Let's start with the ugly: I just found out that one of my favorite restaurants, Tamarind Tree, had been shut down on November 14 for recieving 123 points on their routine health department inspection. That is unfathomable to me - it just goes beyond all common sense with regard to handling food! I don't think I've ever worked anywhere that recieved more than 10 points, I don't even want to imagine what a kitchen looks like that gets that many points. Some of their worst offenses were :
- -Garbage, refuse not properly disposed; facilities not maintained
- -Insects, rodents, animals present; entrance uncontrolled
- -Hands not washed as required
- -Food contact surfaces not maintained, clean, sanitized
- -Improper sewage, waste water disposal
- -Raw meats, poultry, aquatic foods not stored away from ready-to-eat foods
The list goes on and on at : http://www.decadeonline.com/insp.phtml?agency=skc&forceresults=1&record_id=PR0004257
I can't eat there anymore - its so disappointing that they couldn't put the same effort into the kitchen as they did the dining room - and it really shows that they don't care about the well being of their customers - I will really miss the Tamarind Tree Rolls...
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the bad: Every now and again, Justin and I go to the Hi-Life in Ballard for breakfast on Mondays. (I have to say that I don't really like any of the Chow Foods restaurants - they are known for decent breakfasts, so that's about all I'll do.) They have some of the worst breakfast service I've seen in a while. The most offensive to me is that they mess with my morning coffee! Every time we go there, as soon as we sit down the server takes our coffee order (good), and then we wait, and wait, and wait, and every time, our coffee doesn't arrive until our food does (bad). This is how the order of service went yesterday:
- sit down, server takes coffee order
- busser brings water
- server takes food order
- server brings juice
- server brings food/coffee
- server brings check 3 minutes after we recieve our breakfast! (very bad!!!)
- server trys to refill our cappucinos (which were only about 1/3 drunk) with drip coffee (bad - let us finish the espresso we waited so long for, before you come in with the drip!)
- server trys to take check while we are still eating! (very bad - obviously we hadn't even looked at it yet - I put it on the shelf next to us, until we had finished eating)
I hate bad service - especially at breakfast.
Another bad for the Hi-Life is the Women's Restroom. It is physically impossible to get into the stalls! The doors open into the stall, but then are stopped at the edge of the toilet. One has to actually shimmy over the tp holder, and then try to swing a leg over the toilet, and then hopefully squeeze the door shut. I'm not even gonna go into getting out. The only usable stall is the handicapped access. a) who designed this disaster, and b) who decided that it wasn't a problem?
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the good: Maneki, Maneki, Maneki! I love Maneki! Maneki, located in the I.D. is my absolute, most favorite sushi restaurant, and it has been for years... Justin and I went there again on Sunday night (we always go out to eat after the farmer's market - unless it was a real bad day). Once again, everything was beyond excellent. Their chef has the most beautiful way of cutting fish - the pieces are long (bordering on 5 inches), tapered at each end, and fat in the middle - I don't know how they do it! And, they have the most buttery, fresh tuna around. This week we had:
- Tako Sunomono - perfectly vinegary
- Miso soup
- Octopus Donuts - deep fried "donut hole" with octopus in the center - covered with crawling bonito flakes!
- Salmon skin rolls with burdock root - crunchy and good!
- Spider Rolls - a standard
- Sushi: Abacore (like buttah!), Tuna (maguro - extra silky this time), Yellow tail (I'm not super crazy about yellowtail - it usually has the bloodline in it, but this time it was amazing), Monkfish liver (the foie gras of the ocean - if you have never tried it, you are missing out!), and Spot Prawn (the body comes raw on rice, and they deep fry the heads separately - the best of both worlds)
- Green Tea Ice Cream (also a standard)
- Kurosawa Sake (nice and dry), and a large Asahi
If Maneki doesn't brighten your day, nothing will!
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More good: I did one of my dinners for friends from the Mukilteo Farmer's Market on Saturday Night. (more pictures in My Dinners Photo Album) They brought their own selection of excellent wines, including : Champagne, Reisling, Amarone, Brunello di Montalcino, Chateauneuf de Pape, Muscat
Menu:
- Stuffed Calamari with Meyer Lemon, capers, chili, currants, breadcrumbs, tomato
- Winter Greens Salad with Celeriac (miner's lettuce, baby kales and chards, and greens from Stoney Plains, and watercress from PCC)
- Toasted Farro with Black Trumpet Mushrooms (foraged and found edibles)
- Duck Legs braised in Montepulciano with radicchio
- Almond Panna Cotta with Chestnut and Aged Balsamico sauce and Pomegranate
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Very Good: Ending the week with Grappa de Peperone that Justin brought back from Italy.
I made a birthday dinner for Leslie and family on December 21. They were a lot of fun and super sweet - they even gave me presents! One gift was a great bottle from Kestrel vineyards that they brought back from a recent trip to Yakima, which they also drank with their dinner. Also, Leslie made some fantastic Swedish Christmas cookies - lots of different kinds with flavors of date, almond, clove and cocoa. Their dinner menu was:
My New Favorite Way to Wrap Bottles!
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