Tag Archives: tom douglas

Food, Restaurant

Cuochi (Including Cuoco’s) Return for Seattle Restaurant Week

October 15, 2013 Jay Friedman

Salt cod fritters with aioli and pickled vegetables were simultaneously creamy and crispy.

Seems like the right season for this delicious winter squash soup, pine nut brittle, and brown butter.

Here's the Rigatoni with pork sausage ragu, marjoram, and pecorino. My dining companion and I really enjoyed the porky flavor of the sauce despite slight oversalting.

The true cod came with braised greens and cauliflower puree. A nice dinner plate all-around, but water escaping from the fish, I believe, diluted the otherwise delightful puree.

The textures of the chocolate-espresso semifreddo, soft whip, cocoa crunch, and verona caramel were captivating. I enjoyed the firmness of the frozen exterior "shell," followed by the mousse-like meltiness of the interior.

The other dessert was this butterscotch budino with rosemary pine nut brittle, and rye cookies. A sweet finish!

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“Cuoco” is the Italian word for “cook.” Right now, at any given time during Seattle Restaurant Week, there are over 160 cuochi at the ready to try to please your palate during the promotion. You actually have a little more than a week to participate, as Seattle Restaurant Week is actually two weeks, running this week and next, Sunday through Thursday (October 13-17 and 20-24) excluding Sunday brunch.

Seattle Restaurant Week remains an affordable way to check out a place that’s been on your must-try list. Cuoco was on mine. Part of the Tom Douglas family of restaurants, Cuoco features northern Italian cuisine. With Matt Fortner (former chef at How to Cook a Wolf, among other places) at the helm, I expected an enjoyable evening out.

The food was good (in that solid “B” range that I’ve come to expect from Tom Douglas’ restaurants) and the service was spot on. Cuoco was clearly handling Seattle Restaurant Week quite well, though I suggest recognizing that kitchen crew and waitstaff might be a little more stressed than usual for these two weeks. You might want to dine early, if possible, to avoid the chaos that can come with crowds.

Your investment for a three-course dinner menu (appetizer, entree, and dessert) is just $28. (Drinks, tax, and tip are extra.) Considering that, for example, Rigatoni with Pork Sausage Ragu at Cuoco is usually $19 by itself, the addition of two courses is a bargain. Even better: some restaurants, like Cuoco, offer a three-course lunch for only $15. That’s my recommended way to enjoy Seattle Restaurant Week if your schedule is flexible.

Further, be flexible with your restaurant choices. Popular places like Poppy and Crush can fill quickly. Call ahead to check on reservations. And review Seattle Restaurant Week’s website for a complete list of restaurants, including links to the menus, to discover other restaurants preparing three-course menus for the two-week period.

Check the slideshow above for a look at some of the dishes (two rounds of three courses) from Cuoco’s menu for Seattle Restaurant Week.

Hungry for more? Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more delicious dishing.

Eats, Restaurant

The Seattle Area’s Slew of James Beard Award Nominees, Plus a Top Newbie

March 21, 2013 Jay Friedman

This week, the James Beard Foundation whittled down its list of nominees, announcing finalists for culinary distinction.

For cookbook awards, locals made the list in three categories. In “Baking and Dessert,” Tom Douglas and Shelley Lance are finalists for The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook: Sweetness in Seattle. Nathan Myhrvold (whose lecture I attended a little over a year ago) and Maxime Bilet received a nomination in the “General Cooking” category for Modernist Cuisine at Home. And in “Vegetable Focused and Vegetarian,” Michael Natkin is a nominee for his Herbivoracious cookbook. (This carnivoracious food writer wants Natkin to wow him with a non-meat meal sometime!)

As for the chef and restaurant awards, the Seattle area has strong talent facing some stiff competition. Blaine Wetzel is a finalist for Rising Star Chef of the Year. I was lucky to dine at the Willows Inn earlier in his tenure there, and I was impressed—though I’ve also been impressed by others in the category, like Danny Bowien of Mission Chinese Food and Jimmy Bannos at the Purple Pig (where I had one of my most memorable meals in the past few years).

Portland outscored Seattle in the “Best Chef: Northwest” category. Beast’s Naomi Pomeroy, Nostrana’s Cathy Whims, and Le Pigeon’s Gabriel Rucker are fabulous chefs, and I’ve enthusiastically sent many Seattleites to their restaurants in the Rose City. Representing Seattle is Canlis’ Jason Franey, fresh from his win at Seattle’s Cochon 555. Meanwhile, Ethan Stowell is nominated for Staple & Fancy Mercantile, though I recently caught up with him at Bar Cotto (pictured), his new Parma-style salumeria and cocktail bar in Capitol Hill.

Cookbook award winners will be announced May 3, followed by the chef and restaurant awards on May 6. The Seattle area can celebrate now, though, as Brendan McGill just won as People’s Best New Chef in the Food & Wine magazine contest. His Hitchcock restaurant on Bainbridge Island is something special. I visited recently and picked his duck breast dish as one of the best bites in Winslow, and I’ll soon have more about the amazing food at his restaurant and adjoining deli as part of a fuller story about the culinary scene just a short ferry ride away.

Food, Restaurant

Finalists Announced for 2012 James Beard Awards

March 19, 2012 Jay Friedman

Today brings an update on the James Beard Award nominations, as the large field of semifinalists got narrowed down to finalists.

With winners to be announced on May 7, Seattle can be proud that perennial candidate Tom Douglas is again in the running for Outstanding Restaurateur. But again this year, Portland outflanks our city in terms of finalists in the Best Chef Northwest category:

Matt Dillon, Sitka and Spruce, Seattle
Jason Franey, Canlis, Seattle
Christopher Israel, Grüner, Portland
Naomi Pomeroy, Beast, Portland
Cathy Whims, Nostrana, Portland

This is again a tough field. I give early odds to Franey as the favorite, though Cathy Whims could provide an upset. I’ve enjoyed her food at Nostrana, and plan to check out her new Oven & Shaker in the next few days. Look for a report on that and my volcanic hamburger at Grüner in the next few weeks.

Drinks, Food

Taste Washington! to Climax Washington Wine Month

March 13, 2012 Jay Friedman

From ten percent off bottle purchases at selected Washington wineries to fifty percent off all Washington wines at Rover’s (Sundays through Thursdays), Washington Wine Month is now in full swing. There are also special wine dinners, giveaways, and more, with full information at the new Washington Wine Month website.

As always, the month ends with the big Taste Washington! event, so good that it’s been extended to two days of tasting, bringing Washington Wine Month into April. Each day starts with a few educational seminars (with their own admission fee), with food lovers able to learn more about food and wine pairing on Saturday with the Canlis crew and Sunday with Tom Douglas. After the seminars, doors open (1pm for VIPs and 2pm for general admission) for the big tasting event, as well as cooking demos on the Viking Chef’s stage.

Look for over 200 wineries to share samples and information, and certainly don’t feel bashful when searching for spit buckets. Some of the area’s finest restaurants will serve up food to pair with your wine. This food-lover is looking forward to Copperleaf Restaurant, Local 360, and RN74, among others. And don’t forget Fonte Coffee Roaster along with desserts from places like Sweet Iron Waffles and Yellow Leaf Cupcake Co.

Bar, Food, Restaurant

Semifinalists Announced for 2012 James Beard Awards

February 21, 2012 Jay Friedman

It’s awards season, and the Seattle food scene is again abuzz about the just-announced James Beard Award nominations. Today we learned who the semifinalists are, with that list getting whittled down to finalists on March 19, and winners announced on May 7.

The full list is well-worth a look. On the national level, Altura earned a nomination as best new restaurant. (I agree!) Canlis cashes in for both Best Restaurant and Best Wine Program categories. Perennial participant Tom Douglas is a semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurateur, Holly Smith for Outstanding Chef, and Blaine Wetzel for Rising Star Chef (meaning under 30). In the new Outstanding Bar Program, Zig Zag Cafe represents Seattle.

Especially interesting is the Best Chef Northwest category, which this year features interesting semifinalists from Seattle and further afield in Washington state:

Chris Ainsworth, Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen (Walla Walla)
Matt Costello, Inn at Langley (Langley)
Matt Dillon, Sitka and Spruce
Renee Erickson, Boat Street Cafe
Jason Franey, Canlis
Ethan Stowell, Staple and Fancy Mercantile
Jason Stratton, Spinasse
Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, Joule

I’m always curious about the Portland nominees, and the list there is also solid (including three from elsewhere in Oregon):

Aaron Barnett, St. Jack
Matthew Bennet, Sybaris (Albany)
John Gorham, Toro Bravo
Christopher Israel, Grüner
Brendan Mahaney, Belly (Eugene)
Naomi Pomeroy, Beast
Adam Sappington, The Country Cat Dinner House & Bar
Cathy Whims, Nostrana
Justin Wills, Restaurant Beck (Depoe Bay)

The other regional nominees:

Jeff Drew, Snake River Grill (Jackson Hole, WY)
James Honaker, Bistro Enzo (Billings, MT)
Jeff Keys, Vintage Restaurant (Ketchum, ID)

My early guess is that Seattle and Portland will be almost split in the final five contenders for the Best Chef Northwest category. Stay tuned!

Business, News

Seattle Values Start with Books and Condoms

July 1, 2011 Michael van Baker

Books, condoms, musicals, and retraining the homeless. There are a lot of ways to explore the psyche of a city, but surely one of the most credible is simply noting where its money goes. There, the Seattle Foundation’s recent GiveBIG campaign offers plenty of insight. 3.6-million-dollars’ worth.

They’ve produced two lists, one with top non-profit organizations by number of donors, and one with top organizations by total given. At the top of both lists are the Seattle Public Library Foundation and Planned Parenthood. The 5th Avenue Theatre is right up there, too, and so is FareStart.

At mid-list is the sustainability-focused Bainbridge Graduate Institute.

So there you have it: Seattle believes in sharing information, having protected sex, weeping to Sondheim, studying sustainability, and unleashing the Tom Douglas inside people on the street. These are our core values. That’s what got us to #5 on Richard Florida’s Creative Cities list.

If it’s also clear evidence why the rest of Washington State has trouble “getting” what Seattle is about, I think we can be proud of a such a distinct personality. It’s why people from New York tumble head over heels for Seattle. Who knew, way out here on the frontier?

The SunBreak