FFDN: Joule

This FFDN was actually in January but I'm doing my best to get caught up on my blog posts. I had heard of Joule when I first moved to Seattle and was looking at the restaurants in my surrounding neighborhoods. They do Sunday BBQ's in the summer with a twist. I had always meant to go but it always somehow would get forgotten when it was time to think of a place to go for dinner. 

Brian was the one that suggested Joule for FFDN. He had read in the Seattle Times that the executive chef/owners of the restaurant were actually going to be contestants on the Food Network's show Iron Chef America.  We had gone to the viewing party the Sunday before and had a sneak peak to what their cooking was like. In case you missed that episode, chefs/husband and wife team Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi lost to the newest Iron Chef, Jose Garces, by 1 point. They were robbed!! 

The menu is a fusion of French and Korean cuisine.  Joule's plates are mainly shared plates, which really is one of my favorite ways to dine. I don't like to be confined to just one dish. And most of the time there are so many different dishes on a menu that I want to try. Shared plates allow you to do this without having to order multiple entrees.

Left: duck breast, maple vinegar apple, daikon soubise

Right: fried whole mackerel, white kimchi, scallion salsa verde

Left: korean mochi, oxtail ragout, lacinato kale, soy cured egg

Right: kimchi chicken liver fried rice, sesame leaf, chili

I was extremely happy with the dishes we had ordered. I know some people that shy away from whole fish since the bones and head are still in tact. I personally don't have an issue with it and love a good fried whole fish. The most interesting dish was the korean mochi w/ oxtail ragout, and soy cured egg. When we were eating the dish we couldn't quite place one of the ingredients and seeing how we no longer had the menu we were at a loss. It was the mochi! For some reason I completely glazed over that part on the menu and only focused on the oxtail. To me, mochi is a delightful ice cream treat like we had a Nishino. But I guess mochi is really just a sticky rice cake which in the dessert form is just the outer shell encasing the ice cream. In the case of this dish it was just sliced and added to the dish for texture.

Have you ever been pleasantly surprised by an ingredient in your dish that you weren't quite expecting?

Friday Foodie Date Night

First off, I have been a bad blogger. I definitely want to average more than one post a week but this past week Brian and I have been house/dog sitting for his parents so it has completely thrown me off my schedule. But enough excuses...

Brian and I can easily get into a food rut. If we find a restaurant/dish that we love we usually become repeat customers. This is all fine and good except you can't try many new restaurants when you keep going back to the same ones. So for the past few months we've been consciously trying to choose a new place to try instead of going to our tried and true places. Last week I decided we need to make it a weekly thing. I instituted Friday Foodie Date Night (FFDN). FFDN will be dedicated to trying a new restaurant. In doing so we still have the rest of the weekend to go to one of our favorites if we don't feel like cooking.

** This blog post will be lacking pictures until I get back home to upload from my camera **

Last week's restaurant of choice for FFDN was Cafe Campagne in Post Alley. Cafe Campagne had great reviews and I was excited to try the French cuisine. The restaurant had a cozy and intimate vibe despite having the tables so close together.

I was not disappointed at all by Cafe Campagne. The service was absolutely spectacular. Our waitress was able to answer our questions and make great recommendations.

For now I will just leave you with a brief description of what we ordered and will expand when I add photos.

Appetizers

We ordered half a dozen oysters (I can't recall what kind they were) that the waitress told us had arrived from the coast just hours prior to us sitting down. Brian and I love oysters so it was a given that we'd have to order it. These were perhaps the freshest oysters we have ever had. They were pretty plump and of a decent size. In past experiences I have noticed that the larger they are the less flavorful they can be. That was not the case with these oysters.

The other appetizer we had was escargot roasted with parsley, garlic and shallot butter. I had never had escargot before but was excited to taste them. The escargot was delicate and just slightly briny. For some reason I thought they'd be a little chewier but they were actually delicate. We made sure to sop up the parsley, garlic, and shallot butter with our baguettes.

Entrees

Brian and I decided to order two different entrees and split so we could sample more than one dish. We ordered the cassoulet and confit de cuisse de canard. 

The cassoulet (white bean stew with lamb, pork, duck confit, and garlic sausage) had a beautiful presentation. It was brought to our table in a small french oven. The dish had a great balance of flavors that all came together. It was a hearty dish and perfect for that chilly Seattle night.

The confit de cuisse de canard, crispy duck leg confit served with thyme skillet potatoes, was delicious! The duck leg was crispy on the outside and the meat was tender. The potatoes provided a good texture to the dish as well since it also had a crispy exterior.

We were beyond full at this time and didn't even look at the dessert menu. But from the looks of the other tables Cafe Campagne had some good sweets to offer. We will definitely be back. I'd like to try their brunch menu and see what egg goodness they serve.