Boiling, Simmering, Blended - Nue

Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
Meal: Brunch

Where did Seattle Food Scene want to travel...via our taste buds? At Nue, elbow to elbow, you know the fellow diners who crossed the threshold share a similar yearning to taste both the familiar and unfamiliar, American heartiness and untapped flavor profiles. Taking in the menu, our destination was up in the air. Across the table, we questioned one another, “Do we want to go home?” as we debated the Filipino Tosliog with Tocino and Garlic Fried Rice.

Sitting at the community table, when your neighbor’s steaming plate arrives, trying not to drool and gawk hungrily becomes problematic. In our case, it was a mixed blessing as the couple next to us ordered everything we wanted and promptly ordered, “The same thing they got. All of it.”

Along the wall, an open kitchen allows the cacophony to merge with loud conversations, sometimes broken by a brief pause with something satisfyingly searing in a hot pan. “Is that mine?” We’d wonder. We’ve determined the back corner of the bar seemingly transports its patrons to a street night market. Frame it just right and you can make it look like you traveled to the other side of the world.

To the couple next to us, thank you for inspiring us with your meal. Served in a mini doubled-handed wok, the Israeli Shakshuka highlights tartness of tomatoes as a ragout cut by the creamy yolk from the eggs. In between bites of the Shakshuka, the Dutch Patat Oorlog “War Chips” played with our heat receptors. The spice from the sambal made its presence alarmingly known before being extinguished immediately by the peanut sauce. The South African Sunny Bunny was presented in a box made of bread. Substituting for rice, the bread absorbed the rich, spicy curry. A dish for the carb and curry lover in your life.

Discover a whole Nue world, no passport required.