We had a great week around town, with our last few days on our own before we have a guest staying with us for three weeks. We spent Wednesday night out at Benihana’s for my birthday free meal, enjoying dinner with a show…and a ton of food! We spent Thursday night checking the Seahawks vs. 49ers game on our phone at FareStart where we were treated to an excellent meal of a shaved “Russel” sprout salad, braised lamb shoulder on grits, and a chocolate espresso bonnet cake! And we spent Friday night at a registry event at Macy’s before heading to Veggie Grill for dinner and then picking up Menchies on the way home to enjoy in front of the fire. Bryan also learned of exciting news for two of his dear friends in Colorado so we were both in good spirits heading into the weekend.
Saturday morning we finished tidying up the house and getting the guest room in order for our guest; Marsya from Indonesia. Bryan also made me a great fall breakfast of pumpkin pancakes with bacon while watching the Longhorns continue their winning streak. We finally got to meet Marsya when she was dropped off at our house around 2pm. She is super sweet and I can tell will be a joy to have stay with us for several days. She was logically very jetlagged so we let her get adjusted to our place while we stocked the house with groceries and then made a wholesome salmon dinner for the three of us. We did a seared salmon on top of a creamy farro fall salad. She needed sleep and headed to bed shortly after dinner.
Sunday morning while Marsya slept in Bryan and I were able to sneak off to church. They are doing a great series on community vs. church that each week has been very thought-provoking and relatable. After service we wanted to take Marsya downtown to explore Seattle and show her where her days would be spent. We first stopped in the new Tom Douglas restaurant, The Carlile Room, to dine on their Seattle Restaurant Week menu for lunch. So glad we did!!! This restaurant and lunch we thoroughly enjoyed. Bryan and I split the roasted beet, goat cheese, mint and hazlenut salad to start. For our entrees we shared the turkey plate (literally the best plate of Thanksgiving foods I have ever had) and the turkey kale caesar salad (one of the largest but most delicious salads I have ever had with fried chickpeas that were especially good). There was so much food and at $17/plate normally the $15 for two courses promotion was a steal. The turkey plate also came with brown butter smashed potatoes, the most brilliant roast carrots, greens, and mushroom gravy. Bryan continued the fabulous meal sharing their frozen banana parfait that was pure ingeniousness on behalf of Tom Douglas and company.
We left the restaurant very happy and walked to the Pike Market to explore with Marsya. We say all of the normal sights, bought a bunch of needed spices from the Market Spice, and then rounded out the afternoon’s indulgences with Ellenos greek yogurt (a must for Bryan every time we stop at the market). We had time to spare before Marsya had her program start at 5pm so we killed more time getting Seattle coffee. Sunday night turned to drizzly nastiness and Bryan and I finished the night with him working and me lounging in front of the TV.
It’s off to a great start with Marsya and we have a busy week for all three of us ahead!
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 