02/03/2025
Fifty-five years ago on this date, ( Alvar Aalto’s birthday), I was the day chef at a very popular Pioneer Square restaurant on Occidental Square, Das Gasthaus. I had only been in Seattle for two months and had not the slightest notion what the weather might be.
It started to snow as we were prepping for lunch and then it got very serious about snowing. The lunch was over-packed, and people stood outside with umbrellas. Each table was served a fresh baked small loaf of bread, fresh fruit and butter, on a wooden tablet - the prep people were in overdrive. I made extra rice and chopped everything I had. The lunch was quite wonderful and festive and went on past 2:00 - a lovely, deep snow.
Owner Marvin called from an auto shop in Ballard to say he could not budge, the roads were grid locked and I would have to do dinner. I had never seen dinner at the restaurant, he said, just make something that looks like the menu.
Sure enough, by 4:30 people were coming for dinner and filled us again and stood outside again. I told Tina, the only remaining waitress, we will do steaks and we will do pasta and we will serve the bread and that is the menu. Everyone had a good time, we lost a little money on the supplies ( I used the crabmeat and the New Yorks), but it was the center of this town, this Pioneer Square. Ten days later, the temperature went to 70 degrees, we pulled the tables outside for lunch.
