December 4, 2004
Feeling Meaty
Cast a glance into the ferociously hot oven at the Buenos Aires Grill and you'll see sizzling steaks. That's what meat's all about, right? Primal urges.
Soon enough, that hunk of meat comes to the table, accompanied by grilled vegetables.
Good news: proprietor Marco Casas-Breaux, who also owned Madrid 522, is taking over the Harbor Steps space on First Avenue vacated by Wolfgang Puck and will transform it into another south American restaurant called Ipanema. Meantime, tango dancers Patricio and Eva perform at the Buenos Aires on weekends, adding a note of elegance and sophistication to those primal urges. Bravo!
December 3, 2004
Feeling fishy
Listen to this: PETA, the rabid anti-fur folks, don't want you to eat fish. According to their new website fishinghurts.com, a fish is a sentient being.
I asked Belltown's premier sushi chef Shiro Kashiba what he thought of the edict. "Huh?" replied Shiro-san, eying the giant live sea-urchins atop the counter. Case closed.
December 1, 2004
Oysters, Oysters, Oysters!
UPDATE 12/29/04:: Terrific article in today's Seattle Post-Intelligencer about Chris Keff and Flying Fish.
CORRECTION: Reported demise of oyster happy-hour greatly exaggerated! Frenzy to continue, 5-6 PM weekdays, at least through April!
Prayers answered; somebody gracious [up there] or crustacious [down there] must like me. Earlier post follows:
November 2004 is over, which means that 25-cent happy-hour oysters at Flying Fish are only 11 months away. In the meantime, be glad there's a restaurateur like Chris Keff who understands shellfish ... and who gives us this annual, month-long bonus.
In return, one doesn't complain about the price the rest of the year, which is still a modest $18 for an assortment of 12. In Paris, for example, oysters are plentiful year-round, yet they run about 20 euros [$25] a dozen. Have been saving up my oyster pictures from France, by the way ...
Are you a Nawlins-style oyster-eater? With red sauce and Tabasco? Then drink Manny's pale ale. A Londoner, with horseradish? You'll like the porter. One of those French gastronomes, partial to fresh lemon and mignonette? Then a glass of sauvignon blanc from New Zealand will do nicely.
