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Foodie Friday: Brunch and Pickled Rhubarb at Skelly and the Bean

Food & Drink >

A couple Sundays back it was Fathers Day and this proud papa was lucky enough to check out Skelly and the Bean, a spot I have been wanting to check out since reading through their event posts on Brown Paper Tickets.  After a quick tour of the kitchen from Chef Zephyr Paquette, I was able to sit at the bar and soak up the homey, eclectic atmosphere.

While snacking on assorted house made pickled veggies, bread, and butter, I asked the incredibly friendly staff members and regular customers what they recommended. It soon became clear to me that I was going to try the Ham and Eggs. Knowing I was looking forward to a big steak dinner at home I was a little reluctant at first, but let me tell you it was worth every calorie. I cleaned the plate! The plate featured three soft boiled eggs each wrapped lovingly with thinly sliced ham with the perfect amount of slightly chewy crust filled with the lightest fluffiest deviled egg filling I’ve ever tasted. Slightly tangy, the filling offered a perfect counterpoint to the salty ham. A lovely micro green salad in the middle of the plate also got an invitation to the party, giving a crunch and a slightly-bitter-yet-refreshing cleanse to the palate between bites of the delicious eggs (which I frankly attacked with a one-bite method after a quick taste of the filling).

I had cleaned my plate and sat there soaking up the vibe of the now fairly busy restaurant, listening to the light clanking of the kitchen and the cheerful chatter of happy souls sitting together. I was feeling content when out came the Buttered Scotch Pudding. The pudding’s texture was amazingly smooth and well, buttery of course, with a subtle but ever so present scotch flavor (the good stuff).  I almost lost my cool as I tasted and re-tasted, and re-tasted. At the end of the bar a friendly regular that I had been chatting with before said “isn’t that good?” and it took a couple attempts to get the words “so good” to actually come out of my mouth.

Skelly and the Bean is my kind of place. They are all about doing things for the joy of it.  They use the best ingredients and love what they do with seriousness and a smile, two things in my experience that are vital to great food and a successful business.  I look forward to visiting them again for one of the many special “incubator” events that they host, which bring in local chefs to share their space and speak to the lucky patrons that eat there in the best way they can: through their food. Check their schedule for upcoming events or sign up here to get on their mailing list.


Or, if you can’t make it out to Skelly and the Bean, try out this recipe they were kind enough to share with us. They usually serve it with pork chops and a bloody mary, but recommend deep-frying them for an extra decadent rhubarb treat.

Pickled Rhubarb
Ingredients:
2 pounds trimmed rhubarb
2 cups apple cider vinegar

¼ cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon white peppercorn
1 cinnamon stick
1 whole dried pepper of your heat preference
4 whole cloves
4 whole allspice berries

Directions:

Boil vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices until sugar and salt dissolve completely (approximately 5 minutes after coming to a slow boil). Cut rhubarb into batons long enough to fill each jar (approximately 3 inches). Pack Rhubarb into sterilized jars distributing the spices as evenly as possible. Pour pickling brine over fruit, screw on lids, and allow to cool. Refrigerate for six months or more.


Want to check out another pop-up food event in Seattle? Support local P-Patches with Tom Douglas on July 18, celebrate the release of a cookbook with the pop-up diner masters of Skillet on July 22, or sample all the Pike Place Market has to offer on August 17!