Staples & Fancy Mercantile

Is Christmas already over?  It must be, because I spent the day shopping and everything festive was 50% or more off.  I have baked a ton the last few weeks but haven't had time to post those. I will do that in the next few days.

Today however, was a splendid day with my good, long time friend Sue.  We spent the day shopping for post holidays stuff, but fun stuff.  I am one of those that want to shop for the bargain holiday things but the thought of storing and using anything one times a year prohibits me to.  My friend Sue on the other hand went ballistic.  She got so many holiday things that she had to go home to unload before meeting me to shop.  She drives a mini van.  I on the other hand bought things like a good quality ice cream scooper for my cookies, new velvet pillows, and a tea pot.

After the shopping, I wanted to take Sue to Walrus & Carpenter for some drinks and apps.  I had gone there last week or so for some holiday cheers to catch up with friends.  Sue loves little plates so I knew that would be the perfect place.  Well...they are closed on Sundays, so we went to the next door Ethan Stowe's newest restaurant Staples and Fancy Mercantile.  

I've wanted to try this place for a long time.  I love Tavolata and was eager to try, and the place is in Ballard.  I was not disappointed. The food was amazing!  Simple but so flavorful.  Sue was also impressed.

Here is what we had...

Salad of Beets with Soft Boiled Egg, Watercress, Avocado

This was so good.  Perfectly roasted beets and balance of flavors.  The avocados was so good for some reason.

Sea Scallops with Farro, Squash, Radish, Mint

Not my first time eating scallops but I would say the first time really tasting the texture and flavors.  You can really taste the smokey caramelized flavors. Love Farro!

Rigatoni with Tomato Sauce

This was perfect.  Well cooked pasta, tomato sauce is perfectly balanced with tartness, sweetness, and the garlic slivers.  Yum!

Polenta with Anchovy and Chilies

This was by far the most impressive.  So toasty polenta with the "good", a bit grassy olive oil that tasted so fresh.  Check out the knife skills on the chilies.  The pic looks big but the actual size of the polenta rounds were about the size of silver dollar so the chilies were super small but perfectly square.  I love it when someone pays attention to the little details.

Sturgeon with Controne Beans, Golden raisins, Celery 

Sue said this was great.  I tasted the veggies and they were a great balance of flavors.

Almond Cake with Cinnamon Ice Cream

This was okay.  Cake a bit over baked but the ice cream was not.  Sue didn't care for this and perhaps we should have gotten the chocolate cake.

Definitely a place to go back!  But first we need to go back to Walrus and Carpenter.  I didn't have a camera with me the first time I went, I will make sure I have it next time.