Barbecue and Jim Beam Bourbon In Ballard

"The Bourbon King was the first ambassador of reason and human happiness"
-Heinrich Mann

It's a chilly and drizzling kind of day here in the Seattle area.  Don't get me wrong, I haven't a single complaint.  We had a beautiful summer with heatstroke inducing days, the rain held off this long, and I must profess that I am ready to don jeans and sweatshirts for comfortable nights in or out in the warmth of raised whiskey glasses and good fellowship.

My drink preferences ebb and flow with the seasons like the tides.  Cold beer that progresses from light and crisp German witbiers to ever darker porters, stouts, and bold gin in the summer/fall, while winter and spring belong to red wine and fiery whiskey.  Well, whiskey is an all-year-round love affair for me if you can't tell by my previous posts.

Tonight, (K) and I gather with the Seattle Whiskey Collective to celebrate Bourbon Heritage Month with a night of barbecue and whiskey.  Tonight's tasting is hosted by local Ballard barbecue joint, Kickin' Boot Whiskey Kitchen, with special guest Dave Kearns (@realwhiskeydave), whiskey specialist for Beam Suntory.

I would just like to start with a great big thank you to Dave for his time, his knowledge, and most importantly, some of the best Bourbon I have ever tasted.  And let's not forget the Seattle Whiskey Collective for putting this excellent evening together, once again proving that membership in the Seattle Whiskey Collective is a better investment than a gym membership, HA!

So let's jump into this thing!

The Santa Fe Cafe. Will It Live On?

The Santa Fe Café has been called "a Seattle institution".  It has also been called a home away from home for those like my family and I who have ventured away from the "Land of Enchantment".  Since leaving the warmth (weather and food) of Santa Fe, New Mexico, nearly 14 years ago, we have longed for a true taste of home that you cannot find here in the Pacific Northwest.  The Santa Fe Café is, without doubt, the best place to help in our long adjustment to life without easy access to Hatch chile, posole (hominy stew with tender pork), and sopapillas (Indian fry-bread, or something like "elephant ears" as they are known here, minus the sugar and cinnamon).

A Sad Day
Yesterday at 4:15pm, it was announced that Mr. Drew Bloom, current owner and operator of the Santa Fe Café, and his wife have decided that it is time to sell the café after 6 1/2 years of ownership, and a whopping 30 years of business.  The demands on his time, family, and the desire for a slower pace of life have prompted his decision.

The Bend Ale Trail, Crater Lake, And The Oregon Food Scene



"I went to brush something off my cheek, and it was the floor."
-Raymond Chandler 

Have a gander at this:

There is a little town in Oregon called Bend.  The main attraction here is something known as "The Bend Ale Trail".  This is a brewery pilgrimage that lists 17 local breweries, all within pretty close proximity to one another.  When you look up the trail online (Bend Ale Trail), you are given a complete rundown on how one should go about hitting all the breweries, where to get your official "Ale Trail Passport", along with pertinent information like cab companies, eating locations, places to stay, etc.

"VINI, VIDI, VICI", my friends.....well, 7 out of 17 isn't too shabby (1 wasn't even open to the public and another other was in Sisters Oregon).  Besides, some of the ale trail breweries just didn't capture my interest... (cough, cough) Deschutes and McMenamins...

The ale trail pilgrimage begins with picking up your passport at the Bend Visitor Center, or printing online.  When you have made it to each brewery, they give you a stamp to show you have been there.  Once you have collected all the brewery stamps, you return to the visitor's center to collect a "prize" of some sort at the end.  As if copious amount of beer and the experience isn't prize enough, right?

It is said that one can tackle the entire trail in a single day.  We are choosing to divide it a little.  No sense in going buck juicy wild here.  Besides, pacing myself has never been my strong suit.

Keep reading so we can get to the real nitty-gritty and start talking beer, brewery reviews, food, and FUN!

Of Gipsy Kings and Beerfesting

 

This weekend, we had the great pleasure of attending the Gipsy Kings' 25th Anniversary tour concert at the Chateau St. Michelle Winery, in Woodinville, WA.  The Kings released their most recent album, Savor Flamenco, last September, which I must say, is a phenomenal piece of work, and amazing that these chaps have such longevity in the business. 

 



 

This being our (Madre, Padre, (K), and myself) first concert at the winery, we came prepared like troopers with snacks, drinks, seats, and smiles.  Madre put on a killer spread of cured meats and fruits, while I brought along the crackers, hummus, and a homemade Spanish Tortilla.  If you are unfamiliar with the Spanish Tortilla, check out the post about "Pinxto".  Basically it is a brick of delicious onion, potato, and egg, traditionally served in pintxo bars (tapas bars as well) in northern Spain.  Needless to say, there were some very envious onlookers as we munched away before the show.  The afternoon was fairly warm, but by show time, when the "Sons of the Gipsy Kings" kicked things off, the temperature had evened out to be perfectly comfortable. 

 

Pintxo - A Bite Of Spain In Seattle

www.pintxoseattle.com

It's sunny and it's warm today in Seattle.  The air hangs heavy and still as we sit sipping a chilled beer and glass of house cabernet.  Tuesday's workday is all wrapped and the masses adjourn to take advantage of what is left to be had from the day's failing sunlight. 

I've been pretty excited to try "Pintxo" since the first time (K) and I walked past it one evening.  After all, Mom's side of the family does originally hail from the Basque region of Spain.
 
Growing up in New Mexico, we specialized in our own specific variation of Latin food.  While we combine the many flavors of Spain (Due in part to the colonization by the Spanish), Mexico (Those that where assimilated), and our own local twists, flavors, and spices to make something you can only find in New Mexico, we really don't eat tapas or pintxos per say.  When we eat, it's a full meal deal.  Posole and carne adobada, tamales and pinto beans, tortillas, chile, chile, and a whole lot more chile (again it's an "e" not and "i".  This ain't Texas we're talking about).

Pintxos (Basque), or pinchos (Spanish) is the northern Spain version of tapas, a small snack typically eaten in bars while hanging out with friends or family.  The main difference between pintxos and tapas (aside from regional name change) comes from the aspect that pintxos are usually served "spiked" or skewered to a piece of bread.  What hooks me is the love of using Spanish sausage and all variations of fish (smoked, salted, pickled, etc.)

Pintxo in Seattle, Belltown if you will, aims to focus and bring the flavors of Spain to us through fresh, locally sourced ingredients.

Blah, Blah, Blah, let's get down to how the food is, shall we?

Paddle Boarding & Beer Tasting

This weekend, (K) and I decided to take full advantage of the nice weather now that it is coming to mid-August.  It also didn't hurt to stay away from the madness along the Queen Anne waterfront due to the Annual Seattle Hempfest in full swing.

For the longest time, I had been dying to try Stand Up Paddle Boarding.  It looked like good core and upper body exercise, you are out on the water just cruising around, and it's probably the closest thing I will get to surfing in the near future.  If you don't know what Stand Up Paddle Boarding is, either you are from the mid-west, or living under a rock.  I mean that in the nicest way.  It has kind of become the new thing to do, at least around here that I am aware of.  Green Lake, Lake Union, and Lake Washington are prime spots for partaking in this activity.  All you really do is grab your board, hop on it (staying on your knees until you get your bearings), then slowly standing up on it while you use this gigantic single bladed paddle to give a little cruising speed.

After we managed to recover from ending up at the totally wrong beach (NWPS northwestpaddlesurfers.com/ has two locations along the Kirkland WA waterfront), we grabbed our boards and got to it.  I must say, my legs certainly felt it the next day.  It can be a bit wobbly, but you catch on fast.  I only had one incident where I almost ended up in the drink, but dropped like a stone onto the board from my feet and managed to recover before tipping over and really loosing it.

While not like the typical sweat drenching, metal slugging gym workout I was used to in the past, I did work up a nice lather cruising around Juanita Beach Park.  Of course, a workout not being my primary goal, it was just nice to get out on the water and relax.  There were plenty of amateurs (look at me talking like a pro) zipping around, running into each other, and cutting awfully close to my board.  I can't help but wonder:  With a entire lake free to board on, why the hell are they cutting me off and getting in my way like a Las Vegas cab driver???

Needless to say, if the opportunity should present itself, go for it.  It was a lot of fun and great way to spend a few hours outside.  While I am no longer in a rush to go out and buy a board (I thought it was going to be my new "thing"), I would definitely do it again.  Actually, I have to do it again since I bought another Groupon thinking this is what I was going to be doing all summer long.

Kung Pao Chicken Tacos and "Bad Words"

MADNESS I TELL YOU!  Or as some like to call it: "Asian Fusion", whatever that means.  Basically it's "I was to lazy to wash a fork, so I put it in a tortilla".  Not myself per say, but you get the idea.  The tortilla is the tried and true edible serving utensil.  I don't mean to bore you if you just want to get to the goods, but this story has stuck with me since first hearing it growing up in Santa Fe, New Mexico (¡Que Viva Nuevo Mexico!).  So, give it a read, or jump to the food.  You won't hurt my feelings.

"A Spoon for Every Bite" by Joe Hayes
The landscapes and lore of the desert are captured in this traditional Hispanic fable about a boastful rich man who is outsmarted by his poor neighbors. The poor couple, whose shack looks out on the mansion of the wealthy man and who own but two spoons, ask him to be the compadre, or godfather, to their child. He agrees; they save every penny to buy a third spoon so they can invite him to dinner. The compadre comes to their home and laughs at their poverty, boasting that he could use a different spoon every day of the year. They mention a man they know who uses a different spoon for every bite. Intent on proving his superior wealth, the compadre bankrupts himself trying to outdo this legendary man, whose ``spoons'' are the tortillas with which he eats his beans.

Any way, let's get cooking, good lookin!

Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride.

Every now and again something really interesting happens.  I'm not going to BS you.  Sometimes it ain't pretty.  Sometimes it knocks you right out of your socks.  To put it in terms we all understand: Sometimes you win, sometimes you eat shit and bark at the moon. For me, those interesting experience seem to be coming in a flood lately.  Fortunately for yours truly, they are of the good kind of nature.

Maybe I should begin at the beginning....

I started a blogging a few years back.  I won't lie, I was on the "Julia and Julie" blog bandwagon of startup foodie sites.  Damn what a schmuk I was.  Sure, I had a handful of posts about some tasty things I was cooking or a place I had been that had food so good it would make you see sound and hear color.  But let's get real, it was a phase.

I'm sitting here now, at the Elysian pub on Capital Hill, Seattle USA, waiting for (K) so we can go indulge in some wild boar sloppy joes and Foie Gras frites at a local joint down the street. That's right baby, it's going to be a heavy dose of wicked awesome grub before we go catch an intimate musical performance put on by Sofar Seatttle (#sofarSEA   shameless plug) and down a bottle of Las Rocas Granache wine.  I'm sipping this place's pumpkin ale, thinking to myself, why not try writing again.  Maybe this time make it a little more interesting, maybe actually do something like this and stick to it, rather than have those food, travel, and experiences rolling around this head of mine like a bunch of monkeys fighting of a pale of marbles.

Anyway, I guess this is me inviting all those curious about what we in this day and age think of as scary and exotic food, far off travel destinations, the lost art of cooking for yourself, those you love, and kicking ass at life to come along and follow me on this trip. After all, if you're doing what you need, you're surviving.  If you're doing what you want, you're living.  If this blog isn't your cup of tea, no worries.  It will be somebody's double vodka.

Eat Well, Live Well.

Chris