Bill and I left work early last Thursday and spent an evening in Seattle then 2 nights in Portland. We had some delicious meals, had tasty drinks and bought a bag full of books.
HIGHLIGHT #1:
Thursday night dinner at Spinasse restaurant: Based on compelling urgings from friends Brian and Cheryl, we went to Spinasse and wow are we glad we listened to them. Our server was very knowledgeable about their list of wines and friendly without it being weird but the food, THE FOOD! OMG! OMG! OMG!
Between the 3 of us we ended up trying many dishes but the standouts for me were:
#1 poached egg 'under glass' with fonduta and local black truffles
#2 lamb ragu tagliatelle
#3 2008 Moscato d'Asti - "La Selvatica" Romano Dogliati
Once the poached egg was placed into my mouth, a flavour explosion happened that rendered me unable to say anything else but: OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG!
I guarantee foodgasm if you try this dish which explains why I forgot to take a picture of it. I highly recommend Spinasse.
Spinasse: lamb ragu tagliatelle
HIGHLIGHT #2
Friday night dinner at Little Bird (their website seems to be down)
Little Bird is a french restaurant run by the same folks who also run Le Pigeon (website is also down) which Bill and I have eaten at the past 2 years and love.
We started with the escargot which was buttery and delicate and lip smacking good! For our entrees, Bill had Coq Au Vin and I had the lamb shank. It was really good but, I hate to say it, I've had better lamb shank. The lamb was almost fall off the bone but not quite although it had good flavour. The Coq Au Vin was perfection! Not too acidic at all. I still highly recommend Little Bird.
I also owe a lot to our server who gave us a great recommendation for a brunch place the next morning: Broder!
HIGHLIGHT #3
The server from Little Bird positioned Broder as Scandinavian via Wisconsin. Actually, I don't remember which state it was but the server really sold me on a smoked trout based breakfast.
I had the smoked trout hash with 2 eggs on top. They cooked the 2 eggs in a small square cast iron pan. How cute! Bill had fried eggs on apple fritters with a side of sausage. It was really delicious. And I loved how the cream that came with the coffee was actually hot.
Broder: fried eggs on apple fritters with a sign of sausage
HIGHLIGHT #4
Powell's book store is a big draw for us. We buy a lot of books. Ok, Bill buys a lot of books. The picture below makes me smile because it so aptly captures the spirit of Powell's.
Powell's
More good stuff
Poco Wine Bar in Seattle: we had pre-dinner drinks with a colleague and his wife who live in Tacoma. The bar's wine list had a strong focus on wines from the northwest along with a tapas menu. Our server was fantastic and the atmosphere was cosy.
Portland's food carts are legendary. Immediately upon checking into the Ace Hotel we made straight for the food carts which are only a block away from said hotel. I had curry chicken drumstick on egg noodles and lots of sauce. Bill had korean bbq tacos. Both were delicious but the korean bbq tacos were clearly the winner.
I love how the Seattle Ace Hotel offers complimentary waffles as part of the stay. Wish I had taken a picture. You make the waffles yourself within a common room/small eating area that also provide guests with tea, coffee, juice, toast and cereal. But it's the make your own waffles opportunity that you don't want to miss.
Teardrop Cocktail Lounge has some great bartenders. They make their own bitters and will make custom drinks for you. Unfortunately, the crowd that seems to come to this place seems to be a tad douchey and the music really sucks. But if you are lucky enough to snag a seat at their massive bar, you will be well taken care of.
Coava is a cafe in Portland that is housed in this massive warehouse and shares space with a custom bamboo manufacturer. It was a big space but there were, it felt like, almost a car length between the 5 gorgeous raw wood but solitary tables. The coffee was good, according to Bill.
Coava - coffee