Pair, Alibi Room

The hits kept going during Celebration Week as Country Girl and I checked out nearby Pair for happy hour then ambled over to the Alibi Room in Pike's Place with hopes of dancing.

Pair is relatively nearby where we live (most everything is kinda far away out here in the country =D) and also close to a place where Country Girl lived previously though neither of us had been there before.  It strikes me as quintessential neighborhood restaurant in size, decor and layout.   It's relatively small with an entirely open layout.  The seating runs pretty cozy though didn't seem crowded.  The decoration is minimal but long on warm and inviting.  Sitting at the bar, we were at the mercy of the lone bartender working at the time.  She was decidedly not friendly, unfortunately, but was prompt enough in taking our order and making the food and drink show up. Even this wasn't without its hitches as she messed up Country Girl's drink order first time through.  We tried the brisket sliders, mac and cheese, herb and cheese gougères, a green salad and smoked salmon on toast.  Everything was tasty with both the mac and cheese and gougères really standing out.  Despite the chilly reception, we may well check out Pair again for their tasty bites.

Afterwards we made our way down to the Alibi Room to get our boogie on.  En route, we stopped so Country Girl could get a pic with the new Great Wheel. 

Albi Room was another first to us both.  After making our way down into the Market and walking through the doors, we learned it's a restaurant with a a club sorta thing in the basement.  When we arrived, there was a private party in the club for the next 30 odd minutes so we decided to wait it out in the bar area.  I don't recall much about the decor other than the decor, furniture and lighting were all quite dark.  Once the club opened, we headed down with high hopes.  These were quickly dashed as the club is quite the bleak affair.  It's a single, not terribly large concrete walled room with a combo bar/dj station taking up the far end of the room.  The music turned out to be similarly bleak.  DJ Mullet was on the ones and twos putting on a poor display of playing terrible tunes (top-40, perhaps?) coupled with very awkward, ill timed breaks between songs.  It's difficult to say how impressed the crowd was as it was relatively early in the evening and the weren't many people there.  One very redeeming quality Albi Room had was that playing on one of the large screens was some sort of Soul Train compilation.  Seeing the moves, the outfits and a young and especially dapper Don Cornelius was very impressive.  Sadly, this was about the only thing the place had going for it while we were there.  We put on a brave face for a while and had some smiles but it was a relatively short stay for us.  Unlikely the Alibi Room will see a repeat visit. 

Fumaca, Can Can, Montlake Ale House

Celebration week rolled on with Country Girl and myself hitting up a few spots in one night last week.  We started at Fumaca Brazilian Steakhouse for din din.  A brazillian steakhouse ("churrascarias") is basically a charcoal grilled meat buffet and is every bit as wonderful as it sounds.  Servers come around with a wide selection of perfectly grilled meats on metal spits and carve it off for you table side.  We tried prime rib, sirloin, lamb, bacon wrapped turkey, garlic steak and shrimp, among others.  Grilled pineapple, filet mignon and pork loin were also available.  Country Girl and I both heartily agree that it's unbelievable how incredibly seasoned and perfectly grilled every item arrives.  While some things tasted better than others, we're talking degrees of excellent.  In addition to the table side grilled goodies, a cold buffet including fresh sliced fruits, cold cuts and gourmet cheeses.  Veggies and pasta salads were also available. 

After pulling ourselves away from the grilled meat temple, we headed to the Can Can at Pike's Place Market for a burlesque show.  Neither of us had previously been to the Can Can though we had seen a burlesque show once prior while in Vancouver.  Can Can was decidedly cozy as they packed in quite a number of tables along with a stage in a fairly narrow but long space.  The dancers for the night's show were all  impressive with a belly dance act that we both found particularly noteworthy.

After the Can Can, we stopped by the Montlake Ale House while heading home for pint to cap the evening.  It was my first visit there while Country Girl had been there previously to eat.  I tried the Nectar Ales Humboldt Brown and Country Girl had the Stone Smoked Porter.  We both liked the brown and she enjoyed the porter as well.  I found it bitter while Country Girl loved the full flavor.   

Want to again say what a wonderful time we had at Fumaca.  Highly recommend that anyone who enjoys grilled meat to give a Brazilian steakhouse a go.  Every place we visited delivered the goods.  No surprise really, as Country Girl makes any place a destination.  Another wonderful evening of food and entertainment with my fav partner in crime. 

Capitol Club - Capitol Hill

To kick off celebration week, Country Girl was kind enough to surprise me with a trip to the Capitol Club on Capitol Hill (how fitting, no?).  She'd been several years ago, shortly after moving to Seattle, and enjoyed an evening of appetizers and flamenco dancing.  A fine way to kick off celebration week and a wonderful surprise indeed. 

It was my first time to the Capitol Club and I really enjoyed the experience.  The layout of the space was rather interesting.  It's two floors and we were ushered upstairs as soon as we got in, so I'm not sure what the first floor is used for.  There appeared to be tables set, so perhaps it overflow seating.  Upstairs was quite cozy.  There's a full bar on one side of room with a handful of small two person tables on the other.  On the table side, there's also bench seating along the wall.  I recall only minimal decorations with lots of lighting.  Above the bench seating several candle holders with small, lit candles covered the wall.  It was very cozy.  Additionally, they were playing some fantastic 70's era funk and soul cuts over their speakers at just the right volume.

Despite the online schedule showing as much, unfortunately there was no dancing that evening.  Our very warm and helpful waitress informed us later on that the guitarist is battling a hand or wrist injury and it's currently TBD whether he and his performance partner will return.  

A very pleasant surprise is that we arrived in time for happy hour.  It generously runs til 8 during the week and it turned out to be a fabulous coincidence.  We tried the calamari, mussels and a green salad, all of which were delicious.  The mussels were prepared in spicy broth and were absolutely excellent.  All these tasty bits were washed down with some equally delicious sangria.  To finish off the meal, we enjoyed their molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream which was an excellent show closer.

Country Girl delivered yet again on another fabulous surprise, spoiling City Boy much more than he deserves.   The evening was a smashing success and I highly recommend the Capitol Club.  

Lucky Girl

So this is our blog and I have yet to contribute to it, that makes me sad to admit.  I love the work that City Boy has put into it, so I hope I don't mess it up too much.  As I prepared to write my first blog on our page, I was trying to think of things of significance that others may enjoy reading about.  With that in mind, Thanksgiving had just passed by and the end of year was fast approaching us.  It has caused me to reflect about my life and the things that I am thankful for.  What makes me Country Girl?  What makes me happy?  What keeps me going every day?  The answer: City Boy!  He  is definitely at the top of my list.  With that being said, I would like to share a little bit about why I love City Boy.  From the moment we met he has been such a joy in my life.  He is kind, caring and thoughtful in every way.  He is a great friend and partner.  He has made my life so full of happiness and adventure.  
     I love spending time with him whether it is watching a movie at home or going on a trip out of town, I always have a great time.  One of the things I love doing most with him is cooking, we have a great time experimenting with new recipes and learning to cook.  That is one reason I enjoy our blog so much because we share our cooking adventures and we get to reflect on the places we have been to.  He is a great cook, even though he may disagree.  I enjoy everything he prepares for us.  City Boy also makes my lunches for work the night before so I don't have to stress in the morning, I love it!!  It is so thoughtful and nice to have some yummy food to enjoy when I am stressed at work AND I get to think about City Boy while I am eating my lunch.
     I feel I have grown so much since our relationship began, he has taught me so much about communication, love, respect and giving.  He amazes me most every day with all of his kind acts.  He makes me laugh and makes me feel beautiful.  He encourages me to be the best I can be in everything I do from work, to running or being a parent.  He always knows just what to say or how to help.  I love this man so much!  I am proud to call him my partner, best friend and my love.  He has my heart.  I can't wait for the new adventures, experiences, fun and excitement in our future together.

Mio Sushi, Cake Envy - Greenlake and Unicorn - Capital Hill

Country Girl and I visited two neighboring Greenlake eateries, Mio Sushi and Cake Envy this week.  We'd been to Cake Envy once previously and this was our first trip to Mio.  

Mio is a NW chain with a handful of restaurants in Washington and Oregon.  The Greenlake location is in a space formerly occupied by an Italian place we tried once and enjoyed.  Despite it's less than stellar reviews on Yelp, we decided to give Mio a go for happy hour last week.  Two rolls, a couple of appetizers and a big Sapporo later, we were both glad we did.  Very nice service and tasty food.  Only sad news was no nigori sakes on the happy hour menu.  Likely to make another trip there. 

Just next door is Cake Envy, a specialty cake and cupcake shop.  They also make wee, mini-sized cupcakes which are very nice.  We first came here as a result of an online coupon I bought.  In addition to wee cupcakes, they also serve sparkling wine.  They make an excellent pairing.  To sweeten the deal even more (so clever!), they have a daily happy hour where everything is half off and cupcakes are buy two get one free.

We went a show at Neumos later that evening and on the way stopped by Unicorn on Capital Hill for a beer.  It's very spacious with two levels and an interesting, rather ornate interior.  Lots of bright, stripped painting with circus themed knick knacks affixed throughout.  Loads of booth seating to go along with tables.  Beer selection is sorely lacking though the food menu looks, interesting (unicorn balls?  oh my).  They music played while we were there was good, albeit quite loud.  Big upside is the 6 or so pinball machines and handful of retro arcade games.   

Grilled Salmon with MediterraneanRub, Butternut Squash, Brussel Sprouts and Cous Cous

Simple rub of Dijion mustard, olive oil, garlic powder, oregano, basil, salt, and paper. Country Girl said it turned out splendidly!

Hudson Public House - Maple Leaf

A few days before the big summer holiday trip to visit Country Girl's family in Utah, we stopped by Hudson Public House in Maple Leaf.  We had noticed its opening some time before as well as the newish beer shop next door to it, The Last Drop Bottle Shop.  Given the esteemed company (Last Drop has turned out to be quite the gem), we thought it worth a stop by.   We've since made another visit there and had varying experiences.

Limited, off-street parking is available on the side of the building which is nice when available.  Hudson shares the lot with a Pagliacci's and the Last Drop so there aren't loads of spots to choose from.  It's located just south of the Lake City Way intersection so there's limited street parking in front.  We were lucky both times there parking wise as we got in the lot once and the other time we found a spot on the street just in front.

The interior has a clean, modern look to it.  Lots of wood paneling with medium dark tones.  It's fairly spacious, having both a good size bar seating area and booths and tables lining the outside.  Country Girl pointed out that the ladies room is very nice as well.  Their extensive craft beer list is impressive in length, if not variety.  In addition to the usual array of ambers and IPAs (boo), they have a couple of porters and stouts (yay!).   We also tried one of their burgers (taking advantage of the fried egg topping, natch) and it was very tasty.

Unfortunately, the bartender on our first trip left much to be desired.  Despite it not being terribly busy and our being sat at the bar, we were ignored for stretches at a time.  He appeared much too busy helping out his bffs sitting next to us.  The second go-round was much better service wise.  Again, business wasn't bustling and even though we sat at a table, we got prompt service.  The bartender even changed the TV to the Olympics upon our request.

All in all, I recommend Hudson with one reservation.  It's a very nice facility with a cozy, modern feel and their dedication to craft beers is commendable.  Sadly, they suffer from the typical Seattle malady of way too many IPAs,  pale ales and ambers to the exclusion of most other varieties.

The Duchess - Ravenna

Several weeks back, Country Girl was kind enough to take me to The Duchess in Ravenna.  It's a bar nearby where Country Girl used to live.  With such a fancy name, I was teeming with excitement about paying it a visit.  Country Girl advised me to temper my enthusiasm, assuring me it's decidedly not fancy and in fact quite divey.  Given this warning, I was now worried about a trashtacular experience.  Thankfully, she did a great job of lowering my expectations to the point where I was actually mildly impressed by it.

Despite it being in an area with few other shops and restaurants, street parking was very tight.  First impressions through the door were that it's bigger than it appears from the outside.  Large enough to accommodate a couple of pool tables easily.  It's also surprisingly well lit.  The decor appears to be college eclectic, which is to be expected given it's relative proximity to Washington's campus.  The patrons appeared to be largely college aged which, again, should be expected.  I found the kids' presence to be a positive in that it gave the place some vibrancy without being too overwhelming.  It was nice too given that with Country Girl's warnings, I found the crowd much less trashy than expected.  

After getting over the surprise of the place not being as awful as Country Girl made it out to be, some of the not so appealing aspects became apparent.  The beer selection is decidedly not great.  I think out of the eight or so handles, there was maybe one decent beer.  There's a smoking deck in back of the building which is fine enough except the door remains open so the stench of cigarette smoke wafts throughout inside whenever someone is smoking.  Another interesting thing was the heavy rotation of country music on the juke box.  Perhaps country music is part of The Duchess' thing as it definitely stood out relative other places we've been to in the city.

All told, The Duchess wasn't terrible despite Country Girl's warnings.  It's also not spectacular.  I'm very happy that she took me to one of her old stomping grounds and if for nothing other than sentimental purposes, we may visit again in the future.

Casa Patron - Roosevelt

Country Girl and I recently paid a visit to Casa Patron in Roosevelt.  We wanted to try someplace new and Mexican sounded about right that evening, so off we went.  While Casa Patron does provide a quite beautiful dining environment, that's about the only thing it delivered on the night we were there. 

I'll start with the good, as it's unfortunately brief.  There's abundant, free street parking nearby which is my favorite way to start any meal.  I mentioned the beautiful environment and that's really where Casa Patron shines.  There's a terrace level about half as big as the main floor resulting in soaring ceilings when looking up from the main level.  Additionally, there's a striking floor to ceiling mural that dominates one of the walls.  It appears to be a Aztec themed mural but not entirely sure about that.  While a slick city boy I am, my knowledge of Mexican culture leaves much to be desired.  The light fixtures in the space are also quite nice as are the chairs.  The bar area is opposite the wall mural and has it's own dominating feature: an enormous, well lit glass cabinet showcasing their extensive tequila selection.  Finally, there's also a fireplace on the main floor.

After taking in the great decor and sit down at the table, the wheels come off the wagon rather quickly.  It's obvious a lot of time and care was taken in designing and decorating the place.  It's similarly obvious that not as much care was taken in creating the menu.  There are numerous misspellings littered throughout ("shrimp" missing the "p", tomato with an "e", "white" spelled "wuite").  There's also several instances where spaces between words are strangely omitted leading to some interesting word combinations.  Adding to the menu adventure is a small table top menu with a "Bar Menu" heading which lists some fantastic prices for several mixed drinks, beer and tequila.  There's a statement at the bottom of the menu listing the hours for happy hour.  When I asked about a drink off the bar menu, I was told that the prices are only valid during happy hour.  Putting "Happy Hour Menu" at the top would lead to much less confusion. 

Unfortunately, the lack of attention regarding the menus extends to the food as well.  Again, the good first.    The chips were tasty and crisp with the right level of saltiness.  They were served with pico and salsa, which Country Girl and I found a nice touch, both of which were very tasty.  That's the extent of the good regarding the food.  Country Girl ordered the chile relleno and I had the the crab enchilada, on the recommendation of our server.  Both dishes were decidedly average taste wise.  The enchilada sauce wasn't spicy at all and mushrooms were included in the dish (City Boy is not a fan of mushrooms) despite not listing as much in the menu.  The chile relleno description said it comes with plantains.  When the dish arrived, it came with one slice of plantain which was much more of a garnish than any sort of compliment to the dish.

The service was unremarkable except in one bad way.  After our dishes arrived, a buser more or less hovered around our table the entire time asking several times if she could take our plates away.  Perhaps there was a shortage of dining plates that evening and they needed a quick turnaround.  Whatever the reason, it led to an annoying if not unsettling experience.

While it is beautifully decorated, there's little more about Casa Patron to recommend.  Unlikely that Country Girl and I will pay them another visit in the future.

Seattle International Beer Festival

Last weekend, Country Girl and I went to Seattle International Beer Festival at Seattle Center.  They advertised having more than 250 beers from 15 countries.  Summer has finally arrived and the weather was very nice (though a bit hot and sunny for City Boy's tastes) so the event was predictably very crowded.  It was in a different area in Seattle Center this year and I'm pretty sure it was more spacious which helped deal with the crowd.

Country Girl and I tried 16-18 samples with our 20 tickets.  There were definitely some highlights and our "official scores" are listed below.  One beer that really stood out was the Wingman P-51 Coconut Porter.  Both Country Girl and I really enjoy dark beers.  I'm less of a fan of porters generally because they often contain lots of coffee tones.  This one was deliciously light on coffee and though I'm not a huge coconut flavor fan, Wingman got the taste totally spot on.  Very flavorful and crisp without being too sweet or overbearing with the coconut flavor.  Other beers we tried (top possible score being 5), 

• Stone IRS Belgo Anise 2011 (Imperial Stout) - 2
• Mad Viking Vintage Cognac IRS (Imperial Stout) - 2.5
• Stiegl Austrian Pils - 2.5
• Lost Abbey Serpent Stout - 4
• Two Beers Crooked Belgian Wit - 4
• Ayinger Brau Weisse - 2
• Sam Adams Imperial White - 1 
• Lazy Boy Belgian Dubbel - 3
• Bavik Pils - 3
• Big  Eddy's Wee Heavy (Scotch Ale) - 3
• Mad Belgian (Belgian Pale) - 3
• Steelhead Scotch Porter - 4
• Primator Dark Lager - 4
• Saku Rock Porter - 3
• Zhiguli Grande 12% (Dopplebock) - 3.5

There were a couple of things at this year's festival that detracted from the good times, however.  One thing was that there was at least one cigar vendor which I don't recall from prior festivals.  Unfortunately, cigar smoking wasn't confined to the area where the cigars were available.  As a result, there was noxious, choking cigar smoke violating our noses several times while we at the festival.  

The other downer was the abundance of dogs at the event.  Compounding problems was that many of them were off leash.  Given the size of the crowd, it's not a practical place for dogs.  It's a lot of work just navigating the people, the addition of stumbling over dogs as well left a lot to be desired. 

These grumbles aside, it was a really fun event.  The weather was much better than expected and we got to sample some great beers.  I think we both look forward to attending next year.

Mini-Meatloaf Carne Asada Style

One of the recipes I really like from a book Country Girl gave me is for mini-meatloaf.  I tried to put a personal spin on it and make something similar but "carne asada" style.  I started with a ground turkey and ground beef mixture.  To that, I added chopped cilantro, lime juice, garlic, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, smoked chipotle tabasco and chopped red and white onion.

Put them in the oven (on a cookie sheet as they tend to overflow) at 350 for about 35 minutes and presto!

Taste wise, I'd rate them a "fair".  There was plenty of heat thanks to the tabasco and cayenne pepper.  I thought the "carne asda" taste was lacking though.  I'd definitely use more cilantro and lime juice next time.  I also thought they were a bit dry and would cut down the cooking time next time as well.  Country Girl said she thought they were great.  She's a kind critic though =)

Thai Chicken Thighs

Country Girl hooked it up in a big way making some delicious Thai chicken thighs.  The marinade was a bit laborious (according to her, no help from City Boy this time) and consisted of basil, cilantro, brown sugar, fish sauce, a copious amount of garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil and red curry paste.

After marinading most of the day, I popped them on the grill for about 11 minutes.  They were topped with peanuts and cilantro with the finish product turned out stellar.  Another hit from the kitchen of Country Girl.

Atlantic Crossing - Roosevelt

After a delicious dinner at India Bistro in Roosevelt,Country Girl and I headed across the street to check out Atlantic Crossing.  Before I get to the Atlantic Crossing experience, I want to mention that it was actually our second stop after leaving India Bistro.

We first went to Teddy's Tavern and it was a short stay.  Poor selection of beers and an interesting in a bad way crowd made it easy to promptly leave.  They did advertise having both the MLB and NHL packages so may be worth stopping by for a game, though I didn't notice how many tvs they have.

As for Atlantic Crossing, it appears at first blush to be a run of the mill Irish bar with Guinness and Baileys adverts everywhere.  I then noticed several soccer jerseys hanging on the walls, most of which appeared to be English club teams.  I mentioned to Country Girl how improbable I thought it would be for an Irish bar to represent so hard for the hated British and we concluded it must be a rarely seen British bar.

Another thing that immediately stood out was how busy the place was.  Though it was a Tuesday night, it was the night before the 4th of July and people were out in droves taking advantage of having the next day off.  The person in charge of scheduling appears not to have taken this into account, however, as there was only one server/bartender and one cook.  Accordingly, the wait time was pretty significant to get service.

The beer selection was good enough and about what you'd expect from an Irish (British?) bar.  They did have an imperial stout on tap which we both found noteworthy but given the staff situation, we didn't ask for a taste.  As they have Bass on tap (strangely, a rarity it currently seems), we both had a Black and Tan.

The atmosphere was pleasant enough.  They have a pool table and a couple of dart boards as well as a patio.  The crowd was largely nondescript which was a good thing after the Teddy's experience.

India Bistro - Roosevelt

Country Girl and I ate at the lovely India Bistro in Roosevelt for the second time last week.  Much like the first visit, it exceeded expectations.  They have free, off-street parking which is a great way to start any meal.  The service is friendly and attentive without being overbearing.  They quickly took our order and our water glasses were never lower than half empty before getting refilled.

We ordered garlic naan, chicken tikka masala and lamb korma (both 3 1/2 stars spiciness).  The nann came out very warm and had a light, buttery taste to it.  The tikka masla was full of flavor and just about right, spiciness wise.  The lamb korma was similarly flavorful and had a nice, not too heavy creaminess to it.  The spice level was again spot on.  The meat in both dishes was incredibly tender.  Also, the two entrees were served piping hot on individual warming dishes and maintained a great temperature the entire time.

An all around fantastic dining experience and we both look forward to our next visit.  Highly recommend you check it out.