Serious Pie and Quirky Qube

Last weekend was about celebrating a big account I just landed - and diving back into our culinary exploration of Seattle. Much like getting back on the horse with a lapsed exercise routine: you tend to go big your first time back and spend the next day or so nursing sore muscles, or in this case, eating light because you're still so damn full.

Friday night brought us to Qube, a Asian-French fusion of savory bites and hip decor. Running in to escape the drizzle and cold, we were greeted with an industrial space of soft lighting, quirky fixtures and accents of orange, steel gray and lime green. The adjacent bar with its wide couches and votives was nicely offset from the eating area. And in the center of the place lived a long, high communal dining table a la Asia de Cuba.

For the adventurous diner who wants to try a bit of everything, Qube offers 3-course "Qube sets" - each course consists of 3 sample dishes and each course stars a main ingredient. A vegetarian set, surf set and turf set is yours for the asking. Or you can mix and match among them to form your own masterpiece, which was our cup of tea. For me: the cauliflower, Pacific halibut and chocolate trios. Hubbie had artisan duck, organic squash and banana for his selections.

Artfully displayed, the dishes boasted ample-sized portions that left me sated and happy. My starter cauliflower trio featured creamy soup served over chanterelle and carmelized floret and truffle oil (like silk, only more fattening); fennel and nicoise salad; and Madras curry vinaigrette gratin with yucca root, fontina and toasted almonds. I would have eaten cauliflower every day of the week if I knew it could be this delicious. The gratin in particular was like a healthier play on mac and cheese.

Aside from a glitch where they got my husband's first course trio wrong and had to quickly whip up another one (which, due the dish complexities was not so quick) I was already a fan.

The halibut trio I ordered for my main surprised me with how generous the portions were. One came dressed in whit soy consomme, edamame and trumpet mushroom for a real Asian flair. Another was crusted in hazelnut and served over a roasted fennel puree and mission fig butter delight. And the third was paoched with citrusy goodness of tangelo and a dash of tarragon.

Saving a little room for my decadent dessert, I dived gleefully into my last trio: the dark chocolate. I salivate as I type what was included: a Qube 'Peanut Butter Cup', Gianduja Cake, with star anise caramel, toasted hazelnuts, and a unique Hot Chocolate "dipper" for a Lychee & cinnamon marshmallow (not your childhood s'mores, my friends).

My husband's dishes were equally delicious, although he found the ample portion of foie gras almost too much for one person. I have a girlfriend who would say there can never be too much foie gras, but there might be congressmen in Illinois who disagree.

Overall, I really enjoyed the taste, texture and smell of the whoe experience - simple unique ingredients in varying combinations without overdoing each individual dish with ego. Gordon Ramsay would be proud.


Our second treat last weekend was getting a taste of Tom Douglas' classic, Serious Pie. No, it's not dessert pie, it's pizza pie and it's fabulous. Wood-fired with the perfect melted blend of cheese, fresh mozzarelly and seasoned just right with basil and herbs. Mmmmmm.....the charming, casual wood tables and wine racks felt like a little European wine cellar was was perfect for an easy lunch. There are many varieties of pie and they cook them with perfect crunchy thin bliss of a crust. And the tomato sauce - the most difficult element for any pizza place to get right for this ex-New Yorker who knows from good pizza-- was delightfully sweet and thick with the right touch of spices. I'm sold.

Less exciting was our foray with friends on Sunday night to Ten Mercer. Great space and would love to go back for drinks or apps to this upscale eatery - the layout was similar to Jardiniere in SF if you've ever been. The food was good, but not great. I had a very heavy lobster risotto that was just too many flavors vying for attention. That seemed the theme - each dish was trying to hard and it just created an overcomplicated mess with all those fresh wonderful ingredients. Gordon Ramsay would NOT be proud of this one. If they pared down some of the dishes to let them shine naturally, they'd be much better off. But the company was great and the wine was yummy.

The weekend is almost upon us once again and we are significantly downshifting from last week's fall off the budget wagon. But another lunch trip to Serious Pie just might be in order. So sue me.