Seattle Restaurant Week at Spur Gastropub – Fantastic! @McCrackenTough

Happened to be in town this week for Seattle Restaurant Week. And my Mom scolded me for not blogging about all the places I get to go – so – back on the blog bus y’all.

10 days. Over 150 Restaurants. 3 courses for $28.

Dine out and celebrate the spring run of Seattle Restaurant Week, April 8-19 (excluding Friday, Saturday, and Sunday breakfast/brunch for some restaurants). More than 150 local restaurants are serving up three-course dinners for just $28* – and many of them are offering three-course lunch for $15*.

*Price is per person and does not include drinks, tax or tips.

Landed with my colleagues at Spur Gastropub and it was out of sight.

On the Heddanewman Tablesmacker Scale of 1-5 (5 being the best) – we gave it a high 5 smacks.

What we had and highly recommend…  These items are also on the regular menu (not just restaurant week)

Empress (David Nelson, Spur 2008.)   $12 jamaican rum. grapefruit. st. germain.  (everyone at the table ordered this and loved it, repeatedly)

Tagliatelle   $14 duck egg. oyster mushroom. pine nut. (and a parmesan foam which was unbelievable, the waft of parm coming in as the plate goes down makes your mouth water).

Ice Cream   $7 playful accompaniments.  (most of us had the Bananas Foster ice cream, down to the last drop in the bowl)

The servers were great, the ambiance is terrific (stunning black and white artsy photos change every so often to give the small-ish restaurant some depth.)  Along with beautiful mirrors, exposed edison-like fixtures and bulbs, I’d go back here again and again.

The bartender let us stay till fairly late on a week night and again were fun and didn’t take years to make specialty mixologist cocktails which is a huge plus in my book.  Mixology is fun, waiting hours for someone to snottily chip ice is not.  Spur brings it with super tasty, layered flavorful food, seriously yummy cocktails and a high-end feel with a laid back attitude.

5 smacks, ya’ll.  check out Spur’s blog, Twitter – @McCrackenTough and Facebook

Here is the dish on the place from the Seattle Times:

At this artsy, urban-industrial haunt, Brian McCracken and Dana Tough dabble in the shape-shifting world of molecular gastronomy, finding new ways to manipulate flavor and texture. But they do so judiciously, not just for effect. Try such dishes as the tagliatelle with parmesan foam or carpaccio with fried béarnaise. The art of alchemy also extends to the bar, where house-made tinctures and bitters flavor classic and contemporary cocktails.

113 Blanchard St. Seattle, WA 98121

Phone: 206-728-6706

http://www.spurseattle.com

Hours: Dinner: Daily, 5p.m. – Close

Reservations: Recommended

Average price of a dinner entrée: Under $10 $10 – $15 $15 – $25 $25 and over

Note: Price reflects average breakfast or lunch entrée if that is restaurant’s primary meal.

Meals available: Dinner

Alcohol: Wine, Beer, Liquor

Payment forms: All major credit cards

Parking: Paid parking

Disabled access: Yes

Features: 21 and over

Kogi Where Tweetin Meets Eatin – Tablesmackin via @whereLA

Video maven, Allison and I were walking up to the Golden Gopher (my favorite downtown LA faux-dive) one night to check it out for a potential after party place about two years ago and we were not thrilled that there seemed to be a line out the door on a weeknight.  We soon discovered it wasn’t for the bar, but for the Kogi BBQ truck parked outside. At this point Kogi was still a brand new concept and was funny to see Louboutins and Manolos in line for it that night. Kogi is still all the rage and the way you find out where they are is to follow them on Twitter.  @kogibbq or their website – http://kogibbq.com/  Kinda reminds me of my favorite street meat in NYC (Halal on 52/53rd and 6th Ave), I’ve stood in the rain and snow for that myself.

Props to @WhereLA Magazine Editor Katie McCarthy who coined “Tweeting meets eating” – for this month’s Where Magazine (my bible when I come to any city) the article is all about food trucks and curbside eating and is great.

Kogi is damn awful good and definitely part of the zeitgeist of LA, along with tons of other fun, quirky purveyors, I’ll let you know where we end up this week and who we try…. 

What are your favorite street vendors or trucks… in any city – love to know!

Happy Late Night Curbside Eating y’all!

Mavens on the Town in NOLA

About Heather Newman, Owner & Head Maven, Creative Maven Inc.

@creativemavens, @heddanewman



American Grocery Takes Its Vege Seriously – Maven Foodie Fav

Maven Foodie Favorite (Dec 4, 2010) - American Grocery Restaurant is featured in a new video for an upcoming show of Palmetto People, a local South Carolina cable show for Time Warner.  Video shot and posted by one of the hosts, Richard Green –  RTGreenSc on You Tube.

Congrats Darlene, Chef Joe and the fine staff of American Grocery Restaurant! 

I hope Eater National digs this!  AGR serves tablesmacking* food. 

*a creative maven term for food that is so flipping good that you smack the table with your hand, sometimes with or without words (with is usually something profound or profane).

Favorite New York Dives Closing Doors – Stoned Crow

ultraclay dot com – breaks the news of the closing of one of my favorite New York Dive Bars, The Stoned Crow.  I was first taken here by dear friends Joe & Darlene about six years ago.  Ever since, I’ve taken many clients, friends and even New Yorkers here for the great burgers and colorful clientele.  I had a long talk with Betty, the owner last time I was in town –  per usual she was holding court with her fire engine red hair in a little cubby closet before you went into the dining room.  I make it a point to stop in every time I go to NYC.  I didn’t make my Winter trip this year, so I’ll have to say goodbye from afar. 

Mind your head

ultraclay dot com gives a lovely tribute… check it out. 

gothamist gets to the nitty gritty – should have known it was a rent hike… boohiss!

Friday Maven Foodie Alert – Executive Dinners – AGR

Happy Foodie Friday!

One of the hats we Mavens wear as corporate event producers is to choose venues for executive dinners.  On Fridays, I thought it might be fun to share some of our favorite venues and restaurants from around the world with you. 

A corporate dinner, whether it is a bunch of CEOs talking shop or a company hosting its top customers and partners has a few key components that we always check off our list.

Geographic Ease:  Meaning, how easy is the space to get to and if you are planning in conjunction with a larger event like a tradeshow or conference, is it walking distance or a quick cab ride away.

Maven ABC List:   ”Ambiance”, “Beverage”, “Cuisine”.  Sometimes one will outshine the other but if we nail all three we are golden.

The Fine Print:  Sign and seal the deal up front, contracts signed, per person pricing agreed upon, wine chosen, etc…  no surprises are what we look for with a venue event management team.  The word for the “bill” translates to “a reckoning” in German, and we don’t ever want that at the end of a great event.

Everyone wants ultimately wants to be “cool”, “cutting edge”, and “hip” while of course being professional - so we look for restaurants and venues for our clients that reflect high marks on the ABC list above.  We research trends and keep in the know about chefs, public opinions and food in general. Zagat, Yelp and Open Table are all great resources for this information.  I also personally watch Top Chef, the Food Network and subscribe to Food and Wine Magazine (which if you happen to be of an iPad persuasion, it is a free app download as is Travel +Leisure) and its gorgeous. 

Ultimately a killer venue provides elegant without being stuffy ambiance, tablesmacking food, a carefully chosen wine list, and an unobtrusive noise level.   The icing on the cake is to look for places that have that extra special something (an amazing amuse bouche, a signature dessert, flaming drinks,   etc…) that makes the evening utterly memorable.

To that end – here is the first of our Friday Foodie Favorites.

Cheers!

Friday Foodie Alert #1 – American Grocery Restaurant

 AGR is run by a husband and wife team, natives of South Carolina who lived and worked in Los Angeles in the film and theater industries for over a decade and came back home to fulfill their dream of opening a locavore, farm to table establishment.

Lovely Dining Room at AGR

I’ve had the pleasure of dining at AGR in its wonderfully elegant and cozy dining room and also in New York City for a James Beard Foundation Multi-Course, Wine-Paired Dinner where the AGR team created an amazing nose to tail pork extravaganza.   



The BEST pork belly & scallop I have ever eaten

 

American Grocery Restaurant strives to serve the finest in refined American Seasonal Cuisine, featuring products sourced from local and regional farms and from artisan producers from within the United States.  Their menu changes frequently based on the freshest products they can procure from our local purveyors and the bounty of the seasons. Chef Joe Clarke believes it is a restaurants responsibility to understand where their products come from, how they came to be, and the love with which those products were raised; to AGR there is no other way.

Custom wine room designed by Certified Sommelier, Darlene Mann-Clarke holds over 100 hand-picked artisan boutique wines from all over the globe, unique quality-crafted wines that exhibit the same level of distinction as their daily menu.

AGR has all the ABCs we look for in a venue and Chef Joe and Sommelier Darlene always bring something special to a meal and their food makes me smack the table.  We highly recommend you give them a shout.

Cuisine: Contemporary American

Neighborhood: Greenville

Website: http://www.americangr.com

Email: info@americangr.com

Phone: (864) 232-7665

Hours of Operation: Dinner : Tuesday – Thursday: 5:00pm – 9:00pm, Friday – Saturday: 5:00pm – 10:00pm

Payment Options:
AMEX, MasterCard, Visa

Dress Code: Business Casual

Accepts Walk-Ins: Yes

Additional Details: Bar Dining, Beer, Chef’s Table, Farm to Table, Full Bar, Non-Smoking Restaurant, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Personal wines welcome (corkage fee applies), Private Room, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Parking: Public Lot

Parking Details: Free parking is available on the north side of the building in a public city parking lot and on the street.

Private Party Facilities: American Grocery Restaurant offers private dinners in our intimate private dining room designed specifically for smaller business or personal affairs. Our private dining room will accommodate up to twelve comfortably with a variety of menu options we will tailor to your preferences. Additionally, our entire facility is available for buyout to accommodate larger events.  Joe Clarke (864) 363-2862.

If you are in the Greenville SC area – this restaurant is a gem and worth the drive from Charlotte if you so choose.

Day Tripping in My Backyard (Sebastopol to Point Reyes National Seashore)

There is a wonderful stretch between the last few weeks of July and into August where there is a little span of calm before the next storm.  I love this time of year.  Summertime should be enjoyed and languished in, if at all possible.  Go smell the roses, I am! 

Fantastic Scenery

 

My parents came for a visit two weeks ago and we did a lovely tour around Sonoma County.  I’ve lived in this area for four years and am finally settling into it and exploring.  If you are in the area or visiting, I highly recommend this drive. 

Starting point – Sebastopol.   We drove out Hwy 12 (to Bodega) to Wild Flour Bread Bakery 140 Bohemian Highway, Freestone, CA – http://www.wildflourbread.com/ – Hours: 8:30am to 6:00pm Friday, Saturday, Sunday, & Monday.  I don’t know if I can describe how good this place is, there was and always is a line out the door.  The scones are mind-blowing and their garden is absolutely beautiful.  If you’ve ever driven by, you’ve smelled their baked goods baking – stop next time! 

Wild Flour Bakery

 

 The little Antique Store & Gift Shop next door Enduring Comforts was the shopping hit of our outing.  My Mom (a high-ranking member of the Retail Therapy Royal Line) was impressed and kept saying that it was the best store we saw all day and she can’t wait to come back.  Thea who owns the store is lovely, has a great eye and gives 10% of all new (non-antique) items across the board.  A GREAT place to buy gifties.  

We then jumped on the Hwy 1 to make our way to Point Reyes National Seashore and Point Reyes Station – My husband and I have made this trip a number of times with family and friends – it is a great day trip from North Bay or San Francisco.  There are terrific places to stop for amazing seafood, shops and sightseeing along the way… 

Oysters Outside on the Bay

 

We sat along the Bay and had a dozen BBQ & Chorizo Oysters on the half shell and a super creamy bowl of New England Style Clam Chowder at The Marshall Store – 19225 State Route 1.  This place is great, tons of locals with their dogs, cyclists, Harley riders, and more – it seemed like everyone was coming here for a moment of bivalve bliss.  

The drive from the Marshall Store out to the Bear Valley Visitors Center, Point Reyes National Seashore is stunning (and it was a grey, cloudy day).  Rolling hills, 1 block towns with a post office and general store, and the smell of eucalyptus and the sea, twas de-licious.  

Bear Valley Visitor Center open: weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and weekends and holidays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays open until 6:00pm through September 4, 2010. 

All campsites are accessible only by hiking, biking or horseback for the backcountry sites, and only by kayak or boat for the Tomales Bay sites. There is no car or RV camping available in the park. And is by PERMIT ONLY. 

We then headed  out to Drakes Beach and the Kenneth Patrick Visitor Center 

Allow 30 minutes for the drive from the Bear Valley Visitor Center. 

• From the Bear Valley Visitor Center, head north 0.2 miles (0.3 km) to Bear Valley Road.
• Turn left and follow Bear Valley Road 1.75 miles (2.8 km) northwest to Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.
• Turn left and follow Sir Francis Drake Boulevard 13.4 miles (21.4 km) west to Drakes Beach Road. Tip: Follow road signs for “Lighthouse” until you see a sign for Drakes Beach.
• Turn left and follow Drakes Beach Road 1.6 miles (2.6 km) south to the Drakes Beach parking lot.

Drives like this on the West Coast make me utterly thankful that the U.S. has park services, land trusts and conservationists. 

Grey but Gorgeous

 

After taking in the ocean and of all things a Gopher on the beach… we headed back inland to Point Reyes Station, a lovely town with great shopping, a one-of-a-kind dive bar/tavern, and the fantastic Cowgirl Creamery.  

Cowgirl Creamery – They just came out with a new cheese – ‘Wagon Wheel’  which is made with milk from neighboring Straus Family Creamery at their new First Street Creamery in Petaluma and aged on site for two months.  It is AWESOME for a raclette (if you don’t know what this is you should it’s the Swiss version of fondue).  The purveyors are knowledgeable and generously provide endless samples. 

In 1997, Sue Conley and Peggy Smith opened Cowgirl Creamery in an old barn, made it beautiful, put in a small plant for making hand-crafted cheese, bought organic milk from the neighbor, Straus Family Creamery… and the rest is history! 

The Cooks behold the power of Cheese!

 

Old Western Saloon - This place gets 5 out of 5 darts on the dive bar dartboard rating scale.  Built in 1890, ‘tis a real live Western saloon with swinging doors, original cash-only cash register, gorgeous stained glass, potbelly fire burning stoves, pool tables, darts, live music, excellent jukebox, and colorful locals.  First time we went in a few years ago was during the holidays.  My husband and I were all alone chatting with the bartender. Unbeknownst to us it was Toys for Tots days for 3 of the local Harley crews – and the saloon was a pit stop -all at once we were surrounded by black leather and facial hair – it was awesome and we had a blast talking with the lot.   

Cowboys, Bikers and Us, oh my...

 

Toby’s Feed Barn - I love this place – who combines a feed store, art gallery, great gifts and organic produce?  The Giacomini family who opened and has run the place since 1942, that’s who!   They host a myriad of events, concerts and fundraisers for the community… heck, Alice Waters spoke there last weekend.  This is a classic California gem; don’t miss it…and the guys that work there are super sweet. 

Last but not least on our trip was dinner – we stopped back by one of our favorites (my parents fell in love with this place).  Nick’s Cove – http://www.nickscove.com/ – 23240 State Route 1, Marshall, CA 

The food was stellar, it always is… Dungeness Crab Cakes with Meyer Lemon Aioli, I had the Grilled Hanger Steak – which was perfectly cooked.  My Mom had the whole Branzino with caramelized fennel.  Also good is a quick drive up to Nick’s for Oysters and Bloody Mary’s, which rock as well. 

Carnivores Only!

 

All-in-all a GREAT day trip.  Let me know if you take it sometime and have any stops to add! 

Cheers
Heather 

Lovely Gardens at Wild Flour Bakery

 

Power to the Passion Flower

Tablesmacking Soul in D.C.

    

    

Capitol at Night

 

I just got back from a fabulous week in Washington D.C.  The Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) http://digitalwpc.com/ is my favorite event of the year for a few reasons:  it lays the groundwork for the next fiscal year for Microsoft’s partner initiatives (which are near and dear to my heart as I love partners), I get to see so many colleagues/friends that I don’t see very often and its always been on or around my birthday week.        

I realized that I’ve been working on this event since it changed from Fusion to WPC, nine years ago.  How time flies….    

That first year (2003), I was working for SharePoint team partner product manager Zoltan Deak and we introduced the concept of a “partner theater” to what was then being called the “Microsoft Office System” for both Microsoft TechEd & WPC that year.  It was the first time Microsoft gave partners a forum to speak on the expo hall show floor.  Having a degree in Theatre, I can’t help but bring a kiss of the theatrical to everything I touch.  The concept of a “theater” for partners remains strong today and has been adopted by many others.  We innovate this concept every year and a huge Partner Theater was added by the WPC event itself on the Expo hall floor.     

Every conference/tradeshow we plan always comes with a myriad of parties and dinners that we plan in parallel.  D.C. holds its own with celebrity chef choices, including  Charlie Palmer, Richard Blais, Eric Ziebold, Michel Richard and many more…. Eclectic eats in Adams Morgan, Utopia (artsy and great pasta), and one of the best hole-in-the-wall live music venues – Madam’s Organ touts “Sorry, Were Open” in red neon, bringing in a crowd you are forced to dance with cheek to cheek and give late night confessions.  My favorite place to have a nice dinner – Mie n Yu is in vibrant and collegiate Georgetown.  Our last night, we happened upon Kinkead’s in Foggy Bottom and the service was stellar and my scallop dish was crazy good.  For my birthday dinner we went to Napoleon, a lovely french bistro, where the moules and frites were fantastic and champagne cocktails divine.   

For the official partner dinner planned by my team, we chose Art & Soul, celebrated two-time James Beard-Award winning Chef Art Smith’s modern/Southern locavore restaurant located in the Liaison Hotel on Capitol Hill. Art & Soul has a lovely patio and a chic modern private room that can hold up to 60 comfortably.  The ambience and the staff were superb – the food, well, some might say — was soulful.   

The “arugula” ended up being spinach – regardless the salad with watermelon pickles, goat cheese, almonds and a blackberry ale vinaigrette was outstanding.  Other than the lettuce deviation, the food was “tablesmacking” good.  The ribeye and creamed spinach were cooked to perfection. The meal was brought to a sweet end with a board of mini-cupcakes – the perfect small bite accompanied by espresso drinks to give guests the strength to go onto all the rest of the events of the evening.    

Other venues that I liked we’re P.O.V. @ the W Hotel – you can’t beat the view, Microsoft global partner Neudesic threw a classy cocktail party up there.  The IW team & U.S. Partner team had a receptions at the Newseum which was quite lovely and had amazing passed hors d’oeuvres (lobster rolls & steamed veggie potstickers).  KnowledgeLake, Fujitsu and Global 360 hosted a fun happy hour at Buddha Bar DC - this just opened in May venue stood up to its Parisian & NYC MePa flagship spaces.    

People ask me all the time – how do you find your party venues and restaurants… **I recommend…    

1. Have passion for amazing food & to love to travel
2. Watch Top Chef and the Food Network
3. Use Zagat & OpenTable, they are great resource tools
4. Join Yelp.com – Opinions from the people
5. Ask a local or look for local food blogs

  **Hire us to help you – we know what to look for and how to turn what you envision into a reality    

 Let my team help you bring your brand to life!     

 Happy Summer & Cheers!    

 Heather    

 Owner & Head Maven   

 Creative Maven     

    

    

    

Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference City History and Future     

2011 – Los Angeles, CA     

2010 – Washington D.C.    

2009 – New Orleans, LA     

2008 – Houston, TX     

2007 – Denver, CO     

2006 – Boston, MA     

2005 – Minneapolis, MN     

2004 – Toronto, Ontario     

2003 – New Orleans, LA     

1996 – 2002 – Fusion

DC, Balti-Mo & Philly Dish

I keep getting requests from people to catalog my travels and favorites….so here I go.

Had a great trip to the East Coast last week Washington DC, Baltimore and Philly.

Went to many many hotels, venues and restaurants over the course of the week.  Was in DC,  Mon-Wed, drove to Baltimore, then Philadelphia Wed-Fri and ended up driving all the way to NYC to avoid the blizzard that was doomed to hit the DC and Philly areas.  Never driven in that neck of the wood before, was great – bring your toll money!  And I LOVED driving in Manhattan. Hooked up with our newest Maven, Laura Rogers who is local to Washington DC- welcome to the team Laura!!

Me in front of one of the hotels we checked out.

Laura and I had dinner with the larger site visit team at Founding Farmers – 1924 Pennsylvania Ave NW, (between N 19th St & N 20th St) Washington, DC 20006, (202) 822-8783, www.wearefoundingfarmers.com

Food was great – organic, tasty, fresh.  We had:  La Quercia Prosciutto, Fig & Mascarpone Flatbread, House-Made Roasted Butternut Squash and Mascarpone Raviolis.  I would have highly recommended this place but the service was bad (and I usually give a ton of leeway on that) but they were really slow and unorganized, it was like it was their first night with a large crowd.  However, Red Velvet cake just about made up for it.  Personally I’d go back for the food, event planner-wize I’d definitely chat with the manager before bringing in a group, especially an executive one.

I had the chance to go on two nighttime monument tours.  Our group seemed to be the only folks out and about.  It was great bonding time and fun – us Seattlites and Californians loved seeing the snow.  I’ve been to DC two other times but never in the Winter.  All of the monuments were gorgeous and the first night it snowed and was magical.

 

Baltimore was a quick trip, I popped into the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott 700 Aliceanna Street – http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bwiwf-baltimore-marriott-waterfront/ to do a quick check out of the meeting space.  Really nice hotel and I can’t believe how much Baltimore has changed.  Fells Point has been transformed.  I’m looking forward to going back to check that area out.

Philadelphia was great.  I saw 6 venues and 6 restaurants in one day all before about 1pm so I could miss the snow.  Whew!  Stephen Starr http://starr-restaurant.com/ has a corner on the market in Philly and rightly so – his restaurants and venues are all top-notch for both food and ambience.  I LOVE them.  I ended up having dinner at my favorite place in town a Starr Restaurant – Alma de Cuba, 1623 Walnut Street (Rittenhouse Square)  http://www.almadecubarestaurant.com/.  My first trip to Philly, my client and I went back twice in once week to this place.  The food is incredible and its got a sexy Caribbean feel.  My waiter Michael was fantastic and made two great suggestions.  I knew I was going to have the Vaca Frita, but he suggested a crab salad and this insanely good Banana Chocolate dessert extravaganza, he hit the mark on both. 

They also have ceviche sampler that is fantastic.   I highly recommend Alma.  Great food, ambience and service. 

My impromptu trip NYC was lovely.  Took a nice walk  in the city and a quick visit with friends before catching my flight to SFO.  New Yorkers already know that the NoHo Star & Temple Bar are great, but I did not and a dear friend works there.  I had a nice relaxing evening sitting at the bar and this small plate was to die for:  tuna, seaweed salad with a wasabi aioli - a total tablesmacker.

All in all a great trip. 

Cheers!