News Flash: Chef/owners Seif Chirchi and Rachel Yang have agreed to open Revel for 2011’s final Seattle Foodies Friday Lunch Club on November 11th (second Friday).

If you’ve dined at their ultra-cool, art-filled Fremont space, you’ve already checked your calendar and emailed me to save you a spot. If not, then nevermind the sleek and sexy interior, because Revel’s masterful tapestry of Korean, French, and American flavors will make you close your eyes (and in my case, cuss). Their food is unique and brilliant, and when I’m unhinging for a debauch at the expansive, kitchen-facing bar, makes me think of David Chang as just a noodle guy. Formerly at joints such as Alain Ducasse and Thomas Keller’s Per Se, Seif and Rachel wield a maniacal sense of careful, fresh, and everything house-made (and I mean everything). What you get is inspired, pampering, and delicious.

UPDATE: This just in: the menu for this year’s Grand Finale lunch club at Revel. (Quick, what’s the Korean word for Lollapalooza?)

But first, if you’re new to our lunches (or haven’t been in a while), here are two important points:

1. I need everyone to confirm your reservations by 10am Thursday morning, the 10th. (10am on the 10th. I’m foreshadowing.)
2. Because Revel is ordering and prepping just for us, anyone who cancels after Thursday morning will be asked to pay for their lunch.

Now back to the menu.

Okay, I lied. I don’t have a menu for Friday, because Rachel and Seif decided NOT to do a special menu for us. Instead, they’re doing the ENTIRE menu. Actually, that’s not true, either. They’re going to add a few of their off-menu favorites.

And if that’s not auspicious enough, be sure to arrive earlier than usual for a touch of extra, well, revelry. Because if you can, at 11:11 (yup, it’s 11/11/11) we’ll be together for the (pick one):

(a) Alien Invasion
(b) Second Coming
(c) Collapse of Civilization
(d) Toast (to the kitchen staff) and Pre-Lunch Belly Stretch

If you can come early, let me know, because Revel will have half pours of something bubbly available. I mean, who wants a croaking-dry throat to greet the aliens?

Then, after 11:30-ish, lunch will be served family-style, coursed in glorious, cresting waves. You’d have to be an alien not to love it.

SALADS

Corned lamb, mizuna, spicy nuoc cham

Hearts of palm, spinach, black lentil, smoked peanut, miso vinaigrette

Shrimp, bulgur, kale, dukkah, raisin vinaigrette

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PANCAKES & DUMPLINGS

Pork belly, kimchi, bean sprout

Squid, chick pea, cumin, pickled padron pepper

Kale, walnut, arugula, pecorino-romano

Lamb, goat yogurt, sour cucumber

Short rib, pickled shallot, scallion

Cauliflower ricotta, black sesame truffle, pickled leek

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RICE (w/ yolk) & NOODLE BOWLS

Short rib, sambal daikon, mustard green

Albacore tuna, fennel kimchi, escarole

Blackened tofu, king oyster mushrooms, Chinese broccoli

Smoked pork belly, sauerkraut, sweet chili

White shrimp, cilantro pistou, coriander noodle


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PLUS (off-menu specialites)

Spicy glazed, miso braised porchetta

Cold-smoked, sake-miso-cured escolar

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Wine Pairing TBA

Yes, I’m serious. We’re technically full, but there are always last-week cancellations (poor fools). So reschedule that meeting, call that babysitter, or whatever, and email me if you can join us!

Where: Revel
Address: 403 N 36th Steet (Fremont)
When: Friday, November 11th, 11:30am (doors open at 11am)
Cost: $35 (plus tax, tip, & drinks)

See you there!

I just got the nod from Cafe Juanita’s superstar chef/owner Holly Smith that she will do a special opening for our Friday Lunch Club next month. But there’s a catch: she’s busy on the first Friday, so we’ve settled on Friday, October 14th.

Yes, it will be painful to wait the extra week, but it’s going to be worth it. If somehow you don’t know about Cafe Juanita (it’s been rocking the local and national food scenes for 11 years), here’s a teaser: 2011 Zagat Guide ranks it #1 for food in all of Seattle. Period.

Need more? How about Holly nabbing 2008 James Beard Best NW Chef, and Cafe Juanita nominated two years in a row for James Beard Best Service in the whole country. Or making Gourmet Magazine’s list of the top-50 restaurants in the nation. But enough about her, I need to congratulate her wine director (and general manager) Dawn Smith for being nominated last month for Sunset Magazine’s Sommelier of the Year. (Hint: order the wine pairing.)

Anyway, details are in the works so stay tuned for the general announcement, but I wanted to give you advanced warning since we’re deviating from the first Friday thing.

UPDATE:

Holly has provided the menu for this week’s record sell-out lunch at Cafe Juanita. Her star-power is shining bright: there’s a wait list even with 60 seats.

But first, here are three important points: PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!

1. I need everyone to confirm your reservations by 10am this Wednesday morning (the 12th). I’m trying hard to get the wait-listed people in.
2. Following our new policy, because the restaurant is ordering and prepping a special menu just for us, anyone who cancels after Wednesday morning will be asked to pay for their lunch.
3. Lunch will be $40, plus tax, tip, and drinks.

Okay, now for the mouth-watering menu:

Apertivi – Prosecco

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Alaskan King Crab with Green Apple Sorbetto and Crab Butter Powder

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Rabbit Braised in Arneis with Chickpea Gnocchi, Porcini and Pancetta

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Panna Cotta with Cardoon Blossom Honey and Vanilla Sea Salt

Brutti ma Buoni (“ugly but good” cookies)

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Wine Pairing TBA

Where: Cafe Juanita
Address: 9702 NE 120th Place, Kirkland
When: Friday, October 14th, 11:30am
Cost: $40 (plus tax, tip, & drinks)

If you’d like to join us, don’t despair. The wait list is whittling down, so email me, and I’ll keep you posted.

Have a great week, and we’ll see you there!

P.S. For those of you who can’t join us Friday, here’s a make-up class assignment: Holly is doing a private dinner in the Cafe Juanita wine room on the 19th, hosting the winemaker from Cigliuti. I believe there are still a few seats available, so email me if you’d like the details (or call them directly at 425.823.1505).

This month we’ll be checking out national chef superstar (and local boy) Michael Mina’s new RN74 downtown joint for our September lunch. RN74 is the highway that takes you on a seriously delicious bender through some of France’s best wine regions. What more do you need to know?

And here’s a fun twist: We’re foodies, so we want to try everything. But they’re French, so family-style service blows their minds (or at least their presentation standards). The solution? Easy-peasy. They will serve multiple dishes for each course, but will alternate dishes for each person. So feast your eyes, and be ready to share with your neighbor, or trade, or defend what you get. :-)

Click the picture at the right to see the complete menu (I think sharing is going to be very popular).

Where: RN74
Address: 1433 Fourth Avenue (4th & Pike)
When: Friday, September 9th, 11:30am
Cost: $35 (+ tax, tip, drinks), optional wine pairing $18

Note that we’re shifting Fridays to avoid vacation plan complications around Labor Day.

They’re giving us full run of the place, so we have 60 spots available. Let me know if you’d like to join us!

Update 9/7: We have 52 53 confirmed reservations. This is going up to be our biggest lunch yet!

It’s rumored that Chef Jason Stratton sold his soul to the Devil. And after wandering into his Spinasse on Capitol Hill a few months ago for a quick bite, I’m certain it must be true: the first tastes were so amazing, previous plans went up in flames and I couldn’t escape before devouring fourteen dishes. Call it traditional Piemontese mixed with Black Magic. I lost a bet when one hand-made pasta called tajarin (say “TIE-yuh-reen” so nobody sniggers), so fine it makes angel hair seem evil, sauced with a transporting pork ragu, was somehow even more divine in its simple butter and sage version. How could you not succumb?

But you needn’t be frightened. Because Seattle Foodies will be your moral compass and keep you safely in this world for August’s First Friday Lunch Club when Spinasse will open its doors just for us with a special menu. Here’s what Jason and sous chef Carrie are thinking:

Welcome

‘08 Brut (Gavi) – Broglia

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Antipasti

Pio Tosini Prosciutto with local Peaches

Zucchini and rice torta with lovage

Spring Green with Barolo vinegar and Ligurian olive oil

‘09 Gavi – Broglia

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Primi

Tajarin with butter and sage

Tagliatelle with milk braised pork

‘09 Dolcetto d’Alba – Sori’ Paitin

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Secondi

Rabbit Meatballs with turnips

Quail with polenta and basil

‘09 Langhe Nebbiolo – Giorgio Pelissero

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Dessert

Almond Cake with raspberries

Where: Spinasse
Address: 1531 14th Avenue
When: Friday, August 5th, 11:30am
Cost: $35 (+ tax, tip, drinks), optional wine pairing $25

See you there!

P.S. I’m not worried about Jason in the Hereafter. If I were the Devil, I’d gladly trade his soul back for a plate of that butter & sage tajarin.

UPDATE: Michael (Spinasse Manager) has set the cap at 46 people, and we currently have 51 signed up. But don’t despair, there’s usually a bit of last-minute shuffle. So if you’d like to join, why not email me to get on the wait list?

If you know nothing about Basque cuisine, consider just two things: Basque Country straddles northern Spain and southern France, and food is central to Basque culture. Toss in wide culinary diversity, and the concept of tapas, and you’ve got everything you need to know: loads of delicious, designed so you can try everything.

So thank foodness Carolin Messier keeps her Harvest Vine in top-notch shape, dishing up amazing Basque experiences and garnering raves. (Long-time Seattle Foodies Lunch Clubbers are still looking for their socks blown off at Carolin’s Txori in Belltown at the hands of Executive Chef Joey Serquinia.) Lucky for us, Carolin moved Joey to the helm at Harvest Vine, and double lucky we are, because she’s opening the doors June 3rd for a special Seattle Foodies Lunch Club.

Menu planning is still underway, but here’s a sketch of Joey’s latest thinking. (While you read this, I’ll be looking up the Basque word for “drool.”)

Tortilla Española con Jamón ~ potato-onion omelet, crispy jamon, alioli

Remolachas ~ red and yellow beets, garlic, sherry vinegar, arbequina olive oil

Piquillo De Brandada ~ salt cod-potato mousse stuffed piquillo pepper, viscaina sauce

Arroz Negra ~ bomba rice, calamari, squid ink, alioli

Judias ~ green beans, tomato frito

Sartenako ~ pork belly, chorizo, blood sausage, panaderas potatoes

Tarta De Queso ~ goat’s milk cheesecake, quince paste, candied walnuts

As if that’s not enough, Carolin’s putting together a wine flight to pair. I can’t think of a better way to jumpstart June.

Where: Harvest Vine
Address: 2701 E. Madison
When: Friday, Jun. 3rd, 11:30am
Cost: $35 (+ tax, tip, drinks), optional wine pairing TBA

Please email me if you’d like to join us!

Italian or domestic, it's delicious.

Trying times be damned. We foodies know exactly what to do with those life-dealt lemons: make limoncello. But wouldn’t you know it, our happiness has attracted malcontents. Snarky ne’er-do-wells disputing our limoncello. Not made with Italian Sorrento lemons? Not real, they say.

Pish.

Still, after driving them off with balls of squeezed lemon pith, I got to thinking. Could there be room for even more deliciousness? The question has led me to Linda and Bill Zaiser of Rancho Del Sol, growers of organic Italian Sorrento lemons, who will ship cases to Seattle direct from their farm in California. It’s reasonable, and cost comes down with volume.

Which means the answer is nearly in hand because Seattle Foodies Lemon ‘11 is in the works. Here’s how we’ll do it:

A fifth of Everclear and five pounds of lemons (about a dozen) make a batch of about five 500ml bottles of finished limoncello. The lemons cost about $15, including shipping. Grab a sharp peeler and a quart jar, and in no time you’re on your way. Could it be easier? Well, as with every lemon project, there’s a twist: it’s illegal to buy 190-proof hooch in Washington. (So we love our friends who love Portland. Plus, we’ve got a version you can make with the legal 151-proof version.) And I know a great gift-bottle supplier so you don’t have to store it in old coffee cans.

We just need a date, a place to peel, and foodies.

I’ll organize the lemons and a box or two of quart canning jars. You bring your moonshine and favorite sharp peeler (Dana “Scalp ‘em” Spencer recommends the Kyocera ceramic-bladed peelers if you’re in the market). We’ll talk bottles then, since the peels macerate for two weeks. Throw in a lemon-themed potluck and spool up the sorbet machine, and we’ll have it: Lemon ‘Eleven.

Let me know if you’re interested and how many batches you might want to make. And I’ll work on a location and date.

Often the creative spirit is best inspired by imposing structure and artificial limits. The beauty of haiku, sonnets, heroic couplets, and even limericks would be lost without their rigid forms.

It’s an idea that Tom Douglas had 20+ years to contemplate while waiting for the corner space at Pike & Western to come available so he could open his new Seatown Seabar & Rotisserie. Because the residences above meant no hood ventilation, the new space would have one very peculiar limitation: no stoves. For a restaurant. Makes iambic pentameter look like a walk in Vic Steinbrueck park, right?

Undeterred, against that barrier Tom and his team arrange best-of-the-season Pike Place Market offerings, and poetry it becomes. A cold seafood bar with icy oysters and sweet dungeness. Smoked sturgeon, cod, salmon, and trout. A fancy recirculating-vent thingamobab supports a rotisserie (as big as Tom himself) for slow-roasted, spice-rubbed, succulent meats. All the produce of the Northwest, plus inexpensive but delicious cask wines. Add a dab of the magic Asian fusion of chef Adrienne Lasko (formerly of Dahlia Lounge, and Seattle Foodies favorite and event veteran: Poultrygeist, Lovefest, and Dahlia Does Dim Sum), and things start to get really interesting. Especially right now, as the Market is bursting fresh with spring.

So you’ll want to experience Adrienne’s “poetry reading” for this month’s Seattle Foodies First Friday Lunch Club. As always, we’re putting together a special foodies menu and Adrienne is very excited to do a deep dive into spring and the ideas behind the dishes at Seatown. So far it looks like this (consider it a draft—she’s free to adjust to match what’s wonderful that week):

Penn cove oysters on the half shell ~ pickled rhubarb mignonette

Wild thing ~ dungeness crab, avocado, tobiko

Smoked fish sampler ~ baguette, plugra, black lava salt (trout, sturgeon, cod, king salmon)

Rotisserie chicken ~ market sides & spring accompaniments

Seatown cream cake ~ vanilla custard, theo’s chocolate mocha ganache, hazelnut crunch

And here are the details. Please email me if you’d like to join us!

Where: Seatown Seabar & Rotisserie
Address: 2010 Western Ave
When: Friday, May 6th, 11:30am
Cost: $35 (+ tax, tip, drinks), optional wine pairing TBA

See you there!

UPDATE: 30 36 people have already signed up (in less than four hours!), so don’t delay…

ANOTHER UPDATE: We have 43 people coming. Adrienne says she can handle two more, so if you want to come, it might not be too late! Email me to grab the last two spots!

Have you ever thought, even with all the great joints in Seattle, can’t I please have some new ideas to eat? Not just new, but crazy delicious. Is that asking too much?

Turns out it’s not. Because Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi have been working up a new kind of fusion (alchemy, really) at Joule Restaurant in Wallingford. An intersection of Korean, French, and American wonderful, built on a foundation of hand-made virtually everything. Pastas, condiments, cheeses, you name it. (I don’t think they ever sleep.) And this attention to every last bit shows in their dishes, magnificently.

So imagine my excitement that Rachel and Seif are opening Joule for a special Seattle Foodies First Friday Lunch Club April 1st. The menu will go something like this:

Sweet pork and chicken terrine

Tamarind chicken mousse

Chinese sausage

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Smoked tofu, honshimeji mushroom confit, soy truffle vinaigrette

Watercress salad, shrimp, kohlrabi, sweet chili vinaigrette

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Short rib steak, sweet sausage, collard green chow chow

Mackerel, cumin pickled carrot, scallion ginger

Pork belly rice bowl, grilled kimchi, salted shrimp

Cornbread, preserved garlic, smoked Gouda

Brussell sprout, salt and pepper walnut, curried apple

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Hazelnut cake, Asian pear, ginger creme

And a wine/drink pairing is in the works.

I could prattle on about their background (highlights: they met working at Alain Ducasse in New York, Rachel worked at Thomas Keller’s Per Se), or try to do justice describing their food (I’ll fall short), but if your salivary glands aren’t already cramping after reading that menu, I simply can’t help you.

So please confirm your reservation for this Friday by emailing me (this month over 50 people are signed up for 46 spots) so everyone gets a chance! And there’s always last minute turnover, so don’t despair.

Where: Joule Restaurant
Address: 1913 N. 45th Street
When: Friday, Apr. 1st, 11:30am
Cost: $35 (+ tax, tip, drinks), optional wine pairing TBA

See you there!

P.S. No, I’m not going to tell you about Rachel and Seif’s amazing new Revel in Fremont (or companion Quoin). It’s my little secret and I’m not sharing.

For six months last year I cried like a baby when Ethan Stowell decided to close his debut (and my favorite) Union restaurant. How could it be? He had three other run-away successes in town (Tavolàta, How To Cook A Wolf, and Anchovies & Olives). He had collected a glowing comet’s tail of awards, including 2008 Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs in America, 2009 StarChefs Rising Star, and three-time James Beard Best Chef Northwest nominee (2008, 2009, and 2010). So many nights of delicious multi-course tastings, including one six-hour, nine-course, wine-paired, solo dinner (my wife was out of town, and I was hungry). To me, Union was foodie perfection. And the staff were top-notch. Why close?

Because Ethan was moving his flagship to Ballard, to the new Staple & Fancy Mercantile, where he is back in the chef’s hat. Backed by his trusty Union people, and the same passion for superb execution of super-fresh ideas on the spur the moment, Ethan’s new Staple & Fancy is all about omakase (chef’s whim) “Italian-inspired” feasts. And the accolades are piling up, just like the licked-clean plates used to on my table at Union. Crazy good, except for one thing: the joint is always so packed, it’s hard to make a last-minute reservation.

So to make sure you can get your fill, Staple & Fancy will open for a special Seattle Foodies Lunch Club on Wednesday, March 2. The menu details may not be decided until we’re eating (as one reviewer said, even your waiter won’t know what’s coming), but we do know that it will be fabulous. And manager and über wine genius Sennen David will assemble a pairing that I know will be perfect (I lost count of the times my dinners at Union went to eleven with his wine selections).

So please email me if you can join us!

Where: Staple & Fancy Mercantile
Address: 4739 Ballard Ave NW
When: Wednesday, Mar. 2nd, 11:30am
Cost: $35 (+ tax, tip, drinks), optional wine pairing TBA

UPDATE: Another record broken! We booked all 44 seats in just two days. But don’t despair, we’ve started a wait list. There’s always last minute churn (work/childcare emergencies, flus, etc.) so you’ve still got a good shot!

Mark Fuller, genius.

Is it really necessary to tell you about Spring Hill’s Mark Fuller? As if you didn’t know that, in 2009 alone, he nabbed Food & Wine’s Best New Chef, StarChefs’ Rising Star Chef, Bon Appétit’s Top 10 Best New Restaurants in America, Travel+Leisure’s 50 Best New U.S. restaurants, and semifinalist for James Beard Best Northwest Chef, among others. Or before that, he skyrocketed from line cook at Etta’s into the chef’s hat at Dahlia Lounge during his seven year tenure with Tom Douglas. Or maybe you haven’t been wowed summer after summer with Mark’s dazzling demos at summer camp. Or were unaware that Mark (alongside Tom Douglas and Eric Tanaka) took on six-time undefeated Iron Chef Morimoto’s crew, and whupped their butts with a salmon. Or didn’t see him featured in The Week, SFGate, Edible Seattle, Sunset Magazine (twice), NY Times Magazine, Seattle Magazine (four times), Bon Appétit, Travel+Leisure, Yahoo! Travel, Seattle Weekly (thrice), Seattle Metropolitan Magazine, Culture, Rachael Ray Magazine, Examiner, Time, Parade, The Stranger, Men’s Health, Food & Wine, and Behind The Burner. But, I don’t want to mislead you: that was just in 2010.

Luau, NW tropical feasting, Mark Fuller-style.

Being from Seattle, Mark’s focus is naturally on the foods of the Northwest, but not just in a super-fresh, local, and top-notch way. His brand of freshness extends to the ideas and inspirations that he playfully infuses into his dishes, which keep his train of awards growing from year to year. So I’m over-the-top excited because Mark (and partner Marjorie) will open Spring Hill this Thursday for a special Seattle Foodies Lunch Club. The theme will combine our collective winter obsession with tropical beach postcards, and Mark’s early culinary experiences working at Kauai’s A Pacific Café. I’m talking about luau, NW tropical feasting, Mark Fuller-style. Here’s what it looks like:

Pupu’s

crispy kalua duck

ahi poke

bulgogi beef, kim chee

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Lunch

‘roasted’ chicken

stir fried emmer, smoked hedgehogs

baby sweet potato, yolk, up land cress

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Dessert

roasted pineapple

li hing mui sorbet, haupia

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Chocolates

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Wine pairing TBA

Airport security screening not required.

Where: Spring Hill
Address: 4437 California Ave SW
When: Thursday, Feb. 3rd, 11:30am
Cost: $35 (+ tax, tip, drinks), optional wine pairing $20

Right now we’re fully booked, but in case there’s a last-minute cancellation, email me if you’d like to join us and I’ll let you know!

Crispy kalua duck, ahi poke, bulgogi beef with kim chee. What, you were expecting Spam?

Update:

As expected, Mark’s lunch was insane. How good? In the end, he emerged from the backroom to a standing ovation. Turns out 45 very happy foodies can make a lot of noise. Mark hung back and waved, smiling uncomfortably (he’s a tad shy). The applause continued, surging in waves, and stopping only when he disappeared into the walk-in fridge. Afterward, when I thanked him, he just looked at me and said, “THAT was embarrassing.”

I can think of a lot of adjectives to describe Mark’s food. But “embarrassing” is definitely not on the list. Click on any photo to start the slideshow, and see for yourself.