Marination Mobile - Hawaiian / Korean Curb Cuisine - Restaurant Review - Seattle, WA

 

More groovy new street food in Seattle! Marination Mobile is prowling the streets, dishing up "Hawaiian and Korean curb cuisine". I'm presumably living right, because their Wednesday spot is right up the street from my work in Fremont (outside of Sound Scooters, at the same location that Skillet occupies on Thursday), so I've been able to hit them up twice in their first month of operation.

Marination's truck makes a good impression from a distance - shiny and clean, with cool graphics. Not that you eat the truck, but it makes you think that anyone who cares enough to keep the vehicle looking that good might be pouring some love into the food too. You'd be right.

There are only a few things on the menu: tacos, a kimchi rice bowl, sliders (mini hamburges, ala White Castle), and a kimchi quesadilla, plus occasional specials. I appreciate the brevity: street food is usually best when a few dishes are prepared over & over with fanatical attention to detail.

Marination's tacos and rice come with a choice of meats or tofu. Unfortunately for now at least, the tofu rice bowl isn't veg because the kimchi contains anchovy broth, but co-owner Kamala tells me that more veggie options are on the way.

This is really no tragedy though, because the tofu tacos are vegetarian and delicious. The tofu is marinated (of course), grilled, and topped with a tangy slaw and slices of jalapeno, with limes to squeeze on and Sriracha sauce available if you want to spice them up. Three tacos make a good light lunch, and will only set you back $4.50 total - can't beat that! Their slaw was so good it inspired me to make these roasted-potato and asparagus tacos.

Omnivorous friends that joined me on each visit have tried the other menu items and liked them. I can say that the kimchi rice bowl in particular looked very flavorful and delicious.

Check out their schedule and give Marination a try, I think you'll be happy!

Chocolate, Chocolate and More Chocolate

The second annual Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon is coming up again on July 12. I was a judge last year and was impressed with the wide range of chocolatiers that showed up to sample their wares, and at $20 for an adult advance ticket I thought it was a darn good deal.

I won't be able to attend this year, but somehow I still had the good fortune to receive a few advance samples from two of my favorite places: Theo Chocolates and Chocolopolis. Sometimes it is good to be a blogger!

Theo sent along a 91% Costa Rica bar that was amazingly smooth for such a high percentage, and a 45% milk chocolate that completely redefined my understanding of the light stuff. It has a complex, caramelized flavor that I could go back to over and over. Also included was a coffee & dark chocolate bar done in concert with Caffe Vita, and these incredible ghost chile & sea salt caramels.

I had the opportunity to tour Theo a couple months ago with a group organized by Keren Brown (aka the Frantic Foodie). I was amazed at what a small, committed group of people can do. How many chocolate companies do you know that have two Ph.D.'s on staff, one who specializes in the anthropology of cacao and another who is helping growers around the world improve the quality of their beans and processing? Or that have already been featured on Oprah? Or that partner with Jane Goodall? Or that uses only organic, fair trade beans? Amazing stuff. I can't even begin to tell you their whole story, you should just go visit them and take the factory tour, or if you live far away, peruse their site and buy some bars.

Chocolopolis also deserves lots of love. Chief Chocophile Lauren Adler curates ultra-high quality bars and confections from around the world, gathering them all at her small Queen Anne shop. It is a terrific place to taste, learn about chocolate, and come home with goodies you can't find anywhere else. They also make some awesome stuff on-site. The fig filled with anise ganache and dipped in 72% chocolate was one of the best bites I've put in my mouth in a long time.

Speaking of local Seattle companies, take a minute to sign up for the ChefShop.com newsletter and you have the chance to win $500 worth of their products. Their products are awesome.

Harvest Vine - Basque Restaurant Review, Seattle, WA

Have you ever noticed that some great restaurants consistently put you in a certain mood? Harvest Vine, Seattle's great Basque restaurant always leaves me happy to be alive. Chef Joseba Jimenez de Jimenez himself has a larger-than-life personality, and whether he's there on a given night or not, it permeates the whole experience with a sense of joyfulness, informality, relaxation and friendship.

I can think of no better place for an extended, festive dinner party. I recently had the opportunity to celebrate the 40th birthday of a good friend, with a group of seven. The waiter offered that we could either order off of the menu or simply let the kitchen do its thing. We had no hesitation - I simply asked that there be a decent number of vegetarian dishes.

Fellow vegetarians might doubt whether a Basque restaurant would have enough options for them. Although the menu certainly is meaty, I had no trouble at all. There was roasted green asparagus with a fried egg, white asparagus with shaved black truffles, the signature salad of paper thin beets, magnificent leeks in romesco sauce, and a cheese plate with amazing condiments, just to name some of the highlights.

I love how Basque cuisine celebrates great vegetables. Each of these dishes was noteable for how a terrific ingredient was treated minimally but perfectly, with total attention to detail. Trust me, that leek felt respected in the morning.

And then came dessert... with seven people I think we got to try every one of the sweets. (Vegetarians beware: one of them contained bacon!). It must have been my lucky night because I'm a sucker for salty/sweet desserts, and several fit the bill, including a pair of caramel and sea salt ice creams. Yep: sea salt ice cream. Amazing.

I believe pacing is one of the most important aspects of a good restaurant experience. If I'm just out for a bite with the kids so we don't have to wash dishes that night, I want my food five minutes ago, and the bill shortly thereafter. If I'm out for a date with my wife, or in this case a party with friends, where the meal is the main entertainment for the evening, I want to take my time. Nothing kills a dinner for me more than being rushed.

At Harvest Vine, the pacing was spot on. Waiters made sure our wine glasses stayed full and, otherwise they remained just invisible enough for us to enjoy our conversation and the terrific food. We were there for three hours, and there was absolutely no sense of hurry, nor of waiting too long for any course.

It is certainly possible to dine for much less, but Harvest Vine has a way of putting you in a mood to sample everything and cost be darned. Our total came to about $75 per person (including tax, tip and moderately priced wine). That makes it ones of the more expensive meals in town, but to my way of thinking, well worth it.