It was a
few days of celebration, family, food, cocktail and conversations. We left home
Sunday at 4:30AM heading to Seattle, stopping at our favorite breakfast place
four hours later for breakfast. We ordered sides of eggs (Egg Beaters for me),
sausages and bacon. Michael ate most of them and it was good traveling food.
Just protein. We arrived in Seattle with very little traffic drama around
7:00PM and William met us at our hotel. He played chauffeur for the entire
visit, which was marvelous. We had dinner together while Kimberley was working
at a cool hip pinball place.
Our first
meal together was at Bitterroot BBQ in his home neighborhood of Ballard. http://www.bitterrootbbq.com/
It felt like a very old mid-western downtown
area. We were totally taken care of after we mentioned Michael’s upcoming 60th
birthday. He began with a glass of bourbon, as this place is known for having a
huge selection, and William had a delicious local beer, Manny’s. They each had a
Braised Beef Sandwich with Pepperonchini’s for $8.00! They also had a huge side
of mac ‘n cheese. I had the chili. Well, about a quarter of the chili. The
waitress suggested that everyone mix in some of my chili with the mac ‘n
cheese. Amazing. I was only able to eat a little and we packed the rest for
Kimberly. The chili was mostly made with meat that was finely chopped from
leftover BBQ. The flavor was deep and delightful. Best I have ever eaten.
It was
fun to get caught up and we so enjoyed the time with our son without needing a
phone or computer between us! After dinner, we walked up the street to a Gelato
shop and tasted salted caramel and pistachio flavors. Lovely. Everyone was out
enjoying the evening. Every restaurant and every bar and every ice cream place
had people enjoying themselves. We noticed that the area had a high population of 20-30
somethings rather than an older population like SF. We hopped into the car
again and met Kimberly at her work, played some pinball, just hung out and
talked. We finally made it to bed waaaay too late.
Birthday
Monday – Michael opened all the cards and my presents to him first thing in the
morning. I brought presents to celebrate his 60th year for his Body,
Mind and Spirit. He teared up when he read my card to him, which made me tear
up! For his Body, he received a gift certificate for a 45-minute massage at the
Ritz and a Ritz t-shirt. For his Mind, I found a Mad Magazine compilation in
full color. Our generation adored Mad Magazine! He LOVED it. Then, for his
Spirit, he was shocked to unwrap the very impossible to find bottle of Pappy
van Winkle Kentucky bourbon. It was just by pure magic that I was able to find
it through our hairdresser. He loved that story and phoned her right away to
thank her. For the rest of the day, he told me that I hit the entire birthday
and gifts out of the ballpark, which made me very happy.
I need a
moment to blog about Seattle coffee. It is remarkable. There are a number of
small coffee companies who produce an extremely high quality product. A Caffé
Vita was near the hotel so we fell in love with them. http://www.caffevita.com/ There is nothing
like it here in the Bay Area.
We wanted
some time to walk downtown Seattle and knew that Kimberly and William would
probably be sleeping in. We love the city and haven’t been there together in
several years. A festival named Bumbershoot was happening just outside our
hotel near the Seattle Center so we hopped a cab to the downtown Pike’s Market.
The sun was shining, we walked through the entire market, businesses, food
stands, listened to the street musicians and stumbled upon an Irish place
William had taken us to years ago. Kells. http://www.kellsirish.com/seattle/index.php
We waited
for them to open then made friends with the Irish bartender – who told us that
he has a second job at Bitterroot, where we had eaten the night before! – so he
thought we were very hip. HA! He turned out to be a car guy so he and Michael
talked cars. The photos came out of William’s Mustang and the friendship
deepened! Michael had started his birthday with a true Irish coffee and, as he
and the bartender bonded, the fine Irish whiskey came out. After much
discussion, the bartender poured a stiff Balvenie for his birthday. Michael was
feeling no pain. It was now around 1:00 and we had very little food in our
bellies. Time to awaken the kids.
So, while
saying goodbye to everyone at the restaurant and bar at Kells – literally
people shook hands with us and wished Michael the happiest of birthdays –
Kimberly and William were parked near by and picked us up for lunch.
We drove
to the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle with its gorgeous tree lined
streets and mansions overlooking the Sound. We went to a French restaurant named
Café Presse. http://cafepresseseattle.com/home/ We had to wait a bit for a table but by
the time we were seated, everyone knew it was Michael’s big birthday. They were
so kind and fun. 
Oh, what
a meal! It began with champagne cocktails for Kimberly and me, a beer for
William and coffee for Michael! We asked William to order for the table. We
had: The best liver pate with a side of pickles, dried macerated cherries and
grainy mustard; greens; beef tartar, hard-boiled eggs on a bed of homemade
mayonnaise; two Croque Madams, which were cooked, grilled, cheese covered
sandwiches with a soft-boiled egg on the top, thus the Madam instead of
Monsieur, which is the same but without the egg. All this for $89.00. A
bargain.
We drove
around his neighbor and he showed us where he was beginning the hunt to buy a
house. It was so helpful for me to understand what he will be buying. They were
lovely bungalow-style homes. Very sweet. It was a really lovely neighborhood on
a hill with beautiful water and Olympic Peninsula views. We saw where they ride
their bikes down the hill to the grocery stores and to their post box and their
coffee shops. We then went to the Ballard Locks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram_M._Chittenden_Locks and saw the fish ladders. It was packed
with people out and about for the day! We had quite a hike in and loved looking
at the gardens and grounds. We then went to a gorgeous point surrounded by water that was formally a natural gas factory. They just enclosed the tanks and the place is now a park.
William
had been told about a place that was supposed to have the most magnificent
oysters. We found it at the end of a pier near the Walking Sculpture Garden.
We
entered and it was not the type of place that William usually likes. It was
very modern, cold, business-like and he began to twitch. Aqua. http://elgaucho.com/Menus/AQ-Bar.pdf
After
looking at the menu, we chose a dozen oysters, tuna tartar and an order of
wicked shrimp for me. Cocktails all around! The food came. They were the best
oysters he and Michael had ever eaten, and that is saying a lot. Fresh. Clean.
Beautifully presented. The oysters were so great, they ordered another dozen at
$3.95 each but they said they were worth every cent. Dessert. William had also
been told they had the best Bread Pudding. So, with the piano player playing
Happy Birthday in the background, they brought one large piece swimming in
fresh caramel with a candle lit for Michael’s birthday. They all agreed that it
was the best ever.
From
there, we had a long walk back to the car, which was a good thing! We drove
around a bit then, since I had only eaten two shrimp, I was hungry.
So, back
to Ballard to a different French restaurant named Bastille was packed. http://bastilleseattle.com/Menus
But, it was weird. The host was rather hostile, told us we needed a reservation
but there were a ton of empty tables. Just didn’t make sense so we walked to
several other places to no avail. Nothing felt right. So, Michael headed back
to Bastille, chatted up the host, noticed a group leaving the lovely bar area
and we pounced. I sat at one end, Michael on the other with Kimberly and William
between us. We ordered champagne cocktails for the girls, a beer for William
and two Manhattans for Michael. Well, we fell in love with the bartender and
had a nice chat. After ordering mussels and fries for the boys, Kimberly and I
had some broccoli and an order of lamb sausages with a side salad. These were
really weird looking; thin, slightly jerky-like sausages and I totally went
crazy over them. I had two then shipped the rest off to the others.
When we
first sat at the bar and as I was reading the menu with my new app of a light
and a magnifying glass, an older guy next to me asked to see it. Well, we
started talking. He introduced me to his daughter who was visiting him from
Canada. We started talking music. He was a drummer. We talked a lot of music.
We talked form and function. He told me he has a studio, no one is allowed to
play covers of others’ songs, he is a great cook which bring the musicians in
and keeps them working. We had a ball together. After they left, William
figured out who he was – a very famous music producer.
So, at
the other end of the bar, Michael was talking with this woman who we learned
was the girlfriend of the hostile host. Turns out there are new to Seattle from
New York, thus the attitude. Made sense. They were having a hard time
relocating across the country and both were missing their families. She enjoyed
spending time hanging with us.
We
stumbled home, fell into bed and slept like babies.
The
morning after, we moved very slowly. Caffe Vita again then William took us to
breakfast. A New Orleans breakfast at Toulouse Petit.
Can you
say Beignets? Michael had the fried oyster/bacon Eggs
Benedict and I totally enjoyed the Creole Crawfish, Shrimp and Andouille combo
with grits and eggs. Afterwards, we went to a beautiful beach where he and
Kimberly hang out on a nice day, drove to another area where we walked around
part of a lake then sat for an hour watching everyone else bike or jog by and
just chatted. Afterwards, we went to a place that made magnificent pies. Blue
Hawaiian for William, Cocoanut Cream for Michael and a torte for me. We asked
to be taken back to the hotel for a nap then William picked us up later for
dinner. 
Dinner was from a tiny neighborhood place with four tables. Cuban
sandwiches or, I should say, their twist on Cuban sandwiches. Long thin rolls
with baked then browned onions, cooked pulled pork, lettuce, mayonnaise and
jalapeños. $8.00 each. William had the dinner, which included beans and rice,
beet salad and pulled pork. We brought Kimberly a grilled scallop sandwich to
her pinball place where we hung out, had beers and champagne and talked until
we threw in the towel. We were done.
Saying our goodbyes, William dropped us back at the hotel where we
slept until 5:30, got some Caffe Vita coffee, Hampton Inn breakfast and hit the
road. Fourteen hours later, our own bed felt magnificent. We both had to be up
and out early in the morning. Work for him. Dentist for me.
It was a fun, quick road trip. We ate a lot of different foods but
not in large quantities. While going to bed after Michael big birthday
celebration, I asked if he had had fun. He told me that it was the best
birthday he had ever had in his entire life.
That made me very happy.
No comments:
Post a Comment