Restaurant News: Local eats for you and your Valentine

Ultimate Cookie from Snohomish Pie Co.

Admit it: We all LOVE to be loved. A special holiday, just around the corner, plays a role in expression of love. Mister Rogers had a wonderful song about how folks show love — “There Are Many Ways To Say I Love You.” In one version of the song he says the “eating way,” as in cooking something special for your loved one to eat. On Valentine’s Day, a popular version could be the “dining out way” of showing someone you care about them. Edmonds area restaurants have many ways…

Bar Dojo– Featuring a delicious Pre Fixe menu on Valentine’s Day! A check of the website shows only four time slots left! Visit www.bardojo.com.

Black Angus in Lynnwood encourages us to “Celebrate the season of love with steak! Have the ultimate date night and indulge in our wide selection of steaks, seafood, and everything in-between. Our steaks are aged for at least 21 days and grilled to perfection.”

Treat your sweetheart to Buca di Beppo in Lynnwood, for Valentine’s Day.

Chanterelle offers a special menu with whimsical names for the dishes.
Appetizers- Sweet Valentine dates, Red and White starter salad, and entrees like Paint the Town Pink New York Steak, Thai One on Tonight (a yummy chicken curry) and for vegetarians-Heart Your Veggies and pasta. The regular dinner menu is available as well. Call the restaurant at 425-774-0650 for available seating on Feb 14.

Scott’s Bar and Grill says “Celebrating Valentine’s Day All Weekend Long: Friday, Feb 10 through Tuesday, Feb 14.

190 Sunset in Edmonds offers Valentines options, so delicious, so hard to decide…and meanwhile everyone in town seems to have booked a table! Hmmm, maybe consider a pre-Valentines brunch date? 190 Sunset offers brunch on Saturday-Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

190 Sunset Bloody Marys

I enlisted family members to come along for some culinary research. Our visit started with drinks- Bloody Marys nicknamed Red Ryder Carbine Action. These have candied bacon strips to swizzle, and a quail egg on the stick too. The accommodation for my vegetarian husband was to replace the bacon with of wedge of lemon and a huge stuffed olive, as big as the quail egg on my drink. Flexibility- always appreciated.

The Bloody Marys had a nice balance of tomato and spice, plus the simple elegance on the stick allowed the drink to be enjoyed, swig by swig, not overpowered by a plethora of condiments crowded on the top. After all, we do need room for the food that follows.

Three of us at brunch meant the opportunity to nibble on several plates.

Biscuits and gravy.

Biscuits and gravy arrived to table with a generous-sized biscuit split in two and topped with fluffy scrambled eggs and light gravy with plenty of sausage to provide flavor.

Build-it-yourself Benedict tempted, and my veggie-lovin’ hubby selected the Caprese option. Crisp-edged slabs of browned mozzarella, golden heirloom tomato and two perfect poached eggs were topped with a lemony rich hollandaise. I dipped in my spoon and swooned.

Eggs Benedict caprese

Veggie frittata was my choice. Veggies galore — peppers, onions and my favorite- asparagus — all held together with a light fluffy egg mixture and topped with fluffs of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Vegie frittata

The biscuit bite, stolen from my son’s plate, didn’t satisfy — had to order another. A pot of berry jam accompanied the golden brown round that arrived in short order. “No butter?” It wasn’t needed- the rich taste of the biscuit didn’t suffer from lack of butter, believe me.

Be prepared to wait a bit. Made-to-order meals may take a bit longer in the kitchen. My spouse groaned as he stirred the ice in his empty glass, but changed his tune to “Every bite was worth the wait,” by the time we strolled out the door.

Special treats, just in time for Valentine’s Day

Strawberry rhubarb pie

Snohomish Pie Co. offers decorated ultimate and large heart cookies, mini pies, and raspberry pie shots. I think my Valentine would like a whole strawberry rhubarb pie.

Or maybe sweet rolls for my sweetie? At Snohomish Pie Company’s location in Mountlake Terrace, they bake with a 50/50 mix of whole wheat and unbleached flour. Only three left, so requested them boxed, for further research at home. A slice of pie was the reason for my visit.

Snohomish Pie Co. interior.

Strawberry rhubarb was my choice from a glass display chock full of temptations. A perfect balance of fruit, just enough strawberry to match the tang of the rhubarb contained in the light flaky pie crust.

Dillanos coffee is served at Snohomish Pie Company. Self-serve pots at the counter are well monitored. Coffee was fresh and a great partner for my slice of pie.

The sign on the wall of Snohomish Pie Co. alleviates all guilt.

I picked up the box to leave. It was heavy. I walked back to the counter to make sure they hadn’t given me a whole pie by mistake. Nope. At home I discovered that my cinnamon buns rested on a solid sheet of caramelized icing. Texture and flavor are very important in baked goods and these rolls have both.

All products at Snohomish Pie Company are baked on premises and ingredients sourced locally. The ingredients in their award-winning apple pie come from orchards in Wenatchee.

More love in Mountlake Terrace

Portly Pig BBQ offers a sweet deal to Mountlake Terrace seniors. A Valentine’s Day special dinner comes with a full buffet, a cheesecake dessert and a rose for your partner. Celebrate your romance with dancing, giveaways and trivia, at Mountlake Terrace Senior Center, 23000 Lakeview Drive Mountlake Terrace. Cost is $40 per couple. See www.portlypigbbq.com to register.

For Beer Lovers
American Brewing Company in Edmonds is always a go-to for a Valentine’s Day quaff. My honey knows the key to my heart is a tall glass of ABC’s Chocolaty Oatmeal Stout. On a recent visit, the chalkboard listed a new brew- Chocolate Blonde. OK, a brunette version? The light gold, honeyed brew summons up a summer day, but chocolate in the mix intrigued and after a sample, I ordered a pint. The chocolate is subtle, exhale and it is there on the finish. Thanks, ABC for yet another delicious option for chocolate lovers.

Diamond Knot Keeper’s Ale

The brew crew at Diamond Knot wants to recognize the Mukilteo lighthouse station keepers who aided in navigation after the station’s opening back in 1906, and thus created The Keeper’s Series, a collection of big, bold, cellar-able ales hearty enough for any soul.

The first release, Keeper’s Old Ale, on Feb. 8, is just in time to give as a gift to your Ale Lovin’ Valentine. Six different malts and barley create a full-bodied, rich brew. Flavors of sweet plum, dark sugar and raisin with a warm molasses finish. In beautiful 500ml Belgian-style bottles, complete with original artwork by Whidbey Island artist David Gignac.

Suggestion: on Valentine’s Day, visit the Diamond Knot’s West Plaza Brewpub, 5602 232nd St. S.W., in Mountlake Terrace and present your gift in person. Enjoy exotic items like Porter Boar Shepherd’s Pie-rich and hearty made with free-range, antibiotic-free ground boar, fresh carrots, onions, peas, corn and their own Possession Porter.

A special Winter Menu is available during Valentine’s week. Yours truly is always happy to research and share with readers.

Garlic knots

Appetizers- Garlic Knots or spicier Jalapeno Popper Knot- yeasty bread treats to munch as you sip brew with your date, while you await the main entrees.

Speaking of brew- all four of my taster choices paired well with my food and desserts.

Pork sliders

Diamond Knot’s IPA went well with every item I ordered. Ditto the Blonde- the citrus and butterscotch kicked up the flavor of pork sliders, and played up the crisp slaw with vinegary dressing too. DK’s Stout was sold out. Seems the kitchen used up every last drop in the day’s batch of Beans Steak & Stout Chili. I HAD to order, for tasting purposes you understand. My cup was loaded with huge chunks of steak and lots of fresh bell peppers, onions, house roasted garlic, kidney beans, and black beans, in a base of DK’s Steamer Glide Stout.

Glad they have smaller portions on the lunch menu. A quick pause here to plug their lunch specials- for less than $8. one may choose an entrée and two sides. Sides can be dessert items. For $2.49 one can add extra sides, a great value for this Restaurant News reporter, and the only sane way to taste many dishes in one visit.

Beware- the desserts at Diamond Knot are dangerous and downright delicious.

I’d saved my Hefeweizen Dunkel and the Possession Porter for the end of meal treats. Yes readers, I ordered several desserts, but at lunch one can order personal-sized portions. Plenty went home in to-go boxes too.

A nibble of a cinnamon ginger beignet and a sip of the Dunkel filled my mouth with tastes of banana, clove and toffee, all of which enhanced the flavors of the beignet.

Diamond Knot brownie.

Salted caramel porter brownie – it just doesn’t get better, right? Well top that wedge of moist chocolate confection with a scoop of ice cream, and salted porter caramel sauce, and it goes up several notches. Personal size and the melt factor of the ice cream meant this one didn’t go home; I finished it on the spot without an ounce of guilt.

S’mores cheesecake

S’mores cheesecake, from Ferndale’s Chuckanut Bakery, is covered with marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers. The hand-torched marshmallow cream and chocolate shavings on top will delight your Valentine and end the meal on a perfect note!

New Lynnwood restaurant now open:
B Thai Cuisine opened on Feb. 1. “B” is the nickname for the owner’s sister.
B has restaurants in Hawaii. The owner, A, honored her in name, at his endeavor here in Lynnwood.

Fresh rolls

Our meal started with fresh spring rolls. While excellent in execution, there were only two small rolls on our order, cost was $7. Peanut sauce, tasty as it was, but a huge portion. They’re new, and will work out portions I’m sure.

Pad Kee Mao

A confirmed addict of big, fat, luscious Thai noodles, I ordered Pad Kee Mao. Exceeded expectations on ingredients, but a bit bland – three stars didn’t make me break a sweat. I queried our waitress.

She admitted they “worry” about level of spice. “Our Thai chili is very hot.” She promised to report back to the kitchen. Portion size was plentiful and easily shared with my companion.

Tom Kah Gai

Tom Kha Gai, a special request, sans chicken, made in the kitchen with tofu, for my non- meat-eating partner. Large squares of tofu dominated the dish, fresh tomatoes and onions floated in a rich, creamy broth.

A request for hot tea was met with a cup full of hot water containing a tea bag. Not ideal but it was a tasty green ginger tea. A request for more hot water was eventually met, with apologies. The explanation was their hot water brewer in the kitchen had shorted out. Hitches with opening a new restaurant in the first week are to be expected.

Desserts are a high point at B Thai Cuisine and at $5 each, they are bargains to boot. Black sticky rice pudding was spot-on perfect rice was all done today, and chunks of taro mixed in with the rice and topped with coconut cream. Substantial serving easily can be shared by two people.

Mango ice cream is a creation of the beloved sister B. Her original recipe, which she still makes in Hawaii, has been replicated and produced here in the states and served at B Thai. True to her ingredients and methods it is a perfect balance of fruit and cream, even some small bits of fresh mango in the mix. A generous portion that could be shared by two

B-Thai certainly have all the makings for success. The ingredients are fresh and well-prepared, attentive staff, and a dining area engineered for quiet conversation. A little tweaking here and there on cuisine and B-Thai will be a treasure in our area’s collection of Thai restaurants.

 

More to come

Mandarin Chili

New in Mountlake Terrace is Mandarin Chili, located at 23202 57th Ave. W. Restaurant News will visit soon and report.

Bon Appetite

 

 

– Kathy Passage

Kathy Passage Hi ResA specialty gourmet food broker for over 30 years, Kathy Passage has in-depth knowledge on food and the special qualities of ingredients used in the exquisite products she helped bring to market. Kathy brings this unique perspective from the “other side of the plate” to writing about the food and restaurant scene in Edmonds.

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