Brrrr November brings cold and rain to Seattle, BUT it also brings back
Dine Around Seattle! For the entire month people can eat fancy smancy 3 course lunch or dinner meals for the affordable price of $15 for lunch or $30 for dinner. It is a deal that can't be beat! Although the selection of restaurants were not as wide as last years due to the Restaurant Week that was held the prior month, there were a few good places to try out. I had always wanted to try a place down in Pike Market called Steelhead Diner. It is off of a side street in Pike and if I hadn't been watching out for it, I probably would have walked right by the restaurant. As it was I was on a lunch date with my sister and we found it easily enough.
We were seated quite quickly and I have to say that the service was superb. Our waiter was attentive and we had all of our dishes brought at appropriate times with enough time to enjoy each course. My sister and I each had different appetizers and main courses so that we could have a taste of different things, but the dessert we both had their signature Theo's pecan pie because of the great things we had heard about it. Ok, so appetizer, my sister had the Star Crimson Pear& Frisee Salad
with Smoked Pecans, Rollingstone Creamery Goastster & Cider Dressing. It was very light and refreshing. The cheese and the cider dressing added a wonderful flavor in your mouth of salty and sweet. I had the Butternut squash soup with ginger creme fraiche. It was delicious, creamy and full bodied flavor of the butternut squash with just a touch of ginger to add an extra zing.
Bread and butter
Star Crimson Pear & Frisee Salad
with Smoked Pecans, Rollingstone Creamery Goastster & Cider Dressing
Butternut Squash Soup
with Ginger Crème Fraiche
The main star of the show, entree came out next. My sister had the sauteed Idaho Trout fillet with Pan Roasted Cauliflower, Macrona Almonds & Garam Marsala Butter Sauce. The trout was fried to perfection and although was a little bland was great with a little splash of the season shaker. The cauliflower and the sauce went well with the dish and helped to add flavor to the dish. I ordered the Wild mushroom and Ceppo pasta "Stove Pipe" Pasta with Chanterelle Mushrooms, Sherried Cream Sauce & Grated Grana. Oh my, this was an explosion of flavor in every bite. The chanterelle mushrooms were soft and released so much flavor from the sauce because of its absorbent nature. I could have just eaten that and would have been happy, but the sherried sauce with grana (a type of grated cheese) really made the dish. It wasn't too heavy or full, but light and flavorful. My sister and I soaked our bread in that sauce to get every bit of goodness.
Sauteed Idaho Stream Raised Trout Filet
with Pan Roasted Cauliflower, Macrona Almonds & Garam Marsala Butter Sauce
Wild Mushroom & Ceppo Pasta
"Stove Pipe" Pasta with Chanterelle Mushrooms
Sherried Cream Sauce & Grated Grana
We were so full from the entree, but we still had one more course, dessert! Theo Pecan Pie was the best pecan pie I have ever had and I havent had many that I liked. Under the layer of pecan is a layer of Theo chocolate and that just made our day. Usually the middle portion of pecan pie is too sweet and sticky for me, but the pie here was smooth and really was quite good. It was a satisfying way to end the meal.
Theo Chocolate Pecan Pie
Stuffed but completely happy my sister and I walked out of Steelhead Diner feeling like we got a great deal on food, service, and quality time spent together. The weather was beautiful and we strolled along Pike Market enjoying the rest of the day. If you're in Seattle you still have time to take advantage of the Dine Around. Enjoy!
Steelhead Diner
95 Pine Street, Suite 17
Seattle, WA 98101
