Altura

617 Broadway E
Seattle, WA 98102

Occasion: Friday night fine dining in Seattle. We both decided to pick a restaurant of our choice to dine at.  Friday night was up to me and I did some research online and on yelp and came to the conclusion of choosing this relatively new spot to dine at. We opted for the chef's tasting menu. 08.31.12

Complimentary shots

We got to sit right at the bar and watched the chef and sou chefs prepare meals.  It was definitely a different experience; something that we enjoyed. A lot of times, we don't get the opportunity to appreciate the art and the work that a chef puts into our dishes.  I'm definitely glad we got to sit at the bar.

Amuse bouche:

Sweet corn Panna cotta with green olive oil and cured salmon

How do you not like complimentary dishes. The light creamy panna cotta went surprisingly well with the cured salmon. There's definitely a good balance of flavors there.

Complimentary bread

Peach and melon salad

Tomato two ways

Tomato with burratta

Reminded me almost of a caprese salad

Tomato bisque

Tagliatelle

Probably my favorite dish of the night! Chunks of crab meat! Soft pasta. Cripsy guanciale(?); which reminded me of bacon but a lot thinner. The sauce was delicious and the cherry tomatoes were super sweet.

Risotto

Creamy with flavorful speck and mussel

Ravioli

stuffed with veal and procini with sweetbread picked onion and lemon reserve

Lamb: Two ways! Loved it seared

Steak: truffles orange and delicious! Crispy fried rice like things. Puree was sweet and great compliment

Foie Gras

I think the chef overheard that we were from California and our reminiscing of the banned luxury good, so he prepared this foie gras torchon for us. It was amazingly delicious. The acidity of the variety of fruit chunks helped lighten the richness of the foie gras and complemented it very well.  Not only was the presentation itself a pretty sight, but the flavors were there too. Thank you for preparing this dish for us!

Cheese plate

Since Henry is not a fan of cheeses, I basically devoured most of this.  There was definitely a bleu cheese in there that had a distinct smell that made it unbearable for him.  How can you not like cheese?

And then, there was dessert. By this dish, I regretted going with the chef's tasting menu and wished that we just chose what we wanted. Don't get me wrong, I love desserts, but when I go fine dining, I like to save all my appetite for the food.  It wasn't anything extraordinary...even though I did almost finished everything. #fatgirlproblems

Beecher's Handmade Cheese

1600 Pike Pl
(between Post Alley and Pine St)
Seattle, WA 98101

Occasion: After happy hour at Lola's we decided to walk back to the pike's place market which is a block away from where we were staying. We probably had about 15 minutes between Lola's and this next destination. As if we didn't eat enough already...we stumbled upon beecher's, known for their house made cheeses 08.30.12

World's Best Mac and Cheese

Let me just say one thing. It is definitely NOT the best mac n cheese I've had.  The cheese wasn't all that creamy and it was honestly lacking some flavors. Perhaps I'm spoiled by all the wining and dining at restaurants in San Francisco, where some of the best chefs work.  In my opinion, I don't think it was that great.

Lola

2000 4th Ave

Seattle, WA 98121

Occasion: After a whole morning of being tourists we decided to try some of Giada's favorite eats in Seattle. As featured on The Food network's Best thing I've ever eaten: we ordered their donuts. We called in an order, but when we picked it up, it was happy hour so we decided to sit down and have a drink. 08.30.12

Doughnuts

They're made to order and served with vanilla mascarpone and house made apricot jam.  I can totally see why it's on Giada's best things she's ever eaten list.  I mean what isn't good when it's fresh out the oven, warm and fluffy?  What did it for me were not the donuts itself, but the pairing with mascarpone and their absolutely delicious apricot jam.  I love how they're bite sized.  

Drinks were about 4-5 dollars during happy hour and it got me pretty buzzed.  What a great mid day snack and drink session.  The doughnuts were so good that we placed an order to go.