Eden Hill

The space that Eden Hill occupies, as seen many restaurant come and go.  As this is my neighborhood, I am sad to see a restaurant close down.  I do have to admit as sad as I am see to see a restaurant to close down, there is a bit of excitement to see what might open next. Hoping this might be the one that will make it.  After my recent visit, I think Eden Hill might just be here to stay.

The space is small, just a handful of tables and a bar.  The menu too is small, but boasts some pretty amazing selections.  The plates are meant to be shared, and feasibly could order every item on the menu especially if you have a group of four or more.  We opted for four plates, and this was a good amount for two people.  We felt satisfied, but not so full you could not move.  Each dish we had was executed perfectly. When you order small plates like this there seems to be one that you thought was done very well, and is the memorable dish of the night.  All of these dishes were delicious and memorable. 

The menu changes daily based on locally sourced ingredients.  The menu is a bit on the cutting edge.  You don’t see a lot of menus in Seattle with “sweetbreads” and “crispy pig head”.  You will also find “normal” dishes on the menu as well.

This night we opted for a little normal.  I have never had sweetbreads before.  Since this was my first visited, I thought safe was the best route.

Duo Oysters – 1 oyster was topped with beet kvass bubbles and the other oyster was smoked and was served with compressed cucumber noodles.  I preferred the smoked oyster.  The smokiness lingered in your mouth.  It was so good.

Cauliflower “Chilaquiles” – who new cauliflower could taste soo good.  If this is on the menu. I highly recommend you order.  Such delicious flavors

Lummi Island Salmon – the salmon was layered with a salsa verde gelee, caper, red onions, and crème fraiche, and white asparagus.  It sounds like a lot, but the flavors were all balanced, and did not overpower the freshness of the fish. The salmon is captured via reefnet fishing.  Wild Pacific salmon

reefnet fishing is a historical method of fishing, and still done today by the fisherman of the island. San Juan Islands are the only place in the world that performs this method of fishing. Because of the handling during the fishing process it produces the highest quality fish.

Smoked Pork Belly – Like the oysters the pork belly had the wonderful smoked flavor.  It tasted like a really good smoked ham, tender and flavorful.

Eden Hill also offers a 5 course blind tasting menu.  It is described as dishes that the chef came up with that day with the ingredients he has.  The table next to us ordered this, and it looked delicious.  The plates were nothing that was on the menu.  So needless to say I will be back, and doing the tasting menu.

 

Bar Ferd'nand (Upper and Lower)

Bar Ferd’nand has expanded. To those of you that might not be familiar with Bar Ferd’nand, it is a little wine shop in the Melrose market.  It offers a great selection of old world wines and some new world wines as well.  Bar Ferd’nand is owned by Marc Papineau and Matt Dillon (Sitka and Spruce, Corson Building, Bar Sajour, and London Plane). If you have not eaten at any Matt Dillon restaurant, you need to go NOW!  I had the pleasure of first meeting Marc in 2008 at the Corson Building when I attended dinner there. The food alone at the Corson Building is amazing, but Marc just takes it over the top with his wine parings.  His choices for that night were not from vineyards I had ever heard of (mostly old world), but enjoyed every single one I had…even the white ones. (I prefer reds)  What I also remember about that evening, Marc seem to have a story about the vineyard or the winemaker.  Which I actually enjoyed.  To me it seemed how passionate he is about the wine and that passion resonates in the wines he pours.

Bar Ferd’nand (now referred to Lower Bar Ferd’nand) opened in 2010 in the Melrose Market. It allowed us ordinary people into the mind and wine of Marc.  To see and experience wines you normally do not have access to or even knew to look for.  On a recent visit to LBF we purchased a Rioja wine that had just recently been their wine society that month.  The wine was called Monte Real. I am not good with my wine descriptors.  I can just say it was delicious, and you should try it if you can.

In December 2015, Upper Bar Ferd’nand (UPF) opened in Chophouse Row on Capitol Hill.  UPF offers the same variety of wines.  The wine selection did not seem to be as big as LBF’s selection. However, UPF has a small kitchen that provides shareable plates. UPF has a cozy, intimate, kind of personal feel to it.  You can just sit at the bar enjoy a conversation over a lovely glass of wine, while you sit and view into the open concept kitchen watching your food being prepared.  Just like you went over to your friend’s house.  UPF offers house made cured meats, seafood and meat dishes, and grilled clay pot dishes. They are planning to do flatbreads/pizza in the future.  The night we visited Marc was behind the bar and Matt in the kitchen.  The Dynamic Duo!!!

We had “BeastMode” and Spot Prawns & Shishito Peppers with green sauce.  Now BeastMode is not Marshawn Lynch served on a platter.  It is several of chef’s choices (some on the menu and some not) that he puts together for you.  Kind of like a little tasting plate of delightful items, and a great way to sample a few of the items on the menu.  There was some cured meats, chorizo, pickled veggies, sheep’s milk cheese from Whidbey Island and quince jam (this was so decadent tasting), and cured pork neck and buffalo mozzarella.   The spot prawns were good as well.  There was a bit of a spice, but not where it overpowered the prawns.  The green sauce provided that bit refreshing coolness from the spice. 

UPF offers about 5 or so wines for the classes for red and white.  The glass price range from $10 -$20.  We opted for a bottle of wine from the Loire Valley which complemented our food nicely.

If you are new to wine or wine lover like me, I highly you recommend visit one of the Bar Ferd’nand.  You are in for a wine treat and will not be disappointed.

 

 

Curbside Food Truck

I have driven by the Curbside food truck many many times on my way home. They advertise Pho and Banh Mi sandwiches I would see a few people lingering in front of the truck, but never knew anyone that had visited the truck.  I am not an anti food truck person.  However, I have been a little slow in adopting and enjoying Pho. So it just one of these places I had not not jumped up to visit.

So this week I had a cold, and just wanted some hot soup.  As I was scrolling through FB in between sneezes, there was a post of the Top 10 Pho places in Seattle.   As I reviewed the list, I see Curbside Food Truck. Hey this is the place down the street.  I did a little more research, and social media comments could not say enough good things about this food truck.   Forget the cold medicine, I am going to get Pho.

I showed up around 12:30, there were 3 people in line and probably about 5 or 6 people waiting. This is a good sign.  They have quite a selection of Pho, Banh Mi sandwiches, rice and meat combos and noodles.  In addition, to their array of selections their prices are really good.  Pho is $7 sandwiches are $4.  I got the brisket Pho and my husband got the vegetarian spring rolls ($4).  It probably took about 10 minutes to get our order.

By the time I got home the soup broth was piping hot, and all the ingredients packaged separately. The soup had a great flavor, the meat was tender, and just what stuffed up nose needed.  The spring rolls were much bigger than we had expected.  They were made with fresh veggies and tofu.  I cannot say much for the sauce the rolls came with.  I think they would have been better with a chili sauce or peanut sauce.  Something to ask for next time.

So if you are in the area it definitely a place to check out.  I know I will be going back!

Cederberg Tea House

I visited South Africa in 2007.  During my visit I fall in love with the country, the people, and the food, and Rooibos tea.   Rooibos is a staple among South Africans, and had it with almost every meal I had.  I could not get enough of it while I was there.  When I returned home, I thought I would for sure find the tea in a store in the states.  I did find a version of Rooibos it just did not taste the same.  So for years I was always on the lookout.

Last summer, Cederberg Tea House opened on top of Queen Anne Hill.  Unfortunately, it took me a year to finally get to Cederburg. ( I did try a couple of times, but they were always closed :()  I'm sad I am late to the party.  For a year I have missing out on Rooibos and Rooibos latte's (Red lattes).  Red lattes are like regular latte's, they just take Roobios tea and finely grind it into the coffee.  Red Latte's are my new favorite thing in the world.  They also have a few grocery items that they have exported from South Africa.  They have the Lipton tea of Rooibos from South Africa.  I am now in my happy place.  I can't really explain what both of these taste like.  You just need to to QA, and try one today!

Cederberg also has South African dishes (bunny chow, savory pies and pastries), and sweet treats.  They also have all the makings for a nice little tea party that you schedule for you and your friends.

When we visted, we just had some treats as we had already eaten lunch.  We had the Mulva Pudding. it is a little loaf of spongy goodness that has been soaked in some other tasty goodness.  Surprisingly enough it not overly sweet, it just has a nice apricot taste to it.  We also had a apricot tart.

If you are on top of Queen Anne, get yourself a taste of South Africa.  You will not be disappointed.  The staff is very friendly and will answer all your questions about their menu.