Tuesday, August 12, 2008
I wanted liver.
I'd been reading about it from various Nourishing Traditions and Weston A Price sources and my curiousity with regard to this organ meat was all but killing me. I know, call me silly. Call me absolutely crazy. Still, I was a woman with an agenda.
I also wanted to try escargot. Hey, don't judge me. It was my vacation. I can eat snails if I want to.
In any case, I found only three places in Seattle that seemed to serve liver, and one of them didn't list it on its current menu. I could choose from Campagne or 13 Coins. Now the reviews I'd read for 13 Coins at Seatac were mostly positive, but the ones for the Seattle 13 Coins were less than consistently happy. Knowing this, I fully planned to eat there by myself in one of the bar seats. I told Dad this, but he insisted the whole family was going.
They should have heeded my warning and left me to my own devices.
It wasn't that it was awful--though both my mother and sister got sick--it was just very pricey for mediocre food.
I loved my escargot. Who could ever object to such chewy delights hunkered down in buttery wells? I will absolutely have snails again asap.
But the liver?
It was a fiasco. I had told the waitress I couldn't have wheat--no gluten. But somehow she didn't connect that with the liver. When it arrived, it looked sodden in gravy. Many gravies contain flour. When I queried her and she went to the kitchen, she returned and advised me not to eat the liver--there was flour there.
She said they would make me a new one and I stated "Just liver, nothing else". She nodded agreement. Well the second one arrived with just as much gravy as the first and I was again most concerned--I asked her again.
Yeah, there was much more than just liver there. Even sugar. I was just... what can I say? I'm always so hesitant to be a pest and so I tend not to communicate my dietary prohibitions as effectively as I should. This is my fault. The waitress obviously misunderstood my question.
But this did mean that all I had for dinner was snails. I was not up to a third try. I felt bad enough that two livers went to waste because of poor communication.
Anyway, other aspects of the restaurant: it's fairly dark and the music is older style lounge/jazz. The decor is mostly nautical--a big pirate ship filled a large shelf behind our booth. The booths themselves are generously cushioned and the backs reach so high that you have a full sense of privacy. This also keeps the noise of others' conversations happily away from you. This could be an enjoyable restaurant for a lingering dinner, but they do need to work on their food.
Would I go back? Hmmm... Not sure. The escargot was terrific, but if I can teach myself to cook it then no. I wouldn't need to return. And other places serve snail.
I know with certainty my family will not return there.
But let us remember fondly the delicious snails and go forth to better adventures...
~L
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