This proved to be a rather eventful, and delightful, weekend; so a post is most certainly in order. Since food, and restaurants played a central role to the enjoyment, I shall devote some time to giving semi-detailed reviews of the entrées consumed and coffees imbibed. With Shih En visiting, Friday evening found us wandering around Pike Place, Belltown and downtown Seattle in general. Seattle has more ‘artisinal’ coffee places than anywhere else in the United States, and it was nice to finally enjoy a well-crafted, and presented latté — as opposed to the often poorly-steamed, and over-roasted substitutes I find myself drinking at Starbucks. No, I’m not a yuppie, I’m just a coffee snob now. Later in the evening, we stumbled upon an African (mostly Ethiopian) restaurant, Pan-Africa, which proved to be rather good, injera and all. The place had a strange early-70s vibe to it, based on my estimation and understanding of the styles and colors (no jokes, please) of that period — which comes from various movies, and of course, that ‘awesome’ TV show Quantum Leap. The evening concluded with a viewing of the interesting, if over-wrought, season premiere of Battlestar Galactica (and sweet, sweet desserts at that Capitol Hill institution, B&O Espresso).

The next day, somewhere near the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (don’t worry, this one’s known as Sturdy Gertie, unlike it’s predecesor Galloping Gertie) we realized that Olympic National Park was much further away than originally thought. Planning, evidently, isn’t my forte. The 3-hour drive there was, however, very much worth it Hurricane Ridge, at 5200′, was spectacular, with a short hike up a hill, yielding some lovely views of the clouds both around, and below us. I will have to return and spend more time hiking, and also visiting the rainforest there.

Vancouver beckoned the next morning, and the clouds and rain near Seattle gave way to blue skies and pleasant temperatures by the time we reached the suburb of Richmond, reknowned across North America for its authentic Cantonese and Shangainese stores, bakeries and restaurants. After some Mooncake/Egg Tart/Pastry purchases at an excellent Chinese Bakery there, we moved on to our first real stop, a vegetarian Chinese restaurant. Rather good, I thought, better than any I’ve been to before. The fake ham was vastly superior to the fake seafood.. such is life I suppose. Some random driving without a map (try it sometime, it’s fun!) found us at the lovely Horseshoe Bay and the West Vancouver boardwalk. Amazing views of the bay and the ocean were to be had throughout the day.

Food Critic, I am
Dinner was, I think, the true highlight of the trip: We partook in a delightful feast at Vij’s, reviewed by The New York Times as “arguably the best Indian restaurant in the world”. Based on my experience, I think that review was rather appropriate, if perhaps ignorant of treats and treasures to be found in India itself. The restaurant takes a fresh approach to Indian cuisine that I heartily approve of, with different ingredients, bases, lighter spices, and an emphasis on allowing each individual flavor and aroma to both pique the senses independently and in concert. (How’s that for an attempt at being a food critic?)

I had the celery root and bulgar wheat koftas in tomato, garam masala and light cream curry, which proved to be rather delicious. This sort of thoughtful re-imagining of traditional Indian dishes is quite overdue. I would argue that their dishes stay true to the essential philosophy and techniques of Indian cooking, while freely borrowing ideas and ingredients from many other traditions. I’ve tried doing this, (and also tried infusing Indian spices/methods into American standards), but never with success close to the level of this restaurant. The elegant presentation of the dishes, along with the hip decor and atmosphere (and crowd) certainly added to the overall experience. Will this replace The Helmand, my old Cambridge love? Only time will tell, but the two hour drive certainly makes frequent trips unlikely. So don’t worry, the Bowlawni, Special and Turkish Coffee dinner will still hold its place as my ideal dinner, for now.

And, enough of that :)
The highlights of the last day of the long weekend included a visit to the very large, and cool, Boeing commercial aircraft assembly plant in Everett. The factory is the world’s largest building by volume, and for an aircraft nerd like myself, it was a treat to see huge 777s being assembled one after the other. Kayaking on Lake Union later in the day proved to be memorable as we wandered into the ‘lake-runways’ for landing sea/float-planes. There’s nothing quite like seeing a just-landed, fast-moving plane with spinning propellers headed straight for you.

Dinner was at Blackbird Bistro in West Seattle, a restaurant with a seafood-oriented take on New American cuisine. The vegetarian options were surprisingly delicious and hearty, and well presented as well. And thus, the weekend ended.

As I post this, I just noticed.. today’s a Friday the 13th. I’ll thus wish you all good night, and good luck.