Ladies and Gentlemen ~ The Herbfarm Experience

Many comments from friends who read this blog are about how descriptive I am and how the words often paint a picture for them. It pleases me that I can do that. No where is that more true than when I get to talking about food. It is a passion to be sure and something that I can sit and talk about for hours. This entry is special in that it is about a meal that was enjoyed by four of us on the evening of July 15, 2010, a Thursday. It is agreed that having taken the following day off was a very good thing. We all needed to recover from this gastronomic adventure.

It came about from dining at The Herbfarm only about 573 days prior and knowing that the experience was burned into my memory to the point I was able to discuss courses from memory this very morning over breakfast.

To a non-foodie, this whole posting might come off as a lot of puff over a few plates of food served over the course of an evening, but it is so much more. It is knowing the care in selection of the ingredients and the planning of transportation so that we are free to enjoy ourselves. It is the anticipation of what to expect and yet accepting anything that might surprise and does.

So get a cup of coffee or a cocktail, sit back and enjoy the ride as we are off On a Feather at The Herbfarm. This has got to be one of the longest posting I have ever done complete with 14 photos. OY!

Our driver for the evening, Chad, arrived to pick us up promptly at 5:20pm and Rob, Jodie and Helene joined me on this culinary journey. We made our way through rush hour traffic thanks to HOV lanes for cars with more than one person in them. The restaurant is located in Woodinville, Washington which is about a 30 minute drive east and north from where I live in Seattle. Mind you that would be 30 minutes without traffic, a rarity in Seattle these days. But we made great time arriving in time to enjoy a cool glass of rhubarb lavender lemonade. Talk about refreshing.
With glasses in hand we headed back to the wine room where they have about half of their 46,000 bottles stored. It is amazing in that they have them stored with the bottom facing out and in white marker write each name of the wine. Oh my! Plus they use the room for curing some of their meats which they have recently begun to do. There is a dinner themed 100-miles and everything is procured within a 100 mile radius. Well, let me tell you that they had to learn how to make salt with water from Puget Sound in order to hold true to their goal. That is how they came to start doing their curing.

We were the first in the room and it is rather challenging as more and more people arrived so I made my way out with Jodie in tow and showing her Julia Child’s shirt that is framed on the wall before heading back to the reception area and getting a glass of the Indigo Sparkling Rosé Pinot Noir. Very interesting flavor in that it began refreshing and then a very unique earthy-tobacco undertone lingered for a bit. We took our glasses with us as we went on a garden tour they offer each evening before seating for dinner.It is wonderful how the owners Ron Zimmerman and Carrie Van Dyck are so hands on. Ron was so informative in the wine cellar and is guilty of being addicted to e-bay thus lending a hand in the décor of the whole place including the fireplace in the lobby. Carrie has such knowledge of everything going on and leads the tour of the gardens including introducing the 2 adorable Vietnamese potbellied pigs, Basil and Borage. They are both active with the rest of the staff in serving dinners and pouring wines. Love seeing owners who are part of the whole process.Once seated, there is a lovely folded napkin holding the menu with a flower in it sitting on the cabbage shaped charger. 4 forks to the left and 2 knives and spoon to the right and a fleet of wine glasses ahead of you all made for the specific wine chosen. A silver goblet for water NEVER is empty. There is no salt and pepper on the table, nor is there room for any. Rather on each end is a trio of lanterns hanging on a wrought iron base and then two lovely posies of flowers to add a lovely air at the table, but not overwhelming. Add some chive butter and an extra bottle of water and well, the table is groaning before the meal begins. These two pictures of the attendees give you an insight to the table. The first is of Jodie and Rob and then Helene (Thank you for letting me include you my dear!) and me. Who knew I was sfitzing so much!

Oh yes, there is one more feature at the table. A metal figure of an animal is holding a place card for each table. Last time it was a frog that was sent to some dear friends in Kentucky. This time it was a crab that I was just so tempted to buy and heck, next time I just might! One of the servers arrives at out table with a basket containing three summer herbs for us to choose to be dropped in our champagne class before the 2007 Argyle Oregon Brut Rosé. You could select lavender, rose-geranium or lemon verbena. I opted for the latter and it gave a lovely hint and did not overpower.First Course – For the Birds

With the cocktail in hand a toast was made by Jodie which she made in my honor and which had me blush. I love doing things for friends and yet do not like the spotlight on me…

OK so how long before you all started laughing on that one! But seriously, I love good food and this starter was divine. Starting at the 2 o’clock position is a Poultry Rillette, Mustard, Mexican Tarragon with Handmade Crackers. Kind of like a schmaltz, but oh so much better! At 7 o’clock was and “OMG” moment, Duck Foie Gras Sandwich with Strawberry-Rose Geranium Jam and Hazelnut Butter. It ws an explosion of flavor and thankfully, Helene does not like foie gras and so I got to have an open face version as well – SCORE! At 11 o’clock is a Candy Cap Mushroom Macaroon with Chicken Liver Mousse. I could not believe a mushroom could taste like maple, but seriously it does. And folks, this is but the first course.

Once they delivered the plates around the dining room, a curtain is drawn across the kitchen and true gastronomic theater begins with introductions and stories of how the foods were found and prepared by Chris Weber, Sous Chef and Tysan Dutta, one of two Sommeliers on staff. I read somewhere that the Herbfarm is to restaurants as The Ring is to opera and that is quite true.Second Course – Chicken of the Sea

I teased my facebook friends with a description of this course yesterday. So here we go. Buttermilk Poached Bernie Nash Chicken in Zucchini Blossom with Vinegar-Cured Local Smelt, accompanied with Young Celery, Dill, Baby Zucchini and Cucumber Gazpacho. Oh dear Lord was it good. They paired it with a 2007 Vin du Lehm Sauvignon Blanc out of Lake Chelan, Washington which was fine. The wine did not overwhelm and it was the supporting actor that it was meant to be. The dish was a delight and oh what an idea for a summer dish of cucumber gazpacho with chicken for dinner!

OK, so this courses’ picture did not turn out, too blurry. But I shall do my best to get you through.

Third Course – Skinned Scallop

First up the wine was over the top on this course a light peppery wine that just made the food dance on your tongue. Maybe a jig, I am not sure, but not the robot or moon dance. It was a 2007 Lullaby Viognier out of Walla Walla, Washington. Seriously, I need to get a couple of bottles of this stuff. It was also the last of the whites for the evening until the dessert wine at the end of the meal, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Delivered to the table, which by the way all four are served at the same time and is a delight to see followed by a brief review of the course for your enjoyment. This salad of sorts was a Seared British Columbia Sea Scallop on Crushed La Ratte Potato with Romaine, Walla Walla Onion, 1st of the season Summer Chanterelles and Roasted Chicken Skin Sauce. The last item was to bring fowl into this course as they intend to do each course, quite clever. The scallop was huge and so flavorful. A perfect moment to enjoy such an amazing wine and yet we were only on the 3rd course.

Now Helene does not do shell fish and so she had a lovely Halibut Cheek cut to look just like a scallop and was quite happy. It was amazing when Carrie popped by the table at the beginning of the meal and confirmed Helene did not do pork or shell fish and then proceed to mention that if memory served her she did not like egg on its’ own but if in something, then it was fine. Mind you, I had not told them past the first two items, they must have made a notation from the last visit in 2008. That is what makes this place so special. Just as was the case that for my seating they had in place an armless chair for my comfort and nothing had to be said. Really, it is an amazing restaurant.
Forth Course – Squabbles

This could be labeled the course that got Chris kicked out of The Herbfarm if the chef had an attitude. Thankfully he did not. So what is going on here? Well, the plate was served and starting at the top left is a Raviolo of Squab Leg Confit and Wild Boletus. Next to it is some Tomato Leaf Pesto topped by a trio of poached heirloom miniature tomatoes. At the bottom is Seared Squab Breast next to Tomato Butter with Oregano.

Well, the Tomato Butter is quite light and lovely and the Tomato Leaf Pesto is like the big brother that wants to hog the spotlight and overpower everything and that is what was happening. So in talking around the table we figured out how to do an easy fix and that is just to flip the Raviolo and Pesto and thus split the sauces. I took it upon myself to vocalize this and well, when the chef stopped by later in the evening thanked us for the suggestion and that they were going to instigate it the next evening. Very cool. The wine selected was a 2007 Benson Vineyards Estate Sangiovese out of Lake Chelan, Washington. It was one of those wines that just kept getting better the longer you allowed it to linger.

When you dine at the Herbfarm, you have the opportunity to ad an additional wine here or a flight of wines there. Needless to say, we did take advantage of this and in the next course you will see how it begins to unfold.Here is a picture of part of the staff assembling our next course. The two ladies on the left are interns for the summer and then there is Chris the Sous Chef I mentioned earlier and Tony Demes who is a recent addition as the Chef and has been on staff for about three months. He loves the change in the menus and seemed really receptive to our suggestion on the last course.

Fifth Course – Duck in Black & White

I totally spaced getting a picture of this course and not sure why, maybe it was all the excitement of having two wines to compare with the Grilled Breast of Muscovy Duck with Rosemary-Black Current Jus, Silky Cauliflower Purée, Fava Beans, Thymed Farm Carrots and Crispy Chard and Greens. The latter was a deep fried hush puppy of sorts that was just too wonderful. It was a most perfect dish to compare two very different Pinot Noirs.

The first was their choice with the dish of a 2006 Boedecker Pinot Noir, Athena’s Cuvée out of the Willamette Valley in Oregon. It was quite good and Rob found it especially enjoyable. The rest of us trended towards the choice that Helene and I made of 1996 Williams-Selyem Pinot Noir, “Olivet Lane,” from Russian River. It was classic and balanced and had wonderful ripe berry fruit and yet there was a subtle undertone of cinnamon. YUMMY!

With the Savory part of the meal complete there is a sort of transition that happens as most of the wine glasses are gone there is more room on the table and what better moment to have two different flights arrive to be there for the Cheese course which is up next. Since we enjoyed two Rosé champagnes to kick off the evening why not go for a trio this time. First up was the Duval-Leroy Rosé which is 100% Pinot Noir and is fruit driven. It was youthful, bright and aromatic with a lovely pink color. It was a favorite of Jodie and me. Our next selection is a Gosset Rosé that is half Chardonnay and a third Pinot Noir Grand Cru, a lovely glass of bubble that is underlined by the presence of Bouzy and Ambonnay red wines. Gosset’s style is rich and textured with an unctuous mouthfeel. Yeah, like he said! And Helene really liked it, I thought it tasted like grass. Capping off this flight is a Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé which is a blend of three grapes of Champagne: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. There was a slightly golden hue immersed in the pink bubbles. Rob (who is not into bubble much) like this one as did I especially as it could stand up to the Blue cheese offered in the next course. But Rob was also excited as the second flight had landed.

Called 40 Years of Tawny Port, you were able to compare 10 year to the 20 year and finally the 40 year ports. These were all Taylor Fladgates and it was amazing to see how you began with a refined and yet subtle port that reminded you of a caramel flan and then the next one was a little fruitier and that plum, hint of honey begins to seep through. The last one stood alone in that it is an incredible example of an old Tawny port. Olive gold in color with rich flavors and amazing length that lingered on the palate so beautifully. Oh what the Dourco Valley of Portugal does give us is something to behold!

Sixth Course – Cheese Takes Flight

Are you ready for this? Estrella Wynoochee River Blue with Blue Bird Farm Emmer Funnel Cake a top Roasted Cherry Compote and Fried Sage Leaf. Hurt Me Now! Thankfully Carrie was walking by and noticed we had consumed the Champagne flight quickly and asked if we wanted another and well, I listen to my elders and Helene wanted some more as she could not quite decide which was the best at that point and Jodie chimed in “it will allow us to try the Gosset first and not be distracted by the Duval-Leroy” and yes she did say that. And yes, seriously we had Funnel Cake at The Herbfarm. I am so sad that Helene does not like Blue Cheese = NOT! More for me, yes.Seventh Course – Egged On

When I began typing this over 4 hours ago one of the things that has kept me going is the course you are looking at above. SERIOUSLY! It was the top pick bar none of how the hell did they do that. But first, the description: Chocolate Mint Bavarian Egg with Apricot Coulis Yolk, and Apricot Confited in Butterscotched Whey. Now what you are looking at might look like an egg but it is not. It is chocolate playing the roll of an egg white to the point that it is NOT hard; it had the consistency of an egg white. Believe me I touched it several times and was TOTALLY amazed. And the Apricot Coulis Yolk so worked! And I am not an apricot person at all, and loved it.Eight Course – Under a Berry Spell

We decided due to the nature of the course and from our last visit plus add in Rob loves Ice Wines, we did the Red Alert. It is a tasting of two ice wines that are RED. Yup. It is already a rare and special treat but this was all the better due to the color and well it is a liquid dessert. We got to enjoy the 2006 Lake Crest Winery’s Syrah Ice Wine out of Washington and also the 2006 Inniskillin Cabernet Franc Ice Wine out of Canada. The former is a true ice wine picked at 2000 feet elevation in chilly 9-degrees and crushed outdoors while frozen. It was my favorite. The latter is harvested in the dead of winter and crushed frozen as well. It was maybe too intense on the spicy nature for me to enjoy compared to the Lake Crest. But both were good and went well with Warmed Northwest Berry Medley with Salted Duckfat Crumble and Duck Egg-Lemon Verbena Ice Cream and a dark chocolate straw. Let me lie down and die now. Oh so good.

At this point there is a flurry of activity as all tables are cleared of chargers and excess flatware and such in anticipation of the delivery of Coffees, Teas & Native Beverages. To the point of which as the prior course was delivered they left a booklet on “Comforting Beverages” for you to choose from.

Fair Trade Coffee = 5 selections

Wild Native Brews = 3 choices
(yes, including Dandelion and Madrona Bark)

World and Local Teas =
6 options

Herbals = 5 Teas all no caffine

Fresh Leaves
= From their Garden, a Chocolate Mint and this is called “Tisane” [tih-ZAHN]

Ninth Course – A Selection of Small Treats

They cap off the whole experience with a tray that arrive with Finishing Touches to enjoy and there were five for each of us. A Raspberry-Sancho Paté Fruit (not my favorite), Chocolate-Rosemary Biscotti (alright), Milk Chocolate Sorrel Ganache (now we’re talking, getting better), Almond-Sage “Sandies” (that were just too cute and good for their own sake!) and finally Frosted Currents (OMG a fireworks display in your mouth). Yes, the best was kept for last and to think that Jodie almost passed on it. These were served with 2007 Dunham Late Harvest Riesling out of the Columbia Valley here in Washington.One of the things that you must understand about The Herbfarm is that they do certain things certain ways. They fill your ice water from an ice bucket being held under their arm and the water is poured from a separate bottle. When you go to the bathroom, they often rush to open the door for you. But the thing which is somewhat entertaining is that they ALWAYS adjust your chair and place a fresh napkin on your charger.

They often put the flower from your menu at the start of the meal on it for a nice touch. Well, by this point we are all laughing and decide Helene needs as many flowers and such as possible. And of course we are at the end of the meal which made it all the more funny. Alas, not nearly as funny as when Dan retuned back in 2008 to over a dozen napkins at his place setting, but that is a whole different story.As the night came to a close Patricio Contreras took leave after playing guitar in the background all evening and not overwhelming, which cannot be said for a particular table near the end of the evening that decided the place had become a beer hall or something, but I pause and breathe, and say that the picture shows how the staff really work together throughout the night. They assemble every dish and it comes right to the table. Here Ben Smart (left) Sous Chef work next to Chris the other Sous Chef and in between is Chance Hurst, one of the bakers and the key is they all look happy and seem to really enjoy doing what they do. Finally I want to give a nod to Laura who was so wonderful in bringing me the balsamic vinegar upon request and of course I did not buy any as it is only $107 a bottle, but OH SO GOOD!

We were able to linger just a few more minutes as we were given lovely lavender shortbread cookies in the shape of an egg to complete the dinner’s theme and it includes a copy of the graphic on the back for a memento. And oh it is but one of the many mementos and memories I have of a perfectly wonderful evening. Until next time…Cheers!