Dinner at Cortina

After chilling at Frolik, one of Seattle's rooftop patios, we walked two blocks to Ethan Stowell's new spot, Cortina. Italian fare and craft cocktails are the name of the game here. We took a seat at the long bar and chose two items to share and a drink to start.

We decided on the Tomato Heirloom Salad and the Pommes Frites with a Parmesan Aioli. My husband selected a cocktail called a Millions Of Peaches. It had rye, grapefruit, peach liquor, and peychauds bitters. I wanted a fun drink so I got a Blackberry Boozy Italian Soda. It had Vodka, lemon, soda, and cream along with the blackberry flavoring. Both drinks were very refreshing and went down smooth with our salad and fries.

The salad had peaches, tomatoes, basil, ricotta cheese, and balsamic. It was fresh and in season and the flavors reflected that. The fries were perfectly crispy and tasted even better dipped in the aioli. My husband was interested in the cocktail menu so he talked me into sharing another one. He chose the Van Gogh drink. It had rum, lime, iris liqueur, and sugar. The cocktail reminded me of a Sidecar and was presented nice with a little flower as a garnish.

Then after we paid and were getting ready to go, he saw on the menu they were selling Pearl Jam wine by the glass. Pearl Jam was in Seattle last week performing two concerts called The Home Shows. All of the money raised went to a fund to help the homeless in Seattle. They raised over $12 million and it was a very big deal for our city. Pearl Jam is my husband's favorite band so he couldn't resist getting a glass of the wine to share with me. It turned out they had one glass left so it worked out nice. The red wine was a cabernet and made locally in Washington with all proceeds supporting the fund.

I liked the look and feel of Cortina with the long wooden bar and other wooden features. For a pop of color, the light fixture towards the back was nice. Just like all Ethan Stowell Restaurants, the service and quality of the food and drinks were top notch.