Cider Quest

I have never liked beer. To me it always seemed like a giant bait and switch scam. When I was a kid, I saw all these TV commercials that told me how awesome and delicious beer was. When I was 12 some of my cousins sneaked some from the keg at my Uncle Mel's place and we found a corner away from the adults to try it. It tasted like boiled socks. What the hell? Where was the refreshment? Why did adults drink so much of this swill? Since then I've tried dozens of different beers of all sorts in countries around the world. I've found a few I can abide but Belgian lambics are the only ones I can say I actually like and that's because they don't taste much like beer. No, beer isn't for me. I later discovered hard cider, however, and that became my brew of choice.

About 11 years ago I was home in Massachusetts for Xmas. I think it was the first time I brought Nicole east to see my old stomping grounds. We were out getting some libations for the holiday and I saw something I'd never encountered before: a mulled hard cider. It was a seasonal special, I think by Cider Jack. I got a six pack and drank it all in a couple of days. It was delicious, and the mulling spices added a lovely flavor to the cider. I said to Nik, "We'll have to get some of that when we're back in Seattle."

The problem was it never made it Seattle. I don't know if that was a regional test that didn't sell well or what, but in fact I never found that mulled cider again. And oh, I have looked. For over a decade I have haunted liquor stores and specialty shops, scanning the ciders from brewers big and small. I never found anything close. The only things I searched for that long were the Witch Hunt RPG and the "Kill by Remote Control" album by Toxic Reasons, both of which I eventually tracked down.

The other night Nicole and I went to a cider tasting at Full Throttle Bottles in Georgetown. We tasted six ciders. Five of them were made here in Washington. The sixth was Scrumpy Jack, which I've had in England but isn't sold in the US. The woman running the tasting wanted to contrast a mainstream English cider with the local varieties. The tasting was fun and we got to try some different ciders. As we were browsing the store, it occurred to me to ask her about mulled cider. She seemed to know her business after all. So I told her my story and she said without missing a beat, "Try J.K.'s Solstice Hard Cider." I found it in the case (it's made by J.K. Scrumpy) and picked up a bottle to take home.

I am drinking said cider right now and it's delicious. It's the closest thing I've had to that mythical mulled cider of over a decade ago. It's spiced with cinnamon, vanilla, and maple syrup that enhance the apple taste and give it a very full flavor. The label has snow flakes which makes me wonder if it's also a seasonal variety. I think the only safe thing to do is go back to Full Throttle Bottles and stock up for the winter!

Bay Area Weekend

This past weekend I was down in the Bay Area for Endgame's 8th Anniversary party. I decided to make the most of my three days by flying down really early on Friday and coming back late Sunday night. This proved a good plan and I was able to pack a lot into the trip.

I was in San Francisco by 10 am Friday. Took the BART downtown and met up with Aaron Loeb, an old and dear friend that some of you may remember as the author of Book of the Righteous. We had lunch at a tapas place called Bocadillos near his office and then I headed off. I hit the City Lights bookstore and spent some time browsing. I could easily have spent $300 there but since I had much walking ahead of me, I settled on only one book (The Many Headed Hydra: Sailors, Slaves, Commoners, and the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic).

After that I walked up the Embarcadero to Pier 45 to tour the Jeremiah O'Brien and USS Pampanito. The O'Brien is a WWII liberty ship that was part of the D-Day invasion. It's one of a handful of surviving liberty ships and the only one still in its WWII configuration. It's docked right across from Alcatraz, so I got a great view of that and a chance to climb all over the O'Brien. It was particularly cool to go all the way down into the engine room, which made me feel like an extra in the Poseidon Adventure. The Pampanito is a submarine that prowled the Pacific during the war. Just a couple of months ago in NYC I toured the USS Growler, a nuclear sub from the late 50s and there were many similarities between the two.

Later I walked back down the Embarcadero to the Ferry Building, which has turned into a real foodie destination. I had some terrific oysters at Hogg Island, a "salumi cone" at Boccalone, and then a bit of gelato from Ciao Bella. That night I took the BART out to Endgame in Oakland and met up with Chris Hanrahan. We then grabbed Chris Ruggiero and drove to San Rafael for dinner at Original Buffalo Wings. The wings were good but it was actually the chips that were great. Hand cut and cooked to order.

I had been up since 5 am and walked over 20,000 steps throughout the day. Still didn't sleep too well though, and was up at 7 on Saturday. Chris H. and I went over early, as he had prep work to do before the party. I wandered the empty store looking at games and minis and snapping a few pictures. At 10 the doors opened and happy gamers began to arrive. There were games and raffles throughout the day. Green Ronin and many other companies donated prizes. I was pleased that the German edition of WFRP I provided actually seemed to go to a guy who could speak German. I played in a Flames of War game that largely consisted of my Russians being gunned down by a wave of big Nazi tanks. I had a chance to chat to TS Luikart for a bit and finally meet his daughter, who was terribly cute. Then I went off to lunch with Bruce Harlick and Brian Isikoff.

I always try to research interesting restaurants before a trip so I was ready with a Peruvian place that seemed walkable from Endgame. It was but no one had heard of it. We gave it a shot anyway and I'm glad we did. The food was delicious, particularly the mixed ceviche that Bruce and I had for an entree. We then returned to the store for the rest of party. Chris R. taught us how to play Dominion, which I had heard a lot about. It is indeed a very clever design and we enjoyed two games before Endgame closed its doors.

As you can imagine, Bruce and I were not very hungry after our big lunch, so we went to a small plates Mexican restaurant called Tamarindo for dinner. The queso fundido was divine, and they had outstanding guacamole. So much better than your typical family Mexican joint. Bruce dropped me off at Hanrahan's place and Chris showed up about 10 minutes later from a going away dinner for Endgame founder Aaron Lawn (who is moving to Boston, my hometown). We talked about watching a movie and I even looked through two big cases of DVDs, but in the end we spent two and a half hours talking instead. Turns out we both want to strangle the same d-bag. Who knew?

Bruce was back Sunday morning and the three of us headed up to Napa Valley. Our first stop was Brix, another choice from my research. They do a Sunday brunch and it was fantastic (better than Salty's for you Seattle-ites). It was an all you can eat affair but there were no steam trays. Food was cooked in small batches and put out on plates that were rotated out regularly. Everything was fresh and delicious. I ended up making myself five courses: breakfast, cheese and charcuterie, lunch, seafood, and dessert. We sat on the back patio with a gorgeous view of vineyards and nearby hills. Big thumbs up for Brix.

The plan was then to do some wine tasting. After a navigation fail and a double I-Phone fail, we took a 45 minute detour up Route 29. I told Bruce I was beginning to think the Dutch Henry winery was like the Flying Dutchmen and we'd never find it. We did finally get there though, and it turned out to be a nice little place. Friendly staff, many pours, and good product. Then we drove over to BV and that place was the polar opposite. It was big, corporate, and impersonal. Not really my scene.

At this point we had a bit of a scare when Chris got a flat tire, but he got it changed pretty quickly and it was sturdy enough to get us back to his place. Bruce then kindly drove me to SFO and I was there in plenty of time for my flight back. Good friends, good food, good games--an excellent weekend all around. If not for the big bag of shit I had to eat right before the trip, it would have been a perfect getaway.

Downtown Eating

I started trying to write a helpful post for people visiting Seattle for PaizoCon and looking for good places to eat. I had planned to suggest some eateries in other parts of town (like Saffron Grill, Stellar Pizza, and the Schwalb approved Judy Fu's Snappy Dragon) but I never got out of downtown and Belltown. So if you are looking for somewhere to eat when in Seattle, here are some options.

Bamboo Garden: Kosher vegetarian Chinese food. Yes, really, and it's good. Near the Space Needle.

Cafe Yarmarka: Unpretentious but delicious Russian food. They've got about three tables and plastic chairs, but they deliver on the food. Great pelmeni, stuffed cabbage,and soups. In Post Alley in the market.

Can Can Kitchen and Cabaret: Have dinner and a show here or just the show. The Can Can has a resident cabaret troop that includes burlesque dancers, gymnasts, and even a goth belly dancer. Not cheap but fun. In the market.

Ipanema Grill: As much grilled Brazilian meat as you can eat. I had dinner here with Erik Mona once and even that stout Midwesterner eventually surrendered to the relentless waiters and their giant skewers of meat. Near Pike Place Market.

Le Pichet: French bistro with pate, sandwiches, and other country fare. The same folks run the equally excellent Cafe Presse in Capitol Hill. 1st Ave near the market.

Macrina Bakery: You can get great baked goods to go or sit down for soups, sandwiches, and the like. 1st Ave north of the market.

Panos Kleftiko: This Greek proclaims this the best Greek food in Seattle. They have a huge variety of small plates and we usually just pick a half dozen of those and call it dinner. Close to the Space Needle and the EMP.

Pike Place Chowder: They have excellent clam chowder, and I say that as a New Englander. Salmon and other varieties also tasty. In Post Alley in the market.

Shiro's Sushi: Traditional sushi place but high quality. Good for omakase dinners. 2nd Avenue.

Umi Sake House: Excellent Japense food and hip decor. They have many unusual sushi rolls, some of which are tempura battered and fried. Mmmmm. 1st Ave north of the market.

Wasabi Bistro: More good Japanese. If you go for lunch, they have a great pick and choose bento. 2nd Ave.

Wild Ginger: Family style Chinese food. If you are a vegetarian, make sure you ask for their special veggie menu. On 3rd Ave near the post office.

Zig Zag Cafe: They have food here but the reason to go is the drinks. Murray Stenson, one of the best bartenders in the country, is the star attraction. His knowledge of mixology is amazing and he ensures the Zig Zag drink list is always interesting. If you are feeling bold, just ask for Murray's choice with the alcohol of your choice and he'll surprise you. On the Pike Street Hill Climb.

I could go on but I need to go to bed. If you are looking for a specific cuisine, just holler.

Falafel Truck

When I first moved to New York City, I lived blocks away from Mamoun's Falafel on MacDougal St. I could get a hot and fresh falafel for $1.50 or go crazy and get the falafel/hummus combo for $2.00. I was a vegetarian at the time, so a cheap and tasty sandwich I could get as late as 5 am was most welcome.

For years Seattle was a vast wasteland for falafel. I finally discovered Zaina on 3rd Ave and that was at least reasonable. Then that location closed, but it reappeared in Belltown. In fact, the Belltown joint is like a block from Flying Lab, so falafel problem solved, right? Well, not quite. I've eaten at the new Zaina a few times and while their food is pretty good, I keep getting cold falafel. The cook wouldn't make it hot, just scoop it out a basket cooked who knows when. This is all too common in Seattle for reasons I can't fathom. Falafel should be served hot, so it's crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. The otherwise excellent Cedar's in the U District also serves it cold.

On recent trips to Georgetown Nicole and I noticed a yellow falafel truck parked near our yoga studio. I was intrigued, so we finally made it down there to try it out this week. The Hallava Falafel Truck is apparently run by just one dude and he serves only two things: falafel and schawarma sandwiches. We got one of each and headed home to eat them. It was hard not to tear into them in the car because they smelled great.

Now these are not traditional sandwiches. Hallava puts in some really interesting fixings like beet relish, peppers, and zucchini tomato spread. I did not see any hot sauce at the truck and lamented that until we tasted the sandwiches and realized they already had some spice going on. The falafel was prepared fresh and was hot and delicious. The schawarma was tasty as well. It's different than Mamoun's but in a really good way. And the truck parks in front of the 9 Lb Hammer on weekend nights. I predict many visits in the future.

My Iron Chef Theory

I have a theory about Iron Chef America, which is mine. It goes like this. Bobby Flay is in more battles than any other Iron Chef for the same reason you groan when one of his episodes comes on: he's a dick. I suspect that when these chefs agree to be on the show, they think, "God, Flay is such a dick; I want to crush him!" Really, who wants to lay the smack down on sweet Mario Batali or original Iron Chef Morimoto? No, they want a piece of Flay. That is my theory.

Snow and Sausage

I grew up in New England, which gets all four seasons in full measure. It can get brutally hot in the summer and frigidly cold in the winter. I know how to deal with snow and lived through the blizzard of '78. Seattle though, has a much milder climate. It only gets really hot for maybe a week of the year and when it does snow, it usually melts in a day or two. That makes this week all the more unusual. It's been quite cold for starters and then snow began threatening on Tuesday.

I woke up Wednesday expecting to see the ground covered with snow. All the weather reports had said it would definitely snow overnight. So I went to work and heard about snow all around Seattle but not in the city itself. At lunch I went down to the Pike Place Market to get lunch and pick up a few things for home. I got some fresh bread at Three Girls Bakery and then stopped at Bavarian Meats for some charcuterie. The nice German lady was efficiently filling my order for things like liver sausage and blood and tongue sausage when I asked if I could also get three potato sausages. At this she lit up. "Good choice! Are you Norwegian?" For those of you who've never met me, I am like an anti-Viking. So I laugh and tell her I'm Greek. "Oh," she says, " you have good taste. Do you want more than three? We have more in the back." I assure her that three is more than enough and head back to work. That night the news says the storm will bypass Seattle completely.

Sure enough the weather reports are wrong for two days running. The next morning everything is white and it's still coming down. I decide to stay home from work and catch up on Green Ronin business. In the afternoon I shoveled out the backyard path and the front steps and sidewalk. Lacking a snow shovel, I had to use our sad garden shovel, a rake, and an old broom to do the clearing. Naturally an hour after finishing, it started to snow again. It felt like being back east.

Last night I made the potato sausages for dinner, along with baked sweet potatoes and lingonberries. While I had previously baked potato sausages, I thought I'd check the internet to see if that was the correct way to prepare it. I discovered that potato sausage is apparently a traditional Swedish Christmas food, so this was the right season to pick some up. However, the Swedish community seems split on the proper way to prepare it. Some boil it, some bake it, and others poach it. I decided to go with slow boiling and it came out great. The lingonberries were an excellent match. Meat + fruit = win.

Today I foolishly decided to head into Flying Lab. Even more foolishly, I brought two bags full of packages to mail at the post office. These were GR mail orders that had gone awry and I really wanted to get them out before the weekend. I thought the bus might be empty today with many people staying home. In fact, I've never seen it more crowded. The bus driver stopped taking on new passengers before we even got off Beacon Hill because we couldn't fit even one more person onboard. I had to balance my bookbag and the two other bags on my lap while hemmed in by other commuters. What a magical season.

This weekend I'm going to stay in, write, and eat more charcuterie.

A Taste of History

Last night I took Nicole to local foodie favorite the Herbfarm for a birthday dinner. The meal was tremendous (bleu cheese ice cream...so good), but I'll let Nik blog about that. What captured my imagination is a unique item only the Herbfarm offers. They call it "The Oldest Wine You'll Ever Drink." The Herbfarm has a very small amount of Madeira that was bottled in 1795 and forgotten in a Scottish castle for over a century. No other wine would be potable after 200+ years but because of the unique nature of Madeira it has continued to improve. When this wine was bottled, George Washington was still president of the United States. Napoleon dispersed Royalists with "a whiff of grapeshot" during the French Revolution, thus beginning his rise to power. George Peabody, the man my home town in MA was named after, was born. That Madeira is a taste of history I would like to have.

The problem, of course, is that it doesn't come cheap. The 1795 Madeira is $365 per ounce. Yes, that's per ounce. The taste of 1795 will have to remain in my imagination for the foreseeable future.

Eating on the Road

Here are a couple of food stories from our recent travels.

One night in Finland we went to the National Air Guitar Championships and a show by metal band Waltari. After that and (of course) much drinking, one of our fine hosts, Mikko, was going to give us a lift back to our hotel. As we were walking passed the Parliament building on the way to his car, I asked Mikko if Finland had its own variant of the hot dog. He said they sort of did and tried to describe what he called a meat pie. He then said, "If you want something like that, there's no better place to get it than right there." He was pointing to a kiosk not a block away, which was selling food to late night drunks. How could I pass that up?

We went over and of course the menu was all in Finnish. After some prodding Mikko ordered me a "student special." I was asked what condiments I wanted on it and it was difficult to say since I had no idea what I was getting. I went with ketchup, mustard, and relish and we got the food to go. Back in our hotel room I unwrapped my mysterious bounty to check it out. It was not, in fact, a meat pie but a sandwich that had a hamburger, a hot dog, and chunks of fried bologna in it. Sounds foul I know but Nicole agreed it was pretty tasty.

We found out later that this food kiosk is frequented by members of Parliament and many of them have sandwiches named after them. The last night of the trip, we stopped there again. The stalwart Timo, who was in charge of getting us to the airport in time for our 6 am flight, wanted to make sure we had a chance to eat something after the drunken debauchery of the afterparty. Nicole got the "Tarja Halonen", named after Finland's president. This was, IIRC, a "double meat and double cheese" burger. Timo told me they had blood sausages and I was all over that. They were served with a lingonberry sauce on top and that was quite tasty. If you are in Helsinki and want street food at 3 am, find the kiosk by the Parliament building.

In general we found many interesting and delicious things to eat in Finland. Then we went to Indianapolis. In our hotel room one of the travel magazines had a cover story called "Chain City USA." It talked about how Indianapolis had more chain restaurants than just about anywhere. More than that, folks in Indy liked it that way because chains are consistent. Eyaaa. So I had OK meals at Rock Bottom Brewery, Palomino, and PF Changs (chains all), but given the choice I'll take something homegrown and unique every time. The last night in Indy we did our traditional Green Ronin end of con dinner at a Brazilian churrascaria called Fogo de Chão. This too was part of a chain, but it was started in Brazil and the Indy location is run by one of the founders. It was not cheap but at last we found a chain place worth going back to next year. Not only was it endless meat on swords brought right to your table, the meat was really well cooked. Even something as mundane as chicken legs was juicy and bursting with flavor. In some churrascarias the quantity of meat seems more important than the quality, but I must say that Fogo de Chão delivered in both areas. It turned out one of our waiters was a Warhammer Fantasy Battle player too. What are the odds?

Service Interruption!

Last week I was poking around the internet looking for ideas on places to eat in Sin City. I ran across Larry's Las Vegas Restaurant Guide, which has reviews of many of the foodie favorites there. The reviews are generally useful but one of Larry's quirks is that he's a stickler for service. In many reviews he has notes like, "Service Interruption--15 minutes!" I was amused enough that I related this to Nicole on our plane ride down to Vegas. This must explain the poor service we got from several restaurants that I expected better from.

It started the morning we arrived. We had a 6 am flight on Saturday so we were at our hotel by 9:30 and our room was not ready. We decided to head over to the Venetian and have brunch at Bouchon. I had been to the Napa Valley original last year and looked forward to checking this one out. Everything went great through the beignets and then the wait began. About 20 minutes later they brought out my food but not Nicole's. I started eating so it wouldn't get cold and hers came maybe 10 minutes later. Pretty odd for a place of Bouchon's caliber, though I will add that the chicken and waffles Nicole got was truly awesome. My eggs with boudin blanc was good, but not in the same league.

Sunday night Hal joined us for a trip to Seablue, one of Michael Mina's places. The restaurant wasn't all that busy but seemed understaffed. Our waitress was very nice when she was around, but she routinely went MIA for 15 minutes at a time. We had told her we were in no hurry ("This is our show," we said), but that didn't mean we intended to spend the whole night there either. When the food arrived though, it was excellent. The lobster corndogs were not as great as they sounded (the batter overwhelms the lobster a bit), but the paella was hands down the best that I've had anywhere. It was just stuffed with high quality seafood of all sorts, as well as quail and rabbit. So no problem with the kitchen; only the service needed help.

I must therefore give meal of the trip to Wing Lei at the Wynn. The service was excellent all around. Our waiter was attentive but not obsequious and he had ample assistance. Nicole and I had the Imperial Peking Duck tasting menu, which was five courses of heaven. It started with a whole Peking Duck brought tableside. Choice bits were carved out and rolled into delicious crepes. They then took the rest of the duck back to the kitchen and used it to create the rest of our dishes. Fantastic and no service interruptions!

You can see why I don't gamble when I'm in Vegas. I save up my money to eat above my means, not to lose it shooting craps.