Having already gorged myself on delicacies like fois gras and bahn mi, I realized that my time in Seattle would not be complete without a visit to at least one of Famous Chef Tom Douglas’ restaurants. So, for my final day there (sans conferencing) I wandered back down towards the market and decided to try brunch at Etta’s (WARNING: mildly obnoxious flash site!).
I was greeted and seated quickly, at a nice booth looking out the window or at the bar. And there, I waited (luckily, it was also Free Comic Book Day, so on my way down I’d picked up a selection to read). Finally, the waitress brought me some much-needed coffee, which unfortunately turned out to be a cup of the aforementioned Starbucks.
A while later, I ordered, choosing the salmon-cake Eggs Benedict. This was, sadly, a mistake. The hollandaise was a bit bland, the cakes heavy and a touch dry. Plus, I really have to ask: why the hell would you make a salmon CAKE with all that fabulous fresh fish available, just across the street?? I admit my fault in ordering it, but I was curious (and hopeful). Le sigh. Lesson probably never to be learned.
Willing to give the Iron Chef winner a second chance, I decided to eat my final dinner in Seattle at Palace Kitchen, conveniently located across the street from where I stayed. I got there fairly late again, and rather than wait for a table, I opted to sit at the very pretty bar, overlooking the entirely open kitchen and with a good view of the Sounders game, which was on TV. The place feels much bigger than it is, and has a nice, wood-fire-like lighting scheme. I really love getting to watch the kitchen work.
The bartender was very nice (also: hot), and immediately introduced me to the bar-snack bowl of hickory smoked almonds. These were bloody fantastic, but apparently a stand-in for the usual pistachios. I can’t imagine how those could be better. I drank some local cream ale whose name I don’t remember but which was delicious. For my dinner, I had two appetizers: a small order of plin, and sliced raw geoduck with pickled vegetables.
Plin are a Piedmontese pasta – basically tube-shaped ravioli. Filled with roast pork and chard, these were fabulous. The pork was sweet and nutty, perfectly complimented by Parmesan over top. The chard hinted at itself but I couldn’t really taste it as much as I’d have liked – a touch more might have been nice. The geoduck was also quite good: it’s most similar, for me, to octopus, but with a smoother texture and a more floral and almost nutty flavor. The black pepper vinaigrette was perfect on the acidity scale, but I’m not sure that black pepper wasn’t too much. I might have preferred white.
All in all, Palace Kitchen was quite good. Some of the details were less than perfect for me, but on the whole I had a great time and left happy. Had I more time in Seattle, I’d go back for a proper dinner, and maybe even be a regular at the bar. It’s a bit pricey (the small plate of plin was $14), but not terribly so. And I could eat those almonds off the bartender’s abs all night.
-MAW
