Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Restaurant Review

13 May 2013

Serious Biscuit – Seattle

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The Astronomer and I have visited Seattle four times in past three years, which is really something considering that we don’t have any family in the area. On each of these jaunts, we’ve made a concerted effort to explore the city’s sites beyond the hectic fun of Pike’s Place Market.

We’ve spent time at the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum (I liked the Sir Mix-A-Lot exhibit best), toured the Ballard Locks, witnessed the art of glass blowing, quacked aboard the “Ride the Ducks” spectacle, and hiked to Kerry Park for the best view of the city.

On this latest #2DaysinSeattle trip, The Astronomer and I took it super-easy, filling our time with long stretches of walking, a little shopping, and much eating. Following breakfast at Dahlia Bakery, we strolled to South Lake Union to explore two of Chef Tom Douglas’ newest ventures, Dahlia Workshop and Serious Biscuit. Both entities are housed in the same lovely industrial space, along with a second outlet of Serious Pie.

Our seats on the second floor provided excellent views of Dahlia Workshop, which bakes bread and prepares pastries for the entire Tom Douglas restaurant empire.

We saw pie crusts being formed for the famous Triple Coconut Cream Pie and rhubarb being chopped for jam. Spying on the worker bees was an excellent way to pass the time while waiting for our food to arrive.

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Restaurant Review

10 May 2013

Dahlia Bakery – Seattle

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There was much to love about our accommodations in Seattle, the Mayflower Park Hotel, but the amenity I relished most was its proximity to Dahlia Bakery. I appreciate graceful service, plush beds, and luxurious bathrooms as much as the next out-of-towner, but my passion for amazing baked goods trumps all!

I’ve dined at a handful of Chef Tom Douglas’ restaurants over the years—Dahlia Lounge, Serious Pie, and Seatown—but this was my first visit to the hearth of the operation: Dahlia Bakery.

While the lunchtime menu consisting of salads, soups, and sandwiches sounded quite lovely, I was particularly drawn to the breakfast offerings that are served until 10 AM on Mondays through Fridays and until 2 PM on weekends. Breakfast sandwiches and fried-to-order doughnuts? Yes, please.

I came into the bakery with a solid game plan, but couldn’t resist one impulse buy: the Creamsicle Whoopie Pie ($3). What can I say? I get weak around glittery sprinkles. This unplanned purchase proved to be a great one—the luscious cream center tasted orangey to the core, while the cakey cookies were definitely zesty.

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Restaurant Review

08 May 2013

The Corson Building – Seattle

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The moment The Astronomer and I landed in Seattle, we hailed a cab and high-tailed it to The Corson Building for dinner. We usually take a train from the airport into the city, but we didn’t want to waste any precious time since we only had #2DaysinSeattle.

Here in a stone building on an industrial stretch of Georgetown, about five miles from downtown Seattle, Chef Matt Dillon serves wonderfully rustic fare using locally sourced ingredients prepared with Northwest flare. Previously, Chef Dillon was named the James Beard Award winner in the Northwest category in 2012 and Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chef in 2007.

My friend Jessica recommended this restaurant to me years ago, but I never made my way here until this most recent jaunt.

While Saturday and Sunday evenings are communal affairs with multi-course pre-fixe menus, the restaurant serves a “small, hand-written menu inspired by the writings and philosophies of Angelo Pellegrini” on Friday nights.

According to Wikipedia, Angelo Pellegrini was “an author of books about the pleasures of growing and making your own food and wine, and about the Italian immigrant experience. He was also a professor of English Literature at the University of Washington.” How cool is that?

I sipped two glasses of wine with dinner, one light and white and the other full bodied and red, while The Astronomer chose an Indian lager. He was initially entranced by the hints of honey in each sip, but ultimately decided that the beer tasted too watered down.

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