To celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Joan of Arc I dined and drank the tasting menu at Canlis in Seattle. A place where old things are made new.
There is a pianist in the lounge who plays lovely and contemporary standards like Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” and Sia’s “Chandelier”.
I started with a pre-dinner cocktail called Lusca – Plantation 3 Star rum, Yellow Chartreuse, lemon, orange, maple syrup. It’s like a Spanish Monk on ‘roids.
An amuse trio featuring potato, parsnip, foie, radish, and pea shoots in no particular order. The pairing was a 10-degree tin-brewed sake.
Tartare on some kind of crisp, the flavors of melon and wild flowers.
Canlis uses trucker seating, a party of two is seated side-by-side instead of across from one another. It is the best seating, and I gladly contorted myself to snap a pic of my date’s iced tea service.
This is the infamous Canlis salad, which is romaine and mint and tomatoes covered by a Parmesan crisp.
You crack the crisp and mix it all up in the salad. It’s super fun for a salad.
The salads were paired with a Provence rosé. I meant to keep track of all these vintages but my notes are mostly filled with thoughts on the meaning of “varnish” and what songs the pianist was playing. I think this is the 2013 German Riesling they paired with the Sockeye, we may never know.
Sockeye salmon with yogurt and sea beans.
A monster serving of foie.
And this strange nugget is the Canlis Shrimp, heated with dry vermouth and garlic.
Squab with puffed rice, charred cornichons, and squashes. The squash was pureed with umeboshi which gave the dish a wonderful fermented flavor.
I sadly fell behind on my wine but the squab was paired with a HUGE Australian Cabernet, my favorite pairing of the night. Below is the wagyu entree, with parsnips, basil and asparagus.
The sweet silence of an emptying establishment.
Pineapple sorbet, white chocolate handkerchief, sugared corn, Douglas Fir foam, malted macadamia crunch. This was my dessert appetizer, paired with an exclusive Austrian bernalseace blend which tasted beautifully of dried stone fruits. My notes include an odd mention of “Lily Pulitzer??” I think I was trying to make a joke about exclusivity and corn.
The aforementioned Austrian wonder.
Coffee.
Messages written in chocolate, a deconstructed crème brûlée.
A house-made negroni macaroon and a lime macaroon which I rediscovered at the bottom of my purse the next morning.
Two weeks ago I took a very unflattering tumble from a modern barstool in the Urban Farmer steakhouse located in downtown Portland. I’d been sampling all kinds of decadent creamed spinach options at various establishments hoping to provide you, dear reader, with my take on the best — the definitive creamed spinach.
As I attempted to delicately perch my rump on the feather-weight throne it went flying, gliding out from under me as if the floor were made of ice freshly smoothed by a Zamboni. Thanks to Newton and his properties my body continued backwards in slow motion, stumbling and flailing until my Kind Sir Companion grabbed both my arms to narrowly prevent me from becoming a hilarious pile on the rink. (So chivalrous you are, Mr. Alonso Quixano.)
During the episode (which seemed to take hours) my mind flashed to simpler times: establishments with proper seating for respectable and hard working adults, how humble meals usually warrant the most stars.
The Coliseum Country Style Cafe in Greensboro, NC has real seating, real food, and I go there once every two years for the same experience. They always ask me where I’ve been hiding and then they bring the sweet tea and they keep it coming.
Ashby ordered fried squash, broccoli, and a Greek salad which as you can see is spaghetti with feta, olives, and seasoning.
I rolled a bit deeper because time is of the essence and I simply cannot be stopped. As divine providence would have it Salisbury Steak was an off-menu special, dictated by the light Southern drawl of our wonderful waitress. I added lima beans, mac salad, and sweet potato casserole.
We shared the absolute best fried jalapeno cornbread in all the land. I dream about this stuff, I write verse for this stuff, it is obscenely delicious.
Here’s the thing about Salisbury Steak, it’s ugly. It’s the best kind of ugly because you cannot dress it up. A mixture of ground beef (in this case a little bit of liver is added for a delightful mineral quality) and you plop a brown mushroom and/or beef gravy on top. It is umami and zesty and comforting and sad, the most horrifically beautiful entree. I would proudly include this in my very own “Babette’s Feast”, suited for paupers and royalty.
Dessert was a slice of sweet coconut pie.
And rum-raisin bread pudding.
I don’t need your fancy seating or your creamed spinach dusted with gold leaf and Spanish truffle. You may keep your adorned Quixotic dream. Give me the stark reality of food that is practical and truthful, and the strength to welcome the humiliating experiences that can humbly carry us to brighter visions.
“Rave about nobility when no one can hear you.” – ALDONZA
There is a newly opened establishment on 39th Avenue in Southeast Portland, it’s located in a building that used to serve coffee, just around the corner from a place that still does. Turn left on the street with the broken sidewalk and take the next right on the sidewalk soaked with rain. Wander aimlessly (don’t trip), you’ll likely make it in the front door.
No Ordinary Place
Geographic placement is the only piece of homogeneity that pertains to The Kingdom of Roosevelt. It is not at all reminiscent of dining out for dinner in Portland. Oddly, Roosevelt is doing everything that usually equates to ‘Portland’: locally sourced ingredients, taxidermy and antlers, waitresses who look like they were birthed full-grown from the pages of a J. Crew catalog, but there is a shocking lack of pretension in this room that seats only 20 people and 4 of them can saddle-up to the finest, thickest bar I have ever laid my grubby hands on. Carved from Black Walnut, this length of wood is cool to the touch and visually stunning.
No Ordinary BarFox Confessor Brings the Pigeon
Roosevelt belongs to Eric Bechard and you’ve probably heard stories about Eric. ‘Hailing from the old Alberta Street Oyster House…he beat up a fellow chef in front of Magic Gardens…yep, they were fighting about pork.’ Far more interesting is the fact that Bechard hunts and forages the ingredients for this Kingdom. The Roosevelt Elk informs the dining room, the guests eat what the Elk eats, the eater becomes the Elk.
Be the Elk. Transform.
As is the case with many great tales of evolution, this one starts at the sea.
Sea Change
Raw Razor Clams from Seaside. Five Sea Vegetables. Radish. Cucumber.
My date and I ordered the 6 course tasting menu. Choosing between poetic menu items such as:
Fallow Deer Heat Tartare with His Marrow
Soft Cooked Egg and Smoked Steelhead Roe
Duck Broth with Her Poached Egg
Overwhelmed. We couldn’t decide.
Moving InlandPoached Potato Pâté , Duck Fat, Wild Garlic, Duck Cracklingslet the fixer work until the silver’s washed away
I ruminate about plate settings far more often than I admit. On a recent visit to a purported 5-star restaurant I spotted a steak knife with a plastic handle and I sank into a deep despair. I collect and use sterling silver at home not because I am a high-minded bourgeoisie (though I have my moments) but because it actually makes food taste better! Try tasting your favorite ice cream with a plastic spoon and then try a sterling spoon (ideally with the first initial of your last name engraved on the end). Tell me I’m wrong. Say Uncle.
duck breast carpaccio, pumpkin seed, cabbage chips, iris briar rose cheese (goat), cherries, sorrel
This is raw duck breast, it melts with the cheese, has a crunch of the cabbage, and marks the halfway point of your Elk Evolution. You are growing hooves. The woman behind you gasps a bit as new antlers begin to show through your hair. You are not afraid.
the trinkets and the treasures you brought back from the crusadespigeon liver custard, pickled huckleberries, elderberry gelee, edible flowers and such
This was SO INTENSE. A pungent game-y flavor with a hint of grassy sweetness from the greenery, the warmth of the elderberry. The supremely earthy mixture spreads on Little T Bakery bread unlike any…spreadable I have ever spread.
further evidence of proper settingsmy abiding loves
Pickled beets AND salt roasted beets, the most divine pickled Elk Tongue in existence, horseradish, a scant brush of fresh yogurt, wood sorrel. This is a special concoction from the kitchen because I am a gal who loves beets AND tongues. I guess that’s the kind of treatment you get when you’re wearing your t-shirt from the Abbey Bar in New Orleans, the one that says, ‘Repent, You F’n Savages! Repent!’ Turns out this sentiment takes you pretty far in a wild game restaurant. Now you know.
hello, old rabbit
Rye berry porridge with nettles, rabbit confit, soft cheese, black trumpets. This was very much like eating a risotto in a ditch deep within a forest that is far away from civilization.
elk meatball made with his leg & kidney, three cabbage dumpling, yogurt, fried shallot
The way The Kingdom uses small amounts of dairy is exceptionally brilliant. Now that your Elk Evolution nears completion you won’t have a taste for much milk and cheese but you will probably enjoy the rare delicacy in your overland travels. In case you’re curious, even Elks can drink wine…
Coattails Winery – 2010 Pinot Noir
This winery is one to watch. It’s owned and operated by two PNW brothers who come from a long line of winemakers. They actually work for other wineries full time, Coattails is their passion project. This is a huge pinot noir, the perfect libation for your new Elk self.
What a meal. You will enjoy this very much. Before you scamper off into the wild take a glance at your emerged proud tail.
bunny bread surprise 