Joule

Friday, November 28th, 2008

Joule is a French Korean fusion restaurant owned by Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi of Coupage, a terrific restaurant that went to the restaurant heaven along with several other Seattle eateries this year. I was pretty impressed with Coupage, as weird as it may sound the French Korean fusion really was a winning combo, so when I heard that the same owners started another restaurant with the same theme in Wallingford, we just had to try it.

It is a really small bistro kind of restaurant which had a good crowd, but was not full on a Friday night. Tables were pretty close together, so we could see what everyone was having. First thing I noticed was the whole mackerel which was on pretty much every single table, the most beautifully done mackerel I’ve ever seen this country, so my decision was made then and there. This beautiful whole mackerel was served with smoked tomato puttanesca and daikon salad ($19) and it was the best dish ever! The Mackerel was so fresh and succulent, and the tart puttanesca sauce with the capers and pine nuts spiced this fish up so perfectly, a must try dish if you are a mackerel fan.

Joule 007

For the appetizer, we wanted to get the Crispy Pork Belly, which unfortunately they were out for the night. The Hot Sides section in the menu is mainly vegetarian dishes except for the pork belly and a zucchini pancake with shrimp. So we decided to try the Shitake Lasagna with Caramelized Bleu d’Auvergne (a French blue cheese) ($9). I am not a lasagna fan normally, but this one was a real knock-out lasagna, quite filling though with all those creamy cheesy goodness.

Joule 001

Siv’s entrée was the Short Rib Pot au feu with gremolata in a sweet soy broth ($20). The ribs were braised fork tender and the vegetables and the broth were well spiced, Siv got a side of rice with chili soy sauce to go with this.

Joule 013

We loved all the three dishes we got and there are many more to try. I just hope this one stays open for a while!

www.joulerestaurant.com

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Comments

6 Responses to “Joule”

Raaga says:

November 29, 2008 at 3:32 am

I love that lasagna

Reply
Asha says:

November 29, 2008 at 3:50 am

Hey Sig!!

I know u won’t be back for a week, but I thought of asking this anyway. Do you have a recipe for lasagna? The kind that can be easily made in a MW grill oven (the only kind I have! )?

Thanx
Asha

Reply
- sig says:
  
  December 1, 2008 at 5:43 pm
  
  Hey Asha, sorry I don’t have a good lasgna recipe… I am not a big fan of traditional lasagna, so never tried it at home!
  
  Reply
Nags says:

November 29, 2008 at 7:59 am

The mackerel is calling out to the mallu in me

Reply
Naina says:

November 29, 2008 at 6:36 pm

This place has been on our list from the time we got here. I definitely want to try that Mackerel. We tried Tidbit bistro after checking out your review…loved it. Your reviews have been helpful to Seattle newbies like us. Thanks!

Reply
Dan Gray says:

April 19, 2009 at 9:10 pm

Dear Sig,

My name is Dan and I’m a foodie from Seoul, South Korea. I love your blog. When I go to Seattle, I’ll be sure to stop by Joule. I just wanted to let you know that Rachel Yang will be visiting Seoul to be the special guest at a rice cake fair.

Thanks!

Dan

7th Seoul International ‘Tteok’ Fair

The 7th Seoul International ‘Tteok’ Fair, held on May 8th and 9th, will be a celebration of this time-honored Korean delicacy. Tteok or Korean rice has significant importance in Korean culture. The rice cake is eaten on the wintry, New Year’s Day to signify luck, purity, and another year of life. It is decorated with flowers to welcome spring. To battle the summer heat, rice cake pearls swim in honeyed water with pine nuts. In fall, red bean tteok is eaten to ward off bad luck.

This year’s fair will have seminars, exhibitions, and activities for all ages. This year will truly be an international competition because it will have the first international rice cake competition. This competition will be open to non-Korean nationals and the first place contestant will win 2 million won (1,800 dollars). This competition will be on May 8th at 3pm. There will be competitions for Koreans as well on both days.

The special guest for the event is Chef Rachel Yang. Her Seattle restaurant Joule (www.joulerestaurant.com) was recently featured in the Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123639056889058949.html). Her dish, Dorade with Almond Piccata, was picked by Food and Wine as one of the best dishes of 2008. (http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/best-restaurant-dishes-of-2008)
Her restaurant Joule has won awards and accolades from many publications in Seattle including the Seattle Times, Seattle Post and the Seattle Magazine. Chef Rachel Yang was also a semi-finalist for the 2009 James Beard award.

This graduate of Brown University has worked at the prestigious Alain Ducasse restaurant in New York and she has also had the good fortune to work with Chefs Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller. This French-trained chef will be giving cooking demonstrations of her Korean inspired dishes on both days of the fair.

Doors open at 10am and the event will be held at the aT Center in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, South Korea. Please visit http://www.kfr.or.kr for more information.
Contact Soo Hyang Choi at soochoi@paran.com or call at 02.741.5477 / 010.4272.1900 to ask questions and to make reservations for the rice cake making classes.

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