I had the privilege to again participate in a Taste and Tweet event last night at the icon Grill in the downtown Seattle neighborhood of Belltown. They have a great location on 5th Avenue right under the monorail tracks across from the Westin hotel. They are easy to spot too with a large marquee announcing specials and seasonal menu options. Upon entering, the main dining area is large and welcoming, with an eclectic old fashioned style. The vibe I got was a kind of 1920′s swanky club feel. The Taste and Tweet event was held upstairs in icon’s private dining room. The theme for the evening was items off of icon’s seasonal Oktoberfest menu. Ok, on to the food!

Drinks:

Beer Flight -

Once I got seated in at the table I was offered my choice of a glass of merlot or chardonnay. I’m a white wine guy so I went with the chardonnay. It was nice and crisp, not too spicy (which I’ve had trouble with before) and a great way to start off the meal. The first tasting item that was brought out was a sampler of three Oktoberfest beers currently featured by icon. They ranged from light to dark in color but all were somewhat similar in taste. First was Hofbrau Oktoberfest from Munchen, Germany. This beer just didn’t have a whole lot of flavor in my mind and was probably my least favorite of the three. I’d give it a C+. Next was New Belgium’s Hoptober beer from Colorado. This beer didn’t blow me away either. It did at least have a stronger flavor though, with serious citrus undertones. I’d give it a B. Last was the dark Spaten Oktoberfest, again from Munchen. I figured this was going to be my favorite since I tend to be a fan of dark beer over light, but I was disappointed again by a general lack of flavor. I’d give the Spaten a B-. While it didn’t blow me away, the Hoptober ended up being my favorite of the three. But as you can see, I didn’t drink much of any of them sticking instead with the chardonnay, which I’d give a B+.

Appetizers:

Sausage Flight -

The first food brought out to our table was a sausage sample plate. I’m a big fan of tubular meats so I was definitely looking forward to this part of the evening. It didn’t disappoint. I did, unfortunately, have trouble keeping track of which sausage was which so I can’t say that I necessarily had single favorite, however all were very tasty. There was four varieties in total, German bratwurst, Polish kielbasa, Nurnberger rostbratwurst and fresh lamb sausage. They are served with sides of horseradish and whole grain mustard. I tried some of the mustard with my sausage and it was excellent. My favorite part of this sampler though was far and away the sauerkraut. Icon makes their own house “blend” of sauerkraut that was described by Chef Nick Musser as “starter sauerkraut” for people who don’t think they’ll like it. Well, I like sauerkraut and all I can say is wow! Rather than the usual sour, pickled flavor most sauerkraut has, this has an almost sweet flavor to it. They ran through the various different spices and ingredients they use and I didn’t catch all of them but it’s definitely a unique taste. Sausage: B+; Sauerkraut: A-

Schweineschnitzel Slider -

After the sausage came these little slider sandwiches. Chef Nick explained to us, at some point during the meal, that while icon wanted to serve a traditional German Oktoberfest meal, they also wanted to give it an American spin. So Chef pointed out that while a traditional schnitzel is made with veal, since that can be a little controversial in certain circles here in the US, icon makes theirs with pork cutlets instead. I didn’t hear any complains around the table. These are tasty little “burgers” with a unique flavor and texture. The deep frying gives a nice crispy contrast to what might otherwise be kind of a squishy meal. The lemon aioli used to season and flavor the sandwiches also provides a unique flavor that adds a nice kick to each bite. The fries served on the side are also good. Grade: B+

Nut’n'Honey -

The next thing they brought out as a house drink creation called “Nut’n'Honey.” It was a mix of various liqueurs intended to remind you kind of the adult version of milk and cookies. It was tasty but EXTREMELY strong. I drank enough to enjoy it but didn’t finish my little half glass sampler. Grade: B

Main Dish:

Sauerbraten-

To be honest, at this point in the meal I was a little disappointed. While none of the dishes brought out to us so far were bad, I hadn’t yet been blown away by anything. Well, one taste of this next dish changed all that. Sauerbrauten is roasted beef that has been slow braised in red wine, vinegar, and fresh herbs. Sweet baby Jesus it is good. It’s that kind of awesome that just melts into a juicy amalgam of flavors in your mouth. The taste is intense but not at all overpowering. Absolutely fantastic. It is served with a side of horseradish potato cake that is also excellent. High praise for both these. Grade: A+

Dessert:

Apple Strudel-

This dish was a traditional apple strudel dessert dish served with ice cream. The main twist being the addition of walnuts and raisins, which adds a nice contrast in texture to the softer baked apples and vanilla ice cream. Grade: B+

Final Thoughts:

While I didn’t fall in love with any of the dishes brought out to us (other than the fantastic Sauerbrauten, of course) the over all impression I left icon Grill with is that they do things right. The atmosphere, the food, the drinks, the attitude of the staff were all excellent. I would have no hesitation recommending icon Grill to friends or visitors. On one aside, it is almost worth the price of dinner to take a trip to the men’s bathroom during your meal. Mounted on the wall are two televisions that play a looped video featuring various clips of waterfalls, fire hoses, rivers, and sprinklers set to the music of Flight of the Valkyries to help you over come any stage fright you might experience. Awesome.

A couple related notes:

Since the FTC will start requiring in December that bloggers report any goods or services received in exchange for reviews I figured it would be good to get in the habit starting now. So to be clear, all food and drinks served during the Taste and Tweet event at icon Grill were provided free of charge to me.

Also, if you want to see full sized versions of any of the above images, just head over to my flickr page by clicking here.

I spent some time just wandering around downtown today. I could totally see myself living there. I love all the little nook and cranny coffee spots and cafe’s. I can’t imagine anything more sublime right now than getting to be a writer in downtown.

Ok, I’ll try to keep this list as updated as possible and it definitely will grow longer as I add more restaurants, coffee shops, and wineries. Hopefully you find this useful though!

Seattle Foodies on Twitter:

Foodies:
Seattle Food Tours – @seattlefoodtour
Michael Alexander – @seattle_food
Traca Savadogo – @SeattleTallPopp
Seattle Food Geek – @SeattleFoodGeek
Matthew Amster-Burton – @mamster
Kathleen Flinn – @katflinn

Writers/Authors/Bloggers:
Denise Sakaki – @WasabiPrime
Allison Austin Scheff – @allisonsheff
Rebekah Denn – @RebekahDenn
Alice – @Savorysweetlife
Shauna James Ahern – @glutenfreegirl
Maggie Dutton – @wineoffensive
Whitney Ricketts – @whitneyricketts
Seattle Bon Vivant – @bonnevivante
Surly Gourmand – @surlygourmand *nsfw?*
Lorna Yee – @lornayee
CakeSpy – @cakespy
Tea Austen – @tea_austen
Lorraine Goldberg – @voraciousgirl
Hsiao-Ching Chow – @hsiaoching
Jon Kauffman – @jonkauffman
Nancy Leson – @nancyleson
Kim O’Donnel – @kimodonnel
Ashley Rodriguez – @AshleyRodriguez
Ron Zimmerman – @herbguy
Jay Friedman – @jayfriendman
Julien Perry – @tastebud1
Edible Seattle – @edibleseattle
Kate Hopkins – @AccidentalKate

Chefs:
Karen Rosenzweig – @incrediblechef
Dana Cree – @deensie
Becky Selengut – @ChefReinvented
Kathy Casey – @KathyCaseyChef
Mariah Hines – @mariahines

Markets:
Pike Place Market – @pike_place

Restaurants/Restaurateurs/Cafe’s:
Trophy Cupcakes – @trophycupcakes
Cafe Campagne – @Cafe_Campagne
Brasserie Margaux – @SeattleMargaux
Chow Foods – @chowfoods
Pagliacci Pizza – @pagliaccipizza
Bruce Pinkerton – @urbanwindecafe
Brian Canlis – @bcanlis
Parfait Ice Cream – @parfaiticecream
Marination Mobile – @curb_cuisine
Renee Erickson – @boatstreet
Maximus-Minimus – @somepigseattle
Tidbit Bistro – @tidbitbistro

Coffee/Cafe’s:
Caffe Vita – @caffevita
Fuel Coffee – @fuelhigh5
Camano Island Coffee Roasters – @cicr
Starbucks – @starbucks

Wineries:
DeLILLE CELLARS – @DeLILLECELLERS
Jon Rowley – @oysterwine

So I’ve been back in Seattle now for just shy of two weeks. Wow the time has gone fast! It doesn’t seem like it was all that long ago that I was at Mount Hermon doing check in for summer Family Camp. But between the drive home, getting unpacked (which to be honest isn’t completely finished), and starting school, time flies!

Speaking of school, I’ve started at Northwest University for my masters program and that has been fantastic. I knew I missed being in the academic setting of classes, and even homework, but I didn’t realize just how much I missed it. Grad school is this fantastic mix of people who are all really smart and really want to be there in class. I’ve enjoyed checking out every coffee shop in the Edmonds/Lynnwood area I can as I try to find a go to place for studying. Currently the three front runners are Aloha Cafe in Lynnwood, Caffe Ladro in Edmonds, and Richmond Beach Coffee Company in Richmond Beach. There are some great ones down in Seattle I want to check out but I’m not going to drive 20 miles round trip just to get a cup of coffee and some peace and quiet.

Speaking of peace and quiet, moving back home has been interesting. Fortunately, there are lots of comings and goings between weekends at our cabin and afternoons at coffee shops that we don’t drive each other too crazy. Still, I forgot how much I like living by myself and being able to make as much noise as I want late at night. For now, my 1am rock outs are on hiatus.

I’ve settled for the most part on a new church up here. I’ve gone the last two weeks to a place called Sanctuary (http://sanctuarycrc.org) down in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle. I’ve already been talking with them about doing some photo work so that should be fun. I like the demographics too, with lots of recent grads and 20 somethings that are missing from a lot of the suburban churches. And of course there have been lots of laughs about CRC vs RCA, which is really just a good example of self-depricating Dutch humor.

The other big transition is my new laptop. As part of starting school and trying to do more photography work I picked up a 13″ MacBook Pro to replace my EEE PC. While I do enough gaming and enjoy PC building enough that I’m never going to permanently switch over, there have been some very nice benefits. Mostly on the hardware side because, frankly, as a lifetime Windows user and someone who is very excited about Win7, OS X just isn’t all that compelling to me. I don’t really have anything against it, I’m just not in awe. I don’t think it’s THAT much better than Windows. Sorry. On the hardware side however, holy crap this thing is awesome. The screen is fantastic, I’m leaning to love the trackpad, the battery life is great, the weight is awesome, I’d forgotten how nice it is to have a full sized keyboard, and on and on I could go. So long story short on that, I’m extremely happy with the purchase at this point. And really after the academic discount the “Mac Tax” was pretty much irrelevant. You still pay through the nose for a 17″ MBP or MacPro desktop but when it comes to the 13″ models, pricing out a Dell is pretty much the same price… and HP is just a disaster. Anyway, I think that’s about all there is for now. I’ll update as my adventures unfold!

Journal entry for July 27, 2006,

“I so want to stay in Seattle but I don’t know if I am supposed to. I may have been speaking prophetically to myself earlier when speaking of field of dreams [the movie]. Maybe I’m not supposed to be asking what’s in it for me. Maybe this is a God thing and the next stage of my life isn’t here in the area I love. Maybe I have to leave to really find what God is calling me to be. I have defined myself for such a long time by how others see me and what my friends think that maybe it is time for a change.”

One of my favorite movies of all time (the one I claim as THE greatest movie of all time) is Field of Dreams.  One of my favorite lines from the movie is when Moonlight Graham tells Ray, “This is my most special place in all the world, Ray. Once a place touches you like this, the wind never blows so cold again. You feel for it, like it was your child.”  This city is my home.  The smells, the tastes, the sights, the complete sensory immersion.  The smell of the fresh air after the rain, the taste of Pad Thai at my favorite restaurant (that’s Jai Thai, by the way), the boats in the ship canal sailing under a gray sky, sitting at a Starbucks on a busy cloudy Saturday afternoon with a good friend watching people go by out side.  The occasional passing shower never offending the natives, only the tourists and Californian’s use umbrellas.  This is a city with a personality, a life of it’s own.  And the people who live here love the City.  I miss it so.

Sounds like someone’s been updating Wikipedia after reading the USS Mariner blog. . .

“Bavasi views the trade [for Eric Bedard] as beneficial, due to his oversight of the prospects’ potential and his misunderstanding that Bedard will likel seek a contract elsewhere after the minimum 2 years of being bound to the team. Ironically, should this trade go down, Bavasi will be heralded by uninformed fans, including Howard Lincoln. This will buy him at most two more years as GM, in which the Mariners will be in fringe contention, until he will be placed in the “hot seat” again, quite likely along with Howard Lincoln.”

While it may be one of the more pointless adventures to be undertaken in public transportation, one thing is for sure. The SLUT has developed a cult following already, see here. . .

More proof that Seattle is awesome.

If this doesn’t make you want to live in Seattle, you are hopeless. I’m sooo happy to be home.