Teatro ZinZanni – ICALIENTI! – Seattle, WA

After hearing about this place from a friend and checking it out on the web we decided to make reservations to see the show and have dinner. Again this is not somewhere you go every weekend. A bit pricey. You can figure you will spend around $300.00 for two.

Teatro’s is right across from McCaw Hall on Mercer. Parking is easy as there is a parking garage right next door. Teatro is part circus, part dinner show. It takes place in an antique Belgian spiegeltent or mirror tent. The show and action is all around you. The meal is a five course dinner. Ticket pricing includes the meal. Drinks, extra appetizers and tip are additional.

When you walk into the lobby you get the feel of a circus or Mardi Gras. There is a large bar to satisfy your needs while you wait to be seated. There is also a boutique or gift shop. Seating is around the perimeter and in the center of the tent. The perimeter seating is in a booth and they cram 8 people into each booth. Center seating is table seating with just as many people. The waiters and waitresses are a big part of the show.

ICALIENTI ! was very entertaining and the entertainers were excellent actors, circus performers and singers. The five course meal was Good.

The appetizer was Oaxaca Polenta, Oaxaca & handmade chorizo polenta cakes with roasted red peppers & sun dried tomato tapenade, jalapeno stuffed Calamata olives, garlic almonds and Manchego cheese, my wife and most of the others at the table did not care for it. We also order some cheese bread as an appetizer. I thought it was OK.

The soup was Creamy Cremini Mushroom & Bronzed Nopales eith cilantro crème fraiche, which I thought was very good.

The salad was a Watercress, Jicama & Tomato Salad with avocado, arugula and toasted pumpkin seeds, dressed with sweet honey-lime vinaigrette, also very good.

The main entrée followed and you had your choice of Guajillo Tenderloin, Northwest Prime hand-cut beef from Double R Ranch topped with a rich & spicy Guajillo chile demi-glace served with gorgonzola & green chile potatoes au gratin and seasonal vegetables ~or~ Wild King Salmon, Wild-caught King Salmon with a chipotle chile & lime butter served with mild cilantro - Pascilla pepper green rice and seasonal vegtetabless ~or~ Handmade Stuffed Masa Cakes, Goat cheese, fresh herbs, hazelnuts and chick peas baked inside our handmade corn cakes, served with our savory Spanish mushrooms, mild pascilla-cilantro rice and sauteed red chard.

We chose the tenderloin, it was very good. For dessert we had Brazo di Gitano, Raspberry-white chocolate mousse filled almond cake roulade with balsamic macerated raspberries and white chocolate.

 

Throughout the meal the wife and I share what they called the Wine Flight, which consisted of a new wine sampling (2.5oz. split two ways) for every course of the meal. The show was intertwined with the five course meal and the entertainers incorporated members of the audience into the show.

All in all I thought the adventure rated 8 out of 10. With the food being 7 out of 10 and the entertainment being10 out of 10. I would love to go back and see a new show.. I just need to wait until the wallet fills back up from the money tree.