Trying to impress a special-friend has been notoriously hard for the poor, hedonistic, and self-proclaimed sophisticated-proletariat in the northwest. This burgeoning class of coffee shop workers, beer only bartenders, and art-school dwelling youth are most often defined as toeing the line of living beyond their means. To us (yes, your author may regretfully be one as well), the taco trucks— while delicious, have lost their luster, the irony of going to IHOP is played, and PBR should be the replacement for water to back up a Lagavulin. We desire to be those that can drop a weeks pay on dinner for two, a return to exorbitant courtship. Restaurants open and close everyday, did you try Cremant, Union, Paladar Cubano before they closed? Yes? Put one in the ego box.
but alas, being broke is a bitch yes?
Fortunately comrades what is happening in northwest food today is not at the Bookbindery (ok, fucking delicious) or Canlis (shh.. eat at the bar), not even Maximilian (though fois gras will be my wedding cake), but popping up in ten to twenty table restaurants with price points friendly to our lifestyles. You really don’t need to spend three-hundred dollars to impress the pants off someone with a good meal, you simply need hipster intuition— a sense of what will be hot before everyone else knows, and perhaps a friend who is a chef.
Case in point—Joule
I fucked this one up, but will make the pre-story to the meal brief. I was desperate! There were tears flowing, shoes put on and off, then on again, and off…. and a missed reservation to Elemental (also a fantastic wallingford restaurant). None of these were my own, none of this was my fault, but it did cause us to stumble into Joule in the haze that was that evening. This was perhaps not the best choice for dinner that night as I was accompanied by a notoriously unadventurous eater with a disdain for food terms she has never heard of, and hatred for all things from the sea. Fuck it, I thought it looked good, and I was desperate!
Ate:
Apple Pickle
Roasted Apple Bisque
Grilled Chinese Broccoli /w Boquerones
Rice /w Plum Sauce
Mac and Cheese /w Black Sesame Spaetzle and Truffle
Korean Mochi /w Chorizo
Drank:
Domaine Fontsainte, Corbieres “La Demoiselle”
Spent:
$119 after the tip.
There is really only one reason you need to go to Joule. It is not the well thought out wine list— though A to Z pinot gris by the glass seems to be a bit of a cop-out in my opinion. Nor the attentive wait staff, who did not seem too frightened by our intense conversation about my companions hatred for me. The only reason you need to go to Joule, perhaps everyday for the rest of your life is as simple as Macaroni and Cheese.
Macaroni and Cheese first hit American dinner tables in 1802 by way of a well known gentleman and U.S president, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson, well known for calling all pasta macaroni, being a failed wine maker, hypocritical slave holder and lover of french fries, served the first ‘Macaroni Pie’ in America at a state dinner in 1802, most likely using fusiilli (macaroni is a shape damn it!). Ever since, this delicious medieval Italian dish has been ruined by Americans everywhere. Diverging from the classic Mornay sauce (Bechamel and Parmesan/Gruyere) recipe and adding horrifying ingredients such as Velveeta or hot dogs (enough said).
Joule is reclaiming the classic as it’s own. Adding a black sesame spaetzle— a round egg noodle of Austrian/German origin, that through texture is more reminiscent of a well-cooked mushroom than a traditional Italian noodle— and truffle oil, which imparts the distinct pungent taste of the fungus most often discovered by well trained pigs or dogs… no seriously, look it up. I took a few bites myself but my unadventurous dining partner was enthralled, and I kindly let her keep it as her own— as she would not touch most of the other dishes, they being “too strange” or “overpowering.” Going back a few days later to try it again, nailed the unique dishes flavor into my soul. I will never eat another’s mac and cheese again, Thank you Joule.
Happy Eating Comrades
Elijah
