The Rest of Walla Walla

Even though Walla Walla is such a great wine region you still have to sleep, see, eat and even (try) to partake in other libations. Here's the rest of what we did and what I thought of it during our wine weekend:

Sleep-

Holiday Inn Express - B
Because of the Cayuse Release it was a very busy weekend in Walla Walla, meaning slim pickings on hotels at expensive rates. After many ideas and recommendations from friends we booked at the Holiday Inn Express for about $130 a night. Clean and very well located, free parking & internet this was a fine location for us. The hotel has a large breakfast room which is seriously stocked in the morning: pancake machine, cereal, hard boiled eggs, yogurt, bacon, eggs, biscuits, gravy, etc. Early evening they offer cookies and milk. It doesn't have a lot of ambiance but if you are out and about and really just sleeping here I'd book it again. Right next door our friends booked the Comfort Inn which they were also happy with.

See-

Monteillet Fromagerie- B (only for price of tasting)
If you love cheese this is a great little destination just north east of Walla Walla toward Waitsburg. The adorable farm boasts dairy flocks of fuzzy lambs and curious goats as well as 2 Great Pyrenees, a Boarder Collie, ducks, chickens, cats, etc.
The cheese tasting is $10 per person but the cheeses really are delicious. We all purchased different styles; in our case a soft goat cheese divided by a layer of vegetable ash & deliciously stinky as well as firm goat cheese marinated in olive oil, garlic and herbs.
You can go into the pens with the animals and generally frolic around the grounds. Warning- this cheese will make you think you put a goat in your car ;)

Eat (besides the cheese)-

T. Maccarones- B
There are only a few restaurants in town so when TMacs (as the locals call it) said they could get our table of 6 in on a Friday night I jumped. And it was fine. The restaurant is actually quite small, located on the ground floor of a office type building. A tiny bar was offered to us to wait in (which served not very good drinks- pass) until we were finally sat at our table- upstairs in a private dining area. We all felt happy to be out of the crush of noise in the main room below but couldn't help but feel a bit in Siberia in this room.
Food was all fine, some even quite tasty. Portions huge (easily should have shared a few things) and service frazzled but nice.

Brasserie 4- A
On very cute Main Street Brasserie 4 is casual & fun. You can choose your wine from a rack a la retail style. The menu is bistro style French (yummy escargot) and uses local/seasonal ingredients a lot. Sauces were plate lick able. Salad portions were huge, easily sharable. All was good and we had a great time here.

Clarette's- B+
Everyone told us this was the place to go for a greasy spoon breakfast and they weren't kidding. I expected Alice to pour our coffee while mentioning something about grits and that's just about what we got. Although the service was sloooowwwww the food was good in that diner type of way. They offer crispy hashbrowns either covered (melted cheddar and bacon) or smothered (sausage gravy) 'nough said. And our part time vegetarians found lots of options too. And it's cheap!

Colville Street Patisserie- A
Dayne and I had been before but got there too late and were left with not much to choose from in the case. This time we arrived around 10am on Sunday and the cases were loaded with delicious bakery items. Cinnamon rolls, Pan au Chocolate, Croissants, Financiers, Quiches, even gelato. All was absolutely scrumptious!

Miner Burger (Union Gap/Yakima)- B (only because it feels guilty to love it)
Matt had fond memories of eating at Miner Burger in Union Gap as a kid so we headed in for a burger on our drive home. Holy hell! Burgers are smash patties and thin but as round as a damn dinner plate! Crispy onion rings! Huge thick milkshakes! And about 20+ different condiments. We ate and then we all swore we wouldn't eat again for a week, and then maybe just a salad!

Cocktails-

Marcy's- B
We tried to go to the bar at Whitehouse Crawford but they were packed to the gills. The hostess suggested Marcy's and gave us directions. As soon as we pulled up I recognized it from the (now defunct) Luscious by Nature restaurant.
Super friendly staff, serviceable cocktails. Most had the life shaken out of them but turned out fine (even a super shaken Manhattan!) You might want to stay away from the Old Fashion however, it was "Nicole Brown Simpson'd to death" (insert wildly stabbing/muddling movements here).

Jen was thirsty!

The Marcus Whitman- B
After a tough day of wine tasting and driving around trying to get a damn cocktail (see next entry) we finally were welcomed to the Vineyard Lounge at this very pretty historic hotel. We grabbed a table by the fireplace, moved chairs around and ordered a bunch of things not on the menu. Our waitress smiled and returned quickly with our drinks. Ahhhhhh! Again, shaking seems to be a thing in Walla Walla but the drinks were fine and it was nice to be able to sit in the comfortable room and order as many as we wanted...

Jimgermanbar -D (only because I know others who have enjoyed it, & it stands for "Dead to me")
Not in Walla Walla but in cute Waitsburg, this bar had been recommended by many friends. So after a nice day of wine and then cheese we made our way to Waitsburg for promised delicious cocktails. I had even called, said we'd be in around 5- a party of 6. We arrived at 5:30 with confusion to if we had a reservation or not (I had not been offered one). Finally we were seated at the communal table in the next door private room. It was gorgeous! And we were happy with the menu and our first round of cocktails.
And then... we ordered round two. Nothing crazy. Martini's, Manhattan's, Smoky Vesper. We were told that shots and beers would be up first as it was getting busy. One person changed to a beer. Server leaves. Comes back 5 mins later with a beer. Leaves again. And then...
Appears with our tab and informs us that they are busy, they have a group of 20 who just called and are on their way in. They won't be able to make our drinks and in fact need us to pay and leave. Oh, but they comped us some olives and almonds.
Holy Hell!!! I'm not going to continue to report on what we discussed all evening...

When we were happy...

And something else...

Imbibe Wine Tours - We didn't do this but we saw them at Longshadows set up with a picnic table and having a nice lunch in the sun. How cool is this stretch Checker Aerobus? Turns out they are friends of Elisabeth, check out their site if you are interested in a tour.

Great weekend! Photos here

Walla Walla Wine Report

Last weekend we headed east to Walla Walla with friends Jen, Matt, Elisabeth and Gary to relax and do a little wine tasting. The catalyst of the excursion was the Cayuse Spring Release Party. I had been on the Cayuse wait list (the only way to buy their wines) for about 5 years before finally being allocated a very small parcel of 3 bottles of futures in 2009. Purchase made I then had to wait until just last weekend to pick them up.

The party was good fun and a chance to taste all the 09's which I'll have a chance to pick up next year. Elisabeth went to school in the area and introduced us to Trevor Dorland the GM of Cayuse who was nice enough to explain the interesting rocky vineyards, very similar to those in Chateauneuf de Pape.Then she introduced us to owner and winemaker Christophe Baron who, while we all sipped on the 09 Bionic Frog, told us about the name and generally charmed us as the French are known to do.

Cayuse Spring Release Party- A+ (based on wine and my years of waiting to attend!)

Here's where else we tasted at in Walla Walla:

Longshadows - A
Although a bit on the pricey side the collection of wines at Longshadows is gorgeous. The lineup here is actually a partnership of a group of amazing winemakers, each doing the style they love the most. On this tasting I really loved the Bordeaux Blends- Pirouette and Pedestal. The tasting room has a stunning collection of Chihuly glass and beautiful views of the neighboring farm land. The entire building is very modern and is built part way into a hillside. Everyone left with a bottle or 2 from here.

Gramercy Cellars - A (group fav of the weekend)
I've loved Gramercy wines since our last trip to Walla Walla. This visit found them in their brand new tasting room, the old location of Amavi. The space is super casual and comfy with HUGE leather couches, a friendly dog and of course amazing wines from Greg. Everyone loved the Tempernillo, the Syrahs, the Grenache, the Cabs. It's tough deciding what to buy (or rather what not to buy) at Gramercy.

K Vitners - A
Can you even go to Walla Walla without a stop at K? I know that most of the wines are easily found around town but this tasting room is rocking, literally! No tasting fee, gorgeous syrahs, fun tasting room and beautiful grounds. Everyone loves K!

Waters Winery - A
Another place we've visited before and continue to love the wines. They had just released a pretty rose that we all snatched up along with their Syrah- the Forgotten Hills is always my favorite.

Basel Cellars- B
This winery is on crack. As you drive up the massive winding driveway, finally spotting the grandiose estate which is also a resort (only for wine club members). It's part Hansel & Gretel, part Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and a little Leavenworth thrown in. Confused? So were we.

The wines were fine, mostly underwhelming and simple. But not bad and actually most at really good prices. It was just the crazy over the top setting that had us all going WTF??

An eagle swoops from the sky as we hold onto our ponies...

L'Ecole No 41 - A-
I love l'Ecole wines, as do most. The only reason I gave them an A- was that I felt very rushed going thru the tasting. Maybe it was just me, and they were busy, but I don't like feeling rushed through things. Having said that the wines are all so good it's another tough decision on which of the many wines to buy. This is a great first or last stop as it is right on the edge of Walla Walla.

Alexandria Nicole Cellars- A
Not in Walla Walla but in Prosser, we stopped here to break up the long drive. The wines were all quite lovely, lots of Rhone styles and even a wonderful Merlot! Super friendly tasting room staff and good prices.

more photos...

Beautiful Bergen

Have you ever been someplace that was so pretty it just took your breath away? I felt like that as we exited the funicular car at the top of Fløyen mountain and took in the stunning beauty of Bergen and the fjords laid out below us. It was freezing cold, but I wanted to stand there with the light of dusk showing off this pretty little city for as long as possible. 

Bergen, Norway is one of Seattle's (many) sister cities. In fact we live right by Bergen Place here in Ballard. It's Norway's second largest and was one of the most important Hanseatic League cities. We stayed at the First Hotel Marin which was the perfect central location for our sightseeing. 

Along the waterfront is Bryggen, the oldest part of the city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The funny row of merchant buildings date back to 1360. Also near by is the Fish Market, much smaller in the winter but still a great place to check out all the different live fish, smoked fish, dried fish, lobsters, caviar, etc.

In the center of Bergen is a lovely lake, frozen solid in the winter and used as a pathway across. Small sections are cleared by the city for ice skating and one area is kept from freezing over by swimming flocks of birds. A Christmas tree stands in the middle. Although our hotel manager told us she thinks it's crazy that everyone walks across it! But still, if this doesn't look like a Christmas card I don't know what does!

Surrounding the lake are the various buildings of the Kunstmuseum, housing the works of Munch, Picasso, Miro, Klee, Dahl, etc. As we wandered through the galleries we couldn't help but notice the lack of security, I think I saw one the entire time. You'd think they would tighten things up since they seem to have an ongoing problem with this around the country.

During the holidays Bergen has the World's Largest Gingerbread City on display. This cavern of sweet smelling creations included amongst other things, an aquarium, a brothel, trains and even Michael Jackson's Neverland. Last year there was some issue with a man, aquavit and midnight hunger... the gingerbread police seemed to have everything under control when we were there though. 

We enjoyed a very nice dinner at Bergen's best restaurant Potetkjelleren, the best of our trip. Meaning "potato cellar" it's in the cellar of a house, the stairs leading down to the dining room quite steep and the doorways being quite low (cute video of the space on their site). Monkfish ceviche, Jerusalem Artichoke soup, duck breast and an amazing selection of cheeses. All perfectly paired with wines chosen by the sommelier. 

And of course we found Bergen's best cocktail bar, Biblioteket Bar where JP warmed us all up with Blue Blazers!

I really enjoyed Bergen and I'm sure it's just as beautiful in the summer, but this little city really charmed me with its holiday spirit and I'm glad I got to experience that. 

Lots of pictures of snow, sleds, and gingerbread here.

Tales of the Cocktail- Vancouver Edition

For the first time Tales of the Cocktail decided to do a mini event and they chose Vancouver, BC for the location. Lucky for me as it is super close, I have friends to visit up there and it's a great drinking and eating place to go. Luckier for me some of the LUPEC ladies and their significant others decided to go too!

Instead of having seminars over multiple days, this mini Tales had you choose 3 seminars all on the same day. Here's what I went to on Monday March 14th.

10:30am: Famous New Orleans Cocktails. A really nice history of the cocktails that were born and bred in NOLA as told by Chris McMillian (bar historian extraordinaire) and Philip Green (descendant of the Peychaud's family) from The Museum of the American Cocktail.

We started the morning with a Sazerac and learned that it was one of the (if not THE) very first cocktail originally "prescribed" by pharmacists to cure what ails ya. Next we were served a Julep along with information of the Juleps and Sherry Cobblers being the original ice drinks. America was first with the building of ice houses and thus America invented the first ice cocktails. In pre Civil War times the Mint Julep was made with Brandy or Rum (to be honest that is still my preferred Julep).

Moving on to the Ramos Gin Fizz we learned of Henry Ramos, the most noted bartender in New Orleans. His bar was not a loud and brash joint but a very upscale retreat for gentleman (ladies weren't allowed in bars at the time). His Gin Fizz was a beloved cocktail and he made it and other libations until Prohibition came into law. On that day he closed his doors and people have been messing about with the original recipe since. There is a great article that was discussed posted here (along with the original recipe). And as part of our education on Mr. Ramos we all shook up a Gin Fizz for our 3rd drink of the morning.

During Prohibition we learned of Izzy & Moe, the notorious alcohol enforcement agents who would dress up in elaborate disguises to find illegal booze and the bartenders/speakeasy's who were providing it. Of course these hard working agents relaxed in their off time with beer and whiskey.

And last but not least we learned the sad tale of the Hurricane. A once delicious cocktail developed to use up the mass quantities of rum that a certain Pat O'Brien bar owner had in his inventory. Marketed to whiskey loving New Orleaners by serving it in a big fancy glass it became a hit. No one knows how it evolved to the slushy regret abhorrence of today, but a real Hurricane is still a great cocktail!

Noon: cocktail count 4

1:30pm: The History and Importance of Ice in Cocktails. Hendrick's ambassadors Charlotte Voisey and Jon Santer's seminar had the best swag ever. Seriously! Hand made Lewis Bags from Allison Weber of Portland and gorgeous wood muddlers to use with them.

Charlotte started by telling us all about Fredrick Tutor, the first person to harvest ice for business, to build and control ice houses to store the blocks and take ice to Havana (as well as other warm weather places). He was a man of great vision and without him we'd probably be drinking warm gin and tonics as the Europeans still do! She discussed refrigeration and it's importance to the time period as well as how ice is actually harvested.

Jon then stepped in and gave us a little lesson about Nathaniel Wyeth, an ice harvester who created just about every ice carving tool still used today. Jon demonstrated how different ice (of both size and shape) dilutes and what size is better for various drinks.

We were served two Cobblers, both without ice but using our new Lewis bags we crushed ice and heaped it into one of them. The other got just a few pieces. After a bit we tried both to see how cold and dilution affected this classic drink. And we learned that if you looked at the the crushed bits of ice they looked like cobblestones, hence the name.

Then Jon pulled out his chain saw and cut up a huge block of crystal clear ice. People donned plastic rain parkas. Of course he did and of course they did, this is Tales after all. Fun tip from the seminar; fill balloons with water and freeze, peel off balloon for different sized ice. I'm making balloon animal ice for our next party.

3:00pm: cocktail count 7

4:00pm: Who's Your Daddy? A Mai Tai Paternity Test. Jeff Berry, the most passionate and dedicated Tiki drink historian around, finally answered the question of who invented the Mai Tai. We listened to "testimony" about Harry Owens, Trader Vic and Don the Beachcomber while sipping on various Mai Tai recipes. There weren't any objections and the court most certainly was not in order but the slide show was full of vintage recipes, vessels, bars and island girls.

At the end of it all we came to the conclusion that Don the Beachcomber created something called the QB Cooler which may have influenced Trader Vic in his mixing but the Mai Tai is all Vic's.

Original recipe from the 1940's:

TRADER VIC’S MAI TAI

• 2 oz Wray & Nephew 17 Year Old Rum
• .5 oz orgeat
• .5 oz orange curacao
• .25 oz simple syrup
• Juice of one lime (approx. .75 oz lime juice)

Mix all ingredients and shake with ice. Strain into a glass over crushed ice. Garnish with lime shell and a sprig of mint.


5:30pm: cocktail count 9

Of course Tales isn't all seminars and notes. There were parties, cocktails and bar crawls, soup dumplings and midnight croquet, delicious dinner and tasty cochon de lait lunch. Laissez les bon temps roulez, eh?

Evidence

Japan On My Mind

When we went to Japan 2 years ago I fell in love. With the cities, with the people, with the food, with the culture. You name it, I loved it. I hadn't expected to become so enamored although I was very excited to be going, but it happened.

And now of course I've been watching the news since the earthquake earlier this month, in awe of the swaying buildings in Tokyo and the awesome power that moved them. The tsunami and it's aftermath in Sendai has been horrifying to watch. And now the nuclear plant, radiation and the growing dread of what will happen in Japan and beyond haunt me.

I just read an amazing story about being trapped on Mount Hakone. It reminded me of the much more enjoyable 2 days we spent in Hakone. We even took the same cable car trip. I can't imagine what they all went through, it must have been so scary- and COLD!!!

I'm just giving Japan a little shout out today, hoping for the best for both the country and the people. There's a lot going on in the world and we tend to have a bit of ADD, paying the most attention to whatever is most current. I know some friends of mine have friends and family over there, some in the areas hit the hardest. I'm hoping you all receive good news.

There are many sites/products/agencies you can give to to support Japan. If you feel strongly about one please feel free to put it in the comments.

LA...when???

Well it's been 4 months since we were in Los Angeles so I guess I should get a post up. That's nothing really, considering that we were in Germany 6 months ago and I've still got loads to post on that! But as some of you know I travel with a handy moleskin that I fill with daily notes, collect lots of business cards from the places I loved and take a shit load of photos to always remind me of what we saw. 

So as I was going through a stack of business cards on my desk today I came across a few from LA and thought- wow! I must have caught some super procrastinator bug from our gracious host Chuck cuz I still haven't posted a thing about that great weekend!

Chuck & Wes being the über professionals in all things drinking & eating picked us up from Burbank airport and immediately whisked us to Dayne's all time favorite, In n Out Burger. Off to a good start!

Dinner over we headed downtown to check out The Varnish. This is a fantastic cocktail lounge in the back of Cole's French Dip and we were lucky enough to have Eric Alperin & Marcos Tello behind the bar. The space itself is retro dark wood and brick, low lighting and set up more like a restaurant with lots of semi private tables and booths. We planned to only have one cocktail each so that we could also make it to 7 Grand before closing but with these experts in the house we just had to stay for a few rounds, it was absolutely worth it!

We spent the next sunny day exploring Silverlake. Bar Keeper was recommended by many and did not disappoint. A great shop with an amazing collection of bitters, glassware, booze and bar tools. It's like a toy store for cocktail geeks!

(*update 3/21 I just heard this great interview with Joe Keeper on KUOW today!)

This was the night I was really looking forward to. We had dinner reservations at Osteria Mozza where I had wanted to eat at since they first opened. Batali & Silverton? Count me in! Funny their other location of Mozza is in Singapore, good to know!

The meal was delicious! The famed mozzarella bar lived up to the hype. The space is pretty and sleek and just the right amount of noise. And the best thing about dining out with other food loving peeps is that we got to taste a hell of a lot of food! From the grilled octopus to the crispy pig trotter, gnocchi with duck ragu to the ricotta and egg ravioli & the short ribs- everything was so good! And Nancy Silverton was even in the house! In the words of Charlie Sheen: Winning!!

A little dessert, an Amaro tasting at the bar and then we were off to La Descarga Rum Bar. All I knew was that Chuck said we had 10pm reservations that we couldn't be late for. And that they served rum. And that there was some type of a show.

We entered the building and checked in with the hostess who led us to a coat closet. Upon opening the closet doors it was revealed to be a "secret" entrance to the bar where we followed along a cat walk and then down a spiral staircase to the main bar. Above us a small band played fantastic Cuban music, the bar's walls weathered to look like crumbling walls in Havana. In the back there is another bar that has the feel of being made of corrugated metal walls. All very cool. 

My friend Aaron joined us and we all enjoyed some seriously good rum cocktails. The music changed and a spotlight appeared on the cat walk above, a woman dressed in a Latino inspired skirt and blouse started to dance. Fun! And then she really got into it and did a bit of a Cuban burlesque if you will! It was awesome (and I'm sure that most of the men in the bar would use other words as she was quite attractive!) and totally unexpected! There ended up being 2 shows, the second being quite a bit saucier and the woman dancing right on the bar!

A great night out on the town! The next day we wrapped up our very quick weekend with a delicious brunch at Alcove where we sat outside (in November!) and had yummy breakfast cocktails made by Juan Sevilla who Dayne and I had met earlier in the year at Tales.

Great to see our friends and finally get down to LA. We'll be back! (you know I'm using the gubernator's voice...)

flickr photos

Cruising with the Hurtigruten

After taking advantage of yet another huge smorgasbord breakfast at our hotel (Norway definitely has the best breakfasts of any country we've been to and it was always included in our hotel cost), we packed our bags and walked about 10 minutes to the Port of Trondheim to board our ship the MS Nordlys.We were heading south to Bergen on an overnight cruise and very much looking forward to more gorgeous scenery, this time of the ocean and the fjords.

The Hurtigruten line started over 100 years ago and were the only means of transportation of people and freight north to south in Norway. Although they are working ferries the ships are quite popular as small cruise vessels; offering cabins, meals, "entertainment" (yes, I meant to put that in quotes) and shore excursions. The entire journey round trip from Bergen north to Kirkenes and back is 11 days and has 34 ports of call. Many consider it to be "The World's Most Beautiful Sea Voyage."

The majority of the passengers were doing the entire trip and were happy to have new people to talk to. We heard lots of stories about the trip north, the days of only a glow of light but no actual sun, sea eagle spottings and the variety of seafood offered at lunch. There was one elderly man who cornered us soon after we boarded and proceeded to tell us about the amazing display of Northern Lights he had seen the night before- which was a lie. And others on-board were calling him out on it. Scandal on the high seas!

There isn't a lot to do on board except cozy up with a book and take in the scenery. It was a perfect relaxing day and a half. We went outside frequently, bundled up against some seriously cold wind, to see the beautiful sky and fjords and islands. At 3pm there was the most amazing sunset!

Of course we had our evening happy hour before joining the rest of the passengers for dinner. Dinner was an ok 3 course meal of reindeer starter, halibut and a berry soup for dessert.

After dinner we had aquavit in the lounge and went outside on a search for the Nordlys (Northern Lights) but never saw them. The only disappointment of the trip (now planning for Greenland! ;) We did however see lots of stars, shooting stars and constellations.

The next morning was another gorgeous day, sunny and bright. We would be arriving in Bergen around 2:30 in the afternoon. After a big smorgasbord breakfast we packed up our bags and handed them to the the porters who would make sure they were taken off the boat and ready for us to pick up.

We sailed through a small gathering of rocky islands, they were soooo close to the ship! As we came closer to Bergen there were more and more small towns nestled along the fjords. We even saw steam rising off the water in one bay!

For lunch we decided to have Weinerpølser (hotdogs) and fries from the cafe (seriously hotdogs are the national food of Norway, everyone eats them!). But when we went to order we noticed that there was a choice of either a hotdog with a brod (bun) or a hotdog with fries. When we asked if we could have our Weinerpølser with a brod AND fries the man looked at us like we were crazy!

Goodbye MS Nordlys, hello Bergen!

Lots of pretty, pretty cruise pictures here