The Triple Door Musicquarium
216 Union Street
Seattle, WA 98101
www.tripledoor.com
On Sunday mornings, I wake to the blues while I make my espresso and buckwheat pancakes. During the week, I tune in to classical while I work from home sipping tea — the soothing tones don’t interfere with my busy brain. For dinner prep, I prefer something groovy and up-tempo to drink up alongside a nice crisp glass of wine. Music infuses our lives, much like herbs infuse a dish, providing a background that is often a subtle note. Some people use music to combat road rage, some people to “get in the mood.” Me? I cook and eat to varying tempos that are often defined by the meals I’m making. Fried plantains and avocados call for some Cuban-inspired jazz. A romantic dinner at home begs for some Billie Holiday. Music and food are a historic pair.
I recently had time to reflect on this long-lived tradition (think: underground speakeasies, sultry jazz and finger food) when I strolled into the Musicquarium lounge downtown and got myself a front-row seat.
The Triple Door and Musicquarium (that cool lounge at Triple Door’s entrance) opened up just over four years ago, as a passion project for Wild Ginger owner, Rick Yoder. “We wanted Triple Door to be a place where music is as important as the food. A place that takes people away from the everyday grim of society” says Rick, a Detroit native who grew up listening to local jazz and soul music. He purchased the Mann building, which containedan old vaudeville theater (under Wild Ginger) refurbished it using as much of the original building material as possible, and opened the doors to a dinner-and-show venue that is one-of-a-kind in Seattle. The Triple Door is an intimate setting for audience and artist alike, and I’ve enjoyed myself immensely on each visit. The Musicquarium is a new find for me, one that should not be ignored.
On a recent weekday evening, I ducked in for a quick pre-dinner cocktail and found myself pleasantly surprised by guitarist Leif Totusek playing a Latin-inspired tune. It made me want to order rum, but I settled on a house specialty — the Ginger Martini (even though it was not on the happy hour menu, 4–6 p.m. daily). Taking my leave shortly thereafter, I walked down the street on the tip of my toes, be-boppin’ along and vowed to come back.
And come back I did, but this time for dinner to complement the “theater” experience. Another surprising thing about the Musicquarium is the food. This is the real deal. A music lover at heart, Rick has also cultivated his love of food over the years: along with his wife, they travel throughout Asia, Indonesia and the South Pacific always on the hunt for something delicious. Taking home recipes as souvenirs, they have turned out some of the most delicious food in town for years.
So what makes it good? For starters, they make their own coconut milk in-house. That’s astounding, considering the task at hand. They go through 2,000 coconuts each month, composting the inedible outer hull. The creamy milk, a staple in Thai cooking, is not the only thing they make in small batches either. They make their own oyster sauce — a simple yet unmistakable condiment —from locally grown oysters from Taylor Shellfish in Tacoma. They take the big ol’ oysters (a bit too big for slurping) and stew them on the stovetop for six hours to produce a pungent and slightly sweet sauce. The kitchen also invests precious time into making its own sambals, curries and preserved citrus. Following tradition, spices are dry toasted for these items and ingredients are hand-ground into a paste. Time consuming yes, but worth the extra effort once you taste it. Why didn’t I know about all of this before? For dinner, I had a chili-ginger sambal that I used as a dip for my Shrimp Satay ($10.75). The shrimp comes grilled on skewers and is accompanied by a quick-relish pickle, steeped briefly in rice wine vinegar and sugar. It was delicious. A night wouldn’t be complete without the crowd-pleasing Wild Ginger Fragrant Duck ($10.95 for the small portion). It comes on a plate with sweet, puffy steamed buns — like hum bao dough — into which you fold crispy duck drizzled with plum sauce.
Good music + tasty food + eco-awareness moves the Musicquarium up on my list of places-to-be. They recycle their frying oil for biodiesel, make their own sauces and highlight local musicians on a weekly basis (with no cover). Last time I went in for a visit, a sweet little jazz ensemble was providing the perfect music for a pot of tea and a good book. I sat for a bit, tapped my feet and seven dollars later I left. My heart couldn’t help but sing.
Amy Pennington is both a food and music lover who can roast a chicken, play piano, bake bread and belt a tune — all at the same time.