Ellen "New to Seattle" C.'s Profile

I'd been meaning to go to Altura since it opened, and I wasn't disappointed.

I waited until my grandmother and aunt came to town, since we've historically gone to New York to do Prix Fixe menus together.

We opted to go with the Chef's Tasting, which is similar to the five course tasting, but you don't pick at of your dishes (they do ask for any restrictions/allergies ahead of time). We left it entirely in their capable hands. I'd definitely recommend it if you're considering going with the five course meal with wine.

Before I get into the details of the meal, I want to also recommend the chef's bar. It was fantastic to watch how the cooking went- Nathan Lockwood was precise, but calm. There was very little extraneous talking between chefs (which surprised me) and it was neat to see which things were pre-chopped, and how the construction went. If you have 1-3 people, I'd recommend it. It'd get much more challenging with more. We ended up sitting there because no tables were left by the time I made the reservation, but I was glad that's what we did!

Anyway, back to the food...

I started out with the spring salad with speck- given the menu, I doubt I would have picked a salad, so I'm really happy they picked it for me. The dressing was perfect, and I loved the inclusion of asparagus. My aunt had the crudo, and I'm forgetting what my grandma had, but both were also delicious. I think my big takeaway there was that I really should consider going for some of the "simpler" foods at fancy restaurants. A perfect version of a classic is fantastic.

Second, I had the wild boar gnocchi. I was beyond thrilled- it wasn't on the menu, although boar fettucini and gnocchi were independently. I love both of those things though, and it really might have been my favorite dish of the night. My aunt had the risotto (which she liked, despite not usually being a risotto person) and my grandma had the squid ink tagliatelle.

Third, we all had the salmon. It was great salmon, but probably the least creative of the courses. Not too much to say there.

Fourth, I had the rabbit. As anyone who knows me in real life knows, I love rabbits (I've had a stuffed one since I was born). As much as it was emotionally challenging - I'll eat lamb or veal with far fewer qualms - it was worth it. The rabbit was prepared three different ways. My grandma had the duck. Blanking on what my aunt had (I need to write these sooner!)

We finished off with the cheese plate. There were three cheeses, and I actually liked all of them. My favorite was the one on the far left, then the second, then the third (the mildest of the three).

The wine pairings were also really great. A nice variety, and there wasn't a pairing I didn't like all night :)

Not sure how I haven't reviewed Canon. I've voted for them in EVERY internet voting thing I could find since they opened (including best bathroom).

I love this bar. When they first opened they had a cocktail called the "self starter" that had apricot absinthe. If I still remember a cocktail name (and not just ingredients) half a year later, it means it was awesome.

Right now they have the angostura collins, which might just be my favorite bar-creation ever. If you're reading this and it's after 5pm, close your computer and go order one. Now. WAIT - send me a message and tell me to go get one, too!

I wasn't sure what to expect coming in here- I stopped by because the wait at Coastal Kitchen was 45 minutes. I suppose I could have expected that on a Sunday at 11.20.

Anyway, so I swung by 22, and there wasn't any wait. My other friends had done that once before, and they said it was "fine, pretty good."  I was actually pleasantly surprised. Fine, pretty good made me expect a pretty typical menu.

To the contrary, there were at least three things I wanted to order. I went with the corned beef hash, which had a good balance of beef, potato, onion, and horse radish creme fraiche, along with an egg. I think I might ask for it with two eggs and less hash if I had it again. The horse radish creme fraiche was definitely a highlight.

My friend had another one of the dishes I was considering- a bacon based sandwich on focaccia. I wouldn't have thought to use focaccia on a breakfast sandwich, but I thought it came out pretty well.

I'll probably be back to try something else, or a cocktail, or if Coastal Kitchen is too crowded.

I'd been wanting to go here for a long time. The first time my friends went, I was really sick (about a year ago) and I was incredibly disappointed I couldn't go. Then my boyfriend took a random Tuesday off of work and went with out me.

I clearly had to remedy the situation. I was coordinating a group dinner about philanthropy in Seattle, so a local restaurant seemed appropriate!

I had a reservation for 5 of us, at 6:30. 2 of us didn't manage to arrive until 7pm, and they were incredibly cordial about it. The food all came out quickly, and everything was great.

Personally, I had the deviled eggs, and I got three cute little eggs (I was only expecting two, so hooray!) They had great flavor- nice balance of egg and mustard.

I also had the mussels. I was expecting them to be small, since they were a small plate (hence the eggs). They were actually huge. I couldn't finish.. I had to let them take three away.  They came with butter and half a baguette, too.

Everyone else's food looked great, too, although I was so focused on mine that I didn't pay attention.

I think the only complaint we had was that the waitress up sold one of my companions on baguette to accompany his rabbit ragout. We would've expected that to be $1-2, but it was $4, for only about twice as much as came with the mussels anyway. Anyway, that's a minor complaint on the whole, but watch out for it if you go.

And seriously, do go. You won't be disappointed.

I have no idea how I haven't reviewed Fuel yet. I've been incredibly incredibly lax!

I go to Fuel (almost) every morning before hopping on the Microsoft connector that stops outside it. Yes, this means I get up 10 minutes early every single day to visit Fuel.

Oh the ways I love Fuel:
- They have the best soy lattes. Seriously.
- The Americanos are also great.
- I had a Mocha once. Also delicious.
- They have that fantastic book that explains all of the coffee in Seattle/Portland (and a copy you can read while there!)
- You can get a High Five Pie
- Mika always always always seems to remember EVERYONE's drink. And recognizes everyone.

They're just all around friendly and awesome. I get sad on days I don't get to go.

Oh, and this is also the coffee place I recommend to all of my out-of-town guests, even if it's not as conveniently located as some of the others.

I finally got to go to the library bistro when a friend came to visit for brunch. I was a little wary because the overall Yelp score was high, but there were some really scathing reviews.

I'll toss my hat into the mix-

Atmosphere-wise: I thought it was a pretty cool brunch place. I loved the booths, the crayons so I could draw on the table, the books, and the really cute tableware for jam/butter/ketchup. The atmosphere was really good.

The service was pretty awesome too - my water and coffee were never empty, and the food was prompt.

And, of course, the most important part was the food. I thought it was tasty- substituting fruit for the potatoes was definitely worth it, a good variety and high quality. The toast was good (and I'm fussy about my toast). I was sad they didn't have rye bread, but whole wheat is good too. My eggs were awesome- not too overdone, with all of the things in them were chopped finely (which I appreciate).

Like others have said it was a little expensive (~40ish for breakfast for two, with coffee, no drinks), but not unreasonable once in awhile.

I have no idea how I haven't written this review yet. I moved back to Capitol Hill in August, and within a couple weeks multiple bartenders recognized me (they either have good memories, or I drink too much- your choice).

I love going here because it's always pretty calm and low-key. It's not too loud to talk, and even if it gets crowded inside, the tables outside are cute. I like going right after work to sit at the bar and have conversations about all of their homemade bitters and syrups. I'm a big fan of the rhubarb bitters.

Plus the drinks are awesome. I always go intending to have "just one drink" and then am still there a couple hours later because the bartender had so many great suggestions of things I might like.

So, is pretty obvious from my other reviews, I'm clearly not vegan.  These are not vegan stars, they're just straight up stars for it being a place with tasty food.

We showed up without a reservation around 6.30, to no wait. We tried the mac n yease, which I was skeptical about, but shouldn't have been. For dinner I had the raw tacos (mostly out of curiosity). I wouldn't say they tasted like tacos, but they were good and had a lot of parsley, which I love.

My other (also carnivorous) friends had the really big burger and the olive pesto tofu. The pesto on the tofu was awesome. The burger was good- the only issue was that she asked for no mustard and they still put it on.

Anyway, I'll be back- there were a lot of dishes I hadn't seen anywhere else, which goes a long way in my book. Plus if you take your vegan friends, they can eat everything!

This was literally the best meal of my life (surpassing my previous best at Daniel in NYC). And yes, I literally flew to Chicago to eat here on the recommendation from my parents.

I think the highlight for me was how interesting the food was. I was very anxious for each course to continue to come out so I could see what it would be. I was also a huge fan of the bite-sized nature of many of the courses- most degustations leave me feeling completely stuffed and struggling to try things. Alinea left me feeling pleasantly full, even though I got to try everything.

As far as specific dishes go- I loved the black truffle explosion. I also thought the course with several different types of seafood on drift wood was well done, and I definitely couldn't get over harvesting my own table centerpiece garden during dinner. I'll leave it at that.

I suppose the lowest point for me was one of the traditional lamb dishes- I just wasn't in love with it. It wasn't bad, I'm just not a huge lamb person.

Seriously, if you're in Chicago, go here. If you aren't in Chicago, consider going to go Chicago so you can go here. And yes, it's expensive. But you knew that already.

Okay, so I love cupcakes. I might just review things with cupcakes and rate them all five stars. Oops. But really, how can you go wrong with cupcakes?

Flavors I've had:
- Peanut butter and jelly
- Red Velvet
- Mint Chocolate Chip
- Something involving coconut and fruit

Okay, so I've had way too many cupcakes from here, and they were all pretty delicious. I think my favorite of all of them has been the Mint Chocolate Chip. It tastes EXACTLY like Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream, which is pretty fantastic in cupcake form.

Be warned, they are pretty sugary and sweet. I definitely gave myself a sugar headache once (okay, so I ate a bag of butterscotch chips and two cupcakes... I wouldn't ever recommend doing that again).