My love affair with Robin Hood

A drive out to Hood Canal is one of my favorite things to do.  It's so beautiful, every stop along the way serves oysters and it's a bit long so it's easy to convince yourself you need to stay overnight at Alderbrook! The best part though is an enchanted dinner at The Robin Hood Restaurant and Pub.  I mean once you are inside the place absolutely looks and feels like a cozy cottage in an enchanted forest.   Ahhh...the feelings of a love affair, driving long distances just for a brief interlude of deliciousness!  I absolutely love the farm to plate salad, all locally grown lettuce varieties and goat cheese with seasonal berries, hazelnuts, beets and a champagne vinaigrette!  My boyfriend (yes he is aware of my love affair with Robin Hood) had the elk flank steak florentine and I felt so conflicted...this is wonderful, but I want that too!  It was perfectly cooked with spinach, rosemary and a rich mushroom sauce.  Last year around this time we had an amazing pumpkin cobbler and I will definitely need to go back as soon as they have it again...I'm told they will soon.  They have open mic night in the pub on Wednesday evenings (with some really talented musicians) and heading out there on a weekend afternoon (they don't open until 4) it's a gloriously wonderful romantic moment in time!

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A Fall Day in Poulsbo

Tip #1:  The Department of Licensing in Poulsbo is amazing...no line!
Tip #2:  Go around noon and then head down to the waterfront and explore.

Our first stop was the Portside Pub, cozy little place on the water where I had a cup of creamy clam chowder and a smoked salmon bloody mary!  Yes, a smoked salmon bloody mary.  Alaska Distillery makes smoked salmon vodka.  I'm not sure what else you would do with it (ohhh except I just started imagining a vodka cream sauce over pasta) but the bloody mary was amazing and had a wonderful salty taste of smoked salmon.  Next was Tizleys Euro Pub.  It really sets the tone when you have to go down a little alley and up some tiny stairs.....love it!  Like a little hidden space overlooking the downtown.  Great selection of beers for Oktoberfest, we had the sampler (let the bartender choose), this earthy sausage, onion and potato dish and a glass of wine and our bill was...are you ready for this.....only $16.82 with tax and all!  Rachel Ray should be putting this stop on her $40 a day thing.  Walked around the antique shops and then had a craving for a slice of pizza.  What was so interesting about this little pizza shop was that I asked the lady behind the counter what made her open a pizza place (inquiring minds..blah blah blah) and she points at her husband and kind of smiles so I direct my question to him.  He says, "hey my dad had an abundance of good wood thought I could make wood fired pizza and have an endless supply".  Turns out dad didn't really have an "endless" supply of wood but they are still making pizza.  Interesting what makes people take a certain "fork" in the culinary road.