The Herbfarm

It is that time of year, where my beautiful wife and I choose a unique restaurant for our anniversary dinner.  This year The Herbfarm came highly recommended and did not disappoint! I apologize for the length of this review but we embarked on a 9 course (more like 13) and nearly 5 hour gustatory expedition through the culinary Northwest. Our legendary dining journey was in the hands of the young chef Chris Weber who thrilled us all through the night. The evening started after arriving at a cute little eclectic cottage-like edifice surrounded by greenery, gardens, and fountains. Immediately upon entering it is like walking into a foyer straight out of Harry Potter meets speakeasy with an enormous fireplace centerpiece and 1920s decor abutting a famous 25,000 bottle cellar topped by a loft culinary library. After a wonderfully orchestrated tour through the gardens including tastings and smelling of the night's herbs led by Carrie Van Dyck, one of the owners, we were seated in a magical dining space complete with eclectic decor. The staff were among the best we have ever encountered, each congratulated us on our 3rd anniversary, would add other congratulations to Emily on finishing her residency, and seemed genuinely excited about our trip to Alaska. They were all extremely professional and even more attentive. Our table was set up with multiple wine glasses, a beautifully folded napkin with a sprig of rosemary, a framed personalized note to us, all in an elegant farmhouse theme.  We enjoyed our meal while the enchanting Spanish guitar soloist Patricio Contreras strummed in the background. 

But now on to the food... beginning straight out of the gate; a chive cracker topped with Montana Paddlefish Caviar, crispy stuffed zucchini blossom with marjoram, a Dayliliy salad with lovage Douglas Fir switchel aperitif, and seared albacore tuna with a garlic, tarragon, and chicory puff pastry. The clash of lite and springy with savory and earthy became harmony! We knew from this early salvo that we were in for a treat. Next came Herbfarm's own 'box of grain' featuring a sourdough wheat loaf and wild morel mushroom roll accompanied with chervil-chive-nasturtium herb butter both milled and baked in-house.  After tearing into each flaky, aromatic piece we could only say aloud, "good bake,that!" Continuing on, was a truly inspired dish; carrot custard topped with buttery dungeness crab, red and white currants, and lemon thyme.  I have not had carrot custard but my taste buds danced as the sweet and subtle custard mixed with the succulent crab and lemon thyme. The texture itself was flawless. Following that masterful dish, came today's just-dug Austrian crescent potatoes in aged butter with summer chanterelles, sage, and honeycomb. After reviewing prior menus, potatoes are a specialty of Chef Weber and his passion came through in spades. A perfect marriage of sweet and salty using a mushroom mitigator, ingenious! A surprisingly flavorful 5 hour wood-roasted-until-transparent cabbage and basil with thyme sauce set us up for the main entre. Chef Weber himself came to our table to introduce us to his pride entre; grilled Pacific Rogue Wagyu beef and a housemade sausage amidst apricots, turnips, and drizzled with a spicy oregano sauce. At first bite of this immaculately prepared jubilation of flavor we threw up our hands in surrender to the pure gustatory joy we were experiencing. In my notes I wrote the word, "perfection!" After such an inspired course we took a break and strolled out through the gardens with our wine to feed their pigs.  Yep! They have pigs that consume/recycle all of the uneaten foods. We walked together holding hands through their gardens under the moonlight laughing and recounting our favorite parts. Upon our return, sommelier Bruce Archtermann had selected some truly special sweet wines to accompany our cheese plate. I would love to describe in detail how each course was paired expertly with its own Northwest wine but it would make this already lengthy epic tale even longer. Regardless, the wine and food enhanced each other for a spectacular explosion of flavors as we dined. We sipped our special wines while enjoying a perfect pairing with Tieton sheep-goat cheese, Montmorency pie cherries, onion, and fennel reminiscent of wine and cheese tastings in Napa/Sonoma. This was replaced with warm peaches and their juices in an espresso cup with Sampson estates hazelnut wine zabaglione. The creamy and nutty flavors juxtaposed over sweet juicy peaches were tantalizing. Nearing the end, we had raspberry sorbet covered in a rose geranium cream next to a sweet wild birch syrup tart. My only critic of the night was the tart.  In an ocean of powerhouse flavors it fell flat. But it was instantly redeemed with our final course of lavender madeline, angelica macaron, and a mint brownie, that may have ruined me for all other brownies, paired with an extremely sweet malted barley drink that was like drinking straight caramel. Whew! I know it was a lot but this is a MUST! The extravagant and imaginative food was matched only by the experience with the staff, and the Herbfarm itself. This was the BEST restaurant we have been to in the last 5 years, easily 5 stars! Whether you are in Washington or not, get a table at this once in a lifetime dining foray!

The PNW

I realize that this is late coming but we have been crazy busy.  After an epic transcontinental roadtrip we finally arrived in Sammamish, WA to the Eck house.  Tired, dirty, and a little too enthusiastic to get out of the car we pulled up to a warm house with congratulatory decor. Little Sophia (Emily's niece) was out front with a riotous smile and giggle as she came running up to us.  We let Bear out and she was mesmerized, following him everywhere.  She even, in a hilarious manner, followed suit when Bear lifted his leg to mark his territory. We all nearly fell over with laughter.  We unloaded the car, took much needed showers and had a wonderful dinner with family. The past few weeks have been a blur of Emily studying for her OBGYN boards and Mary jo and I cooking ridiculous meals employing sous vide techniques, and searching for ever more challenging recipes to test on Sam and Emily. While Emily studied I help around the house with various heavy lifting projects. We continued this for about a week prior to Emily taking her boards. In the meantime we also acquired a new Subaru crosstrek!

Emily finally took her exams and felt good about them.  That night we celebrated hard with cocktails, outdoor games, and a great dinner. The family could be heard laughing from anywhere in the neighborhood. After a day of recovery we decided to hike with the Ecks along Twin Falls trail which was lovely until the crowds of unmasked family stormed the trail on our return hike. The falls were pleasant and it was an enjoyable hike. Also, this entire time Emily and I have been training for our half marathon with runs nearly everyday around Lake Sammamish.  The weather over these past few days has been incredible, 70s and sunny nearly everyday.

One day Emily and I drove to Mt. Rainier and hiked to Comet Falls one of the largest falls in the park.  It was incredible! 500 feet of cascading waterfall that followed a valley opening with a permanent rainbow from the sunrise.

Stunning, just stunning. It was another sunny day as we wound through the park and did a few more short but breathtaking hikes for unobstructed views of Mt. Rainier. We returned to the Eck house for more great dinners, social distanced neighborhood happy hours, and general merriment. I did have to include the video of little Sophia attempting to say "man with the hook!" but it comes out quite different as you will hear in the first few seconds of the video.

Wine-ing Down

We spent the night in a very upscale hotel as there were not many options that included pets in SF. We slept like kings and queens though. As we lazily packed up, again. We headed over to Berkeley to visit my good friend Mal and her family.  California has been great with their social distancing and Mal is in a “nanny bubble” so they were extra careful. We had a pleasant picnic in the park across the street from her house and we got to meet her little Emma with the mean mug. Next we headed up to Napa Valley. We met up with Ben’s family at a cool little place he picked out with a pool and spent the rest of the day sipping beers and relaxing poolside. 

The next day we woke up late and headed out for our wine tasting excursion. We managed to sneak in a winery before meeting Ben and Pamela at one they had reserve. The wines here are a must-experience-in-person adventure. We enjoyed enthusiastic and charming wine hosts pitching their wines and the process of making wines. We bought bottles and laughed and enjoyed the immaculate weather. Emily and I hit 4 vineyards total and were pretty happy by the end of our last tasting. We returned to the hotel and relaxed with our group regaling our tasting tours and wine comments. After some post wine burger we relaxed into food comas for the evening. Ben and I enjoyed a celebratory baby girl cigar before calling it a night. These past two days have been quite relaxing.  

Nevada to the Best coast!!

After a hard night of sleeping and some apologizes for being grumpy the night before, we set out towards Yosemite. It was the worst stretch of driving; flat, hot, and boring. We did have the opportunity to dip into Death Valley but as we read, “the lowest, hottest, driest, and one of the most extreme places on earth” we decided that it could be skipped by a family that appreciates and pursues cold, wet, and mountainous areas. Once again mountains appeared on the hazy horizon. We pulled over for a quick bite just before entering the park and were surrounded by tanned and fit Californian hikers. Oh, to be young... I reveled in watching Emily as her jaw dropped driving through Yosemite. We arrived from the East which is not very impressive but it is a 750,000 acre park that we started driving through. With each bend and twist new vistas shocked and stunned us. Starting in the high sierras which involve smooth granite domes, craggy peaks, and spacious meadows. Next as the vertigo inducing roads continued to wind around we saw the glacier cut mountains and valleys. We wound down towards the famous valley and after coming through a tunnel the full valley majesty laid before us, including a terrific waterfall front lit by the sun causing a rainbow to blanket it. It was amazing! Sadly we arrived late and wanted to get a great view of the park so we drove the dizzying route up to glacier point which is an overlook with a commanding view of Yosemite Valley, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, and Yosemite’s high country from a height of 7,214 feet! I walked over to the furthest point and peered over the edge watching the earth fall away over a 2000’ cliff. We sat up there cuddled together and watched the sunset over the park. It was a glorious explosion for reds and purples made even more impressive as we left and the other side of the mountains had a totally surreal and colorful sunset! Exhausted we wound our way to a hotel and collapsed. 

With the best laid plans we woke up EARLY with the thought to hike up to the Sequoia Grove and run our training run back down. We beat the forest rangers to the park, in fact we beat everyone to the park and had it all to our selves as the sun came up. With an excited pup we started up the trail listening to the sounds of a waking forest with deer jumping about, birds chirping, and wind through the trees. The crisp delicious smell of pine wafted through the air. It was a simple hike up to the sequoias. Giant sequoias dwarf even the largest pine and fir trees that live among them. Their trunks can reach over 25 feet thick. Throughout the National Park System, thousands of rangers wear uniform belts and hatbands embossed with images of the cones and foliage of the sequoia. After exploring in silence the powerful trees we headed back with our run which felt great as it was all down hill! Next we hopped in the car and drove to the valley where we had a very nice breakfast at Ahwahnee hotel. The Ahwahnee distinguishes itself as one of the crown jewels of national park lodges. The Ahwahnee was designed and built in the 1920s with the specific goal of attracting well-to-do clientele. In the following century, The Ahwahnee has more than fulfilled that ambition, hosting presidents and royalty as well as other famous personalities within its walls. The fireplaces alone were gigantic with enough space in the hearth to fit a car! The dining sported 34-foot-high high beamed ceilings that soared above floor to ceiling windows that showcased the beauty of the surround valley. 

Following breakfast we hiked around the valley with Bear. We saw wildlife, waterfalls, and were again impress that the very flat valley abruptly ended at 90° angles to glacier cut mountains. After nearly killing our dog in the 90° heat we finally said our goodbyes and left to have dinner with Ben and Pamela in San Francisco. 

I have to most adorable niece Bowie! We met her for the first time last night over a delectable middle eastern dinner. 

AZ to Nevada

Woke up this morning in a hotel just outside of Zion National Park. The air was crisp and smelled of dry mountains. It was a unique experience stepping out of the room as the sun peaked over massive rusty colored cliffs. Taking a deep breath I was glad for the trip. Our path towards the Grand Canyon took us back through Zion for another amazing scenic view. We discovered that the crazy long tunnel carved directly through a massive mountain was made in the 1930s. This may be my new favorite park! While I drove Emily read about the park and revealed that the high mountains of Colorado drain water and wind which created Zion that led to the Arizona deserts which culminated in the Grand Canyon. So after Zion we found ourselves in 100° weather flying through Arizona desert. By chance, we came upon horseshoe bend which was also a sight to behold. I did see kayakers and if it wasn’t for the heat I would love to kayak the Colorado river. All of these places have such spectacular viewpoints. Finally after what seemed like an eternity of driving we arrived at the Grand Canyon. It was so massive that it looked fake. A canyon as far as the eye could see that stretched in every direction. It was so deep that we could barely see the bottom. In fact, as I was leaning over a large stone slab at waste height to peer of the vertigo inducing precipitous drop off my future Darwin Award winning mut leaped up onto the slab to see what I was viewing. I could see it in his eyes the instant his gaze cleared the slab to see the 1000’ drop in the other side. It was a mixture of, “oh $hit” and “dad save me!!”  Luckily I had a hint he may do something that foolish so I snagged him back. But to Emily it appeared that we almost lost our dog in the Grand Canyon... after the heart attacks settled we continued our way around the south rim. I would love to come back and hike down and train/donkey back up. It was beautiful there. At this point after 9 hours of driving Emily took over for our drive to Vegas. The sun set over the desert as we drove and planned our next attack. I was starting to get exhausted grumpy which happens to me later in the evenings without rest. We made it to Las Vegas and cruised the strip at night which was a different kind of amazing. We saw the great glittering pyramid, Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, Bellagio fountains, and much more before arriving at our hotel and collapsing in exhaustion. What a day!