Seattle - last but not least...

(July 8th, 2012) All things being left up to me, my first night in Seattle would have been spent dining at Quinn's.  No, it doesn't have some super fancy, internationally acclaimed reputation that precedes it, but in passing by it I just picked up a vibe that drew me to it.  I almost didn't make it there at all, in fact.  I was originally scheduled to fly out Sunday afternoon, but while sitting outside chatting with a pair of Kim's friends, I received a half dozen texts from Southwest about how my flights were constantly being delayed and pushed back then moved forward. Well, I could only take so much of having my flights tweaked like that so, given how great of a company Southwest is, I changed my flights to Monday morning and only had to pay the difference in air fare.  Why can't all airlines still be people friendly like that?

So, there we were with an extra night in Seattle.  Sounds like the perfect opportunity to revisit the previously missed hole in the wall known as Quinn's Pub. As eager as I am to talk about the food, equally impressive was the drink selection.  I think some drool just escaped my lips and splattered against my key board as I recall their craft beer list.  The first bottle for the evening was A Saison Darkly, followed up by the Chimay Trippel, on draft.  That's right, Chimay on draft.  Those two beers were both exquisite in their own rights, but what really gets my heart racing is the last bottle that I sampled that evening: Ayinger Ur-Weisse.  Months ago I broke my tradition of only ordering beers that could be described as some shade of night while at Marble in Santa Fe.  That afternoon spent with the Brothertons found me ordering a double white ale that made me completely reconsider my opinions about non-opaque beers.  Ever since then I've been open to trying other white or Belgian ales, but nothing ever came anywhere close, until the Ayinger Ur-Weisse.  It's hard to describe why I consider it such a fantastic beer drinking experience - it's a light, summer beer that's crisp and unfiltered.  It doesn't sound too special, I admit, but sipping it was sublime.  The perfect ending to a good meal.  Speaking of which, it's about time that I describe it, don't you think?

In looking at the menu, I was faced with a severe case of indecision: too many things looked too good to not order.  So, I did the only sensible thing possible: I ordered them all.

Sauteed Swiss chard, bluebird farro, caramelized onion, and marscapone

Ever since my visit to One Market Restaurant in San Francisco, I've not been able to get enough farro in my diet.  It shouldn't be any surprise, then, that the first dish to come out was the Swiss chard and farro.  I'm slightly surprised, to be honest, that I haven't taken the time to find a local source of Farro in Albuquerque, but then again I have been gone for the most part...

Duck confit and foie gras croquettes with a stone fruit and mustard sauce

As any readers of this blog are well aware of, I'm a sucker for duck.  Foie gras, for the ethical implications associated with it, is something that even though I enjoy, I usually don't seek out.  These croquettes were a complete gastronomical experience in every bite...crispy exterior and soft interior.  Savory meat with a tangy sauce.  The only thing missing was some visual firework display...but that was taken care of with the next dish:

Bone marrow, served with bacon and fresh herbs

Bone marrow is one of those ingredients that I'm always curious about.  I've had a few fun experiences cooking with it, but I've never been offered a chunk of bone marrow to eat as is.  Usually when you cook with it, it's in chopped up, inch long sections of bone...not something that's easily accessible, and a lot of work to get out any way other than just melting out.  But this, six inch long segments that was ready to be spooned straight to your mouth?  This was something new and, for lack of a better way to put it, an eye closing experience (closing - so I can just focus on the taste, texture, and smell of what I'm eating).  Whenever my sister sees me make this face, she says that that's the best compliment I could possibly give a chef or a restaurant.

Pork belly and crispy pig ears, served over watercress and frisee salad, pickled ramps, and bing cherry compote

The other ingredient that I've been going crazy over this summer, ever since my first visit to Farm and Table, is pork belly.  I've enjoyed it several times since then, but it was the dish at Quinn's that launched me into a mission to obtain (at Keller's Farm Stores it turns out) and experiment with it on my own.

Orange flower pound cake with a ginger-peach compote, and lavender panna cotta with berry sauce

The fifth and final dish for the night was a pair of desserts (again, we couldn't settle on just one!).  I'm going to have to wait for my fact checker to refresh my memory about these since the four preceding dishes and beers far outweigh them in my memory.

And, believe it or not, we've now reached the culinary end to my North-West road trip.  Hope you enjoyed the food pictures.  More coming soon!