Bainbridge Island Nibbles

Bainbridge Island Nibbles

Just as a quick note before my nibbles of Bainbridge.  I am going to be doing a lot more short mobile blogs.  I think it will be a lot more fun just giving you my quick impressions on the run.  Not that I won't also do longer blogs about bigger topics but there are a lot of times where I just try a great place and want to say...go here!!  So here we go!

There are lots of great places to try on Bainbridge Island and we have just begun!
First was a really great sounding place called The Harbour Public House, anything called public house peaks my interest.   We had the Classic Montreal Poutine that was described as having Mt Townsend creamery cheese curd and house made gravy.  The fries were overcooked, the gravy was bland and the cheese was cold and rubbery...so disappointed!  The Smoked Salmon Tartine (French open faced sandwich) was okay but the house smoked salmon was dry and the dressing under the greens was too heavy on the vinegar to be any help.  Overall I wasn't terribly impressed with the Harbour Public House, swarms of flies, lackluster service and blah food, which is a shame because its such a great waterfront location.  Harbour Public House, 231 Parfitt Way SW, Bainbridge Island.
Our little excursion was definitely redeemed at the next stop, Cafe Nola.  Bacon wrapped peaches with gorgonzola cheese and a lovely glass of Chardonnay absolutely appealed to my love of the sweet savory combination.  Great little neighborhood to walk around and try different places.  Cafe Nola, 101 Winslow Way E, Bainbridge Island.
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A Farm Reunion - Brix 25 Farm to Fork Dinner at Peace of the Earth Farms

My 30 year high school reunion and the farm to fork dinner all in one weekend made me think about how things evolve over the years.  In this case it just gets better and better!   Just as I saw the changes in my high school friends so I saw the changes on the farm.  The farm has grown to almost twice the size as last year with lots of new crops flourishing.  Funny how the aging of a farm brings more bounty and beauty, in sharp contrast to how I feel about my own aging! 

After Katy and Holly greeted us in true Brix 25 fashion with a glass of champagne, we began the evening with a tour of the farm lead by farmers Hillary and Brian Bergren who are so passionate about what they do you can’t help but feel the same way.  Walking through the farm and being pampered by the Brix 25 staff gliding by with champagne, oysters casino and oxtail rillette really made you forget for a moment, the amount of work these farmers do to provide this wonderful produce and it just feels as though it’s simply magic.

I felt the same enchantment as we moved to our tables for the farm dinner.  Elegance magically appeared in the middle of the field in between the trees and the rows of vegetables.  Waiting at our table were miniature mason jars with an almond and mushroom terroir with baby vegetables and herbs that looked as though it was a tiny garden unto itself. 

Chef Thad about to present our next course

Chef Thad then presented a bison tenderloin tartare with bright red baby beets, an olive oil poached steelhead with fresh from the farm bok choy, a cottage pie with slow cooked duck and roasted root vegetable ragout with potato puree.  The grand finale was Chef Thad’s Grandma Kennedy’s recipe of green tomato pie with lavender gelato. Every course was paired with a wonderful wine and we finished with a house-made coffee liquor and lemoncello….I’m pretty sure I let out a big sigh of contentment!



Bison tenderloin tartare

You know how you have such wonderful memories of an evening and you think they must be exaggerated?  Maybe you had a little too much wine, maybe the stars were aligned just right and that magic can’t be repeated.  Here we are sitting with great friends that we made at last year’s dinner, talking about our sense of community with the farmers who grew the fresh produce and I realize the enchantment has only grown and I can’t wait until my next reunion with Peace of the Earth Farms and Brix 25. 



Oh My Mac N Cheesy Goodness!!

Honestly as a child I don't remember having mac n cheese, certainly not from a box.  My Mom wasn't the "from a box" kind of cook.   I do remember; however, making mac n cheese for my own children out of a box and if I was feeling especially creative adding hot dogs or chili.  Hey, don't judge! It takes a lot of energy at the end of the day to make something your kids will eat!  I do love mac n cheese.  Creamy, with a sharp bite and a crusty top.  In light of my love for mac n cheese and the current trend for upscaling some of our most traditional and ordinary dishes, I decided to go on a "macabout", you know sort of like a walkabout only involving food!  My Dad's nickname was Mac and he could be pretty cheesy, my grandsons nickname is Mak and he is definitely a cheeser, but let's begin our exploration of some different macs. 

Bite at the Murano
1320 Broadway Plaza
Tacoma WA  98402

No bite at the Bite, all velvety earthy and even looks like a cloud (I mean look at that dish...it looks like you could lay your head on it).  Three cheeses, truffle oil and shaved truffles, it's $15 and worth every creamy bite. 

Crown Bar
2705 6th Ave.
Tacoma WA  98406

Made with Cougar Gold cheese, great bite.  Let me make one caveat, it has a great bite "sometimes".  It seems inconsistent, one time way too salty, one time no bite.  Most of the time great though!  A small is $7 and large is $12.  No reason to mess around with a small!

Top of Tacoma Bar
3529 McKinley Ave.
Tacoma WA  98404

Order it with prosciutto and tomato - that's all I'm gonna say, I mean really it's amazing!  $9.50 add $1.50 for the tomato and prosciutto.  It comes with salad and garlic bread, it's the best deal.

Joule
1913 N 45th St.
Seattle WA  98103

Crunchy and wonderful. Made with spaetzle and black sesame seeds, loved the contrast of the creamy inside and the crispy outside.  $10

This is by no means a comprehensive list of all the great mac n cheese in the Puget Sound but rather a broad sampling and I do mean broad,  from Joule (Rachel Yang of Iron Chef Fame) to the wonderfully gritty Top of Tacoma bar...you can't say I don't get around!  There will be more mac n cheese to come, I want to try Rosewood Cafe and Stink in Tacoma and JW's in Gig Harbor.  Any other suggestions?

Gourmet Burger Shop - Worth the drive!

Roadside burger heaven! I had the braised onion burger with horseradish havarti and my partner in burger noshing had the fried oyster sandwich. All burgers come with a choice of beet chips, herb fries, cole slaw or potato salad.  Cute little place with picnic tables inside and out and stacks of time life books for perusing while you wait. The burgers are all hand made and the buns are amazingly hefty and made at a local bakery.  My burger was drip down your arm good!  I'm not a fan of the super skinny crunchy fries but their flavor was great.  Beet chips? How cool is that? They were delicously crunchy and salty. I can't wait to go back and try the cole slaw, the potato salad and all the rest of the burgers! Drive over the Purdy Bridge out 302 to the Gourmet Burger Shop and make sure you get plenty of napkins! Yum!

Sunny Shenanigans!

Love tapas! Try a little of everything! Mix and match any 3 for only $12 and they have a great wine list.  I had the lamb lollipops, lobster crostini and prawn egg rolls..fantastic! The cab franc blend was a perfect compliment...what a great way to celebrate the sun!

Billy B's

Stopped in at this really friendly neighborhood pub and were pleasantly surprised!  Great quesedillas that would rival any mexican restaurant or fancy gastro pub, not too much cheese, tons of meat, black beans and lotsa hotsa jalapenos!  If you are into the sports on the big screens..lots of that with good music playing.   Can't always be about the "cuisine"...need to satisfy my craving for regular pub food!  Most importantly what's the most popular pub wine...14 hands.  14 hands merlot...$4.25..duh winner!  Sorry for the gratuitous Charlie Sheen reference!

Agate Pass Cafe

Let's not talk about why my mother gets free rooms at the Clearwater Casino, let's just focus on the fact that she is nice enough to give them to her family!  We stayed in a lovely room and it was the perfect opportunity to go to the Agate Pass Cafe in Suquamish again.  We had heard great things from friends about this cafe and had gone there in the fall to have appetizers and salad, it was so inventive and wonderful that I couldn't wait to go back.  The first time we visited this little gem we had the deep fried olives with smoked mozzarella, panko breading with a wonderfully spicy red pepper dip and a kale and apple salad with pancetta, pecans with a maple vinaigrette that was so incredible!  We sat at the bar because I really like watching the action happen in the kitchen and I was drawn to it's gorgeous colorful tiles that I understand were done by the owner along with these whimsical whisk light fixtures hanging overhead. 

This time around I had the special which was cornmeal crusted oysters with dirty rice and a celery root apple romolade.  The oysters were extremely fresh and yummy.  A few of them had slightly too much of the cornmeal crust which made them a little too crunchy (almost hard) but the flavor was on target especially with the romolade.  My boyfriend had the braised duck with pappardelle and roasted broccoli.   The pappardelle seemed like it was house made and the duck was moist and flavorful.  I thought the pairing with roasted broccoli was a little odd, but not bad. 

The lively vibe of this little cafe is glorious and it's locale near the water makes it a perfect spot to pull in on your boat at the nearby dock and have some wonderful cuisine.  As a side note, we popped into the little bar next door (I think it's called the Troller Tavern) for a cocktail before going to dinner and it has to be one of the friendliest bars I've ever been in, we had a great time and they have wii bowling!  A good time is not ALL about the food!
If you go just be aware that they do not take reservations for parties under 5 and it's small so you might have to wait but it's worth it!  Keep it up Mom, I want to go back!