28 Day's Later...

No pun intended...it was literally that after the beginning of the month's head rush. Hard and strong. Not only do you feel like the plague is slowly approaching as the month progresses into banquet hell, but you literally become a barely walking, still cooking zombie by the end of it! At our club, we do not offer a New Year's celebration by means of a large gala, over-the-top dinner of extravagance(I usually reserve that energy to cook at home that night) on the eve of the new year, as we shut down for about 10 days to do much needed maintenance, cleaning, and such, and to give our team their much needed and well deserved vacations. After countless hours of production and service, barely a few days off since the latter part of November and so little sleep logged during that time, I was so ready for the break. After coming to, a couple days after Christmas, I opted not to cook at home this year, rather... explore two new restaurants that opened up in West Seattle in the last couple months~ The first one; Shadowland, a sort of dark, narrow place, dimly lit with a sort of bar-like feel, started off the evening. We were greeted with warmed Salted Marcona Almonds(served in a crock over a candle that didn't fit correctly- oh well). Next we were served a tray of rather thick tomato soups in small cups, with a drizzle of evoo over the top. Nice, although the flavor was reminiscent of a can of Campbell's(not bad mind you). Maybe that was the point??? Tomatoes in December...huh? Both of these were gratis, so shut up already I said to myself! We then ordered the Robiola Cheese appetizer with Truffle Honey, Truffle Oil, Honeycomb and Granny Smith's, which came with sliced Baguette. The cheese was very ripe and aged, much mores so than the pungent, yet delicately sweet and soft type I am used to. I liked the pairing and enjoyed it, independently mind you. I forgot to mention~ I was part of an all female entourage and they were not into that. Next we enjoyed a classic..."Mac & Cheese". This was their best dish of the night. Creamy, rich and nicely gratineed on top, made for a welcomed touch of comfort. A plate of smooth, savory Hummus followed with Mediterranean Green Olives (bland), crumbled Feta and Pita...good conversational nibbles. The last dish ordered amongst all the drinks was a sort of Portuguese style offering of Roasted Clams, Sausage(again bland. Not seared and vibrant), Fregula Sarda (Sardinian Toasted Pasta Pearls) and Tomatoes In a rich Garlicky-Tomato Broth. Tasty nonetheless. The service was ok, but the dilemma was that the joint was dead! No buzz...No life...No excitement! I will write this off as being just newly opened. So, we opted to migrate to our next destination-AMA AMA! I will save this for the post to follow...Happy New Year to all!