Dos Anos!!!

This weekend was not only the highly-celebrated SeaFair Weekend in Seattle but also marked Bryan and my two year anniversary.  We decided to stay in Seattle for the weekend and spent it entirely just the two of us which was very nice.  We both had a great weekend, had great weather, and had great company.

On Friday night after work we first went out to celebrate at Spur Gastropub in Belltown.  It was actually a gray and cold day and spending a Friday night inside over food and drink was a nice way to unwind.  The place is pricey so we would definitely never go back without a Groupon, but alas we had a Groupon this time.  I knew they were known for inventive cocktails so I selected the Broken Spur #2 which came with Bourbon, amaretto, something else and a citrus foam.  It was light and tasty.  We decided to split to “entrees” to share and ordered a bowl of their fries to help fill us up.  We chose the seared butterfish that came with roasted cherry tomatoes over an eggplant mousse, olive oil cream, and topped with fried edible flowers.  The dish was very delish and unique.  The other dish we chose was the roasted guinea fowl that came with a pea puree, sauteed peas, and pea vines.  The hen was moist and flavorful.  Both dishes were great but I’m glad we ordered the fries because the portions were so tiny.  After dinner we moved on to the Tin Lizzie Lounge in lower Queen Anne for some amazing flamenco guitar and a couple of Manhattans.  The music was nice and romantic and so was the setting.

B-dawg and I finally made it back to where it all began on Saturday morning.  We biked this time and this time on a great 9 mile bike ride there, mostly along the shores of Lake Washington, to Both Ways Cafe in the Seward Park area of Seattle.  We sat outside at their cute little tables like last time.  It was sunny and warm like last time.  We had great food and coffee like last time.  Only this time it is two years later, we are two years older, we have both changed so much, we are both no longer new citizens of Seattle, and we know each other soooooooo much better.  This time was better!  He ordered the Santa Fe Omelette and I tried the Tofu Scramble.  I just wanted their stellar home fries and amazing bisquits with homemade jams.  We then biked to the shore like we did last time and then found a place to watch the Air Show.  Unfortunately the Patriots (who have replaced the Blue Angels because of sequestration cuts) were not as thrilling but still good.  We then biked a different, longer way back, all along Lake Washington, making the entire trip around 20 miles with quite a bit of elevation.  Saturday night we showered, got groceries to make fish tacos and guac and dined outside to a great Seattle sunset at my place and having a nice quiet night.

Sunday I asked to go to church.  I needed it and think he did too.  It was a very good service talking about “Fools”.  We walked to Homegrown for sandwiches and brought them back to the house and had a picnic in the grass.  We decided to get the bathing suits on and rode together on my scooter to Alki Beach for a few hours soaking up the sun, walking on the beach, and reading.  It was really relaxing and the scooter ride there and back is exhilarating and fun.  We came back, got dressed up and went to a new restaurant called Harvest Vine that Bryan chose for dinner.  The place was perfect.  We sat next to a window in a beautiful “cellar” of a room that did transport me back to Spain.  We got a fantastic bottle of Rioja wine from the Marques label but one that was a lot fancier and different than others I have tried of theirs.  They brought us an amuse bouche of roasted yellow beets to wet our appetite.  We first selected three tapas:  seared padron peppers with sea salt, grilled octopus with pimenton, olive oil and chickpea puree, and pluma iberica (a special cut from the pata negra pig with panadera potatoes and cider sauce).  We got the peppers first and their were light and delicious.  We then got the octopus which was delicious and how I remembered it in Barcelona.  The chickpea puree that sat underneath was so tasty, like a thicker hummus.  The pork was fantastic.  This kind of pig is only fed almonds and you get the nutty taste in the pork.  It was so tasty and the potatoes complimented it so well.

We wanted more and ordered the scallops and the braised pheasant.  The scallops came with two very large ones on top of an amazing romesco sauce.  They were cooked perfectly.  The pheasant was braised and pulled and wrapped in a very light pastry which was seared to a crisp and provided the perfect light crunch to the dish.  It sat on top of a very flavorful broth and eggplant, summer squash, and peppers.  This dish was the only I didn’t capture in photos and both left us surprised at how good this was.  We were so stuffed with all of the dishes we could not order dessert even though we wanted to.  I think Bryan had at least 3 loaves of bread himself soaking up all of the sauces from the dishes.  It was the perfect end to a perfect weekend.  Sad it is over but we will definitely be back dining at the Harvest Vine!!

Chelsea