Seattle Restaurant Week Kicked off Sunday

 The Inaugural Seattle Restaurant Week April 18-29, 2010

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/seattlerestaurantweek
Three courses for $25......
I just love the concept, a chance to sample more than enough restaurants in 10 days time, some lunches are also available at select restaurants. Check it out. Over 100 restaurants.

On Sunday the start of the first day we made reservations at Crush, I had heard many things and really wanted to see what the buzz was about. One of the nice things is the weather was just short of fantastic and I have to say the dinner was topping on the cake as they say. We were surprised by the compactness of the restaurant, but felt at ease once we were seated. The climb up the narrow stair way struck a curious note until we came into a nicely laid out second floor. The decor was striking against the "Tudor" house but worked very comfortably and there was more than enough space between tables.

We started with some very clever and refreshing cocktails with a plate of
complimentary Gruyere  cheese gougères.

Then our starters were the salad of mixed greens and beets with a sublime vinaigrette and soft cheese. I had the pork belly on a creamy bed of white grits.

The second course was a beautiful hand made pasta with wild greens Fiddle Heads, mushrooms, leeks, pea shoots and I think beach asparagus. The other dish was a Wagu flat iron steak with mash potatoes, baby carrots with a parsley gastrique.

The dessert was a tarragon sorbet with small cookies and beignets with a pear jam.

It was a very memorable meal, the flavors and finesse that was shown to each dish made for a great meal. What a wonderful way of learning about new restaurant and local foods. Get out and enjoy the rest of Seattle Restaurant Week, as we learned Crush is truly Modern American Cuisine.