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bling bling taco

Friday, September 26, 2008

Cascina Spinasse

Hello from up north!!! Portland-Seattle-Vancouver, B.C. have been described as the Three Sister Cities. Portland being the young laid back granola type gal, while Vancouver is the eldest sophisticated woman, and Seattle being the twit-like sorority sister. So welcome to my twitty view of food in Seattle. I am honored to be part of the BBT gang. I hope I can add a little bling to the tacos down south.

I stumbled onto Cascina Spinasse, a tiny Italian restaurant on Capital Hill, one day on the way to a girly treatment of manis and pedis. A friend and I decided to check it out and were quickly denied since they had not “officially” opened yet. As a girl with an “ignore me and I’m yours” problem, I knew that I NEEDED to eat there.

For weeks I played hard-to-get, walking by the restaurant front sneaking glances at its rustic interior, antique pasta making tools, and back kitchen where you can watch the chef and cooks whirl around making sauces and pasta with dramatic flair. Finally I broke down and made the first move. Stepping through the doors we were promptly greeted by an Italian rocke

r chick named Simona. She had a great accent and a killer tat on her shoulder. Seated at one of the few communal tables in the room, we were presented with crostinis, one topped with ricotta cheese and basil and the other with rabbit pate and a splash of port wine. The rabbit pate was smooth and rich with a slight hint of sweetness from the port. All the pastas are handmade by chef/owner Justin Neidermeyer who used to sell his handmade thin beauties at Farmer’s Markets.

We ordered two appetizers, the anchovies in piemontese green sauce with crumbled egg yolk. The sauce was a mixture of herbs and olive oil which balance out the salty anchovies. I could just eat this alone with a loaf of bread and nothing else. Second were marinated beets with dill, fennel, and faro, a type of barely like grain. I liked the sweet beets with the fennel, but the faro had an annoying chew to it.

As our entrees arrived, the Maltagliatti came out in a wonderful presentation. They brought out a large bowl of random cuts of pasta topped with lamb shanks and cherry tomatoes. The server had a pitcher in the other hand filled with a rich savory broth and poured it over the noodles. The papery thin noodles swimming in one of the most flavorful broth made me just want to take the bowl straight to my mouth.

The ravioli was filled with rapini in a sage butter with toasted pine nuts. A warning for those who do not dig bitter vegetables: it may not be the dish for you, but I thoroughly enjoyed it since I was a child that grew up eating bitter melons and dandelion weeds (yes I was that kid). The first initial bite was bitter, then after masticating for a while sweetness comes through the leafy green.

Don’t expect the usual Italian desserts served in this establishment. No sugary sweet tiramisu, cannoli or gelato. We shared a peach roasted in moscato and dripping in local honey and toasted hazelnut, a perfect end to a dinner that was long awaited. After dinner, I gave Simona a hug and dragged my heavy stomach out of there.

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2 Comments:

Blogger Miguel said...

Nice job!!

September 29, 2008 at 1:43 PM  
Blogger nwbestdressed said...

"Seattle being the twit-like sorority sister"....Love it. Your blog makes me want to run out and spend all my dough on fabulous Seattle restaurants!!
-Kelsey

September 30, 2008 at 11:15 PM  

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