A little synopsis of my trip

It was a wonderful trip.  My wife and I were focused on food for this excursion.  We stayed in the little town of Woodinville, about fifteen miles Northeast of town, for a variety of reasons.  The first of which is that we could stay at the Willows Lodge, one of our all-time favorite inns.  Quiet, clean, well-staffed, easy parking, and a great restaurant – the Barking Frog .  It also is less than a hundred yards from the brewery and brewpub for RedHook.  And, most importantly, is about twenty yards from the Herbfarm Restaurant – one of the finest restaurants in North America.  We had reservations there Friday night – and it did not disappoint.  The current theme just changed from what we had, which was the use of smoke in cooking, but an upcoming menu will give you an idea.  As you can see, multiple courses with carefully matched wines, and virtually everything from the region, if not the immediate vicinity.  You can’t call it a meal, it’s a whole dining experience, with the owners, chef and staff right there serving it to you, explaining each course, answering any and all questions.  Yes, it’s a set-piece meal, but I prefer that, in many ways.  Everybody knows what they’re doing, there are no short cuts, and it’s done to perfection.  Before the meal, one of the owners takes you out to the herb garden to show and sample what’s been harvested for that night’s meal.  One can wander around there, or go inside to peruse the cook book library; or, (my favorite), go to the wine cellar to discuss important matters of the soul with the sommelier.  I am proud to say that I even caught some sort of in-joke going on down there during my stay – someone had placed a bottle of half drunk MD 20/20 in the center of one of the main displays of quality vintages!  The sommelier put on a nice front, but I think he was caught a little off-guard by the whole thing! 

     The whole experience takes a full evening, as any proper religious awakening should.  In addition to the normal menu, we ordered a brace of Madeira’s to compare and contrast.  A perfect night.  If you’re ever within 300 miles of the area, you’ve just got to eat dinner here, at least once in your life.  I can’t bear the thought of anyone missing out on this. 

                Another advantage to Woodinville is that it’s in the heart of the wine country for Washington State.  I’d wager that there are at least two dozen wineries and/or tasting rooms there – two within easy walking distance of the Willows Lodge.  We visited the Columbia Winery, Dusted Valley, and Chateau Ste.Michelle.  We also hit the WoodinvilleWhiskey Company, to sample some native bourbon, (Yummy!), and dined at the local wine bar – The Purple Café (an excellent selection of cheeses paired with wines, including one of our faves – Humboldt Fog.)

                Going into Seattle proper, we hit the International District, a wonderful neighborhood of East Asian stores and restaurants, centered around Uwajimaya – a large oriental grocery store and series of food stalls and shops.  The whole neighborhood is one big eat-fest.  I’d guess that there’s an East Asian restaurant about every 60 feet, or so.  We stopped at one of the larger ones that we saw, called the Honey CourtSeafood Restaurant.  And it was there amidst a feeding frenzy of dim sung, that I first got to munch on geoduck, (they also served it to us at the Herbfarm).  I’d tried for over three years now to find a place that had it; my quest was at an end.  It was good!  To me, they taste much like mussels;  Very expensive mussels…

                We also went down to the waterfront one day to dine on a pile of raw oysters at the city’s mecca for such:  Elliott’s OysterHouse.  We ordered a huge sampling of local types, (my favorite was the Totten).  The house drink is the dark’n’stormy – it was the best one I’ve ever drunk, (I’m now convinced that the secret is in how much lime juice might be added – experiments are necessary…)

And, of course, you just gotta go to Pike Place Market if you’re in town.  I’m pretty sure that it’s required by law.  And yes, you gotta go to the Fish Market; and yes we saw ‘em being tossed around.  At one point, they picked a woman from the crowd, placed the Styrofoam coffee cup she was holding on top of her head, and knocked it right off with a small tuna at about twenty paces.  Now, that’s entertainment! 

Now, if you’ve never been to Seattle, plan on at least one full day here at the Market.  Imagine about 3-4 city blocks, as a maze and warren of food and craft shops, stands, carts, and dens, with a few great eateries thrown in for good measure.  It’s incredible, and unlike anything that I’ve ever really seen back East.  (If you combined the Lancaster Central Market with DC’s Maine Avenue, AND the famous Green Dragon Flea Market of Ephrata, you might come close).  One new micro-shop that just opened up that I had fun browsing through was this one – Orange Dracula.  Fun stuff - A dime store for somebody like me!

Finally, we ended up at the Bellevue Botanical Garden just East of town.  A beautiful combination of natural, American and Japanese styles.  A very relaxing capper to the trip.