Our Favorite Little Corner of Seattle: Le Pichet

Who would have thought that in the port city of Seattle, we would stumble upon the most adorable French café and discover our new all-time favorite French rosé?

Well, we did. Our very first night in Seattle, fresh off our flight from New York. We were hungry, thirsty and dying to wet our palates with our first experience in this new city. After getting situated at our hotel for the night, Inn at The Market, we were told that there were two late-night options that would be open for a bite and drink - and thank goodness we chose Le Pichet.

Located just around the corner from Pike Place Market, steps from our hotel, Le Pichet seats just 32 at a time and transports you straight to France with it's small wooden tables and warm, humble ambiance. The café's name, 'Le Pichet' means 'The Pitcher' - a simple, ceramic vessel used to serve wine, which is the norm for traditional neighborhood restaurants in France. This is one French custom we (literally!) picked up quite nicely.

We somehow made time to come back for a second visit while exploring every nook and cranny of Seattle. Whether it was the deliciously delicate rosé or the quaint, inviting café - Le Pichet made us come back for more of 'Le Pichet'.

The wine wasn't the only slice of heaven we came back for. Our first night, we shared a mouth-watering display of cheeses and charcuterie, as well as their pâté albigeois (pork pâté), and a beautiful salad with thin, delicate shaved duck atop fresh greens. When we returned a few days later, we sampled the vibrant beet salad with pommes frites, traditional ham and gruyere on baguette and the quiche special, which changes daily but was spinach and red pepper on this particular day.

The beets were accompanied by a soft boiled egg. Which, at first, felt a bit unnecessary. However, once the egg was cut into, the bright yellow yolk escaped immediately and became the perfect, sunny backdrop to the dish. The sharp contrast of the yolk against the blood-red flesh of the beets was almost startling. I soon discovered how much soft-boiled-egg and firm-tender-beet actually belonged together. This, against the salty pairing of the pommes frites, was the perfect introduction to our meal.

Beets & Pommes Frites

For my main dish, I chose to go traditional and unfussy with a French baguette layered with mild, nutty gruyere on top of salty-sweet ham, complimented with country whole-grain mustard. It was perfect and simple. Just what I was going for. Until...

Ham and Gruyere on Baguette

...Christina chose the quiche. You could almost taste it with your eyes. I remember instantaneously rethinking my decision with the baguette as soon as I saw it. The fluffy, pie-sliced egg looked like a pastel-colored cloud interspersed with veins of deep green spinach and subtle, translucent cheese.  The flakey crust was almost too delicate for a fork to handle. Although the crispy, buttery pastry wed so perfectly to the pillow of eggs and spinach, it was just so good you almost forgot about the pie crust all-together. That, my friends, is a French quiche.

Spinach and Red Pepper Quiche

I think perhaps the only way to top this truly French experience in our favorite corner of Seattle would be for a foodie field trip to where else...France?!?  Girls can dream!

Santé!

Feel Good!
Alycia