Cold, rainy barbecue

Not known for its barbecue, Washington nonetheless strives to dish up some of that sort of goodness. Word has it some really great specimens used to be on offer underneath the 520 overpass on Northup Way in Bellevue. Dixie's Barbecue was the lovechild of a gent — Gene Porter — from Mississippi who named his hotter-than-hell sauce "The Man," and those who survived a tiny taste of The Man were given a bumper sticker to that effect.

Alas, 2010 saw his demise, and neither The Man or the man are around anymore. (Apparently you CAN take it with you.)

The joint perseveres nonetheless, and though I can't say the BBQ sauce is not too predominant and sweet, and the brisket a little on the tough side, it's nonetheless a pleasure to darken the door, order lunch, and feel the awesome past and better days of the place. The images below will show you why, when you go to Dixie's, you feel a million miles from Washington State, the Eastside, and its shadow of a software giant.

File under: Go at least once, miracles can't last forever, and have fun.

Iron Chef Butter Chicken

Ah, family dinner. When you all sit around the table and talk about high-minded cultural phenomena. Like Iron Chef. What?!

It has become something of a practice that when I cook — I am not the primary cook at home for a host of reasons including my propensity for shortcuts and lack of follow-through  (LOFT)— somehow Iron Chef ratings break out.

Last night I made a somewhat tame version of Butter Chicken. I take that back: Indian Butter Chicken is in itself somewhat tame. I made Butter Chicken.

It was fun to learn how many tomatoes go into the dish, and that the secret behind its richness is cashew butter (the butter butter is obvious, and it's there, too).

Thanks to the LOFT I mentioned, Richard made the rice and zucchini. They were heavenly!

Before we break down the scoring, here's a new rule that we implemented: No-one gets to rate his/her own dish. So, the total possible points for each of the three elements was 20 points (there being 3 of us at the table last night). I think in the future we will refine this game to be more authentic — 5 points each for presentation, taste, and creativity, rather than a flat 10 possible points for the dish.

My chicken got a respectable 17/20. Had there been a tangier element somewhere it might have soared even higher in the ratings.

Richard's rice drew in 19/20 points: it WAS really nice rice with shallot and saffron, nice separate grains.
But, oh, the zucchini. What happened there? 8?

The zucchini itself was young, fresh, summer zucchini and was cooked perfectly, a quick seasoned sautée in the pan, with a nice chiffonade of scallion and a quick rasp of parmesan on top. So what happened?

A 10-year-old was at the table. Zucchini is still a hard sell. He gave it a 2, even though he is known to be naturally veg-leaning. I am complicit in the low score as well, giving it a 6/10. Why? I am not sure! Maybe it's because, though I "love" zucchini and yellow summer squash cooked this way, it is still a squash and — forgive me — I have not yet fully cozied up to the category.

I live in a dream world where a 10 for zucchini makes it truly memorable and transporting...