CRUSH? No It's Love - A Sous Vide Masterpiece - Best of Seattle 2008

Restaurant Name: Crush
Location: Seattle, Washington






Sunday night Cindy and I took advantage of the November Dining Around Seattle promotion (3 courses for $30 at 30 Seattle area restaurants - at Crush this is a savings of at least $30-$40 each) and it was truly AMAZING. This restaurant is our blogs TOP Restaurant for 2008 for Northwest Cuisine and Crush also Tied Rover's and Lark for Top Food in the Seattle Area. The 3 course offering last night provided 3 choices for each course.


First Course Choices:
Leek and Celery Root Soup
or
Pork Belly over cabbage with bacon
or
Green salad with apple, hazelnut, and roquefort cheese


Second Course Choices
Short Ribs" over Trofiette pasta with Gruyere Cheese sauce
or
Seared Scallops in a sauce of "chowder with vegetables"
or
Fall Vegetarian Risotto


Third Course Choices
Cranberry Bread Pudding with cane sugar ice/pecan ice cream
or
Vahlrona chocolate dessert
or
Camembert Cheese with balsamic, nuts, pomegranate, and compressed pear.




I always like to spend the savings on these promotions back into the same restaurant so we started with a nice glass of Cremant D'Alsace ($12 ea) while we perused the menu. If you are stretching to go to Crush in the first place there is certainly no pressure to have wine or drinks before or during dinner. The wine list revealed you could spend anywhere from $7 to very high numbers by the glass with a nice similar range by the bottle.


I chose to start with the Pork Belly. It was a beautiful and tasty presentation. the pork belly was cooked sous vide (I know this because it was pink but melt in your mouth done), with crisp bacon both topping a nicely sauced cabbage saute.


My main course was also sous vide, Jason Wilsons' justly famous 24 hour cooked Short Ribs atop a Trofiette pasta in an great gruyere cheese sauce. Trofiette is a rustic looking pasta that looks like a twisted rolled up thin penne - the perfect mac and cheese with class!. the Short Ribs were melt in your mouth and beautifully seasoned. I added a nice Cote de Tablais red wine ($12)

I finished with the Camembert cheese service which was beautifully presented with nuts, pomegranate and compressed pear. The compressed pear is also a sous vide preparation that literally compresses the fruit in a vacuum and gently cooks it to intensify the flavor - wonderful.


I finished with a nice pot of presse coffee.
-------

Cindy is feeling lazy so she asked me to blog for her as well.


After her Cremant she started with the Soup - Beautiful and Fabulous - could not have been more so. I tasted and loved it.


Cindy's 2nd course was the scallops - See picture above for a pretty good idea. There were 3 nicely seared scallops in a great sauce. I tasted and loved it.


Third course for Cindy was the cranberry bread pudding. sounded like it could be not the worlds best - but wrong again - It was a wonderful individual round moist bread pudding with some sugared fresh cranberries that kind of popped in your mouth. the cane sugar ice cream was a nice companion flavor. I tasted and love this dessert.


Cindy finished with a very elaborate, exotic tea service - it tasted a little too strongly of anise as she was looking for straight peppermint. But it was worth it just to watch the waiter do the service.


Speaking of service it was flawless, attentive, and it all made for a great evening.

In our recommendations review of the Dining Around Seattle Promotion we touted Crush and the Fairmont"s Georgian Room as incredible quality at incredible value - and Crush proved out 100% - AND we are going to the Georgian TONIGHT!