Larry scored an extra reservation tonight to Per Se through one of his coworkers. Four of us will be going there. It should be an interesting experience. Frank Bruni of the New York Times gave it a four-star review. [He just gave another four-star review to Masa, a restaurant in the same building as Per Se.] I probably will not take photos at the restaurant.
While I’m thinking of food, I ate at some great places in Seattle. Dandelion is a small restaurant in Ballard with a terrific local menu and a great wine list. The red wines were mainly local to the Washington and Oregon areas; the white wines were mainly blended French wines. The service was friendly and efficient. It was a small place, and it took us a while to get seated. In fact, they gave us glasses of wine because of the wait.
As I do almost every time I’m in Seattle, I ate at Harvest Vine and Le Pichet, a tapas restaurant and a French wine bar respectively. Harvest Vine has a seasonal menu; at this time of the year this means that there is less vegetables and more meat on the menu. I went by myself and sat at the bar. This makes for a great experience, as you get to see the chef prepare dishes for the entire restaurant. There is nothing bad on the menu; I had three or four dishes, and even though it was several weeks ago, I can still recall the elegance of each dish.
Le Pichet has a fantastic list of around 30 wines by the glass, pitcher, half-bottle or bottle. It is a great way to get to know a wide variety of French wines. There is a small bistro menu that is designed so that you can have a small snack or a full meal.
I will try to write more about food in Seattle and Portland later. For example, I can spend a good amount of time describing the various mushrooms I purchased at Pike Place Market. I also will write about some adventures with my godson and hanging out with friends.
Pike Place Market at night.
Mountains on the flight to Seattle