Rabaja: Prepare to be disappointed--even better, let me lower your expectations, so at least you'll come out even.

Like a moron, I did not read Chowhound reviews before heading to Arrows for a special-occasion dinner a few weeks ago (July 2012), and I was completely underwhelmed.

First the good: the room is beautiful, the gardens are magical, and a server showing up with an amuse as you walk up to the front door is a nice touch. Our service was perfectly fine, and Clark himself was in the kitchen and walked around near the end to greet every table, which was thoughtful. Some of the individual dishes on the tasting menu -- all three of the "Oysters in Green," the grilled lamb (one of the three lamb dishes), the grilled duck (one of the three duck dishes) -- were fantastic. The fancy butters were delicious, as was the bread. They made a very nice cocktail.

Now the bad: They still charge you something like six bucks for the "premium" butter service. The vast majority of the individual dishes on the tasting menu (if you do the math, you end up far above 20, there are 3-4 small dishes per plate) are forgettable, a few were downright bad: the salad with prosciutto was so underdressed as to be tasteless, the desserts (four Asian-influenced desserts) were close to inedible, though I'll acknowledge it might just be my unsophisticated American palate. They were very proud of the fact that Clark and Mark had recently traveled to Asia for inspiration -- judging from the media reviews (see next comment), they do this frequently -- but the desserts, at least, just didn't do it for me; I'd be curious if they're on sounder footing with other Asian-influenced dishes (for example, MC Perkins Cove (see below) had an interesting dish called "'strange flavored' eggplant puree with Chinese long bean tempura"; I'd guess that would be pretty good). You get to run the gauntlet of their glowing reviews from various food publications plastered up on the walls, some going back many decades, when you go to the restroom, which was a little too much "Look at me! Look at me!" for my taste. It feels very much like a restaurant that was once interesting -- benefitng, of course, from a *very* generous regional curve because it's not in a major food city --but I'm sort of guessing that its main interest was (as their website proclaims) that they "introduced 'farm-to-table' to New England in 1988," so it was benefiting from a chronological curve as well, certainly when the first glowing reviews came out. The more recent accolades (James Beard Best Chef in NE 2010) are mystifying to me, unless I was there on a totally off night.

Oh, and the all-in price tag was totally appalling.

Having said all that, my sense was that when they're doing something over a wood fire you're in pretty good shape. So if you have to go, and you have no choice, I'd split the 24oz steak with a friend, have a few cocktails, and enjoy the room and the view. I know it's not terribly adventurous, but I bet they'd do a nice job with it, and the space really is special.

In other news, MC Perkins Cove is equally forgettable -- food is worse; my wife and I both ordered pastas that were so bad we didn't bother finishing them. But it's cheaper than Arrows, so it's easier to forgive. And they do have a couple of very nice hits -- a corn custard based (they say) on Mark's mom's recipe, some tasty fried courses to start with yummy dipping sauces. So, for what it's worth, my advice there would be similar -- if you absolutely have to go, stick with a cocktail, get some fried food for a first course or something that looks like it came from Clark or Mark's mom, and admire the view.

And then walk 30 steps to Footbridge Lobster (the little take-out stand right across the street from MC Perkins Cove, but on the opposite side), where they claim the owner sets out 800 pots and catches all his own lobster, and get your real dinner. Order a lobster roll, light mayo with the lobster, butter on the bun. It was fantastic -- an A plus -- and if I'm ever in Ogunquit again that will be my go-to place for breakfast (they open at 7am), lunch, and dinner, or until my wife orders me to stop.

Good luck!

And here I must confess I am a complete idiot. Port Angeles Farmers Market!! That one is year round. My apologies all!

We were also there recently and left very happy. I had previously posted about lackluster service, since much improved.

I liked the oyster garnishes a lot more than cburnsi (they had changed by the time we had them) and the oysters were phenomenal.

The house-cured pork loin (with pickled fiddlehead ferns that night) was *incredible,* as good as you can get for charcuterie anywhere.

My wife and I pigged out on sides (brussels sprouts, cauliflower), which were just basic, simply roasted, and great.

I agree w/ cburnsi on the two pasta dishes -- the gnocchi was excellent, the bolognese was perfectly fine but there's plenty better, nothing I'd order again.

We also split a *very* nice roast chicken with lentils.

And it was fun to see a Washington state nebbiolo on the wine list (Cavatappi), which was excellent.

Look, you have to make some allowances for place here, in my humble opinion. To have a place like this on Bainbridge Island is a huge blessing -- a rapidly changing, inventive menu, truly local/seasonal/organic, a chef who is so personally invested in and enthusiastic about what he's doing. So if you're grading on the Kitsap curve, it's a clear A. But if you're grading on the greater Seattle curve you have to take it down a notch - though the next night my wife ate at Staple and Fancy and said that for a very similar menu she preferred Hitchcock.

All in all, this is a very good place, and we're going to be back for sure.

I wanted to add to this string; I was back there recently for dinner and the server was a *lot* better than the last one I had (who is now working at Book Bindery, weirdly). A little overfamiliar but certainly no one you'd complain about. And the food was very good again; I'm going to post a longer review on someone else's Hitchcock thread. The place is a keeper.

The market is apparently year-round. I was there mid-March 2011 and they had a great supply of meat and fish vendors and the usual vegetables you'd expect this time of year (potatoes, some kale, nettles)

I was there two weekends ago thanks to this post and it was *incredible.* My wife had a wood-roasted vegetable pizza (brussels sprouts, parsnip, squash) that was fantastic, I had mussles and fries that could match with versions I've had in London (probably because the quality of the local mussels here was just so high and they claim they make their own fries), we both had extremely nice winter-ish salads (mine with roasted beets). The menu takes "local" extremely seriously, grading suppliers by their locality according to whether they're from Sequim, 100 miles from Sequim, or Pacific Northwest. It's a great menu, as you can see online; at least a half-dozen things you want to eat and I can tell you that we hit 100% with the 4 dishes we ordered. Plus, we bought a dozen eggs on our way out that we cooked over the weekend, and they were fabulous too.

All in all, an A+ if you're grading on the greater Kitsap County curve--we've only had one meal there, but it's at least as good as the fancy places you'd pick in the area (Four Swallows, Agate Pass, etc.). Thanks Andrewtree for a truly great rec!

I was there in December twice - once to sit at the bar and eat oysters with my wife, and once for dinner with another couple. The service both times sucked. I didn't have any complaints with the speed or the pacing, but rather the obnoxiousness. At dinner, there was an attitude of haughtiness about our apparently too-low price point for the remainder of dinner (after ordering several appetizers, drinks, and a bottle of wine, so it's not like we were taking up a table); at the bar, a making-conversation question about the bartender's favorite wine was met with a curt "That's a silly question" before the wholly useless explanation "I have different wines I like at different times" Yes, don't we all, but can't we know if you're pouring anything right now that you're really excited about?

I know it's unfair to compare it to Four Swallows, whose servers have been there forever, but at FS the service is warm, welcoming, hospitable, etc., and they certainly never make you feel like you're not doing the great chef's creations justice by not spending enough money -- even when you just order a bowl of tomato pasta and a beer in the bar.

As everyone else has noted, the food is very good. So Lord willing they will put everyone through hospitality training and it will thrive for a good long time.

-----
Four Swallows
481 Madison Ave N, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

Since I've learned so much from the "What's Good in Kitsap" thread, I thought I'd start a (hopefully shorter) one about what's good in Kitsap (and nearby) when you have small kids. No claim to new discoveries here, but these are places where the food is decent for grown-ups and they have decent options for kids:

OAK TABLE CAFE - Kingston; crayons and coloring menus, a breakfast-heavy menu with kid-friendly choices (various sweet pancake options) and then a separate kids menu with things like chocolate chip pancakes. We had reubens (lunch special) that were OK. Supernice staff.

TREEHOUSE CAFE - Bainbridge; big box of kids' books on the right side of the restaurant when you go in, usually easy to get a table and high chair, and they'll do things like single meatballs for kids. For adults the pizzas are tolerable, the meatball sub is actually pretty good, and there's always decent beer on tap. My wife emailed them about a diaper changing table and they're going to put one in!

NEW ROSE CAFE - Bainbridge (Bainbridge Gardens); there's a wooded path to run around in behind the rhododendron / azalea area and a small playground/jungle gym near the statutes. The turkey/avocado sandwich is not bad, and the soups (esp. the black bean soup) is decent.

STREAMLINER DINER - Bainbridge. Basket of toys with many Mr. Potato Heads near the bathroom at back. I like the biscuits and gravy a lot and had good luck with a Hangtown Fry on special a few months ago.

HI-LO's - Bremerton: I wasn't at all crazy about the food, even the famed Moon Biscuits, but the van is a great place to sit and the thermos collection is nifty.

SPRUCE GOOSE CAFE - Port Townsend. Yes, I know it's not Kitsap, but what a sweet place -- airplanes on the ceiling, very close to the runway and plane parking lots so you can run around and look at planes afterwards. And they really do make a very nice burger - they'll cook them medium rare if you ask -- plus good beer on tap.

***

That's all we've found; we'd be so grateful for anything you all can add!

Oh, and Randeebin, thanks for those recs - I'm saving them for next time; they both sound fantastic!

I had the Zuni Cafe cliche dinner last night (oysters, caesar, roast chicken), and you know what? I absolutely loved it. The caesar was the best I've had other than the Marx Bros. cafe in Anchorage, and it's cold and dark there most of the year, so why wouldn't you go to your beautiful city instead! (I especially liked the small chunks of anchovies and the croutons, which I'd eat by the barrel.)

I loved the roast chickens; we got 2 for 4 of us and when they arrived, the next table (who had already paid) started leaning over and making jokes about how they should order roast chickens for second dinner. Even when I was too full to keep going I kept scooping up little piles of currants with the leftover pieces of the bread salad.

I was also very happy with the balsamic bloody mary - I'm not a huge bloody mary fan but it was great; I especially liked the chopped shallots.

Now the downsides: Our table sucked; we were upstairs in the little white annex, looking over an alley. My friends got the shoestring fries, and I agree with those on this board who say they're forgettable - but that didn't stop me from eating at least 5 good handfuls. I really liked the gateau victoire for dessert - I couldn't believe how light it was - but it wasn't something I would get again, even though it was very good.

All in all, a great night. Thanks to the many strings on this board that led us to it!

Based on Robert and Chris's recommendations on this thread (as well as everything else on the board), we went with SPQR last night. We had to wait 45min. for a table, arriving at 6:45pm, but that wasn't a big deal - we had a nice walk up and down Fillmore. We ended up jammed up against another table with about a foot between us, but that wasn't a big deal either; despite the crowds, it wasn't nearly as noisy as I thought it might be, based on other posts on the board.

Chris was spot-on in his pick of the pork sausage with braised fennel - it was *incredible,* easily the best thing we had all night, and worth a trip just to get that and a glass of wine at the bar.

We were also very happy with the fried brussel sprouts, the fried artichokes, and the asparagus preparation (I've already forgotten the specifics, bad hound! bad hound!).

We actually thought the pastas (amatriciana and carbonara) were a little underwhelming - to our taste they were slightly overdone, and we didn't think the sauces were much better than would be made by a reasonably competent home chef. (Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed them, we just weren't thrilled.)

We loved the short, interesting wine list, and ended up going by the glass, based on great directions from our server.

All in all, we really liked it, and I'm glad we went -- we were more in the mood for that than North Beach Italian anyways. It didn't compare to the life-changing meal we had at Delfina a few years ago, but it was still fun to try something new.

Turns out I was one night off in my calendar; we're having dinner w/ friends tonight, and we'll try to get into Zuni tomorrow night.

Thanks for the great tips!

I stupidly didn’t plan ahead and am now in your gorgeous city for 5 nights. I just got some great advice on lunches on another post (http://www.chowhound.com/topics/516034), and now I’m asking for help with dinners. Would you guys mind critiquing my list?

SUNDAY (last night) – Nopa

(I went 1 for 2; my marinated squid appetizer (a salad, with olives, chickpeas and orange) was phenomenal, but my pork chop was just OK – they changed the preparation 2 days ago, apparently, and it’s now with a maple butter sauce and carrots and peas and mint. I thought the chop and the sauce were way too strong for the carrots/peas; but the chop itself was delicious and perfectly cooked.)

MONDAY (today) – Delfina vs. L’Osteria del Forno vs. SPQR

(Does anyone have strong views among these three, given the rest of the week? I ate at Delfina 2 years ago and loved it; I was slightly scared by the recent post on SPQR but I know a lot of people have still had great experiences so I’m open to trying it. And Osteria del Forno seems well regarded and some friends swear by it. I may end up at Osteria del Forno just because I don’t have reservations anywhere yet, but wanted to put this up for the group’s input.)

TUESDAY – Zuni Café

WEDNESDAY – [dinner w/ friends at their house

THURSDAY – Quince

FRIDAY – Bar Tartine

The only fixed point is Quince on Thursday night; I’m open to making any other changes. A friend swears by Antica Trattoria, and I see it’s well-regarded on this board, but it’s already a very Italian-heavy week, and they’re not open Mondays. Is it a huge mistake to miss it?

Could you all let me know if there’s anything you feel strongly I should swap in or out? I know these are all in SF, and I’m not averse to an easy BART trip if there’s something in Berkeley or elsewhere that I should hit.

Thanks!!

You guys are the best! Thanks to Ruth's encouragement I just got back from Tadich (in and out in 35min; clearly I got lucky) where I had great sand dabs and great bread in a really fun, traditional space; and thanks to Robert's links I now know there's a Yank Sing very close by. Much appreciated!

Hi hounds; I'm an out-of-towner marooned at 2nd/Market for the week and I'm in need of some lunch spots. I'm *dying* to go to Saigon Sandwich or Swan Oyster House but both look like a long walk; I only have an hour for lunch so I need some closer picks. I'm about to admit defeat and head for Tadich, despite the *very* mixed reviews on this board. Can any of you steer me to some better places? Many thanks!

I'm a visiting hound who has eaten like a king in your wonderful city, thanks mostly to this board. I'm about to head back home and wanted to make a last-minute appeal for any truly "can't-miss" eats for my last few days here.

I've had many meals at Rangoon, a few at Estia, one glorious night at Vetri, and stops at the North Philly Crab Shack and Hardena's, both from the Jim Leff post. I would teleport myself to Capogiro and I'd kill to move Carmine's, Delilah's, DaNic's, Primo, and Tony Luke's to my hometown. I had my first ever life-changing kaiser roll at Sarcone's last Saturday, and I would die happy if I could eat at Pietro's every Friday night for the rest of my life.

So this is partly a big thank-you to this board for so many great tips, and partly to ask: Are there any other hidden or not-so-hidden gems that it would be a shame to miss?

Many thanks, hounds, for your hospitality to a visitor. What a great city you live in.

Fatman

Quick update: Success! Isgro has great cherry turnovers.

Caffe Sud, sadly, no longer makes cherry turnovers. No luck at Swiss Pastry Shop either. But thanks for the recs!

Fatman

Great! Thanks so much, SueFoo!

Fatman

This is a goofy one, but worth a try: A friend has a serious cherry turnover addiction, and she can't find one anywhere in center city Philly. She's tried La Colombe, La Miel, and any tiny coffee/pastry shop she walks by. Can anyone point me to a good spot to get a good, ideally fresh-baked, cherry turnover for breakfast?

Many thanks, chowfriends,

Fatman

And don't miss his recommendation of Hardena's in South Philly (the Indonesian place with the chef he'd been tracking for over a decade).

I tried it last night and it's worth every bit of his praise and every penny of the $17.10 it took to fill my wife and me up with two huge plates of really excellent food (greens, lamb stew, beef stew, chicken satays, hot sauce, fried corn fritters). We let them pick for us and of course it was fantastic, but you can also point to which dishes you want.

Two warnings:

(1) Parking. We got lucky with a spot right in front but beware - these are narrow, residential streets, so leave some extra time to find a space.

(2) Hours. They closed for dinner on a Friday night at 8pm. So call ahead to make sure they're open.

But what a great place. Thanks to Jim for the tip.

Maybe we ordered wrong, but I just got back from an average meal at Shiao Lan Kung. Salt baked shrimp in shell (pretty good), beef with green scallions (better than food court chinese), steamed dumplings (bet they came from a freezer pack), and snow pea shoots with garlic (perfectly fine).

I'm at a loss after the thrilled posts going years back and the generally great (though old - 6 years or so) reviews.

Did we order wrong?

If not, where else should we try? Szechuan Tasty House? Nan Zhou? Others?

Many thanks,

Fatman

JP, you've made a great choice. Harvest Vine would be my pick. One caveat, though: It can get really warm on a hot day, so if your in-laws (like mine) can't handle the heat, you might want to have a fallback. I second Barleywino's recommendation of Union, and I'll add Dahlia Lounge, just because I feel like I have to. I've had both spectacular and awful meals there, but it's a Northwest flagship and a great place to sample Tom Douglas's food.

I agree, Emilyw. I ate at Harold's 3 years ago and it was exactly as you describe -- a lot better than Fat Matt's (not really a compliment), but merely adequate. But I can't really talk. Seattle BBQ is mostly dog food.

Obviously I need to hit Greenwood next trip. Thanks hounds. Something to look forward to.

Fatman

Ted's right -- the 3 course prix fixe at Joel's is a great buy -- even with the wine pairings (which were very nice, not cheap plonk) it was only $59 pretax. That's spendy but not outrageous.

Therese is right -- the fancy lighted bar is supercool (like a W hotel without the annoyances) and the sinks in the bathrooms are swishy elite.

But with the deepest respect and love, I thought the food was perfectly fine, no better -- standard fresh local ingredients and farm raised organic ___ and new american with french technique -- which makes Joel a lot like many Seattle restaurants that are very highly regarded (Earth and Ocean, Mistral). You could be eating at almost any mid-to-high end new American place in the country. It's not (at all) that it was bad -- to the contrary, everything I had was tasty. It was also completely forgettable.

Right now, it's on my mind -- duck medallions with apricot pineapple salsa, roasted cod with beet jus and fingerling potatoes and parsley puree, opera cake with ice cream -- but I don't think it'll last in the stomach memory.

Having said all that: It's a deal to get food this nice, in a room that beautiful, with bathrooms that swish, for $39. A great not-so-cheap but still special date place. And I'm glad I went.

Thanks hounds. Give a shout-out if you're ever in Seattle!

Fatman

Reporting in: I made it to Watershed for a late lunch. First-rate shrimp grits (fluffy, light, rich) with "Pullman Plank" (long piece of toast). I appreciated Therese's recommendation of the salmon croquettes and the spirit in which it was offered (authentic southern staples), but they didn't send me - I think that's my fault; I'm too spoiled by wild Alaskan King in Seattle to appreciate a completely different type of dish down here. My other sides ("shed salad," potato salad, spinach) were fine -- the spinach was really very good.

All in all, I'd definitely go back there. There's a nice unpretentiousness about the food -- new South but without the "Look At Me!" razzle dazzle of South City Kitchen.

Ted, I couldn't make it to the Brick Store, alas (I had to get back downtown for work). Next time. But I'm following your/rcburli recommendations for dinner - Joel tonight.

Blessings to all of you for your help. And rcburli, I'm so glad you hit the spots you did when you visited. Salumi is wonderful - I (along with many) cured a prosciutto there when they had their "adopt a prosciutto" plan last year - and Matt's is a really sweet, special spot.

Fatman

You guys are the greatest. I left the parameters blank (value, type of food, price, etc.) because I wanted exactly these no-limits recommendations. Thanks for taking the time to write.

And hey, I hope I didn't suggest that Seattle has truly first-rate food. It has pretty good food, and in some restaurants on some nights excellent food, but it's no Chicago, San Francisco, or (for that matter) Houston.

I lucked out and I think I may be able to squeeze two meals in today before leaving. I'll report back (and try to sound less snotty)!

Oh, and Ted? I agree . . . the baked beans at Fat Matt's were pretty good.

Fatman

I'm sorry to complain, but I'm just back from two disappointing dinners in ATL -- one at Fat Matt's, where the ribs would be laughed at in any real BBQ city, and one at South City, where the overpriced but perfectly decent food has somehow conned reviewers into treating it as the city's culinary gem. (Will they never tire of the gimmick "Updating Regional Cuisine for the Younger Trendy Crowd!")

This is a great city, but I'm really starting to doubt its food bona fides. I used to eat reasonably well at The Beautiful across from the MLK Center until it closed. But I'm out of good ideas now.

I have one meal left here. It's either lunch or dinner tomorrow. No limits on location. Can you true hounds out there tell me the one, single, truly outstanding restaurant to hit? Or does it just not exist in this city?

(For what it's worth, if you're in Seattle, where I'm from, you should eat your one meal at either Dahlia Lounge (traditional Seattle cuisine) or Harvest Vine (incredible Basque).)

Thanks amigos.

Fatman.