Meat and Bread - Porchetta - My Crack

There are a few things popping up on the Vancouver food scene that I like, that I like a lot.
Thin crust Neapolitan style pizza:
Nicle

Bibo

Campagnolo

All excellent.
And then there are the Porchetta sandwiches joints.
Pronto

Meat and Bread

I say bring it on. I think there should be a pizza place and a porchetta joint next to every Starbucks in town.
In fact, let's combine the two - porchetta thin crust pizza, OMG.
I'm going to grab takeout Pizza Margereta from Nicli, walk the block and a half to Meat and Bread, grab a pound of porchetta,  find a doorway in Gastown and dig in. I don't care that the guy next to me is smoking crack or that the doorway smells like piss, I'm having my porchetta pizza, this is my crack, leave me the fuck alone.
Six months from now when you find me in a Gastown gutter weighing 300 pounds caked in pork fat and cloths stained with tomato sauce hallucinating about pork skin, still chasing the high of the very first luscious crackling pork skin in my sandwich, please pick me up, slap me senseless, throw me in a shower and drive me to Jenny Craig.

Making the Sandwich

Yes, the Porchetta at Meat and Bread is that good.
There’s a bunch of other stuff on the menu, but if I were to visit 100 times I still wouldn’t care about them. I’m sure it’s all very good though but at the end of the day how can you compete with porchetta. And also, buy a jar of their homemade mustard, there is nothing like it anywhere, trust me.

Bacon maple syrup ice cream sandwich:

Van Mags best things to eat in Vancouver 2011

Very light on the maple, nice Smokey salty goodness when you come across a a chunk of bacon.

Bacon Maple Ice Cream

It seems another trend is to throw bacon into everything. Not a bad idea generally speaking but in the end I’m not sure if I would order it again, Its ok, perhaps I am more of an ice cream traditionalist.

Brave the crowds pray for a seat and do yourself a favour, grab a porchetta sandwich at Meat and Bread.

In case anyone was counting I wrote porchetta 8 times...9 times.

The Red Wagon Cafe. Mmm pulled pork pancakes.

I hear Deb saying, "Wow, you ate that fast"
I look up from what's left of my pancakes, quickly scan everyone else’s plates, yup they look shamefully untouched and yes I have indeed hoovered my meal.
Slight embarrassment ensues but only for a moment. Screw it, I look down and continue the destruction of the pulled pork buttermilk pancakes.

Ya, this totally sucks! I need another stack.

Pride wins over gluttony. Both are deadly, but then perhaps so are these pancakes. Spicy succulent pulled pork nestled between three soft butter pancakes and then doused in totally awesome Jack Daniels maple syrup. Make sure you have all three on your fork at every bit because together this is a symphony. I bumped things up with a poached egg on top. What can I say a bit of gluttony kicked in during ordering, the creamy yoke breaking over the pancakes just adds an extra layer of decadence. I’m not even a pancakes guy. I can’t remember the last time I ordered pancakes, seriously.

The server tells me that this is the number one order for breakfast lunch and dinner service. I can believe it. It’s also what Guy Fieri had when he visited with Triple D. BTW, mark down Dec 19^th on your calendar the Red Wagon airs on the food network. That would be Triple D checking out Triple P at RW ;) Nevermind.

Deb had the burger. It looked great. Better in fact then the one I had a while back. Check out my review back at Handsome Burger.

Dave had the pulled pork. He licked his fingers clean.

Wei had the beef and brie sandwich. I had a slice, it was ok. But then I just had the pancakes and its not a fair transition. The home made chps are addictive.

My only complaint about the Red Wagon is the size, this place is tiny and there was a constant line at the door waiting to be seated. It’s time to hitch another wagon to the red wagon and expand.

Nicli Antica Pizzaria: Prosciutto e Rucola

The dough has a nice thick shell, soft tender toothy interior.

The tomato sauce is soft subtle sweet.

The prosciutto is unfortunately over salty. I can't believe I'm even entertaining the idea but perhaps the pizza would be better off without this prosciutto. I don't have a list per say but prosciutto might just be in my top 10 favourite things of all time. I know, it’s a scary thought but somehow, the saltiness of the prosciutto overpowers the delicacy of the other ingredients.
Maybe it was the brand, I sometimes find the local grocery store prosciutto overly salty. The producer cutting corners during processing, it’s a lot cheaper to pump the hog full of salt instead of letting it hang and properly cure.

None the less there is lots to like about Nicli pizza. It’s fresh its lively its toothy and it is good.

I look forward to going back,  I've already picked my next order. Is that wrong?
Definitely on my favourite Vancouver pizza list.

My apologies on the photos. I didn't have my camera and my Blackberry was not cutting the mustard. Or maybe it was just shooting through it becouse it just wouldn't focus.

Zakos Deli. No way VanMag!

Really?? Van Mags Best Things to Eat and Drink in Vancouver.

No Way! Are the people at Van Mag insane? Read this:
" As close as you can get to experiencing Schwartz's in Montreal without boarding a plane"

I've been to Schwartz's and Zakos's isn’t  even close. BTW, just out of coincidence Follow me Foodie just posted a blog on Schwartz this week. Check out the photos and compare. My god, no comparison.



There is no soul at Zako's. OK, the smoked meat is pretty good, but the Sandwich is sloppy, there's no TLC.
In the end it's just a very average sandwich. The best smoked meat in the lower mainland, which I've had so far (happy to take recommendations because I probably won't be going back to Zako's) is at Estrellas in Langley. They get their meat from Montreal as well but they tend to give a damn. Check both out and you'll feel and taste the difference.
I'm looking forward to one day trying locally produced "Montreal Smoked Meat". I'm surprised no one in Vancouver is doing this. And if you are please let me know.



halloween cookie



La Grotto Del Formaggio

A classic old school Italian deli, sandwiches made to order by the Italian lady (or a reasonable facsimile) behind the counter slicing the prosciutto to order rather then having the meat pre-sliced and waiting. Yes this makes a difference.
Olive oil and balsamic drizzled on the soft loaf, pickled eggplant, olives, provolone.
Doing it right on

Commercial street

, which quite frankly you expect them to do things right.
Adding La Grotto to my favourites for deli's.
BTW, they have a great cheese selection in the deli I totally stocked up and also probably half the cost of what you would pay at Whole Foods.
I like whole foods but I often leave with a bag full of awesome stuff and a small nagging feeling in the back of my mind of being ripped off. And yet I’m always eager to got back. I'm more eager to go back to La Grotto, great sandwiches and deli items and zero feeling of putsiness on the way out.

Cafe Medina

   

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Olive Tapenade



I'm a big fan of Chambar Belgian restaurant. It's been my long standing pre - restaurant. Meaning it’s the go to place pre game, pre theatre, downtown outing. When I crave mussels and fries, Chambar has the best in the city. Cafe Medina is Chambers’ sister restaurant next door. Were Chambar is open for dinner only Cafe Medina is open for breakfast lunch brunch and special events. A nice fit.
You can certainly tell that the same hand is in on the menu chef and owner Nico Schuermans has a certain distinguishable touch. Outside of mussel frites and waffles and beer I am painfully ignorant of Belgian cuisine but here as with Chambar there is a distinctively Moroccan fusion and west coast style.
I had the, Canard confit
Duck confit, sour cherry compote, brie, anjou pears an pecan raison sourdough. Watercress and caramelized pecans.

When I ordered I didn't know that it was a sandwich. But I was pleasantly surprised because I love almost anything between two pieces of bread. The canard sandwich was flavourful, sweat and totally hit the spot and BTW paired beautifully with my apricot beer.
My dining companion (DC) had the Paella.

Duck

Paella
Baked egg, curried orzo, Hungarian chorizo, zucchini, red pepper, roasted corn, grana padano. Watercress, tomatoes, avocado.

Unfortunatly she came away unimpressed, primarily because she didn't read the small print, orzo pealle, not rice, she was looking for rice and the dish never rebounded, she ate half before giving up.

DC Wei looked like she got the prize, the fricassee was phenomenal, and I had some.

2 eggs, braised short ribs, roasted potatoes, caramelized onions, arugula and smoked applewood cheddar. Grilled foccacia.

Fricassee

Fricassee in this case is French for short rib hash and it’s a standout everything comes together. I would wait in line for this one.

Definitely check cafe medina out for brunch lunch or whenever it's open.

Fresh Local Wild Seafood Cart

The food cart thing in Vancouver is still in it's infancy and already there are early favorites and the good ones are starting to generate some buzz. Fresh Local Wild has generated enough buzz that Guy Fieri from the Food Network made a visit on his first trip to Vancouver. I'm looking forward to seeing the episode.

I'm a big fan of food trucks at least the ones that do it right. Doing it right means fresh food, local food and organic ingredients. Holy crap someone should name a truck fresh local and organic! Close but then again since this truck is a seafood joint the wild fits better.

I had the fried oyster sandwich, crunchy oyster nuggets soft, supple, briny on the inside, nice. I'm glad I made it in time, I got the last one, two persons after me they ran out of all sandwiches, 90 tuna melts today, wow. It seams the tuna melt is the truck specialty, ok, I know what I 'm having next time. BTW, the fries are also outstanding, fresh cut, crispy, totally flavorful; my recommendation is to mix the sriracha in with your ketchup, my new favorite, who knew?

I like this cart; I'm going to add it to my favorites for carts. If you like places like Go Fish at Granville island or Red Fish Blue Fish in Victoria, then I don't think you'll be disappointed with Fresh Local Wild. Check them out at the corner of Burrard and Hastings

Peaceful Restaurant - No Thousand Chili Chicken

Peaceful has two restaurant locations in Vancouver I visited the

Davie Street

location.

I am here because of the “buzz”: Van Mags things to eat 2011 – Thousand Chilli Chicken.

And also a few months ago Guy Fieri from Food Networks Diners Drive-ins and Dives visited Vancouver and Peaceful was one of the restaurants he visited. I don’t know what he ate?  The show will view in the New Year.

First impressions; Peaceful is a nice no frills family restaurant. The kitchen is open so that you can view the chefs pull handmade paste. I love that. If you’ve never had fresh pasta this way go quickly, there is nothing better on a cold wet Vancouver day then fresh pulled home-made pasta in broth.

General Tsao's Chicken

Today I am here for the Thousand Chilli Chicken. But crap it’s not on the lunch menu. I asked for it anyway and I had a slight language problem with the server. I got a bit flustered, had to order by number off the menu, had chicken on the mind and ended up ordering General Tsao’s Chicken instead.

 It was pretty good; the chicken was supper tender, the sauce was sweat and yet a bit on the salty side. The broccoli had a fantastic pineapplely flavour.  But damn it, it wasn’t the thousand chilli chicken. And just to rub it, I was sitting at the window counter and smack in front of my face was the takeout menu with Item C1: Thousand Chilli Chicken staring me right in the face.

C1: Sichuan Thousand Chilli Chicken

Peaceful Beef Rolls: Five Spice beef in crispy green onion flat bread and sweat hiosin sauce. Good finger food. This is all about the sweet hiosin sauce for me, tastily but I found the flatbread a bit greasy. Still an OK dish.

Peaceful Beef Rolls

I can see why Triple D came around. The restaurant is nice family run type of joint, you get a nice show from the pulled pasta and the food is pretty good.

But me, I’m just going to obsess about not having the Thousand Chilli Chicken.

I'll be back!

Sushi Q a cold wet winters dish

 Sushi Q is a tiny tiny maybe 15 seat sushi joint on Dunbar, so small that the one and only restroom is in the back through the kitchen. The sushi master guy was butchering tuna and I am also happy to report that the kitchen was very clean.

Perhaps all restrooms should be through the kitchen? Then again, maybe not (I might never go back to some of my favorite restaurants).

I here specifically for the spice Miso chowder, Van Mags best places to eat and drink in Vancouver. I thought I'd throw in the Dunbar roll as well, what the hell, when in Rome;

avocado, shrimp, crab, orange row and cucumber roll with a smoked salmon jacket. Tasty but I think the salmon on the outside overpowers everything. Yes I am correct,  I just took the smoked salmon off one piece and it tasted much nicer, the subtle sweetness of the shrimp and crab really came through.

The Miso Chowder: Shrimp like stock broth, not nearly as spicy or salty as I expected but it does have a beautiful sweetness. The more I eat the impact of the flavour grows and grows, nice surprise. Killer thick noodles, this is a cold wet Vancouver fall and winter dish extraordinaire.

I'll be back on a cold grey Vancouver day. Is it Van Mags best places to eat in Vancouver worthy?

I'm not sure, it is very good but you should go and decide for yourself, it’s worth a trip.

Refeul very disappointing

One of my favorite Vancouver burgers is from Refeul.

One of my favorite Vancouver Pizzas is from Campagnolo, Refeuls sister restaurant.

So it pains me to say that my last experience at Refeul was far, very far, from stellar.

Let me explain:

3:30 on a sunny Saturday my wife and I are starving we haven't had lunch so we decide to step into Refeul for a quick bite.

We are the only ones in the restaurant when we sit down; two other tables are occupied when we leave an hour later. It’s the dead zone between lunch and dinner service.

We order 4 appies. We ask that they be delivered all together.

10 minutes later Kate's salad arrives. It's a good looking salad and its tasty I only had one bite because Kate loves the beets. So I just watched her eat and then somewhere around her last mouthful of salad 8-10 minutes later my clams showed up.

The clams were very average; but the grilled sourdough was really good which made the dipping in the end very tasty. Kate doesn't like Clams so she watched me eat through the clams for about 10 minutes until the salmon and egg dish arrived.

Then I got the privilege of watching Kate eat for about 5 minutes until I got concerned and asked the server if perhaps my octopus salad is coming at all. Yes it's on the way...5 min later it arrived just as Kate took the last bite of salmon. So now Kate is watching me eat octopus.

The Octopus was not my favorite, I've had the octopus a Campagnolo were it was excellent, here the greens were just a bit strangely flavored and wilted.

In the end the food was very mediocre and the service egregious. If this was my first trip to Refeul I'd never go back and I would recommend that you stay far far away from this pace. Luckily I know they can do and have done better. Refeul please do better.

Oh, and the cherry on top of the bad service Saturday was on the way out when I noticed the fresh board advertizing in season fresh heirloom tomatoes. I would have loved some tomatoes if only my server told me about them. I walk away more disgusted then I was a few steps previous.

Trilussa Pizza and Pane

Trilussa is a small main street eat-in take-out wood oven pizza joint. It bills itself as Roman pizza and makes their pizzas in these long oval boat shapes with thin crust. There are a whole shwack of different flavors on display just point and they’ll cut a 3, 5 or 7 inch piece for you. Cool concept, I've never seen anything like it before and I love pizza and have seen alotta pizza and have eaten alotta pizza so this Roman is kind of confusing because the last time I was in Rome the pizzas were all on display in these big rectangular pans and the dough was decidedly thick. But then the liberal use of the term Roman Pizza is my only criticism of Trilussa. The place is casual comfortable and the pizza is fantastic crispy chewy crust, great toppings and lots of soft gooey cheese. I'm adding Trilussa to my favorite pizza list especially for a quick lunchtime stop.

The Bibo. Vancouver Take a picture next time.



I got so damn exited about the pizza I forgot to take a picture. But believe me it looked and tasted great.

Is it just me or are there a bunch of thin crust wood fired pizza places opening in Vancouver lately. I've got about 5 others on my to-eat list so stay tuned. I love good pizza and Bibo’s does it good. Even when it isn't good it's good. Let me explain; the server came over after we ordered our pizza to inform us that someone screwed something up in the morning and the dough wasn't to their standards. We could still order the pizza but we were to know before hand that it would not be up to Bibo’s standards. The pizza arrived and hell if this is sub par pizza then I’ve been eating truly crappy pizza all these years. The pizza was great, the crust was chewy and crispy and smoky and delicious. And the server was falling over himself to let us know that they could do better. Shit if this is the bad stuff I've got to come back for the good stuff and get my head blown off with flavor. Maybe I'm setting my self up for failure or maybe this is a restaurant ploy but I can't wait.

The meat platter is hands down how I like to eat, some cold cuts some prosciutto some olives lots of good bread and a drizzle of olive oil. If Bibo’s just served me this I'd be happy as it is munch on this and get your appetite ready for the main pizza douse.

I'm adding Bibo’s to my favorites for pizza.



Belle's on 32 , the coffee shop

I don't need to go back.
Belle’s is a nice enough place, a country coffee shop kind of feel, a Martha Stewart Living wanna be but more likely designed my Marsha, Martha’s less talented second cousin.
I think my biggest issue with Belle's are the Panini sandwiches. Belle’s advertises that they make everything from scratch but then they serve this really bad panini bread and its not just Belle's that does this I've noticed other restaurants use this same bread this flat oval ultra white "Panini " bread. The colour and the thickness of this bread scares me it doesn’t seem natural it just seams wrong. Don’t even get me started on the grill marks. What's wrong with using good quality bread in your Panini’s? Here's my rule of thumb; if you wouldn't eat the bread without it being grilled then why use it at all?
Maybe I'm blinded by the bread issue maybe Belle's serves something of quality? To be fair the apple tart was tasty. OK, I'd go back for the tart. I'd sit in Marsha’s comfortable faux country design cafe have a latte eat my tart turn my back to the order counter and try not to think of white  Panini bread.
Who am I kidding, I can't get the damn bread off of my mind!

BTW, Belle’s also has a full service restaurant right next door to the café. I’m curious. I’ll let you know.

Jamaican Pizza Jerk, tempting but mmm goat curry

Really, I was not aware that jerk pizza was a Jamaican thing?
I'm starting to believe that pizza is the national food of the world.
Non the less Jamaican Pizza Jerk is a small hole in the wall dive on commercial that serves other, besides pizza, authentic Jamaican fair. Chef Bounty certainly looks authentic, and the food tasted great. A Rastafarian musician walked in and sat at the counter, so that that seals in my mid at least the authenticity of this establishment.
 I had the goat curry (Tuesday and Fridays special).
The goat had a spicy sweetness and was fork tender. The potatoes in the stew (my description) were melt in your mouth soft and juicy. My only complaint is that there wasn't enough. I would prefer a big bowl of this stuff, some nice bread to slop up all the juicy goodness and a corner table under the speakers blasting reggae. Just me and my goat.
I'm really curious about the jerk pizza and it is certainly on the agenda but the next time I come in I my just have the specials:

Brown Stewed chicken ( Tuesday and Thursday)
Goat Curry ( Tuesday and Friday)
Oxtail (Wednesday and Saturday)
Cowfoot ( Saturday)

Really were else can you get cowfoot? I hope I can get to Jamaican pizza jerk on a sat.

Estrella's Montreal Deli & Cafe. Langely, BC

There are many places that advertise Authentic Montreal corn beef sandwiches but in the end they fall short with some of the most egregious throwing down a few slices of corned beef from Costco and calling it a day.

Happily Estrella's is the real deal. The corned beef is imported from Montreal and the sandwich is stacked beautifully.

The rye bread is perfectly soft and insanely small compared the mountain of succulently juicy beef. If you want the real deal check out Estrelle's.  I was wondering between bites of my sandwich that as good as this is why do they have to import the beef. I was informed by the lady at the counter that nobody makes Montreal style corned beef in Vancouver, the recipe and the expertise is somehow locked away in the boroughs of old Montreal. I'm not exactly buying that, I think it would be cool to make the corn beef locally as long as obviously you can achieve the same quality. Who knows, aghast, you may even do it better!

Never the less setting aside my lunchtime mussing, Estrelles makes a damn good "Montreal style" corn beef sandwich.

Now I'm on a mission to discover a local Vancouver producer.

Any suggestions out there?

Beach Store Cafe. Lummi Island. Washington US

Let's call this the other restaurant on Lummi island. There are only two. The Beach Store and Willows Inn. While the weekend getaway tourist and gourmands head to Willows Inn the locals head for the Beach Store a local dive tavern bar and restaurant. The place is wooden western cowboy homey. When we walked in a couple of the locals were in the corner guitar and mandolin in hand belting out a Fleetwood Mac tune. Nice ambiance and nice pub style food.

Onion Rings



The deep fried onion rings were gloriously greasy and that’s a good thing at least going down. The crispy batter was outstanding and the onions held up. I gorged. Problem is, four hrs later while out jogging and enjoying the island at mile 4 (km 6), I thought I was going to vomit.  I could taste the onion rings once again and that's not a good thing. Suddenly nauseous I was cursing eating onion rings earlier in the day while at the same time in some perverse sensibility I wondered if  this was perhaps an endorsement of the quality of the rings in the first place. Perhaps I was delusional but in retrospect the rings were fabulous and I finished the run clean shirt and sneakers.



Deep Fried Oysters



The fried oysters were fresh. It's corny when you say they taste like the sea but they do and thats a good thing.

Pronto. Mmmm Porchetta

How can this be bad? Take pork belly, where the bacon comes from, stuff it with a bunch of good stuff like rosemary, parsley and garlic, role it up, skin out, and roast it slowly until the fat renders and permeates the entire roll. While the pork is hot and the skin is crispy cut it thick like you would a sausage then dice it all up and put in a baguette.

OMG, simple, decedent, beautiful.

You need to check this place out. As soon as you walk through the door pork roast hits all of your senses. The restaurant itself is a small diner feel serving simple porchetta and other deli sandwiches. Quite frankly I really don’t care about the other stuff; I’m never going to order it anyway, it’s strictly porchetta for me. And I may have to come by multiple times per day.

Barbs Fish and Chips. Best of Victoria. Not.

Best best best!

Barbs Fish and Chips.

Look at all of these awards. Best this, best that, best everything its just best best best. Unfortunately, yours truly was not impressed.

I had the Halibat and Chips, truly average. It's Halibut season and yet I suspected my Halibat was previously frozen. To be fair I didn't ask but the texture of the fish was dry and shreddie, if you know what I mean, not fresh and moist and fresh fresh fresh.

The fries were great so is the location on the docks, its food with a rustic view, but I couldn't help feeling a bit let down by the fish.

If you are looking for fish and chips in Victoria go to Barbs and then walk a couple of km down the harbour to Blue Fish Red Fish and enjoy  some truly extraordinary Fish and chips.

Fish and Chips with a view

Willows Inn. Lummi Island Washington. The best meal ever.

The Inn

Easily my best meal of 2011.

Kate, my wife, called it “the best meal ever”.

New York Times dubbed the it as one of the 10 restaurants worth a plane ride.

Simply Outstanding. Truly the best in farm to table dining.

All beach plants, wild herbs and fresh spring shoots were foraged on Lummi Island. The Asparagus, kohlrabi, peas, radishes, watercress, turnips, herbs and flowers were harvested from our own Nettles Farm, a five minute walk from the Inn.



Table Flower Arrangement



The Chef Blaine Wetzel, only 24 years old mind boggling in itself, apprenticed at Noma in Copenhagen—the best restaurant in the world, according to this year’s prestigious S. Pellegrino awards.

All this only an hour and a half from Vancouver, go, run don’t walk, go now!

Our Meal



Smoked King Salmon



Smoked King Salmon, troll caught locally by Jeremy Brown, and delivered straight to our kitchen from his boat, last night.

Based on a pacific northwest bent box, the salmon chunks are delivered with smoking cedar embers, perfuming the salmon and the air. The fish was smooth velvety on the inside with a smoky slightly leathery skin. Just give me 4 pounds of this stuff a bottle of Pinot and hide me under the stairs.



Black cod on potato with sauerkraut



Decedent creamy black cod set against the acidity of the sauerkraut and the crunch of potato chips.



Salad and Dip

Fun and Fresh. The "dirt" is toasted seasoned and flavoured rye bread crumbles.



Herb Toast with Brown Butter Emulsion



They need to jar the butter and sell it online. I'll take a tub.

Oysters Sorel and Tapioca Pearls



Loved the presentation, river rock frozen like a winter pond and two beautiful delicate oysters frozen in the wilderness.

The oysters are harvested from Penn Cove.

Razor Clams, frozen horseradish, pea shoots, potatoes

The horseradish melts in your mouth and the creamy clams are soft and cool and good.

Quinault tribal members harvested the razor clams.

Nettles farm asperagus with fresh cheese and pine

There was a tasty asparagus broth that brought everything together including and surprisingly the slightly resiny pine.

Wine Pairing: 2009 Dog Point Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc ~ Marlborough

Local spot prawns with pickled kohlrabi

A work of art. The spot prawns are caught locally and and kept alive in the seafood tank just outside the kitchen.

Wine pairing: 2009 L'Ecole Estate 'Luminesce' Semillion Sauvignon Blanc ~ Walla Walla Valley.

Nettles farm peas with mint and whey

The chef likes broths and once again the pea mint broth kept everything together. The whey was interesting and a jelly like globby goodness.

Wine pairing: 2010 Tonado Torrontes, Chardonney ~ Mendoza.

Slow roasted lamb shoulder with morels and salmonberries

Another work of art. I think I ran past the lamb farm just down the road.

Paired with: 2007 Chehalen Steller Vinyard Pinot Noir ~ Williamette Valley

King salmon

This was Kate's veggie substitution salmon course from our fisherman friend Jeremy. I don’t know what chef Blaine did to this chunk of fish but it was outstandingly moist and salmony flavour cubed. I can't believe it myself but I think I preferred the Salmon to my lamb.

Lummi Island wildflowers with lemon verbina

For desert, a bit of molecular gastronomy, frozen wildflowers popping and melting in your mouth.

A pretty darn good meal. A nice relaxing weekend away. Nice.