Field Trip: Seattle

by Steven Fineberg

One of the benefits of my job is being able to travel to cities known for producing artisan-crafted foods. On a recent business trip to Seattle, I had the opportunity to checkout some favorite Emerald City local spots.

The Pacific Northwest prides itself on the use of fresh, local ingredients. From the freshest seafood and produce to outstanding wines, the Pacific Northwest has set itself apart as a haven for Local Foragers.

I awoke to an overcast and rainy Seattle summer morning. My first thought was, I WANT COFFEE! I headed over to Caffe Vita on Capital Hill. I had a macchiato and I admit their espresso is memorable, with a rich and chocolaty taste.

The beans are fair trade and they are a Washington State certified organic roaster. Caffe Vita has three locations in Seattle and one in Olympia. Behind the shop on Pike, that I visited is a factory where they roast, pack, and ship their coffee to some of Seattle’s best restaurants. The beans roasted in a 1930’s-era German-made, cast-metal Probat roaster. Every day 40 batches, each weighing 80 lbs., are roasted by hand. All this dedication to detail is evident in the taste of their coffee. The people in charge are as passionate and uncompromising in their craft today, as they have been since Caffe Vita's beginnings in 1995.

What goes better with coffee than chocolate? My next stop was to the Fremont neighborhood to Theo Chocolates.

This award-winning Seattle-based chocolatier is named after theobrama cacoa, the Greek name for the cocoa tree. There are fewer than 10 true chocolate factories in the U.S. many of them owned by mega-manufacturers such as Hershey, Nestle and Mars. Theo is the only roaster of organic cocoa beans in the U.S. as well as America’s first roaster of fair-trade cocoa beans. They purchase their beans in a raw state and roast them in their factory behind their shop. In addition to confections like dark chocolate with ginger, coconut curry milk chocolate, they have seasonal flavors like thyme and basil.

The company produces a line of single-origin chocolate bars, sweetened only with beet sugar grown in Sweden. The term single-origin refers to chocolates made from cocoa beans from just one geographic source. I purchased a Venezuelan 91% cocoa and an 84% Ghana. If this high percentage of cocoa is too dark for you, they produce other single-origin bars with lower percentages of cocoa. All the chocolates are soy-free. Theo offers a twice-daily tour for $5.00, including all the chocolate you can eat and a revealing Q&A with defected Oompa Loompas. Select Whole Foods Markets in the Pacific Northwest carry the chocolate bars.

When my caffeine/sugar buzz wore off, I needed food. I headed over to the Madrona neighborhood for a bistro meal at Cremant.

The staff is friendly and the atmosphere relaxed, like dining in a home in the French countryside. All the ingredients are local, organic when available. I began with roasted marrowbones. The rich, fatty marrow spread nicely on the toasted walnut bread. I was eying the salad at the table next to me of endive, Roquefort, and walnuts, debating if I should order that as well. Another great beginning would have been charcuterie. Here, either the pork belly confit or chicken liver paté is the way to go. My entrée was local monkfish, prepared with ham, leeks, and dill. The fish was nestled in a tomato-based sauce that paired nicely with the lobster-like taste of the monkfish. A side of that day’s farmers market cherry tomatoes roasted with olive oil, garlic and basil completed my meal.

I'm looking forward to my next trip to Seattle. Would love to hear about your favorite Local-Forage-friendly-finds and food experiences in Seattle. ~Steven

Comments

Hi- just came across this while searching for something else...I live in Seattle. If you are looking for food from the source, then next time you come thru, go to the Ballard Sunday market. It's heavy on local produce, & also you can find raw milk, cheese from said milk, organic duck & goose eggs, & oysters, seafood, & meat, all from local small producers. It's every Sunday from early morning to about 4. If you have further questions, email me. My friend runs it, & also the Fremons sunday market, but the Ballard is the farmer's venue. He can talk about the licensing. Best -Susan

[Joann]

Did you know that a high percentage of cocoa does not directly translate to high antioxidant or flavonol content? Roasting the cocoa beans or otherwise exposing the cocoa to high temperatures can destroy much of these healthy features found in natural, unprocessed cocoa (cacao). To get the health benefits that so many of the medical science studies report about dark chocolate, you must find the flavonol rich chocolate like they use in their studies. Well, guess what? I found it! It's called Xocai - the healthy chocolate. It's natural, antioxidant & flavonol rich, uses no waxes or fillers, proudly bears the Brunswick Laboratory Seal with the ORAC content. For more information visit: www.ChocolateFreedom.com and www.MyDrChocolate.com .