No visit to Seattle would be complete without copious quantities of fresh seafood.  The Gastronomer made her annual pilgrimage to the Pike Place Market and visited City Fish, on the recommendation of her barista, where she ordered fish from her barista’s beau.  How convenient!  And what a perfect Seattle couple: barista and fish monger!  Anywho, we picked up a collection of crustaceans and an enormous King Salmon from Neah Bay.

The first day we made two different dishes: mussels and clams steamed in white wine, parsley, and butter and prawns sauteed in garlic and olive oil.  We served the meal with Chateau Rollat Semillon, with a salty earthy flavor, and the Seven Hills lilac-evoking Viognier.  The Gastronomer made sure all the good juices were mopped up with a crusty baguette from Macrina Bakery.

The next day I grilled, with the faithful assistance of my sous chefs, the King Salmon, stuffed with rosemary, green onions, lemons and seasoned with salt and pepper.  It was accompanied with the remaining wine, including the Chateau Rollat Merlot (relatively full-bodied) Rose, a farro and feta salad, and a fruit and cheese plate with a balsamic reduction.  Phew! 

Even a day after purchasing the fish from the market, I was struck at the sheer freshness - beyond anything I have eaten in New York - of the sweet pink salmon flesh.  Some say it’s Pacific Salmon and some say it’s Pacific Salmon.  I will let you be the judge.

Of course I could not resist marinating the salmon’s head in soy sauce and hot pepper flakes, amongst other things, and grilling it up to the dismay of my sous chef.  Buen provecho!

The Gastronomer’s arrival in Seattle kicked off a festive July Fourth week of eating and enjoying the fruits of Lunch at Citizen Coffee and dinner at Panos Kleftiko. 

Citizen really delivered with a fatty spicy pork banh mi sandwich and a freshly made vegetarian crepe stuffed with avocado, caramelized onions, roasted asparagus, apple smoked bacon, spinach & goat cheese then artfully topped with homemade crème fraiche. 

The natural extension of my visit to Seattle would be to attend the Seattle International Beerfest under the shade of the Space Needle.  The beers tasted - and largely loved - are as follows:

• Stone Brewing Co. Double Dry Hopped IPA - A hoptastic experience only for the bold
• Finn River Dry Hopped Cider - More like a sour beer
• Fremont Brewing Co. The Brother Imperial IPA
• Mad River Brewing Co. Mad Belgian
• Lagunitas A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale - A great go-to beer with a little hop and a little wheat
• Doubtain Mountain Brewing Co. Peche Mode
• New Belgium Brewing Ranger IPA - An honest tasting IPA in a can that I saw all over hiking country

I just came back from a long overdue visit to Seattle.  Who cares? you, denizens of Jersey City, ask.  Well, not many people but I have only a few things to report:

1) Spoils - came back with some excellent Caffe Vita coffee and 1/2 a sopresatta from Salumi, the original (well it moved a couple times I guess) Batali restaurant.  The sopresatta is firm, dry and flavorful.  A little goes a long way and I recently tossed in a diced slice to a bowl of pasta to add a meaty, slightly sour and spicy treat for the tastebuds.

2) Coffee update - I have it from a little bird (my Moms) that the homegrown Seattle favorite Caffe Vita, which roasts its own dark rich chocolatey beans (see above) and brews up some of the most ethereal thick foamy lattes with a delicate pour, is planning to open a Lower East Side outpost.  Vita already has six locations in Seattle, one in Olympia and an eighth in Portland, Oregon.  The new Lower East Side location is set to open October 1st but may open later, depending on the license process.

I have been ordering whole bean, or ground when I’m lazy, from Vita since 2005 with a shipping cost of $10 per pound.  When the wallet was slim, I would hold out for a little bird (my Moms) to smuggle coffee in her luggage at the low cost of $0 to me.  Freedom, Coffee Drinkers, is upon us!  Rejoice!  Caffeinate!