The Seattle Times Is High on Nacho Borracho, Walks Through Fire for Miller's Guild

[Photo: S. Pratt]

This week it seems like everyone took time off from judging food except The Seattle Times, which sent Providence Cicero to Miller's Guild and Tan Vinh to Nacho Borracho.

Cicero is split on the fire-roasted experience at Jason Wilson's (Crush) new restaurant Miller's Guild in Hotel Max. The "incomparable focaccia" from pastry chef Traci Knight and "garlicky whipped lardo" start things off well at dinner time, gratis. But then the bill starts blowing up fast.

While the king salmon in crème fraîche is dubbed "sublime," the lamb and beef meatballs were overcooked. Super high-end (read: over $100 apiece) steaks from Niman Ranch are mopped with a juicy, fatty "motor oil," and the Painted Hills rib-eye was too lean for its own good. Instead, the reviewer recommends the lunch time Niman bavette. Seared ahi gets the thumbs up while lamb two-ways wasn't the thrill she was expecting, especially for the steep price tag which, "may limit its audience."

On the happier side of things, Tan Vinh calls Nacho Borracho a kitschy, off-kilter marriage of Tex-Mex and Tiki. But while the avocado margarita churning in the slushy machines all night is intriguing, the reviewer found it "too tart." He preferred the Negroni on draught, brought over from Montana's craft-on-tap concept. "You won't appreciate what a luxury tap cocktails are until you see how fast you get your drink on a busy Saturday night," Vinh writes.

The "addicting" nachos with beef or beans, are "crunchy, creamy, tangy" delights which would taste even better if you're drunk, high, "or both." And the "beer sponge" Sonoran hot dog (wrapped in bacon) is a "quintessential" late night snack.
· Miller's Guild [Official Site]
· Nacho Borracho [Official Site]
· All Week in Reviews [-ESEA-]