Midweek Field Trip

It’s nice that we have fun things going on during the week.  It’s a necessary reprieve from work and the daily grind and I often find myself telling people that we are far more busy socially Monday through Friday than we are on the weekends, and that is true.

This Tuesday we really took a little field trip and treated ourselves to a fantastic dinner with some good friends.  Bryan, Andrew, Angela and myself met for the 6:20 pm ferry to Bainbridge amidst the heavy winds and spooky weather we had been having all day.  We had a slightly rocky ride to Bainbridge but we had a destination in mind; Hitchcock Restaurant for their $33 Dine Around Seattle meal.  With just a ten minute walk from the ferry we were in the cozy restaurant for our 2nd time ever (the first being for Bryan’s 30th birthday) and we were in for another treat.

We started out with Andrew’s brother’s wine from his vineyard Hayfork.  It was an excellent and smooth Cabernet Sauvignon and Bryan and I are both geeked for when we might get an invite to come down to Napa to try some more.  Each couple also split one of the $16 wine pairings to go with our courses and that presented some more very interesting and delicious wines.  The entire menu looked delicious, and it was.  Between Bryan and I we selected:

APPETIZER

Cold-smoked salmon
cultured cream, marinated storage onion, raw kale juice, celery root

**Hangikjöt
smoked lamb (from lamb leg) ham, heirloom mustard greens, Shady Acres plum mostarda

ENTREE

**Westport Albacore loin
smoked onion & flageolet bean ragout, pickled turmeric, chard

Heritage-breed pork chop
Tani Creek collard greens, bacon, black-eyed peas, charred hot pepper sauce

DESSERT

Crème brulee
Shady acres quince jam, grains of paradise shortbread

Theo chocolate torte
elderflower chantilly, hazelnut meringue

Both of the appetizers really wetted our appetite for the rest of our meal without being heavy.  The lamb ham paired with the sweet plum mostarda was tender and balanced while the smoked salmon plate with the earthiness and pop of color from the kale juice and the creaminess from the creme fraiche was just pure perfection.

The entrees really stole the show though.  I had seen Chef Brendan McGill on a local talk show make his albacore entree and knew I would have to try that.  I’m so glad that I did.  The hunk of albacore tuna was large and perfectly seared but I especially loved the richness that was added with the caulfilower puree and the creamy bean ragout.  It was simply delicious in my opinion.  Bryan and I again shared and I can say that his pork chop was also meaty and so delicious.  The portion was huge and I like that the chop was left on the bone but that the chop was cut in thick slices.  Beautiful presentation!  And the pairing with the collards, black eyed peas and hot pepper sauce was classic but so refined.

I think my favorite thing about the dessert was the sherry from our wine pairing, not to say the desserts were bad but its been a long time since I have had a good dessert wine.  The creme brulee was unfortunately a little too burnt on the top but it was still deliciously creamy underneath and the chocolate torte was full of cocoa nibs and definitely filled the chocolate quota for me.

Bryan and I really enjoyed most the company though.  We could have gone over to Hitchcock just ourselves, and probably would have, but the more we get to know Andrew and Angela the more we really enjoy and admire them individually and as a couple.  They are smart, honest, funny, and really relatable.  I think Bryan and I each look up to them but not to the point that we feel inferior or unequal at all.  It’s a refreshing feeling of wanting to be even better people but yet not feeling at competition or bad about any shortcomings.

A terrific midweek field trip!

Chelsea