the owner of Toulouse Petit is a complete jerk. just go to Yelp and see how he badgers anyone who criticizes anything negative they have to say. i only choose to give people my money to people who actually appreciate their clients. Toulouse Petit does not.

Why the fuck would a restaurant with an "aggressively intricate" interior have a "never-ending parade of alterna-rock" as their soundtrack..? That part of the review really came as a shock to me.. Also, why do they insist on misspelling "Kurobota" on their menu??

I think I'll have to try those beignets some day, though, as well as the eggs with smoked trout and chives..

The beignets at Toulouse are gooey and undercooked in the middle and taste of old fryer oil, if you want your life changed by beignets go to Lola. Otherwise completely agree with the review. Repeat visits have shown inconsistency in the quality of their dishes, but when they do it right it's amazing.

Also - the interior is beautiful (the tables!) but marred by the awful swamp vomit wall treatment. Like the menu they went a bit too far and can't quite reach perfection, they need to scale down their entire vision a bit. Please. Change. The. Music.

@3 - When did they start having beignets at Lola? That's awesome!

Went once, got undercooked beignets, and then waited 50 minutes for our breakfast entrees which were mediocre at best. Will never return.

@11, yes, I was copying the misspelling. That's why I put it in quotes and bolded the wrong o. Admittedly it didn't really make sense to say that they misspelled the misspelling, though... (Trying saying kurobota as a Japanese word without cringing, though - isn't it tough?)

--> *Try saying

Wow. I just looked at the Yelp reviews for this place. The owner (manager?) Brian truly is a dick. Whenever anyone raises the slightest niggle they had about their experience he jumps on them and insults them. There was even one poster who mentioned the conflict between what she thought was a nice place, and her dislike of how the owner had treated other reviewers. He responded a day later by sarcastically insulting her! I mean, if he gets defensive and a bit rude when people have a bad experience at his restaurant, ok, at least it kind of makes sense even if it's unnecessary and ugly. But to do the same when the subject is actually your own rudeness? Not OK at all.

This guy's Yelp comments are really going to end up killing his business, surely.

Before assuming that the owner has earned this reputation for being a dick, go read the Yelp reviews in chronological order. He responds to reasonable criticisms in a reasonable way, apologizing where necessary and giving details of how he will address real problems. In the later cases, where the sarcasm comes out, he still comes off as much more reasonable than the people he's responding to.

Have dined there several times and yet to have a bad meal. Wait staff are attentive and so far removed from the usual Seattle passive aggressive BS that one can get in some dining establishments here. Sure the menu needs to be scaled back as what restaurant can hit the mark every single dish; better to offer less selection but make the ones you serve truly fab. As for fatty mcfat's comment, I'd like to see you stand by that defamatory statement about the owner.... yeah right!

i use to work for peso's . i hope the new restaurant does great

Apparently, Brian is not only a douchebag on Yelp, but he's a xenophobe. This is from a 2002 article in the Seattle P-I:

"For men who are Arab, Muslim and under the age of 40, it's part of the deal. Guess what? Your people from your religion and descent have targeted innocent people in this country. It's unfortunate you happen to be included in that set of people," said Hutmacher, who operates the hip Queen Anne hangout Peso's when he's not espousing his conservative views. "If we were at war with Japan, it wouldn't make sense to be targeting people from England."

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/86485_isl…

Shame - such a fine idea for a restaurant run by such a jerk. I'll keep getting my beignets from that little stand in Seattle Center.

I moved to Seattle from New Orleans a few years ago. I've had many pleasant dining experiences in and around Seattle. Toulouse Petit is AWFUL! Food was terrible and the service... not so good. The menu is out of control. There were 8 of us total and everything was totally over seasoned. Total bummer because it's a great building and location. Way too many options in this city to waste time and money at this place.

I went once. Was just as disappointed in the food at the new joint as the food at the restaurant next door. Won't be back. There are better better places in the city.

There's something to be said for a simple one page menu. Gimmicks like $6 morning happy hours won't get me to return -- just as a $6 pair of pants at Kmart isn't going to have me shopping there. I prefer quality. I deserve better than feeling like I've been punk'd when the food arrives.

As a former (and longtime) resident of New Orleans I've had more excellent Louisiana cuisine than assclown Petit Toulouse manager Brian has had blowjobs (count on it, fucker...I know you're reading this). The food at Petit Toulouse is on par with the fake Cajun shit you can get around the NO Convention Center: fancified, inauthentic garbage. It's the sort of Louisiana cooking I'd never ever let an out of town friend eat (unless I didn't like him). As frequently hungry as I am for a taste of home I'll stick to making my own. At least in my own kitchen there's not some self-deluded asswipe screaming asinine, combative comments every time I have an opinion about my étouffée.

Wow, slander and libel do run rampant here. As well as adolescent name calling and indulgence of misplaced resentments.

Whatever makes anyone want to call me a xenophobe, racist, possible illegal drug user or dealer, or anything other such nonsense . . . has really nothing to do with me, Toulouse, Peso's, or anything in reality. That probably has a lot more to do with the individuals who choose to spend their time on such adolescent dramas and nonsense.

And there is no Philip Hamilton who has ever worked for Peso's in any capacity. What he has posted above is true libel and his invitation for a response from me is indicative of his need for petty public dramas and confrontation that have nothing to do with anything in reality.

I'd like respectfully point out that I have never sold any kind of illegal drug in my life, nor do I engage in any drug use of any kind, other than moderate alcohol consumption that has never hurt anyone.

I am also an active father of four, who takes my responsibilities with them seriously. Illegal activity and drug use has no relation to anything that happens in my life, nor theirs.

Any suggestions that I have engaged in any kind of criminal activity of ANY kind is truly slanderous, and the quote in the PI was taken completely out of context during a long conversation with a young reporter on the sticky issue of how law enforcement should identify Islamist persons in particular who may wish to commit a terrorist act.

The conversation itself was in the wake of 911, and I was not sure why the reporter was even asking for my thoughts on the matter, but I was offering what I thought was just a commonsense perspective on what will be effective and what will not.

Jumping from there to xenophobia or racism is patently ridiculous and the hiring record of my companies and my personal relationships and history make my actual personal views on such matters rather obvious.

Not to mention that my father is a cross-dresser and he was a great father. I grew up in a rather tolerant, non-judgemental environment. And thinking that one group of people is superior to another was just not part of our values or how we thought about things in general.

Many of the posts above are reminiscent of an ex-employee from several years ago who has sent me several incendiary and hateful e-mails after his brief employment with us was terminated.

Lastly, suggestions of the possibility of food poisoning from either Peso's or Toulouse are patently absurd as well. We've never found one credible case of a food borne illness ever coming from either establishment.

Toulouse features one of the most capable kitchen staffs along with one of the best equipment and food handling environments in the nation. And I can state with complete certainty that we are as safe and circumspect as it gets with respect to proper food handling, storage, and preparation.

I find it unfortunate that the kinds of things that have been posted here about me and my companies are so caricaturized, over the top, and libelous, but I cannot control what others choose to say.

I think the best response is to simply state the real facts, shrug my shoulders, and wish that those who feel the need to write such things will find something more productive, positive, and affirming to do with their energies.

Warmest regards,

Brian P. Hutmacher