378601 Wed Mar 07 16:55:27 -0800 2007 0 4 Pacific Northwest 0 2363572 Dahlia Lounge had a yellow-foot chanterelle soup on Monday as their daily soup selection. This -- like most things on Dahlia Lounge's menu -- was a non challenging but quite delicious decoction, thick with whole yellow-foot chanterelles. These are a small, delicately flavored chanterelle that reminds me most of black trumpets (black chanterelles). Unlike almost every wild-mushroom soup I've had out, this soup was not heavily salted. The soup had a crouton on top and a dollop of garlicky pesto. The whole thing, in fact, was pleasantly redolent of garlic. After the soup I ate the salad of baby beets, orange slices, Marcona almonds, chevre, mint, and two lettuces. A fine salad, with all six taste sensations: sweet from the beets, sour from the oranges, umami from the cheese and the almonds, bitter from the greens, salty from the dressing, and piquant from generous black pepper. The bitter-mint-sour mix reminded me of good Roman salads. Incidentally, the Goose Ridge red that I ordered came at room temperature -- which today was about 75 deg F. Nothing that a single cube of ice from my water glass couldn't fix. (Every glass of red wine I've had recently in Seattle was pretty warm. Does anyone know if that's just because the weather has been warm, or is there a fashion for warm zinfandel and sangiovese?) Also, my server chose, each time she brought me something, to point out that salt and pepper were in shakers on my table. The third time was a charm: - And your salt and pepper are there on the table to your right. - Yes, we've become acquainted. - Well, there there if you want any. - Indeed. I feel well supplied with seasonings, and pretty knowledgeable about their current whereabouts. Dahlia Lounge, 2001 4th Av, Seattle Wed Mar 07 16:55:27 -0800 2007 23530 David Sloo