Part 3: Bite of Seattle
Every year Seattle Center hosts a food festival called Bite of Seattle at which all sorts of food vendors and artists display and distribute their respective wares and skills. This is the first time I have been able to attend and it was a zoo! Thousands of people thronging the paths and all other available space at Seattle Center, all in pursuit of something delicious (though some were also interested in getting soaked in the giant fountain because it was a hot and glorious day. Course #1 was another ear of roasted corn - two in as many days! And then we wandered into "The Alley" hosted by Tom Douglas and where a very obliging total stranger allowed me to take a photo of her delicious-looking plate of food.
The Alley is sort of a planned, multi-course meal of morsels from some of Seattle's best restaurants. On this day, the offerings were as follows:Prawn-stuffed Halibut - good fish, stuffed with other kinds of good fish, with a light mustard sauce that helped all of the flavours dance but not step on each other's toes.
Portage Bay Cafe
Ancient Roman Meatballs - following what seems an increasing interest in cooking things like the Romans did these are sweet and sour and savory all at once, and rather different. I liked them because of their intensity of flavour.
Al Boccalino
Crispy Duck Cake - which was rather like a duck falafel. Sort of peculiar, but tasty. I wanted more duck and less crunch.
Andaluca
Gazpacho - this took the cake. It had a pinch of crabmeat in it and was topped with some avocado coulis. It was also a wonderful silky texture and refreshing and sweet, but light, too.
Salty's on Alki Beach
Mini Steak Sandwich - managing to have tender fresh-roasted beef for thousands of people? I think these folks know what they're doing with meat.
The Daily Grill
Slow Smoked Pork Butt with Sweet Corn Chow Chow - quite a mouthful no matter how you slice it.
Dahlia Lounge
Marion Blackberry Sorbet - ever eaten a blackberry and a marionberry at the same time? This is what it tastes like. But actually, their pistachio was truly transcendent.
Gelatiamo
After this "meal" (and meal it was, small bites though it may have been) we meandered through the rest of the festival until we heard about the place selling cajun alligator on a stick. Now this I had to try. But first we had to sample the fresh-roasted salmon at the stand next to the cajun place. As you'll see in the photo, they were cooking the salmon completely simply, sandwiched between a few sticks that were stood around a fire.
I've never had salmon so tender and juicy so I think I'll be trying to cook like that at some point (though I'd have to find an open firepit.) But on to the alligator. I wasn't sure quote what to expect when I asked for the cajun alligator but here it is:
It was, in the finest cajun cooking traditions, battered and deep-fried, but frying done right actually seals the food and steams it inside the crispy batter shell so whatever is inside stays juicy and tender. And so was the alligator. I can best describe the flavour as incredibly intense pork, like carnitas only if you kept adding and cooking down more broth. And the texture was dense - very dense - but smooth and rich, with almost no fat anywhere. Conceptually it is a little odd to equate the meat, such as it was, to the large, scaly, dinosaurish reptile, but it certainly was tasty and I look forward to the next time I have it.[Part 4: Bon Odori >> ]
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