(chi-KET-tee) on the Eve of Thursday Night

I've been eating there for months now and pronouncing it wrong.  It's Cicchetti, pronounced Chi-ket-tee, not Ki-Chet-tee.  It's helpful that they provide a phonetic spelling on the top of the menu, but only if you pay attention to it.

After last week's failed attempt at visiting Cicchetti, I'd sort of moved past the craving.  B, on the other hand, apparently had not.  As we crossed the bridge about 4:45 this afternoon, he commented on the fact that had we not left work so early, we could have made a stop there on the way home.  Not 5 minutes later, I noticed he was taking the wrong exit onto I-5... or the right exit if you're heading to Eastlake.

Cicchetti is one of those places where it's usually sunnier on the inside than on the outside... even on cloudless days.  The interior is friendly and it's definitely somewhere that's easy to just sit and stay for a long while.  Please forgive the photo qualilty.  I inadvertently flipped a switch on my camera that's been making all my photos grainy for a couple days.

When I first moved to Seattle, the concept of a seasonal menu was totally foreign and it sort of bothered me that I would make a return visit to a favorite restaurant and not be able to order what I'd had the first time.  Now I find myself having quite the opposite reaction.  I can't stand it when I go back to the same place several times in a row, never finding anything new.  I think this is a large part of the reason I don't look forward to the food at Black Bottle.  The menu has remained the same as long as we've been going there (and who knows how long before that).  Tonight, however, I was quite happy to learn that a Cicchetti favorite not found on the current menu (the saltcod fritters) was a seasonal special.  They are truly fantastic.  B informed me that should we need to order more food, the only choice had to be 2 more orders of them!

We also had the homeade beef jerky and the steak frites.  I love beef jerky and wasn't sure what to expect since it's not typically something you see on a restaurant menu, but it was really great.  Thick enough and spiced well, but not overly dry.  The steak frites are our Cicchetti staple and they were awesome as always. 

B had his usual Horse's Neck (bourbon and ginger beer with a lemon twist) to drink and I had a Farewell Summer (vodka, watermelon juice, black pepper and lemon).  I was a little uncertain about the idea of black pepper in my drink, but it really helped to cut the sweetness of the watermelon juice.

For dessert, we ordered the flourless chocolate cake.  It turns out they were out of the cake, but the chef offered us a chocolate tart from Serafina, their sister restaurant with whom they share the property.  It was AMAZING.  The tart crust was lined with chocolate chunks and the filling was an incredibly light and not-too-sweet chocolate mousse.  So good, not to mention beautiful!

What a great way to spend an unseasonably warm Wednesday afternoon! 

Our check also came with an advertisement for Seattle Restaurant Week.  Over 100 Seattle restaurants are offering a 3-course meal for $25 between October 17-28 (excluding Friday and Saturday night).  There are some tough decisions to be made since even the most dedicated food lover can't cover 10 restaurants a day.  I imagine we'll choose a couple new places to try, but with such an extensive and diverse list, it won't be easy!