Events

August Quarterly Dinner Photos

Posted on September 9, 2018
Aug Qtr Dinner guitar

During the tapas reception at dinner, live Spanish guitar was provided by Jon Yerby

The August 2018 Quarterly Dinner at Cafe Presse featured a celebration of the food and festivals of the region of the Languedoc-Roussillon.  The dinner kicked off with a tapas and sangria reception featuring live Spanish guitar from local musician Jon Yerby. Tapas were followed by a 3 course menu of regional specialties.  If you missed this sold-out event, check out some photos below:

Joanne's special recipe for sangria, featuring rosé from the Languedoc, peaches and blackberries from her back yard!

Joanne’s special recipe for sangria, featuring rosé from the Languedoc, peaches, cherries and blackberries from her back yard!

Bethmale vache, a cow's milk raw cheese from Pyrenees.

Bethmale vache, a cow’s milk raw cheese from Pyrenees.

Fougasse, a country bread made with olives and rosemary

Fougasse, a country bread made with olives and rosemary

Grilled skewers of house smoked mussels and Italian plums marinated with sherry

Grilled skewers of house smoked mussels and Italian plums marinated with sherry

Tielle, a specialty of the city of Sete is a two crusted pie filled with octopus and tomatoes.

Tielle, a specialty of the city of Sete is a two crusted pie filled with octopus and tomatoes.

The Tielle was served with a salad of bitter summer greens, raw zucchini and lemon-parsley vinaigrette

The Tielle was served with a salad of bitter summer greens, raw zucchini and lemon-parsley vinaigrette

Bull from Old Chaser Farm on Vashon Island, simmered with red wine, orange peel and sweet peppers, served with brown rice

Bull from Old Chaser Farm on Vashon Island, simmered with red wine, orange peel and sweet peppers, served with brown rice

Rousquilles, cookies from the Roussillon flavored with fennel seeds and honey, served with melon sorbet and melon-lime-basil salad

Rousquilles, cookies from the Roussillon flavored with fennel seeds and honey, served with melon sorbet and melon-lime-basil salad

 

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Recommendations

Paris recommendations Summer 2018

Posted on August 19, 2018

Recently, a guest of Le Pichet asked me for advice for an upcoming trip to Paris. She is to stay on the Île de la Cité, and was hoping for recommendations on a simple Left Bank restaurant in the style of Le Pichet, a grand restaurant for a splurge, museums and  some advice on tipping.

I am reprinting my reply here in the hope that they may be useful to others lucky enough to be heading to Paris soon.  Note that these recommendations are not intended to be comprehensive, as Paris offers an endless palette of choices;  these are just the things that answered her request.  Enjoy!

“Restaurants:  Honestly I have not spent a ton of time on the left Bank as we generally stay either near the Marché at Place Aligré (between the Place de Bastille and Place de Nation) or near the Place Batignolles in the 17th.  That being said, I do know a few good places not far from the Cité.  Continue reading →

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Events

Menu for August 2018 Quarterly Dinner

Posted on August 8, 2018

     Feria en Languedoc-Roussillon Menu

Tuesday August 28, 2018, $60 per person

 Buffet de tapas à la Feria
A selection of small bites from the Languedoc-Roussillon:
Anchovies stuffed with green olives
Fougasse, rustic bread made with olive oil, black olives and rosemary
Fromage du Languedoc
Boles de Picolet, pork-dried porcini meatballs simmered in spiced tomato sauce
Grilled mussel-baby artichoke skewers

~

La fameuse tielle à la sétoise et sa salade aux courgettes
Tourte filled with octopus-tomato ragoût, with a salad of bitter summer greens, raw summer squash and lemon-parsley vinaigrette

~

Gardianne de taureau au vin rouge
Shoulder of bull simmered with red wine, onions, sweet peppers and orange peel, served with brown rice

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Sorbet de melon et ses rousquilles aux graines d’anis
Anise-scented cookies from Roussillon, melon sorbet and basil-melon salad

Visit our website for full event details

Reservations by phone only at 206 709-7674

Ingredients subject to change due to seasonal availability

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Events

August 2018 Chef’s Dinner at Café Presse

Posted on August 8, 2018

Flag_of_Languedoc-Roussillon.svg

Feria en Languedoc-Roussillon!

In the south of France, Feria is the word used for the summer festivals that bring together everyone in town to celebrate the season, good food and the sweetness of being alive.  The menu for our August 2018 Quarterly Chef’s Dinner is inspired by a traditional Feria from the region of the Languedoc-Roussillon, a land that stretches from Provence to Catalonia.  Join us as we celebrate Feria!

What:   Tapas reception followed by a 3-course family-style Feria dinner

When:  Tuesday, August 28, 2018, 6:30pm sharp

Where: The back room at Café Presse

Cost:    Dinner including  beverage* $60
*your choice of paired wines or non-alcoholic beverages

Visit our website at www.cafepresseseattle.com for details and menu

For this special dinner, NO SUBSTITUTIONS please

For reservations, telephone Café Presse at 206.709.7674  

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Stuff

Bastille Day T-shirts still available

Posted on August 6, 2018

Tshirt

If you missed your chance on Bastille Day to purchase our limited edition t-shirt celebrating the 16th anniversary of Le Pichet’s Fête de Quatorze Juillet, fret not…Yes they are still available!

The shirts are 100% cotton, made in America and are available in unisex sizes S to XL.  The price is $20 and they are available at both Le Pichet and Café Presse while they last.

Come by or call to check size availability.

 

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Stuff

Matches for Day 1 of European Soccer

Posted on August 5, 2018

EPL          Ligue 1

Day 1 of EPL and Ligue1

Settle in for the first day of European Football ’18-’19
Special food and drinks menu during all matches

Friday 8/10
12noon Manchester Utd v Leicester City
3pm Olympique de Marseille v Toulouse FC 

Saturday 8/11
7am Hudderfield Town v Chelsea
9am FC Nantes v AS Monaco
11am Newcastle Utd v Tottenham

Sunday 8/12
8am Arsenal v Manchester City
10am Liverpool v West Ham Utd
12noon Paris Saint-Germain v Stade Malherbe de Caen
2pm Girondins de Bordeaux  v RC Strasbourg Alsace

Check out our weekly event calendar at www.cafepresseseattle.com for complete match lineup

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Stuff

Now on the menu at Le Pichet

Posted on July 31, 2018
LP new tom salad

Salad of local tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, lovage leaves and brown bread croutons tossed with red wine vinaigrette, topped with smoky grilled eggplant purée

Last week, chef de cuisine Dave Cooper introduced 3 new summer dishes to the menu at Le Pichet. Hope you will enjoy these photos.

Crispy chickpea falafel served on a salad of watermelon, curly endive, feta cheese and lime vinaigrette, topped with our house-made harissa

Crispy chickpea falafel served on a salad of watermelon, curly endive, feta cheese and lime vinaigrette, topped with our house-made harissa

Our famous WA State natural free range roasted chicken for 2, with a Basque-style sweet pepper ragout

Our famous WA State natural free range roasted chicken for 2, with a Basque-style sweet pepper ragout

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Stuff

Coupes Glacées at Café Presse

Posted on July 17, 2018
Our seasonal coupe with nectarine sorbet, crunchy meringue and summer berries.

Our seasonal coupe with nectarine sorbet, crunchy meringue, rose syrup and summer berries.

Coupes Glacées are one of the specialties of French cooking that tend to be less known to the rest of the world.  This relative obscurity may stem from the fact that the French didn’t invent ice cream (who did? You may well ask, as it is a topic of much debate. See Elizabeth David’s excellent Harvest of the cold months for what must surely be the definitive study of the question).  But the fact remains that one finds Coupes Glacées or ice cream sundaes in small restaurants across France. Continue reading →

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Events

New Summer menu at Café Presse

Posted on July 12, 2018
Pan roasted lamb-pork sausage served on a Corsican stye ragout of white beans, panchette, tomatoes, green chard and parmesan

Pan roasted lamb-pork sausage served on a Corsican stye ragout of white beans, panchette, tomatoes, green chard and parmesan

We are very pleased to present to you our new menu for Summer 2018 at Cafe Presse!  Here are photos of the savory dishes from the staff tasting this morning.  Look for photos of our new desserts soon, including the new Coupes Glacées.

Crispy chickpea falalels with roasted peach gazpacho, cucumbers, red onion, kale and ras al hanut vinaigrette

Crispy chickpea falalels with roasted peach gazpacho, cucumbers, red onion, kale and ras al hanut vinaigrette

Continue reading →

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Stuff

Croque Provençal

Posted on July 4, 2018

Croque provencal

Our special du jour yesterday at Café Presse was  the Croque Provençal.  Our version, which is meat free, features the same bread we use for our Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame (made by our friends at Grand Central Bakery) along with cave-aged Comté cheese, béchamel sauce, basil pistou and sliced tomatoes. Yummy!

But why bother showing you if it was yesterday’s special and you can’t order it today?  Because it just might end up on our new Summer menu starting on July 12th, 2018

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