Canlis

Do you think he had ANY idea that marrying me would mean he'd be blowing the wad at Canlis 7 years later? Absolutely not. I was a pretty cheap date back then when we were young and clueless but I guess he should have known, choosing someone majoring in food and all...  Can I just say that I married a gem? I mean, let's get this straight: he took me to CANLIS!

 Our anniversary this year sort of snuck up on us amidst a busy season with Graham starting his new job and me still breastfeeding an infant. Ordinarily, we like to plan weekends away which I have love, love, LOVED. It was really hard to come to terms with the fact that a night (let alone a weekend!) was not going to work this year given the state of affairs with our not-really-sleeping-by-any-stretch-of-the-imagination infant. We were both bound and determined that this be the ONLY year we don't get away alone as these times have been crucial for us.

Anyway, since we were "saving" money by keeping our celebration to a mere five hours, we decided we could liberalize our dinner budget and go all out (yessssssssssssss!!) 

PS - I blow-dried my hair for the 2nd time (maybe 3rd?) since Jack was born. Thankfully, I had the forethought to take a picture since it probably won't happen again in 2014. 

We began our evening in Fremont, sampling some chocolate at Theos and tasting some bourbon/vodka at a random distillery before we made our way to Cafe Diablo on Queen Anne, one of our dating stomping grounds.

Then we were off to Canlis! Our evening was so wonderful and the service impeccable. We sort of had an "in" as Graham sings with one of the hostesses there. Even though she was not working, she made sure we got top notch treatment, including glasses of complimentary bubbles, appetizers and a hand-written card.

Pardon the picture quality, please. I felt ballsy enough pulling out my phone to snap pictures of our plates, let alone a "real" camera with mega-flash. Our appetizers were divine. From left to right: a truffled mushroom tart, edamame in a rice crisp and the most gourmet tater tot that has ever touched my lips. All paired amazingly well with our bubbly.

Our waiter was hysterical, though surely it was not his intention. He seemed to pride himself on his thirty-word sentences that left us with more puzzle than clarity. "If you favor the finer flavors of a more substantial composition, or if your appetite allows a more satiable variety of complex layering, might I recommend the roast duck..." and on and on. Each time after he stopped at our table to share a new tidbit, we'd look at each other, totally baffled and wonder is he for real? He was wonderful, really, but we're dying to know if he is this serious outside of work!

For our next course, we ordered Steak Tartare. It was yummy but hands down I would take the beef tartare at Joule Restaurant over this one. Next came the infamous, I mean famous, Canlis Salad which was tasty, but just a salad after all. Our next course was one of the highlights for me: a terrine of foie gras with roasted rhubarb, nettle puree and black pepper brioche. It was delicious and melted in the mouth, as it should.

As if 3 starters weren't enough, we also got the prawns which were sauteed in dry vermouth with garlic and lime. They were good but again we both agreed our favorite prawn dish was served elsewhere (The Barking Frog's Grand Marnier Prawns). Our main course was amazing as well: Muscovy duck, roasted with a honey sesame crust, croquette, orange marmalade and a green fennel puree. The duck was first presented to us whole before it was whisked away to be plated as you see below.

For dessert (as if we had room!), I had mille-feuille milk chocolate, peanut butter, bananas and caramel. Graham had the souffle and both came with a candle and "Happy Anniversary" written across the plate.

Twas a leisurely and lovely evening of delicious food, wine (we finished our first bottle ever - thanks to the long, slow meal, and, let's be honest, having three kids....) and good conversation. We even had our own personal serenade from the amazing piano player in the bar. Cheers to 7 years and cheers to a man who is willing to pull on his fancy pants and take his lady to a place that calls for diamonds! And blow-dried hair, which is about as rare a diamonds these days.

5 Years of Wedded Bliss

 A few weeks ago on St Patrick's Day, Graham and I cheered to 5 years of married life together! We spent a wonderful, packed-to-the-brim 24+ hours, just the two of us, reminiscing about the journey and how we got to where we are now.

My sweet, romantic husband prepared a stack of numbered envelopes for me to open throughout the day which gave me clues as to our next activity. After dropping the girls off at their grandparents, we started with brunch at Volterra in Ballard, an Italian restaurant we visited while dating (and the location of a rather tell-tale conversation, I might add!) Next was a trip downtown to shop for skinny jeans (Graham was going for a "taste of Europe" theme) and I actually found and purchased TWO pairs. We had a quick lunch at our favorite spot in Pike Place Market, Piroshky Piroshky before it was time to pick up the girls and bring them to their overnight babysitters. Graham had planned to take me through the market to pick out a bouquet of flowers as we very seriously considered buying whatever flowers happened to be in season at Pike Place for our wedding bouquets. We've always wondered what kind of flowers they would have been and what better way to find out than to walk through on your anniversary? But we ran out of time. Next year maybe! We also had to defer a quick wine tasting at a favorite Truffle Cafe to another day as we wanted to maximize our time relaxing at the hotel.

 Our wonderful friend Amy (who has been a part of our anniversary lodging for 3 years counting now) hooked us up with an amazing suite at Hotel Bellevue. I mean seriously, we had an entire living room complete with glass chandelier and everything!

 The bedroom portion of the suite was larger than our living room at home and was decked out with red rose petals in the shape of a heart.

 I know I'm weird, but I had to get a shot of the bathroom too! But I only photographed one of the bathroom (yes there were TWO!)

 Upon arrival at the hotel, we were greeted by name (by employees other than Amy I might add!) and were handed glasses of champagne. Up in our room, chocolate-covered strawberries and a beautiful potted orchid and a full bottle of champagne awaited--royal treatment for sure!

 I love tradition and so have done my best to align my anniversary gifts with the traditional gift suggestion for each year of marriage. Graham is not a gift person and would prefer "consumables" or activities/memory-builders and so this a proven challenging, requiring extra imagination and creative juices. The theme for 5 years of marriage is wood so I selected a old-vine zinfandel (supposedly a US version of a primitivo) that sported wood undertones. Graham had been wanting to get his hands on an old zin to see if it was any good so I think he was quite pleased.

I also enlarged this photo from our engagement shoot and made a card out of it (get it? tree = wood).

Funny story! Amy had told us the hotel had a town car that could drive us to and from dinner. Graham had texted her the location and time of our dinner reservations (I didn't know where we were going) but never heard anything back. Once we arrived at the hotel, he called down to see if we did indeed have a ride but the concierge informed him that our restaurant was outside of the car's driving radius. Oh well! Our sporty mini van was a great second option! I needed to pump before dinner so decided--voila--I could pump in the van en route to the restaurant and save time. Perfect, right? Well, we went down to the lobby, pump in arm and immediately about 4 guys scurried out front to open the hotel doors followed by the doors of the white BMW sitting out front. I noticed the kafluffal but assumed there was some special behind us and so kept walking. Like literally walked right past the open car door 2 feet away from me. After some scurrying,  one of the guys chased us down and asked "Aren't you two going to the Barking Frog for dinner?" We were totally confused and said that yes we were but we'd been told the car couldn't drive us that far. The guy told us, on the contrary, they'd actually brought in an extra driver just for the very task of driving us!!! Wow! We felt awful for walking by them but, we are not used to such service! It wasn't until we were in the car (complete with individual DVD players and reclining back seats, I might add), that I realized pumping was not going to happen. Unless of course the restaurant just so happened to have outlets inside the bathroom stalls (which it didn't). So much for our brilliant plan!

Dinner at the Barking Frog was incredible, as usual. We were served complimentary flutes of champagne along with their to-die-for Grand Marnier Prawn appetizer (Amy's husband Sam knows the owner of the Willows and gave them the heads up we were coming....) Then I just had to try the Buttermilk Fried Quail with Black Pepper Waffle and Maple Chicken Demi. It was better than I could have imagined. Super crispy and delicious! Pardon the cell phone quality picture but it was truly superb!

 For our main courses, I had scallops over the best coconut curry risotto I've ever tasted. Actually the best risotto I've ever had period. And the most beautiful--fluorescent yellow with flecks of lime green and finished with lavendar flowers. Why don't I order risotto more? Graham had the duck breast with citrus and cocoa farro that was ok but I definitely "won" if our entrees were competing. We both went with the waitress' wine recommendations and it turns out I had me a $17 (!!!) glass of wine! Good thing it was our anniversary! :)

Graham spoiled me and got me some sparkly earrings and a cookbook with recipes from many of the most famous restaurants in the Seattle area (Barking Frog included). What a wonderful first night away since Emma's arrival! Thanks to the Croziers and Welchs for keeping the girls!

My Restaurant "Bucket List"

I just love eating out but usually have the hardest time deciding where I'd like to go. I like to try new places but rarely can think of my "bucket list" of restaurants I want to try when put on the spot. Graham requested I create a written list that can easily be referred to when date night opportunity arises. So here we go, the beginning of my running list!

Spinasse - This place supposedly has the best homemade pasta in all of Seattle.
Sitka and Spruce - A newer restaurant that is receiving rave reviews.
Dahlia Lounge - A Tom Douglas restaurant. I've never eaten his food but he's pretty well known so figure I should try it!
Cactus - A Kirkland hotspot. Although it's not my typical gourmet-type dining choice, people rave about it and so I'd like to try it someday. We attempted to pay them a visit once but Graham wasn't feeling so hot and so we left before we'd even been seated.
poppy - This place seems fun with lots of little bites.
Tavolata - Another place that is supposed to have awesome homemade pastas.
Emmer and Rye - This place looks right up my alley, focusing on seasonal, local cuisine.
Dixies Barbeque - Someday I'd like to go here to "Meet the Man" as this place notoriously calls their HOT sauce. I also really would like to get my hands on a hush puppy and this seems like a pretty good bet.

But then there are always the tried and true favorites that are worth going back to. Here are a few of my top pics:

Eastside Favorites
Barking Frog Restaurant - Attached to the Willows Lodge. You really can't go wrong here. Everything I've ever eaten has been phenomenal. My favorite time to visit is during Seattle Restaurant Week or Dine Around Seattle because you can get 3 courses for quite a steal.
Cafe Juanita - Amazing Italian food served out of a deceptively-boring looking house in Kirkland. To. Die. For.
The Herb Farm - Probably the most expensive meal that will ever pass through my belly but also probably the most amazing dining experience of my life. If anyone ever wants to take me here again, I will love you forever and bake you cookies for life (or something). I am hopeful I will be able to find an occasion special enough to return here.
Purple Cafe and Wine Bar - The food here is always delicious and you can get out the door without breaking the bank, particularly if you bring your own bottle of wine (which they cork for free). My favorite location is the Woodinville one.
The Original Pancake House - I am a sucker for breakfast and this place usually hits the spot!
Gilbert's on Main - I love their weekday petite breakfasts and their gruyere and spinach bagels with whipped cream cheese and homemade jam make me drool.
Cantinetta - I've been to the Bellevue location once and can't wait to go back! It's hip and totally delicious.

Multiple Locations
Julia's - I've only been here for breakfast and the only thing I've ever ordered off their menu is the pancakes but I love them. And will continue to return for them. I always get the buckwheat cakes and order them with everything (blueberries, granola, poppy seeds, chocolate chips and pecans). These always make me a very happy girl.
Paseo - A hole in the wall Caribbean restaurant that serves the best sandwich I have ever eaten. Don't bother with the rice bowls and just order the sandwich marked "Most Popular." You won't regret it. It is amazing. Be sure to note their hours (they are closed Sun/Mon) and that they take cash only.
Pho Than Brothers - How can a meal be bad when it begins with a cream puff? This is another hole in the wall place with delicious pho soup. Squint when you enter (unfortunately cleanliness isn't always their focus) and order #3 (pho with eye of round and well done flank). Graham and I have been known for enjoying $7 date nights by splitting a large (the servings are HUGE!)

Seattle
Brad's Swingside Cafe - This place is so small it doesn't even have a website (but there is apparently one coming soon!) We have been here numerous times on special occasions and have never been disappointed. The Italian food served is complex-we were once told by a waiter that even the salad dressings have no less than 20 ingredients!! The chef sure knows how to marry flavors and I am a huge fan.
Long - This is a more upscale Vietnamese place but we always leave surprised at how inexpensive our total bill is. We like to go here with friends and share various dishes family style. Their spring rolls are delicious and I certainly wouldn't leave without ordering the Grilled Beef Short Ribs or the Braised Savory Coconut in Browned Pork (I think they meant Browned Pork Braised with Savory Coconut...)
Salumi - We've only been here once but their artisan-cured meats are mouth-watering (and I didn't think I liked salami!) We ate salami sandwiches but were also told their meatball sandwiches are worth returning for. They are open for lunch only on Tuesday-Friday and we've been warned to get there early as a line usually forms to circle the block.
Barolo Ristorante - I've been here for happy hour on a couple of occasions but have never dined in the restaurant. The atmosphere is fun with candles dripping wax everywhere and it is usually jam-packed. I recall really enjoying the lamb burger.

6 Years

May 15th, 2004. That was the day Graham and I began dating. Officially. Graham would argue that we went on "dates" numerous times over the two years prior but I disagree. This will probably always be a perpetual point of contention in our relationship but I think Graham has finally come around as even he mentioned last night "Tomorrow is our dating anniversary!"

Okay so maybe he did take me out a few times prior to May 15th. There were evening strolls on Alki, coffee to-go sipped at Discovery Park, lessons on the rules of chess at Cafe Ladro, dessert at B&O on Capitol Hill, outdoor study times at various Seattle parks. These very well might have been dates. But I would argue that, no matter how lovely, a date isn't a date until the girl knows you are into her. I thought Mr-Lady's-Man-Crozier did these things with all his female friends. He did, after all, have MANY female friends given his subject of study.

So rewind three months back to the end of February, 2004. Unfortunately, here is where my memory fails me and I seem to have lost the record of the exact date. I was newly single as of Valentines Day from my only other dating relationship. Graham waited a good week and a half--okay, maybe it was two weeks--before making his move. He came by my dorm room and told me he was having a rough night. Would I go on a walk? I accepted and he proceeded to share with me how one of his female friends was struggling spiritually and he wasn't sure what to tell her. Interesting lead-in approach. I had no idea what was coming. I'm sure I gave him some very intellectual and wise advice before, BAM! Topic change!

We were sitting on the wall below the basketball courts at Ashton Hall (you fellow SPUers, you know where I'm talking about--oh the memories!) Graham said something like "So there isn't really a good way to transition to this but............."

Pause.

"I have feelings for you."

Silence.

Whoa! I am pretty sure I did not see that one coming. I think this is the point where I lost all things intellectual and starting stumbling over some jibber-jabber of an answer to let him go easy. What ended up coming out was "Sure, we can hang out more!" (Nice Kelsie, real classy!) That was my way of gently rejecting him I guess. Truth be told, I really had no intention of ever dating him. I didn't think we could. We were just so different.

What happened in the 3 months that followed that changed my mind? Graham often asks me the same thing. I think I wasn't as hard set on not dating him as I led everyone to believe. I mean, he had a lot of really romantic and desirable qualities (just ask half of the SPU female population who seemed to be on the chase!) He was musical and could often be found playing the guitar and singing in the echoey dorm stairwells. He was creative. And spontaneous. He had the best ideas for all of our "non-dates." He always asked about me and how I was doing. He seemed to really want to spend time with me. What girl wouldn't find that attractive?

I think I refused to believe that I was receiving special attention from Graham. I kept my guard up because I feared later getting my heart broken if I found out I was "just another girl." Graham was persistent though and pursued long and hard. I must say, it's pretty difficult for a girl to turn down a guy who woos like he did. The Lord definitely knew what I needed in a man much better than I and Graham couldn't be a better fit!

Back to May 15th. I must have known this was going to be a "real" date because I wore a skirt. Oh, and we were going out to dinner (a first!) When Graham pulled around my dorm to pick me up, there were roses in the front passenger seat (yep, definitely a REAL date!), two-tone roses with bright tips-my favorite!

Our first stop was the gas station because, alas, Graham's car had no fuel. This is probably my favorite part because it so perfectly represents the ever-spontaneous-take-things-as-they-come Graham that I adore. Really, it couldn't have been any other way.

For dinner, Graham introduced me to my first Ethiopian meal by taking me to Queen Sheba on Capitol Hill. We ate with our hands (brave first date), some sort of chicken dish which we scooped up with injera (Ethiopian bread, more like a large, spongy "pancake.") I loved our meal and even more I loved the fact that Graham was exposing ME to new foods (we've been back a few times since, including on the night he proposed). We somehow managed to make it through all of dinner without talking about "us."

It wasn't until the car ride home that I broached the topic. Graham had, after all, been waiting since February to hear how I felt. I told him that I was finally ready to become BFBF and GFGF (as we liked to refer to one another). To my surprise, he didn't seem giddy or even at all excited. In fact, he seemed quite the opposite. He later filled me in that he caught a small case of cold feet when he realized this might actually happen. Thankfully, he recovered quite quickly and we agreed to take our relationship to the next level.

Graham had signed up to play and sing at an open mic night back at SPU so we headed back to campus. I proudly watched from the audience. I probably should have just worn one of those name tags "Hello my name is Graham's Girlfriend." I'm sure it was written all over my forehead I was so excited.

After the talent night, we went back to Graham's place to hang out with his roommates for a short while. When it came time for me to go home, Graham said he'd walk me back and his buddy Glendon offered to come too. So the two of them escorted me home. Apparently after the boys had dropped me off, Glendon asked Graham "Man! When are you two gonna start dating!?" Graham hadn't had a chance to tell him until right then "Actually, we just did tonight."

Needless to say, Glendon reportedly was a wee bit embarrassed to have joined us for our first official goodbye as boyfriend and girlfriend. :)

Anniversary Celebrations

We celebrated our anniversary in stages and in the end did quite a bit of fine dining. Initially I thought Graham had class on our actual anniversary but when I found out he actually didn't, a coworker kindly offered to watch Isla so we could go out. It turns out March is a great time to have an anniversary in Seattle because of the Dine Around Seattle promotion where you can get 3 courses for $30 at many of the finest restaurants in the area. I think we unintentionally started a new tradition because for the 2nd year in a row, we visited the Barking Frog in Woodinville which is probably in my top 5 fav restaurants. Graham had the Grand Marnier Prawns, Mixed Greens, Lemongrass Vinaigrette for his starter, the Ginger Crusted Sea Scallops, Beluga Lentils, Apple Bacon, Pea Vines, Maitake Mushrooms, Cipollini Onions, Smoked Almonds, Green Curry Coconut Sauce for his main and the Chocolate Molten Cake for dessert. I had the Roasted Beet Salad, Orange Supremes, Toasted Hazelnuts, Laura Chenel Goat Cheese, Vanilla Honey Drizzle to start, Braised Short Ribs, Baby Bok Choy Kimchi, Shitake Mushrooms, Asian Barbeque Sauce as my entree and also had the Chocolate Molten Cake for dessert (To! Die! For!) We had the option to add wine pairings with each course for an additional fee which we indulged in, given it was our anniversary afterall! Everything was so delicious and I'm pretty sure this anniversary tradition is here to stay!

On Friday, we welcomed spring break with a trip to Bellingham to attend the Brandi Carlile concert as well as drop Isla off at her grandparents so we could continue our celebration. The concert, by the way, was AMAZING! If you do not yet know Brandi, get on I- Tunes and meet her! I am usually not 100% into concerts but this one was phenominal--she is particularly excellent live. I must admit the highlight for me though was realizing that I actually knew a song that Graham had never heard of before!! He has been in shock and awe for days that I could possibly be that muscially hip.

On Saturday, we hung out a bit with the fam (which included watching the first part of Ben's baseball game in Mt Vernon) before heading off for our getaway.

After much debate, we ended up booking at night at the Woodmark Hotel on the Kirkland waterfront. This was an excellent decision, particularly because, as it turned out, a very close childhood family friend's wife (did you follow that?) is the guest services manager there, saw (and recognized) our names and gave us an upgrade to a waterview king room on the top floor with a balcony AND a complimentary fruit and cheese platter with a bottle of Syrah, and a rubber ducky to take home to Isla (which she loves by the way because it squeaks!) Oh and did I mention that our breakfast that we charged to the room the following morning was removed from our bill? It was so amazing and I felt like royalty!

For dinner that night, we went to Cafe Juanita (in Kirkland) which stole the position of "my new favorite restaurant" back in January when we first visited. This time we had the Seared Foie Gras with Apple, Candied Ginger and Cocoa nibs (again), Alaskan King Crab with Green Apple Sorbetto and Sweet Crab Butter Powder (Sorbet with crab...SO good! We left wondering what other savory foods we could pair with sorbet), Rabbit Agnolotti dal Plin with Sage Butter followed by Local Rabbit Braised in Arneis with Ligurian Chickpea Crepe, Pancetta and Porcini (yes, we really ate little bunny foo foo times two!) I learned a few things about myself through this dining experience: a) I'm not a huge fan of sauces that star the meat's own juices (ie the Braised Rabbit) and b) it really irks me when wait staff pressures you to order more or when they give you a dirty look when you don't order dessert. One should never, ever feel guilty about what one chooses to and not to order, regardless of how nice/expensive the restaurant. I don't care who you are or what your restaurant's reputation may be, but pressure and guilt trips do not equal good service!! All in all, our meal was great, I just would prefer not to have L_ _ _ _ as our server again.

The overnight portion of our trip went well (despite Graham's work calling just before 6 AM to see if he wanted to come in to work....so much for a full night's sleep!) and Isla didn't seem to miss us a bit. Thanks G + G Wilson for taking her so we could get away to celebrate three very good years!

Awesome Weekend

It's supposed to be sunny and how could it not be wonderful with all we have planned?

At 3:30 PM today, spring break can officially start for Graham--school is out and we both have a week off work! We have lots planned. (If you recall, we initially got this chunk of time off in hopes of going to Mexico. We opted to do a staycation instead to save $$ for France...if it is still going to happen). Tonight we head to Bellingham for dinner with my fam followed by a Brandi Carlile concert, one of my Christmas gifts to Graham. Tomorrow, after watching a little bit of my brother's baseball game, we are going to leave Isla with my parents and celebrate our anniversary with our very first night away! We aren't going far. In fact, we'll be within 6 miles of our own doorstep in downtown Kirkland. I think it says a lot when you can go downtown in your own city and feel like you're on vacation. We love where we live! We have dinner reservations at my newest favorite restaurant (Cafe Juanita) and will probably also enjoy breakfast out before retrieving the little missy.

On Sunday, we are going to dinner with friends downtown Seattle, followed by a Jamie Cullum concert (boy, we sure are living it up--2 dinners out and 2 concerts--I think this is a first!) We haven't mapped out the rest of the week exactly but we are hoping to do the following:

-get coffee and chocolates and hangout in the Four Seasons lobby downtown (this was highlighted as the "thing to do" in one of our Sunset magazines so we're going to give it a try)
-tour Theo Chocolate in Fremont
-travel to Tacoma to visit the Museum of Glass followed by some hushpuppies and other real southern food at Southern Kitchen. (We saw it featured on Food TV and my secret indulgence is hushpuppies so I've been dying to go ever since. Shhhh, don't tell).
-see the latest and greatest at SAM (curtosy of the free passes through Graham's work)
-revisit the Joe Bar for crepes, one of our favorite pastimes when we were dating
-replace and replenish my wardrope with a trip to the outlet mall

Believe it or not, we will actually be able to do all this AND save money (when you're comparing it all to a trip to Mexico of course!) I hear Isla waking so I'm gonna get this spring break kicked off when a nice walk in the sunshine. Enjoy your weekend!

New favorite restaurant

A few weeks ago, my parents came down to spend the evening with Isla so Graham and I could go out on a date.  This was a birthday gift--$$ for a fancy dinner and free babysitting--- "given" back in August, but not redeemed until now.  I'd been eyeing the menu at Cafe Juanita for months.  I kept reading about it in magazines; it's been rated one of the best restaurants in the area.  The chef  owner, Holly, was recently a contestant on the popular show, Top Chef.  We'd driven by the restaurant (which is a house-converted-to-restaurant) a number of times and it's nothing special from the outside. In fact, quite honestly, I think it would benefit from a makeover to improve its curb appeal (the beaded curtain hiding the ice chests outside the kitchen entrance didn't do anything for me).  We probably never would have visited had our only exposure been our "drive-bys".  But we heard SO MANY good things about it.  So we went. And it was incredible!  The ambiance on the inside with a fireplace and candlelight made up for the boring exterior. 

We were given $100 to spend on our meal.  This may seem like a lot but in the world of fancy meals, two entrees could cost this much. Easily.  We decided to order a few different courses to split between the 2 of us and were very pleasantly surprised by how we were able to stretch our dollar.  Our waiter was wonderful and actually encouraged us to split items.  And they split each of our courses onto seperate plates at no extra charge!  We enjoyed:

-Seared Foie Gras with Apple, Candied Ginger and Cocoa nibs
-Creme Fraiche Soup with Shallots and Spot Prawns
-Sweet Grass Farms Wagyu Beef Bolognese with Tagliatelle
-Blackmore Wagyu Flat Iron with Cipollini Agro Dolce and Gorgonzola Piccante

Each course was amazing!  I was a big fan of the foie gras---TO DIE FOR!!---and Graham's favorite was the soup.  The beef (blackmore wagyu) literally melted in your mouth.  And surprisingly, the courses were good-sized and so we left full and agreed we probably could have done without the pasta and still been full.  The best part about it is that, although it is a high end place, it is certainly not out of reach for a semi-regular date night if you just order an entree or pasta dish per person or a salad and entree to share.

We will be going back and I highly recommend you pay them a visit too.  I can officially cross my first item off my bucket list!

(Actually) Cheap Date...

....and we even went to Tiffany's!

Last night, we successfully went on an ooober cheap date, to make up for our accidental extravagant night at Rover's. We went to Il Fornaio for happy hour which is an Italian place inside Pacific Place. The great thing was that all you had to do was buy a drink and then the food was free! That's right: FREE! We'd seen some article in the Times about this place and it's free food but I half expected them to tell us "oh we're not doing that anymore" or something when we arrived. For once, it wasn't too good to be true. The food was good, especially considering the fact that it was free--we had delicious chicken pieces with blue cheese sauce, mini pizza squares, hummus and pita, puff pastry with prosciutto and craisins, multiple types of brucheta etc. We sipped our glasses of cab while we discussed Christmas traditions we hope to start for our family. And we left exceeding our $10 budget by only 30 cents!

After eating, we browsed a few stores in the mall (also free because we didn't buy anything!) Graham even took me into Tiffany's to dream about a right hand ring sometime way down the road (I think you have to be celebrating a double digit anniversary at least to get one but I'm not sure what the rule is). Anyway, he took me right out of Tiffany's when I started talking about how I thought I would need a really wide, big ring to tone down my large, long fingers. Not sure why we practically ran out of there at that point. :o)

Graham's cousin Susanna-who is attending SPU-watched Isla for free for the evening which we so appreciated. Thanks Susanna! We ended the evening running by Costco on the way home for some frozen yogurt to enjoy along with a couple of episodes of LOST. All in all, we had a grand evening for less than 15 bucks--success!

(Almost) Cheap Date

Graham and I are suckers for good deals. I honestly can't remember a time when we went to a restaurant and paid full price for 2 entrees. Our eating out technique is usually a) to get a salad and entree to share, b) to use a coupon from our entertainment book or restaurant.com or c) to go to happy hour and share a few things. We always try to keep the bill under $20-$30 total. Well, our entertainment book expired this week so we resorted to restaurant.com for this weeks' date idea. We'd both been eyeing Rovers near Madison Park over the past year and were thrilled to discover a coupon on restaurant.com. Graham had a discount even so we paid $4 for a $25 gift certificate. We looked at the menu online and were amazed at the prices of the entrees--I mean, Hudson Valley Foie Gras with Red Cameo Apple and Apple Cider Gastrique for only $19? This could be quite the steal! The place is always top rated (I believe 4 stars) and so we were thinking we could get out of there within budget if we used are coupon and both ordered one entree (basically making it buy one get one free). Maybe we could even spend a little extra and share a glass of wine to go with our meal? It seemed a little too good to be true...and it was.

We arrive and immediately realize the place is incredibly fancy (thankfully I'd convinced Graham to change out of his jeans before we left). The following conversation was quite comical:

Host: Good evening! Can I get your name please?
Graham: Well, actually, we don't have a reservation.
Host: That's fine! And what is your last name?
Graham: Crozier (types it in the computer)
Host: And your first name?
Graham: Graham (typing away)
Then the host proceeds to get our phone number and then asks "And will you be dining with us this evening?"
Us (thinking): HUH?? No, actually, we just wanted to swing by and drop off all our information and be on our merry way. Haha, of course we'll be dining with you!

Anyway, we were seated and noticed the THREE goblets at each place setting...yep, gonna be fancy. Then came the real shocker. We were handed our menus and as we began scanning them, we realized that we should have read the website more closely. The restaurant is famous for tasting menus where you pay once price and get 6-10 individual COURSES. Unfortunately, the prices we'd seen for what we thought were entrees were actually for only one tiny course!! The waiter informed us that we were welcome to dine a la carte and that he usually recommended 3-4 course per person (do the mental math, that's already about $60-80 each). Ha! In looking at the wine list, they didn't even serve any wine by the glass and the cheapest bottle was $40 (ranging all the way up to $800+). The table next to us was a party of 5. I couldn't help but overhear them selecting the largest tasting menu ($130 pp) along with wine pairings (an additional $75 pp). Their bill was going to be upwards of $1000!

We chose to split 4 items (yes we went a bit over budget--that just means a free date next week) and the food was absolutely incredible! We had foie gras, pork belly, pureed sunchoke, potato leek soup (a few of which I'd never tasted before so it was a great experience). Thankfully, they brought bread and we ate about a loaf and a half so actually left feeling quite satisfied despite the small portions. :o)

Don't get me wrong, the restaurant was phenominal and I would love, love, LOVE to go back there and completely blow the wad for some special occasion. Graham and I have done a multi course meal which included wine pairings with each course and it was indeed probably the best dining experience of my life. Rovers I'm sure would offer a similar experience. It was just that we were expecting such a steal of a deal and a cheap date that night....

The Wallingford Pizza House

A couple Sundays ago after church, we finally ventured into the Wallingford Pizza House to give it a try. Graham has been wanting to pay them a visit for a while now and for one reason or another, it never happened.

We went with our friends the Moodys and I must saw were very pleasantly surprised. We walked in at the prime Sunday lunch hour but were greeted by a bunch of empty tables which made us a bit nervous. Why was no one else eating here? Thankfully, it must have been a fluke because our meal was fabulous!

We began with a Greek Salad to share, complete with spinach, red peppers, kalamata olives, onions and large chunks of creamy feta cheese. We easily split the salad between the 4 of us.

Next, we ordered the "Full On" 12 inch deep dish pizza which included canadian bacon, sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers, olives, onion and pineapple t0pped with mozarella cheese. We even splurged and added jalapenos on one half and spinach on the other. The pizza arrived and was over 1 1/2 inches thick! I wasn't sure it was going to live up to my previous Chicago-style deep dish pizza experience (actually in Chicago) but it did! The crust was perfectly done, not at all greasy as one might expect with our rich topping selection.

We had a coupon from our entertainment book that cut 1/3 of the cost off our bill which made for a great steal of a meal. Normally when I go out, I like to try gourmet eclectic restaurants but I think we just might be paying the Wallingford Pizza House another visit here in the near future...

My wish, on a budget

Yesterday my hubby absolutely SPOILED me for my last birthday without kids. My birthday wish was simple: to go out to eat for every single meal. As a foodie, this was an absolute dream for me! I feel like we already have so much stuff and I didn't really want to have to find storage space for more stuff so I made my birthday wish list short and sweet. Graham is a genius and set strict rules for himself to ensure we ate really well while staying within budget. The man is amazing--I don't know where he comes up with the deals that he does but he had a discount for everything which took away a lot of the guilt for all our indulgences (although I must say there was a bit of guilt hangover this morning as I tried to ignore the number I calories I must have consumed yesterday!) :o)

Our day started off at Julia's in Issaquah. This very well might be becoming a traditional breakfast for my birthday. Last year, Graham took me to the Julia's in Wallingford where I experienced the most amazing pancake of my life. So this year, I didn't even have to think twice (or even really look at the menu) when deciding where I wanted to go and what I wanted. Once again, I ordered their skillet-sized pancake with everything in it (blueberries, granola, poppy seeds and chocolate chips) and a fresh-squeezed orange juice. Heavenly! Graham had their biscuits and gravy and a fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice.
I was instructed not to order coffee with breakfast and I obeyed. As if our huge meal wasn't enough, next we headed off to the new Zokas location that just opened in downtown Kirkland. The shop is ultra modern with lots of light wood accents. Here we shared a small caramel soy latte (which was FREE I might add due to a coupon happened upon by my savy husband). The coffee tasted just like what we had in Italy....yum! We enjoyed lots of conversation and people watching here before we headed home for a little nap.
Before we knew it, it was time to eat again! :o) Graham took me to another eastside favorite (I've blogged about it previously): Gilbert's on Main. We ordered their french onion soup that came with a wedge of ciabatta, a mixed green salad with apples and Gorgonzola in a light walnut vinaigrette and a spinach, garlic and swiss bagel with whipped cream cheese. Once again, we were not disappointed!

The weather was starting to clear up and we were both warm in our long pants so we enjoyed our meal out on the patio.

Do I look full yet?

Next, Graham took me down to Pike Place Market so we could play tourist in our own city. Pike Place never fails to disappoint--the flowers in particular were amazing given that we're in the dead of summer. Dahlias and sunflowers are definitely in season right now!

Mr. Romance let me pick out a birthday bouquet. We had to walk the strip of flower stalls twice for me to decide on the perfect bunch. Graham ended up spotting this bouquet which is just what I love--green and white with a splash of orangy color.

After awkwardly trying to take a self portrait of the two of us with the flowers, some nice gentleman stepped in and offered to snap our photo.

By this time, we were actually both quite beat (I mean seriously, we'd be sitting and eating ALL DAY--that's enough to wear anyone out!) We decided to head home to relax and change (and get hungry!) before heading out for dinner. Graham gave me two options for dinner--he wouldn't tell me the names of the restaurants but read me the menus so I could decide. I ended up choosing the menu at Mona's Bistro in Ravenna. We didn't really get any good pictures of our meal because the place was dimly lit and I was embarrassed by our camera flash. Needless to say, the food was great! We started off with an arugula salad with Humboldt fog goat cheese, truffled honey, red peppers and pistachios. The salad with HUGE even though we ordered a small! For our main course, I ordered Wild Boar Papparadelle and Graham ordered the "Spur of the Moment" which happened to be Pork Ravioli with leeks in a Shitake Mushroom cream sauce. He also had a glass of red wine (which unfortunately we can't remember the name of) that had strong earthy and leathery tones. I could only imagine that it went really well with my rich red sauce (Graham said it did). I must say Graham scored with his entree choice--it was divine (thankfully he shared with the birthday girl). My dish was also good but I found it begging for some really good, sharp parmesan cheese to contrast the rich sweetness of the sauce (can you tell I read too many foodie books?)

After dinner, we stopped by Coldstone for my favorite treat: Cake Batter Ice Cream with brownies, cookie dough and peanut butter--which we brought home to share while watching So I Married an Ax Murderer (Graham watched, I fell asleep).

Sigh. What a wonderfully, fabulously, deliciously relaxing day!

(PS-I woke up this morning, went straight on a walk and then had a bowl of bran buds with raspberries as if to counteract my behavior yesterday.) :o)

Gilbert's

I've always secretly wished I could be a food critic. I think that would be the perfect job--to get paid to eat! I had thought at one point that I would use my blog as my own personal restaurant review site but I sort of forgot about that idea...until today.

Today is our day off this week but Graham had to go into work this morning for a 7:30 AM class on how to identify patients who have had strokes. Anyway, I made the wise decision of going along with him (not to the actual class though--I just hung out, had a latte and journaled in the very nice Overlake lobby). The reason it was such a good choice to go along was because Graham took me out to breakfast afterwards which is pretty much my favorite activity ever! Yesterday, he'd discovered "Old Bellevue" which apparently was the former hub of Bellevue. "Main Street" is lined with super cute shops and restaurants that were great for window shopping. He took me to this AWESOME cafe called "Gilbert's." I think it is my new favorite place! They have these fabulous petite-breakfast specials on weekday mornings that really are far from being petite (they just aren't the oversized American portions). I ordered the egg scramble with tomatoes, spinach and feta. The guy at the counter said the scramble was known to be even better with kalamata olives which he offered to add for free--sure! Why not? The scramble came along with a fresh bagel of my choice (I chose the spinach, Havarti and garlic bagel which was the most incredible bagel I've ever had) with cream cheese and jam. All that for only $4.95! Graham ordered the petite french toast plate that came with an egg scramble of cheddar, green onions and mushrooms. We ordered one chicken apple sausage on the side to split but when the guy taking our order found out we were splitting, he said he'd just give us a second one for free. He also gave us a hand-written coupon for 2 free crepes because when we first walked in, we were planning to get crepes until be realized they were only served during the lunch/afternoon hours. The guy was great and made us feel very welcome. The decor was fun with walls painted with an Italian-style theme. We sat by the front window which was lined with fun books that entertained us while we waited for our food. We walked out of there with our bellies feeling very satisfied with less than $10 damage! We are definitely going back to Gilbert's. If you are ever on the eastside, check it out!