5/29/10 Union - their last night

we knew there was a new restaurant in the works, but last monday it was publicly announced. Ethan Stowell Restaurants will be opening Staple and Fancy Mercantile in Ballard in July. and Union? well it was a fantastic place, and i really enjoyed the food. but if you asked me which was my favorite of his places it was not the 1st i'd name.






 
we were joined by a couple friends, so we shared 4 appetizers among the table.

Burrata (mozerella), Taggiasca Olives, Watercress.

i don't think we'd had this before. various mozerella di buffala, but not like this. there were a little too much olive for me (kind of a paste underneath the cheese) but with the watercress it was tasty.

Dungeness Crab Salad with Avacado and Basil. uh, yum! in actuality it's a little greener in color than the picture, and i was a little hesitant as i'm not a big avocado fan but this was really good.

Shigoku Oysters with Lovage, Spring Onion, and Lemon

Beef Tartare with Capers, Cornichons, Pumpernickel Crackers

tasty, but i prefer the flavor of holly's a little more, sorry ethan.












Potato Gnocchi with Pork Ragu, Oregano and Mint.

always a favorite!

and of course the bread which came somewhere along the appy way.

Ahi Tuna with Controne Beans, Radish, and Fava Beans

it looks good and i'm told it was fantastic.

Pork Chop with Polenta, Shallots, Turnips, and Artichokes.

i debated about this one but i chose the halibut. matt actually couldn't finish this and brought some of it home.

Halibut with Green Lentils, Ham hocks. pretty durn good! there was nothing left of the fish. ok, i did let each of the others have a bite, but still...

matt realized he had his oyster fork and not a dinner fork. it was pretty funny - this huge chop and teeny little fork!

as it was the last night for Union, we asked Chef and Angela to join us in a toast. delivered by a great little guy it went something like this:
"to ethan, a very good cook but not as good as my daddy."

Rhubarb Crisp and Vanilla Ice Cream.

3 of them ordered it. i didn't. i did try it and i admit it, it was pretty darn good. i've usually avoided ordering rhubarb foods (the duck last night was an accent) because i've never had rhubarb that wasn't bitter and well, yucky. i can tell you the very 1st rhubarb thing i ever had was 1 of my great aunt's rhubarb pie, up on the farm in the midwest. well aunty's, i hate to be the one to tell you this but you need to find another recipe. i admitted openly to our server, to matt and our table, and actually loud enough anyone in the near vicinity could hear me, that 'i was wrong, rhubarb can be tasty'. in fact, i ordered a crisp to bring home for later.

Vanilla Pana Cotta with Grapefruit and Prosecco. this is one of chef's top desserts, and i enjoy it every so often. i had had the chocolate last time we were there and well, i didn't want the rhubarb (at the time).









so there you have it, one of the last dinners served at Union, seattle. on to bigger and (hopefully) better things!