Qube closed down on July 3rd. For us, it wasn't surprising although I must admit it catches my attention when any restaurant closes.
We visited Qube last year back before Chef Lisa Nakamura moved to the Woodmark Hotel (wish I could find out the inside scoop on why she left) and the meal was alright, I can't remember the details now but the key point is that we were never drawn to go back... we don't feel bad that we didn't get to go back and try it again before it closed.
I guess a lot of people felt the same way.
The owner blames the ecomonic downturn and that people are spending less. Does that mean that this is just sign of things to come?
If so, that might not be such a bad thing, it seems like in Seattle there are a lot of higher end restaurants that really aren't that great and thinning some of those out would be a good thing.
Just like hiring good people is hard no matter what the economy is like, good restaurants will be busy no matter what the economy is like. A little more pressure to deliver a great dining value would be good for the Seattle restaurant scene.
Showing posts with label Restaurant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Restaurant. Show all posts
Monday, July 14, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
O/8 Seafood Grill and Twisted Cork Wine Bar
Earlier in the week my wife and I went to check out the O/8 Seafood Grill and Twisted Cork Wine Bar in Bellevue. It's in Bellevue place where the Hyatt Bellevue is located.
O/8 has done a great job marketing itself. I've heard numerous commercials on the radio and it seems to get a lot of mention in local magazines, awards on Citysearch and the like.
First area of confusion for us was whether or not the restaurant and the wine bar were one and the same, whether they were different rooms, different locations or what?
Turns out, it is one restaurant which has both a dining room and a lounge. The lounge is the Twisted Cork Wine Bar. Bottom line is that you can sit in either part of the restaurant and order from the same menus, it's all about the ambiance you are looking for.
The wine list is pretty extensive, (Northwest focused) with an options for by the glass, by the taste, flights (3 tastes) and of course, bottle selections.
Everything by the glass (23 whites, 26 reds) is available by the taste (half glass) which is cool because you can essentially create your own flights.
We started with a taste of the 2006 Louis Latour ‘Valmoissine’ Pinot Noir, Provence, France (note: a Pinot Noir but not a Burgundy). Not surprisingly for Provence, it was bright but somewhat short and simple. A reasonable wine to start the evening with.
For dinner we both had specials: Hawaiian Ahi and Kobe Flatiron Steak, along with a taste of their recommended pairing which were the 2006 Jacuzzi Family Vineyards Barbera, North Coast, California and 2003 Dussek Family Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla, Washington respectively.
For our tastes, the Jacuzzi Barbera was so-so while the Dussek Cab was quite good, pretty bright and complex for the price point.
The food was alright but not outstanding. The Ahi didn't come across as fresh and soft as it should have. The steak itself was pretty good but the plate overall came across as a bit too "sticky". Given the price point for this restaurant, we expected more.
It was a good evening for us, we enjoyed being together and the ambience, environment and comfort of the restaurant were very good. They even had a jazz trio setting up to play as we were leaving.
Definitely some things to like, but for our 4 level rating system (Avoid, Don't Bother, Worth it, Outstanding), O/8 Seafood Grill gets a "Don't Bother".
O/8 has done a great job marketing itself. I've heard numerous commercials on the radio and it seems to get a lot of mention in local magazines, awards on Citysearch and the like.
First area of confusion for us was whether or not the restaurant and the wine bar were one and the same, whether they were different rooms, different locations or what?
Turns out, it is one restaurant which has both a dining room and a lounge. The lounge is the Twisted Cork Wine Bar. Bottom line is that you can sit in either part of the restaurant and order from the same menus, it's all about the ambiance you are looking for.
The wine list is pretty extensive, (Northwest focused) with an options for by the glass, by the taste, flights (3 tastes) and of course, bottle selections.
Everything by the glass (23 whites, 26 reds) is available by the taste (half glass) which is cool because you can essentially create your own flights.
We started with a taste of the 2006 Louis Latour ‘Valmoissine’ Pinot Noir, Provence, France (note: a Pinot Noir but not a Burgundy). Not surprisingly for Provence, it was bright but somewhat short and simple. A reasonable wine to start the evening with.
For dinner we both had specials: Hawaiian Ahi and Kobe Flatiron Steak, along with a taste of their recommended pairing which were the 2006 Jacuzzi Family Vineyards Barbera, North Coast, California and 2003 Dussek Family Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla, Washington respectively.
For our tastes, the Jacuzzi Barbera was so-so while the Dussek Cab was quite good, pretty bright and complex for the price point.
The food was alright but not outstanding. The Ahi didn't come across as fresh and soft as it should have. The steak itself was pretty good but the plate overall came across as a bit too "sticky". Given the price point for this restaurant, we expected more.
It was a good evening for us, we enjoyed being together and the ambience, environment and comfort of the restaurant were very good. They even had a jazz trio setting up to play as we were leaving.
Definitely some things to like, but for our 4 level rating system (Avoid, Don't Bother, Worth it, Outstanding), O/8 Seafood Grill gets a "Don't Bother".
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Dinner at Crush in Seattle
Recently, my wife and I ate at Crush in Madison Park (suburb of Seattle). As we drove up to the restaurant we realized that it is a converted Tudor style home which gives the restaurant a lot of character. The downside is that finding parking is a bit tough (no parking lot) and the restaurant capacity is somewhat limited (which on further reflection, may be a good thing).
As we walked in, we were greeted at the door by Chef Jason Wilson as the host was on the phone. This was a bit of a surprise, a pleasant surprise. While we were there, we didn't see him cook, he alternated between host his guests, and watching his staff/checking over the food.
As you walk in, the host stand is in front of you with steps to an upper floor to the immediate right. Scanning to the right there is a bar, behind which is the kitchen and some tables. To the left is a main dining area with tables.
The restaurant has a very clean look in a modern style (the Crush web site has a good picture of the dining room). The chairs were white, plastic egg-like things, very modern but not terribly comfortable. Overall, it looked nice and had enough warmth that it felt good to be there. Unfortunately, we found through the course of our evening that it was hard to have a nice conversation due to the high level of ambient noise. At times that was a little frustrating.
Chef Jason Wilson describes the food at Crush as Modern Northwest Cuisine. The menu changes quite frequently but you can expect to see a fair number of seafood dishes as well as grilled meats. We had the really light yet tasty Baby Beet Salad with Blue Cheese & Pear to start and had a pasta with beef rib for our main course. The pasta was a bit on the rich side for us as it had cream and olive oil but the quality of the food and cooking was apparent. I did spy what looked like really outstanding scallop and lamb dishes at the table next to us and kind of wished I had ordered something different. Next time I guess.
We ended our meal with bread pudding which was cooked the way we like it - not too sweet.
Overall, it was a good meal, probably the main thing that wrecked it for us was the noise level. I would be wary of going here for a date or romantic occasion for that reason.
Definitely make reservations, word on the street is that Crush tends to overbook on the reservations so bring patience - although it is important to note that we got seated right at our reservation time and had no complaints in that regard. Service was good.
As we walked in, we were greeted at the door by Chef Jason Wilson as the host was on the phone. This was a bit of a surprise, a pleasant surprise. While we were there, we didn't see him cook, he alternated between host his guests, and watching his staff/checking over the food.
As you walk in, the host stand is in front of you with steps to an upper floor to the immediate right. Scanning to the right there is a bar, behind which is the kitchen and some tables. To the left is a main dining area with tables.
The restaurant has a very clean look in a modern style (the Crush web site has a good picture of the dining room). The chairs were white, plastic egg-like things, very modern but not terribly comfortable. Overall, it looked nice and had enough warmth that it felt good to be there. Unfortunately, we found through the course of our evening that it was hard to have a nice conversation due to the high level of ambient noise. At times that was a little frustrating.
Chef Jason Wilson describes the food at Crush as Modern Northwest Cuisine. The menu changes quite frequently but you can expect to see a fair number of seafood dishes as well as grilled meats. We had the really light yet tasty Baby Beet Salad with Blue Cheese & Pear to start and had a pasta with beef rib for our main course. The pasta was a bit on the rich side for us as it had cream and olive oil but the quality of the food and cooking was apparent. I did spy what looked like really outstanding scallop and lamb dishes at the table next to us and kind of wished I had ordered something different. Next time I guess.
We ended our meal with bread pudding which was cooked the way we like it - not too sweet.
Overall, it was a good meal, probably the main thing that wrecked it for us was the noise level. I would be wary of going here for a date or romantic occasion for that reason.
Definitely make reservations, word on the street is that Crush tends to overbook on the reservations so bring patience - although it is important to note that we got seated right at our reservation time and had no complaints in that regard. Service was good.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Brix Wine Cafe
Last Thursday, my wife and I went to Brix Wine Cafe in the Juanita area of Kirkland. We called ahead to see if we can make reservations and were told they don't take reservations because there were plenty of tables.
We were a little taken a back by that since we usually find the good places tend to be busy. For example, the Purple tends to be busy all week.
Nonetheless, we knew the restaurant was pretty new and we had read some reviews on the web that made it sound like it was pretty good. There are reports that the Chef is Tom Black from Barking Frog however the web site and the menu indicate that the Executive Chef is Craig Stout with no mention of Tom Black. We don't care about who's in the kitchen as long as the food is good, just a point of interest.
Drove over there and parked, I had read that some people have worried about parking in Juanita village however I noticed that on our bill, it said that if you get a ticket while eating, Brix will cover it. Nice touch - I'd check into it with the restaurant before counting on that though.
The decor was good, trendy, nice display of wine bottles, and we took a seat in a booth close to the Windows. There were plenty of tables however the bar was pretty busy. It seemed like although they weren't packed with a lineup out the door, there was a steady stream of customers and the bar stayed full for the duration of our stay. (might be a good time to check this place out as it could get busier soon)
They have wine flights and we got the flight of Oregon wine which included A to Z Wineworks, Cherry Hill and Westrey, all Willamette Valley Pinot Noires.
The flight came to us in these mini glasses. I always wonder about this, wine really tastes bad in small, thick rimmed glasses. You can't get the bouquet off the wine which totally changes the experience. I'm always shocked when wineries trying to sell wine from tastings use crappy glasses. I understand there is an expense and for flights, big glasses make it look like you aren't getting much of a pour but still.
We asked for bigger Burgundy glasses and the waitress was nice enough to oblige even though she brought us bordeaux glasses. They were full sized glasses though, good enough.
The Cherry Hill tickeled our fancy the most although none were the kind of wine we'd run out and buy, mainly because they all seemed to either lack some complexity or were a little off balance. Good to drink and try however.
We then had a couple of glasses of the Fontanafredda Briccotondo Barbera which was quite good, easy to drink and enjoy.
The food (my wife had the Ahi Tuna special, I had the Pappardelle Pasta was pretty good, a little rich for our liking but definitely well prepared. We also had a cheese plate which was quite good but would have benefitted from a better selection of crackers/bread to go along with it.
The wine menu had a fair number of Washington wines along with a selection of Italian wines. We really missed having a selection of French wines to go through.
We also would have liked to be able to make a custom flight from the list of by the glass reds (we do this when we get the opportunity at other places).
Net/net for us was that we would go back but we wouldn't go out of our way to go back or plan to go back. We expected a little more refinement such as a better presentation of the flights, a full table of cutlery (we had only 1 fork and 1 knife), cheese knife for the cheese plate and such. Service was good though, there was just a bit of a feeling of a startup.
We were a little taken a back by that since we usually find the good places tend to be busy. For example, the Purple tends to be busy all week.
Nonetheless, we knew the restaurant was pretty new and we had read some reviews on the web that made it sound like it was pretty good. There are reports that the Chef is Tom Black from Barking Frog however the web site and the menu indicate that the Executive Chef is Craig Stout with no mention of Tom Black. We don't care about who's in the kitchen as long as the food is good, just a point of interest.
Drove over there and parked, I had read that some people have worried about parking in Juanita village however I noticed that on our bill, it said that if you get a ticket while eating, Brix will cover it. Nice touch - I'd check into it with the restaurant before counting on that though.
The decor was good, trendy, nice display of wine bottles, and we took a seat in a booth close to the Windows. There were plenty of tables however the bar was pretty busy. It seemed like although they weren't packed with a lineup out the door, there was a steady stream of customers and the bar stayed full for the duration of our stay. (might be a good time to check this place out as it could get busier soon)
They have wine flights and we got the flight of Oregon wine which included A to Z Wineworks, Cherry Hill and Westrey, all Willamette Valley Pinot Noires.
The flight came to us in these mini glasses. I always wonder about this, wine really tastes bad in small, thick rimmed glasses. You can't get the bouquet off the wine which totally changes the experience. I'm always shocked when wineries trying to sell wine from tastings use crappy glasses. I understand there is an expense and for flights, big glasses make it look like you aren't getting much of a pour but still.
We asked for bigger Burgundy glasses and the waitress was nice enough to oblige even though she brought us bordeaux glasses. They were full sized glasses though, good enough.
The Cherry Hill tickeled our fancy the most although none were the kind of wine we'd run out and buy, mainly because they all seemed to either lack some complexity or were a little off balance. Good to drink and try however.
We then had a couple of glasses of the Fontanafredda Briccotondo Barbera which was quite good, easy to drink and enjoy.
The food (my wife had the Ahi Tuna special, I had the Pappardelle Pasta was pretty good, a little rich for our liking but definitely well prepared. We also had a cheese plate which was quite good but would have benefitted from a better selection of crackers/bread to go along with it.
The wine menu had a fair number of Washington wines along with a selection of Italian wines. We really missed having a selection of French wines to go through.
We also would have liked to be able to make a custom flight from the list of by the glass reds (we do this when we get the opportunity at other places).
Net/net for us was that we would go back but we wouldn't go out of our way to go back or plan to go back. We expected a little more refinement such as a better presentation of the flights, a full table of cutlery (we had only 1 fork and 1 knife), cheese knife for the cheese plate and such. Service was good though, there was just a bit of a feeling of a startup.
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