So lots of food lovers and cooks are rightfully turned off by the word foodie, and therefore might be hesitant to attend something called First Friday Foodie Lunches. But regardless of how you feel about the word, if you love good food, you should schedule some time away from whatever might normally occupy your Friday afternoon and sneak away to enjoy lunch with other appreciaters of cuisine.
Darryl Duke founded the lunches as a way to maintain the foodie buzz between episodes of Tom Douglas’s (TDR) Culinary Camp. A small group of buddies he’d met in previous years at TDR Camp were eager for a way to stay in touch and to keep enjoying first rate fare and direct contact with the chefs who were turning out spectacular food in area restaurants – and thus the First Friday Foodie Lunches began. After many long and lovely lunches the Seattle Foodies events sell out quickly and have grown to be inclusive of those who’ve never set foot at culinary camp.
I first attended a lunch last year at Cantinetta and savored the opportunity to have lunch in a restaurant normally shuttered at mid day - and with fewer diners than I’d regularly encounter during a busy dinner service. It was a beautiful lunch and good deal at $25 (lunch price has settled in at $35 and the wine pairing goes for $25) for such a wide array of dishes.
Last month Jason Stratton from Spinasse hosted and the menu was, as expected, off the hook. Take a look:
Antipasti
Prosciutto with local peaches
Zucchini and rice torta with lovage
Spring Green with Barolo vinegar and olive oil
Wine pairing: 08’ Brut (Gavi) - Broglia
First
Tajarin with butter and sage
Wine pairing: 09’ Gavi - Broglia
Second
Quail with polenta and basil
Rabbit meatballs with turnips
Wine pairing: 09’ Dolcetto d’Alba - Sori’ Paitin
Almond cake with berries
Wine pairing 09’ Langhe Nebbiolo - Giorgio Pelissero
This Friday (9/2 at 11:30) the foodies are storming Michael Mina’s RN74 (HQ’d in San Fran) to bask in the sleek build out, great service and a multiple courses of the celebrated culinary creations of Chef Michelle Retallack, who’s new to town and who by the way is cooking a Chef in Field Dinner at Dog Mountain Farm on 9/10. Seems these out of towners get the importance of engaging with the community.
For further details go to www.seattlefoodies.net and www.dogmtnfarm.com.
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