Tavola Rosso » Food

Steak and Malbec

Sean O'Connor — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:07:33 +0000

Is there a better wine to put on the table next to grilled steak? Not for my money. Argentina is known for it’s thriving beef industry and its residents clearly enjoy a plentiful source of calories by consuming over 250 pounds per year, per capita.

Argentina is also, fittingly, becoming known for their fine wines – the signature of which is Malbec on the red side.

We kicked off Argentina month on Monday night, with our good friend the big cat, by enjoying some steaks and a bottle of Terrazas Reserva 2007 Malbec over a couple of great hours of conversation.

We’re looking forward to going beyond Steak and Malbec in Argentina this month.

All Things Aloha

Mark Stoltz — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:23:13 +0000

Isabell and I just returned from a relaxing trip to Maui. Not only was the trip a nice break from the drab Pacific Northwest weather, but it was a great opportunity to eat great food at some of the best restaurants in the islands. Here are the highlights:

Dinner at Mama’s Fish House. While Mama’s is no longer a Maui secret, the food is still world-class. The food of choice was not an entree, but the Ahi sashimi we had for an appetizer. Simply put: this is the best, most fresh fish Isabell and I have ever had in our lives. Right off the boat – amazing. The wine we had at dinner is also worth noting: a 2000 Faiveley Burgundy Blanc. Imagine a silky chardonnay mashed up with world class sauvignon blanc for crispness, finishing with classic French minerality. Very good!

The wine of the trip came at the restaurant Pacific’o, where we had a 2006 Morgan “Twelve Clones” Santa Lucia Highlands pinot noir. Even though we all had fish, the wine was perfect for the bold Pacific rim flavors of our food. Here is some commentary on the wine: “Grapes from Morgan’s organically farmed Double L Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands make up 40% of this wine’s blend in 2006, which actually includes 12 different clonal selections of pinot noir. The diversity of clonal selections combine with the cool Monterey climate and strong Salinas valley winds to create a complex wine with fully developed flavors and acidity. Notes of leather, toast, mineral and vanilla balance the cherry, berry, rose petal and spicy earth notes in this medium-bodied, structured wine.”

Chef Bev Gannon is a Hawaii icon and has two standout restaurants on Maui: the Hali’imaile General Store and Joe’s. We celebrated her amazing food in two ways: 1) we ate at Joe’s, where my dad had her amazing ribs. Real quick… I’m from Texas so this might be blasphemy, but Bev’s ribs are the best all of us had ever tasted. 2) upon Bev’s personal recommendation on where to buy the freshest fish on the island (Eskimo Candy Seafood), we got some beautiful mahi mahi fillets and made her macadamia nut crusted fresh catch with a mango lilikoi sauce. The result was symbolic of the entire trip to the Garden Isle – absolutely fantastic!

Farm to Table: Trellis Offers Market Fresh In Kirkland

Elizabeth O'Connor — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 04:35:11 +0000

We finally made it happen, dinner at Kirkland’s newest addition, Trellis. Last Thursday we took a stroll down to the restaurant, located in Kirkland’s Heathman Hotel , for an evening with friends, Sarah and Jason. We had been talking about venturing to Trellis for months (ever since it opened last fall) so we were very excited.

We hung out in the bar for a bit and I started off the evening with a strawberry-rhubarb margarita, which was amazing- not too sweet, but with an ample fruity and quenching flavor. We were overwhelmed with the variety of choices on the menu, after being seated in a cozy booth in the dining room. Amidst talk of summer plans and the nasty weather we’ve have in Seattle, the four of us debated on what to ordered (the menu featured a variety of things and it all sounded SO good). The wait staff was friendly, knowledgeable and didn’t rush us through the meal.

Without going into too much detail, below is an overview of our meal:

Wine: Luna Canto 2003

Appetizer: Wine Country Platter featuring hand-crafted Fra’mani salumi, accompanied by Jasper
Farms farmstead cheese, red onion & thyme
marmalade, grapes, rosemary crisps.

Sides: Broccolini with blue-cheese sauce and Asparagus with pine nuts and shaved parmesan.

Liz’s Entree: Beef Tenderloin tips on a bed of steamed red potatoes, shitake mushrooms, carrots and asparagus, with a “savory essence” poured on top.

Sean’s Entree: Brook Trout served with Pan-roasted with zucchini, oven-dried tomatoes & fresh basil.

Dessert: Deep-dish Apple pie with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream (this is worth the trip itself!)

Sarah ordered the Pan Seared Chicken with pistou mashed potatoes (which I debated on getting) and it turned out the mashed potatoes were served in a personal-size Le Creuset dish- a very nice touch in my book.

According to the web site: The Trellis culinary team is dedicated to serving only market fresh cuisine featuring products from local artisan producers. From the fruit and vegetables gathered daily at Executive Chef Brian Scheehser’s garden to hand raised livestock and seafood just off the boat, your dining experience will celebrate the bounty of the Pacific Northwest.

Whether your in the market for Sunday brunch on the outdoor patio, or a late-night dinner, check out Trellis and Chef Scheehser’s mouth-watering dishes.

Amazon-ingly Fresh

Elizabeth O'Connor — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:33:13 +0000

I placed an order with AmazonFresh on Wednesday and I was pleasantly surprised with the transaction, and thought I’d share. The fresh produce arrived before 6 AM on Thursday; clean and packaged nicely. Aside from fruits and vegetables, I bought some prosciutto and Italian sausages (they arrived in a temperature-controlled bag with ice pack). Even better, there is no delivery fee for orders over $25 and they threw in a “produce sampler” as a token of their gratitude for our business. I love free goodies!

Before I go any further, for those of you who aren’t familiar with Seattle’s newest online grocery service, AmazonFresh has built its business to fit your lifestyle. Its online store front allows you to select from a growing selection of fresh, high-quality products, all accessible to you 24 hours-a-day, 365 days-a-year.

Highlights of the experience:

Easy to manage. The site enables you to shop by aisle (i.e. produce, bakery, deli) or specialty (i.e. gluten free, kosher, low fat).
The search progress can get pretty granular if need be. For example, you can search within the artisan bread or bakery snacks categories, both of which are within the broader Bakery aisle. As you cruise through this virtual store, you can select the item and quantity and it’ll appear on the right hand side in your “cart”.
One of my favorite features is called “save to list” which allows you to tag an item you purchase frequently.
You don’t need to be home for the delivery. After you select your items, you choose a day/time to have groceries delivered (either before dawn or during the day).
Household & cleaning, health & beauty and pet care items are also available.

Lowlights:

AmazonFresh only delivers to residents in select zip codes so I encourage you to confirm you live in one of these neighborhoods before place an order. I’d hate for you to experience the frustration that my friend did today when she learned this.
Some products require a minimum purchase. For example, you have to purchase a minimum of two small, yellow onions.

What more do you want, a service that unloads the groceries and places them safely into your fridge? AmazonFresh offers expanding selection, great prices and convenient service.

A Great Night

Mark Stoltz — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 20:01:00 +0000

Last night Bell and I had our friends Sean and Liz O’Connor over for some appetizers and wine. It was yet another reminder that some of the best times spent are at the table with friends. The conversation was fun, the food delicious and the wine excellent. Our fare for the evening was Thai pork loins with grilled bok choy, poached shrimp in a Cajun butter sauce, spinach artichoke dip, and a peanut butter chocolate pie. To compliment the eats we had a 2005 Schweiger chardonnay, a 2002 Joseph Swan zinfandel, and a port from Dutcher Crossing.

A Trip to California Wine Country

Mark Stoltz — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 21:55:00 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on the latest food and wine experiences for me and Isabell. For good reason: we got married on September 15th!

We honeymooned in Napa-Sonoma and that of course brought about plenty of amazing food and wine experiences, not to mention a fantastic hotel we stayed in. Instead of trying to cram something about each winery into one post, I figured that I will provide commentary over the next several months as we open some of the wine we brought back. But in installment number one I will review all the happenings of our first stop: Healdsburg.

After the wedding we flew to San Francisco, hopped on the 101 across the Golden Gate Bridge toward Sonoma Valley. For the first three nights we stayed in the cool little town of Healdsburg, at the Hotel Healdsburg. This hotel was easily one of the most enjoyable hotel experiences for both of us. Amazing place. In the hotel is a Charlie Palmer (of New York’s Aureole fame) restaurant called Dry Creek Kitchen. The restaurant was recently awarded a Michelin star and did not disappoint. We had a 2003 Hafner Cabernet Sauvignon that was very good.

A day latter we walked down the street to Cyrus, a two star Michelin restaurant. This is bold but Isabell and I both agreed that it was the best restaurant we have ever been to – absolutely epic. The wine we selected was a 2005 Unti Grenache and it was very lively and fun. The food, service, atmosphere, wine, and obviously the company were perfect. Definitely a evening we will never forget.

As you might have guessed, Bell and I stopped into several wineries during our time in Healdsburg. I will dedicate an entire post to our wine tasting experiences soon.

A Seattle Staple

Mark Stoltz — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 17:16:00 +0000

Last Friday was Isabell’s birthday and we already had plans to have a little party at our new place. So that meant that I needed to find a good lunch spot to take the place of a birthday dinner. Neither of us had been to Tom Douglas’s Dahlia Lounge, so we decided to give it a shot. The food was classic Douglas: northwest fare with interesting sauces and fantastic desserts. More on that later… Lunch rules be damned, we both had a glass of wine: Bell had a nice Cotes du Rhone that really came alive with her spicy pork and rice dish; I had a viognier that was very nice with Tom’s classic crab cakes. But the real wow of the meal came at dessert. We had a pear tart with caramel sauce. Good food, good wine, good company, good times for Bell on her birthday!

A Different Kind of Wine Bar

Mark Stoltz — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 15:36:00 +0000

After going so big on Wednesday night at Canlis, Bell and I wanted to pace down and have one glass of wine with a light dinner. We headed over to a new spot in Belltown called The Local Vine.

Be warned: wines by the glass are not cheap – look for $12-15 minimums. However, every wine they pour is both generous and more importantly excellent. A nice addition to a solid list of wines is the food, which is made by the owners/chefs of Crush. We ended up having some chorizo gulf shrimp with lime and roasted flank steak with blue cheese potatoes. Both come in appetizer-size

proportions. We are looking forward to heading back, but maybe next time with a few more friends to split a bottle.

An Epic Night

Mark Stoltz — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 15:17:00 +0000

This past Wednesday was my birthday and Isabell’s is sixteen days later. The mere proximity of dates was grounds for a double celebration, so we made a reservation at a Seattle institution: Canlis. The night started out in a surprising and memorable way. We were brought two glasses of top vintage Krug champagne courtesy of our good friend Emily. Excellent stuff! After sitting in the lounge area for about ten minutes we were seated at our table; a place with a great panoramic view of Lake Union.

We began with fresh oysters on the half shell and ordered a bottle of the 2004 Ramey Claret. A silky red that was excellent to drink all night. Bell has the rack of lamb with an Oregon blue cheese risotto and I had a New York strip. Her lamb was fantastic, while my steak was good, but far from the best I have ever had. What was the best I had ever had was the service – Canlis is second to none. Everyone who came by the table greeted us by name and even our car was waiting for us, doors open when we last the restaurant. Canlis is really on top of their game.

Another note: I absolutely loved the architecture. It was built in 1950 in a Frank Lloyd Wright inspired design that is still a classic today. My grandfather was an architect and big fan of Mr. Wright, so maybe some of his appreciation for great form has been passed down to me.

A Basque Gem

Mark Stoltz — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 16:43:00 +0000

Last weekend Isabell and I decided to try out a restaurant near our new place on the east side of Capitol Hill. We dropped into The Harvest Vine, a great Basque-style tapas restaurant. The place is very small and quickly fills every night, so we were lucky to grab two seats at the copper bar where we could watch and talk with the chefs. It was a lovely evening and a great place to eat – for both food and atmosphere. We dined on great white and red Spanish wines, some of the best cured meats we had ever had, steamed peppers that were the Basque equivalent of edamame, a nice filet of tuna with a vanilla bean olive oil sauce, and lastly a chocolate dessert with some dessert wine. On janari! (good food) – as the Basque would say.