavors, imaginative.  I loved them.  The first wasn’t –that– imaginative, but it was a little, and the second roll was.  I also happen to be a sucker for sweet shrimp.  And that was sweet shrimp interspersed with avocado.

Freaking fried heads.  I love it.  The Cool Spring roll was a much more interesting, and delicious, take on the "classic" "American" Spider roll.  So, here is my verdict.  3 for the first trip, 4 for the second.  3.5 in total, and above average.  I would recommend giving them a try, in particular given the dearth of good downtown Seattle sushi lunch joints.  I’m excited to drop by for a dinner service and see if it’s better so maybe they can earn and out and out four.

Sushi Wave
2904 1st Avenue  Seattle, WA 98121
(206) 441-4348

Mon-Fri	11am–2:30pm, 5–9:30pm
Sat	5–9:30pm
Sun	Closed

3.5 of 5

Crush

My wife and I decided to celebrate a special occasion at Crush in Seattle, Washington.  It is a French restaurant in a small converted home in the Central District/Madison Valley area, and had a strong reputation for good, innovative food.  We ordered the tasting menu with the foie gras supplement.  My wife called it the “sampler,” and I think the waiter took pity on us and was extra helpful. 

The amuse bouche was a little potato soup with chive and truffle oil.  On the show “Chopped,” the judges always harangue participants for the use of truffle oil.  It taste too strong they say.  It ruins the dish.  In this case, I didn’t think so at all.  The potato soup was very lightly seasoned, so the truffle oil added the “seasoning” that made the dish work.  It was a nice start.
While we are off track, I should take a moment to mention the delicious mocktails that I had.  One was a cucumber sour, the other a cardamom lemon drink.  They were both fantastic, and actually well worth the $5 price tag.  I was very impressed by the creativity of the bar, given the no-alcohol constraints with which they were saddled.

The next course was barramundi.  The squash bits were again the most delicious I have ever eaten.  The fish itself was cooked perfectly, moist while having the crispy skin you can see below.  The natural flavors were enhanced by the seasoning and I would order this dish again too..

I would like to take a moment to talk about their bread.  It was fresh, and very, very good.  My wife loved the little pretzel-y ones, and I devoured the cheese topped buns with a vengeance.  If they sold these out of a little stand adjacent to the restaurant, or in the front, I would come by and by them by the dozen!  The butter also did not disappoint. 

Next came the bacon and eggs dish. The flan was delicious. I was impressed by how they imparted a smoky flavor into the dish.  The salmon roe had a nice salty explosion and the sweet contrast from the maple syrup was nice.  This said, this dish was one of the less successful ones to me, and would have benefit from a bit more crunch. 

Hamachi.  This dish had a very nice balance of flavors. For me, the heart of palm purée stole the show because it was just so delicious. It was simple,and luscious.  I had no idea heart of palm can become that delicious, but now that I know I will play with it in my own kitchen.

"Spotted Prawn" Gnocchi. I tasted my wife’s lobster emulsion, and it had a much stronger flavor than mine.  Mine was light, but clearly "seafoody." Hers was clearly lobster.  This ding aside, I didn't care. The course was phenomenal, the best gnocchi course I've ever personally eaten. The spot prawn was so fresh and sweet, my only complaint was the dish wasn't five times its size.  The gnocchi was not toasted off, but that did not negatively effect the texture or dish like you might imagine.  No, this dish was brilliant.

Dating our experience, in the middle of our dinner we heard a loud "Did you just call me a prick, Chef, Jason Miller" before a customer stormed off. He then cried out “You’ll see my review shortly.”  Who knows, maybe the guy posted something nasty on Yelp.  I can’t imagine a real critic would have reacted in the way he did, in particular over the issue at hand (the cooking of the foie gras).  The name of the chef, it should be mentioned, is Jason Wilson, so you can imagine how definitive his review was.

Foie Gras.  This course came as an add on to the normal tasting menu.  We had heard it was well worth the money, and we were not led astray.  It was delicious, an intriguing "apple pie" themed dish.  To me, this was totally genius and something I never would have considered. For my taste, the foie was perfectly seared with a nice temp at service. I like mine to be seared on the outside, mid-rare in the center, and warm.  My wife became giddy while eating this. Though I wasn’t quite as hot on the dish as she was, it was very very good.

The Snake River wagyu beef course, following after the heels of foie gras, certainly delivered.  After her giddy gobbling of the foie, my wife then quickly declared this may have been the best dish of food she had ever eaten.  Her father will be crushed, because he grills steak right.  However, the rich, hearty truffle flavor from the Oregon truffles they use at Crush, with the Trumpet mushrooms (which my wife ate happily in spite of herself) and butter made this dish a fatty yum explosion. Mmm.  I think the mushrooms might have stole the show, but this again was a highly successful dish of food.

After such a rich dish, the pear and pink peppercorn sorbet was a nice break. It was a nice mix of texture and flavor, and the peppercorn created a delightful zing.

Finally, they fed us chocolate cake and praline ice cream.  Honestly, these let down the rest of the dishes because they were not memorable. The cake was moist enough, but it just wasn’t great.  I also happened to be a little sad that Crush didn’t share their homemade pop rocks they were parading around to a few of the other tables.  Oh well.  So…. in the end, Go here for a special occasion...

Crush

2319 East Madison Street 

 Seattle, WA 98112 

(206) 302-7874

4 of 5 (my wife will tell you 4.5 or 5)

Buddha Ruska Thai Cuisine

My wife has very few food cravings.  She craves ice cream.  She craves chocolate.  She craves crappy pizza.  She craves potatoes, sweet corn, and hamburgers.  And she craves Thai.

Larb

We decided to give Buddha Ruska in West Seattle a shot one day.  It came pretty highly recommended, and it was not disappointing.  It just wasn't fantastic.  We ordered Chicken Larb, Lemongrass Chicken, Crispy Garlic Chicken, and Pad Thai.  The Larb was good.  The Pad Thai was good.  We still talk about the Crispy Garlic Chicken, it is crave worthy.  The Lemongrass Chicken was only ok.  A quick word on their spice levels, with the Larb you can taste it - but it's mostly just adding extra red pepper (lazy spice).

Pad Thai

Lemongrass Chicken

The Winner - Crispy Garlic Chicken

So what did we think in the end.  If you are in the neighborhood, it's a solid option.  If we do find ourselves again in West Seattle, there's a good chance we'll stop by for some of their Crispy Garlic Chicken.  I am not sure we would go out of our way to Buddha Ruska though, in particular as the service is a bit slow. 


Buddha Ruska 
3520 Southwest Genesee Street  
Seattle, WA 98126
(206) 937-7676
3.5 of 5

Sushi Maki

There was a day, a not very proud day, when my wife and I decided to spend about $60 and buy a huge plate of party sushi for just the two of us.  We did this at Sushi Maki, in Seattle's Capitol Hill because it has so little space inside. 


We ordered a party platter with a:
-Vegetarian roll
-Salmon Lover roll
-Spicy California roll
-California roll
-Spicy Yellowtail roll
-Salmon roll
-California roll with tobiko
-Shrimp Tempura roll
-Rainbow roll


and...
-Spicy Scallop handroll
-Tuna nigiri
-Salmon nigiri

In the end, my wife commented "everything sort of tasted the same."  She was right.  The Salmon Lover roll was a standout, the Spicy Scallop handroll was surprisingly not too great. Most things were "california-centric" and it did make all the pieces taste the same.  The nigiri was a little awkward, but ok enough.  It also didn't keep well in the fridge (though little sushi does).  With so many choices for sushi in Seattle, average probably isn't good enough.  It could have easily been 2.5, but the price was not bad...


Sushi Maki
1633 Bellevue Avenue  
Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 264-0725
3 of 5 

my wife's old obsession - burrata and how to cook a wolf

Quite some time ago, a friend couple took my wife and me out to dinner at Ethan Stowell's How to Cook a Wolf.  I had not developed my (annoying) habit of taking pictures of what we ate.  The dinner was excellent (and below I will give a rough idea of what we ate and our opinion).  

The star of the meal though was the Buratta dish.  Buratta is a mozzarella cheese with normal mozzarella on the outside wrapping mozzarella on the inside that is mixed (minced) up with creme.  I am fairly certain that after that point, Buratta became the basis for an extra five pounds around both our waists.  You can typically buy some (not quite as good as Stowell's) in Seattle at:

Quality Cheese

Pike Place Market

Corner Market and Sanitary Market

1508 Pike Place

Seattle, WA 98101

qcheese@nwlink.com

DeLaurenti Specialty Food and Wine

1435 1st Avenue

Seattle, WA 98101

206-622-0141

Borracchini's Bakery & Mediterranean Market

2307 Rainier Ave S

Seattle, WA 98144

206-325-1550

Here are a few shots of Buratta from How to Cook a Wolf (they are not mine).  The first is a better shot, the second is closer to what we ate - burrata with a salad (not shown) and figs (shown).  

So, our impression of How to Cook a Wolf?  It was delicious.  Think Italian tapas.  We ate at least the beets, burrata, escolar, beef tartare, tagliarini and campanelle.  There were a few other seasonal dishes that have since escaped me.  Obviously the Buratta was a huge hit, and my wife was surprised to enjoy the tartar so much, but I also remember thinking that it could have been even better (ergo, no 4.5 or 5 star).  My wife and I enjoyed it quite a bit and are planning a return visit soon...

How to Cook a Wolf

2208 Queen Anne Avenue North

Seattle, WA 

206-838-8090

4 of 5

The Harvest Vine

If you are looking for quality tapas in Seattle, look no further than The Harvest Vine in the Central District.  While there are still a number of places to check off, and How to Cook a Wolf could be described as a delicious Italian tapas option, The Harvest Vine does not disappoint for traditional Spanish delicious.

Our family spent a special evening for a special occasion ordering just about as much as we could off the menu.  Here was the damage:

-Beet, Sheep Cheese and Serrano ham amuse buche (not pictured).

-Sardinas.

Grilled sardines.  Silver and a perfect balance of delicate and the sea.


-Pato Confitado. 

Duck confit with parsnip potato mousse. One of the nights highlights. Crispy duck skin and fantastic mousse. A complete win that reinforced my wife's obsession with duck confit.

-Venado. 

Grilled venison with licorice sauce and oyster mushrooms. Expertly cooked and totally delightful.

-Vieiras. 

The pan seared scallops were memorable. If you can believe it, the caramelized onion was quite possibly the star of the dish - which I can't decide if this is good or bad (that the scallop is overshadowed).

-Lomo de Conejo. 

Grilled rabbit with fideo noodles. The rabbit was seasoned excellently and delectable. The noodles seemed like an afterthought, though others in the family were big fans.  Myself, I could have double fisted all that rabbit strait into my mouth it was so good. 

-Coliflor. 

Roasted cauliflower with onion confit. A little salty, but I would have eaten 3 pounds!

-Pulpito a la Gallega. (Not pictured).  Baby octopus. Uniformly we didn't care for it. The paprika didn't do it any favors, it was both not picturesque and a huge miss.

-Sepias. 

Seared cuddlefish with squid ink bomba rice. On the complete opposite side of the octopus, this total win dish may have been the best of the night.  It was composed of perfectly marinated cuddlefish.  The rice could have been a little more aggressively seasoned, but the squid ink did amplify the flavor nicely.

-Foie de Pato. 

Seared foie gras. It is a tantalizing slab of foie gras, is it not?  Unfortunately, it was slightly under temp on the inside (in my opinion), with baby food on the side (not pictured). Delicious none-the-less, but overshadowed by less expensive, better dishes during the evening and far outstripped by other foie gras dishes around town.

-Garbanzos con Tomate. 

Garbanzo beans with tomato cumin sauce. The strong cumin flavor made the dish good but not fantastic.

-Cerdo Iberico.  (Also not pictured.  We ate it too fast!)  This fresh pork cut from a pata negra pig was another absolute smash hit. This was the single best bite of pork I've ever eaten!  Ever - Eaten!  Cracklin skin on the outside, juicy fatty soft meat.  I can still taste it on my tongue...

-Remolachas. 

Red and golden beets.  My beet hating wife ate and enjoyed these.

-Tabla Iberica.   

The cured meats plate was very good, with a wide variety of flavors coming from the same base ingredient (one piggy piggy). 

-Profiteroles. 

Oh yah.

Overall, the meal was great.  We were sad to have visited when the duck breast was not on the menu though, and a little disappointed by the inconsistent seasoning - with (for example) some of the rice being underseasoned, and things like the cauliflower being overseasoned.  These inconsistencies kept this meal from being perfect.  However, the cuddlefish, venison, pork, duck, sardines, beets, and rabbit were memorable, and the only protein problem was the octopus.  The service was solid and took nothing away from the kitchen, which you can actually see if you sit in the front of the house.

Harvest Vine
2701 East Madison Street  
Seattle, WA 98112
(206) 320-9771

4 of 5

Square Lotus

Square Lotus in Bellevue, Washington was an average Vietnamese place that seemed to cater to vegetarians.  It had a Four Star rating on Yelp (but in our opinion was not deserving).  The place had a very strip-mally decor down to faux brick wall paper, wobbly tables, and plates with the Square Lotus logo.

We ordered a few things, summer rolls, tropic rolls, stir fried soft egg noodles with beef (spicy style), and  super pho bowl (pho tai bo).  

Summer Rolls

Summer Rolls: They were a few herbs on the inside away from perfection, but they were very well done here. I prefer the fried wonton to be rolled in the middle, but to their credit they did include them flattened and in small pieces in the center.

Tropic Rolls

Tropic Rolls. We loved the combination of flavors and grilled chicken, but this roll was also missing a few herbs.  It was a nice variation from the classic summer roll, but was a little bland.

Stir Fried Noodles with Beef

Stir Fried Soft Egg Noodles with Beef - Spicy.  The portion was very small compared to other noodle or Chinese places.  The flavors were subtle, they don't jump out and slap you and "very very spicy" turned into barely spicy when it hit the tablet.  That was a tremendous disappointment.  The dish was good, in an average sort of way, but at over $9 I would not order them again.

Super Pho Bowl. Pho Tai (Bo).  The Pho broth was light, flavorful, and meaty, and the bowl is spacious (a personal preference I have come to view as vital).  The dish was very meaty when ordering the "super," but we can't comment on the regular (and judging by the noodles I suspect it may be very different).  The broth to noodles to meat ration was, therefore, quite on point if you order the Super Pho.  On the dig side, the broth was quite cloudy, which my wife assumed was due to not pre-boiling the beef bones before adding them to the pot with the other components (a quick was to make cloudy Pho broth at home).   

The biggest problem was really the poor, poor service.  Although we appeared to catch them during their lunch, the staff was not attentive at all.  We also got no hoisin sauce, crushed red pepper, or anything else out on the table (nor was it brought to us for quite some time after we had our food).  It was average, but with so many Vietnamese places in the Seattle area, there is no reason to overpay for noodles and get good (but not great) Pho with bad service.  I suspect if you are a vegetarian, you like this restaurant more  because they clearly cater to you with a large portion of the menu highlighted as Vegetarian.  If I were you though, I'd keep looking, because there are better places out there that also have vegetarian fare...



Square Lotus Fine Vietnamese & Vegetarian Cuisine
3540 Factoria Blvd SE # A
Bellevue, WA 98006
(425) 679-0680

2.5 of 5

Purple Cafe and Wine Bar

My wife and I decided to drop by Purple Cafe and Wine Bar in Bellevue, Washington for a quick bite to eat a few months ago.  I had eaten here once or twice before, and wanted to give my wife an opportunity to try her first risotto.  

Unfortunately, it was not a great first time for my wife.  The herb risotto was not creamy enough, and did not even taste as if it had been made with stock.  It was missing flavor, and the garlic came through with such a tang I doubt it was roasted off before being used.  Overall, I was sad (especially so since the picture turned out about as good as the risotto tasted).  


My wife loves calamari.  She liked this calamari, but did not love it.  She fell in love with their thick, spicy aioli.  It was just too bad that the calamari were greasy, and a little too chewy (overdone).

My wife's dinner, the BLTA was good.  She loved her fries, and the avocado was ripe and tasty.  The bacon was clearly of good quality, and the bread was fresh and inviting.

Then there was the lamb shank.  The arugula mashed potatoes were delicious.  Such a simple idea, and one I plan to implement at our home.  The dish, however, came out more room temperature than hot.  The jus had a great flavor, and the tapenade was cold.  It seemed that was not an accident, but it took an already under temp lamb shank and sapped what excess heat it had right out of it.  There was that, and the fact the tapenade had a sour note that I could not place, which either was an enzyme that reacted poorly with the jus or was just a bad olive or two.

The creme brûlée on the other hand was very good, and was clearly torched to order - the ONLY way to serve it.  

The waitstaff was not exactly bad, and not exactly good.  We did not order wine, and that clearly resulted in C-quality service.  Average, and the meal was average.  Unimpressive risotto, greasy calamari, cool lamb, it was not a good showing.  I have had some meals here that were better, and a special mushroom risotto was actually good.  I guess that means you cannot be certain how good the meal will be that you will receive on any given night.  Kitchen standards are important, and with so many restaurants out there, we will not be back.

Purple Cafe and Wine Bar
430 106th Avenue Northeast
Bellevue, WA 98004
(425) 502-6292
2.5 of 5

Serious Pie - Westlake

Serious Pie had a lot going for it. We loved our Westlake experience, which was less hustle and bustle, accommodating, and laid back. Unfortunately, Serious Pie also hit a few sour notes. This is the problem with going somewhere that has a reputation that not only precedes it, but precedes it by blocks. And blocks. And blocks.  (Because it's a Tom Douglas restaurant)

Let's jump right into it. Serious Pie's duck prosciutto appetizer was phenomenal. Slap your mamma good. Write home about it. The prosciutto was arguably the best I've ever eaten. The beets were nicely done and seasoned, and the pistachios added a delightful crunch. 


On the other side, my friend told me the bread soup was under-seasoned and a bit bland - really too bad because it looked so good. Hit, and miss.

The party I was with ordered a number of pizzas amongst the group. If you are a light eater, you might decide to split a pie with a loved one, but generally you need one pie per person. We ordered so many, the waitress got an order wrong. This wouldn't be a problem, if not for how ravenous you are by the time your pizza actually lands in front of you (aka, the wait is a bit long). The waitress thought my friend had ordered a mushroom pizza, which most assuredly she had not because she hates (hate hates) mushrooms. That was boxed, and comped, and her actual order was put in, but it was still 10-15 minutes later until it was delivered.  So that was a miss, and then a hit (because I consider this good customer service).

The Pizza in Question...

The pizzas were good, some even great. For example, the fennel sausage and soft egg with arugula pizzas were great. 

Delicious Fennel Sausage

Delicious Arugula and Over Easy Egg

The buffalo mozzarella pizza was good. 

Good - Meat added

The vegetarian offerings, the squash and a pear special, were also good, even very good. 

Special, Squash and Pear - and YES, these ingredients belong on Pizza!

The Penn Cove clams pizza, however, was only ok. It had a substantial amount of promise, but with the pancetta and clams, along with what seasoning was added, it was almost inedibly-salty. Also, maybe because of the thin crust, maybe because of neglect, a few of the pies had singed sides (read: burnt). This was another round of some hits, and misses.

Over-salty Clam Miss

The desserts were all hit. The budino, coconut cream pie, and ice cream were decadent and delicious. I would call in and take just their desserts on the road with me, and I am a savory man, no sweet.  In my opinion, this is high praise.  My wife still talks about the coconut cream pie...

The final verdict... at the price Serious Pie commands, it must not just be good, or very good, it must be great all the time. You expect orders to be correct, wait time to be reasonable, and dishes to be correctly seasoned. Because of this, I have to say it only merits 3.5 of 5. With proper seasoning and uniform doneness, Serious Pie would sit at a 4, and if everything were as delicious as the prosciutto (about which I still talk and think, and dream), it would be a 5 all the way!

Serous Pie
401 Westlake Avenue North
(206) 436-0050
Seattle, WA 98109
3.5 of 5