Ronald Holden has been writing an award-winning wine and dining blog, Cornichon.org, since 2004. A Northwest native, Belltown resident and unreconstructed Francophile, has worked at KING TV, Seattle Weekly and Chateau Ste. Michelle. He has published five guidebooks to the wine country of Washington and Oregon and is the wine columnist for The NW Magazine. He is also the director of wine tours for The International Vineyard, restaurant reviewer for Belltown Messenger and editorial director of DeliciousCity.com.

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Fountain of Delight

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June 7, 11:57 AM

by Ronald Holden, Seattle Food Examiner

Do you cook at home? Do you make risotto? It's a culinary challenge, involving lots of chopping, stirring, pre-measured ingredients, pots & pans for the base, the stock, the flavorings.

Guys say that making risotto with their girlfriends is the ultimate aphrodisiac: there's lots of stuff to do and taste together, with a lush, aromatic payoff.

Risotto in a restaurant, on the other hand, is all-too-often hit and miss. At best, it's sublime, but at worst, it's an excuse to dump leftovers into boiled rice. At La Fontana Siciliana, there's no question: it's an unqualified hit.

In the cozy, low-ceilinged room overlooking a courtyard fountain, under banners of the Sicilian flag, dinners are served at antique library tables set for two. Opera music plays discreetly. The owner's daughter takes your order. Start with a bruschetta, perhaps, or a caprese salad (the mozzarella served on orange slices rather than flavorless tomatoes).

The special's a risotto with chestnuts and sausage, not to be missed. In the kitchen, owner-chef Mario Fuenzalida prepares the risotto to order: arborio rice, chestnuts, sausage and truffle oil, topped with shavings of parmigiano-reggiano and garnished with an ornamental swoosh of balsamic. The flavors and textures come together effortlessly, as they should: Mario's been cooking for decades and has nurtured a whole school of Italian restaurateurs (La Vita è Bella, Mondello and Sorrentino, to name three).

No one else in town even thinks of putting pasta con le sarde on the menu. It's a traditional Sicilian dish: spaghetti with a sauce based on sardines, fennel, pine nuts and raisins, too time-consuming and complicated for most kitchens. Even Mario doesn't have it every day, so call ahead.

La Fontana Siciliana, 120 Blanchard Ave., 206-441-1045

Topics: Italian , Belltown , Sicily , La Fontana Siciliana

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Best Restaurants: Pike Place Market

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September 29, 11:33 PM

From time to time, we're going to answer the question everyone is always asking your friendly Food Critic: what's your favorite restaurant?Well, there are no permanent answers. Restaurant preferences, like ethics, are situational. What kind of food?... Read More
Topics: French , pike place market , best , market fresh

Fremont's Frugal Oktoberfest

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September 22, 10:05 PM

Two of these beer glasses hold a full liter (34 ounces) of brew; that's the way they drink it at Oktoberfest and the Hofbrauhaus in Munich. (Price is 8 euros this year, about $12.) The third... Read More
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Ivar's: Life After Clam Chowder

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September 18, 11:26 AM

For seven decades, Ivar's has been Seattle's go-to spot for clam chowder and fish & chips. Still is. Fully a third of the touirsts who eat at Pier 54 order their seafood fried. But things are changing. A new chef, 33-year-old Chris Garr,... Read More
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Blackbird, Bye Bye

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September 17, 2:57 PM

Blackbird's menu in a happier timeWest Seattle's Blackbird is no more. Owners Peter Morse and Eric Cozens sent an email to the West Seattle Blog with the official announcement.With mixed emotions we are announcing that Blackbird Bistro has been... Read More
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September 16, 5:16 PM

It's been known as the Horse Heaven Hills since the mid-19th century, this area roughly 50 miles long and 20 miles wide, but not until the legenday Dr. Walter Clore came along in the 1970s did anyone think to plant wine grapes alongside the wheat.. Now,... Read More
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