Another soggy day... sigh

My Android cell phone camera (I use the Camera Zoom FX app) has gotten a lot of use lately. I'm a nervous Nellie when it comes to taking my Nikon out to play in the rain, and my Android is waterproof.

This morning DW got up late and I was editing photos and forgot to have breakfast, so we combined our daily geocache with breakfast at a new-to-us diner in Browns Point.

My bacon and eggs were perfect, and so was DWs house-made corned beef hash. I think we'll be back soon, and check out the lunch menu.

Red Town on Cougar Mountain...

What better way to spend a blistering hot day than a walk in the woods, followed by cold beer and pizza at a new (to us) brewpub.

The hot, dry days are bringing the maple leaves down early.

Cougar Mountain is old coal mining country, always interesting to explore.

We found this little place in our old neighborhood, in the building where I used to do my grocery shopping. I like the new tennant much better! After a couple of hours walking in the heat, we were more than ready for an icy cold beverage and a perfectly wonderful pizza. Love this place... we'll be back soon!

Feeling a bit nostalgic...

We used to meet friends at The Dog & Pony after a long work week. It was always a bit of a dive, with limited parking and questionable decor. But the D&P had the best selection of beer on tap, and good food, and it was smack in the middle of where all of us worked. That made it the logical choice. But once our friends started to retire, or moved to other jobs, we gradually stopped coming.

Last week we drove past, and noticed the new paint job. Then we discovered it was the target of a Restaurant Impossible episode. This we've got to see! So after a hot day spent geocaching (we're still ignoring that bathroom!), we came here for a beer and dinner.

The regulars might miss the stained floor and mis-matched tables and chairs, the multi-colored paint and bits of wallpaper and stenciling, and the lack of stools at the bar. Not me. The place is as friendly as always, and now it looks good.

Neighborhood pub...

It's a familiar statement of ours: Why isn't this in our neighborhood?

We say it about our favorite breakfast place (in Maple Valley), and our favorite brick-walled bar & grill (in Prosser), and our favorite winery (in Zillah).

We spent most of this hot day at Pt. Defiance Park, geocaching and hiking through the woods and walking on the beach. Afterwards, we looked for a place to have dinner, and found the Park Way Tavern. It's in my favorite neighborhood in Tacoma, streets full of old homes and shady trees, close to downtown but also close to the bluff that faces north, toward Puget Sound and Vashon Island.

We cooled off with a beer, and ordered burgers, and people watched for a couple of hours. The food was good, the beer list is long, and the place is full of charm and character. It definitely makes the list.

As we left, the sun was low and red, shining right down the street and lighting up the pavement.

What a great place to finish up the day.

Duke's and Georgetown

Tonight we headed for Tacoma, where we're meeting friends for the Georgetown Brewing dinner at Duke's Chowder House. We've done quite a few special Duke's dinners the past four years, and our very first was here at the Ruston Way restaurant. We've grown to love these gatherings with friends, and tonight was great fun. What could be better than Bill Ranniger's amazing food paired with beer from one of our favorite local breweries? It was the perfect combination. And at the end of the evening, I scored a growler of Chopper's Red. It was my favorite beer of the evening.

This weekend we're heading for the mountains for some fun in the snow. Good friends, good food and wine, some cross country skiing... the Chopper's will be the perfect way to kick off a winter weekend.

Robin Hood on the South Shore

This dinner at this South Shore landmark should have been last night. It's where I wanted to celebrate my milestone birthday, but we couldn't figure out how to make it to our cabin a day earlier. So, tonight we finally made it here.

In the old days (when we first bought our lakeside cabin), this place was called Victoria's (the owner and chef). We loved it, spent our birthday dinners here, and loved to stop by for lunch and a glass of wine.

But then the restaurant changed hands... not a pretty picture. Fortunately, it changed hands again, and we were determined to try out the third iteration.

The first time we stopped by was after a drive around the canal, and our timing was off. We were an hour early and they weren't open yet. Our bad.

The next time, we found out the hard way that the restaurant isn't open every day. Our bad. Again.

Still, we persevered. We checked days and time, and headed off on a drive along the South Shore on a gorgeous day, one of our favorite drives. We pulled in, and they were closed. We double checked the hours, then our watches. Not happy. Their bad. 

A year later, on my birthday weekend, we made our annual drive around the canal. At dinnertime we pulled into the lot, perfect timing. But they were closed for a private party. Bill Gates? Just a guess. (The Gates' family beach home is just up the road.)

As of today, our sad saga of trying to connect with this landmark restaurant is all in the past... and so is perhaps my longest introduction ever... sorry.

Tonight we had a reservation, a quiet table for two by the fireplace, and a wonderful meal. The restaurant was just as I remembered, a tall A-frame style building with rustic wood interior and windows that look out on gardens and the creek. It's a beautiful spot. We both ordered the salmon, and it was amazing. Perfectly cooked, with a tasty salt & pepper crust, and a tasty buerre rouge sauce. It came with risotto (equally fabulous) and crunchy green beans. Awesome.

My Oregon Pinot Noir went perfectly with my salmon (sounds odd, doesn't it? but it was one of those rare Pinot Noir wines made to be robust, not flabby.)  For dessert (hey, it's my birthday after all!) I had key lime pie that was really good, and Dave had rhubarb pie.

If you'd like to check out this wonderful restaurant for yourself, and don't mind a bit of a drive, I highly recommend it. It's in the tiny Hood Canal town of Union, Washington.

Copyright Robin Hood Restaurant & Pub

A perfect dessert

Have you ever had a dessert so perfect, you tell all your friends about it,
and you can't wait to go back for more? 

Just imagine creamy vanilla and chocolate gelato wrapped around a center of maraschino cherries and nuts, encased in a thick bittersweet chocolate shell, and drizzled with melted chocolate.

Even my non-chocolate loving hubbie thought it was fabulous.

I wanted to lick the plate.

Correction... we both wanted to lick the plate.

You can get your own at Osteria di Parma in downtown Burien.

The food, especially the brick oven pizza, was awesome.
But I'd go back just to have dessert and a glass of Italian red.

Maybe tonight.

Green Turtle

We decided to drive through Gig Harbor today, and see if any restaurant caught our eye. Because of a street fair, Anthony’s in the middle of the harbor drive was out. But right next to the Tides was a guy holding a big arrow sign for the Green Turtle restaurant, we followed the arrow to check it out, and grabbed the last parking spot. Was it a sign? Is this the best food in town? We decided to give it a try.

Seating was out on a deck overlooking the harbor and a small marina. Looks good so far. We ordered a bottle of Kendall Jackson 2009 Chardonnay, which was yummy. The air was silky and warm, the view was to die for, and sitting outdoors was exactly what we wanted on this beautiful day. Everything was great so far. This isn’t an inexpensive fish & chips restaurant; most of the entrees were mid-$20 range. But we were craving seafood, and ordered tuna (Dave) and scallops & prawns (me). And we shared.

The food was really, really good. But the whole experience was fabulous, so we will definitely be back.

Tap, tap, tap

We love the Whistle Stop Tavern, which had been in downtown Renton since the early 1900s in a building next to the tracks and kitty-corner from the old train station. When they lost their lease a few years ago, they  moved to the other side of the tracks in the same neighborhood, within spitting distance (for the very talented in that sport). They negotiated and were able to keep the massive carved oak bar, in use since the beginning of the tavern. The cherry wood bar traveled to the Alaska Gold Rush and back before finding a home in the original tavern.

As much as we loved the original bar, we like the new digs much better. Bigger and brighter, more seating, better parking, and enough room for a separate bar area, which allows them to have a separate restaurant section, too. The adult-only bar area is intimate, surrounded by a chest-high wall that's topped with tap handles. More than you’ve probably seen anywhere else, and from all our favorite microbreweries.

The food is good, and there's a long and varied selection of brews available (which changes frequently, keeping it fun to come back to). I wish it was closer to home; it would be the perfect neighorhood bar.

Woodford Reserve Dinner

Tonight was the long-awaited Woodford Reserve dinner at Duke's Chowder House. We've done several of these special dinners, which feature a particular winery or brewery, combined with a multi-course meal created by executive chef, Bill Ranniger.








Our little group has become regulars at these dinners, and we've enjoyed getting acquainted with Bill. He does an amazing job of creating recipes to pair with whatever beer, wine, or spirits are being featured. We usually go with the same group of people from Dave's group at Boeing, people who have become friends.

This is the second year that Duke, Bill, and other staff have traveled to Kentucky to choose their own special barrel of Woodford Reserve. Bill treated us to a tasting of the 2009 barrel last spring, and tonight we sampled them side by side. As a special thank you to our friend Rich, who got us started on these dinners, the restaurant gave a bottle to Rich, who plans his own food and bourbon party over the Christmas break. We're looking forward to that!

Dave with the special bottle of Woodford Reserve (with Rich in the background)















Melinda & Julie

Neighborhood bakery

Somewhere on the south hill of Spokane, there's a fabulous neighborhood bakery. Kathy took us there for breakfast this morning, and I love that it's right there on a residential street. People walk to it or ride their bikes... plenty of racks to leave bikes right outside the door.

If we lived anywhere near this charming bakery, we'd be regulars. It has a wonderful open, friendly, airy feel. I loved the storefront—tall windows, brick walls, a perfect place to get coffee or herb tea, then browse the pastry cabinets and choose from the dozens of varieties, from eclairs to muffins, sweet rolls and all kinds of flaky pastries. It's the perfect place to enjoy your coffee with a bit to eat, and read a while.

Eating in wine country

A wine-tasting weekend would not be complete without good food, and we found some great restaurants this weekend. It always surprised me that in the entire Yakima Valley, you only had a choice of fast food, Mexican, or Chinese. In all the years we lived in the Tri-Cities and traveled to and from Seattle, we never stopped to eat in the valley. We'd eat in Yakima, or wait until we got home. But just like the winery scene is changing, so is the restaurant scene.

Last year we discovered Picazo, a restaurant in old-town Prosser, with a chef who cooks with a Spanish flair. Pasta, steaks, seafood…  excellent food, excellent wine list to go along with it. This was our choice for dinner on Friday night.

On Saturday, we tried a new place called Tuscany, which is in the same block as Picazo, in an old corner building with gorgeous arched windows. It's tiny, only 10 tables. But the food was amazing. We'd decided on steaks tonight, after all the great reds we tasted today. So with a glass of Mercer Cab Sauv in hand, we chose New York strip steaks, which came with salad, grilled veggies, and roasted potatoes…  and lots of garlic. The steaks were brushed with garlic butter, and they were fork tender and mouth-watering. We both agreed that this is one of the best steaks we've ever had.

We speculated that this was once the local bank, as it has the rather elaborate interior molding and lamps you'd expect to find in a bank (gives the image of prosperity, very comforting to the clientele). I loved the bathroom—tiny, tiled, great sink, and you step up into the toilet stalls. Reminded me of the  Roxy theater in Renton from my childhood.

And thanks to a Central Washington magazine we picked up at Barnard Griffin, we discovered a new restaurant in Sunnyside. We were looking for someplace other than the hotel for breakfast, and since there were a couple of caches in town that we planned to find before we started wine tasting, we decided to give it a try. Bon Vino doesn't sound like a restaurant that would serve breakfast, but it was packed. The curb appeal isn't great, but inside it's all Tuscan with earth colors, polished stained concrete floors, pendant lamps, lots of wine-related art on the walls, and a fireplace in one corner. Behind the L-shaped bakery counter they've painted an entire wall with chalkboard paint, and that's where the menu was. Nice touch! My  kielbasa and eggs were flavorful, and my English muffin was homemade (as were the lemon bars we bought for an after-dinner snack). This restaurant is definitely on our list for next year's wine tasting weekend.

Breakfast at The Farm

Dave spotted a review about this place in the Times, and we decided to check it out. The Farm is near Poulsbo, and is a working farm that just happens to serve breakfast the first Saturday of each month. We arrived early and got in line, beating a serious crowd by mere seconds. By the time they opened up the doors, we were chilled and thankful we were near the front, not back a hundred people or so.

They offer a couple of meal choices, which you order as you enter the building. We also bought cookies and a loaf of banana bread to go, then found a table in the back with a view out over the fields. The self-serve coffee stand was closeby, and we helped ourselves a couple of times before our food arrived. It was very good (but not sure I'd want to wait in line an hour or more).

Steaks By State

The title is Dave's idea. We figured since we were traveling through the heart of cattle country, we should sample steaks where they truly know how to cook them. So starting with Texas, we had steak each night (except for SD; it wasn't on the menu), finishing up with Wyoming. In each place, we queried the concierge (or facsimile thereof) about the absolutely best steak to be found in their town, and took their advice. If you're a vegetarian, just plug your ears or move to another blog entry.

In Amarillo, my strip steak was absolutely lean, with nothing to trim off, and was probably the perfect steak when you considered everything: it was perfectly cooked, there was no waste, it was melt-in-your mouth tender, and full of flavor.

In Dodge City, I tried the Kansis City strip steak. Of the four steaks, this one had the most flavor, and it tasted like it was rubbed and marinated before it went on the fire. It was also a huge steak, not the 12 oz. advertised. I had to take about half of it "home." (It was good cold the next morning.)

In Nebraska, I tried my old standby cut of steak, top sirloin. It was good, but the strip steaks were definitely a cut above.

In Wyoming, I went back to the NY strip. My Wyoming steak was not as flavorful as the one I had in Dodge City, Kansas (my dad's birthplace), but was the most tender of the three (it was also the most rare).

What I've learned:

• The best steaks are tender and juicy, so from now on I will always order medium rare
• New York (or Kansas City) strip steaks are the most flavorful
  

No Free Lunch

They say there's no such thing as a free lunch. I think this is even more true of breakfast, which many hotels are offering these days, to sweeten the pot (or make you think more kindly of the high room rate you just paid). But not all free breakfast is the same…

Take the hotel in Trinidad, NM. Dodgy. We got to sit in the restaurant next door, and had a choice of two kids meals, both of which were undercooked and unsatisfying, and did not include coffee. Then we had to wait at the register for what seemed a lifetime, before one of the four employees would stop and take our money (we had to pay for coffee). Dave finally grabbed one of them, and said they either waited on us now, or they wouldn't get paid.

In contrast, most of the other hotels we stayed in had a buffet or cook-your-own setup, with food ranging from yogurt, fresh fruit, cold cereal, bagels and toast with jam and PB, waffles, coffee and tea, and two kinds of juice. A couple of them had scrambled eggs and sausage patties, and another even had biscuits and gravy along with the eggs and sausage.

Our First Taste of Denver

Today was our first day in Denver, Colorado. Leaving Seattle was reminiscent of my last trip to Dallas—our Alaska Airlines jet was one of about 10 jets in line to take off, and we taxied north, then south, then north again while we waited our turn. Seattle is getting too crowded! I love that Denver is only a two-hour flight away... why haven’t I come here more often?

Once we landed and picked up our rental car (a spiffy Mazda 3), we headed off to explore and pick up a few geocaches. It’s been years, too many years, since I’ve been here. My folks both grew up in Denver, and I still have two cousins here, so I’ll always have sentimental ties to the mile-high city. Today we had lunch in old-town Golden, drove up to Red Rocks, then north to Boulder. From there we did a loop drive up Boulder Canyon, then south through Black Hawk and back to Golden, with lots of stops along the way.


We’re staying at the Hyatt Regency in downtown, just across the street from Bubba Gump Shrimp. I thought this was an urban legend, but no... it really does exist. We wanted to check our dinner options, so wandered east toward what was obviously a restaurant sign, and found nightlife central. Denver has an entire pedestrian boulevard, lined with shops and restaurants, lit by gaslight-imitating streetlights, bricked with the real thing. No cars, just peddle-cabs, horse-drawn carriages, and the occasional hybrid-electric bus.


We chose Marlowe’s, in the beautiful and historic Kittredge building, which was built in 1891 and once boasted a rooftop beer garden and amusement park. It was Denver’s tallest and most modern office building, with iron columns, steel beams, electricity and steam heat, elevators, and faced with pink granite and rhyolite.

Marlowe’s has inviting wide-open windows to the street, lots of outdoor tables, and a huge list of wines (many of which are half-price after 7:30 pm). Our Caesar salads were terrific, so was our South Australian Chardonnay. It was fun to sit and enjoy the show as it walked past out windows, and we loved being just a couple of blocks from the hotel.