Homemade homage to Spam rocks at Palace Kitchen

Happy Hour |

Creative chefs have gussied up street fare and comfort food in all sorts of ways. But we can now crown a winner among all the homages to such humble fare.

Behold: a Spam-like edible, made from Berkshire pork at Tom Douglas' Palace Kitchen. It's served three different ways, one of them being grilled with a poached egg over grits, paired with a shot of hot-pepper vodka with sliced pickle. Yeah, it's good.

The clever folks at Palace Kitchen didn't aim to make a better-tasting Spam. Rather, they showed off the culinary wizardry of chef Brian Walczyk, who used premium pork to replicate the mystery luncheon meat.

Regarding which, you will likely fall into one of two camps: "What a waste of good pork"; or, "How did he do that?"

The pork was brined like a ham, cured for three days then ground and cooked like pâté.

Each Spam-like dish ($4) pairs with a spirit. A salty Spam brined pork and Beechers cheese bruschetta that cuts nicely into an almost slushy Rainier beer. The best Spam pairing.

A grilled Spam-like steak is served with a scoop of broken rice with a charred pineapple slice. Looks different, but your palate will recognize the sweetness, saltiness and sourness of this tropical classic, paired with a Mai Tai cocktail.

Better, though, was the grilled offering, coated in warm yolk.

The kitchen staff has been having fun with happy hour lately, concocting some surprising bar grub every week.

Happy hour wasn't a priority before, a mistake that even some folks inside Douglas' mini-empire have acknowledged.

New attitude. New priority now. Every cook here competes to see who makes the best happy-hour sliders, with the results posted on the board.

Palace Kitchen, 2030 Fifth Ave., offers happy hour 4:30-6 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and again 11 p.m.-1 a.m. Thursdays-Sundays. Bar food is $3-$4 and beer and cocktails $3-$5, with weekly happy-hour specials.

The tribute-to-Spam happy hour will run for two weeks (206-448-2001 or tomdouglas.com.)

Tan Vinh: 206-515-5656 or tvinh@seattletimes.com