Playing Catch-Up

Gotta remember: pay the goddamn hosting bill and renew the domain name. Two steps, not just one. Did the one, not the other. As a result, the site was down & out for the weekend, sorry. (Didn't even know I was gone? Harrumph!) Anyway, let's catch up on what Cornichon has been eating and drinking over the past few days.

Top row:
* Kona-crusted dry-aged sirloin at Capital Grille downtown, topped with caramelized shallot butter. Same corporate owners as Olive Garden, much better food.
* Lone Star Chili at Austin Cantina in Ballard. No beans, no distractions, just slow-simmered, grass-fed, Walla Walla beef.
* Gin Ginjo martini at Qube in Belltown. Made with Hendricks, sake and muddled orchids. Could have used more punch, for my taste at any rate.

Middle row:
* Lovely sunset supper at Elliott's, a cobb salad with shrimp and crabmeat.
* Pretzel with Obatzler at Feierabend in the Cascade neighborhood. Tasty blend of soft-ripened cheese, butter, onions, paprika, but, gee, not more than two tablespoons! More on this Bavarian favorite shortly.
* Tuna salad at Boulangerie Nantaise in Belltown. Good selection of sandwiches and quiche, too.

Bottom row:
* At Union Square Grill downtown, burrata (a creamy mozzarella from River Valley Ranch) with spring onion at their annual cheese dinner.
* Gnochetti with asparagus at Osteria La Spiga on Capitol Hill. Remarkable lack of interesting asparagus preparations in Seattle this year. Pity.
* Shrimp tartaletta at Txori in Belltown. They're putting the finishing touches on the new deck, ready any day now.

Also in Belltown, Branzino (no website yet) opens tomorrow. It's an informal Italian seafood parlor (branzino being the Italian term for Mediterranean sea bass) at the corner of First and Wall, run by Peter Lamb, Michael Don Ricco and Wei Fu (owner of the no-sushi Japanese restaurant En, which formerly occupied the space).