This is just a quick update as I’ve been very busy lately.

So I have this lighting equipment sitting around and want to do something with it.  Sadly my free time for the week week is all allocated.  My solution?  Using my lunch break to take a self portrait or two.  Every day is different lighting, to keep thinks interesting.

To bad I can’t do this every day, but at least I had the opportunity to do it 3 days in a row. 

Now back to your regularly scheduled program. 

Dulces Bistro & Wine

While walking down Western Avenue behind the Pike Place Market, we noticed a restaurant named Dulces Bistro & Wine confusingly tucked away next to an empty store-front.  I say confusing because the sign is located on the corner above the empty space, but the restaurant is located a few yards away.  Once we figured that out, we were in for a treat.

Dulces, In Summary

Inside Dulces Bistro & Wine

Dulces Bistro & Wine is a nice romantic getaway hidden at 1404 Western Avenue, Seattle, WA, just off the corner of Western and Union – just a short walk from the hustle and bustle of Pike Place Market.  Because of it’s location, it’s much less busy than restaurants located as little as a block away – a huge bonus in my opinion.  The cuisine served is also quite satisfying.

The decor and layout of the restaurant screams “romantic”, but not too stuffy.  The tables have some space between them, and there is a conscious effort put into noise abatement, making it easy for you and your party to converse freely without having to scream.  At the time this was posted, the art from a local artist named Cheryl Fujii Zahniser and it certainly added to the romantic feel.

 What we ordered

Elliot Bay Breeze

We arrived just in time to experience Dulces’ Happy Hour which runs from 4-7pm every day.  As such, we decided to order small-plates off the happy hour menu.

• Elliot Bay Breeze: Pearl blueberry vodka, Absolut Kurant, fresh squeezed juices with a splash of champagne
• Toasted baguette with chipotle infused olive oil
• Penne pasta with chipotle cream sauce and parmesan cheese (not pictured)
• Pulled pork sandwich
• Chorizo filled ravioli with tomatillo cream sauce
• Beef tenderloin tidbits served with a balsamic reduction sauce

The Elliot Bay Breeze was a pleasant way to start the evening; Berries and pineapple, with the smell of orange. It’s hard to go wrong with this combination, and the bartender did not disappoint.

Toasted baguette w/ chipotle infused olive oil

It seems like so many places don’t have bread worth mentioning, and now 2 times in a week I’ve run across something to talk about.  This time was the chipotle infused olive oil.  For having chipotle in it, it was surprisingly subtle, smoky, and only the slightest kick.  Mixed with the toasted baguette we had to try our best to not eat it all before our main dishes arrived.

The first plate to arrive, the penne pasta with chipotle cream sauce is sadly not pictured.  While it was a very plain looking in presentation, it was surprisingly well flavoured.  Creamy, smoky, a mild kick, and a liberal amount of parmesan cheese.  The only thing we found lacking was visual colour, the flavour did stand on its own, however.  Perhaps a little garnish and black pepper would make this dish visually jump off the plate.

Pulled pork sandwich

Second up, and perhaps the most surprising serving of the evening was the pulled pork sandwich.  With every bite we had to stop and proclaim “wow!”  While I’m undoubtedly a fan of pulled pork, it’s rare that for a happy-hour item to stand out so well from the pack.  It was very full flavoured, juicy, and ever so slightly spicy.  The slight spice seems to be a pleasant theme.

Chorizo filled ravioli w/ tomatillo cream sauce

After the pulled pork, we were presented with the chorizo filled ravioli with tomatillo cream sauce.  The presentation had our mouths watering before our first bite.  We were not let down.  The chorizo ravioli was very flavourful on its own, but adding the tomatillo cream sauce added a wonderful fruity creamy flavour that balanced the entire dish.

Just when we thought we were done, the beef tenderloin tidbits with a balsamic reduction sauce was served to us.  This dish, put as simply as possible, is pure comfort food.  From the first bite, it’s warm, rich, and beefy – then you taste the wonderful flavours of the balsamic reduction.  It was served with a small dollop of mashed potatoes.  At first, I thought it was too small, but as my dining companion pointed out that it was perfectly sized, and she was right.  This was a nice way to finish our meal, even if we almost forgot we ordered it.

The Verdict

Beef tenderloin tidbits served with a balsamic reduction

The romantic atmosphere and quality of cuisine make this a great spot to bring your date.  The price is very reasonable, though we were there for Happy Hour.  The location makes it surprisingly quiet for a Downtown Seattle restaurant, and you’re only a block away from the Pike Place Market, SAM, and a mere blocks away from Benaroya Hall.  The only complaint I had for our first visit was quality of presentation, but don’t let that detract from the taste.

I will likely go back to Dolces, and perhaps when I’m on a date.

Until next time, eat well and enjoy.

Last night my partner and I visited a restaurant called Joule at 1913 North 45th Street  Seattle, WA 98103 (Wallingford).  Since my partner did all the research on this one, I had no idea where we were going nor any history on the restaurant.  Oh boy were we in for a treat!

I didn’t find out until after that the chefs Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi were on Iron Chef America only last year.  Frankly, this doesn’t surprise me.  Hands down, this was the best meal I’ve had since moving to Seattle.  Not only was it highly creative, but there is true mastery of texture, flavour and plating.

What we ordered:

• (Cocktail) Orange Sparkler: Blood orange liqueur, cava, basil ice
• Baguette w/ seaweed butter (no picture)
• Geoduck:  pickled daikon, seaweed, sweet chili vinaigrette
• Parsnip bisque: mangosteen confit, walnut cardamom strudel
• Hawaiian prawns: stone pot, vermicelli, smoked peanut
• Charred Kale:  pickled king oyster mushroom, smoked chili (no picture)
• “Joule” box: tapioca pearls, ruby grapefruit brulee (coconut milk infused w/ kaffir lime leaf), lime zest
• Flourless chocolate cake:  candied pear, caramel, and hazelnuts

Orange Sparkler: Blood orange liqueur, cava, basil ice (on bottom)

I feel jaded to say it, but when I cringe when I go to a restaurant and see their cocktail list is all centred around citrus flavours; Everyone does citrus drinks, it’s easy and takes no real skill to make it taste good.  As citrus cocktails go, the orange sparkler was a nice surprise.  My first sip, I almost found it too sweet – almost.  Then the slight sour note reigned the sweetness in. Only then did I realise my mouth was filled with a  of  orange with delicate basil undertones.  Put simply this drink took a lot of skill to craft.  Next time I’ll have to try their other cocktails.

Not pictured was the baguette w/ seaweed butter.  Normally I wouldn’t even mention this, but the seaweed butter was worth talking about.  It was also notably good.  So good that we wondered why nobody thought of it before. Then we concluded, who would think mixing nori with butter sounded good?  It really was that good, though.

The cocktail and seaweed butter really gave us high expectations for what to expect next. Out came the geoduck, pronounced gooy-duck – clam.  As ingredients go, I’ve never had bad geoduck (luck perhaps?).  While this dish was probably the least stellar dish of the night, it was still very good.  We were more than happy to eat every last bite.  The geoduck was perfectly cooked and had a wonderful texture and I’d certainly order it any time.  I was a little disappointed in the pictures I took of it too, but this was my failing, not Joule.

Parsnip bisque: mangosteen confit, walnut cardomom strusel

They did not disappoint with the parsnip bisque which quickly followed.  As the waitress told us, the bisque was simply roasted parsnips and onions pureed together.  Even after she told us, we had to taste it a few times.  Even after a few tastes we still had trouble believing all that flavour came from just parsnips and onions – so earthy, sweet, creamy, and wholesome; We didn’t even start on the ingredients that topped it yet!  The flavour on top was both interesting and amazing.  With every spoon-full,  we were faced with a different flavour combination – sometime sweeter with mangosteen, sometimes nuttier, sometimes spicier with cardamom.  WOW!

The charred kale, was worth noting and our overall favourite dish for the night.  With every bite there was all the good qualities that come to mind when you think “charred” – every bite was delightfully smoky and with a slight tinge of sweetness; All while the grilled the kale was still slightly crunchy – such a nice texture.  The pickled oyster mushrooms retained their meaty texture, and had so much more flavour from the pickling.   We were almost fighting over the remains.  It was silly, fun, and really, that good.  I’m disappointed I didn’t get any good pictures of it.  Next time!

Hawaiian prawns: stone pot, vermicelli, smoked peanut

The final savoury dish for the night was the prawns.  Put simply, I was ecstatic just over the presentation – It was warm and inviting.  Then the smell hits – smoked peanuts.   To my surprise even with the hot stone pot, that the prawns were perfectly cooked – their texture still had a slight snap.  The flavor  was what you would expect from grilled prawns and smoked peanuts, but combined with being perfectly cooked was so delightful.  The Vermicelli underneath could not be defined as anything else but comfort food to me. I finished my portion of the vermicelli before the prawns.

Joule didn’t disappoint with the desserts either.  We decided to get two:  One more traditional sounding, and the other less traditional sounding.

“Joule” box: tapioca pearls, ruby grapefruit brulee (coconut milk infused w/ kaffir lime leaf), lime zest

The non-traditional one was fresh ruby grapefruit on top of kaffir lime leaf infused coconut milk and tapioca.  This dish was a pure delight. So fresh, and a wonder blend of textures.  The coconut milk added a lot of cream to the dish without weighing it down.  The after-taste of lime finished off every bite.  I was hoping the flavor would stay with me all night.

The chocolate cake was everything you’d come to expect from a flour-less chocolate cake… only better.  Such a rich creamy flavour mixed with dark cocoa.  Just as I thought I was getting overwhelmed with chocolate, I’d take a bit of the candied pear.  Yum!  This is how chocolate cake should be made!  Such a standard dessert done impressively well.

In Summary:  We’ll be going back, and recommend you do to.

Without much further ado, here are the large pictures:

Technical info:  Another shoot with the CN-160 and 16-28 lens. 

My partner has been playfully prodding me to start taking restaurant photos again.  I can’t blame her, it’s been way too long.  We decided to break my sabbatical with a restaurant we had not been to before; Black Bottle, a gastro-pub located in Belltown, Seattle.

Perhaps I’ll start working my way to full restaurant reviews, but for now all I have is pictures.  Being a little rusty, I also forgot to take notes of what we ate.

Thankfully, the pictures speak for themselves.  It was a great meal, and we will be returning.

Technical notes:  As always I was using my single LED light, but this time I tried using the 16-28mm lens.  I’m really happy with the results.

Various examples of people and portrait focused photography I’ve taken in the last two years.

Various examples of food photography taken while dining at restaurants.  All images were produced at the table of a restaurant while dining using either ambient light, or a single hand-held LED light (not flash).

Various images taken from 1 second to several minutes of exposure.

Various examples of erotic imagery I’ve created over the last 2 years.