Seattle: Brunch at The London Plane

**** The London Plane has closed

I don't sleep in much. Remember what they say about needing less sleep as you get older? I'm not sure I buy into that, but I usually wake at 5am on work days and by 6:30 or so on weekends. But there's something about the weather and coziness of Seattle that just makes you want to sleep in. Or perhaps it was that wonderful dinner and the rather long walk we had the night before. Regardless, by the time I threw back the curtains on our hotel room, it looked like a glorious day.

Our flight wasn't leaving until 5pm, so I had arranged for a late check-out. We'd just loaf around until then. But first, we needed sustenance.

We'd passed by The London Plane, a wine bar, cum bakery, cum specialty food shop, cum cafe the day before. I'd heard of the place, so we stopped in and looked at the brunch menu. The menu looked interesting, so we decided on yet another Matt Dillon shop for Saturday brunch.

Though the rest of the "in transition" Pioneer Square area looked pretty empty, the London Plane was almost half full.

Much like The Walrus and the Carpenter we just got some really nice seats....upstairs...overlooking the open kitchen.

Our Server told us, "I think you got the best seats in the house...." And I don't doubt him. I love watching the timing and coordination of the different stations. An open kitchen means you've got to work really clean....which this place totally did.

Wanna make a food blogger's day? Give them seats at the counter or open kitchen.

We started with the Smashed Avocado and local Albacore Toast ($12).

I believe the albacore was oil poached...still, it was rather dry, and a bit "fishy" to my tastebuds. Guacamole on toast....why didn't I think of that before? I actually enjoyed the avocado - olive oil...the sourdough, which I think is one of the shop's hallmarks is very good and the red pepper...well, not flakes, but crumbs brought a nice mild smoky, pungent, heat to the whole deal.

Take a look at some of my coolking posts over the last couple of years and you'll notice how various vegetables have started to really take up a bigger part in our diet. So there's no wonder that the Missus decided She wanted brunch here after seeing different assortments of vegetables available for brunch.

By far, my favorite were the Roasted Baby Carrots and Red Emporer Onions with pistachios and mint (far left). I really enjoyed the levels of savory sweetness....it never went too far, the light touch of mint really added a nice touch. The Missus loved the roasted delicata squash (duh...) and kale (double duh...) with tahini and pumpkin seed. Nice balance here as folks tend to be rather heavy handed with tahini.

The raw beet, apple, fennel, and celery slaw with walnuts was definitely no shrinking violet, but was a bit too tart for my taste.

One bad thing about having several enjoyable dishes is that as the meal goes on, the higher the expectations. Since I make gravlax at home, the Missus expected the lox in the Salmon lox, potato, pickled peppers, and creme fraiche was going to be something sublime. I guess simply being "lox" was not good enough......

Of course the Missus loved the romanesco........but was less than impressed with the rest of it. Deconstructed; the potato is the "bagel", the pickled peppers the red onion and capers, and the creme fraiche....well, creme fraiche. I would love a bit more dill and something more herbaceous to set this off. Not a bad dish by any means....but while carried out well, quite mundane.

As we left, the dining room was packed, and the shop quite busy. We'd enjoyed our meal here and the service(and the coffee) was quite good as well.

The London Plane
300 Occidental Ave S
Seattle, WA 98104

This was a bit more than we'd usually have for breakfast....which left us ready to roll back in bed. Having a late check-out, that's exactly what we did. After all of the walking the last two days, the extra rest was welcomed.

After our nap, we walked around a bit, then checked-out and headed off to SeaTac. Man, the light rail makes everything so easy.

We managed to grab a beer at the airport since we got there early.

And even a grilled cheese and some cheese curds from Beecher's near Concourse C.

Like I learned in Madison; those cheese curds will hold you for a good long time......they were really good; garlic and herb flavor. We didn't get to the grilled cheese until getting home!

Anyway, we had a blast in Seattle; it remains one of my favorite cities. And we surely won't wait another 7 years to return!
 

Comments

[Cathy]

Everything you had here looks so good. I smashed an avocado onto toast this morning (with some olive oil) and it went so well with eggs. What a nice choice at the airport.

[Kirk]

Hi Cathy - It had me wondering why I hadn't tried that before. We enjoyed our cheese curds.....man does it fill you up!

[kat]

nice! will have to try smashed avo on toast sounds so good!

[Kirk]

Hi Kat - That was pretty good...simple, but quite good.