To give you some context, the theme of the menu was "A Menu for a Spring Forager's Dinner," or, as explained in the beautiful multi-paged menu, "Exploring the Foraged & Indigenous Foods of 'Salmon Nation.'" All of my tablemates were served wine, but I opted for the "Alcohol-Free Beverages" option, which I was absolutely thrilled with. The beverages were my favorite part, quite honestly. The table setting was quite stunning, and here are a few pictures to show you:
This is the little frog who was holding the name card:
Here is one view of the glasses we started out with. They were used from right to left, and each one was taken away after it had been used. On the plate, folded in the napkin, is the menu and some plant material. We each had a different plant, which was fun. Also, if you got up to go to the bathroom (or out to feed the pigs), you would come back to a fresh napkin with the original plant material lovingly placed atop it.
Here is another view of the glasses.
I'm now going to regale you with the details of each course in succession. And each course has a title.
First course was "From the Edge of the Sea." On your left you will see Kombu-Cured Albacore Tuna on a Seaweed Cracker with Oregon Wasabi Root. In the middle you will find some Puget Sound Geoduck Sashimi on Nori Seaweed Sauce with a piece of Pickled Bull Kelp Stalk on top. And on your right, you see a little sipping cup filled with Local Spot Prawn Soup with Smoked Quinault River Steelhead Roe and a little Chive Creme Fraiche. I have to say that this was not my favorite course.While I don't mind the taste of raw fish (which the tuna and geoduck were), I really don't care for the texture. Particularly of the tuna. The Geoduck actually didn't bother me and was maybe my favorite of the three. The soup was fine, although the steelhead roe were a little too salty for my taste. But darn it was pretty.
The alcoholic beverage accompanying this course was a Japanese-Prickly-Ash-&Kafir-Lime-Leaf Infused Sake Sparkling Wine Spritzer. I had "Champagne", which was Ariel Brut Cuvee with kaffir essence. Light and refreshing.
Second Course was "Hen 'n' Nettle" which consisted of Pan-Roasted Eastern Washington Spring Chicken and Its Crispy Confit with Poached Hama Hama Oysters, Radish, Stinging Nettle Sauce and Lovage Oil. This was pretty tasty. The chicken was tender but largely unremarkable. The oyster was fine, although I'm not the biggest oyster fan, and the crispy confit was deeeeeeeelicious. I had no idea that I was a crispy confit fan, but let the record show that I am.
The wine accompanying this course was a 2009 Reustle Prayer Rock Gruner Veltliner from Dundee Hills, Oregon. I had a Northwest Douglas Fir and Cucumber Soda, which I think was my favorite beverage of the evening.
Between courses we also got bread. The bread was Rustic Chestnut Bread and Alaskan Birch Syrup Pretzels, and they were served with House-Churned Jersey Cow Butter. Delicious. And they just kept giving you more.
Third Course was "Morel Support." This was Spring Morel Mushrooms and Line-Caught Wild Halibut, Savory Morel Jus, Wild Watercress, Asparagus and Caraway. They did some funky(and tasty) thing with the caraway so that it was like fried rye breadcrumbs, which you see under the halibut. The morels were incredible. We were all in agreement that we would be happy to sit under the table with a large bowl of the morels for the rest of the evening. The halibut was incredibly tender and moist.
The alcoholic beverage served with this course was a 2008 Chehalem Chardonnay, "Inox," Willamette Valley, Oregon. My tablemates didn't love this wine. I got "Elder Bliss," which was an Herbfarm North Cascade elderflower spritzer. Like all other beverages I consumed, extremely tasty.
Fourth Course was "Alexanders Piglet." This was Housemade Suckling Pig Porchetta with Alexanders Seeds, Homemade Mustard-Artisan Cider Sauce, Miner's Lettuce and Gathered Forest Wildlings (another term for greens picked in the woods somewhere). I've never had porchetta before, so don't have much to compare it with. The flavor was very succulent and essentially porky, in the best possible way. The texture was not my favorite, however. It was pretty chewy and fatty. But you better believe that the flavor won that battle, and I ate it all up, like a good little piggy. ;o)
Oh, and they don't mention the carrots in the description. But those two tiny carrots were the most delicious carrots I've ever eaten. The alcoholic beverage served with this course was a 2007 Boedecker Cellars Pinot Noir, Athena, Willamette Valley, Oregon. I drank "Candied Rose", which consisted of Pinot Noir juice, rose petals and Candy Cap mushroom. This was really delicious (I'm running out of words here) but exotic. It had almost a mustiness to it (Meredith thought the smell reminded her a bit of pipe tobacco) that I'm guessing was from the mushroom. This was the strangest of the drinks, but still quite good.
Fifth Course was "Oxalic Interlude." The whole point of this course, as explained by the adorable chef (he seriously looks like he's twelve years old. he's apparently the youngest head chef of a five diamond restaurant in North America), was to recreate an intense lemon flavor using absolutely no citrus or vinegar. As described in the menu, it was a Wood-Sorrel Sorbet with Lemon Geranium Gel and Lemony Leaves. It was quite successful. Incredibly tart and lemony and just a touch grassy, in a really refreshing way. The perfect palate cleanser, truly. The picture below really only shows you the crisp on top (and for the life of me I can't remember what it was).
Sixth Course was "Young Milk Lamb." This was Whole Roasted Suckling Lamb (lamb that has only been fed on it's mother's milk) and Medallions of Pastured Lamb, Spring Onion Roasted in the Coals, New Shallot Greened Mashed Potatoes, Foraged Fern Fiddleheads and Lamb Rotisserie Drippings Sauce. I personally preferred the slightly stronger taste and firmer texture of the pastured lamb. The spring onion was perfectly sweet and smoky and the mashed potatoes were delicious. Fiddleheads were fine, though a little too vegetal and firm for my taste (look at me, opining on the merits of fiddleheads, la-dee-dah). This might have been the prettiest plate, however, and the chef personally poured the drippings sauce on each person's plate.
The alcoholic beverage served with this course was a 2007 Gramercy Cellars Tempranillo, "Inigo Montoya" (Princess Bride, anyone?), Walla Walla. I got to drink "Tree Tea," Black Cherry, Sparkling Apple Cider, Hibiscus and Chai Tea.
Course Seven, and the beginning of dessert, was "Alpine Sheep," Ancient Heritage "Adelle" Sheep Cheese, Herbfarm Sping Farn Honey, Alpine Lakes Sheep's Milk Crisps, Alpine Heather Buds, Wild Western Juniper Berry Dust and Douglas Fir. So, the Douglas Fir was mixed in to the honey, which was then topped with the heather buds. The crisps (which we would like to buy by the bag), were sprinkled with the juniper berry dust. All in all, a fine cheese course.
Course Eight, my favorite, was "Native Trees." This was a Madrone Tree Bark-Caramel Bavarian, Whipped Big-Leaf Maple Syrup, Fresh Sage, and Crunchy Black Currants and Its Powder. What they neglect to mention is the maple blossom fritter, which was both bitter and sweet and crunchy and delightful. This course was so delicious I could have eaten three plates of it, though to be clear I am a total dessert fiend. The only unfortunate thing was that I dropped a piece of the chocolate shell of the bavarian and later found it melted into my skirt. Luckily it all came out in the wash.
Also, I declined to eat the fresh sage leaves. The alcoholic beverage served with this course was a 2000 High Pass Huxelrebe, Willamette Valley, Oregon. I got to drink a Gewurztraminer Juice and Rhubarb Cordial. Both of these drinks were basically one gulp. But a delicious gulp.
Ninth (and final) Course was "Coffees, Teas & Local Beverages and Wild Nibbles." We got our choice of various coffees, coffee alternatives and teas, each served in and poured from individual french presses by our servers. I chose to drink the Madrone Tree bark tea. I love Madrone trees. They're really beautiful, and apparently they've been used by indigenous folks in teas for a very long time. With our beverages were Puffed Wild Rice Crispies, Sea Buckthorn Pate de Fruit, Licorice Fern Root Truffle and Rhubarb-Oxeye Daisy Tarts. They were tiny little bites, and for some reason our table got a double serving of this course. No complaints here. It was all quite tasty.
Margo's favorite was the wild rice crispies, which were quite nutty in flavor. I really liked the sea buckthorn (I assume in place of gelatin) fruit de pate. It was intensely fruity and tart and sweet all at once.
As we walked out the door to return home, we were also handed Japanese Knotwood Cookies for the road. I ate mine the next morning, and it was so buttery and crumbly and decadent.
Most interesting fact: tulip petals are edible, the flavor varies by color and they are quite delicious. I'll never look at a tulip the same way again.
Funniest anecdote of the evening (unless you're his wife). Our friend Angus was insistent that milk tastes better when drunk from a silver goblet and coerced the wait staff into bringing him a chilled silver goblet filled with milk (which was not on the menu), a subsequent pitcher of milk for refills, and a glass glass full of milk so that we could do a comparison taste test. I'm afraid he's right, but I'm not going to be purchasing any silver goblets in the near future in spite of that. Below is a picture of Angus pouring milk from the cat pitcher into his silver goblet.
All in all, it was a fantastic evening. Between the food, the beverages, the service and the overall experience, it was worth the cost. If you want to know how much it cost, you can go to the website and do the math. Just don't think less of me because of it. Especially when I tell you we might make this a yearly tradition.
