#local 360

Name : Local 360

Location : Seattle, WA

True life: I haven't done a double-digit run since the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon in December 2011!

Until today, yo.

I branched out from my usual loop around Green Lake and did a... slightly bigger loop around Green Lake.

I liked the change of scenery — it was particularly fun to run around my alma mater, the University of Washington — but I didn't like having to cross so many streets, watch for cars, wait at stoplights, etc.

Green Lake has made me soft. I'll just have to get used to it again; my runs just get longer and longer when marathon training starts, and I'm definitely not going to run in 2.8-mile circles for 20 miles.

I ran 10.5 miles today rather than 10, since I cut a half-mile from Monday's run to make sure I got home in time for the TV crack that is The Bachelor.

I sipped Nuun throughout the run and ate a chocolate Clif Shot at mile 5.5. I felt great except during mile 8, when I shuffle-ran up Ravenna — a big bitch of a hill.

Sometimes my stomach feels off after long runs, but today I had nooooo trouble plowing through a banana, my leftovers from dinner last night, and a bunch of chips and salsa. Yum yum yum.

Let's talk about dinner last night. Aaron and I went to Local 360, a lovely restaurant in Belltown that sources most of its ingredients within 360 miles of Seattle. Aaron's mom gave us a gift card (thank you, Greta!!), so we went a little cray last night (most of the damage was documented on Instagram).

The highlight for me was my entree: beef shortrib with roasted potatoes and yellow and purple carrots, all smothered in béarnaise sauce.

The shortrib was a little too rare for my liking (I was kind of scared), but all the flavors were awesome. I saved half of it and microwaved the crap out of it post-run and it was amaaaaaazing.

Local 360

Local 360 has become one of my favorite places to dine in Seattle. I recently took a food politics class and we discussed local food to a great extent so I was extremely excited to try this place. Their mission statement:

We believe in real food, grown and harvested by the good folks in our community who take care of their land for future generations. We believe in whole, natural flavors. We believe in sustainability, not as an abstract concept, but as a conscious daily choice. We believe in hands; the hands of our local farmers, products made by hand, and the goodwill fostered by such hand-in-hand relationships.

The first time I went there was for happy hour and it was from 3-6pm and then 10 - close every night. My friend and I shared a dozen oysters, pulled pork sandwich with slaw, and the rabbit country style paté. We also go to try a PB&J Bon Bon and they were so rich and creamy that I would need 2 glasses of milk to wash them down. My mouth salivates just thinking about how delicious the food was. 

  The second time was for Dine Around Seattle. Our first course was the beet salad (with feta, walnets, orange & Banyuls Vinaigrette) and the crispy pig ears (with bleu cheese, hazelnuts, parsley, and ranch). The beets were on a bed of arugula and it felt like it had a great, simple flavor palate. The crispy pig ears tasted like pretentious pork rinds and I loved every bite. The second course we had the Butcher's grind house burger (with added cheese and bacon... duh) and the rabbit and mushroom pasta. The burger was named Seattle Magazine's Best All-American Burger and rightly so. The pasta was delicious and the sauce was nice because they used the rabbit to make a roue for the pasta. Finally, for dessert we had the bread pudding and the dulce de leche ice cream. The bread pudding had a thicker and more pound-cake like texture, but paired with the ice cream, we could careless.

104/365 - 03.25.2012 - ‘Brunch At The Local 360’ Photo: Zachary Brown - 2012 - iPhone 4 w/ FX Photo Studio, Pixlromatic, & Cross Process