Conscious Choice Seattle: Home Cooking

March 2006 | Local Food

Home Cooking

Seattle has been good to chef Tom Douglas, and he has ‘certainly been delicious to us’

By Nora West

I have often thought that if I were a chef, Seattle would be one of the best places to cook. Some of the finest, freshest raw ingredients in the country would be at your disposal. A clientele that appreciates local, sustainable products. A city that is not so huge that one’s culinary mastery gets lost in the shuffle.

I’m sure some would argue that a larger city such as New York offers more opportunities (if you make it there…) but Seattle has plenty of appreciative palates to ply your craft.

The city is certainly home to a celebrity chef or two and no one tops the list above Tom Douglas. The fact that this is nothing new further proves my point. Seattle has been good to Tom, and he has certainly been delicious to us.

I love all of his restaurants for different reasons, but over a recent lunch at Lola I found myself again smitten.

Lola is a creative, inspired place that specializes in the flavors of Greece. The high ceilings sport beautiful glass light fixtures that beckon diners to an exotic place. The caramel-colored walls and intimate booths provide privacy, yet at certain tables you can enjoy the bustle of the kitchen through glass windows at the rear of the room. It is an aesthetically pleasing place that feels sleek but comfortable.

My dining companion called it “clean” and said it “felt as if someone had done some feng shui work in here.”

Even the tableware made me feel good. Small white rectangular plates held our appetizers along with darling little green glass square dishes that contained the variety of spreads we ordered. Little wooden spoons, like the ones we used to eat our ice cream mini-cups with when we were kids, were provided for our spreads. From utensils to flavors, there were sweet little touches that added a bit of whimsy throughout the dining experience.

We began our meal with the aforementioned spreads. These spreads, besides looking good, taste even better. There is an offering of six options ($3 each or $15 for all six). We chose barrel-aged minty feta, kalamata-fig and cauliflower-anchovy.

Good choices on our part. They were all delectably different. The briny kalamata olive flavor combined with the sweetness of fig was wonderful. The salty, fishy goodness of anchovies mingled with pungent cauliflower was equally good, and the creamy flavorful feta added another dimension to our trio.

The spreads were served with griddled pita and, believe me, this starter goes a long way to a finisher. Warning: These dips and breads are so enticing it is essential to pace yourself for other treats to come. Or you will seriously shortchange yourself.

We ordered the dolmades (grape leaves stuffed with lemony rice and mint, $7), which worked nicely with the tzatziki sauce (another of the six starter spreads).

Lola offers daily specials and on this day it was a cumin spiced schoarma pita ($12) that my friend ordered. This dish was crispy strips of tender lamb, served with a tasty smoky tomato and onion sauce accompanied by more of that fabulous pita.

I ordered one of nine possible kebobs, the king salmon with citrus glaze and sea salt ($14, most of the kebobs are $10 or $11). It tasted, I kid you not, as if it just jumped out of the sea onto my plate. It was that fresh. The kebobs are served with either Jackie’s Greek salad or garlic smashed potatoes.

I chose Jackie and was not disappointed. Juicy ripe tomatoes, chunks of cucumber, hunks of feta and simple but perfect vinaigrette.

There are many vegetarian options here, including the roasted beets with skordalia (a garlic spread and one of the six starters), potato fennel soup, lentil vegetable soup, eggplant and sweet red pepper kebob, portabello kebob and that tasty Greek salad.

It is obvious from the menu that a respect for local ingredients continues here as in Douglas’ other restaurants. Things like Washington chicken and Oregon beef are offered as well as many items from the sea, such as wild Pacific prawns, Pacific squid and octopus, and Alaskan black cod).

The wine list was thoughtfully planned to pair with the wonderful food. Several Washington and Northwest wines plus some Greek ones are on the list. Three wines sold by the carafe (small or large) are specially made for Lola by a winery in Prosser. We tried a small carafe of the rose variety (cabernet franc rose), which was delicious and the little serving carafe was cute too. There are a few Washington beers and some Greek selections.

The dessert menu is as varied and interesting as the rest of the menu, but I had no room left to indulge. Several desserts sounded tempting: caramelized phyllo with local raspberries and sweet ricotta cream; sweet goat cheese turnovers, pistachios, mint and honey; or the Turkish coffee ice cream with cocoa crisp. Next time.

Be aware that the menu changes daily, so if anything I described sounds delightful but is not available, there will be equally delectable options on any given day. Thank you Tom Douglas for choosing Seattle as your kitchen.

Nora West is what we call our “food mentor” at Conscious Choice.

Recommend this page to a friend

Top Ten pages recommended to friends: