Not many people are blessed with an adventureous mother-in-law who now lives in Utah, minus one gallbladder, AND whose mission is to eat some good pizza while here in Seattle. Count me as one of the lucky...
A new house is akin to a new baby--we suddenly have an influx of family who we love to entertain, but who we don't want to feel obligated to wash a mound of dishes at the end of each meal.
So one week later, we celebrated Mother's Day with Jean, a faithful reader, excited to have her take part in our quirky blogging adventures. I've been longing to check out the new uber-upscale gourmet delicatessen Porcella on the eastside, so we piled into the Nissan & headed for the hills.
Porcella is ripe for Bellevue, or vice versa, but after lunching here I was left wishing for a Seattle outpost. The place seemed to have a share fair of MS-joggers checking out their wares, neighborhood new moms, & the rotund & older moneyed crowd comparing Whole Food prices.
Porcella has only been open a few weeks, & while I figured a weekend seat would be tough terrain, the dining area was deserted prime time on Sunday afternoon. I hope this changes as their menu fare is extremely reasonable given the quality & inventiveness while the shelves of gourmet sundries require a wallet fatter than mine. 
Everything is top notch when it comes to quality, so I'm likely to bag one small treasure at a time on my visits & leave sated. But this is gourmet candyland--just to look, fondle, & taste their wares is a delight in itself.
After admiring the mouth-watering selection of dry goods, I have to admit, perusing the deli coldcases did not inspire my appetite & as the counter staff sought our order, I whispered into my husband's ear that I might like to seek lunch elsewhere. Cold rillettes, a coagulated mass of herbed carrots, & an armada of Salumi meats did not set my appetite on fire. I looked at the posted menu & peered back at their apparent offerings feeling perplexed--why didn't they match up?
Upon asking the staff (who were nearly as perplexed as me & often referred to their cheat sheets,) I found out that menu items are often prepared to order, while other dishes are so seasonal they were already a goner since the menu's printing two weeks ago, such as citrus-grilled white asparagus.
The sitdown menu is the way to enjoy Porcella (unless, of course, you have a fancy dinner party for twelve involving duck confit), & even while our $65 tab for three (including tax & tip) seemed steep when we ordered it proved to be a steal for light-lunchers. We wanted to sample a bit of everything & ended up with great memories to-go.
Ken's choice of the roasted beet salad started out things right with a savory bite of earth--the dirtiness that can make you love or hate this overgrown radish--but with a perfectly picked sweetness that rounded things out. Next up to bat was my choice of ensalada--chervil, parsley, fresh favas & crisp strands of pork belly in a green Bermuda Triangle. Beautiful to behold, I felt bovine trying to chew my way through the impressive barricade of parsley which hid hard-earned fava beans. 
But my soup, oh my souppe, could you have really only have been six dollars? I want you, I need you, I am there to consume you until the end of time! 
Parsnips & asparagus, yes, pureed with heavy cream & a citadel of succelent morels made me cry uncle & go back for the next lovin' spoonful each time I tasted it. At a mere $6 a bowl, you'd be hard pressed to find anything as worthy on your spoon.
Sandwiches might be off-putting for most at about the twelve dollar range. One lamb, one chicken with gourmet accoutremants were served on memorable crisp bread (we ran back to buy a baguette post-haste) but most munched on was our basket of divinely thin & perfectly fried basket of gaufrettes, drizzled with truffle oil. 
My god, if you have time to kill on the eastside & five bucks on your hands, you'd be a fool not to taste these gentrified waffle fries.
And as we headed out of Bellevue, we made one last stop at Capri (more escapades to blog between), a great old world store with killer cannoli's, fresh Polly-O ricotta by the lb, & every sauce imaginable--the sign read closed, thanks for the memories.
Rest in peace, you sold the best frozen croissants out there. Let's make Porcella a bloomin' success so no more gourmet tears need shed! 
Porcella Urban Market
10245 Main Street, Suite 101
Bellevue 425-286-0080
Thanks for the tip! This place is almost right down the street from me, and I didn't know it. I assume you're familir with Bis on Main, which is one of the better restaurants on the Eastside and is in the same neighborhood of Old Bellevue. Capri, alas, if not closed, has been declining into oblivion for the past couple of years. I found some vintage-1990 wine on their shelf a while back that I would have purchased if it hadn't been standing there upright for the last ten summers. I'm sure there will be a new condo or office building on that spot in the near future.
Posted by: Art | May 23, 2006 at 03:05 PM
I've heard great things about Bis, especially from some great customers who were hosting a recent Spanish tasting there with their wine group. Hope to get over there sometime for dinner myself.
Glad to have pointed out something new of interest on the eastside, & boy do I wish I was within walking distance. I think things should only get better as the cook staff gets used to the kitchen & the front end learns more about their wares. Until then, they've got helpful cheat sheets to help you get more info!
Cheers...they're open seven days a week.
Posted by: ms.proust | May 23, 2006 at 09:55 PM
I stopped in today for a late lunch (I'm actually on the north side of 520 so had to drive), and, oh my God, were you right about the asparagus-parsnip soup! I can't imagine anything better than that soupwise at anywhere near the price, and I've had some damned fine soups in my day. The pork sandwich was very tasty, too. I learned that the chef/owner is involved with Bada in Seattle . . . ? He didn't smile much, maybe because he's now in Bellevue. Can't say I blame him. I also overheard the management bemoaning the fact that so many eastsiders prefer going to Bellevue Square -- for what, I'm not sure. Could it be . . . MALL FOOD??!! Sometimes I hate it over here. If you didn't check out the wine department, I have to say that it's not exactly inspired. They've called in some consultant, though, who's revamping it with a Northwest focus. I'm not sure that's such a good idea, but I guess they favor the "produced locally" theme.
Posted by: Art | May 24, 2006 at 10:26 PM
Oh, I'm so glad someone else was blissed out on that divine soup. Sadly, it probably won't be on the menu for too long since it relies on such incredibly seasonal ingredients. How on earth are they putting that amount of morels in a soup that price.
I decided it best not to knock their wine selection, but you're right, nothing sold me especially with the mark-up. Because I want to see these guys succeed, I won't go into too much detail. I think I inadvertantly scared off some wine perusers by blurting, "$14.99 for that? $17.99 for that?" Whoops. It's dangerous when you've got a metric for wholesale prices in your brain.
Northwest, sigh. Local is good, but since the products that they carry are so European, what about an international artisanally-produced wine selection? My guess is that they wouldn't need a consultant, but an actual steward which I didn't see anywhere in the grocery section. The prices on the food items seemed fair but still they need an educated staff & clientele to sell such high end wares.
Who on god's green earth prefers mall food to what these folks have to offer people's bellies??? This is why I never go to Bellevue, but Porcella & Zizo's is why I'd go back. Spread the word!
Posted by: ms.proust | May 25, 2006 at 10:34 PM
Who prefers mall food? Have you checked out the number of restaurants in the new Bellevue/Lincoln Square complex? Not only is there a plethora, they're packed! Part of it is because the people have kids, they can also park, and they like one-stop shopping. The rest is that most don't know any better. The only thing worse than putting malls in the middle of cities is putting sports domes there.
Good idea for the Porcella wine department. I'll mention it to them if I get the chance.
Posted by: Art | May 26, 2006 at 09:05 AM
I am happy to have pleased most of you. I had a disagreement with the wine buyer and we parted ways amiably. I want the focus to be on recognizeable local wines. I envision our customer being able to come in after work and pick up dinner for 2 and wine to go for under forty dollars. I strongly feel that keeping the "Meals" in this price range will keep people coming in the doors while allowing me to stock the "larder" with more exotic and rare ingredients thatus foodie love but don't really move so often.
Thanks for the thread and I am always open to comments and gentle criticism.
Posted by: Kelly Gaddis | May 31, 2006 at 06:55 PM
p.s. Mall food sucks.
Posted by: Kelly Gaddis | May 31, 2006 at 06:56 PM
Hey, thanks for slogging blogs to find mine Kelly! I hope you felt that my review was as enthusiastic as it was honest because I was genuinely inspired as I left the table, & I hope others are as well. Bellevue is lucky to have you--wish you had a second outpost in Columbia City! This booming "new Ballard" needs gourmet to-go...
As for the wine selection, I hope you keep some diversity on your shelves but understand the need to work with the locals. Ultimately, it's about pleasing your clientele be it giving them comfortable choices or introducing wine lovers to new finds that please their palate. At my outpost, I get off on the latter, but I'm all for whatever keeps you afloat!
Posted by: ms.proust | May 31, 2006 at 10:40 PM
I second that emotion! I definitely welcome Porcella to the eastside and will do my best to spread the word. For what it's worth, my prediction is that in time some of the grocery section will give way to sit-down dining. With a kitchen that good and what I believe is more of an inclination on the gourmet side to eat out (or cook at home) than take out, plus the need for good lunch spots in Bellevue, it could make sense. Pomegranate in Redmond, with a similar atmosphere in a much different area, seems to have recognized that, although the food isn't nearly as good. Need I mention the plethora of "recognizable local wines" virtually everywhere? I'm still for the artisinals.
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