Clean plate club: Poppy

Johnny loved his thali at Poppy, Jerry Traunfeld's new restaurant, which I reviewed in today's P-I. Read it by clicking HERE. 

One little bit of trivia that didn't make it into the review: the wooden clothes pins used to hold the menu on its wooden stand are from the same company that makes clothes pins that go on the bills at The French Laundry. Poppy delivers its check in a plastic thingie that looks like a pocket protector. Lots of fun details to notice at this new venue. 

Election Day countdown!

Smokin' Pete's BBQ in Ballard isn't waiting for a new president to slash taxes.

On Nov. 4, the restaurant won't add tax to its tabs. I'm going to vote with my fork and get in there to take advantage of this great deal. Thanks Pete!

Check out the menu by clicking HERE.

Man, I love a layer cake

Sure, I would never turn down a piece of pie or a creme brulee made by my friend Holly, but I my heart belongs to the layer cake. This one was from Nielsen's, a bakery that reminds me of my great grandmother Signe, smelling of sugar, butter and flour perfuming the room.

I miss the caramel layer cakes of the South, and have never perfected the German chocolate that my sister loves for her birthday. I do make a pretty good pineapple upside down cake, though.

What's your favorite cake?

Communal tables: Love 'em or hate 'em?

This week's column asks that question... check it out, click HERE.

Gotta love these Freedom Fries!

Baby Girl just told me Blue Moon is giving out free French fries next Tuesday to everyone who shows proof they've voted. Let freedom ring!!!

Sunday in West Seattle

What a beautiful afternoon to go to the farmers market. If only all fall could be this perfect, it might make the long winter a little easier to swallow. (She typed while basking in the glow of her full-spectrum light.)

I'm making dinner from all the goodies I got: halibut, chanterelles, beets, okra, potatoes. After loading up, went to Constellation Park and snacked on Honeycrisp apples and cheese. What's on your plate for Sunday supper? 

So hot for Poppy's cocktails

I am so impressed with the mad skills of Poppy's bartenders. They've mixed me up the best bourbon sour I've ever tasted, complete with raw egg whites, which adds a frothy creaminess. 

The drink pictured above is a six twenty-two, named for the restaurant's address on Broadway Avenue East on beautiful Capitol Hill. It's built on a truly old-fashioned foundation, rye whiskey. Old Overholt Rye Whiskey, amero nonino, rhubarb and Angostura bitters, shaken, not stirred. When I asked the server to describe the drink, whether it was dry or sweet, he bumbled: "It's like a dirty martini." No sir. It's more like a beautifully balanced Manhattan, sweet, but not sticky.

I also loved Papi Delicious and can't wait to try the rum curry. Three cheers to the fab bevs at Poppy!