It is with a bit of sadness that I write this post, as it is in regards to the last dinner my wife and I had in Seattle as residents. We are headed down to Austin, Texas – far from the wine hotbed of Washington – but nonetheless this venture will offer us, as well as the readers of Tavola Rosso, a chance to experience the food and wine available in another region of our great country.

Fellow Tavola Rosso editors Sean and Liz O’Connor joined me and Isabell for a evening at Joule – an excellent cafe in the Wallingford area of Seattle. The restaurant was started by a couple who met while cooking at Alain Ducasse’s Essex House in New York. The food style is unique: kind of an Asian-Southern American-French fusion. Such a concoction of styles can make a true identity difficult – meaning no one is really ever in the mood for some “Asian-Southern-French fusion” tonight. But make no mistake, this food is quality and you will not leave disappointed.

With such a wide range of foods – we had red snapper, short ribs, bison hanger steak, kalamata gnocchi, cornbread, and prawns – pairing a wine was nearly impossible. That said, we ended up having two very delicious wines that really did work with just about everything on the table. We started with a French wine from the Loire region, a 2007 Lieu-dit Les Poyeux Saumur Champigny. This red was beautifully structured, with fresh berry notes, yet had enough tannins to stand up the the meat dishes just fine. Wine #2 was a 2004 Mayu Malbec from Argentina. This wine was bigger and bolder, with deeper fruit. This too was outstanding and worked really well with the food.

Ok, so my recommendation: when you can’t decide what food your in the mood for, head over to Joule – they’ve got you and everybody else covered!