My husband and I are big public television fans, one of our favorite shows is Check Please. I even completed an application to appear on the show; so far I have not been selected. Recently we saw two shows on Check Please that was the inspiration for dinner Saturday night and a destination for lunch Saturday afternoon.
The destination for lunch Saturday was to Esperpento on 22nd and Valencia,
http://www.esperpentorestaurant.com/. We were drawn to this restaurant because it is in our neighborhood and we didn’t know about it and because the small plates tapas style dinning is very appealing. The restaurant was bright and cheery with the colors of Spain, the wait staff was very friendly and we immediately felt welcomed. We ordered four small plates; Gambas A La Plancha grilled jumbo shrimp, Patatas Aioli homemade garlic mayonnaise, Alcachofas a la plancha thin sliced artichokes grilled with garlic & parsley, and Pollo Al Ajillo garlic chicken. Every dish was so tasty and I would order all of them again. Dishes were perfectly seasoned and the garlic in the chicken dish was not at all 
overpowering, that sauce was awesome! We plan to return to this restaurant with a larger group so we can sample more of the dishes. Can’t wait to share this experience with others, for a couple of hours this past Saturday afternoon I thought I was back in San Sebastian!
The destination for lunch Saturday was to Esperpento on 22nd and Valencia,
http://www.esperpentorestaurant.com/. We were drawn to this restaurant because it is in our neighborhood and we didn’t know about it and because the small plates tapas style dinning is very appealing. The restaurant was bright and cheery with the colors of Spain, the wait staff was very friendly and we immediately felt welcomed. We ordered four small plates; Gambas A La Plancha grilled jumbo shrimp, Patatas Aioli homemade garlic mayonnaise, Alcachofas a la plancha thin sliced artichokes grilled with garlic & parsley, and Pollo Al Ajillo garlic chicken. Every dish was so tasty and I would order all of them again. Dishes were perfectly seasoned and the garlic in the chicken dish was not at all 
overpowering, that sauce was awesome! We plan to return to this restaurant with a larger group so we can sample more of the dishes. Can’t wait to share this experience with others, for a couple of hours this past Saturday afternoon I thought I was back in San Sebastian! After our lunch on Saturday we decided on a light dinner. I went to my favorite grocery store, Bi
-Rite on 18th Street, where I purchased; six scallops, black trumpet mushrooms, chicken and a few other ingredients for meals to come. The inspiration for dinner was a scallop appetizer I saw on an episode of Check Please at a restaurant in San Rafael. The only thing my dish had in common with the dish featured on Check Please was the scallops and the simplicity of the dish. I sautéed the black trumpet mushrooms with white corn then added (already blanched) spring peas and fava beans. I seared the scallops in brown butter a couple of minutes on e
ach side and voila dinner! This meal was so good particularly the black trump mushrooms, as Jacques Pepin would say this meal was “Fast Food My Way”; it really took no time at all to prepare. Charles pared a nice Alsace wine, I am not a fan of white wine but I enjoyed a glass with my meal, it complemented it nicely.
ach side and voila dinner! This meal was so good particularly the black trump mushrooms, as Jacques Pepin would say this meal was “Fast Food My Way”; it really took no time at all to prepare. Charles pared a nice Alsace wine, I am not a fan of white wine but I enjoyed a glass with my meal, it complemented it nicely. We finished the meal with a chocolate from Fran’s Chocolates; I bought a small three piece 
box of dark chocolate with gray sea salt. Fran’s is based in Seattle but you can purchase it at Bi-Rite. I try to buy only a few pieces at a time because this stuff is addictive!
box of dark chocolate with gray sea salt. Fran’s is based in Seattle but you can purchase it at Bi-Rite. I try to buy only a few pieces at a time because this stuff is addictive! Happy cooking and eating!
