Seattle Times on Le Grand Bistro; Raskin on Reviewing for Three

Providence Cicero seems just as impressed with the service as the French menu at Le Grand Bistro Américain. The Kirkland spot owned by restaurateur Ted Furst has a "sweeping water view" and earns itself two stars. Opening chef Scott Emerick has moved on, and former sous chef Jeff Slemaker now runs the kitchen. The chicken liver mousse, described on the menu as "smooth and suave" is "the Don Draper of charcuterie." She praises the petit bouillabaise, trout amandine and braised chicken, though "under-seasoning was a recurring theme" in other dishes. "I welcomed waiters wielding the pepper mill and dipped frequently into the salt cellar." [Seattle Times]

Hanna Raskin gets downright theological in her musings on Wednesday's review of Ting Momo, Cuoco and Brave Horse Tavern. Writing about Tom Douglas's trio "recalled my tenth-grade European history teacher's attempts to explain why the trinity rattled early theologians. Were these disparate eateries three distinct entities or three manifestations of one vision?" Raskin say she "faced a jumble of excellence and errors" within the Terry Avenue Building. [Seattle Weekly]

Hugo Kugiya has a highly personal Father's Day tribute to Bluefin, the Northgate Asian buffet "almost identical" to the departed Todai franchise. It's a favorite of his daughter Olivia, and "the refrain of our eating life." The all-you-can-eat Japanese, Chinese and Korean fare is "always decent, often good, but never great." The food "cannot be taken too seriously, which is why the place works." However Bluefin's strength for Kugiya is "its emotional reliability." Also, the buffet. [Crosscut]