Charles Koh
Executive Chef Steven Ariel has put together a remarkable three course Valentine’s Day menu with wine pairings that will give your palate on a culinary journey. Steven has built an impressive resume as he served as Executive Sous Chef at the renowned Canlis restaurant, where he was responsible for all aspects of kitchen operations. From 2009 to 2011, he worked as Sous Chef alongside Chef Holly Smith at Cafe Juanita in yet another highly regarded, James Beard Award winning restaurant, with a focus on the foods of the Northern Italian region of Piedmont. Most recently Chef Ariel held the position of Chef de Cuisine at Chef Thierry Rautureau’s French restaurant, LUC, in Seattle’s Madison Valley neighborhood.
Dinners at TRACE are privy to Chef Ariel’s bounty of knowledge and delighted by his cultivated and deftly sophisticated touch with the local, seasonal and organic products from the Pacific Northwest.
The TRACE Valentine’s dinner is available for Friday, February 13th and Saturday, February 14th. Reservations are highly recommended. Call ahead at (206) 264-6060.
EatSeattle picks for TRACE’s Valentine’s Day Menu:
- We recommend the wine pairing – each wine compliments very nicely with the dishes.
- Amuse: Taylor shellfish pacific oysters with pomegranate mignonette
- First Course: Chilled Shrimp Salad paired with the Trencher Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, CA, 2013
- Second Course: Petite Beef Tenderloin & Snow Crab Cake paired with the Newton Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, CA, 2010.
- Dessert: White Chocolate & Raspberry Trifle
The lights are stylish, modern, and extremely hip.
The pomegranate mignonette gives the Pacific oysters a fresh, sweet and less briny taste. They are gorgeous to look at.
Blood oranges are in season from December through May so it’s always a treat to pair them with dishes like this. The goat cheese compliments well with the blood oranges and the beets as it mellows out the sour taste.
The Butter Poached Lobster combines house made pappardelle, foraged mushrooms and butter poached lobster to give it a well balanced pasta dish. The word pappardelle derives from the verb “pappare”, to gobble up… and that’s pretty much we did with this dish.
Ask for rare to medium rare and be prepared to enjoy a tender, moist piece of beet. The snow crab cake had a beautiful crispy texture and packed with crab.
If you love brittle, then you’ll love the macadamia nut and caramel torte dessert. The presentation is artistic and colorful.
How can you say no to chocolate? Especially the St. Valentine’s red velvet beet cake.
The White chocolate and raspberry trifle was eye rolling good. You’ll need to order it for yourself and let us know what you think.
Let’s get you seated.
