Family Feast: Altura

Christmas Dinner at Altura

After so many years of Christmas surprises, presents and delicious meals, my brother and I decided to turn the tables and treat our parents to a nice meal. Altura has been named "Best New Restaurant" by the James Beard Foundation and has appeared in countless reviews and articles for its locally sourced, open-kitchen concept. Its affordable wine pairing option also made it the perfect choice for a fun family outing post-Christmas. I think we found a new fav in Seattle!

Amuse Bouche: Fermented potatoes with arugula/pesto puree, house-cured ham, Japanese parsley, Italian olives

First course: Foie Gras seared and chilled

First Course: Wagyu beef crudo 

Course 1: Spicy grilled octopus

Course 2: Gnocchi with lamb and wagyu beef ragu

Course 2: Wild Boar Tajarin

Course 2: Pappardelle with spicy ragu of braised tripe and oxtail

Course 3: Wagyu steak with toasted farro and hedgehog mushrooms

Love in the Language of Food

Happy Valentine's / Presidents' Weekend! My feelings about the holiday:

And I did! Had an amazing home-cooked dinner with the roommate and boyfriend - so much better than spending a crazy night in one of the many overcrowded and underlit restaurants serving overpriced tasting menus. Instead, I ate until I was about to burst and spent the rest of the night nursing a rather painful food baby...

Look at that marbling... Excuse me while I have some alone time with these beauties. Is that weird?
Washyu NY Strip (left) and Flat Iron (right)

Anniversary Celebration New Zealand-Style

As a way to celebrate Valentine's Day and our 3-year anniversary (killing two birds in one stone, yeah!), David and I decided to visit The Musket Room tonight. I haven't had much Australian or New Zealand cuisine before, and I can't say I found it to be much different than food served in New American-style restaurants, but I loved our experience. The ambience was extremely unpretentious for a one Michelin starred establishment and the service was consistently warm and friendly. They even made the effort to make our anniversary dinner special with a personalized dessert presentation and menus / mignardises to take home at the end of the night (though I just opened the menu and found that half of the courses were incorrectly documented... oh well, guess it's the thought that counts. They probably didn't expect people to actually open the lovely wax-sealed paper).