Pimento Cheese Memories @ Brave Horse Tavern

Dan & I decided to forgo the farmers market today (we're well stocked and really need to burn through some frozen meats), so we skipped ahead to Date Night. Dan met me after work at a restaurant I walk by every day - since it's practically underneath my office: Brave Horse Tavern.



After having a beer and a cider, we decided to order some food - and burgers were on the menu again.

So that I don't backslide too far in my weight loss, I decided to go with the Black Bean and Green Chile burger... then top it with pimento cheese spread and avocado. I'm fairly sure pimento cheese is a southern thing, but I'm sure glad that it's making an appearance in Seattle. I don't think I'd had pimento cheese in 8 years - since a short trip to Lexington, Kentucky for work.



In fact, it was the night I returned from that work trip that Dan & I went to a party together at a friend's house on Queen Anne, and he surprised me with a kiss when we were alone for a moment in the kitchen. The rest, as they say, is history - and eight years later we're enjoying a date night out, before heading back to the home we've made together in Seward Park to check on our chickens and give our cat some love.



Dan ordered the slow cooked pork shoulder sandwich with some fries (that we shared). He made note of how perfect the Dahlia Workshop buns they use are - and I realized I hadn't noticed the bun - which (in my opinion) is just about perfect for a burger. Too often, burgers are put on buns that are bready, dense, and overwhelm the subtleties of a good burger. Tom Douglas' crew knows better - putting their burgers and pulled pork on soft, airy buns that let the toppings shine.



I overheard the folks next to us make a joke that everyone in the restaurant was from the same company - and the blue badges hanging from many a neck (mine included) seemed like a strong testament to that. It definitely seems like it's going to be a great spot for a team lunch or an after work happy-hour. And I'm eager to give the shuffleboard tables a spin.

Palace Kitchen PreFunc

Dan & I met up with some friends from our supper club to check out the Rocky Horror Show (a stage rendition being done by several friends of ours), so beforehand I met Dan at Palace Kitchen for a light dinner and a cocktail. We had planned to meet at a bar in Belltown - but everyone seemed so darn young down there. When did we get so old?



I sipped on a couple Orange Spritz cocktails (bourbon meets creamsicle), and we ordered some bar food to tide us over. I couldn't resist the Fried Pig's ear after seeing the girls next to us order it. It was beautiful, and I can't resist trying offal dishes when the opportunity arises.



Our bartender likened them to tortilla chips crossed with beef jerky. The guy sitting next to us, who I convinced to try a little piece, said it reminded him of popcorn. His vegetarian date wasn't game, so I couldn't get her opinion. (I did love that he ordered a big, bloody steak.) The strips of fried ear were a little chewy, but no where near as much as a jerky, and it had tons of great pork flavor. I would order it again in a heartbeat.



I was more lukewarm about the Lavender and Goat Cheese Fondue, mostly because the apples served with it were mealy. I may have to try it again when apples are in their peak - rather than when we're all enjoying fruit that's been overwintering. Or maybe I'll just get a double order of ears - one for each side of my head, right?

NYE Cuban Sandwiches

Dan & I have a tradition (for three years now) to make and enjoy Cuban Sandwiches on New Year's Eve. For the past two years, that's been about the extent of our NYE excitement. In fact, I don't think we've stayed awake until midnight for more years than that.

All that changed (except the sandwiches) this year, thanks to our friend & neighbor Mark organizing a NYE progressive party through the 'hood. We started at 7:30 at our place for Mai Passion punch and mini Cuban sandwiches in the tiki bar, then made our way to 4 other houses enjoying cocktails, food, and conversation. It was a ton of fun, except this lightweight wasn't prepared for 5 houses worth of cocktails. Even with some mini Cubans, a couple of Stephanie's delicious homemade egg rolls, nibbley things from Willa's, and at least one blue cheese popover courtesy of Mark in my belly, the rum/vodka/rum/vodka/champagne drinkin' proved too much for me. We did make itmade it past midnight and safely home, but I spent the night paying dearly for my indulgences.

Sazerac Happy Hour

Dan organized a little happy hour downtown after work tonight, with his sisters Midge & Lisa, and his folks. After our great experience on Veteran's Day, and based on Lisa's glowing recommendation, we hit up Sazerac.



It absolutely lived up to the hype, and since Midge, Carolyn & Don got their early, we had a comfy corner booth. Dan & I sipped the bar's namesake cocktail, and we all nibbled on some of their tasty bar food. The Crispy "Truffles" were amazing - little balls of mashed potatoes mixed with truffles and cheese, then deep fried (not exactly diet food).



Along with those, we had Bacon-Wrapped Medjhool Dates, mini Cheeseburgers (which were perfectly cooked and really great beef), some sweet potato fries, and a couple pizzas.



I enjoyed all the items I tried, but most of all the truffles. When you cut into them, the smell of truffle wafts up to your nostrils. Perfect for a cool winter night.

Kalua Pig Pizza & Peeps Saturday

Tonight we had our neighbors - Mathew, Mark & Peter - and our friends FP and JJ (from Same Same But Different Travel) over for drinks and bar food in our tiki bar & lounge, Ke Ala 'Ula.



Along with some pineapple, mango, strawberries and Spam sliders, we enjoyed some Kalua pig pizza (margherita frozen pizza topped with Kalua pig and a little extra mozzarella). We also snacked on Sriracha peas that FP brought over - to which I'm now officially addicted.



By a crazy coincidence, both sets of guests brought Peeps dioramas as gifts - so it was decided that the day between Good Friday & Easter is officially Peeps Saturday.



FP's Peep diorama came in the form of a Pina Colada flavored cake, topped with coconut 'grass' and a gruesome scene of Peep on Peep violence. I particularly liked the use of cinnamon imperials to create bloody gashes - and the smashed Cadbury creme eggs strewn about. The perpetrator (Peepetrator?) is a yellow chick (the one with the toothpick in hit's wing) and it's succeeded in slaughtering all the other Peeps, except one lone bunny Peep - who's valiantly protecting the biggest egg.

Did I mention the cake was delicious, too? Moist and flavorful, thanks in part to Malibu Rum.



The guys brought their own Peep display, on a platter Mark made himself (he's a potter). It featured the big Kahuna Peep and a quintet of Peep hula dancers complete with leis and grass skirts. They're all lounging in a beach of sugar sand, under drink umbrellas - and sharing the beach with an array of tropical fish, honu (sea turtles) and devil ducks.

Amorcito Marathon

After work, we met up with Ruth and her newish beau Paul at Amorcito - the newish bar at Baja Bistro on Beacon Hill. Dan & I walked up at 5:30, with Ruth arriving soon after. Paul (who was busy fighting AIDS and hunger), met us at 6:30. Although the bar has only 2 tops, the bartender and owners were incredibly gracious, put some tables together for us so we could all sit together once Paul arrived. As with our last visit, we were really pleased with the 'traditional margaritas' ($3.50 during happy hour, $5.50 normally) and the service. Besides margaritas, we also noshed on chips and salsa ($2.25), a side of beans ($2.25) and a side of guacamole ($3.95). And around 7:30 or maybe later, we got around to ordering some food. I had filled up on tequila and chips, so I chose the 'Quesadilla de Pollo' - shredded chicken cooked in a tomato sauce with melted Oaxaca and Manchego cheese in a flour tortilla. It came with a side of guac, for just $7.95. Dan went with the 'Tacos de Papa' - three corn tortillas filled with mashed potatoes, Asadero cheese, salsa fresca, and served with rice & beans for $9.95.



Although the food, drinks, and service were all excellent - the company was by far the high point of the evening, and Dan & I were incredibly happy to meet Paul for the first time. He's good people, and we're glad he and Ruth refound one another. And I'm glad we all found Amorcito - a place where the owners, as we were leaving after 5 hours in the bar, all gave us friendly goodbyes, joking that we should stay for another drink. Good people all around.

Amorcito!

Beacon Hill just got a new little bar, and the owner sent me a note on Facebook to tell me about it.

Baja Bistro has always had an odd set up. The restaurant/coffee shop was split between two dining rooms, which sometimes led to issues with service (like the last time I went there when people were begging for the waiter to take their order for at least 30 minutes, only to get snapped at by him). The owners apparently decided to make some changes, and turned one section into a bar/lounge named Amorcito (with I think means loved one).

We decided to check it out today after another snowed in day of working from home. The bar is small, but there's plenty of seating at the bar itself or at tables around the room. And with a dedicated bartender, the service is great. Happy hour today was 3-6pm, so we got great deals on some Traditional Margaritas ($3.95) and chips, salsa, and guacamole ($2.95). I think the bartender is the owner, and he was really attentive and kind, as were the other staff. Now the odd set up works perfectly, and you can still get full dinner service in the bar.

Tax Snax and Tex-Mex

Today was tax day for us. We set aside the day to get our 2007 taxes sorted out, with the plan to reward ourselves afterwards with some snacks and cocktails at Imperial Lanes. We had some trouble finding all the paperwork we needed, and I didn't get all the way through my return (thanks to a my schedule D being more confusing this year then last), but after about 4 hours of working on them, we decided to head down to the bowling alley anyway, to reward ourselves for what we did accomplish.



Imperial Lanes is just about 6 blocks down the hill from our house, so we just walked there. Unfortunately, our timing was bad, because the entire staff was in a meeting in the bar. So we couldn't sit in the bar, and we couldn't get a cocktail because the bartender was in the meeting. But despite all that, we still received the enthusiastic customer service we previously did. Two people came out when they saw us walk in, to see what they could help us with. The cook got us a couple menus, and when we were ready to order, he came back out and made us some mozzerella sticks and quesadillas. Since we wanted to try their 'big bowl' cocktails, we were hoping that the meeting would end while we ate, and we could watch some bowlers while sipping drinks, but the meeting was still going on so we paid up and headed out.



After a little yard work, we cleaned up and headed to West Seattle - a neighborhood just a quick drive across the bridge from us, but which we'd yet to explore. We decided to check out the Mission, a tex-mex place right on California. The decor was great, and the service was exceptional. But as our luck would have it, their oven was on the fritz, so some menu items were unavailable. For me, that just made it easier to decide what to have, since the menu was in essence shorter.



I went for the Sweet Potato tacos and my fiance had the Tamale special. And we both induldged in Cadillac margaritas.



Everything was great. Despite the restaurant being really full, we weren't left waiting for anything. We had water almost immediately after sitting down, then drink orders were taken and drinks delivered in no time. As we began sipping our margaritas, we placed our food order, and tool their suggestion to get some chips and salsa to start off with - which was also on the table almost immediately. Before we'd had more than a few chips, our food was brought over, too. And just as we finished our margaritas, our waitress was checking in if we wanted a second round. Prices were really reasonable, too. So good food, good ambiance, good service, and good prices. Can't go wrong with that.



I'm looking forward to checking out more restaurants on W. Seattle.