It’s happened before - Amy can hold a grudge... really well... So when she had a TERRIBLE dining experience at BOKA Kitchen & Bar at Hotel 1000 in Seattle, she decided right then and there she was “done with that place.”
One fateful Friday, long LONG story short, Amy went to BOKA and had, what she believes was the most horrible dining experience ever. She was so “livid pi$$ed” that she left without leaving a tip - something that is against her moral code. So disturbed by the whole experience, she took it upon herself to write a letter to BOKA so someone would know how bad the experience was, and so she could explain why it was she did not leave a tip - that whole moral code thing was really haunting her.
It took a little while, but she got a letter back from BOKA - they apologized for the terrible experience, explained that this was not the norm, and basically begged her to give them one more chance. In addition, they sent her a gift certificate.
Take a moment to think of a denomination that would be appropriate to receive. $25? A free entree coupon? $50?
Now, either Amy is an exceptional letter writer or BOKA is exceedingly generous (or a little of both) because BOKA presented Amy with a gift certificate, to be used all at once and within one calendar year, for one hundred fifty dollars.
Skeptics claimed that we could not possibly use the entire gift certificate in one sitting. We wouldn’t be interested in a fine bottle of wine, and the prices at BOKA are fairly reasonable, so how could we possibly spend it all at once? Let us tell you...
When dining on a “free money” budget, we found the feeling similar to that which we assume is the life of a king and queen. Ever wanted to try so many things on the menu that you could hardly decide which two to try? How about just trying all of them?
(please note: we did not have our camera with us during dinner, so these pictures were taken on Amy’s Palm Centro... which means they look crappy)
Before checking out the drink menu, we were presented with the specials sheet. The chef was featuring two small plates including a fresh beet salad and grilled donut peach dish. So in honor of our love of beets and Amy’s affection for donut peaches (and for Lynn who would have loved to try them too) we tried both.
First, the Beet Salad: Delicate baby beets, cooked then chilled to perfection over a smattering of beet puree paired with goat cheese and orange segments. (Amy believes there was a basil garnish, however she couldn’t be sure as Anthony had accidentally eaten the whole garnish before she had a chance...) Delectable.
Second, the Grilled Donut Peach: To our surprise, we had a trio of donut peaches, each pitted then grilled to the perfect temperature and texture, stuffed with baby lettuce leaves that had been dredged in dressing with a creaminess that allowed cilantro flakes to adhere to the leaves like green confetti.
As we sampled these dishes, we surveyed the drink menu.
Anthony chose one of his standby drinks - the Mojito - but this time a new flavor in his repertoire, coconut. We found the flavor of this drink to be pleasantly sweet, while cool and refreshing - just as a mojito should be.
Amy had selected the Watermelon Sorbet Martini. While a bit strong for some, this drink had a pleasant tang and punch to it which was made heavenly once Amy broke up her sorbet scoop and blended the drink together. Mmm, so fresh and so tasty! Apparently she had sampled the last watermelon sorbet scoop of the night - yessss!
On to the next dish... time for some Ahi Tuna Poke! Not traditionally one of Amy’s favorites, but something Anthony just had to try - and why not!?
Excellent choice! This poke was delectable. Delicate, melt in your mouth Ahi over a bed of avocado, all brought together with the heat of a sriracha mayonnaise and served with crispy thin house made taro chips. A perfect balance.
Now onto one of Papa Raymond’s BOKA favorites - the Muscles and Frites!
Muscles in a smoky tomato broth with a side of truffle fries. What’s not to like? This muscles were some of the biggest we’d ever seen... well, as far as the shellfish variety are concerned...
Now onto something Amy’s really been wanting to try, but just hasn’t had the chance. Stuffed Crispy Zucchini Blossoms...
Now to anyone who hasn’t heard of them and/or hasn’t tried them before - give them a shot. Not only had Amy been eager to try this dish, but she’s been on a goat cheese kick and was stoked to find that these blossoms were stuffed with that very ingredient! The picture does not do this dish justice, and the greens that were served with the dish were not enjoyed by either of us. That being said, this delicate sounding dish was quite rich and so full of flavor and wonderful texture. With almost every bite she took, Amy couldn’t help but say, “Mmmm!” So good!
Guess what time it is? Time for another drink!
Anthony gave the Smoky Martini a try. This was the driest drink on the list, but a martini finished with a splash of scotch sounded too crazy not to try. Unfortunately, while the initial flavor was pleasant and smooth, the final kick left us with the skeeves. Hey, you can’t like EVERYTHING you try, right? That’s why there are 31 flavors of ice cream... Thankfully we had a wonderful server that evening, Samuel, who was happy to bring us a replacement drink.
It sounds pretty girly, but Anthony just had to give it a try - to replace his martini he ordered the Mango Cosmo. This cosmo included muddled cilantro and had a unique yet pleasant flavor. The mojito was the winning drink between the two, but the cosmo was a worthy choice nonetheless.
Amy needed a little more time to finish her first drink and select her next one. Not only were they out of watermelon sorbet, but she just had to try something different. After further examination of the specialty cocktails she selected the Southwest Tea.
Amy is not a huge iced tea fan, but on a recent lunch with our friend, Sommer, she tried a Jeremiah Weed Sweet Tea, and found it to be quite enjoyable... so why not give the Southwest Tea a try? This tea had an unmistakable bite to it, but was quite delicious. As with Anthony’s drink choices, Amy’s first choice was still her favorite.
As we polished off the muscles and blossoms, we started to hit a wall. We’d had a lot to eat in a short amount of time - and as fun as the evening was, we don’t normally eat that much at once. Typically we share a salad and an entree, so this was really living it up for us. And with some of the foods being so rich, we took a break to just enjoy our drinks for a bit.
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| Oops... someone had started to eat this before the photo could be taken... so here is most of it... |
We decided to give the Wedge Salad a try. While we’d already had a beet salad, and this wedge came with beets, Anthony is in love with wedge salads - something Amy has never made at home, so as with everything else we’d ordered so far... why not? The wedge was petite, but scrumptious - just what Anthony needed to satisfy his craving.
We also ordered a side of Creamy Corn with Leeks, not knowing that the scallop entree we’d selected came served over a bed of the same side - oh well. We ended up taking our side of corn home, but as you can't see here (because we took the photo too late) it looked pretty good in the little baking dish...
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| "Can we get the corn to go please?" |
And lastly, our 13th item, the star of the meal - Diver Sea Scallops... oops! We were so excited that we forgot to take a photo until after we had eaten it all!!! It must have been good!!
This dish is served with a bacon vinaigrette, which we omitted, but as we can attest was certainly not needed. The scallops were cooked to perfection - but browned on only one side... Gordon Ramsay would not approve. Despite how full we were, the scallops were worth the pain.
Samuel was impressed that we took down every dish we ordered, with the exception of the side of corn, and stated that if we had elected to go for dessert, something was definitely wrong with us.
We leave you with some final thoughts: To Samuel - thank you for a wonderful evening. To BOKA - thanks for setting things right. To everyone else - Amy has officially let this grudge go; who says a person can’t change?
