Review: .twist.

Last Tuesday, my friends and I gathered for our book club at .twist. Restaurant & Lounge. This was a great venue. I’d been here previously, but this was my first visit after they’d made some changes to the menu and to how everything was set up.

I decided it would be a great choice for my blog as the happy hour here is one of the better spots in Belltown with great food deals and good drink options. $3 house red or white and $2.50 Full Sail rotator? Yes, please! Also on happy hour are some great cocktails like the Pearl plum lemonade! They’ve got a few other Pearl vodka drinks on special as well as a few Belevedere drinks between $4-6! There are also some Don Julio and Hornitos cocktails – something for everyone!

I’d forgotten my camera that morning, but luckily Carmen always has hers on hand. So much thanks to her for taking the pictures! Also if any of you ladies have any comments on the dishes you had, please leave a comment! 🙂

We started out with an order of the deviled eggs and truffle fries to share. The truffle fries and deviled eggs were so tasty, we’d almost finished them both off before I’d remembered we needed a picture! The remainders of both are pictured below.

These were the best deviled eggs I’ve ever had! Even if you’re not a big fan of regular deviled eggs, you might enjoy these avocado filled eggs topped with creme fraiche, serrano chillies, and cumin sea salt!

I’d had fries from .twist. and Ventana before, which are good. The truffle fries are the same fries but topped with black truffle oil and truffle salt. These were incredible!

Christine had the balsamic and pepper glazed Carlton Farms pork spare ribs with pickled green strawberries, arugula, and cocoa nibs. This is a dish that’s also on the Ventana menu. The meat just falls right off the bone and melts in your mouth. The glaze is a great combination of sweet and savory. Christine wasn’t crazy about the pickled green strawberries, but I thought they were good. Mike also thought they were a little weird when we’d tried the dish at Ventana.

Jenny went with the fried pork tenderloin sandwich. She was quite pleased with her choice! I had a taste of the bacon on the sandwich, and it was mmm, mmm, good with an incredible rich, porky flavor! It was topped with pepper jack cheese and foie gras mustard. As with most of their sandwiches, it was accompanied with a side of rosemary fries.

Shannon went with the cobb salad. She said it was good as well. Just look at that crispy fried prosciutto!

Carmen had the Belltown burger, always a great choice also offered at Ventana. How can you go wrong with a smoked cheddar and bacon burger stuffed with a piquillo pepper and topped with a humboldt fog goat cheese vinaigrette?? The answer is you can’t!

Silvie chose the truffle grilled cheese sandwich with a side of soup. I was really close to ordering this as well! I think I will on my next visit. She really enjoyed it. The soup of the day was cream of asparagus, which Silvie said was quite good!

I went with the braised Painted Hills beef short rib slider topped with peppered bacon, arugula, and goat cheese vinaigrette. The flavors of the dish were awesome. However, the short ribs were overdone, so they were dry and burnt tasting on the outside. This totally detracted from the dish; I likely wouldn’t order it again.

Iris had the duck corn dog, a variation on the ventana haute dog. The first order that came out was cold on the inside. She told the server though, and they took care of things. The re-ordered corn dog was solid. Iris seemed quite satisfied!

All in all, a great happy hour spot in Belltown and a good venue for our book club. Next time I go back, I think I’m going to try the Lobster Mac n’ Cheese made with orecchiette pasta, smoked cheddar cheese, and truffle salt or the Steak n’ Egg, which comes with baked fingerling potatoes, a fried quail egg, carrots, and a horseradish demi glace. I saw someone order the Steak n’ Egg at Ventana; it looked fantastic. I love me some quail eggs!

Happy hour at .twist. runs Sunday to Thursday 4-12, Friday and Saturday 4-8. You can’t really beat those hours, especially in Belltown! Check .twist. out on Facebook and twitter.