Adventures in Dim Sum

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I’ll have to admit that other than watching this seasons Top Chef: All Stars clusterfuck that was the dim sum challenge, I had never seen a dim sum service, complete with a crowded dining room, metal carts filled with delicious treats and lots and lots of yelling. Sure, I’ve been to a few hundred Asian restaurants (no, seriously–I live in Seattle. There’s alot of Asian restaurants in the Pacific Northwest) but I have never experienced the amazingness that is true dim sum.

It started with plans to go out to dinner with my best friend and an old friend from high school I hadn’t seen in a while. Since I chose where we went last time we went out to eat, I relinquished control and let them take the reins on where we would eat.

We ended up at a dim sum restaurant in Bellevue that I 1) can not remember the name for the life of me and 2) was literally in the middle of a field of strip malls, and I couldn’t get back there if you paid me.

We walled into a busy lunch service in a sea of wooden tables all with lazy susans attached to the table tops, and were seated in the back. There were no menus, no traditional servers, and no knives and forks. My old friend turned to me and asked “What do you eat? No pork, no beef, you’re impossible, just, oh, just sit there, there will be something!” Silver carts started wheeling by, with steamed up glass windows, obscuring the showcased treats inside. Dumplings and potstickers and golden fried pillows of tofu with sweet spicy dipping sauce. There was lots of yelling going on between patrons and servers at the carts in languages I could not understand, and little dishes just kept appearing on our table. “Eat this one, but not this one, this one is not for you!” I was told each time a new treat appeared, and I finally had to insist my old friend sit and enjoy the shared meal, which eventually she did, and we caught up while stuffing our faces and drinking green tea. Hopefully we’ll go back soon for another round.

And yes, they have chicken feet. And no, I haven’t tried them. Yet.

James Beard Semi-Finalists

I’m back, like dough rising with the aid of yeast, or zombies rising from the dead. I got a little writers block there for a hot minute, and was trying to write reflective posts following the time-line in which events have transpired. The post on my mothers birthday party had me stumped for weeks, and I have looked at the words, tweaking language, written drafts upon drafts, until finally gave in and admitting defeat that linear time-lines are just not something I can even pretend to comprehend. In my world time is a cyclical, spiraling Ouroboros of experiences that requires constant redefining. So, in an order to get back to writing, I have thrown all time-lines out the window, and am focusing on just writing, sometimes about the past, and sometimes about the present. It is the best I can do.

So let’s look at what’s going on currently, shall we? The prestigious James Beard Foundation Award semi-finalists were announced just a few days ago, and Seattle has quite a few nominees. It’s all very exciting. Some of the semi-finalists restaurants I have had the privilege of eating at, some are simply on my bucket list, and some have now been added. The winners are announced at the beginning of May, so I best get my butt in gear and head over to places I have not yet been to see what all the hubbub is about.

Best New Restaurant

Staple & Fancy Mercantile, Seattle

Outstanding Chef

Holly Smith, Cafe Juanita, Kirkland, WA

Jerry Traunfeld, Poppy, Seattle

Outstanding Restuarant

Cafe Juanita, Kirkland, WA

Outstanding Restuaranteur

Tom Douglas, Tom Douglas Restaurants, Seattle

Outstanding Service

Canlis, Seattle, WA

Outstanding Wine Service

Canlis, Seattle, Nelson Daquip

Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional

Alex Golitzin, Quilceda Creek Vintners, Snohomish, WA

Best Chef: Northwest

Seif Chirchi and Rachel Yang, Joule, Seattle

Matt Dillon, Sitka & Spruce, Seattle

Mark Fuller, Spring Hill, Seattle

Ethan Stowell, Staple & Fancy Mercantile, Seattle

Jason Stratton, Spinasse, Seattle

I’m wishing my best of luck to all that represent the Northwest, and sincerely hope Tom Douglas can bring another James Beard Foundation Award home!