Monthly Archives: May 2011

A Food Find in Puyallup

Filet mignon medallions with a pear=balsamic reduction and grilled zuchhini

Stuffed chicken

“Look at this,” said my son, the chef, pointing to the ‘2 for $20 dinners on Takeout Tuesday’ sign as we exited the restaurant. “That’s a great deal for excellent food.”

That’s when I knew I’d picked a winner for dinner last night in the HG Bistro on East Main Avenue in Puyallup (pronounced pew-all-up).

Even though we hadn’t made reservations, we were seated immediately. Later in the evening the scenario would have been different, but we were early – around 5:30 p.m. Our server said the specials wouldn’t be ready until later.

I scanned the room to see if I might spot what I wanted to order on someone else’s plate and noticed the gentleman dining next to me had left nothing on his plate – it looked as though it could go right back on the shelf without even being washed. Whatever he had must have been good.

Then the crackling of fire drew our attention to the server carrying the S’more plate to another table behind us. I should have stolen a dessert menu so I could tell you what was in the dish, but it certainly was an attention catcher.

The four of us settled in with our drinks and read the menu several times before we decided on our entrees – Two steak-type dinners, a stuffed chicken and one Dungeness Crab mac with three cheeses.

I opted for the 5-ounce Top Sirloin with mashed russets and grilled broccolini. This entrée was as comfortable as a well-worn recliner. Potatoes with good flavor don’t need garlic or shreds of peels or anything else in them and these mashed gems brought back memories of simpler times. My teeth slid through the steak (I love that they have several sizes to choose from) like butter. I ordered an extra of port demi and gorgonzola, which blended into a gravy that added a savory touch to the potatoes.

My son, his wife and my husband all raved about their choices, too. And like the diner I mentioned before, we all became charter members of the clean plate club.

Raspberry Panna Cotta

For dessert we shared a raspberry panna cotta, the perfect palate cleanser to end the meal.

My Favorite Farmers Markets

The local farmers’ market season has officially arrived. Nothing tastes better than freshly plucked vegetables and fruits so I look forward to this time all winter. Although I’ve not been to all the markets the state offers, and there are a ton of them, I do have my favorites locally.

Pottery at the Olympia Farmers Market 

Farmers Market of Olympia:  About an hour south of Tacoma and well worth the drive. Besides produce, vendors regularly sell meat, seafood, eggs, baked goods, herbs, cut flowers, plants and honey. Local artisans and live entertainment make this market the biggest and it’s open Thursdays through Sundays and is under cover.

Porctor Market flowers

Proctor Farmers Market in Tacoma opens the earliest of them all in March. Add cheese and grass-fed meats to the regular market bounty and you should visit this market at least once. Located in a very walkable and fun neighborhood, you’ll want to spend extra time in the boutiques and grab a bite at one of the many restaurants. Saturdays 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

South Whidbey Farmers Market:  In its 40th year, locals gather here for chatting and shopping. Their 11-acre sustainable agriculture campus allows you to view their on-site growing operations, which features an earthen pizza oven, gardens, orchard and a native plant nursery. Sundays from 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Remlinger Farms in Carnation is much more than a market. Besides the produce and the u-pick fields, their family fun park offers steam train rides, pony rides, farm animals and live entertainment. Market open everyday from 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

All of the above markets are open now. We have others that don’t start business until June. I will talk about those then.

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo

I wholeheartedly advocate celebrating this national holiday with either a margarita or sangria toast, which you can do at your favorite Mexican restaurant. Azteca Restaurants continues the celebration through Mother’s Day on Sunday. But locally we also have some other innovative ways to honor this day.

Ground will be broken today for the new South Park Bridge, located at 14th Ave. South and Dallas St. in Seattle. The community has taken this opportunity to share a giant piñata, hold other festivities while local businesses offer samples of their cuisines. The event is from 1:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Don’t forget the old bridge is gone, so you must access South Park from Highway 99 South and the First Avenue Bridge.

Make a mask with Amaranta Ibarra-Sandys at the Douglass-Truth Branch of the Seattle Public Library from 4 p.m.-6 p.m. The address is:  2300 Yesler Way in Seattle.

El Centro de la Raza boasts free admission to their Cinco de Mayo event today from 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. It features food for sale, arts and crafts, dance and musical performances.

If you want to run off all that good food you eat today, sign up for the Cinco de Mayo Half-Marathon and 8K in Snoqualmie this Saturday, May 7.

My Five Favorite Books on Washington

Tons of different books, including guidebooks, have been written about Washington State, but I tend to refer back to the page-worn pets on my bookshelf.

Here they are:

The Dog Lover’s Guide to the Pacific Northwest by Val Mallinson – a comprehensive guide about the best places around to take your dog including parks, hotels and restaurants and Val updates it often.

Washington Trivia complied by John Hedtke – a great little paperback to take on trips and quiz your traveling partners with. Did you know that the cartoons on the J.P. Patches Show came out of his hat?

Atomic Marbles and Branding Irons by Harriet Baskas and Adam Woog. Actually anything by Harriet Baskas works as she’s the go-to writer on weird places and things in the area.

Waterfall Lover’s Guide:  Pacific Northwest by Gregory A. Plumb. Using waterfalls as markers on a scenic drive will take you in all kinds of new directions in this area. 

Book Lust to Go by Nancy Pearl. Not a book about Washington, but by a Washington author. The only librarian with her own action figure, Nancy Pearl, writes about books and this one tells you which books to read prior to going to a certain destination to prepare for the culture.

Heather

Willows Lodge Provides Sanctuary

This past Sunday and Monday I attended a travel writer’s conference and had the opportunity to stay in the wonderful Willows Lodge in Woodinville. I’ve stayed in some very luxurious hotels, but this one will always have a spot in my top ten.

Outdoor patio at Willow Lodge

The guest rooms are huge. I don’t know what kind of mattress they have on the beds, but I slept like one of my dogs after eating their breakfast. The lights are all on dimmer switches which lets you control how bright you want it and if you think you might have trouble finding the bathroom in the middle of the night, you can keep a dim light burning.

Speaking of the bathroom, which is what most woman look for in a hotel room. The very inviting bathtub drew lots of attention from my fellow conference attendees. It was very deep, large and round and the mini bar even offered different fragrant bubble baths to make the tub even more appealing.

I never knew before that I liked a 98-degree shower, but thanks to this shower which is operated by push-buttons that let you control the temperature down to the degree, I now know that’s ideal. The shower was also huge – enough room for a family of four to shower at the same time.

Ruthie, the host dog at Willows Lodge

Another dog on staff at Willows Lodge

Another perk: The Willows Lodge is dog-friendly and the host dog Ruthie, a basset hound, welcomes both human and canine guests.

Emerald Downs Open for the Season

Our horse racing track, Emerald Downs  in Auburn, opened this month for the season. It’s a fun, fabulous way to spend the day whether you’re into gambling or not. You can just enjoy the outdoors, the beautiful thoroughbred animals and people watch, if you like.

The track always has different promotions going on from Family Day to free admission for seniors, to tee-shirt giveaways and more. Free outdoor children’s activities are offered on weekends, weather permitting. Next Saturday, May 7th, you can go to Emerald Downs and watch the Kentucky Derby if you like.

Here are some other dates to put on your calendar:

  • June 19, free caps for Father’s Day
  • July 23, Wiener Dog Races
  • August 20, you can run the same mile the ponies do

 

Emerald Downs opened in 1996. The track, a one-mile oval in the shadow of Mount Rainier, makes this a most scenic spot on a sunny day.

 

If you do place a wager or two on the horses, it’s always fun to pick them by their names. After all Royal Wedding did win a race on the same day as “The Royal Wedding.”

Posting Everyday in May – A Big Challenge

Today I’m starting participation in a Blogathon, which means I’ve been challenged to post every day for the month of May. I’m doing this for many reasons – to post more regularly, to learn about blogging, to meet other bloggers and to gain new readers. I have one guest poster scheduled and hope to get more, on Fridays I’m going with a list theme (for example, my favorite farmers’ markets in Washington) and there will be various other themes fit in.

To write a post everyday will be difficult, that’s a given. But you can help me out. If you read something you like or find interesting, please share it with your Facebook friends and your Twitter followers or whatever social media group you engage in. Thank you very much.

Taking a Waterways Cruise    

Today’s post is about the Easter brunch cruise we thoroughly enjoyed. This one is a bit different than the Argosy Cruises that depart from the waterfront in downtown Seattle.

They are called Waterways Cruises and either tour Lake Washington or Lake Union. The boats are smaller yachts. Waterways offers a wide variety of cruises from lunches to brunches to sunset dinners and from skirting the shores of Lake Washington so you can see where some of our resident billionaires, like Bill Gates, live, to exploring the houseboat communities on Lake Union (think, “Sleepless in Seattle”).

Even though we had “silver” clouds the day we boarded the “Olympic Star, the view from the water was still gorgeous and so very different from what you can see from the roads. The waterfront side of most of the homes is their claim to fame, and their most picturesque angle. It is what you would find in a home and garden magazine.

The food was very tasty – especially Chef Udo’s Smokey Thick Cut Bacon, the Poached Eggs on Brioche and the Banana Coffee Cake. When you pair the brunch with a Mimosa, you experience a taste of paradise.

My husband kept commenting, “This would be a great activity to share with out of town visitors.”     

Captain Ron and I after the brunch cruise

Since boat rides place very high on my list of “favorite things,” I plan to take another, Waterways narrated tour to learn more about the homes of the rich and famous or maybe play Bingo or hear the history of Seattle. The choices are endless.