Fried Rice a Tough Sell in Downtown Seattle

"We can't sell fried rice in Seattle to save our lives," says Kosseff, who matched the dish with a pair of Rieslings for Theise's wine dinner.

Fried rice is among the few menu deviations between the popular Asian eatery's two locations. At the Bellevue restaurant, the Sichuan green beans are vegetarian--customers fretted that pork fat, a standard addition to the downtown restaurant's rendition, was leaching spice from the dish--and fried rice is always available.

"The best (is) the Chinese-style fried rice," an online reviewer raved after a visit to Wild Ginger in Bellevue. "Wow!"

Kosseff is equally fond of the fluffy rice, seeded with shrimp, pineapple chunks, and golden raisins. But "10 years of history" have shown that Seattle eaters won't order the stuff.

It's unclear why fried rice hasn't been a hit downtown. Kosseff theorizes the dish might strike eaters as pedestrian, particularly with so many exotic-sounding items competing for patrons' attentions.

"We have 120 things on the menu," he says. "Things get lost."

Health-conscious eaters might also be wary of the adjective "fried," which typically connotes oil and fat. According to Cooking Light, a serving of traditional fried rice has 900 calories and 44 grams of fat. But, the magazine reports, trimming the amount of vegetable oil and going easy on the soy sauce can produce a cleaner, lighter dish that's passably healthy. "Fried" doesn't have to be taboo, the magazine counsels.

"I wish we could sell it," Kosseff says.

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