l'Hôtel du Château Beynac et Cazenac

We had the house wine. And I do mean the house wine--we were staying and eating here, at l'Hôtel du Château Beynac et Cazenac:

I think we were one of two tables in the entire place. It was so relaxing!

I couldn't resist the salmon appetizer. So pretty!

I shared with Michael of course, and he shared with me his fois gras (the specialty of the region) and all the dainty little accompaniments, including some ground walnuts (another specialty of the region).


The light garlic soup with bread floaties could have been the main course:


But how could we resist delicious red meat, potatoes, and french green beans?

What a great start to our tour of France!

Recipe: Mixed Green Salad with Warm Cream Cheese "Croutons"

Sydney found this recipe on a salad dressing ad in a magazine and told me how good it was. She was correct. It's brilliant! The croutons are warm and toasty and creamy and really go well with the sweetness of the pomegranate and the tartness of the apples. I added a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Divine!


Mixed Green Salad with Warm Cream Cheese "Croutons"

Ingredients
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup chopped sliced almonds
8 cups torn salad greens
1 Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1/2 cup Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

SPRAY medium skillet with cooking spray; heat on medium heat. Meanwhile, coat cream cheese cubes with almonds. ADD to skillet; cook 3 min. or until golden brown, turning occasionally. TOSS remaining ingredients in large bowl. Top with cheese. Serve immediately.

The Saint

"Looks like a guy who you think is called Hermano is going to get his ass kicked."
-Gob Bluth

The Saint's house margarita, the Hermano, is delicious! I'm not typically a connoisseur of tequila, but this is awesome.

But then Emilie ordered an Old and Nutty, which is burbon (Old Crow I think ?), orange bitters, ginger syrup, and nutmeg. It was so fabulous, that's what AJ and I both ordered on our next round.

The Old & Nutty, and a guacamole plate

We tried the yuca fries, which are like big steak fries and the yuca is stringier and mealier than a potato, but not bad. AJ and I both had the tasty chicken mole. Her happy hour portion was not much smaller than my full portion, and both come with cute little flour tortillas, rice, and kidney beans.

I dragged Michael there for happy hour soon after, as I was craving another Old and Nutty. He didn't love his drink, which was like an old fashioned but with tequila. But we did enjoy the guacamole, which comes with a generous basket of chips, and three kinds of salsa.


My first impression of The Saint -- before I went there -- was that it was full of itself and snooty. It's bright blue exterior is super cute, but the lack of signage/advertising made me think it was a too-cool-for-school kind of place. But really, how could a place that used to house the Wing Dome be anything but awesome? Turns out, it is pretty casual (at happy hour anyway) and is just about good tequila and yummy food.

The New York Cocktail

Who doesn't like a delicious cocktail? Mormons, I guess. Recently, we got a bottle of George Dickel Whiskey and thought it quite delicious in mixed drinks. So after a few Ol' Fashioneds we tried a new mixture: The New York, substituting Dickel for the Canadian. (Always substitute Dickel for the Canadian.) We think you will enjoy it.

The Formula

• 2oz blended Canadian
• the juice of one tortured lime
• 1/2 tsp simple syrup
• 1 tsp Grenadine

Shake vigorously and pour over ice into an icy old fashioned glass. Garnish with a twist of orange.

Ravish-ing!

Ravish on Eastlake is my new best friend.

Location - check.

Atmosphere - check.

Drinks - check.

Food - check.

Service - check.

It's in an unassuming location across from Eastlake Bar & Grill in that new condo building. I passed by on my walk home from work a couple of weeks ago--it wasn't open on this particular day--and was immediately enamored of the cute, girly, green-painted chairs I could see through the window. They have clearly gone to a lot of trouble to make the place cute. Love it.

We started with a trio of house-made artisan (Michael says artesian) spreads. One was a yummy olive tapenade with fresh basil and capers, oh yes. Then there was a sultry smoky, sundried tomato pine-nut spread, oh my. And some creamy herbed chevre spread with La Panzanella croccantini (this is crackers, not tiny italian crocodiles) & baguette slices. We liked the crackers but the bread was a tad dry.

They had Stella on draft, on happy hour, and a very good selection of bottled beers including Black Lion Lev Czech Premium Dark Beer (which my resident homebrewer wants you to know is a lager) and this one with cute pink elephants, Delirium Tremens, in its own lil' tulip glass. Cuteski!

There were easily half a dozen reds and whites each on the wine-by-the-glass section of the menu, and it was predominantly Frenchy. Love it. The rose I had first wasn't the best I have had (and was oddly koolaid colored) but the Cotes de Ventoux whateveritwas was delicious. I think HP liked her fresh tasting Sauvignon-Semillion better than the chardonnayish house white that she first tried.

We ordered the Applegate Farms organic mini-pigs in mini-blankets (about 7 or 8 of them), with ketchup & mustard that claimed it was horseradishy, but merely tasted like stone-ground mustard. Did I mention the pigs were mini? MINI!!!! Serve her anything mini and HP is in. Mini piggies in little, teeny, tiny, itty bitty blankets of puff pastry yumminess. They were $1 off on happy hour.

Also, mini meatloaf sliders. (WHAT.) These came two per order.

Then there was the heavenly trio of salads, one for each of us.


Michael had the beet salad with Rogue Creamery Oregon bleu cheese, sherry vinaigrette, and some clearly-homemade spiced walnuts.

I had maybe the best caprese of my life, with basil and fresh mozzarella in just the right amount of balsamic vinaigrette. Love the red and yellow slices of heirloom tomato!

HP had the some lovely fresh greens heaped with raspberries and blueberries in some sort of balsamic loveliness, with sprinkles of feta.

I think we'd go back just for the salads. But then there was the very helpful bartender who convinced us to try Becherovka, which did indeed taste "like Christmas" with licoricey, spicey goodness and legendary cure-what-ails-ya powers. And "The Ravish" which is their signature cocktail (for now) which was some sort of creamy chocolate and cherry martini. Very nice.


And finally, the delicious Theo Chocolate: a little dish of 70% Dark, Sage, one vanilla, ghost chili chocolate covered caramel, and one little square that tasted like solid coffee (in a good way) the minute it hit your tongue. Fantastic!


Thanks to HP for the pics!!!

Cafe Flora

We tried Cafe Flora's lovely vegetarian fare for the first time last weekend with a Saturday brunch. It's got a super cute dining room, and the bar and atrium-like area looked really cute too. The service was just lovely.

Here's what our party had:

Cath had a breakfast quesadilla - flour tortilla filled with roasted yams, corn and Pepper Jack cheese wrapped with egg and pan fried. It was served with some sort of hot sauce, lime crème fraîche, and a little green salad with cilantro vinaigrette.


I had the heirloom tomato summer scramble. The eggs were mixed with fresh corn, grilled onions, and fresh dill. It was topped with a few slices of heirloom tomatoes and some salty crumbles of cotija cheese. It was served with some yummy cheesy grits and a slice of blueberry bread that I am pretty sure was vegan. It was pretty good, but a lot of eggs that were nothing super special.

I should have stolen more bites of Michael's peach pecan waffle. It was a very tasty cornmeal waffle garnished with toasted pecans, tart fresh peaches, and real maple syrup. This was delicious!
Even though this place doesn't have bacon and sausage, I'd totally come back for brunch. I think it would be fun to try for dinner too.

Bakers' Blueberries

Blueberries galore, as big as your face, and sweeter than any other blueberry! Can't you feel the antioxidants working, just from looking at the picture? I can.


There is nothing quite so yumski as a summer weekend at the Bakers' house in Quilcene. Swimming in the bay, bowls of fresh-picked blueberries at your fingertips, gallons of blueberries to take home as souvenirs, always (ALWAYS) cheese for snacking, and -- if you are very very lucky -- Charlie's pan-fried oysters, and/or Patty's peanutbutterlicious granola.

Green Chiles!

Everything I ever learned about green chiles I learned from Emilee.

The first time I visited New Mexico I received an orientation packet from her, which I cannot seem to find. Too bad, because it was incredibly informative about the New Mexican cuisine. I learned about being asked "Red or green?" and I learned about sopapillas. (I also received an official Blaze of Glory tshirt, which is still in my closet, but that is another story altogether.)

Tonight, hundreds of miles from Santa Fe, I bought some fresh roasted green chiles. They were still warm when I got them home!


Ok, I admit. It was a sad little ziplock baggie full, from one pathetic tumbler/roaster thingie set up in the street in front of Whole Foods. But they are delicious!

I still have a ton, but tonight I mixed some of them (in my new food processor) with some goat cheese and cream cheese and spread it on whole wheat tortillas. Rollups for lunch tomorrow! I'm the best Mom ever--to myself! If only I could find a way to make them heart-shaped...



And, if only I were having sopapillas and margaritas with Emilee right now.

Chicken Piccata

This is my version of a Cooking Light recipe. It is divine! Light (as promised) and flavorful, and quite easy to make. In fact, I'm craving another batch!

• 2 skinless, boneless, spineless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup white wine
• juice and zest from 1 lemon
  
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4-5 oz linguine

Place each breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness. Place flour in a shallow dish, and dredge chicken in flour.

Cook linguine until just before it is done. Drain.

While pasta cooks, prepare chicken and sauce. Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add wine, lemon juice and zest, capers, and garlic to pan; scrape pan to loosen browned bits. Cook for a few minutes and add pasta. Cook for another couple of minutes. Serve pasta with chicken. Top it all with grated parmagiano-reggiano and salt and pepper. Divine!

Panzanella!

Did you know there is a type of salad that is mostly bread?

!!!!

I first made this using this recipe for Tuscan Bread and Tomato Salad. But it was in need of something extra, so I added fresh mozzarella. Then it needed a little more veggie action so I added fresh-from-the garden greens. And one time I had an avocado on hand, so I added that. Brilliant! Perfection! (Oh, and I add some dijon to the dressing.) And I use little sungold tomatoes from the garden, when available.

While this tastes lovely as a main course salad on a hot summer day, I can't figure out how to make it equally as yumski without the fresh homemade croutons, which require some hot oven action.

FAIL: Salvatore Ristorante Italiano

We really want to like Salvatore. Really, we do.

It's just up the street from our house, and it's quiet and intimate, and one of our favorite cuisine genres: Italian. But after two attempts to fall in love with it, we have added it to our "won't come back here" list of restaurants.

Complaints:

• A painfully long list of specials, listed for us in excruciating detail by the server.
  
• Vague smell of stale cigarettes
• Really? You're going to put the cloth napkin in my lap for me? Really? Is that what we're doing?
  
• My caprese was swimming (swimming) in a sea of olive oil.
• My carbonara had traces of identifiable undercooked egg white. No thank you. I want a smooth, cohesive sauce.
  
• Michael was super excited about his Argentinian beef dish, but he tasted nothing but gorgonzola goo that was drenching the entire plate.
  

Ultimately, the bar is set pretty high for Italian food in Seattle by both Monkey Valley and Bizarro's. We have not found an improvement on their chill atmosphere, amazing food, reasonable prices, and incredible service.

Sorry, Salvatore. It wasn't meant to be.

Love,
Jean

Homegrown Cherries

For the first time in four years we noticed a few ripe looking cherries our tree on the curb on 4th of July Weekend. Those dratted birds didn't get them this year! Michael busted out the ladder to harvest them. We are pretty much farmers.



We didn't get a ton, but they were sweet and warm from the sun and very delicious. Hope there are more next year!

Belltown Pizza, Again

After Riding the Ducks in 86 degree weather, we were need of a cold beverage and some dinner, preferably served outdoors. We chose Belltown Pizza of course.

For starters we each ordered a small caesar salad, which I highly recommend. It's one of the tastiest I've had, and seems never to fall prey to the typical complaints I have about caesars. The romaine is always crisp, never wilty. The dressing tastes fresh and homemade, And the croutons are toasty and dry, never hard or stale. And who can argue with fresh ground pepper, and the requisite slice of lemon? Very well done!

We also enjoyed Stella on tap, and ordered up that that delicious pizza with goat cheese, tomato, prosciutto, mushrooms, and fresh basil. So tasty!

And all this was served to us as we sat on First Avenue, just watching Belltown go by.

Dick's Burgers

What better snack is there for a girl on summer afternoon than some Dick's Burgers in Wallingford with a cute boy? Nothing better. Double yumski!

Pancakes al fresco?

There is a house down the street with a little table and chairs on the front lawn. When I walked by yesterday on my way to the bus, there was a tiny little girl in a long blue nightgown, with long, messy, just-woke-up hair and she was eating her breakfast at the little table in the morning sunshine.

I only saw the back of her head, as princesses do not wish to be recognized while dining on pancakes.

However, she reminded me of a certain scowly princess who still to this day does not wish to wake up in the morning time until she is good and ready to do so. And she would very much like some pancakes please. You may serve them to me on the lawn.

Libby acquired for us this "julep mint" at the Seattle Tilth Edible Plant Sale last month, and lo and behold it makes a delicious mint julep. It's sweet like candy, and super refreshing with the Jameson's. Can't wait to try it with some American bourbon, or in some mojitos.

El Guapo: Newsflash

Since Michael has begun his rediscovery of the Spanish language, he has informed me that our favorite Honey Hole sandwich translates to "the handsome"! Now I love it even more than I did when it was merely a Three Amigos reference.

Zips Burgers

Zips in Moscow was one of our favorite places ever. They have yumminess along the lines of Dicks Burgers. Just basic little burgers that get the job done. And special fry sauce.

Oh, the fry sauce.

It's ridiculously good. It's probably some really gross combination of mayo and ketchup, complete with MSG and GMOs or something, but I don't care. I don't care, I tell you. It's delicious. Their fries are usually underdone, never crispy. But still, they are a delicious fry-sauce eating mechanism if you get them. Since I love the chicken strips, which come with fries, I usually get them, though I prefer the tater tots of course. Yes, tots. Right? How awesome is that?


Zips was our first stop en route to Spokane on Bloomsday weekend (Ritzville, baby!) and I was disappointed that their chicken strips were in a different form than usual. I hope it isn't a trend because the ones I'm used to are white meat with a delicious peppery breading and these were fake-tasting. Yyyyyuck. Ok, I admit, I still scarfed them down. Did I not tell you how good the fry sauce is?!

The first things I notice whenever I drive east over the Cascades are as follows:

• What is up with all the bigass trucks?
• Where are all the Obama bumper stickers? Oh right. These people (yes, I just called them these people) voted for Bush. I mean McCain. No, I mean Bush.
• Why is everyone fat?

Ok, not everyone is fat. But more than one third of them are obese. Turns out that Ritzville is the the heartland of obesity. Adams County has the highest rate of obesity in Washington state at 36% (See www.doh.wa.gov.) Here in King County we don't have the lowest rate, but we almost do, at 19%.

I was hoping I could correlate obesity rates with the presence in each county of a Zips Burger location, but alas, Zips has no web site where I can find all locations, state-wide.

Did I mention how good their fry sauce is? And that they have tater tots?

First BBQ of 2009

Michael is a genius. Heaps of grilled chicken, with a tasty BBQ sauce, and salad with roma tomato, beautiful avocado, basil (first clippings from my new plants in the grow box!), cool cucumber, crisp radishes, and fresh mozzarella, all with papaya poppyseed dressing. Yumski!

No One Delivers More Taste to Your Face

Oh, back in the day there were 75 cent slices (they might have been 50 cents at first) and 25 cent pop if you brought your Pizza Pipeline cup to refill. My teenage metabolism loved it.

From approximately 1992-1994 I ate Pizza Pipeline several times per week, usually with Vic and Laura. MHS had an open campus and it was only 3 or 4 blocks to Main Street and the cheap deliciousness that was Pizza Pipeline.


They have now closed the one in Moscow, but we go to the ones in Pullman or Spokane whenever possible. I had some today and 15 years later it still tastes exactly the same!

May Day

What could be better on a warm Friday evening than enjoying some delicious Michael-brewed Belgian Wit, complete with an orange slice, on the front porch? Nothing.

Look at this beautiful beer!

Look at this beautiful brewer!

Poppy is Delicious

Poppy is delicious.

We all had a thali (rhymes with Molly; yeah I didn't know what it was either) which is apparently a round tray of ten little dishes. We enjoyed:

• nettle watercress soup -- a little sipper cup of warm, bright green yumminess
• blood orange, fennel and olive salad -- odd combo of flavors, but each tasted yummy on its own
• cauliflower salad with sumac and aleppo pepper (what's that?) -- also had some Parmesan cheese I think
• prawns with pumpkin seed sauce
• tandoor roasted pork tenderloin with green herb sauce - the pork was from Idaho (what what!) and there was some yummy anchovy in the bright green paste of fresh herbs
• golden beets, pea sprouts and hazelnut - probably the simplest, most unadorned dish and one of my favorites
• polenta diamond on chard greens (I think)
• baked farro with leek and sage
• rhubarb pickle
• a pretty little piece of naan

They didn't even blink an eye at accommodating AJ's dairy-free request for the full thali.

Their cocktails sounded super fun and yummy, but AJ and I went with a lovely flight of wine -- a white Tuscan wine, a pinot noir and a cabernet franc, all quite tasty. Michael enjoyed a Bitburger.

OH. I forgot to mention the crazy-delicious eggplant fries with honey and sea salt. So delicious! They are crispy and melt-in-your-mouth, and have that wonderful salty-sweet thing going on. Would go back again and again for those badboys!

Jubilee Jumbles Again!

Sometimes you get a pretty little box of what appears to be store-bought Easter candy. And then you notice that it isn't shrink wrapped. And it is scotch-taped shut so tight that Houdini himself couldn't escape if he was a bon-bon inside it.

Ah-HA!

I recognize those mad taping skillz! It's something homemade from Mom!

Indeed it is! Jubilee Jumbles! Mom is amaaaaaaazing! Yumski!

Biscuits and Boudin

Easter morning, Michael baked buttermilk biscuits. They were delicious and bunny shaped and egg shaped. We ate them with butter and yummy, tart, loganberry preserves.


Michael was using a recipe out of Dad's copy of The Joy Of Cooking. I was sitting at the kitchen table watching him roll out the dough, randomly flipping through the cookbook, and I found this:


My great-Grandma Bernier's recipe for boudin!

Dad never made it, but he had extremely fond memories of it, along with the rest of Grandma Bernier's french cooking. Boudin always sounded so savory and delicious, the way Dad described it. (Then I grew up and discovered he was talking about boudin noir, which is blood sausage and that yes, indeed, it is sausage with blood in it.)

I don't think I'll ever try to make this recipe. I don't think Whole Foods or Trader Joes carries cracklens. Or pig blood. But I loved finding this little memory of Dad.

Pair

Pair has a super cute little dining room.
It's a understated rustic French country. It's very chill and comfortable, but it's so cute it feels like a special occasion whenever I go there.

Sometimes if you have to wait for a table, they bring you a little dish of cocktail mix to snack on. Well, they always bring you cocktail mix too, once you order. It's delicious with roasted garbanzos and pepitas. Oh, and they sometimes comp you some cheese puffs. That was the best day...

I always get the green salad, which is huge leaves of butter lettuce, barely dressed, and thin little goat cheese toasts. It's all about the toasts for me. We ate lots of those salads in Provence. Very Frenchy.

I usually get the thyme roasted chicken. They have fairly small portions here, but we find that if we each get a salad and one other thing (and share!) then it's plenty. We usually even have some leftovers.

This time around Michael got the special, which was roast lamb with fingerling potatoes and some fresh mint paste that was just perfect. And I got the chicken. We both enjoyed some of each.

I've tried their mac n cheese and it's lovely. Sometimes it is featured on the menu, other times it is listed at the bottom as "available" along with frites. I really want to try the mussels and frites, or the onion soup, or the beef. But I'm always sidetracked by the roast chicken.

They have a small bar, but do serve cocktails in addition to their extensive wine list. They even have a couple of beers on tap.

Best Pizza of My LIFE

Michael's Pizza Dough

This make 2 pizzas. It deviates from the original recipe a bit with a 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour but here is the original which Michael has made many times with great success:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt

Rehydrate the yeast in the cup of warm water, and add the oil to this as well. While the yeast is waking up, mix the dry ingredients well. Add the fluids to the dry stuff gradually, a mixer is good for this.

Michael does the initial knead using a dough hook in the mixer, adding a tablespoon of flour at a time until it comes together in a nice elastic ball. Depending on the flour you use this could take a surprising amount of extra flour; whole wheat seems to take a lot and white seems to take less.

Knead this ball a few times and then set aside in a warm place. Once it has doubled in size, punch it down and divide it into 2 balls (or however many pizzas you want to make) and knead it a little and then let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Finally, roll the dough out into the pizza circles as thin or thick as you want. If you want cracker crust you can bake it right away. For a puffier crust let it rise for a bit. Bake in a preheated 425F oven. 20-25 minutes if you do deep dish style, or 16-18 minutes if you do a thinner crust. We prefer the thinner, but sometimes opt for a yummy deep dish style using a well-oiled 9" spring form cake pan.

"I made that." -Michael

Meanwhile, Jean makes the sauce. She cooks a small yellow onion, finely chopped, and some garlic in some olive oil. Add Italian herbs. Add a can of tomato sauce, simmer until it's a darker red and the flavor has developed.

Lately we have been on a (fancy, healthy) pepperoni kick, but one of our favorites is italian sausage and black olive, or do an olive oil base (no tomato sauce) with peppers, goat cheese, sausage, maybe some artichoke hearts and olives, fresh basil...

The possibilities are endless. It's all about Michael's dough. That's what she said.

Musashi - Best Sushi of my LIFE

Always order the harusame. It's a little dish of cold noodle salad that arrives immediately after you order. Yummy bean thread noodles, little bits of crab, omelet, cucumber, sesame seed, and a light creamy dressing. I have never had this anywhere else, or even seen it, but it is heavenly.

Let's talk about mutant unagi. Mutant, because it is fantastically giant, perfectly tender, and (like everything else at Musashi) ridiculously inexpensive. It's also a heightened state of awareness, per Ross Geller. Are you aware that unagi is an eel?

I also enjoy Musashi's giant slabs of fresh salmon, tuna and yellow tail.

I can't believe this is the first place I ever had sushi (THANK YOU JANETTE!!!) and it's hands down the best place in Seattle.

Their California roll might be different than you expect (it's giant, with rice on the inside of the nori) and isn't anything special, so go with the salmon (smoked salmon) cream cheese roll. It is divine, and so is their veggie roll, with pickled daikon goodness. They have nice grilled skewers of teriyaki, and once HP ordered their curry (yes, they have that dark brown Japanese kind of curry) and said it was good.

The beef sukiyaki has crack in it. It must. That's the only explanation. They give you a nice big portion too.

See, that's the problem with Musashi: you always seem to over-order because of the deliciousness and because you seem to be in shock that everything's so cheap.

The details: expect to wait for a table. They only take cash or check.

Birthday Cake

For my birthday, Michael baked a delicious coffee-chocolate cake, frosted with Mrs. Millman's Chocolate Frosting, from Martha.


With some chocolate ice cream, perfect!


Yumski!

Hallelujah! Spring Comes to Seattle

Hark! What's this? It's Mount Rainier!

Oh, where have you been all winter, friend?

Weather in the mid-sixties, sunshine, and a weekend are the perfect feel-good formula for a city that's plum tired of winter. It has been a long one. And while that whole "snowed in for a week" thing for Christmas was a hootenanny, I cannot wait for more of the lovely weather we had in Seattle last weekend.

Our walk took us from below Pioneer Square up Western to the spice store, where we got some delicious Ethiopian spice mix. From there we walked up to the Market, where I posed the following question to Michael:

"Beer or an ice cream?"

He should have said both, but in the end he chose beer so we walked up Virginia to the Virginia Inn. All the outdoor tables were taken, but Le Pichet next door had a free spot.

Michael got a bottle (yes) of Kronenbourg and I chose red wine of course. For a snack we had une baguette avec du beurre et du confiture.

Le Pichet is one of my favorites for dinners on the fancy side. Who knew it was so lovely for a snack?

Afterwards, we walked up to the sculpture park, and then back downtown via the waterfront. What views!

We could not have stayed indoors if we wanted to. I never knew I could be so desperate for sunshine.

Where is the Waiter Who Looks Like Robert Pattinson?

Hot!

Belltown Pizza

Back in the day, when we lived in Seattle briefly in 2001-2002, we lived in Belltown. Belltown Pizza was our favorite. We often partook of delicious salads, and what we like to call The Don Special, which is simply sausage, black olive, and onion pizza.

We really miss the view of Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains (we could also see the Space Needle) from our cute little studio apartment balcony:



But back to the pizza. Once Michael had strayed from the pizza and ordered the Roma sandwich, with prosciutto, Roma tomato, black olive, melted provolone, and pesto. It was a sandwich on par with Honey Hole stuff.

Last week AJ and I ended up here and I waffled (mmm, waffles) between ordering this sandwich and ordering a little pizza. Ultimately, I chose the pizza. The one I chose isn't on their online menu. I think it was called The Derby? It had goat cheese, olive oil base, basil, proscuitto, and fresh tomato. It was delicious. I ordered the small (9 inch) and had two pieces to take home. Michael and I had a delicious snack when I got home!

AJ had the Roast Veggie Chop salad with romaine, chicken, roasted red and green peppers, zukes, summer squash, and mushrooms topped with balsamic vinaigrette. It was bigger than she was, and there were lots of leftovers for her to take home.

Love this place. I just wish they'd take out the tvs.