Good Food + Good Cause = Good Friends

Every year I join my friend Marc as he hosts a restaurant for Dining Out for Life in Seattle. This year was no exception. Bob and I met Marc at Sazerac in time for bubbly at the door. We had the beautiful table set for 10 in the front windows. The interior of the restaurant has changed slightly over the years but it still presents a whimsical atmosphere complete with my favorite...chandeliers. Attached to Hotel Monaco in the heart of the financial district, this restaurant attracks business-lunchers, after-work-happy-hour-goers and serves dinners to many-a-travelor.

Tonight, every table is full of supporters of the Lifelong AIDS Alliance. 30% of all proceeds, including the bar tab, goes to the cause. Soon after everyone is seated at our table the small plates are passed around. Beautiful green Castelvetrano Olives (bright green and perfectly round and plump), Sea Salt Roasted Almonds that are still warm and Crispy Truffles...which are like truffle hush puppies of potatoes and cheese dipped in Truffle Aioli. Soon to be the crowd favorite, it doesn't take long for more orders to be placed for those scrumptuous little balls of delight. My dinner started with the Heirloom Apple Salad. Layers of "Speck" (which turns out to be a cool name for proscuitto. Who knew?), apple, almonds and greens tossed in a tarragon vinaigrette. Bob had Cider-Jalapeno Glazed Pork Back Ribs that made his eyes roll to the back of his head.

Our meal was accompanied by flights of wine parings and topped off with the Ooyey Gooyey Chocolate Cake. You can imagine what that was like. No seriously. Close your eyes and imagine spoons diving in out of nowhere as the top crust is broken and my spoon sinks into the pool of hot, creamy chocolate ooyey-gooyey-ness. Nuff said. After three hours of food, laughter and a good cause, it was time to go. Leave it to Marc to bring such good people together. We left with full bellies and more friends than we had when we arrived.

Cannoli for Dinner

Adults have to make tough choices sometimes. It's a Sunday afternoon and the food network has been talking about chocolate all day. That's when we decided that we were going to have dessert for dinner. Branzino was the first place that came to mind. Lucky for us, this was their second Sunday of being open. Branzino is a charming neighborhood spot that delivers consistently-good food that will make any foody salivate upon mention. They also happen to serve a cannoli that heals the soul. Walking into Branzino is an experience for the senses. Always warm and inviting. Michael greets you at the door with smiles and open arms. A beautifully lit bar makes everyone look good. Now. If you're going to have cannoli for dinner, you have to have a good wine pairing. We chose a Montepulciano. Smooth. Luscious. The cannoli arrived and I instantly started jumping up and down in my seat. I couldn't help myself. At that moment, I'd never felt so lucky to be an adult. Diced almonds bookend a mixture of Mascarpone cheese that is whipped to such a light texture that it evaprates as soon as the fork hits your mouth. House-made everything. Carmel sauce. Chocolate sauce. Even the chocolate shells were made in-house. The final pinch of sea salt sprinkled over the top just puts it over the edge. I mean fugetaboutit. Best choice we made all day.

My very first post.

Good ballet class this morning. Sort of "the best of". Some of my favorite combinations with compelling music that will stay with me all day. Brunch was ridiculous. Tilikum Place Cafe never disappoints. We walk into the sunlit room, hug the host and take our post at the bar. Brock hands us our bloodies while he describes the specials across the marble bar. No brainer. Crab Cake Eggs Benedict with Lemongrass Hollandaise Sauce. Shit you not. Crispy and fresh crab cake atop an english muffin and sliced avacado. Two perfectly cooked poached eggs (note to self: look up how to poach an egg on youtube), perched delicately, smothered with lemony hollandaise from heaven. I had mine with fruit and Bob had his with potatoes. Each bite was pure pleasure. Our compliments to the chef. The artist.