Manolin has been on my radar for quite some time. Located in the newly trendy Fremont district on par with Capitol Hill, it is located in a very convenient location. The building itself looked well constructed with great aesthetics. It was nice to see the pile of wood out in front that they use to roast certain dishes like their Grilled Beef.
Their menu looks spectacular; really encompassing that neighborhood small plates setting that locals, in addition to gastrotourists like myself love to go to. What makes it great other than the reasonably priced small plate offerings is their daily happy hour specials involving great discounts of their hand-crafted cocktails.
After lugging and Lyfting around Seattle, I needed something refreshing of which I chose their Phoenix cocktail. I must say that this cocktail was certainly quite refreshing though I would say that the lime juice overpowered the fig element of the cocktail which necessarily isn't a bad thing. It reminded me of the Caipirinhas I used to drink at Habana in Costa Mesa, CA. Delicious cocktail and a refreshing one, nonetheless.
Before I further continue to the culinary portion of this post, I must
say that I greatly admire the U-shaped layout where there's not only
bar/counter seating witnessing all of the action, but how it's far apart
with great distance between both ends of the U that you're not
uncomfortably staring/glaring each other from the other end while there
is plenty of center seats in order to not make direct contact at all
with the other patrons. If you're not someone who is into counter dining
(you're definitely missing out on the action and also missing out on
the advantage if it's you and your date that the view would definitely
diminish any sort of awkwardness by talking about what's going on in the
kitchen) or actually are in a larger group, then there is table seating
on both sides.
The first dish that came to me was the Albacore Ceviche with
Watermelon, Pork Jowl, and edible flowers (Marigolds). One thing I first
noticed was that it wasn't drowned in marinade which could either be a
good thing if the marinate was overpowering or not if you wanted extra
palate-refreshing liquid to sip on cleansing one's palate. Be that as
it may, the Albacore was delicious with a smoky touch in its flavorings
along with incorporating the acidity from its marinate. The savory
watermelon and cucumber pieces added more moisture along with acidity by
soaking up the marinade to accompany the fish in order to add a
refreshing element towards the dish. What was really an ideal touch was
the Pork Jowl that resembles bacon; it provided an earthy, smoky element
of the land to the fish that incorporates that of the sea as the pork
jowl was definitely welcoming with its highly umami and savory smoke and
saltiness. Finally, the marigolds/edible flowers added a nice aesthetic
touch to the dish while providing more of a bite to the dish as it
didn't really have much of a flavor of its own other than to sop off the
essence of the fish and the incorporating marinade.
Next came a dish that I ended up liking alot despite its intense richness. This is Manolin's take on the ever so iconic Seattle dish of Smoked Salmon. I must say that it's extremely rich in terms of smoke flavor and how thick it is that may be overwhelming for some; be that as it may, it certainly is a sinful treat if you're quite the smoked salmon lover like I am. It is topped with refreshing turnips that add a refreshing counter acidity to the richly cold-smoked salmon and the dill, though a classical accompaniment, adds the flavorful herbal component that gives smoked salmon a whole new character. On the side is crème fraîche topped with what I assume are olive oils that give the cooling tangy flavor of the crème fraîche a deep earthy component. With that said, the cooling tangy flavors of the crème fraîche was greatly needed to not only cut into the richness of the salmon, but that the smoky flavors along with the tangy from the crème fraîche gave the entire dish a wonderful combination profile which is basically a unique flavor of its own when the two are combined together.
Moving on to the next drink, I wanted something more darker in flavor
yet would make an exception for anything "coconutty or pineapple-y".
Luckily, there was a cocktail that fit all of those prerequisites called
the Sloop John B. I honestly don't know where the name of the cocktail
came from but with Pineapple Whiskey, rum, toasted coconut, and lemon;
it's a certainly an odd concoction of ingredients like how the words for
the name of the cocktail were construed. It definitely works really
well as a drink that progresses mid-meal because yes, it does have a
darker whiskey component reserved for later in the meal, there is a
citrusy-acidic components from the pineapple and lemon that is
invigorating on the palate without burning it out like what straight
whiskey could do which is why, especially an aggressively peaty one like
Laphroaig (my personal favorite Scotch beating out Macallan) is
reserved for the end as a digestif.
The final dish given was one of the main signature dishes of Manolin: Grilled Beef with butterball potatoes, radishes, and whipped lardo topped with an Italian anchovy sauce called Colatura. This dish was heavenly! In addition, the beef was cooked to the universally ideal point of medium rare (Sorry, Well Doners) with the grillman keeping a keen eye on the beef in order for a fabulous consistency in the quality of the cooking of the beef to be reached which is highly necessary in a restaurant for any ingredient being cooked. Yes, Manolin should have its seafood dishes primarily do that job as that what it more focuses in. No doubt, the ingredients were high quality. With that being said, it is an absolute steal and probably the best price for a high quality steak in Seattle. The beef itself was lean but in no way lacking in intense fatty flavor like there is with a ribeye, though it was very obvious that the complex subtle flavors of high quality beef resembling earthiness and umami were there as it's a lean, tender cut. Of course, the whipped Lardo was there to add more pronounced fatty flavors if you wanted to add it for each custom bite. The anchovy Colatura sauce was very rich and full of glutamic umami from both the anchovies and the red wine added to the sauce itself; quite the umami bomb - a legitimate use of that term I must say! In addition, the vegetables, both the radishes and butterball potatoes were divine in earthiness; the flavors of the soil, more particularly its essence, could be tasted without you actually having it in your mouth which would certainly be disgusting. Like with Sitka and Spruce, Manolin knows how to cook its vegetables of which I'm starting to realize it as a trait of a successful, legitimate Seattle restaurant that caters to dining enthusiasts.
For the dish, I had actually wanted a sparkling rosé to go with it as I was still in a mood for something sparkling but needed a red-ish wine to go with the beef. I had saw a man poor something sparkling but with the hue of the dim lights, I thought he was pouring a sparkling rosé and just asked for the glass he was pouring which he was more than happily to oblige. I tried it but had realized it was an extremely dry French Cidre which is the Florence Loisel "Gosne" cidre. French (or European) Cidres aren't exactly sweet but it kind of has this, how shall I put it, "stinky flavor" that's an acquired taste that resembles the smell of a stable; basically the more "stable-y" the better... Be that as it may, I did find it to be actually really delicious but wanted a sparkling rosé. When one of the extremely attentive waitresses noticed how I had more of a preference for a glass of sparkling rosé, she was more than willing to want to change it at no charge. I forgot the name of this sparkling rosé but it was very satisfying and refreshing. With all of that said, I wanted to note the attentiveness that went beyond the call of duty from the staff at Manolin. I have to say that not only do the staff look extremely pleasant in physical appearances as Seattleites love to be outdoorsy, but they are very kind on the inside unlike how it sort of is down here in SoCal (especially Orange County and San Diego) with being shallow in preference for appearances rather than for kind and amazing personalities.
At the end of the spectacular service and a fabulous meal, I requested for something mild for my end-of-meal Scotch, The Glenlivet 12 year is a great Scotch especially for beginners and those who want to start developing a taste for it. Well rounded indeed without being aggressively peaty like a Laphroaig as I've eaten so much that my stomach couldn't take it, that character of the Scotch was much appreciative. After I finished my Scotch, I was thanked for coming over for the first time from the warm staff as they also wished for me to return as well which I'm definitely more than willing to do so, especially if I were to bring friends and family to try uniquely Seattle restaurants that are not only highly refined and mind-blowingly delicious, but preferential to those that want an amazing culinary experience, yet also want to avoid the tourist traps as well since they're out of towners (but this also applies for local Seattleites as well looking for local gems).
Unfortunately with the fatigue I had experienced along with my stomach being bloated from eating way too much, I couldn't go to the concert I wanted to attend to which was the Snow Cap Party at Pyramid Breweries which had Robert DeLong headlining as I haven't been to a concert in a long time. Though bummed out, I had a nice, decadant Chocolate Cake from The W room service with a really long name I must note. With layers of chocolate and mint-chocolate cream on top along with the cooling whipped cream and the tartness of the raspberries to invigorate one's palate, it certainly made up me missing the concert. After being tired from walking and traveling from SeaTac airport within the same day, it is certainly exquisite and longing to have room service, especially that I have to say that it feels good to lay off the booze in this case as an accompanying ginger ale was definitely warranted to further quench one's thirst after being dehydrated from all of that walking while of course being settling on the stomach after a very filling, intense meal. If any of you plan on staying at The W, especially in Seattle, I highly recommend that you order the chocolate cake (once again, it had a very long name on the menu), especially as it's available late night and it's something for you if you want to have a luscious and luxurious heavenly bite while being extremely settling for your stomach at the end of the day (with a ginger ale, of course that in this situation it's fine to have soda with cake), all cozy in your bed while you watch free HBO.
