Full Tilt is turning 1 year old Saturday the 20th of June. To celebrate, we are going to give a gift certificate for a cone to the White Center Food Bank, for every cone that is purchased that day. Rick Jump from the food bank is going to try and be on hand for part of the day. COme down and meet him.

Noticed this in the blog-format section of the White Center Community Development Association website – a restaurant review about one of WC’s newest eating/drinking places. Photos too. See it here.

The grocery-delivery service has now added zip code 98146, a year and a half after it moved westward. A few more details at WSB.

The heart of White Center will host a new pizza parlor. In keeping with our Commie-working class theme, the pizza place will be named Proletariat Pizza. The location is the old Elisa’s Bakery site, just across the street from Full Tilt Ice Cream. Great News for White Center!

Future Site of Proletariat Pizza

Hung Long

Of all the great Asian markets in White Center, Hung Long Sieu Th! is almost certainly my favorite.  It is distinguished by being directly across from the White Center State Liquor Store.  Some would see this as a convenience and others as a liability.  That aside, this is almost certainly the most well-stocked Vietnamese market.  This is a market in the truest sense of the word: stocking within its tightly knit quarters, all manner of fish and meat as well as a very nice selection of fruits and vegetables, some familiar, some not.  The aisles are packed with sauces, spices and all the accoutrements for fine Asian (or in my case, Mexican) meal.  Indeed, many of the patrons shopping at Hung Long are Latin American, although the overwhelming majority are Asian, attesting to the market’s authenticity.  Most times, I am the only non-Asian at the check-out line, as Vietnamese is thrown around as the lingua franca.

Fresh Fish

My advice for any gringos wishing to venture to Hung Long is to explore and if confused, just ask, the staff are very friendly and more than willing to assist.  Did I mention that the prices are incredibly modest.  You could pack a bag of fruit for under $10.00.  And the fruit would certainly be much nicer than the industrial brand you find at Safeway and other corporate stores.

Fresh meats and vegggies in a typically clean aisle

The seafood is invariably fresh.  No need to trek to Pike Place Market to pick up some fresh crab or halibut.  And you can get some nice black bean sauce to dress the dinner meal.

Fresh Crab

If you feel like noshing while shopping, Hung Long has a small Hong Kong style deli where you can pick up ribs, roast duck, hum bows or other tasty stews and barbeques.

Roast Duck

Fried Fish

My favorite quality of Hung Long is its authenticity.  When I step into Hung Long, I am immediately transported to the wonderful markets of Chinatown in New York City or Hong Kong.  This is the real deal, venture forth gastronomes and lovers of food.   An awesome market, Hung Long.

Asian Drinks

Hong Kong Style Deli

Check out the boundaries described in the report we just posted at partner site West Seattle Blog. Grand opening: 11 am May 1st.

One of the best things about White Center is the abundance of great food.  The restaurants offer some of the tastiest array of food from around the world.  What many may have missed are the wonderful Asian markets brimming with fresh fish, tasty meats, exotic fruits, vegetables and sauces.  You can wonder around them for hours and pack away enough fresh ingredients for the choicest of meals.  So, I will be posting a listing and review of Asian markets.  If you have a favorite or a question, send it in and I will try and include it.  Bon appetit!

Typical fare in our wonderful White Center markets

The Seattle Times has a piece that profiles five of our many wonderful and diverse eateries and markets.  Herein are excerpts from their piece:

White Center looks more like the south-end version of Seattle’s Chinatown International District every time we visit — only more diverse, with Halal meat markets and Latin American cuisine.

Lately, though, foodies have discovered White Center as the go-to area to pick up exotic spices and ingredients, especially if you want to avoid the traffic and crowds at the ID on weekends.

Nice that they noticed, but they should have mentioned the wonderful food at El Paisano Restaurant on 15th Ave. SW – just across from the Bartells.

Ok, so I have been a bit deliquent on my lunch reviews as of late. To be honest, I have not been eatin lunch out much. I get a bahn mi from next door, or eat the pizza, that we are now serving.  This past Monday I got out of the shop though. I went down to Han’s in Burien. Yeah, not White Center, but it isn’t that far, and for you folks in West Seattle, really, Burien is not that far, and if you have never been to Han’s it is worth the trip.

Han’s is a deli, the way delis are supposed to be. The have a big case, full of cured meats, wursts, potato salads, and krauts. One wall is devoted to breads, the other to beer. Right in the middle is the dry goods. Spices and canned foods. Candies and chocolates. Even newspapers from the mother land. When you go here though, your focus should first be on that meat case. Most everything is made in house. I asked the woman how long they had been there, and she told me in a thick German accent, “We are new. Only about 35 years.” Yeah, 35 years, and you have never heard of this place.

I have now been in there a few times, and I have to say their sandwhiches, though small, are perfect. Try the Lachsschinken, a smoked ham that seems to be fat free, and full of wonderful smokeyness, or one of the many braunsweiger, or liver wurst. I am not a fan of liver, or pates of any kind but I am a sucker for braunsweiger. My Irish grandfather used to eat the stuff for lunch every day, and he would share chunks of it with his hounds. At Han’s, 4.50 gets you a sandwich with thick slices of braunsweiger, mayo, mustard, German pickles, and Havarti cheese. Try a few things in the case. Make sure you get a side of the German potato salad, and a little bit of the kraut. Skip the mustard/ American version of the potato salad. You can get that at Safeway. The ladies working here are friendly, patient and helpful. They might make fun of you, but only in the most loving way.

After you pick out your sandwich and cured meats, make a left and head over to the beer wall. If you are truly going to have a German lunch, you have to have a beer with that. I counted 43 different beers the last time I was there. Most are German, but there are a few from the newly opened Eastern Bloc. After you have picked out your beer, turn around and pick up a jar of pickles. The have quite a variety. Salt pickles, dills, German style, garlic. It will take me a year to work through the pickle aisle. Now head back to the register to pay and pick up your deli items. This is the time to pick out some chocolate. The have a huge variety of European chocolate, but even though I prefer a dark chocolate, I always end up getting the Kinder Egg. If you have never experienced one of these, think of a Cadbury egg, but instead of sugar goo, the are stuffed with a small choking hazard toy of some sort.

I keep forgetting my camera, but here is the address.:

Han’s German Sausage and Deli

17 SW 148th St # B, Burien, WA‎ –

(206) 244-4978

As long time patrons of Cafe Rozella may remember, when we opened up (about four years ago) we featured a breakfast burrito (Greek and Mexican).  The burritos were universally praised and helped define the cafe.  For reasons that we will explain on a later day, we discontinued the breakfast burritos about two years ago.  Well, we are happy to announce that this week, the new and improved breakfast burrito will make its comeback.  And we will feature a choice of tortillas, including sun-dried tomato and Spinach as well as the good ole’ standby the flour tortilla.   So drop by and enjoy a breakfast burrito with some Lighthouse Coffee.  Cheers!

Rozella Breakfast Burrito a hit on Flickr.

Please contact David Daw at David@wccda.org for a copy of the survey.

King County Food & Fitness Initiative is working to transform the food environment in our area so everyone can have access to affordable, healthy, locally grown food. By completing this survey you will be helping the White Center Food & Fitness Advisory Council select priorities to create a plan and implement changes around food systems in White Center.

*Please return survey by Monday March 23rd to: David Daw- Neighborhood Revitalization Program Manager, White Center Community Development Association, 1615 SW Cambridge Street, Seattle WA 98106 -Phone 206-694-1082 -Email: David@wccda.org.

ORIGINAL WEDNESDAY REPORT: In the latest bulletin from the King County Public Health Department:

*Taqueria EL Rincon #1 located at 11066 16th Ave SW, Seattle* was closed by a Public Health food inspector on March 3, 2009 at 12:40 pm due to wastewater draining to the ground. The establishment will be reopened when all issues have been resolved

THURSDAY UPDATE: It’s open again, according to the KCPH website.

I grew up in West Texas and did not experience a bagel until I left for college on the East Coast.  Early in my college career, I was in line to get breakfast when I spotted a basket full of, what I thought were, donuts.  I put the “donut” on my plate and saved it for last.  Having wiped the scrambled eggs off my plate, I picked up “the donut” and wondered why it felt, so crusty and kind of heavy.  I bit into it and was instantly horrified.  Not only was it not sweet, it had the consistency of lead.  I spit it out, all the while swearing.  My Jewish friends, laughed and laughed.  That was my introduction to the bagel.

Over time, I not only came to appreciate the bagel’s charms, but actually to become addicted to this wonderful food.  Little did I know that this bread, which I associated with the East Coast, would become the journeyman of foods: always ready to do proper service, no matter the occassion.  Bagels have improved since we used to get them frozen in Lender’s packets at the supermarket.  Today, we can feast on a real bagel, much as you would in New York City, 20 years ago.  As described by William Safire in the New York Times, the true bagel has the following qualities.

A bagel is a meal in itself.  Throw on some cream cheese and marmalade and you have a slice of heaven.  Which is why we always strive to keep pastry case full of fresh bagels at Cafe Rozella.  Nothing, in my view, goes better with a hot cup of coffee, on a cold gray day.

There is just something about the word Brunch that I detest. Part of it is the need to take two words, that are just fine on their own, and smoosh them together to form a new word when either of the old words would have worked just fine. It also strikes me as some pretentious activity taken up by the country club set after a rousing round of golf. I love breakfast, one of my favorite meals of the day really. Lunch is normally my first actual meal of the day, since I tend to sleep in a little later than I should and I end up running out of the house snacking on a piece of dry bread. With those criteria, one would think that I would love brunch. I like the concept, just not the name.

The name normally brings on a big fuss over something that should be very simple. Breakfast should be simple. Pancakes. That is a breakfast. Eggs, potatoes, some sort of fried pork and toast. That is breakfast. Simple, easy breakfast. Brunch is something like this: “Bob’s Red Mill “mighty tasty” hot cereal vanilla-pear compote, Bellwether Farms fromage blanc, crunchy pecans $10”. That is really just freakin oatmeal with cream and nuts, but with the “brunch” tag on it, it is some how now worth TEN DOLLARS. You could buy an entire silo of rolled oats for ten dollars. Yesterday morning I had a four-egg omelet, with cheese and bacon, a side of pancakes, and hash browns for $6.75. Sure, I did not get to eat that in Belltown. There you pay for the view. Like watching a junkie nod off on a bus bench on 3^rd Ave. No, I had that breakfast at Young’s.

Young’s is a family owned dinner on 16^th just north of Roxbury. It is the kind of place that brings you the newspaper after the last guy was done reading it. The waitresses will know your name after you have been in there a couple of times. Omelets are less then eight bucks, and the booths are comfy. They also serve Chinese food, that I have never tried. Own of the daughters told me that when they opened 35 years ago, they just did Chinese food, and some one suggested that they try breakfast. They moved into a bigger spot a few doors down, and thought they would give breakfast a try to pay for the bigger space. Mr. Young did something right, because he is turning out the best breakfast plates in town. Huge. Low on the grease, and simple. Breakfast does not get better than this. Brunch might try. but this is the pinnacle of breakfast.

Young’s 

9413 16th Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98106
(206) 762-3438

Tues-Sat 8 am-5 pm, Sun 8 am-3 pm CLOSED MONDAYS. Cause Monday is starve White Center day.

(Google Street View added Saturday evening – their photo’s from some months back, though)
Ok, so I said it was going to be a Thursday thing. I lied. My camera isn’t working for some reason, and life just got in the way. I did find something new and yummy in White Center though. Queen’s Deli. It is in the space that was taken by Caleza Express, a Filipino lunch counter. Their sign says “Authentic Khmer food desserts appetizers”. I have to be honest, even though Seattle boasts a lot of different asian foods, this is the first that I have come across advertised as Khmer, and I spent the entire lunch with the Dead Kennedys song ‘Holiday in Cambodia’ stuck in my head. This worked well with the TV showing Cambodian pop videos. One featured a cover of “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor, all in Cambodian.

Now, I know the first thing about eating at a different ethnic restaurant is going to be crossing that language barrier. The menu is a bit confusing here, but the women running the counter speak perfect English, and are very patient when helping you with your order. They told me they have been open about a month, and seem to get a brisk lunch trade. I actually skipped the menu and orderd of the steam table, which is set up cafeteria style.

Knowing jack about Khmer food, I am going to say this is very similar to Thai and Vietnameses. I went with the beef Satay and beef stew with bread. The satay was marinated and rubbed in lemon grass, tamarind, and other spices that my western tongue was not identifing. I asked what it was, and the woman told me that it was Lemon grass, and stuff. Like I could even reproduce this on my own even if I had been given the recipe. I would like to. I could of eaten poiunds of it, and making it myself would probably save me from having to leave home ever again. Lean beef with just the perfect amount of spice to highlite the meat, and not over power it. There was just enough char on the meat to caramelize all the taste and really make it pop.

The stew is where it is at though. Just like your mom used to make but completely different. Huge chunks of beef, carrots and onions. Once again lemon grass is a major component here along with chili and plum sauce. When I say chili, I mean flavor and not heat. This is not fire food. No burn, just flavor. It is served with a toasted baguette, so you can soak up all the juices. Unlike the satay skewers, this is not lean cuts of beef. These are fatty, tough chunks of meat that have been braised so long they fall apart in your mouth. Sure beef fat is not something you want to eat at every meal, but in this case it makes everything more tender and flavorful. Even so, this soup does not end up greasy, but maintains its heartiness.

Owning a dessert place myself, this is a little hard to say, but try their desserts. Deep fried little pockets stuffed with coconut and bean paste, and then coated in a fine sugar glaze. Cambodian donuts. I could make myself sick on these things. Before I got them, I watched the cook make them fresh and pour them out onto the steam table. I had two different kinds, and wished I had gotten more.

Once again, like a lot of joints in the area, this place is cheap. I got Beef satay, fried rice, beef soup, a baguette, a cup of jasmine tea, and dessert for $7. I would get in there before they figure out what they got and start raising prices. Even at twice the price I would have left feeling I got a great deal.

Queen’s Deli

9808 14th Ave SW

Seattle, Wa 98106

206-767-8363

CASH ONLY

(just north of Big Al’s)

LOCATION:  El Paisano is located at 9629 -15th Ave. SW, Seattle 98106  They are just off the intersection of 15th Ave. SW and Roxbury (across the street from Bartell Drugs).

Phone:  (206) 767-5526

They accept credit/debit cards.

I really have not been writing enough for this blog. I can blame it on a lot of things; life, my new business, lack of sleep, the snow, etc, etc. Really it is just that I am a little lazy. I have to eat though. Actually I love to eat, and most of the time that I do it is in walking distance of my shop, which is most of White Center. So, I decided to start blogging about my lunches on Thursdays. This is my afternoon off. I go shopping, play with the dogs, and get ready for the weekend rush. Not really a day off, but a bit more relaxed then the other days.

First up is Rosticeria y Cocina El Paisano. I go here a lot. It is not the closest Mexican place. Not even the cheapest. It is one of the best though, and reminds me of home.  Consistently good. I know when they set a plate of food in front of me, no matter what I have ordered, the food is going to be good. That is almost the definition of comfort food.

The area I grew up in LA was predominantly Mexican, and poor. MY parents, and I swear this is true, would open up a paper when it was time for a new apartment, and just pick the cheapest place. We lived in Compton, Silver lake, Echo Park (before it was trendy), Santa Ana, even when we moved to Huntington Beach it was in the Hispanic area that was known as Slater Slums. In all those neighborhoods I became familiar with Rosticerias, even if it was an EL Pollo Loco. See, my parents are from the midwest, and if is anything they know well, it is their way around a yard bird and pork. We ate at all of the local chicken joints. Cesars on Atlantic and 65, Pablo’s on Alameda, Pollo Macho on  Wilshire, even Rosco’s ( which is not Mexican, but makes a mean fried chicken and waffle platter). When I first moved to Seattle, one of the things I missed most was Mexican food. I craved El Pollo Loco,  the bottom of the barrel in LA. Mama’s in Belltown, and Bimbo’s on the hill is crap food. Not just not authentic, just crap food. I was amazed when I found White Center. So much good food, in one little area, and the rest of Seattle had no idea it even existed. Rosticeria y Cocina El Paisano is the best in chicken. It is owned by the butcher shop two doors down. Sure, the carnitas is better at Del Rio. I can get an equal burrito at the bus for less. As far as chicken goes, Paisano is king.

Marinated in an adobe chili mix, and then flame roasted. Crsipy skin, and a juicy bird. The sides are simple, and plentiful. Rice, beans and a simple salad. Shining right next to that crispy bird is the house made salsas. Most Mexican places in Seattle seem to have a can opener as their main tool is salsa prep. Not these guys. I have become leery of Salsa Verde since moving to Seattle, but Paisano’s have nailed it. Flamed roasted tomatillos and just the right amount of chili heat from the peppers to compliment the food. They are now serving Breakfast as well as lunch and dinner, so the next time you venture out to eat, stop by this place.

We at Cafe Rozella like to stock high quality coffee, (which is why we carry Lighthouse Roasters).  Today, however, I had the experience of tasting the most exclusive and most expensive coffee in the world, Kopi Luwak.  Good friend and customer, John Barry, brought some “weasel coffee” by, which he picked up when he trekked in Asia with his son.  When he offered to share some with me, needless to say I was game.  My review below but first a primer on Kopi Luwak.

The Civet whose dung produces the coffee beans

Kopi Luwak is literally the most expensive coffee in the world, costing upwards of $600 a pound or $50 for a cup of coffee.  “Kopi” is the Indonesian word for coffee and “luwak” is local name of the animal which eats the raw red coffee beans that make up this coffee.  The Luwak is rodent, a civet, which eats the ripe red coffee beans and then excretes the beans. The civet dung is then harvested and dried and processed like regular coffee beans.  There are various theories as to why the digestion of the beans by the civet yields such exquisite coffee beans.  One theory holds that the civet only picks beans that are at peak maturity and hence perfect for harvest.  A wiki article explains the process as follows:

A popular and intuitive hypothesis to justify this coffee’s reputation proposes that the beans are of superior quality before they are even ingested. At any given point during a harvest, some coffee berries are not quite ripe or overripe, while others are just right. The palm civet evolved as an omnivore that naturally eats fruit and passes undigested material as a natural link to disperse seeds in a forest ecosystem. Where coffee plants have been introduced into their habitat, civets only forage on the most ripe berries, digest the fleshy outer layer, and later excrete the seeds eventually used for human consumption. Thus, when the fruit is at its peak, the seeds (or beans) within are equally so, with the expectation that this will come through in the taste of a freshly brewed cup. As this may be true for the beans derived from wild-collected civet feces, farm-raised civets are likely fed beans of varying quality and ripeness, so one would expect the taste of farm-raised beans to be less.

Further research by Dr. Massimo Marcone at the University of Guelph (CA) has shown that the digestive juices of the civet actually penetrate the beans and change the proteins, resulting in their unique flavor.

Civet Dung

I am generally not shy about trying exotic foods (heck I live in White Center), so when John offered to let me taste some “weasel coffee” I naturally took him up on his offer.   The fact that the coffee comes from civet dung was of little consequence in my mind.  Hell, most people eat testicles and other parts of the animal that horrify me.

Ok, so is it worth $50 a cup?  Well, I liken it to a very good wine.  Would I drink it every day, no but I might splurge and try it on a special occassion.  That said, the coffee was exquisite.  First, the coffee has a velvety, almost chocolate consistency to it.  It is sweet, not unlike a good red wine varietal.  As well it is very smooth, with no hint of bitterness.  The richness of its flavor affects the whole mouth such that you can hold it and taste with every part of your taste buds.  Very pleasant and smooth.

After it goes down, it has nothing of the jolt quality that a regular cup of espresso would give.  Rather, there is a pleasant buzz, almost like you get from a fine cigar.  All in all, the best cup of coffee I have tasted.  But is it worth $50 for a cup?  Clearly not in desperate economic times.  But, next time I travel to Asia, I’ll make a point of picking up a couple of pounds.   If you would like to taste it, drop me a line and pledge a donation to the White Center Food Bank.  Winner gets a cup of the finest coffee in the world.  Cheers and bottoms up!

The end of the year means “best of” lists are everywhere. P-I food columnist Leslie Kelly has written her “best of the cheap eats” column and it’s full of White Center/West Seattle-area mentions – most notably for WC, Full Tilt Ice Cream. Read the list here.

Orchids and a Christmas tree, side by side near the front window in Pho 54. Have a great Christmas Eve and drive safely!