Prima Bistro – Langley

Once in awhile it is nice to get away from Seattle for the weekend to enjoy great food and scenery.  One of my favorite restaurants on South Whidbey Island is Prima Bistro.  It is on a prime spot in the seaside village of Langley with amazing views of the Cascades and the Saratoga Passage.  The restaurant serves French inspired food with local ingredients.  The dinner menu list looks amazing so I have to be sure to try just couple different dishes.   I learned a big lesson when I had twelve dishes in one day when I was in Napa this summer.

Prima Bistro has a good wine selection and suprisingly they have more of a selection of reds from Oregon than locally.  If you are a fan of Pinot Noir like me than definitely try their wines from Willamette Valley.  All their small plate and appetizer dishes looks amazing…. oooh dear.  I decided to try their fritters with mozzarella, blue cheese, and burrata drizzled with garlic peppercorn vinaigrette.  Great textures, rich buttery flavor of the burrata, and the vinaigrette enhanced the flavor quite well.   

blue cheese and burrata filled Fritter - Prima Bistro

Next, the pan fried veal sweetbreads with apricot and thyme gastrique was amazing.  I am a big fan of sweetbreads and I must say that this was the most innovative. Sweetbreads are very rich in itself and has a distinct mineral flavor.  The apricot gastrique was out of this world…it literally tasted like candy.  Gastrique is a sticky thick sauce that consists of reduction of sugar, vinegar, and fruit where in this case the apricot has been caramelized over heat. 

Pan fried veal sweetbreads with apricot gastrique - Prima Bistro

Lastly, I tried the confit of duck leg on a salad of puy lentils and frisee with a warm bacon vinaigrette….crispy skin, very moist meat, and richness in every bite. 

Confit of Duck Leg - Prima Bistro

Overall, I immensely enjoyed Prima Bistro for its excellent French fare and knowledgable waitresses who know gourmet food.  The quickest way to get to Langley is to take the Mukilteo/Clinton ferry.  If you like to take the scenic route I highly recommend going 1-5 N and take exit 230 to check out the Deception Pass bridge  among other amazing nature destinations.  Enjoy everyone!

Prima Bistro website:  http://www.primabistro.com/

Address:  201 1/2 First Street Langley, WA 98260

Hours:  Daily 11:30am-9:30pm, Saturdays till 11pm

Contact:  360 221-4060

Morimoto Napa

My best friend completed his PhD in Physics a couple years ago and we have been meaning to celebrate with a trip to a great culinary landscape for sometime. We are both foodies and wine lovers hence we decided to meet in Napa on 4th of July weekend and it was definitely worth the wait. The wine region of Napa and Sonoma is very special to me as I started going there since my 21st birthday. The wine country has many great restos and it’s definitely growing especially neighboring towns such as Healdsburg (one of my favs).  I was reading the Wine Enthusiast magazine about the changing landscape of Downtown Napa and noticed that Iron Chef Morimoto opened up the first restaurant on the west coast in 2010. I am a fan of the Iron Chef and I definitely had to check out his dining establishment first in Downtown Napa.

Morimoto Napa is located right in the middle of the new Riverfront complex on Main St.  It has a very sleek and open feel to the restaurant with tall ceilings and minimalist design. There is an open kitchen which is great as you can see how the chef’s prepare the dishes and if your lucky you may even spot Iron Chef Morimoto in the action. Interestingly, before he became a chef he was going to be drafted to a major league in Japan, but ended his career because of an arm injury. Nevertheless, he has created a successful career for himself in the culinary world.

The menu had so many innovative dishes from the cold and hot appetizer categories.  All their raw fish and other seafood dishes are sourced from Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market.  We decided to try a couple dishes from the hot appetizer section.  I first tried the Morimoto bone marrow…with teriyaki sauce, 5 spices(cayenne, chili pepper, cumin coriander, paprika) topped with caramelized onion and panko which was roasted…Yum!  A nice touch was the Meyer lemons – add a splash and the fruit acidity cuts the richness of the bone marrow perfectly.

Morimoto bone marrow - Morimoto Napa

 

I am a major fan of seafood and tried the grilled spicy king crab with tobanjan aioli, and micro cilantro….very creative and delectable.  I initially thought the king crab was in its shell, but it was camoflaged with the creamy tobanjan to give it its red vivid color…very clever indeed.  The term tobanjan is a spicy miso paste that is very versatile especially for that added kick. 

 

Spicy King Crab - Morimoto Napa

 

As you probably know by now how much of a foie gras fan I am, I wouldn’t pass up on the oyster foie gras with market oysters, uni, foie gras, and teriyaki sauce….great balance of sweet and saltiness.  I am personally a fan of caviar sushi and the uni added a nice balance of sweetness to the oysters. 

 

Oyster Foie Gras - Morimoto Napa

Lastly, you cannot go wrong with great dessert to end your night of wine hopping in Napa.  I love anything rhubarb and the strawberry rhubarb tart with thai basil sauce and a strawberry jasmine milkshake…very tasty and refreshing!

Strawberry Rhubarb Tart - Morimoto Napa

 

I needed a balance of desserts from light to rich.  The miso butterscotch pudding with bitter chocolate foam and black tea caramel was perfect!  Great contrasting yet balanced flavors of sweet from the butterscotch and saltiness from the caramel. 

 

Miso Butterscotch Pudding – Morimoto Napa

 

 

Morimoto has an excellent selection of innovative cocktails.  The white lilly – shirayuri which comprises of calpico, shochu, yuzu juice, and lemon juice was very tasty!  The term Yuzu is a citris fruit that is very tart.  Shochu is a distilled spirit.  The difference between sake and shochu is that sake is brewed while shochu is distilled.  Shochu has more of an earthy and nutty taste.  If you are a bloody mary fan, the “bloody mary-moto” has an innovative twist of grey goose orange vodka, heirloom tomato, teriyaki, wasabi, and pickled peppers.  Also, they sell shochu, premium, and aged sake.  Their most expensive sake is the “Morimoto 1972″ which has spiced pumpkin and citris oil aromas with a tropical fruit finish…..priced at $504  for a bottle (500ml).  Overall, I enjoyed the innovative dishes at Morimoto in Napa.  This would have to be one of the best Japanese restaurants that I’ve had in awhile by far.  If you ever get the chance to visit Napa, definitely check out the Morimoto restaurant.  Enjoy everyone!

 

Morimoto Napa

 

 

Morimoto Napa website:  http://www.morimotonapa.com/

 

Address:  610 Main St., Napa, CA 94559

 

Hours:  Sun-Thurs 5-10pm, Fri-Sat 5-11pm

 

Contact:  707 252-1600

 

 
View Larger Map

RN74

A new restaurant just opened its doors right in the middle of downtown Seattle on 4th Ave and Pike.  RN74 is the brainchild of Michael Mina who is a James Beard award winning chef.  He has many many different well received restaurants from San Francisco to Las Vegas.  Suprisingly, he was raised in Ellensburg, WA and now resides in SF.  RN74 is primarily a wine bar focused on Grand Cru wines from the Burgundy region in France.  Their menu is of contemporary french fare with a focus on local ingredients.

I couldn’t help but notice they have sweetbreads and foie gras on their first and second course.  If you have been reading my blog for awhile you probably know  I am a major foie gras fan :)  The Crispy sweetbreads “a la chasseur” with spring onion confit, chanterelle mushrooms, and english peas was delicious.  Very lightly crispt sweetbreads on the outside immersed in a rich onion confit. 

Crispy Sweetbreads "a La Chasseur"

The second plates menu the Liberty Farms duck breast and Hudson Valley foie gras caught my eye.  Very tender duck breast served with a bowl of Bluebird Grain Farms farro, bing cherries, rainbow swiss chard mixed with foie gras.  You take a spoonful and layer it onto the duck – Sublime!  The bing cherries is a great compliment as fruit goes well and balances the richness of foie gras. 

Liberty Farms duck breast & Hudson Valley foie

RN74 Seattle

I love anything to do with wine reduction sauce and the Alaskan halibut with sugar snap peas sounds absolutely delicious.  The dish will definitely be next on my list.  An excellent wine bar in the downtown Seattle area.  The interior I would best describe as old world and contemporary with dark red leather seats and sleek blue lighting at the wine bar.  For a more intimate evening with your special date, I highly recommend reserving a booth.  Hopefully, I will have time to visit the main wine bar when I pass through to Napa Valley in the next couple weekends.  On a side note, stay tuned for my review on the new Iron Chef Morimoto restaurant in Napa :)  Overall, RN74 has excellent customer service and great modern french fare.  Enjoy!

RN74 website (Downtown Seattle):  http://www.michaelmina.net/

RN74 website (SF):  http://www.michaelmina.net/restaurant.php?restaurant_id=3&action=menus

Address:  1433 Fourth Avenue  Seattle, WA  98101 (cross st is Pike)

Hours:  Lunch 11am-2:30pm, Dinner Sun- Thurs 5:30-10pm Fri-Sat 5:30-10:30pm

Contact: 206 456-7474

View Larger Map

The Confectional Cheesecake- Pike Place Market

Cheesecake fans rejoice…! If you have not visited the Confectional in the Pike Place Market, it is an absolute must.  This isn’t your typical dense cheesecake with berries on top.  At Confectional it is taken up a notch with light and fluffy mini cheesecakes with exotic flavors.  I have been going there for years and it is consistently perfect in taste and quality.  If you prefer more crust, these cheesecakes would be perfect for you.  They use maria biscuits for their crust which makes it thick and crunchy.  The Confectional has 13 base flavors with new ones coming for every holiday or special occasion. 

I absolutely love all their flavors, but my most favorite ones are the Raspberry White Chocolate….whole raspberries with creamy white chocolate and a thick chocolate crust.  The Mexican chocolate cheesecake has cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and chocolate with a thick chocolate crust.  It has a perfect amount of spiciness where you can still enjoy it.  And one must not forget the Kahlua White Chocolate.  They use sweet kahlua coffee liquor, white chocolate, and a thick chocolate crust….light and fluffy and melts in your mouth!  Also, they do have unique truffles that are filled with cheesecake.  They bake their cheesecake batter, roll it into balls, and dip it in Guittard dark chocolate.  My favorite is the Cookies and Mint Chocolate…..inside is creme de menthe, dark chocolate, crumbled oreo cookies, and is coated in chocolate. 

top left clockwise: Coconut Cherry Chocolate, Rasberry White, Kahlua White, Mexican Chocolate

The Confectional is located in the Pike Place Market.  If you are familar with the area it is just a couple stores past Le Panier Bakery going south.  One thing I like is that they don’t use hydrogenated oils in any of their ingredients.  Also, if you haven’t tried their thick Colombian hot chocolate, ask for a sample…it is very tasty and great to have alongside with your mini cheesecake.  I would suggest following them on Twitter if you can as they post new flavors.  I missed out on their new flavor in March – Baileys Irish Cream chocolate chunk!  Overall, the Confectional is my favorite place for light and fluffy cheescakes with unique flavors.  Enjoy!

The Confectional website:  http://www.theconfectional.com/

Address:  1530 Pike Place, Seattle 98101

Hours:  10am-6pm daily

Contact:  206 282-4422

View Larger Map