One of our favorite watering holes when my husband and I visit Seattle is the one-of-a-kind gastropub, Quinn's, in the Capitol Hill area, which features an extensive selection of European wines, beers and whiskeys coupled with great out-of-the-ordinary European small plate pubfare.
We always sit at the bar and one of the most interesting things we discovered about Quinn's is that the bartenders there don’t just serve food and drink – they serve an experience.
A couple of weeks ago, we were fortunate to get Toshi who’s served us most times we’ve been there. Not only is he knowledgeable about everything on the menu, he has a deep understanding of how drink can enhance food.
For instance, when I ordered the Fromage de Terri, sugar snap peas, frise -- Toshi suggested a delightful Lebanese red wine (who knew Lebanon made wine?). My husband ordered the house ‘corndog’ – foie gras within a traditional corn batter (I call it ‘heart attack on a stick’) – and Toshi served him a superb Koningshoeven Trappist Ale.
For another small plate, Toshi brought out a sparkling rose that ‘usually isn’t available by the glass’ -- but he had an open bottle and said it would be perfect with what we were eating. And for a light desert of perfectly-not-too-sweet strawberry shortcake, he brought out a split sized Belgian cherry beer that we shared – so good we had the pairing again late the following night.
And last but not least, there’s the Belgian Unibroue. Yummy...beer AS food.
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