Esquire’s 10 Favorite Sandwiches – One by Chef Kevin Davis

Those of us at the front counter at The Steelhead Diner several days ago, ordered rich boy sandwiches for lunch. The regulars and first-timers all ordered the same thing — the rich boy — a flavorsome advancement on the po’boy, and word is getting around.

Esquire for March 2008 illustrates Chef Kevin Davis’ rich boy sandwich by ingredient and method, plus his hot sauce aioli.

“Traditional po’boy bread has a light, crispy crust and an airy center,” he reveals. “Also, when you order a po’boy in Louisiana, you’ll be asked what you want on it, and the common answer is ‘dressed’ – with mayo, pickle, tomatoes, and lettuce. I spice up the mayonnaise with another Louisiana specialty, Crystal hot sauce. It’s relatively mild and lets you add enough to get that vinegar zip without making it too hot.”

Oh, my goodness. That’s so good! When the cruise season starts, we might have to get their early.

James Beard Foundation Awards: Chef Kevin Davis

Imagine the prestigious James Beard Foundation giving an award to a down-to-earth place with fish and chips and hamburger on the menu! Yet there is Kevin Davis, Steelhead Diner, Seattle, WA among the Restaurant and Chef semifinalists for the 2008 James Beard Foundation Awards, the nation’s most prestigious honors for culinary professionals.

RECOMMENDED READING:

• James Beard’s American Cookery (1972), p. 3: “When I was very young I knew ranch food and other Western-style cooking.”
• James Beard’s Fish Cookery (1954), p. 8: “I was brought up in the Pacific Northwest, a region that is remarkable in its range of both salt- and fresh-water fish. “

Hooray for The Steelhead Diner, 1st Anniversary …

… from a regular steelheader.

On February 1, 2007, The Steelhead Diner opened for business. Looking back onver year #1, I can tell you  this wonderful food is indescribably good to eat. Jumbo lump Dungeness crab cake, Brutus (not Caesar) salad, Rich-boy (not po’ boy) sandwich, public market fish and pastas and vegies, cavier pie, and gumbos all cooked with love.

The local radio and press in Seattle, plus the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Sunset Magazine, Gourmet, Esquire and Cooking Light have given high marks to The Steelhead Diner. I eat lunch there every day – really every day.

Fourth of July 2007 at The Steelhead Diner

Starting with a breathtaking Bloody Mary recipe from New Orleans, revised with pepper vodka from Oregon, accompanied with another traditional food for the Fourth — a plate of corn on the cob, not barbecued but pan fried with ancient, secret Cajun spices. Next came hot platters of sandwiches chicken and pork lightly toasted baguette that was dripping with juices onto French fried potatoes cut very large, served very hot.

Independence Day at The Steelhead Diner, now open for 6 months, is as exhilarating as the rockets’ red glare.

 

Brutus Salad vs. Caeser Salad

Since the first of February 2007 opening of The Steelhead Diner at the world-famous Pike Place Market (Seattle, WA), I have eaten at the counter, in a booth near the collection of hand-tied flies, and the corner window table lots of times each week.

TIP: if you are sitting at the counter and Chef Davis suggests something for right now, trust him to make you happy. However, ordering the Brutus Salad is a good place to start.

The local food critics like The Steelhead Diner: “Chef/owner Kevin Davis uses Market-fresh products (Uli’s sausage in his glorious gumbo, Beecher’s cheese on his Wagyu burger, Chukar Cherries saucing wild salmon). Kicky cocktails and dreamy desserts help make this a Market destination,” Nancy Leson Seattle Times.