Joule: A Real Energy-Charged Gem
December 31, 2009 by Hedonista · Leave a Comment
Well, it’s New Year’s Eve … and thus resolution-making time.
Joule's style - from storefront to sweets - is electrifying.
Chefs Seif Chirchi and Rachel Yang make beautiful culinary cuisines together.
If one of your resolutions just happens to be to eat more Korean-French-American cuisine in 2010, then your timing couldn’t be more perfect: head on over to Joule Restaurant in Wallingford. (Your Hedonista went in as a customer, with perhaps a dish or two comped or discounted.)
Run by the hubby-and-wife (Tunisian-Korean) chef team of Seif Chirchi and his wife Rachel Yang, Joule opened in November 2007. The restaurant’s name – conceived by Seif’s mom – is aptly named; for this restaurant is without a doubt a rare gem with its own unique energy.
From cocktails to kimchi, the menu items are, in a word, exquisite. The Pom sparkler – made with Pama pomegranate liqueur, cava, and ginger syrup is dry, effervescent and refreshing. Even better is the Parisian Sake, made with Kurosawa sake, St. Germain Elderflower liqueur, and grapefruit juice – a sake martini that’s deliciously tart and so smooth, it’s like silk on velvet.
Joule's Parisian Sake is smoother than silk on velvet.
Korean mochi and mac and cheese: cross-cultural comfort food.
Simply must-try small plates include the spicy beef soup (Korean beef ‘n’ kimchi), Korean mochi (oxtail ragout, lacinato kale, soy cured egg), (melt-in-your-mouth) octopus, and the duck breast (maple vinegar apple, daikon soubise). And whatever you do, do NOT miss their mac and cheese – made with black sesame spaetzle and black truffle oil, it’s easily one of the best in Seattle. (With it’s smaller portions, you can try them all without guilt … especially if you bring along some dining companions.)
The ambiance is also fab – the dimly-lit ambiance in Joule’s small space creates anything but a hole in the wall; it hums a chic intimacy perfect for everything from a romantic dinner for two to a party of several.
You say that the Korea-meets-France-meets-the-good-ol’-U.S.A. is not enough global gathering for your globe-trotting gastro-lusts? Fear not, for Joule is still worth a look-see; merely stop on by any Sunday from January 3 through March 2 and try their Winter Supper 2010: Globe Trekker Series. I know I will.
May the global gastronomic force be with you, dear Hedonists.
Happy Hedonistic New Year to all … may 2010 make all of your dreams come true!
Note: In order to comply with FTC Act 16 C.F.R. 255, Heed the Hedonist would like to disclose that it does receive media “comps” and/or media discounts – but not in exchange for favorable coverage, or for withholding unfavorable coverage, of the given venue/meal/performance/product/service.
