I've never been invited to be a tasting judge, but I've got no small experience with beer: tasting tours in several countries, plenty of trips to microbreweries during a 10-year stint in the SF Bay area, and hands-on brewing experience. The breadth of beer styles and varieties available in the bottle and on tap in the Pacific NW, especially in Seattle and Portland, is simply breathtaking. Beer is appreciated like wine here, and that is one of the most pleasant discoveries that I've made since moving here.
It's true that brewers on the US west coast and the Pac NW tend to brew heavier, sweeter, hoppier beers. If you're a fan of pilsner to the exception of all else, you will have to search a bit for something local that will please your palate. I recommend starting with some of the local "blonde" beers -- Hales Drawbridge Blonde is my current favorite. I think that Red Hook makes one also. Hales also makes an absolutely spectacular cream ale that may be to your liking -- worth seeking out on tap.
I'm a bit confused, though, as you profess to dislike hops and prefer malt flavors, as pilsners are typically characterized by a strong hop taste and little if any sweetness. Pilsner Urquell is a widely-available brand that's a good example of the standard.
You may enjoy the selection of German beer on tap at Prost (7311 Greenwood Ave.) in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood. Lots of sweet, unhoppy suds.
Anita and I and a couple of friends tried to "Lark" on Sunday night. I called on Saturday to try and get a table, but they only take reservations for parties of six or more. We arrived at ~8p at the suggestion of the phone host, hoping to avoid the bulk of the rush...only to be told that we'd have a 45 minute wait. We passed.
eGulleters so far have seemed okay with the wait, but I gotta say that I was pretty peeved. It's one thing to maintain a majority of your tables for walk-ins, but expecting that a significant percentage of your customers are going wait 30-45 minutes for a table seems to me the height of hubris -- or at least not very hospitable.
Maybe I'd feel differently if I hadn't been able to call Zoe and have a table for four waiting for us minutes after we left Lark. I also expect that things will get easier once the novelty fades. At the very least, knowing what to expect will help.
Anyway, three cheers for new, good, Seattle food and bully for Lark for having the hot hand. But, c'mon guys -- would it kill ya to have a little book by the phone?
Having recently purchased a house in Madison Valley (moving Friday, aieee!), we've just started seriously exploring Madrona food in the last couple of weeks. Here's what we've got so far:
St. Cloud's
Dinner once and brunch once. Dinner with friends varied from not-so-good to yummy. The atmosphere was great: very cozy, although a bit *too* warm -- we were seated in one of the booths next to a window and were happy to open the window a crack to get some air.
Dinner was a mixed bag. The salads were competent but unremarkable. Appetizers of hot wings (tasty and spicy, although the rub tasted like Shake 'N' Bake) and calamari (breading a bit underdone/gluey) were good. My main was a "Saffron-Fennel Seafood Stew": boulliabase in all but name and good. Anita had BBQ ribs w/greens and cornbread. The ribs were good. The cornbread had been made (or more likely finished on the griddle) with what had to be rancid oil. The greens were very sour and uncomfortably spicy -- and we're both registered Friends of the Capsicum. Our dining companions ordered the Parmigiano-crusted pork tenderloin which was crazy good and worth returning for. Dessert was ice cream in various flavors -- very good.
Brunch is definitely worth coming back for. I had house-made corned-beef hash, which was pulled in long strips and cooked with red and yellow peppers and thin wedges of potato. Mmmm! Maybe a bit too "pickly", (tasting of vinegar and pickling spices), but that's a picky, personal opinion. Anita won that morning with soopa-yummy chicken fried steak with bacon gravy. It tasted every bit as good as it sounds, with crunchy, well-seasoned batter, delicious gravy, and even good-tasting meat. Coffee (latte) was good and plentiful.
***Madrona Eatery & Ale House***
Somebody needs to take the Tabasco bottle away from the chef. Nearly everything that we ate there at dinner had that unmistakeable vinegar/red chile zing, including Anita's spaghetti bolognese (complete with nearly a pound of meat in a single serving), AND the bleu cheese dressing on her salad. My french onion soup was passable, although I could have used less thyme. Service was friendly and low-key. BE WARNED -- the Eatery is aggressively kid-friendly. If you go for dinner during prime time (6-8), you run a fair risk of eating dinner in the midst of a full complement of screaming, running rugrats. Total Romper Room.