I recently had the pleasure of dining at my second, of five Tom Douglas restaurants in Seattle. For those of you who don’t know who Tom Douglas is… get with it! Some would say he is a local celebrity of sorts… I would agree! He puts an amazing spin on American Classics you won’t soon find anywhere else.My first T. Douglas experience occurred in March of 07. For my Dad’s birthday, we dined at the Dahlia Lounge, home of the infamous Coconut Cream Pie. It’s amazing, that’s all I have to say.
My most recent visit was to a neighboring T. Douglas spot that came highly recommended by a co-worker, the Palace Kitchen.
I thought for sure we would have to wait, since the dining area is rater sparce. We actually were seated immediately in a smaller room within the larger room. The decor is very old-school Italian chic, complemented by dim lighting and dark wood tables/chairs.
So, onto my review! We started off with a local microbrew from Deschutes Brewery located in Portland, OR. I asked for the IPA but received the Porter, which was actually really good, but a little too robust for my taste.
We then needed something to start of the meal, so we ordered a smoked/dried pork sausage and some special blue cheese from Marion, MA. They went very well with each other and we were happy with our selection. Both sides are accompanied by stuffed green olives and some toasted/salted almonds… my fav! We also had some delicious bread dipped in the most amazing aged balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
Next, on to the entrees… I had Washington chicken flavored with a side of kumquats and coco salt. This is seriously some of the best chicken I have ever had! The chicken is served with Brussels sprouts, which I also adore, and garlic mashed potatoes. The Brussels sprouts were roasted and tossed in butter and Madeira wine. The chicken is prepared in two huge halves, of which only one I could finish. I used the other half and the mashed potatoes for breakfast, which I describe below*.
On to dessert…yes, dessert. We had a lovely and very refreshing after-dinner-drink, the Grasshopper, which is a mix of green crème de menthe and white crème de cocoa which we drank while enjoying the huckleberry & pear cobbler topped with a ginger biscuit and lemon verbena ice cream. This is the perfect combination of fruit; tart, sweet huckleberries; mixed with mild pear. The biscuit lay atop the fruit mixture with a hint of ginger, which I didn’t realize at first taste but more in my aftertaste. The ice cream is hard to figure out - it tastes of lemon but more of a minty lemon, almost reminiscent of ginsing. Unexpected, but a delightful side to the warm cobbler.
I thoroughly enjoyed my eating experience at Palace Kitchen. Everything was absolutely delicious and I literally enjoyed every last bite.
Marguerite's Rating: 4 Stars
By the way, the explanation for the Tom Cruise reference is in light of a recent Seahawks/Redskins game Mr. Cruise attended. I thought it was lame that everyone made a big deal about it because HELLO, the boys were trying to win a playoff game. Therefore, zero points for TomKat.
Leftovers
I decided to get the most out of my leftovers by incorporating them into breakfast. I first chopped up chicken and tossed it around in a little bit of olive oil and sautéed until slightly crunchy. I mixed the leftover mash potatoes into potato pancakes, adding one egg and a little bit of seasoned flour. I served with some scrambled eggs and a bagel and tada!
For more information on Palace Kitchen or any other Tom Douglas restaurants, visit http://tomdouglas.com/palace/.
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