I've had mixed results with grass-fed beef. Sometimes I can't tell the difference, and sometimes it has a definite barnyard tang. We bought some beef (frozen) at the Ballard farmers market from Thundering Hooves last year. They make a point of feeding their cattle entirely in the pasture -- no grain at all. Apparently, some "grass-fed" beef is fed mostly grain and then "finished" on grass for the last part of its life. It was good, but it wasn't life-changing.
In my experience (and I know that I'm probably slaughtering a couple of sacred cows here ), once you've reached a certain level of quality -- that is to say, once you've purchased a premium piece of beef from a butcher who knows what they're doing -- how you prepare the meat makes a lot more difference in how it tastes than its provenance.
That said, I'll be happy to take the Beef-si Challenge with anyone who wants to throw down the bux for some top-quality steer.
Anita and I visited Cafe Lago earlier this week and had a great dinner. I had the caesar salad and fettucine amatriciana, Anita had the insalada misto and the lasagne. We split a lemon tart afterward.
I was impressed by the pasta textures. The fettucine was obviously handmade and had a nice, delicate tooth, and the sauce was spicy and yummy. The lasagne could have been served as a dessert -- it was that light, fluffy, and composed, if that word makes any sense in this context to anyone but myself.
The caesar salad was not a by-the-book rendition, but it was tasty. The misto was unremarkable. The lemon tart was actually tart, not sickly-sweet, which instantly won points with us.
The wines by the glass were good, and kudos to whoever wrote their wine menu -- I really felt like I knew something about how the wine was going to taste before I ordered it, and the reality generally matched the descriptions. This was especially welcome as I am shamefully ignorant about Italian wine beyond the most basic varietals. The by-the-bottle pricing is a little odd, though: $35 for a bottle that goes for $7/glass either means that you're getting a steal if you order by the glass, or practically no discount if you order by the bottle. Given the quality of the wines we ordered (and Washington alcohol prices in general), I suspect the latter. Can anyone confirm or deny?
Service was attentive and professional. The waiter won points after serving Anita a glass from a newly-opened bottle that had gone off. We called him over and explained that something didn't smell right; he took one whiff and said, "Yep. That's corked. Would you like this one or something else?" She had a fresh glass within seconds. Nothing heroic, mind you, but nice to see the proper response without a lot of histrionics.
Definitely a noisy, open space, but not uncomfortable. However, I can see how someone expecting a cozy leetle Italiano joint would be put off. This is not that restaurant!
Anyway, the price was reasonable: salads, entrees, dessert, four glasses of wine and a fat tip for our server came in just under $100 if memory serves. We'll return, I'm sure.
"Whatcha in the mood for?" I ask.
"Cheap Chinese or Indian," Anita says, "Something bad for me with lots of white rice."
"I vote for cheap Chinese," and I'm off to eGullet to find someplace close to home (we're five minutes from the ID, fertheluvvapete) to slake the craving.
Thank you, all. We're now converts at the den of love known variously as Lo Sichuan, Sichuanese Chinese Restaurant, and That Szechuan Place on Jackson at 12th in the Strip Mall Across the Street from Bahn Mi 88.
Anita has the tea and her eybrows go up. "Hey, this is good." She's right -- there's actually a floral, nice-tea scent, instead of the classic Microwaved Lipton Flavor.
We start with hot and sour soup, plenty spicy with lotsa white pepper zing, and even better after I tap in a few drops of black vinegar from the jar on the table because I like it like that. The next dishes come in quick succession -- absolutely smoking -- out of the kitchen. The soup is hot (temperature) enough to peel paint, and not a plate lands on our table that isn't steaming. I snag a bit of plain rice, and it's worth eating all by its lonesome.
Next up is mongolian beef made sweeter than I like but still the real, garlicky deal with tons of dried, seared, chiles lying in ambush among slices of floppy (in a good way) beef. Mandarin spicy chicken (thanks, MsRamsey) is in the same league as the dry fried chicken at our fave joint in SF: sweet, spicy, and just a little crunchy. The same dried peppers abound -- oh happy day. Finally, the dry cooked beans appear, and they're perfectly cooked (soft, with just a hint of snap left) and a bit nutty.
35 bucks and we have enough left for lunch for two for Friday and Saturday.
Oh yeah. We'll be back.
We finally managed to break the ice at Voilá! last night. Anita and I met a friend for dinner at the new “bistrot” that’s replaced the much-unlamented Gitano on East Madison in Madison Valley (Seattle). We were forced to cut our dinner short, so consider this more of a preview than a review.
When they say bistrot, they mean it. The menu is loaded with little French restaurant faves: onion soup, pate de campagne, beef bourguingnon, hanger steak, coq au vin, and the like. The wine list is small and mostly Cali-Washington You can order house red or white by the glass or carafe. There is also a selection of unnamed wines available by the glass -- you order by the grape varietal.
Anita started with the onion soup and wished that it had more broth and cheese and less onion, but pronounced it tasty nonetheless. The pate de campagne that I ordered could have been more flavorful, but the texture was great. Our dining companion ordered a mixed green salad and said that it was overdressed but good otherwise.
My main was a hanger steak with a side of (what else?) frites. The steak was cooked medium-rare, as I requested, and the frites were prepared with a little garlic and parsley. Good meat, good sauce, good frites, and dijon on request (without having to explain twice) -- what else can you ask for? Anita’s beef bourguignon was tender and flavorful; in an interesting twist on this old favorite, we suspect that bacon or another smoked meat is involved in the preparation. Our friend ordered mushroom tagliatelle -- shiitake, I think, but I won’t swear to it. I will swear to the fact that I smelled it as soon as it got within five feet of the table, and my mouth started watering. A taste confirmed that it was good stuff.
We ordered whites and reds by the glass, and they were what we expected: workmanlike but not amazing. The total tab for three people (starters, mains, and 4-5 glasses of wine) was $100 pre-tip. You have to order sides separately, so that $12-13 main isn’t really such a screaming deal. However, there were enough frites that two people could share -- not pig out, but share. Service was great: warm, polite, attentive, and casual in the proper measures. Décor was quiet, uncomplicated and appropriate. We hope that this place does well, and we're looking forward to a return trip.