Your New Favorite Uncle

Ruth & Paul invited Dan & I to White Center for another tour of the hot spots. The Company (opening this week) wasn't ready for us, but we did check out Marv's Broiler (a bar with great service and frosty pint glasses), and then headed to Uncle Mike's Barbecue for some dinner.



Uncle Mike barbecues meat beautifully, with everything from brisket and pulled pork to chicken and hot links on the menu - but he fell in love with a vegetarian. It's like a Romeo & Juliet story, with a delicious ending. And his Juliet made sure the menu has something for everyone, resulting in The Queen's Delight sandwich (smoked mushrooms & eggplant) and a BBQ Tofu sandwich that I went for, which includes flavorful tofu, plus lots of veggies. I definitely didn't miss the meat.



Each entree item comes with a choice of side, so I went with the greens - a buttery mix of chopped collards.



Dan opted for the BBQ Chicken Sandwich, also with the greens.



While Paul eschewed carbs and went for the BBQ Chicken meal, with greens and beans as sides.



And Ruth selected the very delicious looking Pulled Pork Sandwich, with beans.

The portions were great, the prices were more than reasonable, and the service couldn't be beat. I always feel like a visiting dignitary when we hit the town in White Center with Ruth & Paul, cuz they know all the restaurateurs.



In lieu of an evening of beers, jello-shots & karaoke at the Triangle, we stopped in at Full Tilt after dinner for a treat. I was torn between a couple options (Vegan Ube was my second runner-up), but I decided on a kid's scoop of the Vegan Vietnamese Cinnamon, which was creamy and delicious. And I washed it down with a Rainier Tall-boy. Cuz that's how we roll in South Seattle.

Dad's Birthday/Father's Day BBQ

My Dad was heading out of town around Father's Day, but since his Birthday is the 2nd of July, we decided we'd roll it all together and hang out today for some BBQ in their backyard. My folks - my Mom in particular - are continually adapting their large yard, and the most recent change was to turn the hot tub into a koi pond, and turn the previous koi pond (which had begun to leak) into a barbeque area. They buried half a metal barrel in the ground and surrounded it with a patio area with a block wall/bench. And they do all this themselves. It's like an HGTV makeover out there now. If anyone wonders where I get my crafty side, wonder no more.



My Dad repurposed a couple old Weber grills to create a two tier system inside the barrel, so the coals sit on a lower grill and the meat on the top. It works great! He cooked up some burgers and brats on it for us - our first BBQ of the year.



Once the meat was cooked, we retired to the deck to eat - where my Mom had set up a full spread of condiments and hooked Dan & I up with Margaritas.



I couldn't pass up the Wasabi Mustard they had - which added a little kick to my burger.



I've always been a mustard lover, but combining it with wasabi is genius. I'm gonna have to make a special trip to Metropolitan Market to pick some up.



A little later, we enjoyed some angel food cake topped with strawberries - a popular favorite this time of year when the strawberries are fresh and juicy and the weather is warming up (finally), making a lighter dessert more appealing.



After we all walked around the yard and split some plants for Dan & I to take home to our yard, my Dad got the BBQ coals started back up and my Mom brought out these:



EXTRA GIANT Marshmallows. Strawberry flavored. Of course I had to try them. I mean, even the Extra Giant Strawberry Marshmallows can't resist eating other Extra Giant Strawberry Marshmallows - just look at the bag if you don't believe me. Apparently, Marshmallows are cannibalistic.



To give you some idea of how big they are, I took this photo of my Extra Giant Strawberry Marshmallow next to Dan's roasting stick with 2 normal marshmallows. These things are enormous!



Perhaps even too enormous. They're also so big that there's really no way to get them roasted throughout. Instead of a crispy outside and melty inside, you end up with a crispy outside, melty magma layer, and an uncooked core - a little like Earth.

I think they'd work well for just roasting and eating - enjoying the outer layer then returning the marshmallow to the fire to cook another layer. Working your way down until it's normal size and will actually fit in your mouth.



Cuz trying to shove one of these guys in a S'more was a little ridiculous - as this photo my Dad snapped of my face after trying to eat one illustrates.

Pac Island Grill Hawaiian Style BBQ

For a couple years, Dan & I have been meaning to check out Pac Island Grill down in Federal Way - a Hawaiian Style BBQ place that has live music every weekend. Dan's on a number of Hawaii-related email lists, and on one of them he gets updates on what's going on at Pac Island. With the closures of three of our favorite Hawaiian restaurants in the Seattle area, we had all the more reason to make the trek south and visit Pac Island for an Aloha fix. Since the restaurant is just one exit away from Dan's folks house, we stopped there on the way and Don & Carolyn joined us for dinner.



Dan recommended the Loco Moco ($9.25) to his dad, Carolyn went for the Kalua pork plate ($8.95), and Dan tried out their award winning Loli-loli chicken ($8.95). I couldn't make up my mind between all the delicious-sounding choices, but settled on a combo plate of Loli-loli chicken and pork Lau Lau ($10.99). And of course, all the plates came with two scoops rice and a scoop of mac salad.



Lau Lau is a piece of pork butt, topped with a small piece of salted butterfish, then wrapped in taro leaves (known as luau), then the whole thing is wrapped in ti leaves. Sometimes the taro is replaced with spinach, and the ti replaced with banana leaves, depending on availability of ingredients. Traditionally, the lau lau is then placed in an imu pit to cook, but more commonly now it's steamed for many hours. The butterfish essentially melts after the 4-6 hours of steaming, and lends wonderful flavor and moisture to the pork. The taro leaves also become soft, so that when you open the little package of ti leaves, you can mix the pork, butterfish and spinach together and enjoy.



Everyone, myself included, really enjoyed their dinner - though the loco moco was so big Don only ate about 1/3 of it, saving the rest for later (and a little room for dessert). We also enjoyed the lively entertainment, courtesy of Grooveline Hawaii.



While Don enjoyed a small bowl of ice cream ($2.95), Dan & I split a piece of Pineapple Upside-down Cake ($3.75) that reminded us both of the pineapple squares he made back at Christmas.



Pac Island Grill doesn't have a full bar - so no Mai Tais or Pina Coladas - but they do serve wine and beer, including Kona Brewing Co. favorites. And between the decor, the food and the music, you'll feel so transported to the islands that you won't even miss the cocktail.

Robotic BBQ

Tonight, we were invited over to the home of one of the faculty Dan supports - Yoky Matsuoka (in the green above) - for a barbecue for her Robotics Lab. She's doing working to create a robotic, prosthetic arm that will be functionally and visually equivalent to a human arm, so that it will blend perfectly. Besides being brilliant, she's incredibly kind, friendly, generous, and supportive. When Dan has tough days at work, it's often a reassuring word from Yoky that helps him see the light at the end of the tunnel.



This Summer, her lab is full of folks of all ages - from middle school students spending 4 hours a day for a full week, to high school students doing Summer internships, undergraduates, graduate students, and post-docs (like our friend Ashish). The BBQ included a bit of each (minus the middle school kids), though Dan was the only staff.



Yoky shares our love of Hawai`i, and we were greeted with leis when we arrived, and the food (intentionally or not) had some definite island flair. I got myself a sweet bun and made a sandwich with some barbecued chicken, and had it with steamed rice, pasta salad, and a little grilled pineapple.



Yoky and her husband, Simon, provided all the food and most of the drinks, but Dan & I couldn't resist picking up some fried bananas to bring along.



Since I only knew a few people, and I get kinda shy in groups, I did what I usually do - found the pets and kids. Yoky & Simon's twin daughters and I spent a good part of the party making things out of colored duct tape - brought by one of the grad students. I made them each a crown and a necklace, and they returned the favor - so I ended up wearing a crown and necklace made of duct tape all night.

15 Minutes to Bulgogi!

After sorting out groceries this morning, Dan & I decided to brave the crowds and ride the brand new Light Rail from the Beacon Hill station (a 6 minute walk from our house) to the International District Station. We needed to pick up some rice noodles (couldn't find the right ones on Fresh), some fried bananas (for a BBQ tonight), and figured we might as well be part of history.



After a 15 minute wait in line to get on the elevator, we descended down to the underground station beneath Beacon Hill, and then waited for the next train. In the meantime, we snapped some photos of the station - including cool, glowing diatom sculptures hanging from the ceiling.



The train ran a little slower than intended, I think, but it was smooth and relaxing - as well as clean and well designed. Once running full speed, it should take less than 15 minutes to get from our front door to Uwajimaya... even less for us to get to Columbia City.

I particularly like that an audible, clear automated voice announced all the stops - because in my experience, most bus drivers don't speak loudly or clearly enough for folks in the back of the bus to hear stop announcements.



It all felt very metropolitan... like Seattle's finally a big city. It's still not quite running to SeaTac, but that's supposed to be open by end of year. The North end of the track ends at Westlake currently, so Dan won't be able to ride it to the UW for a few more years, at least - but he may find it quicker and/or more comfortable to ride it downtown, and then catch an Express to the UW. Anything to get away from the 48, methinks.



Once in the International District, we got some lunch at the Uwajimaya food court. My office mate, Jason, has been talking about bulgogi for awhile - so I had to finally give it a try at Shilla Korean BBQ.



I got something called Bulgogi Dupbap - which was rice topped with a mix of fried egg, bulgogi (barbequed beef), and veggies, while Dan went for the Chicken Dupbap. We both scarfed it down, and have officially added Korean BBQ to our 'likes' list.

Memento Meal - Farmers Market Edition

Tonight we gathered again for Memento Meal - 11 food-loving friends challenging each other to try new things and create delicious dishes. (Plus their kids sometimes daring to taste our creations).

This time, the theme that inspired and wove together the dishes, selected by Carolyn & David, was The Farmers Market.



The meal started out with a bang courtesy of Anna & Jason. They brought out 4 cheese plates for each area of the table to enjoy, with each plate featuring three Estrella Family Creamery cheeses and three accompaniments.

First was a cow's milk cheese called Cecilia, which had a turmeric rind and was paired with some honey comb.

Next was another cow's milk cheese, known as Domino, sharing the plate with some poached apricots.



And third was a 'Chevrette' cheese of goat & cow milk, with a balsamic cherry compote.



For a little protein and crunch, they also served some locally grown hazelnuts with a little butter sprinkle on top.



And finally, to wash it down we enjoyed some vanilla flavored DRY soda - bottled right here in Seattle.



Next up was our second appetizer course, courtesy of Kristin - who works right at the Pike Place Market, and shared a history of the market as represented by four small bites.



First was an edamame with chili oil & orange peel, topped with some teriyaki salmon. This represented the early years of the Pike Place Market, pre-WWII, when the vast majority of the farmers and vendors were of Japanese descent.



Next came a dish representing the period during & post WWII, when Japanese Americans in Seattle were forcibly moved to internment camps, thus stripping their many contributions out of the market - and leaving behind a largely Eastern European influence. A cabbage cup topped with a salad of pork fat, bacon, goat cheese and vinegar was a delicious, heavy reminder of that period.



As the 20th century moved forward, globalization of food markets opened up world wide trade and established expectations that the American consumer could get whatever we want whenever we want it - seasonality be damned! An amazing California white corn fritter, with a spicy aoli showed just why globalization was so successful.



And rounding out the quartet of tasty history lessons was a crispy fried wonton, stuffed with locally made fudge and lavendar jelly, with a mixed berry sauce. This decadent little dish represented the long overdue return of Asian influences at the Pike Place Market, and the return of focus and appreciation for seasonal, locally grown, locally produced foods.



The salad course, dreamt up (and partly grown) by Marcy (aka Condiment Grrl) & James was next in front of us.



Combining bacon produced by Gerald, rose petals, rosemary and basil from their own garden, and sauteed dandelion greens, blueberries, mixed greens, feta and walnuts from the Farmers Market, they produced a delicious, incredibly flavorful, delicate yet rustic salad for us to enjoy that not only celebrated numerous aspects of the Farmers Market (dairy, nuts, foraged greens, berries, produce), but also their own garden and Gerald's amazing pork products.



Following the salad course we took a little breather at the half-way point before things got even more serious.



Our hosts, Carolyn & David, delighted us with a grilled flank steak featuring a Kona coffee marinade and rub of coffee, chocolate, and spices. Under this beautifully cooked beef was a flavor burst of yellow chard, golden and candy cane beets sauteed in butter and garlic with Attika cherries. The meat was tender and so full of flavors - and Dan, Anna & I took advantage of some extra pieces to gorge a bit... unaware of what was coming next.



It came as no surprise, I guess, that Gerald (aka Drunk on Pork) & Jacqui's first foray into an entree course for Memento Meal featured pork.



But not just any pork: they acquired, from Sea Breeze Farm, pasture-raised pork ribs from a pig slaughtered yesterday. It was coated in an amazing barbecue sauce made of market produce made by Gerald & Jacqui themselves, and was accompanied by both a salad of purple & orange carrots and cabbage from Full Circle Farms with a raspberry vinaigrette, and a Sea Breeze buttermilk and Bluebird Grain Farm biscuit that featured their homemade bacon and was topped with a little cheese.



For Dan & I, who are not usually rib eaters, the course was as comical as it was delicious. In contrast to pro-rib eater, James, who had a pile of bones so clean a dermistid beetle would have a hard time finding a bite to eat - my ribs looked like I'd barely touched them, despite being covered in sauce down to my elbows and trying my damnedest to get every morsel I could.





In addition to serving us this amazing dish, G&J canned their 'Bacon Dog BBQ Sauce' and gave us each a jar to take home!



Rounding out this Memento Meal were Dan & I with our dessert course.



My hope was to feature a few ingredients that we notice the most spectacular difference between fresh from the Farmers Market and store-bought versions: honey, dairy, and eggs. Using Sea Breeze Farm milk, cream from the store (Sea Breeze was out), egg yolks from Skagit River Ranch, and Tahuya River Apiaries blackberry & wildflower honey, I made ice cream, which I poured into silicone cupcake liners and froze, then removed from the liners for plating, giving them a scalloped edge. I topped that with a honey tuille cookie made using some of egg whites, Bluebird Grain Farms Cake flour, more Tahuya honey, and some Darigold butter. That was then topped with a dollop of Italian Meringue made using the rest of the Skagit River Ranch egg whites, and more Tahuya honey. And that was capped with a chip of Tahuya honey candy, made by brining the honey to the hard crack stage. I had actually made the beautiful swirled candies... but then mistakenly packed them in waxed paper that they stuck to and wouldn't come loose. Thankfully, I'd made a big chunk of honey candy, as well, 'just in case', which was a good thing indeed.

Paired on the plate, for a simply contrast to the arguably overwrought honey 'tower' was an unadulterated pluot from Tiny's Organics.



And as the final drink of the night, Dan prepared a delicious kava, licorice root, and Tahuya honey iced tea - something non-alcoholic and calming to round out a very decadent meal, indeed.