What an amazing memory to have. I have had the grand opportunity to dine at The Herbfarm several times and each time has exceeded the last. The moments and dishes paired with delightful wines makes for an evening that lingers for days. The car service picked me up at 5pm and we were off to gather Sandy and Allen at their hotel. By 6pm we were arriving at the restaurant and the anticipation was mounting.
Oh sure, there was the small item of Allen slamming the door on my hand, but no harm done as the Lincoln had extra cushion on the door frame and Allen had the door opening as fast as it closed. A bit of tingling but no damage. We entered and were greeted by Angela who amazingly knew my name until I realized that we were the only party of three that evening and thus, she was so busted, but still it was a warm welcome and Ubon invited us to try a refreshing anise infused sparking punch. That is the thing about The Herbfarm, you get to try things that you would never think of trying. Soon, we were off to explore the wine cellar.
My goodness, I do believe Sandy and Allen are quite happy about being in the wine cellar. It was a space that they spent a while exploring. Sandy wanted a picture of the two of us and of course where better than in front of the rest rooms. Who knew I had picked the perfect shirt for the evening as on the wall to my right was a display of Julia Child's Hawaiian shirt - Happy 100th Julia!
After a tour of the gardens, it was soon time for the 51 diners to be seated and I had to pause and wonder if we had enough glassware to get though the evening. In reality, no, more appeared as the evening progressed. Oh and notice the pheasant behind Allen? Keep it in mind as it played a feature roll in the evening's fun.
Bruce arrived at the table carrying a basket with fresh herbs and we got to pick one that would soon be paired with the first wine of the evening, a 2009 KARMA VINEYARDS Pink
Méthode Champenoise out of Lake Chelan. Sandy and I opted for lemon vebena while Allen opted for an herb that had an amazing pineapple overtone to it. And so we were ready for the first course.
The First Course ~ Egg and Nightshade Hot 5 minute egg cloud, smoked tomato, grapeseed-fried ozette potato, banana pepper, charred eggplant jam, many basils. Who knew that a dish could explode with such flavor and make each bite more anticipated than the last. The charred eggplant jam was a perfect addition. It was also my first experience with ozette potatoes and hopefully not the last. A perfect beginning. After this course there was a delightful presentation of the menu by chef Chris Weber and Joey Lopaka who leads the wine service staff. The owners (or proprietors as they refer to themselves) Carrie Van Dyck and Ron Zimmerman presented a brief history and the staff. Soon, delightful wild-yeasted rye milk rolls and triticale sourdough boule from the wood oven graced our tables. Oh and one cannot forget the house churned Holstein Cow butter.
The Second Course ~ Allium to Charcute Grilled Walla-Walla onion from their farm, one-mile goucestershire old spot carcuterie, crispy onion, pickled gravenstein apple, pork jus, dill and lemony herbs.
This course was the first time we got to say hello to Chris up close as he was at table side to drizzle the apple/pork jus on the dish after it was presented. This was paired with 2011 NACHES HEIGHTS VINEYARDS Estate Riesling out of the Yakima Valley. Now I must say I was nervous as so many American Rieslings are just too sweet but this really took me to the dryer versions I remember from the Alsace Region in France. A true refreshing delight with a dish that was symphony of amazing flavors. The mouth danced with joy in anticipation of what was yet to come. Yes, and if you are looking closely as I am sure some of you are Chris paused for this picture while preparing a future course, get over it. It is all in the pacing.
The Third Course ~ Salmon, Netter Indian Style Reef-netted Lummi Island sockeye salmon, shell-steamed oyster, fresh cucumber, tarragon butter. One word - sublime and paired with a 2011 LOPEZ ISLAND ORGANIC ESTATE Siegerrebe in the Puget Sound. My first time tasting this wine was a virginal experience when matched to this course that proved to be my favorite of the evening. A dear friend was at The Herbfarm on Thursday night and agreed and in looking at her pictures I can see they changed presentation overnight and I do believe we received a better presentation. Bravo!
Now one must be ready to see anything and everything at The Herbfarm. This was just down the way and I had to capture the moment, The
jackalope is a mythical animal
of North America folklore (a so-called "fearsome critter") described as a jackrabbit with antelope horns or deer antlers and sometimes a pheasant's tail (and often hind legs). The word "jackalope" is a portmanteauof "jackrabbit" and "antalope", an archaic spelling of "antelope." (Thank you Wikipedia for this information)
We were able to enjoy some great background music provided by Patricio Contreras on guitar and Allen was totally jealous of his great shoes and I kept telling him to talk to him, but he did not. They were rather awesome a blue tinted skin of some sort and striking to be sure.
The Fourth Course ~ Duck with Green Juniper Muscovy duck braised with green juniper berries, handmade cavatelli, wild boletus, chanterelle & farmed mushrooms, their farm's filet beans, crispy kale, house made green elder berry capers. Here is a great example of showing a person that while they may not like some particular food, it is often in how it is prepared that makes the difference and such was the case as Sandy never really liked duck and yet agreed to try this course. She loved it, but I must admit that it was not easy getting the vision of the pasta looking like grubs out of my mind, but it did not stop me from enjoying the course that was paired with a 2009 AVERILL CREEK Pinot Noir from the Cowichan Valley in British Columbia. I was quite pleased that this wine was served as I had tasted it recently when up in Whistler.
Yes, have were just about at the half way mark of the dinner and yes it is warm so fans are provided, but who knew we had fan dancers. It was about this time that Sandy commented "Now I see why we have car service this evening." While Allen shared for at least the third time "This is the best meal I have ever had." I was glad and it was a perfect way to celebrate both of their birthdays.
The Fifth Course ~ 10-Mile Lamb Duvall lamb duo: grilled loin & lamb sausage-stuffed zucchini blossom, fresh sweet-corn polenta, fennel jam, sorrel salsa verde. Now I don't know about you but I cannot tell you the number of times I am standing their staring at my zucchini blossom wondering "what can I do?" and now I know! This was a delightful dish and I was amazed to learn that they ground the corn for the polenta. To say that this dinner took time and energy to present and not just one time but over and over, is an understatement. I tip my hat to this amazing group of culinary staff. The wine pairing was a 2008 BENSON VINEYARDS Estate Sangiovese out of Lake Chelan. Barry learned quickly that this was my favorite wine thus far and all I can say about the combination of the lamb and wine is "Oh momma spank me now and throw me off the train!" Yes, it was that good. I do hope I was not begging for more because I sure did enjoy it.
At this point in the dinner the pace changes course, there is time to freshen up and lavender scented towels are presented to provide a brief break and to cool off. It is also when the various flights of wines are delivered. They offer a variety of options. Allen and Sandy hinted they liked Port and so we got the offering of 10,20 and 40 year old tawny Port. While Allen liked the 40, Sandy and I opted for the 20. We even got replacements for the two to take us on through the dessert courses.
We also tried a 1929 Maury which is now an extinct French wine similar but more lively than tawny Port, but no longer made. From late-harvested grapes of ancient Grenache picked in 1929! It was fun to sit and drink an 83 year old glass of wine as you can see below!
To think that we still had a few more courses was a bit daunting, but I do believe we were up for the challenge and hey, the night was still young as we have yet to get to the pheasant reference but wait, it's coming.
The Sixth Course ~ Fired Foie Seared Puyallup Valley foie gras, sheep's milk yogurt, Duchilly hazelnut financier, Brooks Italian plum, garden sage was, by far, the most anticipated course of the evening as I just love foie gras and yet I was - hmmm, satisfied, but not excited. I am sure many enjoyed, but it just came off as so-so. We even tried with some port, but alas, it was there. Perhaps the hazelnut financier was too heavy? I am not sure but I will share that I did not leave any for clean up so it was not terrible.
OK, so here is what greeted the couple next to us as they returned to their table. For the lady who was seated on the left was a bronze otter holding a geranium leaf and before getting up the gentleman complained that he didn't get any special treatment so Barry arranged for the stuffed pheasant to greet him upon his return and needless to say there was much laughter by all. Of course Allen had to pipe up that he felt cheated and like he got screwed as he did not get any special treatment and it was his birthday! Oh be careful what you ask for my friends...
This is Ubon and if you go to The Herbfarm be careful as she is running a racket. She is pushing ice water like there is no tomorrow. We are talking serious here folks. And oh what you will find you will do to get some more cracked ice from her. Literally your hand will be shaking the silver goblet just begging for more and oh she can be a tease. Quite fun! But she had nothing on Miss Wisconsin who was peddling balsamic vinegar and fabulous bread let me tell you, I was just missing the cheese curds.
The Seventh Course ~ Spoonful of Honey A spoonful of Herbfarm summer honey, chamomile granite', blueberry soup composed this likely unintended omage to "Mary Poppins" as it was so sweet it had to be made with children in mind. Oh my it was over the top and it was the one course I just could not make myself finish. But I know some of the other diners likely enjoyed it. Thankfully we had some of that great cracked ice water to cleanse the course as we looked forward to the next course.
Really, do you think they are having a good time or what? And we were not done yet. So no, dream of sugar plums were not quite dancing in their heads.
The Eighth Course ~ Flavors of the Sky 100 year Shaker cake with warm strawberry-rose geranium compote, Olympic Peninsula saffron ice cream, crispy meringues, alpine strawberries. Wow, wow, wow! What can I say, this was a fantastic combination and the dense texture of the cake came through to balance with the lightness of the ice cream. Alpine strawberries was a masterful stroke as they just exploded with flavor in your mouth, but a bit confused on the meringues unless it was a texture move. Alas, the Ports were a nice match and all I can say is this was a home run.
So if you look carefully, Barry dropped by a little surprise for Allen...in his words, "You can no longer say you were not screwed." And leave it to me to explain that indeed it is a corkscrew and not to be confused with anything else. Oh my, oh my. By now you can tell the dinner is taking a toll as I was remiss in getting a picture of the Tea course that was paired with Small Treats & Summer Blisses. This finale was paired with a with 2008 Venturi Schulze Brandenburg no. 3 from Vancouver Island. The treats are almost a bit much, but that did not stop us from enjoying them as we enjoyed our tea. I opted for the Sakuma White Tea. You will just have to visualize that the finishing touches included Sage Shortbread with Saskatoon Berry Jam, Cinnamon Basil Donut, Madrona Bark Caramel Profiterole and Gooseberry Applemint Shot. Alas, there was also a sugared white berry item, but it was not mentioned on the menu. We did leave some behind as we were just too content to enjoy any more fine food.
Yes, they were quite content. The time had come to head on home and our car was waiting for us and as we departed Ubon was there at the door with a final treat, a blueberry tart and that was enjoyed the next day to bring back all the memories in order to make this posting happen. What can I say folks, but it was a magical evening that will not be soon forgotten.
Glad you enjoyed yourselves.
ReplyDelete