Salumi - Seattle Washington

Salumi in Italian means cured meat and predominately made from pork. And this little hole in the wall deli on Third Avenue in Seattle is the Vatican of all things cured.

Located in an older part of downtown Seattle and owned by Gina Batali, the sister of "Molto Mario" Batali of the food network and the dream of their father Armandino Batali, who had studied the craft of how to cure meat products while working in Italy.

Let me tell you something here. Stop reading this and either get on a plane or call Gina up and get some of this stuff immediately! I mean the product that this place has is of amazing taste and quality. You will become addicted and no pun intended. there will be no cure for you after one bite of any of they're product.

The place is open 11am to 4pm and the line starts to form really early. it is a very small narrow deli with one door and people squeeze in an out of this place from the time it opens to the time closes. Most leave with eyes glazed over clutching they're artisan cured meats as they make their way back through the line and out onto the street.

The Finocchiona Salami is unreal and after one taste you will understand why this is the biggest seller here.

Made with cracked black pepper and fennel seeds with a touch of curry. Thinly sliced onto a fresh roll that has been slathered with an Olive Oil and garlic preparation. The texture of the salami is perfect. at first bite of a wafer thin slice you feel it almost melt in your mouth, creamy and not real chewy. you taste the cracked black pepper and fennel seeds and then the slight hint of curry enters the picture towards the end. Rounded out by the Olive Oil and garlic spread.

Have your cardiologists phone number handy, because you are going to want to try another one.



They also have an interesting version of Lamb Prosciutto. I have never seen nor tasted this one before. anywhere. It is a house specialty here at Salumi and from what Gina told me it took awhile for them to come up with the recipe.

Sliced wafer thin as all fine cured meats should be the Lamb had a slight lamb gaminess to it. Which of course for those who like lamb love. funny, you either like lamb or you don't. This one was very creamy in texture and definitely just melted in your mouth like an Italian lamb M&M.


It is a beautiful shade of light red and would go excellently with a big bold red wine, some big flavor cheeses and of course some crusty bread.

All of the meats are cured right here on the premises and most are hung up to cure and dry in a glass humidifier that you have to walk by as you stand in line.

So, like I said before. Run don't walk to this place and after one taste you will be calling Gina every week for another fix of Salumi's Artisan Cured Meats.

Chow

Michael

Salumi
309 Third Ave South
Seattle WA 98104

206-621-8772

Fisherman's Market & Grill - Palm Springs

To finish up with our culinary excursion into Palm Springs last week. We found Fisherman's Market & Grill on South Indian Canyon Drive. Hotter than heck again in Palm Springs and we wanted A/C and an indoor table. So you know how hot it must have been outside as Sue and I love to sit outside 99% of the time. We arrived at the restaurant mid day Sunday afternoon with the temperature hovering around 120 degrees. The place was bustling with business but not many takers for the outside tables even though the water misters were going full blast.

The menu outside on the sidewalk looked inviting as it contained a really good choice of fish dishes and looked like it was a cut above the fried fish houses.

Here's how the place works. The host tells you the number of your table and then you go inside to the counter and order and pay for your food and then the staff brings it out to you. The fish in the front counter look amazingly fresh even for a fresh fish house in the desert.
And it was very interesting that they had a sheet on the counter that told you in detail from what country the fish came from and a brief description of it's texture and taste.

We stepped up to the counter and ordered. Sue had the crab cake dinner an all time favorite of hers and I ordered the Pepper Seared Ahi ,rare,very rare. One of my favorite dishes. Fresh Ahi Seared on all sides until a nice golden crisp layer roughly 1/8 to one 1/4 inch forms around the fillet and nicely red and rare inside. Both the crab cakes and seared Ahi are easy recipes yet difficult dish to prepare.

We of course had to take a look at the wine list and found it the most interesting of all in the place. A really nice selection of wines from around the globe. Not just the standard fair from California. And most at fairly good prices. I really like it when a restaurant gives you a varied choice list of wines and doesn't try to gouge the customer to much.

We ordered with our meal a Pinot Noir from Parker Station Vineyards. This winery is owned by Fess Parker the actor who played Daniel Boone in the old Disney series on TV. He now owns an award winning winery and has done so for the last 20 years or more. Worth seeking out.

So Sue and I grabbed our bottle of Daniel Boones wine and headed to table 25. I thought that it was a good thing that he didn't name the winery Boones Farm.

Inside the A/C was on overdrive as we found our table and relaxed until the waiter brought our dinner. By the way the wine was very nice. well rounded and soft. it would go well with crab cakes and rare Ahi.

Our food had arrived and right away we noticed that they didn't look quite right. Sue's crab cakes looked a little on the burnt side

It came with a scoop of rice pilaf and a scoop of cole slaw. Each cake had a dollop of Louie sauce on them that was very tasty. Although on the burnt side they were packed with crab and had a nice crab sweetness to them.

Mine on the other hand was a crime. and it is what happens in a kitchen when a good menu is in place but left to either professionally untrained or staff that has no passion for food. In most cases you don't need to be a professional chef to consistently put out great dishes. you just have to have the passion for it. Most restaurants these days just seem to hire bodies sometimes to fill positions at the lowest cost they can get. too bad. It is the ones that have a passionate staff that always stand out.

OK, my dish. Right away you could tell that the Ahi fillet had not been pan seared but thrown on the stainless steel flat grill and a plate put over the top to steam it. although rare it was a waste of a great fish. it was very dry and tasteless. The fries though were very good with a nice crisp light breading on them. Cole slaw usual fair and quality.

The dish also came with what I call the Japanese trinity. Wasabi, Soy Sauce and Ginger.

The wine on the other hand was great. It made the food go down a lot better.

We were starving and apparently thirsty as well.

Can't really recommend this Place. Although the atmosphere and especially the friendly staff, plus the A/C made it enjoyable.

And as you can tell it was night when we left and it was still 117 degrees outside. Now where is that Gelato place?


Fisherman's Market & Grill
235 South Indian Canyon Drive
760-327-1766

Etna review - Taylor

Personally I thought that the pizza was not very good. The only thing I thought was good was the sauce. also Henry was the best waiter I have ever had. The atmosphere was great.

Taylor

Etna Pizza & Ristorante - San Diego

Let the Quest begin. So here we are on our first entry into our Best Pizza Quest. We start at Etna's On El Cajon Blvd established 31 years ago by a family from Sicily. Now owned by the Taste of Italy Restaurant Group http://www.tasteofitalyinc.com/pages/contact_taste.html. this company owns 6 restaurants in San Diego. Four Taste of Italy's, Vesuvio's and Etna's. Although owned by the same company each establishment has it's own individual recipes and flavors.

Etna's has a few plus's on it's side. They are open til 3am and will deliver virtually anywhere in San Diego. No kidding. Although this place is in a dodgy part of town and parking is definitely at a premium it is worth checking out. Everything looks food magazine cover worthy as we watched the plates come out of the kitchen and brought over to tables seated around us. But we are here to cover the Pizza Quest and not the entire establishment. As I said before though it is note worthy to make mention of the other food items as they looked phenomenal I must say. Note the Antipasto Salad.

Just incredible. it's not covered with that salty over vinegar driven cauliflower concoction of limp veggies.no way. this one was covered in one of the best light vinaigrette's I have ever had on a salad. WONDERFUL.

And Although the wine list is very limited and a bit pricey for the area it still has merit with at least some fairly high end imports. Mainly Chiantis and such. Henry the main training waiter for the company waits at Etna's and whether you like the food or not. you cannot dislike this guy. he should be the first human cloned and then the Henry clones should be sent out to work in every restaurant in the country. Great Job Henry!!

We had ordered a bottle of wine which the place was out of stock on. Henry immediately gave us a higher priced wine on the list for the same price.
Here is Henry with Taylor. Great guy.

OK the reason why I had to go on and on about the place is that to me it is a shame that we are only on a hunt for the best pizza. because this place has lot more going for it. We will return to review the rest of the menu at a later date. Shame because the pizza is odd to say the least. let's start with the crust and move up the ladder from their.

The crust is light and flaky but with an overwhelmingly taste of Bisquick Pancake batter! Sweet but biscuit dough like. Not good. Although cooked all the way through. Just really couldn't get into the sweet dough thing.

The sauce on the other hand was sublime and tasty. tangy and not sweet with a hint of red pepper flakes. wonderful stuff. maybe the best pizza sauce I have ever had. The toppings were of course as per the contest rules. only pepperoni and cheese. Tons of cheese and greasy pepperoni. Like I said before. it is too bad that we are only doing pizza at this time. because this place could be a little gem of an out of the way eatery. Except for it's pizza. I see it falling rapidly from the list and eventually falling off the top 10 completely.

Agree? Disagree? lets wait for Sue and Taylor's review.



Chow

Michael

Dodger Dogs

I had been awaiting this day for years ... my first trip to Dodger Stadium. My first experience with a Dodger Dog which Michael had been boasting about for many a years. I WAS SO LET DOWN!! Of course, hotdogs always taste better at the ballpark. And these Farmer Johns weren't bad, but they certainly weren't what I had anticipated after hearing Michael's assessment. (I didn't think they were much better than our's at Petco Park!)

Being raised on the east coast and every weekend at Shea Stadium watching my Mets, and taking in a Yankees game reluctantly now and then with my Yankee fan friends ... there is no hotdog that compares to a NY hotdog. I will be back at Shea and Yankee Stadium on my trip east at the end of the month to see Tony Gwynn's induction into the Hall of Fame, so I will definitely let you know if those hotdogs are as wonderful as I remember. I bet they will be.

The Legendary Dodger Dog - Dodger Stadium LA

Being die hard San Diego Padres fans it felt like going into the belly of the beast at Chavez Ravine, otherwise known as Dodger Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Dodgers my beloved Padres rivals in the National League.

But the quest would be worth it I assured Sue. For we were on the hunt for what possibly could be the finest hot dog in the Major Leagues. The Legendary Dodger Dog. I remembered from my youth when we would caravan up the coast to see the game and wolf down 2 or 3 of these culinary delights in a row.

1.6 million Dodger Dogs are sold every year. The number one dog of choice in all of baseball. Check out these stats for hot dogs sold in 2006.

1. Dodger Stadium 1.61 million
2. Coors Field 1.5 million
3. Wrigley Field 1.47 million
4. Yankee Stadium 1.3 million
5. Minute Maid Park 1.2 million
6. Angel Stadium 1.1 million
7. Ameriquest Field 996,000
8. Metrodome 883,500
9. Jacobs Field 595,000
10. Oriole Park at Camden Yards 400,000

Wow, Lots of dogs.

You can get them either steamed or grilled. Each a foot long and $4.75 a pop.

I prefer the grilled ones. they have that 4th of July backyard Southern California grilled taste, grill marks and all. Tucked into a fresh steamed bun and then loaded up with mustard, Ketchup, onions and relish. And not that sweet relish stuff but the real relish made with chopped up Dill pickles. Craving one right now.

At first bite it was just as I had remembered. A slight hot doggy pop of the skin as I bit into my first one. Moist with that great hot dog taste. A West Coasts Nathans I asked? Nope, West Coasts own Dodger Dog. Love the Dodgers or hate them, These are the best dogs in Baseball. But then again. I have only been to two Major League parks. But they definetly blow away the tasteless and dried dogs that are served up at the "Bark Park" otherwise known as Petco Park. Those are real "Dogs" if ya know what I mean.

Even though my Padres lost. it was a perfect day and the world seemed right again. Dodger Dog, sunny day a cold beer and Baseball. Ahhhh, Summer time.

I think Sue will have another opinion on these dogs being from the East Coast and all. we shall see.

Chow.

Michael

Kalura Trattoria - Palm Springs

On Friday, Sue and I found ourselves heading out of town for a quick last minute get away to Palm Springs. Usually not the place you want to be this time of year. But the heat doesn't bother us, and we have the town mainly to ourselves as most of the tourists flock elsewhere in the summer. A lot of the touristy-based restaurants are shut down for the summer as well to reopen in October. Just as well. We crave the local hangouts.

On Saturday, we went for a drive on Palm Canyon Drive to scout out where we would eat and came across an astoundingly good restaurant. I mean this place knows what it is doing and who it is.

Kalura Trattoria, Kalura means "Desert Sun" in Italian or something like that. Owners Ignazio Battaglia, Vincenzo and Pino Amodeo come from Italy with a long experience in Italian cooking. They learned how to cook in culinary schools in Italy.

It's located by the old Theatre on South Palm Canyon Drive and occupies the space that housed the original Louise's Pantry for more then 50 years.

We took one look at the menu outside and we were mesmerized by the depth of dishes and how reasonably priced it all was. Although this was Saturday night and this place was hopping with customers, the hostess sat us immediately. We wanted to sit outside and let the water misters wash over and cool us as we people watched.

Before we even sat down, there was our waiter at our table already pouring Olive Oil and Balsamic vinegar together in a small bowl. He quickly returned with the most amazing bread I have ever had. it was a basket filled with a very light crusted Italian style rustic bread that was infused with anise seed. It was excellent and went well with the oil and vinegar.

At this point I had realized that I had forgotten the camera! OK, first posting and no camera! So I will try to do the food and place justice by my bad Hemingway. OK where were we? The wine list and menus arrived as the waiter eagerly told us of the evenings specials. WOW! The specials were very special indeed. I opted for the Veal Saltimbocca Alla Romana. Usually don't do this dish as in most places it tends to be way to salty, but it sounded good. Veal wrapped in prosciutto with a Pinot Grigio sauce with sauteed spinach and oven roasted potatoes. YUMMY!

Sue opted for the Penne Quattro Formagio. Also on the specials list for the evening.

The wine list was an essay in how to include all who come to the restaurant. Very high quality wine at prices for every pocket book. At least 30 bottles on the list from both California and Italy. We chose a 2003 Cabernet from Trinchero Winery, 22 bucks. Excellent value and a stunner of a wine at this price.

I really can't say enough about the wait staff--very attentive and our water and wine glasses never went dry. We both ordered the house salad and I love it when your choices are limited in a restaurant with a real chef. There was no choice of Ranch or Ranch Lite or any corn syrup infused off the shelf salad dressing. One choice and one only. It was literally the chef's salad. It came with a light balsamic vinaigrette that you could tell was hand tossed and covered every bit off fresh spring greens on the plate. My opinion is you should never have to season your food when you go to a restaurant that has a real chef / owner running it. You should experience what the chef wants you to taste. It should be up to him or her to tickle your taste buds.

The food arrived in no time. And looked picture perfect. Sue and I looked at each other and thought no way could we have stumbled into a place like this and to review it for our first entry. Sue's pasta was cooked to perfection. Al Dente or "to the tooth" as they say. With a few grinds of
parmigiano reggiano from the waiter's cheese grinder it became Cinco Fromagio. The cheese sauce was very good and the cheeses did not overpower the dish. It was light and refreshing perfect for a hot Palm Springs evening.

My dish was a great balance of very interesting combinations. At first you have the veal which has a very light gamey taste to it and can be easily over powered by the prosciutto and a heavy cream sauce. But the chef had this dish firing on all cylinders. The veal was wrapped in thin strips of prosciutto and then pan fried to a golden brown. The pan then deglaised with the Pinot Grigio and all of the tasty bits on the pan scraped up and finished off with a bit of cream and butter. At least that is how I envisioned it going down. PERFECTION! Compliments to all at this place.

Kalura Trattoria
124 South Palm Canyon Drive
Palm Springs, California 92262
Open for Lunch & Dinner, Mon - Sun, 11AM - 1AM

PS I found a link that has their menu. check it out you can see what we are talking about.
http://www.palmsprings.com/dine/kalura/index.html

Remember it's just food we are talking about here. So always live, love and eat!

Ciao

Michael