Leavenworth, Washington- Thanksgiving Destination 2012

November 18, 2012 by 1 Comment

Leavenworth is a village in Washington state, approximately 5 hours N of Portland, Oregon or a little more than 2 hours east of Seattle. Or, instead of driving, take the Amtrak to Leavenworth "Icicle" Station (LWA) .

In researching this town, I was impressed by the
Leavenworth City Website– they have really good website information architecture,
including one whole section where you can be guided for more information
on exactly what a resident cares about, varying from building things on
your property or destroying/getting rid of things or paying for various
utility services. Good job website designer for the city of
Leavenworth!

What makes Leavenworth unique is that this former logging town, trying to save itself when the Railway Company rerouted elsewhere and the sawmill closed ending the logging business, decided to turn Leavenworth into a Bavarian-themed tourist destination. Their bet was to draw visitors in by offering a taste of Germany, leveraging their natural snow capped alpine mountains (the Cascade mountains to be exact) around them and a little extra work to the town itself. This includes Tudor revival architecture to give the impression of an Alpine village, old fashioned lamp posts and imported German chefs, a Bavarian Village style shopping area of Front Street boasting beer halls and nutcrackers and chocolates and bratwurst, an Autumn Maifest, one of the largest Oktoberfest celebrations outside of Munich, and an annual Bavarian Christmas celebration.

This will be our destination for Thanksgiving. During the weekend immediately following Thanksgiving, it still be too early for their full Christmas celebration season, as it is still before their Christmas Lighting Festival (which occurs the next 3 weekends when it's December proper). But, they will have a Christkindlemarkt all weekend right after Thanksgiving. These are Christmas markets that are in towns where local tradesman and artisans sell their craft, so are usually full of lots of unique homemade items for sale and which will include some items which are specialties of that region.

I've always wanted to have a European holiday experience. Yet, the very first time I went to Europe was just earlier this year. My trip then was for work and only included a few days in Germany (mostly Munich- although I did get to stop and have a visit at Nuremberg on the way there from Frankfurt)- work obligations had me continue on to Asia for more work instead of being able to visit a little longer. Being there in February gave me a chance to enjoy some of the snow crunching under my boots (which I then discovered had a hole in them!) and chilled crisp air, but without the benefit of the smell of sweet candies or spiced breads or sights of nutcrackers and other carved handicraft goods.

When I lived in Chicago, there was a Christkindlmarkt that they had downtown that I would visit every year, and I could never say no to the latkes and pierogi and spiced cider and stollen… but it's been 4 years since I have visited one.

So, I can't wait for Leavenworth! Can you tell I'm quite excited!?! Here's some examples of my list of hopeful to-dos in Leavenworth… we'll see what I report back.

There are also a lot of wine tasting room options, though I won't list them now. But I will leave this Woody Goomsba video, which is a character starring in a  video among several in his Youtube channel created to promote tourism to Leavenworth, here…

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A brunch at Lola’s in Seattle

September 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Tom Douglas, I don’t know how you keep doing it, but bless you for all the scrumptiousness you bring with your restaurant empire in Seattle. This time, we went to his outpost of Lola for a Sunday brunch.

Below, you see Tom’s big breakfast, a mix of roasted corn, walla walla onion, green beans, poached egg, garlic yogurt, toast, and Mediterranean octopus. And, they are generous with that soft tender octopus.They call it big breakfast, but you don’t feel uncomfortably full from it either, it almost seems healthy. Well, probably before the toast with butter and the potatoes I ordered extra on the side…

It seems simple, just a scramble, but the flavors and textures give you tickle of your taste sensations. Seasoned wonderfully, it explodes and swirls on your tastebuds as a a mix of sweet and savory and spicy with octopus as tender as scallop and crunchy caramelized onions and green beans  and bursts of corn kernals, and then the ooze of yolk from the egg and also some cool creaminess from the greek yogurt to tame the stimulating sensation with all this. You can compose each of your spoonfuls (and you bet I ate this with a spoon) to be this.

Tom's Big Breakfast octopus hash Brunch at Lola, Seattle

Meanwhile, my friend had the Greek scramble with feta, tomatoes, basil, bacon, smashed garlic potatoes, toast. The feta was a great touch of saltiness for the egg. We were drawn to Lola’s in the first place by the Smashed garlic-fried potatoes, which we were surprised given how well flavored our two dishes were, how bland these potatoes were. She added salt and pepper to hers, while I let my get swirled around on my plate to absorb the Tom Big Breakfast seasoning.

Greek Scramble Brunch at Lola, Seattle

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Final Bites in Seattle: La Toscanella Bakery, Marjorie Restaurant, Portage Bay Cafe

August 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment

La Toscanella Bakery is a newly opened Italian bakery with lots of beautiful cookies and pastries. When I stopped by for a small breakfast before work (fortunately it is on the first floor of the building I was staying in South Lake Union), I had half a dozen quiches to select from, and went with the bacon and leek one. Though I wish it had been warmer when served, my friend's scramble took 30 minutes and was overdone so maybe I was better off not letting it get forgotten in their grill oven. The iced mocha I had was really chocolatey coffee goodness.

Marjorie Restaurant, the time I had that super green meal for dinner. First, the table shared an appetizer of a special of the day scallop ceviche and Miss Marjorie’s Steel Drum Plantain Chips with Pineapple, Avocado, Tomato, and Chaat, which they plated together. For me this was accompanied by a Sidetrack Raspberry Ricky with Sidetrack Raspberry (Sidetrack is a local distillery), Lime, Cachaca, Soda).  The plaintain chips were surprisingly fresh and warm.

But, then when it was time for the main play, I ordered that I realized as they placed my order before me, in a way that totally went green. First, for drinks a Marjorie Mojito of Golden Rum, Muddled Mint, Fresh Lime, the Right Amount of Sugar and Love." (very green love apparently). And for my dinner I had Spinach-­‐Ricotta Gnocchi with Kale, Cherry Tomato, Baby Carrot, Pecorino Romano… so green. Must be healthy right.


The next morning, as I perused various breakfast options that were nearby, my eyes lit up at grits. So off to Portage Bay Cafe's Summer Grits and Egg plate, a dish of soft stoneground white hominy grits cooked up with sweet peppers and shallots, topped with Beecher’s Flagship cheddar, and two poached eggs, accompanied by a small bowl of fruit and toast. The grits were just what I wanted.

Yet, I also really wanted a reason to go up to their center table/bar area that was overflowing with fruit and cream for you to top your pancakes or waffles or even your special fruit side plate that you could order as a side (check out Yelp for some photos taken by others). But remembering Sunday and Spinasse and the fullness level I was at then, I wanted to save room for my visit to Beecher's later. My goal was to get a grilled cheese for the Amtrak and some frozen World's Best mac and cheese (I bought mariachi since it came with "vegetables", and I like to buy it frozen because when I put it in the oven I add some panko for more crunch and also let it burn a little) to take back to PDX. Next time. Next time, I would find a way to make it to that fruit toppings bar that just looked gorgeous. It was just brimming with berries and lots of cut fruit, which is my favorite way of having large fruit: already cut for me like I'm a celebrity. Who wouldn't find that appealing?

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Spinasse Dinner: Italian Heaven in Seattle

August 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Delicate lovely Italian restaurant Spinasse was a request on my part because I wanted to feel the Tajarin Love. Even before we had ordered (though I had been reading and rereading the menu and photos on yelp and Foodspotting for a few days, so I was quite ready) we were greeted with an amuse bouche of a salmon mousse on bread cracker. Our waitress was very patient and generous with big smiles and checking in while leaving us alone as we lingered throughout our meal, eating slowly and savoring the flavors… and also because we were full even before we walked in. But we were determined to enjoy anyway!

We started our overindulgance (ok, this was my fault again) with Antipasto misto della casa, which is “A taste of all our house antipasti”. That’s right, instead of picking I just picked them all, muahaha. For this visit, that included

Spinasse Dinner Seattle antipasto

  • Pio Tosini prosciutto di Parma Prosciutto di Parma aged 14 months with marinated apricots.
  • Bruschetta di salmone Cured salmon bruschetta with Spinasse’s own ricotta and roasted beet.
  • Insalata di cicoria di campo, a local chicory salad with marinated rabbit, parmigiano-reggiano and balsamico.
  • Insalata rusa, a Summer Russian salad with carrots, cherry tomatoes, spring onion, salsa tonnata and anchovy.

These were delicious, I loved the textures and slight bitterness with the chicory salad that was balanced with the rabbit contrasted with the parmigiano-reggiano saltiness and acidic yet sweet aged balsamico; the prosciutto was a generous portion that I layered atop the soft bread; the bruschetta had the bright roasted beets where I made sure not to lose a single little cube; and my favorite of the four was the Insalata ruso with the flavors of the carrots and cherry tomatoes with the creaminess of the salsa tonnata.

Ah, and then the promised and well reviewed Tajarin al ragù o burro e salvia, a fine hand cut egg pasta with ragù or butter and sage. I went with butter and sage because I wanted to taste the handmade pasta in all its subtle detail. It was ridiculously amazing, I think I could have eaten that pasta dough raw with the butter and sage out of the way because that pasta was just so fresh and good. The strands of the pasta were just so impossibly thin, like the gold thread you would expect Rumpelstiltskin to spin. Each forkful is luscious and melt in your mouth- though that could have also been the ridiculous amount of butter. Well, that’s why I agreed to try out a Flywheel spin class the next morning at 6am- so no worries about what I’m eating here. If the reward after every spin class was this dish, I would buy a membership today. I tried not to scare other diners by letting them see my eyes roll back as I enjoyed these exquisite silky strands sprinkled with Parmesan .

Spinasse Dinner Seattle tajarin

We finished with the Anatra con prunge, a dish of braised duck leg with plums, tremiti olives and basil. So complex in flavors, with each of the components really great on their own, and a symphony all together. But boy was I uncomfortably full, and also mad at the Unicorn and my lack of forethought earlier when ordering at Skillet Diner. I had read that Spinasse had been called the best Italian in Seattle, which I wondered if that was hype… but it really isn’t.

Spinasse Dinner dinner duck leg

Seriously, just looking at the tajarin again and this video which highlights how they create the pasta and the dish, I want to go eat it right now, and I just ate it for dinner the other night… Except this time I would save up so I could order more rather than having 2 other meals that were not Spinasse that day. I have a crush on Spinasse and want to stalk it- how fortunate for it that it is located in Seattle and not where I live.

Pasta: Unique Eats from Lissa Gruman on Vimeo.

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A most delicious brunch at Skillet Diner, Seattle… and then there was Unicorn

August 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I was in Seattle for business, but decided to visit a friend and combine work and pleasure. Arriving by Amtrak by noon, we then walked from the West Lake area to the Capital Hill neighborhood, the neighborhood that sort of became our neighborhood theme for this trip.

By accident, we ended up on that Sunday at Skillet Diner. We arrived towards the end of the Brunch rush around 2pmish, and we were only two people and willing to sit at the counter, reducing our wait to perhaps only 10 minutes or so, though the mid-70s sunny weather and the seats and benches outside made the waiting quite tolerable. We ordered a liquid libation (even though we had “rested” after our walk up the hill with a sangria margarita at Bimbos Cantina just before- we think that drink made us realize how much we needed food).

Skillet Diner, Seattle

Also, we each ordered our own entree, and I ordered poutine to share on top… even though we also had dinner plans at 6pm. Will we be smarter next time? Maybe, not sure. I do want to go back- I had a hard time selecting from the menu, and that was just the brunch menu, not the dinner diner one. Why didn’t they tell me I can buy the bacon jam to take home on that brunch menu!

The poutine – hand-cut fries,gravy, cheddar, herbs – was serviceable but a little too soggy, and after being spoiled by the curds of cheese in the crisper fries of the poutine of Potato Champion here in Portland, Skillet Diner’s version didn’t shine.  It does absorb alcohol though. She had the “the ultimate grilled cheese” with brie, cheddar and american cheeses on brioche toast with the addition of bacon jam, which was delicious. I had been eyeing it too… in retrospect we should have shared it.

But I greedily ordered another entree based on the raves on Foodspotting, a pork belly & cornmeal maple braised waffle with 2 eggs (I chose sunny side up for the runny yolk). Individually, the pieces were ok, but carefuly composed on a fork together, they were a combination of yolky richness and salty fatty porkyness and sweet and mealy with slight crispy softness waffle.

Skillet Diner, Seattlepoutine, Skillet Diner, Seattle pork belly and cornmeal maple braised waffle with 2 eggs, Skillet Diner, Seattle

We should have stopped there. But we were feeling adventurous, and so we stopped at the Unicorn. Animals looked down from the walls of the first floor (we didn’t know there was a second floor that included videogames until later) including the bar side where the bar is colorfully painted with rainbow of colors and a water buffalo had a cigarette dangling from its lip. We sat in the booth with zebra pattern back and an aqua and black striped window outlined with a fancy valentine heart of red glitter as a unicorn in a shampoo commercial looked down upon us.

Unicorn, Seattle Unicorn, Seattle

The drink we shared, Unicorn Jizz, of Three Olives Mango Vodka, triple sec, OJ, sweet ‘n’ sour, grenadine, Sprite, hurt our digestive system for the rest of the night. It also brought up memories and conversations of what you drink when you are in young and in college and the college Greek system. We were amused as we also read the menu and shuddered at other mixed drinks with Bubblegum Vodka, shots of cotton candy or cupcake vodka dropped into energy drinks, other beverage names such as Morning Wood and Thug Passion, and a food menu that offered no less than 10 versions of corndogs and a sweet section that included deep frying with Hershey’s kiss battered objects like Twinkies, Oreos and Reeses Pieces. It definitely seems like the kind of place that can f you up. When we told one of our younger designer friends of it, I would say he was “impressed” we visited.

Unicorn, Seattle Unicorn, SeattleUnicorn, Seattle

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