Madeleine

Travel with a Translator: Chiang's Gourmet

As a family of two, (actually three, but our little black cat Eek doesn't do dining reviews) it's often tough to order the way I'd like at most Asian restaurants. Which is to say you start with one or two well-loved dishes that can't be passed up (your litmus test so-to-speak), then delve into the unknown with regional delicacies & intriguing menu entries with often comically translated descriptions like "Dried Durnip"  or "Spicy Beaf on Roman Lettuce".

Ken has an innate ability to almost always pick the dish I wish I'd ordered in any restaurant--perhaps because of his journey through chefdom--but he usually points out that if a place has say, "Terikayi & Tempura" painted in bold letters on the window... Well, that's probably what you should focus on. You'd think I'd catch on, but what's the fun in sticking with the basics? Me, I like to pull the wild card which sometimes results in disaster at which point I bat my eyelashes & ask to share my husband's wisely chosen bowl of curry or dan dan noodles.

But last weekend we had a rare treat--not only did we have two dates on the calendar to go out for a family-style meal, but both were arranged by a "native eater" which means that you get the royal treatment & a culinary tour through hidden gems on the menu!

So our adventures began with a Mandalay reunion at Chiang's Gourmet, a surreally 50's diner meets spaceship landmark in Lake City... For those of you not in the know, the Mandalay Cafe was that sweet bungalow in Wallingford (now the home of Tilth) where my husband & the gang cooked up some of the best pan-Asian fare in Seattle (they consistently kicked Wild Ginger's butt in the Zagat!)

Former owners, Janny Mathias & Erik McWilliams (that's Erik, and that's not Janny to his left) were in town to cast their ballot (they now live on Vancouver Island up in serene Sooke, BC) & Janny managed to bring together a nostalgic round table of friends & family from the Mandalay days.

Janny hails from Taiwan, so she took charge of the ordering & soon we had a table full of curious Taiwanese breakfast items such as bowls of sweet soy milk & round rice dumplings wrapped around shredded meat, sugar, dried seaweed & fried Chinese doughnuts. Wow! That brings a whole new meaning to sweet & savory. I'd been warned that Chiang's is likely to slip westerners an entirely different menu, so I was psyched to be getting the real deal.
 
Although nearly empty when we arrived, shortly after noon families & large groups began to pour in... You might just want to have something in your belly before you arrive for breakfast because tables seemed to turn very slowwwly, & some of our dishes would randomly arrive 30 minutes later, long after we'd forgotten we'd ordered them, & some didn't come at all. And that's with a translator. 

But don't let me scare you off--despite its quirks, I am anxious to return, delving even deeper into Chiang's "authentic" menu (I might not be quite ready for Pig Intestine, Bloodcake, Sour Vegetable, Odor Tofu w/Hot Sauce In Hot Pot), & was especially thrilled to hear that there is a Chiang's outpost closer to home in Renton as well.

Now it's my turn to round up a group of friends, because I'll walk in already committed to re-ordering the "Owner's Pick": house-made noodles with ground pork, diced dried bean curd, & fresh cucumbers in a bean paste sauce, but I'm pretty intrigued by items such as "Chicken w/Ground Green Beans Sheets". Could be another one of my disastrous stabs at finding greatness in the unknown, but that's why there's safety in numbers.

Get ready to share your safe-bet Shanghai noodles, hubby, & pass the jelly fish! 

Chiang's Gourmet
7845 Lake City Wy NE, Seattle 206.527.8888
17650 140th Ave SE, Renton 425.235.8877

Going Whole Hog: Croatian Pig Roast on Bainbridge Island

The day started out quite innocently as we drove along the country roads of Bainbridge Island, fawning over the brilliant tapestry of autumn foliage we've been blessed with this year. Usually the rain has pummeled the leaves off the trees by now leaving us with a few weeks of lukewarm color before the gray settles in, but this fall has been a sweet reward for suffering through a December-like finish to August (with thunderstorms & hail to boot.)

"Now that's a picture!" I shouted as we whizzed past Bainbridge Island Vineyard & turned back around to get a closer glimpse through the vines framing a huge pumpkin patch at neighboring Suyematsu Farm, one of the few remaining plots on the island farmed by a Japanese-American (Akio Suyematsu), after 220 citizens of Japanese descent were rounded up from the island's berry farms and interned in California's Mojave Desert during World War II. 

But that's a tale I'll leave to "Snow Falling Over Cedars"--this story centers around one very big Bainbridge pig.

Kate & Larry are some of the wonderful customers-turned friends that I met in my days at the Spanish Table & when I saw an evite show up in my inbox for a Croatian pig roast, I frankly had to clear the calendar.

Kate's family is Andalucian, & I've been taunted for years hearing about the incredible paella feasts she's assembled for friends on the island, but her husband Larry has eastern European blood & slivovitz running through his veins--a grappa-like substance that was to be served to the guests (even though we were warned about that could wipe the make-up off of Tammy Faye in an instant.)

Did I mention the party started at 3:00 pm? But after enjoying a leisurely lunch of dim sum with friends & bloggers Dawn & Eric Wright of Wright Eats & Traca Savadago of Seattle Tall Poppy at Jumbo Chinese, my stomach was properly coated with grease to handle the job. A foodie's work is never done!

While I'm accustomed to the lavish spreads that my mother's family put out on special occasions & holidays, walking into a Croatian fete left me wide-eyed at the complete study in contrast--a plated mosaic of roasted peppers, a bowl of fresh cabbage salad replacing long-pickled sauerkraut, & whorls of dough baked in what looked to be one of my Portuguese paella pans. Who knew that eastern European food could be so vibrantly Mediterranean? Perhaps a trip to the Dalmatian coast is overdue.

I pride myself on attempting to throw down some complex recipes at home, but all I can say is Geez Louise! When I see that someone has created borek (a gorgeous pastry layered with feta) from their own HOMEMADE PHYLLO??? Well that takes the cake, Kate. Or maybe this does...

Ken's homemade Makovnjaca (poppyseed roll with raisins & rum) which was our assigned dish for the feast. Little did I know when I emailed Kate back & said, "Do I qualify for anadvanced recipe for the party?" that she would require me busting out the Kitchen Aid & measuring spoons. A baking assignment? Good lord, that takes precision & more patience than I have on a Saturday morning.

Enter my husband, an angel & a trooper, who cracked eggs shells & ground spices while I rounded up a dozen corn-husked bundles of deliciousness at Villa Victoria's tamale sale. Not only did Ken brilliantly succeed in his mission, but now he risks having to ship off a log to my mother-in-law in Utah every Christmas now that his talent has been exposed.

Let me warn you, even when buying poppy seeds in bulk, this caviar-like spice is pricey & making the Makovnjaca took over three hours. If you're not a baker & you live in Seattle, you might just head to George's Delicatessen on Madison by Swedish Hospital for a ready-made treat. But when if your hosts are spit-roasting a whole pig--umm--you should make it by hand, right??

I'll let the rest of the story play itself out in pictures, but many thanks to Kate & Larry for inviting us out for this incredible spread, & welcoming us into a fold of NW-islanders & Greek friends, alike. There's nothing sadder than having to leaving a party to catch a ferry while a group of revellers are gathered under heat lamps with a bottle of slivovitch being passed around. Zivjeli!!!

 

 

 

Salud! The First Official "Queso y Vino" Dinner

Since striking off on my own from the Spanish Table late last March, life has been a series of limitless choices to make about my future... The dream of opening up my own gourmet shop has loomed large in my psyche--one not limited to just Iberia but my love of exotic cuisines, cheeses, & hard to find staples that I search out for my own pantry--after six years of describing how to make the perfect paella day in & day out at the Pike Place Market. At times I felt a bit like a guide at the Grand Canyon (or perhaps the Museo del Jamon) especially during tourist season.

"That's our 200 person carbon steel pan," and I would proudly point to a mammoth paellera hung from the ceiling. One guy actually replied, "Well that could fry a lotta bacon!"

One tradition I've kept from my Span Tab days is the wine dinner series that started as a friendly collaboration between me & Gaudi Spanish Restaurant, a super-sweet tapas spot tucked up in Seattle's Bryant neighborhood. And now that I've formed my own company, Queso y Vino, I'm hoping to try hosting monthly gatherings around town with some of the exciting chefs that I have met through my years in the food & wine community.

So what better way to launch than with a Festival of Chiles celebrating the rich culinary traditions of Mexico with my friend, chef Naomi Andrade Smith of Villa Victoria!

I met Naomi years ago at the Pike Place Market, where this tour-de-force in taxi cab-yellow glasses & a pink straw hat would bustle through with a tangible energy, looking for Afro-Portuguese music & a wine recommendation. Little did I know that these visits were probably the few spare moments of her day when she ran a legendary tamale take-out window nestled up in Madrona where the likes of Jonathan Sundstrom would come to for a taste of Naomi's soulful cuisine.

Her cooking reminds me of the magical realism of "Like Water for Chocolate", where passion collides in the kitchen with a rich lineage taken from her Mexican mother who climbed avocado trees in Michoacan & the romance that bloomed with her adventuresome father, an African-American descendant of slaves who was part Oklahoma Chickasaw. And folks, once you taste her food & hear her stories, you fall spellbound...

So a few weeks ago I gathered fifty hungry foodies together at the Washington Wine Co. to get a taste of regional Mexican flavor on a rainy night. While it was a little chilly amongst the freshly racked barrels, things quickly heated up as we began to pour my pairing selections from Spain, Portugal & South America. Watching the dishes come out one by one, it was truly torturous knowing I would have to wait until *after* the dinner to try everything out!

Visually, Naomi's unique take on Chiles en Nogada (poblano chiles stuffed with a chicken picadillo & lavished with a walnut & cream puree) stole the show, the chipotle-rubbed pork ribs with jalapeno glaze left Ken & me fighting over our prized leftovers for days, people were commenting that the flan was the best they'd ever had, but the dish I will be dreaming about was the banana leaf wrapped tamales filled with a chanterelle/pecan mole & made with Wooly Pig's Mangalitza lard. Oh my god. These coated your mouth like the best meat butter in the world!

A big thanks to all who drove out to Woodinville to kick things off for Queso y Vino!!! If you would like to a crack at signing up for my next dinner at Gaudi on Tuesday, October 28th, or future events, you can sign up for the Queso y Vino newsletter at quesoyvino@gmail.com.

I'd love to have you on board.

As for chef Naomi, she tragically had to close her Villa Victoria take out window in Columbia City this month as the location, location, location factor didn't pan out. BUT, the unstoppable Ms. Andrade Smith will be focusing on her catering business for now, creating weekly menus for pick up (I can't wait to get more of that salsa!) & dreaming of a sit down restaurant where her talents can shine. Our fair city of Seattle doesn't have too many fabulous Mexican options outside of taco trucks and her cooking goes waaaay beyond burritos. You go girl--your fans are waiting!! Help me bug Naomi to get back in the kitchen by emailing her at info@villavictoria.net. She needs our support--and we need her tamales.