I’m a big food addict. When I first moved to the Seattle area from Boston about three years ago, I was initially quite depressed. I expected that Seattle’s food scene would be totally bland in comparison to Boston’s, and NYC was no longer a “quick” drive away (for the occasional binge). Sadly, I still can’t say that most of Seattle’s top restaurants come even close to NYC, but it’s much better than I expected. Many of the better restaurants are right up there with Boston’s. The selection is much smaller, sure, but after a few years I’ve settled on some favorites. I’ve listed these below in approximate order of my most to least favorite.

(Note that the list isn’t complete. I’ll be updating it as time goes by.)

For anybody who recently moved to the area, is visiting, or has been here for a while and hasn’t checked out the food scene, this list might come in handy when making a choice. I even gave each five 1-5 star ratings—overall experience, food taste, food presentation, wine list, value, and service, just like a famous food critic would. (My descriptions, on the other hand, make it quite apparent that I’m not one.) Overall experience is not just the average of the other four, it’s really just how I rate the restaurant’s dining experience in general. A bit arbitrary, yes. I’ve also marked each with a rough guideline on price/person: $ is $0-$20, $$ is $20-$50, $$$ is $50-$100, $$$$ is $100-$200, and $$$$$ is >$200.

All this list really indicates is my personal likes and dislikes; grab a Zagat’s Guide for more detailed and thorough ratings. You also might want to check out tastingmenu.com. It’s a wonderful site with very detailed essays on individual meals and beautiful photographs. Everybody has their own personal taste, and I happen to disagree with some of their ratings, but that’s to be expected.

5 STARS OVERALL

Mistral
http://mistralseattle.com/
New French -- Seattle, WA (Belltown)
Food taste: 5
Food presentation: 5
Wine list: N/A (pairings)
Service: 3
Price: $$$$$

Mistral rivals some of the best restaurants in the US, and certainly beats out all others I’ve eaten at in Seattle, including the Herbfarm. This is pure foodie paradise and a great way to spend 5 hours. Dishes are elegantly and classically presented, but with many new-age molecular gastronomy components and techniques weaved seamlessly throughout. While the food is clearly French-heavy, most dishes were minimalist and surprisingly light, with judicious use of cream and butter.

I recommend the Mistral Experience, which is 9 courses and 6 (or so) paired wines. I actually ended up with 8 or 9 glasses, due to a complimentary glass of Champagne, an extra glass of dessert wine, and a few surprises tossed into the mix. Mistral offers only tasting menus, no a la carte, which surprisingly caused an entire six top to get up and leave(!) the first time I were there. Perhaps it was the price, which somehow ended up at $600 or so for two people. It was well worth it, though. The chef had absolutely no problem creating a 9 course vegetarian menu on the fly. And yes, I always ask in advance about this when I make reservations, as I would feel rude dropping in to a tasting menu-only restaurant and expecting them to completely rearrange the menu to be vegetarian friendly. Most good restaurants don’t mind.

I was at first taken aback by Mistral’s very simple interior design. It’s a pale white with hardwood floors, 12 or so tables, and subtle and warm candle lighting. The ceilings are very high, and there are only a couple windows, aside from the front glass. The result is an elegant, cozy, and quaint atmosphere, but also feels a little like you’re at a cocktail party in some chic art studio located in a dark LA alleyway, with a décor which hasn’t yet been filled out. After a few courses, the initial shock passed, and I eventually found it calming.

I have to admit the wait-staff took me off guard. The Maître d' was aloof and seemingly 100% clueless, and our waiter was a bit aggressive. To be honest, I was completely put off by his demeanor and surfer-like descriptions of the food, wine, etc. (duuuude). But to be fair… after a few courses, it became evident why he works there. He was absolutely passionate about the food and wine, and was oozing with detail after detail about the cuisine. He had a story to tell about every dish and every wine. In the end, he gave a different, but good, experience compared to what I was expecting. In a phrase, decidedly unpretentious and food geeky. The 3 rating for service is primarily because of the Maître d', not him.

Sadly I don’t tend to take very good notes when I dine out. Here are some things that stand out in my mind. Robuchon-like cauliflower soup, with nice European (high fat content) butter. Ferran Adria-like carrot and cucumber foams, without feeling ridiculously out of place. Sous-vide hamachi tuna, which was absolutely delicious and unexpected. Sous-vide as a cooking technique creates an odd meaty texture for fish (particularly tuna), but cooks it perfectly and evenly throughout. Plenty of exotic fishes and meats, mallard duck, foie gras. Fingerling potato puree with chive oil. Many, many fruit reductions, including pomegranate and quince. There were two desserts, one of which was a bursting(!) with vibrant flavor passion fruit sorbet, and tasted, well, like I had just crushed open and slurped the innards of a passion fruit. It had just the right level of pleasing sourness, and thankfully wasn’t enhanced with any sweetener at all. Desserts like maple ice cream, little hand-made cookies, and pastry. Everything had a place on the plate and wandered only a little bit, keeping the palate sufficiently amused.

The paired wines are perfectly selected, jumping all over the map, and don’t feel like just an afterthought. Pace was perfect. Given the size of the meal and starting time (9 courses, starting at 7pm), you might expect to have been a little rushed, but I wasn't. And the portions were just the right size; at the end, I was no more full than if I had eaten a typical 4-course dinner at a slightly less extravagant restaurant.

Rover’s
http://www.rovers-seattle.com/
Classic French -- Seattle, WA (Madison Park)
Food taste: 5
Food presentation: 4
Wine list: 5
Service: 4
Price: $$$$$

Rover’s cranks out classic French cuisine like no other Seattle restaurant. What makes Rover’s truly special, aside from its perfect execution and taste, are that dishes are typically locally-inspired, highlighting seasonal, fresh ingredients. All of this integrated into a truly French menu that whisks you away to Paris. OK, sure they always have great diver scallops, foie gras, truffles, … and I’m not sure how much of this is from Washington and Oregon, but these focal points are at least augmented with seasonal and regional flavors. This isn’t country style comfort food… it’s high end, small-to-medium sized dishes, but with plenty of cream, heavy butter, and warm flavors.

Go for the 8-course tasting menu, I say. You’ll feel it more than most 8-course tasting menus due to the heavy French flavors, but you won’t regret it. The wine list rocks and will keep you occupied hunting for a bottle for a couple days if you’re into that kind of thing, although you’ll have a tough time finding a bottle for under $200. Rover’s never disappoints. It puts all other classic French restaurants in Seattle to shame (of which there are very few, of course).

4 STARS OVERALL

The Herbfarm
http://www.herbfarm.com/
New American --Woodinville, WA
Food taste: 4
Food presentation: 4
Wine list: 5
Service: 4
Price: $$$$$

I’ve been here many, many times, and I’ve never been disappointed. They have only one seating per night of about 100 people (just an approximate guess), and the atmosphere is very much like going our for a night at the theatre. The menu is completely prix fixe, no a la carte. It makes for a nice, 5 hour-long evening out. If you show up 30 minutes early, you get a tour of the herb garden. After doing this a couple times, it gets a little old (since the script doesn’t change at all), but you do get to munch on some really fresh herbs to whet the appetite.

What truly makes the Herbfarm great is the ever-changing, seasonal, and locally inspired menu. If you check out their website, you’ll notice the menu rotates every two weeks or so, featuring locally available and seasonally fresh ingredients. The Mycologist’s Dream is our favorite (here’s a sample menu), featuring dozens of varieties of mushrooms, often foraged the morning before the meal from all over the state of Washington. And it’s great for vegetarians.

The food is squarely in the New American category. The dishes are very good and usually vibrantly seasoned with fresh herbs. The simple, light dishes are definitely what they do best—e.g. consommés, poached fish, simple mushroom dishes—but when things get heavy, the herbs tend to get lost in the mix and the result is usually good, but not special. I must admit that I find the style to be borderline “tired,” but that’s probably a reflection of how I feel about New American restaurants in general as I write this (you'll notice there are quite a few in Washington). Because the Herbfarm's specialty is locally produced, seasonal ingredients, the menu style can fluctuate quite a bit: without these light, herby dishes, it’s hard to find a common theme from one visit to the restaurant to the next. As a result you don't really go back craving your favorite dish as you would many other restaurants.

The paired wine selections are usually good, but sometimes not stellar. They have a massive and wonderful winelist which due to the paired wines you seldom get to explore. But in addition to the 5 paired wines, you can order others from their list. Last time, I ordered a tasty flight of Madeiras, ranging from 1890 to 1960.

The Harvest Vine
http://www.harvestvine.com/
Spanish / Tapas -- Madison Park, WA
Food taste: 5
Food presentation: 4
Wine list: 3
Service: 3
Price: $$$

I’ve died and gone to… Basque, Spain! This teensy little restaurant seats probably 40 people total, 20 seats of which are available at or around the tapas bar. They always keep those seats available for walk-ins, so you can usually get lucky on a weeknight (or at the right time on weekends; I’m not telling, sorry :) ).

Foods range from pure Spanish comfort dishes, like rustic cheese, three kinds of olives prepared in three different marinades, fried piquillo peppers with sea salt, fresh white anchovies, delicious, oozing with fat Serrano ham, blood sausages, and chorizo to new-age, but Spanish-inspired, treats like foie gras, monk fish liver, squab, ox, and scallops. The wine list is good, though not great, featuring almost exclusively Spanish and Portuguese wines. I’m salivating for a glass of Jerez right now (a fortified dessert wine, made the same way as Sherry, in fact Sherry is just the English word for Jerez (similar to how Sherry is Xérès in French)).

The Harvest Vine is always a treat.

Café Juanita
http://www.cafejuanita.com/
Northern Italian -- Kirkland, WA
Food taste: 4
Food presentation: 4
Wine list: 3
Service: 3
Price: $$$$

This is one of the best Northern Italian restaurants I’ve ever eaten at. And this is having eaten at plenty of Italian restaurants in the Boston area which is famous for its Italian North End neighborhood. There’s always a good mix of hearty and light dishes, with plenty of exotic meat, foul, and fish, spanning things like wagyu beef, prosciutto, braised octopus, boar, venison, foie gras, veal sweetbreads, …, the list just goes on and on. Just about every time I’ve gone, they have had a seasonal Mediterranean fish, usually baked with a simple ragout of herbs, olives, capers, and served whole. Last week it was Branzino (a.k.a. spigola). I’ve never been disappointed. They have just an OK selection of vegetarian dishes and salads.

They also have some wonderful cheeses, which you can often get paired with an aperitif (like grappa, a balsamic vinegar martini, etc.). The desserts are also very good. I’ll never forget the olive oil ice cream that I had there last winter: surprisingly delicious! Service is spotty, sometimes great, sometimes just OK, really depending on the server. Timing is usually very good but sometimes off. The décor is pretty bland, but as you can tell by my lack of a décor rating for the restaurants, that kind of thing doesn’t really put me off that much so long as the food knocks me out.

Lark
http://www.larkseattle.com/
New American -- Seattle, WA (Capitol Hill)
Food taste: 5
Food presentation: 4
Wine list: 2
Service: 3
Price: $$$

Lark is a new favorite of mine, and one at which I find myself at least one night every other week. Like the Harvest Vine, the restaurant is very walk-in friendly and thus conducive to impulsive dining out decisions.

The food at Lark is simple and just a tiny bit bigger than tapas sized dishes. This is classic New American food, but with some interesting twists and inventive ingredient combinations. A couple weeks back I had foie gras terrine with quince jam; they frequently have fresh, seasonal mushrooms sautéed delicately with just a little herb (like parsley) and sea salt; yellowtail carpaccio; always a wonderful squab or pheasant dish, usually with something like an apple frisee or nut compote. They also have some really great classics. You can’t go wrong with some cheese, of which they have a great selection, served with fresh, local honeycomb. Rosti potatoes with clabber cream, pommes de terre “Robuchon”, gnudi, and any of their salads are always a treat.

I have two gripes about Lark. First is that the winelist is pretty much crap. Thankfully I’m usually in on a weeknight, which means I’m up for at most a glass or two of something, in which case their by-the-glass list isn’t too far off the mark. But if you’re looking for a bottle, I’d recommend bringing your own instead. The second is timing. At Lark they tend to assume that you’re going to share a lot of the dishes. When I order things in a particular order, saying clearly “as the first course”, “as the main course”, etc., I am saying this for a reason. Pay attention! The food more than makes up for both problems, thankfully.

3 STARS OVERALL

Crush
New American -- Seattle, WA (Capitol Hill)
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 4
Wine list: 3
Service: 3
Price: $$$$

Crush is a strong, solid, very good restaurant. I can’t honestly say that the food is great enough to put it up into the 4 star category, however, mostly because the composition of ingredients and flavors is at the same time predictable and over the top. Many dishes have way too much going on, but then again many are simple and delicious. Particularly given the interior décor, which consists of plasticy white chairs located in a white-and-black decorated old house, and the difficulty in getting reservations, I get the impression they are trying to appeal to the non-foodie chic crowd a little bit too much.

I tremendously enjoyed the sautéed Hudson Valley foie gras with warm huckleberries on a slice of pumpernickel bread. It had huge, warm flavors and awesome fat content. The sea scallops and Maui onion confit was also terrific. When I think of Crush, I think of consistently good New American food where you can’t go wrong. I don’t think I’ve had a dish I didn’t like there, although their portions are often a little bit much for me.

Il Terrazzo Carmine
http://ilterrazzocarmine.com/
Italian -- Seattle, WA (Pioneer Square)
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 3
Wine list: 4
Service: 2
Price: $$$$

Restaurant Zoë
http://www.restaurantzoe.com/
New American -- Seattle, WA (Belltown)
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 3
Wine list: 2
Service: 3
Price: $$$

Café Campagne
http://www.campagnerestaurant.com/cafe_home.html
French (Bistro) -- Seattle, WA (Pike Place)
Food taste: 4
Food presentation: 3
Wine list: 2
Service: 2
Price: $$$

Dahlia Lounge
Pacific Northwest -- http://tomdouglas.com/dahlia/
Seattle, WA (Downtown)
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 3
Wine list: 3
Service: 2
Price: $$$

Dahlia is Tom Douglas’s most upscale restaurant. In some ways, it feels like Tom is trying too hard with this one. Having eaten at his others, he is in his element when the dishes are very rustic with lots of complex flavors woven throughout, sort of sloppy, exemplified by the Palace Kitchen. I call it “hunting lodge food”, since there’s usually some game meat and generally themes that you’d imagine enjoying after a long day’s hunt. (I don’t hunt by the way, so this is purely inspired by movies, books, and other works of fiction on the topic. :P) Dahlia, on the other hand, tries to be a little minimalist while at the same time giving the same huge, rustic, and yes, sloppy feel to the dishes. If it sounds strange, it is. It kind of doesn't work for me, although some dishes are hits: I am completely in love with their Italian Bread Salad, with rustic bread cubes, fresh mozarella, kalamata olives, fruity olive oil, chunky strips of cured ham, etc. as a lunch.

I think everybody should try Dahlia, but it’s not the kind of place I’d go to on, say, a weekly basis. The food can get a little repetitive and is very predictable, as are all of Tom’s restaurants. It’s almost comfort food, but at that price, I have a dozen other comfort food restaurants that I’d rather hit up. It’s a matter of personal taste really. The bakery next door has some serious artesianal bread and pastries. Check it out; the bakery is definitely worthy of a trip on Sunday morning just to get a loaf to snack on.

Nishino
http://www.nishinorestaurant.com/
Japanese -- Seattle, WA (Madison Park)
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 3
Wine list: 3
Service: 2
Price: $$$

Lola
http://tomdouglas.com/lola/
New Greek -- Seattle, WA (Downtown)
Food taste: 4
Food presentation: 3
Wine list: 2
Service: 2
Price: $$$

Veil
http://www.veilrestaurant.com/
New American -- Seattle, WA (Pioneer Square)
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 4
Wine list: 2
Service: 3
Price: $$$

2 STARS OVERALL

Tango
http://tangorestaurant.com/
Spanish / Tapas -- Seattle, WA (Capitol Hill)
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 3
Wine list: 3
Service: 3
Price: $$$

Palace Kitchen
http://tomdouglas.com/palace/
Pacific Northwest -- Seattle, WA (Downtown)
Food taste: 4
Food presentation: 2
Wine list: 2
Service: 3
Price: $$$

Campagne
http://www.campagnerestaurant.com/camp_home.html
Classic French -- Seattle, WA (Pike Place)
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 3
Wine list: 4
Service: 2
Price: $$$$

Seastar
http://www.seastarrestaurant.com/
Bellevue, WA
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 3
Wine list: 3
Service: 3
Price: $$$

Purple Café and Wine Bar
http://www.thepurplecafe.com/
Pacific Northwest -- Kirkland, WA, Woodinville, WA, and Seattle, WA (Downtown)
Food taste: 2
Food presentation: 2
Wine list: 3
Service: 3
Price: $$$

Monsoon
http://www.monsoonseattle.com/
New Vietnamese -- Seattle, WA (Capitol Hill)
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 3
Wine list: 2
Service: 3
Price: $$$

Cactus
http://www.cactusrestaurants.com/
Mexican -- Kirkland, WA, Seattle, WA (Madison Park), and Seattle, WA (Alki Beach)
Food taste: 4
Food presentation: 3
Wine list: 1
Service: 2
Price: $$

Brasa
http://www.brasa.com/
New Mediterranean -- Seattle, WA (Belltown)
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 2
Wine list: 2
Service: 2
Price: $$$

1 STAR OVERALL

Many of these places are comfort food and quick bite places. It’s a little unfair to label them “1 star” since comparing a great Southern Indian restaurant to somewhere like Mistral is like comparing apples to oranges. Each is amazingly good, but are for vastly different purposes (and with different price points). C’est la vie.

The Dish
Breakfast -- Seattle, WA (Ballard)
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 1
Wine list: N/A
Service: 2
Price: $

Udupi Palace
Indian (Southern) -- Bellevue, WA
Food taste: 4
Food presentation: 1
Wine list: N/A
Service: 1
Price: $

Preet’s
http://www.preets.com/
Indian (Punjabi) -- Redmond, WA
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 2
Wine list: N/A
Service: 2
Price: $

Kabul
http://www.kabulrestaurant.com/
Afghan -- Seattle, WA
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 2
Wine list: N/A
Service: 2
Price: $$ (a little expensive for what you get)

Serious Pie
http://tomdouglas.com/serious/
Seattle, WA (Downtown)
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 1
Wine list: 1
Service: 1
Price: $$

Wild Ginger
http://www.wildginger.net/
Pacific Rim -- Seattle, WA (Downtown)
Food taste: 2
Food presentation: 2
Wine list: 2
Service: 2
Price: $$$ (overpriced)

Szmania’s
http://www.szmanias.com/
German -- Seattle, WA (Magnolia)
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 2
Wine list: 2
Service: 2
Price: $$$

Typhoon
http://www.typhoonrestaurants.com/
Thai -- Redmond, WA (Pioneer Square)
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 3
Wine list: N/A (good tea list, though)
Service: 1
Price: $$

Mediterranean Kitchen
Middle Eastern -- Bellevue, WA and Seattle, WA (Queen Anne)
Food taste: 2
Food presentation: 2
Wine list: 1
Service: 2
Price: $$

I Love Sushi
http://www.ilovesushi.com/
Bellevue, WA and Seattle, WA (Lake Union)
Food taste: 2
Food presentation: 2
Wine list: N/A
Service: 2
Price: $

This place serves up good middle-of-the-road sushi, not too great, not too bad either. The raw fish is where it’s at here—I’m not overly crazy about the cooked foods. It gets busy on weekdays during lunch, but you can snag a Bento Box to go which is a fun treat.

Third Floor Fish Café
http://www.fishcafe.com/
Pacific Northwest -- Kirkland, WA
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 2
Wine list: 2
Service: 2
Price: $$

Shamiana
http://shamianarestaurant.com/
Indian and Pakistani -- Kirkland, WA
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 2
Wine list: 1
Service: 2
Price: $$

Marina Park Grill
http://www.marinaparkgrill.com/
Pacific Northwest -- Kirkland, WA
Food taste: 2
Food presentation: 2
Wine list: 2
Service: 2
Price: $$

Some pretty decent seafood dishes and seaside fare, like burgers and salads. It’s right on the waterfront and is a great place to stop by while walking around Kirkland and hanging out at the park. All around decent place with a not-too-shabby by-the-glass winelist. I wouldn’t go out of your way to eat here for dinner, but it makes a great late Sunday afternoon lunch on a warm summer day. There’s a little ice cream shop right around the corner for a nice treat afterwards while you walk through the park.

Chutney’s
http://www.chutneys.com/
Indian -- Bellevue, WA
Food taste: 2
Food presentation: 2
Wine list: 1
Service: 1
Price: $$

Malay Satay Hut
http://www.chutneys.com/
Malaysian -- Redmond, WA
Food taste: 3
Food presentation: 1
Wine list: N/A
Service: 1
Price: $

NEXT ON MY LIST…

These are restaurants I haven’t been to yet, but that I’ve heard first hand are quite good. They are listed in the order in which I plan on visiting them (or in the case of Gypsy, hope ;) ). And yes, I am rather embarrassed I haven’t tried Canlis or Lampreia yet. I suspect both will be either 4 or 5 stars. My intent is to do so in the first couple weeks of the new year.

Gypsy
Invitation only. :(

Lampreia
http://www.lampreiarestaurant.com/

Canlis
http://www.canlis.com/

Le Gourmand

La Carta de Oaxaca
http://www.lacartadeoaxaca.com/

Cascadia
http://www.cascadiarestaurant.com/html/

Carmelita
http://www.carmelita.net/

Izumi

I drink about 4x more tea than I do coffee. Actually, I wouldn't drink coffee at all if there were decent tea stores in the area with readily available to-go offerings.

I just ordered a bunch of great teas from Upton Tea Imports, including a new 2006 Darjeeling First Flush. I can't wait until they arrive:

• TD56: Tindharia Estate FTGFOP1 First Flush (EX-1)
• TS70: Temi Estate FTGFOP1 CL
• TA93: Nahorhabi Estate FTGFOP1 SPL CL
• ZO87: Ginseng Tie-Guan-Yin Oolong
• ZM44: Osmanthus Oolong Se Chung
• ZW84: Organic Fuding White Treasure
• ZW90: Organic White Point Reserve
• ZW99: China White Paklum Tips Reserve
• TA98: Mothola Estate White Tea
• TJ77: Spring Harvest Kabusencha

If you're not a tea drinker, or the closest thing to real tea you've had is a soppy Stash tea bag, I encourage you to try one of Upton's sampler sets.

We visited the Herbfarm again last week. It was, once again, the most amazing foodie experience I've had on the West Coast to date. I'm still not willing to admit that it's better than Aujourd'hui, although it comes exceedingly close.

Interestingly, we visited the restaurant around this same time last year. It's the peak of the mushroom harvest in the Northwest right now, so it's no surprise it was the focus of their current menu. We love mushrooms, so it was absolutely perfect. 9 courses, lots of wine, and 5 hours gone in no time...and now it's a fading memory:

A Menu for
A Mycologist's Dream

From the Gatherer's Basket
Morel Mushroom Flan
Cauliflower Mushrooms with Chestnuts & Quince
Oyster with Angel Wing Mushrooms & Sorrel
2000 Argyle Brut

Dungeness Crab, Matsutake & Lemon-Thyme Consomme
2003 Elemental Cellars Melon

Basilwood-Smoked Sturgeon
With Yellow Chanterelle & Salt-Roasted Potato Salad
And Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
2004 Solena Oregon Pinot Gris

Three Mushroom & Leek Lasagne
Lobster, Blue Chanterelle & Hedgehog Mushrooms
With Parsley-Walnut Sauce
2004 Buty Winery Chardonnay, Conner-Lee Vineyard

Rosemary & Concord Grape Ice

Anderson Ranch Lamb with King Boletes
With Flageolet Beans and Beets
2002 McCrea Cellars Syrah, Ciel du Cheval

Rogue River Blue Cheese
With Spice Bread, Tart-Cherry Chutney, and Herbfarm Honey

Anthology of Autumnul Desserts
Caramelized Pear on Lavender-Almond Cake with Sabayon
Pumpkin-Bay Sundae
Apple Souffle
With Rose Geranium Custard Sauce

Brewed Coffees, Teas & Infusions

A Selection of Small Treats
Vintage 1916 Barbeito Malvazia Madeira
Herbfarm Potato-Onion Rolls & Multi-Grain Baguettes
Chervil-Calendula Butter Coins

I've already snagged a few of those wines. I was particularly fond of the McCrea Syrah; in fact, many of his wines already occupy a space in my collection. I especially love the '03 Sirocco.

Some other restaurants we've eaten at in the past few weeks that I'd highly recommend include Cafe Campagne (great Sunday brunch), Crush (new restaurant, just opened a few months back), and the Harvest Vine (OK, I admit, we find ourselves here a little too often).

Spring Release weekend in Walla Walla, WA happened a couple weeks back. This is the time of year when all of the local wineries open their doors for tastings and highlight recent vintage releases for an extended weekend. We went down for the entire event. It got really crowded on Sat & Sun, so our strategy--to head down on Thu afternoon--was definitely the right call. We were able to get some f2f time in with some of the winemakers and owners.

We picked up a slew of great tastes in the process. Our collection has slowly been growing (or rather, not depleting faster than it grows ;) ), and has surged past the 100-mark to ~115-ish bottles. Since we've moved out west, the number of WA and CA wines has grown past half of our collection. This is surprising to me since nearly all of our wines were from Italy and France prior to the move. But my pivot table says we have 56 US bottles, followed by 21 Italian, and 16 French. The rest are from Germany, Australia, Portugal, Spain, Chile, and Canada, in descending order.

We came home with just over 2 cases total of:

• Isenhower: Wild Alfalfa Syrah, Red Paintbrush Merlot
• K: Wells Syrah, Milbrandt Syrah, The Boy (Magnificent Wine Co.)
• Seven Hills: Malbec (not a blend!!!)
• Three Rivers: Biscuit Ridge Late Harvest Gewurztraminer
• Dunham Cellars: Cabernet Sauvignon VII, Three Legged Red
• Bunchgrass: T-Rex Red
• Yellow Hawk: Sangiovese, Mescolanza di Rosso Riserva, Muscat Canelli Dry Style Champoux Vineyard

All in all, a great addition to our collection. Isenhower and K were my absolute favorites by quite a distance. I'd recommend getting your hands on the latest vintages for these folks--Isenhower sold out completely while we were down there and K sold out on most of their selections, so I'm assuming a bunch of local wine shops purchased 'em up. Good luck on the search! By the way, if you see the House Wine by the Magnificent Wine Co., buy it up. These puppies are roughly $10/bottle, are hand crafted by the same guy who does the other K wines, and have a great full mouth feel with amazing rich body, something you typically don't find in such an inexpensive wine. It's a steal.

Anybody out there big grape-heads like myself?

Anybody who seriously enjoys a great cup of loose tea should check out Upton's Gu Zhu Zi Sun.

Very thick vegetal quality with a great flavor and amazing texture. It reminds me of some of the older Tie Kwan Yin monkey picked oolongs from a couple years ago, with a very buttery, smooth texture. Unlike many high end greens, the flavor notes are very pronounced. I'm about to experiment to see if it can take multiple infusions, but if not I fear I'm going to have to buy some more. At over $25 per 120 grams, this puppy's up there in price.

What an addict will do for a fix. ;)

As mentioned previously, I ate at the Herbfarm last night... absolutely amazing. 9 courses, 5 hours. Too many glasses of wine. ;) The atmosphere at the restaurant was very different than any other. Many high-end restaurants are stuffy and uncomfortable even though they may serve up killer dishes and have great wine menus, filled primarily with folks entertaining business associates and the like. The Herbfarm, on the other hand, is truly a place for people who love great local, artisinal food and wine to gather and have a great night out.

For memory's sake, here's the menu (yes, that Madeira is from the year nineteen-hundred-one... it's not a typo!):

A Menu for
A Mycologist's Dream
Saturday, October 9, 2004

From the Gatherer's Basket
Grilled Honey Mushroom with Spot Prawn
Bears Tooth Mushroom with Sea Urchin Flan
Poached Flat Oyster with Angel Wings
1998 Domaine Meriwether Brut, Captain Wm Clark Cuvee

Chestnut and Delicata Squash Ravioli
With Cauliflower Mushrooms & Quince in Lemon Thyme Consomme
2003 Poet's Leap Riesling

Herb-Smoked Wild Sturgeon with Matsutake
On Savoy Cabbage with Pear
2003 Patricia Green Cellars Chardonnay, Four Winds Vineyard

Lobster Mushroom, Hedgehog, Hawks Wing, and Blue Chanterelle Mushroom Terrine
With Wilted Spinach and Bacon
2001 Beaux Freres Belles Soeurs Pinot Noir

Concord Grape and Rosemary Ice

Spice-Rubbed Muscovy Duck Breast
With Two Gratins: King Bolete-Potato
And Red Chart-Duck Confit
1999 Glen Fiona Walla Walla Syrah, Puncheon Aged

A Mycologist's Salad
Chanterelles, Yam, Asian Pear & Quillisacut Goat Cheese

Harvest Festival of Desserts
Hardy Kiwi and Lemon Verbena Tart
Pumpkin-Bay Sundae
Carmelized Apple Souffle
With Orange-Thyme Custard Sauce

Brewed Coffees, Teas & Infusions

A Selection of Small Treats
Vintage 1901 Barbeito Malvazia Madeira
Herbfarm Yeasted Corn Bread & Multi-Grain Rolls
Chive-Calendula Butter Coins

As I mentioned earlier, we will be relocating from Massachusetts to Washington state very shortly.

And as the plans start to materialize, I have a growing concern over our wine collection. Truthfully, the collection is not that large (on the order of 100 bottles), but the average bottle cost is moderate (probably about $60)... That's about $6k in wine - a product that is very easy to destroy with improper shipping and handling. Especially if Mother Nature decides to conjur up any extreme weather during the move.

It's not just the cost of replacement that I'm worried about, but rather a combination of other factors too

• Some collector's vintages, such as 1999 Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Almaviva, 1999 Castello Banfi Excelsus and Summus, and a vast array of 1997 and 1999 Brunello di Montalcinos;
• Major sentimental value;
• Most likely, it'd be a “wait and see” game to find out which - if any - were ruined in the move... imagine the disappointment of uncorking a $300 bottle of wine only to find out that it's ruined;
• It's taken a lot of time and careful picking to build up what we have, with an eye for vintages that age well.

So, all of these factors together are making me consider specialty shipping. But, it's expensive.

Of course we could just drink them all before we move. :)

I'm currently enjoying a perfectly steeped China green tea, in particular an organic Chun Mee Dao Ming.

The dry leaf appears and has an aroma that indicates a smokiness, but this quality doesn't transfer very directly to the cup. In fact, the liquor is very smooth and wonderfully flavorful with a great full mouth feel. It has a slightly tangy flavor in there towards the finish, almost peachy but not quite fully developed. If this fruitiness had asserted itself a little bit more, I'd have fallen in love.

Still a keeper in my book.