Where's the Beef?

Tonight's dinner was a time-honored American tradition: The Burger. A slight amount of guilt is niggling at my fingers as I write this post after yesterday's conversation with a friend about shopping only from the perimeter of the grocery store (a.k.a. healthy, fresh, non-packaged foods) and while trying to lean more toward the plant side of omnivorous eating habits. But I digress...

Exploring is one of my favorite pastimes and when presented with the opportunity to go somewhere I'm not usually found I take the chance. Being in the vicinity of Phinney Ridge this evening, a burger at Red Mill was in order. Red Mill serves typical burger joint fare--burgers, onion rings, fries, shakes, and other drinks--but it is the flavor of the beef and interesting additions to the burgers that make me go back.

Don't bother with the fries, but try the onion rings. The shakes are amazing too. Tonight, though, I only ate the Red Onion Jam burger. A thin but flavorful patty of beef is sandwiched in a sesame seed bun between Red Mill's special sauce, red onion "jam" (caramelized red onions with other secret ingredients), and a large piece of romaine lettuce. I love Red Mill for the simple fact that I can actually get my mouth around their burgers (unlike another chain of a similar name). Reason #2: Usually I can finish one off without making a complete mess of the floor, the table, my hands, or my clothing.

Check out the website for directions, appetizing photos, and other information: Gotta love the map to the scale of one sesame seed = 300 miles. By the way: Cash only.

Revisiting Brunch

There is no greater meal than weekend brunch. Having slept in (or at least slept later than usual) you arise and stumble/ride/crawl/drive to your favorite haunt to chow down. There is no reason to hurry, just enjoy. It's the weekend, after all.

There are few greater places than Lola for that weekend brunch. Lola is owned by Tom Douglas, a James Beard award winning chef and owner of 5 (soon to be 6) Seattle restaurants. With a friend in town on business and another local friend and I both craving vanilla mascarpone on mini-donuts we made tracks to Lola.

We were not disappointed. As always, just a few minutes after the waitress poured our hot, strong mugs of coffee she returned with the little white paper bag, shook it up, and dumped those doughy, sugary pieces of goodness on a plate beside that amazing vanilla mascarpone, this time with pear butter alongside. What flavor! There were only 3 of us so we got two each...woot!

On to the photo you are salivating over. I have not been very experimental with the Lola menu because the eggs benedict still gets me every time. It is served with dill hollandaise and shaved ham, and accompanied by the smashed potatoes. The English muffin bread comes from another of Tom's haunts, Dahlia Bakery. One of the other reasons I love this meal is that it was my return to real life after a particularly awful dental procedure in which I could not eat solid foods for a few weeks (horrors!).

You can't beat brunch, but should you happen to be wandering through Seattle at an hour more appropriate to lunch or dinner, Lola serves that too. The menu has a decidedly Greek theme to it. I have not had the pleasure, but let me know if you do!

One tip: Make a reservation. I have walked in on a weekend without one and often there is an open table or just a short wait, but if you make a reservation they will have a table ready and you won't have to wait long for donuts and vanilla mascarpone!

Soup Day

I'm still here...three days into a pesky cold and my second day off work and I'm getting antsy. As my faithful followers may remember, when I get sick I often cook. Something about chicken soup shortening the lifespan of a virus. Well I also tend to develop a craving for spicy foods when I'm sick, so this afternoon I'm sitting here beside a simmering pot of hot (like spicy hot) Asian chicken soup. Since I don't feel like going out, here's what I found in my refrigerator, freezer, and pantry to create my own version of the chicken soup cure:
1 Tbsp. Asian sesame oil
3/4 box chicken broth
2-3 Tbsp. Tamari sauce
1 cup (?) sliced mushrooms
1/2 an onion, chopped
1/4 cup or so shredded carrots
1-2 cups chopped spinach
1-2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
and to fulfill the spicy craving...about a tablespoon and a half of green chili paste.
Then half a lime squeezed into it.
Just remembered I have some dried lemongrass...better throw that in too. About a tablespoon or two.
[insert 15 or 20 minutes of simmering]
First bite just now. Yes, that will definitely clear my head!*
*Measurements are an estimate


Enjoy! I'll sign off now so I can finish off the bowl without spilling the contents on the computer.