Years ago I saw the movie CHOCOLAT at our Edmonds Theater. I walked out of the movie house with a strong desire for anything chocolate. Hot chocolate, chocolate mousse, I’d have settled for a Dark Chocolate Hershey bar from the concession at the theater, but there was none at hand. The little café next door had closed for the night. Ditto at the restaurant across the street, they closed every evening at 9 p.m. I was not alone in my misery; others expressed aloud, as we all exited the movie house, the “lost opportunity” on the part of our local drink and food purveyors.

Flash forward 15 years and we have enlightened efforts afoot in Edmonds. The Driftwood Players have partnered with Five Bistro to bring the food and the theater together in a pleasant experience for their patrons. The current play at Wade James Theater is DEATH BY CHOCOLATE. No longer will theatrical induced cravings be ignored. One can dine on a fabulous meal, with cuisine, in this case the dessert, inspired by the theme of the play.

The deal included entry to the theater, and a voucher that was generous to purchase an appetizer, entrée and the special Death by Chocolate dessert, aka Chocolate Gelato Affogato the rest of the year.

It’s been a while since I dined at Five Bistro. Great menu and presentations made it difficult to choose. Lucky my husband was along so I could steal bites from his plates too. To say they do the various breads well is an understatement. Pizza crusts, pita served with our hummus appetizer, toasts with our appetizers, all were light, tender and flavorful.

Appetizers — my absolute fav was the Pistachio crusted Goat Cheese with Figs, Olives. It was tough sharing even one bite of that with hubby, but he did share his hummus.

Salads can make or break a restaurant; served before the entrees they can set a tone for the rest of the meal, before plates arrive on the table. Our choices did not disappoint; in fact, the tarragon dressing on my field greens had me make a mental note to buy more of this herb for our home garden. Wow! Husband chose the Caesar and it could almost be a meal in itself. Garlicky dressing well integrated on the greens and just enough croutons to have us tussle over the last one.

Pizza with mozzarella, basil and tomato, a colorful classic treat for the eyes and the palette. Husband dutifully shared a slice, for my research, of course. I am sort of glad he doesn’t eat meat. I didn’t share more than a tube or two of my rigatoni. Cascioppo Brothers are known for their Authentic Italian Sausage and Five Bistro’s Rigatoni showcases these flavorful, local links. The creamy sauce didn’t dominate the dish; it was balanced just right, dusted with parmesan and chiffonade of basil. The Five Bistro Red from Patterson Cellars was perfect to pair with this entrée.

This was all about the Death By Chocolate dessert and the Chocolate gelato, topped with espresso was the perfect ending to our meal. Our thoughtful waitress brought us two spoons.

I hope this combination of cuisine paired with play productions is wildly successful and is repeated as their season progresses. Peeking ahead at the Driftwood Players’ website, I saw that next up is Stephen Sondheim’s musical: “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” This title begs for a great Mediterranean meal to be part of the Dinner and a Show experience. We have many fine restaurants that offer this cuisine in our community too, which would provide culinary cuisine befitting the theme of the upcoming musical. Fingers crossed!

More news around town: Chanterelle has officially opened its new bar. Our mayor, Dave Earling, sort of scooped me last weekend with his Facebook post “Chanterelle now has a stunning new full service bar…..simply gorgeous woodwork and the usual attention to detail. You must see it!! Besides the usual great good, I now have a downtown Edmonds restaurant that serves Ciroc Vodka, which of course leads to a fabulous martini!”

I headed over to Chanterelle and met with owner Brooke Baker, to get up to speed on bar ingredients, specials and take some pics to share with everyone. The woodwork is indeed gorgeous and is set off by a bright copper bar top and copper accent piece at the top center that sparkle in the afternoon light. The lovely mural on the back wall was painted by local artist Andy Eccleshall. The Northwest ambience they’ve created invites you to sit and have a drink with friends before dinner.

Pay attention to chalk slates mounted on either side of the bar. They speak to ingredients and local is the word. Today’s list included Blue Water Vodka, Woodinville Whiskey, Halcyon Gin, Three Howls Rum and Fremont Mischief –“John Jacob’s Rye”. The latter has quite a story; Mike Sherlock and his wife Patti (John Jacob’s granddaughter) started making whiskey in the early ’90s. See their site for the full read.

Copper theme is repeated in the serving vessels for Chanterelle’s signature drinks, Moscow Mules. The bar offers a Classic style, a WA Mule made with rye and apple cider, and a Chai version.

The other slate changes daily; the “DRINK du JOUR.” The day’s drink when I visited was called “the Gin meets Ginger Martini.” Ingredients include fresh lemonade and Domaine de Canton gin. The featured drink is $1 off during the day and $2 off at Happy Hour.

Guest taps are mostly “local” but not duplicative of others in town. Currently featured are Diamond Brown Ale from Mukilteo, Fremont IPA, Trumer Pils Pilsner, Stella Apple Cidre and Bedford Ginger Beer which is non-alcoholic.

Brooke shared the menu sheet for March’s Seasonal Three Course dinner specials. Each month is a new offering, five unique entrees, in addition to the regular fare. In addition to steak, seafood and poultry specials there is a vegan entrée offered. I’ll be back to try the Cauliflower “steak.” Wine pairings are offered to compliment each entree.

Owners of Chanterelle feel they can’t “rest on their laurels.” The restaurant opened in 1986; they have had ownership since 1997. “We’ve watched families grow up over the years, kids that have breakfast with Mom and Dad have grown much taller and coming to celebrate graduations,” Brooke says. “We are always looking to provide new and interesting fare.”

I believe their new cozy, copper-topped bar continues that trend.

Just in for that GREEN holiday coming up later this month!

Here is what American Brewing Co. will be doing on St. Patrick’s Day.

Test Batch Tuesday – Special Release: Black IPA (Every Tuesday their brewer’s release a specialty test batch beer. They have a “Frequent Tryer” card for our customers. For every six stamps they receive in a 12-week period, they will earn a custom Test Batch Tuesday T-Shirt).

Celtic Cowboy BBQ will be on site from 5-8 p.m. They have created a special meal just for St. Patrick’s Day and will be offering it to our customers. Reuben sandwich with smoked corned beef, sauerkraut or slaw, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing, Smoked corned beef stew with cabbage and red potatoes and served with homemade Irish soda bread. YUM!

Upcoming events at the Edmonds Senior Center: St. Patty’s Day’s celebration featuring entertainment by Astoria Band! Join them for dancing, singing and a belly full of good food! We will also be serving beer on tap from our friends over at Gallagher’s Where-U-Brew!

Monday, March 16, 5-7 p.m. $12 member/$15 non-member

Their events do sell out! Please sign up in the administrative office to reserve your seat! You can sign up and pay over the phone: 425-774-5555, Ext. 104

The Green Theme continues…

Scott’s Bar and Grill will be serving a selection of St Patrick’s Day food items from Monday, March 16 to Thursday, March 19, available lunch and dinner:

The Reuben: Slow cooked corned beef, melted Swiss, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing on grilled marble rye served with a green herbed potato salad $15.95

Corned Beef and Cabbage: Steamed red potatoes, braised green cabbage and slow-cooked corned beef with natural a jus $20.95

Chicken Pot Pie: Tender chicken, peas, carrots, pearl onions, savory sauce, topped with a flaky and buttery crust $15.95

Dessert: Pistachio Ice Cream. Karl Black at Olympic Mountain blends the Puget Sound’s finest premium pistachio ice cream served in a candy shell $7.95

Bon Appetite!

— By Kathy Passage
restaurantnews@myedmondsnews.com

A specialty gourmet food broker for over 30 years, Kathy Passage has in-depth knowledge on food and the special qualities of ingredients used in the exquisite products she helped bring to market. Kathy brings this unique perspective from the “other side of the plate” to writing about the food and restaurant scene in Edmonds.